Olango folk celebrate centenarian’s birthday

A DIET of fish and vegetables with no meat sustained Faustina Sobiono towards reaching the century mark, one of a few still living in Lapu-Lapu City.

The 100-year-old Sobiono, “Lola Tinang” to family and friends alike, was gifted with a large cake and food that was shared with neighbors in barangay Pangan-an of Olango Island, Lapu-Lapu City by Mayor Paz Radaza.

The Office of the Senior Citizen’s Affairs regularly sends cakes to their members on their birthday and Radaza said she wanted to personally deliver the cake to Tinang to mark her 100th birthday.

“Reaching that age and celebrating it encourages others to become health conscious so they can live to be 100 years old as well,” the mayor said in Cebuano at a gym in barangay Pangan-an where the celebration was held.

Tinang was born on 1913 in Buenavista town, Bohol province. She was 32-years-old and had three children when the Japanese invasion occurred.

She moved to a hinterland barangay to avoid the rampaging Japanese troops.

They survived undetected by Japanese forces for three years and moved to a coastal barangay where they farmed and fished for a living.

Her husband died 20 years ago and gave her five more children.

Some of them went to Manila and others left for Mindanao with their own families, Tinang said.

She lives with her daughter who married a resident of Pangan-an island. She was sometimes offered pork and chicken but Tinang said this only hurt her stomach.

Tinang vowed that she would only eat fish and make sure that the vegetables don’t have monosodium glutemate or “vetsin.”

A Catholic, Tinang doesn’t drink or smoke but did chew tobacco leaves and drinks coco wine or tuba on occasion.

Tinang said she isn’t interested in eating fastfood because she’s content on eating only fish and vegetables. Tinang would sometimes return to Bohol. She said she already forgot how many grandchildren she had but she can still hear, walk and do household jobs.

“I’m thankful to God that I reached this age, I’ll always take care of my body until God Himself would take me,” Tinang said in Cebuano.