Gulong ng Palad

Whoever you are...

We come into the world alone...we go away the same, but life is a lonely journey and so we seek love in all the places it can be found...desiring, needing, aching, to fill the void walked by our solitude.

But as we seek we get hurt and more broken, and more alone. And as we live our lives we learn that love is not searched...it seeks us.

Love is not taken, it is given, and in the giving we are thus made complete...

The Story of Santa

Santa Claus was originally known as St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was born in 280 A.D., in Patara, a City of Lycia Asia Minor known as Turkey. He became the gift giver of Myra. His gifts were given late at night, so that the gift givers identity would remain a secret. He was eventually named the patron sint of children, sailors, Russia, and Greece.
St. Nicholas was a Christian priest, who later became a bishop. He was a rich person. He traveled the country helping people, giving them money and other presents. St. Nicholas did not like to be seen when he gave away presents, so the children of the day were told to go to sleep early or he would not come! Nothing has changed and Santa Claus will not arrive this Christmas unless the children go to sleep early.
St. Nicholas continued his goes works until he died on December 6, 350. His kindness and generosity became known worldwide, though.
In the eyes of the Catholics, a saint is someone who has live such a holy life the, after dying and going to heaven , he or she is still able to help people on earth. By 450, churches in Asia Minor and Greece were being named in honor of him. By 800, he was officially recognized as saint by Eastern Catholic Church. In the 1200s, December 6 began to be celebrated as Bishop Nicholas' Day in France.
Over the centuries, St. Nicholas' popularity grew. And many people in Europe made up new stories that showed his concern for children.
The name Santa Claus was derived from Sinter Klass, the Dutch pronunciation of St. Nicholas. As children from other countries tried to pronounce Sinter Klass, which was settled as Santa Claus. The old bishop's cloak with miter, jeweled gloves, and crozier were soon replaced with his red suit and clothings seen in modern images.

Iloilo’s Heritage Buildings: Going, Going, Gone…

Iloilo is the cradle of early Philippine civilization. The telltale marks of such cultural influences live on in the century-old buildings, pre-war streets and in the enterprising bloodline of its people. Sometimes we unravel the presence of the past by digging into everything. We meet limited facts on these stories but the historical landmarks remind us that “Iloilo is a link to those who influenced, gave power, honor, and integrity to the Ilonggos.”
Time has changed and so did the condition of these buildings. They are standing now as precious structural landmarks. What awaits them? Will they be preserved or are they on the verge of oblivion?
Hearing Elizalde’s prominence, richness will reap into our minds. They have owned vast lands and properties.

