E.A.

Remembering Melody

2010-08-26T08:11:00.000+08:00

Inquirer Southern Luzon
By Ephraim Aguilar and Juan Escandor Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:27:00 08/25/2010
INQUIRER.net

THERE WAS no hint at all that her “small talk” with old friends in Legazpi City on Thursday night at the family-owned German restaurant Wilkommen would be the last.

She happily showed them her bridal photos for Hair Asia Magazine, which has her as cover girl. She talked about her newfound passion for makeup artistry, and the things that kept her busy.

By Friday night, the photos of the reunion were uploaded on Facebook. Melody left a comment to her friends, “I missed you all, too. Till we meet again!”

The next day, Aug. 21, her friends were stunned that Binibining Pilipinas-International 2009 Melody Gersbach, 24, died in a car-bus collision along Maharlika Highway in Bula, Camarines Sur, at around noontime.

Melody was on her way to the screening of Miss Bicolandia, where she sat as chair of the organizing committee. Others who died in the accident were her makeup artist and couturier Alden Orense and car driver Dodong Ramos.

Home buddy

Melody’s life had all been about photo shoots, runways and glossy magazines from the time she became a beauty queen. But away from the limelight, she was just really a simple home buddy, a good sister and a loving daughter.

Her younger sister, Magnolia, 20, remembers how she and her sister would fight over clothes. They were exact opposites—Magnolia is outgoing and the life of the party, while Melody was quite introverted and meek.

“We would often fight, especially about clothes, but those were the times we bonded and felt the love and the care, especially hers to me,” Magnolia said during the wake at the family’s hilltop residence in Barangay Cullat in Daraga town in Albay.

The younger Gersbach said it was only when she became a public figure that Melody was able to enjoy going out. “She was a late bloomer. So it’s funny, parang nabaliktad kami.”

“I was like more of the Ate (older sister). She’d come to me and ask what to wear, and which bar drink is strong like a [curious] teenager,” Magnolia said.

“We were exact opposites, but it’s good because we would complement each other. She was very meek. On the contrary, I’m the type who’d escape without asking permission,” she added.

Very simple

Their mother, Marina, said she would sometimes forget that Melody was a beauty queen. I’d ask her to drive for me and to pay the bills and she would meekly obey.

They would spend most of their time managing the family’s restaurant business together. One time, Marina said Melody told her that she wasn’t so much happy managing a restaurant.

“What she really dreamt of was to have her own clothing line and to be a makeup artist. She was full of dreams and talent. It’s a waste she would no longer be able to achieve them because of some reckless driver,” Marina said.

She said she would temporarily forget about the pain she’s going through when there were people around. “But when the visitors are gone and I’m all alone, I would break down and cry,” she said in Filipino.

“I want all of us to think that Melody just went to Germany and will be back someday,” Marina said.

Gov’t requirement

Marina believes that the government should set stricter requirements for the issuance of driver’s licenses and franchises for public utility vehicles.

She said the bus operators visited her on Monday morning asking her family to forgo with the filing of charges. “I told them that they should not be stingy with the victims and prioritize helping the driver’s family and the couturier’s because they are breadwinners and Ronald Lita, the survivor, with the hospital expenses and for his full recovery in the government hospital.”

She explained to the bus operators to choose from among three options—shouldering the funeral expenses of her daughter, the cost of burial place—a mausoleum—or to compensate the family based on the one-year earning her daughter could have made if she were alive.

Remembering Melody

Melody’s soft-spoken German father, Wolfgang, said he wanted other people to remember his daughter as someone who shared to them a happy life.

He said his daughter knew very well that life was not only about earning money, “For her what was more important was to make more friendships and to share with other people things that make her happy.”

“I want everyone to remember her the same way as how she remembered people whom she cared for, stayed for and worked with,” Wolfgang said.

He added that there was something about Melody that found good in people and effortlessly understood them.

Acceptance about Melody’s early demise will be a painstaking process for her bereaved family. Wolfgang copes by choosing to accept her fate and believing in God’s higher purpose.

“The things in life that we cannot change, we must accept. My daughter Melody died and I cannot get her back. That means I have to accept it and live with it. This is the Lord’s will, which we cannot change,” Wolfgang said.

Bb. Pilipinas Int’l dies in car-bus collision

2010-08-23T08:27:00.000+08:00

by Rey M. Nasol and Ephraim Aguilar
First posted 23:22:45 (Mla time) August 21, 2010

LEGAZPI CITY--Binibining Pilipinas International 2009 Melody Gersbach was dead on the spot Saturday morning after the van she was riding in figured in a head-on collision with a public bus, an Army officer here said.

Two other persons, the driver and couturier of the beauty titlist, also died in the accident which occurred at 11:45 a.m., according to Maj. Harold Cabunoc, public information officer of the 9th Infantry Division based in Pili, Camarines Sur, quoting an initial police report.

“The accident occurred in Barangay Pawili in Bula,” said Cabunoc in a text message.

Gersbach and her companions were in a Toyota Innova on their way to Naga City when their vehicle collided with a Guevarra Bus Line driven by Wilson Pontillas.

The bus driver surrendered to police, said Cabunoc.

The two others confirmed dead were Dodong Ramos, the driver, and Alden Orense, couturier of the beauty titlist.

A fourth victim, identified as Ronald Lita, survived and was rushed to the Bicol Medical Center.

Police said the bus was trying to avoid a tricycle when it hit the Innova.

A resident of Barangay Culliat in Daraga, Albay, Gersbach, 24, who was also Ms Bicolandia 2009, left her house at 9 a.m. to attend a pre-pageant event in connection with the coming celebration of the Peñafrancia Festival in Naga City next month.

Ricky Gonzales, brother of the owner of the Innova, said the van was a total wreck.

“The scene was really morbid. The red Innova Melody was aboard was totally wrecked that almost only the wheels were left,” added Ariel Guban, president of the Rotaract Club of Legazpi Central.

Gersbach was a member of Rotaract, a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women aged 18 to 30.

On Nov. 28 last year, Gersbach competed against more than 60 other contestants in the Miss International contest held in Beijing, China.

Gersbach had said then that “her bubbly character, positive attitude and passion for helping others” would help her clinch the title.

Gersbach placed in the top 15 but lost out to Miss Mexico Ana Gabriela Espinosa.

Beauty queen blogger Joyce Titular-Burton, in an online interview, had fond memories of Gersbach, who was born of a German father and Filipino mother.

“I remember last Christmas when Melody texted me that she had some special German Christmas cakes for sale at their German restaurant on Makati Avenue. I bought a few for my Christmas dinner and loved how they tasted. I even blogged about it,” said Titular-Burton, author of the “Adventures of a Beauty Queen” blog.

“Now, German Christmas cakes will be a bittersweet reminder to me of how we lost Melody. Let this be a call to our President Aquino to really crack down on our terrible bus system. Do we have to lose another beautiful person because of greedy companies and wayward bus drivers?”

Spicy ice cream, anyone?

2010-07-13T00:48:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 19:30:00 07/10/2010
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY – Consistent with Bicol’s spicy food culture, a restaurant in the city serves spicy ice cream. How cool or hot is that?

Flavored with “siling labuyo” (chili), every scoop of the ice cream has tamed spiciness that blends well with cold creamy sweetness. And that can only be found at the 1st Colonial Grill, a homegrown restaurant that has built a name of its own.

But sili ice cream is just their dessert along with other innovative flavors like pili, coffee, “tinutong na bagas” (toasted rice), malunggay, kalamansi, and melon.

The 1st Colonial Grill also serves native dishes that remind one of his grandmother’s cooking, say restaurant owners Elmer Boy and Rowena Aspe.

The thriving restaurant, which now has a branch in a mall in this city, a newly opened one in Daraga, Albay, and a food court outlet in a mall in Naga City, was built on April 25, 2004.

No competition

Since then, for a homegrown restaurant, it has been competing well with national industry players and fast food giants.

Or it has not actually been competing at all. The 1st Colonial Grill stands securely in line with fast foods and big-named restaurants.

Elmer Boy says they never intended to compete with what had been there.

He says the 1st Colonial Grill has its own niche – people who want healthy comfort food with a twist served in a homey ambiance.

“Whenever our family had visitors from other places, we realized there were few choice restaurants we could bring them to. So we decided to put up the 1st Colonial Grill,” recalls Elmer Boy.

The 1st Colonial Grill is an offshoot of the Aspe family’s 60-branch pawnshop business in the Bicol region.

It is named such because its first branch was located in an old building built in the 1930s during the American Colonial Period.

Elmer Boy says they found it wiser not to compete but to offer something new, “If you compete with the fast food chains, the quality and the price will be sacrificed.”

Critics

With their three children as their critics, the Aspe couple know that the food they serve is of supreme quality and delectable taste.

“Before adding a new dish in the menu, we first have our children taste it. If they like it, then we offer it to our customers,” says Rowena.

The restaurant uses local ingredients from local sources, she says. They have once been offered cheaper and processed imported meat but they refused. While it could have saved them money, it would be very unhealthy.

Rowena says they also use vegetable oil to significantly reduce cholesterol levels in their dishes.

“We put health on top priority, because we and our children eat the food ourselves,” she adds.

Good food

The 1st Colonial Grill caters to all A, B, and C markets. “Everyone wants good food,” Elmer says.

The 1st Colonial Grill’s best sellers are Bicol Express (chilies cooked in gata); the Colonial Fried Chicken served in whole or half, which is an original family recipe; and the five-spice grilled chicken, which is marinated in five special spices.

Another best seller is vegetable kare-kare. The vegetables are supplied locally while the sauce and shrimp paste (bagoong) are homemade.

One can also have a taste of deep-fried vegetarian spring rolls, which are stuffed with mushroom, cabbage, carrots, vermicelli, bean sprouts, peanuts, and coriander served with a special sauce.

The restaurant also offers chop suey with a twist, that is, chop suey cooked in coconut milk with buko meat.

If there is Bikol Express, there can never be without “Tin-nu-to” (laing). This is dried gabi (taro) leaves cooked in coconut cream.

One cannot just say no to the restaurant’s Baby Back Ribs, a primal cut of pork meat cooked to be relatively tender, rubbed with spices and grilled.

All these main course dishes perfectly match with the unique “tinapa” (smoked fish) fried rice served in a “kawali.”

Service with love

Rowena says the entire family knows the ins and outs of the business, “We know how to do everything, from washing the dishes to cleaning the restroom.”

This is important if they want to pass on a culture of quality service on to their staff, she adds.
“We train the staff members ourselves. All we look for as qualifications are dedication and trainability,” says Elmer.

He claims most of their employees have been with them for a long time and they have seen how the business has grown over the years. This loyalty has bred in them a sense of ownership.

And the secret to a thriving business?

“To give real service, you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity,” Elmer says.

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2010-06-07T09:33:00.002+08:00

Retiree sponsors PDI learning center

2010-06-07T09:31:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:35:00 06/07/2010
INQUIRER.net

SORSOGON CITY—In a village named after its natural springs, her generosity gushes forth for poor children thirsty for learning.

Browsing through the pages of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Rosalia Laganzo-Enerio, a recently retired government worker, found a way to help some 300 pupils of cash-strapped Bucalbucalan Elementary School.

She set aside part of her retirement money to sponsor a daily supply of newspapers and to put up an Inquirer Learning Corner (ILC) on the campus west of this city.

Having grown up in the same coastal village, the 66-year-old donor said it had long pained her to see the school still lacking books and updated resource materials, particularly those which could improve the students’ communication skills in English.

“By putting up a learning corner here in Bucalbucalan, the students will be provided with updated news and information. It will develop in them the good habit of reading,” Enerio said during Wednesday’s signing of a memorandum of agreement among her, the school and the Inquirer on Wednesday.

She said the majority of students here grew up without enjoying reading materials at home, items considered a luxury for their parents who eked out a living mostly as fishermen.

Education is close to Enerio’s heart. Before working for the National Manpower and Youth Council in 1975 and the National Housing Authority main office in 1981, she taught at Bucalbucalan Elementary School from 1968 to 1975.

Sensing the deterioration of the country’s education system, Enerio left teaching and found employment elsewhere in the bureaucracy.

The search for better pay also drove her to switch jobs. Public school teachers at the time were paid a measly P212 a month, she recalled.

But even after quitting teaching, Enerio continued to support various projects on education. She volunteered, for example, for the Alitaptap Storytellers Philippines, a group that promotes literacy through the art of storytelling.

Every graduation season, Enerio would also donate medals to different schools in Sorsogon City.

But soon she realized that she had to give something that would leave a lasting impact on the students.

Enerio came across the Inquirer’s Learning section and read about the ILC program, wherein public schools can get free subscriptions to the Inquirer courtesy of reader-sponsors. The newspapers are to be kept in a school corner called “Inqspot” for easy access.

