Pandan impressions Pandan town is celebrating its fiesta today, probably with renewed pomp and excitement. Most of the leaders in the province will be present not certainly to savor succulent fiesta menus but also to tailgate (with my apologies) newly-installed Gov. Cely Wong, husband Bong and family in the hope of getting recognition, plus the gentle pats, as rewards for their claimed support to the new governor in the last May elections. I hope the jobseekers and the displaced Capitol contractors will not spoil the celebrations or try to steal the thunder from Pandananons (like escubidos). (I used the reference in a previous column item.) ----- Frankly, Pandan has always amazed me. Not because of any particular image of the town, but why despite its geographical remoteness compared with other Catanduanes towns, it has been sort of a cradle of numerous individual and professional success stories. There must be something in the socio-cultural make-up of the town that over time has made it a player in significant local, if not national affairs. ----- Among others, the town has produced one of the only two Catandunganon senators of the republic, a Roman Catholic cardinal, a diplomat of note, a clan who pioneered contemporary Philippine cinema, dozens of prominent corporate and legal practitioners (including bar topnotchers), local leaders who did well in Catanduanes politics and, through marriage ties, prominent national politicians. Many Pandananons, too, are well-placed abroad, doing proud for this small town most exposed to the Pacific Ocean’s natural fury and accessible only by hours of bumpy road travel or via a dangerous sea route. ---- But such is not exactly a puzzle. Pandan, as many knew it, has a rich background replete with stories of how its determined people managed to overcome the drawbacks of isolation. For one, this fishing town used to own the only and largest cattle ranch in the province and the pioneering regular boat trips to and from Albay, courtesy of the legendary Don Juan Noceda, a Spanish entrepreneur who made Pandan his home. It was also bruited about that the town was once the educational center of northern Catanduanes, by desire of native son Jose O. Vera, the first Catandunganon ever to serve in the Philippine Senate (followed generations later by Kit Tatad). During his time, then Sen. Vera was said to have worked out that the best teachers in the province, including many from Virac, were assigned in the town. When I was in the grades, my father (one of the few Grade 7 graduates in Albay who were qualified for teaching in Catanduanes after World War 2) also used to tell me stories about a renowned school overseer from Pandan (the horseback-riding Guillermo “Gimbo“ Santileces) whose visits to schools in Viga, Payo and Bagamanoc were events greatly anticipated like the visits of church bishops. ----- Undoubtedly it was Sen. Vera who planted the seeds of good education and good purpose in the community including that of lofty politics that Pandananon leaders are fixated up to this day. And soon after daughter Azucena founded the movie outfit Vera-Perez Productions, Pandan came to enjoy the tag as one of the contributors to Philippine filmdom. Then came the breaks in national politics when grand daughters Marichu and Gina got married to two super politicians – Senator Ernesto Maceda and Congressman Jose de Venecia, respectively, -- whose preeminence in Philippine politics lasted long, capped by their heading of both houses of the country’s legislature. The De Venecias and the Macedas with their professed love for Pandananons, kept the political flame burning for long in Pandan. Speaker Joe and wife Gina even donated a life-size statue of Sen. Vera which now dominates the town plaza named after the latter. Also movie stars in the past have enlivened fiestas in Pandan including Viga town where the Veras have relatives. ----- Within Pandan meanwhile, competitive politics has developed as a craft among the improved families. So that we hear of the political rumbles among the Almojuela, Verceles, Fernandez, Santileces, Cabrera, etc. families. The intramurals sometimes spilled over to provincial politics. It was the Verceleses, however, led by Ambasador Danding which lasted long, to approximate the rule of the Albertos in the province. “Amba” Danding was governor for six years, succeeded by son Junior who was congressman and governor for 15 years. All these certainly were extensions of the politics of a part of the late Jose O. Vera. ----- But while the taste for national-level politics seemed to have tapered off, Pandan families simply have not abandoned their quest for political dominance in the province. Modern-day politics in the town and in the province now has taken a surprising turn. A hitherto non-political family in Pandan has taken over the reins of the town and the capitol. Gov. Araceli Bernardino-Wong and son Joseph may not have been, shall we say, the direct heirs of Jose O. Vera, yet the tandem has proven once more that Pandan has its own storied political past. Gov. Cely, a successful businesswoman by her own right, and without so much opposition from Pandan families, has become governor out of personal tenacity. Losing many times in her congressional bids with tremendous costs, she was undaunted and continued her pursuit until she won the governorship last May. ----- Cely’s ascendancy will be story by itself. But it will lead us probably to some vestiges of old and exclusive Pandan. A product of good local education (she was high school valedictorian of the Pandan School of Arts and Trade), she went on to excel in a private business which Catandunganons have recognized and matched with approval. How long will the Wongs stay in power is unforeseeable. But it can be said safely that behind their success in Catanduanes politics are some of the legacies of the late Jose O. Vera. This is the Pandan I know, where habits and best practices continue to impress many. ***** ROSULO welcomes comments via email: rosmanlangit@yahoo
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 15:27:01 +0000