Let's Adventure to Mindoro!

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has provided almost P195,000 to local government units (LGUs) affected by landslide in Occidental Mindoro last August 4.

DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman said the agency released P194,817 relief assistance to the affected municipalities of Calintaan, Looc, Magsaysay, Mamburao, Sablayan and San Jose in Occidental Mindoro.

As of August 7, the number of affected families was 5,262 or 26,310 individuals from 40 barangays in these six towns.

In Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, the DSWD provided some 633 food packs worth P165,735, while in Mamburao, some 10 boxes of sardines and 15 boxes of corned beef worth P29,081 were provided.

Soliman said three evacuation centers were opened providing temporary shelter to some 675 families with 3,375 persons from the municipalities of Sablayan and Looc.

“The DSWD is also continuously providing relief aid to some 2,386 family-victims with 11,930 persons outside the evacuation centers,” she added.

Meanwhile, seven houses in Looc, Occidental Mindoro were partially damaged.

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In the Philippines, when the rest of the population goes to sleep, a reclusive community of indigenous people prepares for another restless night of fear and uncertainty.

Far away in the dense, dark forests of Occidental Mindoro, where Mangyan people are scattered in small remote settlements, tribal leaders now routinely contemplate their future in feverish debates that usually last until daybreak.

"We are petrified that big mining companies will take over our ancestral land. If the government gives them license to operate, our land and heritage will be lost forever," says Juanito Lumawig. The 62-year-old supreme leader of all seven tribes of Mangyan is a worried man. For him, it is a battle for survival for his people, who for centuries have inhabited the rough and hard-to-reach highlands of this Philippine island.

Over 40,000 hectares of land, including vast swathes of forest is claimed by Mangyan as their ancestral domain. The land is believed to be rich in gold, natural gas and minerals worth many millions of dollars. The stakes are high and Mangyan are against all odds. In numbers, they are an ethnic and linguistic minority group of fewer than 25,000. Not only are the Mangyan physically and socially isolated from the rest of the Filipino population, they are also among the poorest and most marginalised.

A Mangyan family earns on average just $0.34 a day. Nine out of ten Mangyan have poor access to safe drinking water and the majority are illiterate. Historically nomadic and forest gatherers, the tribes often struggle to feed themselves, particularly during the rainy season which lasts four months. It is such a routine part of their life that they refer to it as "hungry period" like any other season of the year. The consequences are obvious as 60 per cent of Mangyan children are malnourished and infant mortality rates are so high that a child is considered fortunate to reach the age of ten.

Nowhere to go

Generations of isolation, discrimination and historical encroachment of their land by others have left Mangyan untrusting and fearful of the outside world. "First the lowlanders invaded our land and forced us to move to highlands and now we might be driven out again. Only this time we have nowhere to go," says Yagay Sebastian, leader of Buhid - one of the seven Mangyan tribes.

According to the government regulations, all indigenous peoples like Mangyan tribes must prove their ownership of the land they claim as rightfully theirs through title deeds and legally valid documentation. Given that majority of Mangyan are illiterate with limited contact with the outside world, their ability to support their claim is fraught with great challenges rendering them even more vulnerable.

"The threat of commercial exploitation of Mangyan's ancestral domain is real. Mining activities can pose threat to local environment and this may also result in displacement of the indigenous people," says Reynante Luna, Provincial Officer of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

The Commission, set up by the national government, is mandated to promote and protect the best interests of the indigenous people. It was created after the Philippines government passed the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act to recognise indigenous peoples' communal and individual rights to their ancestral land along with their rights to self-governance, empowerment, social justice and human rights. However, nearly 15 years after enacting the law, very little has changed for Mangyans. "They remain among the poorest of the poor, still at the fringes of national priorities," says Diana San Jose, an anthropologist who is supporting Mangyan tribes as they compile evidence for their legal claim.

