A Seaside Paradise owned by Filipino-American Retirees(David Balleza Katague & Macrine Nieva Jambalos)Boac,Marinduque, Philippines
WELCOME TO CHATEAU DU MER BEACH RESORT
If this is your first time in my site, welcome! Chateau Du Mer is a beach house and a Conference Hall. The beach house could now accommodate 10 guests, six in the main floor and four in the first floor( air conditioned room). In addition, you can now reserve your vacation dates ahead and pay the rental fees via PayPal. I hope to see you soon in Marinduque- Home of the Morions and Heart of the Philippines. The photo above was taken during our first Garden Wedding ceremony at The Chateau Du Mer Gardens. I have also posted my favorite Filipino and American dishes and recipes in this site. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own, but I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights!
Marinduque Mainland from Tres Reyes Islands
View of Marinduque Mainland from Tres Reyes Islands-Click on photo to link to Marinduque Awaits You
Dungeness Crabs Available in our local Safeway Store on sale for $7.99/lb
Carlos
Avila search for Dimsum in San Francisco and posting it on his FB page,
reminded me of my article in my blogs about Dimsum and fresh Lumpia-
two of my favorite dishes I love to feast on New Year.
Carlos
is Macrine's (RIP) nephew, a professional pianist ( not accompanist), a
resident of New York City visiting the Bay area for Christmas.
However, besides Dimsum and fresh Lumpia my other favorite dish is
Dungeness Crab.
Yesterday, I ordered via DoorDash, 8 whole Dungeness Crabs
now on sale and available at my local Safeway Store. The 6 whole crabs,
I will serve on our New years Day Lunch with Ditas and Carenna. The
other two I gave to our neighbor as gift and reciprocation of the
Italian dishes she had given me in the past.
The price is
reasonable if you compare buying it from a Chinese or Seafood Restaurant
also via DoorDash. I paid $ 38 for two 2.5-lb pounders cooked crabs
from Safeway. The restaurant price is $50 for one crab cooked in a
variety of spices of your choice. The price does not include delivery,
tips and taxes.
One Crab I ordered from Asia Fusion Restaurant in Garlic Butter and Garnish with Green Onions and Parsley
Here are 2 videos on the opening of the crab season this year in the Bay Area.
Lots of work, but fun and cooking seafood and rice dish right on the Beach
Meanwhile enjoy this photo of Dimsum by Carlos and 15 Filipino Popular Traditions and Superstitions on New Year's eve and Day
On
the eve of Christmas, Ditas and Carenna treated David and I with
rib-eyes steak dinner she purchased from Costco. Besides the rib eye
steaks, she brought with her eight Mexican Guavas. It has been a while
since I have tasted Guavas. Thank you Ditas and Carenna.
The
last time I have the common guavas was about 10 years ago from the
fruits of the Guava Trees in my orchard gardens at Chateau Du Mer,
Amoingon, Boac, Marinduque.
For those of you who are not
familiar with this fruit, here's a brief description of the fruit and
its health benefits from Wikipedia.
There are several varieties popular in tropical and subtropical countries regions in the World. One of the varieties I like are pink
inside the fruit. The variety I have here in Fair Oaks, is the
Pineapple Guava( relative of the common guava), Feijoa Sellowiana.
The other day, Dinah gave me two boxes of smoked
salmon as one of her Christmas gifts. I have never cooked smoked salmon before, so I started reading
recipes using smoked salmon in pasta in the Web. I found hundreds of
recipes of pasta and smoked salmon in various sauces.
I was looking for a recipe that is easy and simple. The following two
recipes are my own creation inspired by the availability and abundance
of fresh
mushrooms in our local grocery store and the can of cream of mushroom
soup and spaghetti pasta that I found in our pantry. Other kinds of
pasta may be used. Garnishing with chopped green onions or parsley is
optional.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2/3 cup (160ml) dry white wine or vermouth
1/4 cup jicama (Mexican turnips or sincamas) finely chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup diluted in 1 cup of water
4 big fresh white mushrooms chopped to about 1/4 inch
8-10oz (250-300g) smoked salmon, cut in 1/2-inch (1cm) pieces
garlic salt, to taste
1/4 lb. spaghetti( or other pasta such as linguine, farfalle etc)
parsley or green onions for garnishing (optional)
Cook the spaghetti in the boiling salted water until just al dente.
