An Pagbangon nan Surigaonon

An Pagbangon nan Surigaonon Celebrates it Conclusion

An Pagbangon nan Surigaonon Celebrates it Conclusion
The champions from Dakung Patag National High School receive P30,000 plus P3,000 for Bagtik Story Special Award.

An Pagbangon nan Surigaonon Inter-High School Documentary Film Competition in Commemoration of Typhoon Odette in Surigao del Norte ended successfully on December 16, 2022 during the Pahugjaw sa Paghuyaw: Selebrasyon nan Pagbangon, the culmination program of a series of activities held in commemoration of Typhoon Odette in Surigao del Norte, within which the following awards were given:

Major Awards:

Champion: Blender (Dakung Patag National High School)

1st Runner Up: Bitoon Sa Paglaum (Tubod National High School)

2nd Runner Up: Rise Again (Caraga Regional Science High School Entry Number 2)

3rd Runner Up: Bidlisiw (Alegria Stand Alone Senior High School)

4th Runner Up: An Pagbangon Nan Surigaonon (Burgos National High School)

The team finalists pose with Gen. Luna Mayor Sol F. Matugas during the welcome dinner hosted by Cong. Bingo Matugas.

Special Awards:

Netizens’ Choice Award (Most views, most likes/hearts, most shared, has the highest engagement): Bitoon Sa Paglaum (Tubod National High School)

Bagtik Moserbisyo Special Award (Top Entry from Siargao Island, Congressional District of Cong.  Matugas): An Pagbangon Nan Surigaonon (Burgos National High School)

Bagtik Story Special Award (Best promotes Surigaonon resilience and ‘kabagtik’): Blender (Dakung Patag National High School)

1st runner up from Tubod National High School receives P25,000 plus P3,000 for Netizens’ Choice Special Award. Mart Galve, a student, in brown polo, would later say he was staring at Cong. Bingo in disbelief that he was actually standing next to him and that he was cool, friendly and approachable.

The endeavor stemmed from the idea of commemorating the catastrophe of Typhoon Odette in Siargao, Surigao del Norte and highlighting Siargao’s remarkable recovery in an artistic, aesthetic and inclusive approach. Thus, with the concerted efforts of Subject Story Pictures Multimedia Production, The Fraternal Order of Eagles – Philippine Eagles Caraga VI and the full support of Cong. Francisco Jose “Bingo” F. Matugas II as major sponsor, the filmmaking competition was born, particularly enjoining high school students as participants to raise social awareness starting with and among youths and enhance developmentally appropriate and socially relevant digital skills. Digital filmmaking was chosen to be the platform to make the film outputs perpetually available to all audiences thereby making the audience reach virtually unlimited.

The winners, enjoying their Gen. Luna trip, strike a pose before diving into the ‘boodle fight.’

Twenty-one film entries coming from all over Surigao del Norte were submitted that evoked a mixture of emotions from the judges – amazement, hope, happiness, sadness, anger, nostalgia, among others. Highly acclaimed Director Lui Villaruz, the Chairman of the Board of Judges, said “Ang galing ng mga bata! Mobile phone lang ang gamit pero nakakagulat ang galing nila. Very promising ang mga batang ito.” The judging was crucial and taxing, in fact, there needed to be a tiebreaker because the audience engagement was overwhelming, precariously tipping the scales of the results. Gen. Luna Mayor Sol F. Matugas also expressed her pleasant surprise at the ingenuity of the idea of filmmaking and proposed to submit the outputs to a production company for a possible commercial release. 

2nd runner up from Caraga Regional Science High School receives a plaque and cash prize of P20,000. Quincy Maurey Taghap, left, said the win was most surreal. They were just making a video and next minute they were in Gen. Luna receiving an award.

As part of the winners’ prize, ‘Direk’ Lui Villaruz conducted a critiquing session of their works and encouraged them all to pursue their interests. In addition, all five team finalists were treated to an all-expense-paid trip to Gen. Luna, Surigao del Norte to claim their cash prizes during the awarding ceremony including a two-night stay at the charming Soeliana Resort. A day after the event, the students and their teacher coaches were toured all around Gen. Luna, including the world famous Guyam, Daku, and Naked Islands, Gen. Luna Night Market, Cloud 9 Boardwalk at nighttime and Cloud 9 surf site for a wee bit of surfing, complete with ‘boodle fight’ and round-the-clock van service.

All these were given through the winners to show the world how far Gen. Luna, a fair representation of Siargao, has recovered since Typhoon Odette. Their films may have captured the devastation, the seemingly irreparable damage, the anguish in the eyes of the people but the ultimate goal of the An Pagbangon nan Surigaonon Inter-High School Documentary Film Competition is to plant a seed of hope in each of our hearts to never give up, no matter how hard, no matter if problems are as strong as Typhoon Odette— there is and will always be a silver lining. So long as we come together, united by one purpose, under God’s unfathomable love and mercy, anything is possible.

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