Gintong Putik (Documentary by Kara David)

Episode on May 23, 2011 Monday after Saksi! GINTONG PUTIK Documentary by Kara David Armed with a photo, some old sketchy details and loads of hope, Kara David sets out to find a young boy she met over a decade ago. The search takes her back to the town of Paracale in Camarines Norte. It was here in this gold-rich third-class municipality, where Kara, who was then a cub reporter on assignment for Brigada Siete, first met Jimmy Dasco. He was only 13 then and was part of a group of people burrowing in the middle of a rice field. They were operating what was called pagkakabod or compressor mining in search for gold. Pagkakabod was livelihood for the locals of Paracale. Frail-looking Jimmy who was small for his age panned gold with everyone else, hoping to collect a few specks of this precious metal to help his parents. Gold mining was mostly a family endeavor in Paracale with each family member pitching in. The older and more mature members of the family usually take the riskier job of diving in a thick soup of mud and staying under for about four hours digging. The younger ones do the menial jobs like washing and panning. After 13 years, Kara returns to Paracale hoping to find Jimmy. Has his fate changed since their last meeting? What she finds is an even bigger revelation… Watch Gintong Putik, a Kara David documentary on I-Witness, Monday after Saksi on GMA.