Mountaineering is not summiting in the Philippines

I Should have thought the same thing when I was a child

We are playing along the Tanudan river together with my friends when suddenly two American linguist appears from nowhere. It was our first time to see such white and tall guy with their big back packs and bright colored clothing a far contrast to us. We only had a shirt partly covering our body. Our penis swings in motion as we tried to jump along the river.We become a tail to this American linguist hoping they will give us some goods, money etc. We are amazed with their gadgets such as stoves, flashlights and two way radios.

Remembering from the past, mountaineering is not summiting. It has a broad sense of understanding. When I was a child, the mountains are my playgrounds. I was thought traditionally to care for the mountains, my playgrounds. Today that I am being exposed on the outside world, I have conflicting ideas on the implementation of their theoretical ideas with regards to the environment, we can’t impose our own modern solution or it will fail, what we need is to harness their traditional method. Anyway I will not waste my time discussing on environmental issues, I’d rather concentrate on mountaineering.

Hi-tech gadgets or fancy expensive clothes doesn’t define you as a true mountaineer. I’ve been to the mountains with only a bolo during my childhood and I am very happy with that. My fantastic goal of equipping myself with all available gadgets in the market makes me more sad. Today I realized how wrong I was, I am still longing for the enjoyment I had before, interacting with what nature has to offer as long as we are not depleting it.

Being hardcore among hardcores is not a pride or a prestige after all, Mountaineers are not define by their physical strength, we are defined by our emotional strength and the spirit that guides us in the mountains. I also believed before that my physical strength and the difficulty of the mountains that I will climb will define who am I, again “How wrong I was”

One thing important, in November 2008, I met Mr Jhong Navaro and Ms. Kely Austria, they claimed to be mountaineers but my rush judgement of treating them a mountaineer according to my observation is “How can these two guys claimed to be a mountaineers while in fact I questioned their physical capability to climb mountains” They laid their plans accordingly, an outreach mission in Lubo Tanudan Kalinga . During the day of the outreach, our truck broke down along the way. We have another truck behind us but I ordered everybody to walk, to test their physical strength. YES I was so rude during those time triggered by my ego that a mountaineer possess such extra ordinary physical strength, again!! How wrong I was!!!! This group TRAILS TO EMPOWER KIDS was motivated by their will to help unprivileged children on villages, they will sacrifice whatever they have just to reach their precious destination, and they will walk along rugged terrain just to share the true spirit of mountaineering. Today I strongly believed that “MOUNTAINEERING IS GIVING JOY AND HOPES TO THE TRIBES WHO CARES FOR THE MOUNTAIN THAT WE ALWAYS WANTED TO CLIMB, WITHOUT THEM WE HAVE NO JOY ON THE SUMMIT ITSELF”..yes I was once before a child in the tribe looking at the window with these mountaineers passing by going to my playground..I was awakened by TREK, the main objective is not the summit, but the people behind the summit.Physical strength is secondary to the heart. I have been in rigorous training when I was a cadet in PMA, but emo is more powerful.

Also with SAGKA-EARIST who opens the door for mountaineering exploration for KMS, without them I have no connection with the outside world..My status today doesn’t seem to reflect or makes people believed that I lived in a TRIBE..I am seven days old when I started my mountaineering journey,,see my previous blog http://kalingatambayan.multiply.com/journal/item/29/The_Sudden_Departure_Revisiting_it_through_Mountaineering_PART_1

"The Sudden Departure" Revisiting it through Mountaineering PART 1

Reminiscing from my past i came across an old magazine written by my mother during the summer institute of linguistics 1985. I know very well my story but the mountains i have been climbing from the past two years is the actual journey of my past life. I am 8 days old when they carried me in a sudden escape through the rugged mountains of Mt. Gimma, Mt. Kokok, Mt Alli, Mt. Tangob and Basecamp Mt. Patukan,I have some related articles entitled "FIVE BABY SUMMIT IN TRIBAL WAR TIMES".and, "A THREE DAY ESCAPE FROM DEATH" here is the original version of the story written in Lubo language with illustration and an english summary http://www.sil.org/asia/philippines/lit/kgh_Kattute_Awid_ya_da_udume_ur-ullit.pdf
.. Here is my mother account on my story.


