Explore Philippines: Manila to Mindanao

ENGLCOM

Documentary Film

Explore Philippines – Manila to Mindanao

“From the ancient rice terraces in the northern mountains, on to the steamy crowded capital city Manila, and then on to the exotic southern islands,” Simon Reeve, Katya Adler, and Seyi Rhodes hosted the documentary film of BBC entitled as Explore Philippines: Manila to Mindanao. Reeve starts his trip to Banaue Rice Terraces and views how the locals adapt their ancient way of life to the 21st century instability. He heads to Manila where most of the residents from provinces move in. Adler finds some of them in Manila North Cemetery where they created a community. Apparently, religious fervor keeps the devotion of millions of believers live as seen by Reeve in the procession of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo. While Reeve starts to question one of the political scandals in the Philippines, he visits Imelda Marcos. On the other hand, Rhodes travels to Palawan to observe the Badjaos who honor their traditional way of life as they face modern challenges. As in the autonomous region of in Mindanao, young Muslims seek for independence as their sense of grievance goes deep.

One word generates a powerful impact to the whole film. From its title, the word explore makes the audiences immediately know its purpose – explore Philippines. Indeed, it is filled with information that not every Filipino knows. One is about the main threat to Banaue Rice Terraces that concerns the mere presence of giant earthworms that could cause the collapse of the terraces. Second is the reality on how the less fortunate people build a village in a cemetery and what makes a mausoleum their home especially in Manila North Cemetery. Third is the negative effect of the slash and burn system in forests to the tarsiers in Bohol. Through the years, Bohol has been a tourist attraction for its Chocolate Hills and tarsiers but little do the people know that tarsiers start to become exotic because of deforestation. The scope of the film...