A 6-year-old girl was one of three fatalities in a 6.8 magnitude- earthquake in Mindanao’s central city of Davao. According to local officials, a roof collapsed of her family home crushing the young girl in her family’s home.
Major damage was also reported in a market in the Mindanao town of Padada. Unlike many of the recent quakes which have measured over six points on the Richter scale, the epicenter of Mindanao’s recent geological disaster was further inland, sparing the area residents from the effects of tsunami-triggered tidal waves.
From the Angeles City barangay Pulung Bulu, sisters Joanna, 23, and Patricia, 21, are natives to the area. They are two of three sisters and nine siblings presently living with their family. Their father, 64, is unemployed and their mother, 54, makes a living laundering clothing. Though their mother had had a high school education, their father’s education was limited. As single mothers, it was important to find a vocation. After high school, Patricia and Joanna developed the hand-eye coordination to earn a living operating sewing machines working as dressmakers. Because of the popularity of ornate pageants and festivals, the need for costumes is always in demand.
Older sister Joanna began working at the age of 18 and has been working as a dressmaker ever since she began adulthood along with her sister. She began working full time to help her mother and father with household expenses. She had a close relationship with Patricia as children which has carried on through adulthood.
Currently involved in a relationship, Joanna and her current boyfriend first crossed paths at work while visiting for a delivery. Satisfied, with her recent relationship, Patricia loves her new boyfriend. She likes doing what most couples enjoy such as dating and spending quality time. “He is hardworking and loves me unconditionally,” Joanna says of her love interest. Despite the difficulties associated with the institution of marriage, it is a promising prospect for Joanna. However, for 23-year-old Joanna, marriage ranks low on her list of priorities. Beforehand, Joanna aspires to travel abroad to a Middle Eastern country such as Bahrain to earn money to advance her education and become financially stable. “I want to study more and grow more,” Joanna says of her plans before contemplating marriage.
Joanna’s sister and workmate describes coming from a big family as “hard at first” but ultimately “happy and fun.” She enjoyed learning new and playing with her siblings. Patricia has the utmost respect for her parents. She began working full time to help her mother and father with household expenses. She had a close relationship with Joanna as children which has carried on through adulthood.
Content with life in the Philippines, apart from the Filipino way of life, Joanna says she loves living in the Philippines because she is close to her family and friends and people she encounters daily are warm and hospitable. She is happy with her current job because of the ease of work and fun working environment. “Typically, we take orders from our clients in a given time. We do our job. Usually, in a day, we make ten to fifteen dresses,” she says of a common workday. She likes the controversial new president Rodrigo Duterte. “I think he’s a good president and can do (make) good change in our country [the] Philippines…”
Long after her husband’s death, Imelda Marcos has been an iconic figure in the Philippines and abroad. Known for her extravagant lifestyle, she is often considered to be the Philippines’ equivalent of Marie Antoinette. With a supply of a pair of shoes a day that lasted for eight years, she was infamous in the United States and abroad for her extravagance and life of excess after late husband Ferdinand’s downfall.
According to many accounts, her glamorous persona has remained a double-edged sword throughout her life. Raised in the south of the Philippines, despite living a relatively marginalized childhood, Imelda Trinidad Romualdez came from an aristocratic family and courted controversy throughout the Philippines as a beauty queen in contention for the 1953 Miss Manila crown as she and another contestant were chosen to represent Manila in the larger Miss Philippines Pageant. Her singing talent, combined with her stunning beauty and gregarious nature attributed to her becoming the most sought after by diplomats, politicians, and businessmen which included her future husband’s opponent Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino. Following her marriage in 1954, Ferdinand viewed Imelda as an untapped resource in his political arsenal.
Unlike many of the wives of world leaders, Imelda was instrumental
not only in inflating her husband’s image domestically and abroad, but as a key
component in policy making, foreign diplomacy, passing legislation, and the
completion of several projects which included a controversial game preserve and
wildlife sanctuary on Calauit Island which displaced thousands of indigenous
people in the 1976.
In thisLos Angeles Times article posted November 7, Justin Chang reviews The King Maker, Lauren Greenfield’s recent documentary on Imelda Marcos which captures a glimpse of the controversial Filipino icon in a less flattering light than Romana Diez’s Imelda (2003), an earlier documentary on the former first lady.
The King Maker opened in Los Angeles and New York for a limited engagement and presently airs on Showtime Television Network in the US.
