Dynamite Fishing

Badil (Filipino-Waray dialect ), has two meanings: a) Dynamite fishing; b) A practice prevalent during Philippine elections where the application of indelible ink is applied on the right index finger that a vote has been cast to prevent electoral fraud. In this case the use of indelible ink is employed fraudulently to prevent known supporters of a political opponent from casting their votes. Even in a remote fishing village in the now typhoon-ravaged region of Central Philippines, democracy has it’s price.

 Chiyo S. Roño’s Dynamite Fishing (Badil) depicts the intricacies of a deeply entrenched corrupt electoral system, where the right to vote is always up for sale to the highest bidder. At the center of the story is a young man, Lando, who experiences first hand, as dirty politics and twisted morality come head to head. On the eve of an Election Day, Lando is forced to assume his father Ponso’s role as the small island town’s vote buying broker for the incumbent Mayor after he suffers a minor stroke.

 With his father temporarily bed-ridden, Lando must learn the ropes and strive to keep their “territory”(and their livelihood) from falling into the hands of the opponent. As night falls, the village becomes a frenzied battleground for votes when money from very powerful people flow into the hands of the electorate. At the 11th hour, Lando finds himself caught in the middle as their supporters allow themselves to be inked by the opponent in exchange for money. In one night of corruption and back alley deal-making and breaking, Lando loses his self worth and the love he has vowed to save…

In Badil, the voters are not innocent victims. They are in cahoots with the politics operators. In their defense, they need the money, but, by taking it, they insure that their situation will not improve. Technically no votes are sold, but politics make prostitutes of everyone. Actually, this fake “democracy” gives the people the power to screw themselves over… This is the most personal and committed film by Chito S. Roño in several years, shot in his own province of Samar. Jessica Zafra named it “the best Filipino film of 2013”.