Ibuan Visit

I looked in consternation at Nanay Gloria who seemed to be “gliding” up ahead. In contrast, I trudged along, feeling my lower limbs getting heavier and stiffer by the minute. I tried to ignore the discomfort I was feeling as I tried my best to catch up. But, how can one catch up with a 54-year-old woman – with seeming wings on her feet - who have walked the same path day in and day out for as long as she can remember? :P

The purpose of the visit at Ibuan was for a photo-shoot of sorts. We are coming up with a story featuring women farmers just like we did last year. This time though, I wouldn’t be doing any writing. We have commissioned someone else for the task. I’m like facilitating the entire thing only. But yeah, the scribe in me couldn’t resist but still write about the whole experience.

We were to do a “day-in-the-life of Nanay Gloria” sort-of-thing. We are to describe and show through photographs and a supporting story what her typical day is like.

Nanay Gloria belongs to the Manobo tribe in Lanuza. Ibuan is actually a sitio, situated in the mountainous portion of Brgy. Mampi, Lanuza, Surigao del Sur.

The Mamanwa-Manobo settlement in Ibuan is an hour habal-habal ride away from the highway. Lanuza, on the other hand, is a 12-hour drive away from Davao City. Nonetheless, a 12-hour-seat-warming session is like a stroll in the park as compared to the 1 hour “total body work out”-habal-habal-ride.   By "total" body workout I meant: including hard to reach muscles and muscles you never knew you had. 

One has to endure the bumps and jumps of the motorcycle ride while holding on for dear life and trying hard not to look at the sheer cliffs that one passes on the way.

This particular “hike” is for a visit to one of Nanay Gloria’s farm. We were advised before-hand to take a motorcycle in going there. With our muscles still aching from the ride up, we opted to just walk the entire way. This, after Nanay Gloria also told us that the farm is less than a kilometer away. So we’re like, “Oh, okay. It’s quite manageable then.  Quite an easy feat.” Yeah, right :p

Half-way to the farm, we started to realize that what Nanay Gloria must have meant by “less than a kilometer” is actually equal to 999.99 meters :P We also failed to consider that the “walk” on the way there would require something more advanced than a leisurely walk. But yeah, we should have known better, judging from the habal-habal ride we took that morning.

It did not help that I was wearing jeans at the time, or the fact that I had on my aqua-terra shoes. I know I should have worn my hiking shoes but I thought it too “chunky” to bring along. Hiking shoes would have given me a better traction. The more this was emphasized to me the minute we entered the muddy trail of the “farm.” The holes of the shoes – which would have been particularly useful if one is strolling along the beach or river banks – were slowly easing in mud into the insides of the shoes. It made the entire excise “squishy,” and “sticky.” 

However, seeing Nanay Gloria so capable and having her story slowly unfold, soon made me forget the discomfort I was feeling. I’d take the mud, the agony of trudging up the trail anytime, if only to hear her story and the learning it entails for me.

Once again, I am reminded of how blessed I am in so many ways. Here I am who is fortunate enough to be involved in things I’m passionate about and which I find meaning in, helping me define who I am. Several women out there, especially those in the rural areas, have to contend with a lot of things just to get through another day. It would seem that their world -- compared to mine -- is very “limited” (for lack of a better term). There are several opportunities open to me. I get to go places. I am not confined to my home or to a circumstance that is “invariably” defined.

I remember how surprised I was to find out that some of these women have never really been anywhere. At some level I “knew” that? But, hearing it as a first-hand account shared to me was entirely different. But yeah, the world of these women is also slowly expanding. They are far from being “isolated” these days. Last year, electricity has finally reached Ibuan. Since the area is too remote however, their television could not pick up any channel or station. They had to make do with pirated DVDs and videoke as a way of opening up themselves to the outside world. In this visit, however, I noted a satellite dish perched on the roof of the community’s public Elementary School. They now have access to “cable” TV. Imagine that.

In one of the households we visited, we chanced upon a flat-screen television. A colleague of mine, Dante, and I nearly fell off our seats when we were told the TV set costs 49 grand. I ruefully recalled our own set back home that cost hubby merely a pittance in comparison. He bought it as a gift for me some Christmas from way, way back. Dante shared how their own set is just a slight upgrade from mine and how his wife often tells him that they are not buying a new one as long as “people” still appears on the screen. 

There is no judgment or censure here though. I too have my own whims. There are things that I splurge on like books, educational toys, some good clothes and “special classes” for the kids. I guess, we really just have different priorities. And to me, I am learning a lot from all of this.

In hindsight, I figured, television, cinemas, theaters are something I can have at anytime back home. Naturally, I don’t see the need to buy myself a TV set that would cost me an entire month’s salary. But for our brothers and sisters up in the mountains, television is a way of expanding their horizon. It is like their “ticket” to the world out there. It is like a “plane ride” that takes them to other places. So yeah, looking at it that way, 49K could be considered cheap. Besides, they work so hard just have that sum of money. They farm, they toil, invest time and money to ensure a good harvest. In other words, they did not steal from anyone just so they could provide “luxury” for themselves.

The same could not be said of our unscrupulous politicians out there. Shame on them! I wish these so-called “policy-makers” and chief executives should be REQUIRED to spend some immersion-cum- internships in far-flung communities at the start of every term. They should be made to ride a habal-habal too to get to the areas of their isolated constituents. That way, they would not be so far removed from the realities being faced by the poorest of the poor of our fellow countrymen who have very little access to resources and everything. That way, they would think twice about lining their own pockets with the people’s money :p Or, of ordering a thousand dollars worth of dinner when they go to trips abroad! Just my opinion :P