First non-politician donor

The ILC program is aimed at creating a place in public schools where teachers and students can read the paper and discuss the day’s news or issues.

Enerio said she had been an avid reader of the Inquirer since its founding during the martial law years, when the Marcos regime dismissed the fledgling but stinging newspaper as part of the so-called “mosquito press.”

Inquirer senior product manager Roselle Fortes-Leung said Enerio had the distinction of being the first ILC donor who is not a politician.

The ILC in Bucalbucalan is also the first to open in southern Luzon, Leung added.

Three ILCs have been set up earlier in Quezon City and Zambales province, all sponsored by politicians.

In honor of parents

“This is my way of giving back to the community and to this school in honor of my parents,” said Enerio, daughter of Feliza Aquende and Restituto Laganzo.

She said her parents, who were not able to finish their studies because of poverty, always reminded her and her siblings about the value of education, saying it’s the only priceless legacy they could give them.

School principal Antonio Jintalan gratefully acknowledged Enerio’s contribution: “We’re amazed that someone from this village is able to help this school.”

Jintalan said the ILC would go a long way in helping develop the children’s love for reading and their awareness of current events.

Mere P5,500 budget

Jintalan noted that the school, which operates on a measly budget of P5,500 for maintenance and other operational expenses, could only afford to set up a small library with books that were rarely updated.

A pity, Jintalan said, since “80 percent of our learning still comes from reading.”

With about 350 enrollees, the school has been relying heavily on private sponsors for its improvements, he said.

Enerio may no longer be able to go back to her first love—teaching—but she nevertheless vowed to continue her advocacy and community work for education.

The retiree called on other private citizens to do their share for the benefit of today’s youth and future generations.

4 Side Trips from Mayon

2010-05-23T13:08:00.001+08:00

(Sunday Inquirer Magazine)
by Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
INQUIRER.net

SUNLIGHT hits Leizel Peñaverde’s face as she awakens after a 10-hour bus ride from Manila. She immediately grabs the camera from her bag and captures the magnificent view of Mayon Volcano from her bus window.

She is seeing the world-famous volcano for the first time. Natives believe that when a visitor like Peñaverde sees it naked or free of clouds, it is a welcoming sign of blessing.

Peñaverde, 27, of Malate, Manila has joined her husband’s company outing. The tourists aboard chartered buses drop by the famous Cagsawa Ruins in Daraga, Albay for a closer view of Mt. Mayon.

Peñaverde says she is amazed by the volcano’s beauty, which she only used to see in textbooks. But tourists like her might ask, is there more to an Albay trip than viewing the 2,462-meter volcano?

Legazpi City, the capital city and regional center of Bicol, is strategically located in the province’s second district, from which tourists can easily jump off to other destinations in Albay and adjacent provinces.

Considered as the gateway to Bicolandia, Legazpi City can be reached via a 45-minute plane ride or a 10-hour land trip from Manila.

If you’re staying in any of the hotels in the city, there are many interesting places you can visit and new experiences to enjoy. Here’s a shortlist:

1. Ligñon Hill

Just a five-minute drive from any point in Legazpi City is Ligñon Hill, which offers a panoramic view of Mt. Mayon and a 360-degree view of the city and the neighboring Daraga town. It also has a 40-meter-long and 7-foot-deep tunnel which the Japanese forces used as an arsenal during World War II.

On top of the hill is a 320-meter zipline from which tourists can soar through the chilly air, with the scenic Mt. Mayon in the background. There are photographers to capture the picture-perfect moment.

Dianne Recomono, 16, of Pasig City tried the zipline and could not hide the excitement in her face as she plummeted through the hill’s lush green contour.

“This is a unique and worthwhile experience. It’s definitely something I would recommend to my friends,” says Recomono, who was with her family for a four-day summer vacation.

The hill also hosts other summer adventures and extreme sports, such as hiking, biking, rappelling, paintball, and airsoft – all managed by Globe Quest Adventure. Zipping and rappelling are at P200 per person while paintball costs P300 for 50 bullets, mask, vest, and a paintball gun.

Another adventure sport is biking on dried up gullies at the foot of Mayon. The gullies serve as pathways of loose sand and volcanic rocks swept away by heavy rains from the volcano’s slopes. Four-wheel All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) are available for rent at P1,500.

2. Forest adventure

The Mayon Volcano Natural Park is a favorite destination for nature lovers. Its main entry point is in Barangay (village) Lidong in Sto. Domingo town.

The 5,486-hectare park surrounding Mt. Mayon is a protected area that covers eight Albay towns. Aside from its rich flora and fauna, the park has 18 rivers and creeks. The scattered fertile plains, rough and narrow ridges and deep ravines add up to a great adventure.

Local mountain guides are ready to assist neophyte hikers and campers. Camp 1 is 1,650 meters above sea level, says Aldwin Orendain, 18, the park’s gatekeeper.

An alternative entrance to the forest nearer the city is in Barangay Buyuan in Legazpi City, where the Mayon Outdoor Group Association assists hikers and campers.

Other ecotourism destinations in Albay within a two-hour drive from the city are the boiling lake in Manito town, the 91-meter Busay Falls in Malilipot town, the ice-cold Vera Falls in Malinao town, and the black sand beaches of Sto. Domingo town.

There is also a butterfly garden and fruit bat sanctuary at the Bacman Geothermal Fields at the border of Manito, Albay and Bacon, Sorsogon.

Sorsogon province is home to the whale sharks of Donsol and the placid Bulusan Lake ideal for kayaking.

3. Native souvenirs

There are many souvenir shops at the Cagsawa Ruins in Daraga town which offer Bicol’s native products like cutlery, refined clay jars, pili nut candy varieties, abaca bags and crafts. There are also P300 shirts hand-painted with Mt. Mayon.

At Alne’s Crafts and Souvenirs, prices of abaca bags range from P100 to P650 depending on materials and design. Abaca slippers, P25 to P65 each, are also available.

The Mayon Artstone shop in Cagsawa sells sculptures made of hardened Mayon rocks. Its 50-year-old artist-owner Vicente Ajero, also known as “Enteng Bato,” uses only a hammer and a large nail as chisel to form different images. He also fashions bracelets and necklaces from volcanic stones.

Other souvenir shops can be found at the Legazpi City Grand Terminal. Bargain hunters are assured that the native bags here are half the price of those displayed at the Metro Manila malls.

For even greater bargains on local crafts, plus a learning experience, tourists can go directly to the abaca-weaving villages in Malilipot town, just a 30-minute drive from Legazpi.

For food pasalubong, the 74-year-old Albay Pilinut Candy in the Old Albay District is just a few minutes away from the Legazpi City Domestic Airport. Some of its bestsellers are the crispy pili, toffee rolls, yemas de pili, pili butternuts, and salted pili.

Pili is one of Bicol’s distinct produce. Pili nut is known as the Philippine almond, which is at par with the macadamia nut. A classic favorite delicacy is the sweet bar-shaped mazapan (pili nuts mixed with milk, egg, and sugar).

4. Bicol food

For a unique food experience, there are local restaurants that offer fusion cuisines.

The Small Talk Café offers Pasta Mayon, which is made from triangular ravioli pasta garnished to resemble Mayon’s nearly perfect cone. It is topped with sizzling red sauce, reminiscent of flowing lava.

Other Small Talk favorites are the laing (taro leaves in coconut milk) pasta and pizza, and the Bicol Express pasta.

Have you ever eaten spicy ice cream? It can be weird but truly delectable. You can try it at the First Colonial Grill, which has two branches in the city. It offers “native Bicol food with a twist.”

They have the homemade Bikol’s Pride Ice Cream with various local flavors such as sili (chili pepper), pili, tinutong (toasted rice), malunggay and lemon.

Other Colonial Grill favorites are tinapa fried rice, buko chopsuey, vegetable kare-kare, five-spice chicken, tinuto (a local variety of laing), kilawing tuna, and Bikol Express.

To visit all these sites, tourists can avail themselves of 24-hour taxi and car rental services. Local transport service provider Early Riser offers car rental services for as low as P250 per hour.

With a three-day stay in Legazpi, a tourist can already have an adventure-packed summer vacation. Indeed, in Bicol, there are places and experiences that can never be captured by photographs on crisp four-sided postcards.

10 Ways to Have a Whale of a Time

2010-05-23T13:07:00.002+08:00

(Sunday Inquirer Magazine)
by: Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
INQUIRER.net

IS this the summer you’ve planned for what Time Magazine once hailed as the “best animal encounter in Asia”?

If so, you still have a few weeks left for what experts say is the best time for sighting the famous whale shark in the small fishing town of Donsol, Sorsogon.

Locally known as “butanding,” the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is the world’s largest fish, referred to as a “gentle giant” because of its calm and friendly ways in the water. The appearance of schools of whale shark along the coasts of Donsol have drawn eager tourists to the town each year, making it one of the country’s top three ecotourism sites.

There are two ways to get to Donsol from Manila. One is via Legazpi City in Albay Province, which can be reached in 45 minutes by plane or 10 hours by bus. From Legazpi City, it’s an hour ride by land to reach Donsol. Regular air fare from Manila is around P3,500 one way. But you can watch out for promo fares, available through early bookings and offered at great discounts by any of the budget airlines. Deluxe bus fare is around P950 one way.

The other way is via Sorsogon City in Sorsogon province, which is a 12-hour bus ride from Manila. From Sorsogon City, Donsol is also an hour’s travel by land.

Upon arrival in Donsol, tourists should first register at the Donsol Visitors’ Center at the coastal village of Dangcalan. The village, about a 10-minute ride from the town center, serves as the jump-off point to the whale shark interaction sites.

The registration fee is P100 for domestic tourists and P300 for foreign tourists.

If you’re planning a trip to Donsol soon, here are some tips that will help you have a whale of a time.

1. Six is the ideal number for group travel to Donsol. There’s nothing superstitious about the number six -- it’s just that the boats available for rent can accommodate only a maximum of six passengers. Boat rental is P3,500, so you’d be getting the best deal if you can round up a party of six family members or friends to share the experience with. Another option, of course, would be to share a boat with other tourists—and make new friends.

2. Pack light, a tried and tested travel tip that works out here as well as anywhere. You’re free to bring your own snorkeling gear—like mask, water vest, fins, and snorkel—but all these are also readily available for rent at the Donsol Visitors’ Center, manned by the local tourism office. Life vests are also available in the boats. You can bring your own food, but you may want to try the available fare from any of the tourism-accredited food establishments in the town. Or go real local and head for the town market—this way, you help boost the local economy as well.

3. Backpacking is more economical than packaged tours. Besides being more adventurous and exciting, backpacking gives you the freedom and privacy to spend your time the way you want it while on vacation with loved ones. There is enough information available online on how to get to Donsol. Resorts like the Vitton and Woodland can arrange your whale-watching activities with the tourism office, which is just adjacent to it. Annie Buenaagua, the resort’s booking officer, says many tourists, 70 percent of them foreigners, call her up directly to make arrangements. The resort also offers airport pickup and drop-off services.

4. Get the right accommodation that suits your style and budget. There’s a whole range available—from resorts to homestay services. There are four resorts along the Dangcalan coastline: Vitton and Woodland, Elysha, Amor, and Casabianca. Vitton and Woodland (vittonandwoodlandresorts@gmail.com) has 43 rooms and 5 duplex houses available at P1,500 to P3,500 per night. Amenities include air-conditioning, hot-and-cold showers, living rooms, kitchenettes, and bay-front verandas. The resorts are all located in Dangcalan, nearer the whale shark action site, unlike the homestay services found in downtown Donsol. Homestay is cheaper, however, at only P500 per night so an increasing number of tourists, especially budget travelers, opt for this type of accommodation.

Others do, however, not only because it’s cheaper but because they want to be immersed in the town’s culture, says Rogelyn Santiago-Dimaano, 39, who owns and manages the Santiago Home-Stay, the family’s ancestral house, whose entire upper floor with three rooms is available for rent. The old house has been there since 1933.

5. Bring cash not cards. There are no ATM machines in Donsol and there are, as yet, no establishments accepting credit cards.

6. Listen well to the briefing. All registered tourists are required to attend a briefing at the Donsol Visitors’ Center. Each boat has one designated Butanding Interaction Officer (BIO). Follow the rules faithfully. There are penalties if you break any of them—but more than that, the rules are there for your safety.

7. Try to avoid the holiday rush. Butanding interaction officer Alan Amense says the peak season for whale-watching is actually from December to May, but the holiday crush is traditionally around Holy Week. So it’s best to plan your whale shark sighting away from this week. Not only does it save the whale sharks from undue stress, it also spares you from long queues at the Visitors’ Center.

