The Augustinian Mirror, March 2009

Table of Contents Editorial: The Slow Climb Back Up..........................................1 History: La Mina de Oro: Mga Larawan ng Isang Isla................2 TOURISM: Oriental Mindoro: Ang Pagbangon sa

Mahimbing na Pagtulog..................................................4

HERITAGE: Isang Araw sa Piling ng mga Mangyan......................6 ENVIRONMENT: Ang Talon ng Tamaraw: Kapayapaan sa

Bawat Patak ng Tubig......................................................8

TRANSPORTATION: Ang RoRo sa Aking Paglalakbay...................10 CITYSCAPE: Calapan City: Ang Pag-unlad ng

isang Kabiserang Lungsod...............................................12

Economy: Ano Bang Mayroon sa Mindoro?.............................14 VALEDICTION: Cathartic Neologisms..........................................16 PERSPECTIVES: Byaheng Dyahe ng Isang Dyurnalist...................18 IN CAMPUS: Graduate School Library: Fitting Good Things

in Small Packages.............................................................20

Amorita Rabuco, Ph.D.: Teacher, Doctor, and Friend.......22

Manilyn Glemer’s Journey to Theatrical Fame................24

Proven to be Your Extraordinary Seatmate.....................27

Culinary: Wheat Matters: Living the Legacy of

Chinese Ascendancy........................................................30

Culture: Witnessing the Colors of Villa Beach from Morning

to Dusk: The 37th Paraw Regatta Festival........................34

Paralleled Memories from Passi’s Pintados Festival........36

EDITORIAL STAFF

A.Y. 2008-2009 2nd Semester

Pietros Val Patricio Editor-in-Chief Cara Uy Managing Editor Paulo Moises Bayabos Jefferson Magbanua Jenny Castro Associate Editors Donna Isabelle Fresnido Allin Joy Emboltura Ronald Sorrilla Aljun Padisio Senior Writers Mario Ivan Gonzales Karlo Christopher Cristales Josh Von Iron Tondo Daisy Dawn Macahilo Staff Writers William Fusin Jr. Staff Artist/Photographer Sheena Capindo Circulation Officer Erwin Sustento Moderator The Augustinian Mirror is the official student magazine of the University of San Agustin. It is published once every semester by the USA Publications with editorial office at Room 38, 3rd Floor, Gamboa Hall, University of San Agustin, Brgy. San Agustin, Gen. Luna St., 5000 Iloilo City.

Comments, suggestions, and contributions may be sent to the Editorial Board through the email address pubpipol@usa.edu.ph.

About the cover

The cover photo portrays a Mangyan child from the woodlands of Mindoro clinging on to the trousers of its mother as it shies away from the camera. The toddler may appear so young and innocent, yet its restless eyes show sparks of hope as they depict the anticipation and potential for a brighter future.

In this time of global recession, the nation cannot help but struggle to withstand the economic slowdown the world is now facing. As the country may have proved so many times in history, it is

firm enough to survive any kind of challenge. The financial meltdown has already shattered many of the world’s leading giants and economic tigers but surprisingly, the Philippines remained a ‘sanctuary of calm’.

This classic portrait signifies that the prospects for opportunity and change in our country will always remain alive no matter what. That in spite of the prevailing poverty and political chaos in our society, we still have a beautiful country and people worth dying for. This issue of The Augustinian Mirror would like to remind you of that.

(Photo is courtesy of Cara Uy)

MIRROR

editorial

The Slow

Climb Back Up

T

he quest for excellence is fraught with many potholes, bumps and barriers, but never should this be the excuse for giving up. Still, in these dark times where cynicism is fast becoming the norm, more shoulders are sagging and many are turning back.

And so, what gives?

We Filipinos are a hardy race – one that easily adapts to the ever-changing times. We also have what it takes to craft masterpieces as well as to stand true to what we believe in – the Noli Me Tangere, Banaue Rice Terraces and the EDSA Revolution are but testaments to that. However, our true potential as a people is now hidden underneath the muck

of corruption, poverty, and all other forms of social unrest. We have fallen from grace, and what a steep fall it is! When we have once scaled the heights of moral, cultural and social excellence, we are now at the very bottom, scratching our heads at what triggered the sharp decline.

Despite this deterioration of values – aesthetic and moral – we are not totally to blame. Drastic circumstances have chinked our armor, molded us in ways we did not predict, and generally changed how we view the world and ourselves. In this case, we are reactors as much as we are actors in this stage of Life.

However, we believe that although the potential has been buried deep down, it cannot be erased. We have to painstakingly sift and dig through the dirt to find that long-lost thirst for what is beautiful, what is ideally right – excellence. Our hands may be sullied, and the work is not palatable or easy, but what we will regain will more than compensate our efforts.

The problem paradoxically lies in an aspect of our nation that we also consider a strength – our malleability. We are too soft in some aspects that we tend to be overaffected, overwhelmed, and passive. Because of this passivity, standards have been lowered and we allow room for mediocrity. And so the decline continues; we are passive, only because we allow ourselves to be.

We Filipinos should realize that as much as we laugh at our problems, we cannot laugh them away. It’s good to have a little levity in life but we should not waste our time in simply cracking jokes at our mounting bills, or the job applications returned as you remain only a graduate and not a professional. Consciousness is what we need – open our eyes and look at the truth, unpleasant though it may be. But that is only half of it. We must also translate our consciousness into tangible solutions for the problems that we come across.

Looking up from where we have fallen, one can see the vast difference between who we were and who we are now. We need to get back on our feet and inch our way back to the top. The challenge lies in awakening our limbs and keeping them going even if we feel that we cannot. Surely, every trickle of sweat, every cut and bruise taken on this difficult climb, every exhausted pant will be worth it once we look around us and see the blue skies and realize that we are once again, an old saying goes, “the master(s) of (our) fate, the captain(s) of (our) souls”.

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 1

MIRROR

history

La Mina de Oro:

Mga Larawan ng Isang Isla

By PIETROS VAL PATRICIO

I

TINATAG ang isla ng Mindoro noong ika-17 siglo bilang coorregimiento ng kolonyal na gobyerno ng mga Kastila sa Pilipinas matapos itong ihiwalay sa Bonbon (Batangas). Nanggaling ang ang pangalang ito sa praseng Espanyol na ‘Mina de Oro’ na ang ibig sabihin ay minahan ng ginto. Hindi man napapalibutan ng mga reserba ng ginto ang isla ay masagana naman ito sa likas na yaman at kagandahan. At ang bayan ng Puerto Galera ang naging unang kabisera nito.

Bago pa man dumating ang mga Kastila sa bansa ay naging importanteng dungkaan na ang hilagang bahagi ng isla ng mga sinaunang negosyanteng Intsik dahil sa likas na yaman at malaking populasyon nito noon. At ang Puerto Galera nga ang nagsilbing portal ng komersiyo sa isla. Mula pa noong 872 A.D. ay pinangalanan na ng mga sinaunang Intsik ang isla ng ‘Mait’ at naging paboritong sentro ito ng kalakalan ng mga produkto mula Kanton, Tsina gaya 2 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

ng tsaa, seda, palayok at mga ornamentong porselana, tanso, kobre at pilak. Kapalit nito ay nagbigay ng mga iba’t ibang uri ng kabibe, perlas, kahoy, isda, produktong niyog at pawikan ang mga katutubo sa isla.

Una nang nabanggit ang isla sa isang kronika sa Tsina bilang isang mayamang lugar ng pangangalakal sa Katimugan ng Luzon (Lu Song) noong 1225 A.D. Minsan na ring naging bahagi ng Majahapit Empire ang isla noong ika-14 siglo.

Unang napadpad ang mga Europeo sa isla noong Mayo 8, 1570 nang madiskubre ng mga Kastilang sina Martin de Goite at Juan Salcedo ang kanlurang bahagi ng isla.

Nang paghati-hatian ng mga konkistador ng Espanya ang arkipelago ng Pilipinas sa labingisang probinsya noong 1591, naisama ang Mindoro sa Calilaya, Lubang, Batangas, mga isla ng Calamianes at Marinduque.

Napabilang naman ang isla sa ikatlong eklesyastikong distrito ng Pilipinas nang mai-organisa ito noong Hunyo 18, 1677 ng

mga rekolektong prayle sa Cavite. Dalawang siglo matapos ihiwalay ang Mindoro sa Batangas, inilipat din ang kabisera nito sa Calapan noong taong 1837, isang maliit na lungsod na itinatag noong 1679 at umuswag mula sa isang maliit na parokya at kaserno ng mga sundalong Kastila. Ipinangalan ang lugar mula sa isang uri ng katutubong kahoy, ang kalap. Lumaki ang lungsod nang madagdagan pa ito ng mga bagong ditstrito nong 1733.

Nagkaroon lamang ng sariling sibil na gobyerno ang Mindoro noong Hulyo 4, 1901 ilang taon matapos sakupin ng mga Amerikano ang Pilipinas. Dito rin nagsimula ang pagpasok ng mga progresong pang imprastruktura gaya ng mga paaralan, sementadong kalsada, mga modernong ospital, koneksyon ng kuryente at linya ng tubig matapos pasukin ng mga Amerikanong investor at negosyante galing Maynila ang Mindoro upang magtayo ng mga malalaking taniman ng palay, niyog at tubo. Naging

sariling probinsya lamang ang isla noong taong 1921.

Tinatawag din na “Second Landing Site” ni General Douglas McArthur ang katimugang bahagi ng isla nang madungkaan ng mga sundalong Amerikano ang Mindoro noong Disyembre 15, 1945 upang magsanib pwersa sa mga Hukbong Filipino bago pa man nila tinalo ang mga hukbong Hapones noong Pangalawang Digmaang Pangdaigdig.

Taong 1950 nang pormal na hatiin ang isla sa dalawang probinsya, ang Occidental at Oriental Mindoro. Samantala, 1958 nang itinatag sa Calapan ang pinakaunang kable ng telepono sa Mindoro. Nanatiling kabisera ng Oriental Mindoro ang Calapan habang ang bayan ng San Jose naman ang nagsilbing kabisera ng Occidental Mindoro bago ito inilipat sa Mamburao noong taong 1961.

Hiniwalay din ang isla ng Maestro de Campo na naging bahagi ng Romblon.

Dekada sitenta nang madiskubre ang Mindoro bilang potensyal na eco-tourism hub. Nag-umpisa ang amat-amat na padayo ng mga turista sa mga hilagang look nito hanggang sa naging paboritong vacation hot spot at diving destination ng mga turista ang Puerto Galera. Nananatiling sentro ng atraksyon ang mga mapuputing dalampasigan ng Sabang at White Beach sa Puerto Galera, ang mga produktong Mangyan, ang mga kweba, ang mga coral reefs, ang Mount Halcon, ang Tamaraw Falls at ang mga naggagandahang bukid ng isla para sa mga lokal at dayuhang turista.

Tanging ang agrikultura, pangingisda, marble quarrying at ang turismo ang siyang nagsisilbing pangkabuhayan ng mga tao sa isla. Pangunahing mga produkto ng Mindoro ang bigas, asukal, isda, mais, niyog, bangus, tilapia at mga punong kahoy. Binubuhay nito ang 70% ng populasyon, samantalang 30% naman ay nabubuhay sa komersiyo gaya ng turismo, food manufacturing at ang

pagbubukas ng mga merchandise enterprises at retail establishments sa mga lungsod ng at malalaking bayan ng isla.

Karamihan sa mga mamamayan ng Mindoro ay mga Tagalog na nagmula sa mga probinsya ng katimugang Luzon ngunit marami ring mga Ilokano, Intsik at mga dayuhang naninirahan sa isla.

Pinakamalaking mga minoridad dito ay binubuo ng mga katutubong Mangyan at mga Bisayang mula Panay, Negros at Cebu.

Kasama ang look ng Puerto Galera sa listahan ng Club of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World. Idineklara rin ang lugar bilang Man and Biosphere Reserve of the UNESCO noong 1973 at minsan rin itong tinawag na “one of the most diverse coral reefs in Asia”. Ayon sa isang pagsisiyasat ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas noong 1980’s, napag-alaman na ang Verde Island Passage Lubang Island, Apo National Park at Escarceo Point sa gitna ng Mindoro at Batangas ay ang may pinakamaraming uri ng mga marine species sa buong mundo at ang siyang bumubuo ng sentro ng Golden Triangle of Marine Biodiversity. Pero sa kabila ng lahat, nananatiling problema pa rin sa Mindoro ang coral bleaching at dynamite fishing na nagdudulot ng unti-unting pagpudpod ng mga makukulay na korales sa mga coral beds ng Medio Island at ang pagkawala ng mga karaniwang uri ng isda, pusit, kabibi, seahorse, sea urchin at starfish na madalas hinuhuli ng mga illegal na mangingisda para ibenta ang mga ito at ma-ilagay sa mga aquarium ng mga malalaking hotel at establisimento sa Maynila at sa ibang bansa.

December 11, 2005 nang hagupitin ng bagyong Quedan ang buong lungsod ng Calapan at ang mga kalapit na munisipalidad nito kung saan 85, 446 katao

ang na-apektuhan ng pagbabaha matapos umapaw ang ilog ng Bucayao noon dulot ng matinding pag-ulan. Ngunit mabilis ring nakaresponde ang mga lokal na pamahalaan ng lalawigan at agad ring nakabangon ang lugar sa mga pinsalang naidulot ng bagyo sa pagbukas ng isang ‘Community Kitchen’, mga emergency clinics at evacuation center para sa mga nangangailangn at ang pagtatag ng ‘City Calamity Fund’ sa Calapan.

Hindi man malaki ang naibabahagi ng Mindoro sa ekonomiya at politika ng Pilipinas sa panahon ngayon ngunit nananatili pa rin itong isang tahimik at mapayapang isla.

Sa ngayon, patuloy pa rin ang pagpasok ng mga negosyo at pag-unlad sa dalawang probinsya ng isla at unti-unti rin itong bumabangon patungo sa kaunlaran.

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 3

MIRROR

tourism

Oriental Mindoro:

Ang Pagbangon sa Mahimbing na Pagtulog Ni DAISY DAWN MACAHILO

I

sang napakahiganteng probinsyang kakagising lamang ang nilakbay at tinunton naming mga Pub Pipol dalawang araw bago umabot ang paskwa. Lulan ng isang van, nilisan namin ang syudad ng Iloilo ng alas-tres ng umaga para sa humigit kumulang na kalahating-araw na byahe sakay sa RoRo papuntang Oriental Mindoro. Tinaguriang “Food basket at Ecotourism destination” ng bansa.Nahikayat kaming tuklasin ang angking kariktan at kinaiya ng nasabing lugar sa Rehiyong IV-B (Mimaropa). Taglay ang pagkilalang kakabit kay Kabayang Noli (Bise-Presidente Noli De Castro), diniskubre pa namin ang mga kwento sa likod ng kanyang mabilisang pag-unlad at lumulobong turismo sa loob ng sampung taon hanggang sa kasalukuyan.

