Will It Happen Here???

Images of Saturday’s deluge in Metro Manila had cast some fear in many, not only by those who got to wade through the flooded streets or those stranded on the roof of houses submerged by Ondoy’s wrath, but also by those who are watching the tube in their homes, hundreds of miles away from the typhoon’s reach.

As they say, it was the first time that Metro Manila experienced such catastrophe. A storm came to pass by the central portion of Luzon island but it brought a lot of rain and wind which it heavily dropped since friday. It was not a strong typhoon (85-95 kph with gustiness of up to 110kph). The wind was saturated and was packed with huge amount of rain.

It came as a shock that last Saturday, rainfall was of record high. According to PAG-ASA, the country’s meteorological agency, Ondoy’s 341mm 24-hour rainfall had surpassed the 334 mm rainfall recorded in June of 1967. The analogy was that, the supposedly one-month worth of rain for Metro Manila was reached in just 6 hours of precipitation over the densely populated area.

Geographically, the metro is a vast flatland, slightly above sea-level, flanked by the Laguna Lake in the east and the Manila Bay at the opposite side. The Pasig River winds its way through the heart of the metro and empties at the Manila Bay.

Ondoy (international code Ketsana) has already left the country’s area of responsibility. Residents of Metro Manila and other neighboring provinces have begun their rescue-recovery-and-retrieval operations. Major tv channels have put up extended news coverages and telethons to urge Filipinos to donate or extend help in various forms.

Video clips of the flood also flooded internet sites, providing a picture of despair, sadness and shock on how the imperial Manila was conquered by mother nature’s anger.

A force majeure. It’s quite easy to guess why it happened to Manila. Major waterways and esteros have either become shallow, caused by the sediments that were carried over by the river current,  and also because of reclamation and topographical alterations brought by either urban development or of urban migration.

The perennial problem of waste generation and disposal may have contributed much to the heavy flooding of the metro. Garbage are often thrown into the Pasig River and its tributaries. Esteros are clogged with thrash. Drainage systems are in terrible state and people continue to move into the city, squatting on empty lots, riverbanks, and on the canals.

Add to the fact that run-off water from barren highlands in the metro flows down to the low-lying areas, adding to the huge volume of rain collected in dams or watersheds. The flood gates could not even hold much of the water as the weirs need to be opened to spare several flood-prone areas.

The flash floods may have happened because of climate change. Environmental factors may explain how Ondoy came to bring too much water to Luzon. Manila is on a typhoon path. It’s also flood-prone. It is vulnerable to inundation, yet it is also resilient.

It makes me wonder if Cebu could be vulnerable to such force majeure? Metro Cebu, with its huge population and its imperfect drainage and sewage system could suffer a similar fate as the capital. Clusters of squatters killed the old esteros. Shallow rivers and creeks have been drying out. The hills are barren and devoid of vegetation. Cebu has nothing to stop the flood water.

Last saturday’s flood was a wake-up call. Cebu could be very vulnerable to such. I hope the local government could start taking concrete measures to keep the deluge from happening.

Meantime, let me just check the holes in my roof and secure it from the late September rain.

Dissecting Davao – Day 2

Still high from yesterday’s tour of the city, Joyce and I woke up early today for a day trip to the Island Garden City of Samal. Of course, if you think of Samal, you would automatically think of:

It’s the prime destination for anyone who hops into a motorboat and leaves any of Davao City’s wharves to cross the narrow strait to Samal Island. It lies at the southern part of the island, at Kaputian, just across Talikub Island.

Pearl Farm Beach Resort is on top of Joyce’s places to visit in Davao. A lot of people truly say that it’s the place that one shouldn’t miss. To get to the resort, one needs to make reservations at their satellite office in Damosa Gateway.

For a mere PHP 1,550 (USD 33) for a day tour, the package includes a round-trip boat fare to the resort, a lunch buffet, and off course access to the amenities such as the infinity pool, Malipano Island and other beaches and the complimentary drinks.

The pick-up point was near Davao Beach Club in Lanang. At a  private wharf, 2 motor boats were waiting for us and other tourists for the 8am trip to Samal.

It was a 45 minute ride to the island. Tourists often go to the resort on Saturday. We tried in vain to watch Davao City offshore but it was a bit hazy. On a clear day, the boatmen said that Mt. Apo could be visible. That time, the skies were gray and the sun hid behind the clouds.

Samal Island is a city itself, created in 1998 and renamed as the Island Garden City of Samal or IGaCoS. It is part of the province of Davao del Norte, but the city also constitutes Metro Davao.

Pearl Farm was already established before the island became a city. Years before, it was indeed a pearl farm. But now, the name refers to a wonderful resort where one could relax and enjoy.

Joyce and I could pass as a Korean couple. What with our color-coordinated shirts and our vacation spirits so high, resort staff and other tourist thought that we were on our honeymoon.

But we don’t care. The trip to Pearl Farm was initially planned by Joyce, and our friends Giselle and Mae. Going to the month of September, we find it difficult to sync our free time so things ended up with only me and Joyce fulfilling the plan.

So allow us to show you around.

This is the Parola, the resort’s symbol. It has a bar in the upper level.

This is the resort’s infinity pool. I was quite shocked to know that it’s only 4 feet deep.

Butik (Boutique) – the signage that led to the souvenir shop.

There are foot paths that led us to the southern beach front (Mandaya Beach) where another swimming pool was located. Joyce and I decided to try the pool, even though it’s just 4 feet deep.

