I am a horrible aunt.
Of all times my sister could give birth, she had to go into labor on Sept. 8, 2005, on the day Thomas and I planned to go to Marinduque, an island a couple of kilometers from Luzon. She was not due until Sept. 15.
I was frankly, torn between my sister and my boyfriend. I sincerely wanted to stay, but I was worried that the German could not hack it on his own in Marinduque.
I tried to justify to myself reasons that I am not necessary in the scheme of things.
One, this is baby number three.
Two, I was also not present during the birth of baby number 2.
On the trip side, I knew the German could survive without me.
So we went to the hospital, and the German asked my sister if she would be mad if I went to Marinduque. He knew that I wanted to stay. My sister gave us her blessing to leave. Off we went.
She was born on a stormy day, Maria Cristina Clarisse Apolinario, at 5:30 p.m.
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I received the news via a text message as Thomas and I were racing to the Dalahican port in Quezon. The jeepney dispatcher tried to rip us off by charging us P 290 so we could leave before the last ferry for Marinduque leaves at 7:00 p.m. Of course we said no.
When we got there, we were drenched, miserable, and abandoned. Damned driver.
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We stayed at the Roadside Inn for the night. It was not bad for a motel, P 540 for 12 hours. The amenities were acceptable, the room was air-conditioned, and the food was accpetable. Overall, the room was worth the price, especially if compared to the P 400 room we got at the pagsanjan Garden Resort. Thomas was tickled by the idea that we were in a "sex hotel." We dried ourselves off and slept early so we could catch the 4 a.m. fastboat, the first trip to Marinduque for the day.
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We got to Marinduque at 5:30 am. We were met by the staff of VIce Governor Leandro Palma, our host during the visit. We got to our room, safe and sound. We had a full day ahead of us. No time to rest, as we wanted to survey the island.
We went to the Provincial Capitol before lunch, and we were treated to a Putong ceremony! Thomas and I were crowned as king and queen for a day, I think. Flowers, dancing, and a rattan crown were placed over our heads. It was quite a welcome! I was also overwhelmed. That afternoon, we also went on a tour in the island, especially in the parts heavily affected by heavy metal pollution.
We gathered data from the Provincial Tourism officer and the Provincial Agricultural Office, and photocopieed maps. We ascertained that the southern part of the island was ideal for the project. At the center of the island is a national park, and a mountainous region. Thereby, off limits. The Southern part had extensive grasslands and rice fields. Since the mines were located at the North part of the island, we were assured that the rivers at the south were not polluted by the waste that killed the Mogpog and Boac rivers, both located at the northwest quadrant of the island.
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We discovered the extent of how badly polluted parts of Marinduque are because of the irresponsible mining of copper in the area. Until now, I am not certain whether only these areas in Marinduque are affected. Maybe the whole island is. Until now, people do not know whether their drinking water has been contaminated by heavy metals. I think they prefer not to know. The Boac river has become a sandly trickle of a tributary, and the Mogpog River has become a reddish muddy field. Green water oozed from both rivers.
We went to Calancan Bay at the north area of the island. where most of the silt from the mines were dumped. There was a guard who suspiciously asked us questions as to why we wanted to enter the beach. He wanted to know if we were the pesky journalists or environmentalists who keep on making trouble for them. Most of the Vice Governor's men were employees of Marcopper. Each camp eyed each other with animosity. Good thing I didn't bring my big-ass camera. We were eventually allowed in. The place looked clean and beautiful. However, we knew otherwise. We saw fishermen hauling in their catch. I wonder if the fish were poisoned as well?
That night, we met with Elmer, the Provincial Agriculturist. Luck smiled on us. Elmer used to be part of the Philippine Dairy Corp., and had extensive experience with cows and dairy farming!
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The next day we roved the circumference of the island. We saw in greater detail the southern part of Marinduque, the target of the cow project. We were taken to the white sand beach in Torrijos, the southernmost municipality in the island's six towns. It is also the poorest and least developed part of the island. We frolicked for a bit, and returned to our survey.
Later that night, we met with the Provincial Veterinarian, who was tired after a day of insemnating cows. It was part of the provincial program to improve the local breed of livestock. He was the most pessimistic and defeated man I've ever met. All that came out of his mouth was "it's hard," "it can't be done," and so forth. A good thing came out of our meeting, however: We knew that that we had to focus on educating and prepare the farmers socially for dairy farming.
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We woke up for an early Sunday mass at 8 am. We had to leave Marinduque early to catch the 11 am ferry for Manila. The Vice Governor's family was based in Manila, and he was eager to be reunited with them.
We arrived in Manila at 5 p.m., and I got to see my new niece for the first time.
NikkiAlfar
Tobie Abad
Gabby Lee
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