The old leafy sentinels of Albasan

Numancia, Aklan, Philippines—For more than 100 years, they have stood like sentinels—quiet but ever watchful.

Towering proudly over the spacious grounds, the 15 acacia trees at Albasan Elementary School in Numancia town in Aklan are a rare cluster of century-old trees.

The two columns of trees, also called “rain trees,” flank the school’s main walk connecting its two gates. They stand 10 meters apart, with the tallest reaching at least 70 feet.

It takes at least six persons with arms outstretched and joined to encircle the tree trunks.

A common sight to villagers, the trees have become a growing attraction to visitors and were recently identified by the Aklan tourism council as among the province’s tourist destinations.

There is no accurate account of how many acacia trees were planted but at least 17 trees have stood since the early 1900s at the school compound. Typhoon “Frank,” which devastated Aklan in June 2008, uprooted two of the trees.

The trees were planted by school teacher Felex Abello and his 7-year-old pupils Miguel Maravilla and Ignacio Talabucon, according to a short historical account prepared by the school.

Quoting school officials, it said the trees were planted in 1892.

But Gonzalo Maravilla, son of Miguel, said the trees were most likely planted not later than 1907 when the first Gabaldon-type schools were built in the country.

The village, then called Lawan, and the most developed and populated among the 17 barangays, had been eyed as the center of Numancia, five kilometers west of the capital town of Kalibo. But the present town center, being more accessible, was chosen.

Abello and his three pupils went to the neighboring town of Lezo to get the acacia seedlings shortly after the school was built, Gonzalo said.

Now 84, Gonzalo, who still teaches high school subjects at Madya-as Institute in the village, said Abello was in his late teens when he and his pupils planted the trees.

The trees became part of the village life as the school grounds was turned into the center of community gatherings and events. Villagers would walk or sit under the shade and children would play in the grounds, said Gonzalo.

Abello and his pupils also made sure that these would be nurtured and protected. “Father always told our family to take care of the trees and to tell the people how important they were,” Gonzalo said.

The villagers protected not only the trees but also their environment.

During the 1970s, Barangay Albasan was designated a pilot community for the “clean and green” program.

Much earlier, in the 1950s, the villagers requested the dismantling of a prefabricated school building brought by the US Navy’s 7th Fleet. “We were concerned that the roofing made of asbestos might be a source of pollution,” Gonzalo said.

A former village leader, George Paderes, said the trees, known for its hard, inelastic and durable timber, survived although there was no local ordinance prohibiting tree-cutting. “No one has attempted to cut them down,” Paderes said.

Albasan abounds with stories of spirits and creatures living in the trees. Gonzalo said these have helped discourage those who might want to cut down the trees.

Among the most popular were those of reported sightings of a “kapre,” a mythological tree-dwelling creature often described as tall and hairy with a huge cigar. The creature is said to enjoy drinking, gambling and smoking.

“Many villagers including some of my friends and relatives would swear that they at times mistook the kapre as one of the tree trunks,” Gonzalo said.

But the stories have not scared the villagers.

“We believe they have been there since the trees were planted and, like the trees, they have lived peacefully among us,” he said.