BAGUIO CITY -- They are called the "Super Moms" of Bontoc, the capital town of Mountain Province in upland Cordillera region of northern Philippines.
Like all other women in town, they do house chores and tend the rice fields every day for their respective families.
But at nighttime, they become mothers to others as well, and share their tough love with the entire community.
Each aged 40-80 years old, they are a bunch of dreaded but respected women called the Bontoc Women's Brigade, who see to it that curfews for youngsters and public prohibitions to loitering, street fights, and serving liquor to minors are properly enforced.
As the culture of respect to elders still lives in town, members of the Bontoc Women's Brigade fit their task like a glove.
Armed only with their flashlights and wooden canes, they can break up fights and send home drunk men and minors roaming in the streets.
Bontoc Chief of Police Faith Igualdo said since the brigade started conducting night rounds, violations of curfew for minors, the liquor ban, and fighting incidents have decreased.
Igualdo said the Bontoc Women’s Brigade is a big help in keeping peace and order in town.
The brigade is divided into four groups, doing the rounds in the town's four major villages — Poblacion, Bontoc Ili, Samoki, and Caluttit.
The women go to various establishments in town, checking on those who get drunk and send them home before curfew falls at 10 p.m. At nighttime, they tell students from other towns to just go home to study and be safe.
The unruly would either get a whip on the butt or deal with some police backup until they go home.
The dauntless women have been doing all these things since 2003 without expecting anything in return, not even getting paid for their well-done job.
Brigade leader Carolina Castañeda, 82, says: "We do this voluntarily--no remuneration, no per diem, no monetary consolation for being on the streets even on rainy nights, no health benefits. What we have is only our love for the town and care for the young people, who could end up victims of street crime if they are not guided."
Her son Alexander, who is a district engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Mountain Province, narrates with pride of what his mother is doing despite her age.
“It is sort of an outlet for her because she wants to be always busy," he says. "We, her children, even prefer to see her doing those task than going to the field, which is physically draining because of the heavy workload and the scorching heat of the sun."
Alexander says her mother Carolina finds being a brigade woman a passion and she is happy with what she does.
Carolina says the only problem with the brigade now is how to recruit younger members to continue the peacekeeping efforts.
She says the brigade now has less than 40 members.
Other members of the group said in unison of Carolina: "We want her to be around because her passion drives us. She started this and we hope there will be others who will replace us when we are gone.”
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Marie Rafael-Banaag, also a child of Mountain Province, recognizes the vital contribution of the elderly women of Bontoc to the town's well-being. As part of the government agency's outreach program for outskirt communities, peacekeeping gears were turned over to the Bontoc Women's Brigade this week.
The dauntless women were given loot bags that contain rain gears, flashlights, batteries, reflectorized vests, and other items that could help them in their peacekeeping task.
Banaag said what the Bontoc Women's Brigade is doing is worth emulating in other parts of the country.
She noted how the Filipino culture of respecting mothers is being preserved in Bontoc and said this must be passed on to the younger generation.
"Our mothers are very important to us. They are the embodiment of heroes for rearing us to become good citizens of the country. It is just very proper that we show our respect to them and follow what they tell us because they always tell us what is best and will advise us not to ruin our lives,” Banaag said. (PNA)
