Jason surfed on weekends when we first met (1). This was when we were figuring out how to make films. Back then, we hardly needed sleep and spent long hours at his studio editing. But after work Fridays, rather than hanging out, he would take the night bus going north, traveling eight hours to La Union to surf til Sunday. He’d then catch the last bus back to make it back Monday, sometimes going straight from the station to the studio, and reenter our crepuscular world smiling, sunburnt, and smelling of the sea (2).  

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I always wondered why he did that, but I never asked him. 

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Jason then became a photographer (3). Once we were on assignment (4) to meet then-mayor Rodrigo Duterte (5) at a restaurant in Davao city. Both of us were still smoking at that time and could smoke a pack a day each. Smoking was strictly banned in Davao (even inside cars, we were told, unless the windows were shut.) Already over an hour past our scheduled appointment, there was still no sign of him. The waiters told us that there were smoking areas in the city. But exactly where they couldn’t say. 

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We went looking anyway. 

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Half an hour later we still hadn’t found any. 

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Not wanting to risk missing our appointment, we decided to walk back. Still, Jason said, we needed a few puffs, to calm our nerves (if any) and not be too forlorn before meeting the mayor. En route the only option was behind a parked vehicle along the road. We took it and shared a cigarette. True enough when we got to the restaurant, Duterte would arrive as soon as we sat in our seats. Of course he knew we had been smoking and suggested we should hide better next time. 

 

These days Jason says he can’t surf anymore. The muscles have been too long out of practice/away from the water to have the same power they once did. He still shoots, but not the kinds of assignments we once did. Not too many magazines sending either of us to cities to meet with would-be despots. We both quit smoking. Things are different. 

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Things are also the same: Jason and I still talk to each other often. 

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Occasionally we work together. 

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He’s still figuring out stuff, and so am I. 

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There are many things that remain mysterious between us. Like the photographs collected on this site. 

I can’t recognize the person who made them. 

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I recognize the name, but not quite the Jason I’ve written about above. Certainly not the weekend surfer, my ex-smoking partner, or my friend for over a quarter century. 

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The artist who made these images is someone new to me. 

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That’s a good thing: to meet a new person in people you already know. And to like this new person, even better. 

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One of the most honest reasons I’ve ever read anyone say why they make art was so that their friends would love them more (6). 

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Jason needn’t worry about that. His friends love him enough. But don’t tell him. 

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He needs to take more pictures (7). 

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Erwin Romulo worked as Editor-in-Chief of Esquire Magazine (2011-2015).

He continues to work with photographers in film making, art exhibits and publishing.

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(1) Probably around 1999-2000

(2) But for the smile, he always looked worse than when he left

(3) I became a magazine editor.

(4) Esquire Philippines, March 2015 issue 

(5) Duterte was elected president of the Philippines in 2016 

(6) This guy

(7) C’mon Jason, help Tanya out

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