Tribute

BENCHWARMER
Ramon Dacawi

BAGUIO CITY -- Among the recent transitions in this continuing season of births and burials were those of 86-year old mother and teacher Josefina Kintanar-Carino of Camp 7 and 62-year old village chief Dominador Rosado Della of here of Barangay Dontogan.

Doming, who grew up in Trancoville, ended his long fight against the big C last Nov. 10. He was honored in resolutions from the city council, the Association of Barangay Councils and the Knights of Columbus. He was cited for his 13-year service as punong barangay of Dontogan, as vice-president of the ABC and as founder of various councils of the Knights of Columbus which he also steered as Grand Knight, District Deputy and Faithful Navigator.

As his elder brother, former punong barangay Albert of Trancoville noted during the final rites, Doming, who rarely delivered speeches, exuded silent yet powerful, undeniable eloquence in the things he did to bring closer his community to what it should be.

I noticed his economy of words and his focus on action years back when he asked me to capture with a roll of black and white film the Kenny Rogers feature of Baguio boy and respected lawyer Galleazzo Bucaycay. Doming needed a fitting photo for the posters and leaflets needed in helping run the campaign of a brilliant lawyer who badly needed support in his bid for a seat in the city council.

Despite his genuine luster in law, Manong Lizo didn’t know how to set, much less collect, his fees. It was comparatively easy to frame his rugged handsomeness while he was in his element explaining to other Baguio boys why he was joining the hustings.

The huge crowd that attended the final rites for Doming at his residence reminded me of Manong Lizo’s own funeral. After the mass, two elderly women of Trancoville were boarding one of the long line of jeepneys when one of them took a glance at the long line of mourners.

“Ay apo, no kastoy laeng koma ti kaadu ti nagbotos kenka, nangabak ka koma nga konsehal, anak nga Lizo,” the senior citizen noted. That wish – and tribute – also goes to Doming who also later lost his own bid for city councilor. Indeed, those deserving sometimes do not get elected.

Doming is survived by his wife Lucing, children Chris and Ditas, Derrick and Edln, Cliff and Ria, and Maricris and Awin; 12 grandchildren; sisters Gunda, Annie and Vita, and brother Albert. Annie is the wife of noted Baguio medical doctor Alex Fangonil, son of the illustrious judge and vice-mayor Sinforoso Fangohil and cousin of Manong Lizo.

Teacher Josefina Carino, a scion of the Kintanar clan of Cebu, was the widow of Jose Carino, a scion of the Ibaloi clan of Baguio. She was mother to eight brilliant children who studied at the University of the Philippines and who dedicated themselves to the continuing struggle for a just society: Jingjing, Joanna, Joey, Joji, Jessica, Jack, Jill and Judy.

Josefina , too, was mother to us hundreds and thousands of students activists of the First Quarter Storm who sought refuge in her home long before human rights lawyers were allowed to defend and protect militants, reformists, progressives and revolutionaries – or even themselves.

At the last night of the wake, Joanna showed me a tribute from abroad, written by Cesar T. Taguba, an Ibaloi from Adaway, Kabayan, Benguet. Cesar was a pastor of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and now an exile in the Netherlands, in the company of Jose Maria Sison, Ed Jalandoni and Edberto Villegas.

I met Cesar at the University of Baguio, when he enrolled in subjects I can no longer remember. We lost track of each other after martial law was declared, although I eventually caught a glimpse of him in a fleeting moment near a church. We met again in an FQS reunion arranged by Joanna and her cousin Kathleen Okubo at the UP Baguio here.

Here’s Manong Cesar’s tribute to Ina Josefina “Jojo” Kintanar-Carino: “The progressive Filipino community in the Netherlands condole with the family of the late Josefina “Jojo” Kintanar-Carino who passed on last 11 November.

“She raised a family who contributed and are contributing in their own way, to the unity and just struggle of the Cordillera people for the right to self-determination, social emancipation, liberation and solidarity. “She was a gracious mother to the activists of the early ‘70s, welcoming them to meet and stay in their home.

“She showed much courage during the imprisonment of Joji (the youngest political detainee in 1971), the martyrdom of Jennifer “Jingjing” and the political persecution of her family by the Marcos dictatorship.

“In a commemorative gathering for Jingjing in the late ‘90s, she looked serene, giving the impression that she was at peace with the world, Her graying hair and wrinkles revealed years of pain and suffering. Yet, she showed an inner strength. She radiated life.

“She belonged to the generation of mothers who deserve honor and recognition for warmly embracing the sons and daughters of the “First Quarter Storm” as their own and who stood in solidarity with the aktibistas, offering motherly protection, assurance, recognition and inspiration.

“Let us celebrate here life. Let us turn our grief into courage to pursue our noble dream of a just society. Let us honor and remember her as one of the outstanding “Ina” of the Cordillera People.”

A second FQS reunion is in order, if only to celebrate and share more of the strength, courage, inspiration and love the now aging activists drew and received from this teacher and mother. (e-mail:mondaxbench@yahoo.com for comments).