Their building has two floors with the ground floor housing bodegas or commercial spaces made of red bricks and the second floor serves as residential spaces. The architectural design is Antillan – characterized by the use of wood curtain walls with wide sliding windows to bring the breeze. Its ground floor walls are stone supporting the light wooden frame of the upper floor.
The grandeur of De la Rama Street according to the history, is a hub of commercial traffic and the life vein of the sugar industry during the nineteenth century and early American period. In 1857, it was originally built by Nicholas Loney, first British Vice-Consul in Iloilo, to connect the bodega or warehouse that he constructed at the waterfront with the town of Iloilo. The road which is about a kilometer long, costs more than $ 1,000 to built.
To finance the bodega and road construction, Loney had to borrow $ 15,000 from Russel and Sturgis, who were his business partners in the sugar industry.
The road costs a great deal and turned out to be a paying proposition. It also brought about the gradual reclamation of the whole western bank of the river along Iloilo. True to its name, “Calle Progresso” (Progress Street) as Loney called the road to be built, the street later became the principal commercial section of Iloilo.
The street got its name from prominent family of De la Ramas who owned the first Filipino firm that opened the first luxurious vessel in the Cosastwise Service. The purchase by the De la Rama Seamaship Co. Inc. of the M/S Don Esteban marked one of the most important events in the history of the Philippine shipping.
At present, De la Rama Street still shows signs of its past grandeur. Lining it are the ruined shells of planters mansions and corporate offices whose elegantly sculptured columns are still very visible at the right side of the street going to the waterfront. There are still identified remembrance of Farmacia Lacson, Visayan Central Colleges (VCC), De la Rama Shipping Company, and Hotel de Paris, Panay Ice Plant, structure of Strachan and McMurray Ltd., the old compound of Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the remains of the bodega of the Asturias Sugar Central and the bodega of Negros Navigation, Inc.
The Masonic Temple in front of the Plaza Libertad was just one of the witnesses of the unveiling history during the World War II.
In 1945, Iloilo City did escape from the Japanese invasion. The Japanese Imperial Army used this building as the Panay headquarters for their troops. More than that, Masonic Temple is one of the three houses of the Japanese comfort women, the other two are, Bilbao Hotel at the Hughes Street, and Allen Hotel at de la Rama Street. Young women were recruited through coercion, these girls and women were as young as eleven years old and were sometimes taken from their elementary schools.
Many Ilongga died in the mistreatment of the Japanese. However, after the war, the comfort stations quickly faded from public consciousness, and for years the issue received almost no attention.
In the main streets of Iloilo City, the Jose M. Basa Street formerly known as “Calle Real” was once the liveliest shopping center in the heart of Iloilo City during the American regime. But now her lights of glory turned dimmer as the sadness and darkness crept into her surroundings most likely after sundown. Most people refer to go to the promising centralized air-conditioned atmosphere of the malls.
Known as “Escolta” of Iloilo, Calle Real was seat of the European and Chinese retail stores on the 19th century. It became the site of the once renowned luxurious Hoskyns department store, the fist ever department store in the orient with a fixed price policy. Its no wonder why Dr. Jose Rizal during his stop over in Iloilo ( then known as the Maynila of the South) on Tuesday, August 4, 1896, while on his way to Manila from his exile in Dapitan, went shopping in Calle Real.
These very examples of old buildings and establishments could very well attest to that popular adage. “ Some phenomenon, fame, fortune, glory, theory, beliefs, and institutions have the privilege to last for sometime moment. But not one has the power to hold on to that forever.”
These are just the reminiscence of the past that mold Iloilo as one of the business capital of the Philippines. The splendor of great buildings that was once a palace of trade and topnotch industry. Is there a way to revive the lost glory of these structures?
The Philippines was no exempt in experiencing a wealthy elite who amassed great fortunes from their enterprises. As these assets were built, they have the “need” to spend their hard-earned money as a show of their prosperity. Some of these were used to built great, massive, impressive, and artistic buildings that awed the people then and still inspires the present generation. However, not all fortunes stay forever, and the large cost of maintaining these massive buildings soon become an anachronism. Their manner of living does not fit the way people live these days.
In times past, these people could support such large buildings with their profits from their business enterprises. However, their profits dwindled and, the increase from their properties could not support their elegant way of living.
Most buildings of today are converted into commercial establishments. Through this procedure, the grand areas of such buildings could be put into a more practical and more profitable use.
As for the great mansions, and that also of the old brick and marble houses, it can be seen that they were converted into commercial establishments.
In addition to these commercial conversions, some residential mansions and buildings that can be found mostly in the city were converted into schools. The old Villanueva mansion is now a school for grade school students. The Bethel Temple Academy is being housed in this building.
Although some old buildings were luckily preserved through the ages, still much of them were unable to survive. Some of them lost their primary purposes of being built, some are vanished in just a blink of years.
With these, the preservation of national landmarks and historical places should be the concern of the government. Let us just hope that with these information, the present generation could stop the desecration of our vanishing cultural heritage.Letting these once glorious mansions and avenues bite the dust of the malls is tragic. Its about time the businessman in the past of the city kick their heels in order to find ways to enliven the spirit of these streets, houses, and structures again. Let there be another chance. Let Iloilo turn back its glory. Let Iloilo, again, turn back the lost crown as Queen City of the South…

Veils of Imbai: Unravel the Japanese Comfort Women

It was an unholy hour of three in the morning and the rooster is still snoring. A sixteen year old girl name Tomasa sit still beside the bed, and her eyes with mist. The face of the hopeless nymph stunned the room, and beside her the drunked lieutenant that have just fell asleep an hour ago. She was thinking nothing. Her tears are full of pain. It was just her fourth night on that isolated room and she feel dying.
She is just one of “imbai,” one of the comfort women during the World War II imprisoned in the comfort station of the Japanese Imperial Army. Synonymous to “ jugun ianfu” (military comfort women) who became sexual laborers and were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese troops through coerced recruitment. Young girls were targeted as they unlikely to be infected with venereal diseases. The girls and women were as young as eleven years old and were sometimes taken from their elementary schools.

