A Day in Tawan-tawan

8:00 a.m. Wake up.
9:00 a.m. Meet Ian at the L300 station in Bankerohan
10:00 a.m. Arrive in Calinan.

Bought 2 cans of corned beef, 2 cans of sausages, 2 cans of meatloaf, 2 kilos of rice, 2 bottles of mineral water, 2 packs of chips.

With our food and bags of clothes and toiletries, plus our camera equipment, we jump on the motorbike and off we go past Malagos and the Philippine Eagle Foundation toward the pineapple fields where Danny, the protagonist of our video documentary, is waiting.

We arrive at the barangay hall in Tawan-tawan where Danny is the barangay captain. He is sitting on the benches under the trees. Two men are with him. They are truck operators from Davao City's Engineer's Office. Ian and I head towards them and start chatting while waiting for the trucks with sand and gravel to arrive.

We talk about organic rice versus chemical-based rice. God and evolution, the big bang, natural selection. People with lots of children and people with few children. Danny says he doesn't believe in using contraceptives because that's not what God wants. I quip that it's worse for a couple to have kids they can't support.

Come to think of it, my grandmother has 19 kids. Actually, 15 kids. (Four were blue babies.) Lola had them all born at home in Lolo's studio bureau – except for auntie Agnes. Last year when I visited Lola she said that if she were to live her life again, she'd still have them all again. My superwoman.

Hey, I have to go. Will finish Danny's story when the filming's over. Next year probably. Stay tuned.

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In Solitude

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