Breathless in Yogya

I was in Indonesia for nine days last week for a vacation with close relatives. We spent six days in Jakarta and three in Yogyakarta (Yogya or Jogja for short) which was among the areas in Central Java hit by the killer earthquake in the early morning of May 27.

Yogya, an ancient capital city, is the cultural center of Java. It isn’t anything like Bali but it has its own charm and cultural richness.

The quake that killed some 5,000 people missed us by 38 hours. I do not want to imagine what it would have been like for us had we chosen a later date for the cultural trip there. The quake left many stranded as the airport runways were damaged. (Yogya is 50 minutes by plane from Jakarta.)

Back in Jakarta I had goose bumps when I saw on TV and in the papers images of death and destruction. Some of the places we had visited around Yogya had suffered damage, among them the Hindu Prambanan temples, a Unesco World Heritage Site 18 km. east of Yogya which is continuously being restored to their original grandeur. With the killer quake’s destructive sweep, restoration work has suffered a setback. But the destruction is nothing compared to the thousands of lives that were lost.

Built in the 9th century during Sanjaya Dynasty, the temple complex has hundreds of temples spread out all over but a dozen or so comprise the major ones. The three biggest for the Hindu trinity—Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma—form the centerpiece.


At night, the mutely illuminated temple peaks serve as backdrop to the open-air ballet version of the Hindu Ramayana epic that is staged regularly. On the temples are bas-reliefs of the Ramayana story intricately carved on volcanic rock pieces that fit together like jigsaw pieces.

The climb up the Shiva temple with its steep steps left me breathless but more breathless was I at the majestic Borobudur, a multi-layered Buddhist shrine that is also made from andesite or volcanic rock. Borobudur (budur means site upon a hill) was built between the 8th and 9th century during the Cailendra Dynasty. The massive solid structure serves up, again in bas-relief, the life story of the Buddha plus scores of see-through stupas and Buddha statues at the topmost level. Borobudur, with its onomatopoeic name, indeed shakes the ramparts of ones mind with its grandness.

My cousin (she who runs the famous Small Talk Café in Legaspi City that serves gourmet pasta pinangat) and I made it to the peak after clambering up the more than 120 steps. But so did my aunt and uncle who are on the far side of 70s. An aunt stayed down to simply gaze at Borobudur and stretch her mind to the peak where, on a clear day (or at high noon, which was when we made our ascent) one can see forever.
There are many other sites to visit around Yogya, among them the Sultan’s palace, which I think suffered some damage because of the earthquake, and, if you’re the pilgrim type, Sendang Sono, the ``Lourdes of Southeast Asia’’ 45 km. west of Yogya.

I didn’t expect to find a place like Sendang Sono in the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. But then Muslims do revere the Virgin Mary (whose birth and maternity are in fact written about in the Koran) so she is well at home in this faraway village.

One gets to the place via a seemingly endless road that snakes through a lush forest area. The Senda Sono centerpiece is the Marian grotto that is guarded by two ancient trees. Like Lourdes, it has its own spring water that is said to have sprung forth miraculously in the early days when a Dutch Catholic priest first settled there. Sendang Sono celebrated its 100th year as a pilgrimage site in 2004.

The place was so quiet and tranquil when we arrived there. As I watched the Indonesian men and women pilgrims who were seated so still on mats and praying so fervently with their eyes closed I couldn’t help but shut off the noise in my own heart. Sendang Sono was one of our last stops in Yogya before we flew back to Jakarta.

If I were not on a vacation mode, I would have interviewed Filipino ``expats’’ in Jakarta for a story for the Inquirer’s ``Global Pinoy’’ page. (Perhaps the Inquirer could send me there another time.) The so-called expats are the topnotch executives of foreign and Filipino firms operating in Indonesia. My cousin’s family is an expat family, her husband being head of manufacturing operations there of the Filipino pharmaceutical company, Unilab. My cousin and her husband both finished industrial pharmacy at UP.