During the war, Iloilo City did not escape from the hands of the Japanese invasion. The Japanese Imperial Army opened three houses for their comfort women in the heart of the city. They were Asia Hall at Plaza Libertad beside the Masonic Temple-the tallest building in Iloilo on that time and the Panay general headquarters of the Japanese, Bilbao Hotel at the Hughes Street, and Allen Hotel at de la Rama Street.
These women speak Tagalog and Niponggo. The houses were opened for service from 9:00 o’clock in the morning up to 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon for foot soldiers and up to early dawn for high-ranking officers. Once comfort women arrived at the station they were forced to have sex, typically with 20 to 40 men a day - day after day. If they resisted, they were beaten or killed.
Only Japanese soldiers were allowed to frequent the station and were normally charged a fixed price that varied on the woman’s’ nationality. The rank of the soldier determined the length of the time allowed for a visit, price paid, and the hours at which the soldier was entitled to visit the comfort station. At least a portion of the revenue was taken by the military. According to the testimony of a survivor quoted in the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur, from 3 to 7 PM each day she had to serve sergeants, whereas the evenings and early dawn of the next day were reserved for lieutenants.
An excerpt from the story of Pak, a survivor, translated by Caroline Berndt tells the exploits of her experiences under the Japanese soldiers. - “ Whether it was morning or night, once one soldier left, the next soldier came. Thirty men would come in one day…we would try to talk each other out of committing suicide, but even with that, woman did still. There were some women who stole opium and took it. If they took a lot of it, they would vomit blood and die. There were some who died after gulping medicines whose name they didn’t even know. There were some who hanged themselves with their clothing inside the toilet. Because there were women who tried to kill themselves even if they only had some string, we tried to hide strings from each other…Then about six months after I was made a military comfort woman, I told a colonel in the army, “ Do you think we are your maids and your prostitutes? How can you be human being after making us do such things?” I then spat on his face.
From there, that soldier said “It is the command of the army. The country’s order is the Emperor’s order. If you have something to say, say it to the Emperor.” Then he beat me. I was in a coma for three days. Even when I regained consciousness, I couldn’t move. Even now I feel the pain from that time, and scars remain.”
The Japanese rationale for the comfort system was to enhance the morale of the military by providing amenities for recreational sex. The authorities believed such amenities would help prevent soldiers from committing random sexual violence toward women of the occupied territories. Beside its reputation, the military authorities were also concerned with the health of the troops, which prompted their close supervision of the hygienic conditions of the comfort stations in order to help keep STD under control. They imposed medical check-up for the women every Tuesday, the using of condoms, prohibitions on sick women to serve soldiers, and their daily bath.
Many of them become sterile from repeated rapes Women who become pregnant or infected with STD were given a shot of the antibiotic Terramycin, which the women referred to as “Number 606.” This drug made the woman’s body swell-up and would usually induce to abortion.
At the end of the war, survivors who made it home suffered severe physical and psychological problems. Many could not marry. As a result of violent physical and sexual abuse, STD, and drug addictions arising from their war time experiences, many of them suffered serious health effects including permanent damage to their reproductive organs and urinary tract. Many women also found themselves unable to bear child as a result of their mistreatment. Sleep disorders such as insomnia and fearful nightmares are common. They really suffer grievously.
However, after the war, the comfort stations quickly faded from public consciousness, and for years the issue received almost no attention.Tomasa is a symbol of the Japanese history that represents the women’s fright during the Japanese era. She is just one of the thousands of comfort women burned alive in the flame of the Japanese invasion…

On Duty: The Travails of a Male Prostitute

BEST FEATURE STORY- Writeshop on Gender, Sexuality, and Reproductive Health
Sponsored by: Ford Foundation Indonesia, Media Advocates for Reproductive Health, The Visayan Examiner


