Spirit boat sails on Burnham Lake for maternal health

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Remember the late Baguio artist Roberto Villanueva’s spirit boat installation, “Atang ti Kararua”? Artists and reproductive health (RH) activists did a reprise of it on Thursday, October 31.

Dancer Dumay Solinggay danced the “Tribute to Teenage Mothers” on the edge of Burnham Lake while drummers and gong beaters played the pattong.

The spirit boat was set to sail on Burnham Lake to symbolize safe passage for mothers giving birth this Undas, and for the RH law whose implementation has been temporarily stopped by the Supreme Court.

Decorated with purple chrysanthemums to form the purple ribbon that symbolize the RH campaign, the spirit boat was trailed by 55 “boats” made of coconut shells with flowers and candles.

Florist Anthoniuz Paulite chose the chrysanthemums to approximate the  63,000 Filipina teenagers who became brides in 2010. About 50 mums – with 1,300 petals per flower – were placed per coconut shell.

Paulite said he had decorated many weddings where the brides were very young and, in many cases, pregnant.

“Despite the solemnity of weddings, I secretly grieve for these brides whose youth were taken away because of lack of advice and contraception,” he said.

Chi Vallido of the Forum for Family Planning and Development, a Manila-based NGO which helped coordinate the Atang, said young mothers are the real targets beneficiaries of the RH law.

“Young people are faced with alarming RH issues. In 2010, some 206,500 babies were born by mothers 15 to 19 years old and incidence of pregnancies as young as 11 to 12 years old have also been monitored,” she said. 

“Maternal mortality or mothers dying form pregnancy complications in the Philippines has not improved at 15. We are turning to the youth and our partners from the various civil society organizations all over the country to raise awareness about the RH Law which was signed in December 2012 and was debated upon for more than 14 years. How long do we have to wait?” she added.

Villanueva’s “Atang ti Kararua” was first installed on Nov 1, 1990, a few months after the devastating July 16 earthquake that flattened buildings and killed more than 400 people in Baguio City.

Relatives of victims burned their written prayers in the shells and watched them float away. The “Atang ti Kararua” was installed until 1995, when Villanueva died. – Rappler.com