Kagsing nin Kabataang Pandananon

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Pandan is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Catanduanes, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 19,005 people in 3,181 households.
HISTORY

Formerly the town site was located some two kilometers away south of the present site. Then the people were disturbed by constant depredation of bandits coming from other places.

The present site has been chosen because it was near the sea and the fishermen found it very convenient for their trade, however, being near the sea, it was vulnerable to Moros who always come to get their belongings or even capture some people.

As a defense against such moro raids, the people planted pandan shrubs close to each other to form a formidable defense against invaders. When the Spaniards came they found the plants around the poblacion in great abundance. When asked what the name of the shrubs was, the people told them that they were pandan shrubs. Thus, the Spaniards called the place Pandan.

The municipality lies on the northern tip of the province, 96 kilometers from the capital town of Virac. Bounded on the south by the municipality of Caramoran, on the west by the Maqueda Channel, on the east by the municipality of Bagamanoc and on the north by the Pacific Ocean. It has a total land area of 11,990 hectares. This is a town of 17,096 friendly and hospitable people, to which 99% are Roman Catholic.

Of the 26 barangays that comprise the municipality, four of which actually form the town proper, which are Libod, the biggest barangay in terms of population, Napo, Pandan del Sur and Pandan del Norte. The rest are found usually near the seashore. The rest being an inland barangays.

The municipality does not only boast of the natural beauties, it has which are the Parway, Mangbang, Parola beaches, the Hinik-Hinik falls (Hinik-hinik is a local term for rain shower) and Minaipit falls, but especially of its being a hometown of Senators, Congressman, Governor, Cardinal and Ambassador.

The people of Pandan are generally peace loving, God fearing and are happy people. Everyone in the community is a brother, a sister and a friend where the products of which could be shared even food itself without thought of having it repaid or reciprocated. Visitors are offered the comforts that the family could afford even it means that the owner should lay on the floor just to make the visitor eased at home by using the “papag”. And that is not enough, before going home; products of their yard would be wrapped for you to bring in your family plus a bunch of cockling chickens.

During celebrations, immediate neighbors are invited bringing among the whole members of the family and this seemed to be incomplete without tuba drinking and little dancing. Pantomina is a long cherished dance that never changes with time despite of the current dance and music. Pandananons has a series of collected pantomina songs which are now famous composed locally, of course it is not only the above songs, Pandananons used to compose, for evidence of which that gained popularity was a song composed by the late Mr. Alfredo dela Rosa, former Municipal Secretary of the Sangguniang Bayan of Pandan, entitled “Islang Catandungan”. This song won first place in the regional contest in Sorsogon sometime on the late 60’s.


Sunday, June 7, 2009

Bishop protests ‘Boto’ landmark


What can you say about this news?

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:14:00 06/05/2009

VIRAC, CATANDUANES, Philippines—What’s in a name?

Plenty, it seems, as local officials of Bagamanoc town, 61 kilometers from this capital town, found out from Rev. Msgr. Manolo A. delos Santos, bishop of the Diocese of Virac.

De los Santos asked Mayor Odilon Pascua and Vice Mayor Juan Velchez Jr. to change the name that the municipal government had given to a landmark at sea here, several hundred meters from the poblacion.

In promoting the Manok-manok Festival, which was formally opened June 1, the town officials distributed handouts and posted billboards containing the offensive name of the landmark: Boto ni Kurakog, literally translated as “Kurakog’s Penis.”

The landmark is a column of earth and loose rock that rises five meters above the sea and resembles the male sex organ, with a healthy shrub growing on top of it.

Legend has it that the male organ belonged to Kurakog, a giant who had lain to sleep at Ilihan Point and never woke up, his body washed away by the waves until only the pointed column remained.

“You should change the name because it is indecent and would reflect badly on the character of your people,” the bishop of this predominantly Catholic and deeply religious province told Bagamanoc officials during a private meeting at the St. Anthony de Padua Church.

Gov. Joseph C. Cua agreed, saying that even his provincial tourism coordinator, Carmel Garcia, hesitated before pronouncing the landmark’s name.

Chastened by the advice, both Pascua and Velchez agreed to find a suitable, inoffensive tag for the landmark, which they said had been called “Boto ni Kurakog” by old-timers for decades now.

They are considering renaming it “Fertility Island” as suggested by the bishop or some other tags as “Espada ni Kurakog,” which translates to “Sword of Kurakog.”

Despite the minor controversy, town officials are promoting daily boat rides to the landmark for P100, for which a tourist hears the story of how the monument came to be and gets the chance to offer a chicken egg at the supposedly enchanted phallic symbol.

Local officials apologized to the bishop for not consulting the Church on the matter and said they only followed the townspeople’s description of the landmark.

The festival, which features activities centering on the town’s chicken industry, runs until June 13, the feast day.
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