Two Gabaldon school buildings of San Narciso, Zambales restored

The Gabaldon school buildings of San Juan-Candelaria and San Rafael-Natividad elementary schools were completely restored during the first quarter of this year (2019).

For many years, the San Juan-Candelaria structure was totally abandoned with collapsed walls and floors dangerous to walk on. It was fully serviceable in January after the customary blessing and inauguration were celebrated

The restored Gabaldon of San Juan-Candelaria Elem. School

Much of what was left of the two schools like the ornamental calado at the top of the wooden walls were restored. The roof of the add-on stage in the central frontage of the building was removed; although, as concession to present needs, the stage remained even if this covered the original steps.

Hallway of San Juan Candelaria leading to one classrooom 

with its calado-trimmed door. The heavy wooden doors at the 

right lead to the three-room assembly area.

The standard plan No. 10 by William Pearson for Gabaldon buildings remained as template for the restoration. As originally intended, the three rooms comprise the assembly area although these can be partitioned into three areas using folding walls.

Capiz windows were installed; thus, the exterior view resembles those of Gabaldons more than a century ago except that grills were placed for security.

The rooms used to have wooden floors. The restored ones though either have wood parquets or are completely concrete. The hallways are of concrete.

Modern lighting and ceiling fans were included.

There were originally three Gabaldons. The third one at the San Narciso elementary school was severely damaged during the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in June 1991. It was replaced. Thus, there was no more need for any restoration.

The San Rafael-Natividad ES Gabaldon building built in 1913.

San Rafael-Natividad has one room with old school desks, which

are cultrural heritage objects themselves being more than 50 

years old.

.

Airy classrooms, thanks to wide capiz windows.

The 32nd International Coastal Cleanup day in San Narciso, Zambales

The 32nd ICC on the coast of  host town  San Narciso, Zambales.

The Philippines joined the annual global observance of  the 32^nd International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day on Saturday, 16 September 2017 with the theme, “Together for our Ocean”.

Zambales was the focal province for the national observance led by ICC Philippines. San Narciso, our hometown, with an estimated 11,000 volunteers from its seventeen barangays, played host to provincial, regional and national government officials, CSOs and NGOs. 

This year, the aim was to surpass the 2015 number of volunteers but also to promote Zambales as an environment-focused province. Hence, the vision of creating an e-cropolis in the vicinity of Mt. Tapulao in Palauig, a mountain area cooler than Baguio, an ideal site for retirement houses of local and foreign seniors, and for an international convention center.

Students and teachers walked a kilometer from the town plaza to the cleanup site.

San Narciso town was conveniently accessible to the volunteers from outside the province being midway between Subic and Iba. It is the surfing capital of the province. It is also implements a marine biodiversity management flagship program-- marine turtle conservation and protection, the only one in Zambales--and this month happens to be the start of the nesting season of the Olive ridley species..

This year’s ICC Day is the fourteenth observance in the Philippines after its commitment through Presidential Proclamation No. 470 issued on 15 September 2003. There was no nationwide observance last year, however, because the government declared a state of lawlessness. The Ocean Observancy accepted the cancellation for the safety of volunteers.

ICC observance in the Philippines in September 2015.
(Source: ICC Philippines 2015 Report)

In the 30^th ICC Day in 2015 though, the Philippines was the top participating countty with 256,904 volunteers from 47 provinces, who cleaned up 1,162.8 kms of coastline, collecting 301,772 kgs of trash in the process. Of the total number of volunteers, 308 used watercraft, and 296 went underwater, to collect debris.

Zambales was number one in the top 10 of volunteers, followed by Batangas, Metro Manila, La Union, Cebu, Cavite, Antique, Catanduanes, Pangasinan and Leyte, in that order.

The province had 89,042 volunteers who collected 8,902 bags of trash that weighed approximately 61,407 kg from an estimated 372.1 km-long coastland, the longest in the list. The total of debris items collected was 5,392,915. Of these, the top ten debris amounted to 3,394,304 items comprising from the largest to the smallest: food wrappers (1,208,950), cigarette butts, straws/stirrers, other plastic bags, grocery plastic bags, plastic bottle caps, plastic take-out/away containers, plastic beverage bottles, plastic lids, and plastic cups and plates (140,545).

Last year’s 31^st ICC Day, with the non-participation of the Philippines, the top three participating countries were the United States (183,321 volunteers), Hongkong (76,311), and Canada (24,475).

The Top 20 participating countries in ICC Day 2016 and weird items found in the marine debris.
(Source: Ocean Observancy's ICC 2017 Report)

There were 504,583 volunteers from 112 countries and locations who collected 8,346,055 kgs of marine debris from along 24,136 kms of beaches, coasts and waterways, comprising 13,840,398 debris items.

Top 10 items collected in the Philippines on ICC Day 2015.
Source: ICC Philippines 2015 Report.

The ICC was initiated by Ocean Conservancy in 1986 is the largest volunteer effort held annually every third Saturday of September to deal with trash, one of the biggest threats to the oceans.

