SISID on Mukha tonight at 9:30PM on ANC Edgar Panasilan dives for sand on the bottom of the Davao River. He has been doing this for the past 25 years. Communities along the shores of the river are almost all actively engaged in stripping the river of its precious resource. Years of quarrying have carved out the belly of the river. Hence, it is becoming more difficult to look for diving spots everyday. The water is about ten feet deep and divers like Edgar stay underwater for ten to fifteen seconds at a time. Quarrying for riverbed sand in the mighty Davao River is a dangerous business. Sand divers like Edgar work under extraordinary conditions, swimming against treacherous currents, holding their breath for as long as they can before emerging with a bucket of some twenty kilograms of sand. Edgar earns 100 pesos for three hours of work. It’s not the highest paying job but it is the only job in those areas. For Edgar, he would rather be anywhere else in the world than at the bottom of the Davao River. But for his wife and children, he will keep on diving and digging for the precious commodity underneath the surface for as long as he can. Catch Edgars story in Mukha, a thirty minute documentary tonight at 9:30PM on ANC.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 07:02:04 +0000