It was 10 in the morning. I went to Plaza Libertad to finish my proposed article on street children few weeks ago during the College Press Conference. The dried leaves on the ground stubbornly escaped the sweeper’s eyes along the way through the cemented pathwalk. On my way, I saw a young lad curled on a stone bench near the fence. As I passed by him, he hurriedly woke up. He was so thin and tall, wearing a shirt that obviously not been washed for weeks. I said “Hi!.”
Meet seventeen-year-old Geric, eldest of Nestor and Crisanta’s nine children. Geric got as far as grade six and stopped due to the classic reasons of poverty and family circumstances, ultimately pushing him to roam around the city. The gnawing in his stomach became an incessant itch, weirdly comforted by the bulky stone bench in the plaza. It was almost “home” offering him warmth, a place to dream for food.
Last September, his mother Crisanta died giving birth to her ninth. He found his drunkard father and his other siblings disappear like mists in their shed at Fort San Pedro.
All of a sudden, lured by the pain of neglect and hunger, his thirst for survival turned him into a freelance prostitute.
Unlike these “macho dancers” and registered male sex traders in gay bars, massage parlors, lodges, and KTV bars, Geric finds a comfortable nook for his trade at Regent Cinema. He goes to work almost everyday including Sundays and Holidays. Geric gets a hundred pesos per client in good days and measly ten pesos during bad days. More often, he offered sex in exchange for meals. His life right now revolves around the dim and unventilated cinema. The broken chairs and stinky odors are the silent witnesses of his so called “job.”

As far as heresays would allow, Geric is quite knowledgeable about AIDS or STD’s. But the using of condoms or of smearing tests in the nearby Reproductive Health Clinic is foreign. All that he understands is that “…basta lang may makaon ko OK na, indi lang gid mag pangawat…”
Is poverty the excuse of prostitution? Or it is just a matter of poor choice? There are many persons like Geric whose burdens since early childhood carved what he has become. What is worse is, it has become common and ordinary that plague the youth.
In an interview with Virgie Advincula, a social worker connected with Process Foundation, “prostitutes here in Iloilo City fall between 14-48 years old, both male and female, but the average “active” number ranges from 18-22 years old.” In relation to that, according to the City Ordinance 2002-237, known as “An Ordinance Promulgating Policies for the Prevention and Control of STI/ HIV AIDS cases in Iloilo City,” the commercial sex workers must be registered in the City Health Office for them to have a health certificate popularly known as the “pink card.” By this pink card the managers of the casa’s and KTV bars are assured that their “alaga” or sex workers are safe from STD’s, gonorrhea, HIV, and AIDS. However, in the case of Geric, freelancers or unregistered sex workers (street based) falls at the average age of 18 and below. They cannot be traced for HIV infection. Last year, there are already 13 cases of HIV in the city as per record, not included here are the budding population of freelancers. The government has no control over this.
In the Social Hygiene Clinic, there really are some freelancers that undergo gram-staining. Some of them came from Tanza, Rizal, Timawa, Baluarte, Villa, even Banate and some northern municipalities. It is just disappointing to note that gram-staining cannot detect AIDS/HIV, only gonorrhea, syphilis, and other same related diseases. In the current update of UNAIDS, the population of HIV/AIDS infected living children and adults reach the maximum of 39.4 M at the end of 2004.
These are just grim facts that threaten Geric. A child, who should rather be in school and not having his “duty” at the cinema or watching obsolete sexy films flashing on the wide screen repeatedly throughout the day. What is ironic is that our laws, however stringently enforced they may be, seems impotent to solve and salve Geric’s doom - or soul. We have begun to believe that there is nothing more we can do. He is a person that has submitted himself to his fate. He has become one who discovered hope through sex. He is just one of hundreds of prostitutes of Iloilo City searching for appeasement to his hunger, for the transient hours of love and belongingness, however superficial it may be. Is life really harsh for some people, or are the situations just mere outcomes of poor choices?
Last December 31, 2004 is his third year at Plaza Libertad, and all that burns in his young mind is just food for survival in his daily trod in the cemented jungle of prey and predator.At this moment, Geric is on duty. Who knows how many Gerics there may be?

