12 MARCH 2004 FILIPINO BULLETINPINOY: THE GLOBAL NOMAD! MARCH 2004 13FILIPINO BULLETIN PINOY: THE GLOBAL NOMAD!

I love my own, my native land, Philippines my Philippines…so goes the first line of one of the very first songs I learned

when I was in the grades. Of course, that was many, many moons ago. I don’t know if school children in the Philippines are still taught the song…or sing it…these days. But I think all Filipino children should be taught this ditty that reminds us to, well, love our own native land and appreciate its beauty.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have traveled quite extensively in the past few years, visiting some of the world’s great capitals, soaking in millennia of history and culture, savoring the joys of travel…sampling cuisine or simply enjoying the delights of a sidewalk café (sorry, my budget never allows me to traipse into a mall and friends are content with getting cheap souvenir items from my trips).

Yet, I always long to visit the Philippines, as often as my budget will allow. Factoring in the plane fare, all the pasalubongs, and anticipated expenses in the Philippines, a trip back home is twice more expensive than going to Europe. But this does not stop me from going home for a visit. What contributes to the excitement and anticipation is the prospect of new places to discover. With 7,100 islands, there is always some nook of the country that I have not been to.

Last year, I finally got to go inland mysterious Siquijor. I say inland because I’ve been to the island province in Central Visayas many times in my childhood but only hanggang pier, as we say. Thanks to superferries that regularly ply the inter-island route, one can now hop from one island to another in an hour or so where in the past

travel could take entire days. This particular trip originated from Tagbilaran, Bohol where I attended my family’s international reunion last year.

Philippine super-ferries, refurbished retired European crafts they maybe, are clean and comfortable, an economical way of traversing the archipelago. As my ferry approached Siquijor’s port town of Larena, memories of voyages past flashed back. The island sits midway between the Visayas and Mindanao. Oftentimes, traveling from my hometown of Iligan to Bohol would find our boat-laying anchor in Larena to pick up passengers and cargo. It was in Larena that I tasted the largest and sweetest duhat. At the pier, vendors sold common Pinoy travelers’ fare: boiled eggs, “hanging rice” (the pusô, rice cooked inside mini-coconut frond baskets), chicken and pork barbecue.

I’ve always wondered what lay beyond the pantalan. I grew up listening to stories of aswang, quack doctors, and kulam (barang in the vernacular) the province was supposed to be well known for. Were the stories true? If ever a spell was cast on me, it was my appreciation for the rugged beauty that Siquijor’s countryside and beaches offer.

This I discovered as the lapping of waves woke me up in my comfortable air-conditioned cottage at the Coral Cay Resort. I booked myself for a 2-days’ stay at the resort a few weeks before I left Toronto. Located in San Juan town some 30 minutes drive from Larena, Coral Cay enjoys good reviews from many foreign visitors (visit www.coralcayresort.com). It advertises itself as an eco-sensitive, environmentally responsible, low impact resort that blends

with its natural environment and people, a perfect place to simply relax, unwind, and chill out. And enjoy the resort I did, for a mere US$20 a day.

Since it was at the height of the SARS scare that I visited the island, there were not too many guests at the resort. But I’m not one to be affected by quiet and solitude (I traveled the length and breadth of England for almost 2 weeks hardly speaking to anyone unless I needed directions.). What could be more idyllic than an early morning walk on the beach, observing a few fishermen hauling in their catch of the day, the smoke of breakfast-in-the-making from nearby nipa huts reminding me that I was no longer in Toronto. I chatted with two women who were shucking sea urchins that eventually ended up on my luncheon plate for the cost of fifty cents. I paid them the equivalent of $2.00; think of what you will get for the cost of a Japanese uni dinner in Toronto!

Later at night, I sampled the American cuisine the resort boasts (the resort owners are an American expat and his Cebuano

See Siquijor on Page 32

Siquijor -- 2 days in a mystic isleBY RICARDO J. S. CALUEN

32 MARCH 2004 FILIPINO BULLETINPINOY: THE GLOBAL NOMAD! MARCH 2004 33FILIPINO BULLETIN PINOY: THE GLOBAL NOMAD!

GOOD FRIDAY FAREPretty soon it will be Good Friday, a time when traditional Catholics will obey the prescription of fast and abstinence. Abstinence basically means refraining from eating meat, while fasting means practically not eating at all. In this day and age the practice will sound absurd, unless one is a vegetarian or has found abstinence medically sound. Popular historian Ambeth Ocampo recently wrote an interesting piece relating how the Philippines was spared from following the European practice of going meatless all Fridays of the year, excepting Good Friday. He elaborated on the socio-economic realities at the time when Catholics started the practice where depriving oneself of something meant a lot.

If Mr. Ocampo went a little further with his investigation, he will also discover that there are philosophical underpinnings in the practice of fasting and abstinence. It is that with a renewed pervading influence of Greek thought just around the Middle Ages, the body was believed to be entrapping the soul that needed to be liberated. Thus, the more the body is punished and deprived of earthly pleasures, the purer the soul became. This is where you get the origins of self-flagellation (whipping oneself) and of clerics wearing sack cloth or undershirts with nails underneath their habits (the late Paul VI was known to observe the latter).

But even if Filipinos were to abstain from meat on Good Friday, we won’t exactly be left with dull and unexciting fare. Gilda Cordero-Fernando, writing in her book Philippine Food and Life, describes what Filipinos of a generation ago use to cook during the Lenten season. Remember the good ol’ combination of mongo gisado and paksiw na isda? In Laguna, the folks would fry fish (presumably from the lake) and prepare laksa, a dish of Malayan influence consisting of banana heart, stringbeans, eggplants, sigarillas, bataw and lima beans, and some sotanghon noodles cooked in coconut milk. One can actually go to an Asian grocery in Toronto’s Chinatown and get a packet of laksa mix, an Indonesian product bearing the same label. In the Filipino version, flavoring is provided by large-headed river shrimps with tiny pincers that turn red when cooked, according to Ms. Fernando.