In the absence of a legal title, it will be a greater struggle for Mangyan tribes to challenge commercial use of their land. Luna confirms there are three pending applications related to commercial mining in the Provincial Office record alone. However, he assures that these applications will undergo field based investigation to determine if they overlap with any ancestral domain. "It will also be referred to the concerned local government for any existing moratorium on mining," he says.

This is no reprieve for Mangyan people. Even with all caveats, overlapping jurisdictions of local municipalities and national government have created gaping legal loopholes that make the situation worse for Mangyan. Ask Ed Gadiano, mayor of Sablayan - the largest municipality by area in the whole of Philippines. "Four years ago, Sablayan declared a moratorium on large scale mining for 25 years. Despite this, the national government granted exploration permit to a mining company on 9700 hectares of land," he says. With Gadiano's administration refusing to accept the occupation fee, the mining company has deposited 2 million pesos in a local court.

Minor successes

Already battling with severe poverty and exclusion, excessively private Mangyans are finding themselves in a morass of overwhelming bureaucracy. Most cannot comprehend that the land they have tilled and worshipped for centuries now requires a proof of ownership. They are relying on support from local and international community development organisations like Plan International to save the environment that they have strong spiritual and cultural connections with. "Some Mangyan tribes have already been awarded title of their ancestral land. We are assisting those who are still in the process," says Naty Silorio, a senior Plan official overseeing development projects with the Mangyan in the region.

Since 2005, Plan has been actively engaged in child-centred community development for Mangyan. "We are working with the local government in enabling the community to secure their rights and preserve their culture," says Silorio. For title claim, the organisation with support from the European Union is assisting Mangyan to survey their land, create 3D maps of their domain and document their oral history which is replete with references to geographical landmarks.

Securing the title is just the beginning for Mangyan as they head for even more testing times ahead. Leader Lumawig laments: "Our people have been offered bribes and some have ended up signing consent forms seeking commercial use of our land. We feel helpless and totally powerless."

Frustration is growing among Mangyan, but, just like the forests they inhabit, their dissent is remarkably peaceful. Shaken, they are resting their hopes on their ancestors to guide them through. "Non-violence is part of our beliefs. Our ancestors told us that God created the forests for Mangyan. I am sure they will protect us," hopes Lumawig. He believes he stands a chance with his prayers.


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This tale is fraught with sharks and treasure, pirates and poachers, strife and solutions. Come, dive with me!

“Apo Reef is the ‘Jewel of Mindoro,’” former Sablayan Mayor Godofreido Mintu told me recently over a seafood dinner. “Perhaps you may come to realize just what its treasure is, but only after you dive.”

Having nursed a lifelong fascination with both pirate lore and bizarre quests, I felt the old man’s words strike home.

And now, surrounded by undersea life 65 feet below the eastern face of Apo Island in Occidental Mindoro, I pray to Poseidon and embark on a treasure hunt—a quest to find the true “jewels” of the deep.

I drift leisurely, propelled alongside a heavily encrusted sea wall by invisible ocean currents. My attention shifts to the wall, where neon-hued fairy basslets frolic amid the swaying tips of crimson gorgonians.

I peer in to inspect their knobby rows of polyps, careful not to touch anything, Leave No Trace principles being of primary importance.

A minute later, an impossibly huge school of yellow-dashed fusiliers (Pterocaesio randalli) appears. I try to estimate their number but they coalesce into a single mass that fills my vision end to end. In a moment they are gone.

This is truly Poseidon’s realm. Consider that 71 percent of the planet is covered in water, and 97 percent of that forms its vast oceans.

Covering just 1 percent of the ocean floor, coral reefs host an incredible variety of life: One in four marine creatures live within these undersea oases, and nowhere are these more beautiful and productive than in the wondrous Pacific archipelago known as the Philippines.



Origin of life and legend

Apo Reef lies at the northern tip of the Coral Triangle, a 5.7-million-square-kilometer region that spans the seas of six countries—the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.

A fourth of the world’s islands lie nestled within this exquisite region, distinguished by the presence of at least 500 species of reef-building coral.