The Dumpsite

Notice of Revocation to the Republic of the Philippines from the Spanish Crown

In view of your ongoing attempt to impeach your President, similar attempts to impeach her constitutional successors, and your continued inability to choose worthy, competent leaders, we hereby inform you that your independence has been revoked. Effective today, you are once again a colony of Spain. King Juan Carlos is your monarch, and shall exercise sovereignty over the entire archipelago, except for the island of Mindanao, which was never truly under the Spanish rule and is too troublesome besides.

The Spanish Parliament shall appoint a Minister for the Philippines without elections, as we are well aware of your behavior during electoral contests. In deference to your fragile sensibilities, we have nominated a man with close ties to the Philippines, that is, Philippine-born Spanish. Pending the confirmation of Minister Enrique Iglesias, we are assigning as Interim Minister for the Philippines. He too has close ties to your country, having visited your island many times in his youth. Like you, he is a colonial, being a citizen of an island which, in the light of American electoral indecision, has also reverted to Spain. We have faith in his ability to command your full attention. Yes, the Interim Minister is Ricky Martin.

Your Senate and House of Representatives shall be dissolved immediately. However, in recognition of the entertainment these institutions have provided a television program to provide employment to the actors who played your legislators.

To aid in the transition to a Spanish colony, the following rules are hereby promulgated:

All Filipino citizens who claim to be Spanish descent shall undergo DNA testing to substantiate such claims. Greeting people “Oye!” and making beso-beso do not constitute proof of Spanish lineage. Nor does have Spanish-sounding surname, as these names were assigned to your non-Spanish ancestors for bureaucratic purposes.
The Spanish language requirement shall be reinstated in your college. Given current global realities, English shall be phased out as the medium of instruction, but Spanish will be taught in your schools from the first grade onwards. Proficiency in Spanish shall be a prerequisite for graduation. You may begin your reeducation by learning to pronounce S’s, C’s, and Z’s in proper names as “th.” Jo-the Ri-thal. Garbiel Gar-thia Marqueth. Practith your pronounthiathion, underthtand?
The medieval era was over centuries ago. The Roman Catholic Church is no longer as influential in Spain as it was when we first ruled the Philippines. Guess what: We practice divorce in Spain.
While you’re at it, start practicing birth control, for crying out loud. Your natural resources cannot sustain you if you continue breeding indiscriminately.

You will receive further orders in the coming weeks.
Congratulations, you are once again a colony of Spain!

(Translated from Spanish)

source: Twisted 6

Iron Valley: Sanctuary of Rust

A few months ago my friend and I passed through the coastal road from La Paz going to Leganes. It was getting late at night and the roads seems blurred since there were no streetlights. As I leaned out and open the window, I was really surprised on what I have seen; I thought it was just a dump of scrap iron abandoned beside the street. But on that very night I got curious about that area and my mind don’t stop bothering me. So, the next day I tried to find time to pass that way again in Ticud and to confirm what I’ve seen last night. With great awe, I was totally mesmerized as the tricycle stopped in front of it. I am wrong, it is not just a dump, I looked around the area and sigh…it is but a subdivision of disposed rusty scrap metals.

