(SPOT.ph) Much has been said about the province of Palawan, including international citations as the world's best island or the world's most beautiful island. These statements are hard to disagree with, especially with the island's towering limestone cliffs, crystal-clear lagoons, white-sand beaches, lush vegetation, and rich flora and fauna. Palawan is often dubbed the "last ecological frontier" since its biodiversity remains largely intact. At least that's what we think. "The last frontier is becoming the lost frontier," said environmental lawyer Robert "Bobby" Chan in an eye-opening documentary titled Delikado. Screened as the closing film for the 2022 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, the 94-minute featured documentary by Australian journalist and filmmaker Karl Malakunas exposes the biggest threat to the island paradise of Palawan: the government.
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The Heroes of Delikado
Delikado follows the plight of environmental defenders in Palawan; and their David-versus-Goliath struggle as they try to stop politicians and businessmen from tolerating (if not supporting) illegal logging, illegal fishing, mining, and other environmental crimes on the island. It looks into the practice of the Palawan NGO Network Inc., which was founded in 1991 by non-government organizations and people's organization in Palawan with the mission to empower local community members in protecting their land.
Chan, in the documentary, narrated that his first-ever mistake in defending the environment was trusting local authorities. Back in the '90s, he confiscated a chainsaw from illegal loggers, then turned it over to the local police. A few days later, he saw the same chainsaw being used again. So, he put together a group of volunteers and para-enforcers, who are tasked to monitor the forests of Palawan, confiscate chainsaws, and file a case against the illegal loggers. Since it is a citizen's movement, they can't really arrest anyone; and since they're not police, they have no protection against the illegal loggers, who are usually armed. One of their biggest opponents is former Palawan Governor Jose Chaves Alvarez (2013 to 2022), who is allegedly supporting hardwood logging on the island. It was revealed by Chan that Alvarez had a logging company in the '90s.
Efren "Tata" Balladeres and "Kap" Ruben Arzaga are two of the Palawan NGO Network Inc.'s (PNNI) on-ground volunteers and para-enforcers featured in the documentary.
As a young man in the '70s (under the presidency of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos), Balladares was the head of a para-military force created by the Philippine government to fight communist insurgency in Palawan and protect the island's natural resources. But instead of doing the latter, his group was given the order to illegaly cut down trees using smuggled chainsaws. Since the military works on obedience, he had no choice but to follow the order and cut down thousands of trees in one day. Despite the risk of being up against armed men, politicians, and businessmen, he is now spending the rest of his life seeking redemption for the logging he was ordered to do.
Arzaga, on the other hand, worked not only as an elected barangay captain, but also as an on-ground volunteer who monitored the forested mountains of El Nido. He was killed during an operation. Arzaga was the 12th group member murdered in less than two decades on the island.
Nieves Rosento is an environmental advocate, an ally of PNNI, and a staunch critic of Alvarez. During the filming of Delikado, she was seeking reelection as the mayor of El Nido. She was named by former President Rodrigo Duterte as a narco-politician, which posed a threat to her life especially since extrajudicial killings is rampant in the country. Rosento lost against Mayor Edna Gacot-Lim, who has strong ties with Governor Alvarez.
Their struggle as defenders of the environment, unfortunately, is not rare. Global Witness, an international NGO established in 1993, was also featured in the documentary. In a report, the NGO gave a chilling opening statement: "It has never been a deadlier time to defend one’s community, way of life or environment. [...] Every two days, a land defender will be murdered somewhere around the world [...] the Philippines is the most dangerous country in Asia to be a land defender."
The Storytelling of Delikado
"In 2011, as a journalist for Agence-France Presse based in Manila, I was preparing for a trip to Palawan to write an article on eco-tourism. Palawan is home to the Philippines’ last great rainforests and it's one of the most beautiful places in the country. But my contact for the story, an environmental campaigner, was shot and killed just before I was due to go. I went anyway, to investigate his murder. When I was there, I discovered this seemingly idyllic island was being destroyed by the people in power who were meant to be protecting it. I also discovered a small group of people putting their lives on the line trying to stop the destruction," said Delikado director Karl Malakunas, a filmmaker and journalist based in Asia for two decades. He has covered environmental issues, conflict, natural disasters, and political upheavals.
With this journalistic background of the director, Delikado is not scarce in presenting first-hand interviews, paperwork, and facts. They had interviews with both Rosento and her opponent Lim. They even tried getting a statement from Alvarez, who declined.
Visually, the documentary is teeming with drone shots. But unlike travel shows showcasing the beauty of the landscape through such an all-encompassing lens, Delikado's footage strikes a chord after revealing vast hectares of land that have been taken over by illegal loggers. And when it matters, there are a few beautifully composed shots showing how small people are compared to the majestic apitong, kamagong, ipil, and other endangered trees that are being cut down.
"We want people to emerge from watching Delikado feeling enraged, empowered, and inspired to join movements to fight climate change, take on corporations that are destroying environments, to do something to help save our planet," the people behind the documentary said in a statement.
And if you're as enraged as we are, then maybe it's about time we save our home. For starters, you can directly donate to Palawan NGO Network Inc., so they can continue their operations and try to stop the last frontier from being the lost frontier.
Watch the trailer of Delikado:
Rating: 5 out of 5 spots
While Delikado doesn't have a commercial screening (as of writing), you can send an e-mail to screenings@activevista.ph or call
0917-800-4409 to host a block screening.