a lot of first as the year ends...

...I reflect on some photos that made an impact in my 2012

Hala Bira!!

My first time in attending this colorful festival in Kalibo, Aklan. Ang saya maki sadsad hehe party all day and night in the streets is a good way to begin the year

A miner's life

I was given an opportunity to do a story on the small scale gold mining in Camarines Norte under the NGO Ban Toxic. Its a eye opener story about the dangers of the mines and their health risk in being exposed to mercury. This inspired me to do a long term story on this issue.

City of dancing lights

My lola and cousin travel Hongkong for 5 days its a tiring trip but worth it :)

Like a miniature city

Riyadh on top view my last photo of Saudi

Caramoan!!

Its like little Coron hehe its good to swim again  :)

Sustainable mining

The second part of the mining story is a small mining town called Gaang in Kalinga. Here the miners have been practicing mercury free mining for a year now. I really admire the effort of the Banao people in their high regards to health safety and protecting the environment. Hope to be back on this place next year even though the climb up there is sooooo harddd!!! hehe  its worth it especially if I'm able to take home something that is more than gold.

New hairdo ^_^

What can I say hehe got myself a new haircut and i love it!!

Wedding vows

The first wedding I've ever attended and its in India weeh!! Congrats my dear friend Nishant :)

Run for your lives!!

The first ever zombie run in the Philippines! Its exhilarating and full of thrills :) I'm planning to join next year as a runner hopefully I can survive it

Tour of the Firelies- Bike for Sustainable Energy!

My first time to bike around Metro Manila hehe so fun!!!

 Goddesses No More

I thank the Lord for giving me an opportunity to be part of the 8th Angkor Wat Photo Workshop. I was able to do a story of culture and to meet this beautiful and talented dancers. Kudos to the art of dancing!!

The Last Mambabatok

What good way to welcome the end of the world by making a story about the last mambabatok or traditional tattoo artist in Kalinga. More power to you and your art master Pangud!


As the year closes to an end I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Lord for giving me the gift of photography without it I won't be able to meet this amazing people :) Domo arigatou gozaimasu ^_^

ang pagbabalik...

After my 2 weeks absence from the craziness of Metro Manila I found myself covering 2 events that is definitely makes me feel like home :)

Black Tuesday

It is only here in the Philippines wherein lawmakers pass laws that they haven't event read carefully what's in it tsk..tsk.. I don't know if these people are thinking or just plain stupid

After all the artsy fancy coverages I had  attended a flashmob activity of netizens in front of Supreme Court to protest the controversial Cyber Crime Law-RA10175 Despite the rain people still march to the gates with their black placards and black tapes on their mouth to call on the attention of the lawmakers to amend or dismiss completely the said law.

This law pose threat to netizens and suppress everybody's freedom of speech and privacy and now that it started to be implemented who knows if our prison cells will enough to fit the whole population of Metro Manila. Just plain stupid!

in transit...

A different world
People and places to see
It never stops

whirlwind september

My September was just full of "adventure time" especially at work...

We trek the head waters of Montalban Rizal to document stories of people living near the Tayabasan river. We learned from them that their so-called "tubig linaw" (clear water) is not so clean and pure anymore. It was already a victim of pollution due to a certain industry up stream. They only hope that there will come a time where they can enjoy the crystal clear water just like how it used to be.

On the second week, is the start of the water patrol expedition of Greenpeace a 3 week long trip along the waters of Marikina to Laguna Lake. Its a joint effort together with the local groups of San Mateo and Marikina to investigate possible polluters of the river.

After that I found myself riding a 13km bike ride from Taguig-Sucat. It was not in the original plan to take the ride but it was fun :) Despite of wearing jeans and a polo I still managed to reach the finish line :)

Then on the third leg of the expedition I volunteered myself to be a zombie in a peaceful and creative protest inside the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Straight from the airport, I was immediately transformed into a punk zombie hehe its like we all just emerged from a scene in the famous zombie series "walking dead"

Lastly, we wrap up the expedition with a serenade night of talents and thanks giving for all the hard efforts of everyone in making the trip a successful event :)

Weeh! So lucky to be part of this crazy organization from trekking,to water boats, to biking, to zombie and then to serenade hehe so much adventure in a span of 3 weeks :) Sa uulitin mga katoto!!

more stories on this site

Responsible mining: Best Practice of the Banao Tribe

In the province of Kalinga lies the mining community called Gaang. Most of the people living in this town are from the Banao tribe, one of the gentlest tribe in the Mountain Province and a proud tribe of blacksmiths. They been mining for more than two decades now since the gold rush in the 80s. At first they use Mercury (Hg) for easy processing of gold but they notice the bad effects of it on their health and their rivers. Even a mercury seller for 15 years now gave up her business because of these effects

Since last year the Ban Toxics held a workshop for the miners about the non-mercury practice where all they need to do is to go back in the old processes by using sluice box, panning devices and just simple borax. At first they had a hard time adapting it because it takes more time to process the gold than just using mercury, but as time passes by they begin to see the benefits from it. They notice the high quality of gold that they got from this mercury-free method and they don't have to worry about getting sick anymore.

Its been a year now since the mining town of Gaang is practicing this mercury free method its still a challenge to implement it in other places but its a good start for everyone and a good sign that there is hope for a cleaner and safer future for the miners.