Maikling Diskripsyon Ang baligtad na hugis J (kung sisipatin sa mapa) ng Oriental Mindoro ay sumasalamin

4 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

ng napakayamang “naturescapes” ng Pilipinas sa kabuuan. Sa silangan nito ay matatagpuan ang Dagat Tsina na siyang malaking salik sa kanyang nakapakagandang klima. Kaya hindi mapagkakailang pinagpala ito sa kalikasang mabugana, mala-agrikulturang lugar, mapuputing mga karagatan na mainam sa mga divers at snorkellers, malalapad na kabukiran na akma sa mahilig mag-mountain climbing at trekking, tahanan ng lain-lain na hayop, halaman at iba pa.

Ang Mindoro ay may kabuuang sukat na 436, 470 hektarya na kinapapalooban ng 128 na isla kung saan 39 pa lamang ang may pangalan. Bagama’t malayang nakakagala sa lugar ang mga turista ay todo-bantay naman ang lokal na pamahalaan ng probinsya para mapanatili ang anking ganda at makaiwas sa pagkasira nitong dunang manggad.

Batay sa May 2001 National Statistics Survey, ang Oriental Mindoro ay nakapagtala

ng kabuuang populasyong hindi humihigit sa 669, 000 katao. Kalabanan ng mga kakabayan natin doon ay mga Tagalog.

Ang natirirang pangkat etniko roon ay ang Mangyan na binubuo ng maliliit na tribu tulad ng Iraya, Alangan at Tadwanan.

Oriental Mindoro - the Island’s Loveliest Harbor Ang Mindoro ay ang isa sa mga pinakamalaking isla na bumubuo sa arkipelago ng Pilipinas. Bagama’t ito ang ika-pito sa laki, hindi maiwasang maihalintulad ang Oriental Mindoro sa ibang kapuluan sa antas ng pag-angat at pag-uswag. Sa panahon ng pagdumala ng mga Kastila, ang Mindoro ay nasa ilalim pa ng probinsya ng Batangas. Sa kalagitnaan ng ika-labimpitong siglo ay tuluyang humiwalay ito sa Batangas at ang Puerto Galera ang nagsilbing kabisera nito. Noong 1950, sa ilalim ng Republic Act No. 505

ay hinati ang isla sa dalawa, ang Silangan ay Oriental Mindoro kasama ang Calapan bilang kabisera nito at ang Kanlurang parte naman ay Occidental Mindoro kung saan ang kabisera ay Mamburao.

Ang proyektong Strong Republic Nautical Highway ni Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ang nag-ahon at nagpakilala sa potensyal ng probinsya.

Kakabit ng proyektong ito ay ang pagkakaroon nito ng mga establisadong kagamitan at pasilidad sa transportasyon at komunikasyon na siyang naging tulay para umahon at makasali sa liga ng mga super regions ang Oriental Mindoro. Ito ang nagsilbing geytwey ng Metro Manila, Visayas at ng Mindanao sa kalakaran at pagbabyahe. Ito’y may layong 140 kilometro mula sa Timog Manila at 45 minuto naman mula sa lungsod ng Batangas.

Dahil dito, ang Oriental Mindoro na siya ring Calamansi King ng bansa ay isa na sa WOW Philippines tourist destination sa rehiyon ng Mimaropa.

Sa unang pagtapak ko sa Oriental Mindoro, agad tumawag ng pansin ko ang mabilis na pagsaka-panaug ng mga sasakyan at mga taong lulan ng RoRo. Bagama’t ang unang pinagtuunan ng pansin ng proyektong ito ay ang mabilis at murang paghatid ng mga inangkat at luwas na mga produkto mula sa mga malalayong probinsya tungo sa sentro ng kalakaran—ang Maynila—ay nakatulong rin ito sa mga kababayan nating apektado at biktima ng pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin, gasolina at iba pa. Kahit medyo makapoy ang pagsakay at kaunting sakripisyon sa RoRo, mura naman ang bayad sa pamasahe.

Kasabay ng pagpapatayo ng mga naglalakihang pier, gusali, paaralan at mga makabagong daan, walang duda ang Oriental Mindoro ay patuloy na namamayagpag patungo sa kaunlaran.

Usapang Bayan Ang Oriental Mindoro ay nahahati sa labinlimang naglalakihang munisipalidad.

Nangunguna rito ang Calapan (ang kabisera), Bongabong, Baco, Bansud, Gloria, Mansalay, Naujan, Roxas, San Teodoro, Socorro, Puerto Galera, Pinamalayan, Victoria and Pola. Ang mga bayang ito ay kilala sa malalawak na kapatagan, palayan at taniman, nakapalibot na karagatan, iisang lawa na nag-uugnay sa kanila, mala-Antique na lugar, mala-Bagiuo na pasikot-sikot, murang presyo ng gasolina (Php27) at higit sa lahat, ang pagiging disiplinado ng mamamayan.

Kakambal na ng mga taga-Mindoro ang titulong “Most Disciplined City” kaya’t masasabing nasa tao pa rin at sa mga pinuno nakasalalay ang kapayapaan at paglago ng isang lugar. Kamakailan lamang ay naparangalan ang Calapan bilang “Most Outstanding Local Government Unit” sa kategoryang minorya.

Ang bayan ng Bansud ay nakakaagaw ng aking atensyon sapagkat bukod sa napakasimple ng lugar ay mayroon itong maliit na bersyon ng Burnham Park sa kanilang plaza at tumigil talaga kami para magpapiktyur para sa isyung ito at syempre naman para maitampok sa Friendster.

Ang Kabayan Hindi naman magpapahuli ang bayan ng Pola na kilala bilang bayang sinilangan ng ating Bise-Presidente Noli “Kabayan” De Castro. Medyo papasok at makitid ang dalan patungo sa bahay nila Kabayan. Madilim at unti-unting pumapatak na ang ulan nang dumating kami. Sumalubong sa amin ang nakakatandang kapatid ni De Castro na si Manong Romy na kakarating lang din galing Maynila. Malas nga lang kasi sa Maynila daw magpapasko si Kabayan at kung sakali man ay sa ika-26 pa raw darating. Akalain

mo nga naman, ang lugar ay Barangay Kabayan ang pangalan. Nakatitiyak kami na ang pangalang ito ay hango sa popular na pagkilala kay Bise-Presidente Noli De Castro.

Puerto Galera - Ang ‘Perlas’ ng Mindoro Tinuturing isa sa mga paboritong destinasyon sa bansa, ang Puerto Galera ay isa sa mga munisipalidad na patuloy na yumayabong at ipinagmamalaki ng mga tao sa Mindoro. Sa mala-paraisong dalampasigan nakilala ang Puerto Galera sa buong mundo. Ayon sa Department of Tourism, mahigit kumulang na 200,000 turista ang dumarayo rito taun-taon.

Mahigpit nitong kakumpetensya ang Boracay. Bagama’t nag-uumpisa pa lang ito, kapag ika’y dumalaw rito ay tiyak na babalik-balikan mo ang lugar. Sa Puerto Galera ay hindi pa tuluyang niyayakap ang komersyalismo, matumal ang kompetisyon, maliit ang populasyon, mababa ang tomo ng krimen at higit sa lahat, mura ang mga hotel pati na rin mga bilihin. Buhay na buhay rin ang night life roon.

Hindi lamang yan ang pinagmamalaki ng Puerto Galera; mayroon rin silang tinatawag na “De Galera Festival”. Ito’y tatlong araw na pagdiriwang matapos ang kapistahan ng Mahal na Patron Fatima. Ito’y idinaraos tuwing Mayo taun-taon.

www.flicker.com www.puertogalera.org

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MIRROR

heritage

Isang Araw sa Piling ng mga Mangyan

Ni PIETROS VAL PATRICIO

L

U M U WA S k a m i n g I l o i l o patungong Puerto Galera noong ika-23 ng Disyembre upang matuklasan ang ganda ng dalampasigan nito. Bukod sa pagbisita sa lalawigan ng Oriental Mindoro, ninais rin naming tuklasin ang likas na yaman, ekonomiya at pati na rin ang katutubong kultura ng lugar. Minabuti na rin naming bisitahin ang tinatawag nilang “Mangyan Village,� isang lugar na malapit lamang mula sa resort na aming tinuluyan. Sa pagbisita namin doon, kakaiba rin ang mga first hand na karanasan at impormasyong nasagap namin.

Ang Mangyan ay isang katutubong grupo na binubuo ng pitong etnolinggwistikong tribo na matatagpuan sa bulubunduking bahagi ng isla ng Mindoro.

6 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

Hindi pa umaabot ng 100,000 ang bilang ng minoridad ngunit masasabing malaki ang kanilang naiambag sa imahen ng Mindoro.

Ang tanging pagbanggit ng pangalan at kultura nila ay naiuugnay na sa isla.

Binubuo ng mga tribong Hanunoo, Buhid at Taubuhid o Batangan ang katimugang grupo ng mga Mangyan. Nakakalat naman ang mga tribung Iraya, Alangan at Tadyawan sa mga hilagang bahagi ng isla. Ang tribong Ratagnon naman ay pinaniniwalaang nagmula ng Visayas dahil sa wika nilang Cuyunon (na ginagamit rin sa Cuyo Islands sa Palawan). Hindi pa natutukoy ang totoong pinanggalingan ng salitang Mangyan ngunit pinaniniwalaang nanggaling ang grupong ito sa pinaghalong rasa ng Malayo at Negrito.

Dumating sila sa Mindoro noong ika-13 na siglo mula sa mga katimugang bahagi

ng arkipelago. Animismo ang tradisyunal nilang relihiyon ngunit 10% sa kanila ay naging Kristiyano matapos maisalin ng mga Katoliko at Protestanteng misyonaryo ilang dekada na ang nakalipas ang Bibliya sa katutubong wika ng mga Mangyan. Ang tanging ikinabubuhay nila ay ang pag-ani ng kamote, bigas, patatas, luya at taro.

Nanghuhuli rin sila ng baboy ramo, usa at iba’t-ibang uri ng mga ibon gamit ang pana, bolo at sibat.

Kilalang-kilala ang mga Taubuhid sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas sa pagkakaroon nila ng sariling sistema ng pagsusulat bago pa man sila sinakop ng mga Kastila.

Sinasabing Indic ang pinagmulan ng sistema ng pagsusulat na ito at madalas makikita sa mga kawayan kung saan inuukit ng mga Taubuhid ang kanilang

mga sinaunang kasabihan, katutubong kwento at mga tradisyonal na tula. Kilala sa buong kapuluan ang mga Taubuhid dahil sa kanilang tanyag na kakayahan sa pagsulat ng mga tula, bugtong at maikling kwento sa kawayan na madalas tawaging ambahan.

Ang wikang ginagamit ng mga Taubuhid at Buhid ay ang nag-iisang katutubong wika sa Pilipinas na gumagamit ng ponemang /f/ at kung saan walang binibigkas na /h/.

Napakasarap mang isiping mapayapa ang buhay ng mga Mangyan sa kanilang masasaganang bukirin na nagmimistulang paraiso, hindi ito ang katotohanang aming nadatnan nang pinuntahan namin ang “Mangyan Village” ng isang tribung Iraya malapit sa border ng Puetro Galera at Baclayan. Lulan ng isang van sa isang tagong sulok ng gubat, ibinaba ang USA

Publications Staff sa isang maliit na nayon na binubuo ng iilang bahay kubo o nipa hut na nagmimistulang mga barong-barong.

Iba ang nakita kong kalagayan ng mga Mangyan sa mga narinig kong kwento tungkol sa kanila.

Karamihan sa kanila’y hindi na marunong magsalita sa sarlili nilang wika at Tagalog na lamang ang ginagamit. Nang tanungin namin sila tungkol sa kanilang mga tradisyon at paniniwala, wala rin silang maisagot o maibigay na impormasyon sa amin. Natuklasan din namin na ang lugar na iyon ay hindi pala nila orihinal na tirahan kundi isang “relocation site” o “reservation camp” lamang na pinondohan ng gobyerno para matirhan nila. May nakita kaming billboard na nakapako sa isang puno kung saan nakasulat ito: “Mangyan Village Streetlight: Another Priority Project of Mayor Hubbert A. Dolor and Sangguniang Bayan”. Nakakita rin kami ng isang linya na dinadaluyan ng tubig at nagsisilbing koneksyon sa kuryente. Sa gitna naman ng village ay may isang modernong paaralan kung saan Filipino at Ingles lamang ang ginagamit na media of instruction.

Itinatag ito sa pamamagitan ng Educational Assistance Program ng Department of Education at Ayala Foundation, Inc. Nakakalungkot ring isipin na untiunti nang nawawala ang tradisyon ng mga Mangyan dahil sa pagiging tourist attraction ng nasabing Mangyan Village.

Nagtitinda na rin ang ilan sa kanila ng mga ornamento at basket na yari sa rattan para sa mga turistang dumarayo sa lugar nila.

Mga modernong damit na ang kanilang sinusuot doon at mga modernong kagamitan gaya ng radyo, telebisyon, cellular phone, stereo player at cooking stove na rin ang ginagamit nila.

Minsan na ring inabuso ng mga dayuhang mananakop ang mga Mangyan.

Muntik nang maubos ang lahi nila nang dumating ang mga Kastila at pinalaganap ng mga ito sa Mindoro noong ika-17 siglo ang nakakamatay na malaria. Karamihan sa kanila’y naging alipin ng mga piratang Muslim galing Mindanao noong kapanahunan

ng mga digmaang Moro-Kristiyano sa isla.

Napilitan din silang masangkot sa forced labor noong panahon ng mga Amerikano.

Nang naging malaya ang Pilipinas, nakaranas pa rin ng mga matitinding kaso ng land grabbing ang mga Mangyan.

Sa ngayon, sapilitan silang pinaaalis sa kanilang mga bukirin ng mga malalaking kumpanya ng minahan at logging industries.

Ang modernong panahon, teknolohiya at ang paglaganap ng globalisasyon ay nagiging kalaban na rin ng mga Mangyan dahil ang mga ito’y nagiging mga instrumento sa amat-amat na paglaho ng kanilang tradisyon at katangian.

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 7

MIRROR

environment

8 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

Ang Talon ng Tamaraw: Kapayapaan sa Bawat Patak ng Tubig

N

agsasawa ka na ba sa mainit na sikat ng araw, ihip ng hangin sa tabing dagat at maalat na tubig dagat? Isang kaaya-ayang tanawin ang bubungad sa inyong mga mata dahil sa maaliwalas na tubig na nanggagaling sa itaas ng bundok. Ang Talon ng Tamaraw na apatnaraan at dalawampu’t tatlong metro ang taas ay isang kamangha-manghang obra maestra ng Diyos sa kalikasan. Ang talon ay makikita sa tabi ng daan na sakop ng Brgy.