Mila, 25, and Teresa, 22, are older sisters of Gia and Jenna. They earn substantial income working in an outdoor market selling hot dogs, juices, and other household items. She attended business training seminars with her sister and combined the money they saved to invest in inventory and kitchen supplies to open a spot at Angeles City’s Santa Tersata Market. She is one of eight siblings. Unlike their father, Gia and Jenna, both sisters managed to complete secondary education.
Mila currently resides with her family alongside her live-in partner who she met at a local canteen. As a child, Mila enjoyed going to school and playing with her siblings and friends. At 18 she began to enter the workforce. Her jobs ranged from working in fast-food restaurants and was one of the many women to work as a weaver in the furniture industry. Working as a weaver was difficult for Mila. She would often cut her hands while overlapping tree fibers while constructing top-grade rattan furniture ready for export to the US and other countries abroad. The hectic schedule spent enclosed in a make-due workshop in an area home, with little time allotted for social interaction made Mila’s former position at a fast-food restaurant seem more appealing…
It has been over 30 years since viewing Apocalypse Now in its entirety. I was 12 going on 13, sitting in my bedroom, watching the film on an old Sony 13-inch Sony Trinitron television manufactured around the time of the film’s production. Lacking a remote control, the television could only be adjusted manually through to separate UHF and VHF dials. Unlike the UHF dial which needed fine-tuning, with just a few clicks, the number seven on the dial framed the orange glow of the light illuminating from behind the dial. the unseasonably cool temperature made it seem like back-to-school time was near, even though the ample sunlight that extended well into the evening suggested otherwise.
Strangely, the film was broadcasted during a time slot crammed between the evening news and prime-time network TV, usually reserved for overlong infomercials. Unlike other films of its magnitude, the airing was not backed with a “network-television-debut” lead-in, nor was there an”interruption-of-regularly-scheduled-programming” announcement, it was simply presented by ABC’s Buffalo affiliate, WKBW with little – if any – introduction.
Watching the edited-for-American-broadcast-television version on the small screen was still enough to capture my attention as a preteen and has left a lasting impression to this day. From the visually-stunning opening montage featuring jungle palm trees set ablaze by napalm bombs from above to the parting words of Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) in the final scene, the pacing, editing, and cinematography had my face glued to the tiny screen throughout.
Last Wednesday night I had the opportunity to see Apocalypse Now: Final Cut in the more appropriate, cinematic setting of a roaring-twenties-era, single-screen theater. Though I missed the 2001 Apocalypse Now:Redux version, which flew under my “must-see radar” at the time, I reserve a seat in advance, spending my Wednesday night celebrating the 40th anniversary of the film’s original release by viewing Coppola’s cinematic masterpiece again for the first time on the big screen – the way it was intended.
The opening scene of the film appeared bolder and brighter than I could recall properly proportioned in an infinitely wider aspect ratio along with several of its most iconic scenes, however, unlike the original release, the film’s theme and plot veered off course momentarily with the scenes featuring French expatriates seemingly lost in time, who stayed behind following France’s withdrawal in the mid 1950s.
Like a history class lesson plan gone awry, Apocalypse Now: Final Cut not only attempts take on the “journey into the madness of war,” consistent with the Joseph Conrad novella Heart of Darkness, but meanders into different subplots, themes, or objectives which blur the viewer’s focus from the movie’s central theme and plot. Though historical accuracy and authenticity cannot be under emphasized in period pieces such as Coppola’s Vietnam-war-era odyssey, the scenes featuring the chance encounter with French settlers living on borrowed time in the land they once knew as Indochine seemed like a misguided lesson in history which hindered the film’s continuity and narrative.
Following the death of “Clean” (Lawrence Fishburne), Captian Willard’s (Martin Sheen) crew is accosted by French soldiers left behind after the french withdrawal a decade before. The soldiers soon realize that Willard and his crew members are American troops and lead them to an estate of a French plantation family. It is at this point the film veers off coarse when Willard engages in a conversation with the displaced family on Vietnam’s colonial past under French rule over dinner.
The French plantation sequence seemed composed of footage edited long after film post-production that was intended for a sequel left unfinished. In addition, film’s thematic continuity apparently was interrupted further with subtle nuisances such as a change in the music score which Francis Coppola may have hastily composed and produced himself without father Carmine’s input, after his death.