On ICC Day, volunteers around the world remove trash and debris from beaches, waterways and other water bodies, identify the source of the debris, and record information on the debris collected. These activities can ‘change behaviors that cause pollution [and] raise awareness on the extent of the marine debris problem,’ and data analysis of results can ‘aid in better-informed policy decisions and improved solid waste management programs.’

Volunteers record the kind and material composition of objects they collect. The information is ‘instrumental in helping determine the effects that specific materials are having on ocean habitats. … scientists and ocean advocates will be able to identify the best remedies and advocate for solutions that will lead to a healthier ocean.’

Top 10 items collected worldwide on ICC Day 2016.
(Source: Ocean Obsservancy's ICC 2017 Report)

According to Nicholas Mallos, conservation biologist and marine debris specialist of Ocean Conservancy: ‘The ability to pinpoint the types and amounts of material on beaches and in the ocean – not just the kinds of products – makes the data more informative when supporting marine debris policy.’

Women in the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy Class of 2017

Sandiglayan 2017 in parade formation.

The Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) Class of 2017 is still male-dominated: of the 216 graduates, 17 are women. They received their Bachelor of Science degrees in Marine Transport (BSMT) and Marine Engineering (BSMarE) during the 196th Commencement Exercises at the Academy grounds in San Narciso, Zambales on 06 July 2017.

Two women graduated BSMarE cum laude: Kim Melody B. Canet and Agiebel P. Dulatre.

Of the 17 women, seven (7) were in the marine transport, and ten (10) in the marine engineering, degree programs.

The women among the 91 BSMT graduates were Bernadette S. Addun, Karen G. Alcoser, Shaira Marie D. Alzate, Maria Theressa D. Cabrera, Francine Gyneth P. Galino, Christine N. Genotiva and Charlotte S. Pelaez. Cabrera received an efficiency medal from the Department of Naval Science and Tactics.

And the women among the 125 BSMarE graduates were Mira Liza Balabag, Evan Royce A. Bautista, Theya Marie A. Bumanglag, Rizza Mae D. Cabrera, Chinnie Lhen I. Calba, Kim Melody B. Canet, Agiebel P. Dulatre, Kloise Floreca C. Opena, Zaira Margarette M. Rubia and Hazel Gayodan Tallongan. 

Zaira Margarette Rubia receiving the Philippine Coast Guard Sword.

Canet and Rubia were in the Top 10 in the MarE program. Rubia was the most awarded of this batch of women graduates. She was presented the Philippine Coast Guard Sword, the 'Iron Woman' award from the Department of Naval Science and Tactics, and Leadership and Discipline Medals from the Department of Midshipmen Affairs.

This is the 10th year ever since PMMA accepted women into the long blue line in 1997. Of the women graduates since then, two graduated valedictorian and magna cum laude of their respective classes: the first, Zulaika Mariano Calibjo in 2006,  and the second, Laarni Grace Pangilinan in 2014.

This year's batch named their class Sandiglayan, which means "Samahan ng Mandirigma at Manlalakbay ng Karagatan sa Kaunlaran ng Bayan."

Razor Dave C. Samortin, BSMT, magna cum laude, in his valedictory address, profusely thanked, on behalf of his classmates, their families and the Academy for their support and guidance as they sailed the course in the academy, and invoked courage when they face the rough seas in their chosen fields. Arjan Lyndl E. Flores regaled everyone when he recounted how he became stronger by overcoming his academic failures, and thus succeeded to earn the distinction of being 'Anchorman,' the guy with the lowest weighted average grade in their class. 

Samortin, Flores and their classmates entered the Academy through a rigid selection process. PMMA says that about 5% of around 6,500 applicants from all over the country pass the screening and get accepted as midshipmen in two academic programs of their choice: marine transport and marine engineering.

Eight of the 17 women members of Sandiglayan 2017.

Sandiglayan had four-year residency courses: the first, second and fourth years for academic studies on campus, and the third for a one-year internship training as deck or engine cadets on board commercial vessels plying the international ocean lanes. The fourth, the graduation year, is the professional stage where they learn the additional knowledge and skills to qualify as third mates and fourth marine engineers.

They were all government scholars who enjoyed free tuition, board and lodging, and an assured shipboard training on board international vessels with stipend. 

The famous painter Juan Luna y Novicio of Spoliarium fame preceded Sandiglayan by 143 years. He was 17 when he graduated Piloto de Altos Mares (Pilot of the High Seas) from the Escuela de Nautica de Manila in 1874. 

The Escuela was established in 1820 and through the years evolved into the PMMA as we know today.

After sailing for thirty months, Luna quit seafaring, even if he was called el marino atrevido (the daring seaman) by his shipmates, and went to study fine arts.

In the case of Sandiglayan, three career paths were opened for them: enlisting with Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard, and joining the Merchant Marine.

The PMMA stamp virtually assures them 100% employability with  immediate hiring by more than 30 partner international and manning companies of the Academy. Their promising careers include being master mariners, chief engineers, shipping executives, naval or coast guard officers, educators, trainers in maritime-related industries/institutions, etc.

