Mayor Rey Ladaga, the Educator’s Son

The Municipal Government of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro held an oath-taking ceremony for all newly-elected officials in the municipality. The ceremonious event was held June 29, 2022, at San Jose Covered Plaza, and of course, the man of the hour was Mayor Rey Cajayon-Ladaga. His oath, along with the other elected officials, was administered by the Honorable Governor Eduardo B. Gadiano.

As I have said in my recent blog entry that you can access if you click THIS, Ladaga banked on his anti-corruption narrative and this time it hits the target. The battle cry of his forthcoming administration: Bayang Angat sa Pamahalaang Tapat. Expect that it would center on the mantra of Progress and Honesty.

Well, he is already a seasoned politician for he was once vice-mayor and board member. The Abogado ng Masa finished his Law Degree at San Beda College in 1974. He was once branch attorney and branch manager of DBP-San Jose. This is his third time contending for the mayoralty position. He didn’t make it in 2016, and 2019. In the 2022 polls, he garnered a total of 33,533 votes against his closest rival Michelle de Mesa Festin, who got 18,024 votes. Out-Going Mayor Romulo “Muloy” Festin also came for the turn-over ceremonies proving how such a sport he is (in other municipalities elsewhere, the outgoing LCEs didn’t show up for one reason or another).

As a local political history enthusiast, please allow me to grab this monumental occasion to impart how the Ladagas came here in Mindoro, mainly in Paluan and San Jose, particularly his father.

Mayor Rey’s father, Orencio Madelo Ladaga, was originally from a town in Bohol called Garcia Hernandez which is around 53 kilometers from its capital Tagbilaran. Before WW-II, the young Orencio left Bohol to follow his dream leaving his parents, Pedro and Maria Ladaga, behind. He worked as a waiter at the pre-war Manila Polo Club and later pursued his studies. He took up Elementary Teachers Certificate (ETC) at National Teacher’s College but when the Japanese forces invaded Manila, his dream of becoming a teacher was momentarily disrupted.

To avoid the cruelty of the war, Orencio sailed to Paluan from Manila. While the country was wrenched by war, he met there his future girlfriend and later, wife, Mercedes Cajayon, daughter of Pedro Cajayon and Maria Abeleda who are prominent residents of Paluan but have roots in Lubang.

After the war, many residents of different municipalities on the west coast of Mindoro transferred to San Jose because the liberating American forces made Pandurucan (San Jose) city-like. As the ravages of war settled, the love between Orencio and Mercedes sweetly existed like a rainbow after the tempest.

On September 17, 1945, Orencio and Mercedes sailed back to Paluan to exchange marriage vow officiated by then Judge Cipriano Liboro, later congressman and governor of the province. The couple first settled in Barrio Central in San Jose and in January 1946, they moved to Barrio Caminawit where the pantalan or port is located. He taught elementary grades there in makeshift classrooms. Together with Mercedes, they gave their children a good education. Fe is a nurse, Orencio Jr., is an engineer, and of course Rey, the lawyer-mayor.

Orencio pursued his studies until he finally earned his BS in Elementary Education and Master of Arts degree at Arellano University until he was promoted as head teacher in 1957, principal of the South District in 1963, and district supervisor in 1970 until his retirement in 1976. He finally rested on June 1, 1997, at the age of 84.

In his inaugural address, Mayor Rey Ladaga said, “Ang taong may puso para sa bayan ay dapat nyo ring mahalin sapagkat minahal ko ang bayan na ito, dito ako pinanganak, dito po ako lumaki at dito rin siguro papanaw. Pero sisiguruhin ko po sa inyo na kapag ako pumanaw, ipagmamalaki nyo ang bayan ng San Jose.” In short, he assures everyone of us of lasting legacy for the next generation.

As I have said in the past, a very tall order awaits the educator’s son who is now his place of birth’s chief executive.

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Photo: Oliver Roldan

Reference: Story of 100 Families, pp. 211-215; Rodolfo M. Acebes.

Transcription of Excerpt from Mayor Ladaga’s Speech: Mary Ann Gener of PR Team LGU San Jose

Pandan Island/Isla Puerta

Sablayan’s enchanting and historic Pandan Island was given a new name for cinematic purposes in the latest film by director Roman Perez, Jr. The movie which was finished early this year (2022) titled “Putahe” named Pandan Island as Isla Puerta. As far as I know, it was the only movie that was shot entirely in Occidental Mindoro. “Putahe” is a sexploitation film, an erotic thriller. Many scenes in Joey Gosiengfiao’s 1996 film “Nights of Serafina” belonging to the same genre was also filmed in Paluan, starring Georgia Ortega.

The island is called Isla Puerta, according to the narrator of the movie, because is it shaped like a vulva. “Putahe” was released on May 13, 2022, by Vivamax and I’ve seen it yesterday. To catch its trailer, click this.

The Pandan Island in the municipality of Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro Province is an island of 28 hectares, almost round in shape and almost flat which are far from the attributes of a normal vulva. A coral island with its shores is rocky with sharp coral rocks alternated with one lovely white sand beach of several hundreds of meters long. A larger part of the island is forested and a lot of trees grow there. A truly ideal location for a movie. The movie was taken only for a total of ten days. A quickie indeed (all pun intended!).

But way back in 1949, a post-war film called "Parola" was filmed in our province. It is a story about an innocent man who was tried for murder but while being transported by ship to prison sunk and luckily he escapes to an island inhabited by another man and his daughters and a sister who abandon city life and settles on a quiet island to ease the pain and hatred. Included in the cast are Jaime dela Rosa, Gil de Leon, among others. Film buffs of old say that Occidental Mindoro is never portrayed so blissfully perfect as this film. It was filmed on Lubang Island and directed by Jose Climaco. Watch the film's clip here.

Let us go back to Isla Puerta, I mean "Putahe".

 "Putahe” was told from the perspective of Jenny (Ayanna Misola) who lived with her fisherman father Abel (Ronnie Lazaro). Jenny worked for Isla Puerta’s woman barangay captain played by Shirley Fuentes as Pompa. The 16-year-old Jenny had a boyfriend named Ephraim (Massimo Scofield). The other main dwellers of the fictitious island barangay were Kagawad Betong (Mon Confiado) and his wife Lalaine (Carlene Aguilar), the village prostitute Elise (Hershey de Leon), and soldier Capitan Cain (Jiad Arroyo), among others. Some residents of Sablayan also played as extras.

During the shooting, it was reported that the production staff almost meted with a penalty by the municipal government after receiving reports that the group fished in the area. It is prohibited to catch fish and other marine species in the waters around the Pandan since it is a protected area. The problem was immediately settled, nonetheless.

A mysterious seductive woman named Euka (Janelle Tee) arrived one day on the island and established an eatery introducing her own exotic and innovative fish dishes. Euka does not only serve food. More than her delicious delicacies, she also bigheartedly serves the so-called “luto ng diyos” of which her customers primarily want to partake. I won’t tell you how the story ended and how the characters shared the menu. Watch it at your own risk.

And the only thing that I enjoyed most in the movie is its soundtrack from the the immortal Victor Wood titled "Malupit na Pag-Ibig". Listen to it, kids. It's a hit during our days.

Also, I do not do movie reviews so I will stop here but a certain film critic named Fred at Blogger pertinently said: The title of this latest Roman Perez Jr. film is playful as it literally denotes "viand," but also naughtily suggests "prostitute." It was too bad that there was more about whoring than it was about cooking.”

In short, we just hosted a movie about whoring.

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Photo: imdb.com