Lunch buffet is at the Maranao Pavilion from 11 am to 3pm. Buffet usually happens during weekend or when there’s huge number of day tourists. On regular days, lunch is served plated. After a few hours in the pool, we decided to trek back to the restaurant and tried their wide food selection.

One thing I learned from the buffet at the Maranao Pav is that my friend is a bread person. She likes anything baked from the boulangerie. I personally liked the soft bread. She liked everything bread.

After lunch, we decided to proceed to Malipano Island, a 5 minute speedboat ride from Samal and hit the beach and the sea.

This part of the resort has the best beach front. Powdery white stretch of sand facing the open sea. The water is aquamarine, shallow and clear. It’s a perfect quiet place to just pass the time and to wait for the sun to set somewhere in the blue horizon. The there’s a house on the hill with a rustic wooden-framed gates. It was the original Malipano House designed for Ms. Margie Moran who’s husband is part owner of the resort. Seven similar houses dot this little island.

We swam for a few minutes and we headed back to opposite shore where we were fetched by a small boat and returned to the Parola. The motor boat would finally leave the resort at 4pm.

Joyce made a last-minute photo ops, taking pics of the resort and the view from the island. I asked her if she would visit the Pearl Farm again. She took a few more photos, reviewed the pics and looked at me and said, “I’ll return to Pearl Farm, that’s for sure but I don’t know when. I’m certain though that I would return and try scuba diving on my next visit.”

Asking myself the same question, I thought of my Kuma Bear and imagined us visiting Pearl Farm and just let the time fly and the sun to go down beautifully in the horizon.

 

 

 

 

 

Dissecting Davao – Day 1

I arrived in Davao City several hours ahead of my ex-officemate friend who would be flying in from Manila. I brought along with me the itinerary for the next 3 days and we would be exploring this wonderful city in the south along with some other friends.

I waited for my other friend who’s based in this city. At the 24-hour fastfood joint near Victoria Plaza, I kept thinking about the places that I wanted to visit – those spots which I haven’t visited for several years now and those places which I haven’t set my feet on.

Part of my objective really, besides exploring the 8th biggest city in the world in terms of land area, is the prospect of changing bases and to relocate to Davao for 2010. I took one September friday off to think about this wonderful opportunity to settle away from my beloved Cebu.

I sip my coffee and devoured layers of pancakes as my friend arrived to take me back to the airport and fetch my officemate. She arrived a little past 8 in the morning.

All throughout my stint in my current job, I’ve seen myself in this city on several occasions. This time though, my visit is primarily to enjoy what Davao has to offer and of course to share the exploration of the city with my friends.

Cookie and I fetched our friend Joyce at the airport. She was as excited as I was to visit Davao.  A first timer,  Joyce wanted to know the places that she should visit. I briefed her about the schedule I made earlier and we were so eager to start our tour of Dabaw.

Davao City sits on a portion of a gulf with a mighty river snaking its way from the highlands and empyting into the sea. The mighty Tagloc River, also called Davao, where the old Bolton Bridge spans from one bank to the other. Davao is called with several other names by different tribal groups, from the Bagobos to the Guiangans and even the aboriginal Obos. All the same, they point to Davao as the land that is beyond the high grounds.

We were quite amazed on the mere size of the city. Their international airport is located several miles from the city center. From Las Casitas Hotel, we ironed out our itinerary for the day and headed off to Ponce Suites.

Found at Dona Vicenta Subdivision, this hotel-slash-art gallery is a new attraction. Ponce Suites is basically a hotel. It’s design however is unconventional.

Joyce was fascinated by the artworks at Ponce Suites. The whole building was an art gallery. We explored it from the lobby, then to the upper floors and finally up to the roof top where the restaurant and convention hall are placed. Most of the artworks were from its owner, Kublai Millan and the materials were mostly from recycled objects. The hotel itself manifested horror vaccui. Almost all the spaces on every wall and every ceiling were filled with his artworks.

   

I’ve stayed in this hotel a couple of times. Though I must say that the aesthetics were unconventional. If you ask me if the gallery extends to the interiors of the guest rooms, then I would have to say NO. The rooms are stripped of the artworks and oversized ants in queues. The rooms are rather simple and basic.

At the foot of Davao’s mountain system, there’s a non-profit, non- stock, non-government organization that focuses on saving and protecting the Philippine Eagle, a rare and endangered monkey-eating raptor that is said to be endemic to the country.

The Philippines Eagle has several names too. It’s scientific name is Pithecophaga jefferyi. This bird of prey could be found only in the Philippines, primarily in Leyte, Samar, Eastern Luzon and Mindanao. It said that at present, about 300 – 500 birds are surviving in the wild. There are 36 eagles at the Eagle Foundation, half of which were bred in captivity.

We went to the Eagle Foundation to visit PAG-ASA. The eagle that was born in 1992 by parents Diola and Junior. This bird was made as a symbol of hope for the conservation of the Philippine Eagle. Through the efforts of the foundation, the birds that were bred in captivity may soon be released in the wild.

Aside from the Philippine Eagle, other birds of prey are also being protected and bred, such as the sea eagles and kites. There’s a lonely crocodile in the middle of the eagle center and some monkeys and wild boars too.

We traveled back to the Diversion Road and stopped at a hotel in Ma-a. The hotel actually sits on a hill where the Japanese Tunnel was located.

This tunnel was discovered when the diversion road was being built. The tunnel is now within a private property. On a personal note, the local government should have secured the lot where the tunnel was found. For something historical such as this one, the people of Davao should give importance to the accounts that happened during the second world war. I hope people would appreciate how our forebearers labored hard under fear and force to dig up and construct a tunnel for the enemies.

