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| AGUMAN MEDICAL MISSION - 4 |
| BY ERNIE C. TURLA, president, Aguman Capampangan |
Before I ventured into writing an account of our medical mission for
2003, I thought of just copying one of my previous articles and just
change the names and dates :) After all it wouldn't be plagiarism when
you copy from your own writings, and also, we've been having a medical
mission every year during the last four years, and it has become a
routine operation now quite familiar to everyone. But on second thought,
I realized that we change system each time to improve our modus operandi,
and each had a story of its own. ( For instance, while in the past we
brought with us the medicine in balik-bayan boxes and the mayor of
Magalang who used to be a customs commissioner would meet us at the NAIA,
this time, we sent it via door-to-door, and all the boxes were already at
our headquarters or central location when we arrived.) Hence, my writing
an original piece, which unfortunately, won't even perhaps find itself in
print in our beloved community paper, MagNet, it having been put on hold
temporarily pending the much needed support of subscribers and
advertisers.
So, where do I begin, says Carl Sigman in his song, Love Story. Maybe
on the day we left for the Philippines which was on Christmas eve. You
see, members of the medical mission (heretofore to be just referred to
as MM) left on different dates and came back to the US also on different
dates. Although the actual mission was to be undertaken on January 5 to 15,
my family departed early, because Angie had been requested to stand as
one of the sponsors to the wedding of a nephew scheduled on Dec. 28. There
were 27 of us here in the party bound for Cebu City where the big wedding
was to take place. We were all together in the same flight - me, Angie,
daughters Eileen and Kathy, and daughter Pam, her husband, Jonathon, and
granddaughter, Hannah. We rode a jumbo Cathay Pacific Air Line which was
jampacked with passengers homeward bound for Christmas. In an unplanned
schedule, the plane first had to make a stop-over in Seoul to refuel. As
a result of the de tour, when we got to Hong Kong, we were not able to
catch our connecting flight there to Cebu. Having missed it, and since
there was just only one flight to Cebu per day, we were given free
accommodations in nearby Regal Airport Hotel. Being there for over 24
hours, we took advantage of it by making it worthwhile. We rode a double
decker and cruised through much of Kowloon and were able to do some
sightseeing. We also took a bullet train to see other places there
including the park where Filipino domestic workers were known to gather
every weekend. Our having been stranded there was certainly a blessing
in disguise.
The following day we flew directly to Mactan International Airport, and
were driven from there to the twenty-one story Golden Peak Hotel in the
heart of Cebu's downtown area. (There are now two bridges connecting
Lapu-lapu's Mactan to Cebu, and the twain now just appear to be just one
island.) The weather was clear, with an 85 degree temperature (compared
to Portland's then which had near freezing temperature when we boarded
the Alaska bound for L.A. We had a good night sleep, and the following
morning after breakfast, there was the wedding in a church where a couple
of weeks later Gloria would also be there to stand as sponsor to another
wedding. The reception was held in a real big and elegant place whose
name I have forgotten, and the food was a-plenty. The following day all
27 of us from the U.S. plus some Bonifacio relatives from Pampanga went
on a trip to the nearby island of Bohol. We boarded a ferry (they also
frisked passengers for weapons) that was modern and much like the ones
we have here, and it took one and a half hours to cross the strait.
In Bohol we were met by our tour guide who led us to a charter bus.
She was very knowledgeable about history and other stuff, and along the
way from Tagbilaran, the capital, she would be telling us bits of
history, such as the Blood Compact between Legaspi and Rajah Sicatuna,
etc. Along the way we stopped at an old church whose relics and antique
designs had been preserved and maintained by the people through the
years. We stopped by a place with a souvenir shop and where tarsiers
(the smallest primates on earth - just as small as mice) were displayed
and for people to hold and have their pictures taken. We were taken to a
winding road that zig-zagged here and there and where we got to behold
the much talked-about Chocolate Hills which unfortunately were still green
with grass (instead of brown) because of the season. We also got to go to
an underground cavern where there were stalactites and stalagmites similar
to the one we have in (Cave Junction?). But the most thrilling part of
the day's journey was that picnic we had along a river decked with lush
vegetation on both banks. The conveyance which took us to a lovely
waterfall was actually like a raft, with its bamboo floor placed over
four large bancas held together and which were propelled jointly by just
one motor located astern. It was decorated with flowers and accentuated
with some native Filipino touch. Tables were arranged in the middle, upon
which singed banana leaves were laid and where a sumptuous Boholano feast
composed of five or six delicacies were served. Each of us was given a
young coconut (buko) split into halves and we just practically devoured
its meat and its refreshing juice up to the last drop. On top of this,
we were entertained by a couple of guitarists who sang folk songs and
popular oldies (mostly country music) non-stop.
