A guy like me who had been accustomed to traveling or at least moving around then suddenly confined to a small city like ours due to circumstances is indeed torture. At the age of 19, way back on the end of the 80s, I was already roaming around the countries of South East Asia and the South Asian countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Hence every time there is an opportunity to travel I always grab it. This time it was to go back to my home province even if not in my home town of Besao (ay kateg kateg ad US) but at least in Mountain Province particularly Bontoc, the capital town.
That was last Friday until Sunday when I and my wife attended the wedding of Christy Mae Chees and Cyrus Car Pangespan in Bontoc Mountain Province. This wedding for us was very important as this in a way shows how far I and my wife have gone through. Christy Mae as a little girl almost 20 years ago was our flower girl when we exchanged our vows. And in the blink of an eye, she was now the one who tied the knot with her husband Cyrus. This is not to mention that the mother of the bride Vilma Fawayan Chees is a bosom friend of Irene, my wife. The two accordingly were so close during their younger years that many would call them twins as they were inseparable then.
Attending this kind of event, especially in a province like ours is always an opportunity to reconnect with people once we were acquainted with, known, or long-lost friends. Of course most of them were people we got to know when I was an active media practitioner. While I could not enumerate all those we met during the wedding (yes they are also among the principal sponsors or ninongs and ninangs), some prominent names stand out. Very prominent among them was Manong Ben Feken whom we have been with here in ZigZag Weekly before. A very good columnist and news writer, Manong Ben as we call him may have become a semi-hermit now in his orchard and vegetable farm in Barangay Maligcong Bontoc by his narration when we were talking at the Church, and during the onslaught of the pandemic.
I am much honored that this time I became the compadre of Shihan Julian Chees, a former World Karate Champion who is now based in Germany and a well-known philanthropist who never forgot his Igorot roots. Shihan Julian Chees is one of the famous Martial Arts practitioners from the Cordillera.
Then comes Bontoc Mayor Jerome Tudlong who I was happy to know he still recognized me even after more than 20 years of not meeting each other. “Do you still recognize my face? I asked him the moment we saw each other before the start of the church service. “Of course, I was with you in Zigzag before,” he said laughing. Mayor Tudlong was one of those students who spent their “internship” during their college days at ZigZag Weekly. After more than 20 years, he is now the Chief Executive of this capital town of the only province in the country with an English name, Mountain Province.
Then there is Provincial Board Member Ezra Gomez along with his pretty wife Dr. Diga Kay Gomez.
While Ezra Gomez was a three-term member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Dr. Diga was the Municipal Health Officer. I remember that during the “Am Amung” festival of this town in 2015 when we brought the first Mix Martial Arts Tournament in Bontoc, Dr. Diga Gomez personally stayed at the cage side as tournament physician of course with the assistance of her EMS team. Yes, to those not in the know, Ezra was the son of the late Governor Jaime Gomez. Upon seeing me, Ezra the politician that he is was saying many things that I seem to understand, hehehe.
Among the first people we saw were former Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey, and Atty. James Kiat-ong, the former legal officer of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and some other guys who I cannot recall. Of course Atty. James Kiat-ong is a Baguio based practitioner hence we often meet each other around.
On the part of my wife, she was able to see many of her relatives not only from her mother’s side who hail from Mainit, Bontoc but also from her father’s side who hailed from Belwang in nearby Sadanga town. More importantly, she was able to have a short moment of bonding time with her bosom friend Bilma and husband Christopher Chees (also the principal of All Saints High school) despite their busy time for the occasion. And of course with some of her batch mates at Easter who include Episcopalian Priest Rev. Benedict Fawayan, Atty. Dickson Maraneg and formerly Ms. Kath Leen Fermin. Katleen volunteered to act as our tour guide and even brought us to visit my friend Dexter Garado (also known as Ka Sungar), but I would like to talk about that visit next week. Thank You very much Christy Mae and Cyrus Paul for having us as part of the start of your journey as husband and wife.
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