Makikisaling-pusa ako dito sa idea ni Karen ng Pilgrim’s Pots and Pans (Hi Karen!) at Stef (Hi Stef!) ng Stefoodie kahit na hindi naman ako totoong food blogista. Medyo may pagka samut sari itong narrative ko pero sana ok lang hehehe…sensya na po.
Noon pag weekends nasa probinsya kami sa bahay ng lola ko sa father side. Walang mintis yon every weekend, kasi about 2 hrs. drive lang from Manila. Masaya lagi dahil sama sama lahat at ang daming prutas at kakanin na puro home-made gawa ng mga kamag-anak at mga lola lola. May bibingka, suman, sapin-sapin, kalamay pinipig, biko, ginataan bilo-bilo, alfajores(? ginataang lugaw-malagkit na may toasted munggo). Basta lahat ng klase ng kakanin nakakain ko noon at may masarap na tsaa na nilagang dahon ng avocado (yes, dahon ng avocado, masarap!).
August 20 (1983), Sabado ng umaga nakahanda na kami lahat para umalis pero kulang ng isa. Yun pala hindi daw sasama yung kuya ko dahil may gagawin daw siya, so umalis na kami na hindi siya kasama. Pagbalik namin ng kinabukasan na Linggo ng hapon, ang daming tao sa bahay namin. Mga kaibigan ng kuya ko na karamihan ay mga aktibista ng UP, kasama dun si L.Alejan yung na-assassinate na student leader nung early to mid 80s na ka batch/barkada nila sa UPEcon. Pupunta daw silang MIA para sumalubong kay Ninoy at nagmi-meeting muna sandali at nilalagyan ng maiinom na tubig yung mga dala nilang bote/thermos.
May uwi kaming sapin-sapin at saka biko noon para ipamigay sa ilang kapitbahay, pero pinakain na lang ng tatay ko doon sa mga kasama ng kuya ko dahil mga mukang gutom. Ayaw pa sanang kumain dahil mga mahiyain at nagmamadali nang umalis pero kumain din, sino ba naman ang makakatanggi sa amoy ng latik at langka sa sapin-sapin na nasa bilao at nababalot ng dahon ng saging.
Ni hindi ko alam kung sino si Ninoy noon, naman eh malay ko ba, ang alam ko lang gawin noon e magbasa ng Greek Mythology, makinig ng Beatles, at mag daydream na boyfriend ko si Christopher Reeve na feeling ko ako si Lois Lane at may background music na ‘Can you read my mind’ habang lumilipad kami sa may Empire State.
Tapos buong magdamag ng bukas ang TV namin noon at inaabangan ang news tungkol kay Ninoy at Galman.
I-fast forward natin sa 1986, February.
Nung People Power I at napabalitang nag-green light si Fabian Ver na huwag santuhin at barilin daw yung iilan-ilan pang ralyista sa may Crame, nanawagan na sa radyo si Cardinal Sin at sinabing magpunta na ang mga tao sa Edsa para sumuporta sa mga anti-Marcos demonstrators. Ayun, doon na ako nakisawsaw, kasi alam ko na kung anong nangyayari at maliwanag na sa akin dahil college na ako noon at kahit papaano eh may social awareness ng matatawag. Gusto ko ring pumunta sa Edsa pero ayaw naman akong isama ng kuya ko dahil istorbo lang daw ako, ayaw rin naman akong payagan ng tatay ko na pumunta at baka maapakan lang daw ako ng mga tao, eh makulit talaga ako at gustong makisali kaya nag-isip ako ng magagawa. “Pagkain” ! kailangan ng pagkain dahil magugutom yung mga civilians at mga madre na pumipigil at nakabara dun sa gates ng Crame para hindi mailabas yung mga cannons.
Sabi nung ate ko magbe-bake daw siya ng cookies at dalhin daw namin sa Edsa para may “snack” yung mga nagvi-vigil. Sabi ko naman eh ‘bat cookies pa di naman nakakabusog yon at saka ilan lang ang mapapakain natin konti lang di ba? Sandwiches na lang mas mabuti pa. Punta kami ng grocery at bumili kami ng ilang large jars ng Ludy’s Peanut Butter at sangkatutak na “Tasty”. Gawa kami ng sandwiches, siguro mga 500pcs din yung nagawa namin. Inilagay namin sa kotse at umalis na kami papuntang Edsa. Ang dami ng tao at di na kami maka abante pagdating sa may Boni. Gumawa ako ng sign sa cardboard na “FOOD” at inilagay namin sa windshield, ayun nakalusot din kami sa dami ng tao. Ang saya saya noon,parang isang malaking party.
Wala akong Ludy’s Peanut Butter para sa sandwich kaya biko na lang na walang latik, pero masarap din na kombinasyon pala ang pimiento cheeswhiz at plain biko.
