Indonesia

Indonesia
BATU, Indonesia. Photo by Jes Aznar

Friday, August 29, 2008

Ang paglaya ng Tagaytay 5

Huling Lagapak ng Kandado
ni Alex Pinpin, Tagaytay 5


Kumupas at kumupis ang kalendaryo
Kumalampag at ipininid ang kandado
Kumupad at bumilis ang oras
Nagasgas at numipis ang rehas
Dumatal at umalis ang lamig
Sumagad at umibis ang init
Nangutya at tiniis ang inip
Nanuya at nanikis ang inis

Walong daaan at limampu’t siyam na araw
Paulit-ulit, paikid-ikid lamang na galaw

Dalawang taon at apat na buwan
Pabalik-balik, paikit-ikit lamang na kawalan

Ninakaw, inagaw ang kalayaang inakalang
Maitatangkal sa kalaliman ng kadiliman
ng libingan ng mga buhay at matatabunan
Ng tambak ng batas na butas
Na nauna pang maagnas at ipag-aguniyas
Ang kamatayan ng sirkerong testigo na di-bihasa
Sa kinabisang panulayan at panimbangan.
Ay! Nagkandudulas sa lubid ng kasinungalingang
Ibinuhol ng buhong na piskal, nagkandabulol
At nagkandahulog ang katwiran
na nagiging mahika-blanka
Sa tuwing kabulaanan ang bumubulagang
Sorpresa sa kahon ng ebidensya at hindi
Kunehong puti na sana’y mabilis at malinis
Na lilinlang sa namanghang mga
Mamamayang bantay sa katarungan
sa sala ng Hukom na nagmistulang karnabal.

Walong daaan at limampu’t siyam na araw
Paulit-ulit, paikid-ikid lamang na galaw

Dalawang taon at apat na buwan
Pabalik-balik, paikit-ikit lamang na kawalan

At sa isang iglap, walang nakakurap,
Tapos na ang palabas!


29 August 29, 2008/0358hr
Unang labanan ng rebolusyong 1896 sa San Juan
At unang araw sa labas ng bilangguan ng Tagaytay 5

Friday, August 1, 2008

charcoal portraits

PIER 18, TONDO, Manila - A thick blanket of smoke fills the air. Beneath the haze, men, women and children work endlessly to survive daily life. This muddy patch of land is what outsiders call ulingan, a make-shift charcoal factory.

Those not used to the smoke can only spend a few minutes before their lungs and throat hurt but the people here endure the suffocating carbon emitted in the tedious process of turning wood into charcoal.




(The make-shift charcoal factory is set against a backdrop of thatched houses and heaps of garbage. For the residents of Tondo, this is home.)






(Lina doesn't mind the dirt. She fills the sack of charcoal which she will sell for P280.)





(Joel and his wife Marisa are preparing the wood for the overnight process of heating it into coal.)





(Women and children help in the production of charcoal. They sift through the patches of land to look for bits and pieces of wood that could still be sold
.)






(The sacks of charcoal will be sold to individual buyers who will then repackage the charcoal and sell it for P6 per pack. One sack can make 36 packs.)






(A man counts his earnings today. He has sold six sacks of charcoal for a total of P1,680.00.)




(A woman prepares to repackage the sack of charcoal.)





(Most children in Tondo are not in school. They help their parents in the ulingan.)




(They help in transporting the sacks of charcoal to the market.)





(This is Baby Jane, four years old. The ulingan is her playground.)