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Philippines
/ Batanes / The Province
Batanes province
is a small group of islands that can make a great destination.
Located north of Luzon they compose the northernmost part of the
archipelago with Batan (35sqkm), Itbayat (95sqkm), Sabtang (41sqkm),
and 7 smaller islets: Dequey, Siayan, Mabudis, Ibuhos, Diogo,
North Island, and Y'ami, the northernmost point of the Philippines.
Because it is a windy place, Batanes is referred to as the Home
of the Winds.
Towards the
south, closer to the mainland, are the Babuyan Islands,
including the islands of Babuyan, Calayan, Camiguin, Fuga, and
Dalupiri. Although this group of islands is under the political
administration of Batanes there is less contact between the two
island groups than there is between the Babuyan Islands and the
north coast of Luzon. There are no towns and few people
on the Babuyan islands.
The original
inhabitants of Batanes were the Ivatan tribes, but most Ivatans
today are mestizos some of whose forefathers were Spanish conquistadores
and Formosans. In more recent times, a large number of Ilocanos
have migrated to Batanes, making Ilocanos the majority group
and the Ilocano language widely spoken. However, the natives continue
to speak Ivatan and other tribal dialects still peculiar
to the different villages and islands.
Though some Ivatans
still practice animism, the majority of the population of Batanes
are Roman Catholic. Centuries-old Spanish churches can be found
in all the towns. The Sto. Dominican clergy continue to have a strong
influence.
The islands
group was formally discovered for the West by the English voyager
William Drapier on August 16, 1687. However, previously
on October 4, 1598, the Spanish ship Almirante sent by
Governor Dasmarinas to Cambodia had already been swept ashore
on Calayan Island. The cannon carried by the ship is preserved.
The provincial
capital, Basco on Batan, was named for the Spanish governor
general, Jose Basco y Vargas, who brought the islands under
Spanish rule in 1788. The Ivatans first ignored the Spanish and
clung to their mountain villages until, using the threat of armed
force, Governor Joaquin del Castillo compelled the natives
to move to the lowlands in 1790 and to adopt western dress.
A century later
many Ivatans migrated to Manila to seek work or attend college.
The returnees brought back revolutionary ideas. The Ivatan Katipuneros
joined with the local military in September 1898 and killed
Governor Fortea thus ending Spanish rule.
The US took
over in 1899, inaugurated a public school, improved communications
with a regular mail boat and wireless telegraphy by 1920, installed
an air-strip in the 1930's and built highways to replace Spanish
trails.
The Batanes
Islands are so far flung out in the China Sea that from Y'ami
one can see Taiwan (the island of Formosa). People say that
the Batanes group even belonged to Taiwan at one time.
Although the
sea distance between Y'ami and Itbayat is about the same as from
Itbayat to Basco, the islands north of Itbayat are so sparsely populated
and independent of each other that there is no regular transportation
or communication among them.
To illustrate
the remoteness of Y'ami, locals relate the story of a young
man from Y'ami who, as dictated by his elders, was to marry a girl
from Itbayat, the bigger island to the south, with relatively regular
connection to Basco, the capital. To reach her, he first had to
go to Taiwan, then fly to Manila, then fly to Basco; from there
take the more or less regularly scheduled boat to Itbayat, marry
his betrothed and then take her with him on the same trip in reverse.
The route taken by the dutiful young man was the simplest and most
certain.
The isolation
of these islands due to distance and the forces of nature has
encouraged heavy emigration. The 1980 Batanes province
population of just over 12,000 was only a 6% increase over
the 1948 population. The estimated 1989 population of 14,000 was
a 6% decrease from the 1988 estimate. At 54 persons/sqkm,
the population density is far below the national average of 122
persons/sqkm. The 1990 national census established the
following population figures for the six municipalities of the
province (x 1000): Basco 6, Itbayat 3, Ivana 1, Mahatao 2, Sabtang
2, Uyugan 1.
Many of the
younger generation are eager to leave for the big city, if not
Manila then Tuguegarao. If they can't even make it that far, they
at least want to go to Basco, the provincial capital. Admittedly,
there is no television, are no movie houses, no shopping centers,
but at least there are video shows, they have electricity until
23:30 and even longer if it's video night, and there are a number
of small sari-sari stores with goods from Manila, and a choice
of bakeries and eateries.
The capital
is also the location of the major educational facilities in the
province, including the Sto. Dominican College (12),
adjacent to the Basco church. Also near the church, on a large
tract of land where Barangay San Antonio begins, are the extensive
buildings of the "National" high school, two elementary schools
and the School for Arts and Trades (15).
The people of
Batanes are surprisingly interested in education. Of course,
to find jobs outside their lonely paradise, they have to be qualified.
But it's not just that. Education also gives them something to do.
Consequently, Batanes boasts a literacy rate of 93%. And even grandparents
attend college level courses offered through night school.