Villaflor, Puerto Galera na malapit lamang sa Lungsod ng San Teodoro. Nagmistulang isang paraiso ang Talon ng Tamaraw dahil sa serye ng maliliit na talon bago ang huling patak ng malamig na tubig ay maka-abot sa pool na makikita sa ibaba. Ito’y magandang lugar para sa isang piknik dahil mayroong picnic area na nilaan para sa mga turistang gustong kumain at maligo. Hindi makwenta ang kaligayahan na matatamo ng isang turistang uhaw sa kalikasan at magandang tanawin kapag ang Talon ng Tamaraw ang pag-uusapan.

Ang pangalan ng talon ay hango sa hayop na tamaraw o Mindoro Dwarf Buffalo (na nakabilang sa uri ng Bubalus mindorensis) na karaniwang makikita sa Oriental Mindoro. Mayroong istatwang bato ng tamaraw malapit sa talon at ito ang nagsisilbing tatak ng Talon ng Tamaraw.

Ang Tamaraw ay nabibilang sa pamilyang Bovidae na katulad din sa kalabaw o Water Buffalo. May karaniwang taas na

100 hanggang 105 sentimetro ang balikat ng tamaraw, 220 sentimetro ang haba ng katawan nito at 60 sentimetro naman ang buntot. Nasa pagitan ng 200 hanggang 300 kilogramo ang timbang ng mga babaeng tamaraw. May madilim na pagkakayumanggi hanggang abuhing kulay ang mga nasa hustong gulang na mga tamaraw. Salungat sa karaniwang paniniwala at nakaraang klasipikasyon,hindi mas mababang uri ng kalabaw ang tamaraw; mas malaki lamang ito nang kaunti. May ilang pagkakaiba ito sa kalabaw - ang tamaraw ay mas mabuhok nang kaunti, may mga maliwanag na marka sa kaniyang mukha at may mas maikling sungay na parang titik V. Unang naitala ang tamaraw noong 1888 sa pulo ng Mindoro.

Sa ngayon, nanganganib na ang lahi ng tamaraw sapagkat ito’y hinuhuli ng mga mangangasong interesado sa karne nito.

Kaunti na lamang ang natitirang tamaraw sa Mindoro at nasa listahan na ito sa mga endangered species sa Pilipinas. Noong 2004 nang pinatupad ang Proklamasyon Blg. 692, itinala na ang unang araw ng Oktubre bilang holiday ng mga manggagawa sa probinsya.

Ito ay kasama ng Buwan ng Konserbasyon ng Tamaraw at nagpapaalala sa mga tagaMindoro ng kahalagahan ng pag-aalaga sa mga Tamaraw at ang tirahan nito. Isa itong hakbang upang mapanatili ang kaligtasan ng mga Tamaraw sa Mindoro. Ang kalabaw ay ang pambansang hayop ng Pilipinas, ngunit masasabing ang Tamaraw ay isa ring

Ni Jenny Castro

pambansang simbolo ng Pilipinas. Ang Tamaraw ay makikita sa isang piso noong dekada ‘80 at dekada ‘90.

Ang Talon ng Tamaraw ay nagsilbing kapalit sa mga dagat sa Puerto Galera.

Kahit maraming talon sa isla, ang Talon ng Tamaraw ang talagang masasabing makakabighani sa mga mata ng mga turista. Dalawampu’t limang piso bawat tao ang bayad upang makapasok sa resort na makikita sa ibaba ng tulay kung gusto ng mga bumibisita na magpahinga sa mga upuan at mesa sa ilalim habang nakikinig sa musika ng bawat patak ng tubig na nanggagaling sa talon. Mararating ang Talon ng Tamaraw sa loob ng dalawang oras kapag ika’y sumakay ng dyip patungong Brgy. Villaflor mula sa Puerto Galera o Calapan. Maaari ring marating ito kapag may pribadong sasakyan.

Ang pagbisita sa Puerto Galera ay hindi makukumpleto kapag hindi mo masilayan ang kagandahan ng Talon ng Tamaraw. Walang katulad ang kagandahan ng talon. Mayroong mga murang tindang souvenir sa gilid ng daan sa tapat ng talon para sa mga dumarayong turista. Habang papalapit pa lamang, maririnig mo na agad ang tunog ng pagbagsak ng malamig na tubig ng talon sa swimming pool sa ibaba nito. Nagsusumamo ng kapayapaan sa bawat patak ng tubig mula sa itaas ng talon at tila nagsasabing mapayapa ang Puerto Galera.

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 9

MIRROR

transportation

Ang RoRo sa Aking Paglalakbay Ni Ronald Sorrilla

“M

aglakbay a t tuklasin natin ang Pilipinas” ika nga ni Regine Velasquez sa isang ‘WOW Philippines’ na advertisement sa TV. Ang Roll On-Roll Off o ang madalas na tawaging RoRo na nga ang pinakasikat at patok sa larangan ng transportasyon dito sa ating bansa ngayon. Sa pamumuno ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Aroyo ay naging bahagi na ng bawat Filipino ang RoRo sa ating paglakbay sa iba’t ibang panig ng bansa.

Sa pamamagitan nito, magkakaroon na ang lahat ng pag-asang makapaglakbay sa 10 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

kanilang ninanais marating saan man sa bansa. Ito ay napaloob sa 2004-2010 na State of the Nation Address niya na kung saan magsisilbing daan ito tungo sa kaunlaran ng ating bansa. Nagsimula ang RoRo nong ika-12 ng Abril 2003 ng pagdugtongin nito ang mga malalaking isla ng Pilipinas.

Gayunpaman, maraming espekulasyon ang namamayani sa maraming mamamayan kung ano nga ba ang kinauugnay ng RoRo sa pag-unlad ng bansa? Marahil na nga sa RoRo napapabilis na ngayon ang pag-usad ng mga kalakal mula sa mga probinsya papunta sa mga sentro ng pamilihan.

Nagdudulot din ito ng hanapbuhay maraming mamamayan at matutustusan

na nang mabuti ang pangangailangan ng kanilang pamilya. Ang pag-unlad ng bawat mamayanan ay unti-unting nakakakitaan ngayon ng mga positibong kalabasan: Ang paggawa ang mga tulay, maayos na kalsada, mga pangunahing proyekto katulad ng mga paaralan, pampublikong pamilihan, auditorium o gymnasium, health centers, at iba pa.

Ang PGMA Strong Nautical Highway ang nag-uugnay ngayon sa mga pangunahing isla ng ating bansa. Napapaloob din dito ang mga daungan mula hilaga patungong timog: Batangas-Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro; Roxas, Oriental Mindoro-Caticlan, Aklan; Iloilo City-Bacolod City; at Dumagute

City-Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte.

Dumadami na rin ngayon ang mga bus na nagpapasan ng mga manlalakbay tulad ng Dimple Star, Ceres, Gasat Express at iba pa; mga RoRo ships naman tulad ng Montenegro, Negros Navigation, Milagrosa at marami pang iba. Depende rin ang pamasahe sa layo nang paglalakbayan ng isang pasahero.

Nagmumula ito sa Php 110.00 hanggang higit kumulang sa Php 1,000.00 ganun din sa mga pribadong sasakyan depende sa haba at laki ng mga ito.

Kaya hindi na ngayon isang munting panaginip ang makatuntong sa gusto nating mga tanawin at paroroonan saan man sa kapuluan. Katulad na lang ng aking paglalakbay kasama ang mga Pubpipol sa aming Christmas Trip patungong Oriental Mindoro. Maaga akong gumising noon para makaabot sa byahe ng RoRo sa Caticlan, Aklan patawid sa Roxas, Oriental Mindoro mga mag-aalas otso na ng umaga. Nabagot at tilang nagmamadali kaming lahat noon pero apat na oras pa naming ginugol at binagtas ang mahabang daan mula sa mga probinsya ng Iloilo, Antique at Aklan. Nakita naming malaki ang pagbago sa bawat bayan na aming nadaanan. Kahit kakaalis pa lamang ng mapinsalang bagyong Frank ay patuloy pa rin ang pagbangon ng mga nasalanta nitong lugar. Matibay at de kalidad na mga tulay, matitibay at halos mainam nang daanan ang mga kalye ang aking napansin.

Sa wakas, nakarating rin kami lulan ng aming inarkilahang van sa Pier ng Caticlan.

Nagpareserba kami nang aming mga tiket upang makabiyahe na sa Mindoro, matapos ang apat na oras ng pagkainip sa biyahe.

Nagpatibayan na lang kami ng loob para hindi na namin maramdaman ang tagal at layo ng paglalakbay na ito. Nakasampa na kami sa isang pampasaherong barko na Montenegro na nagngalang M/V Felisa. Sa hindi ko inaasahang pangyayari ay nagkita ulit kami ng aking kaibigan na matagal ko nang hindi nakita. Yun pala, magdadalawang taon na siyang nagtratrabaho sa barko na aming sinakyan. Malaki na rin ang naitulong niya sa kanyang pamilya at higit pa sa lahat sa kanyang sarili nang siya ay nakapagtrabaho rito. Ikinuwento niya sa akin ang kaniyang mga karanasan. Palagi niyang nilalabanan niya ang pagiging homesick sa tuwing maglayag sila sa ibang lugar. Tinitiis niya rin ang lahat upang makapagtrabaho lamang at mabigyan ng magandang kinabukasan ang kanyang pamilya.

Hindi ko na namalayan na palapit na kami sa daungan nang Roxas, Mindoro at

mabilis na ang pagtibok ng aking puso dahil naratnan ko na rin ang lugar na minsan lang sa mga litrato at larawan ko nasilayan. At nagpaalam na rin ako sa aking kaibigan na inaasahang makikita ko pa ulit sa mga susunod kong biyahe. Dagdag naman na tatlong oras ang ginugol namin sa pagbagtas ng mga daan patungong Puerto Galera na kilala bilang isa sa mga pinakasikat na dalampasigan sa buong bansa. Ginugol naming ang lahat ng oras upang malaman nang husto kung ano nga ba ang Mindoro.

Masaya na medyo nakagugutom din ang aming biyahe. Sa kalagitnaan nang aming paglalakbay ay huminto kami upang sulyapin ang iba’t ibang tanawin gaya ng chapel ng Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, ang isang municipal plaza na pwedeng maihalintulad nang Luneta Park ng Maynila, ang Tamaraw Falls na tila hugis sungay ng Tamaraw ang iniiligan ng tubig sa talon, ang

simbahan ng Sto. Nino de Calapan, pagbisita sa isang ‘Mangyan Village’ at marami pa.

Masaya ang aking paglakbay ngunit dumaan rin kami sa hirap: Ang pagtitiis sa matagal at mahabang biyahe, ang pagkagutom sa kalagitnaan ng pagbabaybay, ang kulang na tulog, ang pagkalayo sa piling aking pamilya, pangangalap ng datos sa aking isusulat na article at marami pa na siyang naging bahagi ng aking paglalakbay.

Ngunit may katuturan din ang paglalakbay.

Maimumulat ka nito sa iba’t ibang uri ng buhay, lugar at kultura ng isang pamayanan.

Ang maglakbay kaagapay ng pag-asang madatnan ang pupuntahan ay sadyang mahalaga sa akin. Mahalaga sa aking paghubog bilang isang tao. Mahalaga sa pagunawa ng nakaraan. Mahalaga sa pag-usad ng kaunlaran. Mahalaga sa buhay ng bawat tao. Mahalaga rin ang RoRo para sa ating bansa. Mahalaga sa paglalakbay.

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 11

MIRROR

cityscape

Calapan City:

Ang Pag-unlad ng Isang Kabiserang Lungsod Ni ALLIN JOY EMBOLTURA at MARIO IVAN GONZALES

G

usaling puting-puti, malaki, at maaaring maihalintulad sa White House‌ ito ang tumambad sa aking pagod at namumungay na mga mata na nais pa sanang pumikit dahil sa pagkahilo sa biyahe nang kami ay bumaba sa pagkakalulan sa sinasakyan naming van. Pagkabigla ang una kong nadama. “Lumipad ba ang sinasakyan namin at napadpad kami sa White House sa Amerika?â€? Biglang tanong ko sa aking sarili.

Para kasing White House ang gusali na nasa aking harapan. Ngunit hindi pala dahil ito raw ang katatapos na tayong bagong City Hall ng Lungsod ng Calapan.

Biglang nagtaka at naglaro ang aking makulit na isipan. Maraming katanungan ang biglang lumabas dito. Ano ba ang Calapan?

Saan ba ito matatagpuan? May mayaman din kaya itong kultura at kasaysayan? May magaganda bang tanawin dito? Ano ang maiaambag nito sa pag-uunlad ng Oriental Mindoro? Ito ang mga katanungang pinilit 12 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

naming sagutin sa aming paglalakbay.

Ang Lungsod ng Calapan ay ang kabiserang Lungsod ng Oriental (Eastern) Mindoro, isang isla na matatagpuan sa timog-kanlurang baybayin ng Luzon.

Ang probinsiya ay bahagi ng Rehiyon IV-B o MIMAROPA, acronym para sa mga probinsiya ng Occidental at Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon at Palawan.

Ang Calapan ay matatagpuan sa itaas ng Calapan Bay, sa hilagang-silangang bahagi ng probinsya. Ito ay matatagpuan sa 130 kilometro timog ng Maynila, humigit kumulang 30 minuto sa pamamagitan ng eroplano mula Manila Domestic Airport at 28 nautical miles mula Batangas International Port.

Mga Industrya at mga Natural ng Atraksyon Ang mga pangunahing industriya ng lungsod ay produksyon ng bigas, niyog,

saging at gulay, paghahayupan, pangingisda at paggawa ng mga bagay na yari sa metal. Lumalago na rin ang industriya ng turismo sa nasabing lungsod dahil sa mga mayaman na kasaysayan at nakaraan ng lungsod, magagandang tanawin at white sand beaches. Ilan lamang sa mga atraksiyon sa mga manlalakbay ay ang mga ecotourism sites ng Lulusan-Suqui Eco Trail, Caluangan Lake, Calapan Nature Park, at Bulusan Caves, agri-tourism farms ng Cocofarm Spring Resort, Parang Coconut and Banana Plantations, Sapul Orchard, Masipit Fishponds, La Concynrich Farm Resort at Biga Rice fields Resorts at marami pang ibang resort na matatagpuan sa lungsod.

Kasaysayan at Ebolusyon Ang Lungsod ng Calapan ay unang itinatag bilang isang parokya noong 1679 sa pamamagitan ni Fr. Diego de la Madre de Dios, isang Kastilang Agustinong pari.

