'Hukay,' dokumentaryo ni Atom Araullo, ngayong Sabado sa 'I-Witness'

“Hukay”

Dokumentaryo ni Atom Araullo

AIRING DATE: SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Mayaman ang kabundukan ng Cordillera.  Mahigit isang daan taon nang nagmimina rito ng ginto.  Ngunit ang yamang ibinibigay ng kabundukan, mayroon ding kapalit.

Ngayong Setyembre, gumuho ang isang tipak ng bundok sa Barangay Ucab, sa Itogon Benguet.  Ang nangyaring landslide, nag-iwan ng napakalaking uka sa gilid ng bundok na kasing taas ng Eiffel tower.  Nabaon sa ilalim ng bato at putik ang mahigit pitompung katao, karamihan mula sa mga pamilya ng small scale miners.  Isa na rito ang apo ni Martin Pilaan.  Makikilala ni Atom Araullo si Lolo Martin, habang naghuhukay para mahanap ang kaniyang apo na si Jerome.  Makikilala rin ni Atom si Geronimo, ang tatay ni Jerome na balisang naghihintay ng balita tungkol sa kaniyang beinte uno anyos na anak.

Sa kuwento ng tatlong henerasyon ng minero, matutuklasan ni Atom kung paano naging sandigan ng mga tulad nila ang pagmimina.  Tatambad din ang mga mahahalagang katanungan ukol sa pagmimina sa bansa at ang mga kaakibat nitong responsibilidad at panganib.

English version

The Cordilleras have carried the promise of gold to those who call it home.  Its mountains abound with mineral deposits that have been mined for over a century.  But the wealth it provides exacts a toll to the most vulnerable.

This September, a landslide ravaged through Barangay Ucab in Itogon, Benguet leaving a gaping scar the size of the Eiffel tower.  Buried beneath the rock and mud are at least 70 residents, most of whom are from small-scale mining families such as Martian Pilaan’s.  74-year-old Martin has known no other life aside from mining.  His family has lived because of mining, and now has also died because of mining.  Atom Araullo meets Lolo Martin while desparately digging through the mud to find his first grandson, Jerome.  Atom also meets Tatay Geronimo, Jerome’s father, who is anxiously waiting for word on the whereabouts of his son.

Through the three generations of miners, Atom discovers what life was like in Itogon and how this tragedy raises important questions on the risk, responsibilities, and true cost of mining in the country.