RURAL VIEWS: Give Me a Sign

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 04 February) – There were at least three occasions when I was captivated by the beauty of visual language that uses hand shapes, facial expression, gestures, and body language.

The first was in church, where a group of deaf-mutes translated the homily and worship songs into fluid, graceful movements.

The second was in fast-food chains, where I admired persons with disabilities (PWDs) working efficiently. At Subway and Burger King, their silent and polite interactions proved that ability is defined less by speech but more by skills, discipline, and dedication.

And then there was Green Bones, the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival Best Picture. Child star Sienna Stevens portrayed Ruth, a deaf-mute girl, while Dennis Trillo played Domingo Zamora, an inmate who learned sign language and pretended to be deaf.

Teaching at Davao City Jail

The film’s setting, an al fresco penal colony, was far from the usual congested detention facilities. Still, as I watched Green Bones, I recalled my own experience teaching at the College Education Behind Bars (CEBB), a program launched through a partnership among the Social Entrepreneurship Technology and Business Institute (SETBI), the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), and the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP). These partners piloted the project at the Maa jail in Davao City.

The goal was simple yet transformative: education as a tool for rehabilitation.

Research shows that correctional education reduces recidivism, improves employment opportunities post-incarceration, and fosters personal growth. The CEBB did more than teach academic subjects—it offered hope.

About 90% of our students were detainees facing drug-related charges. Some were victims of wrongful accusations; others, casualties of their own wrong decisions and poor choices.

A Mirror to the Infamous War on Drugs

Domingo Zamora, or Dom Saltik in Green Bones, was accused of murdering his sister and niece. A petty thief and self-confessed former drug addict, he was not killed in a buy-bust operation. However, the film’s brutal depiction of his bloody fate evoked real-life images of thousands who perished under the infamous “nanlaban” narrative—a cover-up for cold-blooded murders which have been investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

At CEBB, we had our own Dom Saltiks—men and women burdened by past mistakes, struggling within an unforgiving system. Some were guilty; others, simply unlucky. But all shared the same desire—to rewrite their stories and reclaim life beyond the bars.

Wish Ko Lang on the Tree of Hope

In Green Bones, prisoners wrote their wishes on paper and hung them on the Tree of Hope, believing that someday, the universe might grant them.

In CEBB, our students did the same—not on a tree, but in their notes. I still remember some of their Christmas wishes: a pair of shoes for a daughter, a cake and chocolates for a family party and a backpack for a grade-school son.

A Language of Their Own

In Green Bones, prisoners secretly learned sign language to communicate discreetly. At CEBB, we had no deaf-mute students, but the bonding among students and PDLs evolved into a unique way of communication—beyond words, beyond gestures, rooted in understanding.

A Sign to Learn Something New

My encounters with sign language—whether through real-life experiences or the compelling story of Green Bones—felt like signs themselves. They are signs that learning never stops, and that it’s never too late to try something new.

And here I am, thinking about a new challenge—to learn the language of the hands, the language of silence. Yes, I want to study again and learn an exciting new language: the sign language.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Atty. Danilo A. Balucos is a private law practitioner and an affiliate counsel at Lopoz Fuentes-Lopoz and Associates (LFA) in Davao City. He is a member of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and the Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM). He is also a Trustee of the Davao City Media-Citizen Council and the Corporate Secretary of the HOPE (House of Prayer and Evangelization) Foundation in Nampicuan, Nueva Ecija.)