In the face of summer storms

Happenstance had us running into Sen. Loren Legarda recently.

She lost no time in asking an aide to hand us a copy of a DVD (nope, not that one that has most males sighing over not having taken up a doctorate in body sculpting).

It’s a different one, no less interesting. (C’mon, believe me!) The title might put some of you off, all ye hot-blooded males, especially if I include the subtitle. But here goes, anyway: Ulan sa Tag-Araw: Isang Dokyu-Drama Ukol sa Pagbabago ng Klima.

I’m sure you’d think, oh, okay, the good senator can do no less than push for her advocacy, especially as the season starts to heat up for so-called “presidentiables.” But take it from me, this one was in the works since the United Nations instituted the IPCC or Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change over a couple of years ago.

Being a UN awardee for her lifework in espousing environmentalism, indeed Senator Loren could do no less than come up with a video production that won’t go over the heads of any constituency.

The product is a 48-minute docu-drama that has just the right zing to it to keep an audience in the barrios entertained. Quite sagely, it won’t hit them on the heads with a hammer regarding everything they need to know about those big buzzwords: “global warming” and “climate change.”

In truth, in the countryside, that metaphorical hammer is already pounding down on most everyone’s consciousness. Didn’t we just have four storms uncharacteristically buffeting our archipelago in the last week of April and the first week of May, one of them with grave results?

In the face of summer storms, Senator Loren would certainly render fine public service if this DVD is shown on some TV channels. Better yet, copies ought to be disseminated to every barangay for Friday-night viewing at the local video club.

I vouch for both its entertainment and information value. And I must commend the efforts of the team that put it together. It’s tough enough to take a serious subject that involves a worldwide alarum and transpose it into viable viewing. Here the docu-drama team succeeds immensely in dramatizing a deepening concern with just the right amount of light touches.

The “drama” parts feature actors who are long known to be engaged in the same cause Sen. Legarda took up years ago when hardly anyone was yet looking up to see if the sky was falling on our heads. Chin-chin Gutierrez and Roy Alvarez deliver more than adequate performance in essaying a farmland couple that has to go through nature’s lessons together with their son.

The rest of the cast command equal credibility — among them Beverly Salviejo, BJ “Tolits” Perez and Kyla Margarette David.

It doesn’t get any dragging either when the stand-up host, Ma’m Loren herself, is shown amid forest or jungle, or with equally lovely cascades behind her. Her Filipino is impeccable, even when she has to mouth what could be a tongue-twister for most of us:

“Ang dating paraiso, pilit nating ginagawang impierno. Patuloy nating nilapastangan ang ating Ina hanggang umabot na sa sukdulan ang kanyang pagtitimpi at ito na nga ang kinasapitan ng ating kawalang malasakit.” 

Then there’s a third element in this infotainment package: well-selected verbal briefs by a panel of Filipino experts not exactly expounding lengthily on the causes for alarm, nor sermonizing about what should be done. They are almost terse, still quite light, and thus help open awareness in a gentle manner.

These advocates are Dr. Juan Pulhin, Dr. Rosa Perez, Dr. Felino Lansigan, Dr. Rodel Lasco and Dr. Rex Victor Cruz. The first three are billed as “lead authors” and the last two as “coordinating lead authors” of the “IPCC, the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize co-awardee.”

A bit of a quibble here: the identifying tags might give the impression that these five Filipino scientists actually won a share of the vaunted Nobel Peace Prize. I believe it was the IPCC program that did.

But that shouldn’t detract from the value of this tidy little presentation, which niftily establishes quick and seamless flow, shuffling through the coeval aspects of dramatization, host narration, and buttressing testimonials.  

It helps that the gravitas is toned down. The drama script is particularly effective, inserting light humor amidst all the concern over crises and disasters. Dialogue about impending droughts or floods winds up with this exchange: “Aba’y mangyayari talaga ’yun.” “Ang pag-ulan ng yelo?” “Hindi, ng yero.” Or something like that. 

The message still comes loud and clear, however, as the DVD blurb offers:

 “In Ulan sa Tag-Araw, Sen. Loren Legarda, a staunch environmental advocate, presents the significant social, economic and health effects of climate change in the Philippines. It also features a tale of a community suffering the backlash of climate change, based on actual events. Chin-chin Gutierrez and Roy Alvarez portray characters whose lives are affected by the ill effects of climate change that we are already experiencing.

“Loren hopes, through the film, to get the truth about climate change out to every Filipino before it’s too late.

“Every Filipino can help in their own way in saving our ailing planet.”

Kudos to our Green senator as producer, as well to executive producer Pauline Gamboa-Halili, line producer Joel Macanaya, director of photography Carlo Montano, drama writer/director Jun Salvador, spiels director Ricky Ligon, and spiels writer Anjie Blardony Ureta.

As the credits roll up, the jaunty music by Joseph Lansang and Joel Macanaya sounds as cheerily hopeful as the tenor of the presentation: “Awit ng kalikasan/ Atin nang sabayan/ sama-samang tugunan...”

* * *

A few weeks back in Cebu City, our friend Simeon Dumdum Jr. had a successful launch of his book of inspirational essays, Ah, Wilderness, which we rave-reviewed in this space months ago.   

Over a hundred guests were in attendance, accounting for vigorous book sales. There would have been more had it not been for monstrous traffic that afternoon caused by a nine-hour power blackout in Cebu and neighboring provinces. Happily, the electricity came back just before the program started at 5 p.m. at Power Books in SM Cebu City.

Emceeing the affair was Atty. Grace-Marie Lopez. Jessica McYorker sang the unique invocation: I Will Sing (Mary’s Magnificat as arranged by Vince Ambrosetti). A welcome address followed from Maricor Baytion, the dynamic director of Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Commentary on the book was delivered by Larry Ypil, AdMU Literature professor, and himself a prizewinning poet and essayist like Judge “Jun.” Followed remarks about the author by Eileen Mangubat, publisher of Cebu Daily News, where Dumdum’s essays first appeared in print.

A reading of excerpts featured Atty. Haide Acuna, ABS-CBN Cebu TV newscaster; Bunny Pages, an entrepreneur who runs a variety of concerns, including Thirsty, Moon Cafe, Playhouse, and Bright Academy; and the author’s better half, Ma. Milagros T. “Gingging” Dumdum, financial advisor of Sunlife Financial.

Ever at his wittiest best, the author then delivered a heartfelt response. We wish our good friend Jun more sales of his wonderful book, and better health ahead.