balangaw

BUENAVISTA, MARINDUQUE

2006-10-26T12:39:00.000+08:00

The municipality of Buenavista, the smallest of Marinduque's (still a fourth class province huh), six towns, is located on the southwestern portion of the island-province facing the Tablas Strait. It is populated by 19,607 inhabitants who speak Tagalog with a blend of Masbate and Romblon dialectic influences. Main industries are fishing, farming and trade. It is back-dropped by Malindig Volcano that rises up to 1,157 meters and where the last bastion of biodiversity on this island still thrives on the final 200 meter ascent. Advanced mountain climbers still rise up to the challenge of scaling this majestic mountain (Malindig means steep and elegant). Local folklore foretells of this volcano as the place of 'golden underground cities'. Sightings of golden ships anchored at its foot where the mountain meets the sea still abound in this day and age - the most recent sighting was on Holy Wednesday 2006, when the ship magically attracted thousands of fish sold the next day at P 5.00 per kilo! The fisherfolks wouldn't stop telling you the story...

Malbog Sulfuric Springs some 2 km. away from the town proper await health buffs who find the therapeutic and relaxing effect of hot springs a must when visiting old Buenavista. Other places of interest are the Lourdes Grotto in Sapinit that offers a remarkably good view of the volcano and the Malindig foothills, the beaten coastal path to Libas, Lipata and Yook characteriuzed by a mix of steep cliffs, rocky beaches, smaller coves and quietude interrupted only by the sound of queer birds, wild cats (musang), and monkeys. Elefante Island that once boasted of an exclusive beach club, now gone, but slowly being resurrected, could be visited and its small strip of coral beach could still be enjoyed. The view of the volcano from this island has graced many travel magazines. Bagtingon's cottage industries, backyard butterfly cages in many houses and Bulusucan Falls interest summer visitors and who care for some privacy.

2006-07-06T17:12:00.000+08:00

titles

2006-07-06T17:10:00.000+08:00

collage

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Couldn't help it!

2006-07-06T17:00:00.000+08:00

Judas Iscariote, played by Jeff Magsino, a vacationeer from Batangas

2006-07-06T16:57:00.000+08:00

Christ is Ressurected.

2006-07-06T16:56:00.000+08:00

Mary and Christ's dead body.

2006-07-06T16:55:00.000+08:00

The miracle of Longinus after piercing Jesus' side with a spear.

2006-07-06T16:54:00.000+08:00

The mockery did not cease even as He was nailed to the Cross.

2006-07-06T16:50:00.001+08:00

Mother Mary with John meets the Christ.

2006-07-06T16:50:00.000+08:00

Veronica wipes the Holy Face.

2006-07-06T16:49:00.000+08:00

Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene

2006-07-06T16:48:00.000+08:00

Simon (played by JR Rianzares) with a friend (Divine Grace Peralta)

2006-07-06T16:47:00.000+08:00

Jesus bearing the Cross falls down on his knees..

2006-07-06T16:42:00.001+08:00

PIlate washes his hands...

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"Ecce Homo!"

2006-07-06T16:41:00.000+08:00

Christ is mocked by the Roman centurions.

2006-07-06T16:40:00.000+08:00

Longinus and his lance. (Claudia's Dream)

2006-07-06T16:39:00.000+08:00

Jesus is dragged by the Roman soldiers (in Claudia's Dream)

2006-07-06T16:38:00.000+08:00

Another scene from Claudia's dream.

2006-07-06T16:37:00.000+08:00

Scene from 'Claudia's Dream' rendered in dance movements.

2006-07-06T16:36:00.000+08:00

Herod mocks the Christ.

2006-07-06T16:35:00.000+08:00

Herodes (played by Rudi Mariposky) is surprised with the arrival of Jesus.

2006-07-06T16:34:00.000+08:00

Judas before hanging himself... a devil throws the rope...

2006-07-06T16:32:00.000+08:00

Christ before Pilate.

2006-07-06T16:31:00.001+08:00

Christ before Caiphas.

2006-07-06T16:31:00.000+08:00

An apostle cuts an ear of an enemy, Jesus heals him...

2006-07-06T16:29:00.000+08:00

Jesus to Judas: "... with a kiss you betray me?"

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The agony in the garden.

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"Ang Kristo" apostles.

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Jesus breaks the Bread.

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The disgruntled Judas leaves the guestchamber.

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Jesus and Judas.

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Jesus washing an apostle's feet.

2006-07-06T16:23:00.000+08:00

Magdalene and Jesus, she anointing his hair and body...

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The Angry Christ at the Temple.

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Entry to Jerusalem.

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Jesus heals the lepers.

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That gave us a chance to include Salome, Herodias' famous daughter.

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The female mananayaws (dancers) have always been part of Filipino passion plays since time immemorial.

2006-07-06T16:06:00.000+08:00

Herodes' slave dancers.

2006-07-06T16:05:00.000+08:00

"Herodes and Decadence" is the title of the last scene from Act 1 of Ang Kristo.

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The risen Lazarus being comforted by his sisters, Magdalene being one of them.

2006-07-06T16:02:00.000+08:00

Lazarus being raised from the dead...

2006-07-06T16:01:00.000+08:00

The critical sacerdotes ever-watching Jesus' moves.

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Jesus' apostles.

2006-07-06T15:59:00.000+08:00

Jesus' Transfiguration. (The strange blue lights just came out from Picasa)

2006-07-06T15:56:00.000+08:00

Moses, Jesus, and Elijah meet.

2006-07-06T15:55:00.000+08:00

Jesus explaining Magdalene's act.

2006-07-06T15:54:00.000+08:00

The crying Magdalene wipes Jesus feet with her hair. The pariseos react negatively.

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The Diyablo (played by Ericson Igon Loto) expressing dismay about things this Jesus is doing in Israel.

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The Devil and his/her legion.

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Jesus now in direct confrontation with the parisees and sacerdotes.

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Jesus before his disciples.

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Annas and Caiphas

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The possessed deaf-mute is healed.

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Juan Bautista is arrested by Herod Antipas' soldiers.

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Jesus appeasing an apostle during a confrontation with sacerdotes.

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The first encounter with Magdalene who was possessed by seven demons.

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Jesus after reading from Isaiah.

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The Devil's minions.

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Jesus is tempted by the Devil.

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Voice from Heaven.

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Jesus comes: "Siya ang sinasabi kong darating..."

2006-07-06T13:07:00.000+08:00

Juan Bautista - voice in the wilderness

2006-07-06T13:06:00.000+08:00

"ANG KRISTO: PASYON-DULA" PHOTOS FROM TEATRO BALANGAW

CREATING "ANG KRISTO" PHOTOS WITH PICASA

Using Picasa tools I managed to create a slide presentation that features actual scenes from the premiere presentation of "Pasyon-Dula". However, my laptop continued showing signs that it is about ready to say goodbye again. I have nightmares thinking I would wake up one morning and never see the photos again. I captured around 170 photos from the video of the play turned over to me by a friend, and used Picasa's built in effects to improve them as they were shot with a video-cam more than 10 years old.

My immediate option available is to preserve these photos on this blogsite. And so am doing this today. After succeeding to post a few photos, the computer shut down and would not connect to the Internet anymore. Will keep trying, but for now some of these photos could now be viewed, at least... and Rudy (I've been texting him about these photos), who will not be returning to Marinduque until about the end of the month would have an idea about what photos I have been working on for three almost sleepless nights trying to outsmart a battered laptop that wouldn't start or not restart depending on its own caprice, or shut down as it wished!

PS: Oh, oh, I did it! All the good photos are now posted!

MORE "ANG KRISTO" PHOTOS by Mariposky

2006-05-11T19:26:00.000+08:00

"ANG KRISTO: PASYON-DULA" PHOTOS

2006-04-24T11:03:00.000+08:00

Rudy Mariposky (he played 'Herodes Antipas' in 'pasyon-dula' after about a decade of absence from the Marinduque community theater stage) took these photos (and a lot more), during the dress-rehearsal on 11th April, the premiere on the 12th with Janmart Lacdao playing Kristo and on the 13th, and the first re-run with J.E. SISON (of ABS-CBN's "TV Idol" and "Bikini Open" fame), playing "Kristo".

The municipal government of Buenavista has announced the construction of a new stage near the seawall for this passion-play's presentation next year, 2007.

(Photo) The Buenavista sea and sky looked like this when the cast trooped to the beach after the 3 1/2 hour-play on 13th April; (Photo) Eli directing Janmart; (Photo) J.E. exorcising the Taong Grasa.

(Photo) Janmart (Jesus) reads from Isaiah;
(PHoto) JR Rianzares (as Simon of Cyrene) helps Jesus to carry the Cross; (Photo) JR also doubles as "Taong Grasa"

(Photo) Glenn Bautista plays John the Baptist; (Photo) Janmart alternated as Judas when J.E. played Kristo; Mark Latorre as the Possessed Man.

2006-04-23T02:17:00.000+08:00

The experiences of Teatro Balangaw of Marinduque are studied in this book: Art and social meaning. COMMUNITY THEATER: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

J.E. SISON AS 'KRISTO"

2006-04-18T10:05:00.000+08:00

"Superb!" "Fantastic!" "Excellent!" "The single most unforgettable performance by an actor I have seen on stage!" These were words overheard from the audience after J.E. SISON (John Emmanuel Sison), played the role as Jesus Christ in the Tagalog "ANG KRISTO: PASYON-DULA", performed before a mammoth audience at Buenavista Covered Court in Marinduque April 13, 2006. The play lasted four hours, (including a brief speech from Mayor Madrigal, a 4 minute overture, a 7 minute intermission and a prolonged curtain call). From the very first scene to the last (and there were about 38 scenes), the audience applauded heartily every time the lights went out.

When the lights dimmed after the curtain call the actor released a cry, "Yeees!" with hands outstretched as co-actors mobbed him and ladies in the audience with their cameras took shots with Sison wrapped in his Jesus costume.

Sison, then, upon the bidding of the play's director, addressed the Teatro Balangaw ensemble of 70 strong and gave a stirring speech about the wonders of theater and acting stressing that the "one you saw acting there was not me!" "I just prayed, and it seemed to me that something... a force, whatever, seemed to have taken over me when the curtain rose and I just followed it!", he said

"So now I know the purpose why I decided to grow my hair long!" The actor had no inkling that he would be invited on short notice (three weeks), to act as "Kristo", in a play that deliberately shunned ideas to call it a "sinakulo", for it was not. The lady mayor of Buenavista, Mayor Ofelia S. Madrigal, was, to use her own words "overwhelmed" by the success of the lenten play that plans are afoot to really make it Buenavista's annual acting and tourism showcase. Who knows? At Balangaw things like that happen. Ask the ex-actors and ex-directors to share their Balangaw experiences and how it opened doors to their peace... or madness!

(J.E. Sison is a product of an ABS-CBN national talent search, has appeared as lead star in the movie "Bikini Idol" that earned him a Star Awards nomination as best actor).