8. Respect local culture. Environment preservation is part of Donsol’s culture, adds Amanse. This culture has developed as the tourism industry boosted the poor town’s economy, making the local folk appreciate and cherish the natural wonders that put food on their table. The whale sharks contribute P50 million annually to national economy, says Bicol tourism director Nini Ravanilla. Amanse advises tourists not to litter and to minimize their impact on the environment. Touching the whale shark is also strictly prohibited.

9. Best diving time is from 7 to 10 a.m. It is best to be at Donsol the night before your dive. This way, you’ll be able to get enough rest and prepare for a delightful whale-watching experience. Amanse says that during the peak season, there are around four to 15 whale shark sightings a day. This season alone, the World Wildlife Fund, which has a research center in Donsol, identified 160 whale sharks in the area.

10. Visit other tourist attractions in and around Donsol. Make the most of your trip to this part of the Bicol Region by seeing other sights. Try the night river cruise through the Sogod and Donsol rivers, where thousands of fireflies light up the night sky. Boats are available for rent at P1,250. Other interesting sidetrips are the Tangculan Mangrove Park near Dangcalan village and carabao-riding at Rawan Village.

And, if you’re still ready for more adventure, schedule a manta ray watching trip to nearby Ticao Island. •

Dethroned beauty gets passport, finally

2010-05-22T08:07:00.000+08:00

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:46:00 05/22/2010
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—After her long fight to get her crown back, dethroned Binibining Pilipinas Maria Venus Raj finally got her passport Friday morning, which means she will now be allowed to compete in this year’s Miss Universe pageant to be held in Las Vegas.

Securing a passport was the condition of Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) for Raj to be reinstated after she was stripped of her title last month due to inconsistencies in her birth records and her verbal account of birth.

The BPCI Inc. claimed “misrepresentation” as its ground for unseating Raj, a cum laude journalism graduate and native of Bato, Camarines Sur.

The dethronement sparked public uproar in online forums.

The Bicolana beauty being a “poor countryside farm girl yet determined to reach her dreams” got much support and sympathy from the people.

Last week, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) declared that Raj is a Filipino citizen by virtue of the “jus saguinis” principle in the Philippine Constitution.

The jus sanguinis (Latin for “right of blood”) principle means that a person acquires the nationality of his natural parents regardless of his place of birth.

Eduardo Malaya, DFA spokesperson, said that after evaluating the beauty queen’s birth certificate, documents, and passport application, the committee formed to look into Raj’s case recommended the issuance of a passport.

Raj was born to a Filipino mother and an Indian father in Doha, Qatar, but they were not married. She was brought to the country a month after birth and was registered three years after.

Raj, in a phone interview, said she is happy and relieved that all her efforts and those of her supporters finally paid off.

She said that when she woke up hearing the news about the release of her passport, she got up and rushed to the DFA to claim it.

Raj said it had been a roller coaster ride for her. In as much as many people were there for her, there were also those who criticized her after the controversy.

“But I also thank those people because they have made me stronger and motivated me to push the fight,” Raj said.

She said they would still be waiting for the official statement of the BPCI reinstating her, after which she expects that her name will finally be cleared.

Raj has been training for the Miss Universe along with other Binibining Pilipinas winners since April.

In Barangay San Vicente in Bato town, Raj’s 59-year-old mother Ester Bayonito cried when she heard of the news.

“I cried out of joy and gratitude. I cannot thank those who helped my daughter enough. Thank God!” a jubilant Ester told the Inquirer in a phone interview. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Catanduanes voter preserves ‘paipit’ or ‘gracia’

2010-05-11T06:00:00.002+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY—LIKE IT WAS New Year’s Eve, people stayed up late on the streets a night before Monday’s elections in many villages in the rural town of Pandan in the neighboring island-province of Catanduanes.

They were waiting for what is locally called “paipit (insertion)” or “gracia (blessing)” from politicians running for public office.

When Gerry Rubio found P2,120—two P1,000 bills, one P100 bill, and one P20 bill—on his doorstep at Our Lady’s Village in Virac town early Monday, he knew what to do. The money came from certain candidates for governor, congressman and a party-list group.

“The P2,120 I unwillingly received today will be millions worth of lesson in history. I will preserve this,” said Rubio, who vowed not to spend the money in exchange for his sacred vote.

He said he would put the bills under the glass cover of his office table. “This will be my contribution to history.”

Cigarette boxes

Inasmuch as it is shameful that massive vote-buying happens in his home province, it has to be exposed, he said.

Rubio, the public relations officer of Catanduanes State Colleges, is a volunteer of Pagbabago! (People’s Movement for Change), a multisectoral group that advocates clean and honest elections.

In Catanduanes, distribution of vote-buying money started at around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday till early Monday before the voting precincts open.

“Packs of money are sleekly delivered to homes. They are stapled with the candidates’ sample ballots,” Rubio said.

Others are brought to the houses of local leaders where people line up until dawn.

“Bundles of cash here are loaded in cigarette boxes. Politicians form a task force that segregates the money for stapling,” Rubio said.

He noted some enraged voters who will not pick a candidate if they do not receive anything. “These are the voters without backbone. But I believe there are still well-meaning people in our island who value values.”

In Masbate, a perennial election hot spot, every voter is paid at least P1,000, said Pagbabago-Bicol spokesperson Fr. Remar Soliza.

On Ticao Island in the same province, Soliza said voters would receive as much as P3,000 each from local mayoral candidates.

The group reported that supposed supporters of an incumbent congressman gave out P300 per voter.

In Milaor town in Camarines Sur, the same amount was distributed by the camp of another congressional candidate.

“By all indications this is also happening in all provinces in the region, where patronage and traditional politics is the norm,” Soliza said.

“We encourage voters to report such acts as well as other activities that undermine their votes. When [vote-buying] candidates come to power, they will definitely ransack the people’s coffers to defray their campaign expenses,” he said.

Busy banks

Banks this week had a barrage of transaction requests to convert millions of pesos into smaller bills, a bank teller in Bicol, who refused to be named for security reason, told the Inquirer.

The teller said that since last week, even nonclients or those without accounts had visited the bank to encash a P500,000-check for P100 bills.

“I would have up to five clients asking us to break down big amounts. It is unusual for an ordinary work day,” the teller said.

Rubio said vote-buying is an indication of flawed governance in the Philippines. “Something is acutely wrong with our political system. Why do they have to resort to cheating in all forms, buy votes, to win a public servant’s seat?” he said in a phone interview.

“And the electorates who patronize this dirty scheme are part of the rotten system.”

Rubio said vote-buying is endemic in a culture that regards electoral posts as “moneymaking machines.”

Catanduanes learns to conquer waves

2010-04-29T01:35:00.002+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Baras, Catanduanes
INQUIRER.net

MORE THAN A REMINDER OF THE ISLAND’S sheer submission to the world’s largest ocean, the strong waves that smash Puraran in Baras town in Catanduanes are every surfer’s dream.

Tagged as the “The Majestic,” the turbid waters of the coastal village are no longer whipped-up props of strong typhoons that frequent the province.

Most surfers say Puraran has the most powerful and challenging waves and deem it the “last stop” or the country’s ultimate surfing destination.

In the 1980s, a group of Australians discovered the surfing potential of Puraran, according to Allan Tanael, 28, one of the local surfers. By word-of-mouth, more visitors came, riding the waves by day and sleeping in the village’s public school at night in the absence of resorts.

Tanael says those who kept coming back decided to build a beach-front cottage on his grandparents’ land. His family’s Majestic Puraran Beach Resort now stands there.

Tanael learned surfing when he was 12 years old, simply by watching foreigners handle the furious waves. His only problem: he did not have any surfboard.

One day, to his delight, one of the foreign tourists gave him a surfboard while serving as their guide.

“If they like you, they would give you one. Sometimes, we would mend broken surfboards and reuse them because we could not afford one,” Tanael said.

An original Australian or Hawaiian short board costs P10,000 to P25,000, and a long board, P30,000 to P35,000.

Surfing may be a rich man’s sport for a rural Filipino, but it has gained popularity in this fifth-class municipality.

In 1997, emerging surfers from Baras and other towns formed the Catanduanes Surfing Association. (Tanael is now president of the group.)

The provincial government also held the island’s first surfing competition that year. This month, the Baras government held its first surfing and wall-climbing clinic. A hundred locals, mostly youths, signed up for free lessons.

During the event, the Department of Tourism in Bicol donated 20 fiberglass surfboards.

Joey Cuerdo, president of Power Play Events Management, which organized the four-day clinic, says the participants had been very receptive and enthusiastic. The clinic introduced not just surfing but other beach sports, like Frisbee and wall climbing.

“When rural folk come to the beach, all they usually want to do is sit down, chat or drink,” Cuerdo says. “They are not used to people inviting them to a game. Unless you approach them, they would simply gaze from a corner.”

“But you can see their interest because they would watch the game,” he adds.

Cuerdo says the clinic made the people aware of “sports in their backyard.”

“I would tell them they should be proud to be from Catanduanes, because they have the waves that only few places in the country have,” he says.

What sets “The Majestic” apart from others is the shape, Tanael says.

“During peak season, the waves would form a perfect tube. The waves are smooth and would break gently,” he says.

The Puraran wave is a “reef break,” the kind that breaks over a coral reef or a rocky seabed. It can be the most dangerous yet most rewarding for surfers seeking adventure.

The waves are as high as six feet in October, when the winds are strongest. It is also the annual schedule for the professional surfing competition in Baras.

Tanael says Puraran welcomes neophyte surfers who can try certain areas where the waves are not as high. During typhoons, the waves reach 10-15 feet, forcing residents to flee their homes for safe ground.

Cuerdo believes the challenging waves of Puraran can produce competitive surfers.

Surfing draws people of any race who feel being “cool,” Cuerdo says. “Surfer and cool ... there seems to be a parallelism. That would also explain why surfing brands are really popular. Surfing is cool.”

But Tanael says it has not yet reached a point when surfing is a career alternative. He teaches in a public elementary school.

Provincial tourism officer Carmel Garcia sees a brighter prospect for tourism, although, she said, more manpower, ample promotion, better facilities and private sector partnership are needed.

In Puraran, Majestic Beach Resort and Puting Baybay (White Sand) Beach Resort offer accommodations.

“At least the road network is far better now. Only few roads are left to be cemented,” Garcia said. Baras is a 90-minute drive from the capital town of Virac.

Virac can be reached directly by plane from Manila or a four-hour ferry ride from Tabaco City in Albay. Its airport hosts two airlines—Cebu Pacific and Zest Air. It has at least 11 hotels and inns.

Dethroned beauty rejects condition for reinstatement

2010-04-15T12:16:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Lawyers of dethroned beauty queen Maria Venus Raj have asked the Binibining Pilipinas pageant organizers on Wednesday to reinstate Raj without any conditions and to clear her name of any wrongdoing.

Also, the reinstatement should not be done for humanitarian reasons, they added in a letter to Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) on Tuesday.

The BPCI announced on Sunday it was giving Raj a chance to reclaim the Binibining Pilipinas title provided that she obtained a valid passport. The pageant organizer also said it had reassessed Raj’s situation and was giving her the chance “for humanitarian reasons.”

The Bicolana beauty was dethroned on March 29 due to inconsistencies in her birth records. She explained that she was too poor to go to court to correct the inconsistencies—which were not of her doing in the first place.

No requirement

“A passport was never a requirement for joining, and even winning, the Bb. Pilipinas title … Accordingly, it should not be made a condition for her reinstatement,” lawyers Gigi Berberabe, Dickson Berberabe and Teodoro Pastrana said.

Raj found another ally in fellow Bicolano, Sen. Francis Escudero, who said the BPCI should reinstate her solely on the basis of her rightful claim to the crown.

Raj, in a statement sent to the Inquirer Wednesday morning, said she was grateful for the BPCI for the reconsideration but again asked the BPCI to clear her reputation.

“Galing man po ako sa isang mahirap na pamilya lamang, itinuro po sa akin ng aking ina na ang integridad at kredibilidad ng isang tao ay napakahalaga (Though I come from a poor family, my mother taught me the value of integrity and credibility),” Raj told the Inquirer.

She said the accusation of misrepresentation, which the BPCI had pointed to as the ground for her dethronement, tarnished her reputation and cast doubts on her right to the Bb. Pilipinas title.

Internet angels

Raj has attracted an increasing number of online supporters.

A published report (not in the Inquirer) which quoted an unnamed representative of the Araneta Group as saying Raj was “snubbing” pageant training sessions, drew immediate Internet flames.

On the Facebook fan page “Petition for Venus Raj to remain as Bb. Pilipinas Universe 2010,” netizens rushed to Raj’s defense: “Spare Venus from that black propaganda. Make peace, BPCI. Venus may have nothing in life but we are the angels helping her. She has her family and us. Take note of that,” said one post.