The Sudden Departure
It was 8 in the morning on August 26,1982 at our house at Bulanao Tabuk Kalinga-Apayao when suddenly a group of young men from our tribe arrived while we are having our breakfast. They are in full battle gear informing us that they killed a certain man from ***** as revenged to our relatives who have been fatally wounded in Batong-buhay gold mines by a certain member of the ******* tribe.
During that morning we celebrated a Kalinga traditional ceremony called “Kontad” The Birth of the Child-
The birth of the child means the foundation of a real family life. It is the primary aspiration of Kalinga marriage and without it the marriage bond shall eventually undergo a very sad dissolution. As soon as the monthly flow of young married woman ceases, which means the beginning of conception, the house of the couple is closed to friends, relatives, and neighbors. The couple are forbidden to go to tabooed places such as marches, caves, known haunted forests, lagoons and springs believed to be the abodes of the "Paniyao" or evil spirits opposed to the birth of children. The diet of a pregnant woman is carefully prescribed. Morbid cravings are promptly attended to. Eating dark colored fruits which may cause unpleasant discoloration on the skin of the expected infant, must be avoided. All kinds of meats coming from animals butchered for funeral wakes are also tabooed for pregnant woman.
The birth of the child is announced with joyful ceremonies. Early in the next morning after the birth of the baby the grandfather or any elder in the clan goes to the main entrance of the village, any conspicous spot, shouting that the baby is born. The after birth is carefully collected, wraped in clean cloth and secretly buried. The younger mother goes to the spring early the next morning to clean herself. All along the way she scatters ashes to drive evil spirits who might smell her and lick her. On her way back home she does the same thing to repel these evil ones from following her home to do harm to her baby. Upon her return she is given soft rive and plenty of chicken broth to hasten her lactation. On the first or second day following the birth of an infant, the mandadawak is called upon to start the preliminary offerings to kabunyan and other lesser dieties overseeing the welfare and destiny of man. The kind and size of the animal offered is determined by the status of the deity concerned. The offering are repeated at intervals during the first six months. Ordinarily ten pigs and ten chickens of varying sizes are offered. The sacrificial animals are offered to appease the deities in order that they may protect the newborn child. During the entire period of sacrificial offerings called the "Kontad" or "Gabbok". When the time's finally decided to bring the baby to the river or nearby creek for the first time, A ceremony "Dupdupit" "Dupit" (means river bank) is performed.
The men who participated in the killing ate the food that we had butchered for the ceremony of the kontad which is not supposed to be because; it is a taboo among the Kalingas. After breakfast, my father heard some of the men saying "Moormot pay de utting nu te kinanni Kontad na ." “Your son in the future may lead some bloody headhunting expedition, because we ate his kontad.” Upon hearing these words, my father ordered us to pack all our belongings for evacuation to our native village in Lubo Tanudan Kalinga which is located approximately 28km from our house in Bulanao Tabuk Kalinga Philippines and it is only accessible 6km by jeep and a three day journey by foot in the rugged mountain of Tanudan Kalinga.
I have second thoughts of leaving the house because am too weak to walk, I just gave birth to our fourth child, our first born son. Despite all the pleadings I was forced to pack all our baggage because of fear that the other tribe will kill us.Due to the fact that during that time, the traditional rule applies “An eye for an Eye, A tooth for a Tooth.”
Suddenly the rented jeep arrived from Dagupan Kalinga to fetch us. I am trembling with fear because I heard some men saying that we should be vigilant and alert because we are imminent for any ambush on our way. Am too confused and exhausted thinking of my whole family and my newly born son. My husband too, fears the threat and he suggested to our companions to get some military escort from the barracks. The Constabulary commander then gave us two military escorts.
After about 10min from our journey the jeep broke down due to heavy mud caused by the constant rain. We are forced to abandon the jeep on the road. I don’t know what to do, we have a lot of baggage and no one would carry them. My brother in law and my husband’s cousin have to improvise ways to carry some if not all of our belongings. They cut some bamboos and tie our baggages on both ends. My husband too have a lot of baggage to carry. My 5 year old eldest daughter Gladys and 4 year old Heidi have to walk on their own. My 1 year old daughter is carried by my cousin “Illin”. With the muddy and rugged terrain, my in laws have to carry my daughters until the terrain becomes accessible for a child at their age. My son keeps on crying all the way, thanks for my relative Susan who carries him because I am too weak to walk.
On flat terrains my daughters always ask their uncles if we are already near the village, they always answer “Behind those mountains, we are near” but in reality it takes a three day journey by foot. “Amod pagay angiknaanni te lubok” “We feel torn down because the terrain is too muddy to bear.”
At noon we arrive, at Cogawe Tabuk Kalinga. We stayed at our relatives from Lubuagan Kalinga name Damgay. She cooked for us because we forgot our pack lunch at Bulanao . When the food is ready “Isuni pagay da angtan kanda aran we mangan” we are like ghost or aliens who didn’t eat for a long time”.
