Abdullah and Angging: A love story
“The Philippines is not lacking in narratives about lovers braving the odds with unusual devotion to one another.
“They dared defy socioreligious norms and trailblazed through the once-local taboo of marriage between couples of divergent sects and cultures.
Today starts the love month of February. Let’s celebrate by regaling readers with love narratives that are out of the ordinary. As students of history and literature, we have been thrilled and fascinated by the greatest love tales of all time — the forbidden love of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the enduring love of Helen of Troy and Paris, of Greek mythology’s Odysseus and Penelope, of the medieval romance of King Arthur’s knight, Sir Lancelot, and Lady Guinevere — that have defied oblivion.
The Philippines is not lacking in narratives about lovers braving the odds with unusual devotion to one another. We have folk tales like Filipino laureate Francisco Balagtas epic about the uncommon love of Florante and Laura, a Filipino masterpiece, which described Balagtas’s affection for a woman later discovered to be Maria Asuncion Rivera, and many more.
In Maranaw mythology, we have the story of Rajah Indarapatra who fell in love with a princess-nymph, immortalized in a “Darangen,” Maranaw epic poem. And I dare include in the same genre of stories the modern-day love story of Abdullah and Angging. These are narratives that historians and anthropologists banner as love borne out of peculiar circumstances that have stood the test of time.
What I will describe here may not approximate those tales, but it is nowhere near the ordinary given the social and political zeitgeist of their time. It is a union of two hearts that have made a huge difference not only in their lives but, more importantly, in a great many people and society in general. They dared defy socio-religious norms and trailblazed through the once-local taboo of marriage between couples of divergent sects and cultures.
The union tremendously helped in the pacification campaign of the government and the pacifists. Trust among residents that had been shattered by past social conflict was restored. We are still enjoying the peace dividends it produced. Naysayers and Cassandras predicted the marriage would end up on the rocks. But it is resilient and, from where I sit, it will last their lifetime.
I refer to Abdullah “Bobby” Dimakuta Dimaporo and Imelda “Angging” Quibranza Dimaporo, scions of dynasties that have dominated for decades the politics in Lanao del Norte.
Congressman/Governor Abdullah is far from having the physical and facial features of a Greek Adonis, but he has the looks, eyes, and physique a woman cannot easily dismiss. He did not inherit the fiery look and oratory of his father, Maranaw legend Mohammad Ali Dimaporo, who was described as the “Lion of the South” because of his heroism at the “Battle at Fort Corcuera” in Malabang, Lanao del Sur, where he and his uncle, Datu Mulok, with a handful of volunteer-relatives annihilated the American fort along with all the soldiers, an event documented in an American military book. He is soft-spoken and too humble to be true given his political and social gravitas.
Congresswoman/ Governor Angging possesses the beauty DNA. Her siblings are all beautiful and one of them was a beauty queen.
During our juvenile days of abandon, we often teased Abdullah as being bewitched by the “face that launched a thousand ships,” as historians described Helen of Troy (I can almost see Angging squirming: “Sobra ka naman uncle Bangki”). She is tall and lean, a statuesque model, the envy of many in her time. She inherited her power of public speaking from her father, Arsenio “Arsing” Quibranza, a popular “balagtasan” or “magbabalak,” as Bisayans call it, who had served as governor for decades in Lanao del Norte.
The courtship of Abdullah and Angging was not known to many. In fact, we predicted he would fall for one of the beautiful Maranaw ladies studying at the Philippine Women’s University. We learned later that Abdullah was a frequent and persistent suitor bringing flowers and chocolates to Angging.
The marriage, celebrated with pomp and pageantry, had no less than then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. as principal sponsor. It produced children, like their parents and grandparents, with leadership qualities and public service embedded in their genes.
Their story will be immortalized in the history of the province and the peaceful co-existence of Muslims and Christians. It is worth telling and retelling.
Why do I know them? I am related to Abdullah by consanguinity.