CANNES FILMFEST best director Brilliante Mendoza has previously partnered with Sen. Loren Legarda in making the environmental docu, “Buhos”, about climate change. Now, they’ve teamed up again in a new film about disaster risk reduction, “Ligtas”. This was premiered at Podium last Wednesday with other government people in attendance. The response from the audience is very positive. Personally, we believe this will be a big help, especially to the people in the provinces living in coastal areas who are prone to typhoons that often visit our country. Sen. Legarda is the United Nations Regional Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation and her new film provides valuable instructions and precautionary information on what to do to during typhoons, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis. “Most natural hazards turn into disasters because of the lack of preparedness. This instructional video aims to inform everybody what to do before, during and after a natural hazard occurs. This is the audio-visual version of our Disaster Preparedness and First Aid Handbook,” she says.
The movie will be shown for free as part of regular screenings in SM Cinemas, on various TV stations and the senator will provide free DVD copies to schools and barangays so that more people can watch it. After this, she and Direk Brilliante will do a full length movie about human trafficking.
We tell Sen. Legarda that we like the simple outfit that she wore at the last SONA. Whereas others are wearing expensive designer gowns, she wore a simple jersey top and a skirt made of traditional Bagobo fabric. “Yung top ko, luma na yun, recycled lang,” she says. “Yun namang skirt ko, talagang gusto kong i-promote ang ating hand-woven fabrics made by our ethnic communities and I’m glad maraming nagkagusto.”
