Covid-free Mountain Province amid cultural, govt lockdowns

A twig or “pudong” is placed at the entrances of pathways or any place visible for people to see  that no one is allowed to leave or get inside the village to keep the health of the people in the community. 

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By Gina Dizon

MOUNTAIN PROVINCE- Along with government-imposed lockdowns applying  the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) issued on March 17 by President Rodrigo Duterte, are rituals done in this culture- rich  province preventing disease from entering their communities.
              To date, this Province recorded zero in Covid-19 cases. 

A lockdown ritual the people here call ‘sedey’, ‘te-er si far-en’, ‘tengaw”, “tulod si anged’’ is performed by elders to prevent a disease from entering their villages.

In this instance, the dreaded pandemic corona virus or Covid-19.

The mix of customary practices and government- imposed lockdowns and regulations must have led the Province to stay zero of Covid-19 infections. In this landlocked and mountainous Province reached though five major road outlets and interprovincial trek routes, there are no records of persons having been infected with the dreaded corona virus.

Mountain Province is bordered on equally zero-Covid provinces of Kalinga on the north via the Bontoc-Kalinga Road and no Covid Ifugao on the south via the Ifugao- Bontoc road; on the southeast with Covid-affected Benguet via the Baguio-Bontoc road; on the east with infected Isabela via the Isabela-Paracelis road and equally infected Abra on the west via Abra-Pasil Kalinga route joining the Bontoc-Kalinga road.  

As of press time since the dreaded corona virus hit the country the first week of February, the number of persons under monitoring (PUMs) and persons under investigation (PUIs) have decreased in this Province with their completion of the 14-day monitoring period and home quarantine. 

As of April 5, Mt Province has only 12 PUIs undergoing home quarantine and 3 still admitted at Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital at Bauko town. Records from the Provincial Health Office sent to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Monitoring Office (PDRRMO) notes that out of 17 PUIs admitted, 14 were tested negative with the other 3 pending on test results. Latest  records as of April 10 noted that the three admitted PUIs were tested negative.                 Thirty (30) PUIs completed their 14- day monitoring with no severe symptoms of cough nor fever. On PUMs, the Province has remaining 341 persons under home quarantine with 1,009 who already completed their 14- day monitoring period.

Based on the Department of Health (DOH) assessment tool, a person is declared a PUI when he or she exhibits coronavirus symptoms of cough, high fever and shortness of breath; has traveled in the past 14 days to areas with issued travel restriction, and has a history of exposure to Covid-19 including contact with a confirmed COVID-19 infection and attended a health care facility with confirmed or probable COVID-19 patients. PUIS require hospitalization.

A PUM, on the other hand, is not showing any coronavirus symptoms but has a travel history to areas with issued travel restriction or a history of exposure to the corona virus. PUMs only need to self-quarantine for 14 days.

              “We aim to keep the numbers down, prevent the entry of PUMs and the PUIs tested negative”, said Governor Bonifacio Lacwasan who heads the Provincial Inter Agency Task Force (PIATF) and provincial disaster risk reduction management council (PDRRMC).  

In an advisory dated March 24, Lacwasan forwarded that the Province is in a lockdown advising stranded persons outside of the Province to stay where they are currently in and those who by exception get through the checkpoints to observe the 14- day monitoring or self-quarantine imposed by the Department of Health (DOH) at this period of ECQ.

The Province in their observance of municipal lockdowns note culture-based restrictions in their respective dialects were done with elders performing these in separate occasions. One thing common in the conduct of these community rituals is the prevention of persons from leaving or banning the entry of anybody inside the community along with prayers that the disease shall not infect the community. A common part of the ritual is the presence of a twig or “pudong” placed at the entrances of pathways or any place visible for people to see and be warned of a restriction.

Here in this tourist town of Sagada, elders ‘itulod’ or throw the disease away in a ritual they call ‘sedey’. Asked where the disease shall be thrown out, elder Bisogong Badongen said in a place where it shall not return anymore.  

Badongen said cultural practices particularly ‘sedey’ has to be strictly followed in order that it shall work.

“This means the strict observance of no people coming inside or getting out from the community is strictly observed to keep the prayers unbroken”, Badongen emphasized.

‘Sedey’ was practiced twice here in Sagada in March 20 and the latest in April 3.

Too, in an executive order issued by Mayor James Pooten Jr , the tourist town of Sagada went on a 24 hour lockdown last March 30 till April 14 preventing the entry of persons except those allowed to enter the municipality as food and medicine delivery and in emergency cases. Earlier lockdown from 8pm to 8am was declared March 26 until further notice.

With the lockdown, entrances to Sagada from the Sabangan-Sagada Road and Balili-Suyo Road at the southern part of the town were closed except for the Dantay-Sagada Road which locates the checkpoint on non-entries and entrances on excepted entries as food delivery and emergency.

                Nearby Besao municipality a ritual, ‘tolod di anged’ was done in March 26. Here, elders carry the virus away to ‘alosaos” or a place where the disease shall not return. This ritual is an ‘ubaya’, a rest day among the villagers where no one is allowed to go out nor enter the community.

