Bapa's Notes

TRAVELOGUE

At Colon, Cebu City

 

    It is so hot out here. Heavy traffic seems a perennial problem of all big cities in the country these days. I am walking briskly to catch up with the city dwellers’ natural pacing. I was here twenty- three years ago. Much has been changed. One cannot visit Cebu without walking through old Colon Street. It was in 1989 when I visited this spot.

 

    During those days, Metro Gaisano was the landmark building and the dominant edifice here then. But today, there are numerous modern skyscrapers that surround the area. Somebody jocularly noted that the Gaisanos are from Bohol and they are Boholanos for that matter. I readily disagreed, knowing that the Gaisanos are Filipino Chinese and also considered by many Cebuanos as pioneer-entrepreneurs of Cebu. My friend reminded me that all Boholanos cordially called each other as “Sano”. That’s why GaiSano is indeed a Boholano.

 

At Pit-os, Cebu City

 

    The place of my cousins is elevated. I reached the place at 8 o’clock in the evening. I passed through the gates of Camella homes, although my relatives were not residents of Camella homes. Their settlement is surrounded by two well known developers, Sta. Lucia and Camella.

 

    It was nighttime and at the top of the mountain of Pit-os and Pulangbato, I see the well lighted bay areas of Mandaue and Lapu Lapu up from here. It is good scenery up from here, lights from moving sea vessels, and there are also flickering lights from numerous skyscrapers crowding over the city. The lights are like fireflies in the darkness, unceasingly blinking; a pleasant sight to see. My only problem right now is this uncharged low power battery pack of my CP. The last time I sent them an SMS was during my mounting on the PUV from Ayala Center of Gen. Mc Arthur Avenue bound for Pit-os.

    Our clans were highlanders and they were already in this place maybe long after the Spanish settlement was founded in Cebu. It’s a thrill to know all these things. Revisiting my family roots, listening to old folks’ tales, the names, the dates, and their stories were all like humming, and echoing from the distant past. It‘s overwhelming indeed to know all the facts.

    Here is something I accidentally discovered about my old folks' place in Talamban, cited by a tarpauline, publicly displayed inside Lapu-lapu's Museum and  is worthy of study and scrutiny. This document can also be verified from the archives of the private institution, the owner of the tarp displayed in the site of a constructed replica of the Parish of San Juan Bautista inside the Museum's compound.

    At the Hall of Talamban, the epitaphs of two great local heroes are being displayed as a tribute to them, namely Capt. Basilio Bontoyan Bordalba and Sgt. Antonio Bontoyan Bordalba. They fought against the Japanese Imperial Army during WWII, and old folks referred to them as fearless guerilla fighters of Cebu. They were brothers of Lola Celing, my paternal grandmother.

MEN ON AIR

             At 20,000 ft altitude and cruising at the speed of 480 KPH, a lot of things come into mind, while sitting inside this one hundred sixty two-sitter capacity airbus, I think about my family-the kids and my wife, and I considered this as the farthest distance I was momentarily and physically away from them.

     I peeked through this square- foot double fiber glass window and I get a full view of the left wing with its mounted jet engine. There is a very fine weather outside, good for travelling. I get a clear aerial view of the mountainous part of Northern Mindanao –the Agusan region.

     Two well –experienced pilots are nesting inside the flight deck right now and the complexity of the flight control of this airbus is borne by them.  They are surrounded by electronic and computerized equipment which provides information regarding navigation, speed, altitude, landing, and engine performance. Inside our cabin, there are three amiable female attendants, always reassuring us of safety and an enjoyable travel.

     Before each flight, a normal scenario can be considered: One pilot, a family man, at 2400 HR before his scheduled flight, he dined together with his family on their sumptuous breakfast. He talked and listened to his wife. He asked his daughter about her performance in school. He also made query about his son’s studies. He was elated to hear about the perfect score his son got in a short quiz in Mathematics done a week ago.

