DURING our recent trip to Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro to cover the KuLiNarya at Saya celebration of food, culture and fun in the famous white-sand beaches of Puerto Galera, most members of the Manila-based media group that went on the trip stayed another night to experience the province’s Pandang Gitab, or Festival of Lights, in Calapan City.
The road trip from Puerto Galera to Calapan City took around three hours, with a short merienda stopover at the roadside Batangas Goto and Lomi House along Kalangatan St. in San Teodoro for a hot, steaming bowl of Batangas Lomi or Goto for afternoon merienda. Our host, Romy Roxas, owner of Puerto Nirvana Beach Resort in Puerto Galera and president of the Puerto Galera Business and Tourism Enterprises Association Inc. (PGB-TEA), graciously took us on the road trip aboard his tourist jeep (with rows of seats arranged parallel to the driver’s seat, with entry points and exits in all rows) to Calapan City, where the Pandang Gitab street dancing parade and in-place performance number was taking place, as organized by the Provincial Government of Oriental Mindoro through the Provincial Tourism, Investments and Enterprise Development Office (PTIEDO).
The short merienda break, where we learned that Batangas Goto had no lugaw in it but just soup with chopped-up innards and that the authentic Batangas Lomi came teeming with generous toppings of liver, crispy garlic, quikiam, pig’s head, meatballs and boiled egg at Php40 per big bowl, gave us extra energy. So when we finally got to Calapan City, where the street dancing parade was about to start along the city’s main road of J.P. Rizal Ave., we hurriedly deposited our baggage in the PTIEDO Office and rushed to the main road. We walked all the way from the Provincial Capitol Complex to the Calapan City Plaza, where the street dancing parade started at the sound of the pealing of church bells signaling the Angelus or 6 o-clock Prayer. The parade covered a long stretch of J.P. Rizal Ave. and ended in the JJ Leido Jr. Memorial High School grounds, where the in-place dancing then took place at the stadium.
Eight contingents participated in this year’s Pandang Gitab competitions: The Municipalities of Bansud, Baco, San Teodoro, Mandalay and Puerto Galera, as well as the Calapan Women’s Aksyon Agad Movement, Minscat Calapan City Campus and Sto. Niño Cathedral Parish.
Each contingent had close to 50 members garbed in colorful costumes and carrying creative lighting instruments which everyone raised up, twisted and swayed from side to side as they danced to the beat of the Pandang Gitab theme. Their choreographies were modern interpretations of the traditional Pandanggo sa Ilaw folk dance, which inspired the annual Pandang Gitab celebration.
Calapan’s famous Pandang Gitab was first introduced in November 2001 and, since then, it became one of the much awaited celebrations in the province of Oriental Mindoro. Its name was coined from Pandanggo sa Ilaw (Fandango), a popular dance that originated from Oriental Mindoro and had its dancers balancing oil lamps called tinghoy or candles in glasses on their heads and on the back of each extended hand, and from Dagitab, a local word which means ‘light.’ The Pandanggo sa Ilaw was believed to have been inspired by the practice of sending off fishermen going out to sea in the wee hours of the morning by their families, who brought lamps to guide their way through the darkness.. The words ‘Pandanggo’ and ‘Dagitab’ were then abridged into ‘Pandang Gitab,’ and thus the famous celebration in Calapan City was born.
Pandang Gitab used to be held at different times of the year, but by virtue of Provincial Ordinance No. 25-2012 enacted by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Oriental Mindoro as authored by Vice Governor Humerlito A. Dolor on November 12, 2012, the third Saturday of February was designated as the official date for the staging of the annual Pandang Gitab Oriental Mindoro. This year, it fell on February 23, 2013, and, as scheduled, the first Pandang Gitab celebration on the third Saturday of February went underway. Despite its short preparation time, PTIEDO, led by supervising tourism operation officer Orlando ‘Orly’ Tizon, pulled it off successfully.
Emerging as the grand champion of this year’s Pandang Gitab competitions was the contingent from the Municipality of Bansud, represented by Pag-asa National High School. First runner-up was the Municipality of Baco, with the Municipality of San Teodoro, represented by the San Teodoro National High School, placing as second runner-up. The Municipality of Puerto Galera, represented by Puerto Galera National High School, and the Municipality of Mansalay, represented by Mansalay Catholic School and Fe del Mundo National High School, were declared third runner-up and fourth runner-up, respectively.
This April , Metro Manilans will get to catch a glimpse of the Pandang Gitab Oriental Mindoro winners as they once again participate in the Aliwan Festival grand fiesta celebration to be held at the CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City. Known as the Philippines’ grand festival of champions, the Aliwan Fiesta brings together, in one setting, street dancing contingents from all over the country not just to compete for the million-peso grand prize being given by the organizer, Manila Broadcasting Company, but also to showcase the different festivals that the different places in the country are truly proud of. Oriental Mindoro’s Pandang Gitab had, in 2011, brought home the 5th prize, which was quite a feat considering the 20 plus contingents that the Aliwan Fiesta attracts annually. Last year, it placed seventh overall despite the very short preparation time that it had. With the institutionalization of the Pandang Gitab in Oriental Mindoro, the province will now be able to showcase its Festival of Lights and more effectively convince tourists, both foreign and local, to visit Oriental Mindoro.