Raj, in her own response, said she was ready to join the training session as soon as she was reinstated. She also said she had spent time in her hometown Bato, Camarines Sur, to gather the documents needed for her passport application.

Online survey

Raj’s raging supporters have also put her on top of an online survey of Miss Universe candidates on the Spanish website www.20minutos.es.

In a span of just one day, Raj, 21, a part-time model, jumped from number 26 to the top of the survey as of Wednesday noon with over 2,000 votes—overtaking 36 other Miss Universe candidates.

Dethroned beauty to regain crown if she gets passport

2010-04-11T16:18:00.000+08:00

By Armin Adina, Ephraim Aguilar
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DETHRONED BEAUTY QUEEN MARIA Venus Raj can keep her title that was taken from her less than a month after her coronation as the country’s official representative to the Miss Universe beauty pageant.

In a statement sent Saturday to the Inquirer, Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) said: “… After due deliberation, we have reassessed the situation pertaining to [Raj] and have decided, for humanitarian reasons, that if she is able to obtain a valid Philippine passport, we will reinstate her as Binibining Pilipinas-Universe.”

Albay Governor Joey Salceda, who had sought an explanation for Raj’s dethronement, was very happy and thankful to the BPCI for reconsidering their decision.

Genny Marcial, corporate affairs and PR manager of Araneta Group, the parent organization of BPCI, said Raj would have until June to present a valid Philippine passport “because the Miss Universe pageant may be held in August.”

Word of Raj’s reinstatement spread quickly on the Internet. Online fans who had rushed to her defense were overjoyed and started blogging and uploading the good news on various social networking sites.

Joyce Burton-Titular, whose blogsite www.adventuresofabeautyqueen.com has been following Raj’s story since Day 1, said: “I honestly think it’s the grace of God working through all the bloggers, forums, Facebook community, and TV and newspaper coverage.”

Burton-Titular, herself a former beauty titlist, told the Inquirer that Rafa Delfin, director of the website for pageant aficionados, www.criticalbeauty.com, had sent an appeal to the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) on Raj’s predicament.

On his Facebook fan page supporting Raj, Delfin said he forwarded the newspaper article about Venus’ humble roots to MUO president Paula Shugart, to which she replied: “After reading this article, this young woman definitely deserves her crown back.”

“They were all moved because they felt the humility and honesty of Venus. Her story of being raised on a farm, in a hut with no electricity, graduating cum laude and winning pageants is powerful. And she still goes home to that same hut today,” Burton-Titular said.

Prayers answered

On the Facebook fan page, “Petition for Venus Raj to remain as Bb. Pilipinas-Universe,” there were mixed reactions about the reinstatement. The page has nearly 4,000 fans.

“God sees the truth and hears our prayers. Cheer up Venus, smile and show the world how beautiful you are inside and out,” one of Raj’s supporters posted.

“Petitions were heard, our prayers were answered,” another fan wrote.

However, a number of bloggers and Facebook users continued to criticize the BPCI, the local franchise-holder of the Miss Universe pageant.

“I’m overjoyed that BPCI is giving Venus a chance … [But] why is obtaining a passport posed as a challenge to her? Shouldn’t they help her with it?” one fan posted.

One commented on Raj’s problem regarding her birth certificate.

“It’s the same story for many poor Filipinos applying for overseas work. When they apply for a passport, they discover discrepancies in their birth certificate,” another fan wrote.

This is usually what happens in rural areas where birth registration is entrusted to midwives, who could give the wrong information to the civil registrar.

“Such are the travails of the rural poor. But did these people commit misrepresentation? No. Were they persecuted by law? No. Their records were simply corrected,” another fan said.

Inconsistencies

The 21-year-old Raj won the Binibining-Pilipinas-Universe title last March 6. She romped away with the special awards Best in Long Gown and Best in Terno, and was voted by her fellow candidates as Miss Friendship.

But on March 29, BPCI stripped her of her title for inconsistencies in her birth records. The organization also proclaimed second runner-up Helen Nicolette Henson as her replacement.

BPCI told the Inquirer that Raj’s birth certificate stated that she was born in Bato, Camarines Sur, her father is a Catholic Filipino, and her parents are married.

However, it was learned that she was born in Doha, Qatar, her father is Indian and she was born out of wedlock.

BPCI said misrepresentation was the sole basis for stripping Raj of her title, and not citizenship or residency as in previous dethronement cases.

Raj disputed BPCI’s claims of misrepresentation. In television interviews, she said she never hid the truth. As early as November, during the screening for the pageant, she already told BPCI that she was born in Doha, Qatar, to an Indian father and a Filipino mother.

Raj said she did not have a hand in the filing of her birth certificate with the erroneous information. The inconsistency was a result of the delayed filing of her birth certificate.

Her aunt, Josephine Ramos, filed the document three years after she was born. Raj said her aunt did what she did to protect her family from embarrassment.

Raj said she only learned of the inconsistency when she was in high school and was applying for a scholarship. She added that it was poverty that prevented her from correcting her official birth records.

Prominent personalities expressed dismay—even outrage-when they learned of BPCI’s earlier decision. Among them were senator and vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda, Gabriela party-list representative and senatorial candidate Liza Maza, Commission on Human Rights Chair Leila de Lima and Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption Chair Dante Jimenez.

Raj, who graduated cum laude with a degree in Communication at Bicol University, will attempt to become the country’s third Miss Universe winner, after Gloria Diaz (1969) and Margie Moran (1973).

The last time the country placed in the pageant was in 1999 when Miriam Quiambao was proclaimed first runner-up to Botswana’s Mpule Kwelagobe. With a report from Rey Nasol, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Farm girl to get Bb. Pilipinas crown back if…

2010-04-10T20:28:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 19:03:00 04/10/2010
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—After the public outrage on the dethronement of Maria Venus Raj as a Binibining Pilipinas titleholder and the country's representative to this year's Miss Universe, local pageant organizers announced her reinstatement on Saturday.

It came on the condition that Raj will first have to obtain a valid Philippine passport.

“The Executive Committee of Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) announces today that after due deliberation, it has reassessed the situation pertaining to Ms. Maria Venus Raj and has decided, for humanitarian reasons, that if she is able to obtain a valid Philippine passport, they will reinstate her as the reigning Bb. Pilipinas-Universe,” said the statement, which was published in the Multiply account of Araneta Center.

No direct announcement had been made yet as of late Saturday but Bb. Pilipinas Universe 1985 Joyce Burton-Titular confirmed the BPCI statement in her blog www.adventuresofabeautyqueen.com.

Burton-Titular said she was able to get confirmation of Raj’s reinstatement from BPCI’s public relations manager Genny Marcial.

The Adventures of a Beauty Queen blog has been persistently following Raj’s story from day one.

The BPCI committee members also said that though they were “sensitive of (Raj’s) situation, they are aware, too, of their responsibilities as an entity existing under Philippine law.”

“The BPCI, being an organization concerned not just with the quest for true Filipina Beauty, but more so, dedicated to the empowerment of women and the uplifting of the lives of marginalized Filipinos, has always considered the welfare of our candidates paramount,” the BPCI statement added.

Raj’s online supporters also expressed joy over BPCI’s decision.

On the Facebook fan page “Petition for Venus Raj to remain as Bb. Pilipinas-Universe,” there are mixed reactions to the reinstatement. The page has nearly 4,000 fans.

“God sees the truth and hears our prayers, cheer up Venus, smile and show the world how beautiful you are inside out,” read one message posted by a supporter.

“Petitions were heard, our prayers were answered, doors may have closed but reopening is not impossible. Our Lady of Peñafrancia, our Ina, is really good to her child, Venus. Urusad kami sadi Rinconada sa pagsuporta saimo (We are one here in the Rinconada district in our support for you)!” said another fan, apparently Raj’s kababayan.

Raj, 22, a cum laude journalism graduate of Bicol University, is from Barangay San Vicente in Bato, Camarines Sur.

Some people were not satisfied, however, particularly with respect to the passport condition.

“For some reason, I am not satisfied with this development. Why is BPCI passing the ball to Venus’ court? Could it be a delaying tactic, perhaps to pacify fans and sympathizers? Something smells fishy, but let us see. Please remain vigilant!” a fan said.

“I’m overjoyed by the news that BPCI is giving Venus a chance. Although they remain (expletive deleted) for me! Why is obtaining a passport posed as a challenge to her? Shouldn’t they help her with it?” one fan said.

Another said Raj’s dilemma with her birth certificate is the same story for many poor Filipinos applying for overseas work.

“Just when they are about to apply for a visa they discover discrepancies in their birth certificates,” the fan said.

He added that this was not surprising, especially in the rural areas where birth registration is usually being entrusted to the midwives, who may feed the wrong information.

“Such is just one of the travails of the rural poor. But did these people commit misrepresentation? No. Were they persecuted by law? No. Their records are simply corrected,” the fan added.

Albayanos are jubilant over Raj's reinstatement as winner of the title.

A retired government employee who is fond of praising Bicolana beauties was very happy to hear the development.

“She must have had a very good lawyer and she herself knows to defend her title,” Carmen Vicuña told the Inquirer over the phone. She added she was convinced that Raj was a very intelligent person because of the way the beauty queen answered media interviews.

The social network Facebook was flooded with supportive comments to Raj since she surfaced on the page and she told the Inquirer that she was thankful for the overwhelming support from her fellow Bicolanos.

Albay Governor Joey Salceda, who sought an explanation for the dethronement of Raj, was very happy and thankful to the organizers for reconsidering the issue.

“Over the past three years, Albay has had a bountiful harvest of beauty trophies. Last year, Ms Melody Gersbach first won as Ms Magayon 2009 before becoming Binibining Pilipinas-International and was a semifinalist in China. Ms Necio was a runner up to Ms Gerbasch in Magayon,” Salceda said.

Another Albay beauty, Ms Jane Bañares, won as Mutya ng Pilipinas 2009 even after losing in Magayon but winning Ms Polangui.

With a report from Rey Nasol, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Page One Image 4/9/2010

2010-04-09T08:33:00.001+08:00

Dethroned Bicol beauty queen fights for dream

2010-04-09T08:31:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 02:35:00 04/09/2010
INQUIRER.net

BATO, CAMARINES SUR—Streamers of congratulations still hang in Barangay San Vicente here for its instant celebrity-daughter, Maria Venus Raj, who would have represented the country in the Miss Universe pageant in August after winning the most coveted Binibining Pilipinas title.

But her reign had been cut short by organizers less than a month ago.

“My fight is now more than just chasing a dream. It is about clearing my soiled reputation. It is about standing up for people who are poor and born out of wedlock. It is a fight for acceptance,” Raj said in an interview at her house made of wood, bamboo and “anahaw” leaves.

She has been living in the house without electricity for 21 years.

Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) took back her crown when it discovered false information in her birth certificate—that she was born in San Vicente, Bato, Camarines Sur, when she and her mother said she was actually born in Doha, Qatar; that her father is a Catholic Filipino when, in fact, he is an Indian; and that her parents were married when they were actually not.

Mother is OFW

During the pre-pageant’s panel and individual interviews in November last year, Raj had said she was born in Qatar, where her mother, Ester Bayonito, had worked as a domestic helper from 1986 to 1988, and was brought to the Philippines a month later.

Raj has professed her innocence, saying she had nothing to do with the information her aunt put in the document when her birth was registered three years after. She discovered the inconsistency when she applied for a college scholarship at the Francis Papica Foundation, which had not been corrected until she was dethroned.

Raj said she and her mother had no idea that she would someday be joining a national beauty pageant and that they were not able to correct the errors in her birth certificate because this would entail extra expenses.

Local contests

The youngest in a brood of five children, Raj started joining local beauty pageants when she was 17 years old, as well as oratorical contests at San Vicente High School.

“Whenever I won, I would give the prize money to my mother, who saved it up to buy seeds for the planting season,” she said. Her mother, now 59, is a tenant farmer, dressmaker and “hilot” in their village.

“My dream, more than to be a beauty queen or a model, is to just really give my family a comfortable life,” said Raj, who graduated, cum laude, with a journalism degree at Bicol University.

Raj was Miss Bicolandia in 2007 and Miss Philippines-Ecotourism in the Miss Philippines Earth pageant in 2008. With her winnings, she started buying land on installment basis for her mother.

“We moved from one place to another … about four times. It was hard not to have your own place. When there were conflicts we were always forced to leave,” Raj said in Bicol.

Ma. Lourdes Pili, Raj’s English teacher at San Vicente High School, said she used to coach Raj for oratorical contests.

“What always amazed me about Venus was her determination to succeed. Whenever she joined contests, we would borrow uniform and shoes because hers were old and faded. But she was never discouraged,” Pili said.

Resign or be dethroned

In a press conference in Naga City on Wednesday, Raj recalled how hard she cried when she was told about the decision of BPCI officials to strip her of her title.

