"Mga Anak ng Pugad Lawin"

Synthesis:
In a Camarines Norte community, childrens lives are in danger. Their eyes are
gloomy, their shrills begging. Here, a mother is orphaned by her child. They call
the community, Pugad Lawin: it is home to malnourished children. Princess
Carullo is a two-year-old child, but she weighs like an infant. Her parents know
that they dont have enough food for the family. And even if her father Rodel goes
fishing at sea, their expenses and obligations are unending. Sometimes, her mother
scours the nearby muddy fishpond, looking for shells that can feed the family.
Fishing is the main livelihood in Pugad Lawin; but no matter how vast the Pacific
Ocean is, there are limits to their earnings.

Reflection:
After watching Kara Davids documentary video Mga Anak ng Pugad Lawin, I
was already thinking of so many thoughts, some of them are how they can
overcome the community malnutrition problem, what will happen to the lives of
those childrens and would they still live or just die because of the said disease?
Millions of children die every year due to malnutrition. An additional million
children who manage to survive malnutrition in their early years experience
stunted growth and cognitive development, undermining their future productivity
and therefore income. I felt so pitifully in their case, I just wish that the
government can help them and nowadays, we need to focus on nutrition of mothers
and children so that they can have a long-term consequences for growth, health and
intellectual capacity.

Lakbay sa Ilalim ng Lupa"

Synthesis:
Tourists once flocked to the crystal caves of Baguio. But that was before. Now, it
seems that the famous area has been wiped out of the list of must-see spots because
of the mysterious phenomena that has been baffling the residents of Bakakeng
Central. Wide cracks on the floors all the way up to the ceiling appeared in many
houses. The concrete roads and even the soil surrounding the houses started to
sink. The caves are natural drainage for mountainous areas. But in Baguio City's
case, the crystal caves are now being used as the city's common drainage. In the
event of heavy rainfall, too much water will run inside the channels. The multiple
growths of sinkholes were allegedly caused by trapped water between the caves
and the top soil. The problem is aggravated because of the houses built on top. It is
now race to save both the community and the caves. They faced with the stark truth
saving the community might mean killing the caves while saving the caves means
relocating hundreds to safer ground.

Reflection:
Baguio City is dubbed as the summer capital of the Philippines. Numerous tourists
are increasing per year to visit the place for its awesome sceneries, people, culture
and climate, until some tourist spots are no longer presentable like caves in
Bakakeng central wherein the stalagmites and stalactites are no longer white in
color. Garbage are everywhere in the caves causing blockages that adds more
serious problem like erosion or wearing a way of rock weakening the foundation of
soil, thus sinkhole occurs, which is dangerous when buildings or houses are erected
to areas where sinkholes are not detected putting the life of the people in peril or
danger.

Fallen Angels
True cost of sex tourism: Philippines fatherless kids

Synthesis:
Angeles City in the Philippines is a well-known sex tourism destination. There
used to be an American air base here, but now its popular among mainly retired
men who travel in search of sex for sale. Hundreds of local young women work in
the bars and night clubs offering additional services for the money they desperately
need to make ends meet and feed their families. The real victims though are the sex
workers children, conceived by foreign travelers. These children immediately
stand out in the crowd, being of mixed-race here almost certainly means a child is
the product of a liaison between a sex tourist and a call girl. They may stand out
but theyre not unusual, within their communities there are many children of the
sex trade. In most cases the kids have never met their fathers who, after visiting for
a brief holiday, either dont know or care that their own offspring have been left
behind. The burden of raising the children rests entirely on the shoulders of the
already struggling mothers.

Reflection:

Silang Wala sa Mapa

Synthesis:
This documentary film shows the reality of life. There really are people who are, in
lots of ways, not reached by civilization. It's like they're stuck in the dark ages.
They mainly depend on farming and other simple methods of livelihood. They
don't have a proper bathroom, not much healthy food to eat, they basically eat root
crops (kamoteng kahoy) every day and every meal. They have no schools, no
hospital, no movie houses, no internet connection. Even if I had to scrap out all
wants, they don't even have everything they need. But the story doesn't stop there.
Servanthood saves the day, Dr. Roel Cagape, a volunteer doctor for 25 years in a
remote area in Sarangani, together with his team of volunteers, are frequently
visiting some of the remote areas and they give medicines and medical assistance
for free. And just so to know, it's not the typical medical mission activities that are
seen in cities. Because included in their mission are to climb steep mountains and
cross lots of rivers to get to these remote areas. And they've been doing these lots
of
times
already.
Reflection:
The sight of these people were heartbreaking. They may have been the
"overlooked" part of the society, and I doubt if they could even vote during
elections. They cannot taste the luxury of a steady house and the beauty of going to
a credible school. But more than that sadness, it didn't quite strike me as much as
hope. I was specially touched by how volunteers would even be willing to leave a
life of luxury just to reach out to them. Many doctors may choose to serve in
comfortable areas, maybe lots may even desire to work abroad. But Doctor Roel
Cagape chose the harder path to serve people whom he could practically not
benefit anything from. Lots of us have ideas, but only very few of us do something.