Other popular Friday dishes include pipian dalag, a dish akin to kari-kari with its sauce of toasted, pounded rice and peanuts, without the vegetables. Of course, there is the easy to prepare bulanglang, newly picked garden vegetables boiled with a fish or sliced raddish sautéed in shrimps. In Mindanao, we would first broil the fish before adding it to what is a very soupy dish to Bisayans.

On Good Friday itself different regions have varying food preparations. Pagsanjan folks are known to cook binging baboy (literally, deaf pig) consisting of jackfruit buds cooked in coconut milk with a fish to flavor it. In more interior parts of the country with bodies of fresh water, some would cook tinolang daing na dalag (dried fish cooked in a soup with vegetables), or simply prepare sinalab ng dalag or inihaw na hito, or broiled mudfish and catfish, respectively. Perhaps across the archipelago fried lumpia, sans pork of course, would be a popular dish.

In Bisaya homes like mine, tabirak, or ginataan, would be a common item on the table. But I have never really particularly enjoyed having ginataan (jackfruit, ripe bananas, ube, etc.) as the only meal on Good Friday. Any fish dish would obviously do for me. For some reason, among traditional Bisaya families, fish may be cooked in any way on Good Friday except by broiling or grilling it. For some reason, it is taboo to cook fish in a manner that blackens it. Now, I still have to find out the philosophical import of this practice.

Have a meaningful observance of Lent.

ADVENTURES OF A FOODIE BY RICARDO J. S. CALUEN

The United Filipino Ethnic Community Association had a successful Valentines Day 2004 celebration last February 28 at the Haven Town Hall. Emcee Precy Beltran kept the party going, including the selection of this year’s Mrs. Valentine, Cristy Belisario, center. UFECA president Josie Mirabueno (left of Ms. Belisario) did her part, ensuring that everybody had fun and took to the dancefloor. Part of the proceeds of UFECA fundraisers are donated to worthy causes like the Hospicio De San Jose, an orphanage in Manila run by nuns.

Seniors celebrate Valentine’s Day

wife). It was definitely far better fare than what I had to suffer in Havana. I capped my evening with cognac (the resort has a well-stocked bar) and a Cohiba. The sight of a small Pinoy smoking a stogie intrigued another tourist who complimented me on my choice of cigar. Sorry, but I was just in no mood to socialize and cut short the small talk. Once in a while we do have to withdraw from the world to enjoy life in peace and quiet.

Not much of a swimmer nor a beach bum, I soon found my way around the island the following day just to soak in the local flavor. It does not take long to go around Siquijor and its six municipalities. It was easy cruising for me, thanks to the driver I hired, Clyde of Clyde’s EZ Ride Service. For around C$50, Clyde can show you around to enjoy the island’s rugged topography of limestone rock material, mangroves, white sandy beaches and, if you dive, coral reefs. Along the way, we dropped by a Swiss inn that served a lot of what you’ll find in a regular European menu. As a footnote, I checked out an art gallery just at the outskirts of Larena called Isla de Fuego, the old name of Siquijor. Visiting the website www.mysiquijor.com recently, I just learned that it’s artist/owner is none other than a painter whose I career I helped launch when I used to curate the Galeria de Iligan years back!

Life in Siquijor could be a little tough for the natives because of its topography. Much of the island is made up of limestone, the interior hilly and mountainous, making

farming difficult. It is perhaps because of this that many Siquijodnons migrate to neighboring provinces in search of the proverbial greener pastures. The local folks are of a hardy stock known for their religiosity, sincerity, industry and hospitality. When I visited the provincial capitol to ask for tourism materials, someone readily helped me with photocopying a few pages. Recalling his name plate on my out, it turned out that he is a Provincial Prosecutor and not just any admin guy.

Siquijor is one province in the country where there seems to be a big number of foreign nationals calling it their new home. This is a testament to the allure of the island and its people. One such fellow is a gentleman who I befriended on the internet as I prepared to visit Siquijor. He calls himself Siquijor Gary. He is an American from Indiana (now, I don’t know if he lives in Gary). Gary so loves the place he maintains a website that offers an extensive network of links on Siquijor. Check out www.mysiquijor.com The website also hosts some of the photos I took of my visit to Siquijor. Gary has his own story to tell elsewhere in this issue.

I could have stayed longer in Siquijor but the Banaue Rice Terraces were beckoning. And it would be quite a trip to get to Northern Luzon from the Visayas. I was glad I finally fulfilled a childhood dream of exploring Siquijor on my own. And the only thing spooky at the time was the thought that I could have brought SARS to the island since I was feverish the night I arrived in Larena.

Siquijor from Page12

Toronto Golden Vision Lions Club celebrated its 10th Charter Anniversary Night on March 6 at the Capitol Banquet Centre. The Lions were all dressed to the nines for the occasion as if to impress the elegant guest speaker of the evening, Consul Indhira Banares. Lions all over the world aim to make a difference in the lives of people in their respective communities. The Toronto Golden Vision Lions Club has been extending assistance to various causes in the Philippines like the Elsie Gaches Village and the Ladies’ Association of Charity in Cebu. The groups has sent medicine and hospital supplies to hospitals in San Miguel, Bulacan; Ibaan, Batangas; Capiz, etc. As club president, Mariano Ben Matugas has been effectively encouraging his members to work harder to meet goals set for 2004.

Roaring for 10 years