THE PROPHET (THE INITIATION OF KIMAT T. AMIANAN 3)

He has always been a rebel. Or, as a Hogwarts professor described him, a non-conformist. Perhaps they are right. He did not always fit in (would not let himself fit in would be more appropriate). And he was like that long before Hogwarts.

The vision came slow. First, it was in the form of a funny feeling that something should be changed but don’t know what and how. A Hogwarts professor of the “dark arts*” was thrown off the air when Kimat T. Amianan defiantly waved his wand in support of mutineering musketeers in December of ‘89.

That funny feeling was later “clarified” by his fraternity with the scribes of Hogwarts and their higher orders. He was introduced to the heady prophecies of The-Man-With-A-Beard-Like-Hagrid then later to a great Chinese master who was fond of doing great marches, taking great leaps, and smelling a thousand flowers bloom.

Afterwards, he began seeing numbers in the guava leaves and spider cocoons. There is something in these but he can’t get it. So on a hot July day of 1990, Atlas shrugged and in the following chaos, strangers from far away suddenly appeared. Through them, Kimat T. Amianan began to understand his powers of divination.



Things have never been so clearer after that. Kimat T. Amianan can see into the future. And he discovered one thing: bilog ang mundo!

(End)

Profile: Church of Padre Garcia, Batangas


What is now the town of Padre Garcia was once known as Rosario. It was first established as an ecclesiastical mission of the Augustinian Recollects in 1776. The town and the parochial buildings were razed during the Philippine-American War. As such, the seat of government was moved to the present day town of Rosario. The abandoned town became known as Lumangbayan which the Oblates of St. Joseph started to ecclesiastically administer in 1928. They probably reconstructed the church that was again burned down during World War II and subsequently rebuilt again. Lumangbayan was given its present name in honor of a native son --- Padre Vicente Garcia.



*political science

JARMMS

The devil S in harmony with the angels is an impossibility but it did happened once in Hogwarts. They were all BSEd with the angels in Biology and the devil S in English (as most of his type were and are). They were seats apart when Atlas shrugged and the ceiling came down during a History class in 1990. From there on, they were together.



It amazed the professors at Educ that the devil S always get high scores in exams because he is more absent than present in their classes. He only have this tattered folded refill Cattleya notebook tucked in the back pocket of his Hippie-dirty imitation Levi’s (along with a buhaghag toothbrush on the other pocket). They did not know that during the trying moments of those exams, the angels carried the devil S by letting him peek at their test papers and passing him folded clues that always unlocked the mysteries of those frightening questions. And they never learned --- even the angels --- that the folded Cattleya notebook is actually a magic wand that broke the spells of those exams when every possible Muggle solution has failed.

More than exams, the angels finally convinced the devil S to declare a truce on his war with religion. They were all there --- armed with buckets of water and a fire extinguisher in case the devil S suddenly flames up (as devils do when they enter a house of God) --- when the devil S served as a mass commentator for the first and only time in his life. The angels were so protective of their devil that Lady Barnacle tried to cast an evil spell on them in a fit of jealous rage.

In his perpetual gratitude, the devil S would always walk them home after every class: angels A and M2 in Ladies’ Dorm 3, and angels J, R and M1 in Ladies Dorm 6. The devil S was so always around and protective that nobody dared pay courtship to his angels.

Before the Hogwarts graduation rites, the angels and the devil paid homage to their friendship through a journey where their stories began: in angel M2’s Cuyapo (little she who dreamed of marrying a big and tall American); in the devil S’s Almaguer where they married angel J and her beau in the dacquel nga carayan (angel J have water lily flowers for a bouquet and they all have tupig for the wedding feast); in angel A’s Tarlac where they had their sweetest tocino ever; in angel M1’s Aliaga where the devil S cocooned after every soul breaking episode; and in angels J and R’s San Miguel where their happier memories were enshrined forever.

