Masilak nak adlaw sa inrong tanan. Tuguti akong kamo'y ak' sikwilon sa inro kasablagan ag sumuypok it matarong nak ako'y inggwa't ihator sa inro nak masadyang balita. Ngasing ako'y naghahanap pa it tagra, agpali ag uway. Kali'y ak' isabyay sa tanang bukir, ag bawat apo ay apa-abuton nako sa mayayadong abuhan, adong sa bawat sikwil ninro sinra'y mapapa-inrahat ag masasaduran ka inro mga sugilanon pati mga nguyob sa likor it pangpang. Sa mga kasimanwang mayado't antar sa ato isla, sinra'y at' ahatran it mga istoryahong natutungor sa ato banwa adong sa inra pagro-aw uli ay indi mag-syaag, ag inra matutunrogan kaling rayan nak pauli. Kung papa-uno kii, ay imaw kali.
Imagine this, the world is getting smaller and smaller everyday, while Banton and the rest of Romblon province are getting bigger and bigger. And this really is what happening now. In this age of information technology, bits of information travel at the speed of radio waves. And with your computer connected to the Internet you can send e-mail, voice mail and any information convertible to electronic data to any person with an e-mail account. As information technology is enhanced and new ideas arise, those in the most remote areas can access and share a very vital information all over the world. With just a click of a mouse, you can talk or see another person’s face even if he is at the opposite side of the world. You can also show to the world your hometown, your very own home or bedroom as what some of our kasimanwa did. Shouldn’t we be proud to know that some of islanders did a great job by showing to the world the beauty of our island town, our culture, even our very own tribal game – bagoy ? What would you feel if you see your name in the net listed in the BHS/ BMHS/BNHS Alumni Directory?
It is pleasing to note that some of our kasimanwa in other parts of the world can hear news about Banton and the rest of Romblon. It started sometime late last year when Mr. Ish Fabicon, based in Illinois, brainchilded a news discussion coined "Cyber Haklaan". Members of this group exchanged news, jokes and other fields of interest. At first the group consisted of less than a dozen, but as the days went by, members brought in a new kasimanwa. As the group grew bigger, maintaining records of e-mail addresses of members became prone to typographical errors which resulted to undelivered messages. To solve the problem, Mr Ish Fabicon brought in another idea. He searched the net for free e-mail delivery service providers. And last June 1998, he established a listserve and the "Cyber Haklaan" became "Romblon List". A listserve is like a mail dispatch. E-mails are sent to one destination and it's up to the system to send it individually to members of the list, just like the local postman delivering snail mail to individuals.
Romblon List is a medium by which listmembers may know each other and exchange ideas, opinions, discuss events that address the Philippines in general and Romblon province in particular. You can also share jokes, interesting topics of your town - culture, beliefs, folk tales, legends and more. With the group composed of individuals with diverse fields of learning/interest, you can ask questions, opinions in any Romblon language/dialect. And it is happy to note that listmembers in medical profession are initiating a medical mission to our province. Those in the religious sector are helping our own bishop in a fund drive. Would I be dreaming if in the near future, our listmembers in medical profession can prescribe medicine online? There will be no need for us to go to the hospital. Those in the information technology are willing to help you when it comes to computer software and hardware needs.
Some of the fields of interest and trivia related to Banton that listmembers shared and discussed were:
- Do you know that the oldest cloth found in Southeast Asia is known as "Banton burial cloth" found in a Guyangan cave, the hanging cemetery? Listmembers comment that the existence of that ikat textile cloth shows that Banton might be a textile center not only in Romblon but maybe in the Philippines as well. And it is supported by a fact that Tina-an, a sitio in barangay Toc-toc at the foot of Guyangan Hill used to be the center for dyeing hand woven textile and the home to the habyon, sinamay and sagurang.
- Bantoanon - a language or a dialect? What's the official name? It drew attention from both the purists and the non-purists. Records in SIL- Summer Institute of Linguistics, with website in the net, shows that the official name is Bantoanon or Asiq and not Asi as we used to know. It's a Malayo-Polynesian, a subclass of Austronesian and a first level Bisayan. In the hierarchy of Bisayan language, Bantoanon though a minor language, is treated in the same level with Cebuano and Central Bisayan. Capiznon, Romblomanon, Samar-Waray are just subclasses of Central Bisayan.
There are lots of issues brought in. Maybe we can share these to you later.
Who are the listmembers? As of this writing, there are more than fifty listmembers and the number is growing. To give you an insight, the group has a mix of the following: more than 8 computer analysts / programmers, 12 in the financial/accounting area/education sector, 4 medical doctors and about 4 nurses, 5 college students, about 5 engineers, 2 ex-peace corps volunteers, 1 retired U.S. navy, 1 band leader in California, one ex-teacher who is now an expat, and our very own vice governor of Romblon.
Do you have an Internet access? If you don't have and you are working in a company with access to the net or you have an officemate with company-provided Internet access, you can also be a netizen (net citizen). There are lots of foreign based net access service providers, providing free e-mail account, homepage and other net services. If you are a student and your school offers Internet access, don't be foolish to stay more years just for
Internet access. Study hard and aim for early
graduation. Lots of companies with Internet access are waiting for you. And if you are now
a netizen, Romblon List is inviting you to register and be a member. It's easy to register
and it's free, no fees to be collected. To subscribe send e-mail to:
You may not write anything on the subject or body. However if your server might require you to fill it in, you may type 'romblon list' on the subject and 'subscribe' on the body of the message. A confirmation reply will be sent to you. You have to confirm it. Once confirmed, you will then be officially subscribed to the list.
Or you can also e-mail the administrator of the
list:
or if you are lost in cyberspace and need a way
back home e-mail me:
By the way, most e-mail addresses are WYSIWYW (What you see is what you write.) or WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get.) It is case sensitive i.e. do not use capitals if not in caps. So type carefully. Always check the dot (.) and at (@) signs.
In closing let me say this. "No matter how good an invention or new technology is, when it is used for evil and not for good, it is useless. So let's use information technology for the benefit of mankind, for the future of Mother Earth and most of all for the glory of God."
Volume 1 No 3