PUREZA, The Story of Negros Sugar - Remember...Learn...Act

Last Monday, I wrote about the first ever documentary film on the sugar industry in Negros, PUREZA.  Last night I attended the premier showing and came out of the movie house feeling sad and in deep thoughts. I was unusually silent, which is so uncharacteristic for someone who is normally garrulous.  Driving alone on my way home, I felt the profound effect of the film on me.  The film started with the story of the sacada, moving on to the beginnings and evolution of the sugar industry, it's ups and downs, to the present time and the future.  It is a disturbing documentary because it is brutally honest and courageous that needs to be seen and heard if we want to save the lives of those dependent on the sugar industry. It definitely stirred in me dormant memories of a time I would rather not remember.  You see, my family became victims too of those dark days. We lost our home of 27 years because of the sugar crisis. How? Well, after years of being leased, my father decided to manage their family's small farm in Cadiz City.  This was in the early 70's when they were having many problems with the lessee.  Unfortunately just as my Dad was beginning to get the farm running and profitable, my youngest brother had his accident which put him in the hospital and rehabilitation for a year.  My dad had to travel to and from Iloilo where my brother was confined, as well as manage the farm. To make matters worst, the sugar industry took a sudden downturn.  It is to my Dad's credit that we did not lose the farm unlike many others who faced foreclosure. That's because instead of the farm, he put up our house and 1000 square meter lot as collateral for the crop loan from PNB.  Years later, when we moved to a smaller home in a smaller lot, an interested buyer bought our old house for Php550,000 (actual arrears was Php600,000) which was paid directly to PNB.  The loan principal was only Php120,000!  When the Sugar Restitution Bill was finally passed, PNB refunded us back Php90,000.  By the time my brother was finally able to come home, my parents were jobless, the farm unplanted while my other brother and I struggled to continue our studies in Manila.  Although life was hard, it wasn't bad maybe because my parents raised us to live simple lives. We did not have the same kind of lifestyle as those others in Negros (of course, we were never as rich).  We never owned a brand-new car (second-hand was good enough for us), never travelled except to visit our maternal grandparents in Manila (taking a boat, at that), never bought branded things, never spent more than we needed. If there were things we wanted, we saved for it. We did enjoy dining out once in a while, watching movies and going to the beach as a family.  I think our biggest luxury at that time was our education (we went to good schools), and books.  Until today, we have books that we have not yet read.   Looking back, I realize that even if we had to do away with many things, our lifestyle did not drastically change...we just simplified our life some more. But after seeing PUREZA, I told myself that is nothing compared to the life  of the workers in the haciendas. For us who live a relatively comfortable life, seeing the life of the sacada can be gut-wrenching. This is what I felt when I saw the documentary. Somehow, I forgot that I have seen similar living conditions years before and at that time, my reaction was the same.  How could I forget?  Was it because it was not in our farm?  To be honest, I have been to our farm only 3 times in my lifetime...and I did not even walk around.  Since it has always been leased (except for those few years that my Dad worked on it), we had no relationship with the families who lived and worked there. I can only remember Tyo Kisin who was a trusted foreman of my grandfather and some of his children.  Or maybe because then I thought I was judging this by my standards and I convinced myself that it is all about perception. After all, when a family friend once said that he was feeling sorry for the sacadas because they were working barefooted in the fields...my Dad told him "they are used to that kind of life, so it's not a sacrifice for them; now if it were you doing that kind of work...that is a different story".  This is not to say that the farm workers and the sacadas do not deserve better...they do and they should.  What I am trying to say here is that solving the plight of the sacada is not the solution to the problem...it's just that it is the one that is visible to those who are critical of the industry.  However, like what the documentary says, the sugar industry has to shape up...or else. There are economic, political and bigger social issues involved. But once you solve the bigger problems, the sacada's life will also improve. It is not going to be easy as there are so many stakeholders involved and market forces to overcome. The people interviewed gave many opinions and they all agree on one thing, it is partially our fault.  Putting blame aside and the fact that we only have till 2015, I hope this documentary film once it is shown to the concerned public will be the catalyst that will mobilize all stakeholders as one force to save the sugar industry.  I pray that whatever gains this film makes won't stop after watching it. This film was not meant to entertain but to inform. It is not enough to just watch and talk about it.  There is still time.

To Director Jay Abello and his team, to Mr. Joey Gaston, SRA Chair Gina Martin, Agnes Villar....Madamo nga salamat, Bravo!!!

Important UPDATE:  PUREZA will be shown at Rockwell on May 31, 2012.  For those living in MetroManila, I hope you can get to see it or better yet,  don't miss it!

PUREZA - A Sober Look At Our Sugar Heritage

Sugar is the lifeblood of Silay and the rest of Occidental Negros.  It is in Silay City that Hawaiian Philippines Company, one of the biggest sugar centrals in the country is located. In fact, a few months ago, I wrote about the last remaining steam locomotives or iron dinosaurs still being used there today. But that is not the topic of this post... Sugar is and how this industry has affected the lives of the Negrense a.k.a Negrosanon.

