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‘National living treasure’ Fu Yabing Dulo passes away at 106

By Allen Estabillo

January 26, 2021, 6:44 pm

<p><strong>MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN.</strong> Photo shows traditional master weaver Fu Yabing Dulo posing with her works at her weaving center in Sitio Amguo, Barangay Landan in Polomolok town, South Cotabato. Fu Yabing, who passed away early Tuesday at the age of 106, is a prime mover in the preservation of the Blaan mabal tabih (ikat weaving) and among the three traditional weavers from Mindanao who were declared as “national living treasures” and conferred with the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan for 2016 through Proclamation No. 126 issued on Jan. 6, 2017 by President Rodrigo Duterte. <em>(Photo grab from the Blaan Mabal Tabih in Landan Facebook page)</em></p>

MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN. Photo shows traditional master weaver Fu Yabing Dulo posing with her works at her weaving center in Sitio Amguo, Barangay Landan in Polomolok town, South Cotabato. Fu Yabing, who passed away early Tuesday at the age of 106, is a prime mover in the preservation of the Blaan mabal tabih (ikat weaving) and among the three traditional weavers from Mindanao who were declared as “national living treasures” and conferred with the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan for 2016 through Proclamation No. 126 issued on Jan. 6, 2017 by President Rodrigo Duterte. (Photo grab from the Blaan Mabal Tabih in Landan Facebook page)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – South Cotabato’s famed traditional master weaver and “Manlilikha ng Bayan” Fu Yabing Masalon Dulo passed away early Tuesday at the age of 106 in Polomolok town.

Fu Yabing died in her sleep around 12:30 a.m. at their home in Sitio Amguo, Barangay Landan after being weakened for several days by an unspecified illness that was complicated by her advanced age, her granddaughter Christine Dulo Gulili said.

Gulili said her grandmother’s health condition deteriorated after being confined at the Howard Hubbard Memorial Hospital in Polomolok from Nov. 29 to Dec. 4 due to pneumonia, but her case was cleared for coronavirus disease 2019 or Covid-19.

Fu Yabing eventually turned weaker and her feet later swelled until she could no longer walk, she said.

“We tried to convince her to go to the hospital to get proper treatment but she refused so we just took good care of her,” she told the Philippine News Agency in a phone interview.

Arjho Carino Turner, Fu Yabing's grandniece, was among the first to report the latter’s passing on Tuesday morning through the Blaan Mabal Tabih in Landan Facebook page.

“Our beloved Manlilikha ng Bayan (National Living Treasure of the Philippines) Bai Yabing Masalon Dulo has joined her creator. To all of you that have met her, got a piece or two of her Blaan Tabih works, became friends with her and her family, documented her on your visit to Amguo, Landan, Polomolok, South Cotabato...please know that you brought a smile to her,” she said.

The Facebook page, which was dedicated to the works of Fu Yabing, has since been flooded by messages of sympathy and photos with the late master weaver.

Gulili said they are currently coordinating with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) regarding the funeral arrangements for Fu Yabing, a prime mover in the preservation of the Blaan "mabal tabih" or ikat weaving and dyeing.

Fu Yabing, who was the cultural master of the Blaan Weaving School of Living Tradition in her home village in Polomolok, was recognized by the national government “for her commitment to the safeguarding and promotion” of the indigenous craft.

She was among the three traditional weavers from Mindanao who were declared as “national living treasures” and conferred with the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) for 2016 through Proclamation No. 126 issued on Jan. 6, 2017 by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The two other awardees were Blaan mat weaver Estelita Tumandan Bantilan of Malapatan, Sarangani province and Yakan tapestry weaver Ambalang Ausalin of Lamitan City, Basilan.

As a GAMABA awardee, Fu Yabing will be given a state funeral and all arrangements will be handled by the national government, through the NCCA.

Gulili said they are planning to hold a two-week wake for her grandmother, who will be laid to rest in her family’s land situated at the foot of Mount Matutum. (PNA)

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