Agriculture is the foundation upon which our country has stood for its existence. The humble farmer, toiling away in the fields, has continually fed and supported successive generations of Filipinos until the present day. However, aside from physical exhaustion, their lives are plagued with challenges, issues, and hardships. These have further been brought into light in recent years due to advancing technologies and media coverage. As such, we, a group of multimedia arts students from Mapúa University, upon being given the opportunity via a final project in the course video production process, decided to investigate and document the lives and struggles of our nation’s farmers so that their stories and pleas could be brought to new and wider audiences.
With the cooperation of MASIPAG Luzon, SAMAKANA Malinao, GBP Bagong Sikat, GBP Bantug, and the LGUs of the aforemend barangays, we were able to arrange a three-day visit to Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija to shoot our short documentary film. Upon arriving at our first stop, which was a mini farm in Barangay Malinao owned by Teresita Valdez, affectionately known as Nanay Teresita or Nanay Tessie. We were treated with the utmost hospitality and were welcomed with open arms as we were to stay in her house for the duration of our visit. This warm display of openness eased our shyness and allowed us to smoothly adjust to our new surroundings. After disembarking and taking care of our belongings, we made a courtesy call to the barangay to inform them of our presence and purpose of visiting.
Again, the same level of hospitality was extended to us by the officials and they were extremely understanding and accommodating to our project. What followed after was a hectic afternoon of immersion and filming. We visited a local factory that turned local crops into goods such as chips, pastes, spreads, wines, etc. We were able to interview two individuals about the production and processing aspects of the factory’s operation. From their testimonies, we were able to gain deep insights as to how farmers are able to undertake alternative means of generating income as well as an introduction to organic farming, which will become an important aspect of our experiences in the next days of our visit. Then, we followed Felicisimo Perlas, an upland farmer, to his field in order to get first-hand experience of what the lives of the farmers in the community are like.
This will go on to inform how we film and approach the documentary going forward. In order to reach our destination, we joined Mr. Perlas for a ride on his kuliglig as we traversed the rugged and muddy path to his farm. After disembarking at the foot of a hill, we then hiked the rest of the way there. This journey made us realize just how difficult it is for some farmers to be able to get to their place of work, which is a perspective that we hoped to showcase in our documentary. Once we reached the farm, Mr. Perlas taught us how to operate a mechanical plow and the nitty-gritty of his farming methods. This sharing allowed us to become familiar with some farming techniques such as crop rotation, the use of organic fertilizers, etc. After our visit to Mr. Perlas’ farm, we travelled back to Nanay Teresita’s mini farm and took a break. Some of use went to Mr. Ronaldo Morales’ backyard farm where we had a lengthy and in-depth talk with him about a wide assortment of topics related to agriculture. His unique perspectives as a farmer-scientist made us more cognizant of how farming practices in our country, as well as the wider world, have become more reliant on chemical and other synthetic means over traditional, organic methods. By the end of our conversation, it was already night and our group gathered back at Nanay Teresita’s for dinner, which was graciously provided by the staff of Harkinpi Food Haus. Once that was over, we settled into bed in preparation for a busy day of filming ahead.
The second day of our visit started off early as we were supposed to meet up with Mr. Eduardo Acosta, otherwise known as Tatay Ed, in order to document a day in his life as a farmer. After hurriedly packing up our equipment, we visited his house and, after a briefing with him, set on our way to the farm where he works. While not being as rugged and hard to get to as Mr. Perlas’ farm the day before, we still had to walk a good distance before we reached our destination. Once there, he explained how he was only a farm worker and he himself did not own the land he works on. This insight represented another perspective that we wanted to include in our documentary as it is one of the unfortunate realities that many farmers have to contend with. Tatay Ed then walked us through what an average morning for him looks like. He showed us how he tills the fields, sows seeds, and keeps pests away from crops using organic methods.
His way of farming was different compared to the upland farming techniques that were shown to us in the previous day. This made us realize how farming practices vary depending on terrain as well as the advantages/disadvantages related to a specific terrain. When the morning chores were done, we travelled back to the barangay proper where we took a break and waited for Tatay Ed to finish a community task before proceeding with his interview. Once the set has been readied, the interview commenced. Upon reflection, it was a powerful and deeply-layered testimony that contained moving stories, emotional experiences, and striking insights that unveiled a wealth of new knowledge that was previously unknown to us. From his disappointment with past government programs to the actions he took in voicing out his grievances via protests, his statements are a wellspring of fascinating accounts that paint a vivid picture of what a farmer experiences.