Her predicament, she said, started a day after she was crowned on March 6 when Stella Marquez de Araneta, pageant head, supposedly expressed shock when she learned that she was born in Doha.

Raj said she was given two options—resign or be dethroned.

She said she was coaxed to sign a letter of resignation and was advised not to talk about the reason for it to protect her and her family from “judgmental people who would belittle them because of her past.”

When she told the organizers that she could not just sign a document without the presence of a lawyer, they met again for several hours only to tell her that she would be dethroned, she said.

Raj’s replacement will be the contest’s second runner-up, Helen Nicolette Henson, as the first runner-up, Dianne Necio was only 17 years old then.

According to Miss Universe pageant rules, the winner of the title must be 18 years old.

Poor girls’ dreams

Anjo Santos, Raj’s talent manager and mentor, said he was shocked at the sudden decision of BPCI. “It killed the dreams of poor beautiful girls like her who came from poor families to pursue their ambitions to succeed.”

She was never given due process, he added.

Because of embarrassment over her dethronement less than a month after she was crowned and the fear of being the talk of the town, Raj and her mother would not go out of their house.

Raj’s name is now all over the blogosphere. Fan pages on the social networking site Facebook were created to petition her reinstatement as the “country’s rightful candidate in the Miss Universe pageant.”

Free legal support

Lawyer Francis Padua Papica, who sponsored Raj’s college education, and another counsel volunteered to defend her for free.

A netizen, who requested to be identified only as King and a student of Bicol University, said his fan page would average around 300 interactions a day and had more than a thousand members.

One of Raj’s friends, Christian Jay Millena, 21, of Daraga town in Albay, believes BPCI has not dealt with Raj’s case with tact and decency.

“Take note that the BPCI even failed to properly inform the public and even the persons concerned of the real issue why Venus was dethroned,” he said.

Even Dante Jimenez, chair of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and also a Bicolano, pledged his group’s full legal support during the press conference held at Avenue Plaza Hotel in Naga.

‘Handiwork of losers’

“I think this is the handiwork of losers who wanted to dethrone a legitimate winner,” Jimenez said.

Some 50 children from poor communities welcomed Raj with flowers to dramatize her roots and support from fellow Bicolanos. Before leaving, she told them not to give up on their dreams even though how poor they were.

“She is an inspiration to ordinary girls with beauty and brains who are just daughters of poor farmers or fisherfolk. She is a perfect inspiration to ordinary Filipinos who can tell the whole world that economic status is not a hindrance to fulfill a career using their God-given talent,” said Santos, Raj’s talent manager. With a report from Juan Escandor Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon

Friends support dethroned beauty queen

2010-03-31T02:42:00.000+08:00

INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Maria Venus Raj was excited about her homecoming as a beauty queen that was planned for after the Holy Week, but before she could even set foot on her hometown in Bato, Camarines Sur, she was stripped of her Binibining Pilipinas title.

Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. broke the news of the dethronement in a text message to media organizations this way: “Today March 29, 2010, Bb. Pilipinas Charities, Inc. decided, with a heavy heart, to let Bb. Pilipinas-Universe 2010 Maria Venus Raj go, after the organization discovered inconsistencies contained in her birth records, in contrast to her personal account of her birth.”

Thus, the Indian-Filipino Raj will no longer represent the country in the 59th Miss Universe pageant in August.

“Yesterday (Monday), I cried when I learned that I would no longer be Bb. Pilipinas-Universe. I felt I was left with no other options but to wake up the next day without a crown,” the 21-year-old Raj told the Inquirer in a calm and gloomy voice.

She intentionally did not answer phone calls and text messages that day but she said the support she has been getting was overwhelming.

“Realizing there were countless people who believed in me, it gave me strength and hope,” Raj said in a mobile phone interview.

She said she could not thank her supporters and fans enough.

“I could only be so grateful that people are there to stand by me. My family has been praying for me,” Raj said.

She said two of her sisters cried with her. While her mom appeared to be tough, she knew she was hurting, too.

The Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) has yet to issue an official document about the dethronement. Raj said she has not yet received anything.

“I am leaving this in the hands of the lawyers. For the meantime I could only thank those who have supported me from the beginning,” Raj said.

“Kahit naman mahirap ka lang, pero may pinag-aralan, alam mo pa rin ang tama at mali. Alam mo ang mga karapatan mong dapat ipaglaban (Even if you’re poor, but if you’re educated, you would know what is right and wrong. You know what rights you have to fight for),” Raj said.

Raj lives in a nipa hut in the middle of a sprawling rice field in Bato town. Her mother is a farmer and a dressmaker.

Raj said that walking on rice paddy dikes was early training for walking on fashion runways.

On the social networking site Facebook, hundreds of her friends and fans expressed frustration and anger at the pageant organizer’s decision to take back the crown from Raj.

“The Bb. Pilipinas Foundation should have made the decision when it was till screening the candidates,” said one Facebook “friend” of Raj.

An online petition to return the crown to Raj has already been created.

The Facebook page was meant to send a message to the Bb. Pilipinas Foundation that its decision to dethrone Raj was a mistake.

“These are not fair. She has all the potential to win the crown in Miss Universe 2010. So what if she is half Indian? Obviously, the second runner-up is favored by the charity,” said a post on the newly created site.

“To Stella Araneta of BPCI, God forgive you for the injustice that you brought not only to Venus but [to] the whole nation. By dethroning [her], you gave up the only chance of taking back the Ms. Universe crown to the Philippines,” said another post.

Still another post said Raj should seek assistance from the government to settle the issue. “Ask for a certified memo that will state her citizenship. According to the Philippine Constitution, if one of the child's parent is a Filipino, then he or she is a Filipino citizen. Her mom is a Filipina. [It] just happened that Venus was born in Doha, Qatar.”

Several of the newly created page’s 286 members also called for flooding the BPCI with e-mails asking the reinstallment of Raj as BB Pilipinas-Universe.

In Naga City, the executive committee of Ms Bicolandia passed a resolution expressing support for Raj and disapproval of BPCI’s decision.

Nene De Asis, chair of Ms Bicolandia executive committee, said they would extend legal and financial assistance to Raj.

“We are giving her financial assistance because we know that she was also stripped of her prize. We believe in Venus’ integrity and qualification. We are supporting her all the way,” said De Asis.

Raj was Ms Bicolandia 2007.

De Asis hinted that the decision of the BPCI was also an invalidation of the rules of Ms Bicolandia, which also do not admit non-Bicol natives as candidates.

Meanwhile, Albay Governor Joey Salceda expressed dismay at the ouster of Raj and her replacement by her second runner-up.

Salceda said he would ask the organizers why Ms Diane Samar Necio, the first runner-up, did not automatically take the place of Raj.

“I know, this is very parochial, even trivial to some, but I am asking the organizers why the first runner-up, Ms Diane Samar Necio, my townmate, did not automatically take the place of Ms Binibining Pilipinas-Universe, Ms. Venus Raj, who was ousted,” Salceda said.

“Typically, we send a morena to Ms Universe, and Ms Necio was a morena beauty and she was proclaimed the first runner-up,” he said.

Over the past three years, Albay has had a bountiful harvest of beauty trophies. Last year, Melody Gersbach first won as Ms Magayon 2009 before becoming Binibining Pilipinas-International and a semi-finalist in China.

Necio, the Bb. Pilipinas Universe first runner-up, was a runner-up to Gerbasch in the Mutya ng Magayon Pageant.

Another Albay beauty, Ms Jane Bañares, won as Mutya ng Pilipinas 2009 even after losing in Mutya ng Magayon but winning Ms Polangui.

Salceda said these titles are a source of local pride and, to a certain extent, a uniting force for Bicolanos.

“We provided assistance to three candidates in this year's Binibining Pilipinas (Raj, Necio and Santos from Daraga who was actually the winner of Ms Magayon 2009). We sent a delegation to China to support Ms Melody Gersbach,” Salceda pointed out.

Raj won the title from last year’s winner, Pamela Bianca Manalo, in a glittering four-hour pageant at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on March 7.

She was voted Miss Friendship by fellow candidates and also won the Best in Long Gown and Best in Terno awards.

She graduated cum laude with a degree in Communication Arts from Bicol University last year.

GMA 7 contract artist Krista Kleiner was proclaimed Binibining Pilipinas-International and named Best in Talent and Best in Swimsuit.

Czarina Catherine Gatbonton from Malolos, Bulacan, was the winner of the Binibining Pilipinas-World title.

The three titleholders bagged a prize package that included a P250,000-contract with Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc., accident insurance worth P2 million, wardrobe and accessories from Cumbia worth P150,000, as well as cash and products from Natasha worth P50,000.

Raj’s fellow Bicolana, 17-year-old Dianne Necio, was first runner-up, while Pampanga’s Helen Nicolette Henson was second runner-up. Henson was also named Miss Photogenic, Miss Fit n’ Right and Miss Philippine Airlines.

Broadcaster Mike Enriquez, boxing champ Nonito Donaire and 1970 Miss International Aurora Pijuan were among the judges of the competition televised on GMA 7. Reports from Ephraim Aguilar, Jonas Cabiles Soltes and Mar Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon

'Jueteng' whistle-blower laid to rest

2010-03-06T20:18:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar, Mar S. Arguelles
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 18:50:00 03/06/2010
INQUIRER.net

DARAGA, Albay, Philippines—Illegal gambling scam whistle-blower Wilfredo “Boy” Mayor, 54, who was shot dead last Sunday, was laid to rest in a simple interment rites here Saturday afternoon.

More than 500 people, mostly family members, friends and supporters, brought him to his grave at the Pristine Memorial Gardens in nearby Legazpi City.

Speaking for the bereaved family, Mayor's daughter Maybell said they were leaving his father's murderers on the hands of God for justice.

“Bahala na saindo an Dios. Maabot man an panahon nindo (May God deal with you. Your time will come),” she said with trembling hands in her eulogy at the Tagas Chapel.

“I know that my father has already forgiven you. But you have given the Lord no choice but to deal with you just as your conscience is dealing with you now,” she added.

Maybelle added that his father was not perfect but she asked the people who had nothing good to say about him to respect his memory.

No politicians were seen in the burial, except for the writhes they had sent.

One of the bouquets came from Senator Panfilo Lacson, the one who brought Mayor to the Senate to reveal the alleged involvement of the First Family in “jueteng” payoffs.

Lacson is currently hiding, shunning his pending arrest in relation to the Dacer-Corbito murder case.

Not even Mayor's friend and fellow whistle-blower Sandra Cam was present in the event.

Mayor's supporters from Barangay (Village) Tagas, where he lived and once served as barangay chairman, wore black shirts with Mayor's face printed on them.

“Tagas” literally means tough in the local dialect, and they used it to describe their former leader.

“Talagang matagas ka (You are really tough),” the T-shirts bore.

Words written on a ribbon on Mayor's silver-grey coffin read, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept my faith.”

A task force that was formed by the Philippine National Police arrived here Tuesday to gather leads about the murder.

Chief Supt. Cecilio Calleja, Bicol police director, said the task force had been interviewing people related to Mayor and had also been verifying statements released by Cam to the media.

Cam, who visited the wake of Mayor at his residence in Daraga, Albay, on Thursday, said she believed that Mayor’s planned exposé on public works projects triggered the plot to kill him, but she did not rule out the jueteng and casino debt angles.

She added that she was not accusing businessman Zaldy Co and his brother of masterminding the killing of Mayor. In a previous radio interview, Cam said Mayor mentioned Co as the biggest contractor in Bicol, cornering most of the public works projects in the region.

A successful businessman and a philanthropist, Co incidentally owns the Pristine Memorial Gardens.

Cam said that in her conversation with Mayor, he told her about a P40-million public works project he was pursuing at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and that a public works official told him to shell out a 20-percent SOP (standard operating procedure), a euphemism for commission in order to get the project.

Cam, however, did not name the DPWH official.

Running a local construction firm, Mayor has shifted to the construction business after the “jueteng” scam controversy.

Archbishop Oscar Cruz supported Cam's claims in a statement made through the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website.

Cruz, who spoke to Mayor four days before his death, said Mayor was about to identify eight or nine lawmakers involved in the public works scam had he not been liquidated.

Page one image 12/31/2009

2009-12-31T01:55:00.002+08:00

Business booms while waiting for big bang

2009-12-31T01:52:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY--With more than 75,000 volcano-watchers flocking into Albay province this month alone, there were no vacant tables at the Small Talk Café on Sunday.

The Hotel St. Ellis, an expensive establishment that opened only this month, had just one room left on Tuesday night. Hotel Venezia was fully booked for five days until the 29th.

Taxi drivers say they’re averaging only three hours of sleep and car rental services are on round-the-clock operations.