"ANG KRISTO: PASYON-DULA", BUENAVISTA, MARINDUQUE ABRIL 12 & 13, 2006

2006-03-31T13:40:00.000+08:00

MGA TALA NG MANUNULAT AT DIREKTOR TUNGKOL SA DULA:
(Bahagi ng teksto ng Programa para sa Pagtatanghal)

‘SINAKULO’
“Sinakulo” ang tawag sa alin mang pang-Mahal na Araw na dula tungkol sa kalbaryo ng Panginoong HesuKristo. Karaniwang sinisimulan ito sa Banal na Hapunan (“senakulo” ang turing sa silid na pinagdausan ng ‘Huling Hapunan’ ni HesuKristo at mga apostoles ayon sa ‘Pasyong Mahal’) at natatapos sa ‘Pagkabuhay Muli’.
Tila laging bantulot naman ang mga kritiko ng sining na ihanay sa tinataguriang lehitimong teatro ang ‘Sinakulo’ tulad ng noo’y ‘Zarzuela’ at ‘Moro-moro’ at modernong teatro ngayon dahil diumano sa ‘kapayakan’ ng mga ito. Ibang pamamaraan at pamantayang estetiko raw ang ginagamit sa mga ito na higit na umaasa sa mga ‘payak’ na personal o pinaghalong interpretasyon ng mga gumaganap bilang tauhan at mga namamahala ng ‘Sinakulo’.
Naroong makita natin, halimbawa, na para makilala ng mga manonood si San Pedro ay kailangang may dala itong panabong dahil itinatwa nito si Hesus ng tatlong beses bago tumilaok ang manok, sa iba naman ay kailangang may hawak na susi ng langit ang mahabaging Pedro. Naroong makita natin na upang pahalagahan ang mga apostoles ay kailangang lagyan sila ng mga sinag (‘halo’) sa ulo tulad ng pamosong larawan.
Bagama’t ang lihim na pag-iibigan nina Claudia at Longhino tulad ng sa ilang lugar ay hindi maaring sabihing ‘payak’ kung ang basehan ay kaisipan ng sumulat nito na inimport pa nga naman. At lalong hindi masasabing ‘payak’ kung libo-libong piso (o milyon-milyong piso kaya), ang ginagasta para sa pagpapatayo ng palasyo ni Pontio Pilato na ang disenyo ay tipong Disneyland o ‘Camelot’. Subalit ‘Sinakulo’ pa rin ang mapuwersang turing ng lahat sa mga ito. At ‘senakulistas’ naman ang tawag ng mga gumaganap sa kanilang sarili, gayundin ang tawag ng mga manonood..

“ANG KRISTO: PASYON-DULA”
Ano’t ano man iyon, nagkaroon ng pagkakataong mabuo ang “ANG KRISTO: PASYON-DULA” sa bayan ng Buenavista, Marinduque ngayong taong 2006. Sa mga kadahilanang nabanggit na, hindi nga ito ‘Sinakulo’. ‘Passion Plays’ ang tawag sa Ingles sa mga dulang naglalarawan sa buhay at pasakit ni HesuKristo, mula sa Oberammergau (Alemanya), hanggang sa Estados Unidos na kung saan ito itinatanghal at dinarayo upang panoorin. Kaya’t bago ito tawaging ‘Sinakulo’ ay maiging idikit na ng maaga ang salitang “Pasyon-Dula” sa titulo ng “ANG KRISTO”. Nang may kasimplehan o ‘kapayakan’. Ang tawag sa kabuuhan ng gawain mula pag-iisip, pananaliksik, pag-eensayo, hanggang sa pagtatanghal ay simple rin: Pasyon-Dulaan.
Ang kaibahan nga lamang, upang higit na maunawaan ng mga manonood ng pasyon-dulang ito kung saan nagmula ang mga pangyayaring naging kadahilanan sa pagpako sa Krus at pagkamatay ng Panginoong HesuKristo, na hindi maaaring makita kung ang dula ay sisimulan sa Huling Hapunan, kinailangang simulan ang kuwento mula sa pagbautismo kay Hesus ni Juan Bautista at ipakita ang mga mahahalagang pangyayari ayon sa kuwento ng buhay Niya mula ng panahong iyon. Ang mga mahahalagang pangyayaring ito ang binigyang buhay sa unang bahagi ng dula. Kaya’t ang ikalawang bahagi ay magsisimula naman sa pagsalubong sa Kanya sa Herusalem.
Kinailangan ang masusing pananaliksik. Ginamit ang ‘Magandang Balita Biblia’, King James Version ng Biblia, ‘Kasaysayan ni Longhino’ (Eli Obligacion, dulang itinanghal sa Gasan, Marinduque 1997),’Gospel of Luke’ (Catholic Pastoral Edition), ‘The Lost Teachings of Jesus’ (Summit Univ. Press),’The Story of Redemption’(Ellen White), ’Pasion ni Hesukristo’ (Mariano Pilapil), ‘The Life of St. Longinus’ (Caxton’s English Text), ‘Detached Account of Longinus (Emmerich), ‘Detached Account of Abenadar’ (Emmerich), Internet search finds tungkol kay Claudia Procula, Longinus, Pontius Pilate.
Pinanggalingan din ng ilang materyal ang mga pelikulang “The Passion of the Christ”, “Jesus Christ Superstar”, ”Jesus of Nazareth”, “Jesus”. Ang mga teksto sa iskrip na may kaukulang marka ay direkta o halos direktang hinango sa ‘Magandang Balita Biblia’.

PAGBUBUO AT DIWA NG BOLUNTERISMO
Natapos ang unang balangkas ng iskrip noong Pebrero 24, 2006. Nagsimulang mamili ng mga magsisiganap sa dula noong Marso 4, 2006, at sinimulan kaagad ang pag-eensayo bagama’t wala pang kaliwanagan kung paano magkakalap o saan manggagaling ang pondong gagastusin sa ganito kalaking produksiyon. (Higit sa 60 ang kailangang magsisiganap). Subali’t tulad ng paulit-ulit naming sinasabi sa mga artistang tumugon sa panawagan, ang ano mang mabuting bagay o magandang panaginip ay hindi mawawalan ng tagasuporta at lahat ay matutugunan – kung may pananampalataya sila sa buti ng kanilang ginagawa.
Sumaklolo na nga ang Pamahalaang Bayan ng Buenavista sa pangunguna ni Mayor Madrigal at kanyang mabubuting mga kaibigan. Gayundin ang mga kaibigan ng Balangaw. Sumuporta ang mga magulang ng mga kabataang kasali (mga mag-aaral at mga out-of-school youths), na nakaunawa na maaaring gabihin sa pag-uwi ang kanilang mga anak sa pag-eensayo. Nagbigay ng suportang moral ang DepEd sa pagsali ng ilang mga guro.
Ang lahat ng may kinalaman sa pagbuo ng dula ay maagang tinanggap sa kanilang sarili na ang pangyayaring ito ay sinasalihan ng bawa’t isa sa Diwa ng Bolunterismo at hangad na maging bahagi ng pagpapayabong ng sining at kultura (o pag-unlad ng turismo man), sa magandang Buenavista. At sa pagsasagawa nito ay maging bahagi ng paghugis ng modernong pangkulturang kasaysayan ng kanilang sariling bayan at komunidad. Iyon lamang!

TAMPOK NA MGA TAGPO
Bangungot ng isang mandudula na sumulat ng isang drama na di naman maiisagawa sa ibat-ibang kadahilanan, mga limitasyon. Subalit depende na nga iyon sa pagkamalikhain ninuman. Sa kaso ng “Ang Kristo”, base sa ipinamalas na kakayahan ng mga artistang gumaganap ay nadagdagan pa ang unang balangkas nito at sa huli ay naisakatuparan ang mga sumusunod na eksena sa loob ng limang linggong pag-eensayo:

UNANG YUGTO “MESIYAS”
1. PAGBAUTISMO KAY JESUS
2. PANUNUKSO NI SATANAS
3. PROKLAMASYON NG MISYON NI HESUS SA NAZARETH
4. MGA PANGARAL NI JESUS / PAGPAPAGALING
5. SI MARIA MAGDALENA
6. SA TANIMAN NG MAIS / ISYU NG SABADO
7. JUAN BAUTISTA IPINABILANGGO!
8. BEELZEBUL
9. BABAENG NAHULI SA PAKIKIAPID
10. “MALAKAS ANG DATING NG JESUS NA ITO!” (MGA KRITIKO)
11. PAGPILI SA LABINDALAWA / BEATITUDES
12. GALIT ANG DIYABLO
13. BABAENG MAKASALANAN SA BAHAY NG PARISEO
14. TRANSFIGURATION
15. ANG TAONG GRASA
16. BUKAS AT WALANG TAKOT NA PAHAYAG NI HESUS
17. SENTIMYENTO NG MGA APOSTOLES
18. SI LAZARO
19. HERODES (DECADENCE)

IKALAWANG YUGTO “KRISTO”
1. MGA KETONGIN
2. PAGPASOK SA JERUSALEM
3. ANG GALIT NA KRISTO
4. KRISTO / MAGDALENA/ APOSTOLES
5. PAGHUHUGAS NG MGA PAA / BANAL NA HAPUNAN
6. GETHSEMANE AT PAGDAKIP KAY KRISTO
7. SANHEDRIN (CAIPHAS, ANNAS, ESCRIBAS, PARISEOS, JUDAS
8. SA HARAP NI PILATO / PAGKAMATAY NI JUDAS
9. HERODES
10. PAGBALIK KAY PILATO
11. PAGHAGUPIT / PAGLIBAK / BARABAS /PAGHUGAS KAMAY
12. PANAGINIP NI CLAUDIA PROCULA
13. PAGTATALO NI PILATO AT CLAUDIA
14. VIA CRUCIS HANGGANG SA PAGLIBING (At mga Piling Salita ni HESUKRISTO) - Pagkadapa; mga kababaihang nanangis; mga Apostol; Maria (Ina), Magdalena, Juan, Veronica, Simon ng Cyrene, kilos ng mga Pariseos, mga Kawal, mga mamamayan, Pagpako, Pagkamatay, Libing.
15. PATOTOO NI LONGHINO / HIMAGSIK NG BUDHI NI PILATO
16. ANG PAGKABUHAY NA MULI NI KRISTO/
PAGPAPAKITA NI KRISTO SA MGA APOSTOLES

PRODUKSIYON
Minabuting period costumes ang idisenyo na sinaliksik ni Ian Sotto ng Escolta. Mga katutubong materyales at disenyo naman para sa props at entablado na dinisenyo ni Alvin Ereso ng Caigangan. May karanasan siya sa ganitong gawain sa mga pang-komersiyal na tanghalan sa Maynila. Si Bobby Labay ng Pinggan ang nagplano ng pang-ilaw na disenyo dahil naging lightsman naman siya sa CCP noong araw. May kaalaman din siya sa paggawa ng fog machine na dry ice ang gamit para sa ilang eksena.
Ang karamihan sa nagsiganap ay sa kabayanan ng Buenavista nakatira. Ang ilan nama’y mga taga Caigangan, Bancoro, Bagtingon, Malbog, Libas, Yook, Antipolo at Lipata. Ang ilan ay hatid ni Ian pag-uwi sa kanyang tricycle.
Wala sa orihinal na plano ang mag-anyaya ng mga panauhing artista (dulaan o pelikula), subalit nabuksan ang pagkakataong makasalamuha naman ng mga kabataang artista ang isa sa kanilang mga hinahangaan na kahaliling gaganap bilang Kristo.

PANANALIG
Sa huli, maliwanag na ang “ANG KRISTO: PASYON-DULA “ ay isang buhay na patotoo na “anuman ang hingin natin sa panalangin, manalig tayong natanggap na natin iyon at matatanggap nga natin!” (Mc 11:24). Amen!

2006-03-31T11:58:00.000+08:00

Rehearsing the Baptism Scene.

2006-03-31T11:56:00.000+08:00

Igon Loto as the Devil.

2006-03-31T11:53:00.000+08:00

Alvin Ereso is Stage & Set Designer and the over-all technical man.

2006-03-31T11:51:00.000+08:00

Rachel Madrigal is the Mother of Jesus

2006-03-31T11:50:00.000+08:00

Part of the nearly 70 cast members of "ANG KRISTO" taking a break.

2006-03-31T11:48:00.000+08:00

Ana Margarita Gonzales as Magdalene, Janmart Lacdao as Jesus

2006-03-31T11:45:00.000+08:00

session with 'pharisees'

PAGTATANGHAL NG BALANGAW

2006-02-09T12:29:00.000+08:00

To make a long story short and before we get overtaken by events, for in Buenavista suddenly things appear to churn so fast it's unbelievable, we'll zoom right on what transpired on the 19th January the town fiesta, specifically on the matter concerning "Bulong".

Remember that the provincial capitol purportedly guaranteed that the stage lights officially used for cultural presentations all over the island, except for the much-vaunted, historical follow spots, would be lent to the municipal government. No less than the lady mayor and her assistant, both of whom personally took the matter up with the capitol administration, said so.

Only the disco lights used the night before for the all-barangay ball at the covered court, the same venue where "Bulong" was to be presented, was inside the official van used for the purpose. And we learned about this at 5:00 pm or about two hours before the presentation. The closest thing inside the van for lighting purposes was a par 56 colorless lamp.

"But this is not an election campaign rally!", I didn't know if Ian was being funny. Off we (Ian, Digs and I), motored to Maybo in Ian's tricycle, returning to the covered court with two par 38 lamps borrowed from the man there. Don't know where Digs got hold of yellow and red 'yema paper' to be wrapped around the lamps. In a while, a capitol technician found some transparent green plastic from somewhere and that was placed over the brighter lamp.

In a few minutes a smoke machine, and a lighting apparatus that created lightning effects materialized from the van and were installed in front of the stage. (The stage had been dressed the day before with sasa and the stump of a huge gemelina we found in Bancoro and hauled to the venue by six people, became the centerpiece).

Digs was all over costuming the cast. Or half the cast, as the dressmaker and her assistant were still sewing some unfinished costumes and it was 7 pm. Ian had positioned himself at the sound department, with headset and all and seemed all by himself.

By 7:30 pm the court was half-filled with people, but all the chairs and the bleachers on both sides were already occupied. A representative from the municipal office announced that "magsisimula na po ang ating palatuntunan... may hinihintay lamang po!"

"Tito Eli, wala pang costume 'yung 'Air'! Apo pa naman ni Mayor 'yun!", Digs was in panic.
"E, di ba may isa pa d'yang ganun sa pinaparepair nating costume n'ya? Balutan mo na lang!", I said. The mayor's grand-daughter was close to tears.

I then double-checked the existing lights and reviewed what few possibilities could be done with them to create scene changes, the technician handed over a small spotlight we could use as followspot. But it had to stay on the floor on the edge of the stage as there was no more time to create an improvised stand. It would also be increasingly too hot to handle.

Returning backstage, I saw the mayor's grand-daughter smiling now. "A, natapos din palang tahiin!", I remarked. "Ay, hindi! 'Yan yung pinagpunit-punit ko at ginawa ngayon lang! Di ba bongga?", Digs said.

At 8:05 pm the Philippine National Anthem was sung. "Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat!... tampok ngayong gabi ang "Bulong", pagtatanghal ng Teatro Balangaw!"

By this time the whole covered court was jampacked with spectators, spilling over the street across. It was the biggest ever crowd we saw in Buenavista that watched a 'cultural presentation'. "This is 50 times more than the number that watched the last Holy Week play!", Roni who took care of some of our promotional aspects said. A security officer (Buenavista's Roving Military Group had made a building near the entrance of the covered court as their temporary headquarters four days earlier), estimated the crowd at around 2,500. Roni insisted there must be at least 3,000.

There was applause now and then to actions where none was expected. It was an audience easy to please, I thought around half-way through the play. Then three dancers (Kidlat and Baylana to do a pas-de-deux downstage right and Alon his 'dance of Anguish' on a platform upstage left), stood almost motionless apparently waiting for the music. 10 seconds, 20, 30. I was looking at Ian who obviously avoided looking at me.

The music came. It was the wrong music. I looked at Ian again, he still would not look at me... What punishment to the actors, I muttered, dancing to the wrong music. (We had labeled that number "Anguish" and the music that came out was something we had labeled "Romance"). It was the only time when all the lights would be closed for the first time. There should be applause. But nothing!

The second part of the play was immediately started. The people started to applaud again. Oh, it's picking up again, I thought. The 'conquistadores' part, the most difficult sequence was surprisingly the most applauded and so was the love-dance of Alon and Baylana. Salve, the lead character, shifting clearly from one emotion to another, obviously had an instant fan club.

Then it was over. I asked Ian to immediately acknowledge the municipal government, the Buenavista National High School, the Marinduque Victorian's College and the few individuals who rendered some help to us. The audience started to leave...

"Ian i-announce mo na may Miss Gay pa na masunod at nagauwian na ang mga tao!", shouted Marilyn a supporter of the next event.

"Ay wala akong pakialam sa Miss Gay!", was Ian's retort. He knew that his disastrous mistake would be forever etched in all of our memory.

Four days later, a whole day cast outing was held at BAHAGHARI. Ian was roasted. "But that was only our dress-tech!", I reasoned, "...just prepare yourself for the real presentation!".

AT TALAGA PO'NG WALANG KADALA-DALA! As of today, 9 February, a new script has been finished (which explains our delayed blogs), and casting under process for TEATRO BALANGAW's Lenten Play: "ANG KRISTO: PASYON-DULA".

"BULONG" NOTES

2006-01-31T12:42:00.000+08:00

A compilation of Marinduque's folklores published in 1914, annotated by Otley Beyer, then a professor at U.P., that included stories on folk beliefs and cultural practices, was the inspiration for "Bulong". Pronounced boo'-long (not bu-long' the Tagalog word for 'whisper'), it is defined as the collective name of spirits that transport humans bodily into another place or dimension. Often old folks have many stories to tell about such experiences. In modern times this is perhaps the equivalent of teleportation.

In 2002, I used it as a practical device for the first "Araw ng Gasan" celebration in Gasan. Belief in the spirit world and ancestral worhip was, of course, the order of the day when Gasan was 'discovered' by the Spaniards who introduced their own set of beliefs. Buenavista was then a part of the Gasan 'pueblo'.

"Bulong" is thus a re-shaping of those traditional stories and historic data for today's generation to give new meaning to and hopefully, a unique vehicle for reflection by those who dwell on this stuff.

'BULONG' SYNOPSIS:

Salve, in her teens, catching 'bilabila' (butterflies) finds herself in a half-awake, half dream state and sees strange creatures, the elemental spirits, around her and is at once taken to another world. That's the world of spirits and strange creatures we've all heard about on this island. There she is also taken to a door that opens to the island inhabitants' pre-historic ancestors.

Salve encounters 'patianacs' (a kind of scary crow), asuangs, tikbalangs, swaying bamboo trees, duwendes, enkantos.. The elemental Bulong spirits take her to the enkanto but not before a tug-of-war between the asuangs and spirits friendly to her, thus saving her neck, had ensued. The enkantada (she's called the 'white lady' too), enters and since Salve is a mortal decides to take the girl to the world of those who were once mortals, the world of her ancestors. Here the Katalona of "Mara Unduk" fame is still seen wielding power. Salve becomes witness to the romance and tragedy of the Alon-Baylana-Kidlat (Katutubos), love triangle and its tragic end. Salve also gets to see the island's Pastores anito for the first time.

Salve is also made to see how intruders from other shores supplanted a new set of beliefs to those of her ancestors by the power of the sword and the cross. As the ancient people cry in protest Salve now begins to understand why she was taken here. The elemental spirits free her at last, their mission accomplished.

But the enkanto, apparently so much in love with Salve by now, gets in the way. He connives with the asuangs and ugly characters for her capture. With no one to save her except herself Salve uses the folk formula to set herself free at last from her new abductors.

WEARING A LONG FACE

2006-01-30T13:50:00.000+08:00

Friday, 12 Jan. was particularly difficult. Ian and I visited lights and sound systems for rent in Pinggan, Gasan and Malbog. Bobby L of Pinggan who helped us with "Sukat.." unfortunately had left earlier in the morning for Manila. His mother told us, however, that Bobby after "Sukat..." had invested on new lights and microphones expecting that we would return for a new project. The blacklights and par 38 lamps were all kept in a room that only Bobby had access to since there was no duplicate door key.

The man from Gasan told us that it was a losing proposition to invest in such stage lights, that he had tried it, that a once or twice-a-year need for such lights could not be feasible and that travels to and from different venues often meant damaged lights and mics. The man from Malbog said the same thing but showed us what was left of the stage lights he had made for the holding of "Miss Foundation". He said he created colors not with gels but with 'yema wrapping paper' and no one noticed the difference. He didn't have blacklights since such lights are no longer a fad in barangay dances, he said.

Obviously we needed some cash to cover expenses for additional costumes, props, snacks, tapes, cd's and for running forth and back. I typed out a brief solicitation letter signed by Ian and made 20 copies. He had earlier identified persons whom he felt would be sympathetic to the project. An early response came from Sonny Arevalo who pledged P. 500. (But Ian got too occupied with many things and got to deliver less than 10 such request letters. One gave P. 40, a few gave P. 100, another gave P. 300 - Ian's total collection was P. 1,300).

The rehearsal on Friday, 13th Jan started 1 1/2 hours late. Many among the cast were part of a cheerdance competition for secondary schools scheduled on 17th Jan and held afternoon rehearsals in their school ground. The cast was not focused and to me none appeared to have any sense of urgency. Many have not mastered their cues for exits and entrances. Ian also had difficulty playing the appropriate music for certain sequences. I made it clear to the cast that it was not my style to shout at actors or scream when things got out of hand and would stick to that policy then reminded them that active viruses (actors making unnecessary noise during rehearsal or who tend to distract others or just playing around), were still free to quit... I asked Ian to take charge of the yet to be completed run through of all sequences we had covered. ("Our director will decide after this run through if we should still pursue this dance-drama or not", Ian admonished the cast). It went surprisingly well and I couldn't hide my smile after wearing a long face the whole day. It lasted til 9:30 pm. These rehearsals were held at the Buenavista Elementary School's Friendship Hall, the only place that offered some privacy. But these rehearsals had attracted for the last couple of nights a number of curious onlookers, sometimes applauding at what they'd see...

MARINDUQUE VICTORIANS REJOINING

2006-01-27T10:38:00.000+08:00

In 2002, together with Joseph O I organized a school-based theater group, Teatro Malindug, at the Marinduque Victorians College in Buenavista encouraged by the interest of the school principal, Jules Victor Pernia. "Mara Unduk" was then restaged after having been in hibernation since 1997. Lights and sound were provided by the provincial capitol after pleadings by a teacher, Ms. Orense, who also acted in the play as "Marindik". I was thoroughly surprised when the capitol sent some technical people with stage lighting equipment with special effects such as a smoke machine, special strobe lights and lightning effects. Most of all a powerful follow-spot almost exclusively used only during "Sinakulo" presentations in Boac was also there! Indeed, that surprise inspired the cast to show their very best before a large audience during the eve of the '02 fiesta.

