Sorsogon Stories

Just got back from a too-short visit to Sorsogon. Oyen Dorotan invited me to speak at a strategic planning workshop of VCI - the Veritas College of Irosin; we were joined at the airport by a young lawyer who was with the team that had done “due diligence” - legal, financial, and operational.

When our plane landed at the Legazpi airport, we noticed that there were a lot of soldiers and government officials. Pepe, the driver who fetched us, told us that GMA was expected to arrive that same morning; a helicopter was waiting to fly her from there to Masbate. We were glad to get out of the airport in a hurry.

The workshop was in a retreat house in Sorsogon City, about an hour’s drive from the airport. When we arrived, the team of facilitators were already at work, processing expectations, and reviewing the mission and vision of the Veritas College of irosin.

I was introduced to the chair of the VCI board, Bishop Bastes. We were both happy to meet after 40 years. He and I studied at the same SVD seminary, and I remember him as a very talented organist and composer. Since then he has become a biblical scholar and has been elected as the first Catholic president of the Philippine Bible Society. I also congratulated him for his work as chair of the fact-finding team that investigated the Lafayette mining operations in Rapu-Rapu.

On the way to Sorsogon City, I listened to the animated conversation of Oyen and Pepe. They reminisced about their participation in the election campaigns of Oyen’s husband, Eddie Dorotan, whom Pepe fondly call “Doc.” Eddie is a medical doctor who won twice as mayor of Irosin, but lost in the congressional elections of 1998.

Although we didn’t meet until a couple of years ago, I have heard of the good work done by Dr. Eddie Dorotan and Oyen in Irosin. They established an NGO, Likas, which promoted community-based health and other development programs in all the barangays of Irosin, the hometown of the Dorotan family. When he won as mayor, activists attributed it to their development work, and wondered if that is the path to take for other activists who want to run for public office.

One of Doc Eddie’s brother joined the New People’s Army and was killed in combat as an NPA commander. No wonder that when he was elected mayor of Irosin, on top of his list of “policies that make a difference” was the declaration of the whole of Irosin as an Agrarian Reform Community ( which meant that it should be tenancy-free ), and the declaration of Irosin as a “zone of peace” to be respected by the combatants of the NPA and AFP.

Implementing his policies was helped by the fact that the Department of Agrarian Reform was headed by a friend and fellow development activist, Ernie Garilao. He was also able to persuade both the AFP and the NPA command to honor the zone of peace, until the NPA commander who was party to the agreement was killed in an encounter.

Another of his policies was to make Iroson “jueteng-free.” When the families of the jueteng collectors complained to him, he took pains to explain that his opposition to jueteng was not based on moral repugnance, but because it drains resources from the people. The daily collection then was 100,000 pesos. He was offered 10,000 pesos as his daily take if he would tolerate jueteng. “Even if they distribute 20,000 to the winners, that means that 70,000 pesos are taken away from the people,” explained Oyen.

Sadly, jueteng has come back to Irosin with a vengeance. There are now three draws a day.

I am sure that development activists would applaud Mayor Dorotan’s for his choice of policy priorities. But Pepe’s positive appreciation of what Doc Eddie had done as mayor focused on other things, and reflects the values of ordinary citizens. “Doc is the first mayor who improved all our roads - they are all concrete,” he told me as he drove me around Irosin. “He also improved the town hall and other buildings.” He did add that he would want to start a business in Irosin, but only if the government is run like the time Doc was mayor.

The firs time Eddie ran for office, the NPA maintained neutrality. But during his second campaign, the NPA demanded payment for PTC - permit to campaign, which he refused. Oyen recalled an incident which shocked one of their children who was distributing campaign materials in a barangay. The NPA took the leaflets and destroyed them. But she added with a wry smile, “When Eddie won by a landslide, the NPA was the first to congratulate him.”

Doc and Oyen met in UP as activists in the Student Catholic Action. She is from Lipa City, and also served some time as a political prisoner. During the workshop break, we had a very enjoyable conversation about all sorts of topics, including parenting. She laughed at how our daughter Ayen described my work to her grade school class: “My father cannot live without meetings.”

She said that one of their children also took a long time to fill a school form that asked about his parents’ occupation. He had no problem with his father, since Eddie is a doctor and practiced his profession. “But I got my degree in nutrition,” Oyen said, “and my masters in public administration, and he didn’t see me practicing either of the two.” When asked by his teacher, her child also said that his mother always goes to meetings.

Eddie and Oyen plan to settle down in Irosin once their children have finished their education and have their own careers. In the meantime, they make it a point to travel as a family to Irosin once a year, not only for vacation but to do community service. She says that Eddie is very happy at his job as executive director of Galing Pook Foundation: “He earns much less compared to his previous consultancy work, but he finds this work more fulfilling.”

Because of the stories I have heard about Doc and Oyen’s work in Irosin, I am even more eager to meet Eddie at the June 7 general assembly of the Galing Pook Foundation. The last time we met, he expressed keen interest in the discussion initiated by Joe Almonte about using good local governance as a way to transform our country. It is not enough to have “islands of good governance” - the title of the World Bank country assistance program to the Philippines. What we should aim for is to have a whole “archipelago” of good governance.

In my workshop talk on “opportunities and challenges,” I shared some ideas about philosophies and perspectives in education, including lifelong learning and multiple intelligences. I also discussed the possibilities of ladderization, since VCI offers both degree courses and non-degree technical courses.

VCI is a “community college” established by a group of Irosin’s citizens, including Doc Eddie’s father, who contributed and solicited funds. it is the only higher education institution in irosin, and most of its students come from poor families. In fact, many of those who avail of the “study now, pay later” program fail to pay. We discussed some ideas for generating funds, including learning partnerships and “diaspora philanthropy.”

The two super typhoons have damaged many of the buildings of VCI, and not all of them have been repaired. But based on the due diligence report, VCI can be proud of having quality graduates, many of them gainfully employed. Among them are graduates of education, most of whom passed the Licensure Examinations for Teachers.

What is worrisome, and an issue for strategic planning is the lack of students in the agricultural courses. And yet agriculture is supposed to be the flagship course, and in fact was the main reason for setting up VCI, since Irosin is the rice granary of Sorsogon. VCI has a four hectare demo farm.

Whatever their problems may be, I told the participants that I still envy them for having a community college that has served Irosin for 23 years. My hometown Naujan had no post-secondary school until the previous mayor decided to establish an LGU college. I convinced him to start with technical courses, and it has quite successful graduates of the welding course. But the course on agricultural mechanics also has fewer students and employment prospects.

The last time I visited Irosin was more than 40 years ago, so Oyen asked Pepe to give me a quick tour of Irosin before my flight back. He brought me to a spot on the highway just outside the town proper, which has a spectacular view of Irosin and its rice and coconut fields, with Mount Bulusan at the background. The place is appropriately named “Valley View” and was one of the projects of Doc Eddie.

As I bade Bishop Bastes good-bye, he told me a story about my mother who was in charge of the seminary kitchen for many years: “I am forever grateful to Mommy dela Torre. I was quite thin and frail, and after I played the organ at church service, she would give me extra food. That’s why I got to be stronger.”

I promised him that I will tell Inay about this when I vist her on May 1.

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