Rambling in Romblon

\

THE National Commission for Culture and the Arts opened heritage month in Romblon last May 2012. Unlike other specially declared months, the NCCA ere made the opening celebratory and then began one year’s work documenting Romblon’s cultural heritage and assisting in the recognition of their sites.

Less than a year later, the Church of Romblon has been recognized as a national cultural treasure and the old municipal building, currently in use as a police station, the fort of San Andres, as Important Cultural Property.

Losing

The nuns sadly told PSSST! CENTRO that the Atis of Boracay had lost their lore. They do not remember their traditions, their art, their songs. The difficulty of surviving the daily grind has bleached it out of them. And the constant battle for their own small place in the land that once belonged to them, has suspended their lives.

The Power of Tradition

Pssst! Centro spoke with Dayang Celia H. Kiram, wife of Sultan Jamalul Kiram. In the course of conversation about the roots of the conflict in Mindanao, Dayang Celia sadly noted, that if the government merely recognized the sultanate and its structure and traditions, it would be a great help to bringing peace in Mindanao.

Death of a Mockingbird

“Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.”

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
– Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird