Scene: There were tears, loud cheers and embraces as Lloyd Lancer Gonzaga, the man accused of the murder of environmental lawyer Mia Mascariñas-Green, was arrested on Friday afternoon. "I'm happy they made an arrest, it is a welcomed news to all of us who are seeking justice for her death," said Pat Ruiz, one of the convenors of the “Justice for Atty. Mia Kalinaw sa Bohol Movement, in an interview Saturday. "However, our attention now be focused on how justice will finally be rendered to her death." Amor Maria Vistal, a friend of Green, posted the Facebook, “God is good. God heard our prayers.”
Scene: Provincial Board Member Niño Rey Boniel on Thursday pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping and detaining the best friend of his wife on the night he allegedly took and killed Bien Unido Mayor Gisela Boniel.
Seen: One of the candidates in Miss Bohol 2017 is always late. “She has the potential to get the crown. But of course, she has an attitude problem,” said a beauty pageant expert VRS. “While other girls were having fun during the many activities, she missed it,” added VRS.
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The news about a funeral wreath left at the town’s cemetery scared many residents days before the Inabanga town would celebrate its fiesta on June 30.
Inabanga Mayor Josephine Jumamoy spearheads the Raffia Festival. Courtesy: Ric Obedencio
The “fake news” about a possible bombing on the town fiesta also circulated in text messages and social media worried some residents to go home to celebrate the feast of St. Paul.
“That’s not true,” said Mayor Josephine Socorro Jumamoy on the “fake news” reported.
“Dili nata anang news nga dili tinuod. Let’s try to live a normal life. Let us try to be an instrument nga atong lungsod and province nga maglinawon. Let us do our share,” she said.
To prove that there was no threat, the town held the Raffia Festival Streetdancing on Friday afternoon as part of the town's fiesta. It was participated in by 10 contingents clustered from the 50 barangays.
The dancers dressed in colorful costumes and props spread cheers. They also proudly showcased raffia products during the street-dance competition.
Since, Inabanga town just launched the the public free WiFi hotspots, residents flooded Twitter and the social media with hashtag #IloveINB during the event.
Raffia, a natural fiber obtained from "buri" palm, is one of Bohol's leading showcases of its hand woven industry.
The festival aimed to enliven the raffia loomweaving industry which was affected by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake and the infiltration of the Abu Sayyaf members on April 10.
The dancers proudly display raffia strips, locally
called hulahula, during the Raffia Festival in
Inabanga, Bohol province. Courtesy: Ric Obedencio
Some of the weavers lost enthusiasm and interest to continue weaving due to the impact of the quake. Eventually, the basket industry declined.
“Nahinay, nahilum. Naapektuhan gyud. So karun, sugod ta, atong banhawun,” said Jumamoy.
Jumamoy said there were more than 1,000 individuals who were engaged in home-based raffia loom-weaving spa in the 50 barangays of the municipality.
Now, at least 500 plant-based weavers are still making raffia.
Before the earthquake, Jumamoy said Inabanga’s raffia-based crafts have gained momentum and are now recognized worldwide.
She said a room at The White House was decorated with raffia. She also said actress Angelina Jolie was also seen carrying a bag made of raffia designed from Inabanga.
“Raffia in Inabanga is 100 percent hand woven. That’s the beauty, it’s natural,” she said.
Some dancers and members of the Bohol media
at the media wall inside the Inabanga gymnasium.
Contributed Photo
Raffia fiber is stripped from dried young buri palm leaves, some dyed, others in their natural colors and woven by hand or modern looms.
Jumamoy said that loom weaving has been the most important cottage industry in Inabanga since Hispanic times.
She said during the Dagohoy uprising, woven cloths were made into uniforms for resistance fighters.
Through the years the weaving industry evolved and were sold locally as well as abroad.
Jumamoy said next year’s festival will be bigger and brighter.
Slowly, the Inabanga weavers could feel the urge to keep the tradition alive and to move on despite the tragedy that struck them and their town.
***
Thanks for your letters, all will be answered. Comments welcome at leoudtohan@yahoo.com, follow leoudtohanINQ at Twitter /Facebook.