Overall, Apocalypse Now: Final Cut was a captivating full-speed-ahead cinematic experience derailed by the French-plantation subplot, making what once was a captivating non-stop journey into the darkness of war come to a screeching halt two-thirds into the film for a lecture on French colonialism in Vietnam. Despite the Redux and updated Final Cut’s attempt to boldly go where no American-motion-picture production has gone before, into the depths of the region’s pre-Vietnam-War past, the plantation sequence seemed nothing more than an a self-defeating, cut from the action or “wind from the sails” of an otherwise exhilarating narrative and plot that flowed as smooth as the river waters featured throughout the film. Had the sequence been featured in Blu-ray format, it would have been suitable for supplemental viewing before or after watching the original cut in its entirety, however, spliced within film’s second and present-day cut seems out of place, making Apocalypse Now: Final Cut a minor disappointment on the big screen but more appropriate for private viewing by home-theater film aficionados.
Apocalypse Now: Final Cut is available in remastered 4K on Blu-ray.
Emily, 45, and Rachelle, 38, have been living in the Angeles City area for their entire life. Emily is a widow with three children and Rachelle is separated with two sons. They are two of six children. Growing up, they lived with four brothers, sister and parents. With limited education, Emily and Rachelle’s mother, 86, and father, 91, worked as wage laborers before they had enough money to start a small business. Inseparable, Emily and Rachelle take turns working together maintaining a family-ran small business. They sell everyday staples such as snacks, laundry detergents, and cigarettes out of their father’s sari-sari store. Tagalog, meaning “sundry” or “variety,” sari-sari stores are commonly seen in communities throughout the archipelago and play an integral part in the Philippine economy. Unlike in the United States where “big box” marts and convenience chains have dominated the economy, the prevalence of sari-sari stores throughout the Philippines keep the spirit of small business alive and well…
Kit Flores has been very supportive in the production of Pinay Sisters Blog. For over a decade, Kit’s enduring dedication to serving the LGBTQ and general community. Recently, Kit took on the daunting task of organizing this year’s Queen of Mamalakaya Pageant with much success.
Relief efforts at Wawandue’s Covered Court
Over the weekend Typhoon Jenny swept across the Subic Bay area, causing damage to many homes and businesses. In Jenny’s aftermath, major flooding has damaged Flores’ home, leaving Kit virtually homeless and destitute. Kit now runs for shelter, seeking refuge at the pageant venue alongside other members of the community in search of aid.
Kit needs your help. To help Kit in relief efforts, please send a donation via PayPal through the following address:
After visiting the Philippines several times, trips were
limited to the Islands of Luzon and Boracay – two of the over 7,000 islands of
the archipelago nation. With every visit, the Philippines never failed to live
up to its “more-fun-in-the-Philippines” motto.
With its hospitable people, tropical climate and natural wonders, the
Philippines remains one of the world’s top vacation destinations.
Though I have had the pleasure of visiting areas such as the coastal province of Zambales’ Subic Bay, Metro Manilla’s Mall of Asia, and the inland province of Pampanga’s Clark Freeport Zone, the places I have visited barely scratches the surface of the places left undiscovered.
The following are the top five places I have visited or have yet to scratch off as the places I have visited on my bucket list.
5. Pasay City: SM Mall of Asia
Raised in North America, I often heard of the immensity of Canada’s West Edmonton Mall, I often heard “there’s nothing that couldn’t be bought at the West Edmonton Mall,” I often heard during the heyday of the National Hockey league’s Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s. If one claimed it was a shopping mall, while another claimed it was a sports complex, and another argued it was an indoor water park, everyone would win. Up until the early 1990s, the West Edmonton Mall was commonly dubbed “World’s Largest.” By 1992, Pasay’s SM Mall of Asia was completed, overtaking the Canadian mall for the title. At 433,000 square meters, the mall situated in Pasay City surpassed the West Edmonton Mall in size, quickly gaining a reputation as an international megacenter.
What makes SM Mall of Asia so great is that there is something for everyone. I like shopping malls much like I prefer bars, not so much for drinks as I am a light drinker, but for the clientele and food. When going to shopping malls, thanks to websites such as Amazon and eBay, shopping for deals is often the last thing that comes to mind upon entering a shopping mall. I would rather go for the exercise or browsing, people watching, or a bite to eat. If you are like me, there is no category left unchecked at SM Mall of Asia. North American expatriates can feel at home with a choice of over 200 eateries which include Wendy’s and T.G.I. Friday’s and if memories of Wayne Gretzky and his Stanley-Cup-Champion Oilers gives you the urge to lace up your skates for a pick-up game of hockey after basking on a tropical beach, the facility also features an Olympic-sized hockey rink. In addition, concertgoers can enjoy performances at Mall of Asia’s 15,000-seat area. Perfectly suited for “malling,” the unofficial national past time of the Philippines, from the avid shopper to the eager sports enthusiast, SM Mall of Asia offers a diversion from everything, including shopping.