Davao fell into the rule of the Japanese forces during the second World War. Japanese forces bombed the city in December 0f 1941 and was occupied by the said forces the following year. It was liberated by American troops in 1945.

Davao City has quite a significant number of Japanese immigrants who came decades before the world war. Little Japan was created in the 1903 when the first group of Japanese farmers arrived to work in the plantations of abaca and coconut. This was due to the fact that a Japanese entrepreneur, Kichisaburo Ohta was granted permission to convert idle territories into croplands.

Scattered in some districts in Davao are reminders of Little Japan or Little Tokyo such as the old Japanese houses and warehouses in Daliao, Toril which were once the center of abaca processing before the war broke out; the Furukawa (abaca) Plantation, and the Japanese Museum.

Other places of Japanese interest are world war memorial sites such as the Battle Memorial, Mintal Historical Marker for Col Yamada, the Ottha Kyosaburo Memorial Shrine and the Japanese Peace Memorial Shrine in Mintal.

From the Japanese Tunnel, we drove down and had a late lunch at Lachi’s Sans Rival, Atbp. This small restaurant along Ruby Street, Marfori Heights has one of the best food around town. Recommended are Elsie’s Melt-in-your-Mouth Roast Pork, the Unforgettable Grilled Pork Ribs, and of course, the Sans Rival.

A few blocks from the restaurant is the pride of the city government: the People’s Park. The 4-hectare park is located on what used to be the city sports complex or the old PTA grounds.

The local government infused 71 million for this flagship projects and commissioned Kublai Millan (the artist-owner of Ponce Suites) to put up sculptures and artworks all over the park.

We dropped by the park just a little over sun-down and we observed how the park was covered with lights.

There’s much to see inside People’s Park. More than a handful of Kublai’s sculptures are erected, mostly of children in tribal costumes and in positions referring to local games or activities. A huge sculpture of the Philippine eagle with its wings half-opened greets the visitors near the park entrance.

A huge rainbow was painted on one of the arched tracks in the park. The rainbow passes the huge Durian Dome. In the middle of the park is an arched bridge spanning a pool with interactive fountain that comes to life at night.

 

Thousands of plants, trees and flowers dot the park. From the time it opened in December of 2007, the park became a favorite place to hang-out, especially on weekends.

We visited one more place in the city which is also frequented by Davaoenos. It’s a private park along the shores of Davao, Times Beach in Matina to be exact, with a huge replica of Michelangelo’s David. It’s still quite unclear why the owner decided to erect this larger-than-life replica of the Goliath slayer.

What is known at present is that the park is controversial, as it was built by the management of Queensland Lodge but the park was on public grounds. Aside from the technical and geographical basis for the controversy, several concerned individuals were using moral grounds to halt the completion of the park.

 

As a tourist, I do not see anything wrong in erecting a replica of David. Michelangelo’s statue is a masterpiece in the Renaissance period, a symbol of the defense of civil liberties, an iconic shorthand for “culture” so they say. How this symbolism would connect to the present controversy  with the local government, I would leave it to you to ponder.

A bit intriguing though is the Little Mermaid copied from Edvard Eriksen’s original in Copenhagen. This was erected off the concrete ramp a few meters from the replica of David. The purpose of Den Lille Havfrue in Davao City is far from anyone’s thoughts. We took pictures of the Little Mermaid anyways.

These summed our first day touring around Davao City. Tomorrow’s about the island nearby.

Strange Encounter with a Stranger

In my hopes of having some ample time to rest on board a ferry back to my homebase, I got myself a good bunk at the tourist accommodation. The bunk assignment was found in the middle of the deck where it is parallel to the center alley.

The ferry boat was about to depart. I re-arranged my bags immediately after I placed the beddings on my bunk. My body seemed to dictate that I should lie down already but then the ferry had not left Cagayan de Oro just yet and that more passengers are still walking down through the center alley.

I told myself to sit upright and bide the time for the the ferry to start cruising. The long wait enabled me to observe people walk past me. Stevedores, ship crews, kids, oldies and all sorts of passengers.

In one particular moment, I saw an old familiar face coming down the alley. I was trying a bit hard to connect the masculine visage to a point in my memory in which, if i could somehow connect the face to the name I was trying to fish out of my mental pool, I could have tapped him in the back or call out his name so loud so that he could stop in his way and turn his head back to where I was sitting.

The guy was bald, fair-skinned and rather short. Before I could even say out his name, he was already standing in front of me and he reached out his arm for a handshake and said, “I think I saw you before.”

I shook his hand but at the back of my mind, I thought that this guy had really forgotten my name. I’m certain that we were officemates at the oleochemical plant in Camarines Norte. We used to work in Bicol in the early 2000. How come Gernie, yes that’s his name, forgot my name.

I let go of his hand and smiled. Hoping that he’d remembered the good old simple days of working in Bicol. Somehow, I sensed that the thought did not even register in his recollection. I looked at him and still the puzzled look lingered like dehydrated booger on his blank face. Gernie’s face had nothing on but a smile.

Then he said that he’d look for his bunk first and then he’d come back to have a brief chitchat with me. As I waited for him to return, I continued to think if he was really the Gernie I knew in Bicol.

Then it occured to me like a strike of lightning that the guy could possibly be someone else. I had the terrible feeling that I made a big mistake of presuming that the guy was the Gernie that I happened to work with. And the longer I waited, sitting on the bunk,  the greater my fear grew and drastically, it led me to a terrible state of embarassment.

