Hacienda Luisita seven years later

November 16, 2004 when 7 protesting farmers in Hacienda Luisita were massacred by state agents. Sugarcane workers from Hacienda Luisita were under strike due to the inhumane wage and working conditions in the Hacienda and the non-distribution of the land that was due to them decades ago by the powerful Cojuangco-Aquino family.


Seven years after the brutal massacre, perpetrators are still scot-free, Hacienda Luisita has not been distributed.

I joined the caravan from Manila to Hacienda Luisita to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the massacre and give tribute to the martyrs of the struggle for land and justice. It was my first time to go there and if I was not working (covering the activity for Tudla Productions), I could have integrated more with the farmers. Looking forward to go there again.

Recovery

I came from a family of cancer patients. My mother died because of leukemia (cancer of the blood), her sister also died because of colon cancer and now my father is recovering from his treatment because of lung cancer. So where does that leave me and my brother. I don't know. I just hope that later in life, we won't have cancer if we live a healthy life.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to bring my (borrowed) camera with me to document my father's treatment. Now that I come to think of it, his treatment could have been my very first documentary photography project. But maybe I can start with his recovery to bring more hope to other cancer patients out there.

He's still thinner than before but he looks better compared to what he looked like while he was under treatment. He walks every morning (I think), drinks his herbal and fruit juices which he substituted to his medicines and watches a lot of movies. He hasn't been confined at the hospital for more than a month now. It's a good sign.

he insisted that his camera angle is his left side. all right, there it is.

Project Rise Photo Contest: Homeless (Please Vote for my Entry!)

My photo is one of the finalists for the Global Fund for Children's Project Rise, a photo contest about the pressing issues adolescent girls are facing and *eherm* my entry is the only entry coming from the Philippines.

So, I'm appealing to everybody to please help me win by voting for my photo. Here's how:

1. Go to the Global Fund for Children's Facebook page by clicking the link https://www.facebook.com/GlobalFundforChildren and click 'Like'
2. Vote for my photo by clicking this link (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150431979378976&set=a.10150431976913976.450219.126815818975&type=1&ref=nf) and click 'Like' found at the bottom of the photo

The photo depicts demolition of homes in urban areas in the Philippines which leads to displacement and homelessness, a very pressing issue faced by thousands of adolescent girls in the country (the contest's theme).

Help me raise the issue of demolition of urban poor in the Philippines to the whole world.

By the way, if ever I win, we (Tudla Productions) will use the prize (which is just a small amount) to continue the group's advocacy in coverning the issues of the marginalized sectors in the Philippines.

Please spread the word! Voting is until September 23!