I was able to meet the expat crowd at St. Theresia Church where masses for expats are regularly held. Many live very comfortable lives—big homes (some with swimming pools), expensive schools for the kids, first-class travel, all at their respective companies’ expense. And why not, they had to uproot themselves from their already comfortable niches in the Philippines. They also have to work doubly hard.

But still, their lot is a far cry from that of the OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) who are away from their families and whose salaries are a pittance when compared to the expats’ eye-popping package.

But Jakarta is not a hardship post. From the looks of it, it seems way ahead of Metro Manila in the infrastructure department, and all the amenities for the expats’ comfortable lifestyle are within reach.

But it’s not just the expats that are growing roots there. A great Filipino vision has taken shape in Indonesia. Gawad Kalinga (Couples for Christ’s action arm which I wrote about for the Inquirer’s Easter Sunday front page) has been building homes for the poor there. Many Filipino expats that belong to CFC are putting in their share of work.

A wonderful thing.

Culion: the nuns’ story (2)

This month and year, Culion Island in Palawan marks its 100th anniversary as a place where lepers of yore were shipped and confined for most of their lives. Culion, once the biggest leper colony in the world, is a leper colony no more. It is now a thriving island municipality. The new generation no longer bears the marks of the dreaded disease that medical science has finally licked. The scars are still there, but the place and its people have long begun the journey toward healing.

I was one of those who helped write the handsome coffeetable book ``Culion Island: A Leper Colony’s 100-Year Journey Toward Healing.’’ Here is the continuation of the excerpts from “The Nuns’ Story”, one of the pieces that I wrote.

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Newly arrived nuns reacted with the same fear. Sr. Maria Luisa Montenegro remembered her first day in 1940: ``My first day was a scary one. There was a patient whose earlobes were so long they touched his shoulders. He had no nose, only two holes on his face, and no fingers, only the palms of his hands. The other patients were in different stages of deformity. In spite of their handicap, they managed to feed themselves with the help of the nursing aide who tied the spoon to their fingerless palms.’’

As soon as the children were of school age, they were given back to their parents whose homes were within the confines of the leprosarium. Having been used to the antiseptic surroundings in the nursery, many children had adjustment problems in their parents’ homes. Those whose parents were incapable of caring for them were placed at the Santa Teresita Dormitory. In 1936, through the efforts of Father Hugh McNutty SJ, the Culion Catholic School was founded so the children could study.

When World War II broke out in Dec. 1941, 22 Sisters were working in Culion. Director Dr. Casimiro B. Lara was in Manila for a meeting at that time. Invading Japanese soldiers waylaid the food supplies at sea. Because the sanitarium could no longer support all the Sisters, acting director Dr. Jose Nolasco asked Sr. Damien Lelievre, the superior then, to send 12 of the Sisters back to Manila.

Recalled Sr. Ma. Luisa Montenegro: ``When the boat arrived, the Sisters pleaded to remain. But Dr. Nolasco was adamant. Mother Damien asked for volunteers to return to Manila. Nobody raised her hand, so I raised mine, though my heart was not willing.

``After finishing a nursing course, I returned to Culion in 1950. Working in the clinic was sometimes very amusing. Once a patient came to see Dr. Armando Paras who prescribed Diazone. On hearing the name of the medicine, the patient said, ``Doctor, I don’t want to die yet.’’ He thought he heard ``die soon.’’

The Sisters’ work extended beyond Culion. They sent daughters of patients to their St. Paul schools all over the Philippines on full college scholarships. Many were adopted by good families. Education was to be these girls’ ticket to a new life. But a good number have come back to Culion to work for their own people.

In the Saint Paul archives are first-person accounts of the valiant nuns who were part of Culion’s history. One of the most admired was Mother Damien Lelievre, namesake of the saintly Father Damien ``the leper’’ of Molokai. Her sole burning desire as a young nun in France was to work with the lepers and to die among them. The ``frail little nun’’ loved the patients so much she thought nothing of handling their sores without gloves. To admonitions, she would respond: ``If I die, I die.’’

