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Thursday, October 25, 2007

Looking Back and Around

For lack of good materials to write about, I grabbed this tidbit from Wikipedia about our beloved Molave.

Molave is a 1st class municipality in the province of Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 45,082 people in 8,470 households.

The town lists 25 barangays under its wing. They are, Alicia, Ariosa, Bagong Argao, Bagong Gutlang, Blancia, Bogo Capalaran, Culo, Dalaon, Dipolo, Dontulan, Gonosan, Lower Dimalinao, Lower Dimorok, Mabuhay, Madasigon (Pob.), Makuguihon (Pob.), Maloloy-on (Pob.), Miligan, Parasan, Rizal, Santo Rosario, Silangit, Simata, Sudlon and Upper Dimorok.

I guess it's timely, with the Barangay and SK Elections just around the bend. I went to the bank yesterday and I wasn't surprised when they told me they ran out of 20-peso and 50-peso bills. Could it be just another coincidence? Oh well.

This got me thinking. After practically living in Molave for a collective 18 or so years, I haven't really gone to most of the barangays. Hmmm.. Maybe I should go back to the land that used to be the home of monkeys and huge Molave trees, hence the name, and check out the places that I haven't really set foot on.

I went to Molave a few months ago to run errands for my mother. I wasn't very happy with what I saw. The first thing that I noticed was the inconvenience of getting a tricycle, the main mode of transport in the town, from the bus terminal. And then the look of the Municipal Hall Plaza. It used to be the center (read: rendezvous) of teeny and tweenybopper activities in my time. And that wasn't so long ago! Another thing that I noticed was the exodus of unfamiliar faces in the once easy-to-walk-around marketplace. I refuse to feel really bad about that because after all, that was a one-time visit and it happened in a full one hour round, not that you need more than an hour to go around the place, but still!

Monday, October 8, 2007

Grade School

I, like most people who hail from Molave, went to the Molave Regional Pilot School for six years. I transferred from one building to another because my parents were choosy. They wanted good teachers over good-looking classrooms and buildings.

I was in Quirino Building (now a part of MRPS East) under Mrs. Sonia H. Mendoza in Grade 1. I was in Osmeña Building (not so sure about the name of this building--it used to be called Zone 1, I think, when I was there, but it's the one right beside the DLRC.) It's now a part of MRPS North) under Ms. Quinciana Amante for my second level. Third grade? I went to Mabini Building (now a part of MRPS Training Center) under Mr. Alan Salingua. He was a bachelor when school started and a happily married guy when the term ended. I then went on to be in Laurel Building on my fourth year in elementary under Mrs. Vicenta Calunsag. I was supposed to be under Mrs. Adela A. dela Cruz, still in the same building, for my fifth year in elementary but the school's administrators wanted to experiment on sectioning so we were transferred to the Roxas Building under Mrs. Paulita Irong. On my sixth year in elementary, Mrs. Nelfa Girado became my adviser.

My brothers and sisters went to the same school but I'm not so sure if they also went to different buildings. Oh well.

When this blog "matures" I hope to be able to talk more about the schools instead of myself.

Remembering...

I was born and brought up well (I'd like to think) in Molave, Zamboanga del Sur.

My parents met, got married and raised a brood of five here. My mom grew up in Molave as well. She has better stories about it in her own blog. Fate intervened and so we moved to Ozamiz City. But we have never stricken Molave out of our system. We still have a house in the town the we so love. My mother still goes there every now and then to do some banking transactions (she still won't by internet and phone banking) and meet up with old friends.

I visited Molave in May to try to vote but since I can never wake up early, I got there a few minutes before 3pm in my watch but apparently it was already 3 in their watches--which is weird since other precincts were still open. So, I wasn't able to vote. First time ever since I officially became a voter. Too bad. But the visit afforded me a chance to look around. I wasn't so happy with what I saw but I think time will put things in their proper order somehow. Soon, I hope.

Molave!

I keep coming back to Molave...

This is a product of my frustration after trying to look for something about Molave. The result? Nil. Most of the sites that I found that mention Molave are pure generic description of the place that I used to call home. So, this blog is born. I will write in both Cebuano, English and Tagalog so if you're having problems understanding any of the future entries because of language barriers and whatnots, please do not hesitate to drop me a note.

Cheers.