Members of a Mangyan community

Badbad Mangday, 74, an indigenous Hanunuo Mangyan, in a far-flung mountain in Mansalay, southern town in Oriental Mindoro province wakes up at chicken crows, from a good night undisturbed sleep by what could be a “modern life” for those living in the lowlands.

In a country where over 124,000 Filipinos die prematurely each year from ischemic heart disease caused by elevated LDL cholesterol and plaque accumulation, the indigenous Mangyan people of Mindoro Island present a striking contrast.