THE 1st TULABONG FESTIVAL, A WEEK AFTER: A GREAT CELEBRATION OF A HAPPY PEOPLE

(Photo caption: Petals of flowers gathered by children the day before the festival are dropped by a teacher and two students from Manny Pacquiao’s Bell Ranger helicopter which hovered over the huge crowd which attended the 1st Tulabong Festival.)

It is exactly a week today since the staging of one of the biggest celebratory festivals ever seen in the town of M’lang and the whole Province of North Cotabato – the 1st Tulabong Festival.

Until today, I still grow goose pimples all over my body every time I remember seeing that sea of humanity gathered at the still unfinished airport that morning of Feb. 16.

The crowd estimates vary. Some say it was as big as 30,000 but I placed it at a safe 20,000 during the peak of the activities which were the airshow, the skydiving and the drag race later in the day.

The volume of vehicles which came and left was best described by the residents living near the roads leading to the airport in the side of Barangay Langkong, Sangat and Tawantawan who complained that their houses were covered with dust.

But it was a great celebration which almost did not push through.

A few days before the 1st Tulabong Festival, the Governor of North Cotabato wrote the Barangay Chairperson of Tawantawan a letter questioning why she did not coordinate with the provincial government in the staging of the activity in the airport.

Barangay Chairperson Renren Buenaflor referred the letter to M’lang Mayor Lito Pinol who explained that the municipal government of M’lang coordinated with the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) under whose supervision the airport is being constructed.

Failing to stop the festival, the other political camp came up with a brilliant idea of diverting people’s attention from the airport activity by announcing that a motocross will be held the same day in the town proper.

Of course, not a soul showed up at the motocross because everybody, even the lowly ice drop vendor was at the airport making good money from the thousands of thirsty people.

Again, failing to attract the attention of the people to the motocross, they held the Search for Miss Gay under the Gay Pride Program of the provincial government.

They brought in gay participants from Kabacan and Matalam and made the colorfully attired contestants walk the streets of Mlang Poblacion to invite the people to witness the event.

All told, about 200 people, including the participants themselves, attended the Search for the Miss Gay.

The rest of the town was at the airport for the Search for the 1st Lakandula and Lakambini of the Festival which was participated in by pairs of handsome and lovely teenagers in their fascinating costumes depicting the beautiful Tulabong or white heron.

Later that day, heavy rains poured on the Search for the Miss Gay in the Poblacion Proper while at the airport, overcast skies brought in a cool and enjoyable evening for those who witnessed the competition for the Lakandula and Lakambini.

God really has a way of sending a message, and a lesson too, to people who are Green with Envy.

The 1st Tulabong Festival will now go down in the history of M’lang as the biggest celebration of a people thankful for the blessings they receive from God.