Joy Adalia
It is sometimes funny [or irritating!] how we easily pin the blame on one person for something crazy, like Sagada getting swarmed by a multitude of people trying to follow the journey of their favorite stars on That Thing Called Tadhana.
It seems that the movie was such a commercial success that everyone who watched it wanted to visit Sagada and enjoy their moment on the summit of Mt. Kiltepan.
In the movie, Angelica Panganiban, playing the lead role as a brokenhearted woman, shouts to the top of her lungs, “Ayoko na! Ang sakit-sakit! Ayoko na. (I don’t want this anymore! It hurts so bad! I don’t want this anymore)!” on a particular spot on the mountain which would later become filled with people during the Holy Week.
The locals were reportedly asking people not to visit as they have caused water shortage in this 5th class municipality, not to mention overcrowding they have not experienced in the past. So, who is to blame with Sagada’s predicament and the fact that there were too many people on Mr. Kiltepan for anyone to enjoy a private moment?
According to one blogger who goes by the name of “the she-wolf” as well as “Kat”, it is filmmaker Antoinette Jadaone [though the blogger later deleted her post]. If Jadaone did not use Sagada in that blockbuster movie, then the place would have been left in peace by the hordes of tourists looking for a place to have fun during the long Holy Week break.
So, is it really Jadaone’s fault? Of course!
Jadaone Told the Movie Viewers to Go to Sagada – and Do it Together!
Clearly, by doing the movie, Jadaone shared to the people just how beautiful Sagada is, especially the mountain summits where you can enjoy the marvelous view while getting rid of the heartaches you carried from the past.
So, Jadaone told the people about Sagada. In so doing, she compelled them to go to the mountain and do it in droves! Yeah, right! She’s a filmmaker but she actually is a witch at night, putting a spell on the people to make them watch her movies and GO TO SAGADA!
Sigh. In reality, Jadaone has done a great job in promoting the place but Sagada has been a tourist destination for years. It’s not as if it was a secret spot that she accidentally revealed to the public through her movie!
We should be happy that the movie promoted tourism, especially because Sagada could not really afford to promote the place on such a huge scale! It is just too bad that the people went on droves but if the government could only help improve the place, then there won’t be such a huge problem with water shortage and similar issues in the area.
Jadaone Did Not Tell the People to Stay Away from Virgin Grounds of the Mountain
It appears that Jadaone is at fault over the people’s trampling the virgin grounds of the mountain to find the best spot for their hugot moment. Yep, it appears that one person could have such a huge power on such a large number of people – and get to influence them what to do and what not to do.
Are these travelers just mindless rats following the Pied Piper of Hamelin up the mountains? Yep, they seem to be that, if Jadaone was to be blamed for their actions in Sagada.
What can you say about slapstick comedy being shown in television and its correlation to office and school bullying. Yes, it’s the people’s fault alright. Media is one of the causes of this country’s dumbing down. Let’s add more Kris Aquino to the mix. In 2016 elections, blame the masa again for voting the wrong people.
There’s this one director who had one of his talents got kicked out of his/her home as a result of an unorthodox film they made. What the director did: He called out the talent’s parents, found the talent a home, and provided for the talent’s needs. He’s just one of the very few of them embracing accountability in response to the repercussions of his work. As for the Sagada spectacle, that’s an entire town robbed of solemnity during Holy Week and she did what? She tweeted another show of her film. That heartless.
Since 2011, a lot of tourists wake up early during weekends, (Saturdays and Sundays) just to watch the sun come up from the mountains of Kiltepan peak. IT ONLY HAPPENS DURING LONG HOLIDAYS. It has been that scenario even before that Tadhana movie.
Nobody is to be blamed here. It’s the media that made it that site popular and not that movie alone.