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Philippines

Mindoro / Calapan

Although the capital of Mindoro Oriental, the town has little to offer to tourists apart from the car ferry link to Batangas 3-4 times daily. This has even been admitted by the municipal government which otherwise doesn't miss an opportunity to glorify the town. "Calapan has no known tourist spots," states the brochure on the town, published by the Municipal Planning and Development Office.

More words, the writer of the brochure found to praise the mayor: "Calapan as it is now - full of vigor and excitement, gearing towards high development yet maintaining its simplicity and colorful culture - started as a dream. The dream which was released to extreme realization was propelled by the good leader of Calapan who is the epitome of a true leader... considerate, strong, yet soft-hearted, decent, religious, intelligent, smart and energetic."

Superman? Far off the mark. Mayor Umali is female and 71 (her age given in the undated brochure). The author of the brochure states that she could have gone into retirement in the US but, according to the Calapan brochure, "from the heavens she went down - humbly walked and reached the mangroverish hands of the poor to listen to their sentiments. She moved heaven and earth to uplift the life of the needy, and she showed her mettle against the decomposing system of the former administration, discriminating world of silver spoons and painful envisagement of poverty."

Calapan and the surrounding villages that administratively are part of the town had, according to municipal figures, in 1988 a combined population of just over 100,000 (according to the 1990 national census, it's only just above 86,000). The town was founded in 1679 as an annex to the parish of Baco. Later, the roles were reversed and Baco became a barrio of the parish of Calapan. 1903, Calapan was named the provincial capital of Oriental Mindoro - a position formerly held by Puerto Galera.

The most famous son of Calapan probably is Macario Adriatico (March 10, 1869 - April 14, 1919), a Parliamentarian, ilustrado, lawyer, orator and the first Filipino to become a member of the Academy of Madrid. He also was the first Filipino Director of the Philippine Library and Museum (now separated into National Library, National Museum and National Archives); Adriatico Street in Ermita, Manila, is named after him.

A number of Germans live on top of Balite hill, probably the place with the nicest view in all of Calapan.

Accommodation

Miscellaneous

Mangyan Villages

Several villages, actually just clusters of huts, are found in the foothills of Mt. Halcon, approximately an hour's travel southwest of Calapan. Missionaries of various Protestant sects are among the few people from the lowlands who bother to come here to assist the Mangyans who belong to the Alangan group. In one village having 14 huts and 40 residents and christened Sinay, after Sinai, the pre-Christian holy mountain on Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, the Mangyan's have a packed-dirt basketball court as indeed does every barangay in the Philippines but the basket is made of the same weave as the handicrafts they make.

The missionaries also make their pitch by distributing Bibles, written in the local dialect, and encourage the natives to learn to read. The males of the village go down to the lowlands to barter handicrafts for items that they cannot produce and thus keep in touch with the towns in the neighborhood. Women and children seldom leave the village. They are camera-shy as they believe, as do many primitive people around the world, that photographs capture man's spirit and can cause them to die of diseases. Malnutrition and disease are, in fact, major problems among these villagers. The remoteness of the villages has thwarted efforts by Calapan health officers to relieve residents of common diseases. The Mangyan staple diet of tubers (camote), bartered rice and scarce game has added to the health problem by providing little protein and vitamins. Children suffer from severe boils.

Another problem are local political quarrels over land ownership. Elder Mangyans claim ancestral land rights, but local politicians have obtained titles and documents and thus have a better chance of ownership. During recent local elections, one candidate sent word offering the Mangyans ownership of their land in exchange for their vote. Nothing happened thereafter.

Eric Gamalinda met one young Alangan man who was more advanced than all others. He had read portions of a Protestant Bible and was able to give some explanations on the tribe. He related that Alangan Mangyans cannot count beyond 10, that older residents have no names, that many words in their dialect are adapted from Tagalog and Visayan, and that residents rush inside at the sight of strangers and peek out of small holes in the walls out of fear. "What are they afraid of?" Gamalinda asked the young native. He responded: "They are afraid of you.'' (For more details on Mangyans please see Chapter People).

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