After concluding the interview, we set out to find additional farmers to interview in order to acquire other perspectives to identify trends and patterns among the experiences of farmers in the community. We found out that among the farmer-interviewees, a great deal of similarities existed between their statements. This will be highlighted in our documentary and further expounded upon with content that will be shot the following day. For now, our group returned with Tatay Ed to his farm in order to finish shooting his day-in-a-life section of the documentary. Once that was done, we ended the day with dinner featuring dishes made with local, organic ingredients that some of us have never tried before. After cleaning up, we hardly had any time to sleep as the next day’s schedule started off with a visit to a sitaw farm at 2 AM.
The third and final day began with our group frantically preparing ourselves and our equipment as we hurried to meet up with the farmers at their house. Upon seeing that the lights were still out, we were relieved that we did not arrive late and a while after, we were on our way to the farm proper. Once there, we walked in between rows of crops, with some getting itchy legs in the process. We conversed with the farmers and learned a lot about how the sitaw planting process worked. But what impressed us the most was the working hours of the farmers, which was from 2 AM up until around 7 AM. Their work ethic and dedication to their craft are just some of the qualities that we wanted to emphasize in our documentary, which will hopefully make more people appreciate them more.
After spending time with the sitaw farmers, we took a break and proceeded with our shoot with Mr. Ronaldo Morales. He demonstrated several organic farming techniques that farmers can do with materials from their own backyard. This was an incredibly insightful look as to what farming looked like before the introduction of chemicals and industrial processes. After that, we then sat down for an interview wherein he outlined his perspectives about how academia, government institutions, and local farmers should cooperate in order to rectify the current situation plaguing Philippine agriculture.
Aside from that, he also shared the importance and benefits of organic farming as well as outlining other techniques that were not covered in his demonstration. After the interview was over, we had lunch and prepared for the final round of interviews later that day. First up was Mr. Ryan Damaso, MASIPAG Luzon’s advocacy officer. He shared how NGOs such as MASIPAG help farmers in areas where government support is lacking as well as outlining the organization’s start and its current status. Aside from those, he also expounded upon several points such as the government’s handling of agricultural practice via the legislation that it passes as well as the dominance of agri-businesses in the agricultural landscape of the Philippines. But the most poignant topic that he highlighted was the true nature of why Filipino farmers never seem to prosper and progress in their profession. He talked about deep-seated, systematic challenges that stemmed from several sources such as government policies, advancing technology, and industrialization. These crucial points are of immense value to our documentary as they help explain the dismal state that many of our farmers find themselves in.
After Sir Ryan had discussed his perspectives, it was now time for the last interview of our visit, and that was with Nanay Teresita. Shy and nervous though she was, she nevertheless managed to deliver her statements that ended with a tear jerking farewell to us. She expressed her heartfelt gratitude to us as she found it comforting to know that there are still youth that are interested in their lives as farmers and farming more broadly. After saying our ardent goodbyes, we then went home after three days filled with so many memories and experiences.
If we had to summarize our visit in one word, it would be genuine. From when we first arrived, we were welcomed as if we had lived there ourselves. Everyone from the farmers to their families and the other residents were genuine people. They all had a story to tell and they willingly opened up to us in order to have their voices heard. On our end, we have developed a newfound respect and admiration for our nation’s farmers. Before, we knew that, yes, farming is important but we would be only concerned with the prices of meat and vegetables and not much more beyond that.
Now, though, we understand the backbreaking labor, long hours, and external pressures that farmers endure on a day-to-day basis. The improvement of their state of living has been hampered by factors that are out of their control, thus resulting in the current condition of the agriculture sector. Looking back on our brief stay in Gabaldon and the farmers we have encountered there, we are motivated now more than ever to give justice to their stories and honor their status in our society as unsung heroes.
MASIPAG Secretariat note: this article was collectively written by young students – Jennine Bea C. Berroya, John Ashley V. Cabarubias, Ronald M. Duca, Jonah Lainier Gonzales, Kenneth Ian M. Guiao, Kean Mendoza, Kobe Mutya, John Arturo Carlos Miranda Z. Sioson from MAPUA University Makati, with the story and experience told from their perspective while documenting the experiences of MASIPAG Farmers in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija, July 3-5, 2025 July 3–5, 2025.