I thought we will continue our journey after lunch, but due to heavy rains we are forced to stay in their house. In the evening, it’s been a sleepless night due to fear of being ambush. My in laws, my husband, my relatives and my tribes mate are always awake during the night, in order to ensure our safety. But me too trembles with fear when I saw their guns, I am afraid that accidents may occur.
During that night, I am praying to God all the time, my son is suffering from fever. I am thinking to go back to Bulanao in order for doctors to diagnose my son, while my relative Dammay is very busy doing the traditional method of healing “Bagasibas” .(Bagasibas is a traditional healing composed of indigenous herbal medicine with some orations.)
Early morning we ate our breakfast and started our trekking. I know god answers my prayer because Nathaniel my baby is alright. Each of us carries his /her own baggage while the men who are already overloaded carries their gun. I am always suffering from fear because I can see my daughters being carried by the men with their guns. I am always praying to god to protect them from accidents. We are like guerillas on the trail, when we see some people approaching us on our way, we have to hide in ravines thinking they were the enemies until proper identification or any signal for us to show up, because we are very afraid.
The only consolation for my daughters, Gladys, Heidi, and Genevieve are the guavas along the trail, it boost their moral to keep going. When we reached Barangay Se-et, Tanudan Kalinga. Gladys keeps on talking that she is very proud that she can walk as easy as that, not knowing that we are approaching the worst of all the terrains. My daughter keeps on saying “yeah I can walk even it’s too far”.I am happy to hear that from my daughter but my teary eye is always pouring because my daughters are innocent of the challenges that we will be approaching..
Along the way, we met some strangers who are very curious about us especially my newly born son, they don’t know that we are escaping from a tribal conflict. At around 6pm we finally reached Barangay Se-et in Tanudan and we have to spend the night at the house of one of our relatives “Wannag”. Then suddenly some people from our tribe arrive to escort us.
Early morning I have to be carried out with a blanket attached to each end of a bamboo pole because I am already too weak to walk, and the rain is pouring heavily. My husband cousin’s Susan, carried my son. We arrived at a river and I am very afraid because the water level is almost above the waistline and the current is too strong. I am very worried for the two men carrying me because I am afraid we will be wash away by the strong current. I am also thinking for my son and my daughters.It is only when I am being informed that all of us cross the river safely that I have to take a deep breath.
We continued our journey assaulting steep and rugged terrains with dozens of leeches along the way that sucks blood from us. Every minute I am always praying to god. I feel dizzy because the blanket attached to the bamboo kept on swinging. When we reach flat terrains, that’s the time I can feel better. The guys carrying me are running, they keep on insisting that we have to move fast to avoid the other river from raising. When we reached “Alli” (A certain place along the road above Tatakkan) as if that all odds are against us. A sudden rain occurred Just like a hurricane that poured so much volume of rain and the wind is so strong, it is very cold and I am suffering from hypothermia. I can’t do anything but to pray. We have umbrellas but they are ineffective being blown by the strong wind. My husband have to provide plastic bags for cover. I just can’t imagine the ordeals, my son and my daughters are experiencing.
When we arrived at the river, they brought me down from the “Bulig”(Blanket attached to a bamboo pole). I have to breastfeed my baby because he is crying all the time, and my three daughters are crying begging for food because they are all hungry. When I saw my son, he is turning pale; his skin is turning into white. I am confused of what is happening. I breastfed him while an old woman is chanting some traditional practices to drive bad spirits from the baby.Others are very busy crossing the river carrying our baggages.
I was shocked when I saw the river, it is very muddy and the current is very strong. I have already accepted defeat that this may already an end given by god.
Everyone refuses to carry my son to the other side of the river, they only carry my daughters. I heard them saying “Amod makalipsanan ta kappos” (It’s too much we are afraid we will both be wash away by the rapids carrying a baby.)..When I saw Gladys, heidi and Genevieve at the other side of the river, I am half happy still thinking of my son, my only son at that time.
Then suddenly as if God heard my prayers, some people from our tribe came to the rescue with a rope and an interior of a tire. They tied me first on the interior then tied a rope in both ends of the river they pulled me up. Everybody wants my husband to carry my son, but when I saw my husband he is trembling with fear..The only person left at the other side of the Tanudan river is my husband and my son.I just close my eyes when they begun to cross the river, the rapids are eating them, my son was covered with blanket. Suddenly I heard some cheers saying “Ingadan tako pagungupong te utting te dinormang na dinakor” ( We will call the child PAGUNGUPUNG because he was carried across big waves and rapids )When I took the baby out of his
blanket I discovered that he had been
Carried across the river with his feet
Higher that his head. The old women said
That the baby should be called 'Pagungupung'
Because he was carried across the river when
I it was very high. They were all very
Thankful to have arrived home safely.