Drain the spaghetti and let it cool. Pour the sauce into the spaghetti
and served immediately.
Garnished, if you like, with parsley or chopped green onions. Delicious and savory!
One of the most healthy Filipino dish if you are a diabetic is the
Ampalaya or bitter melon with shrimps. In the Philippines a variation of
the dish is to use pork instead of the shrimps. In some recipes both
shrimps and pork are used in equal proportions. This recipe is almost a
weekly fare in our menu when we are in the Philippines because of the
abundance of the bitter melon.
As a personal variation to the recipe, I have created my own recipe
using smoked salmon instead of prawns, shrimps and/or pork. The recipe
was inspired by a smoked salmon -one of my Christmas gift this year. I shredded the smoked salmon
prior to adding it to the sauteed ampalaya dish mixture.
Ingredients
4 medium ampalaya or bitter melon (cut lengthwise)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 lb smoked salmon, shredded
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup water
6 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
soy sauce or fish sauce(patis)optional) to taste. I do not like patis since I am not a true-blooded Tagalog but an Ilonggo.
Procedure
1. Cut ampalaya lengthwise and scrape off seeds and white pith. Slice
thinly and place in a bowl, covered in cold water with a little salt*
until needed.
2. In a wide skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic
and cook, stirring regularly, until tender. Add in tomatoes and cook
until softened, regularly mashing with back of spoon.
3.* Add the squeezed and debittered ampalaya* to pan and gently mix it into the dish. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until tender yet crisp.
4. Add the smoked salmon and continue to cook, stirring occasionally,
until salmon is thoroughly incorporated in the dish.(The soy sauce or
patis could be added at this point(optional in my recipe).
5. In a thin stream, add the beaten eggs and gently stir to distribute.
Continue to cook for about 1 minute or until eggs have set. Season with
salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
* Ampalaya is very bitter. To remove most of its bitterness, the slice
melon is soak in cold salted water for at least 30 minutes and then
drained prior to cooking. This soaking and draining process may be
repeated if you want to remove most of the bitterness in the ampalaya. I
personally drained my ampalaya 3 times before I used it in my recipe
above.
Thank you, Dinah for your Christmas Gift this Year! Love You, Dad
Ditas
and Carenna gave me as my Father's Day gift last June- a subscription
to StoryWorth Books. It is now published and happily converted into my
Christmas gifts to my children and their Families. I am so delighted in
how the book turned out in spite of some pictures not too clear ( as I
expected).
After
completing 435 pages of writings ( my biography and other memories) and
including 100 Black and White photographs, I ordered two copies at
$39.99 each with free shipping. The two books, one for me and the other
for Ditas arrived today. I am very pleased of now the book looked,
although some of the photos are not as clear as I expected.
I have ordered 2 more books for Dodie and Dinah. It will be my Christmas present to them and their families.
I am planning to order another book with colored photos for my own library. It will cost me $99 plus shipping. It is expensive, but the book is about Memories. No amount of Money can buy Memories.
Meanwhile enjoy this:
This
is what I got for my BD and Christmas from Ditas and Carenna. Love it
very much. This is installed in my BR. The old version that David III
gave is in our family room ( no screen).
Now
that you've set up your Echo Show 5, you can make video and voice calls
to friends and family, read the news, display the weather, and set
timers and alarms. You can personalize your Echo Show 5 to display photos using Amazon Photos.
Make
other nightstands jealous: customize your morning routine to wake up
with lights that simulate sunrise and an alarm that plays your favorite
song. Learn more about Alexa tips for the bedroom.
Visit the Alexa guide for even more examples of things to try.
Video calling and communications
Hands-free
voice or video calling allows you to easily stay in touch with friends
and family, and you can even designate a contact as your household’s 'Emergency Contact'
(911 not supported). Use Group Calling to connect with multiple people
at once or Drop In to instantly check-in with close contacts. Make
Announcements to call family to the table or remind the kids to go to
bed. Learn more about Alexa Communication.
