Centenarian shares secrets to long life in b’day bash

VILLASIS, Pangasinan – This town’s oldest resident celebrated her 100th birthday, though belatedly, Jan. 9 with a big bash sharing her secrets with guests for a long life.

Serapia Obedoza-Evangelista partook of the three roasted pigs prepared for her birthday, saying she is enjoying her life and wants to live longer.

“I still want to live for more years so I can be with my grandchildren,” Serapia told local media.

Serapia was born Nov. 14, 1908 in the village of Piaz in this sleepy town.

Dozens of Serapia’s relatives from as far as Canada, the United States and England came to wish her a happy birthday.
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Nana Serapia said eating a variety of food in moderate amounts is her secret to longevity.
“I eat vegetables, fish and a little of meat; everything is balanced,” said Nana Serapia, who can still remember important events.

She reads Bannawag, an Ilocano magazine, and newspapers every day to keep her mind lucid. She moves around the house and walks in the garden as a form of exercise. Her niece, Mrs. Sol Obedoza- Montilla, added that she hand-washes some of her clothes, although with supervision.

Nana Serapia’s nephew, Dr. Noel Obedoza, described her as “extremely healthy.”
The centenarian also said one of her secrets to longevity is smoking tobacco. All her life, she smoked the local tobacco called “Pinades,” which her family manufactures.

Dr. Obedoza, whose father, Modesto Obedoza, is 92 years old, said though living a long life is probably in their genes. Serapia and Modesto are the only surviving Obedoza siblings but most of their sisters and brothers had lived up to 70 to 90.

The average lifespan for Filipinos is 69, according to the Philippines Statistics Yearbook.
For Nana Serapia, taking care of her grandchildren and her family is her greatest accomplishment. She married at 36 years old and gave birth to four sons who all finished college.

She and her husband, Eufronio, who died at age 83, raised and sent their sons to school through farming. – PE