Inroads to deeper knowledge of Atega roots

The file below is a thesis done by a Cabadbaranon student at the MSU.

Truly worth reading to understand the role of the Ategas in politics and the formation of Cabadbaran.

file:///Users/amores.cr/Downloads/VirgilioNojaAtega-TheWartimeMayorofCabadbaran.pdf

3.1. The Origin of Atega Family 

In 17th century, the settlements in Caraga back then was controlled by the Recolectos or Recollects, in which they were known for evangelizing the town people that became pivotal in the Hispanization efforts rather than having a military presence in the area. For over 200 years, their efforts molded the spiritual character of the region of Caraga along with the set of influences from Spaniards such as their government policies and religious order.26 One of the missionaries who arrived in Caraga was the 23-year old Recollect Fray Pedro Garcia de la Virgen de los Martires on April 23, 1864 in Butuan parish and became a parish priest until 1865. By 1866, he was transferred to become the curate of parish in Dinagat, Surigao until 1871. He was given another assignment in the parish of Cabuntog (present General Luna, Siargao) until 1874. He went to Cebu convent on October 27, 1874 where he was asked to be the parish priest of Tayasan, Negros Oriental which he served until 1882. 27 It is to be noted that in every church assignment, he had secret relationships with women and had children.28 Fray Garcia was an excellent naturalist as he was an acknowledged authority of Philippine flora collections exhibited in the Museum of Natural History in the Recollect Colegio de Monteagudo and various species of Philippine wood in the Philippine Exposition in Madrid in 1887. He died at the convent in Cebu December of 1893 and his body was preserved at the Museum of the University of San Jose - Recoletos. It was on display together with different ....

 26 Jocel J. Dagani, La Reunion de Cabarbaran (Davao City: Midtown Printing Co., Inc, 2002), 50. 27 “Fray Pedro Garcia,” Missions sent to the Philippines, (Honorary Consulate of Spain: 

For another beautiful summer

 This is my writing workshop output and was edited by columnist, editor and writer Alya Honasan. She is such a master at guiding your work in such a way that you are prouder of how it comes out after she works on it.

And Death, yet again, entered and broke me

 I just joined my 2 sisters and a sister-in-law in a video call where we saw Papa, with laboured breathing, and fighting for life.

IT IS SO PAINFUL. Having seen my husband through his last hours -- how he was intubated, resuscitated, among others, it is just so painful to see my father, the first man that I loved, just lying there helpless, with cold feet and blood pressure fluctuating at 70/50. I am no medical professional but I know those signs.  Death is at the doorstep.

Papa will be 88 years old on December 30, 2020. He is one tough guy who has gone through a lot in his life. But hearing Cristie now say that if brought to the hospital, he will definitely be intubated, with needles stuck to his hand. If they don't find a good vein to run the medicines, his skin will be ripped open.

And to top it all, if he does manage to hold on to dear life, he will likely be a vegetable as his brain, damaged by a clot from an earlier stroke.......(my brother and sisters just called).

My brother just called 5 minutes ago.

Papa had opened his eyes and took a deep breath and left at 6:35pm today.

My heart is in pieces. I am broken anew. 

So hard to get it all together after having lost my husband barely 6 months ago. Dazed really right now but I struggle to put the feeling into this blog to pour what is left of my shaken soul.

I do not question why this happened. We sort of expected it to a certain extent, but still pain is pain is pain. There is that hole in my heart that will remain open for my parents and it so hard not to hug Papa now or comfort Mama now.

I had been planning to take a short trip to Butuan but the pandemic changed so many plans.

But Death... it does not change plans-- it strikes and gets anyone at the appointed time. Even Jesus bowed to death for a while, but then again, as we hold on to faith, we also wait to live anew-- in another place, in another time, and hopefully still with the ones we love.

Papa had always been a fighter, but this is one fight when he has to say, "Pildi man."  And move on, with the angels and think of another way to bounce back.

I miss you so much, Pa. And I will do so until the day we meet again.  Daghang salamat sa tanan.

