Lav Diaz, writing for the Manila Standard, gave the film a mixed review; though he commended the film's truthful focus on street children in the Philippines, he criticized it as leaning excessively into commercialism and fantastical situations. Giving examples, Diaz was displeased with a scene involving the child actors doing a Hawaiian dance, which he noted was well liked by audiences ("you understood why there are so many crazy people in our midst"), and he questioned how the separated twin brothers in the film were able to convincingly switch places and fool their families when they were only five years old.[3]
^"Grand Opening Today". Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. December 14, 1988. p. 15. Retrieved November 7, 2020. Free Seiko Wallets To Early Moviegoers On First Day Of Showing.
^Diaz, Lav (December 21, 1988). "Nakakahilo" [Dizzying]. Manila Standard. Manila Standard News, Inc. p. 14. Retrieved November 7, 2020. Pare, nagustuhan ng marami ang eksenang ito [Hawaiian dance] at naunawaan mo kung bakit napakaraming baliw sa ating paligid.