Aired (November 2, 2024): Tatlong taon na ang nakalipas noong makilala ng 'I-Witness' si David— isang gem hunter na kasing tibay ng mga bato kung humarap sa mga hamon sa buhay.
Kumusta na kaya siya ngayon? Abangan ang kanyang kuwento sa dokumentaryo ni Atom Araullo sa #IWitness.
#iBenteSingko
Kumusta na kaya siya ngayon? Abangan ang kanyang kuwento sa dokumentaryo ni Atom Araullo sa #IWitness.
#iBenteSingko
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00In his short workshop in Rizal, far from his tired eyes, a man works non-stop to make money.
00:30From things that are just picked up.
00:35But our life is not yet content.
00:39And a new challenge is his entry.
00:43Even if he doesn't agree with this, the others do.
00:46I first met the gem hunter David during the outbreak of the pandemic.
01:10We have a denial in Bulacan.
01:17A murky river.
01:20Which is sad to say, just like many other rivers in the province and the whole country.
01:28It's so muddy, it's dirty, it's sad.
01:32If you get hurt on your feet, you'll look ugly.
01:39It's like that.
01:41Because it has a hole at the top.
01:44According to the locals, the river is also full of dirty chickens.
01:50And chemicals from the car's battery.
01:55It's so smelly.
01:57There are dead animals in the mud.
02:00There are also birds.
02:02And there are also flies.
02:04I just didn't say it right away.
02:14It's good that David didn't say it right away.
02:18Because just like them, we also need to cross the river.
02:26Don't you hesitate to go to the river?
02:34No.
02:36For my family, I will do everything.
02:39Don't you hesitate?
02:41No.
02:43Even if there are a lot of flies, I don't care.
02:47For my family, it's more important.
02:52When you're in a river, what's the first thing you look at?
02:57The gravel bed.
02:59The rocks on the sides.
03:00The rocks on the sides.
03:02I look at it first to make sure that my effort to go to the river is not wasted.
03:12These are the first things you saw?
03:14Yes. Red Jasper.
03:18It's also a gemstone.
03:20It's a variety of parts.
03:23The color is impure, that's why it's not translucent.
03:27Yes.
03:29It's also a variety of parts.
03:32Okay.
03:34Let's see if the pattern inside is good.
03:40There, it's good.
03:45For example, this one.
03:48I'll take this one home.
03:50Okay.
03:51I'll cut it.
03:53I'll make a pendant out of it.
03:54What do you mean by it's good?
03:56The ones that have spikes.
03:59Those are the cracks that healed.
04:01It was pierced by agata.
04:04Those are the cracks that healed.
04:06Agata is also a type of mineral.
04:09Yes.
04:11David is only a high school graduate.
04:13But when it comes to stones and gemstones, he has a lot of knowledge.
04:18These stones are called semi-precious gemstones.
04:22These are stones that are not expensive.
04:27Because the so-called precious gems,
04:30there are only four of them in the whole world.
04:33The first one is diamond,
04:35the second is sapphire,
04:37the third is ruby,
04:39and the fourth is emerald.
04:42These are other gemstones that David has seen.
04:46This is petrified wood,
04:48or fossilized wood.
04:49Oh.
04:51It's a fossilized wood.
04:53That's great.
04:55You can still see the cracks of the wood.
04:57Yes.
04:58We'll be able to see it better if we crack it.
05:00Okay.
05:09It's very fine.
05:11It's like a stone.
05:13Yes, it's a stone.
05:15It's age is 150 to 200 million years old.
05:19Wow.
05:21It's the age of dinosaurs.
05:23Wow.
05:25If people don't know about this,
05:29they just pass by.
05:31Yes, they just pass by.
05:33They make shoes for cars,
05:35to put in the garden,
05:37to put in the aquarium.
05:39Sometimes we get bullied here.
05:42The people up there.
05:44They'll tell us,
05:45you don't have anything to eat,
05:47and you're picking up stones.
05:49They don't know.
05:51They don't know that there's a price for this.
06:03Some kids also need to follow the gem hunters.
06:08Don't bring any kind of tools.
06:12For example, a shovel.
06:15Or a pickaxe.
06:17That's not allowed.
06:19Also,
06:21don't go to protected areas.
06:24National parks,
06:26caves.
06:28Don't bring stalactites
06:31and stalagmites.
06:45Three years later,
06:47David and I met again.
06:55He looks a bit different now.
06:57But the passion of the gem hunter
07:00is still there.
07:02Oh, why are you holding a spoon?
07:04Why are you holding a spoon?
07:07Why are you holding a spoon?
07:09Why are you holding a spoon?
07:11Why are you holding a spoon?
07:12Why are you holding a spoon?
