POLOMOLOK, South Cotabato (02 February) – A largely plant-based diet and routinary farm labor that flexes the muscles to perspire and burn fats have been the secret ingredients for longevity of the Blaan, the indigenous peoples living at the foothills of Mt. Matutum, the landmark peak in this province some 1,600 kilometers south of Manila by land travel.
Nestled at the rolling foothills of Mt. Matutum, Barangay Landan (population: 6,829 as of May 2020 census) has two living centenarians and at least 320 registered senior citizens between the ages of 60 and 90, many of them women.
One of the centenarians, Fu Juliana Mungca still walks around their compound with the help of a cane and interacts with her dozens of grandchildren that she classifies, giggling, as “apo sa tuhod” (great grandchildren) and “apo sa siko” (great, great grandchildren).
At 107 years, her white hair, wrinkled face, and slouched posture exude an aura of wisdom and strength from decades of challenges thrown her way – and the joys of overcoming them – and learning from them.
In a sit-down interview in her home on January 9, Mungca shared her secrets to her long life while happily looking to add another year. She will be 108 years old on February 20.
“I eat mostly vegetables and fruits and less meat,” she told MindaNews, while showing one of her favorite leafy greens, “kawat,” which sprouts abundantly in the village where farming is the main source of livelihood.
The Blaans’ “kawat” (pronounced k’wat) does not require a meticulous preparation. It is usually placed when the rice is almost cooked and sprinkled with a bit of salt and is ready to be devoured. It could also be used for “tinolang” native chicken and other dishes.
Mungca recalled that when she was young, they did not eat meat from pigs raised in pens or in the backyard, but from wild pigs that were then abundant in the cogonal land until it was developed by a multinational firm into a pineapple plantation in the 1960s.
Wild pigs have significantly lesser fat or leaner meat than those raised backyard or commercially grown, apparently because of their diet and activity level – having to rummage the forest for food.
“I don’t eat the fatty part. I only consume the meaty portion, but in moderation,” she said in Ilonggo. Mungca does not take maintenance medicines at her age.
She and her late husband raised 10 children, only seven of whom are alive today. The couple mainly brought up their children by working in the farm, planting various crops like corn and upland rice.
Farmwork
Mungca also attributed her longevity to the work in the farm, which back then employed hard labor using bare hands.
As a centenarian, she received a P100,000 cash incentive as prescribed by Republic Act 10868, or the “Centenarians Act of 2016.” In February 2024, the law was amended to include a P10,000 cash gift to all Filipinos, whether residing in the Philippines or abroad, upon reaching the ages of 80, 85, 90, and 95.
In 2024, at least 55 centenarians in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) were each given a cash gift of P100,000 for reaching the milestone, data from the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) showed.
For 2025, the NCSC is validating the list of 210 individuals in Region 12 who will celebrate their 100thbirthday this year. The list is submitted by the different local government units in the region in preparation for the release of their P100,000 cash gifts.
The common denominator among the Blaans in the village who live beyond 70 years old, is that they are engaged in sweat-inducing laborious work in the farms, said Mameng Ante, president of the Association of Senior Citizens in Barangay Landan.
Working in the farms is their routine exercise, Ante quipped.
Residing in the foothills of Mt. Matutum is like having an air conditioner, especially from dusk to dawn, and the cool climate almost year-round provides a farm-based livelihood for many in the Blaan-dominated village, she added.
For many Blaan families living here, planting sweet potato, cassava, cabbage, tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, chili green pepper, among others, is their livelihood. This has enabled them to raise their children and send them to school.
The 75-year old Ante told MindaNews that the older generation in their village appears to live longer due to their healthier diet and naturally grown food.
“Ang tanim ng matatanda namin noon tulad ng kamote, kamoteng kahoy at mais ay walang mga abono, natural lang (Our ancestors planted sweet potato, cassava and corn without chemical fertilizers),” she said.
Back then, the land was very fertile that seeds thrown to the soil would easily sprout and grow, she said.
But now it’s different. She noted that most of the vegetables sold in the market are heavily-laced with synthetic fertilizers and pesticide. They do not grow unless sprayed with these chemicals.
Vegetable garden
Ante, who lives on a rotation basis in the houses of her five children here, maintains a garden – her solution to providing their own safe and healthy food, although she admits they could not avoid buying vegetables from the market because her garden does not have everything.
She suggested producing your own food through organic gardening which can be a therapeutic hobby, if one wants to be sure that the food they eat is safe.