Sa palibot ng parokyang itinayo, may mga pamayanang itinatag na naging simula ng isang maliit na bayan. Ang mga pamayanang ito ay itinayo malapit sa baybay-dagat sa kahabaan ng Calapan River. Ang pag-unlad ng bayan ng Calapan ay katulad sa pag-unlad ng mga bayan sa ilalim ng Spanish colonial era kung saan ang pagpapatayo ng mga bahay, munisipyo at plaza ay nasa ilalim ng pangangalaga ng mga paring Kastila na sinundan ng pagtayo ng simbahan. Sa untiunting pag-unlad ng Calapan, ito ay naging sentro ng administribong kapangyarihan at ang kabisera ng buong probinsya ng Mindoro sa huling yugto ng panahon ng mga Kastila.

Ang Calapan ay dating isang baryo ng parokya ng Baco. Noong 1773, ang kumbentong pandistrito ay inilipat sa nauna

kaya naging baryo ng Calapan ang Baco.

Nang lumaon maraming baryo ang naitatag na naging kontribusyon sa pagbuo ng bagong bayan. Ang pamprobinsyang kapital ay inilipat sa Calapan mula sa Puerta Galera noong 1837 dahil sa pagdanas ng nahuli ng hindi mabilang na atake mula sa mga Muslim na pirata galing timog.

Ang pinagmulan ng pangalan ng Calapan ay hindi maaring matunton nang may katiyakan. May ilang nagsabi na ito ay nagmula sa salitang “Kalap” na nangangahulugang magtipon ng troso.

Subalit ayon sa tala, hindi nabanggit na ang Calapan ay lugar kung saan nakakalap ang mga troso. Wala ring matatagpuan na malalawak na kagubatan kung saan maaaring makakuha ng troso. Ang isa pang teorya ay nagsasaad na ang Calapan ang

dating bibibigkas bilang “Kalapang”, na ayon sa lumang diksyunaryong Tagalog ay may kasingkahulugan na “sanga”. Ito ay maaring maiugnay sa pagiging sanga ng Kalapang ng bayan ng Basco na naglaon ay tinawag na Calapan.

Mula noong mga huling dekada ng panahon ng mga Kastila hanggang sa panahon ng mga Amerikano, ang Calapan ay nagsilbing pangkomersyal at industriyal na sentro ng probinsya ng Oriental Mindoro.

Ang taong 1998 ay naging napakamahalaga dahil sa taong ito ginawang lungsod (sa pamamagitan ng Republic Act No. 8475) ang bayan ng Calapan. Ang batas ay ipinasa sa Kongreso sa pamamagitan ni Rep. Renato Levise at pinirmahan ni Pangulong Fidel Ramos noong ika-2 ng Pebrero, 1998.

Noong ika-21 ng Marso, 1998, matapos ang mahigit 150 taon na paninilbihan bilang pamprobinsyang kabisera, pinagtibay ng mga mamamayan ng Calapan ang paggawa ng Lungsod ng Calapan sa isang plebisito kaya ang ika-21 ng Marso, 1998 ang naging Foundation Day ng Lungsod ng Calapan. Si Mayor Arman Panaligan ang naging huling Punong Bayan at unang Punong Lungsod ng Lungsod ng Calapan.

Unang beses ko pa lamang makapunta sa Oriental Mindoro. Banyaga pa kami sa mga lugar at tanawin nito ngunit kami ay labis na namangha sa mga pasyalan, at iba’t ibang makapigil-hiningang isla dahil sa labis na ganda at mayamang kultura at kasaysayan ng mga ito. Talagang yaman para sa isang Agustinong manunulat tulad ko na malaman na itinatag ng isang Agustinong pari ang parokyang naging daan upang mabuo ang una at nag-iisang lungsod sa Oriental Mindoro – ang Lungsod ng Calapan.

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 13

MIRROR

economy

Ano Bang Mayroon sa Oriental Mindoro? ni Aljun Padisio

H

abang pasakay kami ng RoRo patungong Mindoro, nagpin-ot ang aking tyan dahil ginadagat ako marahil na nga sigurong unang pagkakataon kong makasakay ng barko at napakahaba pa ng biyahe.

Bukod ng ito ang pinakaunang kong tsansa makasakay, perstaym ko rin itong makalabas sa Panay kaya nakaya kong mag-antos sa haba ng biyahe.

Sa Oriental Mindoro ang aming destinasyon at eksayted talaga akong makarating doon kahit nagaraguok na ang tyan ko sa gutom. Pakiramdam ko pa nga ay sinisermonan na ako ng aking konsensya na i-minimize na lang ang palaging pagkain at maeksayt na lang sa pagpunta naming doon.

“So, how does it look like over there?” ang tanong na nag mistulang kiliti na kumukulit sa aking isipan.

Malalim na ang gabi. Hindi ko na makita ang buong palgid 14 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

ng Mindoro. Medyo nadisappoint din ako noong una dahil puro street lights lang ang nakita ng aking mga mata pagsalpa namin doon. Pagkatapos ng kalahating oras ng pagbabiyahe namin, nagulat ako nang makita ko ang masanag na pook pasyal sa isang municipal plaza. May maliit na lagoon doon at may mga magagandang bangka na pwedeng sakyan ng iilang tao gaya ng Burnham Park ng Baguio. Naimagine ko tuloy ang crush ko (it so happens na bestfriend ko rin siya) na magkasama kaming namamangka doon.

Malawak din pala ang Oriental Mindoro, napansin ko sa mapa na mukha itong letrang “J” na binaliktad at ito’y ikaapat na pinakamalaking isla sa kapuluan ng Pilipinas. Kung ikukumpara naman ang populasyon ng Oriental Mindoro sa Iloilo, mas kakaunti pa lamang ang mga naninirahan doon. Hindi nga gaanong industriyalisado ang lugar ngunit halatang maganda at tahimik ang buhay ng mga tao rito. Sitenta porsyento ng pangkabuhayan ng mga tao sa isla ay nakabase sa pagsasaka at pangingisda. Ang natitirang trenta porsyento naman ay sa pagnenegosyo ang kabuhayan.

Kaya halos sisenta porsyento ng mga tao ay naninirahan sa mga uma kung saan

mas malapit sila sa pinagkukunan nila ng kanilang hanapbuhay. Sinusuportahan din ng goberyno ang pag-uswag ng agrikultura sa buong isla.

Meron ding mga malalaking pribadong korporasyon na bumibili ng bigas sa Mindoro. Ang pinakamalaking kumpanya ng bigas dito ay ang Valiant Rice Milling Corporation na pagmamay-ari ng isang Ilokanong Intsik na pamilya na nagmula pa sa lalawigan ng Isabela.

Ang iba pang mga pananim na makikita sa Mindoro maliban sa bigas ay ang mais, sibuyas, bawang, luya, gulay at tabako.

Ang mga pananim tulad ng tabako, bawang at sibuyas ay makikita kadalasan sa banwa ng San Jose at Magsaysay. Ang tabako ay suportado ng mga malalaking korporasyon, ang pinakamalaki dito ay ang Fortune Tobacco Corporation na pagmamay-ari ni Lucio Tan. Ang iba pang mga produktong pangAgrikultura dito ay ang asin, bangus, hipon, alimango at iba pang mga produktong pandagat. Tinatantyang kwarenta porsiyento ng asin sa bansa ay nagmumula pa rito sa Mindoro na kadalasan ay nanggaling pa sa San Jose at Magsaysay.

Ang industriya ng pangingisda ay hindi masyadong napa-uswag sa lugar na ito nang mabuti dahil sa hindi wastong pangingisda kagaya ng dynamite fishing. Dahil doon, nasira ang mga coral reefs at mangrove forest na nagsisilbing tirahan ng mga maliliit na isda.

Nagpalipas kami ng gabi sa Puerto Galera, ang pinaka sikat na destinasyon sa Mindoro. Ang mga lenggwaheng naririnig dito ay kalimitang Tagalog. May mga iilan na nagsasalita ng Hiligaynon, Cebuano at Ilokano. Kung ihahambing ang tourist spot na ito sa Western Visayas, halos mukha itong Boracay sa dami ng tao. Mas masaya dito kung gabi dahil may mga night parties sa dalampasigan ng mga disco bars at mga live bands Nagsayawan din kami doon buong gabi. Makapoy rin ang gabing iyon ngunit nasiyahan talaga ako. Marami pang mga lugar na magandang pasyalan doon gaya ng ng Apo Reef National Park, Lubang Island, Sabang Beach, at Mount Halcon.

Paggising ko noong kinaumagahan, nagandahan ako sa pagsubaybay sa pagsanag ng adlaw doon sa mga bundok na abot ng aking tanaw. Nakita ko rin ang saya sa mga mukha ng mga batang Mangyan na naglalaro pagdalaw namin sa tinaguriang ‘Mangyan Village’. Masaya mag-papicture taking kasama ang mga batang naglalaro at naliligo

sa Ilog. Doon ko nakita kung paano sila namumuhay. Katulad din ng mga tao sa mga lungsod, may mga TV, bilyaran at paaralan ang mga Mangyan doon. Ang mga Mangyan ay magaling sa paggawa ng mga banig, basket, bag at iba pang mga kagamitan na yari sa rattan. Mas lalo pa itong pinaganda sa pamamagitan ng paglalagay ng ibat-ibang mga disenyo, makukulay na patterns at kadalasa’y may pangalan na ‘Mindoro’ para sa kanilang mga souvenir items.

Pagkatapos ng pagpasyal naming yaon, tumungo naman kami sa syudad ng Calapan. Hindi gaanong marami at malalaki ang mga gusali doon tulad ng sa Iloilo ngunit mas malinis naman kung ang kanilang downtown ang ikukumpara dito.

Tricycle ang pangunahing ginagamit sa transportasyon dito at hindi gaanong marami ang mga namamasadang dyip dahil sa liit ng lugar.

Maganda ang mga kalsada sa Mindoro. Tuloy-tuloy at sementado ang mga dalan. Nilingaw ko na lamang ang aking kaugalingon sa paglantaw sa paligid, sa pagbuntonghininga ko sa pag-akyat ng aking mga mata sa mga nagtataasang bundok at paglalangoy ng aking isip sa malawak na karagatan.

Isa sa nakatawag ng aking pansin ay ang mala-classical na architectural design at puting gusali, ang kanilang bagong City Hall.

Noon, sa mga letrato ko lamang makikita ang mga ganitong tanawin at disenyo. Pakiramdam ko’y nakapunta kami sa isang templo sa bansang Greece. Maganda doon, tahimik at tanging mga punong kahoy lang ang sumasayaw at umaaliw sa amin. Syempre, hindi na rin mawawala ang mga picture taking sessions namin doon!

Mga bandang alas dose, sinumpong na naman ako ng tiyan kong gutom. Marami ring mapagpipiliang restawran dito, may Chowking, Jollibee at take note, Mang Inasal din! Ibig sabihin, may unlimited rice. Yes! Hindi kami masyadong nagtagal sa Mindoro. Masaya at malungkot ang aking naramdaman pag-uwi namin. Hindi talaga sapat ang isang buong araw para libutin ang isang buong lugar. Ngunit higit na importante sa mga pangyayari ay ang kaalaman at ang saya na

naradaman ko sa aking mga kasama.

Nasiyahan din ako sa pakikipaglaro sa mga batang Mangyan. Na-enjoy ko talaga ang buong paligid at nagtampisaw sa malamig na tubig sa baybay-dagat Puerto Galera at nakipagkamayan sa malamig na tubig ng Tamaraw Falls. Hindi ko na namalayang nakatanghod na si Haring Adlaw halin sa pagbutlak kay nalingaw kami sa aming paglagaw sa buong isla. Pagbalik namin sa barko pauwi, umupo na lang ako sa sobrang pagod at hinintay kong makatulog hanggang sa muli akong nakamuklat ng aking mga mata noong kinaumagahan na.

Nasa Panay na ako paggising ko. Hindi ko namalayang wala na pala ako sa isla ng Mindoro at parang panaginip lamang ang lahat na nangyari.

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 15

MIRROR

valediction

Cathartic Neologisms

By Cara Uy

A

ll of a sudden, I tried to perk up the preconscious side of me. I am not used to bidding goodbyes, (since I always like to suppress the idea) but because I am obliged to write this valediction as a part of the termination phase of being a Pubpip, I found no escape.

The thought of ending my Publications (Pub) existence makes me endure another unbearable and brutal loss. It’s like saying “Wala na gid ako sa Pub, indi na ako Pubpip.”

For four years, I lived the life of a nursing student and a campus journalist which was indeed a matter of balance, boredom, and beauty. I could attest that in the first three years, the Pub has become my extended family, my outlet of nursing stuff anhedonia, and my sort of relief (although my last year became the exact contrast).

Primarily, I felt abandoned as Sir John (our former moderator) left me unguarded; I faced an unexpected loss of a mentor and a friend who shared with me the same passion in journalism. I dealt with his resignation and I savored a lot of burden in my remaining year. The task of being the older one than the other staff members became another great but challenging responsibility for me.

I witnessed the sudden deterioration of the Pub and I couldn’t help but feel the threat of its downfall as a prestigious organization in the University not solely because of the new staff but by the whole new environment, office and management, that transpired this year.

Maybe, I was just mentally fixated with my first three glorious years of being a Pubpip or maybe I was just in denial that yes, I have to leave, too. So let me tell you in a fancy word salad of mine the 10 things that I’m surely going to miss about being a Pubpip so you can either mourn with me or probably even defy me for the spicy ingredients that I am about to put in this one 16 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

heck of a salad.

1. Food I will never forget the many times we had our ‘Sandwich Day’ where we all get together as one big happy family, share our thoughts, laugh together, make tsismis and eat our hearts out until we drop. We also had our traditional pink cake and spaghetti every time we had our meetings during my first two years at the Pub. Usually, the Pubpips would all partake in a lunch or dinner at the Publications Office or would even have almost half of the USA Cafeteria fully enclosed solely for our delight for a cozy buffet meeting. Sir John also brought us frequently to various posh restaurants around the city such as Mundos, Afrique’s, among others.

2. Travel And this is the part I loved the most.

Annually, we usually conduct our Christmas Party and year-end Summer Evaluation Trip someplace outside Iloilo City. We’ve traveled to Antique, Bohol, Boracay, Cebu, Guimaras, Mindoro, Palawan, and some interior places in Iloilo province, among others.

3. Pubpips I still remember the time when I first got into the Publications; I have really made it a point to value and respect my seniors and fellow staffers. They became my mentors, elder and younger siblings, as well as my inspirations. I have always remained as their dedicated and eager-to-learn student, bubbly Pub baby, and instant companion even up to the present. I really looked up to them because they never used the Pub as a status symbol of prestige or superiority over other people and not once have they

Photo by Marcos Caratao, Jr.

become arrogant individuals just because of the privileges brought about by being a Pubpip. They were active and hardworking advocates of truth, not needing much practice after all since they served quality outputs even if they were often not on time - the kind that even if I was the youngest among them, I would really be challenged to push myself to delve in their world, let them teach me new things that I was not aware of in the Pub, and even struggle to put my best foot forward every time we were given assigned news and feature articles to somehow level myself up to their caliber.They were Nong Gabs, Nang Gaggy (Fabienne), Nana Karine, Dada Artem, Nong Russelle, Toto Doni,

Nong Zoe, Teltel (Krystelle), and Stevie.