Bleeding in the pandemic

 Just this morning, I called Mama to ask how they were, given that my older brother Bobot had informed me that Papa has not been sleeping and seems unable to see anything.  It pains me that I cannot even be with my parents at this time -- even as Metro Manila is on GCQ, Butuan is on MECQ and there are a lot of travel documents that need to be put together before you travel. This is like living out the old joke that we may be required to have a passport when travelling to Mindanao.

Papa has Alzheimer's disease. It could be that the deterioration just accelerated and everything went downhill for this once robust and active hulk of a man who loves reading, going to sabong, womanizing and just about doing everything he wants with his life, unmindful of consequences.

I do not know if the restrictions on mobility the Covid 19 lockdown contributed to this, but I think not being able to go out of the house meant a lot for someone who has always been out there.

Papa lost his own father at the age of 8. He has always been close to her widowed mother and was a major crutch in his life. He was the reliable companion, the strong little shoulder to lean on, the listener to her many stories, never questioning her wisdom and actions and loving her to the end.

Now, I contemplate on this whole idea of loving until it hurts, sacrificing until you feel none is left of you, putting the needs of another over your own.

I think that the women in my family are blessed with that strength.

We may say a lot of things against people we love but the willingness to bleed for their sake is there -- spoken or unspoken.

We all know that Papa's days are numbered. Just this morning, Mama told me he is laboring to breathe so she is afraid to give him anything as he might choke. They just watch him helplessly...painfully going through the physical ordeal. They are afraid to go to the hospital as it might aggravate his condition. Alzheimer's is a monster that eats you alive. It chains your loved ones sometimes to anger and desolation that there are times when it saps your energy and even your spirit.

I look back at the last days of my own husband who chose to go home to his hometown despite his condition. It must have been the calling of home. No matter how we argued and fought against it, he always had his way. He always found ways to go the casino, to smoke, to travel -- much to my consternation as any deviation from doctor's orders to rest, take his medicines and strive to be well disrupts my life as well.

I have lost count of the hours spent anxiously outside an operating room, outside the ICU, in an emergency room and in the hospital room because I was fighting for his life too.  It has drained me physically, financially and emotionally but I still chose to fight.

But God works in mysterious ways--- there are things that perhaps He allows to happen for reasons you do not understand in your time, but in His time.

My husband fought down to his last day. And we fought with him and with him through the hands of emergency doctors and nurses who pumped, intubated and injected him with medicines to wake him up.  But life stopped. Time stopped. Like a clock that suddenly conked out, it all just ended there.

Then I think-- could I have done better as a wife? Should I have sort of chained him to the house so he cannot smoke outside? Should I have eagle-watched him and forsaken my other duties as wife and mother?  Well, I think, maybe yes. But what would the ending look like?  Will I gain back the lost Rhoneil that I loved in my youth? Will I gain back the happy-go-lucky father of my children who was always planning out a trip to the resto or the outdoors, even when we could not afford it?

We were actually planning for a kidney transplant and part of the requirement was that all his other vital organs should be functioning well. That is why the cardio had to check on his already thrice 'angioplastied' heart to pronounce him strong enough. But then the rest is history-- we had his mitral valve repaired and it seems like he never recovered from that because he must be one of the worst patients I know -- only following doctor's orders for a while and reverting to his old ways.

Papa is like that too. He does what he thinks is best for him. Like Rhoneil, he has lived his life on his own terms. Those who love him may not be able to understand and take the ride, but when you come to think of it, they lived their lives the best way they know how.  In a sense, they are happy to do the things they do. And at the end of the day, we just need to accept them, as He has accepted and embraced all of us sinners when He died on the cross.

I still grieve for my husband, maybe like no one in the family can, but I look up to Him who loves me and feel a certain kind of calmness.

Will this calmness be stirred yet again soon? Maybe yes. But I know that I should just turn to Him and say, "Please stay with me" and I will make it through.