Like Mother Damien, Sr. Antoinette joined the St. Paul Sisters precisely because ``I wanted to work among the lepers.’’

Her Culion experience, Sr. Antoinette said, added much breadth to her outlook as a religious. But even as she later took on various tasks, Culion always remained in her heart. ``I never had difficulty adjusting in Culion. I was new there when I met this man who was a patient. I held out my hand to shake his hand but he immediately withdrew. People were hesitant to invite us inside their homes. Once, I passed by a house and I asked if I could come in. The woman by the window was surprised. She let me in and pointed to a chair for me to sit on. `That chair is for the sano (healthy),’’’ she said.

Sister Hipolita Collado was a novice when she first set foot on Culion. ``I had this experience that I never forgot and I swore then that I would never come back.’’ Many years later, she came back to be the superior.

Several Sisters who had worked in Culion had received government recognition. Sr. Calixte Christen was awarded a gold medal for her 20 years of service. Governor General Leonard Wood, his wife and daughter went to Culion to honor her. Also honored later was Sr. Marie du Bon Pasteur. Sr. Marie Damien received a medal of honor from Pres. Elpidio Quirino in 1949.

Not one Sister became infected with leprosy while in Culion.

Among the Culion brave hearts--the oldest surviving but sprightly Sisters who had served in Culion before and after World War II—are: Sisters Mary Cyprian Montevirgen, 92; Gregoire de Leon, 91; Mary Michaela Diad, 87; and Barthelemy Gracia, 94--nurses all.

Since that day in May 1906, the work of the SPC Sisters in Culion has gone on without ceasing. In war and in peace, through stormy nights and sunny days, the island that was at once a fortress that held what were then called ``the living dead’’, was also a test for the nuns’ strength and endurance. Their continued presence is a sign of God’s grace and proof of these women’s faith. Like the ancient lighthouse that still stands there on a rock by the sea, their mission has withstood the test of time.#

Culion: The nuns’ story (1)

This month and year, Culion Island in Palawan marks its 100th anniversary as a place where lepers of yore were shipped and confined for most of their lives. Culion, once the biggest leper colony in the world, is a leper colony no more. It is now a thriving island municipality. The new generation no longer bears the marks of the dreaded disease that medical science has finally licked. The scars are still there, no doubt, but the place and its people have long begun the journey toward healing.

I was one of those who helped write the handsome coffeetable book ``Culion Island: A Leper Colony’s 100-Year Journey Toward Healing.’’ The experience was rewarding indeed. Here are excerpts from “The Nuns’ Story”, one of the pieces that I wrote.

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The sea was calm when the four French Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres (SPC) boarded the ship that would take them from Manila to their mission assignment--Culion Island. With prayers on their lips and faith in their hearts, they bravely sailed forth--``to consecrate ourselves for the care of the poor lepers’’.

Founded in Levesville-la-Chenard in France in 1696 ``to instruct the ignorant and assist the afflicted,’’ the Sisters were to become ``gleaners’’, to look after the last, the least. The first Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres arrived in the Philippines in 1904. Two years later, four of them would embark on a mission among the outcasts.

The SPC nuns were responding to the call of the Apostolic Delegate, Monsignor Ambrose Agius OSB. They would be the first Catholic nuns to sail in that direction. For some time they would be the only nurses working there.

Sister Sidonie Bureau, the superior, Sister Marie de Bon Pasteur Lintot, Sister Calixte Christen and Sister Therese de Jesus sailed for that remote island at 2 o’clock in the afternoon of May 22, 1906. Several hours later, the sea turned rough and stayed that way until the ship reached its destination. But the journey was not without its light and hilarious moments. For the nuns, the experience at sea was a foretaste of the difficult but fulfilling Church mission in Culion that would continue throughout the century.

The nuns arrived in Culion toward the evening of May 25, 1906, two days ahead of their wards. Dr. Carlos de May, director of the Colony (1903-1907) welcomed them with a lantern in his hand, lighting the path to their ``new’’ dwelling where bats felt at home. Several times, in that semi-darkness, the nuns stumbled on the steep and narrow path.