“Ubaya” is a general term in western Mountain Province for villagers to rest from working in the fields in identified times of the agricultural calendar to prevent work in the fields in furtherance to prolific harvest of crops. Special ubaya in particular cases of throwing out disease is the ‘sedey’ for Sagada or ‘tulod di anged’ for Besao. 

               Besao being one among the towns of the Province having smallest number of PUIs and PUMs declared a total lockdown with a March 26 advisory issued by Mayor James Bantog instructing all travelers traversing the Sagada-Besao Road including entry points from Nakawang, Dandanac and Maliten from 8PM to 6AM no entry with exception to emergency situations and food delivery.

“The implementation of the "road hours" is one of the measures to safeguard and protect the health resistance of our front liners stationed thereat”, Melany Timmango from the Besao LGU said in her Facebook post.

              Nearby Besao is Tadian where Mayor Constito Masweng declared a 24-hour curfew effective March 24 in accordance with the guidelines of the Interagency Task Force (IATF) of the national government.

This was followed with the conduct of ‘sanga’ ritual in observance of a ‘tengaw’ done by elders in March 27 temporarily closing the egress and ingress of persons inside and outside of the town from nearby Ilocos, Bauko, Mankayan Benguet, and Besao.

Besao is reached from Tadian via Nakawang-Tadian road forking to Ilocos Sur via the Cervantes-Tadian road.

In Bauko, indigenous people’s mandatory representatives (IPMR) came up with the conduct of a “tengaw” on April 4 and 5 supported by an executive order issued by Mayor Abraham Akilit.

The vegetable town of Bauko is located adjacent the major vegetable producing town of Buguias, Benguet.

               Bauko along with the tourist town of Sagada each registered 9 PUIs in the province second to the capital town of Bontoc with 26 PUIs. Bauko reached via major outlets of Baguio-Benguet road, Bauko-Sabangan road, Bauko-Tadian road and Baguio-Mabaay road registered the highest 300 PUMs in the Province.

In an advisory issued by Mayor Abraham Akilit, Bauko had its lockdown effective March 24 with “no entry no exit” policy on the non-entrance and non-exit of non -essential travelers except essential entries namely frontliners and food and medicine delivery.

The nearby town of Sabangan located along the Baguio-Bontoc road totally closed with no exception on March 22 starting 7pm to 7am in recognition of an indigenous “tengaw” ritual on said day.

In an advisory issued by Mayor Marcial Lawilao, all entry points at Dawaic, Palingaw and the Sabangan boundary at Mabaay along the Baguio-Bontoc road was on lockdown of  “no in and no out” with no exception.

A 45-minute ride away from Sabangan is the capital town of Bontoc.

Here in Bontoc last March 30, ’tengaw’ was conducted with the butchering of a chicken and the saying of a ritual called ‘manengtey’ for the Covid disease not to affect the community. Some twigs were then tied at the entrance of the municipal hall signifying that there shall be no work in the fields and that no one shall leave or enter the town.

Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey instructed no entry and no getting out from the town except vehicles on emergency and medical facilities from 8pm to 8am starting March 27 until the ECQ shall be lifted. All residents planning to leave the municipality are not allowed to return unless on emergency cases.

The capital town which locates the main business and government transactions registered the highest 26 PUIs in the Province. Bontoc registered the second highest of 202 PUMS closely followed by Isabela-bound Paracelis with 197 PUMs, Ilocos Sur bound Tadian at 147 PUMS and Sagada at 144 PUMs.
Bontoc is reached via major outlets namely Bontoc-Baguio road, Bontoc-Banaue Ifugao road, and Bontoc-Kalinga road.

And so with the practice of Sadanga called ‘te-er si far-en’. Sadanga mayor Gabino Ganggangan said the “te-er si far-en demands that these te-er days must be observed solemn and calls us to be in a reflective, prayerful state and to be at peace with ourselves and others during these solemn days.”

The far flung town of Sadanga with the smallest number of 23 PUMs and one PUI made its strong lock down in March 23 to all iSadanga residing in or currently outside of Sadanga a temporary ban on entry to all the eight barangays of the town.

Said Order issued by Ganggangan instructed all residents who are planning to leave not allowed entry inside the town until the lockdown is lifted. Said Order also applied to the non- entry of bodies of deceased persons regardless of the cause of death thus to be buried at Baguio City where such is the case. 

              Sadanga along with Besao, Paracelis and Tadian registered one PUI each. 

In eastern Mt Province, the municipality of Barlig declared its total lockdown with an advisory issued by Mayor Clark Ngayya preventing the entrance and exit of anybody in its entrances except food delivery and emergency cases effective March 31 to April 13 or until extended by national emergency.

In the corn producing town of Paracelis, an advisory from Mayor Marcos Ayangwa forwarded a municipal wide curfew from 6pm to 6am starting March 17 to April 13 not allowing any entry or going out of vehicles from the territory of Paracelis.

Paracelis shares borders with  Kalinga, Isabela and Ifugao provinces.

In same development, Provincial IPMR Tomas Tawagen said rituals are performed by indigenous people with their beliefs that the communities shall not be infected with the Covid virus.

Like other places in the country and in the world,  Covid-19 has affected this Province having stilled movement paralyzing economic activities and the whole world with 1,346,974 active cases and 74,702 deaths as of April 5 and 163 deaths in the country with 3,660 positive Covid cases since February till press time.