Business is booming in Albay as thousands of adventure-seeking tourists are drawn to the restive Mayon Volcano with many even risking their lives to get close to the spectacular flowing lava, according to provincial authorities.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said 2,400 tourists a day had been pouring into the area since the famously active volcano started oozing lava on Dec. 14, compared with about 200 a day before.

“All the hotels are fully booked, even the cheapest ones,” Salceda said.

He said the tourists typically only stay overnight to view the crimson lava oozing from the volcano’s crater in the dark.

“It is like a slow-moving meteor show. You really feel awe when you see it,” he said.

Courting danger

However, Salceda said many tourists were also slipping past security patrols to enter the 8-kilometer danger zone around Mayon to get a close-up experience of the slow-moving lava column.

“There are enough thrill-seekers and, when you combine them with some enterprising local guides, they find their way in,” he said.

The military heightened security around Mayon on Monday after two foreign tourists were seen over the weekend riding all-terrain vehicles toward the volcano.

Salceda warned that although the lava was slow-moving, there was still a danger from volcanic ash that could mix with rainwater to form a lethal, fast-moving mudflow.

Such a confluence had claimed hundreds of lives in the past, most recently in 2006.

“It’s a big problem. I think the first violation of the zero casualty [record] will be a dead tourist,” said Salceda.

“At the moment of eruption, the local guides will have a better chance of getting out. The hapless tourist will be left behind,” he said.

Businesses here claim that their revenues have increased by as much as 30 percent since Mayon started becoming restive as tourists are drawn to the volcanic show.

Soaring revenues

At the Small Talk Café, diners came nonstop on Sunday. Café owner Bernadette Peralta said it was like Valentine’s Day, the only time of the year when sales would triple.

“We have even surpassed last year’s December sales when there was less competition,” said Peralta, noting that the café experienced similar high sales in 2006, when the volcano last erupted.

One of Small Talk’s specialties, Pasta Mayon, has also become some kind of attraction. The dish is made from the triangular ravioli pasta arranged to resemble Mayon’s nearly perfect cone. It is topped by a sizzling red sauce that looks like flowing lava.

Round-the-clock service

There is round-the-clock demand for car services from tourists asking to be driven to Ligñon Hill whose deck affords a full view of Mayon as well as a 360-degree vista of the city and neighboring Daraga town.

Harvey Santos Mayores, manager of the Early Riser Taxi Services, who drives one of his own units, said he is usually on the road until 2 a.m.

Edward Belda, a driver for the Benmar Transport Services, has been hiring himself out to media organizations covering the natural disaster by day and to lava-watching tourists by night.

The flag-down rate for taxicabs here is P30. Car rental rates range from P3,500 to P4,500 per day, depending on the length and duration of travel.

Tour guides

On ordinary days, 60-year-old Benny Rodriguez is a golf course caretaker in Barangay Padang. Now he earns extra as a tour guide.

He said many tourists wanting a closer view of Mayon would negotiate the rough climb to the Legazpi Golf Course, which is inside the 8-km extended danger zone. The course is just within the 5-km radius of the volcano.

Not being a regular guide, Rodriguez, whose clients include media people, tourists and celebrities, does not charge a fixed rate and accepts whatever the customer is willing to give.

He said local tourists tend to be more generous. Recently, a famous golf-playing television host paid him P1,000.

Chopper rides

Misibis Bay Raintree, a luxury island resort in the Albay Gulf and the Pacific Ocean, has noted a significant increase in revenues from its A-list market.

The resort on Cagraray Island offers to high-end clients a volcano adventure tour package, which includes a one-hour chopper ride or an ocean cruise to view Mayon from a safe distance.

Manager Ian Varona said there are precautions to take to ensure the safety of tourists but Mayon, one of the world’s wonders, should not be feared.

He said letting tourism thrive will help boost the local economy, generate more jobs and bring long-term benefits.

Losses suffered

Political economist Carl Ala of the University of the Philippines-Manila, who is now based in Bicol, said that increased business revenues because of the Mayon eruption were still nothing compared to the losses suffered.

“We should also see the calamity’s damage to crops. Many farmers were not able to harvest. The government’s relief spending amounts to P1.5 million daily,” Ala said.

Salceda, who earlier said that disaster tourism was not one of his government’s development strategies, estimated that 75,000 tourists came to Albay in December alone.

This one-month figure has already surpassed the number of tourists that arrived in the province in 2008, he said. With a report from Agence France-Presse

Tourists look for best view of Mayon

2009-12-28T07:31:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 01:24:00 12/28/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY—Hotel Venezia is fully booked until Tuesday.

When tourists—from Asia, America and Europe—come, they would ask the front desk which part of Legazpi would give them the best view of the erupting volcano, especially at night.

Gail Narramore, a British-South African missionary, has found Mount Mayon a stunning sight when evening falls.

“It looks like a Christmas tree,” said Narramore, who founded the Albay-based charity group Tiwala Kids and Communities.

Front desk officer Pearl de Guzman told the Inquirer that guests checking into the 40-room hotel had increased since the 2,460-meter mountain started spewing lava two weeks ago.

Digvijay Ankoti, 29, came all way from India just to see the eruption. He drove from Manila to Legazpi with two other Indian friends, one of them married to a Filipino.

It was Ankoti’s first time to see a volcano on the brink of a possibly hazardous blast.

He and his companions have gone lava-watching, going to the top of Ligñon Hill, which offers a full view of the volcano when the sky is clear. The hilltop also offers a 360-degree view of this city and neighboring Daraga town.

Barred from danger zone

Marian Lacson-Singh, 32, one of Ankoti’s companions, said the lava trail was “magnificent,” which made their long drive from Manila worthwhile.

Ankoti said his group once tried to venture into a danger zone—an area within an 8-kilometer radius from the volcano’s flaming mouth—hoping they could get a closer look of the eruption.

The military barred them.

Other tourist sites

Manuel Montiero, 57, from Luxembourg, who also went Mayon-watching at the observatory, said he had seen the Taal, Pinatubo and Bulusan volcanoes but found Mayon most captivating.

Montiero voted for Mayon in the 7 Wonders of the World online search.

Tourism department offices were closed for the holidays and the exact number of tourists, foreign and domestic, who have come to Albay to watch the spectacle of an erupting volcano were not immediately available.

Aside from Mayon, other tourist destinations in Albay are the Misibis resort, Embarcadero commercial complex, and the Tiwi and Manito geothermal sites. Neighboring Sorsogon province offers whale shark-watching in Donsol town.

Disaster tourism

While tourists may have been drawn to the sight of lava cascading down the slopes of Mayon, the provincial government is not keen on encouraging “disaster tourism,” Gov. Joey Salceda said in an earlier interview.

“Disaster tourism is certainly not within the contemplation of the provincial development strategy, even if disaster risk reduction and tourism are integral components,” he said.

Salceda said the sudden surge of tourists was an unintended consequence of a volcanic eruption.

He said the increased tourist arrivals were reflected in the number of visitors Mayon-watching at the observatory (where the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology or Phivolcs is located), in increased visits by nongovernment organizations and sociocivic groups to evacuation centers, and in wider media coverage of Albay.

Bicol Tourism Director Nini Ravanilla described Mayon as a timeless tourist attraction.

The volcano has erupted 49 times since records began, claiming thousands of lives. In 1814, more than 1,200 people were killed as lava buried the town of Cagsawa.

Deceptive calm

Alert Level 4 remains hoisted over Mayon, meaning a hazardous eruption is possible within days.

Volcanologists yesterday reiterated that while Mayon might be showing less visible signs of unrest, this could be a deceptive calm before a deadly eruption.

“Do not become complacent. The people only see what is coming out of the crater and that is often cloud covered. It is not just the observed phenomenon that matters. We also look at the quakes, the gas emitted and the swelling of the volcano,” warned Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum.

“We are telling the people, ‘Do not just count the number of quakes or what you see from the crater.’ It may look calm but it is not calm. It can still explode,” Solidum said in a radio broadcast.

“You might think it is taking a break but the volcano is still swelling,” he said, after the restive volcano produced fewer ash emissions on Sunday than in previous days.

2006 pattern

Solidum said the volcano could stay active for as long as two months, similar to its last eruption in 2006 when it simmered for months, dumping tons of ash on its slopes.

No one was killed by the eruption itself but in December of that year a passing typhoon dislodged the ash from Mayon’s slopes, turning it into a fast-moving mudflow that covered villages and killed about a thousand people.

More than 47,000 people have fled to 29 evacuation centers, although some villagers are known to defy Army security, sneaking out to periodically return home for supplies.

Still restive

Phivolcs said that based on observations over a 24-hour period, Mayon was still in a state of high unrest, unleashing nine ash explosions accompanied by rumbling sounds.

The blasts produced dirty white to brownish ash columns, with lava fragments, that reached heights of up to 1,000 meters above the summit. Forty-four volcanic earthquakes were recorded.

The sulfur dioxide emission rate has decreased from the previous 8,993 tons per day to 2,304 tons per day.

Communications equipment

As part of intensified preparations for a major eruption, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) regional office has issued additional communication equipment to Task Force Mayon (TFM).

According to Capt. Razaleigh G. Bansawan, TFM spokesperson, a total of 900 Motorola handheld radios with complete accessories have been issued to the task force.

The radios were distributed to nine military checkpoints within the danger zones.

Officials said forced evacuation of villagers seemed to be working, especially in view of government assurances to residents that their property would be protected during their absence. With reports from Rey M. Nasol, Inquirer Southern Luzon, and AFP

‘Damayan’ spirit alive amid threat of big Mayon eruption

2009-12-27T00:24:00.002+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon

LEGAZPI CITY—In a world that has gotten smaller for the 47,000 evacuees from Mayon Volcano, everything has to be shared—from food to sleeping mats, from bathrooms to the air they breathe.

And they are living together after escaping a common danger—a possible major eruption of Mayon that, scientists Saturday warned, remained a real threat because of the buildup of magma, clogging the volcano.

In their now smaller world in an evacuation center at Albay Central School, 367 displaced families from Barangay Matanag receive the same amount of food from relief agencies—regardless of the size of each family.

It is in such situations that the damayan (sharing) culture among Filipinos comes to the fore, sociologists say.

“Smaller families would share what they have with bigger families. We would help one another,” evacuee Cynthia Aydalla, a mother of four, told the Inquirer.

“We would buy vegetables from other evacuees. They would bring their harvests here in the evacuation center rather than sell them in the market,” she said.

Sharing little they have

Matanag is one of more than 30 villages within the 8-kilometer danger zone whose residents had to flee their homes to escape the threat from Mayon.

Once it happened that the Aydallas received six kilograms of rice, four packs of noodles, eight canned goods, and a 25-gram pack of coffee that were supposed to be good for three days.

That was also the same ration that Alex Abellena and his family of seven children received—an amount that wouldn’t last them more than two days.

Such a discrepancy has fostered a feeling of generosity among the evacuees.

One big family

In the cramped classrooms of San Roque Elementary School, lack of a comfortable sleeping space was also a problem.

The solution: The evacuees put together, like jigsaw puzzle pieces, whatever mats they had. In the absence of mats, they shared cardboard cartons to shield themselves against the cold floors.

“All evacuees would sleep together like one big family,” said Josie Perez, 41, of Barangay Mabinit.

Since a classroom houses as many as over 100 people, some would sleep in the hallways, Perez said. Others, including a one-month-old baby, slept on a stage.

Upon waking up, over 1,000 evacuees would form long queues to the only two functional bathrooms in the evacuation center.

“Some of us would wake as early as 1 a.m. to avoid the long queues. Others found it more convenient to go back to their houses in the danger zones to clean themselves up,” Perez told the Inquirer.

Culture of generosity

Dolly Laguilles, a sociology professor from Bicol University in Daraga, Albay, said: “It is true that crisis creates a political climate for giving. But in the evacuation centers, it may be more than that.”

She said the tales of generosity from crowded evacuation centers were real and deeply rooted to the Filipino way of life.

“Generosity is a Christian deed. Filipinos are innately generous people,” Laguilles said. “Calamities like this would simply test generosity, a value that has always been there, though, at times, it just has to be revived.

She added: “The damayan culture becomes a source of strength for the refugees. It helps them cope and stand strong.”

Uniquely Filipino

Laguilles said Filipino sociologists have unique terms to describe similar rural values of sharing—“pakikisama, damayan, and bayanihan.”

“These are unique Filipino values deeply embedded in the Filipino’s familial culture.”

She said the damayan culture preserved in rural communities was something urban Filipinos could learn from.

“Urban Filipinos value their space and privacy so much more than the rural folk,” Laguilles said. “That is why the refugees could adapt in crowded evacuation centers and could easily share what they have with one another.”

The sense of being faced with the same danger—that posed by an angry mountain—may have reinforced that communal feeling.