Automate your smart home
Take
a look around and get peace of mind whenever you want. Securely access
the built-in camera to remotely monitor your home anytime with the Alexa
app or other Echo Show devices. Go to Settings > Camera > Home
monitoring to enable.
Turn
on the coffee maker on your way to the kitchen, or dim the lights from
the couch to watch a movie—all without lifting a finger. With your Echo
Show 5, you can also schedule routines or even start them with your
motion. Learn more about smart home.
Set up Alexa Guard for free in the Alexa app
to get mobile alerts if your Echo device detects the sound of a smoke
alarm or glass breaking while you’re away. Subscribe to Guard Plus for
even more help protecting your home, like an Emergency Helpline you can
call with just your voice, and more. Learn more about Alexa Guard.
Hands-free music and video
Catch
up on today’s news highlights or ask Alexa to show you TV shows, and
more. Watch shows or movies from Prime Video, Netflix, and other
favorites. Discover more music from providers like Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and other favorites. Link with Fire TV devices to voice control movies and entertainment. Learn more about Alexa entertainment.
Alexa skills
Skills are like apps for Alexa. Use skills to find recipes, play games like Song Quiz, Jeopardy!, listen to the news, and more. Just say "Alexa, help me get started with skills."
Playing Mahjong-Reliving My Favorite Activity During My Childhood Years
Dodie, Ditas, Carenna, Alix, Brendan and Yuka playing Mahjong during Macrine's one Year Waksi Celebration, August 8, 2021
Dodie,
Alix, Brendan ( Alix Apartment Mate), and Yuka playing the Game with me
as the Adviser/Consultant if they have questions, Dec 19. 2021 ( My
87th Party Lunch). My real BD is Dec 20. Alix, my granddaughter (
Dodie's oldest daughter) birthday is also Decemeber 20, but she is 60
years youner than me.
Have you heard of the tile game mahjong? I associate the word mahjong
with the following: childhood and teenage years, parties, reunions, my mother, addiction
and relatives and Barotac Viejo, Iloilo. How about you?
A Mahjong Set-We have 2 mahjong sets-the cheap(plastic) and expensive( ivory) in the Philippines.
I learned this tile game when I was a child. It is mostly a game of
luck, once you learned the basics of the game. This tile game is similar
to the card game, gin rummy, but played with tiles. It is a game that
most Filipina housewives are addicted to. I am sure if you reside in the
Philippines or Hongkong, this game must be very familiar to you. You
may be even addicted to it.
My mother taught me as well as my brothers and sisters how to play
mahjong when we were growing up in the Philippines. We have two mahjong
sets in the house. The cheap one was made of plastic which we used
quite often and the expensive one made of ivory. The one made of ivory,
we only used on special occasion when we celebrate birthdays, weddings
and other special events when I was growing up in the Philippines.
According to my mother, I started playing mahjong very well when I was
only 5 years old. It is a game of luck with a little skill involve once
you learn the basics. I also learned how to play a card game called
"Pangingue" in the Philippines, probably similar to pinochle, but
different from gin rummy. Mahjong can be played on line or you can buy a
disk and play it in your computer.
I have a disk (Hongkong mahjong) in my computer, but it has been a while
since I played this game. Mahjong like any gambling game is very
addictive. I have heard that a close relatives in the Philippines died
of tuberculosis(TV) because he played mahjong almost all day and do
nothing else. Unbelievable,if this is true.
Mahjong rules and specifics varies from region to region in the
Philippines, but it is still a favorite past time of the middle class in
the Philippines. A lot of Filipina housewives are addicted to mahjong.
Besides mahjong there are two card games popular in Marinduque and other
parts of the Philippines are PIKWA and TONG-IT. A number of housewives
in my neighborhood in Amoingon, Boac, Marinduque play Tong-it every
afternoon, both for recreation and a little gambling activity. We play
Tong-it during a party break as a family game but no betting involved,
when we are in Marinduque.
For rules and instruction how to play Mahjong read Wikipedia or ask a
friend or relative for a demonstration. Once you learned the game, be
careful it could be very, very addictive. But again, it is an excellent
way to get rid of your boredom and the long, long hot summer in the
Philippines. Here's a summary of the game from Wikipedia.org
"Mahjong, also spelled majiang, mah jongg, and numerous other variants,
is a game that originated in China. It is commonly played by four
players (with some three-player variations found in South Korea and
Japan). The game and its regional variants are widely played throughout
Eastern and South Eastern Asia and have a small following in Western
countries. Similar to the Western card game rummy, mahjong is a game of
skill, strategy, and calculation and involves a degree of chance.