Profiles: Other Simbahans Along the San Miguel-NLEX Stretch


CHURCH OF SAN MIGUEL ARKANGHEL (SAN MIGUEL, BULACAN). The mayumo in San Miguel de Mayumo means sweet in reference to the abundance of honey in the area. It already exists as a visita before 1607. The first parochial buildings were made of nipa and cogon. Fr. Juan Tombo (OSA) supervised either the building or rebuilding of the present church in 1848. He also intitiated the building of the 24-kilometer San Miguel-to-Gapan road. Fr. Francisco Arriola (OSA) supervised the completion of the church in 1869. He together with Father Tombo and Fr. Eugenio Ortiz (OSA) initiated the building of the magnificent convent. The church is a mute witness to the surrender of the last Spanish troops in San Miguel to Filipino Katipuneros led by Col. Pablo Tecson. An Italian artist named Alberoni later supervised the painting of the church’s dome and nave ceilings. Japanese bombs damaged the church in 1941. It has been restored several times but remain basically the same.



CHURCH OF SAN JUAN DE DIOS (SAN RAFAEL, BULACAN). San Rafael was established in 1750 by laborers from the San Juan de Dios estate. There are no records on the building of early parochial buildings. In 1863, a convent and probably a church were built. Fr. Antonio Piernavieja (OSA) had the present church and convent built from 1868 to 1877. The buildings have undergone considerable renovations since then. The church is the site of the bloodiest battle in the province of Bulacan between Katipuneros led by Gen. Anacleto “Matanglawin” Enriquez and Spanish soldiers under Col. Lopez Arteaga. Some 800 Katipuneros died in the battle, including “Matanglawin”.

CHURCH OF SAN AGUSTIN (BALIWAG, BULACAN). Baliwag was established in 1732. The building of the first church started in 1734 and completed in 1748. Fr. Gregorio Giner (OSA) had the first stone church built from 1769 to 1774. Fr. Esteban Diez (OSA) supervised the construction of the convent that was once considered to be the best in the Philippines, and initiated the building of a new church. Both were finished by 1830 and these are probably the present buildings. The construction of the bell tower that was started during the time of Father Diez was completed in 1866 under the supervision Fr. Matias Navoa (OSA). Fr. Tomas Gresa (OSA) had the church repaired after it was damaged by the earthquake of 1880. The plaza fronting the church was once considered to be one of the most beautiful in the Philippines and compared with the La Granja de Segovia in Spain. Today’s clutter of market stalls and the building of a perimeter fence has lost its luster.



CHURCH OF SAN ISIDRO EL LABRADOR (PULILAN, BULACAN). San Isidro was established in 1749. Fr. Juan Rico (OSA) started the construction of a church probably in 1826 to replace an exiting one. In 1850, the town became known as Pulilan after its most famous barrio. Twice, an earthquake damaged the church: in 1863 and 1880. Fr. Miguel de Celis (OSA) initiated rebuilding what might be the present church. Since then, succeeding restoration works were conducted. Pulilan is the hometown of the famous kneeling carabaos.



CHURCH OF SANTIAGO APOSTOL (PLARIDEL, BULACAN). Fr. Pedro Vasquez (OSA) already had makeshift parochial buildings built in Quingua --- Plaridel’s old name --- from 1580 to 1595. It was annexed to Malolos in 1599 and accepted by the Augustinians as a mission in 1605. A church was then built in the present site under the supervision of Fr. Diego Pardo (OSA). Fr. Tomas Quijano (OSA) later supervised the building of a stronger church and convent in 1722. Between 1771 and 1778, Quingua became the subject of a tug-of-war between the Augustinians and the Archbishop of Manila. The church was struck by lightning and razed by fire in 1772. It was immediately rebuilt and this must be the present building. Some of the Augustinian’s money and jewels were hidden in the church during the British invasion of Manila. The church was again damaged in the 1863 earthquake and was immediately repaired. Its first Filipino priest, Fr. Victorino Lopez, joined the Katipuneros under Capt. Jose Serapio during the revolution against Spain. American soldiers established their headquarters and field hospital in the church in 1899. Quingua was renamed Plaridel in honor of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar.

