Tambuling Batangas Publication April 03-09, 2019 Issue | Page 5

OPINYON
April 3-9, 2019
CAVITE HOLDS INT’L CONFERENCE ON
AGUINALDO’S 150TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY
HISTORIANS,
scholars
and
members of the academe convened
on March 19-21, 2019 at the Lyceum
of the Philippines University-Cavite
Campus Auditorium in the City
of Gen. Trias for the International
Conference on the 150thBirth
Anniversary of Emilio Aguinaldo.

Participants who gathered
in commemoration of the life and
works of the most illustrious son of
the province were welcomed by LPU-
Cavite Vice President Ms. Teresa O.
Pilapil on behalf of the University
President Atty. Roberto P. Laurel,
telling how our heroes in the past can
be considered as best teachers from
whom we learn what it means to be
Filipino.

Meanwhile, humbled to
be given the opportunity to deliver
a message during the opening
program of the conference, Cavite
Governor Boying Remulla paid his
respects to the guests and attendees,
especially to former Prime Minister
Cesar EA Virata and National
Historical Commission of the
Philippines (NHCP) Chairman Dr.
Rene R. Escalante. The governor
also acknowledged the collaborative
efforts of the NHCP, the Provincial
Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office
(PTCAO) and the Cavite Historical
Society in rekindling the heroism of
Aguinaldo. Likewise, the governor
encouraged members of the academe
to further understand the process of
history, as well as to teach history in
the right perspective.

Former Prime Minister
Cesar EA Virata, Chairman of the
Cavite Historical Society, and a
descendant of Aguinaldo shared
stories of political events during
President Emilio Aguinaldo’s time
and called to settle the issues to
collectively gain peace and strength
Women Power: tales of a firefighter, a mom
and a cancer survivor
By Jose Mari M. Garcia
THOSE sporadic fire truck sirens
that blare on the streets have never
failed to give us the jump. It gives
us a seeming heart attack, followed
by the sinister foreboding of what is
burning and the lives that might be in
peril.

This March, we observe
both the Fire Prevention Month and
National Women’s Month, and come
to scene are the men and women in
uniform who seldom get the light
despite their noble fight. Just as we
hear only about the actual fire and
ruins, there are battles daily in lives
and personal fires that are never
put out. In an interview with The
Millennium Trumpet, these women
firefighters have shared their stories
of courage in the face of their own
private fires.
No to bribe

From their lowly life in
Carigara, Leyte to the tense streets of
Olongapo City, Zambales, Rochelle
Peñaflor, 40, has surprisingly not
engaged in any fire incident during
her 11 years of service. Her proud
achievement is to process fire
clearances, inspect establishments
and make sure Olongapo is safe from
hazards of fire.

“I help process business
permit, inspect buildings, prevent
fire. I never engaged in fire. I share
my knowledge how to prevent it,”
Senior Fire Officer 1 Peñaflor, who
has been stationed at the Business
One Stop Shop at Olongapo City Hall
for over a decade, said.

Dousing fire and basking in
the glory of flames saving lives is the
apparent pinnacle of a firefighter’s
career, but not with Peñaflor. She
glows in the glory of her integrity and
her public service that is unscathed
with corruption, turning down
countless offers and bribes whenever
she inspects establishments that
apply for fire clearance.

“I am proud that I am a
decent firefighter. My name is not
tainted and I don’t step on anyone’s
shoes,” Peñaflor said. “I avoid what
people give, the pangmeryenda. I
don’t want my character bought.
Small or big, I believe that’s a bribe.”

Coming from a family
of farmers, Peñaflor knew the poor
cannot afford an accident. While
staying with her aunt in Olongapo
and working as household help
during her college years, she dreamed
of being a member of the national
police. Chances led her to apply at
the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)
which paved way to her assignment
at the city hall. About 8,000 business
establishments spread the former
US Naval Base that apply for fire
clearance and need inspection.

Among the specifications
that Peñaflor checks are the
establishment’s fire exit, emergency
light, fire extinguisher and directional
signs. She revealed many clients
tried to buy their way out or sprang
to wrath due to the tedious process,
but the public servant she is, Peñaflor
maintained diplomacy and integrity.
Her Saturdays are still filled with
building inspections to help a city
sleep safe and sound without sirens.
In Sundays, our honest firefighter, a
member of the LGBT community,
enjoys taking care of her cats and
dogs with her partner.
Love born of fire

Carmela Atanacio, 32,
and her husband, Joey, both studied
Elementary Education in college.
Little did they know that their paths
as teachers will lead them both
as educators on how to save lives
through preventing fires.

When they landed their first
jobs at BFP after graduation, it was a
match. Now a fire officer 3, Atanacio
is proud to have been teaching the
public ways to prevent accidents,
while Joey is a senior fire officer 2
stationed in La Union province. Their
love gave birth to two kids.