07:15Why are you holding a spoon?
07:17Why are you holding a spoon?
07:21However,
07:23he's also looking for gemstones in other places.
07:26How did you discover this place?
07:28Just by walking.
07:30By bike.
07:32I'm just scouting the surroundings.
07:35The rivers.
07:37Why did you move?
07:39What happened to your old place?
07:40It was closed.
07:42Closed?
07:43Yes.
07:44Is it our fault?
07:46No, it's their fault.
07:48Because it's dirty.
07:51They were embarrassed.
07:53They were embarrassed by the river.
07:58Even if you have to travel far,
08:00this place is more believable.
08:03And there is also a rare variant of gemstone
08:06that can be found in the river.
08:08You call it Chalcedon?
08:10Yes, Chalcedon.
08:12Yes, Chalcedon.
08:14Especially the clear ones.
08:17Can we see that?
08:19I hope so.
08:23Together with David's gem hunting,
08:25his wife, Sandy,
08:27and two children.
08:29This is also a family's funding.
08:37Oh, yes.
08:38It's coral.
08:39Yes, it's coral.
08:40It's green.
08:41There it is.
08:46It's an old coral.
09:02Wow.
09:03What is that?
09:04It's a carnelian.
09:05Wow.
09:06That's great.
09:07Did your son get this?
09:08Yes.
09:09It's my son, Cram.
09:10He's always with me in my vlogs.
09:12Yes.
09:15After a few moments,
09:18David saw
09:20what he's been looking for.
09:22Wow.
09:24What is it?
09:26Oh,
09:28the trip was worth it.
09:30Why?
09:31It was worth it.
09:32There it is.
09:34You're good.
09:36The trip was worth it, sir.
09:41You're so happy.
09:43What is this?
09:44It's a chalcedon.
09:46Clear.
09:49Wow, it's beautiful.
09:51Wow, it's beautiful.
09:57I thought your eyes were blurry.
09:59It's because it's far.
10:00It's because it's far.
10:02When it's close, it's blurry.
10:04But when it's...
10:06I'm surprised.
10:07Your face suddenly brightened up.
10:09It's because of the money.
10:13Mmm.
10:16How much is that?
10:17How much is that?
10:18Twenty?
10:20Twenty-five pieces.
10:21Twenty-five pieces.
10:22Wow.
10:23It's worth 1,000.
10:24It's worth 1,000.
10:25It's worth 1,000.
10:26It's worth 1,000.
10:27You can see the...
10:28Letter P.
10:29It's a sign.
10:30It's a sign.
10:35It's beautiful.
10:44It's so beautiful.
10:49The sun is shining.
10:52It's like a rainbow when it's close to the chalcedon.
11:00You're so lucky.
11:02Maybe I'm your luck.
11:03You're with me.
11:06And it seems that David's luck is growing today.
11:12One more.
11:13One more.
11:14Here.
11:15There.
11:16It's small.
11:17Here?
11:18Yes.
11:19There.
11:20It's beautiful.
11:23Here.
11:24Here.
11:25There, sir.
11:26You're lucky.
11:27Sir.
11:28I'm lucky.
11:29You're lucky.
11:31It's a clear chalcedon, too.
11:33That's why.
11:34Is it still okay?
11:35It's still okay.
11:37Here, again.
11:38You're lucky.
11:40We're lucky.
11:41Our eyes...
11:43are sharp.
11:44Sharp.
11:47The group is in a hurry.
11:49That's why we're still trying to cross the far part of the river.
11:53There, sir.
11:54It's big, sir.
11:56What's that?
11:58Sir, it's beautiful, sir.
12:00Wow.
12:01David's enthusiasm for finding gems is evident.
12:05Wow, it's big.
12:06Here.
12:07It's really big.
12:08What's this?
12:09It's also a chalcedon.
12:10It's also a chalcedon.
12:11It's clear.
12:12Yes.
12:14It's like he's going back to his childhood.
12:16To every new thing he sees and discovers.
12:19Wow, it's big.
12:26Another one.
12:28It's under a rock.
12:31Is it real?
12:32Yes, sir.
12:33But it's not just a chalcedon.
12:35It's the way in which the father of the family
12:38brought his loved ones to life.
12:43Wow.
12:44There.
12:46Wow.
12:47Nice.
12:53Aside from being a gem hunter,
12:55David is also a lapidary artist.
12:58He makes souvenirs from semi-precious stones.
13:04He showed me how to do it.
13:09He used DIY equipment.
13:16There are no machines available here.
13:21They're all imported.
13:23I don't have the means to buy them.
13:26So I watched YouTube videos
13:30where I was taught how to make DIY machines.
13:39Since I don't have a slicer machine,
13:42I'll use a hammer to break them.