With the new Pub babies, I also couldn’t forget Nong Jimmy, Shasha (Sue Neysha), and my beloved batchmates Densho, Luls/ Pong (Paulo) and Ams (Johnny). In the succeeding year, I came to admire two more brilliant cartoonists, Jerson and Will, and two inspiring writers Elsed and Piet who became my active Pub companions. Elsed, for facilitating the Kinaray-a vernacular with perfection and Piet, for being a linguist and fine writer; they made good and passionate editing jobs. Jenny and Jeff of the younger batch were also commendable for enlivening journalistic prowess, evident in their outputs.

For the new batch, to create a new generation of fiery student writers, I challenge you to become productive and enliven the passion in writing that dwells inside you, not only to utilize the Pub as a mere social status for your personal motives and extension of power; respect each other with the role designated upon you and your craft. Value a strong bond of camaraderie among one another even outside work.

4. Pub Journal For the many times we tracked down our own escapades, our personal heartaches, good and bad experiences, angst, rants, sensual and silly moments, agonies or loneliness, feeling of unrequited love, suicidal notes, Pub grudges and sentiments, worries, and fears, concerns and indignant write ups and the likes. With our padugo, the Pub journal became our so called ‘Freedom Diary’ of the Pubpips. We either comment or suggest on each others’ entries and liberate our thoughts unconditionally on each page of the Pub journal.

5. Meeting other People I am not that much of a sociable person.

But because we were all bound to interview people to write articles, I was often torn to

kill my fear of getting in touch with other people in lieu of the materials needed for my write-ups. I happened to meet and dine with my favorite band Parokya ni Edgar.

I even mingled with Freestyle. Meeting different personalities enabled me to share something we have in common or led me to gain new ideas, helped broaden my horizons, and held me from becoming an inflexible anti-social.

6. Issue Planning and Articles I strongly believe that this aspect, although technical to me, will be so missed.

Not that we were not well-fed this year, but because this is the time where we plan out what to cater the readers – “the must to know, good and nice to know stuff” we see fit for the tabloid and magazine without compromising the Publication’s standards. This is the time that I get additional assignments aside from the usual nursing requirements. I would often meet the dead deadlines for this matter.

7. Tabloid and Magazine I am often enthusiastic when it comes to the lay-outing of The Augustinian tabloid and The Augustinian Mirror magazine. Usually, I would look forward to Saturday’s presswork at Panorama Printing, Inc. in Jaro and during weekdays when I am free. I will surely miss my Doble Kara column but that would be transitory anyway.

8. Pub Office I lived for three remarkable years plus the last year of contrast in a green fourcornered home. I used to call it home before because during my first three years, it became my solitary sanctuary after a nursing class or duty. The area provided me a temporary escape from excessive stress because there I happened to eat my lunch, exhaust the computer for typing my articles, sleep, write, drink three cups of coffee each day, leave my

things in my designated cabinet, change my clothes, stare at the ceiling in private, be still, be energetic, fall in love, simply enduring a tambay session, be it alone or with fellow Pubpips or anything out of the blue.

9. Sir John What could be more inspiring than having someone like a parent as your role model – someone who drives you to become madly passionate towards your craft in writing no matter how burdened you are with your academic life? What could be more gratifying than having someone in the Pub who acknowledges your strengths, assesses your weaknesses, and punishes your mistakes like a dear mentor? I guess that would be no other than the loving care and guidance of a dear Pub moderator called John Iremil Teodoro. But more than that is the unconditional love of a second parent and that I have found with Sir John.

10. Freedom If it’s not for this sake, what sense would it make being a Pubpip? Freedom strikes us to be empowered in the advocacy for truth. It never curtails and never abandons anyone. It liberates and quenches our thirst to surpass life in a chaotic society. It makes us all free men and women but harms us as well especially when we stand up for justice, truth, and equality. Nonetheless, it institutes a dominion of mass that is apathetically firm.

Indeed, achieving my goal of committing myself entirely to the USA Publications starting from my beginnings as a Pub baby by affirming to myself “Indi ko gid pagpa bay-an ang Pub biskan magkainano pa da (I swear never to leave the Pub behind no matter what)” was truly worthwhile although I have endured my cathartic neologisms at this moment. What a sweet lingering melancholia! So long!

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 17

MIRROR

perspectives

Biyaheng Dyahe ng Isang Dyurnalist

N

aglalampungan ang mga bituon sa tuman kadulom nga alas tres y medya sang kaagahon. Mahagkot hin duro samtang akon nabaybay ang kilid sang San Ag pakadto sa front geyt samtang dala ko ang bag kong itim at katamtaman lamang ang kadaku-on. Amo yadto ang adlaw nga napagkasunduan kami ng mga Pubpips na magkita para sa aming Mindoro trip.

Naudlot na naman ang mahimbing kong katurugon karon ugaling ako na lang pala ang hinihintay ng lahat kaya mabilis ang akon pagtikang. Isang van ang nakaantabay sa amin at nang pag-abot ko, madasig na nagburhot iyon papunta sa Caticlan, Aklan via Antique kun sa diin mahulat kami sa pagdaong ng RoRo. Wala pa kaming tickets at hindi pa kami naka-igma. Wala rin kaming itinerari sa kung saan kami pakadto. Kung ano lang daw ang madatnan namin doon, marahil, first taym namin dumayo sa lugar na tuluyu-on gid kaya wala kaming kilala na maggigiya sa aming palakadtu-an.

Naging do-it yourself lagi ang istilo ng aming biyahe. Kumbaga, para kaming sasabak sa giyera na handa at lagi kung ano ang aming masalapu-an doon ilabi pa na overnayt lamang ang trip.

Nagteyk out kami sa AndoksAklan para masudlan ang mga nagrerebolusyon naming mga tiyan habang naghuhulat ng RoRo na barge.

Matagal ang amon paghulat hasta nakatibawas kami sa pansamantalang pagkaantala. Dali-dali kaming nagsipila at nagsipag pahuway na naman sa ibabaw sang barge nung iyon ay

ni Cara Uy

nagdungka. Apat na oras pala ang biyahe mula Aklan papuntang Mindoro kaya sa natitirang oras, kanya-kanya kaming drama ng pagtulog, pagkaon at saka paglagaw habang gaumpisa usad ang saksakyang pandagat. Wari mo’y para kaming mga eksplorer sa ‘di alam ang gagawin, o ‘di alam ang madaratnan.

Datapwat, nang makadungka na kami sa Roxas Port, Mindoro, pumili kami ng tour guide na wala namang naibahagi sa aming kaalaman nahanungod sa lugar. Direksyon lamang ang binigay niya ngunit sa detalye parte sa lugar o kaunting kasaysayan, para siyang napipi. Sa kabila noon, pinili naming samantalahin ang nahabilin na sandali pagkaabot gid namon. Naghapit kami sa chapel ng Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage sa Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro na parang pilgrimage na lugar sa mga nagbabiyahe. Dumaan din kami sa Bayan ng Bansud na sa harap ng bulwagan nila ay may mala-Burnham Park kakawing ang ala-Luneta Park na tanawin. Makikita rin doon ang lagoon na may mga bangkang nakapangalan ang nanari-saring barangay.

Ngunit nanatiling taas ang aming mga kilay dahil dalawang minuto lang ang nakalaan sa bawat tanawin na pinupuntahan namin.

Sunod ay nagdaan kami sa balay ng ginikanan ni Bise Presidente Noli de Castro. Magiliw kaming tinanggap ng kaniyang nanay at tatay. Sa sulod ng kanilang bahay ay makikita mo ang mga larawan ni Kabayan kalapit yata ang mga poster na ginamit niya sa kampanya dati. Kamukhang-kamukha pala ni Kabayan ang kanyang ama. Iyon lang.

Gabi-i na nang nagtikang kami padulong naman sa Puerto Galera. Naghahanap pa kami nang matutuluyan doon. Wala pa pala

kaming akomodasyon. Akala namin maayos na ang lahat, ngunit nadugangan ang ibwal ng aming pagkawindang at pagkabagot sapagkat makapoy ang biyahe tapos alas onse na nang nakaulayaw namin ang kama kabaylo ng pagsikrutot namon sa van na para kaming mga fetus. Dapat naming suliton ang nalalabing oras kaya nagdesisyon kaming maglagaw sa tanglaw ng bulan, sa kilid sang baybay kang Puerto bisan kapoy na kami. Night out ang gimik namin, gamot sa amon mga negatibong nasagap na lakas.

Nag-bonding kami at nag-disco upod ang mga bituon kang Puerto. Ang Puerto Galera pala ay parang maliit na Boracay pero malaGuimaras ang scenery. May mga tiangge kung saan mo masalapu-an ang nanari-sari na souvenir items kaangay ng t-shirts, bags, bracelets, at kung anu-ano pang mga abubot.

Mayroon ring mga kalan-an na nagabaligya sa balor na kayang-kaya ng bulsa (halimbawa, Php50-60 per meal), bars para sa mga party people at mga sea diving o surfing package para sa under water adventurers.

Ala-una na ng umaga noong bumalik kami sa apartment pero high pa rin ang energy levels dahil alas singko y medya ng umaga ang sunod na call taym.

Nagpamahaw kami pagkatapos namili ng souvenir items. Tumuloy kami dayon sa Mangyan Village. Nakaulayaw namin ang mga residente doon. Nasilaw namin na mayroon ding paaralang elementarya sa kanilang komunidad, may livelihood program kaangay ng mga handicrafts (na prenisintar nila sa amin pagkasampot gid namon), at bagong electricity project ng lokal na pamahalaan. Naaaninag namin nang malapitan na medyo red to yellow-orange ang kulay ng kanilang buhok. Tapos ay may sarili silang wikang ‘di namin lubusang maintindihan. May haum-haom na isa ang wikang Mangyan sa pinakamagandang lenggwaheng nakamarka sa kulturang Pilipino. Ang iba sa kanila ay mahiyain din.

Marami sa mga bata ay nakatago sa palda ng kanilang nanay kung iyong lalapitan at ang iba nama’y yuyuko sabay ngiti. Parang naninibago sila kapag may bumibisita sa

kanila. Saglit pa ay nagpaalam na kami dahil limitado lamang ang aming oras. Dumayo kami sunod sa isang simbahang Katoliko sa Calapan at nanatili roon ng dalawang minuto higit pa at nagpanyaga kami sa Mang Inasal pagkatapos. Hindi mahulugang karayom naman ang pila sa Mang Inasal at kagutok sa ibabaw kun saan kami nakapwesto. Halos nakihati na lang ang iba sa aming upuan.

Pagkatapos ay humabol kami ulit sa RoRo pabalik ng Iloilo. Ang masaklap ay hindi kami nakahingabot. Nastranded kami at naghulat naman ng 10 PM na biyahe noong ika-24 ng Disyembre. Isang araw na lang at pasko na ngunit andoon pa rin kami sa ibang parte ng Pilipinas para mag-cover sa lugar para sa susunod na The Augustinian Mirror magazine issue. Ininda namin ang pagkaburyong sa pagkastranded. Nanyapon kami malapit sa Roxas Port at nanagap ng baybay roon, sinulit ang nalalabing tini-on at nagpapiktyur malapit sa daungan. Nagyayaan din kaming magvideoke habang ang iba ay nagapasay ng mansanas at bar nuts.

Nakauwi din kami sa wakas at nakarating sa Iloilo mga alas sais y medya nang umaga sunod na adlaw. Masasabi ko tuloy na dyaheng maging dyurnalist kung maiangot natin sa aming trip bangod kinailangan mong magbugtaw aga pa, ‘di alintana ang kulang na tulog kundi babawiin mo na lang habang nagasakay sa van.

Kinailangan mo ring maging parang cow boy na pwedeng kumain kahit saan nang nakakamay lamang at ‘di alintana ang nyura factor. Kinailangan ring maging mahinahon at madiskarte ilabi na kapag do-it-yourself ang biyahe, maging alerto sa pagpindot ng kamera sa bawat tanawin na dinadaan kasi sa totoong mundo ng dyurnalismo,

ang isang pisok lang ng mga mata mo ay kaakibat ng isang mahalagang impormasyon sa pagbabalita o pag-cover ng isang okasyon na di mo nakuha, maging disiplinado lalo na sa bawat tikatik ng oras bangod diyan nakasalalay ang buo at malawak na pag-cover, at maging positibo (kahit lahat na yata ng nangyari sa amin ay negatibo bangod ‘di naplano nang maayos ang trip) ‘pagkat sa inyo pa rin nakasalalay ang kalalabasan ng inyong paglalakbay. Inaamin ko na hindi ako nasiyahan sa aming trip dahil sa limitadong oras at hindi planadong lakad ngunit pinili ko na lamang halinhinang maghugot ng repleksyon dahil sa totoo lang dyahe talaga ang biyahe ng isang dyurnalist kung hindi mo palangga ang imo gina-ubra.

MIRROR

in campus

N

estled in one of the wings of Rada Hall, the Graduate School Library (GLS) sits quietly.

It doesn’t have an imposing façade, big pillars, and statues that guard the entrance of libraries which have a whole building to house books and other reading materials. Still, despite its unassuming aura, the little GLS boasts of a vast collection of references that keep Augustinian students – and those from other schools – coming back for more.

Entering the GLS, the first impression

The GSL was established in 1998 during the time of Fr. Regino Diez, OSA. To further help the library staff in categorizing books and the students in finding what they need, there is the OPAC (Online Public Assessment Catalog). Also, the books in the GSL are currently undergoing a conversion of its library classification system for wider access. From the Dewey Decimal System, around one-fourth or 130,000 books in the GSL are now under the Library of Congress System, which can incorporate changes and additions of more branches of knowledge

it’s the latest edition. Although cost is also a factor, if we badly need (the book) and there’s still a budget for that, we get it.”

Given the yearly budget of one million Php for books and another 1.6 million Php for periodicals and magazines, every book should be worth every cent.

There is no regular dealer or publishing house. “If two publishers have more or less the same content, we pick the cheaper publishing house. In the case of foreign books, we try to find local reprinted copies.”

Graduate School Library: Fitting

By Donna Isabelle Fresnido and Jefferson MagbanuA

COMPLETE PACKAGE. From left to right: (1) The view of the Graduate School Library (GSL) as seen from the entrance, (2) the well-lighted reading area, (3) two students seen flipping through books, (4) a student accesses of the Online Public Assessment Catalog (OPAC).

would be one of spic and span. There is little of dust that pervades one’s typical library; thanks to the daily sweeping of floors and dusting of books by the team of working students. The space occupied by the GLS does have something to do with its manageability: it is far smaller than the General Circulation Library. There is also a sufficient amount of light to make one’s perusing of books not only easy but enjoyable as well.

