23 May 2011
While the tail end of vacation season is still around, and before the summer finally gives way to the rainy season, I feel it necessary to give priority to this article to complete my series on local Tourism and Quality.
There are other sites in Alaminos City, other than the Hundred Islands, that are, to me, worthwhile touring because of their historical and cultural significance. The “Lunatecs” were able to make a quick visit to three of them.
After the boat ride from Hundred Islands and a freshening up at the hotel, the group had the good fortune of still entering the Saint Joseph Church even when it was already closed for the evening when we arrived to visit. A good natured nun who happened to be in the church yard assisted us to the extent of having the custodian fetched from his house to open the church door. The interior of the 400 year old church was majestic and still has the pillared altar typical of the period when it was built. The group stayed just for short prayers and some photos and left - very thankful to and impressed with the nun and the church custodian who, with smiles, went out of their way to accommodate us.
It was likewise a pleasure to observe the heritage houses of Alaminos, a number of them seemingly well preserved and which evidently retained the characteristic features of buildings built when the Spanish influence was still prevalent. The group actually had an opportunity to get into one since we were, after our church visit, treated to dinner by our host, Coratec (together with her cousin Lulu, and sister-in-law Charo), in the Braganza ancestral house. The usual wide stairs to the second floor was there, as expected, immediately after the door at the ground floor. And so were the thick, wide and shiny hardwood planks used for the floor of a ballroom-wide living room. Ventilation was also very good, given the high ceiling and the tall capiz windows lining at least two sides of the living room, and which are complemented by a wide open space on another side that allows air to flow through either way.
Some of us strolled afterwards to the “gazebo” or the Dr. Gonzalo R. Montemayor Memorial at the fishport or “pantalan” where the larger than life statue of Limahong and Princess Urduja are installed. It so happened that the Alaminos Lions Club was celebrating its Golden Anniversary with an open air party in the adjacent lot so the memorial was filled with people (mostly children) who were, as practised in the provinces, watching the proceedings. We had photos of ourselves taken with the statues while at the same time also enjoyed a bonus of simultaneously observing one of the oldest lighthouse in the country flash its beams, and listening (with some of us even dancing) to the 60s music being played by one of the province’s (full) orchestra. We did not have any reservations afterwards about walking back to our hotel located about a kilometer away, since the road seemed secure, being sufficiently lit and with enough pedestrians, which made the exercise enjoyable. It was something that I personally have not done in a long, long time and for which I reminisced similar activities during long vacations in my hometown when I was young.
As a short historical note, Limahong was the notorious Chinese pirate and warlord who attacked but failed to capture Manila in 1574. After being foiled in Manila, he invaded Pangasinan and forced the natives there to treat him as their king, and pay him tribute. He and his followers are generally considered as the ones who gave the name “Lucap” to the place where the Hundred Islands is located. However the Spanish force led by Juan Lopez de Salcedo eventually drove the Chinese invaders out in 1575. But, some of them were left behind and became the forbearers of most Pangasinenses with Chinese ancestry.
Sunday morning was reserved for the trip to Sitio Catubig, Barangay Tara in Bolinao, about a 45 minutes drive westward from Alaminos. The interest was to visit the “Saint Joseph Home for the Elderly” being run by the “Little Sisters of the Poor”, a congregation of nuns founded by a French woman, Saint Jeanne Jugan (canonized in 2008), that focuses on caring for the elderly poor who have nothing to eat and nowhere to go. The members of the congregation profess vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and hospitality, and dedicate their whole lives to the service of the needy elderly.
To the group’s surprise what we saw was totally different from what we expected to see based on the impression we got from the name of the congregation. What we thought would be more of a pitiful facility turned out to be an all concrete, three storey, 35 bedroom facility, perched on top of a hill overlooking the mouth of the Bolinao River and the Anda Bridge, and within a gated compound I would hazard to guess to be about 5 hectares (donated by a good soul named Mr. Saturnino A. Abesamis). The structure, which I understand was built in 2008 with funds from France, can be reached through a concrete winding driveway along a manicured lawn.
We got there in time to catch most parts of the Sunday Mass being celebrated for the residents (all elderly people), the sisters, as well as our group. What I immediately observed was that although one or two of the old people acted strange during the mass, all looked clean and well behaved.
After the mass, the elderly residents were treated to an “arroz caldo” and “pan de sal” meal (prepared and brought by Coratec’s cousin Lulu Braganza) at the home’s cafeteria. The different members of the group, as planned, and knowing that the elderly look forward to these visits as they rarely get such from relatives – if at all, sat down with the elderly in the different tables and interacted with them. My wife Mel and I sat down with a group composed of 3 men and a woman. Two of the men actively conversed with us, although at times with difficulty connecting. The other man and the woman (despite Mel’s prodding) just kept silent the whole time, but both seemed to be intently listening to the conversation. The interaction lasted for less than an hour, and we noticed that most of the elderly seemed to have enjoyed.
The group was afterwards given a tour of the home, which “can rival classy hotels in design, size and facilities”. The elderly were assigned two to a room that’s about 36 square meters in area. Here, a draw-able curtain separates the living space of the occupants, each of whom is provided with a good quality bed, beddings and wardrobe. Each room has its own toilet and bath. There is also a gym fitted with equipment appropriate for addressing the exercise needs of the elderly, a workshop where they can apply their creativity making various handicrafts or just busy themselves, an outlet where their produce can be sold and a theatre with complete musical instruments (including a drum set)for presentation purposes. A dining room is provided for each floor where each elderly resident is provided with proper tableware complete with cloth napkins during each meal. An air-conditioned room for a wake when someone passes away is also provided.
The kitchen, supervised by one of the nuns, is comparable to any or maybe even better that those of the first class restaurants in Manila - with their all stainless and shiny equipment, refrigerated room and cold storage room.
The home, which we learned was designed in France, can accommodate only 60, but at the time of our visit had just about 35 elderly residents. One can qualify for residency if at least 65 years old, present proof that their family can no longer afford to keep them, have no communicable disease, and no psychological disorder. Qualified elderly are welcome regardless of race, religion or national origin. The Little Sisters of the Poor actually have another similar home in Manila (their first in the Philippines, started in 2004) called “The San Lorenzo Ruiz Home for the Elderly”, and which is part of the 202 homes they are currently operating in 32 countries.
What is very evident and heartening is the dignity that the Little Sisters of the Poor, a community of about 2,700 worldwide, are able to give to the very poor elderly to whom they give sanctuary and care. They are not just providing the elderly poor an opportunity for a better quality of material life that he/she may not even have dreamt of, but also an opportunity for a higher form of quality – the quality of spiritual life. As the Little Sisters profess their reliance “on God’s Providence- manifested through the generosity of good people in the community – for the survival of... [their] mission”, it would probably bring blessings to those of us who plan to go up north to include in our itinerary a visit to this home, which aside from being a center of selflessness, is to me, also a bastion of quality structures, quality systems, quality service, and quality people. For those interested, the Little Sisters of the Poor can be reached through the following address: St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly, P.O. box 38, Sitio Catubig, Barangay Tara, 2406 Bolinao, Pangasinan. Tel. 0916 428-3454 or 0905 330-6483.
