Summer in Sapang Kawayan
Sapang Kawayan (Bamboo
Brook) in Masantol, Pampanga (64 kms. north of Manila) is home to brothers
Roger and Sergio Viray, missing since last February. Looking around Sapang
Kawayan, one would not think it could be a place where people can
disappear and remain missing for more than a month.
PHOTOS BY DABET
CASTAÑEDA
TEXT BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat
Sapang Kawayan
(Bamboo Brook) in Masantol, Pampanga (64 kms. north of Manila) is home to
brothers Roger and Sergio Viray, missing since last February. They were
reportedly snatched by government operatives.
The brook can easily
attract the outsider for its rustic scenery and its air of tranquility.
Just looking around, one would think life in the village it encompasses is
as smooth as a trip on the boats that cruise it.
The children
practically live their mornings and afternoons playing in the water. They
go back up only when the sun sets.
They are thus in the
water as often as many of their elders who work as either boatmen or
fishermen or both.
At times Sapang
Kawayan’s children, boatmen, and fishermen share the waters with workers
transporting big bags of salt from nearby Bulacan province.
As it is Sapang
Kawayan can already tempt visitors from the city to prolong their stay and
not go back right away to the harried urban routines.
Indeed, looking
around Sapang Kawayan, one would not think it could be a place where
people can disappear and remain missing for more than a month.
Bulatlat
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