13:57Once they're broken,
13:59I'll grind them here.
14:04This is what you broke earlier.
14:06Yes, this is what I broke earlier.
14:08Yes.
14:09What will you do with it?
14:11I'll put it here in the number 80 grid.
14:17So you can get the shape?
14:20Yes, the shape and size.
14:23This is what we call shaping.
14:26This is where we do the shaping.
14:29When I first started practicing,
14:32my fingers would often go around here.
14:36Ouch!
14:38Yes.
14:39My fingers would often go around here.
14:42You have beautiful scars.
14:44Yes, I always have scars on my fingers.
14:47Jesus Christ.
14:59From the knowledge of stones,
15:02assembling DIY equipment,
15:05and shaping gemstones,
15:09David decided to learn.
15:15I've been a hobbyist for a long time.
15:18Of course, I want to know their names
15:22and what they're made for,
15:26how they're made, and so on.
15:29When you sell this,
15:31you need to know what you're selling.
15:35The buyer asked me,
15:37what's that?
15:39He's from there.
15:41He said, why are you doing that?
15:43You don't even know.
15:50Here it is.
15:52Wow.
15:57You're kidding.
15:59You just get the shape manually?
16:02Yes, sir.
16:04You're kidding.
16:05You know, while I'm watching David polish,
16:08it's so tense.
16:11Your finger is so close to the wheel,
16:15that sometimes I feel like it's going to stick.
16:19Before the pandemic,
16:21David earned Php 8,000 a week
16:24from selling gemstones.
16:27But now,
16:28he lost Php 3,000.
16:32My income is slowly coming back,
16:36but during the pandemic,
16:38it was really stuck.
16:43Before,
16:44David used to work in their house in Quezon City.
16:48Now, he's working in Antipolo.
16:52Why are you working here in Antipolo?
16:55It's better here,
16:57because I can make noise for a long time.
17:00When I started working here,
17:02it was 6 in the morning,
17:04and I finished at 8 in the evening.
17:07And in Quezon City,
17:09if I make noise,
17:11their neighbors will get mad.
17:16Even though he's far from his family,
17:18the good news is,
17:19his livelihood is getting better.
17:23The buyers doubled.
17:26This machine is already 4 pieces.
17:30I noticed that there are a lot of machines here.
17:33Yes.
17:34At first,
17:36I had a hard time processing
17:39because I was just hammering.
17:42So what are the new things you use here?
17:44This is the new mini bench grinder I bought.
17:48This is just for polishing.
17:51And this?
17:54This is a slicer for big stones.
17:57This is the one you didn't have before.
17:58Yes, that's the one I didn't have before.
18:00That's why I'm just hammering.
18:02You're just crushing it.
18:03Yes, I'm just hammering it.
18:05The problem with your old system is,
18:08you don't know how to break the stone.
18:10Yes.
18:11Sometimes, it's really crushed.
18:12No one can get it.
18:14Where did this come from?
18:17Debt.
18:18Oh, it's a debt.
18:20That's my debt.
18:21What is this?
18:22This is for carving stones.
18:24This is for making gemstone rings.
18:27Ah.
18:29Where did this machine come from?
18:32It was just given to me.
18:33Oh, really?
18:34It's from my home.
18:36Like a fan?
18:37Yes, I've watched Eyewitness.
18:39Oh, really?
18:40He's happy with your work.
18:41Is this a big help?
18:43It's really big.
18:44It's also a hole.
18:45It's all-purpose.
18:48It's multi-purpose.
18:49It's really big.
18:51David showed me
18:53what he's making now.
18:56This is the finished product.
18:57Wow.
18:59Is this what we got earlier?
19:01Yes, this is what we got earlier.
19:03It's still small.
19:08So, what are you going to do with this?
19:09Are you going to put it in...
19:10Yes.
19:11It depends on where you buy it.
19:13Where you put it.
19:14It can be pendants.
19:15It can be earrings.
19:16It can be earrings.
19:17It can be earrings.
19:19Were you able to make this before?
19:21No.
19:22This is the smallest one.
19:24That was the smallest one.
19:27One centimeter.
19:30So, with your tools,
19:31you can make this?
19:32Yes, I can now.
19:33Is this more sellable?
19:35It's more sellable
19:36because it's the smallest one
19:37compared to the big one.
19:42And it's shiny.
19:43Yes.
19:44It seems like you've improved.
19:46Yes.
19:47It's polishing skills.
19:48It's polishing.
19:50It's beautiful.
19:51So, how much is this going to sell?
19:53It's around P2,500.
19:56Oh, really?
19:57P2,500?
19:58Wow.
20:00If you thought
20:01David was making a lot of money,
20:05there's something he wants to confess.
