GOPPO DIGITAL PRESS RELEASES

'Accidental' Filipino journalist covers New York tragedy
Posted:6:22 PM (Manila Time) | October 05, 2001
By Rica Arevalo
Inquirer News Service

RADIO listeners and television viewers maybe are wondering why Ces Datu is suddenly seen reporting the recent terrorism attacks in New York City. Early this year, Datu quietly headed for the States to pursue further studies in broadcast communications. She enrolled in New York University’s Television News production certificate program.

"During the course, I shot, wrote and edited several news and feature packages. We were issued press cards and sent to cover Associated Press stories around New York together with professional news crews," shares Datu.

When tragedy struck at the World Trade Center (WTC), she was at the right place and time. "I could have been there at that time had I not overslept. It has been my routine to get off the bus at the World Trade Center where I transfer to a subway line into the city."

She adds that her being a media correspondent was a plain accident. The minute Tower 1 was attacked, she got a call from Manila to report the tragedy via phone patch.

"It was second nature for me to do that. It didn’t even occur to me that I was the only local reporter in New York then. That was farthest from my mind.
"I then got incessant calls from several news stations based in Manila. I never got to leave my seat by the phone. My tiny kitchen became my news bureau. ABS-CBN then proposed to commission me to do exclusive reports for their news programs and thus be their correspondent in New York."

The day after the WTC attacks, communication lines were down. Almost all Manhattan-bound public vehicles were out of service. Datu borrowed a digital camera from kabayan Jimmy Mapa and hired Philip Amores, a professional editor from one of Manila’s travelogue programs, and Rosa ‘Pinky’ Umaza a New York-based photographer.

She then studied the possibility of sending her footage via internet because of her lack of logistics. Fortunately, she came across a web development and digital multimedia studio, Goppo Digital.

Filipino-American owner Paul Policarpio assisted her with editing, digitizing and transmitting her reports through the internet in the wee hours of the morning to reach Manila’s 4 p.m. deadline (4 a.m. eastern time). Voice-over reports were then recorded through phone patch.

For Datu, it was the most emotionally draining, difficult and dangerous coverage she had ever handled. "I want to tell the story of Filipinos who have been directly affected by the tragedy, especially those who lost their loved ones during the attacks, but I understood their need for privacy.

"Even as a journalist, I could not find the heart to call the families still in mourning, point my camera at them and disregard their grief in exchange for a dramatic sound bite or a close-up shot of a weeping relative."

She admires the American media for the way they handled the crisis. "American media censor blood, gore and carnage in respect for the grieving friends and families of the deceased.

"I am impressed with the humane manner in which they present updates on the tragedy. There aren’t attempts to sensationalize and make a spectacle out of the disaster to draw viewers’ attention.

"There are no close-ups of victims, dead people or body parts. Shots of people victims jumping out of the Twin Towers are not even aired.

"There is an overt sensitivity to the friends and families of the thousands of victims who are in mourning. They have thus far displayed enormous respect for human life, which I consider very admirable."

Regarding the Filipino community in the US, the reaction is basically the same for every human being: shock, horror, sympathy, rage, fear.

"I have spoken to a lot of Filipinos and many of them are thankful for having escaped the tragedy. Many are in deep sorrow as they have not yet found missing friends and relatives. Many have cancelled their out-of-town trips for fear of flying.

"Many of our kababayans have reached out and begun fund drives for the victims of the tragedy. Some who have left the Philippines to escape acts of crime and terrorism and to pursue the ‘American Dream’ have also realized that the US is not exempt from such attacks, and that terrorism known no boundaries."

When Datu reached lower Manhattan, she went to the nearest trauma center where she saw rescue workers, civil servants, policeman and emergency crews at work.

"The scene was overwhelming. Many were crying and anxiously waiting for missing friends and relatives. I would describe everything there as organized chaos.

"There wasn’t any looting. People were just reaching out and helping one another. What really struck me was the overwhelming turn-out of volunteers and blood donors.

"Motorists, journalists and civilians were very cooperative as well, and this really speeded up search and rescue efforts. Throngs of supporters held vigils for the victims of the tragedy, and filled roadsides to cheer the passing firemen, emergency crews and police officers."

With her New York experience, Datu is more inspired to go back to her roots as a documentary filmmaker. Her thesis film, "Nag-aalinlangang Ina," at De La Salle University earlier won best documentary in the 1995 Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video.

"I realized that producing documentaries is what I want to pursue. While I have done some in the past, this experience has affirmed my decision to create documentaries that would eventually focus on life and the social and relevant issues that come along with it."

Before going to New York to study, Datu was producing and co-hosting a radio show, "Miss Kita," over NBC’s Angel Radio 1026. The program assisted Filipino workers overseas and their families.

"Also, I wish to continue doing public service for our migrant workers. I believe my experience here in New York has given me a better perspective on the plight of migrant workers, and has strengthened my will to serve them," she shares.

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