Although the place may be clean, well-lighted, and conducive to learning, its merits may go deeper once you take a peek at its collection of reading materials and whatnot.

20 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

unlike its predecessor.

The quality of the books is also ensured by frequent updating done usually three times a year: during the first semester, second semester, and summer. Based on the curricula of the students, they begin by determining what kinds of books should be acquired. Then comes the selection process wherein a selection committee, made up of teachers and heads of the corresponding department or subject, pores over the books brought by dealers.

Mrs. Cosette Gregorios, the head librarian of the GSL, is quick to point out some considerations when finally purchasing a book: “We don’t get a book just because

So we already have an updated and well-balanced collection of books and other reference materials. What else?

“As far as I know, we are the only school in Iloilo City with an updated Dissertation Abstract International (DAI), a source for online dissertations,” says Gregorios.

The theses and some books are also donations from other schools, with a collection built on the contributions of University faculty members who graduated from the likes of WVSU (West Visayas State University) and UP (University of the Philippines, Iloilo City and Miagao campuses), and even outside the region like CEU (Centro Escolar University) and UP-

Diliman. Administrators who took their MA’s abroad also donate hard-to-find books.

With a smile, Gregorios adds, “Students from other schools go here because the content is substantial.” Apart from Augustinians there are those from consortium schools like UP, Iloilo Doctors Hospital (IDH), Western Institute of Technology (WIT), University of Iloilo (UI) and Western Visayas College of Science and Technology (WVCST) and students from places as far as Aklan, Roxas, Bacolod, Cebu and even Mindanao.

“Apart from University students and those from consortium schools, those who wish to access the GSL must present a letter

properly. They would say that this book is worth five thousand Php but if the librarian is stagnant and just sits around, your collection is useless.”

Gregorios, 28, has a degree in BLIS (Bachelor in Library Information Science), then known as BS Ed (Secondary Education Major in Library Science). “I picked BLIS because I know there would be much demand for its graduates since few enroll in this kind of course.” Add a “cool” cousin with the same course whom she held in high esteem and Gregorios’ path was set.

Having finished college through her own efforts as a working student of the

students who would just give them lists of books for the library staff to find. The answer is always the same: there’s the OPAC, and they would assist but never coddle. “As much as possible, we don’t give special treatment.”

That’s for graduate students. For the undergrads, Gregorios never hesitates to add her personal touch in helping them.

Whenever she sees them roaming around and looking for a book, she approaches them. As for the teachers, she always points out substitutes if there are any.

Of all the rules broken, the most common is about showing the ID or

Good Things in Small Packages

signed by their librarian and endorsed by our director. They are charged 20 Php per hour.

Students from consortium schools get their first hour free and there is a fee of 10 Php per succeeding hour.”

However, the quality is furthered by the services of the library staff headed

by Gregorios. The GLS head librarian especially wants to overhaul the students’ concept of a staid, traditional librarian. “The general opinion of us is that we’re strict and only sit down. But now, you must show them that times are changing and a librarian doesn’t have to sit all the time.”

She adds, “You have to market your library so that it would be made use of

University, Gregorios understands the demands of facing people as a librarian should.

Some of the hardest to face, she shares, are library clients who “are hot tempered, demand a lot and those who treat the library as a place to leave their things for a while.”

She has taken in stride teachers taking their MA’s here who flare up whenever they’re reminded of their overdue fees. They would say that they are teachers and are thus exempted from paying, but Gregorios would not be cowed. “I always remind them that they’re teachers and they’re supposed to know the rules above all people.”

There would also be graduate school

registration form. Students are reminded to comply not only for protocol but for statistical reasons. The number of visitors are compiled and shown to the Philippine Association of Accredited Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU) accreditors to gauge the effectiveness of the University’s learning facilities.

Familiar faces are allowed to enter upon the librarian’s discretion. Otherwise, a call shall be placed to the respective college office for confirmation.

So you have a tidy place replete with the most up-to-date books and a library staff eager to help. Good things do come in small packages.

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 21

MIRROR

in campus

Amorita Rabuco, Ph.D.: Teacher, Scholar, and Friend

By Josh Von Iron Tondo and Karlo Christopher Cristales

D

uring your first few weeks in the University, especially if you’re in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), a petite teacher in a medical face mask and black beret could surely have captured your attention away from counting the lines of the grouted floor.

Her face mask and beret seem out of place amidst the throng of teachers. After all, when can you see a teacher in the University going around in a beret?

Surely, it would be a shame not to come across the woman who almost singlehandedly placed the University’s premiere college on a worthy pedestal.

After all, Dr. Amorita Rabuco, PhD. is the former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (LA), first Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and yes, the petite professor in the face mask and black beret.

She was labeled “unorthodox”, writes Ma’am Amor (as Dr. Rabuco is known to all) when asked about what she was like during her term as dean. Unorthodox she was, for she doesn’t seem to fit the mold of the usual “person in authority”, and many are shaken scandalized, even - by how she was different from the traditional model of a dean.

People scorned at her wearing short pants while malling and sporting swimsuit 22 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

while swimming. After all, she was the dean by that time and a dean ought to be a dean everywhere. A dean should wear this and not that, a dean should be like this and not like that, a dean should and should and should. However she was never a “should” but herself – she was but Amorita Rabuco: dean, mentor, and friend.

“They,” she writes, did not favor her being with her students most of the time.

“They” said the students will no longer respect her. But “they” never knew her students and “they” were wrong.

As dean of the College of Liberal Arts and of the College of Arts and Sciences, she had been true to what she had sworn during her installation as Dean. Likewise, she had stood by the virtues she had intended to infuse to the deanship with.

“I broke down walls – the office of the Dean was open to everyone: they can see the Dean any time – no appointments, no strict and specified only day and only time to load forms and clearances rule. Sometimes, if not most of the times, I worked on the long table outside of my cubicle so students and teachers can drop by and say hello or tell their stories – anything under the sun. I stayed late at night, for we had evening classes, sweeping floors and dusting tables and the

trophies or going rounds, checking on the working students cleaning the classrooms, on leaking ceilings, broken glass windows, broken chairs and tables and smelly boys and girls comfort rooms. In other words, I did also building management and janitorial services,” writes Dr. Rabuco.

For her, the “gap” which ought to be established by the traditional model of a dean is nothing against the friendship with her students which can yield far better. She never abandoned her students and she was with them through thick and thin. More so, parents were thankful that their sons and daughters were taken cared of in the College.

But before she became dean, of course, she was a teacher— a teacher who never failed to adhere to what St. Augustine said: the value of friendship must prevail, particularly, in a teacher-student setting.

Though she admits that her teaching methods do not differ from other teachers, it was her style that gained her distinction. She came to learn in her early teaching career that learning is loving and teaching is loving.

She learnt and taught – and she loved! After all, she’s more known as Ma’am Amor. “…the most effective tool is the teacher.

The teacher can turn the most beautiful curriculum, encompassing syllabus and

strategic methodology into nightmares, ferrying students into hell,” Ma’am Amor emphasized. “The teacher, as well, can turn a deficient curriculum, an outrageous syllabus and a chaotic methodology into dreams, flying the students towards heavenly bliss of knowledge and experience.”

As a teacher, she believed that to brand a tool or methodology in teaching as “effective” is to say that teaching is measurable or quantifiable. She was not into thinking that the teaching-learning process can be reduced to mere numbers.

For her, teaching has nothing to do with quantity and that it is neither “effective” nor “ineffective”; neither is it guaged by a “very good” nor “poor” performance rating.

But the life of a teacher is born from the life of a student. Like the metamorphosis of a butterfly, being a student precedes being a teacher. The transformation cycle makes the student a teacher and the studentturned-teacher a person. And so a student she was.

“As a college student, I could say, I had been a studious student – palatu-on.

There was nothing for me to do but read and study. There were no malls yet, so hindi pa in fashion ang malling. There were no Smallville and Boardwalk yet. There were only the Rotary Park and the Fort San Pedro,” she confessed.

Her scholarly pursuits began during her master’s and doctorate studies. She had been a full-time student then and spent most of her time in the library doing library research for her reports and term papers.

It was also during those times that

she realized she could be a good teacher.

She knew that she can be intellectually... provocative. Her reports can wake the bored and can strike an vigorous discussion in class.

But aside from being a dean, a teacher and a friend, she is also a scholar. Along with the virtues she possesses, she craved knowledge in such a way the barren earth would crave rain: patiently. Housed by the very nature of a university, she delved into scholarly pursuits and lived the beauty of learning, teaching and research passionately.

She lived the life of a scholar and made her mark in history.

Ma’am Amor published a number of books and researches. The book on the lo-a “Folk Poetry: The Lo-a” was her research work for the first professorial chair grant ever in the University. Her second book, the “Hiligaynon Mythological Stories and Folktales”, was adjudged finalist in the 2007 National Book Award by the Manila Critics Circle. Then, her 2008 summer work research “Hiligaynon Interjections and Proverbs” completed her study on Hiligaynon verbal tradition. Her latest research is a study on the management of the university-based art organizations. It is entitled “Building School-based Arts Management Theoretical Framework: The Augustinian Experience” and will be published by the University Coordinating Center for Research and Publications (UCRP) in “The Agustinian Social Sciences and Humanities Journal”.

When she was the dean of LA, she had the opportunity to have her articles, speeches

and poetry published in various universitybased publications such as the LA journal, The Augustinian tabloid, The Mirror, and the Communitas. She collected them all and published them in book form in 2000. The book is entitled “In Green Ink,” a tribute to the then-College of Liberal Arts.

“Being a scholar is very flattering, indeed,” She admits. “Why? The dictionary tells us that “scholar” means a person eminent for learning; an authority or specialist in academic discipline. If you are a scholar, you are devoted to learning or you exhibit great learning. Who am I to say that the dictionary is incorrect?”

And so, the petite teacher in the face mask and black beret turned out to be the teacher and scholar who is everybody’s friend. Her humble intelligence is in fact as real as that well-rounded face behind the mask, and although you no longer see the petite teacher in face mask and beret, you still see the same petite teacher in her smiles and liveliness. She even wrote the Pub one of her most inspiring words: “They said, ‘Good soldiers don’t die; they simply fade away.’ I say, ‘Good teachers don’t die; neither do they fade away. They linger awhile, if not forever, in the hearts of their students.’”

Ma’am Amor is a good teacher. Who are we to disagree?

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 23

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24 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

Manilyn Glemer’s Journey to Theatrical Fame

By PIETROS VAL PATRICIO

H

ailing from the far-flung mountains of Tapaz, Capiz, 19-year-old Manilyn AyumanGlemer can still hardly imagine what she had to undergo while growing up as a young performing artist. Everyday, she comes to school and attends classes thinking about the lines she has to memorize for her script, the characters she has to portray, and even the next steps of her group’s stage production, all part of her daily routine as a member of the USA Little Theater. As simple as she may appear, Manilyn is actually no ordinary thespian. What makes her stand out from her peers is that she is a cultural bearer of her tribe from the highlands of central Panay, a living national treasure so to speak.

While sitting in front of my desk for an interview at the USA Publications Office, she shares with me a quote she remembers from an influential mentor: “‘Who we are is who we were.’ Our artistic director always told us to never forget who we are and where we come from. It was through this statement that I learned to understand who I really am as an actress and realize my important role as a messenger of my own culture.”

The Panay Bukidnon is a cultural minority group of Malay stock found deep in the mountains of Calinog, Iloilo and Tapaz, Capiz – a tribe believed to have taken refuge in Panay’s isolated hinterlands after refusing to pay allegiance under Spanish colonial rule. Fondly known as “Tata” to her friends and fellow thespians, the senior BS Tourism student is indeed a rare catch for the University’s theater group. After all, there are only a handful of indigenous scholars in the country who receive full support from the National Commission of Indigenous People and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

But behind the seemingly glamorous career she has gained in theater, she still fondly recalls how hard life was as a tribal member of the Panay Bukidnon since she had to walk three hours everyday all the way from the mountains just to attend classes at the Tapaz Central School in the

town proper. She also remembers being Kinaray-a, then acting them out in school teased and discriminated by her classmates presentations. for being ‘different’. As a child, she often Her initial entry in the theater arts scene wondered why her family’s norms, beliefs, was in 2005 after enrolling at the University and practices at home were quite different of San Agustin as a Computer Science from that of her peers. It seemed to her that student. Her main intention of joining the social and cultural dominance of the the Little Theater was to find new friends lowlanders appeared to be more superior in college, have fun, and boost her selftowards that of her own tribe. Or so, she confidence. But little did she know back then thought. And because of this, she also that her admission in the said organization learned to bear a slight ‘shame’ towards her would eventually change her life. During her own culture and origin while growing up. first year, she got to meet many dependable With her father working as a security friends and her two influential mentors - Sir guard in Manila and her mother being a Edward and Sir Eric Divinagracia, whom barangay kagawad and civic leader of she learned to treat as her own family. For their tribe, Manilyn also lived a financially the first time, she learned about all the unstable life while growing up. So far was pressure, hard work, talent and technical her house from the elementary school she attended that she was occasionally forced to sleep outside the town market with her siblings on a stretched layer of banig. But despite this, luck also came to their lives when she entered high school after being admitted to the San Geronimo Glemer’s original screenplay Song at Bell Institute, a semias performed by the USALT in 2007. private school where she obtained a full scholarship.

It was also at this point of time when she discovered her talent as a declaimer and a s c r i p t w r i t e r.

After joining and winning countless competitions, she later developed her love for writing After staging Tarangban at the Jaro screenplays in Gym during the summer of 2008.

Filipino and The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 25

skills that went behind an actual stage play production. Through the scholarship grant that she received from the theater group, she wasn’t able to make use of her privileges as an indigenous scholar and decided to devote her life as a performing artist. She decided to shift and take up a degree in Tourism the following year as she believed it would help her promote her tribal culture.

Aside from the countless acting and scriptwriting workshops she has attended, she was further exposed to stage performances not only within the campus but even to distant places in the country such as the Visayas Tour of 2007 where she got to travel with her fellow thespians. Manilyn also gained extensive experience in organizing regional and even national theater events such as Company Call! and Tanghal!

During her freshman year in college, she often talked about her experiences in theater every time we sat together as a group in our General Biology class. Even during our laboratory period at the Mendel Hall, I would hear her utter several lines from her script while looking through her microscopic lens. Oftentimes, she would either be busy memorizing or acting out her script while our professor was lecturing in class. There was also a time when she hymned to us a traditional chant of her tribe in a language which she claimed to be similar but much older than Kinaray-a. I once asked her what life was like in the Little Theater and she replied “It’s quite stressful but fun. I’m enjoying it a lot. I love acting. It requires a lot of dedication and hard work but it’s very fulfilling.”

Glemer posing with her siblings and relatives during a tribal gathering.