"Sukat Ipag-alab ng Damdamin" a new dance-drama scheduled for Black Saturday '03 was then created for the group. It showed players doing a 'Sinakulo', where the principal character who played Kristo would be taken into another world, the world of local spirits, after a large dose of 'tawak' a local potion that had potency only on Good Friday. Shades of "Bulong" (Gasan 2001), a material on local folklore. For some reason, Ms. Orense did not succeed in borrowing the capitol's lights and sound equipment this time. We had to make do with a rented mobile equipment designed for barangay balls. With that the stage looked like a dimly lit old bar in Mabini even with all available lights on. Seeing this, Bobby L, the owner, hurriedly made a follow-spot of bamboo and that was what saved the play. He defended himself: "Your play is like scenes from a dream and I thought the lighting we came up with was perfect!" I could only agree. For the school's foundation day in '04 an altered shorter version of "Bulong" was also presented by Malindug.

So, our surprise visit to MVC was welcomed by the school heads, Mr. Pernia and Mrs. Saguid, immediately expressing "support in whatever way we can to your current plans". In no time, we were teaching the 'katutubo' dance movements to around 15 girls with the understanding that we would only pick out 8 among them. After 1 1/2 hours (that was Tuesday, 10 Jan), we had chosen our girls and invited those that did not make it to attend the 4:30 pm rehearsals. (It was intended as a polite brush off but to our surprise they all came for the rehearsal). By this time, the number of cast was evenly divided between the public and private high schools.

Based on my 'audition' notes, casting was done for the principal characters Salve, Fire, Air Water and Earth elements, Enkantada, Asuang Master, Alon, Baylana, Conquistador. As the katutubo girls had been chosen, the rest of the male members from BNHS were to be the katutubo boys. I could not find a candidate for Encanto and Katalona both of which required a certain 'power', also left unfilled was the role of Kidlat. It turned out we had a real need for more actors as Spirits, Diwatas, Carriers, Soldiers. Ian listed 36 cast members. We had only 8 days to go..

To the municipal coordinator we presented a sketch of the proposed stag and measurements for the two level platform to be constructed as well as a smaller platform. We also requested that an extension of the small stage be constructed using four pieces of plywood and coco lumber as support.

By Wednesday, the actors were getting more at ease with scenes 1-3 (intro of the elemental spirits, diwatas and asuang). But we had 12 to go thus blocking for the entire dance-drama had to be done immediately. An enkanto had to be selected (Rester). Wondered if we'd ever find a Katalona.. But by Thursday, a former Balangaw member turned up (from St. Mary's College who was part of 'Mis Lagrimas a Ti'), and asked if he could join. Casting changes. He (Bryan) had to be Enkanto and Rester as Katalona. Also by Thursday, Ian and I checked on the dressmaker's progress. She turned out to be the same costume maker from Gasan where she also had a small shop that did the costumes for the 2001 "Bulong" there. She has now moved to Buenavista.

The old costumes I brought from Bahaghari were not enough and that was expected, so Ian and I checked on apparently the only dry goods store that sold textile materials here and found out that both cotton and geena silk sold for P. 35 per yard. We had to make a new costume for enkanto, the elemental spirits, a few diwatas and for the katutubo boys and girls. Didn't find here what could pass off as 'katutubo' costume and had to go to Boac. Was lucky to find something there. Digs started working on the headdresses and came to the rehearsal with a greyish silky fabric he wanted to make as Salve's magical dress.

THEATER PROJECT TAKING SHAPE

2006-01-15T09:22:00.000+08:00

Monday, 9 January

Met with the selected participants for a briefing on the proposed dance-drama presentation at 2 pm Monday. The meeting was held at the Buenavista National High School where we had chosen 25 students (15 girls, 10 boys), mostly 3rd year students. The briefing was done in the presence of other students equal in number who also came to observe.

Earlier in the day, the school principal who was known to Ian expressed all support to the project but cautioned that it would be best to also get the support of the parents of those who would pass the audition. She called in a male teacher for the purpose of listing down the names of prospects since he had familiarity with the students and knew who had potential as performers.

Upon learning this, he asked a curious question thus: "What will the students get in return since they will provide their services to you?" It was in complete contrast to the school principal's statement earlier in the day: "We have always wished to have such a theater group in our school or training for teachers, but we do not have enough resources. In fact, it is very seldom that we are able to send our teachers to Manila to attend similar activities organized by the Cultural Center as an example for lack of funds..."

I was quite direct in my answer to the assistant: "No, we are the ones providing our services free of charge..."

The students were told that there would be rehearsals after school and that they should themselves talk it out with their parents. Some of those selected came from barangays quite a distance from the town center like Timbo and Daykitin.
In the middle of the briefing Ian excused himself to attend a municipal meeting on the town fiesta. For the first time he showed signs of nervousness.

Only 11 made it to the first rehearsal meeting at 6 pm. Ian and I scheduled new auditions on the next day at the Marinduque Victorians College. But by this time other things seemed to move in our favor. The municipal government had agreed to construct the stage design we would require, it would make representations with the provincial government to borrow the mobile stage lights used during cultural presentations, it would request pangulong (fishing boat) owners to provide food for the cast and production staff after the presentation. The presentation was moved to 19 January, the fiesta day itself since there would be an all-barangay dance on the eve of the fiesta. The mayor also stated willingness to sponsor a streamer to help promote our activity. The distict supervisor who was also present in that meeting expressed interest to support any future project that we might have.

Ian reported that during the municipal meeting, the mayor also made a curious remark: "We had problems with a previous similar project with another group...we were not able to liquidate a considerable amount of funds... later learned that similar funds were actually received by the proponent from NCCA..."

THE BUENAVISTA THEATER

2006-01-09T16:22:00.000+08:00

Over cups of coffee at Malbog Sulfur Spring in Buenavista using a natural stone formation there as table the idea to come up with a showcase of Buenavista's talents sprung on the 3rd day of 2006. It was to be a song-music and dance-drama showcase. The target date for presentation was January 18, eve of the town fiesta. The small group of five persons including me identified initial problems and point persons to address specific issues. The normally biggest issue of lack of funding was completely ignored. I guess everyone knew the reason by now. Lack of funds never prevented any volunteer workers from pursuing any plan to fruition.

Ian was to discuss the plan with the municipal authorities and was reminded to make it clear that all we needed was official manpower to help execute the stage design using bamboo, sasa and coconut leaves as primary materials, and no funding. Lights and sound might be available this time from the provincial capitol and should be approached. Ian would be chief choreographer.

Digs who had talent in transforming seashells and corals strewn on the beach into cabinet decors and souvenir items volunteered to take charge as costume designer provided all old costumes from previous plays would be turned over to him.

Mark would take charge as talent coordinator, messenger and make-up artist. He'd also help with the props. Patrick was to take charge of promoting the activity and help identify talents.
I was to decide on what dance-drama to be presented (an easy one) and direct the play.

On Thursday and Friday last week high school students from Buenavista National High School and Marinduque Victorians College were wooed to audition. Met all the cast at 2 pm today for a briefing and agreed to meet again at 6 pm today, Monday the 9th. That leaves us with only 9 days to make magic.

Will the community positively respond to problems we might encounter along the way to see the realization of this coffee-cup brew? Or will whatever group or whichever person/s, for whatever motives, move hell not heaven to prevent our curtains from rising? Again?

Abangan sa susunod. Exciting itoh!

Postscript sa Impeachment

2005-10-03T18:57:00.000+08:00

Nakakaaliw manood sa mga video coverage ng rally tungkol sa kagustuhang pagpapatalsik kay Gloria ng mga kaaway niya. Nakakalibang at medyo wala sa lugar tuloy ang pagdedeboto ng oras para pag-ukulan ng pansin ang mga nakapanlulumos na sitwasyon sa sariling bakuran. Muna. Dahil sino ang makikinig, e mas ma-aksiyon ang mga eksena sa Maynila!

Lalo na sa Kongreso. Malimit kasi magugulat ka na lamang sa iba't-ibang paraan doon ang ginagamit para makaagaw ng eksena. Importante kasi 'yun dahil ang proceedings ay nakikita "live" sa telebisyon. Kung hindi ganun, ay nungka na makita mo'ng pumorma ang sino man, puwera yung mangilan-ngilan na sinsero sa ginagawa nila.

Pumorma ang isa. Bumuwelta mula sa partido ni Gloria para umeksena sa awayan. Natural, magandang kopya 'yun sa radio, tv at dyaryo. Hindi matago ng isang kongresista ng oposisyon mula sa Makati ang kanyang pagkadismaya. Wala raw karapatan ang eksenador para magsalita ng ganoon: "Wala na ba'ng ibang susuporta para sa paglabas ng katotohanan?" Ang sa kanya ay marami pang mas may napatunayan na sa kongreso pero hindi nagprisinta sa kanilang mga sarili bilang spokesman para sa katotohanan.

Naala-ala ko lang na isang eleksiyon noong mga nakaraang taon, matindi ang pagkadismaya ng lokal na simbahan sa ilalim ng pamamalakad ng isang Obispong yumao na sa pamamaraang isinagawa ng ilang kandidato kasama na ang kongresista sa usapin ng malawakang pamimili ng boto. Ilang araw matapos ang eleksiyon, nag-isyu ng isang pastoral letter ang lokal na simbahan para kondenahin ang pangyayari. Pumirma rito ang lahat ng kaparian at mga madre bilang patunay ng kanilang pagkondena. At nanlaki ang mata ko ng tukuyin sa sulat na wala ni isa mang miyembro ng kaparian ang dadalo sa inagurasyon para mag-misa.

Nasabi ko tuloy sa sarili ko na sa wakas, kapag nangyari ang gayon, masasabing may isang malaking kontribusyon ang simbahan na maituwid ang bulok na kalakalan sa pag-gamit ng armas, at milyon-milyong salapi para maluklok ang isang kandidato sa isang puwestong lokal, lalo na kung tumatakbo para sa isang puwesto sa unang pagkakataon. Dinokumento pa ng simbahan ang mga pangyayari at inihayag ang detalye ng isinagawang operasyon ng mga kandidato at supporters nila sa pahayagang nilimbag ng simbahan. Ang COMELEC naman, pinangalanan ang lalawigan na isa sa limang probinsiya sa buong kapuluan na kung saan naging malaganap ang vote-buying. Dahil nga dito ay isang realidad ang pamimili ng boto na siyempre naman, iligal!

Nalibang talaga ako. Dahil ang isyu sa kaso ni Gloria ay pandaraya sa eleksiyon at pag-gamit ng pananalapi ng taumbayan upang ang pagpapanalo sa kanya ay maisagawa. Pero mas nakakahibang na makita ang isang "bagong mesiya ng katotohanan" na kondenahin ang isang tao sa kasalanang paulit-ulit namang ginagawa ng mismong nagkokondena.

Tingin ko lang, 'yun ang punto ni Gloria sa paulit-ulit niyang depensa: "Kung sino man ang walang kasalanan ang siyang dapat na unang bumato sa akin!"

Sa kaso ng ating mesiya, sumablay naman ang pirmadong dokumento ng kaparian noon. May nag-iisang pari na dumalo sa inagurasyon para mag-misa bagama't isa siya sa lumagda. May alingasngas na iyon daw kasi ang nagagawa ng salapi.

Ilang buwan ang nakaraan, sumakabilang-buhay ang Obispo. May mga nagsabi na malaki raw ang kadahilan sa kanyang pagpanaw ng sama ng loob sa hindi pagtatagumpay na maisakatuparan ang opisyal na posisyon ng kanyang simbahan.

2005-06-22T14:07:00.000+08:00

'Pastores', a Marinduque Anito.

COULD MARINDUQUE STILL BE SPARED FROM FURTHER ABUSE?