The Philippine Coast Guard has already inducted 22 of Sandiglayan Class earlier on 03 July 2017 as Probationary Ensign, two of them are women. 

Valedictorian Samortin and Anchorman Flores are now P/ENS of the Philippine Navy.

"Our graduates," VAdm Richard Ritual, PMMA Superintendent, said, "constantly serve as Ambassadors of Goodwill, for they circle the different parts of the globe on board various international seagoing vessels bringing with them the positive tenets inculcated upon them during their Academy days: Kawastuhan, Kababaang-loob, Kagitingan (Righteousness, Humility, Courage)."

Sandiglayan tossing their caps in the air after the ceremonies.

Skimboarding in my neighborhood by the beach in Zambales

Lyric Farala, 10, is top of the grom class in barangay La Paz, San Narciso, Zambales.

Almost everyday since November, I have been watching skimboarders riding the waves close to the shore near my bamboo house by the West Philippine Sea in barangay La Paz, San Narciso, Zambales. They can be as young as five years old or in the early '30s.

Skimboarding is the water sport of choice of the young men in the southern part of the coastal barrio. In the northern part, it is surfing: the local boys teach the neophyte surfers from Metro Manila and other parts of the country the rudiments of this sport at the Crystal Beach Resort.

The skimboarders have shorter boards than the surfers, and they ride the waves or swells nearer the shore, Skimboarding is a fast game on shallow waters. The surfers do the waves farther out, and bigger and finned boards allow them longer and more stable rides on the waves surging to break on the shore..

Both are imported sports: surfing from Hawaii and skimboarding from California.

But both have become native to our provincial haven; hence, we're claiming that San Narciso is the 'surfing and skimboarding capital of Zambales.'

These three A players, Angelo Ceneta, Peter Pagar and Jay Agagas competed in Tiwi, Albay last December.

In a local skimboarding competition event this month, there were competing groups: groms, Class B and Class A.

A grom (derived from grommet) is a skimboarder 14 years old or younger. Their seniors are either B or A, the A being the top players.  Veteran A players did not compete in the recent event, they instead judged in the three categories.

Champion in the groms category was Lyric Farala, a 10-yeat old pupil of the barangay elementary school. His father, uncles and cousins are skimboarders too. One of them teaches surfing at Crystal Beach.

Among those who judged in that January event were the three Class A players who represented the town in the skimboarding competition in Tiwi, Albay last December (2016): Angelo Ceneta, Peter Pagar and Jay Agagas.  Pagar won the top price in the individual category. The two others went into the qualifying rounds but did not make it to the cut for the final rounds.

Pagar has joined the labor force in Manila, and he skimboards when he comes home to take a breath. Ceneta may also give up his boards as soon as he is done with his marine transport education. Agagas does construction jobs to earn his keep, but he's still very much around the beach front with other skimboarders.

Typical skimboarding sights.

All these young sportsmen belong to the San Narciso Shorebreakers Skimboarding Group managed by Mia Casal, who takes time out from her potter's wheel and clay to watch their routines on the surging and swelling waves of the nearby sea.

After the Award, are you going to Scarborough Shoal?

Source: Philippines V. China: Arbitration Outcomes at https://amti.csis.org/arbitration-map/

The fishing folks of the northern towns of Zambales and Infanta, Pangasinan could have felt a strong sense of victory after the Permanent Court of Arbitration (the Tribunal) issued a unanimous Award on 12 July 2016 in the arbitration instituted by the Philippines against China. 

When they heard about the Award. they could have wanted to board their boats right away and head for the Scarborough Shoal (Panatag, Bajo de Masinloc) to fish freely and without fear of harassment from the Chinese Coast Guard.

After all, "the Tribunal found that China had violated the Philippines' sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone by (a) interfering with Philippine fishing and petroleum exploration, (b) constructing artificial islands, and (c) failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone. The Tribunal also held that fishermen from the Philippines (like those from China) had traditional fishing rights at Scarborough Shoal and that China had interfered with these rights in restricting access. The Tribunal further held that Chinese law enforcement vessels had unlawfully created a serious risk of collision when they physically obstructed Philippine vessels."

The 1734 map by Jesuit Fr Pedro Murillo Velarde. (Source: US Library of Congress)

In Paragraph 762 of the 501-page Award, the Tribunal noted that "[h]istorical cartography evidences a connection between Scarborough Shoal and the Philippine mainland. A map of the Philippines produced in 1734 included the shoal; another produced in 1784 labelled Scarborough Shoal as "Bajo de Masinloc".  Other  documents  provided  by the Philippines--including a 1953 book published by its Bureau of Fisheries--depict Scarborough Shoal as having historically served as one of the "principal fishing areas for Filipino fishermen."

The Tribunal took the "[a]ffidavits  of  six  fishermen  interviewed  by  the  Philippines" as confirmation of "the  practice of fishing at Scarborough  Shoal in recent generations, providing direct documentation of Philippine fishing activities in the area at least since 1982 and indirect evidence from 1972. Fishes caught at the shoal--primarily using spear and net fishing methods--have historically included "[b]onito, talakitok, tanguige and other species of fish found beneath of near rocks.(Paragraph 763).

