Itbayat District

is 1st Place in

Batanes Day

Girls Softball

July 2014 Supplement Vol. 1 , No. 3-A A Publication of the Itbayat Local Government Unit

the Land Governance the People

231st Batanes Day Supplement

ITBAYAT

BASCO, Batanes-Vice Presi-dent Jejomar C. Binay on Thursday, June 26, 2014 stressed the importance of local government units in supporting cultural preserva-tion and historical research. The Vice-President praised the Ivatans for their efforts to keep their indigenous tradi-tion alive noting that “we are a people rich in heritage, gift-ed in the arts, and blessed in His bounty” at the opening of the 231st Founding Anniver-sary of Batanes. “Hiling ko rin ay magka-roon ng ganitong inisyatiba sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng ating bansa, nang sa gayon ay map-anatili nating isang buhay na bahagi ng ating pagka-

Pilipino ang sari-sari ngunit magkaka-ugnay na kultura at tradisyon ng katutubong Pili-pino,” he added Citing his Ibanag roots, Bi-nay said he was lucky he learned to speak the language despite having been orphaned at an early age, as he ex-pressed concern on the de-creasing number of native speakers of Ibanag and other native languages. “Sa panahon ng pag-usbong ng mga makabagong teknolo-hiya at globalisasyon ay na-papansin ko pong unti-unti nang nauubos ang mga native speakers ng Ibanag. Kara-mihan ng mga sanggol sa ngayon ay kinakausap na ng Ingles ng mga magulang nila,

kaya naman paglaki nila ay hirap silang magsalita ng mga katutubong wika, kasama na ang Ivatan at Pilipino,” he said. “Kaya po ako’y masidhing tumutulong na maisulong ang pangagala-ga ng kultura at wikang Ibanag. Ipinapangamba ko na baka sa susunod na da-lawang dekada ay tuluyan nang maubos ang mga marunong magsalita ng aming wika, sabay paglaho na rin ng kultura nito,” he added. The Ibanag is a Philip-pine ethnic minority group concentrated in the prov-inces of Cagayan, Nueva

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LGU support vital for cultural preservation

VP Binay: Collective local cultures=National Soul

MAVIJ A MAVAKES: Women in Ivatan society serve as key transmitters of

the non-material culture — beliefs, knowledge of the environment and social

expectations. May these crowned beauties fulfill their role as faithful beacons

of the province’s traditions. Miss Batanes Elsa Schumacher from Sabtang

(right photo) and her court viewed the opening of the Palarong Panlalawigan.

THE ITBAYAT Schools District girls softball team for the elementary level emerged as the Champions during the recently conclud-ed Batanes Schools Athletic Association Meet(BSAAM) held on the last week of June as part of the 231st Batanes Day Celebration. The Itbayat Delegation also captured the 1st Run-ner-up plum for the softball secondary level contest courtesy of the green-jerseyed Raele Integrated School (RIS) girls team. Meanwhile, for the Com-munity Level Competitions, the Itbayat Men’s softball team for the 39 and under

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With her were (L to R at left photo) Miss Ivana Jaya Mae Javier; “Face of

the Year” Ms. Uyugan Stephanie Elica; Miss Basco Louie Carmina

Guisando who was 1st runner up and Miss Itbayat Jazzmyn Gonzales

who was 2nd runner up and Miss Congeniality. ** (Photos by Joseph

Taguba downloaded from Facebook )

Page 2 ITBAYAT IN-FOCUS July 2014

the play of light and shadows. He has benefitted from urban living with benefactors but has chosen a pastoral life. Olan does occasional workshops with children but the major part of his works is now devoted to documenting scenes, culture, life events and the environment in the land of his ancestors.**

VAHAY SERIES (pages 2, 4): Itbayat artist-in-residence Roland Gonzales formally learned the intricacies of painting from university men-tors and renowned masters of the craft. Along the way he left the campus but gained a pas-sionate and precise eye for detail, realism and

THE RESTORATION of Ivatan vernacular houses, a project of the National Commis-sion on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), is on its third phase as they attend to beneficiar-ies from Mayan poblacion. NCIP Itbayat Community Assistance Center head Tribal Assistance Aide I Elisa Roniño said 16 houses were restored in Raele while documentation is being collat-ed for 19 houses finished in Sitio Yawran. Three more houses will be restored in Raele; for Mayan, one has been completed while 15 are on process and inspection .