The feeling was really terrible. The guy is not Gernie at all. Some random and spontaneous thoughts popped up. I wanted to hide, I wanted to be invisible. I hated myself for having such awkward moments. It was not what I wanted. I was stressed out. I was hoping that he would never approach my bunk or that he’d forget to return and engage in a conversation with me. I did not know him at all. He was a total stranger. 

The stranger indeed went back to my bunk. And without my consent, he immediately sat beside me and introduced himself. He said his name was Cesar. The first words I uttered were “I’m sorry, but I was completely mistaken. I thought you were my ex officemate. You looked totally like him.”

“You looked familiar too. I thought I’ve seen you before,” the words Cesar repeated which I thought was the lamest pick-up line to have ever been created. I wanted to run to the other side of the alley when Cesar said it to me. It sounded so uncomfortable too.

Such discomfort lingered on. Cesar began to talk about his life, his past, his plans for the future. If you’d ask me for the details of what he had said to me, certainly I could not narrate all the things he talked about. When he was talking to me, I forced my self to be engaged in an internal debate on why he’s pouring his autobiography on my face.

What made me too uneasy was his invasion of my personal space, which was stripped from me when he sat very next to my skin. I could not focus on what he was talking about because I was freaked out by his naughty hands and his flirtation.

I could sense that he was really into me. I needed to run to a fire exit or do some escape mechanisms to get far from him as possible.  All throughout the conversation that lasted more than an hour, he would comment on my hair, on my calves, on how hairy I was and how fat I was. He asked for my shoe size, my waistline, my age and my zodiac sign. I mean these things are not usually asked by real straight men. These questions were totally uncalled for. The guy was raining insults down on me.

Such a stanger. Such a strange encounter. At that time, i wished that he’d leave me alone and let me have my rest. The guy chirped without end. The discomfort I experienced had become a stressor and I hate every single moment of it. I wished that he’d go away and never come back.

I reached out for my cellphone and looked at the time. It was way past 10.30pm. I did not even noticed that the ferry boat had left Cagayan de Oro. I was really tired. I really wanted some rest. I no longer understood what Cesar was talking about. My system wants to shut down.  I wanted to kick his ass off my bunk.

I told him that I needed to go to sleep. He felt that I was brushing him off. I didn’t care. He insisted that I should get his mobile number. I took his number and told him that I would contact. He stood up and left. I fixed my bunk and got myself ready to sleep. He said “See you tomorrow” but I said nothing at all.

When he left, I took out my mobile phone one last time and erased his contact number. I fell off to sleep and got my good night rest.

I think he looked for me hours before the ferry boat reached Cebu. I was hoping that the boat would reach the port soon so that I could not bump into him in any chance at all. But he tapped me on the back. I said hello and made an excuse to get my things.

I knew that he was waiting at the starboard. I chose to go down at the portside. When the ramp was already lowered and the passengers were allowed to disembark, I made quick steps to the exit and walk away from the ferry.

My brother picked me up at the pier. As he drove away, I shrugged off the strange encounter with Cesar. And I made a mental note to myself to never ever talk to strangers again.

Influenza Scare

I was down with headache and colds for the most part of week. I did not report for work from wednesday and thursday because of the stressful procedure that I underwent at a big hospital in the city.

It’s very strange when people treat you as if you got a severe case of leprosy or a bizarre skin disease that is very contagious. Last week, my only reason for seeing a doctor was to make sure that I did not get parasitic malaria from my trip to Palawan.

I wanted to check with my doctor if the fever that I was experiencing was in any way related to the signs of malarial infection. She noticed that I had elevated temperature. Add to the fact that I told her that I had sore throat over the weekend in Puerto Princesa, my doctor had suspected not malaria but the flu.

So she advised me to take some laboratory exam, particularly the rapid tests on influenza A & B and also the malarial smear. I thought that the tests would eat up only a fraction of my time and yet it was not the case.

It was already past 6 pm when I got the necessary permit to have the test taken at the hospital. Staff at the ER instructed me to go a triage outside of the hospital building. There, several patients are waiting for their turn to be tested for influenza.

Being a recent pandemic, the influenza A(H1N1)  prompted some of the medical institution to create a different system in handling cases or patients with symptoms similar to the flu. In this hospital those who want to be tested for the flu would be assigned to a room on a floor designated for such cases.

And since there were so many patients that time, I was assigned a room only after 3 hours. The room had to be shared with two other patients. From this room started a long and stressful waiting time for the outcome of the tests.

A medical technologist came to get samples from nasal cavity. It was a very painful procedure. The samples were for the flu tests. An hour after, an resident doctor made a round and asked me several questions.  I waited for a few more hours before the phlebotomist came to take some blood samples for the CBC and the malarial smear. It was almost midnight when all the samples were taken.

Stress had seeped in as I waited for the results. I have never been subjected to so much worry and stress. It was an ordeal. Having to wait for the results on flu test far outweighed my concern for the other test, the malarial infection.

I still had a slight fever, headache and colds when the hospital finally informed me that I was tested negative for influenza A & B. It was already 1 am when they released the results. I did not wait anymore for the result of the other test since I was told that it would be available after 3 hours.

I went home. I went back for the results the following morning and I was tested negative for malaria as well.  In spite of the trouble I went through, at least the worry of whether or not I had the sickness was taken out of me and was already buried underneath my paranoia.

Some Sparks of Palawan Beauty

Palawan may be the final frontier to some but it is far too inaccessible as most people thought it could be.  Geographically, the island group is far from the Visayan island cluster, separated by the vast Sulu Sea and the flanked by several groups of reefs. But Palawan itself is opening its doors for sojourners to come and be enchanted by its natural beauty.

