Stunned by an Angel

Once in a rare while, a captivating personality incites flashes of kilig and bighani in me. That happened when I shook the hand of an Angel after a staging of Pingkian, Isang Musikal, a play about Emilio Jacinto’s final months as a leader of a revolution.

An accomplished actor in film & television, Ms. Angelita Grace Velasquez Aquino is known for her stunning beauty. In a field full of mestiza celebrities with angular, aquiline features & whitish skin tone, Angel stands exceptional with her alluring blend of soft, classic kayumanggi features. If Botong Francisco had a chance to paint the mythical Maganda emerging from a split bamboo, Angel would have been the perfect model.

But beyond her drop dead looks, Angel reminded me of her association with Tulong Dunong (TD), the tutorial and scholarship program instituted by the late James O’Brian, SJ in the mid-1970s. This shared experience allowed me to muster enough guts to introduce myself to TD’s muse, a 51 year young woman of warmth, grace, and charm transformed from a shy teenage school girl, like the proverbial duckling turning into a radiant swan.

Raised in the working class neighborhood of Barangka, Marikina amidst shoe making workshops, Angel was the eldest of four siblings in a struggling family of limited means. TD selected her for a high school scholarship at St. Bridget School, a private Catholic school run by Good Shepherd sisters. She then majored in journalism at UP, and from there became a model and eventually an actor.

Angel was a TD tutee and scholar in the 80s, but when TD evolved into an autonomous, Ateneo-affiliated foundation, she became its ambassador, raising awareness about its mission and participating in fundraising events. For Angel & many more, TD was an opportunity to chart a journey beyond the limitations of their circumstance, to dream & to aspire. Her story serves as an inspiration to Tulong Dunong students. (You can hear the poignant story in her own voice in this video https://youtu.be/m07VAyggCSs?si=oOIczzUmQDqcxfSd ).

Roots

204 years ago on January 18, 1820 my hometown of Magdalena was founded in the province of Laguna. It was a barrio separated from the town of Majayjay which Spanish conquistadors established in the foothills of Mount Banahaw within weeks after their 1571 invasion of Manila. Magdalena was founded by Juan Pascual Bernardo, among others, seven generations earlier. According to church records, one of my ancestors, Don Juan (as he was most likely addressed) donated the land on which the town plaza was built. Back then, for a village to be officially recognized by the colonial government as politically autonomous, it needed a plaza with an ayuntamiento (town hall), a church, and a school. Don Juan became the town's second "kapitan municipal" a year after it was founded.

Among twelve of Don Juan's grandchildren, the eldest, Maria Lucena, married a queue-wearing emigre from Fujian, China named Ong Layco. Like many immigrants from Fujian then, Ong Layco probably fled Amoy (now Xiamen) with some silver earnings from the opium trade. When the Qing Dynasty cracked down on the opium trade in 1839, it triggered the First Opium War (1839-1942) disrupting the lives of many, including the expansive Ong clan in Fujian province.

Ong Layco journeyed to the riverside town of Pagsangan, where Ong clan relatives had probably already settled. He was soon baptized as "Luis Onglayco," and moved to neighboring Magdalena perhaps after finding a clever way to acquire land for the burgeoning coconut trade. During those times, it was difficult for "Sangleys" to purchase land because of racial discrimination by Spanish colonists.

According to his great granddaughters (my aunts), Luis lent money to native "sabungeros" (cockfighting aficionados) who mortgaged their parcels of land to settle gambling debts. Many gamblers, apparently did not settle their mortgages and so ownership of their lands transferred to Don Luis. This can be attested to the fact that Luis' sons, Francisco (my great grandfather) & Ananias, eventually inherited patches of coconut land spread widely all over Magdalena, most of which were no larger than a few hectares.

With wealth from selling coconut & other produce, Francisco & Ananias became prominent, land-owning members of Magdalena. They dropped the Ong from their surname, rebranding themselves as Francisco & Ananias Laico, ostensibly to avoid racial discrimination and to facilitate their entry into local & national politics.

Both former local Katipunero leaders, they attended the Malolos Congress. Ananias later became a representative to the US Commonwealth Congress of the Philippine Islands, and Francisco served as town mayor several times.

Reflecting on my ancestral roots this Magdalena Day, as I notice Punjabi money lenders ply their trade, I recall a quote from Jose Rizal, "ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan, hindi makararating sa paroroonan." Those who do not look from whence they came, will not reach where they are headed.