The Coral Triangle is so abundant in marine life that it has been hailed by globally renowned coral expert and author Dr. Charlie Veron as “the center of Earth’s marine diversity.” It is home to 605 of the 798 known reef-building corals and 2,228 types of reef fish that include the Sulawesi Coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis), a living relic of the dinosaur era thought to have been extinct for some 70 million years.

Like the Bermuda Triangle, the Coral Triangle has spawned a variety of folklore. During the Age of Sail, both pirates and privateers swore of surmounting enchanting mermaids, wailing sirens, ship-tearing kraken and all manner of sea monsters.

The region is actually an enormous undersea food factory, whose produce directly benefits half a billion people yearly. A single square kilometer of healthy reef can produce more than 40 metric tons of grouper, oyster, tuna and other forms of seafood year after year.

Obviously, the potential of our seas to sustain life, both human and otherwise, is leviathan.

Troubled Paradise

In Greek mythology, the infant Zeus nursed from a bountiful horn carried by the nymph Amalthea. This so-called Cornucopian Horn came to be associated with wealth and abundance.

Properly protected, the Philippines’ 27,000 square kilometers of coral reefs can turn into a Cornucopian Horn, providing for the needs of millions in a very real bid to stamp out Asian poverty.

But Paradise lies troubled. For more than a century, coastal development, destructive fishing practices, coral mining, sedimentation, overfishing, chemical pollution and the effects of climate change (such as ocean warming, acidification and coral bleaching) have been waging an undersea war against our marine enclaves.

The Philippines, together with Indonesia, hosts the world’s most threatened coral reefs, less than 5 percent of which remain in excellent condition. Faced with this problem, many countries within the Coral Triangle have established Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to conserve what’s left.

“[MPAs] evolved when people realized that portions of coral reefs needed continual protection to stay productive,” explains Joel Palma, conservation programs vice president of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). “These areas go by a host of names: MPAs, fish sanctuaries or no-take zones. All of them are loosely defined as inter- or subtidal spots reserved by law for the protection of a given area.”

Undersea enclaves

Today, the Philippines hosts about 10 percent of the world’s MPAs—more than 500, more than any in Southeast Asia. Established largely through local government initiatives and maintained through the blood, sweat and tears of coastal communities, these undersea enclaves provide safe havens for Philippine marine life as well as a growing number of eco-conscious tourists.

But many MPAs are plagued by a lack of funding. Mismanagement is rife: Only a little over 100 are properly administered; the rest are “paper parks”—areas urgently needing funding and professional management.

Hunting incursions are recurring sources of friction between the Philippines and its neighbors.

In September 2007, 126 endangered green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) and 10,000 turtle eggs were found aboard China’s F/V 01087 in Sulu.

In August 2008, 101 critically endangered hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) were found aboard Vietnam’s F/V Q.ng 91234-TS near El Nido in Palawan.

In April 2009, 14 green sea turtles were found aboard an unmarked Chinese speedboat near Cauayan, also in El Nido.

Since the 1990s, WWF has been working with the private sector, the government and civil society in furthering scientific research, policy reform, protected area and community-based management within the Coral Triangle. Its Philippine office has pioneered the establishment and upkeep of MPAs in some of the country’s best-known and most productive coral reefs.

Two of the best-managed MPAs are Apo Reef off Occidental Mindoro and Tubbataha Reefs off Palawan.

Wonders of ‘payaw’

Much of Apo Reef, the country’s largest (34 square kilometers) and a former world-class dive site, is in an abysmal state after 30 years of destructive fishing.

In October 2007, WWF and the local government of Sablayan in Mindoro spearheaded the total closure of Apo Reef to fishing. Alternative livelihood programs and a robust ecotourism drive were instituted to keep livelihoods afloat while allowing the reef ample time to recover.

Giant fish aggregation devices—locally called payaw—were installed to provide alternate fishing spots for coastal communities.

The crude but effective contraptions feature a buoy, a counterweight and 10 to 20 giant coconut fronds. Algae growths on the decomposing fronds attract herbivores such as surgeonfish and rabbitfish, which then draw larger predators.