2005-06-21T14:31:00.000+08:00

Even as the P20-million government-funded United States Geological Survey (USGS) study of the mining-related issues that confronted Marinduquenos for over three decades have, by the former’s own admission, placed interdisciplinary science “in the international hot seat” reducing the scientific study, in a nutshell, to recommendations “for further environmental monitoring and health assessment studies to more accurately understand the extent and nature of mining-related impacts on the environment and human health”, the government has already focused its target on the immediate re-opening of Marcopper’s San Antonio project in Santa Cruz, Marinduque. With that response, a now jaundice-eyed government besieged for ineptitude appears unable to see rightly anymore!

Back in 2001, the USGS already recommended developing in Marinduque island “a center of educational excellence in the southwest Pacific”, to enable the mining industry to understand, assess, predict and clean up the massive environmental impacts of mining. Such a center, as seen by the scientists, would oversee and coordinate assessment and remediation activities, provide hands-on learning and training opportunities in both technical and research fields about mining-environmental issues, knowledge and “expertise that could be transferred to places in southwest Pacific and southeast Asia with similar large-scale mining-environmental problems”.

Such a center would, according to the scientists, provide education and employment opportunities on the island, attract a large number of students, teachers and visitors. It would, eventually, in support of the island-people’s persistent dream, open up a bigger opportunity to turn Marinduque into an eco-cultural tourism ground, and no more mining - the carrying-capacity of the island, considered the hottest among the bio-diversity hotspots in the country having been exceeded beyond its limits that hosting further mining is unthinkable.

Yet, the corruptive, morally-damaging and corrosive effects that national and local political machinations have done and want to forever institutionalize in this small island, in plain and simple language, for money and the craving for political self-preservation, are ever at work.

In deliberately misguided reading of the USGS study and disregard for the pleadings of the poor Marinduque people (the seventh most economically-deprived in the country), DENR has already issued, quite unilaterally, a provisional environmental clearance certificate (ECC) to Marcopper Mining Corp. This will purportedly enable the company to begin the remediation process.

The move ignores the fact that Placer Dome’s much-vaunted US12-million in escrow for rehabilitation purposes (that now appears nowhere to be found even according to the DENR!), was stated merely in press issues years before the completion of the USGS study and therefore, unfounded and unrealistic, earlier estimates for a thorough clean up having been placed by experts at no less than U$ 100-million. It ignores the fact that Marcopper has consistently pushed for remedial solutions, principally, sandbagging the Boac river tailings and hauling them back into the pit (and ignoring the remediation of structural flaws in the identified four mine tailing dams that now threatens to wreak more havoc on lives and property!). The Marcopper solution had been rejected by the local populace. Issuance of this ECC therefore, effectively assumes that the Marinduque people are non-existent or if they existed at all, they had nothing to say.

Remediation, DENR says, is expected to be completed in one-and-a-half years. Rape of the environment of this magnitude, the consequence of three decades of cultural and political manipulations could not possibly be remediated and undone in a couple of years or decades. It goes against the USGS studies that took over 18 months to finish. It goes against common sense.

In fact, the inclusion of the San Antonio Project in Marinduque among the 23 priority mining projects of the government before a thorough clean up of the toxic tailings that had been accidentally released into major water tributaries in Marinduque, before the USGS study could even be completed, uncovers how seemingly insensitive and callous to popular sentiment, locally, nationally and even globally, the government of the Philippines has become. All the political sympathies and expressions of grave concern for the health of the island community so repeatedly conveyed through the manipulative local media completely thrown into the toxic mine pit now.

The government has no time for introspection and discernment. Only perhaps the brave and noble island people of Marinduque have some time to engage in all that. but only perhaps, perhaps... perhaps!

MARINDUQUE'S CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

2005-05-21T11:31:00.000+08:00

Yeah, 'John G' thanks! I guess it's different when you often find yourself in the midst of it all. SEE troubles brewing everywhere and watch how people merely LOOK at what transpires through rose-colored glasses, or through dollar-rimmed ones or not at all. Based on electronic 'impulses' of the last few days (a few emails reaching me), there's putting forward of 'strong advocacy work' in the matter of turning Marinduque into a center for excellence in tropical mining and as eco-tourism ground. I could only support these views with the following cultural viewpoint from my side that couldn't be, mustn't be, brushed aside if we are to step forward in the right direction:

It must be stressed that the beginnings of archaeology in the Philippines began right here in our now-troubled island. Prior to 1900, only one important archaeological investigation had been carried out in the country: Alfred Marche’s exploration of Marinduque from April to July 1881. While many other accidental finds have been recorded from time to time, and a few burial caves and sites had been casually explored by European or local scientists, no really systematic work had been done elsewhere prior to that except for the efforts of Marche. After his, the next important work was by Dr. Carl Gunthe in the Central Visayan Islands in 1922.(Beyer)

"An abundant yield of Chinese urns, vases, gold ornaments, skulls and other ornaments of pre-Spanish origin,” was what Marche's finds represented. He brought back to France in 40 crates the artifacts he uncovered. They are now said to be housed at the Musee de l’Homme in France. (Solheim). The finds also included a wooden image of the Marinduque anito called ‘Pastores’ by the natives. (Marche's local adventure was tackled in my 1995 play: 'Moryonan: Ikalawang Yugto' and I still keep a replica of the anito for stage productions).

Ambeth Ocampo, recently-appointed chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), conducted a research a few years back and discovered that part of the Marche loots had found their way into the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He wrote thus:

“Imagine these fragile jarlets traveling from China to the pre-colonial Philippines. Buried in a cave in Marinduque for centuries, they were excavated in the late 19th century, brought to Paris and eventually ended up in a museum bodega outside Washington, D.C. Part of our history lies in museums abroad and it will take sometime to analyze these artifacts to piece together our pre-colonial past”. (The Philippines' pre-colonial history, that is; and it shows what happens if we keep looking the other way!)

Cultural researchers and national artists (and probably even you, yourself, John G), had been naturally drawn to Marinduque for here, there's undeniable certainty that they'd find what inspiration or ‘that something, something’ they were looking for. Alejandro Roces (Literature) discovered the Moryonan (though he must assume responsibility for introducing it wrongly to the outside world as 'Moriones'); Lucresia Kasilag (Music), found the Putong ritual and songs (or Tubong as it is called in Boac) and replaced it with a shorter version that eventually became popular to the defeat of around 80 other unglorified versions that the natives used to sing on the island at any given day; Celso Carunungan intervened to write a script for the Pugutan beheading ritual because to use his own words “it was meaningless”. Arsenio Manuel wrote a detailed account of the 'Marinduque' name’s origin. (He's also a national artist, you know).

There were a few, staunchly pro-Marinduqueno: Cecilio Lopez, acclaimed Father of Philippine Linguistics got thrilled with the Tagalog spoken here, for “such provincial forms of speech have been originally the roots, or among the roots, from which modern national forms have spung” - the Filipino language we speak today in the urban centers. In Marinduque we could find “remnants of the more archaic speech of our forefathers”, he wrote conclusively.

Even the acclaimed British-writer James Hamilton-Paterson discovered this "stunningly beautiful world" of sand and offshore reefs where he learned his Tagalog and came to love the people. Since 1979, he has lived off and on in “enforced solitude” in a makeshift shelter, teaching himself to spear fish for food, then writing about his adventures here the book became one of his biggest best-sellers. (“Playing with Water” has sold more than 4-million copies).

Recent studies conducted by cultural anthropologists Patricia Nicholson on the negative effects of politics on ‘Moryonan’, and by Catherine Coumans on the struggle of poor Calancan Bay fisherfolks against mine waste disposal on their fishing grounds accounted for the systematic advance of cultural and political degradation on the island.

Then we have to be reminded of days when fighting for and dying for Marinduque was considered glorious and not anachronistic. The Marinduqueno’s struggle for independence from Spanish rule saw the first declaration of freedom from Spain by Martin Lardizabal a month before the Kawit declaration was made; the fierce resistance against the American rule in the 1900s where local revolutionaries led by Maximo Abad underscored the first major battle won by Filipinos at Pulang Lupa; the united resistance against the Japanese during World War II which dramatically exploded on the feast day of its Patroness – all attest to the strong sense of cultural identity and striving for peace and freedom that our Marinduqueno forefathers held, don't you think?

Martial rule and the negative side of local politics, greed and selfishness, complacency and the Marcopper mining disasters of 1993 and 1996 have impacted on our lives and on our environment, wreaking untold misery and endless manipulation, so certainly dividing our people now even under further threat of a new armed conflict.

All of these are adversely affecting that which we hold most dear to us, threatening to get them buried beneath tonnes and more tonnes of toxic waste as our country's singular and toxic legacy to Marinduque, what could be our only tool left for salvation: Our cultural significance to the Filipino nation!

“Heart of the Philippines” we love to say of Marinduque. Makes sense, doesn't it? Yet the will to change, the vow to assert ourselves as a people can only come first from the very Heart. The Marinduqueno’s Heart.

Got to do it, 'John G'!

A SAD TRUTH

2005-05-17T11:37:00.000+08:00

We turned to Catherine Coumans, Ph.D., of MiningWatch Canada (who has, since 1968 documented the activities of Marcopper in Marinduque and remains at the forefront of the fight for justice for the Calancan victims and on rehabilitation issues), to further enlighten us on yesterday's question about turning the island of Marinduque into a center for excellence on tropical mine rehabilitation. We are reproducing her response in full:

Dear Eli,

Thanks for introducing me to my first ever blog. Seriously, I have never
been on a blog site before. Please forgive me writing back in a plain
e-mail.

Ever since the USGS first visit to Marinduque, when I accompanied the team, and somehow the dream was hatched of turning Marinduque into a center for excellence in tropical mine rehabilitation I have been hooked on that.

It is perfect in so many ways: uses the mine site (with its easy access by
air) and fixes it up again for habitation of experts and students. Focuses
expertise on the rehabilitation of the various ecosystems (sea, rivers,
soil), employs Marinduquenos, and assures NO MORE MINING!

The real problem is that beyond lipservice, neither governments nor the
industry really care very much about rehabilitation. After all, it costs
money and so cuts into profits for the industry and revenues for
governments. Short sighted, unethical, inhuman even, but a sad truth.

My idea was to go after the WB on this one.

Anyway,
Catherine

Catherine Coumans, Ph.D.
Research Coordinator
MiningWatch Canada
225 City Center Ave, Suite 508
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1R 6K7
Tel: 613-569-3439
Fax: 613-569-5138
www.miningwatch.ca
catherine@miningwatch.ca

A MARINDUQUE REHABILITATION QUESTION

2005-05-16T17:51:00.000+08:00

From an e-mailer we got the following question:

“Do you think there is a chance that Marinduque will be fully rehabilitated? Why not just convert it into a tourist spot--like Buttchart gardens of Victoria, Canada or Phuket (the former tin mine site that was converted into a man-made lake surrounded by the big hotels--Sheraton, Dusit, etc.)?”

What comes closest to this idea was perhaps the suggestion made by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in 2001 to develop in Marinduque “a center of educational excellence in the southwest Pacific for understanding, assessing, predicting, and cleaning up the environmental impacts of mining in tropical areas… The center could not only provide education and employment opportunities for local residents, but also attract a large number of students, teachers, and others to the island”.

Marinduque Rep. Edmundo Reyes, Jr., in a well-publicized press statement made during a visit to Canada in January 2002 declared, “ It would be a place where governments and researchers can contribute to the rehabilitation of our devastated eco-systems while increasing their knowledge of mining related environmental impacts and remediation.”

This recommendation that came out in the first study, however, was apparently glossed over by the USGS at the conclusion of its second study (that cost the Philippine government P 20-million), in 2004.

The Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC) faulted the USGS final study for not making a conclusive analysis and recommendation as “majority of the study's findings and suggestions are appended with requirements for further analyses, monitoring and studies”. Instead of being a definitive and positive intervention, extended and more comprehensive studies are proposed by the USGS, said the CEC.

But then again, in 2001 the USGS said funding for such a center of excellence as mentioned “could be pursued through the mining industry, world monetary institutions, environmental groups, and a variety of other sources.”

The earlier USGS report said such a center, “if established on the island, could oversee and coordinate assessment and remediation activities (underscoring mine). At the same time, it could provide hands-on learning and training opportunities in both technical and research fields about mining-environmental issues. Expertise learned on Marinduque could then be transferred to other places in southwest Pacific and southeast Asia where similar large-scale mining-environmental problems are occurring.”

CEC said that Marinduquenos are now lead into the “burden of finding solutions over their dreadful circumstances”. Isn’t it time for local environmental groups, in partnership with the mining industry and monetary institutions to now come up with studied proposals based on these new and glossed over recommendations?

REFLEXES, RESPONSES

2005-05-12T17:50:00.000+08:00

Made an unscheduled visit to Marinduque on the last day of April after receiving a text message that ‘Bahaghari had been intruded by strangers’ and that my friends and neighbors were concerned for my mother who now lives alone (marginalized me have to find some work elsewhere outside the island to ensure rice in the plastic ‘bayong’ for her). Going there, my thoughts were about how in the early 90’s she and I slept at night in our newly-built beach house with doors and windows open to always let the breeze in. Marinduque was a place so peaceful, so peaceful almost to the point of lethargy.

I remember one time, arriving from Manila early in the morning I took a jeepney that would take me to Amoingon, loading several boxes of goods. Later in the day, I realized that one box full of grocery items was missing. Before sundown, I traced the jeepney that was ready for the garage – in Buenavista, about 20 kilometers away. The box was still inside the vehicle, with not a single item missing. The driver said they’d made several round-trips already; no one apparently took interest in the ‘abandoned’ box that even he did not notice. Time has obviously changed now.

What could it be this time? There’s nothing that could be of value in Bahaghari. Art? Documents? It was almost embarrassing to find out what happened. My old mother, apparently, forgot to close the kitchen window (a must in recent years), where from outside it was easy to take anything from the dining table beside that window. She did not pay so much attention to the incident, but had related it to someone in the neighborhood, who had told somebody, who again told someone, who again told someone. In fact the episode was three weeks old, and she had earlier told me about it! Oh, well, I am used to that, but one forgets how people love to talk, nga pala! LINK

Nevertheless it was always good to come home. I had an opportunity to follow up the requested certificate from the Coast Guard. Result? The Cawit Coast Guard as claimed by the officer-in-charge was instructed by the Lucena HQ not to issue any certificate on the complaint lodged by my friend, Nick, but to try to persuade Nick not to pursue the case anymore. “Mabait naman siya dahil maganda namang kausap si Nick”, he said. Exasperated me, very politely responded that there was even stronger reason now for Nick to pursue the case since they did not want to cooperate.

“Kailan baga ang balik mo sa Maynila?”, he asked.
“Mamaya”, I answered.
“Dumaan ka dito mamaya. Abigyan na laang kita ng ‘passes’ sa barko. Hindi ka naman nila kilala doon”, he then said and I, amused, was left wondering what the last statement really meant.

As of today the matter has been brought by Nick to the halls of Congress - instead of sulking or going to the hills (mamundok!). “May magagawa pa, remember?”

There are congressional committees there, you see, who could put forward matters of special concern to the appropriate departments in the executive branch for prompt action. Sometimes, failure by such departments to act accordingly could result in anything – from so-so media censure to more serious budget cuts. We’ll see!

2005-04-25T14:28:00.000+08:00

View of Cawit Port from Bahaghari. photo:olquiazon

UPDATE ON THE CAWIT INCIDENT

2005-04-25T13:41:00.000+08:00

balangaw

My friend Nick went on air via the ABS-CBN Radio Station DZMM Sunday morning (yesterday), to air his complaint over Jenny's midnight program (ref: 'CRAZY IN CAWIT" blog Apr 20). The program expressed concern about the disregard for the passengers' safety in Cawit and would like to be informed about the progress of Nick's formal complaint. During the program, callers were invited to send their reactions. A caller from Coron, Puerto Princesa conveyed a similar complaint against a vessel plying the Puerto Princesa-Batangas route. Nick stressed the irresponsibility of the coast guard officer on duty displaying his 45-caliber pistol - his name was "Sales" for shouting: "dahil lang sa reklamo ng dalawang tao ay maraming napeperwisyo!", never mind if the roro vessel was teeming with passengers who had occupied even the boat's stairs.

A friend from Gasan sent me a text message to inform that it was the same Sales she booked in Gasan sometime back for not allowing a vessel bound for Pinamalayan from Gasan to depart - for the opposite reason! There were only a few passengers onboard, "walang kikitain ang barko", and apparently in cahoots with the boat owner, the same coast guard acted as the owner's spokesperson justifying the cancelled trip thus: "kung ayaw ipabiyahe ng may-ari ay wala tayong magagawa!". My friend said she lost a business contract with somebody in Calapan for her failure to arrive there on that day. All the passengers were sent home - too late to take the longer route via Balanacan-Quezon-Batangas-Mindoro.

CRAZY IN CAWIT!

2005-04-20T17:16:00.000+08:00

“Inaabala ninyo ang pag-alis ng barko! Hindi kayo dapat sa Marinduque! Talagang ganito dito!”, an elderly woman with short, dyed hair and who looked like one of the witches in Rono’s TV-series “Spirits” blurted out for everyone to hear onboard M/V Grand Star Roro.

That was after my friend Nick complained to the captain of the ship that many people in the air-conditioned room couldn’t find seats. Did they sell ‘first class tickets’ more than capacity? Finding out for himself the situation there - after Nick’s principled pleadings - the captain ordered his crew to check the tickets of the passengers in the aircon room. It turned out that many had ‘passes’ and apparently approved requests for free rides from local politicos.

Came the announcement via the piped in system: “Pinapakiusapan po namin na yung may mga passes at mga sulat ay lumabas muna. Doon po kayo sa economy class, hindi po dito”. No one budged. The pass holders were identifiable, government personnel, friends, maybe even kamag-anaks of politicos, all of them occupying whole blocks of the lounge seats. Then came coast guards together with the Cawit port manager. The piped-in request was repeated over and over again. Everyone just looked into each other's eyes.

A coast guard officer in uniform attempted to make his own daring individual inspection after the crew had done the same thing. “Patingin po ng ticket ninyo. Tama po ba ako o mali?” He had finished inspecting those occupying the first two blocks of seats then in the same breath made a surprising turnaround: “Naaabala na po tayong lahat! Bakit ba kailangan pang magreklamo? Magbigayan na lamang po tayong lahat!”
The witch of a woman had found an ally! She blurted out again to whoever was the ‘culprit’: “Talagang ganito dito sa Marinduque! Kung gusto ninyo magdala kayo ng sarili ninyong yate!” She was one of those who had no ticket. One untouchable?

“Kaya walang nangyayari sa bayan natin!”, my friend Nick, he was under medication for some backpain, said coolly.

“Kahit saang lugar ka magpunta, kahit saang lugar sa Pilipinas talagang ganito!”, the woman replied. I just thought she might be thinking that Marinduque was the whole of her Pilipinas.

Over at the economy class, all the seats had obviously been taken, all floor spaces available by now occupied by passengers standing, sitting, squatting or sleeping after failing to wrestle their way to find a seat – sadly, patient losers in a mad world where the rule of the jungle is still hopelessly clung to. It was extremely overloaded with passengers and no one cried ‘DANGER!’

The ship arrived at 10:30 pm, it was 12:30 am by now, delayed because of the situation, “dahil hindi po tayo makakaalis hangga’t may reklamo!” was the announcement. Only one of the passengers without a ticket was coaxed by a ship officer who turned out to be her relative (maybe his wife), to take to the cockpit. I was asked to take the now empty space. But what would you do with those still standing, I asked. “Umupo ka na lamang muna”. I gave in. Nick was nowhere in sight.

Finally, the captain, the coast guard officer and the port manager told Nick: “Wala na po kaming magagawa!”

“Are you with me?”, Nick came to me and asked. I knew what was on his mind – to pursue “na may magagawa”. We took all our bags, couldn’t bear the prospect of seeing people standing for three hours aboard a vessel now divided between hostility and pursuit of what was right. On second thought, the shipping company boasted of an ‘award’ posted somewhere onboard for ‘outstanding service’. We left the ship, wading our way slowly, carefully through warm bodies that have occupied all available space.

When morning came Nick filed his complaint with the Coast Guard. Per legal advise he asked the coast guard to issue a certificate on the complaint. All they had to do was to quote verbatim the complaint as it appeared on their blotter. Answer: “hihingi muna kami ng permiso mula sa headquarters namin sa Lucena”. Ah, maybe in that sense, this is the Philippines? (Nick is patient, it has taken close to a month now, the coast guard official can not yet say with finality when the requested simple document will be issued, as of today the Cawit coast guard will have to 'again' confer with Lucena!)

I could almost see Nick's eyebrows twisting if he hears the 60s song by Vicki Carr: "If it takes forever, I will wait for you!"

The port of Balanacan was opened to other commercial passenger liners in 1995. This paved the way for improved sea transport facilities plying the Balanacan-Dalahican-Balanacan route and goodbye to the dirty, poor transport vessels and rude officers and crews from Viva Shipping Lines that has monopolized the local shipping trade for many decades. With roros (roll-on and roll-off vessels) that enabled motor vehicles to travel to and from Marinduque, and air-conditioned fastcrafts that significantly reduced travel time between the two ports from four hours to anywhere from 1 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours - depending on which of the two types of vessels one chose for his/her travel - travel to and from Marinduque has become convenient and the fares have become more competitive. The port of Buyabod, and later the port of Cawit were also opened to passenger vessels, further improving sea transport service in the island-province.

Certain myths, however, have perennially been heard and overheard in Marinduque every time the Lenten season approaches and need some re-thinking:

Myth No. 1: The influx of tourists and visitors to Marinduque during the Holy Week is so heavy that scheduled trips are no longer observed to enable the shipping lines to accommodate all passengers.

Myth No. 2: Travelers should just be ready to board vessels overloaded with passengers as maritime regulations against overloading do not apply during the said season.

I have come to realize how these two myths are perpetuated by certain quarters because making people believe in it meant money, money, money for some and certain benefits for some.

Last year my friend Nick of Manila also came to visit the island for the Lenten holidays. Worried about getting caught in the long queue of passengers trying to get tickets then, I accompanied him to the port of Cawit at 6:00 pm to get one for the 11:00 pm schedule. It was hopeless. The port was already lined up with cars, trucks and already filled with people apparently ready to accept the fate that awaited them. Try Balanacan, I suggested. He got to Balanacan about 40 minutes later, then called up to say there was hardly any vehicle in that port, and hardly any passengers. Less than an hour later he called up again to report that the vessel was slightly delayed as it waited for possibly more cars that could be taken in. But he emphasized there was no overcrowding, no overloading.

Last Easter Sunday, at 6:00 pm we again went to buy tickets for the two of us at Cawit Port. There was only M/V Grand Star Roro plying the route that day. Everybody who asked about schedules got the same answer from the ticket officer: “wala nang schedule, basta pag napuno, alis kaagad”. Obviously no schedule is posted anywhere near the ticket office. We purchased two air-conditioned room tickets, but not before I got answers to the following questions:

“What time did the vessel depart from Cawit this morning?” Answer: “ 7:30 am”
“What time did it arrive from Dalahican?” Answer: “2:30 pm”
“What time did it leave again?” Answer: “3:30 pm”

It was not hard to surmise that the vessel still left every one hour after arrival like it did regularly, and based on the above answers it was expected to arrive in Dalahican at 6:30 pm, depart an hour later and arrive Cawit at 10:30 pm.