Roniño assured the houses are all of indigenous materials like vuchid (cogon), viahu (reed), ah’way (rattan strips) kawuy (thin bamboo poles) and lilit (native fern pith). She said Yaru or bayanihan was prac-ticed for the construction particularly in placing the roofing (piyat ‘pan).

For the 16 houses in Barangay Raele, expenses for indigenous materials bought was ₱208,740 as labor was a counterpart of the house restoration beneficiaries.**

Vizcaya, and Isabela. The Vice President’s mother, the late Lourdes Cabauatan, hailed from Cabagan, Isabela. The Vice President said the culture and history of every town, province, and ethno-linguistic group in the Philippines make up the country’s shared or collective history. Binay said the National Soul evolves through collective memories of pathways taken by our ancestors and visions drawn therefrom for future generations. “Ganoon kahalaga ang ating panga-ngalaga sa ating sariling kultura at kasaysa-yan—at sa sariling kultura at kasaysayan ng mga Ivatan. Nasa pangangalaga ito—at pag-unawa—ng diwa ng lahi nagmumula ang ating katatagan sa pagharap ng iba’t ibang hamon ng buhay, ng pagbabago, at atin mismong pag-iral,” he added. Vice-President Binay also lauded the Ivatans culture of honesty. “During tours, guides would say that it's okay to leave your packs, even unattended at times, because no Ivatan will have inter-est in anything that is not his,” he said. “Ngunit hindi lamang iyon. Hindi ba’t dito mo lamang makikita ang isang café na honesty system lamang ang pinapairal?Walang nagbabantay, konsiyensiya mo na kung magbabayad ka o hindi,” the Vice President added.** (Speech downloaded from VP Jejomar Binay’s Facebook page)

LGU support for culture… From Page 1

NCIP project on vernacular houses moves to Mayan

Kavahayan du Dichbayat (L) Luminggo, (R) Vahay-3 and (Down) Piyat ‘Pan by Olan

THE FIRST beneficiary of the NCIP Project, Roman Estoy, poses with his special child before their old house. After providing the labor counterpart, the Estoy family now enjoy a restored house.** (Photos by NCIP )

“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain…” Psalm 127

BATANES gained significance as a possible early stepping stone in the dispersal of Austronesian peoples, the larger ancestral family from where the modern peoples of South East Asia and Oceania, descended in what many scholars have come to consider to be the widest human migration in history. The Austronesians migrated from Taiwan during the Neolithic period between 5000 to 2500 BC (about 4,500 to 7,000 years ago) settling as far as Easter Island in the east, Madagascar in the West, Hawaii in the North and New Zealand in the South establishing them-selves as the dominant race and culture wherever they went. Today Austronesians number about 380 million, including Indonesians, Ma-lays and Filipinos. Batanes was settled early in this pattern of migration based on archeological studies of Dr. Peter Bellwood of the Australian National University. Dr. Bellwood ascertained the Ivatans were early Austro-nesians from Taiwan that came 4,500 years ago. Indonesia was set-tled a thousand years later. The Ivatan dialect spoken in Batang and Sabtang Islands and Itbayaten in the island of Itbayat distinctly belong to the Austronesian family of languages. The dwelling place of the first Austronesian settlers in Batanes was Torongan Cave in Itbayat town. Batanes could give clues about how early Austronesians migrated and lived from various archeologi-cal sites which are now subject of preservation efforts.** (Source- Batanes Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan)

July 2014 ITBAYAT IN-FOCUS Page 3

BEFORE CONTACT with

westerners, the native Ivatans

lived in hilltop fortresses called

idjangs, around or on which

they built compact settlements.