Local group leader Elmo Bijona testifies to the effectiveness of the devices: “A single payaw can daily yield maybe 15 kilograms of good fish per boat. You can land tambakol, tulingan, galunggong and even yellowfin tuna on any given night.”

The steady rise in the size and number of fish has been matched by an upsurge of tourists, proving that ecological stewardship goes hand in hand with profit.

There are even more dramatic results in other model sites. From 2004 to 2005, the world-renowned Tubbataha Reefs doubled yearly fish biomass from 166 to 318 metric tons per square kilometer—a yield seven times more productive than a typical reef.

Tubbataha’s fertile reefs also constantly seed adjoining regions such as eastern Palawan and western Visayas with fish and invertebrate spawn.

Through the work of WWF and its allies, Apo Reef may one day be what Tubbataha is now.


Natural investments

Apo Reef differs from all other WWF project sites in that it is kept afloat almost exclusively by donations.

For example, “Bright Skies for Every Juan” enjoins Cebu Pacific passengers to indirectly offset the ecological impacts of their flights by donating to the upkeep of the reef.

The program combines the efforts of WWF, Cebu Pacific, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Sablayan government to boost the region’s resilience to climate change impacts through MPA protection, promotion of responsible ecotourism and introduction of alternative livelihoods.

“Cebu Pacific’s decision to spearhead climate adaptation is a prime example of private-sector leadership,” says WWF-Philippines CEO Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan.

“Our government alone cannot turn back the tide of climate effects. It is the private sector that has the skills needed to think incisively, move efficiently and manage risk,” he says.

In the face of worsening climate impacts, protecting biodiversity enclaves makes perfect sense. “Our work in Apo Reef and other protected areas focuses on more than just biodiversity conservation: Should we succeed in halting climate change, these pockets of marine resilience will provide the building blocks to restore natural mechanisms that provide food and livelihood for millions of people. This is a natural investment,” Tan says.

White-tipped oracle

Back in Apo Reef, the hunt continues. Over an hour’s exploration has yielded little in the way of jewels or answers.

The dawn rays slice through the water, reflecting off a shadow 30 feet away. Perhaps, I reflect, what’s important in treasure hunting is the journey.

The best hunters have all learned to pick out treasure from trash. So too must we allow the hunt to transform the hunter.

Inexorably, the shadow morphs into a white-tip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus), itself on a hunt, as evidenced by its menacing motions. I tense up, one gloved hand cupping a dive knife used more for show than anything else.

The shark torpedoes onward. Time slows down. Suddenly an enveloping shadow smothers all light!

Puzzled, I gaze upward and realize just what drew the shark in the first place. The fusiliers, thousands upon thousands of them, have returned. The shark pulls up and dives into the mass.

As I watch the fascinating interplay between predator and prey, I notice, as if for the first time, the fusiliers’ gleaming hues of cobalt, ruby and gold, gloriously illuminated by the morning.

Then and there I realize that the shark’s hunt has led me to the end of mine.

As in the grandest treasure tales, the most valuable fortunes really do lie in the depths. As inhabitants of the world’s second-largest archipelago, we must realize that the sea’s greatest treasure is its ability to provide, but that providence can only continue when we learn to protect what we have been gifted with.

At the apex of the Coral Triangle, 65 feet below the Jewel of Mindoro, I finally accomplish my treasure hunt.


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TRIP NA TRIP SAN JOSE Part 1 will be aired on May 27, 2011, after SOCO, 11:45pm on ABS CBN Ch. 2. Part 2 will be on June 3, 2011.


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Cora Senigman, an Alangan-Mangyan, went to town to sell six kaings (large baskets) of calamansi she and five other Mangyans harvested for three days. The merchandiser wanted to buy her produce at P1 per kilo. The total amount would not even cover her transportation expenses. Refusing to be fooled and out of frustration, she just threw away the calamansi.

