by Dong de los Reyes August 1, 2022 Mulanay Mayor Aristotle “Kuya Aris” Aguirre (Photo from the Mayor FB page) MULANAY, Quezon - The 1996 f...
August 1, 2022
 |
| Mulanay Mayor Aristotle “Kuya Aris” Aguirre (Photo from the Mayor FB page) |
MULANAY, Quezon - The 1996 film ‘Mulanay’ starred seasoned thespians in their prime, Jaclyn Jose and Gina Alajar who respectively played a physician and a nurse tackling herculean tasks called for in the health department’s “Doctor to the Barrios” program. Not much pay, so much work, and so much gratitude from people whose lives the tandem touched.
Nothing has changed much in Mulanay since the showing of that ground-breaking movie that had more reviews and reaction papers from college students and their mentors.
It is likely Mulanay comes the Zhongwen term “mulan” or “wood orchid” that defines the steel resolve of the Jose-Alajar duo to stand their ground, just tough it out, make a difference in the lives of rustic people, upright in their ways and simply so simple in being down-to-earth.
Sea, sky, and mountain meet in Mulanay where senior citizens are rewarded with a P500 monthly stipend. The municipality is old as time, with a tool from a Mt. Kahamtik archeological digging revealing it to be around 10,000 BC-2,000 BC-- indeed, older than Christ.
Experts surmise that Mulanay had been home to an organized community in the year 500 AD-1300 AD, which affirms how old the municipality really is, still with its hoard of secrets, marvels, and wonders that await discovery.
Mayor-elect Aristotle “Aris” Lim Aguirre, himself an occupational therapist who once plied his work in Manila enthuses about the pristine beauty of the coastal town largely undiscovered by both local and foreign tourists.
Nestled between Mt. Kamhantik and the deep blue waters of Tayabas Bay, the first-class municipality is being considered by experts to the make it to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list for Mulanay’s well-preserved ancestral houses, the well-preserved Baroque church, and Mt. Kamhantik’s limestone tombs that yields ages-old artifacts.
Fraciscan missionaries spread the Gospel in the 1600s while Mulanay’s town status was realized in 1745 through the approval of the King of Spain. Indeed, Mulanay whispers fondly of the past, of history.
Grins galore
Most of the folks flocking to the municipio to transact business are from farming areas-- Mulanay’s 28 villages are spread in over 42,000 hectares that host 55,576 dwellers engaged mostly in agriculture and fishery.
“Karaniwang galing sa linang ang mga nagpupunta sa municipio, pagod ang mga ‘yan sa trabaho, at kahit kapirasong ngiti na isasalubong sa kanila ng ating LGU workers, gagaan agad ang kanilang loob,” narrates Aguirre at Sentinel Times on Air on Cool 101.5 radio in a recent broadcast.
As gesture of goodwill, Aguirre trotted out a policy for local government workers to “wear a smile always” as gesture of goodwill to the humblest of Mulanay populace.
He notes that local crop growers and tillers bear the brunt of lack of farm-to-market feeder roads for easier flow in the food supply chain. Coconuts remain as the town’s staple cash crop that yields copra, transported overland to buyers in San Pablo City where the sellers often have to wait for days before trading is concluded.
Indeed, Mulanay coconut producers deserve a share in the untapped P76-billion coconut levy funds still sitting at the nation’s treasury coffers, as no coco farmers coop has petitioned the national government for their rightful share.
Aguirre takes earnest pride in local pastry-makers for producing the region’s best arrowroot cookies, the main ingredient of which are from organically grown arrowroot herbs, harvested one a year for their starchy tubers and ground into flour.
Health concerns
No Covid-19 case was reported in Mulanay that has been grappling with child malnutrition for decades, just as that 1996 Jose-Alajar film had brought up.
“Lola’s boy po ako,” Aguirre confesses, and states that one of the steps he has taken to combat malnutrition among the young is the production of rice-mongo protein powder (that can be cooked as congee) to be distributed to affected families.
Aguirre who hasn’t even warmed the local top executive’s post has procured five machines to produce the rice-mongo mix through a program of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
So far, Mulanay hasn’t drawn up a festival to lure tourists to the town-- but there are sights and sites that can draw the adventurous travelers.
Say, Amuguis Falls environs with rock formations are largely undeveloped allowing large forest trees in the vicinity to thrive.
Malaking Bato, the ages-old boulder nestled along the coast of Barangay Santa Rosa had been famous as a picturesque picnic spot among residents and visitors alike.
Also awaiting rediscovery: the limestone tombs of Mt. Kamhantik that features carved limestone burial sites of Mulanay’s earliest dwellers. This had been declared as a certified historical site by the National Museum of the Philippines. It is ensconced within the Buenavista Protected Landscape. The site is also a shrine or dambana to worshippers of anitos and ancestral spirits.
No comments