My Documentary in the Philippines
As part of Discovery Channel's five-part prison series, Inside the Gangsters' Code, I traveled to the Philippines and visited Bilibid maximum security prison. The ratings for the entire series was outstanding but beyond a large television viewership, I soon learned that the documentary had gone viral in the Philippines. Not long after, I was contacted by several journalists who told me that the documentary had led to a major political shift in the country, far beyond me and my production team's initial intentions. Shortly thereafter, I was invited to the Philippines by the country's new president, Rodrigo Duterte, who was planning to air the documentary before the Philippine congress as proof that the former government was aligned with gangsters. Journalist Joseph Hincks of Time magazine's world desk covered the story (click link below for article, with more links to the right). In the photos above, I am taking a much-needed water break, and a cigar break, with gang leader Jaybee Sebastian; he became a controversial figure during the political turmoil that rocked the country and has since died, allegedly from COVID, though many suspect that he was murdered.