Of the several jewels that the island has, the St. Paul Subterranean River is its priced possession. Renamed as Puerto Princesa Subterranean National River National Park, it is a Natural World Heritage Site that is in contention for the new 7 natural wonders of the world.

The underground river is found within the limits of Puerto Princesa City. Before we embarked on a long drive to the central west coast of Palawan, our dear friend had already secured a permit for us to visit the heritage site.

Unique in Palawan, tourists who want to visit the underground river must secure the permit as part of the LGU’s objective to limit the the number of visitors to 700 a day. Boats getting in and coming out of the cave is limited.

Tourists may avail of shuttle or vans going to and leaving Barangay Sabang. The road going to St. Paul Bay is good in most part of the stretch. A portion of the road going to the Sabang shoreline is currently under repair.

It took us more than an hour to reach Sabang. Several view decks could be found along the way.

This is taken from view deck at Buenavista. It offered a scenic view of the bay. This is fronting the South China Sea and is at the opposite side of Puerto Princesa City. The long road trip to Barangay Sabang offered a view of Palawan’s vast forest cover. The hills and the mountains slopes are still covered with green but save for a few portions of the highway where one could still see some stone quarrying.

From Buenavista to Sabang, the road slopes down and winds for several stretches until the coast that is dotted with restaurants and resorts. To get to the mouth of the cave,  we took a motorized banca (boat) and crossed to the other side of the bay. We passed by several huge limestone formations and went around some majestic limestone cliffs before the boat beached on a short stretch of white sand.

From the beach, we took the short wooden trail toward the entrance of the cave. The trail ends up to the wooden hut where the eco-tour staff gave instructions for the underground river cruise.

This is the entrance to the undergound river. The mouth of the cave releases the brackish water into the aquamarine pool. The pool itself feeds a short river that joins the small bay.

This is what I needed to visit Puerto Princesa: the underground river cruise.

We were instructed to don our life vests and to wear hard hats for the cruise. The site staff advised us not to leave things in plastics bags because they would find their ways in the hands of the monkeys. Primates abound in the area and they are notorious for stealing food from tourists, most especially if the food are placed in poly ethylene bags.

It was time for us to enter the bat cave.

The natural beauty of the cave system was unfolded as we passed through the underground river. The boatman cum tour guide informed us that we would only reach 1/8 of the entire lenght of the river or roughly 1.2km in and another 1.2 km back. This section is from the mouth of the cave system and stretched to the portion that resembles a long mine tunnel.

The long stretch of the cave system offers some of the most beautiful stalactite and stalagmite formations. Some take the form of animals, vegetables, biblical figures, and whatnot.

The resident bats were taking their naps but a lot of the “balinsasayaw” or those species of birds whose nests were harvested to make bird’s nest soup, come to play near the spotlight.

  

Inside the cave, the only source of light is from the spotlight of the boat. It’s pitch dark and cold inside. Water drops on some part of the cave. Some of this water continue to feed the stalactites where minerals are deposited. These minerals provide the color and the sparkle in most of the the formations.

We  were told that the caves were discovered in the 19th century. Several speleologists and cave adventure seekers have already checked the entire system. I suspect that during the second world war, people might have sought shelter here.

Of course the most famous discovery ever in a Philippine cave was the skull of a man, though not in the cave where the undergound river flows but it’s found in a cave at the west side. Palawan has the oldest fossilized remains of a human being, which was called the “Tabon” man. The remains are showcased at the Palawan museum.

The subterranean river cruise has made me appreciate the beauty of nature when it is not disturbed or destroyed. Palawan itself still has vast forest cover and undeveloped shorelines.

Maybe the local government had its hands in keeping everything in its original state. As in the case of the underground river, efforts have been made to keep it the way it should be.

So it took us about 3 hours to explore the allowed length of the river. When we returned to the station, we were pretty much happy about the one of a kind experience.

We went back to Sabang Beach and had a brief stop at a resort for a late afternoon lunch. From Sabang, it’s another 2 hours drive to Puerto Princesa City proper.

The following day,  my dear friend toured me around Puerto Princesa City. At one end of the main road, Rizal Avenue is the city cathedral. The blue gothic church is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

   

The iglesia sits on an elevated spot overlooking the shores of Puerto Princesa. The first mass in Palawan was celebrated in 1872. The church was built several decades later. The church has two tall gothic spires. The blue hues homogenizes the blue Puerto Princesa sky.

To the southwest of the church, facing Rizal Park is the Plaza Cuartel. This spot is an old garrison that was severely damaged during world war II. A small marker was erected inside the park to remember the 143 american soldiers who were burned by the Japanese forces inside the tunnel.

Two blocks away from the churchyard is the Mendoza Park. The Palawan Museum sits on one side of the park, it is being housed inside the old Puerto Princesa City Hall.

The museum was not open on Sundays. I did not have the opportunity to see the remains of the Tabon Man. The museum has a collection of artifacts and relics from the Tabon Cave. Reputedly, these remains are from the early Filipino ancestors.

The museum is now managed by the National History Foundation of Palawan and the City of Puerto Princesa. The collection includes ethnological and archaelogical artifacts. Most importantly, the museum showcases the artifacts from the Tabon Cave.

North of Mendoza Park and a few blocks from the Holy Trinity College is the bayside promenade. Most of the residents refer to this promenade as Sa Baybay. It is patterned after Manila’s Baywalk, with colorful lamposts and reddish brick paths and modern sheds.

 

Sa Baybay is adorned with colorful fish figures and Puerto Princesa’s emblem –the peacock. It faces the little cove that cradles several small fishing boats. The promenade is a bit long, one end connects to the port area.