By 9:00 pm there were already many people and passenger cars but no one queuing up. No one attempted to put any order, that when the vessel anchored at 10:30 pm, it was like a free-for-all, everyone running, jostling, scampering for seats! The aircon room that had two sliding glass doors on opposite sides was not manned to even check what tickets people were holding on to. Not a single crew was around to give any semblance of order. Basta bahala na kayo sa buhay ninyo!

Ain’t this another case of an old script being fed to the masang Marinduqueno that the latter never seemed to have questioned or given it some thought, until it has become their reality never to be changed because “walang magagawa?”

For the politicians, ‘sayang kasi’ yung electoral value ng free passes at ‘pakiusap’ sa barko? For others, ‘sayang ang pang-kape, pang-inom’ kaya bakit babaguhin? And because of these perks and benefits that the leaders and guardians of the community are on the take the shipping lines exploit these to the maximum to make a grand killing? Si Marinduqueno naman, feeling kawawa and walang magagawa, so patay-mali na lang sa isang tabi… staring blankly for three hours at the mine-tailings polluted Tablas Strait!

MARINDUQUE LENT 2005 AND NCCA WARP

2005-03-31T12:05:00.000+08:00

Just got back from Marinduque for the Holy Week respite, spending a day in each town to get the feel, you know. Surely the usual exodus of island residents coming home from Manila has dwindled this time. It was a breeze coming over. Without the welcome banners and commercial streamers in Boac the week could have been just like any other. Gasan's new 'Baywalk' where visitors could enjoy a beer with pulutan is in place, but, I figure there were more people there on a weekend a month ago when I last visited that spot. Maybe the off-and-on rains did it. Unusual for Lent.

In Buenavista, talk was about the postponement of a Holy Week presentation where the participants staged a walk out when the director displayed his neurosis, I was told, almost similar to an act he did some years ago when he displayed his wrath on stage -with lights and all - just when the show was about to start, causing the entire cast to scamper home to safety and the mayor declaring the cancellation in 2001 of the main Easter presentation SPONSORED BY THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR CULTURE & THE ARTS (NCCA)!! Apparently the Commission never came to know of that fiasco (the NCCA observers left a day before the 'big event' right after watching the dress-tech. I was there so I knew).

The Mayor is supposed to have made a declaration this time that this would be the last project with one who has declared himself the 'god' of theater in Marinduque (though he is just a visitor there), simply because the god is supposed to be fully backed by the NCCA where his sister holds a position, squeezing funds therefrom seem matter-of-factly like a walk in the park. So much for people's money spent on rubbish and misrepresentation.

(Hey, without NCCA in 2003, we mounted "SUKAT..." and just with PHP 5,000 we were able to put it up there, just mobilizing people to contribute bamboos for props, clothes from their 'baul' for costumes, just one meal from the municipio for the cast and staff, no fees to anyone. The lights & sounds were hired for PHP 1,500. We didn't have a follow spot so the lightsman designed one in 15 minutes. It was made of scrap bamboo!)

How much did the NCCA shell out this time? At least PHP 75,000 to cover for 'Manila-imported' lights & sounds like they did in 2001? Did they think that a 5th-class municipality like Buenavista could be dazzled by such show of force? Ask the handful who came to watch and heckled the performers this time! Enough of cultural intervention, 'artistic license' and powerplay!

http://www.geocities.com/teatro_balangaw/sukatfotos.html

The El Nino could be felt more severely, it seemed, in Torrijos. With two friends we camped out at Poctoy Beach and frozed towards morning. The fresh tambakol fish (PHP 110/kilo), an elderly woman volunteered to cook (ihaw at sinigang) was the best we have ever, ever tasted. Mr. Fetalvero of Rendezvous Beach said a 'mini-Pugutan' would be staged come Black Saturday at the beach for the first time so we should return. I was hearing of "panata" again...

There was some surprise in Sta. Cruz. A Lenten Presentation billed as a 'Silver Roadshow Presentation' was to be premiered the next evening. We ate at Rico's owned by board member Ka Norma who said we should be there 'with the dignitaries' during the Holy Thursday premiere. But she had no idea, nor any of my company could understand, what the title of the play "The Economy of Salvation" meant so we left it at that. "All the senators were invited and the general public could watch only outside the fences surrounding the people's park.", she said, "Basta may Genesis diyan sa play, may Jesus Christ Superstar, may Claudia at Pilato, mananayaw, basta mas maganda ito!". A customer who just got in smiled in agreement and torted: "may kanta rin ng Carpenters! Malaki ang budget dito kasi ng gubyerno. Hatid-sundo at pakain ang buong cast since February pa at mas maganda ang costume at ilaw!" Ow, ahmmm.

Aboard the passenger jeepney we proceeded towards Boac passing by Mogpog where we saw just four moryon playing with the streetkids near the marketplace. The "halo-halo" at Doughboys in Boac was good. Home at last, we ran to the beach! My friend Nick said "time to really wash away all the dirt and dust and slime that poured upon us, timawa!"

2005-03-03T16:36:00.000+08:00

MALINDIG VOLCANO WATCHING US

MARINDUQUE'S TROUBLES by balangaw

2005-03-02T12:01:00.000+08:00

INTRODUCTION

mi'cro-cosm, n. (F. microcosme fr. LL microcosmus, fr. Gr. Mikros kosmos, lit., little world) 1. A little world; esp. man as a supposed epitome of the exterior universe or great world. 2. A community, institution, town, regarded as an epitome of the world or as being a little world. (microcosmic, microcosmical)

"Isla kong hiyas ng bansa,
ganda mo'y likha ni Bathala
Mga dagat mo't mga lupa,
sa yaman ay sagana..."
(from Marinduque March)

THE HEART of the Philippines. Inmost. Essential. Marinduque (pop.: approximately 220,000) with an area of 997 sq. kms. is the second smallest province in the country.

Deforestation by its inhabitants for fuelwood, slash-and-burn method of cultivation over years, surreptitious logging in the few remaining forests and large-scale mining by what was bragged about as the biggest copper-producing firm in the Asia-Pacific, have transformed the island-province.

It is now the third most denuded province in the whole archipelago. After years of tremendous run-offs erosion of soil has accelerated, rendering the inevitable loss of soil nutrients. During normal precipitation looms the glaring evidence of heavy siltation on all its rivers.

Silt washing into rivers, streams and finally to the sea, mudslides flowing over denuded fields, the rampant encroachment in municipal waters by big-time fishing operators and the practice of illegal methods by small-scale fisherfolks, all have taken their toll in the rapid degradation and destruction of fish habitats and breeding grounds. In coastal areas once described 'pristine', the destruction of coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove forests have occured since the start of mining operations.

Fragments of ancient earthenware and seashells that used to be found along the beaches have been replaced by plastic together with all sorts of non-degradable garbage.

Steady encroachment of people to the mountainside and the resulting destruction of watershed areas are drying up rivers, streams and water sources. As a natural consequence, serious signs of the final extinction of rare species of endemic birds, plants and animals have also become so evident. There are ominous signs that nature's capacity to provide the services it normally gives - fresh water and clean air - is losing integrity.

What was described as the biggest environmental disaster in mining history occured here with the 1996 mine spill on the river of Boac. It killed all riverine life coldly and instantly, a coup de grace to three major issues already confronting the island community before the accident: The toxic waste pollution of Calancan Bay, the high incidence of chemical contamination in the blood of children living in such risk areas, the pollution and heavy siltation of Maguilaguila Dam in Mogpog that posed real danger to lives and property and the earlier, more dramatic death and destruction of Mogpog River that the powerholders managed to hide under the rug.

Seven years hence, these issues have remained as they were then - issues.

After the Boac River episode people pointed fingers to each other as the waters rolled with 20 million tonnes of toxic mine waste now dispersed so magnificently along the estuaries, farther and farther into the waters west of the island - the Tablas Strait.

Today, science is still learning the effects of the mining disasters on the island's already fragile ecosystem and their effects on human health. With next to blind faith on the foreign scientist's ability to find solutions remediation measures are now sought.

The ecological impact of prolonged injection of mine tailings into the shores and inland waters, and on the flora and fauna entering the human food chain is yet to be learned. Such impacts, apparently, must first be heard before any action is undertaken.

And as the river rolls on and on and as the tide chums, deadlock! Nature could only heave a sign and moan to cry out: "Default!"

POCTOY WHITE SAND BEACH, TORRIJOS PERFECTLY PERFECT BAYA!

2005-02-07T11:52:00.000+08:00

I was told that an article about Marinduque appeared in a glossy airline magazine where the popular white sand beach of Poctoy, east of the island was mentioned for its 'imperfections'. Grasses and shrubs were just left to grow supposedly and did not seem inviting. I had the opportunity to visit the beach with two other friends to check those imperfections.

5:00 pm till 11:30 pm: Coming from the Torrijos Municipio for a word with some officials we arrived in Poctoy beach via the mayor's service vehicle. We entered a gate and realized that it was actually a small resort that had been in operation for sometime judging by the numerous small structures that greeted us. 'Rendezvous' it is called, concealed somewhat as the beachfront is blocked by what looked like an unfinished multi-purpose hall built by the municipio.

"Welcome" says Mr. Fetalvero the resort owner, "feel at home while we prepare dinner." 'Home' is a two-bedroom guesthouse with two huge beds each. Two morion masks and costumes were displayed in a cozy receiving room accented by other native bric-a-bracs. So his son who built this small resort is an architect based in Manila. This explained why many found materials were fashioned into frames, sculptures or simple installations in the guestroom, in the other buildings and cottages. Design ideas any visitor might be tempted to replicate in his/her own home.

For dinner we had sinigang, chicken and pork adobo and rice. Mr. Fetalvero couldn't wait to take us to the videoke bar where we saw live the off-key voices we'd hear while eating. They smiled, we smiled back and they were happy to share with the world their gift of music.
I rose after the concert to try one of four billiard tables, left after a round of misses for the beach. It was a moonlit night, but not a single soul could be seen there. Just as well. But it felt kind of strange and sad to be alone in the middle of some twenty desolate cottages. When thick rain clouds soon covered the moon darkening the entire powdery sand beach, I went back to the noise.

Grace was singing 'Pamulinawen' "Ngayon lamang kinanta 'yan dito", one of the boys remarked. She was encouraged and sang more Ilocano songs. "I was in grade three the last time I sang these!", she said. Didn't know if anyone cared.

Mr. Fetalvero talked about native Poctoy songs such as one called "Boracay". "Boracay? What is Boracay?" They're actually huge white birds seen in Poctoy from time to time, he says. Sea gulls? He first heard the song as a child and therefore it had nothing to do with Boracay, the famous beach.

Maybe Boracay, the birds, fly from Boracay, the beach, to Poctoy, the beach and return and fly again because it is just a fly away and they like white beaches? I was thinking quietly. Makes sense? No.

6:00 am till 9:00 am: Poctoy faces east. I woke up early to be able to watch the sun rise. Our host was also up and walked with me to the beach to check the morning's catch. It was cloudy. Then it drizzled. No sun visible. We ran to seek cover in one of the cottages beside a wild giant pandan. "This was where we found the mother pawikan laying eggs", he said. "Pawikan?" Beach folks recently found a giant sea turtle with eggs, informed the municipio, aware that sea turtles were an endangered species. The municipio assigned technical people to keep watch until the eggs were hatched. The whole barangay rejoiced when more than seventy baby sea turtles came into being and were eventually set free with their mother to the sea. So you see.