What Lies Beneath- a story on small scale mining in the Philippines

What Lies Beneath

The Philippine deposits of gold, copper, chromium and nickel are considered as the 5^th largest in the world. In 2009, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) estimated the country’s gold reserves at 5,080,785,289 tons, based accordingly on the bureau’s consolidation of resource inventory data supplied by mining companies. Forty provinces that have gold deposits practice different ways of mining gold that has been hand down from their ancestors since 3^rd century.[1]

The Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) is very common to the rural areas of the Philippines because of the constant surge in the price of gold and easy way out of poverty. ASGM, which occurs in more than 70 countries, provides income to an estimated 10 - 15 million miners including 4.5 million women and 1 million children.[2] The sector produces about 500 to 800 tonnes of gold per annum, which accounts for about 20 to 30 percent of the world’s gold supply.[3] Despite of this, destruction of environment and human health is at stake.

The use of mercury (Hg) in ASGM posed a very dangerous threat to the health of the miners. It contains potent neurotoxin that impairs brain function, lowers intelligence and causes hearing loss. It also affects women in terms of miscarriages and birth defects. This element also destroys the environment by polluting freshwater bodies. Moreover, small scale mining practices such as the use of dynamite in making tunnels is one of the cause of landslides and degradation of the mountain.

This photo story will focus on the environment and health issues pose by the artisanal and small-scale gold mining practices in the Philippines and it will also showcase how the players such as the miners, townspeople and the government are dealing with it. My objective in making this story is to educate the people about the reality that small scale mining is dangerous but a kind of livelihood that is essential in the national development of the country. It aims to call on the attention of the government to regulate and supervise this kind of livelihood for the benefit of the miners and the companies.

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[1] Ban Toxics report: The price of gold, 2010

[2] Module 3, Mercury Training Module, United Nations Environment Programme, 2008

[3] Export Bans and Reducing Mercury Consumption in Artisana land Small Scale Gold Mining, Kevin Telmer, University of Victoria

day 219-216: Fun Run!!!

Thousands of advocates from NGOs and community groups join the Anti-Coal Fun Run in Olongapo City organized by Sikad Subic a group that campaigns against the setting-up of coal fired power plants in the city.

day 229-226: a day in the beach

I always love beaches for the following reasons:



its the perfect place to get your perfect tan only if you do it right :)



a good place for relaxation and bonding with family and friends



people watching weeh :)



Lastly, finding a good companion such as these two adorable cats.

day 245-240: Viva Nuestro Senor Padre Jesus Nazareno!!

Its an annual event in the Philippines wherein people all over the country gather in Quiapo Manila to celebrate the feast of the Black Nazarene. It is a life-sized, dark-colored wooden sculpture of Jesus Christ carrying the cross, believed to be miraculous by many devotees.

It first came in the country about 1600 through the galleon from Acapulco Mexico. Its said to be made by an anonymous Mexican carpenter and its color is attributed to a fire on the ship carrying it, charring the image from its original fair tone into its present dark complexion.

This year more than 2 million devotees attended the procession from Quirino Grandstand up to the Quiapo Church. The whole parade lasted for more than 22 hrs and the causalities reach up to 1,000.Nevertheless the faithful will continue to participate on this event every year.

day 246: devotion

what is devotion?it is something that we need to show in public or something that we ponder in private?

day 259-247: the best of 2011

Time for some reflections, the following 12 photos are the highlights of my 2011.


January- its good to see my college friends again after so many years.


February- my first try in shooting wedding (thanks for the opportunity Kuya Mel sa uulitin :)


March- spending my birthday in Saigon with my dear friend and classmate Chiloy ^_^


April- taking lighting sessions with Kuya Mel as preparation for my portrait portfolio for ACFJ


May- after one year of studying and 6 months of working for our final portfolios, we're finally done weeh!! Thanks so much for all our mentors and for the good memories and hardships my dear batch mates hehe kudos to all :)


June- Coron!!After our 2 weeks of sleepless nights preparing for the defense its time to sit back, relax and enjoy the beach weeh!!


July- its good to be back in our province after 8 years maupay!!


August- ever been inside a control room of a nuclear power plant?hehe this is one heck of an experience!! hoping the government will covert this mothball BNPP into a more productive way as a tourist destination rather than operating it again.


September- again another once in a lifetime experience to enter a cold storage area for fish the temperature is below 8 degrees Celsius brr.....


October- my first solo exhibit, Realities a photo story on Cosplay being shown in SM Mall of Asia during the 2011 Cosplay Mania thanks everyone for making this possible :)


November- travel again hehe this time in Angkor Wat wherein I met new friends and great photographers


December- after 4 years its good to spend Christmas with the whole family in the Philippines :)

2011 is a good year thanks to my family, friends and all the blessings and challenges Lord God for this new year I pray that Your will should be done again Glory be to the Highest!!

day 317-313: workers in the streets part 2

Here is part 2 of the street photography season



Ukay-ukay.Mother and daughter look at the used clothes for sale in an "ukay-ukay" or "surplus store" along E.Rodriguez Manila. These stores are very common in Manila because they sell designer used clothes in a very cheap price. 20 October 2011



Easy repair. A lady watches the repair man as he do some remedy on her umbrella along the streets of E.Rodriguez Manila.20 October 2011



Angry bird in pink. A balloon vendor arranges his "angry bird" products along the streets of E.Rodriguez Manila.Angry birds is a popular game for android phones and tablets.20 October 2011



Parking lot. Green tricycles park along a bank in E.Rodriguez Manila waiting for passengers.20 October 2011.



In between. A vendor of cold bottled water sells his products along E.Rodriguez Manila.20 October 2011