Pacete: Our ‘Pureza’

Friday, February 10, 2012

NO SUGAR coating. The premier showing of ‘Pureza’, a film documentary about Negros and the sugar industry brought together the big players to see what is inside the film. Jay Abello, the director, made an intensive research to put into one piece the many faces of our mono crop industry, the lifeline of the Negrosanons.

In 1991, the Silay City Arts Association, Inc. had the Ilonggo Sarswela Competition. ‘Matam-is Man Gali Ang Kalamay’ (Sugar Can Also Be Sweet), which I scripted and directed for Hacienda Adela Community Organization was chosen by the Cultural Center of the Philippines to represent Negros Occidental in the First National Theater Festival (Unang Tagpo). We brought on stage and to CCP the real ‘tapaseros, manugpatdan, manug-caro and manugbagon’ from Hacienda Adela.

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The ‘dumaans’ were wearing their true-to-life sugar cane field garments and using their original cutting tools. They were listed as the veritable minority who were not comfortable with spoon and fork, not at ease with the air conditioning system of the complex, and not accepting the hotel food provided by the caterer. They were looking for ‘uga, laswa and sardinas’. Other groups that claimed that they are representing the culture of the Cordillera and the autochtons of Mindanao were found out later to be professional performing artists and college-based members of the theater guilds.

‘Matam-is Man Gali Ang Kalamay’ was given a tour grant (financial subsidy) for presentation before the Negros audience (schools and selected groups). It was our first attempt to bring the social consciousness of the gentry the reality behind the sugar industry… the hacienda system, the dreams and aspirations of the workers, the wish of the hacienderos, the role of the government, and the ill effect of feudalism to human growth and development. We only created a ripple, not a tsunami.

‘Pureza’, the story of Negros sugar, is put on film by Jay Abello and the people behind Negros Pureza Foundation and Bonfire Productions in cooperation with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). I was invited to attend its premiere at Cinema I last Tuesday evening. The gradual unfolding of events started with the introduction of the grass, sugarcane, in our country. It also revealed socio-economic relationship with the Chinese, Spaniards and Americans. The major players … hacienderos, millers, workers and traders… tried to tangle themselves in a game of hard work, speculation and profit which were all anchored in the policies of powers that be.

The story centers on the plight of the ‘dumaans’ (permanent workers) and ‘sacadas’ (transient workers coming from Panay or Negros Oriental). The hacienda system does not offer an attractive daily wage. Only very few haciendas offer a daily wage of more than Php 200. The practice in paying workers is based on ‘paquiao’ rates. Workers have to double their effort to receive a not-so-big amount. During the salary day, their gross income will go to rice, viand, ‘cinco por seis’ (shark loan), and previous loan from the ‘encargado’ (overseer) or from the landlord himself.

The living condition of the workers (as shown in the documentary film) is miserable. Their houses or quarters do not qualify to what the Bible says. “Man is made to the image and likeness of God.” Their existence is hand-to-mouth or less than that. They do not look their age. They have physically deteriorated and probably many of them have the illnesses brought about by extreme poverty. Abello has cinematically painted the true color of sugar industry in Negros Occidental thus painting a Third World Paranoia which could have been possibly the cause why we have brothers and sisters in the insurgency movement (also shown in the movie).

One viewer at my side commented, “Director Abello made a master stroke (the director being from a haciendero block also). He wants to let his audience understand that while the workers wallow in the quagmire of absolute poverty, the sugarcane planters, millers and traders are in ‘decent attire’ and the backdrop during the interview is their beautiful living room or their air con office.” I have nothing to add.

Planters are also human beings. Many in their class were born rich because their parents and grandparents were already landlords or businessmen. You cannot coerce them to live in the sacada quarters to make even. At least, we are happy to hear that there are planters who became effective social workers and classroom teachers in their own haciendas. Many of them have provided scholarship programs for the children of their workers. They have taught the workers to establish cooperatives and join group farming. They have encouraged workers to have backyard gardens and at least, taught them herbal medicine.

The best solution (may be the only solution) is to let the children of the workers finish vocational or college education. And, there is no short cut to that. Allow them to go out of the system. Those who persevere to die with their hoe and ‘espading’ in the hacienda can possibly be heroes in the apocalypse of this so called ‘lazy man’s crop’.

Negrenses should watch this movie. Students and teachers should watch this together and make social analysis on where we are going. Planters, laborers, millers and traders should be there. You are the protagonists and the antagonists. I watched it because I was there sharing a little of me.