My love with "LOWE ALPINE"

Am sad dahil wala palang license distributor ng Lowe alpine dito sa pinas, even Malaysia kung saan my Kota Kinabalu....

I am being in love with this bag before, eto yung una nilang niregalo before i started my mountaineering journey.. until now i am using my old and veteran lowe alpine bag which was given to me as a gift from the US...still my favorite despite some branded bags from TNF or etc.. i love the suspension and comfortably of my old retiring bag Lowe...

I have seen a lot of Lowe alpine in Baguio wagwagan but they are all imitations..not only lowe but even other brands such as TNF and columbia..mga gawang china hehehe..

wala lang..wala lang din kasi magawa at maisulat hehehe

Over emotion acting with Cory?

Since the past week when the Late President CORRY AQUINO have been the frontpage and airwaves sensation OVER newspapers,television,radio and the net, I am now beginning to question the real intentions and stupidity of those who are over reacting trying hard to be emotionally affected while in fact they have their own agendas, here are some topics i want to digest;

WHAT IF CORY DIED AFTER 2010 ELECTION?
1. A lot of looser politicians will surely not attend the funeral or might even speak and criticized the former president, but since she (Cory) died before election, we see a lot of appreciation from former allies and critics of Aquino before..
2. They can no longer use the crowds for public appearance...or it might even be, their are no crowds after all..
3. The only people who will attend the wake are the sincere ones and true friends, allies, and the masses who sincerely supported both ninoy and cory.

Many of are fellow Filipinos are pushing some sort of things as follows;

CORY to become a national hero?

yes, regardless of status in life ,every single person who did something good for the country is a hero..but for my own opinion, CORY is very brave enough to fight against a wall (MARCOS)..and yes am not against it, By Ninoy through Cory we have restored democracy...

CORY to be paired with Ninoy in a Philippine Peso Bill?

Yes no big deal with that.Just a matter of remembering Cory who once stood 7 coup detat, and in recognition of his contribution to the country..

CORY to be honored as the best Philippine President being claimed by some politicians?

Big No...No need to elaborate..Am not against Cory but for comparison..am not really convince..every president has its own pros and cons but it doesn't make me convince that CORY is the best of them all...I go for Ramon Magsaysay,Diosdado Macapagal, Ramos or Arroyo instead..or even Marcos as one of the best..since we filipinos are always looking for the con side i bet many will react why i mentioned Marcos..

CORY to become a saint?
This is the stupidity of the filipino people..

Who are the real enemy of the state?

we are blinded with the propagandas of the enemies.. yes!! they are the enemies who seats in congress trying to use any legal means to battle democracy..Their main objective is to let democratic people fights against democratic people.believers of democracy fight against believers of democracy...And yet many people believes in this people because of their promises of an everlasting green green grass of home life..their leaders ride with issues that battles the government.Their leaders claims to represent the oppressed but they did nothing for the people.. they always support the underground and makes the people idiot inorder for them to execute their plans...they are the masters of deception..they go for the majority flying like an angel..but to hell with them!!!!!!Palparan is right shooting the deceptive flying angels.....and yet this angels would claim to the human rights commission that they are victims of AFP execution even if they die from natural cause such as tuberculosis..

Scholars no more?

This thousands of students will loose their dreams of pursuing and finishing their college education when the supreme court decided to reversed the cityhood of Tabuk Kalinga. Shown in this video are the LGU scholars of Tabuk Kalinga Province funded through the city budget but might be terminated when Tabuk will go back to it's Municipal budget..In the otherhand hundreds also have been laid off of their work in the Municipal hall due to the cityhood problem.