***

A thesis that describes the Philippine Exposition in Madrid in 1887

"Constructing a 'Good' Colonial Society: Representation of Philippine Colonial Education at the 1887 Philippine Exposition in Madrid and the 1904 St. Louis's World Fair". by Erin Hardacker, May 2011

The Madrid Exposition included the flora and fauna research from naturalist Padre Pedro Garcia, the patriarch of the Atega clan.

 https://ecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1516&context=luc_theses

Back to Juan

This blog was triggered by the search for Juan Atega, my great grandfather.  For someone who occupied important posts in the Butuan/Agusan government, his name is curiously not found in the family tree.

His first marriage was to my great grandmother, Anselma Duro. They had 3 children.

His second marriage was to a first cousin, whose first husband was the first Governor of Agusan Frederick Johnson.  They had no children. ( In 1914, the Americans converted Agusan into a separate province by virtue of Act No. 1306 with Frederick Johnson as the first Governor.)

My grandfather and his two brothers were taken under the wing of their uncle, Andres when their father, Juan Atega remarried.

Below is what I found in genealogy records online.

Remalda Atega Calo
Birthdate:	estimated between 1910 and 1952
Death:
Immediate Family:	Daughter of Buenaventura Calo and Severa Azura Atega Wife of Captain Frederick Johnson and Juan Atega Mother of Private Sister of Diego Atega Calo; Alejo Atega CALO and Remegia Atega CALO
Managed by:	Private User
Last Updated:	November 26, 2016

On Fr. Pedro Garcia de la Virgen de los Martires

 

Wood collection of Fr. Garcia, found in the Natural History Museum of the School of Monteagudo, got an award during the Philippine Exhibition in Madrid in 1887

 This is a repost from the blog Ang Bagong Filipino.

Madrid, 1887

11
AUG

by Freda Changat

José Rizal was touring Europe in 1887 when Spain still ruled the Philippines. He was infuriated about the news that a group of Igorots was brought to Madrid for the Exposición de las Islas Filipinas, held in the city’s Zoological Garden.

For many years, he had worked towards a Philippine Exposition in Madrid which would attract Spain’s attention to the products and handicrafts of the Philippines- ¨but not on exposition of persons so the lazy inhabitants of Madrid might amuse themselves through this display of our country folk as curiosity.¨

Contemporary Spanish reacted in the same way as many Americans in Seattle did two decades later, with fascinated contempt.  Rizal was outraged. In his letter exchange with Ferdinand Blumentritt, he expressed his great concern:

“I have worked hard against this degradation of my fellow Filipinos that they should not be exhibited among the animals and plants!  But I was helpless.  One woman has just died of pneumonia … and the newspaper El Resumen has made a smutty wisecrack about it!  And La Correspondencia de España even says ‘The Filipino colony in Madrid is enjoying the most perfect health; up to the present, no more than two or three have fallen ill of colds and bronchitis.’  I need hardly comment on this.

“I would rather that they all got sick and died so they would suffer no more.  Let the Philippines forget that her sons have been treated like this — to be exhibited and ridiculed.”

This was the first of all Igorot shows. It was condemned by Rizal but his persuasion had no more effect than many American voices, including Teddy Roosevelt’s, that protested Igorot shows.  There was money to be made and a prejudiced public to be pandered to.

Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri, 1904

Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exhibition, Seattle, Washington, 1909

Universal Exposition, Ghent, Belgium, 1913. Photo of a Senegalese Village where the Igorot Village was an add on

The Philippine colonial government did not succeed in banning Igorot shows until 1914, just in time to countermine American entrepreneurs’ plans for a major Igorot village at San Francisco’s 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

SOURCES:

Jose Rizal-Ferdinand Blumentritt correspondence-22 November 1886 Exhibition of Igorots-1887 Rizal’s scholarly activities in Europe

The Rizal quote is from William Henry Scott’s History on the Cordillera (Baguio, 1975, p 13).; data on the end of Igorot shows are from Patricia Afable, Journeys from Bontoc 1904-1915 in Philippine Studies, 2004, pp 445-474; the image of Rizal is from Wikipedia Commons

Photos: http://www.igorotglobal.org/cms/images/IIC8/Igorot_Village_Primer2.pdf

Monday moods

 There is a thing about Mondays that either perk you up or lets you go the other way. But in this Covid situation, I do not think I can apply a standard mood for the day.