It was quite an unforgettable experience. We spent the night at a cottage
fronting a beach with white sand, and during the evening we had a big
outdoor dinner near the beach, and during which a folk singer sang for us
Yoyoy Villame's popular ditties. During daytime the following day, the
kids took a boat trip to Sapanglaw island where they enjoyed snorkelling
in shallow water, and where they stayed overnight. We stayed for two
nights there and then made our way back to Cebu via the same ferry, and
also stayed in the same hotel we were at on our first day there. It was
there where we spent New Year's and we got to watch the fireworks from
our balcony on the sixth floor.
While there, two big blasts had happened even before the blast on New
Years Eve. First, it was the blast on the Marcos monument in the Ibaloi
ancestral land not far from Baguio. The second one was the blast echoed
by the declaration of Gloria during her speech on Rizal Day in Baguio
not to run for reelection in 2004. My family and I stayed in Cebu for
some more days after that, while the others flew to Manila and headed for
the province. We visited the church there, as well as the site where
Rajah Humabon was supposed to have been baptized by the Spaniards. We
went to the Waterfront Hotel and had lunch there, then went to the
tourist spots such as the Plantation Bay Resort and the Maribago Blue
Water Beach resort (where we ate a lobster dinner) which could only cater
to tourists (there were many Japanese there), because each cottage cost
$160 per day. The following day we were given a ride by the in-laws of
our nephew to the town of Carcar, and then to the other side of Cebu
island, to a coastal town called Moalboal. There we stayed for a day in
its nice resort, before going back to the city and then flying to Manila.
That was on January 4, just a day before our MM was to start.
While in the central plain of Luzon, we stayed at Day's Inn in San
Fernando near the Paskuhan Village. It was a convenient place for us to
be picked up by Rudy and Frida who did not have to drive a very long way
from their hometown of Magalang. Because the kids were not a part of the
MM, we let them go with our relatives to places like Subic and Clark.
Every afternnoon, however, we would all go shopping at nearby SM mega
mall and at Robinson's and ate at their promenades which had common
areas for eating. Although for us, stateside people, the food was
kind of inexpensive, I'm sure most people there could not afford the
prices there, and yet the place was teeming with people. (Salesgirls
just make 80 pesos a day, for instance, so how could they afford to eat
a 200-peso meal?) And oh yes, at the cinema of SM Pampanga, we got to
see the movie which had won "best picture" -the movie "Mano Po"
starring a pretty young dramatic actress named Ara Mina.
We also got to go to my hometown, Lubao, and saw the improvements made
on our old church and its patio on account of being the venue of Vice
Gov. Miguel Arroyo's wedding last May. (It was also there where we
celebrated our silver anniversary more than eleven years ago.) Anyway,
I was there just to get my baptismal certificate in compliance with the
requirement of Social Security which was handling my application for
Medicare. However, I was told that they were now being obtained at the
seminary in San Fernando, near the Assumption University. Which happened
to be a good thing in as much as I got to meet and talk with our
archbishop, Paciano Aniceto. Some other stuff I got to do while there
was celebrating my birthday with friends and relatives at a new and
fancy restaurant on the Olongapo-Gapan Road, the Fortune Restaurant.
My friend, Josie Henson, who was the president of the Akademyang
Kapampangan took us to the Center for Kapampangan Studies at the Holy
Angel University and what I saw was very impressive. The history of our
province was portrayed in murals on varnished wooden walls, the
auditorium was very modern and they showed me there a video about the
province, the culture, etc. The curator was very glad to receive
copies of my dictionary and my anthology of vernacular poems.
While there we also had the chance to visit Dr. Evangelina Lacson -
the number one authority on Kapampangan and who, two years ago, led a
one-week seminar with the Aguman here in Portland and in the end,
formed the Akademya ning Kapampangan, USA and of which she appointed me
as president. The grand old woman (she's 86) showed us the upper floor
of her old Spanish-style ancestral house which she had converted into
some kind of a museum that contained books, letters, pictures and other
memorablia. She also showed us a picture taken just last November of her
and national artist, Nick Joaquin, during the latter's visit to her in
Magalang.
It's been awhile since we came back but I just did not have the mood to
write about these experiences though I would have written them promptly
if Ronnie, my editor, had given me the usual deadline. Now as I do all
this in just one sitting, I'm thankful to still be able to recollect all
these given the fact that I'm now kind of forgetful. And speaking of
forgetfulness, gee whiz, I forgot all about the MM, and I beg of you to
excuse me for having gone astray in my story-telling. I just get swept
away easily sometimes from the main path and that's what has happened
here. Well, well. So here we go, if your eyes are not tired yet.
The first town we went to was Floridablanca. This was on January 5, 2003.
