Badjao Island
by Oliver Carlos
There’s a place called Badjao Island, and it’s not in Mindanao. It’s right here in Luzon, in Batangas City, to be precise. It’s actually part of the river delta of the Calumpang River, but technically it’s an island because it’s surrounded by water all around.
People call it Badjao Island because of the large community of migrant indigenous Filipino people living there. The Badjaos were originally from the Sulu Archipelago in the far south. They were also called “sea gypsies” because they love to go places selling whatever they can sell. In the old times, they were known for peddling precious pearls from Sulu.
In the early 2000s, I brought my Ethnovideography class to Badjao Island. I was there to guide them film an ethnovideo documentary of the tribe. We were around 11 in class, 10 students plus me.
We left UPLB very early. We waited for our rented van at a fastfood store at Crossing Los Banos because that’s the only open establishment at 4 AM. The students were quite restless because of their excitement to travel. They were already rowdily filming one another with their camcorders while still at Wendy’s and while in transit in the van.
I kept telling them to stop shooting and conserve their batteries. The trip to Batangas was more than 2 hours long, plus a boat ride to Badjao Island. The scenes they should shoot would mostly be on the island. But they wouldn’t listen to me, except for one student. His name is Isaac.
Isaac’s family owned the most established photo-and-video coverage commercial establishment in his home town. In fact, it’s named after him. He was bright, and always one-step ahead of his classmates. He grew up in the studio, literally. So, when I told the class to conserve their batteries, Isaac knew how serious that instruction was. But not his classmates. When we reached the port of Batangas, all their batteries were almost drained!
While on the 15-minute boat ride, Isaac suggested a solution that was very new to me. He told his classmates to detach their batteries and give them to him. He wrapped them with a plastic bag and put them all in his ice box. Isaac said that the ice would resurrect the drained batteries. Honestly, I didn’t know that technique. I didn’t learn anything like that in school or in the production workshops I attended.
We were able to go home with substantial footage to come up with a documentary. I just don’t know if Isaac’s ice treatment really worked, or the batteries still had just enough power in them when the students started filming on the island. Whichever is true, I learned one big principle: It’s close to impossible, or it’s very hard to give life to something that is dead or almost dead.
In the Bible, we read about the story of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the grave. It astonishes me thinking how just simple words of Jesus can infuse life on the dead body of Lazarus. How much energy or power was needed to make the lifeless cells jiggle back to life? Jesus defied the laws of nature and science in working out this miracle. He wanted to teach his audience a very important lesson. He said in John11:25 (NIV):
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.”
Jesus has the power to give you eternal life. He is the only one who can do that. He is the only one who can wipe out all your sins and make you all-cleaned up. He can do that to you, if you let him. Jesus said in verse 40 (NIV):
“Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
If you have faith in Jesus and his power to resurrect you at the last day, you will indeed get what you hoped for.
Now, if Jesus can resurrect you into eternal life, how much more can he bring to life the dead or dying compartments of your earthly life. What aspect of your life would you like Jesus to resurrect in the coming days?