The game is played with a set of 144 tiles based on Chinese characters
and symbols, although some regional variations use a different number of
tiles. In most variations, each player begins by receiving 13 tiles.(In
Iloilo we used 16 tiles). In turn players draw and discard tiles
until they complete a legal hand using the 14th drawn tile to form four
groups (melds) and a pair (head).
There are fairly standard rules about
how a piece is drawn, stolen from another player and thus melded, the
use of simples (numbered tiles) and honors (winds and dragons), the
kinds of melds, and the order of dealing and play. However there are
many regional variations in the rules; in addition, the scoring system
and the minimum hand necessary to win varies significantly based on the
local rules being used".
So my dear friends and relatives, if you have a few hours to relax why
not play mahjong? The set could be purchased on-line or in some gift
shop stores in big cities China Town.
There are on-lines sites to
play mahjong. Be sure it is Hongkong mahjong. The basic game is simple,
but the addicted players/experts can make it complicated by scoring and
aiming for harder combination and levels. Again it could develop into a
gambling habit. Here's the site for the basic game. Again, in the
Philippines we used 16 tiles instead of 13.
Here's
some common but harder combination and levels of play for the advance
players. 7 Pairs ( 16 tiles ), all Pung, all Chow, Pure ( all same
suits), Placis ( one suit with winds), Escalera (1 to 9 meld of same
suit) and many other variations especially with a joker. A joker is
a universal tile that can be used for any tile. Playing with a joker
makes the game faster, so in many places harder levels and combination
is the name of the Game.
Meanwhile, enjoy this photo of my Christmas tree this year
Carenna arriving in SFO from the Netherlands for her Christmas Break (
She has to quarantine for a couple of days and be tested negative
before she can joined the local crowds- so she did not attend my party,
but gave me a call for her BD greetings after her arrival) .
Today,
Monday Dec 20 is my 87th birthday, but if people asked how old am I, I
will tell them I am 78 years old. We celebrated my birthday yesterday
with a simple lunch attended only by 12 adults and 2 kids ( Wesley and
Samantha). Carenna has to quarantine for a couple of days and get
retested before mixing with the local crowds. Photos were taken by
Lanie at the party as follows:
Our menu:
Pancit for long life, adobo sa gata( cooked by Merlet Perlas) and steamed rice for Pinoys
Honey-Baked
Ham, Chicken-Macaroni -salad, Potato salad, Star bread, Hawaiian sweet
rolls. salad greens, and cranberry sauce for the Kano
For Dessert: Birthday cakes, Pies and ice cream
Drinks: Soft Drinks and Beer and course bottled water.
This party was arranged by my oldest daughter, Dinah who came all the way from Santa Clara. Thank you, Dinah!
Today
is also the official date of the expiration of my driving license. I do
not intend to renew it. I have been driving since 1960 with a clean
record except for one expensive moving violation last year, one parking
ticket and a stop with a broken tail light by a Pinoy policeman. My
moving violation cost me a fortune ($500). I was caught by the camera
running an orange light. Thus David III forbid me to drive, but last
night I convinced Dinah that I drive after our short trip from the
grocery store. I told her not to tell David III.
Yesterday Carenna
my youngest grand daughter came home from school in the Netherlands for
her Christmas break. Ditas and her will wait for a couple of days to
visit me to be sure her Covid test is negative ( see photo above).
Today
is also the birthday of Alix, my other grand daughter ( Dodie oldest
daughter) who is 60 years younger than me. Happy Birthday, Alix.
Thank
You Dinah for organizing the party and for all the birthday gifts
especially the Doordash gift card ( from Dodie and Ruth).
Special to my relatives and friends who were the early BD greeters:
My
sisters Amor and Myrla. My FB friends and relatives Renan del Rosario,
Isabel Ball, and Genny Mendoza-Nieva from the Philippines. To Celso
Mataac, Aida Hulen and Cugie & Terry de La Santa from Maryland. Last
but not least to Violeta Laririt and M Villavicencio from Marinduque.
