“Vahay” and “Tataya” Documentaries Debut at Cinemalaya 2019

The premiere of two documentaries based on the SDRC-National Historical Commission of the Philippines study “Batanes Province Project on the Construction of Ivatan Houses in Basco with Related Publications” was held on August 7, 2019 as part of Cinemalaya 15 – The Philippine Independent Film Festival at the Tanghalang Manuel Conde of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Directed by Rica Arevalo and written by Gary Mariano, both faculty of the DLSU Department of Communication, “Vahay the Ivatan House” and “Tataya the Ivatan Boat” provide a look into how the Ivatans preserve their custom of constructing the traditional house and boat. Other members of the research and production team present at the screening were DLSU faculty Dr. Lars Ubaldo of the Department of History and Jimmy Domingo of the Department of Communication, Edwin Valientes of the Department of Anthropology at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, and Christian Vaso of the Department of Engineering Science at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños. The study is led by Project Director Dr. Raymond Girard Tan, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation.

A discussion following the screening yielded further insights into the research and production of the film. One question raised involved the status of the traditional houses after the July 27 magnitude 5 earthquakes, of which the island of Itbayat was the epicenter. Prof. Valientes shared that it had been theorized that the construction materials used there—particularly the type of lime—were not as resistant as those applied in Basco and Sabtang, where houses had survived the impact of even stronger earthquakes. Another theory, attributed to PHIVOLCS Director Dr. Renato Solidum, is that the buildings that collapsed in Itbayat did not conform to the building code. The issue concerning the dilemma of whether to preserve traditional houses or simply construct modern ones that follow the code was likewise brought up. However, one development resulting from the frequency of disasters was the modification of stone houses, in which wood was installed in each of the four corners as a form of reinforcement. Such practice had not been observed in Itbayat.

A suggestion raised by an engineer-filmmaker in the audience was that the use of lime or apog be discussed in textbooks, as should the manner in which Ivatan lime differs from lowland lime. The team explained that the practice of cooking lime for use in construction was introduced by the Spaniards via Luzon. They likewise pointed out that it was a challenging process, being labor intensive and requiring three months for curing the lime.

The premiere of two documentaries based on the SDRC-National Historical Commission of the Philippines study “Batanes Province Project on the Construction of Ivatan Houses in Basco with Related Publications” was held on August 7, 2019 as part of Cinemalaya 15 – The Philippine Independent Film Festival at the Tanghalang Manuel Conde of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Directed by Rica Arevalo and written by Gary Mariano, both faculty of the DLSU Department of Communication, “Vahay the Ivatan House” and “Tataya the Ivatan Boat” provide a look into how the Ivatans preserve their custom of constructing the traditional house and boat. Other members of the research and production team present at the screening were DLSU faculty Dr. Lars Ubaldo of the Department of History and Jimmy Domingo of the Department of Communication, Edwin Valientes of the Department of Anthropology at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, and Christian Vaso of the Department of Engineering Science at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños. The study is led by Project Director Dr. Raymond Girard Tan, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation.

A discussion following the screening yielded further insights into the research and production of the film. One question raised involved the status of the traditional houses after the July 27 magnitude 5 earthquakes, of which the island of Itbayat was the epicenter. Prof. Valientes shared that it had been theorized that the construction materials used there—particularly the type of lime—were not as resistant as those applied in Basco and Sabtang, where houses had survived the impact of even stronger earthquakes. Another theory, attributed to PHIVOLCS Director Dr. Renato Solidum, is that the buildings that collapsed in Itbayat did not conform to the building code. The issue concerning the dilemma of whether to preserve traditional houses or simply construct modern ones that follow the code was likewise brought up. However, one development resulting from the frequency of disasters was the modification of stone houses, in which wood was installed in each of the four corners as a form of reinforcement. Such practice had not been observed in Itbayat.

A suggestion raised by an engineer-filmmaker in the audience was that the use of lime or apog be discussed in textbooks, as should the manner in which Ivatan lime differs from lowland lime. The team explained that the practice of cooking lime for use in construction was introduced by the Spaniards via Luzon. They likewise pointed out that it was a challenging process, being labor intensive and requiring three months for curing the lime.