Mr. Fetalvero says the area of Poctoy is actually part of a community marine reserve so people are being made constantly aware that fish and sea turtles are not forever. There are talks that cyanide fishing is still rampant in the nearby Talisay and Cagpo areas but authorities are hopeful this deadly method would no longer be resorted to through their continuing information drive. But no morning catch. Tough luck for us!

In summer, the beach is teemed with peole from all over Torrijos, says the host. "The cottages were actually built the last couple of years by sitio people and youth groups. Proceeds from rentals go to their community projects," he says. "Note the many small stalls around. They'll make good money when summer vacation starts this Holy Week. The big event is beach volleyball. Come back!"

We returned to Rendezvous for breakfast of fried eggs, corned beef, bread and coffee. No, I disagree with that magazine write-up, I muse. What grass? Poctoy Beach, the only white sand beach on mainland Marinduque depending on one's proclivity is perfectly perfect as it is. Like the seascape that changes colors by the by, it offers many surprises. But one has got to find them. Then all becomes perfect!

MARINDUQUE'S TROUBLES 5 (GASAN)

2005-02-07T11:41:00.000+08:00

TROUBLES ON MY ISLAND 5 (IN OLD GASAN)

More than a decade ago, the discovery of black marble in the hills of sitio Talao, barangay Tiguion, Gasan created quite a stir, especially among the villagers living there. Mining as an industry offered a new source of income for the marginal farmers in the area. An enterprising businessman was encouraged initially by the support expressed by the residents there. Soon, prototypes of marble products, not unlike those produced in Romblon were displayed in municipal trade fairs. They were from Tiguion.

But the excitement was shortlived. Not everyone was pleased with the small-scale mining prospects as some residents sensed possible uncontrolled degradation of their environment. A few also expressed apprehension about possible danger not only to their lives and property but how this could possibly come about could not be thoroughly explained by the residents.
The barangay captain decided to start discussions on whether or not the small-scale mining operation would be beneficial to the community in the long run. This initiative led to the barangay's issuance of appropriate resolutions addressed to higher authorities that almost soon after they were received, in 1994, operation of the mine was halted. And their quiet life went on as before.

Then the following year in a rainless, quiet night in October reisdents were roused from sleep by an incredibly loud crashing noise. They described it as 'like a muffled roar of thunder accompanied by the sound of rocks rolling beneath the earth." Early the next morning they trooped to the direction of the noise and were shocked by the speactacle that greeted them. It was as if some unknown natural force played a trick around the spot where the cut marble stones were scattered just a year before.

Part of the Talao mountain 40 feet high, stretching 150 feet across with a width of some 15 feet was no longer there and appeared to have been completely gobbled up by the earth below. Enormous cracks pointing to different directions appeared on the leveled surface. The residents gasped in awe and reverence at the spectale wondering whether it was a sign from heaven that theyprayed till their fears were allayed.

A month after this episodea landslide occured on the same spot sending huge boulders rolling down to cover the telltale depression. Whether or not the phenomenon was caused by an active fault line traversing the mountainous part of barangays Dawis, Tabionan and Tiguion the residents of Talao never came to know and were just left to consult the spirits of the mountains for their own interpretation of these occurences.

If the authorities concerned ever made an investigation of the incident, the barangay residents were apparently kept in the dark. Or perhaps, concerns affecting the poor barangay dwellers are hardly given attention as are often the case on this island. For most politicians their constituents' relevance has to do simply with electoral statistics.

These mountainous part of Gasan are also among many eroded areas threatened by further deterioration. Land-use statistics show that there are 140 hectares of severely eroded areas consisting of deep ravines and ridges. Surface run-offs have affected Gasan's four rivers in Dawis, Matandang Gasan, Tiguion and Libtangin that get easily inundated after a brief, heavy downpour.

MARINDUQUE'S TROUBLES 4 (BOAC RIVER, TABLAS STRAIT)

2005-02-07T11:37:00.000+08:00

TROUBLES ON MY ISLAND 4 (BOAC RIVER)

UNTIL the late 60s the Boac River was romanticized by Boakenos in accounts of Balanguingui pirates entering the deep tributary on their swift boats to rape and plunder the town; and one about how its patroness, "Maria, Ina ng Biglang Awa", once caused a miracle when the river so swelled after days of heavy rain. When her image was brought by the devotees atop the fortress wall protecting the old church and held facing the river, the rain, so the story goes, stopped and the sun shone dramatically.

In those years, the river was very much alive with various endemic fresh water species: hito, udyangkot, palo, tughod, igat, carpa, dapa, banak, dalag, manitis and there were bagtok, hipon, butot, suso and kuhol. It was an integral part of the taga-bayan and the taga-Ilaya's daily lives where they bathed, washed clothes and caught fish for the family, poor or rich.

All that changed one morning when without a drop of rain falling they found the river murky and flooded. After a couple of days the water cleared up, but would become discolored again. Then it would take a week before the river, now taking on a strange pungent smell and dismal color, would clear up anew. But time soon came when the water got to be permanently discoloreed and all life therein ceased.

People knew the cause but could not grasp the whole picture as news and information came in trickles. "Nagapaawas na naman ang Marcopper" evolved into "inagapaawasan na ngani ng Marcopper!"

In those years of darkness that eventually ushered in the Martial Law regime, the poor felt even more powerless and catchwords like "environmental awareness" and "ecology" were unheard of. Dependence on government leaders, who held the real power, for intervention, judgment, action or non-action on any matter was the order of the day. Complacency must have firmed up roots in those years.

Thus, at the turn of the 70s Boac River already experienced death. The people could only gaze at it with pity and that took a long time. But there was one, nonetheless, whose name has been lost for now, who made an attempt to make the outside world aware of the river's fate; that all biological life therein have ceased, stolen from the poor barangay dwellers, especially. He/she wrote about the river's deah in an article published in a national magazine.

That would soon be followed by a 1971 report from the fisheries Utilization Division of the then Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources about the pollution of the rivers of Boac and Mogpog. Then it surfaced that a smaller stream near the mines crossing Labo and Hinapulan that flows into the Boac River was where flowed all the acid-mixed sludge from the mines.
The river rehabilitation message must have tediously crept and filtered through somehow. It would take some five years before Marcopper would address that issue by finally sealing the Tapian Pit drainage tunnel that spewed clay and slime directly into the tributary.

Then, even with the perennial El Nino onslaught, increased siltation, and without dredging, gradually the river was resuscitated, its disturbed ecosystem brought back to life, somewhat. But it was terribly bad news elsewhere on the island - for the fisherfolks of Calancan BAy area north of Sta. Cruz - the new minewaste dump.

Beginning in 1975, a piping system was put up by the mines to dump the tailings on the causeway built in Calancan, later on both sides of the beaches of the causeway when they could not be contained anymore.

MARCH 24, 1996

The island of Marinduque where a southern volcano lies, has active fault lines. Earthquake tremors are felt here from time to time. Those fault lines are locate beneath the highest mountains of Santa Cruz and the southwestern portion bisecting the island along the forest areas of Boac and Torrijos. The Santa Cruz fault line crosses the geographical center of the island - where directly above lies Marcopper's Tapian Pit.

In August 1995, residents near the mines were alarmed, not by an earthquake but by seepage from the drainage tunnel connected to the Tapian pit. The company drilled a series of holes into the tunnel to plug it. Marcopper claimed to the municipal authorities that remedial measures taken had solved the problem but the people's apprehension remained.

On March 17 an earthquake that registered 3.2 on the Richter Scale was felt on the island. Seven days later, on March 24, 1996, in what was considered one of the harshest man-made environmental disaster, news came. After more than two sleepy decades, the heavily silted yet revivified Boac River was dealt a fatal blow. More dramatic than its previous episode it was, international media were appalled.

The spillage of mine tailings from the Tapian Pit in the millions of tonnes through the very same drainage tunnel that had once killed it, was great for television this time. The concrete sealing of the tunnel that had given hope to the river was flawed.

And the litany of concerned voices from government officials, politicians, the multi-stakeholders, environmentalists, parishioners, scientific experts and the tri-media reverberated in the small municipality. The people of Mogpog, too, had the opportunity to air their similar plight and remembered the common history of their two gentle rivers.

Talks about the episode intensified, the mines cursed and discussions reached the halls of the Philippine Senate and Congress. Three presidents have since been installed into power, the river rehabilitation and the disposal of tailings deposited on the river is still unresolved today, its fate getting more uncertain each day.

As if taking into account past attitudes when confronted by a similar situation such as that when the river suffered a similar assault in the 70s, the mining company soon after the tragedy and sadly, with specific encouragement even from top environmental authorities supposed to be firm and first in implementing pro-environmental policies appeared bent on merely awaiting nature's stronger forces to drive all the tailings to the sea and to oblivion.

An environmental official graced the cover of a popular magazine for an interview where he proclaimed that given just four years, natural forces would revive the river. Various sectors howled in protest. Then a dredged channel was constructed near the mouth of the river.
Marcopper then proposed to the DENR the submarine placement of redredged channel tailings to finally address the problem. The move was supported by certain members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan that triggered off a people's rally on October 3, 1997 to denounce the 'politically-inspired' move.

DENR took a turn around and in denying the company's application stated that "such submarine disposal is not the most expeditious and appropriate method at this time." The department further declared thus: "we would prefer a land-based option with appropriate procedure that would expeditiously return Makulapnit and Boac Rivers to an environmentally and socially acceptable condition." At this point the Boac River dredged channel has been filled up and could no longer absorb the tailings from upstream.

Placer Dome Technical Services, Inc., in a move reminiscent of the old 'public relations' strategy many islanders were only too familiar with, actively engaged in supporting affected communities through micro-credit projects, agri-enterprise projects, development of cooperatives and medium-term remediation measures for the clean-up of Boac River.

Then in December 2001, apparently without consultations with the multi-stakeholders and local governments, PDTS halted its activities and closed down its operations in the municipality. Discussions related to remaining unpaid damage claims from the affected families ensued. This would occupy the energy and focus of the Marcopper-Environmental Guarantee Fund Committee (Marcopper-EGF), tasked to resolve all problems ensuing from the tailings spill. Represented in the EGF are the DENR. the Office of the Governor, Marcopper and the Office of the Mayor (Boac), hardly the vaunted "broadly representative committee" the mine-owners have often told.

TABLAS STRAIT

The island of Marinduque is affected by two to three out of the average of 24 typhoons that enter the archipelago in a seasonal distribution in June and October through December. Thus with help from heavy rains and occaasional storms the Boac River is clearing up and cleaning up. Today, she is no longer biologically dead as the old fishes and shrimps have resurfaced first upstream, and have now spread downstream. The rural dwellers inspite of initially stern warnings from local authorities not to catch the contaminated fishes are catching them for food again.

Yet, six million cubic meters of tailings residue still occupy the entire 27 kilometer length of the river. As early as three months after the tragedy, dissolved copper surfaced in some areas along the course. Nothing could stop the wind and rain from causing the dreaded acidification in some river bed areas. Threats to health, lives and property appear more serious now.

All rivers run and finally find their way to the waiting sea. Tablas Strait, life and second home to thousands of Mindoro, Marinduque, Batangas, Quezon and Romblon fishermen, as the silent recipient of daily soses of dreadful tailing now shivers as the pitiful and ultimate sink.