'Hunger': An immersion

Episode on October 6, 2007 Saturday, 11:30 p.m. At times, there is no better way to understand a problem… than to experience it yourself. Veteran broadcast journalist Jay Taruc is known for his immersion documentaries. This Saturday, one of his best and most unforgettable yet airs on Sine Totoo – “Gutom" (Hunger). Hunger has become an everyday occurrence for 16.7% of our population, according to a recent SWS survey. In this documentary, Jay Taruc discovers what it is like to feel prolonged hunger. For seven days, he lives with families who have dozens of mouths to feed but nothing to serve on their tables. These families consider themselves lucky when they get to eat rice and sardines. More often than not, they eat a single meal of hot water with their rice or “kaninbaw". Since they eat only once a day, they call the meal “altanghap" or a combination of almusal (breakfast), tanghalian (lunch) and hapunan (dinner). On one occasion, Jay encounters the father of his host family in tears, not knowing where to get the next meal for his 13 children. Dizziness and headaches greet him on his first day. Two days later, he begins to feel desperate … ready to do almost anything for a decent meal. As each day passes, Jay loses a pound off the scale. Shooting this documentary posed a serious challenge not only for host Jay Taruc, but also for his team, including cameraman Jayson Cruz. On the set with Sine Totoo host Howie Severino, Cruz says it was painful to document Jay’s growing irritability and physical weakness, while Jay himself says the immersion changed his life forver. Catch the groundbreaking documentary “Gutom" - where one experiences extreme poverty in its rawest, most physical form – only on Sine Totoo, this Saturday late night.

---

Wala nang mas makauunawa pa sa isang problema… kaysa sa isang taong dumaan din sa parehong pagsubok. Nakilala si Jay Taruc sa paggawa ng dokumentaryong lumulubog sa sitwasyon ng ordinaryong mga tao. Isa sa pinakamatindi rito ang handog ng Sine Totoo ngayong Sabado ng gabi… ang “Gutom". Sa “Gutom", inalam ni Jay Taruc kung paano mabuhay nang kumakalam ang sikmura. Sa loob ng pitong araw, nakitira siya sa mga pamilyang halos wala nang maihain sa kanilang mga hapag-kainan. Maswerte na sila kung may kanin at sardinas. Pero mas madalas, kanin at mainit na sabaw o “kaninbaw" ang ginagawa nilang pantawid gutom. Dahil isang beses lang isang araw kung kumain, “altanghap" o pinagsamang almusal, tanghalian at hapunan ang tawag nila rito. Minsan pa’y naabutan ni Jay na umiiyak ang ama ng pamilyang kanyang tinutuluyan dahil hindi alam kung saan huhugot ng ipakakain sa 13 niyang anak. Naging pagsubok ang bawat araw ng paggawa ng dokumentaryong ito, ayon kina Jay at cameraman niyang si Jayson Cruz sa panayam nila kay Howie Severino ng Sine Totoo. Sinabi ni Cruz na mabigat dalhin ang pagiging mainitin ng ulo at mahina sa pangangatawan ni Jay. Para kay Jay naman, panghabambuhay na nabago ng karanasan ang kanyang pananaw sa kahirapan. Isang linggong gutom …. isa sa di niyo malilimutang dokumentaryo … abangan ngayong Sabado bago mag-hatinggabi sa Sine Totoo.