This dumpsite was owned by the Cebu Metals Corporation ( CMC ). As what you think, yes it is! These scrap metals comes from Cebu City and was shipped here in Iloilo. Of course, with a permission of our local government. The site is approximately a hectare located in the vacant lot on where few meters away the residents dwell. With a height of more than 20 feet, don’t you think is it comparable to the valleys of Maasin? Or maybe they are trying to compete the Smokey Mountain of Iloilo in Mandurriao. More than 100 tons of various metals are presently shipped but the most visible and numerous of all are the rusty scrap irons.
The very first thing that came into my mind are the risk of the families living near the site. I got curious about corrosion and the effects of it in the health of every person on that area. The silent toxics that may kill them slowly in the continuous exposure to Ferric Oxide.
Ferrous ( Cu ) or iron is the 4th most abundant element on earth that can be found mostly in the crust. Its presence in soil is essential to plants and other living organisms. But, the metal ore of iron which is processed and used as construction materials, appliances, etc. when abandoned and exposed to air, rain, or simply moisture or fog produces rust by the process called corrosion.
The hazards of iron compound depends on varying toxicity. Exposure to iron oxide is potentially a serious risk in all industrial settings. Some iron compounds are suspected carcinogens. In general, either ferrous or ferric compounds are essentially toxics. Acute exposure to excessive levels of ferrous compounds can cause liver and kidney damage, altered respiratory rates and convulsion. If these dust powders are inhaled it may cause irritation of the upper respiratory tract and possible acute iron poisoning. It has no target organs but it may affect the flow of blood as it distributes oxygen to the different parts of the body.
Naturally, the residents beneath the dumpsite are those continuously inhale the rust powders when blown by air. And come to think of it they are taking in Ferric Oxide since the beginning of dumping those rusty scrap irons.

If these iron oxide is taken incessantly though inhalation, it may produce red and dry throat. Acute iron poisoning may cause biphasic shock, rapid increase in respiration and pulse rate, congestion of blood vessels which may cause: hemorrhagic nicrosis of the gastrointestinal tract, hepatotoxicity, metabolic acidosis, prolonged blood clotting, elevation of plasm level of serotonin and histamine. If it is exposed in the skin and eyes it may cause redness, itching, and burning. These are just the facts, the truth behind those scenic view of dump scrap irons.
A few weeks later, I catch up a news that the residents on that barangay start complaining to the owner that their rooftops are getting corroded even if their houses are made up of woods and nipa, still it does have rust. These powders from the when blown through the air enters their houses. The result, some residents most especially their children got asthma attacks, pneumonia, and breathing difficulty.
There were some pertinent documents that says that the operation on that site is not illegal. They have the DENR permit and the City Government permit, but, consider the endangered lives of all the residents that surrounds the site who inhale those rust powders all day long.

As of this time, the iron continues its corrosion process.

Daring to Dream

“The only permanent thing in this world…is change.” As the cliché says, the evolution of things today is put into the fast track. People have developed technology that processed everything from food to medicine, even babies in a blink of an eyelash. Inevitably, these biotechnological leaps and bounds took their toll upon nature.

The tall trees and wild flowers along the forest on my way to my grandfather’s house have always beckoned me stop and are refreshed. Fishponds abound along the foothills, where catfish and tilapia are fed by dusts of dried tree bark, beside the rice crops golden, and ready to be harvested. Everything around is soothing to the eye. This is my solace, my gift from nature.
My concern for the environment was born early in my childhood. By then I have started to think, “ What will I contribute to preserve beauty around me? ” As the years passed my vision to protect and promote the natural environment became more tangible. Through the different institutional and community organizations where I am involved, I pushed the establishment of my projects and researches in geared towards environmental awareness.

As a member of the research team on Indigenous Plants with Medicinal and Agricultural Uses in the Watershed Area of Maasin, Iloilo, we were able to conduct a survey in the mountainous barangays of Maasin, Iloilo. These rural barangays are located within the upper stream of Maasin Watershed surrounded by thick forest. It is approximately 7,000 hectares the source of the drinking water supply of Iloilo City through the Metro Iloilo Water District. Although many use harmful pesticides, the natural way of extracting medicine from shrubs and trees is still practiced. In this regard, our main goal for this research is to try to cultivate these rare species of medicinal and agriculturally useful plants in the vacant plot in our school’s new site. Through this, we can help solve the problem of the availability of these plants for mass production.

As the Senate President of our Student Government, one of my main thrust is to make WVCST an environmentally friendly campus. I authored the resolution on waste segregation and designed a set of garbage cans to contain non-biodegradable, biodegradable, and recyclable materials. The non-biodegradable materials are collected by the school maintenance crew, the recyclable materials which contains old news papers, bottles, and scrap iron are assigned to the recycling committee that sells these to junkshops and convert it into cash as an income generating project.
The biodegradable materials are collected by the Environmental Club and gathered into the compost pit at the new site. After a few weeks, it serves as natural fertilizer for our gerplasm of plants with medicinal and pest control properties. This linkage of the two environmental projects can therefore controlled waste in our campus and also served as an income-generating project of the college.