On flight days
many residents take a stroll to the park-like airport at the edge
of town, just to socialize at one of the picnic tables with cogon
grass umbrellas and wait for the plane to arrive, even if they are
not expecting visitors.
Because on such
small islands everyone knows everyone, in fact with almost everyone
being related, newcomers are quickly distinguished and observed
curiously, especially upon arrival at the airport. Usually there
is someone bold enough to approach the visitor. If not, one question
is all it takes for the friendly, inquisitive people to offer assistance.
Though it's
somewhat of a drawback that everyone knows everyone else's business,
this small town familiarity has helped keep Batanes virtually
crime-free. Despite relatively high alcohol consumption, especially
during the long rainy season, the people remain basically "honest
and hardworking".
Houses are rarely
locked except during typhoons, and it is safe to walk alone at night.
Most people are in bed by 22:00, partly because their day begins
at 5:00, and partly because outside Basco, there is electricity
only from 18:30 to 21:30, if at all.
Though their
income is far below the national average, no one starves
or goes homeless. They are better off than poor urban dwellers (who
may have higher salaries) because the Batanes people still have
the land, and still can depend on it for their livelihood. This
actually makes them independent - independent of the high
costs of food and shelter that shackles many of those who struggle
in the city without a garden.
Yet some wistful
locals contend that life in Batanes is hard. There is limited
motorized transportation; many places have neither indoor running
water nor indoor toilet facilities; and there are no telephones,
no television and no night life (0).
But they
take for granted that more importantly, there is also no NPA,
no social unrest, no industrial pollution, no water shortages,
nor any of the other countless problems that can make the so-called
easy life in the city even harder. And if they had ever experienced
Manila's air pollution and the toil of rush hour traffic, they
would probably be glad of their freedom to walk.
During the coup
attempts in Manila, the local Philippine Constabulary (17)
spent their days as they often do: playing basketball and napping.
Keeping peace and order in Batanes gives them so little to
do.
A unique feature
of small town politics in Batanes occurs before gubernatorial
elections. Instead of the usual name calling and verbal backstabbing
expected, the candidates in Batanes go door-to-door together
to meet the voters. Each candidate explains his platform, after
which, the one candidate cordially invites the voter to vote for
his opponent, if not for himself. Of course, the fact that the candidates
are related may have something to do with their geniality;
the Castillejos family has held political power for generations.
Farming, fishing,
raising cattle, hogs, other livestock and some poultry are the main
sources of livelihood for the people of Batanes. Garlic and cattle
are the main exports.
Although
only a few can afford to export cattle, almost every family grows
garlic as a cash crop. The high price of garlic in the rest of
the Philippines has made it a very lucrative business.
At the beginning
of the garlic harvest, which runs from February to April,
the price of garlic tumbles from a high of 195 pesos/kg to a low
of 30 pesos/kg. The harvest is transported from Batanes to Luzon
by an LST (Landing Ship Tank), used for inter-island cargo shipping.
Jumping on
the bandwagon to cash in on the demand, many have converted into
garlic fields large portions of land normally reserved for subsistence
crops. Such a mass of garlic coming from this far north in the
archipelago also fuels the belief that this garlic is actually
part of the illegal imports from Taiwan, accused of unfairly
competing with domestic garlic.
Whether or not
this is true, the production of garlic in Batanes has so increased,
that the LST boat occasionally makes a special trip beyond the island
of Batan, to Itbayat just to pick up their garlic shipment.
The trade-off
of garlic in place of subsistence crops has already relegated to
second place the production of basic root crops like cassava. Along
with rice, they are essential as staples stored for consumption
during the typhoon season when regular shipments from outside cannot
be counted on.
It also threatens
to make the general population even more dependent than before on
the canned goods and other imports that arrive in Batanes often
at twice the Manila retail price, thus depleting twice as
fast the extra income gained from crop conversion.
In addition
to garlic and root crops, many families grow some vegetables and
fruits such as pineapple, bananas, papaya, jack-fruit,
watermelon and even oranges. But although these fruits grow well
in the islands, commercial production would be extremely risky,
as the entire harvest could be so easily wiped out by just one
of the many typhoons that strike every year.
Furthermore,
because of the heavy agricultural demands on the land, without sufficient
replenishment of nutrients, the soil has become somewhat less productive.
People tell of yams that used to be the size of watermelons. Supposedly
the Bureau of Soils has taken steps to restore and maintain the
land's fertility.
Apart from the
land being productive, the open seas are rich in marine resources.
Proof of this are the many so-called Taiwanese junks, powerful modern
trawlers plying the open waters day and night and reaping large
catches.
By stark comparison,
the local fishermen of Batanes with their simple wooden boats and
small nets are lucky to get even a few kilos which is a bare
subsistence catch. Fishing is difficult for the locals as their
small boats can safely navigate only in the channels between the
islands. Outside the channels the winds make the sea too rough.
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