Rowena Lindog, a Tadwayan-Mangyan from Socorro, Oriental Mindoro, said the merchandiser bought their camote, a root crop, at P10 for three kilos.

Yamo Bangdayan, a Hanunuo-Mangyan from Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro, told Bulatlat.com that merchandisers buy 100 pieces of banana for P50 and five kilos of camote for P60 to P70.

Luz Brozula, director of the Integrated Development Program for Indigenous Peoples (IDPIP) of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP)-Southern Luzon Jurisdiction, said that Mangyans are often duped by capitalists because of their lack of formal education and because of their kindness.

“The pay we get could not compensate for our hard work,” Rowena, a mother of seven, said.

“We always experience hunger,” Cora, a mother of three, said.

Difficult Life

The Mangyans are the original inhabitants in Mindoro provinces. Divided in seven groups, they comprise 20 percent of the population of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro, numbering more than 200,000.

Each of the seven groups—Hanunuo, Alangan, Gubatnon, Buhid, Bangon and Tadyawan—has its own language and traditions that they practice to this day.

Farming is their means of livelihood. They plant root crops such as gabi (taro) and camote (sweet potato), banana and vegetables. Many practice kaingin or slash-and-burn. Few are able to plant palay (rice) and raise poultry.

“We do many things in order to survive,” Cora said. “If one could not be done, we do the other,” she said, citing planting palay, selling banana or root crops or making charcoal.

Rice and pansit with sardine sauce is already a feast for Mangyans(Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)
Pastor Marcelo Carculan, chairman of the Mangyan group Hagibbat, related that San Miguel Corp. went to their community in Balao village, Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro last April 10 and bought balinghoy (cassava), a root crop. “The Mangyans were told they would be paid P150 per kilo. They agreed, thinking it was P150 but it turned out to be P1.50 for every kilo,” Carculan said.

Mangyans who work in the farms of Tagalog farmers, are paid P150 a day. They are not provided food. For those who plant palay, Mangyans borrow P1,000 and pay four sacks of rice, Carculan said.

Cora, who lives in Dulangan tres village, Baco, Oriental Mindoro, is among those who plant palay in a land that has been covered by Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) since 1996.

“Even before the land was placed under CARP, we, the indigenous people, have cultivated it for many years. We were told that a landlord owns the land and we have to pay compensation,” Cora said.

In 1996, Cora said the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) pegged the compensation at P60,000 per hectare to be paid in a span ten years. In 2011, the compensation was increased to P100,000 per hectare. “Last April 8, the DAR told us to pay at the Landbank [of the Philippines]. How could we?” she said.

Cora said they harvest ten sacks for every hectare of land. Seven sacks go to DAR as payment for the land and only three are left with them. The supply would last for three months.

Although they work from dawn until night, they do not have enough food for their families.

“We eat camote or banana,” Cora said.

Yamo said they only eat rice once or twice a week. “If we have tiangge (small market), we can eat rice,” he said, but added that the local government is planning to ban tiangge in the communities.

Rowena said they seldom eat meat, only when they are able to raise poultry.

Cora said to be able to get more food for the children, many Mangyan women would pick palay from the thresher.

Deprived of Social Services


Aggravating their miserable economic conditions is the lack of government’s social services.

For one, health services are alien to most Mangyans.

Only during medical and dental missions such as this that Mangyans are able to avail free health services.(Photo by Angelica de Lara / bulatlat.com)
From Yamo’s place, for example, the nearest hospital is a ten-kilometer walk and a jeepney ride that cost P50. While there is a health center in Mansalay, Yamo said, a doctor is barely there.

Altang Dawsig, a Bangon-Mangyan from Lisap village in Bongabong town, Oriental Mindoro, said they have to walk the whole day to go to the nearest hospital. Altang said the village health center nearby collects fees and there is no doctor there most of the time.

“Many of our tribesmen die without reaching the hospital,” Altang said.

Malaria afflicts most of Mangyan communities. Many also die of tuberculosis.

Malnutrition rate is high among the children. Children die of treatable diseases such as diarrhea and measles.