Buildup of magma

Volcanologists on Saturday said that while fewer earthquakes had been recorded from the volcano in recent days, magma continued to build up inside and any lull in activity could be followed by a bigger eruption.

A hazardous eruption remains possible within days, and residents who live near the volcano’s slopes should not be misled into leaving the evacuation centers and venturing back to their homes, warned volcanologist Ed Laguerta.

“The number of volcanic earthquakes has gone down, but this is just part of the eruptive cycle of Mayon,” he said.

1984 lesson

The number of quakes decreased from 871 recorded during the 24-hour period ending Friday morning to 406 recorded during the next 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Laguerta said instruments showed the volcano remained inflated despite having spilled more than 20 million cubic meters of lava over the last two weeks. That means the lava being released is being replaced by magma coming from beneath the volcano.

“We are looking not only at what Mayon is presently exhibiting because that fluctuates. We are also looking at its past characteristics,” he said, recalling that in 1984, a four-day lull was followed by a sudden, big eruption.

He added: “What is becoming clear is that (the volcano) is getting clogged. That is when the lava is rising but cannot get out.”

“Just because the volcano looks calm … it does not mean its activity is decreasing. We cannot be off our guard. After this calm period, it could explode with even more force,” Laguerta said.

Hissing, rumbling

Showing no letup in its “high level of activity,” Mayon hissed and rumbled, ejecting ash columns a kilometer high from its summit, Phivolcs said.

It said the rumblings continued to be heard at the Lignon Hill Observatory in Legazpi. A total of 406 earthquakes also shook the mountain and emissions of sulfur dioxide remained high at 8,993 tons per day.

Alert level 4, meaning a hazardous eruption is possible within days, remains enforced and no one is allowed to venture within the 8-km danger zone from the summit, it said.

“Areas just outside of this (danger zone) should prepare for evacuation in the event hazardous explosive eruptions intensify,” Phivolcs said.

Gov. Joey Salceda is offering P100,000 in cash to any barangay affected by the continuing eruptions that doesn’t suffer any casualties.

“If we achieve the zero-casualty target, then it would entice investors to come in because it is proven that we can move on in the mid of calamities, yet Albay is still worth investing,” Salceda said.

The 2,460-meter has erupted 49 times in recorded history. In 1814, more than 1,200 people were killed as lava buried the town of Cagsawa. With reports from Alcuin Papa, AP and AFP

Page one image 12/27/09

2009-12-26T23:28:00.000+08:00

Page one image 12/26/09

2009-12-26T10:44:00.001+08:00

Mayon evacuees keep alive spirit of Christmas

2009-12-26T10:42:00.001+08:00

By Rey M. Nasol, Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon, and Alcuin Papa in Manila
Philippine Daily Inquirer
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY--In the shadow of a rumbling volcano, they shared a noche buena (midnight repast) of donated noodles, fish and fruits, opened presents and laughed at clowns.

Even in times of adversity, many among the 47,000 villagers who have sought shelter in evacuation camps to flee the wrath of Mayon Volcano in Albay province tried to keep the Christmas spirit alive.

But fear of the deadly mountain is never far away. Its booming sounds could be heard even in this city, 15 kilometers away.

Five days after raising to 4 the alert level around Mayon and declaring that a hazardous eruption was imminent, volcanologists yesterday warned that Mayon was erupting with more force—hurling lava higher into the sky—and that the danger of a big blast was not over.

“The flow of lava is continuing. The tremors are continuing. So the notion that a big bang is no longer going to happen doesn’t hold. It’s clear the activity has been sustained with more force,” Director Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) told the Inquirer.

Christmas is for children

Solidum said the relatively lower number of earthquakes coming from the volcano the past few days should not be misconstrued as a waning of its fury.

But children in the evacuation camps seemed oblivious of the dangers and didn’t seem to mind that their world had become smaller.

If the 21 children in Room 29 at Albay Central School sounded excited on Christmas Eve, it was because they were celebrating a bigger noche buena than they were used to.

While their parents were preparing for a potluck feast, the children cavorted around as any other kids would do during holidays.

Ten-year-old Erah Mae Abellana of Barangay Matanag said she was happy even if their family had to spend Christmas away from their home.

“I am happy because we have many playmates here and we also received food rations,” Erah said in Bicol.

She said the only thing she and her friends had not been able to do was sing carols in their neighborhood.

Thankful they are safe

Mother-of-two Cris Arquero, 28, was busy cooking spaghetti on a charcoal stove. Hours earlier, a politician had come visiting and given away noche buena packages.

“Just a little get-together meal for us this Christmas,” Arquero said.

Other mothers planned games for children.

Arquero said that although this Christmas was unusual for them, it was not a reason to be unhappy.

“We could only be thankful that we are safe. What is important is that we still could all be together,” she said.

She added the calamity had also given her a chance to teach good values to her 5-year-old daughter.

“Here, she learns how to live harmoniously with other people. She also learns the value of sharing our blessings, no matter how little we have,” Arquero said.

Santas and clowns

Milagros Aydalla, 48, was glad she had something for noche buena, although it was “not as happy as our Christmas last year.”

On Thursday night, Masses were celebrated in the centers. Evacuees received gifts or were entertained by soldiers in Santa hats who belted out songs.

Still the mood at times was subdued, with many evacuees opting to sleep before midnight.

“We have to give them Christmas Eve midnight meal so at least while in the evacuation center, they can also feel the Christmas celebration,” said Legazpi Mayor Noel Rosal.

Gov. Joey Salceda distributed P100 bills to children to be spent any way they wanted.

‘They are stubborn’

The celebration continued Friday, with a clown’s magic tricks and parlor games bringing laughter to the children in one elementary school that has been turned into a temporary shelter.

Still, despite the dangers posed by Mayon, many families chose to stay in their homes near the volcano, spending their Christmas Eve in areas that had already been declared a no man’s land.

In a neighborhood in Barangay Matanag, children played in the streets while a karaoke machine rocked with music. A baby on a crib was on a doorstep while sari-sari stores were in business as usual.

Soldiers said they had never stopped warning villagers to flee.

“But they are stubborn. They would tell us they knew the volcano better than us,” Army Pfc. Rennel Madla said.

Higher lava fountains

Mayon’s explosions continued yesterday, showing “more force in terms of lava fountaining,” Solidum said.

The fountains of lava, which had risen as high as 500 meters above the summit before, yesterday soared to a height of one kilometer, he said.

Ash explosions got stronger, too, reaching a maximum height of two kilometers.

Solidum said rock falls were also occurring. Rock falls are caused by the detachment of lava fragments from the summit and the upper slopes of the volcano.

These rock falls can generate dangerous pyroclastic flows, or flows of volcanic ash, dust, rocks and debris that rush down the slopes at speeds of 100 km per hour, with temperatures of up to 420 degrees Celsius, Solidum said.

Health risks

Solidum also warned against health hazards from ashfall on the southwest side of the volcano. He said the white ash blown into residential areas could cause respiratory ailments.

Sulfur dioxide emission rate was still high at 2,738 tons per day.

Active river channels and those identified as lahar prone in the southern sector should be avoided, especially when there is prolonged rainfall, Phivolcs said.

Dangerous lull

Solidum told reporters that Mayon’s sustained high level unrest had eliminated the possibility of a series of quiet eruptions such those that occurred in 2006, which were largely harmless to residents.

“Rumbling and booming sounds are now audible even as far as the city proper of Legazpi, which is 15 kilometers away from the crater,” Solidum said.

Resident volcanologist Eduardo Laguerta said the volume of lava deposits on the slopes had exceeded the Phivolcs estimate of 20 million cubic meters.

He recalled that Mayon showed similar activities prior to its violent eruption in 1984, which was preceded by a four-day lull.

At the time, people thought the volcano had quieted down, only for them to be awakened and sent scampering by a big blast at dawn.

At least 125 rumbling and booming sounds from the volcano were heard at the Lignon Hill Observatory and in Legazpi during a 24-hour monitoring period ending yesterday, Phivolcs said.

Seismic activity remained high, with instruments recording a total of 871 volcanic earthquakes.

Forced evacuation

Forcible evacuation continued in villages within the danger zones. Soldiers sealed entry points, allowing only the exit of people.

Salceda supervised the distribution of cash gifts (P100 per child) in all evacuation centers.

“Instead of giving the children things (in kind) it is wiser to give them the equivalent so that they have money in their pockets which they may use to buy their gift of choice, be it food or toys,” he said.

With reports from AP and AFP

No rescue for Mayon holdouts, gov warns

2009-12-25T17:27:00.000+08:00

By Rey M. Nasol and Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon and Alcuin Papa in Manila

LEGAZPI CITY—ALBAY OFFIcials yesterday warned villagers that no one would come to help them if they refused to evacuate and Mayon Volcano erupted violently, but the holdouts said they preferred to spend Christmas in their homes than in government centers.

Gov. Joey Salceda issued the warning as troops launched a hunt for the hard-headed ones amid threats of a major eruption by the most active Philippine volcano.

“If you are there, you die there. There is no way of rescuing people (if) rescuers would also be killed,” Salceda said in a press briefing.

In a yet another frightening display of its power, Mayon boomed 124 times over a 24-hour period, while belching out ash columns towering 2 kilometers over its summit, higher than its previous ejections.

But hundreds of villagers still ignored appeals for them to evacuate.

“After field validation, 179 more families are still within the danger zones. This excludes those who have returned without our knowledge,” said Salceda, chair of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC).

Officials recalled that 77 farmers and thousands of animals were scorched to death by scalding volcanic materials in Bonga, Buyuan and Mabinit villages in this city during a series of Mayon eruptions from February to April in 1993.

Taking chances

Despite President Macapagal-Arroyo’s order of forced evacuation, some residents within the 8-km extended danger zone would rather take their chances than leave their possessions and animals behind.

“We have lived here for a long time, we know the volcano. We’d rather spend Christmas here than in the crowded evacuation centers,” said Cris Mendioro, 34, of Barangay Matanag.

Mendioro, whose house is just a few meters from an Army checkpoint, said he and the others had packed their belongings and were ready to leave should a major eruption come.

Volcanologists have placed Mayon—which began spewing ash and lava on Dec. 14—under alert level 4, meaning a hazardous blast could occur within hours or days. The highest alert, level 5, means a major eruption is under way.

Wailing of dogs

Aside from Mayon’s productive soil, cattle, crops, and attachment to pets—like dogs—impel villagers to risk their lives and hang on in their residences, instead of living in evacuation sites.

“We are already listed at the evacuation center but heads of families, like me, come back to feed the pigs and pets,” Arnulfo Marcellana, 43, of Barangay Mabinit, told the Inquirer yesterday morning during the forced evacuation.

“The dogs are pitiful to hear every time we return here. They wail in hunger. If only they will assure us that they will feed our animals, things would be much easier for us,” the father of three added.

On one of his returns, Marcellana decided to just untie his 4-month-old pig so it could look for its own food.

“I just hope it is still there when we are allowed to come back,” he said. “Imagine if their cries are heard at the evacuation center. We would wonder if our pets and animals were having anything to eat.”

Marcellana said the thought kept haunting him and his family now that they were heeding warnings not to return home just yet.

‘I am used to this’

Luis Esquivel, also of Mabini and a relative of some of the farmers killed in the 1993 eruption, said that although he kept coming back to his village, he could not sleep.

He said he was always on the alert, closely watching Mayon’s crater while he tended his crops.

“I have my motorcycle always with me for a quick escape,” Esquivel said. “I am used to this. I have experienced these things six times in my life since childhood.”

He added: “What we are afraid of is the ‘uson’ (pyroclastic flows), which killed farmers here.”

Forced evacuation

In Barangay Bonga, 8 km from the crater, hundreds of people still roamed the streets as if nothing was happening with the volcano.

“Barangay Bonga will be our next target for the forced evacuation simultaneously with other areas in the northern and eastern side of Mayon,” said Capt. Razaleigh G. Bansawan, 901st Infantry Brigade and Task Force Mayon spokesperson.

Mila Atun, 45, a mother of 6, said she came back not only to get firewood and kitchen utensils but also to fetch Mariel Alaurin, an 8-year-old neighbor left behind by her parents, who are now at an evacuation center.

Alaurin, in tears, said her father was working in the rice field when he was taken to the evacuation center. She was left alone at home.

Atun said: “We have gotten used to this kind of situation—evacuating even if we are safe here.”

No entry

As early as 5 a.m. yesterday, Task Force Mayon, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and local government units began implementing Ms Arroyo’s evacuation order.

“A platoon of soldiers from the task force and CHR-Bicol and three military vehicles were sent to the villages within the 6-8-kilometer danger zones to enforce the directive,” Bansawan said.

“As soon as the mission is completed 100 percent, all roads to the restricted areas will be sealed off,” Bansawan said.

