Filipino and Dutch audiences warmly received the European premiere in the Netherlands of the controversial film 'Dukot' (Desaparecidos) that was initially banned from commercial exhibition by the Arroyo government because of its realistic portrayal of the human rights situation in the Philippines.
 
The successful premiere screenings of 'Dukot' in Den Haag, Amsterdam, Alkmaar and Utrecht were attended by hundreds and supported by many sponsors and patrons. Audiences were moved by the film that is based on true-to-life stories. 

Mrs. Coni Empeno, whose daughter Karen is a 'desaparecido', and Raymond Manalo, who was forcibly disappeared for 18 months but later escaped from his military captors, were present in the screenings in Den Haag, Amsterdam, Alkmaar and Utrecht to give their account of their personal ordeals.
 
One of the lead actresses in the film, Ms. Gina Alajar, also graced the screenings and was warmly applauded for her sensitive depiction of a mother whose daughter went missing after being abducted by armed men believed to be from the Philippine military.
 
"Hindi pa ako nawalan ng anak. Pero ramdam ko ang sakit ng mawalan ng anak” (I have not lost a child, but I could feel the pain of losing one), remarked Ms. Alajar in one of the forums. 
 
“Saludo ako sa inyo, sa mga katulad nyo na tumitindig sa inyong paniniwala at sa inyong katapangan”, Alajar further said (referring to Mrs. Empeno, Raymond Manalo, and  Filipino exiles in the audience who suffered political persecution in the Philippines). 
 
Mrs. Empeno and Raymond, are in Europe upon the invitation of Amnesty International and the Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines-United Kingdom, to share their stories with Europeans and Filipinos, and call for solidarity to stop human rights abuses in the Philippines. The International Coordinating Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICCHRP) and the Nederlands-Filipijnse Solidariteitsbeweging (Dutch-Philippines Solidarity Movement), on the other hand, are coordinating their speaking tour.
 
In her remark in one of the forums, Mrs. Empeno said:“Si Karen, ang anak ko, ang nagmulat sa akin sa mga tunay na nangyayari sa ating bayan.  Hanggang nabubuhay ako, ipagpapatuloy ko ang sinimulan ni Karen” ( Karen, my daughter, opened my eyes to what is really happening in our beloved country. As long as I live, I will continue what Karen has started).
 
Nanay Connie, as Mrs. Empeno is fondly called, would always be seen clutching a black notebook wherever she goes, holding it close to her heart, as if it were her missing daughter. She would never fail to ask the audience after every forum to sign that notebook that contains the signatures she has been collecting since she started her Europe tour (she has so far collected more than 2,000 signatures) and prefaced by a short letter addressed to President Benigno Aquino III calling on him to surface the disappeared, stop extrajudicial executions, end human rights abuses, and to prosecute Arroyo and her cabal for their crimes against the Filipino people.
 
Raymond Manalo's account of his experience of torture and daring escape from his military tormentors has shocked the audience at the brutality of his abductors. After telling his story, he would always ask his compatriots and their European friends to support the campaign for human rights in the Philippines.
 
“Dukot” scriptwriter Boni Ilagan, who was also a guest during the premiere screenings, enjoined both Filipinos and Europeans in the audience to show solidarity with the message of the film by defending human rights wherever and whenever they are abused and violated. “Human rights is one thing that binds us all globally”, Ilagan emphasized.
 
Among those who attended the screenings in the Netherlands were representatives of Amnesty International, members of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines Peace Panel, (Prof. Jose Ma. Sison, Julie de Lima and Fidel Agcaoili), Munting Nayon (community newspaper), leaders and members of several Filipino migrant organizations, Dutch and Belgian solidarity friends, representatives of several Dutch NGOs, Filipino community business leaders, Filipino compatriots and other migrants.
 
The November 6 premiere in Amsterdam, also coincided with the internationally-coordinated mobilization to call for the release of the Morong 43, a group of doctors, nurses and community health workers arrested and detained on fabricated charges. Ms. Gina Alajar joined Filipino human rights activists in Amsterdam in signing the petition for the release of the 43 health workers, and in the photo shoot, right after the film showing.
 
Following the successful screenings in the Netherlands, the film is scheduled to be shown in several other cities in Europe, namely, Rome (Nov. 14), Vienna (Nov. 28), London (Dec. 4), and Bern, Switzerland (Dec. 4). Other screenings are scheduled in Bologna, Italy, Copenhagen, Denmark, Brussels, Belgium and cities in Germany.
 
The European tour of “Dukot” is an initiative of Migrante Europe together with the ICCHRP in cooperation with several Filipino migrant organizations and solidarity groups across Europe  working together out of concern over the human rights situation in the Philippines, particularly with the recent extension by President Aquino III, of the so-called counter-insurgency program known as “Oplan Bantay-Laya” (Operation Freedom Watch).
 
Dukot was directed by award-winning film director Joel Lamangan and penned by acclaimed Filipino scriptwriter Bonifacio Ilagan. It portrays the love story of a young activist couple played by Filipino actress Iza Calzado and award-winning dramatic actor Allen Dizon who were abducted and tortured by Philippine state security forces. Lamangan and Ilagan, both former political prisoners during the Marcos dictatorship, based Dukot on the real-life cases of killings, abductions, and torture in the Philippines that were filed with the United Nations by survivors, families of victims, and human rights advocates.
 
In 2007, a report submitted by United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston pointed to the culpability of the Philippine military in perpetrating thousands of cases of extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture since 2001 under the government of former President Gloria Arroyo. Unfortunately, grave violations of human rights continue to this day.#
-------------------------------------------
For more info:
Emails: office@migrante-europe.net
mig_europe@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Munting Nayon News Magazine