ILOILO CITY, Aug 10 — The untold story of Tibiao, a northern town of Antique known for its “kawa” hot bath and other tourism attractions, has been revealed in a book written by a retired brigadier general of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Former General Vicente Pangantihon, who retired from service April 19, 1999, spent his post-AFP t years writing books that included the Kinaray-a English Dictionary, Kinaray-a Rice Traditions and Thinking Aloud.
A native of Tibiao, he wrote the book, “The Tibiao Story”, which was completed summer of 2016 before he passed away on June 24 of the same year. It was written in collaboration with Alfeo T. Farren, also an Antiqueño, who passed away on October 7, 2012.
Glenda Lyn Pangantihon, Pangantihon’s youngest child, said in an interview on Thursday, that the book tells how the town got its name and the history of Tibiao starting from the pre-Spanish up to the American occupation.
The daughter said that most of the time history books do not include significant events in Visayas and Mindanao. “Which is sad because Philippines is not only Luzon,” she added.
“People are not interested in history. But when you present history in a different manner, you present it as a story; it is not a tedious task to memorize. It’s something interesting; you feel that you belong” she said.
The 90-page book was launched in Tibiao, Antique last August 1. Aside from the town’s history, it also contains customs and beliefs of Tibiaonons, historical development, places and names, and some past-times and games played.
Glenda Lyn also helped in conceptualizing the cover design, showing the author’s manuscript, eyeglasses and mug, according to Pangantihon’s wife, Teresita.
The first printing was 300 copies. Some were given to schools and significant individuals who contributed in the realization of the book. The rest were sold at PHP100 per piece now available at their residence in Calawgan, Tibiao.
The proceeds will be used to rehabilitate the chapel of San Pedro Calungsod that was built in Calawgan after typhoon “Yolanda” struck parts of Antique in 2013.
Tibiao is 172 kilometers away from Iloilo City. This agricultural fourth class municipality in the northern part of Antique has a population of 26, 748 during the 2015 Census of Housing and Population by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The author, meantime, was posthumously awarded the Cavalier Award in Special Field on Literature and Literacy Advocacy among Cultural Minorities during the 118th alumni homecoming of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) held in Baguio City in February this year.