Aired (November 11, 2024): Ang 64-anyos na si Evangeline, ina ng isang biktima ng 'War on Drugs' at miyembro ng grupong ‘Silingan Candlemakers’. Para makabangon mula sa sakit ng pagkawala ng kanyang anak, nagsimula siyang gumawa ng mga kandila. Para sa kanya, ang bawat kandila ay sumisimbolo sa kanyang pag-asang makamit ang hustisya para sa kanyang anak. Ang kanyang kuwento, panoorin sa video.
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00:00I got to know the people who make these candles through my vote.
00:12Have you ever tried to light a candle inside a church?
00:19Do you think that the candles are just thrown away?
00:24No.
00:25Actually, this group of people, the Silingan,
00:28what they do is, every Saturday, they collect the candles they lit.
00:33Then they cook all of these and melt them again to make a new candle.
00:39So this is the melted candle.
00:43They put it here in molds.
00:47That's what Kuya is doing.
00:49When the candle is molded, they put it here and let it cool.
00:54It will look like this.
00:56Then, in this section, Ate is putting the matches.
01:04Here, the women's job is to make a hole in each candle and put the matches inside.
01:16Many families and victims of extrajudicial killings benefit from this project,
01:23which they call Silingan.
01:30They are members of the group Silingan Candle Makers.
01:34Silingan is the Semoan word for neighbor.
01:39Evangeline, 64 years old, is the oldest in this group.
01:48How long have you been here?
01:50Just a few months.
01:52How did you find out about this place?
01:55Mildred brought me here.
01:58Mildred brought you here? Why?
02:01I told her that if I needed help, I would come here.
02:05I don't have any other job.
02:09What did you do before?
02:11I just worked from home.
02:12Oh, just from home.
02:13You didn't work before?
02:15No.
02:16Why did you suddenly decide that you needed to work?
02:19I didn't have any other job.
02:29Evangeline is a matchmaker.
02:33She starts her day at 7 a.m. and finishes her work at 8 p.m.
02:40Every day, they earn 500 to 1,000 pesos
02:44depending on how many candles they can make that day.
02:49Silingan Candle Makers is a big help for people like Evangeline
02:54who can't find a job because of her age.
02:58Who gives you money?
03:00My son Jerry.
03:02Jerry?
03:03Jerry.
03:04Oh, your son Jerry used to support you.
03:06Yes, because I was working on a contract that day.
03:09And then what happened?
03:11He died.
03:16He was the only one who gave me money.
03:20Who killed Jerry?
03:22I don't know.
03:23They were all masked.
03:29Evangeline's adopted son was shot by unknown men in 2018
03:35in the vicinity of Oplan, Tukhang.
03:40He was one of the victims of extrajudicial killings
03:43during the administration of Duterte.
03:47Were you not charged?
03:50Because we didn't have anyone to ask for help.
03:56We didn't know who was killed.
03:58I just prayed to God.
04:00I prayed to God to find out who did it.
04:03The Lord will take care of them.
04:08Whatever the case, we should have a law.
04:12I just hope that God will help us.
04:17This is where Silingan Candle Makers began in February 2024.
04:24It aims to help the families of the victims of extrajudicial killings or EJK
04:30during the drug war of the previous administration.
04:35In Bisaya and Cebuano, Silingan Candle Makers are our neighbors.
04:42That's where they started.
04:45What they lost, and at the same time, what they want to bring back.
04:49Through stories, through life,
04:52they want to bring back the lost neighbors.
04:55They want to share, to be together, to be united.
04:59They want to stand up for what happened
05:04to bring back what was lost to them.
05:08But aside from helping each other,
05:11each member of the family is also looking for light in the middle of the darkness.
05:17They have a companion in their own experience.
05:23Here, all of you have that experience, right?
05:27What effect did it have on you when you joined the Candle Makers?
05:35It was different.
05:38If it wasn't for Brother Jun, we wouldn't be here.
05:44We were able to find a way to live.
05:48Honestly, I'm already 64.
05:51I can't find another job.
05:54I'm already old.
05:56Here at Brother Jun, I don't have to look for anything else.
06:02Requirements.
06:03Yes.
06:04But when you're here, do you talk about your experiences?
06:09Honestly, sometimes we get emotional.
06:12Of course, you remember that.
06:15It's always on our minds.
06:18Especially when we watch TV.
06:21It's always on our minds.
06:45Candle Makers