By Sison Paut
It was not too long ago that a then youthful Peter Bangngayon, a Tulgao Kalinga native, lost his father in a violent encounter with rival Basao tribe.
The pain was too deep that Peter’s thoughts became constantly shrouded by revenge motives.
“A tooth for a tooth,” came the unceasing murmur from within as he grudgingly waited for the day to finally equalize his loss and free his grieving soul.
Meanwhile, precious time ticked by in unproductive mode and, soon, a greater and more formidable foe emerged from this unrelenting passion for revenge --- poverty.
Peter’s life was in shambles. The gnawing cry of his children for food, education, and general welfare became louder. And then it was deafening. He was soon losing hope for economic survival --- the mute witness to all this was the ginebra bottle that provided him daily company in Tulgao and Nambaran, a reckless refuge from the cruelty of the times.
Peter was totally lost, or so it seemed. When Peter treaded this tightrope, he began thinking of ending his life.
Utter helplessness was becoming all too unbearable for him. With this backsliding, the devil began to take hold of his soul.
But it was not to be. Because a slim ray of sunshine appeared from out of the blue, in some darkened niche of Peter’s thoughts when the International Association for Transformation sponsored his daughter and he joined in the “Gift for peace project.”
Peter belongs to the Tulgao tribe, a member of INAPO that exchanged gifts with the Basaos.
From then on, life for Peter became livable again. Today, the renewed, but more vigorous, smiles in the innocent faces of his young children say it all.
Peter has finally scorned the spear, all too willingly trading it with a dove. And as inner peace has consumed his psyche, the future of his immediate family finally becomes a reachable reality. Such are the sweet fruits of peaceful co-existence.
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