Hockey at Pasay City’s SM Mall of Asia
Conveniently located, by taxi, SM Mall of Asia is an
estimated 12-minute from Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Bus lines adjacent to the mall take visitors
to and from Pasay connecting to destinations throughout Luzon. Bus fare ranges
between ₱125 ($2.50) and ₱1000 ($20.00).
4. Cebu
Cebu, a city I heard so much about but have never visited, is the Philippines’ second-largest and oldest municipality. Prior to the arrival of Spanish settlers, Cebu was founded by Hindu price, Sri Lumay. During the 16th century, like a double-edged sword, Cebu was a stop on Ferdinand Magellan’s historic world circumnavigation which led to his rise and demise. Shortly following Magellan’s expedition, Spanish settlers arrived with Catholic missionaries in an attempt to spread Christianity to islanders. Later that century, Cebu became an intermediary port for ships from New Spain (Mexico) and central base for further exploration of the then-uncharted archipelago.
Nestled in the heart of the Central Visayas, present-day Cebu City is a sprawling urban area with Colon Street as its central road. Once known for its theaters and unique boutiques, Colon Street has become less commercialized since the 1990s but remains a mainstay for locals and those who want to travel off the less touristy path. Shop where the locals shop on Colon’s outdoor market. Buy fresh produce from a local vendor or local supermarket and bargain hunt for most goods and service everywhere you turn. Unlike chain stores and shopping malls, you can utilize your untapped bargaining skills by price haggling for the best price for anything from seafood to mobile phones.
For the less-skilled shoppers who prefer to shop in the comfort of an air-conditioned building, there is SM City Seaside Cebu, SM City Consolacion, Robinson’s Galleria, and Ayala Center. Like SM’s Mall of Asia, City Seaside Cebu is a 470,486 square-meter mall with amenities similar to SM Mall of Asia, the mall features an Olympic sized skating rink, an 18-lane bowling center, seaside ocean-view tower muli-plex cinema, and full-sized arena while SM Consolacion is a down-scaled version for the kind of people who frequent malls for reasons nature intended: shopping and “malling” to seek refuge from the tropical heat in an air-conditioned building. Robinson’s Galleria is a four-story complex that features an attached 153-room Summit Galleria Hotel. For those in search of fast fashion standards or high- end European designer items, Cebu’s Ayala Center is an unenclosed shopping facility with an open-air-garden common area as its focal point.
A significant site of Filipino and world history, remnants
of Ferdinand Magellan’s presence and early Spanish influence is apparent in
Cebu City’s architecture and culture.
Visitors will be impressed by Basilica Santo Nino. Considered the
Philippines’ first church, Basilica Santo Nino covets the infancy of
Christ. Before Magellan’s subsequent
death, he left behind a giant cross. Presently on display by the gates of El
Nino, the cross has endured the test of time for nearly 500 years.
3. Bicol: The Chocolate Hills
Since childhood, the surreal landscape of Bicol’s Chocolate hills has never ceased to amaze. The seemingly infinite terrain of uniformly-shaped hills often baffles onlookers, making them wonder if G-d’s sense of humor was at work during its creation. Like the hand of G-d squirted evenly-proportioned chocolate drops from the sky onto the Isle of Bicol, the Chocolate Hills are the most unique topographical formations – if not most delicious.
2. Boracay
First night at Boracay
From childhood, I recall seeing people in the neighborhood plaza during summer walking in tee-shirts with images of sand, seashells, and palm trees printed along the chest area with the distinctly-calligraphed Boracay below it. For many years, I believed Boracay was a mythical place that existed nowhere, but one’s imagination – no different from unicorns. I later discovered the tropical island was real, but seemingly out of reach – thousands of miles away in the Philippines.
Boracay Bakla
Years later, job opportunities in Asia made the dream a reality. Before returning to North America from Asia after a 4-year stint and frequent visits to Luzon, I searched the internet to arrange my trip for my once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Western Visayan island of Boracay. Browsing the internet, there were many domestic flights from Manila to Kalibo by discount airlines such as Air Asia and Cebu Pacific available for under ₱1000 ($50). Rather than look for hotel accommodations, I searched for a more economical alternative. On past trips, booking properties via Airbnb sufficiently filled the void of finding adequate centrally-located lodgings for all occasions. After careful consideration and taking the expertise of a coworker, I decided to reserve a beachfront apartment on Boracay’s Station 3.
