Journos show faith in videos, photos

CEBU, Philippines - As journalists whose main responsibility is to meet deadlines everyday, it was difficult for Alan Domingo and Rowena Capistrano to double in taking part in  film production for this year’s Sinulog contest.

But armed with sheer hardwork, dedication and faith to the Sto. Niño, they were able to pull it off despite their demanding schedules.

Domingo, better known as a broadcast journalist, writes a regular column for Banat News, the sister publication of The FREEMAN. Capistrano, meanwhile, fondly called “Wang-Wang” by friends and colleagues, works as a radio reporter but also writes for the two local newspapers.

As his entry to this year’s Sinulog Film Festival, Domingo made the video documentary “Tokhangyo Niño” (Paghangyo ni Sto. Niño), taking inspiration from the police’s anti-drug campaign “Tokhang,” an amalgamation of the words “toktok” and “hangyo” which mean to knock and to plea, respectively.

Domingo’s docu, however, did not show the police knocking and pleading drug suspects to surrender. Rather, it was about a boy and a girl praying to Sto. Niño that their self-confessed drug-using parents would turn from their old ways so their shattered family could be finally healed and be together again.

The heart-wrenching piece was proclaimed People’s Choice in the Sinulog 2017 Film Festival and eventually adjudged as the third best video documentary.

“In my 18 years as a journalist, I've never encountered people who are willing to share their stinky trash in their lives, until I met the Canadura couple who got engaged into illegal drugs for 17 years,” the veteran TV reporter wrote in his Facebook account after the awards night.

“At first, I thought they would just grant me a half-baked interview getting half-truth answers, but to my surprise, they laid down all their cards in front of the camera. It resulted to a no-holds-barred interview, disclosing all their secrets including the physical, mental and emotional abuses they committed to their three innocent children because of illegal drugs.”

Yet, the audience was not alone in getting pinched by the family’s story.

Even Domingo himself, a deeply religious and faithful family man, broke into tears upon hearing the plight of young children becoming unnecessary victims of their parents’ involvement in drugs.

“Not only did the children cry during their sharing, my cameramen (Ian Laroga and Jude Montejo) and I were shedding tears,” Domingo related.

“I interviewed almost all high-ranking officials but, with these children, I was completely lost as my emotion got carried away with the flowing tears not only from their eyes but also mine, which made me speechless and listen to them as they narrated the pain they went through.”

Thankfully, it was still a happy-ending story. Domingo said the parents’ lives changed when they experienced Tokhang – not from the police – but a “divine Tokhang” by God.

Capistrano, for her part, suffered a laceration on her foot when she stepped on a sharp object while they were filming “Basurera,” her team’s entry to the Sinulog film fest, at the Inayawan landfill.

It was tough, she said, to be a reporter throughout the week, and at the same time find a free time to act. But thanks to her unwavering faith to the Holy Child, it was what carried her through all the tiring and challenging shoots.

The FREEMAN opinion columnist Ligaya Rabago won Best Actress for her portrayal in the short film “Milagros.”

In the music video category, “Batang Balaan” by The FREEMAN photojournalist Aldo Nelbert Banaynal emerged the champion and bagged all the minor awards in that category.

Banaynal, a seasoned photojournalist, said the awards they amassed will continue to remind them to remain grounded and humble in the same manner that Jesus Christ was sent to the world to live among us.

Joy Torrejos, The FREEMAN’s most experienced photojournalist, also snared two awards in the Sinulog photo contest this year.

His dramatic photo showing an armada of boats joining the fluvial parade with dark clouds threatening in the backdrop captivated the judges to win sixth place in the fluvial parade category.

Another shot by Torrejos showing a lead Sinulog dancer kissing the image of Sto. Niño while squatting on the street, still poised and elegant amid her apparent exhaustion, took home the sixth prize in the sidelights category.

Torrejos offered his awards to his family, especially to his children, who are his inspiration in untiringly going out to the field everyday.

“Labaw sa tanan, para gyud kang Sto. Niño (Most of all, I dedicate the awards to Sto. Niño),” he said.  (FREEMAN)