The 501-page Award document in pdf format can be retrieved from https://pca-cpa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/175/2016/07/PH-CN-20160712-Award.pdf

Changing of the guard in my hometown

The newly-elected mayor, vice-mayor and seven members of the Sanggunianng Bayan during their proclamation by Comelec on 10 May 2016 . Photo by the author.

In the recent May 2016 elections, a woman was elected mayor, the first in the history of my hometown San Narciso, Zambales.  Dr. La Rainne Abad Sarmiento and her close rival to the post crushed the incumbent's hopes for a third and final term. It was her first try, and she succeeded with an integrated campaign network in all the town's barangays.

Sarmiento joins five other women who will head local government units for the next three years starting 1 July: three re-elected (San Felipe, San Antonio and Botolan towns) and two newly-elected like her (Cabangan and Masinloc towns) .

Sarmiento's victory toppled the 'dynasty' (the town folks' term) of the Lim brothers.  The older one completed three terms, and the younger failed to clinch a third term. The full-blooded Chinese brothers, scions of one of the owners of the local hardware store, are Filipino citizens.

In one way, the Lim brothers upset the long-held prejudice against 'non-locals' by blood or origin in elections for posts in the local government. The first 'non-local' or 'gang-gannaet' (stranger in our Ilocano idiom) was elected town councilor in the 1971 elections. He was from northern Zambales married to a local teacher. Before him, the local photographer attempted but he was rejected even if he had been a long time resident of the town.

The vice mayor and municipal councilors (in polo barong) elected before the declaration of martial law. 

From the collection of the author.

The 1971 elections was a historical turning point. It was the last democratic elections before Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law in September 1972, nine months after the winners in the November 1971 elections took their oath  on 31 December 1971 (photo above).  

I was a fresh engineering graduate from the University of the Philippines, and my candidacy was an impulsive decision, unplanned.  I was the youngest of that last batch. Aware that I was elected only for a four-year term, and with no end of martial law in sight, I resigned in 1975. The rest served the Bagong Lipunan regime until the elections on 30 January 1980, the first local and national elections after the declaration of martial law.

The 1980 elections did not bring a change of leadership. The mayor got a renewed mandate, and he would serve until the EDSA revolution of 1986.

EDSA I, in a sense, was a turning point in local history. President Corazon Aquino replaced the 1,550 mayors of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan party and four non-KB, and likewise municipal council members all over the archipelago with officers-in-charge until elections were held under the new Constitution of 1987.  The incumbent, a medical doctor, had already been mayor since January 1963. Cory Aquino replaced him with another medical doctor as officer-in-charge. They would face each other in the elections of 1988. The OIC lost that race to the long-serving doctor mayor. It was in the 1992 elections that the former clinched the title; the latter no longer ran for re-election.

The election results of 9 July 1846: San Narciso contra los temblores. From the Ereccion de Pueblos SD-14126 of the National Archives of the Philippines.

The first turning point in the history of San Narciso governance was the election of local officials on 9 July 1846. This was in accordance with the orders of Governor-General Narciso Claveria prior to his approval of a memorandum from the Alcalde Mayor of Zambales dated 11 July 1846  creating a civil town called San Narciso out of the four Ilocano barrios of Cabangan town.  The barrio of San Marcelino was included on 1 October 1846.

In the election results the town was described as "San Narciso contra los temblores" (literally, San Narciso against earthquakes), and the following were elected:   Teniente (absoluto) - Don Fruto Apolinario; Juez de policia (police) - Don Miguel Labrador; Juez de palmas (palm trees) - Don Timoteo Andres; Alguacil primero - Don Patricio Erese; Alguacil segundo - Cosme Agustin; and Alguacil tercero - Vicente Toledo.

Since San Narciso was a civil town still under the jurisdiction of Iba, the capital, and it had no parish yet (it was visita of the Iba church), the town head was called teniente absoluto but was actually discharging the duties and responsibilities of a Gobernadorcillo.

There were subsequent elections for teniente absoluto until the town was emancipated from the civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Iba on 12 May 1849.  On this date also, barrios Bobolon, Sindol, Pamisarauan and San Marcelino were separated from Alasiis, which became solely the town of San Narciso.

Bobolon became San Felipe but Sindol opted to remain its barrio. San Felipe and Sindol were initially visitas of San Narciso. The civil towns of San Marcelino and Pamisarauan as San Antonio were attached to the church in Subic.  Until they obtained independent parishes from their religious matrices, the town heads were addressed as teniente absoluto. 

The election of  the first Gobernadorcillo, ministros and subalternos of San Narciso was held on 7 December 1849.  Teniente absoluto Don Fruto Apolinario was re-elected, this time as Gobernadorcillo, for the year 1850.

Ministros elected were:  Teniente primero (first lieutenant; in a way the vice gobernadorcillo) - Don Tito Mariano; Juez de sementera (agricultural lands) - Don Esteban Canonizado; Juez de policia (police) - Don Valentin Mayor; Juez de ganados (cattle/farm animals) - Don Joaquin Velasco.