Then there’s this bronze statue of a maiden found off the promenade. It faces the open sea, one hand is raised palm open to let the birds feed on some morsel. She may be the princess, the symbol of someone ready to embrace tomorrow.

Puerto de la Princesa. Puerto Princesa. It is sparkling in its natural beauty. I am pretty much sure that I would be coming back Palawan and explore the rest of the natural gems.

Fascinated by the Churches – Part Trois

I’ve been to Boljoon several times now. But each visit is definitely different. This time Bro Bear and I got the chance to visit the museum and took pictures of the watch tower and the adjacent cemetery.

The church’s roof was replaced with galvanized sheets. The shingles (tisa in local term) were taken out and down as part of the restoration program. According to the villagers, the parish is still gathering funds to buy the shingles that would be placed on top of the existing roof.

With the roof in place, the wooden ceiling has finally given protection. We were able to get near the altar and took pictures of the old wooden retablo and the images.

Looking at the retablo made me remember Bro Bear’s explanation of the words horror vaccui. It’s made of hardwood that were probably taken nearby. The retablo is painted in white and gold but were made colorful by several small patterns and in-lays.  The people of Boljoon should be thankful that in spite of several raids and attacks, their beautiful church was spared.

Boljoon now has the oldest remaining original stone church in Cebu. The church is more like a baroque-rococo style, with thick walls made of local stones and lime. Possibly because it served as a fortress during the Spanish colonization, and with the efforts of Fr. Julian Bermejo who ordered a dozen or so watchtowers built as a defense network, the church of Patrocinio de Maria survived.

We had a glimpse of Boljoon’s historical and cultural significance when we visited the museum at the ground floor of the church’s convent. Bro Bear had great accounts and thoughts on the musuem and the church complex in his site. Click Bro Bear.

From Boljoon, we travelled back to the town of Alcoy and visited the church of Sta. Rosa de Lima. Alcoy is known for its  dolomite and reputedly it claims to have one of the biggest dolomite deposits in the world. Dolomite is a sedimentary carbonate rock containing calcium magnesium carbonate with several industrial uses.

The church is found a block away from the highway, slightly elevated and hidden by rows of trees. It looked modern now but traces of the old church remained such as the clover-like window at the pediment, the decorative pillars and its gothic style.  The convent still retains its old form.

We did not linger much in Alcoy for we moved on to the neighboring town of Dalaguete. It was long known before that the St. William Parish church resembles the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Argao. Dalaguete’s church was newer (built in 1802), but that of Argao is better-planned.

The form and structure of the church (a pseudo-rococo) is much like the Argao church with the facade divided only by four ornately-carved vertical lines that extend up to the pediment. A small niche could be found atop the main arch flanked by windows on both sides. It also has a camarin delos campaneros or the bell-ringer’s quarter, that low structure connecting the church and the bell tower.

And just like Argao church, it has a striking painted ceiling and wooden retablo. It was painted in the 1930’s by Canuto Avila. In and around the church complex are old structures like the watchtower that looks like an elevated gazebo, the old church perimeter wall, the mortuary chapel  (osarium) with some stone carvings and the huge convento.

 Our visit to St. William the Hermit Church (San Guillermo el Ermitano or St. William the Great) was the last stop before we returned to the city. In two days, we rounded up 14 churches in 13 different southern towns.

Driving back to city and passing several town, I realized that Cebu has several jewels still scattered in several areas down south. These gems may have been preserved and protected under the cloaks of faith and the religion that primarily served as a front for the island to kneel in front of Spain, Cebu’s old churches are living reminders of how life was centered on this faith, centuries and centuries ago.

Personally, it was a visita iglesia a bit of spiritual undertaking but mainly it was more for cultural and historical appreciation and awareness, a re-trace of my roots and beginnings as a Cebuano, an acceptance of the past and an enlightenment or understanding of what I have become.

I fully accept the fact that I would never be allowed to get hitched in any of these old churches. But knowing that the people before us had put in hard labor, blood, sweat and life to erect these structures of worship that protected my ancestors against attacks, raids, storms and wars, it is but fitting that at the very least I should come and visit these churches and express my heartfelt gratitude for the life I have now.

Fascinated by the Churches – Part Deux

I was supposed to wake up early Saturday morning of June 13. But I decided to let go of the chance to seize the sunrise in Alcoy. I needed time to rest from the long drive through the southern towns of Cebu.

Of course I was not alone. Bro Bear was in town to share this experience with me. We spent the previous night here at Bodo’s Bamboo Bar Resort. It’s relatively new, built a few meters off from the national highway and located on a hill overlooking the sea that separates Cebu from Bohol.

There may be some parts of the services that the resort may have to polish but I must say it was generally good. The resort has free wi-fi, the food was great but it was served way too long. And the place really is good ”pit stop” from a long drive.

As we left the resort at 10am, I recalled the churches we visited after the destroyed church of Moalboal.

Before one reaches the public market of Badian, one has to make a full left turn to an inclined road leading to the municipio, the district hospital and the old church.

This is the Church of St. James the Apostle. Compared to the churches in other towns, Badian’s own is a bit small. But researchers find resemblance of the now-destroyed Moalboal church to this one. The pediment was supported by four massive columns, two of which have intricate floral carvings.

Except for the tiles of the roof, much of this church’s upper section was preserved.  It has no transept but the nave is clearly divided into three parts by two rows of columns that support a loft and the pulpit. The intricate design of the canopy of the pulpit, still remains at the right side of the nave.