So what is my Monday looking like today? I am to speak together with fellow Mancom in a digital Townhall meeting to update everyone about what the Comms Division of AFI has been doing over the last 3 months and what we need to do in the next 3.

Well, because belong to a division that should constantly and consistently tell others about the things that are being done by the organization, I feel that I will be repeating a lot of things. And since we are an enabling group, I can only support the main narratives of my fellow directors.  That is the Monday dampener of sorts for me... but then again, here's the thing! Why don't I just listen in to everyone first and then just be creative with what I will tell the whole team? Because I cannot anticipate what they will say or if they prepared something, some of them might adlib, then I should listen in and revise my presentation as necessary.

I decided to talk about re/building, together, stronger - how do we build a stronger oganization together?  That has always been my mantra in life? How do we do this? How can we work together? 

It is too soon to tell if I was effective in my little talk but then again, during this morning's Townhall with Ayala Foundation, I felt that I was just pouring my heart out---

- I was thankful that fellow talents were contributing stories and helping us with the things that we did.

- I was happy to belong to an organization that was doing a lot of things, and leading the charge in nation-building.

- I remain hopeful of things to come for the organization that was established to help improve people's lives.

Yes, that and more. I believe that speaking from the heart is the best kind of communication channel. Day after day, I struggle to be an authentic communicator, not just in the organization but also in my personal capacity.

- I tell Mama that things do not always go as planned and the little detours might lead you to something better.

- I tell my brothers that I am fine and coping with challenges despite being a widow.

- I tell my children that we should do things together and to always be mindful of the needs of others outside our own little circle.

And of course, in my no holds barred convo with Jesus, I say thanks first then tell Him about the joys and aches from my heart.  It keeps me sane in this crazy time. It helps me live amidst this season of death.

Zia and Franco

 We are now going into the 6th month of quarantine. We plod on with our daily lives -- trying to help people, while also making sure that we survive this pandemic.

While the tendency is to take a look at this as a deathly situation, I look to the other side and see life....because I live with two angels that fuel my energy for survival and joy.

Zia

She may be too much too handle sometimes when she chooses to be persistent in her demands for whatever it is she gets her mind on -- toys, books, talk, play, or just plain kulit, you simply cannot get enough of this super slim.  That she has a good heart is something I am sure of.

There was a day that I got mad at her dad for staying out too long for a friend's birthday and I did not want to open the door when he arrived. Zia's cries changed my mind. When she was given a chance to do Shopee, she got stuff for her little cousins in Taguig and thought of a way to convince the Tooth Fairy to give her what she need to pay the online shop. She said she only had 2 pesos so she had to look for 340 more.  The answer came in a milk tooth that was wiggling out of her gums-- and she did not stop poking at it with her tongue until it came off and voila-- she can get money from the Tooth Fairy.

She is been particular about heights lately -- will she be 5'7" or 5'9"? Why? Because she wants to be a model.  Well, aside from that, she also wants to be a vlogger, have a YouTube channel called Zia and Franco Show, and wait... a toy designer in Mattel stationed in New York or Mexico!

She has also been looking up old actresses and matching names with years of birth. She knows how old they were when they died and what caused their death, etc. Marilyn Monroe is a favorite. Then Audrey Hepburn, among others. Apparently, she has been googling them.

Zia goes back to school online this Monday and she insists on having her own table and chair! Well, on to your next adventure in homeschool, my love.

Franco

Just when everything was looking bleak, there came a strong little light to our lives on May 25, 2020.

From 6 pounds, he has gained a lot of weight in the close to three months of pure breast-feeding love. And he is taller by more than 4 inches!

Franco has simple joys -- looking at a curtain flapping in the wind keeps him occupied, the chirping of birds puts a grin on his face. 

He kicks a lot and punches himself or whoever is near in the face. 

Well, this little boy is unraveling wonderfully every single day and we are all under his spell, just like his Ate.

This rainy day in August

To the Chinese, August is Ghost Month and I feel it much especially today, August 20, 2020. Five months ago today, my husband died.  While I do not believe in ghosts, I believe that life on earth is a jumping board to the eternal.

