Monday, November 24, 2014

THE TINIO BRIGADE (with apologies to Orlino Ochosa)

Of the 25 municipalities and 5 cities of Nueva Ecija, 15 were named after persons of which 6 are saints of the Catholic church.

Of the remaining 9, three bear the name of revolutionary generals, one is a Spanish Governor General while another is a Spanish engineer, and one is a former Philippine president while another is a national hero.

Only one was named after a woman: Laur in honor of Dona LAUReana Tino, first wife of Gen. Manuel Tinio who was the youngest general of the Philippine Revolutionary Army, a former governor of Nueva Ecija, the country's first Director of Labor, and its first Filipino Director of Lands.

Some 18 kilometers separate Laur from Gabaldon --- named after Don Isauro GABALDON whose term as governor was inherited by General Tinio after then Governor Gabaldon, he who would become a senator and an ambassador to the United States, ran for the National Assembly.

By the way, General Tinio eventually married Dona LAUReana's younger sister and Laur's patron saint is a Hungarian king who was born a pagan.


Ambassador Gabaldon was married to Dona Bernarda Tinio who is the oldest daughter of Don Casimiro "Kapitan Berong" Tinio --- the older brother of General Tinio --- and Gabaldon's patron saint is among the first missionaries of Christianity who was beheaded and martyred.


The things is those who take cycling as a serious hobby should try the undulating stretch of the Laur-Gabaldon Road at least once in their lifetime to get a taste of what mountain biking is all about, then climb non-stop half of the 15.5 kilometer pass into Dingalan until its highest point at Padi Land Seafood Restaurant.


From there, it's a freewheel into the azure coastal waters of the Philippine Sea and a welcome brunch of sinigang na hipon, adobong pusit, and inihaw na tuna at liempo at the Coastal Cove Resort where we also caught the last three rounds of Manny Pacquiao mauling Chris Algieri in Macau, all of which properly deserve a serving of pansit although the pasta served at the Luxent Hotel 5 days earlier don't deserve even a centimeter of all that. 


Minus the tasteless pansit, Bulan and me did all that...

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