THE POETS OF MT. PULAG

February of 1993 was a period of healing. The tumultuous era of a musicale called LAHAR had everybody who was involved scurrying away from each other. Friendships have been tested --- some would endure, others shattered. But we have grown wiser. And much, much older.

Oyet and me were picking up the pieces of our fractured friendship when we came up with a collaboration to hold a poetry writing contest among my senior students at Hogwarts’ University Science High School (USHS). The prize would be a chance to conquer Mt. Pulag --- the second highest Philippine peak along the Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya border after Mt. Apo in Mindanao.

It was an awkward moment when Oyet came to the USHS for a talk on poetry writing. Words were difficult to come by then. So we just went ahead pretending that all is well although it was not. Not yet.

We were both surprised at the contest result. I for one was expecting the Hermoines and Harry Potters to rise. But it was the Ronald Weasleys, and even Draco Malfoys, who turned out be-mused. They are, in many ways, Abet of Almaguer’s kindred in spirit.

I can’t recall where we slept during our first night in Baguio City (although I’m almost sure it was a bus station). What I remembered is meeting the legendary Frank for the first time and hearing that the climb would not push through. Of course we were disappointed. But the next day, something turned out and we were off to Kabayan for the push to Mt. Pulag.



The climb took us 5 days: (DAY 1) the trip to Baguio City, (DAY 2) a half day ride to Kabayan and another half day walk from there to the base camp, (DAY 3) almost a day’s climb from the base camp to the second camp site near the summit, (DAY 4) the final push to the peak and a walk down to base camp, (DAY 5) the trip back to Nueva Ecija.

It was difficult for us especially with the primitive tools that we had. No high tech mountaineering gears except back packs that were bummed from some relatives in the army, a heavy borrowed common tent, and the everyday de lata and Payless for our food. We made up with lots of heart and a load of cuatro cantos to keep the cold away.

Mt. Pulag’s ancient forest cover is magically eerie with its gnarled trees, creepy sounds, and hazy mist. Then suddenly just after the tree line, the dark forest gave way to a carpet of grass-like dwarf bamboos and the cloudless deep blue sky. The most dramatic encounter was at the peak where after forcing our tired bodies up by 3 AM and washing our gin-laced mouths with water thickened by soft ice formations and crawling our longest 1.4 kilometers, we came face to face with the most beautiful sunrise in the world. Below us, a sea of clouds boiled and licked at island-like peaks that broke through the firmament before cascading like a waterfall in slow motion along the steep slopes, the vegetable gardens, and the silhouette of the Halsema Highway.

We have been healed…

PHOTOS: Top photo show Team Hogwarts at the forest between the base camp and the summit camp site while center photo shows them above the tree line just before the summit camp site. The last photo shows them on the peak of Mt. Pulag where they hoisted the Hogwarts’ color with the most beautiful sunrise in the world for a backdrop. They are the first all-CLSU team on record to conquer the second highest mountain in the Philippines.


Profiles: Baguio City’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Sagada’s Anglican Church

Before climbing Mt. Pulag, we seek the deity’s blessing in a popular Baguio City landmark: the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary that was first built in the middle of what is now session road by the Congregation Immaculati Cordis Mariae (CICM) who established the Catholic mission of Baguio in 1907. Fr. Florimond Carlu (CICM) initiated the construction of the present church in 1920 until 1936 in its current site that was once called Kampo by the Ibalois. The church was transformed as an evacuation in 1945 and has survived the carpet bombing of American warplanes saving thousands of lives who took refuge there.

For those who would plan to climb Mt. Pulag someday, it would be perfect if a trip from Kabayan to Sagada via the challenging Halsema Highway will be inserted in the post-climb itinerary. Sagada is a perfect place to pamper aching joints and reflect. The Anglicans who evangelized in the Cordilleras established their Sagada mission in 11 October 1901 through Rev. John Armitage Staunton, Jr.