I got rained out today--- super heavy rain-- but it felt kinda good to be caught in a heavy downpour. What is it that the heavens are telling us? Is this a sign of things to come?  Is Covid going to be washed off from the face of the earth soon? Is this overstaying virus enjoying earth and humans so much that it is lingering longer? God, please...You are the only one who can make it vanish.

But if the virus does stay longer, strengthen us, O Lord that we can stare down the virus with an energy and will that can only come from you.

Musings for another Covid weekend

This work from home arrangement that enables us to earn our keep, while at the same time see to the safety of family is getting comfortably familiar. In fact, it has blended into my daily routine quite well.

Like in between online meetings and I need to go to the restroom, I get to check if there is still tissue and pour disinfectant into the bowl as my apo might be the next one so eveything needs to be germ-free and tidy.

I also do not have to worry if my pants do not fit anymore because I can hang loose with pajamas or shorts and just worry about my top-- which, by the way, is not too hard to pick because tshirts are permissible when on Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

This really suits me just fine.

Since today is a Friday, I look forward to more morning cuddle time with my two apos-- my beautiful Zia and my handsome Franco.

It is almost 3 months since my husband rejoined our Maker, but it is hard to really go back to normal, especially so that there are a lot of things in the house that remind us of him. So we pray everyday for him to rest in God's embrace and that we can go on with our lives in the best way we know how.

There are times when I wake up in the middle of the night and feel a little anxious about the future but then again, I give myself a mental kick and say, 'Hey, put Him in charge of your life and things will be just fine."

Why 2020?

Today is just the first day of June but it seems like the year 2020 has stretched to decades. As I deal with own personal grief with the loss of my husband last March 20,  the world around me continues to reel in pain.

Never has anyone imagined that a virus -- so much so from an otherwise faultless bat -- and a gourmet's delight -- has become the worst nightmare of mankind in the modern age.

But let me recall the past 5 months of what is dubbed as 'the year from hell.'  

January 2020

Taal Volcano erupted and the ashfall was carried by winds to as far as Quezon City and some parts of Northern Luzon.

Take a look at this report from the Earth Observatory  

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146142/sulfur-spews-from-taal

In January 2020, the Taal Volcano awoke from 43 years of quiet and spewed lava and ash, filling streets and skies of the Philippine island of Luzon with fine ash fall and volcanic gases. The eruption caused tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes and forced the closure of several key roads, businesses, and an airport.

The volcano first unleashed a steam-driven explosion (known as a phreatic eruption) on January 12. In the early morning of January 13, eruptive activity increased and the volcano emitted a fountain of lava for about an hour and a half. According to the Philippine Seismic Network, at least 144 volcanic earthquakes have been recorded since January 12, suggesting continuous magmatic activity underneath Taal and potentially more eruptive activity.

According to news reports, the eruption of Taal lofted ash fall up to 14 kilometers (9 miles) into the air. The eruption was accompanied by intense thunder and lightning above the summit. Winds carried volcanic ash fall north across Luzon.

February 2020

Fears about the novel coronavirus gripped the world as Wuhan became the epicenter of the what was yet to be proclaimed a pandemic. We went along with our daily lives but mindful already that some events may be disrupted, depending on what the government or leading authorities on health will pronounce.

My 54th birthday was the day I underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy or the removal of my gall bladder. I have had these mongo-like gallstones on me and I went to at least 3 doctors for consultation and they all said the same thing -- out with them! And because I had to give way to a critically-ill patient's use of the operating room, my procedure took place on my 54th birthday. So, I still had my cake and my family around me -- and it was a happy occasion at the hospital despite the groggy feeling from general anesthesia.

March 2020

We started the month as usual but carrying over the anxiety over the virus from the previous weeks.

I have heard my mother talk about malaria, cholera and even dysentery as killers of old, but I never thought that this corona virus would top them all.  We look back at SARS, Ebola and other dreaded diseases that claimed thousands of lives thousands of miles away from our shores, but corona virus was just too close to home.