For Ante, who is also a Blaan, gardening is not only a hobby but also an exercise to help keep her fit, aside from the walking routine she has been maintaining over the years.
When she was 40, Ante was diagnosed with diabetes and since then has been taking medication. She also takes maintenance medicines for her blood pressure.
“Before, I loved fatty foods. My doctor told me to avoid it for my health, so I followed the recommendation because it’s for my own good,” she said.
Ante shifted to a more plant-based diet after knowing that she had diabetes, but she still eats lean meat.
“Pwede namang kumain ng halos lahat, pero in moderation dapat (We can eat any food, but everything must be in moderation),” she said.
Ante reiterated that the longevity of her fellow B’laans can be attributed to their healthy eating habits – a preference for more vegetables and fruits over meat – and their lifestyle of hard work.
“Ang trabaho sa bukid na mabibigat, nakakahaba ng buhay (The laborious farmwork can help give a longer life),” she said, adding that lack of vices such as drinking and smoking also add wonders to one’s health, hence the longer lifespan.
Preventable
During the online presentation of the “Unblock Your Heart Journalism Fellowship on Managing Cholesterol and Promoting Heart Health” last December, Dr. Janet Chavez, Novartis Philippines medical advisor, stressed that “no heart must be lost too soon.”
She was referring to lives lost to cardiovascular disease (CVD).
CVD affects hundreds of millions of people and claims more lives globally than cancer, chronic lung disease and diabetes combined, according to Swiss medicine manufacturer Novartis.
It added that around 80% of premature cardiovascular deaths can be prevented by addressing factors that cause or worsen CVD.
Through the Unblocked Movement, the Philippine Press Institute and Novartis, with the support of the Philippine Lipid and Atherosclerosis Society, want to empower as many people as possible to live healthier lives through timely diagnosis and treatment that keeps hearts beating stronger and longer.
In the Philippines, CVD is the leading noncommunicable disease with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) as the top contributor. ASCVD includes ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease which are among the top causes of death in the country. The top three risk factors of ASCVD are high systolic pressure, high-fat diet, and elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C or bad cholesterol).
Chaves said that managing the right cholesterol level is key to avoiding CVD “because (bad) cholesterol is really the silent killer.”
“It’s very important to talk about cholesterol and to really draw attention to it because cholesterol is not just, it’s not like hypertension that it’s a simple risk factor. Cholesterol is the major cause of these problems, your heart attack, your stroke and your PAD (peripheral artery disease),” she said.
PAD refers to what people feel when they say “na manhid or lumalamig yung fingers nila, yung feet, yung toes” (their fingers, feet and toes are numb or cold), Chavez explained.
“It basically means that you are not getting enough blood to the farther parts of your body in comparison to your heart, which is you’re not getting the right blood flow to your heart and then your stroke, which is you are not getting the right blood flow to your brain,” she added.
ACT NOW
To combat cardiovascular disease and ensure longer life, Chavez said ACT NOW is the answer. Just as the elderly Blaans have been doing in Barangay Landan.
ACT NOW stands for:
A – ASCVD is a top killer in the Philippines
C – Cholesterol is a key risk but can be managed
T – Take action to lower it fast
NOW – The next heart attack or stroke could be worse – act now to stay protected.
To lower bad cholesterol – and thus prolong one’s life – the Unblock Movement website recommends regular exercise and a heart-healthy diet, among others.
For exercise, its advice is to do 150 minutes per week or 21 minutes a day of moderate intensity physical activity (e.g., tennis, bicycling, or brisk walking) or 75 minutes per week or 11 minutes a day doing vigorous exercise (e.g., running, swimming, or jumping rope).
For a heart-healthy diet, eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (e.g., beans, lentils), nuts, fish and seafood, and poultry, and limit sugary drinks and full-fat dairy products, it added.
The centenarian Juliana Mungca and the septuagenarian Mameng Ante, and the hundreds of elderly Blaans in Barangay Landan above 60 years old are living proof that their mostly plant-based diet and rigorous farmwork are good for their heart and their health. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
(This article is part of the Unblock Your Heart Health Reporting initiative, supported by the Philippine Press Institute and Novartis, to improve health literacy on cardiovascular diseases. Know your numbers, understand your risks, and consult your doctor—so no Filipino heart is lost too soon. Take control of your heart health today. Visit unblockedmovement.ph for more information)
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