Sa mga nababasa ko sa mga on-line news na nangyayari sa bansa natin ngayon, parang sobra na ang sakit ng kahirapan na isinisisi sa kagagawan ng mga pulitikong nagmamaniobra doon, marahil totoo, marahil hindi, at marahil ay isa sa mga dahilan ay malalim na ugat ng nakalipas na nangyari sa Pilipinas noon na hindi mabitaw bitawan hanggang ngayon. Pero sa gitna ng lahat ng ito may pag-asa pa rin ang bansa natin at tayong mga Pilipino.
Remember the story of Pandora’s box? amid all the social maladies in our country,corruptions and toxicities in some of our people’s minds and rampageous swines (oops..) in our pitiful government, there is HOPE. Hope is good at dapat nasa atin parati ito.
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Sabi ni Ms. Karenkeng itranslate ko daw sa Eigo kaya eto, madalian lang para makahabol bukas Laban Day; pasensya na lang po.
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I didn’t even know who Ninoy was. It was the early 80s and I was oblivious to anything, much more to anything political due to the fact that I had just hit puberty then and all I cared about were my Greek Mythology books, Beatles, and my imaginings that Christopher Reeve/Superman was my boyfriend.
August 21 was a Sunday. My family had just got back from our weekend visit to my paternal grandmother in the province, a 2 hour-drive from our house in Quezon City. We were surprised at the door because our house was full of young people, about 20 of them all in their late teens and early 20s. Most of them were my brother’s (who didn’t join us on our trip) friends and fellow activists who were there to have some sort of a meeting before they proceed to the airport to welcome the coming home of Ninoy. My brother, who is several years older than me, was a member of all sorts of anti-Marcos movements in UP at the time. He was also a friend and batch mate of L.Alejan, a student leader and political activist during the Marcos era.
My father said they looked hungry so he told them to eat the biko and sapin sapin my grandmother and grandaunts had made which we brought with us, meant to be given to the neighbors and to my parent’s friends. They refused to eat them, I thought they were just shy, but a few moments later, because of the unbearably tempting aroma of the jackfruit and latik toppings of the goodies wrapped in banana leaves that permeated through our living room, they gave in. They were really hungry.
Our TV was on the whole night as we watched the lifeless bodies of Ninoy and Rolando Galman being carried and plunked in to a waiting van at the tarmac.
Let’s fast-forward it to 1986.
People Power Edsa I
General Fabian Ver had green lighted Marcos’order that any one who would get in the way would be shot dead. Because of this Jaime Cardinal Sin called on and appealed to civilians, thru the Radio Veritas, to troop to Edsa and be vigilant and support the then only hundred others consisted mainly of students, nuns and seminarians who had formed a human chain to block the gates of Crame so the loyalist soldiers wouldn’t be able to take out the cannons.
I wanted to go. I wanted very much to be a part of it because I was already in college and no longer the silly juvenile daydreamer me (well…no longer juvenile but still dreamy and silly). But my brother wouldn’t take me along, “istorbo ka lang”, he would say. My father wouldn’t let me go either and ordered me to just stay home and watch it on TV. I had to think of something, a reason, for me to be there and be counted as part of that important moment in history. So I thought of bringing food. I told my older sister about my plan and she suggested that she would bake cookies, lots of cookies. I said no, cookies were no good because they’re not filling enough, and it’s going to be more expensive. I said we should make something easy and quick like sandwiches. After too much convincing and kulitan, our mom yielded to the idea and gave us money. We hurried to the nearest grocery and bought several large jars of Ludy’s Peanut Butter and loaves and loaves of “Tasty” (a brand name of bread). We made about 500 peanut butter sandwiches, loaded them in to the car and drove to Edsa. By the time we got to Boni Ave. we couldn’t proceed anymore because there were so many people blocking all the corners and streets and it was almost impossible for any vehicle to get through. I wrote the word “FOOD” on a piece of cardboard and stuck it on the windshield so people would see it and let us pass through.
A big party, that was what Edsa I looked like.
Two days later, Marcos was removed from the Philippine soil.
I don’t have Ludy’s peanut butter now to make sandwiches with so I just made biko without the latik but I found out Cheese Whiz is a good topping.
Having been away from our country for a little less than twenty years now has made me appreciate and love it more than ever before. I regularly read the online news about the Philippines and 90 % of the time I see nothing but misery. Poverty and hopelessness, that most of our countrymen blame on our unprincipled politicians and leaders; maybe they really are to blame, maybe they are not. Maybe we ought to blame ourselves as well and the deep-rooted problems from our past that until this point in time we still have been unable to shake off and free our system of. I don’t really know. But what I do know is we shouldn’t lose our faith and that we should continue to believe that we have great capabilities to change for the better.
Remember the story of Pandora’s box? Amid all the social maladies in our country, corruptions and toxicities in some of our people’s minds, and the rampageous swines in our pitiful government, there is HOPE. And hope is good, which should be in all of us always.
