CONTRACTUAL worker Eda Paro of the local government of Talisayan will be turning 53 years old on Sunday, the day her son Neil Michael is scheduled to wed his girlfriend in civil rites.
Now a single parent to all five male children, Paro is among those hard-working women who came here on a drizzly Wednesday morning to compete in ‘Dakop-dakop sa Baboy’ (Pig Catching) as part of the traditional games included in the 10th Kuyamis Festival and Paglaum Misor-Rise CdO Cup at the Misamis Oriental Integrated Sports Complex.
Pig Catching is a traditional game among ordinary Filipinos usually held during the fiesta celebration in the barrio where participants are blindfolded to catch the piglets greased in oil in a muddy cage shaped like a square, rectangle, or circle.
On Wednesday, the morning drizzles turned the grasses at the sports center even wetter, and slippery contestants had the daunting task of catching the two piglets awaiting them inside the small arena surrounded by a good number of spectators.
But after a 20-minute struggle, at least three blindfolded women were seen racing to the ground in a grapple with the first piglet taken down. One of them is Paro in a yellow shirt who kept her grip on the legs even if she stumbled facing the surface and tripped over again on her back and ran over by some participants.
“Nagka samad-samad, ako nang giluhod-luhoran ang tae pero wala gyod ko nibuhi. Akong gisiguro ang tiil kay mao man ang parte sa baboy nga wala kaayo nahaplasan sa oil,” Paro later told Gold Star Daily.
She said that her birthday and her son’s wedding on Sunday was enough motivation for her to go all-out for the win.
“Para gyod ni sa ako kay kailangan kaayo nako maka premyo dugang pud sa kasal sa akong anak nga gisabay sa akong birthday,” a teary-eyed Paro said.
After Paro’s conquest, a 31-year-old street sweeper from Jasaan town Liza Galario followed suit, grabbing easily a seemingly tired second piglet that just stayed in a corner waiting to be seized.
“Street sweeper ko sa Jasaan, ako ra nag trabaho ako bana naa ra sa balay so, blessings pud ni sa amo,” Galario said.
Misamis Oriental executive sports director Efren Pollentes said they bought each piglet at P8,000.
“Ila na kadto sa nakadakop sakto na sab ang size para pang lechon,” Pollentes said.
Already, Talisayan town mayor Rico Taray had pledged to give P5,000 for Paro’s feat.
Asked what prize they’ll receive from Misamis Oriental Governor Peter M. Unabia for winning the Pig Catching contest, Paro said she’s still clueless about the amount of the cash rewards.
“Wala pa ‘mi idea kon pila amo madawat. Basta kana si Sr Pedro known nga galante. Dako kaayong grasya ni nga kadaugan para sa akong birthday ug kasal sa akong anak. Dili lalim ang single parent hurot-hurot gyod nga paningkamot,” Paro told Gold Star Daily.
