Birthdays were never extraordinary occasions for me and my brothers when we were growing up.
There were no birthday cakes or candles to be blown. There were no parties even.
This was so because with 11 sons in the family whose parents were both public school teachers, celebrating every birthday with lavish preparations would have been a strain on the hand-to-mouth existence of the family.
So, we all woke up to our birthdays every year with each of the brothers and our parents wishing us “happy birthday.”
We said our prayer of thanks, took a bath, shared native manok with “ubad” and mongo and everything else became usual and ordinary.
When I was Governor of North Cotabato for nine years, I prevented employees in the provincial capitol from feting me with the traditional “Mañanita” where they serenade you at 4 a.m.
Actually, a very simple question which I posed when they first planned to serenade me, stopped them.
“Would you still serenade me even when I would no longer be your Governor?” I asked.
They knew that I knew the answer. Nobody attempted to serenade me after that. Not, during the nine years I was Governor.
Instead of lavish celebrations, the provincial government sponsored the “Pasko Alay sa mga Bata” where 100 poor children from each of the 18 local government units were given gifts which included slippers, t-shirts, toothbrush and toys.
Last week, I was faced with the same dilemma as I was about to celebrate my birthday for the first time since I became Secretary of Agriculture.
I stood my ground against suggestions that I celebrate my birthday in the DA offices and decided to go home to my family.
After the traditional family “Simbang Gabi” which starts on my birthday, I took a four-hour trip to the remote village of Bao, Alamada, North Cotabato for another “Biyaheng Bukid.”
The town of Alamada, where Bao is located, has always been a special place for me because it is one of the three towns in my province where I never lost lost in an election. The two others are my hometown of M’lang and Tulunan.
More than that, the people of Bao have been fiercely protective and supportive of me. In fact, when I faced threats from extremist groups because of my tough position against terrorism as Governor, men from the village, armed only with knives and bolos, guarded the provincial capitol.
Last Friday, I arrived in Bao with school children dancing and waving flageolets to welcome me. I allowed them to feast on the birthday cakes, perhaps their first taste of chocolate cakes.
I felt the genuine love of simple people who offered flowers and shed tears.
The event was made more meaningful by the presence of old friends and fellow workers in the Dept. of Agriculture, including Undersecretaries Eduardo Gongona and Bernadette Romulo and Asst. Secretaries Federico Laciste, Enrico Garzon and Hansel Didulo.
The biggest surprise I had was seeing Destilleria Limtuaco heiress Olivia Limpe-aw who arrived in the area not only to join the birthday celebration but also to announce to farmers that her company wanted to buy “tuba” from coconut farmers.
Corn seeds and fertilisers were distributed while a farm tractor was turned over to a farmers’ association in the corn-growing village.
A modern corn harvester with sheller donated by Yanmar of Japan will be delivered to the farmers in February while a hauling truck will be turned over to them next month.
After sharing lunch with the people, I took to the muddy road back to my farm and prepared for the gathering of family and friends the following day in the farm of my brother, Colonel Pat.
That was how another birthday in my life was marked.
Unlike the very simple and austere way the birthdays of my youth were celebrated, there were several “litsons” and plenty of food which I never even dreamed of partaking when I was young.
More than the food, I found happiness in seeing the same old faces I saw in my youth.
I saw them beaming with pride and to them I made a birthday vow: I will never embarrass or shame them and keep myself clean and untainted by corruption.
I also promised that I will work hard and do my best as Secretary of Agriculture to improve the lives of farmers and fisher folks so that they may be able to buy cakes complete with candles to celebrate their children’s birthdays.
(Photos show the “IronMan” greeting me on my birthday; the birthday cake which schoolchildren feasted on; the community lunch; flowers from the farmers; a brand new farm tractor for the corn farmers; fertilisers and corn seeds; a mosaic of different varieties and colours of rice to create a photo from PhilRice and a picture of the crowd.)
More Stories
Building North Cotabato’s Soybeans Industry To Support Poultry, Livestock, Aquaculture & Halal Beef Production Program!
Thank You, Dado, Alamada Vegetable Farmers!
1st Batch Of Spanish Goats Arriving End Of April!