As Editor-in-Chief of our school paper, I have begun to advocate for environmental protection and awareness through articles in the college publication. My present research, Production of Tree Tumors in Common Philippine Fire Trees, is about tumors and burls that attack the Philippine fire trees along General Luna St., Iloilo City. The tumor cell grows faster than common healthy cells just like in humans. It reproduces until such time that it develops burls between the trunks and the upper roots. These tumor cells do not have any function but it seizes the spaces intended for healthy tree cells. Since water flow is blocked on it way to the trunks the leaves have very limited supply of fluid, becoming idle in the production of sugar in the process of photosynthesis. Eventually, it dies. One of the causes of the production of abnormal cells are the free entrance of bacteria in tree cuts and the abnormal dysfunctions of roots due to the cemented areas close to it.

Through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, we have developed a campaign to halt this rare but alarming problem. As a requirement to anyone permitted by the DENR to cut tree branches, they have to paint an anti-bacterial fluid into the cut. For tree burls, as long as it can be removed by stripping, it will be done manually. The hollows must be sprayed by anti-fungal, and antibacterial applications and covered by fine chicken wire then sprayed by a liquid Styrofoam, or a substitute, using plaster of paris that will serve as a concrete seal. This will be maintained annually to arrest the growth of these bacteria.Each of us is responsible in the task of preserving our environment. Let us dream. Let us dare turn this dream into our reality. Let us make a difference…

Out of Rice: Reminiscing Iloilo’s native merienda

When you talk about ibus, suman, and kalamay-hati, it is almost always associated with laborious procedures and preparations. More often than not, it is also associated with the traditional and old fashioned.

Kakanin as a word and as a merienda-companion is famous to all. Its name was derived from its main ingredient, which is kanin (rice). Not the regular rice but glutinous rice or in dialect we call it pilit. This native food is always a part and never been missed in the Filipino eating tradition, always in the list of food in every occasion, a favorite merienda and also breakfast. Its importance and demand is evident through the many vendors or hawkers in the streets or public places selling this great food. This authentic Filipino food is not only a favorite of its creators but also captured the taste of the foreigners, the reason why it is always a part of the buffet of the leading food establishments in the country, usually in the dessert section.

The History…

These native rice-made snacks or desserts symbolize the celebration of bounty harvest of the Philippine Islands. Ancient customs and practices also use these foods as offerings to the gods and anito’s. Every island, province or town may have their own recipe depending on their geographical location and the area's basic staple food like purple jam and tarp. Food to the Filipino, as in other culture, is a precious source of strength and spirit and could be a vehicle of harmony among friends, relatives, and even strangers.
The 1613 Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala of Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura uses the Mexican word tamales to translate suman and ibus. In another text he describes it as arroz envuelto or wrapped rice in leaves, lacking the exact term to render it in Spanish.
Kakanin wrapping is an art in itself. It is also part of the fun and its aesthetics. Like presents, wrapped kakanin is most festive. They use leaves found in their environment. The most common is banana leaves and coconut fresh ibus sprouts called lukay.
Cooking kakanin requires a special stove made of clay which is called bingkahan. This cooking instrument is made to work by live coals over the stove’s metal lid. Cooks of suman and kalamay-hati should have patience and endurance, because primarily it requires continuos fanning of the coals or blowing on it using a blower (a narrow pipe, made of wood.)Also, kakanin should be stirred continuously for a well-blended mixture and that it should not be burnt; while other native pastries can be cooked by steaming, frying and boiling.
They make variations in shape. In Iloilo Province the late grandmothers used to wrap ibus like a rectangle while in Antique, Capiz, and Aklan wraps it like a balisunsong. They choose the younger banana leaves as they are sweeter. These tiempos años great grandmothers are now gone six feet under the ground and nobody can wrap our ibus as well as they could wrap a hundred pieces in a jiffy. “ Kung sobra ka hugot malupok: kong sobra ka halog masigabong.” It almost sounded like a rhyme when Lola Pepay reminds her nephews, nieces “kung paano putson ang sang ka kudot nga kan-on.”

