In celebration of the first week of the National Language Month (Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa), the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) features the different Ivatan terms pertaining to the cooperative work and an exemplary spirit of “bayanihan” in the archipelagic province of Batanes. 

The month-long celebration centers on the patronage of the Filipino language of giving value to the Philippines’ cultural heritage in the time of the ongoing global health crisis. 

With Batanes as the only coronavirus-free province in the entire country, the NMP said the success of the province in maintaining it safe from the dreaded COVID-19 could be attributed to the islanders' good coordination and concern among each other. 

Since the lockdown in March, the province recorded zero cases, with zero active cases to date. 

“Cooperation among the Ivatan is ordinary and embedded in their different activities, such as cleaning after typhoons, clearing of roads due to landslides, maintenance of waterways along the river, planting, and construction and repair of houses,” the NMP said. 

The general term for cooperative work among the Ivatan is payuhwan, wherein the group extends or rotates the cooperative work to its members. The sound of the vudyadong or Triton’s trumpet shell signals the start and end of the cooperative work and the time to rest among the payuhwan members. 

In case one member cannot attend the payuhwan on the scheduled date, the member must send a representative or substitute. 

The NMP said  kavayvanan is also a cooperative work on the different activities in the fields in the northern part of Batan and Itbayat. A yaru calls for the participation of a large number of people to accomplish huge tasks such as church or school repairs and maintenance of a cemetery. It is one of the cooperative works which requires no reciprocity.

Experts earlier said that the geography of Batanes helped shield them from the spread of COVID-19. 

But in a report from ABS-CBN News, Batanes Governor Marilou Cayco was quoted that the local government unit prioritized health over their domestic economy even if the province heavily relies on tourism as their source of livelihood. 

The entire island has been closed off to tourists since the imposition of the Luzon-wide lockdown on March 16.