WARM WELCOME Orlando Cardinal Quevedo greets well-wishers, among them members of indigenous groups, during his homecoming in Ilocos Norte province. LEILANIE ADRIANO
When then 8-year-old Orlando Quevedo left Ilocos Norte province for Cotabato with his family in 1947, he made sure his heart would never forget.
Sixty-seven years later, the boy, known as “Orly,” was back in his home province, this time as a man of the cloth and one of the so-called princes of the Roman Catholic Church.
Early Sunday, as the Toyota Grandia bearing Quevedo approached Badoc, the first town in Ilocos Norte coming from Sinait town in Ilocos Sur province, the newly installed cardinal was greeted by huge posters and streamers saying, “Welcome His Eminence Orlando Cardinal Quevedo, first Ilocano Cardinal of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.”
On his way to Plaza del Norte Hotel and Convention Center in Laoag City, where a brief welcome party was prepared for him by the city government led by Mayor Chevylle Fariñas, he told the driver to stop so he could say a prayer at the St. John the Baptist Church in Badoc.
“I was born in Laoag (City), my roots are in Sarrat (town) and I migrated to Cotabato. I’m a GI—‘Genuine Ilocano’ and a ‘Genuine Ilonggo’—but my heart belongs to the Ilocano,” Quevedo, the archbishop of Cotabato, later said in his homily during a Mass he celebrated at the St. William Cathedral in Laoag.
After a brief rest at Plaza del Norte, Quevedo officially began his homecoming with a breakfast-dialogue with representatives of indigenous communities from Adams, Dumalneg, Carasi, Vintar and Nueva Era towns at Holy Spirit Academy of Laoag.
IP issues
Quevedo met with the IPs (indigenous peoples) to listen to their concerns, which, he said, were almost similar to issues confronting IP communities in Mindanao.
Laoag Bishop Renato Mayugba and Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos led the Ilocanos and the IP community in welcoming him to the province.
“I am aware of the issues of the IP community and I know well the IP situation in Cotabato. There is government neglect, lack of livelihood and the IPs are some of the poorest of the poor in Mindanao,” Quevedo said.
“There are biases and prejudices between lowlanders and highlanders. And I say to you, ‘You are from the highlands, [and those from] the lowlands must look up to you,” he told the IP representatives.
Thousands of Ilocanos from the various parishes in the province gathered at St. William Cathedral where Quevedo celebrated Mass.
“A cardinal is not simply a prince [of the church] but a shepherd that rules and serves the flock. It is by serving unselfishly that he reigns over the flock—in humility and simplicity,” he said in his homily.
He thanked the people of Ilocos Norte for what he described as their overwhelming welcome.
“I’m not used to this grand welcome. Thank you for your great effort. [This is] something [that] I [would be] grateful forever,” he added. Mayugba, Urdaneta (Pangasinan) Bishop Jacinto Jose and Tuguegarao (Cagayan) Archbishop Sergio Utleg attended the Thanksgiving Mass. Marcos and her mother, Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos, joined the offertory.
Motorcade
After the Mass, Quevedo was led to a float filled with fresh flowers for a motorcade to Sarrat town, 7 kilometers from Laoag. Some residents who failed to attend the Mass lined the highway to catch a glimpse of the cardinal.
At the garden of Sta. Monica Church in Sarrat, Quevedo was welcomed by local officials, led by Mayor Edito Balintona, and residents who serenaded him with Ilocano folk songs.
Balintona said Sarrat residents and Quevedo’s relatives in the town were eager to see the cardinal and helped in cleaning the streets and in preparing the program for his homecoming.
Several friends and relatives of Quevedo from Cagayan de Oro and Cotabato cities, including his eldest sister, Nellie Quevedo-Bassig, 84, who is now based in Metro Manila, arrived earlier in Sarrat to welcome him.
“We are very thankful for the warm welcome and reception dedicated to my youngest brother,” Bassig said.
Ordinary boy
Melchora Ver Dragon, Quevedo’s first cousin, described the young Quevedo as an ordinary boy who would mingle with the community’s children and play.
Quevedo said he missed his childhood in Sarrat. “I missed swimming at the irrigation [canals] and climbing trees like Tarzan,” he said.
Dragon said Quevedo was a respectful and obedient boy. She recalled that whenever Quevedo’s father, who was a principal at Shamrock Elementary School in Laoag, would arrive from work, the young Quevedo would always serve him his favorite basi (sugarcane wine).
Quevedo’s mother was also teaching in the same school when the family decided to move to South Cotabato to join other relatives there.
Dragon said the Quevedos are a typical Ilocano family, known for their strong ties. While many are based in Mindanao and abroad, family members would make time to attend family reunions and gatherings in Ilocos Norte.
Another relative, Maximo Edralin, described Quevedo as a precocious child, attributing this to his childhood spent serving the church.
The Laoag City government, through a city council resolution, also honored Quevedo by conferring on him the “Order of Lam-ang,” the highest award given to an outstanding Laoageño.