``We viewed with great interest the panorama that unfolded before us,’’ one of the nuns later wrote in French. ``No matter where we looked we saw chains of mountains. Opposite us, the mountain slope was strewn with houses in the middle of clumps of trees. This was Balala where employees of the Bureau of Health would settle. In the part of the island extending to our left, there were more houses stretching out from the top of the mountain to its base. Only six were constructed with boards whitened with lime. All others were made of nipa (palm fronds). At the far end, on a sort of headland going to the sea, there stood the church with its old ramparts which made it look like a castle. Near it shone the lighthouse.’’

The view was great but in the beginning there was little food--and so much work to do. As one pioneering nun exclaimed: ``We felt like true missionaries since we lacked food!’’

The Sisters met the first boatload of lepers that arrived on May 27, 1906. The second batch arrived two months later on July 4. The first year was hard as there was only one doctor whose administrative duties left him little time for the patients. The Sisters had to fill in the gap, doing even amputations and minor dental work. They spoke mostly French and a little English and had no knowledge of the local languages.

Other problems were lack of personnel, medical facilities and supplies and the constant threat of beri-beri. Nature was not always at its best. The Sisters experienced a strong typhoon in 1910 and a landslide in 1916.

But something graver concerned the Sisters. The forced separation of the patients from their families and life as virtual exiles brought extreme loneliness. The marriage ban at that time and the loose separation of the sexes posed a problem. There was a rise in illegitimate births.

The nuns formed the Children of Mary and worked for suitable housing for the women. Still, strict separation gave rise to restiveness among the patients. The Sisters had to bear the situation until the marriage ban was lifted in 1910.

Marriages gave birth to new problems. What to do with the offspring of leprous parents who could not care for them? And when the Culion authorities wanted to send the children declared clean to Manila, their parents protested.

In 1916, the authorities decided to build a nursery in Culion for children born to leprous parents. The SPC nuns would run the nursery to which the babies were brought right after birth. ``We wrapped the babies with only their faces showing for their mothers to see,’’ recalled a nun.

Even the nuns had to exercise strict hygiene. Those who worked with the patients had to step on a disinfecting solution and change clothes before entering the nursery.

The parents could view their children through glass panels in the nursery. There was no physical contact. Sometimes an attendant would provide a small gift for a child, hang it on a stick that would breach the divide. It was heartbreaking. More so when toddlers, not used to seeing patients, suddenly saw, through the glass, the deformed faces of their parents. Many would cower in fear and say, ``Kakatakot.’’ (Fearsome.)
(To be continued)

Incredible mistake re Sally Bulatao

This is one case that tempts me to tell good persons planning to serve in government to please don’t. It has nothing to do with the monetary compensation. It is because despite the hard work you put in you might end up tarred and feathered, with your name irreparably tarnished.

Sure, one could be removed from an appointive position any time and for any number of reasons, loss of confidence among them, but to be given walking papers and accused of wrongdoing without due process is another matter.

Something terrible has been done to Salvacion Bulatao, head of the National Dairy Authority (NDA) for almost six years. I am hoping that things could be reversed, that those who moved with undue haste would be enlightened and realize that they had made a mistake.

Let me state here that I’ve known Sally for 25 years and I can vouch for her good character. I can also say that she has been a great mover in the local milk industry that involves thousands of farmers. Hey, you don’t easily find someone so passionate about milk, dairy farmers and the hungry poor. Sally has, in fact, passed on some of that interest in milk to me. An accounting graduate of the College of the Holy Spirit and with a master’s degree from Harvard University, Sally could have been somewhere more comfortable.



Removing Sally is not the problem, but destroying her reputation cries to heaven for reparation. Was this a mistake, or was there malice involved?

On May 2, Sally received a letter of dismissal with punitive measures consisting of a perpetual ban from public office and forfeiture of all financial benefits. On May 4, a press release and press conference announced the dismissal of corrupt officials being axed. The name Salvacion Bulatao was in the list.