26 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

She admits that she was at first ashamed to talk about her indigenous roots with her theater peers due to the fear of rejection and discrimination. But chance came when each one of them were required to pass a scrapbook. Sooner or later, her peers and directors glanced at the pictures of her childhood as well as her certificates of being an indigenous scholar. Her being a Panay Bukidnon sparked a lot of curiosity and interest among her peers in the theater group that the directors came up with the bold idea of conducting several researches in her hometown to learn more about her tribe’s folkways, myths, chants, dances and traditional embroidery in preparation of staging Tarangban, which is based on the ancient Suludnon epic known as the Hinilawod. The play adaptation was taken from the original chant of Manilyn’s grandmother and mother infused with Dr. Isidoro Cruz’ award-winning poem of the same title. The ambitious play eventually pushed through and was first staged, after their extensive research in the Tapaz highlands and at the School of Living Traditions in Calinog, in the summer of 2008 at the Jaro Plaza Gym. After the success of the Jaro performance, the play was then restaged several times at the USA Gym as part of the Patron Saint’s Day activities of the same year followed by restage performances in Antique and Bacolod. The whole experience was very overwhelming on Manilyn’s behalf since her native culture has placed in the spotlight and a lot of attention was put on her tribe raising the public’s awareness towards their folkways

and traditions.

For the future, she plans to try putting up a family business and pursue a master’s degree in commerce after graduation. She has also decided to continue promoting her culture and might as well teach at the School of Living Traditions. She further shares with me in the end of our interview that it was only through the Little Theater that she was able to be proud and promote the culture of her tribe.

It was only through her extensive experiences in this organization that she was given exposure to the diversity of life, to different people and environments as well as to new ideas about society. “I am indeed very thankful that the Little Theater became part of my life since it helped me boost my self-esteem and gave me joy through the strong bonds of friendship I have gained.

I was also able to showcase and contribute a lot to the preservation of our neglected culture. Not only has it helped me financially, through scholarships, and artistically, though acting, but it also helped me grow as a whole human person.”

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W

hen the College of Pharmacy and Medical Technology is mentioned, what comes into people’s minds is its being the cream of the crop. As such, an extraordinary student who embodies everything that the college stands for.

This student appeared in the first issue of The Augustinian newspaper in the academic year 2006-2007 in the feature story “Not Just Your Ordinary Seatmate” by Krystelle Banno and Stevenson Esleyer. Captured by the way she speaks English fluently, Ma. Jilyn Almendros is an incoming 4th year Medical Technology student at the University of San Agustin. Jilyn was born to Jimmy Almendros and Lorna Calaor on November 16, 1989 in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

Through the years Jilyn was nurtured with good education and attended nursery up to high school at the Colegio de las Hijas de Jesus. At an early age, she had received several awards.

She graduated valedictorian of Batch 2002 during elementary, and was a Girl Scouts of the Philippines Leadership Awardee.

Growing up and stepping into high school, she never failed to gain more awards. She was the valedictorian of Batch 2006 as well as a Chief Girl Scout Medal Scheme Awardee.

She proudly narrates her most memorable experience: “Last December 2005, I was given the Chief Girl Scout Medal Scheme Award by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself at Malacanang Palace, Philippines after my entry passed screening at the GSP National Headquarters.

My entry was a one-year feeding program for 35 malnourished children at Brgy. Agboy Sur, Leon, Iloilo”.

She was awarded as one of the Ten Outstanding Secondary School Students of Iloilo. “The Outstanding Students Circle of Iloilo (OSCI) is an organization headed by Mr. Henry Bueron Caspe which annually screens student achievers from both private and public schools in the city and province of Iloilo. The organization chooses ten students from among the applicants to receive the award. Criteria for choosing the awardees were based on academic and leadership achievement, as well as socio-civic involvement. At that time, I ranked second to Neil Llorente of Ateneo

Proven to be Your Extraordinary Seatmate

By Jenny Castro

de Iloilo”.

During the Boys and Girls Week 2005, she was chosen 2 nd Councilor. “During my senior year, I had the chance to be the counterpart of Jose Espinosa III of the Sangguniang Panlungsod for a week. I run the office on the behalf of Councilor Espinosa: I drafted and passed resolutions, attended committee hearings, inspected terminals, took part in the Sangguniang Panlungsod session, debated and voted on my co-councilor’s resolutions”.

Upon graduation, she received the Candida Maria de Jesus Award from Colegio de las Hijas de Jesus, the highest distinction that the school can give to a graduating student.. She was also a Manuel

Villar Jr. Excellence Awardee, Gerry Roxas Leadership Awardee, Rotary Club of Metro Iloilo Youth Excellence Awardee, and MOSECA (Most Outstanding Student in Extra Curricular Activities) Awardee.

She was declared regional champion in Impromptu Speech Contest during the WVRAA 2005. She said, “My first public speaking feat took place when I was 12.

I was first year high school then when I joined the Impromptu Contest during our Intramurals week in my former school. I got first place even though I was just a freshman.

Two years after that, I was sent to represent our school in the PRISAA meet where I got the first place. I represented PRISAA during the Integrated meet and the City and The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 27

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Province of Iloilo at the Regionals.”

Moreover, Jilyn was also elected president of Colegio de las Hijas de Jesus Student Council, school year 2005-2006.

She expresses, “I had been a member of the CHJ Student Council since my sophomore year at the institution. When I was a senior, I got elected as President of the High School Student Council.”

After a phenomenal run in high school, it seems that for Jilyn, college is but a further stepping stone towards greater things.

College Life Going to college means a total overhaul: new school, new classmates, new everything.

After 13 years of being wit the same faces, it’s no wonder why Jilyn felt a whole lot different. “It was a totally strange environment where everything seemed new and unfamiliar. But at least the adjustment stage wasn’t that long, and after the first two weeks in school, I felt comfortable with PMT and USA... It was such a relief that I had a good set of classmates in Medical Technology. So, it wasn’t hard for me to find my new circle of friends in school.”

Co-curricular activities didn’t hinder her in being a consistent Dean’s Lister since first year. When she was a freshman Medical Technology student, she represented the University at the PRISAA 2006 for the Impromptu Speech Contest at De Paul College where she placed second. She was mentored by Eric Divinagracia. She was a champion during the Regional Rizal Quiz Competition (VRYLI) held in the DepEd Ecotech Center, Lahug, Cebu City. She got first place after besting 30 other opponents from participating schools in the Visayas region.

After that, she competed for the National Rizal Quiz Competition (NRYLI) held in Baguio City and won. She represented the school at the National Rizal Quiz Bee held at the National Rizal Youth Leadership Institute Conference in Teacher’s Camp, Baguio City last December 18, 2007. This time, there were almost 50 contestants in the national contest.

She is also a member of the PMT Debating Team, two-time Champion in the St. Agustine’s Cup which is an interdepartmental debate at the University,

Amendros receiving an achievement award during the 2009 Recognition Day at the USA Gym. 28 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

for two consecutive years. She was also awarded Best Debater during the semi-finals between the USA and University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV), in an interschool debate sponsored by IBP (Integrated Bar of the Philippines) and GMA-7 for the Dinagyang Celebration held at SM City Activity Center on January 17, 2009. She was the second speaker and the rebuttalist.

Early this month, she was elected president of the KAPARIZ-USA chapter.

She was the only officer who was from PMT. Lastly, she was a Rotary Club of Metro Iloilo MIRACLES scholar. The Rotary Club of Metro Iloilo once gathered all high school valedictorians from all over Iloilo City and offered scholarship grants for five deserving students. She was chosen as one of the five scholars of the club.

Getting to know her personally “I’m quite unconventional,” she confessed when asked about her hobbies.

“I enjoy poring over old photographs, especially pre-war photos. The older the photograph is and the more controversial it seems, the more fascinating it appears to me. I also enjoy watching movies, especially classics, like ‘Gone with the Wind’ or ‘Far and Away’. I have this addiction to the ecstasy classics. They allow me to melt into the character’s persona, into his pathos and psyche, and gradually dissolve into his world so different from ours.”

Laughing, she adds, “For good reads, I hit Paulo Coelho’s novels. Biographies also hold much of my interest, especially those of controversial people like Eleanor Roosevelt and Marilyn Monroe. Lately, I’ve been pursuing my long forgotten skilldancing. I used to be a frustrated ballerina.

I think I still am.”

When asked about sports, she briefly said, “I’ve done my best to try to like sports but I just can’t. Maybe there are things that aren’t really for you.”

When asked about her chosen career path, she candidly answers that she honestly doesn’t know. Acting on the advice of a trusted few, she took up Medical Technology because it “is the best pre-med course”.

USA was her chosen school because “undoubtedly it offers the best Medical Technology education and training.”

As for study habits, Jilyn said, “I study, yes, but not habitually. I’m one person who

still needs to be moved by the formidable mover-pressure. That’s the reason why I can’t study in advance. I could focus and absorb things better when I cram.”

For her, achieving is like morphine.

“It breeds addiction. Once you’ve had a taste, you’ll crave for more. And the worst part is, you’ll never have enough.” With her standards, underachieving is not an option.She needs the constant reassurance of reaching her goals. “It’s like my battery, the moment it dies down, I die with it. So I could never imagine telling myself to stop because I’ve had enough... I usually feel bad when I don’t meet (people’s) expectations.

So that’s the press-on. It’s clear to me that I need to work hard if I want to keep up with them. Nevertheless, I find it healthy and constructive because it forces me to consistently achieve.”

Inspiration All of us have inspiration in life to achieve more and do better. Jilyn shares, “I draw inspiration from the people who believed in me and in my potentials: my parents, my mentors and my friends. You just can’t put down people like them, who against all odds had never stopped trusting your abilities and talents. It gives you a reason to work hard, achieve more and push beyond the limits because you know that when you’ve finally reached the peak, you’ve made these people happy and fulfilled. A person’s achievement is his offering, his gift to those who believed in him. It is more of a tribute to the people behind the achiever than to the achiever himself.”

When asked for a message for those who want to follow her footsteps, she replies, “No pain, no gain. Nothing comes easy. If you want to get something that you want, you have to want it more than anything else. You have to want it so badly that you are ready to pay the price, no matter how costly. Focus.

Keep your eyes on the goal. Never rest until it becomes yours. It’s more than just a motto for me. It’s my battlecry. No war is won without such way of thinking. Simply put, it’s about hardwork, perseverance and sacrifice. These are the essential ingredients to success. Without them, your success is bogus. It might just be luck, but you can’t be too lucky always. So if you want to be truly successful, hit the long hard road. There are no shortcuts to success”.

Now that we have learned so many things about Ma. Jilyn Almendros, there’s no doubt that she has proven to be extraordinary.

During High School Graduation at the Colegio de las Hijas de Jesus-Iloilo in 2006.

Posing with fellow Augustinians and Ilonggo delegates at the 2007 National Rizal Youth Institute Conference in Baguio City.

With friends and batch mates during the 2009 College of Pharmacy and Medical Technology JS Prom.

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 29

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Wheat Matters: Living the Legacy of Chinese Ascendancy

By Cara Uy

T

Tua tia bin taw his has been the phrase (which means fond to eat bread) my father commented on me every time he sees me eating bread when I was a kid. Perhaps because, I truly love to eat bread after a heavy meal or when I have my light snacks (even up to now). His influence, moreover, in instilling to us the basic Chinese lingos and his sharing of personal experiences gave birth to this page.

Being in a Chinese family rooted with values of discipline and thriftiness, I was able to access, intrude, and delve into 30 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

some almost-a-century-old establishments owned by Chinese families which became foremost pillars of Iloilo City’s business pool particularly in the world of ovens and palatable wheat. I coined these establishments so focused with the “masa” (molding) and “makamasa” (being patronized) realm as the shakers and movers of the society. They have been known and they have long lived to inspire the many.

Panaderia ni Paa I think this time, my bread cravings played a significant role in my quest to

validate my father’s tell-tale story about Lolo Pedro, my grandfather, who used to work in the bakery mostly recognized by the taga-Jaro as the bakery where Pan de sal ni “Paa” is famous of. Far more than validation, I came to track down the vitality of the Jaro Bakery, now called Panaderia ni Paa. Panaderia ni Paa is so named about three or five years ago in honor of Jose Uy’s father Uy Paa, a native of Fujian, a province in Southern China. It is still located in Corner Washington and Lopez Jaena Streets, Jaro. It has lived since 1896 with its founder Chiquito Uy, the great grandfather of Jose. It is a sort

of three-in one-stop shop – a bakery, a fast food chain, and a pasalubong center. Among Uy Paa’s seven children, however, Jose took over the running of their family’s business in 1970. He graduated at San Agustin High School in 1937 and studied BS Civil Engineering at the University of San Agustin in 1937-1939. He pursued the course at the University of Iloilo and finished it in 1942.

He is married to a true blooded Chinese, Siu Yan Chua Tan-Uy, to whom their family business is under her proprietorship. Jose and Siu Yan had six children and most of them are Augustinian graduates.

Jane Uy-Chua, their eldest daughter, asserted that the pan de sal which Panaderia ni Paa has been known, is patronized because it is freshly baked everyday under a century old, brick made oven, and out of firewood making it mananam. She also stated that they don’t use preservatives in making their products that’s why pan de sal’s life span is for two or three days only. But she shared a tip of placing the pan de sal in a freezer then to toast it again to regain its crustiness.

The pan de sal which costs only Php 2.00 is the realism of Panaderia’s business tag line: Good Quality Na, Low Priced Pa! It is being sold or marketed around 4:30AM and 2:00PM. It is usually simot (ubos) especially that there are whole sale buyers who drop by each morning and purchase Panaderia’s Pan de sal in bulk.

Indeed, it is licit to say that Panaderia ni Paa is a haven of wheat products since I for one tasted the pan de sal that draws people to drop by regularly. It is crusty on the outside and it’s naturally soft and quite chewy inside without added commercialized sugar – a hale and hearty plus factor. Besides, Panaderia is also a house of pan, biscocho, sweet and toasted breads, and biscuits.

Jane added that price control is the key in maintaining their avid customers. I, for one, could attest that sorts of people in different suits really patronize their famed pan de sal one afternoon when I and Marcos spent time at Panaderia. Really, it is 2PM when people started to crowd the bakery.

I believe then that Jose’s being stingy and strict in imposing the wake up call as well as his fluency in encouraging his children to study hard as claimed by Jane has been compensated with what Panaderia has achieved now. Instilling the characteristics of masikap and thriftiness as affirmed by Jose, on the other hand, has made a huge impact to his children who had their own businesses, too.

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 31

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The Dainty House during its peak hours.

An interview with the owner Maria Esperanza Chan.

Dainty House I’m now having a parade of fancy breads on my mind. Pretty lustful but I can only pick a few lasting bread sort out of the many which flirted with my taste buds for quite sometime. Fortunately, I found pan de leche of Dainty House, the oldest and the best Chinese Cuisine in town, haunting in my quest of bread searching.