As
news about the unexpected death of lawyer Mia Manuelita Mascariñas-Green spread,
numerous residents began expressing shock and sadness.
Green,
49, was shot dead at about 4:27 p.m. Feb. 15 inside her car in front of three
children- aged 10 and two-year old twins and nanny.
She
was about to go home with her kids that when her Toyota Innova (plate number
ABM 9572) she was driving reached the corner of H. Zamora and J.A. Clarin
Streets in Dao District, two motorcycles blocked the road and fired at her.
Residents
of Bohol province were plunged into shock
and disbelief when news came that
environmental
and human rights lawyer Mia Manuelita Mascarinas-Green
was
ambushed. Courtesy: Green Family
Although
her children were seated at the passenger seat in the back, the perpetrators
aimed their guns at Green.
She
succumbed to three bullet wounds to her head and four to the body from .45 and
9mm caliber pistols during the attack.
The
victim’s children were unharmed. However, the suspects harassed and taunted the
kids and the nanny.
Tagbilaran
City Police Chief Nicomedes Olaivar Jr. said Green was caught in the conflict
between her client and the resort owner. Green's client and the resort owner
had dragged their dispute to court. Olaivar said Green and her client were
reportedly on the verge of winning the case.
No
arrests have been made in the case since the suspects - Lloyd Lancer Gonzaga as
the mastermind in Green’s murder and Romarico Benigian as one of the shooters
-were able to escape on Friday morning during the police operation.
Unacceptable
Stuart
James “Estong” Green, a Briton marine
biologist, left his wife on Sunday for a seminar in Bangkok, Thailand. When he
learned the news, he took the first flight to Bohol.
The
phone lines have been busy all day, he said, with numerous clients and friends
calling to express their condolences, most of them expressing shock upon
hearing the news.
Stuart
expressed grief that killing her wife in front of her children is
“unacceptable.”
“She
is far too young to have died, and the manner she died in front of her children
is really unacceptable in any country, society,” he said.
Stuart
and Mia got married on June 26, 2004. They had three children.
“She’s
an amazing woman who not enough to spend for 20 years of my life with. But
should be able to spend 60 years with her so it is a “bitin” (hanging)
experience,” he said.
At the crime scene/Leo Udtohan
Her
ten-year-old daughter, Zoe, is also mourning her loss.
“She
was a hands-on Mom.... loving and caring and she did care for us,” the little
girl told Inquirer.
Stuart
said she was a full-time mom and part-timer lawyer.
“She
was minimizing her legal works because of our kids,” he said.
His
kids saw two men gunned down his wife and after the shooting were laughing
while fleeing away with two motorcycles and a van.
He
was thankful the kids were unharmed.
“We
are blessed the three children survived,” he said.
Stuart
said he’s facing a challenge to be his kids mother and father rolled into one.
“I
am set with the big challenge how do I convince my children as their mother and
father now that the values that my wife
believed in so deeply are true in the Philippines. We need to show, otherwise I
have no face to my children, that justice can prevail in a situation like
this,” he said.
He
said that his wife believed in fair legal processes and everyone deserves such
treatment.
“My
wife believed in legal process in looking after the client and every Filipino
had the right to justice. Even the poor people, and people who are who fall
aside the government system have the right to fair legal process,” he said.
He
said he’s grateful to those who come forward to support or to be witness of the
case since they know the perpetrators. Hoping for justice for his wife, he
encouraged others to pitch support for the early resolve of the case.
Members
of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)-Bohol,
friends and family
members gathered on Saturday morning
at
the crime scene for “Pagyukbo" paying homage, honor
and respect in memory
of Green. Leo Udtohan
“We
ask more people to come forward. If you worry about your security or safety,
just come and talk to us to see what we can do to help you. The PNP guaranteed their security and safety
as well,” he said.
Green's
family offered a P500,000 reward for the capture of the suspects.
“We
really need to find the people so that I can stand in front of my children and
bring them on the values she laid out as
a person in her life. And I can say to them, ‘look your mother’s values really
mean something and really was’,” he said.
Green,
an environmental and human rights lawyer in the province, was well-known in
handling pro bono cases and defended “oppressed” clients.