In 1687, a crew of English

freebooters headed by William

Dampier reached Batanes after

strong winds drove them off

course as they headed for Ma-

nila from Mindanao. They did

not stay long nor did they claim

the islands for the British crown

but Dampier’s writing docu-

mented the Ivatan’s way of life

before the Spaniards came,

which included their housing

pattern around the idjangs.

The houses were built close to each other on the sides and tops of rocky hills with 3 or 4 rows of houses built one above the other on steep, terraced preci-pices. The natives go up to the first row with a wooden ladder and use another ladder to go up the next terrace since there was no other way to climb to the next. Natives draw up the lad-der when they were attacked. As such, there was no way to reach them but through the per-pendicular precipice at the back of the rocky hill. They took care to build on the side of such a hill, where the backside hanged over the sea which is totally inaccessible. They did not care to build much except in these rocky fortresses preferring such a site for security reasons. Their houses were low and small. Because the weather can be cold during the months of August to March, there was a fireplace on one end of their house. They place boards on the ground to lie on. Spanish missionaries came to Batanes as early as 1686 but it was only in 1783 that Batanes was annexed to Spain and be-came its last colonial outpost in the East under the auspices of Governor Jose Basco y Vargas. During the Spanish occupa-tion, the Ivatans were enticed to leave their mountain fortresses and live in well planned low-

land towns following King Philip II’s Law of the Indies. The Spaniards introduced the use of mortar, a combination of lime and stone to build walled structures. Before the Spanish era, houses of Ivatans were made of wood or thick cogon walls and roofs. With the new technology, they switched to mortar wall but retained the thick cogon roofing. The Spanish colonizers also capitalized on the inherently cooperative spirit of the Ivat-ans. They exacted free labor and obliged them to work on public infrastructure. This cus-tom of getting together for work carried over to the build-ing of stone houses which has since then pervaded every other aspect of the Ivatan way of life now referred to as yaru. Batanes stone houses are well adopted to typhoons and strong winds that batter the islands. Because of materials used and the thick walls (about a meter), they are cool during summer and warm during cold months. They also do not cave in easily during earthquakes, a far cry from modern materials and designs which may be vulnera-ble to disasters. It is said that no one dies of typhoons in Batanes. This is attributed to the sturdy Ivatan house along with the indige-nous knowledge of deciphering the unpredictable weather. Today remnants of the aban-doned idjangs and terraced settlements are still visible and are being preserved. Today town settlements retain these stone houses built during the Spanish era and so with traditional cogonal houses both serving as showcases and re-ferred to as vernacular houses. Today Batanes stands as a unique and outstanding testimo-ny to the evolution of the Aus-tronesians over thousands of years and the enriching influ-ences of Spanish and other cul-tural spheres.**(Source- Batanes Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan)

ARTIFACT?: Darwin Gonzales of Barangay Sta. Maria and friends went to Siayan island February 01, 2014. In their sightseeing, they found some pot-sherds (vanga) and the remains of a human which they put together. There are no known Itbayat residents buried in Siayan so he thought, “..malamang sa mga unang tao..” Gonzales noted the oddly large head size and that in olden times, a vanga was used as a burial vessel. He took photos, secured the remains, reported the find to Mayor Reuel C. Ibañes and submitted electronic copies of the photos to Itbayat In Focus. Letters were sent to Batanes State College May 2014 as they have a tie up with the National Museum. E-mails were also sent to the Museum June and July but their account seems inactive. It is hoped that authorities would take note and verify these artifacts which could provide clues to our collective cultural heritage before these fragile remains fade away.**

A story of the Ivatan house and dwellings

BURIAL GROUND? The Site was exposed after strong winds and waves of super-typhoon Odette September last year slammed into Siayan Island.**

Siayan Archeological Find?

Who were the Austronesians?

