Quincentennial Imperatives and Quintessential Beauties

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

THIS is my third attempt to write about how the church can be a source of creativity for its remaining believers. On all attempts, I am intermittently distracted unable to give a coherent ending. As I write, the fire tree on the highway invites attention and I lay down my pen to watch the parade of orange and red flowers dancing to the beat of the wind and the bougainvilleas dividing the lanes.

Fe Mangahas is engaged in conversation with a staff, relating how Lapu-lapu won against Magellan, but she suddenly shifted to me, and I am making an effort to focus on the story unfolding on the road. By now, I have decided to drop the subject on the church. The thoughts were not flowing.

We are on our way to Baler, Aurora upon the invitation of  the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to meet with historians all over the country to discuss the progress of the Local Historical Committees Network (LHCN). Specifically,  a) To formulate strategies to mainstream the mandate of the NHCP at the local level through the LHCN affiliates; b) Identify the points of synergy between NHCP and the LHCN affiliates on research & publication, documentation, public programs, preservation and collection building and management; and c) To formulate a three-year action plan.

Fe suddenly bursts with excitement over the talisay blooms. These flowers have a way of taking us away from the serious stuff, and we are again unable to concentrate. We wonder at this beauty, the way Fe remembered the story of Japanese soldiers stopping in awe to marvel at the caballero blooms during the war.

Fe and I should be doing a history of these beautiful indigenous flowers, and weave their existence into our traditions and culture.

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