I cannot help imagine Filpinos of South Asian ancestry owning property in Magdalena several generations hence.

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BRP Ladislao Diwa

 

The Philippine Navy commissioned 2 patrol craft donated by the United States. The ships were renamed after 2 of 5 co-founders of the Katipunan, Valentin Diaz & Ladislao Diwa who served as 1 of 3 in the top triumverate leadership of the Katipunan.

The fairly grand event staged by the Philippine Navy was attended by descendants of Diaz & Diwa.

Five of Diwa's descendants served in the military. Two grandsons served in the Philippine Air Force. Retired Gen. Chester Ebuen (PMA '70) once piloted presidential planes under Ferdinand Marcos Sr., Corazon Aquino, & Fidel V. Ramos. His younger brother, Col. Ladislao Diwa Ebuen (PMA 71) also served in the PAF. The Ebuen brothers are sons of the late Gen. Benito Ebuen who perished in a plane crash with President Ramon Magsaysay.

Another grandson of Diwa was Horatio Diwa who served in the US Navy whose two sons also served in the US military. My cousin, Manuel (a retired Colonel in the Special Forces of the US Army), attended the ceremony where PH Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro & US Ambassador MaryKay Clarkson gave opportune speeches in these troubling times.

I couldn't help but reflect that the bond between the Philippines and the United States transcends historical & political ties; it is organic in the blood ties between & amongst Filipinos & Filipino Americans.

We can only hope that the 2 ships, named after Filipino revolutionaries for nationhood, will never be used to settle a territorial dispute.

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The Accidental Cheesemonger

 

A lechero circa 1800s

I never expected to become a lechero (a milkman), or a quesero (a cheesemaker), and much less a fromager (a cheesemonger).

Yet I have become all three as I cross into my sixties.

In 2014, after a failed venture growing organic sweet corn, losing more than a million pesos in the gambit, our town's patron Santa Maria Magdalena, so it seemed, lit me a path of recovery with a challenge.  

As a lapsed, when-I-feel-like-it Catholic, I am not a particularly religious person prone to spiritualizing good fortune, nor am I one to petition God for a venture's favorable outcome. In retrospect, however, Heaven (again, so it seemed) handed me a divine mission. Despite a somewhat false reputation as a capable salesman, I was "blessed" with a near impossible mission to help a desperate band of dairy farmers profitably dispose of their 700 liters of gatas ng kalabaw within a week!

Our town's agriculture officer, Cecille Sy, approached me, seeking help in selling the looming milk harvest of carabao dairy farmers from Magdalena, Laguna. They were anticipating a dramatic rise in milk production with the expected birth of new calves from about a dozen of gestating carabaos. 

On average, a dairy carabao produces between 3 and 6 liters of milk a day, 30 to 40 liters per week,  for about 300 days in a full year. A dozen lactating carabaos could thus bring an additional 21 to 42 liters a day. 

A dairy carabao of the Murrah variety

In addition to the daily collective yield of some 30 liters per day, or 210 liters per week, the additional yield could reach 500 liters per week. As it was, the farmers were already struggling to sell less than 100 liters weekly, what more 500 liters or so per week?

It was not a simple problem to solve just by selling milk to individuals through retail. How many households would you sell to, if you could, in a week? Moreover, carabao milk was three times more expensive than the more affordable and accessible cow's milk. 

Besides, my sales experience then was limited to three days selling sweet corn at a food fair, and to top it all, I had absolutely no experience selling dairy products.

It was a mission, however, that I had to accept. If the milk was not sold within a week of harvesting, even if frozen, most would curdle, if not spoil. The milk would be rendered unsellable in liquid form, and farmers would lose much-needed income.  

Statue at the Parish Church

Providentially, Santa Maria Magdalena did intercede. On my very first milk-selling foray, I found a buyer. Not a drop of milk was wasted. In the coming week, 700 liters of gatas would bring joy to scores of pizza and Burrata lovers. The milk would be transformed into over a hundred  kilos of creamy, silky mozzarella de kalabaw made by the Gino's Brick Oven Pizza chain. 

The wise counsel of an old friend and mentor, Luz de Leon, and the timely assistance of Ms. Amy Besa (of Purple Yam fame), helped me complete my mission. 