Profound loss
Her
death hit the province hard.
“Bohol
is mourning the loss of a topnotch lawyer. This is an utterly profound loss,” said
Fatima Mapesos, 39, who was a long-time neighbor of Green in Dampas District
where she held office. She fondly called
her “Maam Min-Min.”
“Mam
Min-Min is so friendly, very talkative when we see each other especially when I
passed by her house because our houses were just near, adjacent of the street.
She is so kind, so good natured person and they are prominent family in the
community, yet has seclusion and privacy in their personal life,” said Mapesos.
Mapesos
said that her family is the most respected in the village.
“Whenever
any Dampasanon who asked her legal advice or services, she always doesn’t ask
for a fee and if you give her she will never accept it,” she said.
As
news of her death spread, so did the tributes. Her colleagues, friends turned
to social media to express their sentiments.
Paying homage to Atty. Green/ Leo Udtohan
Prof.
Marianito Luspo said that she would always remember her for her great love for
others.
“If
there was one thing I would have wanted to see at the blood-stained hospital,
it was not her wounds. I would have wanted to see her heart, and be assured
that the assassin's bullets had not touched her organ that once pulsated with
so much love for her fellowmen, not just for Estong, nor for her beautiful kids
and her immediate family,” Luspo posted on Facebook.
Former
city councilor Mariquit Anne Oppus said, “I grieve, especially for the women
whose only hope was Mia! She was a true believer and passionate defender! A
great loss! You will be missed Mi! RIP.”
Environmentalist
Pat Ruiz said, “I really feel so very sad. I cannot believe this is happening.
My heart bleeds for Mia, and Stuart and their kids. Rest in peace, Mia.”
Members of IBP-Bohol chapter/Leo Udtohan
Amor
Vistal said, “That feeling when you see Mia and the only thing you could do at
that moment is to be silent and offer a prayer. No words, no words will ever
describe the tragic loss we all are feeling right now. No words came out from
my mouth when Estong asked me - Why her?”
Both
her admirers and her detractors agreed that Green was one of the sharpest
intellects to ever serve on the bench.
Green
was unstoppable, even from a young age. She was six years old when her mother
Glorife died. It was her father Jose
Mascariñas, Jr who took care of
her and her four siblings.
She
went to the elite private school Holy Spirit School in Tagbilaran and graduated
with honors.
She
was a salutatorian in high school at Divine Word College- Tagbilaran (DWC-T,
now Holy Name University) in 1984. Her mentors and schoolmates remembered her
as beauty and brains.
Passionate
As
a student leader, Mascarinas-Green wanted to change student politics.
“She
has excellent leadership skills and articulate,” said Rosalinda Paredes, who
was then director of student affairs office.
In
college, she enrolled at DWCT and took up Bachelor of Science in Commerce,
major in accounting. She graduated summa cum laude in college and became a
certified public account (CPA).
She
packed her bags and went to Manila and landed a job at Cunanan Accounting
Office. She missed home and returned to Bohol. She studied law at DWC-T. She
completed and perfected the dream of her parents who met in law school in the
1960's.
She
was also teaching accountancy and law at DWC-T.
As
a teacher, she tried to influence her students to excel and be passionate with
their studies and their works, Paredes said.
Green
became a successful criminal defense attorney who was never defeated. She was a
crusader for the poor. A hard core environmentalist.
Her
colleagues said that the bubbly CPA-Lawyer was devoted and dedicated.
Lawyer
Ted Lagang, president of Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Bohol Chapter, said
that her integrity as a lawyer was beyond unquestionable.
“She
leaves an enormous hole in our hearts, lives and community,” he said.
Judge
Raul Barbarona who worked with Green at the Environmental Legal Assistance
Center (Elac) said that she was fearless and principled woman.
He
also said that Green had an impact on so many people, especially the poor,
that’s it hard to quantify the loss.
Green
had to pay the ultimate price of standing up for what she believed was right.
She was not defeated at all; her life was cut short.
***
Thanks for your
letters, all will be answered. Comments welcome at leoudtohan@yahoo.com, follow
leoudtohanINQ at Twitter /Facebook.
