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Cultural Heritage

By Telly G. Ocampo

Gabii Sa Paghandum

This has long been a project of mine sleeping in the innermost chamber of my mind for 

quite some time. There was no opportunity for me then to present this to the local government 

unit for I noticed that its priority was not about the town’s history and culture.
This project is about the celebration of our  Foundation Day where Bahandi will  feature an event called “Gabii Sa Paghandum”.

Bahandi has just been reaccredited.  Bahandi is a people’s organization registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is an aggrupation of citizens of the town who fought against the road widening program which was started by then president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The acronym BAHANDI refers to  Baclayon Ancestral Homes for New Development Initiatives.

Baclayon is an old town.  Historically it’s the cradle of Christianity in Bohol having been founded by two Jesuit priests who landed in the Baclayon shores  in 1595.

One day, a few years back, we saw several digging equipment stationed at the Poblacion area – an area where most ancestral houses are located including the church of the Immaculate Conception, specifically the belltower and a portion of the portico.

These equipment were all set and ready for the road widening which meant the demolition of structures to clear the way for the project.

We fought against the widening move because our ancestral houses would be destroyed since part of these edifices would be demolished for wider road spaces. Demolishing half of the house is tantamount to destroying the entire house.

We were jolted in a way with the widening project.

What is Baclayon without its heritage homes?  These houses are the testaments proving that 

our ancestors have embraced our Catholic Faith.Most of these structures are housing the carrozas for Semana Santa.  Baclayon is never Baclayon without these living testaments.

With all these on mind, my Bahandi project is still alive in my heart. I have thought of having a Bahandi night during our celebration of  Foundation Day come November.

It may be a Saturday before or after the 17th where there will be an open house of the ancestral houses.  It will also feature an evening of songs of the distant past Including the harana; food that each ancestral house is famous for; and a showcase of the life style of our ancestors.

Since it will almost be Christmas by then, the houses must showcase its belen and the daygon highlighted by the ricorico.

In our fight for the preservation of our ancestral houses we have to thank the Ayala Foundation represented by Señorita Beatriz Zobel de Ayala, Ino Manalo of the then Metropolitan Museum of Manila.  And on our side of the town my platitude is expressed to Gardy Labad, Fr. Vic Gilay, andto Jojie and Nestor Pestelos for the initiative of organizing the people with their organizational skills.

Ayala went further into training Bahandi members in livelihood by reinventing the ancestral homes with homestays.  These and many more.  Much later Bahandi was given a grant by the Department of Tourism and Asian Development in conducting seminars to homestay caregivers. I feel very thankful that my proposal for all these was given a go signal by the decision makers.

We used to have a heritage walk interrupted by the earthquake of 2013 which has changed the landscape of the town.

The Ayala Foundation gave  the tourism center such blessing on Mayor Alvie’s first term as LGU chief executive. And now that he is back we have to say:  we are a town with a grateful heart to those who helped us in many ways.  

We wish to make the town truly a place to visit and stay.

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