I was introduced to Jutes Templo, the pizza restaurateur, who desperately needed carabao milk on the very same weekend the farmers’ milk harvest had to be disposed of. In common desperation, one group's problem became another person’s solution.

That is how my journey toward becoming a cheesemonger started, helping carabao dairy farmers sell their milk and finding a pizza restaurateur who needed them to make cheese. To this day, it has been my continuing mission to help both farmers and consumers. Little did I know that my efforts would have a social and economic impact on our fifth-class municipality with a poverty incidence of 16.5% .

But in the past seven years, the prospect of wasted milk and income loss would be a constant threat. So, to mitigate the threat, I ventured into becoming a quesero and a fromager  to extend the nutritional and economic value of carabao milk in the form of cheese.

MAGCO members

Michael Rodriguez, a high school batchmate, gentleman farmer, and gourmand had travelled to Turkey where he discovered halloumi. He introduced me to it and suggested that I make the halloumi with carabao milk instead of its traditional base of sheep or goat milk.

 

After a couple years of research and development, I reinvented halloumi into "Magdalloumi" in honor of Santa Maria Magdalena and my ancestral hometown,

Magdalloumi in brine

At the start of July, as the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene approaches on July 22, the Magdalena Agriculture Cooperative (MAGCO) and I started earnestly collaborating to make and sell Magdalloumi. In small batches, MAGCO artisanally crafts the semi-hard, squeaky, salty and creamy cheese which is best served fried or grilled; then I bring it to market. It has been very well-received by a group of supporters and patrons on Facebook.

Seared Magdalloumi w/ Honey-Kalamansi sauce

If I have learned anything in my continuing mission, it is this: a dairy enterprise requires a bayanihan effort. If "it takes a village to raise a child," it takes a community to grow and sustain an enterprise. Bringing milk from the dairy farm, transforming it into dairy products, and then putting them on a family's table is  bayanihan at work.  Currently, we only produce no more than twenty kilos worth of Magdalloumi per week, roughly 90 tubs of 250 grams each. but our Magdalloumi and kesong puti "ecosystem" involves healthy dairy carabaos, smallholder dairy farmers , government managers and technicians, milk processors,  artisans, drivers, and cheesemongers, and cheese-loving patrons.

So, as I work to sustain this community and find more customers for Magdalloumi, all I ask is that current and future patrons indulge me in my missionary zeal, in my kakulitan, to bring this savory food to the table.

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Ondoy - After the Perfect Flood

As I posted originally in Facebook, one does not need a doctorate in hydrology to make sense of the deluge of September 26, 2009. Familiarity with Metro Manila's geography and its surrounding provinces help us imagine what created The Perfect Flood. In its aftermath, reflection and analysis may help us learn what needs to be accomplished to prevent another tragedy.

Typhoon Ondoy, reportedly a tropical storm with a relatively weak rating of Signal #1, hit landfall near the border of Aurora and Quezon provinces. It dumped the first of 16 inches of rainwater on the denuded mountains of the Sierra Madres, northeast of the Metro Manila, where locals had already been advocating for more forceful government intervention on continued illegal logging (see http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20090929-227494/Sierra-Madre-group-blames-Arroyo-for-Ondoy-disaster).

Some of the waters immediately flowed into nearby Angat Lake through which Ondoy passed. Angat is the primary watershed that feeds the metropolis’ water system. It is held back by the Angat and Ipo dams which overflowed quickly, flooding the towns in plains of Bulacan province. Government authorities decided to make a controlled release of the overflowing waters to relieve pressure on the dams and to avoid a catastrophic scenario of waters cascading towards Metro Manila. It was a scenario once feared by U.S. military strategists in May 1945 as they battled the Japanese Imperial Army for control of the Ipo dam right soon after Manila's liberation (So one former senator’s knee-jerk reaction of prosecuting the dam officials must be reconsidered). Metro Manila's relief, became Bulacan's grief (see http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20090928-227355/Floodwaters_hit_Bulacan_towns).

While the dams slowed some of the raging waters, Ondoy nonetheless continued its massive downpour along its path, and simultaneously the floodwaters that had fallen on the Sierra Madres flashed quickly into the Marikina River’s main tributaries above Wawa dam, a decommissioned reservoir near Rodriguez (formerly known as Montalban), in Rizal province. From there, the waters began wreaking havoc on the human settlements along the Marikina Valley as it swelled and raged violently towards Laguna de Bay.

