Thursday, January 19, 2012

Street-dancing on Buenavista's Feast Day


Today's the Feast Day of Sto. Nino in Buenavista, Marinduque. Buenavista is the smallest of Marinduque's six towns, located on the southwestern portion of this island-province. Inhabitants of this town speak Marinduque Tagalog with a blend of Masbate and Romblon dialectic influences. Some of those living in the coastal areas trace their roots to Banton island in Romblon.


The 1,157 meter Malindig Volcano serves as its backdrop. 'Malindig' where 'Marinduque' was derived from  means steep and elegant. This year, the municipal government, in cooperation with the Department of Education and all the barangays decided to hold a street-dancing festival inspired by the many Sto. Nino festivals staged throughout the country, particularly those in the Visayan region, like Sinulog and Dinagyang festivals.






Tourist arrivals and tourism interest in this picturesque and quiet town has increased with the opening of Bellarocca Island Resort and Spa, a luxury resort in what was once known as Elefante Island.


This street-dancing festival was participated in by costumed grade school students from the town's 15 barangays and public high schools who danced in the heat to the rhythm of all types of drums. It was not intended to be a water-dousing festival, this one, but parents, teachers and plain watchers took turns dousing and sprinkling water on the dancers as a remedy for the soaring mid-day solar heat.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Biggel's home province of Marinduque



 Biggel photo: LBM Group

It is the home province of one of the most publicized Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) housemates these days, (landing at least four times as trending topic in Worldwide Trends), where he was raised by his poor grandparents - Joseph Biggel, Marinduque’s ‘promdihirang tisoy’. Few people know that Marinduque is also really the geodetic center of the Philippines. 

Atop a mountain near Balanacan Port is a marker appropriately marked as Station Balanacan, the origin of Luzon Datum of 1911. It is the mother of all datums in the country.



Also, the roots of various expressions of Tagalog culture, traditions, indigenous arts, including the language that originated here and has evolved into today's modern national forms, could still be clearly seen, heard and learned in Marinduque - yes, Biggel speaks that language throughout his stay at the famous PBB house.



In its long and colorful history, this island-province measuring only 959 sq.km. became part of Batangas, Mindoro, and Tayabas (now Quezon). By the 1920s an act separating Marinduque from Tayabas laid the basis for the island-province's existence as a separate province,  celebrated February 21st - off and on.



Marinduque is widely known for the colorful Lenten pageant, Moriones Festival, and for the fierce patriotism displayed by the revolutionary soldiers during the Philippine-American War in the Battle of Pulang Lupa and Battle of Paye, both commemorated annually, for sure.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Day Two of Marinduque Development Partnership Forum




On the second day of the Norwegian Mission-organized development partnership forum in Marinduque, ‘partnership’ in the context of the development work the NMA undertakes was defined. It is based on active and substantial participation of their chosen communities in the NMA programs – through community-based orgs (CBOs) -  from conceptualization to implementation, to the extent that the communities feel strongly that they own these programs and must see their fruition.


For any identified programs, the Mission sees to it that a staff or unit is assigned the task of coordinating such programs with its public and private sector partners until the appropriate technical support and/or funding, as the case may be, are obtained. 


Community-based organizations established under the sponsorship of NMA in the municipality of Buenavista are as follows: Sama-sama  sa Ikauunlad ng Ating Pamumuhay (SIKAP), Aktibong Nakikilahok sa Ikauunlad ng Brgy. Bagacay (ANIB), Pagkakaisa sa Kaunlaran ng Yook (PAKAY), Bagtingon Angat Kaunlaran Pagkaisahan (BAKAP), Samahan ng Magsasaka ng Tungib (SamaMagsasaka), Samahan ng Magsasaka ng Pinagbulugan (SAMAPI) and a new core group in Brgy. Caigangan.

Agriculture and livestock programs for the communities.

Coco- based processing (coco-sugar, coco-vinegar, etc.)

Construction of school buildings.

In Torrijos, there’s Sulong Malibago sa Kaunlaran (SUMAKA), Pagkakaisa Tungo sa Pag-unlad ng Dampulan (PAGTUPAD ), Samahan ng Pagkakaisa sa Pag-unlad ng Payanas (SP3), Samahan ng Makawayan Tungo sa Kaunlaran at  Pagkakaisa (SAMAKAP), Samahan i-angat Kaunlaran ng Talawan (SiKAT), and a core group in Brgy. Buangan.

Today's forum will end in a covenant of partnership among all of NMA's partners in development.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Norwegian Mission holds Marinduque Development Partners Forum




The Norwegian Mission Alliance introduced its ‘diaconal’ mission in Marinduque in 2007. That’s a role in the Christian Church generally associated with service to others to pursue a vision. The said NGO initially identified one barangay in the entire province that they considered the poorest – Yook in Buenavista. Certain sectors of the local community were vocal in their skepticism then that the NMA will ever get anywhere in its attempt to improve the lives of the un-empowered. 

“Many so-called NGO’s and even church organizations have made their presence in those poor communities for years, spending millions of pesos in health-related and livelihood projects but all that help did not make any difference in the people’s lives”, one religious leader openly stated in the introductory meeting organized by the NMA then.


But the unique NMA approach involved the creation of Participatory Action Research Teams in the community they want to support composed of community members with the potential to facilitate interventions and capacity to draw community support. Members were chosen from a cross-section of farmers, fisherfolks, women and youth and were trained by the Mission’s development team.



The NMA has since initiated development partnerships with other community-based orgs, with the local and national government agencies and the private sector, and today it has undeniably made headways in the identified barangays, the number of which also gradually increased. From barangay Yook, NMA expanded its work to other barangays in Buenavista town such as, Tungib-Lipata, Bicas-Bicas, Bagacay, Bagtingon, Caigangan and Libas – eventually moving on to the Torrijos barangays of Malibago, Talawan, Makawayan, Dampulan, Payanas and Buangan, to address problems that the said communities have themselves identified as those needing NMA intervention.



NMA has made headways in these communities in the area of health and nutrition, education and protection of children and livelihood programs. Some poor communities outside Buenavista and Torrijos eventually approached NMA for inclusion in the program. To explore possibilities of further strengthening partnerships with local stakeholders and partners, the Mission has decided to hold a Marinduque Development Partners Forum from January 12-13, 2012 at the 2nd Floor of DJ Plaza, Gasan. The forum will serve as venue for the presentation, discussion and assessment of previous development partnership initiated by the NMA and for strengthening of such partnership and collaboration.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Plain Biggel

Hello Philippines! Hello World! Ako si Biggel!
#3 in Worldwide Trends, #1 in Philippine Trends & #4 in Yahoo Trends Watch Biggel's dramatic moment with the PBB housemates.