TEATRO BALANGAW Act Five 1999-2000

Act Five 1999-2000

The change in provincial leadership marked by what was described as the “most expensive election in local history” with the Church issuing a pastoral letter denouncing “massive vote-buying” left those engaged in cultural work largely marginalized. In 1997, an attempt to organize a culture and arts council “Sining Marinduque” was initiated by Obligacion and was supported by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) sending representatives to assist in the organizational work. An interim chairman was elected, Mrs. Juanita Roque-Enriquez, who also headed the Provincial Centennial Committee at the time.

An attempt to re-organize/re-strengthen the said council was initiated in 2000 by Obligacion and Virtusio after informal talks with visiting NCCA officials. Commission funds were earmarked for what was now billed as “an NCCA-initiated” project with Virtusio as official coordinator for the NCCA. (He had formed by then the ‘cultural arm’ of the Aglipayan Church “Sentrong Pangkulturang Pilipinista”, with himself as president, the mayor, several priests as trustees and Virtusio’s sister from the NCCA as treasurer and trustee).

The Congressman of Marinduque represented Congress in the NCCA board as commissioner. In a letter addressed to the commissioner, he demanded that the project should be implemented through the governor’s office, (the governor was his mother), a move that apparently did not sit well with some commission officers, particularly those who had a direct hand in the move. Politics within the commission ensured the instant death of the project. (More on this).