We headed down to Alegria. A mass was being held for the dead so Bro Bear and I had to be content in taking a couple of pictures from outside. The structure seemed to be as old as that of Badian or of Dumanjug, having built in 1857 but nonetheless interesting.

 

It had a single central tower as the church’s facade. There are three arches from the base of the belfry itself plus the three arches that serve as the entrance to the church. It has no transept, only a long and lofty nave.

This photo was taken from a seaside restaurant in Alegria. Across this strait is Negros Island. We took a break from our church visits and we found this eating place across the church of St. Francis of Assisi that served us with carbonara, calamares and pancit.

Malabuyoc’s church is also a jewel in the south. The facade is still intact with a simple pediment and one single arched door. A six-sided belfry is attached to the 19th century church of San Nicolas de Tolentino.

After the idle town of Malabuyoc is Ginatilan. As we reached the poblacion, the sky had brought in the rain clouds and it started to cover Ginatilan with darkness and swift breeze. Bro Bear took photos of the church’s unique tower.

San Gregorio Magno Church is almost 180 years old. Its bell tower continues to dominate the town’s skyline. Unmindful of the impending shower, Bro Bear and I walked around the church and found a green corner behind the belfry.

The church served as a marker of a town that has yet to start its journey towards development. Ginatilan holds the late pre-hispanic burial grounds in Brgy. Guinaran. It also hosts several old structures and ancestral house which the local government listed and declared as cultural treasures. A block away from the church is the Puerta del Marina.

The church of San Gregorio Magno is still the primary spot to be visited in Ginatilan.

Its tower is 4-sided, made up of five levels with at least an arch window in each side except on the topmost level where circular windows were placed. The single spire pierced this southern town’s skyline.

Bro Bear and I decided to retreat to the car and leave the town before the rain was about to fall. From Ginatilan to Samboan, we drove through several kilometers under the downpour and crooked roads.

Similar to the churches of Moalboal and Badian, the Churh of St. Michael the Archangel sits on a hill overlooking the coastline of Samboan.

This church was built by people from Alegria thru forced labor. Until in 1880, Alegria along with Oslob was pert of Samboan. Several meters from the church and convent is the watchtower, found at the landing of Escalon (Jacob’s Ladder). The old grotto can also be found at the opposite corner.

Part of my roots is in Samboan. It’s the birthplace of my dad. In this very church, dad was christened and given a name which I am also carrying now. Seeing the interior of this neo-classical church, with its huge wooden retablo, the old choir loft and the pulpit, made me think of the days when dad wished and prayed for a better life. His intentions may have been heard here and I thank the heavens for the roots that were anchored and always will be anchored in Samboan.

From Samboan we sped down and up to Alcoy where we had our  ’pit stop’ at Bodo’s Bamboo Bar.

 

(to be concluded)

Fascinated by the Churches – Part Un

I finally had the time to take photos of the old churches in Southern Cebu. While most people decided to celebrate Independence Day with family and friends, I drove down to the southern towns and marvel at the churches that I visited.

Several months ago, I stood in front of the churches in Carcar, Argao, Boljoon and Oslob and I walked around these places of worship to see if there were old buildings and houses as well. 

Some of the old stone houses and buildings have been brought down and were replaced with newer structures.  Churches on the other hand could not be easily replaced.  Thankfully, in almost all the southern towns of Cebu, much of the old forms of these worship sites have been retained.

This is the old church of San Fernando, Cebu. It is dedicated to St. Isidore the Laborer. The parish recently celebrated its 150th anniversary. The church is gothic in style and it made me remember the Sta. Ana church of Molo, Iloilo.

Like most gothic-styled churches,  this church has lancet arches, grouped in three with the center being the main door and two small arches that have steep and pointed openings on the side that traced the niches of the missing religious stone figures.

The San Fernando Church being gothic-styled had its version of the rose windows. The most intricate window could be found at the center of the facade. The church interior on the other hand had been altered, save for the high-pointed arched windows and doors which allowed the light to penetrate and strike the transept and the nave.

I moved on, more than a dozen kilometers away, beyond Carcar and into the poblacion of Sibonga. A typical Spanish colonial set-up, the town center is the plaza that is surrounded with the presidencia (town hall), the escuela, the iglesia and of course the convento.

The town’s church wasbuilt in honor of  La Nuestra Senora del Pilar de Zaragoza. Just like the San Fernando Church, it is gothic-inspired. It’s high and massive; the facade is flanked by two bell towers with plain spires. The facade is rather plain with a rose window being the only detail at its pediment. There were three arches with the center being the main door. At the tip of this arch is a crown of leaves.

The facade may be simple compared to its interior. The church was built according to the design of Fr. Maranon. As the town flourished as the tobacco center in the island, male residents were forced to work on the church’s structure. Several interruptions in the construction were either caused by natural calamities or the revolution.

But in 1907, the church was finally restored. Personally, the most beautiful part of the church is its ceiling. A certain Raymund Francia painted the wooden ceiling in themes of red and brown.  Looking upwards, I remembered similar ceilings in Argao, Carcar and Boljoon.

Supporting the ceiling are several wooden arches.  The two rows of pointed arches cut the nave into 3 parts.  It may not have a transept but the altar and the retablo are crowned with the painting on creation.

In the same compound as the church, a huge convent was constructed like a stone house. It was built in similar way as the church: through forced labor or polo.

The structure has seen better days. The rooms and the halls were emptied of its colonial past. Nothing could be seen at the ground floor, except for the semi-circular wooden details on some of its walls. The office of the parish is in one of the rooms in the ground floor.

