Mecy B.

Petilla
ABMT201P
“Body Collector”
“We should value human rights”, “Big and small human rights is for all”, these are just
some of the quotations that came from one of the quotations sites. The video is a documentary
entitled “Body Collector” that was produced by GMA News and Public Affairs with the host and
writer Cesar Apolinario. Cesar Apolinario is one of the well-known news reporter in the tv network
GMA. He conducted this documentary to inform the people about a certain man who collects the
body of people who died during a police operation. It promotes the idea of what’s happening in
our society nowadays specifically the extrajudicial killings which was done by the police because
of the campaign against drugs of Pres. Duterte the president of Republic of the Philippines. It helps
the people to deeply understand what extrajudicial killings is and what its impact in the society.
The video is great it worth to watch for because it can inform students in what’s happening in our
society.
Eusebio Funeral Services is one of the well-known establishment in Longos, Malabon
because of its manager Orly Fernandez “tatay Orly”. “Tatay Orly” is a body collector, once he
receives a call from the police asking for his service he and his other staffs goes to the crime scene
and collects the body of the people who died from the operation. It’s his job for more than 44
years. In one of the interview he said that he collects 1 to 2 corpses a day. He brings the corpse
in the funeral service and stores it in the morgue. The corpse will stay there until a family member
gets it but the thing is as the day pass the number of corpses increases because nobody claims it.
Nowadays the corpses he collects are often drug related and 30 % has increase compared last year.
The outcome is that hundreds of corpses are being disposed in one area in Quezon City.
The argument in the documentary is presented objectively because they have get both sides
who disagrees and agrees. Extrajudicial killings is the main argument in the documentary.
According to Comm. Gwen Gana (Commission on Human Rights) extrajudicial killings
encompasses killings by government forces/groups/individuals which the government fails to
prosecute/ investigate when it has the ability to do so it could also mean deliberate killings without
due process. Senator Leila De Lima is against this she said in one of her interview “what kind of
war on drugs is this if the authorities only kills people who are poor and helpless”. A proof of this
is the case of the two sisters who immediately gone to Eusebio Funeral Services and cried after
seeing the corpse of their brother who have died with the gunshot exactly at his heart and is
allegedly fought with the police. Another proof is the instance where a mother desperately look
for her lost son. Hermina Reyes looks for his son Eric who have lost for 3 months and his lost is
also associated with drugs. One night her daughter-in-law called crying and saying that her son
Eric was abducted. She immediately gone in the precinct but her son was not there. She had search
for his son in the entire province of Cavite but she couldn’t find him. Until one day she desperately
asks help for a traditional healer “albularyo”, the traditional healer guessed that her son is not dead
and that someone was hiding him and inflicting him. She had stated that she doesn’t believe in the
police because they cannot tell whether his son is dead or alive instead she believes in what the
“albularyo” said because at least it says that his son is alive However the police also give their
statement in line with the extrajudicial killings PNP Chief Gen. Ronaldo “Bato” Dela Rosa said
that “walang gagong gobyerno na ipapapatay yung kanyang tao”, and he added that “ Di papatay
ang pulis ng taong walang kalaban-laban they are professional yung mga napapatay ay nanlalaban
dahil marami ring pulis ay sugatan”.
The aims of the documentary is achieved because the use of techniques and style is
appropriate with the presentation of the argument and flow of the whole video. It has also presented
theories and the evidence is interpreted fairly and I really like that it enables the people to decide
on which side to choose. And all of this have resulted to effective way of portraying the purpose
of the work. According to Jitta Raghavender Rao (2016) writing stories instead of statement can
help you to effectively convey the purpose of your work because stories connect to people and
statements don’t. I believe that this documentary has a story which has a deep meaning.
The documentary film making is skilled, the visuals is great and the sound effects are very
appropriate and I think it justified the main purpose of the documentary. It’s a short documentary
that manages to inform people about extrajudicial killings, what’s happening in our society, it also
imparts an important message to its viewers and it’s to value human rights.