“At work, I’m a firefighter.
At home, I’m am mother,” Atanacio
said. “During the weekends, I’m still
on call for response. Sometimes, I
have to be with my kid at school but I
can’t because we I have duties.”

At first, her family was
dumbfounded with her career choice,
but she defended it by sharing that
firefighters now need to be fully
qualified: college graduate, civil
service passer and has accomplished
training. Assigned at Mexico Fire
Station in Pampanga, Atanacio is chief
administrative officer and collecting
agent in charge of tax collection from
business establishments that apply for
fire safety clearance. The taxes she
towards nation-building.

On the other hand, Dr.
Manny Calairo of De La Salle
University-Dasmariñas and member
of the NHCP Advisory Committee
provided the overview of the
conference to further stir the interest
of the participants in revisiting and
understanding more of Aguinaldo’s
contributions and legacy of as one of
the main pillars of our nation.

Among
the
resource
speakers and scholars who shed light
on various issues related to heroism
and independence by sharing their
historical insights and research were
Dr. Reynaldo Ileto of the Australian
National University who tackled “The
Multiple Roles of Emilio Aguinaldo
in the History of Nation Building”;
Dr. Lance Collins of the Hawaii
Institute for Philippine Studies
with his “Ontology of Statecraft:
Studying the Ideas of the Malolos
Constitution”; and, Dr. Karl-Heinz
Wionzek of Dr. Lutke Foundation
based in Germany on his work
“Emilio Aguinaldo, the Germans and
the Australian Ferdinand Blumentritt:
Contacts and Mutual Relations
between 1897 and 1901, plus many
other studies related to the life of the Father of Philippine Independence.

Other sessions include
topics on Emilio Aguinaldo before the
revolution, behind the uniform and
traces on Freemasonry, and different
views on him from the northern
Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The three-day conference
that honored the life, achievements
and enduring legacy of Aguinaldo
concluded with an educational
tour to the heritage sites in Cavite
spearheaded by OIC-Provincial
Tourism Officer Rozelle Sangalang.

The NHCP, the Cavite
Studies Center and the Provincial
Tourism also invited everyone to join
them on March 22, 2019 to celebrate
the 150 years of the First President
of the Republic of the Philippines
at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit,
Cavite. Among the activities lined-
up are musical performances from
the Kawit Singing Ambassadors and
the Campus Medley, the Bayanihan
Dance Troupe cultural presentation,
karakol competition and the
Aguisaysayan 2019 (Aguinaldo sa
Kasaysayan: Tagisan ng Kaalaman
sa Buhay at Kasaysayan ng Unang
Pangulo ng Republika ng Pilipinas),
a module writing competition.
collects are used for developments
through the local government.

Ten years in public service,
Atanacio never dreamed to be a
firefighter. Now, she is happy to teach
her kids how to be safe as young as
they are. at BFP,” she recalled. The bureau
rallied behind her throughout the
scary battle, helped her to get back;
she finished training and now serves
the public as a fire officer 2 also in
Mexico. Dumlao is now six years
cancer-free, but the fear silently
remains. “I have to undergo tests
quarterly. In every test, I keep on
praying over and over again that the
cancer is gone.”

Mad clients applying for
fire clearance are a different story of
patience. Her duties as firefighter and
her husband’s as a police are another
story that tells weekends are not for
family bonding. Be that as it may,
Dumlao has survived cancer and
more so the fires it brings.

As we join the nation
in observing March as Women’s
Role in History Month pursuant to
Proclamation No. 227 s. 1988, and
the Fire Prevention Month mandated
by Proclamation No. 115-A, we
honor all women in uniform who
have made change work for them.
Brick by brick, these little changes
from stories at the ground build the
nation. (CLJD/JMMG-PIA 3)
Surviving cancer

“The first time I learned
about the cancer, I was down. I just
started with my career. I have two
kids, one 10 years old and the other is
8.”

Rose Lyn Dumlao, 35, did
not have it easy in career. With dreams
of working abroad, she bounced off
as nurse in hospitals and in a college
as she tried her luck applying to
different countries. While with kids,
unemployment besieged her in 2011.
Luck turned around when she got into
BFP in 2012, but breast cancer burst
the short-lived bubble in 2013.

Dumlao failed to finish
the compulsory BFP training and
had to undergo operation to have
her left breast removed, followed by
rounds of chemotherapy, radiation
and immunotherapy. “There was the
struggle that I would not be renewed
Fire Officer 2 Rose Lyn Dumlao is a cancer survivor and first dreamed of working abroad as a nurse. Her entry at the Bureau of Fire
Protection paved the way for a revelation in her career which she committed to be with as long as she can. (Contributed photos)