Mayor Bautista of Baguio city is the only Mayor that opposes the granting of cityhood to Tabuk in the Cordilleras. He signed and joined the league of cities who filed and opposed the cityhood of 15 municipalities including Tabuk to the Supreme Court..If you are a registered voter in Baguio, bear in mind what kind of a cordilleran bautista is.. 2010 might be the judgement day not from the supreme court but by the voters

Granting the cityhood of Tabuk to build a city

“The city, as one finds it in history, is the point of maximum concentration for the power and culture of a community. It is the place where the diffused rays of many separate beams of life fall into focus, with gains in both social effectiveness and significance. The city is the form and symbol of an integrated social relationship: it is the seat of the temple, the market, the hall of justice, the academy of learning. Here in the city the goods of civilization are multiplied and manifolded; here is where human experience is transformed into viable signs, symbols, patterns of conduct, systems of order. Here is where the issues of civilization are focused: here too, ritual passes on occasion into the active drama of a fully differentiated and self-conscious society.” from the Introduction to The Culture of Cities, 1938.

Today people think of a city with overcrowded structures and towers, where business is everywhere and every human need is provided. But what really our needs? Building a city is like building a house for our family. We start to look for a location, We say what we want and let Architects do the floor plan and house design, we finance for the construction, and let engineers and carpenters do the construction. Now we want to build a green city and one of the perfect location is Tabuk .Look at Tabuk today, we have 60m wide streets, wide land area to be transformed, very small numbers of squatters to be relocated and the perfect place to build a city.

Tabuk should be granted cityhood inorder for its dream to achieve a perfect city in harmony with the people and nature. Urban Planning and zoning had already been started in Tabuk, where Commercial areas, Agricultural Lands, Schools and churches, roads and drainages, recreational etc. are concentrated into one ideal site. If we call it a floor plan in architecture, it is Urban Master Plan in a city to be built. Imagine building a house and sketch the floor plans afterwards. Imagine designing a perfect Urban Master Plan in a city that is overcrowded and over populated, where many structures exist. This is the symbol of stupidity of some of the league of cities in the Philippines, and yet they claimed that they are cities, where squatters are everywhere, a city that is a flood zone because they didn’t even plan for a drainage system, a city of crime and violence, a city of prostitutes, a city whose sidewalks are the bed of its citizen during the night, a city of garbage. They are the cities of demolition and creation, where they construct projects and demolished it afterwards. These are the modern scammers because they destroy and build. Some of these cities have even been granted fertilizers while in fact they don’t have any agricultural lands; they are giving mercy to the street people and attract some other more from provinces. In short and simple language “a city of immorality and the symbol of poverty”. These are the problems of some big cities in the Philippines and the only solution is to create more cities, to provide the people with more opportunities and not to overcrowd them and let them die in hunger. These are the problems Tabuk City is looking forward to avoid.

Tabuk had already started to build a city and yet this League of Cities are the torns and obstacles for the people of Tabuk to achieve a peaceful and successful life. We have already our Urban master plan, we have engineers, architects, contractors and workers, but we don’t have the budget to continue the implementation if we lost our cityhood. It is not too late for the Supreme Court to reverse its decision, we don’t want Tabuk grow bigger and bigger without such planning and financing. We don’t want Tabuk be granted cityhood when illegal settlers and businessman flocks the Municipality of Tabuk and establish their businesses wherever they want The income of Municipalities should not be a basis, but of course it was the law. However it is not a guarantee to the people that high income cities have the most prosperous and successful citizens. Where there are prostitutes, criminals, street children, squatters, the poorest of the poor, and the elite of the elites, that is the impression of other cities in the Philippines.

With a 6-5 votes from justices The Supreme Court (SC) declared unconstitutional the 16 Cityhood Laws that were enacted by Congress to convert 16 towns into cities. This is an indication that our laws are not clear. They are made to be opinionated and each justices has its own interpretation of the law.

"Since the law is clear, plain and unambiguous that any municipality desiring to convert into a city must meet the increased income requirement, there is no reason to go beyond the letter of the law in applying Section 450 of the Local Government Code, as amended by R.A. 9009," the SC pointed out.

When the law is clear it should have been a unanimous decision. They should stop using the Phrase “When the Law is clear” because there are no clear laws after all. Each individual has its own opinion and interpretation of the law.

Lets give Tabuk a chance, in the future we will be very proud, head up and shout “WE BUILD THIS CITY!!”