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Come to Sablayan! and Discover the Wonders!


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A moderate 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit Occidental Mindoro early Friday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

The intermediate quake, with a depth of 101 kilometers, was felt 15 kilometers east of Looc town, at 3:06 a.m. Intensity 2 was felt in Batangas City, Phivolcs said.

No damages were reported but Phivolcs warned of possible aftershocks.

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The PUP Sablayan Campus Office is tentatively housed at the Old ABC Building, located at the Municipal Compound.

It is manned by five IT literate personnel hired by LGU Sablayan. The office is equipped with 3 computer units, printers, webcam and a landline with internet connection.


A teleconferencing equipment cum flat TV is provided by PUP Main Campus (Sta. Mesa).



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Simultaneous to the construction of a 3-storey building with 18 classrooms is the upgrading of 3 strategic access roads to the PUP Sablayan Campus.






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On November 11, 2010 the Open University Graduate School Program commenced with 40 enrollees in Master in Public Administration and 47 in Master in Educational Management.

Off line sessions for the MPA students were held at the Sanggunian Bayan Session Hall, while the MEM students held their class sessions at the Sablayan National Comprehensive High School (SABNACOHIS).

Five recruits from the locality were hired as part time mentors.

The deployment of Director Resa T. Suarez as Campus Director of PUP Sablayan Campus was indeed a big relief and a meaningful boost to the LGU Sablayan Technical Working Group.

With Director Resa’s expertise and experience in pioneering tasks, high hopes built up on PUP Sablayan Campus’ momentum to being a prime government college in Occidental Mindoro.




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A sequel to the MOA Signing was the Formal Launching of PUP Sablayan Campus on October 26, 2010. It was indeed a milestone, punctuated by Groundbreaking Rite at the site, Ribbon Cutting of the PUP Sablayan Campus office, Conduct of Entrance Exam for the Graduate School Program of the Open University System and a Cultural Presentation featuring ’Amazing Sablayan’!




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Governor Josephine “Nene” Ramirez-Sato announced the successful 60th anniversary of the province recently.

During the opening rites, Governor Sato said that the province have gone a long way - from a sleepy to a vibrant province now known not only in the Philippines but throughout the world. This can be attributed to the dynamic leadership of its governor and the city council.

Today, Occidental Mindoro is known as the primary source of rice, salt, fish, vegetables, and other commodities for Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Mindorenos enjoyed the activities during the celebration such as: the grand motorcade, basketball tournament, street dancing competition, rodeo, talentadong Mindoreno, search for Binibining Turismo and Ginoong agrikultura, variety shows, and the grand fireworks display.
Sixty balloons were also released during the opening rites symbolizing the years the province has been in existence. One of the balloons contains a note and whoever returns this to the provincial capitol will receive P 10,000.00.

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With the declaration of the Suspension of Offensive Military Operations (SOMO) by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, some members of the New People’s Army have successfully returned to the folds of the law.
According to the AFP, an NPA leader together with 8 of his troops recently surrendered to Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Vicente Umano. The rebels also turned-in high caliber firearms including an M60 machine gun.
Meanwhile, some rebels were foiled by their own comrades and failed to surrender to the government.

In Occidental Mindoro, some NPA members were recently on their way for a pre-arranged surrender to Lt. Col. Roger Percol, commander of the 80th Infantry Battalion when other members of the rebel group fired government forces.

Despite this incident, the AFP continues to observe the ceasefire agreement during the holidays. However the AFP shall remain prepared to address any untoward or violent incident that might be perpetrated by lawless group. (PIA-NCR/jeg)


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SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro, Dec. 28 (PIA) -- Eighty (80) new day care centers are to be constructed beginning January next year in all barangays in San Jose, this was announced by Mayor Jose T. Villarosa of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro recently.

According to Mayor Villarosa, this is in line with his administration’s policy of strengthening the educational system of his municipality, particularly the primary education sector.

