Condemned

Episode on June 25, 2007 Monday late night after Saksi What’s it like to live in a condemned building? Could it be like living with a death sentence? The Macapagal Tenement Building in Tondo has been condemned for over 15 years, yet is still the crowded home of more than a thousand families, including the poorest of the poor, some criminals and a handful of artists. Built during the administration of President Diosdado Macapagal as a showcase for government concern for the urban poor, it is now a wretched symbol for what has gone wrong in the country since. When night falls, the hallways are filled with a frightening darkness and countless hazards, from lurking criminals to concrete dropping from the ceilings. A balete tree grows eerily from the side of the building, its roots extending five stories to the ground. Teenage rappers share dark visions of Tondo's brutality. Howie Severino and his documentary team immerse themselves in the buildings’ dark, dirty, and dangerous catacombs... and discover a brighter side. Artists on nearly every floor are painting murals to enliven their neighborhood, old-timers are full of tales of the building's glorious past, and most residents believe the concrete building protects them from the elements rather than endangers them. Howie's main companion in the building is the forever sunny Mang Bert, a theatrical, kundiman-singing former playboy who now lives alone and spends his last years as the building's official sweeper. Like many, he still entertains romantic notions about the Macapagal tenement and seems to be in denial – like so many others – about the numbered days of his abode. I-Witness does its own research and confirms the building is indeed structurally unstable and must be evacuated. The bad news is presented to the residents, just as the mural depicting their love for the place is being finished. Catch Howie Severino’s documentary, “Condemned", on I-Witness this Monday late night over GMA-7. Howie Severino and his I-Witness team just received the 2nd prize at the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Media Awards for their documentary “Hala Bira", also on a poor community facing the threat of demolition.

---

Condemned Paano nga ba ang buhay kung ang iyong tahanan ay dineklarang "condemned" ng gobyerno, o hindi na maaring tirahan? Ang Macapagal Tenement Building sa Tondo, maaaring gumuho sa anuman daw oras. Ang problema, hanggang ngayo’y libu-libong katao ang nakatira sa loob nito. Binagtas ni Howie Severino at ang kanyang grupo ang mga mapanganib na sulok ng tenement. May mga madidilim itong tauhan, may criminal na naninirahan. Ang puno ng balete na nakayakap sa limang palapag ng gusali. Ang musikang nangingibabaw sa lugar ay mga kabataang sama-samang nagrarap tungkol sa brutal na buhay-Tondo. Pero sa pagbababad nina Howie, may natagpuan silang hindi inaasahan – mga mural na nilikha ng mga kabataang artist sa bawat palapag, mga masayang kuwento ng matatanda tungkol sa lugar, at paniniwala ng mga residente na sila’y nasa isang sanktuaryo’t paraiso. Si Mang Bert ang nagsilbing tour guide ni Severino sa mga eksenang ito. Kabaligtaran si Mang Bert sa mga inaasahan nating halang ng Tondo – palatawa, komikero, romantikong laging kasama ang kanyang gitara at kundiman. Binuno ni Mang Bert ang mahabang panahong nag-iisa sa lugar bilang tagalinis. Ang kuwento ng komunidad na ito, abangan sa I-Witness ni Howie Severino sa ika-25 ng Hunyo, Lunes ng hatinggabi, sa GMA-7.