Subalternos: Teniente segundo - Don Fermin Rivera y Valdez; third to fifth Tenientes - Martin Natividad, Pioquinto Matias and Toribio Bernabe; first to fifth Alguacil (policeman)  - Agustin Villanueva, Agustin Lucas, Julian Guerrero, Juan Vigilia and Faustino Somera.

Of course, through the years, there were other turning points in the history of San Narciso local elections: the last election before end of the Spanish regime, the first election under the Americans, the governance during the Japanese occupation and first one after World War II.

Boyhood Christmas before the ashes of Pinatubo came falling down

Christmas was so much simple then, long before Mt Pinatubo covered our childhood playgrounds with almost a meter of ashes from its hot bowels.

Pregnant Mary and Joseph. Painting by Badz Magsumbol.

Neighborhood kids went caroling with a limited repertoire of Christmas songs learned from grade school: Silent Night, Joy to the World, O Come All Ye Faithful, and Whispering Hope, this last one seemed to be, in my recollection, the favorite.  Ang Pasko ay Sumapit was an alien song in our Ilocano corner of Zambales province when info tech was still limited to the radio after six o'clock in the evening (electricity was available only at night) and later, the transistor. No one had a TV (black and white) set.

Carolers were happy to receive a few centavos: ten was already big deal. When nobody came down to give a little reward to the ad hoc kids' choir, the house owners were challenged through a song: "Bulong ti apatot / Pascuayo a naimot / Umulog ti makarurod / Ta narnaran mi ti dandanog!" [Leaves of the noni plant / are Christmas gifts for the selfish / Come down if you're angry / And we will pummel you with hand blows!]

Midnight mass on Christmas eve was enjoyed by the innocent minds because of the 'walking star'. The church lights were turned off, and a big lighted bamboo lantern floated down from the choir loft to the tableaux of images of Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, shepherds and the Three Kings, and an angel above them, at one front side of the altar.

That mass was strictly at midnight, not any earlier like today. The dawn masses were very early at four o'clock in the morning, which my father did not miss because an hour later, he'd take the bus to his work at the US naval base an hour away from our town. 

Mary and Joseph arrive at the manger. Painting by Badz Magsumbol.

Christmas day was really for children even if there were no malls or theme parks or fairs to spend the holiday. There were no high-tech toys to expect from relatives or god-parents (we were pioneers in recycling empty cans to toy cars). Children were on there own to ask for Christmas gifts, which were usually candies or suman (parents advised to bring bags for these native fare), around the barrio. God-parents gave at most ten centavos, a salapi (50 centavos) was already a fortune. 

Our family reunion was at an aunt's house. She was a widow of an American serviceman she married in Cavite before Japanese bombs fell at the start of the Second World War. She was in a better position to host a family gathering. She could buy goodies from the commissary in Subic Bay, hence, 'American' candies esp. M&M were our childhood treasures. Our luncheon table teemed with imported fruits, a privilege to American dependents at that time: apples and grapes.

What I remember fondly was the arroz Valenciana, which another aunt prepared only for the Christmas day reunion. So many light years between Christmas pasts and today as our nephew who took up culinary arts is now busy preparing the seafood paella for the family noche buena of Christmas 2015. 

Misa de Gallo starts at 8:30 this evening, and the feast to celebrate more than two thousand years of the birth of Jesus Christ would be around 10 o'clock.

Jesus, Maria y Josef. Painting by Badz Magsumbol.

Naimbag a Pacuayo [Ilocano]!  Maligayang Pasko [Filipino]! Merry Christmas [English]! Feliz Navidad [Hispanic]!

Simbang Gabi in the Philippines (it was once prohibited)

Misa de Aguinaldo at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theatre.

When we were young, the early morning masses were held at four o'clock in the morning. The Christmas season then was cold, and we had to wear a thick sweater or jacket before stepping out of the house and walk ten blocks to the church.  

We eagerly waited for the midnight mass of  Christmas eve because of a 'walking star' when the chuurch lights were turned off. We were awed by the lighted star lantern descending from the choir loft to the 'belen' at one side of the altar. 

In our Ilocano country in Zambales, there was no 'Simbang Gabi'. It was Misa de Aguinaldo for the early morning mass, and Misa de Gallo for the midnight service. That Filipino term came into our consciousness when we started to sing Christmas songs in the national language. 

Probably 'Simbang Gabi' became a literarily and politically correct term during the martial law years. In the 'Guidelines on the celebration of Simbang Gabi in the Archdiocese of Manila' issued by Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales and Cardinal Luis Antionio Tagle on 15 November2010 and 25 November 2013, respectively, '[t]he adjustment from dawn to evening [during the martial law years] was in view of the curfew hours imposed during the martial Law regime.Today, this practice continues to be kept and has become popular even if the curfew hour restriction is no longer in force. Many of the faithful who follow the urban rhythm of work find it easier to join in the evening instead of the dawn Masses. This adjusted time of Simbang Gabi allows them to continue receiving spiritual nourishment and appreciation of the Christian meaning of Christmas amidst secularized celebration."

