Catch Howie Severino’s I-Witness documentary “143 COVID Free” airing on GMA News TV today.
A major trading town that couldn’t lock down for even one day during the pandemic stayed COVID-free for 143 days.
In their first field foray in six months, Howie and his documentary team travel to northern Luzon to investigate how a busy rural community was able to do it.
Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya also happens to be the hometown of Xyza Cruz Bacani, the former DH-turned-renowned-photojournalist in Hong Kong whom Howie and his team first documented in 2014 at the start of her international career.
Xyza has since been traveling the world for her work, but got stranded in Bambang during the pandemic, forcing her to rediscover the town she left behind.
She has focused her lenses on the town’s lone rural health doctor and how he’s been teaching his townmates to keep themselves safe. Her storytelling has brought Bambang’s remarkable achievement to the attention of a global audience.
“143 COVID Free” is a story of hope in dangerous times, of the unlikely homecoming of a unique OFW, and of the continuing struggle of a community to keep everyone alive and well.