Hopeful Bicol 

I believe I've met the sincerest Filipinos in Bicol. I can say because I witnessed their sincerity at the heat of the Abang Mabulo versus Dato Arroyo battle, and very rarely can people fake it when money and security are involved.

Ate Norfe, the only local media person who covered Abang’s filing of candidacy, lost her job for vocally supporting his fight. What makes her act heroic is the fact that Abang’s opponents tried to make him invisible in the media to lead the electorates to think that Dato was running unopposed.

Jessa risked her scholarship (which if I’m not mistaken was granted to her by a candidate for Mayor in Naga who’s a political ally of Dato) in volunteering for Abang’s campaign. She, with other volunteers, spent the night before the election day patrolling around the district to distract vote-buyers and vote-sellers. Together with Ate Norfe, she accompanied Ces Drilon to a military camp where they found hidden campaign materials of Dato. While Ces Drilon was talking to the soldiers, the two rummaged through their things and confirmed the reports that these soldiers had been campaigning for the president’s son. The two also broke in at a mayor’s house where vote buying was taking place.

Randy volunteered to be a municipal coordinator in Del Gallego – the farthest town of Camarines Sur’s second district – despite military intimidation. It was known in Camarines Sur that the soldiers, especially in remote barangays, labeled those who sided with Abang as communists. He became a subject for liquidation by the military but he managed to escape and ask help from Abang’s volunteer lawyers. 

Kuya Jess temporarily neglected his small business to be the municipal coordinator in the far-flung towns of the second district of Camarines Sur. He spent his own money in gassing up some of the motorcycles that were used in the campaign. He served as a poll watcher for two straight days without a substitute.

Ate Salve laboriously helped in preparing the food during the whole campaign period – often shelling out the profit and later on the capital of her small business.

Actually, there are many of them. There were those who brought rice and vegetables to Abang’s house; those who donated their spare peso for the campaign; those who lent their vehicles for the motorcade; those who silk-screened Abang’s posters; those who fumed when they heard that the opponents were starting to buy votes; those who, like Ate Minya, cried every time they learned that another one of the seven tarps of Abang was slashed; and finally those who got broken-hearted at his apparent defeat.

Some of the photos I took during our shoot in Bicol:

Libmanan, Camarines Sur Farmers   

Car-abao Ride 

Malinao Spring in Libmanan

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The Funny Mananggiti