There had also been other changes in recent times. This week, for example, we saw posters announcing that the Simbang Gabi will be held at 6:30 in the evening from 15 to 23 December in our village chapel. These come, we suppose, in the realm of 'anticipated masses' of early Saturday evenings for the regular Sunday masses.

"From the beginning," the Guidelines say, "Simbang Gabi has always been celebrated at an early hour from 4 to 5 o'clock in the morning. It is this Mass alone that is considered Simbang Gabi or Misa de Aguinaldo. Other Masses celebrated during the nine days before Christmas are celebrated as Masses of the Advent Season, and should follow the norms of liturgy of the Advent season. If the Misa de Aguinaldo is celebrated from 8:00 o'clock in the evening onwards, it should be motivated by genuine pastoral care for the spiritual benefit of the faithful."

In addition: "The celebration of Misa de Aguinaldo at other times, e.g. morning, midday, or late afternoon, is not in keeping with the liturgical norms of the Archdiocese of Manila and is to be regarded as an abuse. Therefore, only the dawn, and when pastorally required, the evening Masses are considered Simbang Gabi or Misa de Aguinaldo." 

We'd like to think that the Simbang Gabi scheduled on 15-23 December was cleared with the Archbishopbric of Manila.

Today, the Catholic Church is dealing with time schedules of these traditional Mass celebrations to cope up with the changes in the lifestyles and working environment of the faithful.

Belens with Mary and Joseph in Filipino attires.

History tells us that there were events that caused for the suspension or even prohibition of conducting the Misa de Aguinaldo:

More than a century after the Christianization of the Philippines, Fray Juan Sanchez (1683-89) was writing about the Missas de Aguinaldo being contaminated "with practices that were superstitious, and contrary to the holy rites of the church."  

On 12 October 1680, Fray Philippe Pardo Archbishop-elect of Manila issued a decree prohibiting the Missas de Aguinaldo, "[b]ecause of the excesses and undisciplined manner of their previous celebrations, so many learned and devout ecclesiastics entertained doubts about it."

"Following the example of the Archdioceses of Mexico where the celebration is already prohibited, the Manila Prelate consulted authorities among the Religious and issued the corresponding mandate. The Prelate received news that the celebration of the Holy Masses which are sung during the nine (9) days preceding the birth of Our Lord is already prohibited. The Archdiocese, on its part, must comply with such prohibition.

"He therefore orders that, for the present, the Misas de Aguinaldo must not, in any form, be sung or recited. No musical festivity is to be held in the Churches, no musical instrument is to be played nor any religious song to be sung regardless of its nature. Non-compliance is to be punished.

"The prelate likewise commands that the Royal Decree be posted on the door of the Churches in Manila and that parish priests be sent copies of said decree for their information and compliance." [Anales, f.120; pp 131-132].

The revolution of 1898 upset the church-state relationship that prevailed in the governance of the Philippine islands for more than 300 years. 

Christmas in Manila and the celebration of the Missas de Aguinaldo were affected by the disturbances created by the conflict among the Filipino, Spanish and American armed forces.

Archbishop Bernardo Nozaleda issued Circulars in December 1898 to the parishes of Manila and the suburbs, the chaplains of the schools,and the rectors or priors of the different religious orders not to celebrate the 'Aguinaldo Masses and the one called Gallo' for the reasons and causes that known to all' [he did not state them], and 'the exceptional circumstances and pains that the Church is currently experiencing in this country.' 

In Zambales and other places where there were no Roman Catholic priests for many years after 1898, there could have been no Missas de Aguinaldo or Gallo. Probably, only the Aglipayan parishes celebrated these traditional Chrismas rites until the church of Rome has began filling up again the vacant parishes with secular and regular clergy,

 References:

• Anales Ecclesiasticos de Philipinas, 1574-1682. Philippine Church History, A Summary Translation, Vol.2. Manila: Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila and Rev. Fr. Ruperto C. Santos, STL, 1994.

•  Box 1.b.5 Decretos, Oficios, Consultas (1826-1841, 1868-1896). Folder 1 – Decretos (Libro de Gobierno, Ordenes y Oficios) 1862-1896. Archdiocesan Archives of Manila.

• Sanchez, Juan, et al. (1683-89). Felipe Pardo as archbishop. The Pardo Controversy. The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 : explorations by early navigators, etc. (Blair, E.H. & Robertson, J. A., Eds., Bourne, E.G., Tr.).   39(1):245-246. Mandaluyong, Rizal: Cachos Hermanos, 1973. 

•  The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. Guidelines on the Celebration of Simbang Gabi in the Archdiocese of Manila.  http://www.rcam.org/news/1187-guidelines-on-the-celebration-of-simbang-gabi-in-the-archdiocese-of-manila

The zing of Zambales: cove exploring and island hopping

Note:  This photo-essay appeared in the 25 Apr - 01 May 2014 issue of the FilAm Star, 'the newspaper for Filipinos in mainstream America,' which is published weekly in San Francisco, CA. This blogger/author is the Philippines Special News/Photo Correspondent of the said paper.
 