Itbayat IN FOCUS is a publication of the Local Government Unit for transparency and public information. It is aimed primarily to encourage teamwork and peoples participation in governance and improve public service. Questions, contributions other perti-nent matters can be submitted to: Office of the Mayor, Munici-pality of Itbayat, Province of Batanes or please contact Ms. Linda Cultura and/or Ms. Zenas Labrador of the Mayor’s office.*

ITBAYAT

the Land Governance the People

Editorial Board

Editorial Board Chairman - Mayor Reuel C. Ibañes Editorial Board Members- Vice-Mayor Sabas C. De Sagon; Municipal Councilors Pablo B. Alcazar, Jr.; Jonathan Intervalo; Alejandria C. Asa; Federico B. Robillos, Jr.; Ferdinand G. Asa; Alexander V. Valiente, Ernesto A. Castillo, Emerson Valiente, and Jonel C. Villa – President, Liga ng Mga Barangay Contributing Staff – LGU Department Heads and Employees Info/Publications Coordinator - Nathan E. Alcantara Staff/Research Assistant - Noveliza C. Dona

Page 4 ITBAYAT IN-FOCUS July 2014

age group were declared as Champions after they defeated their rival team from Basco in regulation time. A communication dated July 14, 2014 from Itbayat Schools Division Delegation Head Froilan G. Mercado and delega-tion Treasurer Nolly C. Dierra addressed to Mayor Reuel Ibañes and other municipal officials stated the Itbayat Schools delega-tion also placed 1st runner-up in

the Tatus relay and 2nd runner up in the Kalasag Race. Tatus Relay is a 50-meter team relay race where a team of eight participants crawling on their backs raising their bodies from the ground and moving with hands and feet much like the coconut crab (tatus) while Kalasag is a race on bamboo stilts the foothold of which must be 12 inches above the ground. Dierra and Mercado were thank-

ITBAYAT win Girls Softball in Batanes Day games …… From Page 1

VISION “We envision Itbayat as a progressive production area with sustain-

able economic growth with God loving, peaceful, healthy and well informed citizenry committed to preserve its culture and tradition living on a well balanced environment under a decent and progres-sive leadership.”

MISSION “Towards this end we shall promote the rational use of our natural resources, provide livelihood and economic oppor-tunities, deliver quality basic services, endeavor to pre-serve its cultural heritage and ensure sustainable ecologi-cal security.”

ful for the support of the Munic-ipal Government for the Itbayat delegation and with the honors gained, the help given was not in vain. The mentors are hope-ful that the support will continue and that they will always count on the town’s officialdom as a partner in education. Weeks before the Batanes Day games, the Itbayat Tangerine-n-Blue Girls had been conducting regular practice which contribut-

ed to garnering top honors. The elementary girls had Wil-son Eriful as their coach while the RIS Softball girls was coached by Heliodoro Rarela. Meantime, it was gathered that the men’s 39 and under softballers were up for bat for the 5th inning but having scored a homer at the first in-ning, they were declared as the winning team with 8 homers while Basco only had 7. **

BATANES DAY GAMES: The Itbayat Schools Delegation gave their all and came home with a m e d a l h a r v e s t .(Clockwise from bottom) The Itbayat Girls Soft-ball team coached by Wilson Eriful showed their stuff and bagged the Gold; back-crawling boys in the Tatus relay; 1st runner up Tatus relay team (R to L)Sean Keith Orlina, Giovanni Paolo Valiente, Joash Robillos, Vance Bata, Roosevelt Jim Labra-dor, Christian Entela, Joel Horiondo, Jr. and Zeo Gato, Jr.; athletics events players clown it up to ease tension with their coach-chaperone Agnes Nobleza.** Photos by Delegation Treasurer Nolly Dierra and Agnes Nobleza

SOFTBALL CHAMPS: The

Itbayat Men’s Softball Team

for the 39 and below age

bracket whoop it as they

emerge winners after their

final game with their coun-

terparts from the capital

town Basco. The Itbayat-

ens coached by Teofilo

Gavilan and Rodel Gutierrez

won by a home run on regu-

lation time of 4 innings **

From Mobi le Uploads/

Pudalan Inahs FB page