We watched in shock as travel became restricted, lockdown became a familiar term even among the young, frontliners were medical personnel and not those who carried arms, the lowly mask became a prime commodity and alcohol became more relevant in the grocery list. March 16 was the start of the community quarantine for us.

Then came March 20. I was expecting my husband from Pililla as he was scheduled to undergo dialysis at the hospital. He was supposed to stay in Las Pinas already because of the limited mobility allowed but what was supposed to be an ordinary day became painful.

Rhoneil arrived with a driver and as I was about to usher him inside the house, he said he would rather have the driver take him upstairs. So I waited at the sala for him to finish using the toilet so I can give him money for his treatment. I was just sitting at the sala waiting when I felt that I had to use the toilet too so I went up.

-- I found Rhoneil slumped in the toilet seat. I thought he fell asleep or was trying to reach something so I tried pushing up his forehead so he can sit upright but he fell right back. I called my children. Francis and the driver carried him to our bed. Gia tried to resuscitate him as Aiz called the hospital for an ambulance.

The Perpetual Hospital emergency team arrived quick enough to intubate and inject him with 10 vials of whatever medicine to try to pump up his heart, but to no avail. I was right beside my husband as they were doing those things on him. The doctor wanted me to stay outside but I figured I must stay to make decisions from the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and down to the last and 10th vial to pull him back.

Then the doctor said sorry....movements then became mechanical -- funeral service at Funeraria Filipinas for 4 days, burial at Golden Haven, all done while quarantine was ongoing, a 24 hour curfew was declared and my children and I had nothing but each other and a handful of family and friends who managed to get through checkpoints to pay their respects.

But we still had the full prep. We know Rhoneil would not have it any other way. We gave him the best that we can. We asked a friend priest from Butuan to say his last full mass online, a kind father just slipped in and out to say his blessings then off we went to Golden Haven.

April 2020

Rhoneil's 54th birthday was supposed to be April 12, but he missed it by more than 2 weeks, so we had simple gathering to celebrate his life still. His 40th day of mourning was also done in quarantine and we simply prayed together-- just as we continuously do now for the eternal repose of his soul.

Things at work became a bit hectic but I was glad to be distracted that way. Work became my world for a while and I hope my teammates would forgive me for driving them too hard because I wanted it no other way.  So I also cleaned, cleaned and cleaned until my body ached. I tried to remember the bad times so that I will not miss my husband so. It is different when you are reminded of things that you did during happier times and you just want to cry. But I held back tears sometimes, thinking I should not burden my kids with worry over a distraught mother. 

So, as usual, I hugged my little girl Zia, thin yet so huggable; small yet able to wipe away my burdens big time with a funny quip or a smart alecky remark about things-- just that pure innocent demeanor where I was drawing my strength. 

My kids also cleaned, cooked, took on tasks as they were the ones with quarantine passes.

May 2020

The month of flowers became a continuing month of quarantine as the number of Covid 19 patients in our place rose. Up to now, there is no cure. We are still all working from home.  I am glad to be able to give the garbage men some goods but I worry about them too. Things are too different now.

Francis' birthday was a little break from routine. These millennials were able to smuggle in beer and stay late in the night telling stories and laughing. I marvel at the resilience of young people. They find ways to party no matter what.

Then our tiny blessing came on May 25! Franco Mateo was born at around 6am and he was healthy, bunch and too sweet for words. Even as I harbored fears while they were still in the hospital, I put it all up to the Lord to protect this little family from harm. 

Our 1st Digital Magiting Conference was a huge success. We reached more than 160,000 audiences on Ayala Foundation's FB Live and reviews were awesome. 

June 2020

He is now going into his 2nd week as a human outside his mom's womb and things are moving along fine. Just trying to tie some loose ends from Covid projects and we can concentrate on making it good in the new normal.

Francis and I finally got to visit Rhoneil's gravesite on June 1-- something that was not allowed since we took him there.  We lit three candles that were blessed during the mass with Fr. Jocis Syquia online.

I put everything up to the Lord. I know He knows best. I am just a lowly servant trying to be worthy of His love. I try my best to live in His ways.