The Zambales Mango Festival was held earlier in March but for true-blue Zambaleños, the feast of the golden yellow kalabaw or piko varieties comes around Holy Week.  Between San Narciso and San Marcelino towns is the diversion road informally called the Mango Highway, and at this time, the fruit stalls there are teeming with green and golden ripe Zambales mangoes. The sweetest variety is called Santa Elena grown in Sta. Cruz town, but the supply dwindles fast especially after the choice picks have all been packed for the export market.  It is very seldom though that the locals and the out-of-town visitors specifically ask for this variety.  

 There is more fun in Zambales though than looking for Santa Elena mangoes.  This has something more to do with geography.  The province is hemmed by the West Philippine Sea, and all but two of its 13 towns lie along the more than 100 miles of coastline. On the eastside is the Zambales mountain range with its famous peaks, Mt Pinatubo, which blew its top almost 25 years ago, and Mt. Tapulao, which hosts endemic flora and fauna with new species discovered a few years ago.  

The rugged coasts include beautiful beaches and coves that have become popular destinations of local and foreign tourists and nature explorers these recent years. 

Beach resorts can be stringed from Subic to Sta. Cruz.  Busloads of beach lovers from Manila and nearby provinces usually stop at the Subic resorts.  Surfing aficionados though flock to Pundaquit in San Antonio, La Paz in San Narciso, and some more resorts further north. 

Zambales takes itself as a major surfing area in the country. The almost linear beaches are wont to be rough during some months of the year, creating big waves that surfers love to ride on. Surfing tournaments have been held here.  In the Crystal Beach Resort of San Narciso, surfing tutorials have attracted a growing clientele of this water sports. 

The hub of cove explorations is Pundaquit, the fishing barangay (village) of San Antonio town whose coastal boundary turns around Sampaloc Point, the western tip of the terrestrial arc of Subic Bay.  From here, the explorer can select his cove destination going southward from the nearest,  Anawangin, to the farthest and biggest,  Silanguin.  Between them are Talisayin, now privately-owned, and Nagsasa.  The boatride to Anawangin is 30 minutes; to Nagsasa is roughly one hour; and to Silanguin almost two hours. 

We have gone on a family trip to Nagsasa, going around rocky formations to get there, and getting a distant view of the white sands of Anawangin and Talisayin coves set against verdant green forests, predominantly of agoho trees, on the low mountain sides.

According to the Aytas who manage Nagsasa, there was no sandy beach before Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991.  The lahar that deposited on Nagsasa and other coves became their white sand beaches.

The coves were in fact forbidden territory before 1991 when there was the US naval facility in Subic-Olongapo, and a US naval communication center in San Antonio. The mountainous stretch along the coast was the target practice area of the US armed forces, and it was dangerous even for fishermen to come near the shore during military exercises.  Mt. Pinatubo hastened the termination of the US bases in Subic and Clark, but it created new touristic coves along the coasts of San Antonio, Zambales. 

Except for variations in their terrestrial structures, the coves are very pristine:  the sea in varying degrees of blue, white sandy beaches, and rugged low brown mountain walls with curtains of green agoho trees.  In Nagsasa, there is a very shallow stream that curves as it flows to the sea, thus breaking the monotony of the white sandy shore. 

The coves do not have the amenities one expects in places like Boracay or El Nido. In Nagsasa, there are comfort and bath rooms; and huts or tents can be rented.  The Aytas maintain a store for basic necessities, and operate a power generator for a limited time during the night. Definitely, there are no mobile phone signals. 

Nagsasa and the other coves are best for camping.  The waters are definitely clean for swimming being so far away from the sewerage of population centers.

The coves can be accessible to hikers and mountain climbers.  For Nagsasa, the starting point for the guided mountain trek is a fast food restaurant in Subic town, and this would, according to the Ayta guides, take from three to four hours because of frequent rests and photo-ops of the trekkers.

Pundaquit is also the most convenient jumping-off place for the Camara and Capones Islands.  A boat ride may not take half an hour to get there.  Camara is all rock, hence, Capones is the preferred destination for camping, picnicking and snorkelling. 

From our beachfront in San Narciso, one has to depart for Capones very early in the morning, preferably before the sun is up.  It takes almost an hour to get there.  The joy of the landing comes in seeing live corals, sea weeds and small colored fishes swimming around, through the clear and calm sea water.   

The early hours are good for swimming and snorkelling.  Capones is a rugged island with sparse vegetation, white sandy beach and rough rock formations.  It’s a must that first-time visitors climb the old lighthouse, more than a century old, built by the Spaniards in the early 1890s. 

Late hour departure from Capones is not advisable since the sea gets rough.  In our experience, we boarded the boat for home as soon as we have finished our lunch.  The better course is to camp overnight, and depart after breakfast and the morning swim. 

Our most recent venture is in Magalawa Island, neighbor to San Salvador and San Miguel Islands, all of them between Palauig and Masinloc towns.  All three are inhabited fishing villages. They have public elementary schools and San Salvador has a high school. 