So as you can see, this MM was really for this year. The group was
composed of me and Angie, Rudy Alejandrino (the MM chairman), Frida
Alejandrino, Ernie Dabu (coordinator), Helen Dabu, Art and Marita
Villanueva, Gerry and Zeny Pacis, Ellen Ramirez, Rose de Jesus and Mary
Balino. On our way there, being familiar with this town which I
frequented a long time ago, I volunteered to be the navigator and
lead the way. Once we reached the town, however, I could no longer
recognize the town proper, what with all the new and many businesses
around, more streets added to the old ones, and the many people and
vehicles there in what used to be a sleepy town! We had to stop twice
to ask for directions to Cabancalan - a barrio about three kilometers
away. When we got there, everything was already in place, as the
workers, including the barangay captain (we used to call this, a barrio
lieutenant), were already there waiting. The medicine had already been
sorted and the people in need of our service were already seated on the
pews (the locale was a chapel). However, because it was Sunday and for
certain reasons beyond our control, the activity for the day had to be
postponed unexpectedly and the barrio folks that came in droves were
told to just come back the following day. This sort of thing had never
happened in the past. Physicians were always handy. Shortly after we
left the place, we were taken to the home of one of us and we ate a
hearty lunch. On our second day, we had to divide our group into three.
One was to return to Floridablanca, another, to serve in San Jose,
Angeles City, where our MM was on that day scheduled as reflected in
our itinerary, and another, to the Pampanga Agricultural College in
Magalang to represent the Aguman in a ceremony. Those who went back to
Florida were Rudy, Mary, Ernie D., and Helen. It was reportedly
successful. Rudy said that there were three physicians that showed up,
and the people, about 300 in all, were looked after and given the
necessary medicine. Marita and Art, who went to PAC to attend the
inauguration of the college's infirmary also did a good job there.
Marita had delivered a speech that was well received. She told them
that the medical equipment that the World Medical Relief was sending
them was just delayed but was already on its way there by boat. (This
service we employed was separate from the regular MM, and we were just
acting as intermediary.) The rest of us, namely, me, Angie, Frida,
Rose, Ellen, Gerry, Zeny (the coordinator there) and Mr. Mamaril (he
came all the way from La Union) took care of the MM in Angeles. It was
done in smooth and orderly fashion just like in previous years. The
tables were set, medicine already assorted, four physicians were there
on time, as well as several nurses, midwives and social workers, not
to mention the many policemen and policewomen who were Zeny's friends
and who were there to provide security. On the wall over the door was a
large streamer welcoming the arrival of the Aguman Medical Mission
which was written in big blue letters on white background. The date
and time were included in the printed announcement, as well as the
local organization helping the Aguman sponsor it. About 350 patients
were attended to and it was a success. In appreciation to all the
helpers that made the humanitarian event a success, Zeny and Ellen
prepared a feast, complete with a large lechon, and it was like a
fiesta at the house they used to live in. And that was that for the
second day of the MM.
On the third day of the MM, we all went to Santo Tomas, altogether as
a group. Rose, being from there, served as the coordinator. All of us,
including Mr. Mamaril, were there. We were first entertained by the
mayor in his large air-conditioned office inside the municipal
building. While there we were served with pansit and drinks. One
surprising thing took place there. Ernie D. and Helen were married
the second time around, this time by the mayor, and all of us stood as
sponsors, and with each of us even signing the marriage document. Shortly
after that we all went to the outdoor auditorium of the town hall, where
our undertaking took place. The place was spacious, with a lofty roof,
and designed for activities rain or shine. Conspicuously posted on the
backwall of the stage was a streamer that said, "Welcome to the Aguman
Capampangan Medical Mission", and then the place, date and time.
Everything was done also in an orderly manner, with tables already
set, a couple of physicians attending to patients, several puericulture
nurses dispensing the prescribed medicine - it was like clockwork.
After the work was done, we were led to Rose's mother's house where we
were accorded with lunch before going back to our quarters to reserve our
energy for the next day's activity.
After those three towns, my family and I returned to the US happy
with the thought of having accomplished something humanitarian. The rest
of our group, however, continued to serve the six remaining towns,
including Aringay in La Union, where according to Rudy, we fell short
on medicine because the turnout happened to be more than what was
expected, but fortunately Mr. Simeon Mamaril, the coordinator, saved the
day by conducting a raffle with prizes to console the patients that they
failed to serve. In the days that followed, they were able to serve,
among five others, a remote barangay in Concepcion, Tarlac, another one
in Penaranda, Nueva Ecija, and another in Sta. Teresita, Batangas. So,
as one would see, our MM has expanded to include provinces outside our
sphere.
In our recent meeting I lauded the MM team for a job well done. I
emphasized the fact that it was a sacrifice giving their time to help
other human beings, people in need and whom they did not even know, and
endangering their lives visiting barrios in the boondocks where
untowards incidents sometimes could occur. "Yours was a heroic deed,"
I told them, to the applause of those in the meeting.
Are we going to have another MM next year? Only time will tell, and as Rudy
would say, "It all depends." For us who have gone through this more
than once, it was worth doing. If we had it to do over again, we certainly
would, and with all our heart and soul!
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