Fire dancer at Boracay’s Station 2
After departing from Ninoy Aquino’s Terminal 3, I arrived at Kalibo Airport after a one-hour flight. A 15-minute bus ride and 5-minute boat ride later, I docked at Station 1. Looking into the ocean water, its clarity amazed me. Of all the beaches I have visited, from shores of Santa Monica to the Baltic Sea, the seawater glistening under the tropical sun on the white sand looked more like the chlorinated water from a swimming pool – something I only saw in pictures. Walking along the beach for the first time, sand-castle-like monuments read “Boracay,” the date, and others were in the shape of mermaids and sea turtles. Other than the mob of international tourists, I was impressed.
Tiny cove at Boracay’s Station 1
The Castilian-style apartment complex I resided during my stay had a charm about it. After signing in, I was happy with the amenities of the third-floor furnished studio apartment reserved a month in advance. After a day on the island I noticed, unlike the other stations 1 and 2, Station 3 was intended for long-term guests. My next-door neighbors were a couple from Eastern Europe with a local housekeeper and others were North American businessman who made transactions remotely via internet. After spending time in Scandinavia in my youth, I sought solidarity with Swedish expatriates and vacationers, initiating conversation on topics I assumed we shared an interest in such as Swedish pop music, ice hockey, and tennis. The Swedes frequented a bar with a dark blue banner that hung from the ceiling with a mosquito in a circle that read, “Mosquitos are not allowed inside.”
Expat bar at Boracay’s Station 3
Throughout the trip, straps of the thong sandals worn regularly throughout the trip dug between my toes and the sides of my feet, causing them blister and sore. Despite the pain, I made an effort to make the most out of the tropical holiday. I joined coworkers from my job for evening meals while practicing my dance moves with island fire dancers. Though the pain in my feet hindered me from taking an ocean tour of the surrounding sea life, I managed to go on a banana boat ride. The banana boat, a long yellow giant floatation device tied to the back of a motorboat was more of a water ski and life preserver built for six people than a boat. Midway through the ride, the inflatable tube tilted from its base, causing me to fall off. Submerged in the water, the supposedly “watertight” protector laid over my neck that contained my mobile phone and Philippine Pesos became as drenched with water as my body left unprotected.
Drenched after a banana boat ride
At ₱2,500 ($60) a night, the Station 3 accommodation was a good value but wasn’t enough to keep a tinge of buyer’s remorse from setting in. On nearby Station 2, the Henann Regency Resort and Spa was equipped with canvass reclining chairs on the sands of the beachfront property. “You can’t sit there,” an employee said as women who joined me tried to relax beachside. Walking up the promenade, to Station 1, I noticed the water was much clearer and less congested with tourist. When I advanced beyond the main strip of Station 1, I noticed one of the most unique and authentic resorts I have ever seen: The Spider House. Constructed out of most unprocessed materials imaginable, the resort seemed utilitarian yet luxurious. The tree-house style quarters suspended over the transparent ocean waters by palm-tree-constructed pillars seemed to represent a Boracay from a bygone era, before it became a modernized and commercialized tourist attraction. Beyond the Spider House, there were secluded coves which appeared unrestricted to the public.
Two young best-friend beach women from Luzon
Often compared to the Maldives, Boracay is definitely a place worth visiting. Round-trip airfare from New York City to Caticlan are around ₱36,000 ($900), however, flights through Kalibo are often a cheaper alternative. Traveling within Asia, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia offer flights departing from major cities in the Pacific Rim. The quintessential tropical island, one could argue you haven’t really visited a tropical island until you have visited Boracay.
1. Palawan
Palawan, the Philippines’ largest province, rivals Boracay in natural beauty but surpasses it in historical significance. In ancient times, Palawan was home to the Palawano and Tagbanwa, the area’s first settlers and was a key island in the archipelago’s Indian and Hindu culture. During the onset of the archipelago’s Spanish period, remnants of Ferdinand Magellan’s fleet sought refuge on the island following his death.
