He will be officially honored as the 2011 Ninoy and Cory Aquino Fellow for Journalism on December 6, 2011 at the Manila Peninsula Hotel, Makati City. President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino, III will be attending the ceremony to personally hand the award to him.
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The Fellowship which was established in 1988 by the US Embassy in Manila was created to commemorate Senator Ninoy Aquino’s accomplishments in journalism and public service and also to honor President Cory Aquino’s contributions to strengthening Philippine democratic institutions.
Being recognized as a Fellow also entails participation in the prestigious US Government exchange program in the United States, the International Visitor Leadership Program which promotes international understanding through the exchange of information and ideas between people of the United States and other countries.
Fr. Vasquez was chosen as a Fellow in this Fellowship Program for his social work and public service through the media group, i-Watch. Deeply convinced in the power of media for social transformation, he founded the group in Upi, Maguindanao in 2006.
The i-Watch is a video documentary outfit of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate composed of people from the grassroots, trained by Fr. Vasquez in the field of video productions.In the course of years, it has produced documentaries, which deal with socio-political, cultural and environmental issues, which have challenged and inspired individuals to become more participative and vigilant in their community.
These productions have been used by different church organizations and NGOs in Mindanao in educating the different communities they serve. Some of these productions like the “Talakayin natin ang Cha-cha” (Let us discuss Cha-cha) in 2006 and “Halalan na Naman!” (It’s Election time again!) in 2007 were shown in the local community channels of skycable in the whole Philippines through the assistance of the Local Governance Support Program in ARMM (LGSPA) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV)In many places in Maguindanao where people have no access to television and electricity, Fr. Vasquez and his iwatch volunteers visit them to educate communities through film-showings.
Armed with LCD projector, dvd player, portable sound system, generator and their 40X40 ft improvised projector screen (a giant screen indeed!) they make people aware of the real situation where they are in and lead them to think and do something to address the issues that confront them.
The viewing of the documentaries is done in an open field at night so that people could see clearly the images projected on the screen.Some places where they go are not accessible to vehicle. They have to go there by foot, by horses or cows. They load all their audio-visual equipment in a cart carried or pulled by cows.All the video documentaries, the i-watch has produced since its foundation has served as mirror of social realities. Some of these videos are already uploaded in the new official website of the iwatch so that everyone could have an easy and free access to them.
(c.f.http://www.iwatchomi.com)
The nature of works of Fr. Vasquez has put his life at risk many times especially when he was assigned in the war zones of Pikit, North Cotabato and Datu Piang, Maguindanao from 2008 to 2010, where he documented silently the plight of the displaced civilians and other victims of human rights violation.
Many of the photos, raw video footages and the data, he gathers are used by some local and international human rights group and the media.With great passion in music, Fr. Vasquez has also engaged in producing Music CD albums of the local talents in the community he serves. He has recorded original songs and music of the Manobo and Te’durays in the municipality of Senator Ninoy Aquino in the Province of Sultan Kudarat and in Upi, Maguindanao. This is his unique way of empowering the Indigenous Peoples. Through the recording studios he established in Cotabato City and Maguindanao, Fr. Vasquez has created venues for the voiceless where they can express freely their identity, their dreams and sentiments through music and songs.
Fr. Vasquez started to get involved in media works in 1997 in Midsayap, North Cotabato when he was asked by his immediate superior to be the director and scriptwriter of the group called “Teatrong Sayap”. It was a group of local artists composed of musicians, singers, choreographers, actors and actresses committed to inform and educate common people on various social issues through liturgical-creative dramatics.
As a young Missionary Oblate scholastic, he developed a strong passion for creative dramatics because of the strong influence to him by the Davao-based Kaliwat Theater Collective. The Kaliwat group was responsible for the training of the Teatrong Sayap.
In 2000, for a few months, he worked in a Catholic-run radio station DXMS in Cotabato City as a Church news writer and newscaster in preparation for his media formation in CREC-AVEX or the Centre for Audio Visual formation and Expression of Faith in France. In 2001, he completed his media formation and finally received his diploma in Religious and Social Communication. The strong influence to him by the Kaliwat Theater Collective, the knowledge and skills that he learned in France and his closeness with the common people especially the poor, are three essential elements which have inspired him to be creative in his works and to become a modern prophet of media in this Digital Age.
Photos by: Amiel Mark Cagayan
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