La Salud is Home in Ansulag

Georgene Quilaton-Tambiga•November 10, 2022

SAN CARLOS CITY, Neg. Occ.—On the first day of her novena, Nuestra Señora de La Salud is brought home to her grotto perched on top of a hill at Sitio Ansulag, Barangay Rizal, San Carlos City.

The Blessed Virgin under the title of Our Lady of Good Health is a gift of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, Province of St. Ezekiel Moreno through Rev. Fr. Rommel Rubia, OAR, a Thomasian alumnus, Batch 1991.

La Salud Legacy

Being one of the numerous sitios (community cluster) of Barangay Rizal, Ansulag is set away from the city and parish because it cannot be accessed by public utility vehicles except for off-road motorcycles that locals call habal-habal. It has a mission chapel under the Diocese of San Carlos but the grotto of La Salud is the first and only of its kind in the area and among the other mountainous communities of Barangay Rizal.

With Bare Hands. This grotto in front of the school building was built by bare hands of parents, Ansulag residents and teachers. Rev. Fr. Joel Dequilla, OAR here recites the rites of enthronement.

One of the teachers even said that it was her first time to encounter La Salud since most of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s images devoted to by the laity in San Carlos are that which are under the titles of the Our Lady of Lourdes and the Immaculate Concepcion.

“Karon ra gyod mi kakita og ingon ani nga Birhen,” the teacher told a CEDO volunteer, in reference to the dark-skinned La Salud all decked in gold, while they prepared the candles and flowers for her.

Colegio de Sto. Tomas-Recoletos Community Extension and Development Office (CEDO) brought La Salud to Ansulag with Rev. Fr. Joel Dequilla, OAR, vice-president for finance and administration, as the leader of the Thomasian delegation. In counterpart, Ansulag community built the grotto with bare hands and all from scratch. Parents, residents and teachers led by Larry Vincent Po, constructed La Salud’s home with meticulous attention to details such as materials, size and that she be placed under a sturdy mango tree—protection from strong winds that often blow against the hilltop.

Trekking with La Salud. Jose Tito Arante, an Ansulag resident and parent, carries the image of Nuestra Señora de La Salud from the national road through the interior dirt roads. It was a brisk walk for this Ansulag folk who only took more or less 20 minutes to bring the Blessed Virgin to her new home. Arante is among the volunteer-parents of the construction of the grotto.

Enthronement. After the Holy Mass, Ansulag Elementary School head teacher Johnny Engada carries La Salud to her grotto.

Fr. Dequilla celebrated the Holy Mass right at the makeshift stage of the school and with the pupils, their parents and their teachers in attendance. Gerardo S. Limpio, public schools district supervisor of the Department of Education – Division of San Carlos, was also present.

For the Mothers. Ansulag mothers join in the celebration of the Holy Mass and offer their personal intentions.

The enthronement of the Blessed Virgin followed the celebration of the mass. Ansulag pupils offered her freshly picked wildflowers and bananas grown from their own little farms and gardens.

Together with the image of La Salud, CEDO volunteers brought copies of the Blessed Virgin’s novena and prayers translated into Sinugbuanong Binisaya (the mother tongue) that were distributed to the school-community after a briefing on how it should be used.

Upon learning that La Salud is the Patroness of Good Health, the laity, especially mothers and grandmothers, expressed their gratitude to the Augustinian Recollects, through CEDO, for bringing her to their community.

“Makaanak na gayod ko ani!” (This time, I will be able to conceive through her intercession!) Exclaimed one teacher who has been longing to have a child for six years.

Re-living the Missionary Life

For his part, Fr. Dequilla, who went up to Ansulag for the first time for the enthronement, called the journey a “re-living of his missionary life” just as he hopped on to the habal-habal that navigated the dirt track and the river all the way to the foot of the hill.

The Recollect priest was received with the warmth of the pupils’ shy smiles as he basked in the fresh mountain air of Ansulag. Fr. Dequilla served the OAR mission stations in Taiwan for 17 years. He greeted the teachers with congratulations and praises for their daily “heroism” of journeying up and down the mountains and slopes of Barangay Rizal to fulfill their mission of education for the Filipino children.

Zao An! Fr. Dequilla and the kids share greetings both in Cebuano and in Mandarin.

Para La Señora. A second grader offers her freshly picked wild flowers to La Salud.

Marian Recollect Devotion

The Augustinian Recollect missionaries started the devotion to Our Lady of Good Health in , when its image was first brought to the Philippines from Mexico.

In 2017, the revival of the devotion was in full swing and through a national tour of La Salud, she first reached San Carlos City. At that time, Fr. Rubia gave Thomasian students an introduction to the devotion and an historical perspective.

Now, the oldest and grandest staircase and azotea of CST-R is dedicated and named after the Blessed Virgin—the Escalera de La Salud. Her feast day will be on November 17.

Turn-Over. Engada (left) and Fr. Dequilla (right) sign formal documents proving the donation to Ansulag Elementary School. Gerardo S. Limpion, PSDS (back row) and Jamela Mapa, CEDO staff, witness the signing.

Georgene Quilaton-Tambiga