20:14What you see here
20:16is enough for your needs?
20:18To tell you the truth,
20:20out of all my debts,
20:22this is the only place that I can go.
20:24Almost.
20:25My family only has a little for us.
20:29Like this,
20:30I'm still building a place.
20:33There's still electricity here,
20:34and there's electricity there.
20:37I'm still taking care of the kids.
20:39That's why there will be
20:40a little bit left.
20:47Wow.
20:49That's impressive.
20:56As he continues to work hard,
21:01David is slowly fulfilling
21:04his obligations.
21:08Maybe next year,
21:09I won't have any debts.
21:11It's clean.
21:12You won't have to borrow again.
21:13I won't have to borrow again.
21:14I won't have to pay again.
21:26Despite the heavy responsibility,
21:31David still has a desire
21:33to help others.
21:38This faucet...
21:40He does this
21:42in order to distribute
21:43the most important asset.
21:45If it's crushed by a hammer,
21:47it means
21:48it's not a diamond.
21:50The knowledge
21:51as a Lapidari artist.
21:53A lot of people contact me
21:57asking me to teach
21:59Lapidari.
22:02The truth is,
22:03six of them
22:04are already making money.
22:06They learned from you?
22:07Yes.
22:09They're from different provinces.
22:13Why did you decide to teach?
22:15It's for me.
22:16I learned it for free.
22:17That's why I'm free
22:18to teach others
22:21what is really
22:22deserving to be taught.
22:31One of David's students
22:34is Alex,
22:35another bonsai artist.
22:42Alex is from Botuan City.
22:49He saw David on TV
22:53so he decided to message him.
22:57I watched the episode
22:58of Sir David
22:59in Eyewitness.
23:02I was making
23:03a typical bonsai
23:04and I put stones in it.
23:06But I didn't know
23:07that I used a gemstone.
23:09I messaged Sir David
23:11and he taught me
23:12how to process.
23:15This is called
23:16a dendritic agate.
23:18I agreed
23:19because he said
23:20he wanted me
23:21to find
23:22his own gemstone
23:24here in the Philippines.
23:25That's where I started.
23:27He taught me
23:28that it's free
23:29and free of charge.
23:30How to identify a stone,
23:32how to process it,
23:34and how to make it shine.
23:37Even though he used
23:38an improvised machine,
23:47Alex was able
23:48to make beautiful works
23:52like these
23:58in the guidance of David.
23:59Okay, sir.
24:00Thank you, sir.
24:01That's why I'm trying
24:02because he told me
24:03that I should continue
24:05and you'll reach far.
24:08I feel ashamed of him
24:10because sometimes
24:11I think that
24:12I should leave it to him.
24:14Thank you so much
24:15for guiding me
24:16until now.
24:17I want to share
24:18my knowledge with others.
24:20But if there are
24:21newbies like David,
24:23there are also
24:24those who were encouraged.
24:25Yes, sir.
24:26There are more bashers.
24:28Basher?
24:29What are they talking about?
24:30Yes, sir.
24:31It should be
24:33not to expose
24:34the long pole to the gemstone
24:37because there are many
24:38bashers like us.
24:39There will be many
24:40competitors.
24:43Even though it hurts
24:44what others say,
24:48David does not
24:49ignore it.
24:51Are you proud of your work?
24:53Super proud, sir.
24:55Super proud, sir.
24:57Because
24:59I have helped many
25:00jobless people.
25:02I teach them.
25:04They get a job
25:05and earn money.
25:07It feels different
25:08when you help others.
25:10I don't accept it.
25:11They tell me
25:14that they'll give me
25:15a share of their income.
25:18I said no.
25:19I'm okay with
25:20just a thank you.
25:31In the continuous
25:32pursuit,
25:35David gradually
25:37achieved
25:38the dreams
25:39of his family.
25:44But in each
25:45of his adventures,
25:48he discovered
25:49the true value
25:51of his art.
25:53Ah, okay, sir.
25:54The difference
25:55between this
25:56and the other
25:57works is
25:58that they were able
26:00to find
26:02their own
26:05and their own
26:06future.
26:13Good evening.
26:14I am Atom Arawlyo.
26:18And this
26:21is Eyewitness.
26:28www.eyewitness.com
26:58Thank you for watching
26:59Eyewitness.
27:00Dear viewers,
27:01what can you say
27:02about this documentary?
27:03Comment below
27:04and subscribe to the
27:05YouTube channel
27:06of GMA Public Affairs.
Recommended
Nanay Sita, muling binisita ng 'I-Witness' makalipas ang anim na buwan | I-Witness
GMA Public Affairs
Bakit wala sa mental rehabilitation center ang mga anak ni Nanay Sita? | I-Witness
GMA Public Affairs