Pres. Arroyo who appointed her administrator of NDA in 2001 was the same one who approved her walking papers through senior deputy executive secretary Waldo Flores.

The two specific charges: 1)``That in hiring a foreign consultant without the benefit of public bidding as required…you are liable for violating…the Anti-graft and Corruption Act.’’ 2)``That you failed to observe the procedures of government procurements when you entered into a memorandum of agreement with McCann Erickson Philippines for the advertisement and promotion of local milk, thereby giving a private party any unwarranted benefits or preference in violation of…RA No. 3019.’’

Sally said that in 2001, when she was new in the job and eager to get things done, she hired a dairy plant expert, a Thai woman whom she knew well, to inspect and evaluate the state of dairy plants. For this decision she relied on the advice of agency oldtimers. This was needed before the signing of lease purchase between the NDA and cooperatives. For 30 days’ work the fee was a relatively measly P75,000 minus tax. The result was reduced power consumption and higher milk quality that resulted from the resizing of ice banks, improved piping system, upgraded procedures, etc.

Two NDA engineers and a dairy farmer were then sent to Thailand to study installation projects. These moves generated savings for the government and increased profits for the dairy enterprises.

McCann Erickson did not charge anything for its creative services in 2002. It was all pro bono. Celebrity Ogie Alcacid’s work was pro bono. What NDA paid for was the production of promo materials that was coursed through the ad agency for friendly rates. The entire package was presented to the NDA board, and the memorandum of agreement covering the transaction was reviewed and recommended for approval by the legal counsel of the Department of Agriculture and cleared by the Commission on Audit in 2003.

When Sally joined NDA in 2001 she was not a greenhorn in the dairy industry. In 1988 she joined the Philippine Dairy Corporation (NDA’s predecessor). After PDC she helped set up the Dairy Foundation of the Philippines with then agriculture Sec. Dominguez as board chair. But long, long before all these, Sally had already gotten her feet wet when she worked with the Federation of Free Farmers. Being married to intellectual and activist Gerry Bulatao meant being drawn deeper toward the disadvantaged.

Sally has served four agricultural secretaries. ``I have done my part in moving the industry forward,’’ she said. ``This stint in government is already longer than I intended…Hence, the announcement of the Office of the President of my dismissal was not totally unwelcome. After all, as a presidential appointee, I serve at her pleasure. However, I must assert that I am not guilty and the punitive measure imposed on me and the adverse publicity of my dismissal are unfair. I earnestly hope that the appropriate corrective steps will be taken. It is only proper to correct a mistake in the interest of recognizing productive and honest public service.’’

The 9th National Dairy Congress will be held in Cebu City from May 24 to 26. Sally was present in the past eight congresses. She will miss this one.

During the term of Sally (2001-2005) the growth of the dairy sector (number of milk animals, production, farmers involved, farmers’ earnings) increased more than 20 percent. There are figures to support this.

When renowned Jesuit psychologist Fr. Jaime Bulatao, Gerry and Sally’s uncle, learned about the case he was incredulous. ``This is a mistake,’’ he gasped. Sally who had bravely stood up to her American counterparts in order to push Philippine interests just had to let her heart break into pieces on this one.

Tell me, is this the way to treat a good and honest public servant?

Feedback on “Everest”

Here are some reactions on last week’s column piece “Surfing Everest” that was partly about the efforts to conquer the killer peak by a team and an individual supported respectively by TV network giants ABS-CBN and GMA7. (The rest was about one adventurer’s Himalayan spiritual adventure.) I had expressed my concern about the “race”, what with two competing networks doing a continuing coverage of their respective climbers. And I dread seeing one making it and the other not making it. Or worse…

From Maloli K. Espinosa, vice president of ABS-CBN’s Government, Corporate Affairs and Public Relations

“We are writing in response to your column `Surfing Everest’ published (April 27). Please be informed that ABS-CBN’s commitment to support the first Philippine Mt. Everest expedition was arranged nearly two years ago with The Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines, headed by Transportation Undersecretary Arturo Valdez. The network has pledged, among others, a media campaign drive that will promote this quest.