On February 7, 2012, a full-length documentary film on the sugar industry of the island of Negros will be shown at SM Cinema, Bacolod.  The title is “Pureza: The Story of Negros Sugar”, produced and directed by award winning cinematographer Jay Abello, himself a scion of rich landowners from Silay and Isabela.  The documentary traces the history of the Negros sugar industry and seeks to explain why the sugar industry today has "plunged from its proverbial pedestal into its inglorious present state".  This however isn't the first Filipino film made about the sugar industry, although it is the first ever documentary.  Remember Behn Cervantes' "Sakada" in 1976?  I remember how I negatively reacted to a preview written in The Varsitarian (UST's school paper) to the point where I even wrote the author about my displeasure.  I believed then that it gave an unfair portrayal of the situation in Negros. Of course that was probably because I was isolated from life in the haciendas.  My grandfather was a small landowner who had his farm leased out and my exposure to hacienda life was meeting Tyo Kisin, the trusted farmhand who came to Silay once in a while to give updates to my grandfather on how the farm was being managed by the lessee.  But as I matured and became more involved with social issues, I realized that my perception was far from reality. And when I eventually saw the movie Sakada much later in life, I belatedly knew that indeed it did show a lot truths.  How silly I must have sounded to the author (I remember he was a law student) of that article. If I had the chance to meet him again, I would say...mea culpa.  And I would not be making that same mistake.  

At present the small farm our grandfather left the family is still being leased, however for this crop year the lessee has informed us that he will no longer renew his contract. Why? For many reasons but mainly because he lacks workers and the high costs of fertilizers makes it unprofitable for him. The outlook for the sugar industry for the next 5 years is not good and for small landowners like us, that is really bad news.  To be fair, during the last 30 years or so, the sugar industry has undergone a lot of good changes. Still, that seems to be not enough.  Perhaps this documentary film may serve as a wake-up call for people who have the capacity, resources and power to make a difference for the survival of the sugar industry.

The film is produced by Bonfire Productions and Negros Pureza Foundation with support from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.


Executive Producers J. ABELLO, JOEY GASTON
Producers FIONA BORRES, AGNES VILLAR
Director J. ABELLO
Writers JET ORBIDA, CHECCS OSMEÑA
Editor FIONA BORRES
Director of Photography J. ABELLO
Asst. Director LOVELLE BELLOCILLO
Visual FX Supervisor RICHARD FRANCIA
Sound Engineers ALBERT MICHAEL IDIOMA, ALEX TOMBOC
Music PEARLSHA ABUBAKAR
Researchers IHVONIE SEVILLENO, KAT VALENCIA

Showtime: 

February 7, 6:30pm – Premier at SM City Bacolod Cinema 3 (by invitation only)
February 11 – Free screening at Robinsons Place Bacolod as part of the Bacollywood: Cinema Rehiyon 2012
February 17 -  Regular screening at SM City Bacolod

Metro Manila showing: to be announced.  Please check the Pureza page on Facebook for updates.

Silay Stories: Remembering Idad Buang

Everyone who lived in Silay in the 50's up to early 70's knew of her. She would go around Silay in a black baro't saya, a veil, face fully made up and would kneel on the houses' stairs or doorsteps and start chanting in a singsong voice.  What you thought sounded like latin prayers were really more like incoherent words.  The "chant" would take about 2 to 3 minutes after which she is given money and then she quietly leaves to go to the next house. This happens in my Grandfather's  house at least once a week.  We all called her "Idad Buang".  The children were all a little bit scared of her because she looked like an old witch with her black hair and clothes. She never says a word except for her chanting and although she rarely looks at people, when she does, she had a really scary look.  I remember the househelp would use her to scare us everytime we start being unruly.  But who exactly was she?  Was she really crazy as everyone thought? Was she a beggar?  What was her story?  The story I later learned was that she was not the crazy woman beggar we all believed.  It seems that she was not really destitute (funny that people thought that, when she was always neatly dressed) and that the reason why she went around houses and doing the things she did was because of a vow or panata. And it was not to all houses in Silay that she went to because although she regularly came to my ancestral home, I don't remember her going to my grand aunt's home behind us. I also noticed that she usually went to houses with balconies and where she can kneel on the 3rd or 4th step.  People said that she was quite sane and functioned normally as soon as she finishes her "rounds". According to them, she looked quite different once she changes to her ordinary clothes.  To this day nobody really knows why she made that vow and nobody has really claimed that she was their family. I still don't know who she was...nobody bothered to know who she was then and on hindsight, I could have asked her but was too afraid for fear that she would put a hex on me if I even dared talk to her (...talk about the househelp's conditioning).  One day, she just stopped coming to my grandpa's house and we all assumed that she must have passed away. I remember that there were other "crazy" people around Silay in those days, but for sure, there was no one quite like Idad Buang.