Getting an award for their work was the last thing Raffy Tima and Marisol Abdurahman were thinking when they went to Marawi last year to make their documentary “Combat Camera Team.”
The episode of GMA News TV program Brigada recently took home a bronze medal from the prestigious New York Festivals Television and Film Awards for the Current Affairs category. This was followed by a Certificate of Creative Excellence from the US International Film and Video Festival (USIFVF).
In the documentary, Abdurahman featured members of the Combat Camera Team of the 3rd Scout Ranger Battalion who were tasked to document the operations of the Philippine Army’s combatant units. Tima, on the other hand, followed the internally displaced residents who dream of bringing their beloved Marawi back to life.
We were just doing our job,” Tima says nonchalantly about the win. “Kung may award, [I’m] thankful,” adds the Balitanghali anchor, who is considered a veteran in terms of reporting about wars here and abroad. He covered all-out war against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), as well as the war in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2004.
Like Tima, Abdurahman is not a newbie when it comes to reporting conflict stories and military operations. As a field reporter for GMA News, she has been covering stories in conflict areas, particularly in Mindanao. She has been sent abroad to cover the peace talks between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Prior to becoming a reporter, she taught in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), thus her familiarity with the military.
For the winning Brigada episode, it also helped that Abdurahman’s sources were her former students. Her team was just supposed to focus on how the Armed Forces were able to kill Maute group leaders Omar Maute and Isnilon Hapilon. But when they were already in Marawi, Marisol’s team discovered that the Armed Forces had captured videos of the actual battle.
As someone whose family is from Mindanao, doing the Combat Camera Team story was quite personal for the Kapuso reporter.
I empathize with my fellow Muslims. I know that I have students fighting. It’s different when you think that andun yung mga taong apat na taon mong tinuruan. Every day I pray: Please, God, keep them safe. Keep them away from harm,” says Abdurahman.
Aside from his Brigada story, Tima also made the “Inside Marawi: A Report on 360 Video,” which earned him a Silver Award in the Craft/Production Techniques: 360 Video category at the USIFVF.
Using his 360-camera and a regular camera, Tima captured some of the crucial areas where encounters between the Maute group and the Armed Forces took place. He also showed in his 360-video the residence which was turned into a sniper house, the tunnel system created by the terrorists, the mosques that were used as escape routes, as well as the exact area where Maute and Hapilon were killed.
He was the first journalist given the access to these areas. “Ang nakatutuwa doon ay yung hobby ko lang dati at yung passion ko ay na-recognize,” he shares, referring to his use of the 360-video technology.
Abdurahman reveals that her contacts welcomed the news that the Combat Camera Team documentary won. “They were very happy in the sense na nakita ‘yung effort ng military kung paano tinapos yung giyera, ‘yung sacrifices ng mga sundalo, ‘yung sitwasyon ng ating mga kababayan na hindi nakikita ng civilians, at kahit naming mga taga-media.”
Tima believes anything can be a good story. “I’m an old school journalist, hindi ako ‘yung masyadong forward thinking na magandang story ito kasi mas mare-recognize ako. If there’s a big coverage I would grab that opportunity.”
Still, he says no story is worth dying for. As such, he makes it a conscious effort to prioritize his team’s safety. “A dead journalist is a dead journalist. Maraming paraan para mailabas ang katotohanan na hindi mo kailangang mapahamak.”
For Abdurahman, whose Marawi coverage was also recognized by Rotary Manila, honesty in work is important. “I like to maintain my dignity as a reporter. Gusto ko kahit saan ako makita wala silang masasabi sa akin,” she ends.