Meanwhile enjoy this photo of my other Christmas arrangement,
I
have decided not to put our Christmas tree(above) this year. Instead, I
will just put the small candy tree, the Lampeez tree, our marble lamp
and the Capiz Parol. It took me only 10 minutes to install. Here are the
photos:
The Capiz Parol and Marble Lamp from the Philippines
The Christmas Candy Tree
The Lampeez small tree in our living Room
Of course I have the flower arrangements for more additional Christmas atmosphere and ambience.
My Flower Arrangements from Materials in My Garden
Last week, my Italian-American neighbor visited me and brought with
her Apple sauce she just prepared and Pasta. In returned, I gave her a
big slice of smoke ham. She like the ham so much, she requested if I
have another small slice. She said it reminded her of the ham in Italy
during her childhood years. This act of Kindness reminded me of an
article I wrote about some of my favorite quotes on Kindness, Generosity
and Compassion.
"Just
recently I wrote in my blogs an act of kindness I received from a young
teenager in our neighborhood. In that article, I also referenced 4 act
of kindness that my family and I experienced during the last 6 decades
both here in the US and in the Philippines.
Today, I am listing 20 of my favorite quotes as follows:
Quotes on Kindness and Generosity
“Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” – Jackie Chan
“Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.” – Harold S. Kushner
“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of
reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for
you.” – Princess Diana
“Because that’s what kindness is. It’s not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but because you can.” – Andrew Iskander
“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” – Scott Adams
Motivational Quotes
“Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a
difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you,
the giver.” – Barbara De Angelis
“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“You can accomplish by kindness what you cannot by force.” – Pubilius Syrus
“Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.” – Eric Hoffer
“Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened
the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be
tough.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Compassion Quotes
“We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” – Ronald Reagan
“Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle.” – Charles Glassman
“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” – Amelia Earhart
“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change.” – Bob Kerrey
Not listed in the above quote is Mark Twain's:
Kindness is an act that the blind can see and the Deaf can Hear!
Today,
starts the 3-day most- welcome rains/snow for Northern California.
Outside is gloomy and rainy, but inside is cherry and bright with my two
flower arrangements I made today and yesterday.
All materials are from my garden-Today's flower arrangement
Last
Thanksgiving Day, I received a Thanksgiving Bouquet from Ditas that was
purchased commercially ( second photo). Yesterday, I attempted to copy
it creating a small Christmas Center Piece using most of the materials
from my Garden. Here's what I created.
My own simple Christmas Flower Arrangement from Materials in My Garden
A Commercial Thanksgiving Flower Arrangement I received on Thanksgiving Day
Remember that the main rules of flower arrangements is to aim for balance, proportion and scale, unity, harmony, rhythm and balance, and emphasis.
The words symmetry, contrast, focus, movement, structure, color and
subject of the arrangement are often mentioned in designing an
arrangement. If you have not done flower arrangement try it. I am pretty
sure you will have fun.
Here's a video of designing a small flower arrangement piece using a discarded gift box as the base.
My two latest arrangement from materials in my Garden this Year
Last December 2, 2021 date if written as "12022021" is not only a palindrome (the same front to back) but it’s also an
ambigram which means it’s the same upside down as well!
The
above date was published in my FB page just recently for Nerds Alert.
However, it aroused my interest on playing with Numbers,Palindromes and
ambigram. A palindrome is a word, sentence, number, phrase, or other sequence of characters which reads the same backward as forward, such as madam, radar or racecar.
There are also numeric palindromes, including date/time stamps using short digits 11/11/11, 11:11 and long digits 02/02/2020.
Sentence-length palindromes ignore capitalization, punctuation, and
word boundaries.Here's a short video on palindromic numbers.
What do you mean by playing with numbers?
Playing with numbers involves
activities like arranging
the numbers, understanding BODMAS rule*, finding out whether a given
number is a factor of another number or a multiple of another number,
understanding the properties of factors and multiples. Also, it involves
learning how to use an index or exponent for a number, simplification
of brackets, multiples and factors, divisibility rules from 2 to 11,
the concept of co-prime numbers and prime factorization, finding HCF and LCM, etc.,
*The BODMAS rule states we should calculate the Brackets first (2 + 4 = 6), then the Orders (52
= 25), then any Division or Multiplication (3 x 6 (the answer to the
brackets) = 18), and finally any Addition or Subtraction (18 + 25 = 43).
