Roco plays Ric, Day's husband and Kip's father - better known as Commander Toto. Soliman Cruz plays the Warden of the prison in which the Oebandas are held Sue Prado plays Pinang another dissident in imprisoned with the Oebandas Other cast members Joel Sargo Paolul O'Harina Ubong Joson Nico Antonio Gerry Corneto Piana Alperez Julie Batista Don Benitoz Liway Sabong Sha Malala Renante Bustamante Madeleine Colas Don Perding Dengman Boy Golden Ben Tambling Khalil Ramos Casting process In a Reddit AMA before the release of the film, Kip Oebanda said that he sought out de Castro for the role not knowing whether he would be lucky enough to get such a high-profile actress. Describing why he specifically thought de Castro was suited to the role, he remarked: " ...She has both the vulnerability and strength required by the character. Someone who is gentle and kind but is handed a very difficult lot in life, and found strength and hope. I wanted to have an empowered and empowering female character, which is what Commander Liway is in real life. And Glaiza manages that perfectly." Writing Director Kip Oebanda says that Liway took seven months to write, made more difficult because so much of the story was personal to him. In order to make sure the story was "more universal" and less specific to the perspective of just one person, he worked with co-writer Zig Dulay, who could be more detached from all the emotions Oebanda associated with the story. Oebanda was aware that the events of the film would be perceived as politically sensitive, because the adult protagonists of the story were part of the New People's Army. In an interview with CNN Philippines, he remarked: “Some of the people from the left are asking me, ‘Is this about the struggle? Is it about the NPA?’ In parts it is, but that is a context of where this family came from more than it [is] the actual story... It's really just, how do you find and keep yourself resilient and hopeful even in a situation when you're in prison with your child?” In an interview with the Manila Bulletin he recounted that the response a Facebook post he shared in response to the 2016 burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Philippines' Libingan ng mga Bayani (Cemetery of Heroes) helped convince him of the need to tell the story of his childhood: