By Penelope A. Domogo, MD
I was blessed to attend the Thanksgiving Mass of the 22nd Founding Anniversary of Kalinga and its First Bodong Festival. It was held at the Provincial Capitol grounds in Bulanao overlooking the heart of Tabuk (now a city), that is Bulanao and Dagupan. While the service was going on and while listening to Governor Baac speak, I realized that Kalinga is indeed so rich. Of course, I know that Tabuk is the rice granary of the Cordillera. The day before, my brother toured me and my sister in the capitol grounds and we viewed the vast valley that has made and is making a lot of people, especially Igorots, progress economically. But Kalinga is not only Tabuk. The day before our city tour, we had a health mission in the beautiful upland village of Ngibat, Tinglayan. There, we felt the warm hospitality of the people. We witnessed the unity and cooperation of the villagers. We saw how strong and hard-working they are, just like other peoples in these mountains. And as we travelled the winding road from Poblacion to Ngibat, we discovered and were awed by the vast mountain network of Kalinga. Truly, Kalinga is so blessed – it has towering mountains still with forest cover and the vast fertile valleys, watered by the Chico River and its tributaries.
Tabuk is dear to my heart. Before martial law (1972), I spent so many summers there with Mom and Dad and my siblings and
Alapo (grandfather) in Dagupan and “pasto”. Alapo was among the first iBesao to venture to Tabuk before 1950 in search for arable land. Besao has so limited land. Tabuk then was marshland and malaria was prevalent. Many were afflicted and Alapo was not spared. His bouts with malaria would recur again and again. Thankfully, he was strong and would overcome it.
Going to Tabuk then was a novel experience. There were “gates” at strategic areas – if I remember right, there was a gate in the DPWH compound in Caluttit, the next one was in Tocucan then Gawa, Ampawilen, Mamaga, Bugnay, Maswa and so on. The gatekeeper would stop the bus and call “over, over” to the next gatekeeper if the road was clear. If that gatekeeper has let a vehicle pass through, then we wait for it to arrive (“ma-enkwentro”) before proceeding. The roads then were so narrow and ravines so deep that it was risky for vehicles to meet anywhere. These “gates” provided the safe meeting areas for vehicles.
Stop-over for meals was first in Lubuagan which seemed like a bustling town then. Then it was in Cagalwan and I remember the tasty “kardis” in the menu.
Those summers in Tabuk were carefree. We would ride the calesa which took us to places like Nasgeban, Ipil and Laya and Bagwang. Laya, then, had a dirt road and seemed so far away. I also have fond memories of Calanan because there were pomelos and mangoes and coconuts. We have a lot of relatives and kailyan in Tabuk, many of who are also neighbors and we felt at home. Then, we already felt the ethnic divide. I knew that there were Ilocanos. Although Tabuk is the capital of Kalinga, “Tabuk” for us meant Dagupan, Bulanao, Calanan and Liwan and Babalag and Pinukpuk where the i-Aplays (or i-western) were. “Kalinga” meant the upstream villages like Pasil, Lubuagan and Tinglayan. Later, there were problems of peace and order and thus we were not keen on visiting Tabuk. Besides, my parents were older and travel was tiring because the bus had to do a roundabout in Isabela. Furthermore, Alapo died. He was in “pasto” when he had a severe case of mushroom poisoning that he wasn’t able to make it to the hospital.
Fast forward to 2017. It’s twenty-two years since Kalinga was made a separate province from Apayao. Travel time to Tabuk from Bontoc or elsewhere has shortened. Save for a few stretches, the Bontoc-Tabuk road via Kalinga now is a beautiful well-paved two-lane road with the most picturesque sceneries. I really love this route. Colorful rice terraces, Sleeping Beauty with or without her foggy blanket, rainforests, giant acacia and other trees along the road and Chico River, waterfalls, rustic communities of clustered houses. I am always amused by the chubby piglets scampering to safety as we pass and the occasional “baniyas” crossing the road. The “gates”, of course, have been rendered redundant so are no longer there. Stop-over is now in Poblacion, Tinglayan.
Tabuk’s roads are likewise well-paved in many places including Laya. SUVs now ply its streets, along with tricycles. It’s easy to travel to a lot of the nearby places and there are many interesting places to explore like Mount Talama, especially that malaria is almost eliminated. One can also have a food trip as there are now many restaurants to choose from. Thank you, big brother, for the wonderful city tour! Sadly, though, Tabuk also is home to a lot of hypertensive and diabetic people.
Peace has been restored in the province, thanks be to God and to the peacemakers (past and present) and to the indigenous heritage called “bodong”, popularly translated as “peace pact”. I see the “bodong” as a peacemaking and peacekeeping process and institution between and among different tribes. I believe it is founded on mutual respect and word of honor. This practice had served Kalinga tribes and neighboring tribes well in the past to the present. It has done well for Tabuk and Kalinga and the Cordillera region as a whole. With peace, the youth can go to schools outside of their communities. With peace, people can find jobs outside the village. With peace, people can trade and interact freely. With peace, progress is not far behind. It is thus fitting for Kalinga to celebrate its founding anniversary with a bodong festival. Kudos to the leaders and people of Kalinga! The challenge now for them is how to marry progress and sustainability. With the improved road and information access to the outside world, we would love to see Kalinga preserving its rich indigenous heritage, the health of its people, its biodiversity, rainforests and clear waters. **
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“But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.” Psalm 37:11