Example of Playing with Numbers:
There are several tricks with numbers to test divisibility by other numbers.
Reversing the digits of a two-digit number
Similarly, we can try reversing the digits for dividing by 9.
Selecting a two-digit number: 25
Reversing the digits: 52
Subtract: 52-25 = 27
Divide by 9: 27/9 = 3
Remainder is 0.
Reversing the digits of a three-digit number
Forming three-digit number from the given three digits
For a given three-digit number, rearrange the digits such that all
the three numbers are distinct and add them all. Then dividing it by 37,
the remainder is always 0.
Yesterday's
80th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor reminded of my memories
of the world War II as a child growing up in Panay Island, Philippines.
The war has affected million of lives all over the world including my
own. I sometimes wonder what my life would have been if Pearl Harbor was
not bombed. I would have not been able to experience my childhood years
in the small town where my mother was born. I would have been raised in
a modern small city with all the conveniences and not knowing how to
survive in the jungles of Panay Island without running water and
electricity.
Again
this year to celebrate this 80th anniversary of the start of WW II, I
am reposting the following article for your reading pleasure. If you
have read this before, my apologies, but remember There are no winners
in war, all are losers.
"Childhood Memories of the Japanese-American War in the Philippines"
The Bataan Death March
"War is a terrible thing to happen. Few among us have heard the stories
of civilians in the war zones. I saw and lived the anxieties and horrors
of the Japanese-American war through the eyes of a child. This article
(Part 1 of the trilogy) received the ViewsHound Gold Prize of $50 in 2011. ViewsHound is now a defunct writing site formerly based in UK.
Life in the time of war is a difficult experience for a child. All
school and play activities are interrupted. Survival amidst the chaos
becomes a paramount goal in life. Our family had to uproot ourselves
from the comfort of home and move several times to the hard life in the
countryside. We had to avoid the conflict and the bombing in the city.
We chose a life of peace and quiet away from the invading Japanese
troops. Due to the language barrier, the Japanese instilled order and
dominance of the conquered using fear, by hurting or killing innocent
civilians, resulting in the rise of the resistance movement. For every
day that passes, there was the dream of peace, but during the lengthy
war period, one had to expect the worst before anything good happened.
Before the war started, we lived a comfortable life in our home in the
city of Jaro, Iloilo located in the central Philippine island of Panay.
My father had a dental practice and we had our farm landholdings around
the province. It was 13 days before my 7th birthday when the Japanese
bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in the morning of December 7, 1941.
On that evening, Japanese planes had taken off to attack several targets
in the Philippines, which was then an American colony. It was the start
of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, and the reign of fear was
about to begin.
I was in 2nd grade at the Jaro Elementary School when Japan started
bombing the bigger cities of the country. When we heard the terrifying
news, my parents became concerned for our safety and decided to get out
of the city, a possible bombing target.
They chose to move to our farm in the small town of Barotac Viejo,
Iloilo, my mother’s ancestral town 60 kilometers north of Jaro. It was a
time of panic, chaos and fear over what was to happen in the city. We
were about to leave our cherished home and anxiously head to the
unfamiliar and unknown.
Within a couple of days all the essential items we could bring were
already packed. All the furniture and the huge and heavy items were left
behind. My mother had all her china and silverware buried in the
backyard for safekeeping.
We found out later that our house was bombed and totally destroyed. All
the furniture were either destroyed or stolen. All the china and
silverware was dug up and stolen. Despite the losses, we were grateful
that we made a wise decision and survived unharmed.
For a short period we settled in a small farm house of our tenant in a
remote district of town. As the war progressed, we were informed that
the Japanese forces had penetrated most of the big cities in the country
and were starting to occupy smaller towns. My father was a captain and
dental officer of the newly organized Philippine guerrillas, an
underground resistance movement to fight the Japanese. As a precaution,
he decided to move our family a second time, to the jungle in the
interior of Panay Island.