Villarosa believes that giving a child a conducive learning atmosphere on his first year in school will help a child develop a good outlook on education.

Villarosa also announced that old and dilapidated school buildings in San Jose’s 38 barangays will be undergoing major renovation starting next year and construction of additional classrooms are also in the pipeline to arrest the growing classroom shortage in the province.

The mayor believes that a good education is an initial step out of poverty. Thus, the municipal government is doing everything to provide every San Josenos quality education. (PIA)


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This elderly Mangyan from the Alangan tribe in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro may be too old to study. But hundreds of young indigenous peoples all over Mindoro island are aspiring to be educated. They want to preserve their culture passed from generations to generations but at the same time they desire to go beyond the basics of reading and writing.

But there’s little room for them in the past. And they still suffer from discrimination, sometimes from the very people who illegally claimed their ancestral lands.

Theirs is an almost forgotten group of indigenous peoples. 8 tribes in the island. 100 000 people. All of them aspiring to be educated just like any other Filipino in the country.

Sa lunes, sa The Correspondents, kamustahin natin ang mga Mangyan ng Mindoro at ang Tugdaan – ang paaralan ng mga Mangyan, para sa mga Mangyan.

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Mayor
1 ABELEDA, Leonardo R. 5,790
2 GALSIM, Filemon M. 7,954
3 RAMOS, Hidalgo M. 26

Vice-Mayor
1 LEYCANO, Manuelito E. 4,187
2 MALABANAN, Rose C. 8,682

MEMBER, SANGGUNIANG BAYAN of OCCIDENTAL MINDORO - SANTA CRUZ - LONE DIST
1 AQUINO, Alex T. 4,429
2 BANAWA, Rudy M. 1,668
3 CASTRO, Mabelle M. 6,208
4 DE BORJA, Antonio Luis III B. 5,755
5 DOTIMAS, Elias S. 2,771
6 GALSIM, Filemon Jr. M. 6,947
7 GATDULA, Genesis M. 6,860
8 INSIGNE, Lorenzo S. 2,268
9 ISIDRO, Joseph B. 5,413
10 ISIDRO, Lorigen L. 3,376
11 JALMASCO, Jose T. 4,359
12 MALABANAN, Damaso A. 3,309
13 PAGUAGAN, Divina D. 4,528
14 PALACIO, Bernabe G. 1,219
15 RAMOS, Johnny S. 5,188
16 SERRANO, Diosdado T. 4,402
17 TOMAS, Wilson E. 1,978
18 TORRELIZA, Ernesto P. 8,935
19 VILLAR, Edgardo T. 3,028
20 VIRAY, Manuel G. 3,139

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Mayor
1 ASILO, Lope C. 3,239
2 FESTIN, Romulo D. 15,887
3 MALABAY, Eduardo Jr P. 170
4 VICENTE, Vergel R. 518
5 VILLAROSA, Jose T. 19,843

Vice-Mayor
1 AGUSTIN, Emmanuel T. 13,581
2 CAJILA, Danilo N. 170
3 CASTILLO, Alfredo A. 2,810
4 LADAGA, Rey C. 21,427

MEMBER, SANGGUNIANG BAYAN of OCCIDENTAL MINDORO - SAN JOSE - LONE DIST
1 ABELEDA, Augusto S. 15,690
2 AGUILAR, Joel G. 16,379
3 ALMOGELA, William F. 11,229
4 ANTARAN, Joel D. 9,384
5 BINALANGBANG, Leonilo B. 2,685
6 CASTRONUEVO, Joaquin L. 2,091
7 DEGUEÑO, Okenciano C. 1,403
8 DELA CRUZ, Leopoldo E. 5,518
9 DEL VALLE, Alex R. 11,333
10 FALLORINA, Rogelio S. 3,965
11 FELIPE, Isabelo D. 1,108
12 GONZALES, Norma C. 15,237
13 GORDOVEZ, Lolit G. 7,278
14 GOROSPE, Reynaldo L. 8,205
15 ISMAEL, Allan G. 7,789
16 LACIBAR, Anita L. 2,746
17 LIM, Philip Z. 15,709
18 MEDRIANO, Rodrigo M. 621
19 MONDING, Abner M. 6,193
20 PALMARES, June S. 13,989
21 PANGILINAN, Bernardo S. 3,762
22 POLINAR, Jessie R. 2,574
23 SEBASTIAN, Raymundo S. 3,379
24 SERRANO, Pablo Jr D. 3,796
25 TAN, Renato C. 14,640
26 VIDAL, Jose T. 3,585
27 VILLAMAR, Eric G. 7,732
28 VILLANADA, Emiliano R. 10,093
29 VILLAROZA, Victoria A. 17,238
30 ZAPANTA, Senen Jr. M. 16,843