“The decision was made based on two considerations: that it was a legitimate news story and, second, it was in line with the network's commitment to the coverage of momentous sporting events involving Filipino athletes.



“There was never any consideration of competing or racing with anybody. We had no knowledge of and hold nothing against the competitor's sponsorship of a similar expedition. This move is not about ratings but about ABS-CBN's initiative to let millions of Filipino viewers here abroad witness a once-in-a-lifetime adventure of their kababayans.

“ABS-CBN supports the Filipino’s endeavor and success, including the competitor's efforts. And in the spirit of giving moral support to all Filipino athletes, we wish Mr. Romi Garduce (supported by GMA-7) well and we wish him luck, as we do all other climbers making the attempt.

“ABS-CBN has already been at the forefront of historical milestones; being part of the Everest expedition once again illustrates the network's service to the Filipino people as it champions the cause of Philippine sports and highlights the achievements of our athletes as comparable to the best in the world.

“Thank you and may we continue supporting the Filipino team in conquering the highest peak in the world.”
From Luz de Leon of California:

“I read your column on the ABS-CBN/GMA race to Mt. Everest, and just a few days before I watched a somber documentary, `Everest, Killer Mountain’ on PBS which was about the 1996 tragedy that killed six to eight skilled climbers and Sherpa guides. They were caught in a storm and an avalanche on their way down.

“Anyone remotely connected to this project should see the film first. They do not know what they are getting into. No amount of TV ratings can compensate for the loss of lives and sufferings of survivors who end up without limbs, noses and other body parts for which we have no spares. My 2 cents.”

From Mario Santos:

“Your article is timely, I hope a lot of people were able to read it. From my readings on the Net, the GMA-7 representative was scheduled to conquer Everest this year. The ABS-CBN 2 team is supposed to go in 2007.

“When ABS learned that GMA was betting on the winning horse, they rushed their own team's schedule by one year. This is stupidity, and could be deadly.

“Another prime example of what ABS-CBN is: a creature so enamored of ratings that human life is cheap. The (game show) `Wowowee’ tragedy is another example—the victims had just been laid to rest when they resumed this show, allegedly to ‘help the people’, but which reminds me of Willie dancing on the victims' graves every time he does that show.

“I think the Department of Justice should push for the resolution of the `Wowowee’ case…as soon as possible.

“Because when something happens to the ABS-CBN Everest Team—and the one-year short cut is one big red flag which could mean something might happen—ABS-CBN would again be embroiled in another case. But then nothing gets resolved in this country…”

(Strong language deleted.-CPD)

Last year, the Pakistani Air Force did a dramatic rescue of Slovenian climber Tomas Humar who was trapped for six days on one of the highest peaks of the Himalayas. Humar was stalled by bad weather at about 20,000 feet on a narrow ledge on the Rupal face of Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth highest peak. This renowned climber (1,500 ascents) tried to take a route never tried before since the peak was first scaled in 1953. He never made it to the top but at least he made it alive.

The rescue pilots couldn’t hope for much as the ledge was impossible to reach. It was the hand of God that did it, a rescuer said. A BBC report said that by the time the rescue effort was in motion, the Slovenian had run out of food, gas in his stove and radio batteries. He kept himself warm by digging snow but became increasingly cold, hungry and in danger of frostbite. At least he was not disoriented.

The only way to get to him was to throw a rope that he could tie around himself. The aircraft would then fly with the climber dangling from the aircraft.

The weather was so bad three attempts failed. The rescuers could not even drop food. The rope throwing did succeed, but had Humar failed to grab hold of the rope on the first try, the chopper would have gone back to base.

It was indeed the ``hand of God’’ that made possible Humar’s “insanely good luck” and the heroic efforts of men and their costly machine, the Pakistani Air Force Lama SA-3158, built to operate at high altitudes and holds the world record for the highest-ever helicopter flight at 12,441 meters.