COCIAN’S AWARD-WINNING PHOTO ESSAY SHEDS LIGHT ON CHILDREN’S LIFE IN ‘FLOATING AREA’

BY DENICE ALVAREZ | PHOTO BY CHRIS VILCHEZ

JOURNALISM student Cris Vilchez prevailed in the Philippine Journalism Research Conference (PJRC) photo essay category on May 5, 2023, at the University of the Philippines (UP) Film Studio in Diliman, Quezon City.

Vilchez’s piece titled “Lubog sa Floating Area” garnered the highest score at 84.67% among the 12 finalists. He is the only PUPian to receive an award at the said event.

“Lubog sa Floating Area” is about children who swim across a contaminated river in Kanluran, Meycauayan, Bulacan to reach the city and sell collected waste to sustain their basic needs.

In an interview, Vilchez talked about the struggles and challenges he faced when he took his winning photos.

“I took it during the pandemic… yung time na tumataas ‘yong cases. So syempre, ‘floating area,’ alam mong wala kang health security [as a journalist]. In journalism, you have to offer everything, including your health.”

“Naging challenge rin sa akin ‘yong kunin ‘yong loob ng mga bata… it took me a week. Dahil hindi sila magsasalita sa’yo kahit tanungin mo sila, mahihiya sila.” he added.

Everyone can take photos but not all of them can make a story out of it. The essence of photojournalism is to make people realize and make them feel that there is something really wrong about our society.

According to Vilchez, child labor and a lack of opportunity in education were the main issues the children of the floating area were experiencing.

“Nakita ko yung struggle nila sa ano ba ang kaya nilang dalhin sa’yo kapag illiterate kang tao. Nakita ko sa mismong mata ko na ‘yong mismong junk shops ay niloloko sila dahil hindi sila marunong mag-compute.”

He emphasized the significance of education, stating that it plays a crucial role in protecting children from exploitation.

“It just encapsulates na, ang mga batang ‘to… kailangan nilang mag-aral para hindi sila malamangan sa buhay. Kasi kung patuloy na mangyayari ito sa maraming bata na hindi nakapag-aral, I think magkakaroon ng problema na malaki sa bansa.”

He added that there are existing local government efforts to protect the children’s welfare but are not enough to solve the education crisis in the community.

“Meron silang ginagawang feeding program for the children. And may bumababang mga teacher and volunteer teachers para magturo kahit papaano para sa mga bata.”

“Pero it is just ironic for me na bakit volunteer teachers ang bababa. Hindi ba dapat edukasyon ang ilapit sa mga bata? Hindi lang mga volunteer teacher?” he added.

He believes that photojournalism serves a greater purpose beyond storytelling, highlighting its capability to bring often overlooked issues to the forefront of public consciousness.