Near the side entrance of the convent are flights of stairs leading to the second floor where the priests live.  Lights entering the 3 windows at the landing hit on the wooden floors of the convento’s sala. Huge grilled square windows come face to face with 4 old paintings that were framed in gothic arches. One huge painting on the wall may have been the focal ornament of what used to be the dining hall of the friars.

In Sibonga, the popularity of Simala as a pilgrim site has grown so fast for several years now. It is found at the town’s interior, at Lindogon Hills where the church sits on a huge complex that houses the Marian Monks.

I have made a couple of visits to Simala before and I have seen how the church is continuously constructed and expanded. Even up to now, the church remains unfinished. Several infrastructure and amenities like decent comfort rooms and covered walkways are yet to be installed.

From Sibonga, I drove back to Carcar to re-fuel and hit the road leading to the southwestern towns. The first stop was the Santa Ana Church in Barili.

Barili used to be the biggest parish in the south. It is also one of two secular parishes outside of the Cebu City. Near the main entrance of the church, a billboard of  Santa Ana Shrine Museum was placed at the left side. It showed how huge the structure was. 

The present state of the church is a little different from what it was before. The detached bell tower was gone. A new tower is now attached to the church. One could still see the old stone layers at its base but everything else are plastered with cement.

I thought at first that Barili, being one of the most interesting towns in the island, holds a cluster of old buildings and houses. The encomienda started way before the 17th century. The parish was established in 1614.  Barili used to have a thriving tobacco industry. Somehow, tobacco was replaced now by their most famous product: Shamrock delicacies. Much of its past are reflected though on a dozen or so ancestral houses. A long pre-war building still stands today: the Hospicio de San Jose de Barili was founded by Don Pedro Cui and his sister Benigna.

It was said that the Japanese forces landed in these very shore of Japitan on April 10, 1942. The troops then captured the town and established their Barracks in Barili.

A little down south is the town of Dumanjug. At the poblacion across the public elementary school is the St. Francis of Assisi Church. A lot of visitors claimed that this is one of the most beautiful churches in southwest Cebu and I could see why.

They say that it’s style is neo-classical. The bell tower is almost cylindrical. Taking a closer look, the belfry actually has 12 sides. The pale coral stones add to the aesthetics of the church.

The church was said to be designed and built by local inhabitants. The colonial structure was made of local stones, limestone and native wood.

The founding fathers were said to be Capitan Municipal Pedro Ricamora and the town curate, Father Agustin Melgar.

The town’s name is a story in itself. Dumanjug was a contraction of “Duman” and “nahulog”. Duman was the most famous ”tuba” gatherer in the village. He has had several coconut trees. On the day that the spanish civil guards visited the place, Duman died from a fall from one of the trees.

The Spanish guards asked for the name of the village but the natives could not understand what the visitors were asking. For the lack of answers, they merely responded “si Duman nahulog” (Duman fell).

The visitors thought that it’s the name of the place. Hence, the village was called Dumanjug. A statue near the town’s agora was erected as a marker of the origin of the town’s name.

I was very excited to drop by the poblacion of Moalboal, a town known for its Panagsama Beach, Pescador Island and of course its dive sites. I wanted to see their old church.

Back when I was still young, I remembered how the church looked. It was made of coral stones that were darkened by the salty breeze and moss. The old wooden doors were huge. The church sits on top of hill which was just a few meters from the highway.

This particular visit to Moalboal church made my heart sink. It is quite difficult to understand why the parish priest insisted on bringing the church down. A lot of people say that the church must have to go because the columns and the support are already weak.

The priest opted to build a new church beside the old one with the money collected from the parishioners, not considering the historical and cultural value that the old church has.

The parish priest left the town and was assigned somewhere else, but he would always be remembered for leaving the old church in ruins. From the rubbles of stupidity, only the facade and the altar remained standing. The church floor was still intact.

No one could say what the parish plan to do with what’s left of the church. But there’s an unofficial moratorium on any further demolition of the place of worship. It’s disheartening to take pictures of the destroyed church, knowing fully well that its destruction was not caused by a natural calamity.

Moalboal is left with a marker similar to Macau’s St. Paul Church ruins but it was done in poor taste. The priest may have been possessed by some weird and unheavenly spirit that eventually consumed him in shame. It’s the first time I’ve seen an old Cebu church in this sad state.

(to be continued)

IDK, But IMO It’s AFD

Monkeyshines and tomfooleries rise like the tides comes the first of April. I would be wondering what pranks I would have to suffer or what embarassment I have to endure when the clock strikes 12 to mark April Fool’s Day.

I wish that I would not receive any news that the 3 hostaged ICRC workers  still under the claws of the Abu Sayyaf group are already beheaded. Or that former President Erap Estrada would team up with Loren Legarda and run for the presidency once more.

Or that the April Fool bug that would be unleashed today would wreak havoc and scare the hell out of the netizens and the slaves of information technology. I would not try to validate possible news that fuel prices would go down because in the first place, it’s been rising like crazy.

Could we have a version of the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest? Would the local giant networks broadcast something about trees in the Cordilleras that bear pancit noodles and are being harvested by the Igorots in similar fashion as picking strawberries in La Trinidad?

Or would there be any news that The Philippines would be qualified to compete in the World Cup in South Africa next year? Or that fast-food giant Jollibee would be bought by McDonalds and the Regular Yum with cheese would be renamed Burger McJolly with yummy keso?

 Hmmm. There’s so much material for April Fool’s stories. I bet cellphones would be busy with prank calls and text messages.  Meantime, here in Northern Mindanao, my work continues as the jokes and shenanigans of the day work on those who were made to believe that they are true.