Forward-thinking Iriga

For more than a year now, I’ve gotten close to Mayor Madelaine Alfelor-Gazmen, the dynamic leader of Iriga City, hometown of my favorite actress Nora Aunor.

I am so open about my shameless adulation for the country’s superstar. At one point, I became part of Ate Guy’s team, even accompanying her to some shows in Europe and the Middle East. Those were some of my most interesting years as a publicist, talent handler and fan.

Now, I also declare my admiration for Mayor Madel and the kindhearted and warm people of Iriga. I’ve been to their city a few times. Once, I was asked to judge the Ms. Iriga Beauty Pageant (maybe the only beauty search in the country that has no swimsuit competition), and another time to attend the fun-filled Tinagba Festival. Filipinos are a very hospitable people but the Irigueños simply raise the standard of generosity and hospitality. Mayor Madel likes to say that the Irigueños enjoy hosting so much so that they bring out their best silverware and Chinaware from their cupboards only when they have guests. That’s the kind of special treatment they give visitors.

And great things are happening in Iriga City. Recently, the Iriga City Public Library opened its doors to the public. And it’s not a boring library with books laid out on shelves and dull-looking chairs and tables. For starters, the façade is a merry mix of yellow, orange and red orange. The signage is framed with camouflage blue. The interior walls are painted orange and adorned with abstract paintings that the mayor chose herself.

Mayor Madel hired Jessie Castroverde, a professional housepainter (who has done homes and school buildings in Iriga) whom she’s known since she was a little girl, to mix the colors according to her preferences and paint the library’s walls. “Si Mang Jessie ang nagpinta ng eskwelahan namin dito sa Iriga,” she says.

While there are the usual long tables and wooden chairs, there are also a few couches and armchairs in select areas. These all make for cozy reading nooks. The wooden furniture pieces, by the way, have an interesting story: They are made from lumber seized from illegal loggers.

There’s an area with several PCs where one can do Internet research. If you have a laptop, bring it along because the lib is equipped with wi-fi access.

The public library also has — get this — a Starbucks-style coffee shop named Pages and Coffee. This facet makes it more charming, attractive and very now. So when a researcher likes to take a break, he can walk over to the shop for a cup of the Sumagang (Irigueño term for “sunrise”) rice coffee or ice-cold Teanagba or yummy choco beverage Jubileecious, and pastries and treats, the quality of which the mayor swears, are comparable to products offered in premium bakeshops and hotels. For me, the most intriguing offering on the menu is the Teagang, a tea blend “invented” by Mayor Madel’s younger brother, Gang-gang, an engineer.

The mayor’s family, the Alfelors, established the University of Northeastern Philippines, one of the oldest schools in Bicol. The mayor’s passion for education is something that her parents passed on to her.

Putting up a new library is one of her ways of creating a more progressive, forward-thinking Iriga. “I am happy that 70 percent of our high school graduates go to college or vocational school, and most of these students finish their courses. So there is an awareness in our community that completing one’s education is very important,” she says.
Mayor Madel can get so caught up in her projects and causes that she immerses herself in them. I remember when Iriga experienced a great flood in 2008, and the residents had to go on a massive clean-up drive and built a dam. The mayor was there among the people, shoveling soil and putting the soil into cement bags that were later stacked to block the onslaught of water.

For the library (which mayor lovingly calls her “baby”), she joined in painting the bricks that were used for the pathway. “Nakakaalis pala ng stress ang pagpinta!” she says smiling.
The mayor is a book lover herself. She enjoys reading about leadership. The one she’s “devouring” right now is Lee Iacoca’s Where Have All the Leaders Gone?, her copy of which has highlighted passages and three bookmarks placed in different sections. “I have favorite parts that I like reading over and over,” she explains.

One of her plans is to hold storytelling sessions at the public library. “No matter how fast-paced or high-tech life gets, it’s always good to go back to the basics, it’s always good to read,” she says.

Mayor Madel, bravo!