Pinay Alcoholics (Sandra Aguinaldo's I-Witness Documentary)

Episode on December 7, 2009 Monday night, after Saksi Beer, rum, gin, tequila… name it, they’ve tried it. For them, downing alcohol seems like a normal activity, like drinking water to satiate one’s thirst. The kick that alcohol brings seems to give them the adrenaline to go on with their daily lives. But we are not talking about men here. Recent studies have shown that there is a rising trend in the number of women getting addicted to alcohol in the Philippines. Award-winning documentarist Sandra Aguinaldo probes into the issue and documents how these Pinay alcoholics struggle with their addictive vice. 33-year old Baby has been drinking alcoholic liquors since she was 13 years old. She works as a laundrywoman to support her nine children, but after doing her work, Baby goes directly to drinking. Because of this addiction, neighbors and even her children now call her as “Baby Alak." She claims alcohol helps her forget her problems. Once Baby gets intoxicated, she storms the streets to bellow her angst to the world. The only person who could make her sober is her 9-year old son G2. Sandra Aguinaldo also meets Helen, a self-confessed 50-year old drunkard who lives alone in a corner of the Dagohoy Market in San Andres, Manila. She claims the reason for her severe drinking problem is her separation from her husband many years ago. Helen tells Sandra that she drowns memories of a happier past everyday with beer, gin and rum. Join Sandra Aguinaldo as she looks into the lives of alcoholic women in her I-Witness documentary “Pinay Alcoholics," airing this Monday midnight after the late night newscast Saksi.

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Tila hindi mapatid ng tubig ang kanilang mga uhaw, dahil ibang klaseng sipa ang kanilang hanap. Sila ang mga babaeng ang tanging pumapawi sa tuyot nilang lalamunan… alak. Ngayong Lunes, makikilala ni Sandra Aguinaldo ang mga lasenggang mula umaga hanggang gabi, lango sa ispiritu ng alkohol. Labintatlong taon gulang nang magsimulang maging manginginom si Baby, 33 years old. Sa lala ng kanyang problema sa alak, ang tawag na sa kanya ngayon ng kanyang mga anak at kapitbahay, Baby Alak. Pagkatapos maglaba, diretso sa inuman. Bago magtanghalian, happy-happy na sa tagayan. At kapag dumating na ang sapak ng alak, walang makakapigil sa kanyang pagwawala. Ang tanging nakakapagpauwi kay Baby, ang siyam na taong gulang niyang anak na si G2. Samantala, nangungulila sa pagmamahal ngayon ang 51-taong gulang na si Helen kaya’t itinutuon na lang niya ang atensyon sa pag-inom ng alak. Nakipaghiwalay siya sa kanyang asawa noon at ngayon, mag-isa siyang nakatira sa isang sulok ng Dagohoy Market sa San Andres, Manila. Dito, gabi-gabi niyang nilulunod ang kanyang lungkot sa beer, gin at rum. Samahan si Sandra Aguinaldo sundan ang buhay ng mga “Lasengga," mga pinay na nabubuhay sa kada tagay, ngayong Lunes ng hatinggabi sa I-Witness pagkatapos ng Saksi.