The Dainty House restaurant traces a bountiful history. Primarily, it fills orders 32 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

for catering at banquets, receptions and all kinds of American, Spanish, Filipino, and Chinese dishes at reasonable rates back then but actually specializes on Cantonese foods; it also offers a variety of bread products as well even up to now.

Chung Sai, known by many as A’hong, who came from China, is the owner of the restaurant. For 10 years, he worked as a Kitchen Helper of Wing Kee restaurant (near Plaza Libertad), an American restaurant mostly visited by American soldiers and famed through its specialized American dishes. Together with Kong Kee Makani and Tam Lee Hee, entrepreneurs and later were joined by Ah Yeng and Sia, natives from Hong Kong and China and are all 17 years of age, they ventured to opened Dainty in 1929 at Ledesma Street after working at Wing Kee. At that time, all of them became chefs in their own right while A’hong was the chief cook. Eventually, Dainty moved to JM Basa St. in 1940. With its business tag: We serve to satisfy, it has gained, indeed, more clientele so Dainty was then named The New Iloilo Dainty Restaurant initially specializing in American Cuisine.

When World War II broke out, moreover, Dainty had to stop its operation although it elatedly survived the blitz of war during the 1900’s. In 1963, the Dainty owners decided to separate and sell The New Iloilo Dainty Restaurant’s proprietorship to A’hong. Since A’hong was the sole owner, he had needed the assistance of his children.

Among his seven children, Ma. Ezperanza Chung, also known as Pancing, took the responsibility in managing the resto as it was handed down to her.

As an accounting student of University of Iloilo at that time, it remained an advantage to her being the manager, book keeper, and receptionist at the same time.

In 1989, A’hong died so Chan Kze Chong (Robert Chan Sr.), husband of Pancing, became the Chief Chef of The New Iloilo Dainty Restaurant. From the start of engaging into business, A’hong instilled in his family the legacy of hard work, perseverance, and diligence.

In 1994, the resto was so named Dainty House after it has transferred to James building, owned by Pancing’s brother, in 26 Iznart St., Iloilo City. After six years of dedication to work, Kze Chong also passed away leaving the Kitchen matters to his son Robert Chan, Jr. who is a graduate of BS Architecture from the University of San Agustin. At adulthood stage, Robert Jr. has been trained with administrating the kitchen by his father who had been bestowed also by the cooking and management skills of the Kitchen master A’hong.

Currently, Dainty House has been renowned for its Pancit Sun Yat Sen which costs Php120 per serve. It also offers Pancit Canton Frito, Pansit Peking, Bijon Guisado, Chop Suey Guisado, and Chicken Chopsuey; yummy Siopao, and a lot more. The Pancit or the noodles used for Dainty’s specialty is notably delectable since it is home made (by the resto). However, Dainty’s “masiksik” (a chic compressed dough) pan de leche which costs Php5.50 each remains alluring to my taste buds now and forever.

Buho Bakery I just heard it from my father that together with my mother, they used to visit this place way back their college years.

From then on, the name “buho” bakery became a sort of last sound syndrome to me until I had already located it. There’s a little load of history that has been tracked down about this bakery so I was challenged to do the brief mapping of its by gone days instead.

This bakery is owned by the Foo family. It has been established during prewar, apparently in 1900’s. Along Mapa St., adjacent to Sun Yat Sen School and close to the University of Iloilo, an eskinita delivered me to a place which caters the so famed pancho sang buho.

It opens at 5:30 in the morning but one can knock on the buho, which Buho bakery has been known of, upon buying. Certainly, it has a unique way of marketing its bread products but it is so given because the place

is not safe at night as attested by the owner.

He added that the bakery closes at night, around 7PM, but one can still buy through knocking and peeping over the Buho since it opens 24 hours. Well somehow, it’s kind of drive through bakery. What is notable about this bakery is that it has been known without doing much of the advertising primarily because the owners are of a conservative and reserved type of family. Luckily, in a short span of interview, the owner made mention that the taste of their products lived in the hearts of the ones who patronized Buho Bakery especially to its consumers who are mostly students - a compelling reason why Buho existed for more than many decades already.

Truly, the savory treat of a certain pancho which costs Php 1.25 each became reminiscent to me. Aside from the fine fillings of the pancho which made me buy perhaps countless times already, I had also validated why my parents would have a

constant stopover in this bakery way back then. It had also made me and my sister become avid fans of this bakery as we used to hang out here whenever my atchi gets back in the city every now and then.

Moreover, I can as well commend that one must try Buho bakery’s teren-teren (Php 7.00), pan de sal and a variety of tasteful breads. I hope you’ll drop by!

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 33

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Witnessing the Colors of Villa Beach from Morning to Dusk: The 37th Paraw Regatta Festival

I

have often dreamed of sailing out in the ocean on my own to explore the vastness of the sea. Setting out in the open has always given me an unexplainable sense of freedom and courage.

Being blown by the gusts of the wind and being carried away by the gentle waves out to the unknown has always aroused me to appreciate the simple beauties of life.

On the 22nd day of February this year, I decided to pay a visit to Iloilo City’s historic coastline district of Arevalo to witness the world-renowned Paraw Regatta Festival along Villa Beach. I woke up early that morning and took the jeepney that drove me all the way to the city’s outskirts, through the narrow and dusty streets of the area, until I was finally dropped off by the shoreline.

And right before my very eyes was the captivating sight of countless sailboats lining along the Iloilo Strait, all painted in vibrant and intoxicating colors.

Now on its 37th year, the festival is organized annually by the Iloilo Paraw Regatta Foundation, Inc. with the primary objective of promoting local tourism and preserving the legacy of the paraw in commemoration of the historic migration of the first Malayan settlers in the archipelago

34 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

which is believed to have taken place at around 1200 A.D. in the island of Panay.

According to native folklore, the Maragtas legend tells us about the arrival of ten datu in the island after fleeing from the tyranny of an evil ruler in Borneo. They came together with their families and servants through sailboats or balanghay to look for a peaceful place where they could settle.

Upon landing in Panay, they were welcomed by the dark-skinned natives, known as the aeta, with whom they later bartered the island’s lowlands in exchange of a golden salakot and a golden necklace that reached the ground.

The place was established by the Spaniards as the town of La Villa de Arevalo during the 17th Century. The place was once known for its sprawling and beautifully landscaped gardens that complimented the elegant mansions of the colonial officials.

The town was occasionally raided by moro pirates from Mindanao and was once occupied by invading Dutch troops from the neighboring Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).

Arevalo also played an active role in the production of native fabrics such as jusi, sinamay and piña clothing even prior to the

By PIETROS VAL PATRICIO

opening of the Iloilo Port to international trade in the mid 1800’s. Locally-made textiles which were later exported to different parts of the world eventually brought immense wealth to the town. The heydays of the textile boom, however, were only shortlived. The thriving industry eventually died out after the influx of foreign fabrics from England which flooded Iloilo’s merchandise shops at the turn of the 20th Century. Arevalo was eventually incorporated as a district of present-day Iloilo City together with the towns of La Paz, Molo, Mandurriao, and the city of Jaro in 1937.

Locally known as the paraw, the yearly event was first established in the 1970’s as a friendly sailboat race within the strait between Iloilo City and Guimaras. It also includes a sailboat painting competition called pintalayag to patronize Ilonggo artistry. A Miss Paraw Regatta beauty pageant, reggae band concerts and a Brazilian-inspired dancing event have later been included to add more spice to the festival and awaken the fiesta spirit among sailors and fisher folk.

It is also aimed towards the promotion of environment-friendly sportsmanship since it does not rely on fuel and is therefore pollution-free. The festival still remains

to be the only one of its kind in Asia up to this day.

I was supposed to meet up with Cara that morning since we both promised to capture the event together with Sir John, our former moderator in the Publications.

But because she was nowhere to be seen at the time, I took out my digital camera and began capturing some shots around the beach. I took several pictures of the colorful Samba Regatta dancing event while exploring the place. Countless eateries and restaurants were filled. One could see all kinds of delicious seafood being grilled and marinated in every corner.

The entire strip was overlooking the beautiful island-province of Guimaras. And while the sun was just about to rise in the horizon, I accidentally bumped into Cara while strolling in the midst of wandering crowds along the beach. We both took off our shoes and started looking for Sir John. Her photographer friend, Marcos, was actually busy taking pictures with his friends that day. While walking barefoot, we happened to spot several foreign tourists and a small group of sophomore students from the University’s Mass Communications program who were also taking shots for a class project. Many of the guards were noticeably rude towards the public. A stubborn and ugly, old man, who acted as if he owned the place, shouted at us after unintentionally passing through a cordoned portion of the beach.

While exploring the place, we received an SMS text message from Sir John stating that he has been waiting for us the whole morning at the other end of the strip. By the time we found him, he was already standing in front of a sailboat with the number A-13.

The beautifully painted paraw was named Flory and it already caught our attention from afar. The artwork depicted a mutated giant hand together with a flat-nosed Filipino boy smiling along with seaweeds, green bamboo shoots and fishes in his surroundings. In the

background, another boy was visible raising his hands towards a huge, yellow flower.

Its ‘captain’, Edgar de la Cruz, came all the way from Nueva Valencia, Guimaras to join the race competition. My Liberal Arts batch mate and fellow poet-photographer, Noel, arrived a few moments later to take photos for Sir John. The coast was literally bursting with life. Many people were swimming; children were playing and running on the sand while teenage boys were skim-boarding by the sea. It was a feast of the senses!

During the noontime, we headed toward a seaside restaurant to have lunch.

Ma’am Cherry, my professor in Technical Writing, was supposed to drop by and feast with us had she not been bulldozed by a terrible migraine attack that day. We helped ourselves over several platters of native lechon kawali, bangus, and talaba with rice.

Since these people were almost like family to me, we talked about every possible thing.

Quail eggs and a local variety of coconut jam were later sold to us by roaming vendors.

We fondly watched how the sailboat race began; other boats got entangled, some even capsized and sank. While monitoring the progress of the race, we talked about serious concerns that the city government should tackle such as the growing garbage disposal problem in the area, which has been polluting the beach in recent years. This was also followed by the mushrooming of seafood and residential establishments along its shores in the past decade leading to high e. coli content in the ocean, thus making the place unsafe for visitors. We also wondered why the cash prizes for the Miss Paraw Regatta pageant and samba regatta dance contest were much higher than the Paraw Regatta race and art competition itself. The discrepancy of the festival’s true essence was indeed very disturbing.

In the afternoon, we roamed around the place and had a taste of dirty ice cream.

We dropped by Breakthrough, a popular restaurant in Villa Beach, to savor their

special halo-halo inside a freshly opened coconut husk. But, since the restaurant was already full, we decided to take the nearest jeepney to the other end off the beach strip. Many fat-bellied men sitting and laughing along the sidewalks were already drunk while countless families were having their picnic on the sand. We passed through several dilapidated nipa huts until we finally entered Kayang-Kayang (which means ‘to relax in abandon’), a two-storey eatery and beer house owned by a friend of Sir John who also happened to be a civic leader of the Homeless Peoples Federation of the Philippines and an active advocate for the urban poor. We occupied an empty room at the second floor with a breathtaking sunset view. Our friend Apple, from the University’s theater group, later joined us until dusk after arriving from a class trip with her tourism class in Guimaras.

We had a wonderful drinking session with our pulutan of sautéed crab, shrimp and squid with vegetables as well as the crispy chicharon and boiled peanuts we bought from a female vendor. We had a very long and happy discussion with Sir John and I guess that was also the last time I had a drinking session with him. When the sun finally began to set, the sky started losing its pastel colors as the horizon slowly darkened.

I remember having several bottles of beer before eventually leaving the place late that evening. It felt as if I were cast away in a dream, of tropical pines and colorful sailboats; a beautiful beach cove filled with life and joy. I rode home, and in the jeep, still heared the laughter and saw the smiles of various faces in my mind. I bared the dream of happiness and contentment in my heart, being loved by the people and society around me despite the prevailing material poverty.

For once, I was embraced by the stars in the sky, the moon, the sun, and the sea. And I was thankful to God that he cast the spell of eternal summer bloom in this country.

The Augustinian Mirror March 2009 35

MIRROR

culture

Paralleled Memories from Passi’s Pintados Festival

F

By Cara Uy

ine prints and patterns of tattoos etched around and over the fairskinned men formed mental pictures on my mind when I happen to hear Passi City which is labeled as the sweet city in the heart of Panay. Aside from its vast sugar land, numerous pineapple plantations and wide granary rice fields, this city in the central part of the province is rich with local culture and tradition best depicted through the celebration of Pintados de Pasi festival on March 22.

It was my first time to actually experience the spectacle of such festivity embracing the theme “Kulturang Passinhon: Pasanyugon Paagi sa Paghirinugpong” in conjunction with the city’s 11th Foundation Anniversary. Upon arrival at 9:00AM, the excessive sweating of my secretory glands became negligible; long enough that I bartered the bathing-under-the-sun encounter to the sweet captured memoirs of the 10 tribes which randomly gave me a better view of Visayan folklores. Tribes such as Tribu Baranogon, Labaw Dunggon, Dumalapdap, Asu Mangga, Saragnayon, Paubari, and the likes provided me an astonishing reflection over folk plays or theatrical-like street dancing over the three judging areas such as in front of the market, the Plaza Paloma, and the Passi City Social Hall.

Most of the tribes were representatives

36 The Augustinian Mirror March 2009

of various baranggays and of different schools. Characterized by aggressive body movements and elaborative illustration of body contour formations in fine angles and positions to lobby a hyperopic view of the tribesmen’s marked body paintings and/or tattoos, as well as precise ritualistic execution of the story line instituted to a large crowd, Pintados de Pasi festival has been lined as one of the region’s most wanted and established festivals. Aside from the artistically-made tattoos which most likely emblem hierarchical or status symbol of the Passinhons’ ancestral by gone days and reminiscent of life long towns’ ancestral beings drama or Passinhons’ way of life, the part I like most was the adornment of tribesmen exemplified by the heavy guarded and well-crafted abubots tagged along their necks, arms, and legs which silhouetted a group of mapuros men.

The efforts done by the Passinhons, led by its government officials and the Department of Tourism, were triumphant enough to draw visitors from different cast and creeds, locally, nationally and at par, internationally. Nevertheless, an hour to an hour and a half bus ride and coverage together with Moi and Mamu, plus a missed/ excused RLE duty, was all worthwhile as I created paralleled (never-ending) memories of the Pintados Festival.

SOLUTION: A(10) Donna Isabelle Fresnido; B(9) Cara Uy; C(8) Sheena Capindo; D(7) Daisy Dawn Macahilo; E(6) Aljun Padisio; F(5) Jefferson Magbanua; G(4) Ronald Sorrilla; H(3) Pietros Val Patricio; I(2) Josh Von Iron Tondo; J(1) Allin Joy Emboltura

1 8

7

A

F

9

H

B

5

D

I

3

6

J

G

E

C

2

4

10