He walked around town to sell newspapers and was involved in the town fiesta, playing important roles in the Comedia and the Sinulog alongside my Papa. Purong was the other personality famous in Iligan - he was the smalltown sweetheart. He was one of the two most popular personalities in our city - he knew all our names! He sold Magnolia Ice Cream in a cart I think we bought ice cream mostly because we just wanted to interact with him. Schoolchildren flocked to him like bees to honey. I think we ended up calling him that because he was a dead ringer for Dolphy, the comedian. My favorite character in Iligan growing up was Manong Dolphy. I had the privilege of meeting and knowing people from all walks of life. It was a time when Mindanao was seldom thought of by the highly centralized government, which focused more on Luzon and the Visayas. The sound of gunshots was not that alarming, but New Year’s Eve was especially tricky - we would sometimes find stray bullets in one of the rooms or in the garden. People often joke with me about sleeping with guns under my bed - it is something I take matter-of-factly. Dressing up to celebrate my parents' wedding anniversary, which falls on Christmas Eve The radio would be blaring with local news about a bomb exploding in the plaza or the kidnapping of a local businessman, or more often it would be political polemics. A memory that has stayed with me is sitting on a white cane chair while my Mama would fix my hair for school. Local politics in the context of Mindanao defies simple explanation, therefore I will just speak through the eyes of the child that I was back then, peering into what was happening all around me. My siblings and I with Lola Geny wearing traditional garments: (From left) Manny, Hanna, Lola Geny, me, Marie and Lizzie That it is not about me it is all about the people. For me, Papa exemplified the true meaning of public service. “Do things and do not expect anything in return.” Those words were constantly impressed on my siblings and me as we were growing up. Together with our family and friends, they provided my siblings and me with a happy childhood enhanced by early and constant exposure to public service. I grew up in Iligan City, the industrial city of the south where my Papa served as mayor for decades with my Mama by his side. Filip + Inna founder Len Cabili at Limunsudan Falls My maternal side, the Alanos, made their home in Zamboanga and Basilan. Cabili is an indigenous Filipino surname with deep roots in the Lanao provinces. Personally, both sides of my family have a long history in Mindanao, and are deeply embedded in its intricate fabric. Home to a rich cultural tapestry complemented by rich natural mineral resources, Mindanao is known as the fruit basket of the Philippines - truly a land of promise.ĭuring childhood, our identities are assorted in relation to the family we are born into and our place of birth. The first few chapters of my story began in the southern part of the Philippine archipelago on the island of Mindanao.
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