lost & found II

Barangay Payatas is one of the largest open dumpsites in Philippines. Everyday, 3000 tonnes of garbage collected from all parts of Metro Manila arrive by truck and are permanently deposited here. A majority of the community in Payatas depend on this daily shipment of garbage for survival. With their faces covered in t-shirts, guerrilla style, they rummage through the daily garbage to find scraps of recyclable metal, plastics and occasionally, food.

3 years ago, I went to Payatas to work on a documentary for my final thesis paper. I left 3 weeks later, with experiences that I'll never forget for the rest of my life. Below are some of the offtakes, shot in 35mm film.




Daisuke, an aspiring photojournalist from Japan revisits Payatas. He came here years ago on
a community service program, but now he wishes to bring a greater change for Payatas.







My project wouldn't be possible without the help of Paaralang Pantao, a NGO-funded
school in Payatas. Here are some of the kids who study in the school.