The Making…

We know how difficult the process is. The pilit rice is thoroughly cleaned and polished. Some rice varieties are now even harder to find like the bugas nga tapol (lavender) . Sometimes, rice has to be wet-milled to a sticky consistency. We still keep the stone mill used by my grandmother at home now just as an accent piece. Coconut meat should be scraped finely from the shell in a kudkuran and then squeezed to get the gata. Then this is mixed with other ingredients like sugar and salt in delicate proportion, and afterwards individually wrapped in fresh banana leaves, or young ibus leaves of coconut palm. Sometimes nipa leaves, young nodes of bamboo or empty coconut shell, if available.
The wrapping is an art in itself that has to be mastered. It distinguishes one kakanin from the others. Then it is baked, steamed or boiled to perfection. If one is remiss, it ends in disgracia.
The process of making suman is not written in recipe

books for it may vary with the available equipment. The taste depends on the obtainable ingredients peculiar to an area. The “secret” is handed down from the lola to her apo by them making kakanin together. Precious lessons, like tancha-tancha lang, are taught in the process. Improvements are made from the mistakes. But if the apo is not good enough to remember, much of the secret may be gone with the lola.
There is indeed joy in the anticipation of our traditional foods. These are not only breakfast food to fill the stomach but also painit food to warm the heart. For lack of exact translation, early Spanish dictionaries translate them as comidilla or slight repast, as the peculiar pleasure afforded by this food strikes our fancy, as opposed to comida, which is a full meal to satiate.

The Hidden Story …

In Iloilo City we could find still these special people called manuglibud. They are small families in the barangays that cook and sell native delicacies like inday-inday, ibus, bitso-bitso, puto lanson, suman latik and more. This cooks could still be found in Kaingin, La Paz on which is the main source of native food sold in the city, popularly in the Supermarket.
These manuglibod use baskets to carry the goods, either putting it on top of their heads or having it both their hands while shouting for their wares.
Almost everyday Mrs. Ofelia Malpetria sells her native goods . Inside her basket are freshly cooked alupe, suman, muhasi, puto-lanson, suman latik, and sometimes mais. She started it way back from 1989. When I’m still in high school, my classmates would call her “ Manang Britney” and that some would tease her to have their “utang” on her wares. Whenever we have our breaktime or feel the tremors of our stomach we would roam around the campus and find her just to buy bitso-bitso. She is the only one that finance the needs of her family, much of her money is spent for their food and her two children who is still schooling.
Almost everyday is a struggle for Manang Britney. Early morning she has to get her wares at Kaingin together with other manuglibud and put all the kakanins inside thier baskets. All of them should remit their sales not later in the afternoon, their percentage depends on how many goods they sold. In an interview she told us “ Kung kis-a gani nga indi pa ma-ubos asta alas tres, libuton ko gid na nga libuton ang bilog nga WVCST asta maka lab-ot alas singko. Malaka lang nga temprano maubos, kung pigado gid ang bintahanay, ti wala ta mahimu. Kung pilang-nahot lang ang nakita mo, ang ginansya dira, amo lang gid ina ang dal-on mo sa inyo balay.” This business in tradition is not just kept in a stall and the customers will just come to buy, instead she should sell her goods while trodding the sidewalk, “ ma-agahan lang ang biso-bitso indi gid ma binta kung mag tinir ka lang sa kilid-kilid.”
Some of them are obviously losing interest in native delicacies and are starting to cook spaghetti and other fast-food items, which saddens Iloilo’s traditional folks very much.The influence of fast-food fare was evident everywhere. At the market, the native bitso-bitso and muhasi were sold side by side with hamburger sandwiches, spaghetti, cheeseburgers and other popular fast-food items. Needless to say, plastic containers and wrappers had replaced most of the traditional lukay and banana leaves. We should initiate a revival of Iloilo’s delicacies and develop the traditional food industry into a tourist attraction. We have to do something to save the dying manuglibud tradition.
We should bear in mind that this alupe, suman, muhasi, puto-lanson, suman latik, kalamay-hati, etc. will forever be a symbol of a true Ilonggo table.

Photography