The next major town to be hit by flash floods would have been San Mateo. Thereafter, the City of Marikina, parts of Quezon City along the valley, and municipalities of Cainta, Pasig, and Taguig would soon be swept by the floodwaters. As these passed through densely populated areas, the waters would have been diverted by the Mangahan Floodway into Laguna de Bay where the they would have slowed and sought its own level. In the aftermath, more bodies would be recovered in the area (see http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20090929-227503/6-bodies-found-in-Taguig-waterway).

However, Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines was also rising from Odyong’s rains and from the waters of its own 2o tributaries in Laguna and Rizal provinces. Moreover, the lake’s holding capacity have already been compromised by heavy siltation. Soon the cities and towns along the lake’s shores would also be submerged in varying degrees, and the floodwaters from the Mangahan Floodway would just gradually dam back up from where it flowed, keeping many areas upstream submerged.

During the rainy season, the waters of Laguna de Bay normally flow out to Manila Bay, snaking through 25 kilometers of the Pasig River, the most formidable obstacle before reaching the sea. As an Australia AID publication from the 1990's prophetically described it: "The Pasig River is the only outlet that drains excess water from the landlocked Laguna de Bay. It also drains13 major river tributaries, in addition to Manila’s vanishing network of esteros (narrow canals) and creeks. If the Pasig became blocked, the low-lying areas of Rizal, Laguna, and Manila north and south of the river would be transformed into a lake."

And a lake they did become because through the years, water flow along the Pasig River has been slowed, if not blocked completely by siltation, by accumulated organic and inorganic debris, and by blocked drainage. (Google Earth depth readings along the the Pasig River is greater than zero in many parts, suggesting that siltation and debris do block water flow into Manila Bay).

North of the Pasig River, one of its many tributaries, the San Juan River, rose and raged through the northern part of the metropolis inundating the urban landscape to unprecedented depths. A video footage of the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay (UERM) compound along the river bank showed how parked cars floated like matchboxes and how people held on dearly to any tree or structure they could grab (watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6nkxVaydmY).

Similarly, south of the Pasig, waters had nowhere to flow thru because of blocked drainage pipes, canals, and eastment creeks, thus submerging the Makati financial district and its environs, epecially around Pasay City. A frail elderly man in his late 80's, a former commodore of the Philippine Navy was rescued from the second floor of his home in Magallanes Village, an upper middle class gated community that never had been flooded in recent memory.

Three days after the heavy rains, while waters have receded in areas upstream, the towns around the lake like Pateros and Muntinlupa remain submerged in waist-deep water. Government officials refused to open the floodgates to drain the lake for fear of flooding the Presidential palace which is set on a low-lying area along the Pasig River, again Malacanang's relief became Laguna's grief.

While water quality on the Pasig River improved somewhat due to some initiatives during the Ramos administration in the mid-1990's, flood control and drainage did not. Government agencies of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the the Metro Manila Development Autority (MMDA) have studied this flooding issue time and time again. There have been numerous studies, plans, more studies, and more plans, but, obviously, there has been little meaningful action. Ineptitude seems to be the norm rather than exception, and the Arroyo administration's authoritarian and imperious governance style has stifled competence and initiatives of otherwise capable bureaucrats (see http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20090930-227669/DPWH-asked-to-open-channel-to-ease-Muntinlupa-floods).

We can not blame it all on Nature because she warned us many times in the past, most significantly in September 1998 when the Markina Valley area was also severely flooded by a typhoon. Now she has returned with a vengeance pouring a month’s worth of rain (16 inches) within nine hours (a unique phenomenon that is a portent of things to come in the age of global climate warming); but, without doubt, human folly, denuded mountains, poor drainage, inadequate infrastructure, misplaced priorities, and venal governance have all contributed to this great tragedy.

Filipinos have yet again proven their heroism, their resiliency and self-reliance especially in the face of crisis, but the tragedy of the 2009 deluge will be repeated again and again until a more democratic system of governance is finally instituted, a system that is worthy of its people, founded on the lives of the innocent. If we are to build a monument for Filipino heroism in the Deluge of 2009, let it be a new system of governance th. let the floodwaters in our hearts sweep away the muck and along with floodwaters, let us sweep vnal governance of the face of the country. is ,utter survival of families who have lost their homes, but surely there must be accountability. Surely, there will be a day of reckoning.