Magalawa is the perfect destination for beach lovers.  It can be reached from Palauig town by boat in 30 minutes.  One can drive to barangay Luan for the boat that can take you there in about 10 minutes.    

This island is still pristine:  white sandy beach and green vegetation along the coast.  Visitors have a choice between the public swimming area and a privately-owned resort.  

Being a fishing village, there is plenty of sea food to buy for lunch picnics.  At the resort, boats are for hire for whole-day leisurely rides around the island or out at the open sea.  

Definitely smaller than Magalawa Island of Palauig is Potipot Island of Candelaria town.  It is said that it’s sandy beach is whiter than Boracay’s, and that it would take about an hour to explore the whole of Potipot. 

It’s summer, and it’s the best time to explore the coves in southern Zambales, and hop from one pristine island to another starting from Capones in mid-province to Potipot in the north.  May be it’s also time to get a surfboard, learn the rudiments, get thrown off every now and then until the art of riding waves is fully mastered.

'Balde': relic of a now-extinct industry of manufacturing indigo dye in our old hometown

A 'balde' in a village in San Narciso, Zambales.  This large cylindrical concrete vessel was used by the Ilocanos in the manufacture of indigo, which they used for dyeing clothes. The industry died when commercial dyes became available.  Photo by the author.

Part of our boyhood memories are two large baldes in the neighborhood located under the shade of fruit trees beside a water well.  They were demolished when we were in high school to give way to the construction of houses.

But several still exists. Two of them are easily accessible, the sites being along a barrio road.  The one in the photograph is overgrown with vines and hidden by clumps of tall shrubs.  Another is right beside a small house, and used for storing recyclable materials.

We've photographed them for the purpose of asking the assistance of the National Historical Institute in their conservation and preservation.  We've also asked the town's Sangguniang Bayan to protect these historical structures; and they thought it may be possible to transfer one of them to serve as center piece of the plaza park. We learned that there was a prospector who was interested to buy one but he balked at the difficulty of hauling this in one unbroken piece.

The balde was used in the manufacture of indigo before commercial dye killed the ancient art of natural dying. The Ilocano settlers brought the indigo industry to Zambales around 1837.  They also brought their weaving looms, and indigo (Indigofera tinctoria), commonly called ngila, was their source of natural dye for their woven cloths.  

Dionisio Villanueva (1916) left us the best description of the balde and the now-extinct indigo manufacturing industry.  When he wrote this, he was reviewing for the bar examination having just graduated from the college of law of the University of the Philippines.

The balde, he wrote, was "built of cement, the wall is about one and one-half to two feet thick, of cylindrical shape standing on one of its end, of a diameter of about four meters with the altitude of about four to five meters.  At about one yard from is wall is dug a well for the supply of water to soak the plant.  With it are strong bars to press in the plant and hold it under water."

Farmers planted the indigo around February after the rice harvest.  It took more than three months, and usually in the last days of May, when the plants would be about five feet tall and ready for cutting, to be  processed using the balde to produce the dye.  

According to Villanueva, soaking of the plant took overnight with water fetched from the nearby well.  After taking out the plants, lime would be added to precipitate the indigo. The water would be drained out through a hole on the side of the balde without disturbing the precipitate that had settled at the bottom.  Similarly, the solid indigo would be moved through another hole into a ditch nearby for the drying.

The dried indigo dye would be stored in big jars or tinajas.  It was expensive, and the indigo makers sold it for four pesos a can.

It was the women who used the dye for cotton cloths.  It could have been a very dark dye that Villanueva wrote about the product as being 'blackened cotton' with the 'color ... so beautiful and lasting.'

Philippine indigo was part of our commercial history, a commodity carried by the galleons to Europe and traded with China.  We've read accounts about it in shipping logs of American merchant ships from Manila to the Salem port in Massachusetts.  

Cheap synthetic indigo was first sold in Germany in 1897.  Thus, by the early 1900s, the natural indigo dye industry in the Philippines was already under threat.  In 1916, Villanueva was already saying that 'this industry will not be practiced in the near future as much as it is now' because of the expensive natural product.

But this natural dye has excellent colorfastness qualities.  Hence, in very recent times, there had been efforts to revive the Philippine indigo, the bluer than blue natural dye, under the lead of the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI).  It's production is more ecologically friendly than that of synthetic dyes, according to PTRI.  

Even then, the balde will just remain a relic of a once 'colorful' era in a Zambales town's history.  

References:   

• Villanueva, Dionisio. (1916). The Manufacture of indigo (ngila) in Zambales province.  Microform BEY33/1 Sambali Ethnography Paper No, 21 3/4p-1. National Library of the Philippines

• University of New Brunswick Fredericton & St John. (2011, Nov 3).  The history of indigo. Retrieved from  http://www.unb.ca/fredericton/science/chem/outreach/documents/Indigo

• Flores, Malu A & Anonas Framela V. (2007).  PTRI's natural dyes add oomph to baro.  S&T Post. Phil. Textile Research Institute.  Retrieved from http://sntpost.stii.dost.gov.ph/NewPOST/AprJun2007/PTRI%20natural%20dyes.htm