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Mayor
1 GADIANO, Eduardo B. 12,261
2 ICALLA, Ernesto V. 23
3 MINTU, Edna N. 11,253

Vice-Mayor
1 DANGEROS, Andres D. 12,434
2 DAWATES, Robert Z. 5,529
3 DIMAYACYAC, Romeo D. 4,668

MEMBER, SANGGUNIANG BAYAN of OCCIDENTAL MINDORO - SABLAYAN - LONE DIST
1 ABORDO, Corazon S. 3,058
2 AMAR, Antonino L. 517
3 ANI , Salustiana H. 6,670
4 BARRITO, Vicente, Jr. P. 6,333
5 BUNDANG, Rolando M. 5,153
6 DANGEROS, Leonilo I. 7,601
7 DIMACULANGAN, Conchita H. 11,444
8 DIMAYACYAC, Roberto G. 9,362
9 GONZALES, Ariel M. 5,422
10 JAPONES, Ferdinand S. 1,461
11 LANDICHO, Nancy L. 13,201
12 LIM, Roberto C. 10,710
13 MINTU, Edwin N. 12,925
14 NICANOR, Leonilo C. 7,941
15 ORDENES, Renante V. 889
16 PADUA, Abraham G. 599
17 PAQUIDONGAN, Jose H. 788
18 PASAJOL, Armando C. 6,738
19 SALGADO, Celso S. 9,706
20 SILVA, Napoleon I G. 6,880
21 TADEO, Manuel P. 11,698
22 URIETA, Amable B. 10,179

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Mayor
1 PEREZ, Nestor E. 5,023
2 SANTARIN, Milagros V. 903
3 VALDEZ, Jesus Sr. A. 6,320

Vice-Mayor
1 ARCA, Ferdinand H. 5,835
2 PABLO, Sonia C. 6,083

MEMBER, SANGGUNIANG BAYAN of OCCIDENTAL MINDORO - RIZAL - LONE DIST
1 ABAN, Edgardo M. 2,711
2 AWIT, Restituto F. 4,031
3 CACHO, Ma. Divina M. 685
4 CALLANTA, Noel C. 1,694
5 CASPE, Julio M. 1,356
6 COLESIO, Rodolfo L. 1,519
7 DONA, Lawrence R. 4,402
8 ESPARTERO, Gloria P. 736
9 FELIPE, Amador F. 4,203
10 FERNANDO, Rowena P. 355
11 GARCIA, Manuel Jr A. 2,293
12 HITONES, Ronar A. 5,778
13 IBAÑEZ, Sherwin F. 4,884
14 JAURIGUE, Jimmy M. 5,155
15 JAVIER, Victor Jr. I. 2,410
16 LABINDAO, Gregorio D. 3,461
17 LAREDO, Elvis P. 2,019
18 LAVIÑA, Ryl G. 1,628
19 MIRANDA, Medel L. 2,925
20 PABLO, Erson C. 5,230
21 PECHON, Julieto R. 3,013
22 ROBLES, Yasmin A. 2,964
23 TAMBOONG, Edgardo C. 5,092
24 TANDUG, Barbara M. 2,856
25 TOBIAS, Ludivico R. 2,237
26 TUPAS, Pedrito D. 3,584

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