     At the living room, he cuddled with his children; he teased his daughter about her crush in school. He checked and repaired the plumbing of their shower room which his wife complained to him, more than a week ago.

     At 0600 HR before his flight, inside their study room, our subject prayed together with his family and kissed them goodbye. While on his way to get inside on his 2010 Ford Everest for his drive towards the airport, his son reminded him about the pasalubong from Cebu while his daughter with eyebrows queerly moving up and down interchangeably on her temple, she gestured for her new Laptop computer which she constantly begged for our subject to buy as a gift for her. His wife smiled as she observed at her children’s mischief.

     At the cockpit, just barely 0045 HR before takeoff, the two pilots, our subject and his co- pilot shared stories about their bonding time with their respective families. They intermittently laughed together as they exchanged stories about their children’s triumph in school and of his co-pilot’s son winning an inter school amateur tournament in Taekwondo.

     At 0030 HR, the flight crew announces for everyone to fasten their seatbelts, and our subject and his co-pilot were inside the cockpit silently praying together with their flight attendants.

     The voice in the PA awakened me: “We are now descending and passed 29,000 ft level and ready for landing, please fasten your seat belts.” Finally, we landed safely at the Cebu Mactan International Airpport here in the Queen City of the South.

AT THE BACLAYON CHURCH MUSEUM

    Founded by two Spanish Jesuit Priest, Fr. Juan de Torres and Fr. Gabriel Sanchez in November 17, 1596, and considered as the oldest Catholic Church in the Philippines and perhaps in the whole continent of Asia, and known to be the bastion of Catholic faith in the Eastern world. For a cheap entrance fee of Fifty pesos, one can view inside the Baclayon Ecclesiastical Museum and have a glimpse of those old brass religious relics used by the early churches that dates back more than five centuries ago.

    Taking of pictures and videos inside the museum is strictly prohibited. However, I observe that there are some unruly visitors who cannot obey the simple rule of keeping their digital cameras temporarily tamed while inside the Museum.

    I was amazed to see these polished slabs of hardwood flooring inside the museum. I surmised that these are ironwoods riveted on the floor joist below.

    At the extreme left corner of the primary chamber of the museum, there is a wooden box, towering 9 ft high, and with a two-door closet. Inscribed on its header panel are Spanish words: “Archivo de Certifico”. It contains records of baptismal certificates, and death certificates that dates back as early as 1600s! They were using parchments and Chinese scribbling materials.

    In early Spanish time, the community life of our countrymen always revolved around on their religious duties in the church. Their yearly activities were always centered on church activities such as festivities in honor of the patron Saints, observance of the holy week, and other holidays that were all sanctioned by the Catholic church.

    At the middle of the main chamber of the museum are two Latin Bibles being opened and placed on rostrums with a note on top: “Please do not touch”. These objects were considered as sacred  and the common parishioners were not allowed to read these writings not even to look inside on these. In the past, the Spanish friars have kept these writings away from ordinary parishioners since nobody could understand Latin writings except they themselves who were thoroughly schooled in two dominant languages then-Latin and Greek-which were used in all their religious writings. Although in England, an English martyr by the name of William Tyndale was executed for his daring act of translating the Greek New Testament bible into the common English language then. Although seven years after Tyndale’s death King Henry VIII had commissioned the British Empire to translate the remaining un-translated Latin and Greek bibles into what was known as Matthew Bible, which was used as the base translation of our modern King James Version bible.

    At the last chamber before one could exit from the Museum building, there were old monochrome photographs displayed, the theme of these pictures centered on various church activities on different times in this old Baclayon church. The oldest photo was taken for the summer activity of Flores de Mayo dated May 1939, and with a two beautiful debutantes leaning against their Karosa. These are priceless documents and historical objects that one could see inside the Baclayon Ecclesiastical Museum in Bohol.

    Our National History can also be appreciated not just on the written documents being encrypted in our college textbooks, but also on these tangible objects which are mute witnesses of the past events that have shaped our nation into its present condition.