Signs of the times

Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species — man — acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world. — Rachel Carson

The sea opened its gigantic orifice and, slowly, methodically, gobbled nearly one kilometer of the town.  It ate up everything in its path. The houses, the school, the town church — they are now deep in the bowels of the sea, where they lie in silence, waiting for the others that will be devoured next.

This is not some scene from a sci-fi film. It actually happened, and just recently, too, and in our own country. The coastline in one of our sleepy towns kept crawling, ever so slowly, to take in more land.  “(It’s) very serious,” Signos reporter Maki Pulido says of the overall state of the environment in the country.

“Are we doing something to prepare for what is inevitable?” is one of the questions that pops on Signos reporter Raffy Tima’s head.

When Maki and Raffy came on board as one of the reporters/hosts of Signos, they are already more environmentally conscious than most people.  But maybe nothing can prepare them for the enormity of the impending disaster that continues to build up every second of every day of our lives. And so, they came back from their Signos tour of duty feeling an even greater sense of urgency.

GMA Public Affairs’ Signos: Banta ng Nagbabagong Klima is Philippine TV’s first full-length documentary on the world’s changing climate as a result of decades of unchecked human activity. Award-winning journalists Howie Severino, Pulido and Tima traveled to different parts of the country to prove that the impact of climate change reaches far beyond the glaciers of the Polar Regions.

The documentary had a successful run on GMA 7 last month and due to insistent public demand, Signos was also aired last night on Q-11.

Signos is an ambitious attempt in making a relevant and accessible documentary about a vital and complex issue that the world is currently facing: Global warming, climate change and the disasters that these bring. 

“I think it’s gutsy to tackle such an issue,” Maki says.  “Hindi pa sya nagagawan ng ganitong full-length treatment sa TV dahil maraming limitations ang ganitong story. For one, how do you capture climate change on video? Masyado syang complex. It’s also gutsy because this (kind of topic) is not usually marketable.”

“Another challenge since Day One is: How do you make it concrete?  I think they succeeded na palapitin siya sa tao by showing facts. So may mga ipinakilalang tao na nawalan ng tirahan dahil dyan. At ipapakita yung pagbaba ng ani, etc. Basically, a chain of events.”

Raffy, who has been a diver since 2001, relished the opportunity to plunge into the waters of El Nido, Palawan to find out more about coral bleaching. He explains, “Coral bleaching, which is the destruction of corals because of rise in water temperature, is a direct effect of global warming. It may be global in nature but proper and early intervention can offset or at least minimize the impact of its effect locally.”

Maki, on the other hand, was deployed in La Union.  “Tindi don ha,” she shares. “In a span of about seven years, I think, or more, ang kinain na ng dagat dun sa barangay is more than a kilometer. Marami ng nasira. Nasa ilalim na ng dagat yung simbahan, eskwelahan. Climate change is rising of sea level. It takes decades, yes. Pakonti-konti. But we have to take it seriously now because ang laki ng epekto niya sa buhay ng mga tao. Dun sa pinuntahan ko, nawalan sila ng bahay, ng lupa.”

Raffy adds, “I guess the two important questions arising from the things we saw are: 1.) Are we doing something to prepare for what is inevitable?; and 2.) Are we at least doing something to stop or slow down the progress of global warming? I think this documentary is a good start to educate the people about this issue.”

For Maki, the issue hits straight home. “Ako, nanay ako e. Gusto ko, like any other parent, to leave something good behind for my child. Nakakatakot naman na walang manahin yung anak ko. Which is why I hope Signos will make people sit down and listen.”