Presently, Palawan remains a popular tourist attraction to those “off-the-beaten-path” travelers in search of the world’s less charted natural wonders. Snorkelers will enjoy viewing the ocean floor at Coron. Considered one of the most breathtaking spots in the world, divers can a can search for objects ranging from sunken Japanese warships to exotic marine vegetation off Coron’s shores. From Coron, it is possible to take a short ride by ferry to El Nido. Arguably the region’s most famous tourist destination, El Nido. Unlike Boracay, El Nido has picturesque waterfalls and several secluded beaches such as Nacpan which can be accessed mainly by tricycle or bicycle. Last but not least is Sabang’s underground river. Stretching over 20 Kilometers, regular tours safely go 4 kilometers into the depths of this geological landmark.
Flights arrive regularly at Puerto Princesa International
Airport and are available domestically and internationally from major Asian
cities by low-price airlines such as Air Asia and Cebu Pacific.
Forty years ago this week a film based on the Joseph Conrad novella Heart of Darkness (1899) was released in cinemas across America. Shot in the Philippines, Apocalypse Now was a film adaptation that changed the story’s setting from the waters of the Congo to the Nung, a river that flowed through Vietnam and bordering Cambodia. Instead of going on location which would have been inconceivable at the time, the film was shot almost entirely in villages, cities, and towns throughout the Philippines’s northern-most island of Luzon.
Gone awry, the production was often delayed due to factors ranging from typhoons to the preparedness and physical condition of cast members. Over budgeted, director/producer Francis Coppola struggled to find funding to complete the film. Initially budgeted at an estimated $23 million, filming in the Philippines was slated for completion after five months, but after a series of setbacks, the five months of shooting expected for completion tripled, causing production costs to mushroom almost $10 million over budget.
After then-A-list actors such as Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, and James Caan turned down multiple offers to play protagonist Captain Benjamin Willard, Coppola and his casting crew went with Martin Scorsese’s old standby, Harvey Keitel. Ill-suited for the role, Keitel was dropped in favor of lesser-known Martin Sheen which further delayed completion. Troubles continued as Sheen suffered from a cardiac arrest and sets were destroyed as Typhoon Olga swept through the Philippines. After Sheen’s recovery, the up-hill battle continued when legendary actor Marlon Brando arrived on set for his role as the disenfranchised deserter Colonel Kurtz 200 lbs. overweight, with little knowledge of the script, anticipating a multi-million-dollar payday for under a month’s work.
Filled with several of the most memorable scenes in motion
picture history, Apocalypse Now was
one of the most visually stunning films of the 1970s. With Vittorio Storaro as cinematographer, footage
shot for the opening scene depicting the napalm-induced mass defoliation of
trees was shot in the midst of a conflict between Marcos’ regime and rival insurgents
within Luzon’s jungles.
The small fishing town of Baler, located 120 miles northeast of Manila in Luzon’s Aurora Province, was the landscape used to shot classic scenes such as the famous “Ride of the Valkyries” helicopter raid and introduction of Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall). The surreal scenario of bombs and gunfire pouring down on troops as Duvall’s character attempts to mix warfare with a little ‘R&R’ gave the film a unique perspective on war while the helicopter raid scored by the stoic music of Richard Wagner unsettled moviegoers at the film’s time of release.
When Brando arrived in the Philippines, film production brought crew and cast members 58 miles south of Manilla to the town of Pagsanjin in the province of Laguna. “Time was money” as Coppola’s newly-founded production company Omni Zoetrope agreed to pay Brando an astronomical million-dollar-a-week salary. Initially intended to be shot in Iba on Luzon’s west coast, due to inclement conditions, the “Kurtz compound” and “illuminated bridge” featured in key scenes were recreated in Pagsanjin and on nearby Magdapio River while members of an indigenous tribe known as the Ifugaos were selected as extras.
Commemorating the 40th anniversary since the film’s release, Apocalypse Now: Final Cut is currently showing in cinemas across America for a limited engagement.
This article posted Thursday, August 15 on UPROXX by Steven Hayden examines the significance of this cinematic masterpiece and the impact it has made in present-day film making.
The Philippines is no stranger to natural disasters. Yearly, there is at least one natural disaster which results in communities starting from square one. Subsequently, the attention the country receives for its geological and meteorological tragedies makes the Philippines synonymous natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons.
This week, the Philippines made headlines again. According to Reuters, there were at least 31 fatalities in last Saturday’s accident involving three Philippine ferries off the coast of Guimaras Island.
Carrying 96 passengers, the wooden-hulled boats encountered
treacherous weather conditions, causing the vessels to overturn. According to the Philippine Coast Guard, the
search continues for three unaccounted-for passengers.
Infamous for its unsafe track record, there have been several fatalities on Philippine waters each year.
Would more regulation be necessary to encourage international