We had to walk for three days through the woods of the jungle, cross
over numerous creeks and climb over mountains with the help and guidance
of our farmer tenants. Our trek ended and we settled in a hidden valley
lined by a creek with clean running water. Our tenants built us a hut
for shelter made of bamboo and nipa palm, an outdoor kitchen and a
dining area.
They used a bamboo cart pulled by a water Buffalo to bring us supplies
of rice, salt, sugar and other spices regularly. In the valley we
cleared the land to plant vegetables, corn and sweet potatoes. We also
raised chickens and ducks for eggs, pigs for protein and goats for milk.
One of the scariest events while living in the jungle was when our pig
livestock were preyed upon by a python snake measuring about 30 feet
long. It was pitch black at night when we heard our two pigs squealing
out loud in fear. My father instructed our helper to inspect the pig pen
using a kerosene lamp. He saw the snake strangling one of the pigs. He
struck and killed the python using his machete and a piece of wood,
sadly, our small pig also died. That whole week we had protein in our
meals. It was proof that the jungles of Panay are inhabited by dangerous
pythons.
We had no pet with us. I chose the chickens and the goats to become my
pets. I raised one of the chickens; it slept with me, got attached to me
and kept trailing me wherever I go. My mother tolerated my unusual pets
because I had no peers my age aside from my younger brother.
To continue with our education, my father home schooled us together with
two of my older cousins. For four hours each day we were taught
arithmetic, spelling and history. We were lucky to have brought with us a
few books on Philippine and US history. Whenever our tenants brought us
food supplies, they would update us on news about the status of the
Japanese occupation.
Late in the war when the Japanese brutality and atrocities appeared to
have stopped, we moved again from the jungle to a seaside village. We
stayed at the house of another tenant. My father warned us not to talk
to any stranger, and if asked, to avoid giving our real last name of
Katague and instead provide an alias which was Katigbak. There were
unverified rumors that the Japanese had a list of names of all the
guerrillas, which might have included my father. Some traitor Filipinos
worked as spies for the Japanese by pinpointing the guerrillas in
exchange for favors.
One day, we saw a platoon of uniformed Japanese soldiers armed with guns
and bayonets passing by our village. My brother and I watched them
march while hiding in the bushes. I knew their brutal reputation towards
the natives, and I was afraid of us being seen and getting in trouble. I
was relieved that nothing happened and they continued with their march
to the next village.
A terrible incident happened to about 30 of my maternal relatives while
we were living in the jungle. They were similarly hiding and living in
the jungle on a mountain ridge next to us. They were killed by the
Japanese soldiers who discovered and penetrated their location with the
help of the spies. A handicapped relative in a wheelchair was spared.
During the massacre, she fell on the creek and must have been left for
dead. She lived to tell the tragic story. This is only one example of
many atrocities that was committed by the Japanese to the Filipino
civilians.
When General MacArthur landed in Leyte on October 1944, it was the
happiest day for the Filipinos, the Americans were back to save us from
the Japanese tyranny. The Japanese troops started to retreat and
surrender. The chance for peace in the Philippines was welcomed with
excitement. The schools were planning to reopen. There was no more need
to live in hiding and in fear, and to lie about one’s name. We were able
to live free from the oppressors.
From the seaside village we moved to another district much closer to
town where we built a bigger house. At the back of the property was a
hill, and on a clear day, from the top of the hill you could see the
nearby island of Negros. We used it as an observation hill where we
could watch the Japanese and American planes flying and then fighting
each other. My brother and I witnessed two planes attacking each other,
with one plane being blown to pieces and burning as it fell from the sky
to the sea between Panay and Negros islands. It was a thrilling
dogfight show to watch, although we never found out the victor.
When school reopened, we were required to take a test to determine which
grade level we would qualify for. I passed the test for a 4th grade
level. I was merely in grade 2 when war broke out. In short, I completed
six grades of elementary in only four years of schooling. In class, I
was two years younger than most of my classmates. I was thankful for the
result of my father’s patience in home schooling us while living in the
jungle. At last we were able to go back to our school, new home, and
live the life of what was left of my childhood years in peace.
Always remember that there are no winner of wars. Everybody are losers!!"