No exceptions

Col. Marlou Salazar, commanding officer of the 901st Brigade, briefed the enforcers on the rights of the people and the troops’ responsibilities after everyone had been taken out of the danger zones.

“They will have to patrol the area against thieves because the residents have left some of their belongings, some animals, like pigs, and their pets,” Salazar said.

“Forcible evacuation has been ordered, no more exceptions and operations have commenced,” Salceda said.

He added: “We have patiently explored and employed all means, all ways, just to get the 10,000 families out of danger. We could have completed the task in one day, instead of nine days, but did not due to the 179 families still out there, excluding those who have returned without letting us know.”

He said dogs would also be evacuated, as well as cattle, carabaos, pigs and pets.

New phase

Harmonic tremors from within the volcano have been replaced by more frequent explosions.

Volcanologist Alex Baloloy said these changes, noted since 4 p.m. Wednesday, might indicate a new phase in the volcano’s activity.

Lava fountains reaching a peak height of 500 meters were seen at least four times.

But even if the number of volcanic earthquakes have dropped to 815 from Tuesday’s 1,051 and the sulfur dioxide emission rate have fallen to 5,737 tons a day from 6,737 tons, Baloloy said a hazardous blast was still possible.

“These figures are still very high. There is no lull in Mayon’s volcanic activity,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) scientist said.

Many of Wednesday’s ash explosions were not visible as Mayon was mostly covered with clouds but 124 booms were heard.

Lava at plantations

Lava continued to flow down, reaching flat areas along the Bonga-Buyuan, Miisi, and Lidong channels—all in the volcano’s southeast sector covering this city and the towns of Sto. Domingo and Daraga.

Baloloy said the lava front could have already reached coconut and vegetable plantations, but it was expected to travel more slowly henceforth, having hit flat areas.

In Manila, Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said the decreased number of earthquakes was not a sign that Mayon would quiet down.

“It is the tremors that is more significant. Tremors and the rumbling sounds are longer and more vital... To say the volcano is on its way to quieting down based on the number of recorded earthquakes would be misleading,” Solidum told the Inquirer.

He said volcanic earthquakes, tremors and rumblings were not the only basis in considering the activity of a volcano. Other factors, he said, like ash explosions and lava flow, should be considered.

12/25/09 page one image

2009-12-25T09:36:00.003+08:00

No rescue for bullheaded Mayon residents—Salceda

2009-12-24T19:41:00.004+08:00

By Rey M. Nasol, Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 18:17:00 12/24/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Albay officials on Thursday warned villagers no one would come to help them if they refused to evacuate and Mayon Volcano erupts violently

But hold-outs—residents who continue to resist government’s evacuation orders—said they preferred to spend Christmas in their homes than in evacuation centers.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda issued the warning as troops searched villages in danger zones for the hard-headed residents amid threats of a major eruption by the most active volcano in the Philippines.

"If you are there, you die there. There is no way of rescuing people (if) rescuers would also be killed," Salceda said in a press briefing.

In yet another frightening display of its power, Mayon boomed 124 times over a 24-hour period, while belching ash columns towering 1.2 kilometers over its summit, higher than its previous ejections.

But hundreds of villagers still ignored government appeals for them to evacuate.

"After field validation, 179 more families are still within the danger zones. This excludes those who have returned without our knowledge," said Salceda, chair of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council.

Officials recalled 77 farmers and thousands of animals were burned to death by volcanic materials in Bonga, Buyuan and Mabinit villages in this city during a series of Mayon eruptions from February to April in 1993.

Despite more frequent explosions and President Macapagal-Arroyo's order for forced evacuation, some residents within the 8-km extended danger zone would rather take their chances than leave their possessions and their animals behind.

"We have lived here for a long time, we know the volcano. We'd rather spend Christmas here than in the crowded evacuation centers," said Cris Mendioro, 34, of Barangay Matanag.

Mendioro, whose house is just a few meters from an Army checkpoint, said he and the others had packed their belongings and were ready to leave should the volcano erupt.

Volcanologists have placed Mayon—which began spewing ash on Dec. 14—under alert level 4, meaning a hazardous blast could occur within hours or days. The highest alert, level 5, means a major eruption is underway.

Aside from Mayon’s productive soil, cattle, crops, attachment to pets, like dogs, drive villagers to risk their lives and stay in their residences instead of living in crowded evacuation sites.

"We are already listed at the evacuation center in Barangay San Roque but heads of families, like me, come back to feed the pigs and pets," Arnulfo Marcellana, 43, of Barangay Mabinit, told the INQUIRER Thursday morning during the forced evacuation.

"The dogs are pitiful to hear every time we return here. They wail in hunger. If only they (disaster officials) will assure us that they will feed our animals, things would be much easier for us," the father of three added.

On one of his returns, Marcellana decided to just untie his 4-month-old pig so that it could look for its own food.

"I just hope it is still there when we are allowed to finally go back," he said. "Imagine if their cries could be heard at the evacuation center, we would wonder if our pets and animals were finding anything to eat."

Marcellana said the thought kept bothering him and his family now that they had decided to heed warnings not to return home just yet.

Luis Esquivel, also of Mabini and a relative of some of the farmers killed in the 1993 eruption, said that although he had kept coming back to his village, he could not sleep.

He said he was always on the alert, closely watching Mayon’s crater while he tended his crops.

"I have my motorcycle always with me for a quick escape," Esquivel said. "I am used to this. I have experienced these things six times in my life since childhood."

He added: "What we are afraid of is the 'uson' (pyroclastic flows), which killed farmers here."

In the adjacent Barangay Bonga, 8 km from Mayon's crater, hundreds of people still roamed the streets as if things were normal.

"Barangay Bonga will be our next target for the forced evacuation simultaneously with other areas in the northern and eastern side of Mayon," said Capt. Razaleigh G. Bansawan, 901st Infantry Brigade and Task Force Mayon spokesperson.

Mila Atun, 45, mother of 6, said she came back to get firewood and kitchen utensils, and also to fetch Mariel Alaurin, an 8-year-old neighbor left behind by her parents, who are now at a evacuation center in Gogon Elementary School.

Alaurin, in tears, said her father was working in the rice field when he was taken to the evacuation center. The girl was left home alone.

Atun said: "We have gotten used to this kind of situation—evacuating even if we are safe here."

A man who refused to give his name said his family was already in the evacuation center and that no one was left, except him, to look after their carabao, cows, goats and crops. He said he still has not decided whether to leave Barangay Bonga.

As early as 5 a.m. Thursday, Task Force Mayon, the Commission on Human Rights and local government units began implementing Ms Arroyo’s order for forced evacuation.

"A platoon of soldiers from the task force and CHR-Bicol and three military vehicles were sent to the villages within the 6-8-kilometer danger zones to enforce the directive," Bansawan said during the conduct of the forced evacuation at Barangay Mabinit here.

Bansawan also said that a team from the Albay Health and Emergency Management was also requested to attend to incapacitated persons that would be found in the area.

The directive was also issued to all the units manning the checkpoints along the 8-km danger zones to strictly enforce the no-entry policy at the areas.

"As soon as the mission is 100 percent completed, all road networks to the restricted areas will be sealed off," Bansawan said.

Col. Marlou Salazar, commanding officer of the 901st Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army, briefed the enforcing elements on the rights of the people and their remaining responsibilities after all the people have been forcibly taken out of the danger zones.

"They will have to patrol the area against thieves as the residents opted to leave some of their belongings, some animals like pigs and their pets," Salazar said.

"Forcible evacuation has been ordered, no more exceptions and operations have commenced," Salceda said, adding

"We have patiently explored and employed all means, all ways, all sorts just to get the 10,000 families out of danger and keep within CHR guidance. We could have completed the task in one day instead of nine days but did not due to 179 families still out there, excluding those who have returned without letting us know."

He said dogs would be evacuated as well as the villagers' cattle, carabaos, pigs and pets and be given corresponding feeds for free at their designated evacuation centers in the Albay Breeding Station in Camalig, in Barangay Paraputo in Tabaco City, in Mauraro in Guinobatan and in Bogtong, this city as identified by the Provincial Veterinary Services Office.

Salceda added that the Department of Agriculture Bicol regional office had also provided P15 million fund for post-calamity and rehabilitation activities.

Villagers lose sleep over Mayon, evacuation

2009-12-23T15:36:00.000+08:00

(Page A16)

LEGAZPI CITY—VILLAGERS near Mayon are losing sleep over two things—the volcano’s continued rumbling and soldiers on patrol enforcing orders to forcibly move people out of harm’s way.

Josie Perez, 41, knows how it is to spend sleepless nights. She sneaked back into her house in Barangay Mabinit here to escape an evacuation center that was getting more crowded as Mayon kept sending signs of a major eruption.

Loud rumbling from the volcano kept her awake all night. It didn’t help that the roof of her house shook each time.

At each rumbling, she would go out to look at Mayon. “Its glow has become more intense,” she said.

Evacuees, she said, sneak back into their homes near or inside the danger zones during the day to do three things—wash clothes, gather firewood and feed the animals.

Denver Balenzuela, 3, was in Barangay Matnog in Daraga town at dusk while the rest of the village sat empty like a ghost town after forced evacuation.

Teresita Poquilla, 55, the boy’s grandmother, said they spent the night in their house despite the danger because her grandson refused to use toilets at the evacuation center.

“When the Army went around last night, we turned our lights off for fear that they might force us to go back to the shelters,” Poquilla said.

She recalled seeing a neighbor, a paralytic, being carried away by soldiers.

Poquilla said she and her grandson leaves the evacuation center at 6 a.m. and returns at 4 p.m.

On Monday, they stayed home but rumbling sound from Mayon kept her awake. It sounded, she said, “like rocks chasing one another.”

The absence of a lava fountain despite the raising of the alert level to 4, she said, was what worried her.

“There seems to be a blockage inside the volcano,” she said.
Conrado Nuñez, 71, of Barangay Mabinit, has seen seven previous eruptions.

He sat at the door of his house in the village, keeping watch while his family stayed at the evacuation center in San Roque Elementary School.

If there was something that the villagers fear most, he said, it was what they call uson, a local term for the flow of pyroclastic materials.

Nuñez has learned one lesson in the 1993 eruption—nothing, not even his farm, was worth his life. “We don’t have second lives,” he said. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Dark Christmas for fleeing Mayon folk

2009-12-16T02:59:00.003+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY—Albay officials have begun moving thousands of villagers out of harm’s way near Mayon Volcano after it oozed lava and shot plumes of ash late Monday.

Officials said the villagers would probably spend a bleak Christmas in an evacuation center.

Government volcanologists raised the alert level on the cone-shaped, 2,460-meter volcano overnight to two steps below eruption after ash explosions and dark orange lava fragments glowing in the dark trickled down the mountain slope.

Nearly 50,000 people live in the “hazard areas” within an eight-kilometer radius around Mayon, and authorities were ordering them to leave in case the volcano erupts, Gov. Joey Salceda said.

In Barangay Matanag, the first batch of evacuees, made up mostly of women, children and the elderly, boarded a police truck at 3 p.m. Tuesday. They clutched luggage, plastic bottles of water, mats, pillows, blankets, firewood and kitchenware
“We cannot disobey this order. We are one with the provincial government’s zero-casualty goal,” said Bienvenido Belga Sr., the barangay captain.
20,000 evacuated
‘As of 6 Tuesday night, 4,552 families or over 20,000 people had been evacuated, officials said.
Salceda said he decided to cancel a trip to Copenhagen, where he was to attend a UN climate conference to discuss his province’s experience with typhoons and other natural disasters.

He said he would appeal for foreign aid to deal with the expected influx of displaced villagers into emergency shelters.

The first of 20 vehicles, including Army trucks, were sent to villages to take residents to schools and other temporary housing, according to Juke Nuñez, a provincial emergency management official.

“It’s 10 days before Christmas. Most likely people will be in evacuation centers, and if Mayon’s activity won’t ease down we will not allow them to return to their homes,” Nuñez said. “It’s difficult and sad, especially for children.”

Worsening state

Magma had been rising in the volcano over the past two weeks and began to ooze out of its crater on Monday night, but it could get worse in coming days, said Renato Solidum, head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

“Now lava is trickling down, but if the ascent of magma is sustained there will be lava flows,” Solidum said. “There is also the possibility of an explosion.”

Belga said 362 families in Matanag had to be evacuated to the Albay Central School in the city.

The villagers hardly slept since Monday night. “Everyone is anxious about the volcano,” Belga told the Inquirer.

Most people are afraid of Mayon, which brought tragedies in the past, Belga said. In 1993, the volcano erupted and killed more than 70 people.

Belga said barangay officials had been making the rounds overnight to warn people through a megaphone to stay alert because the volcano could erupt anytime.
The order to evacuate came the next day, Belga said.

Early preparations

Melyn Lascano, 43, said her family had packed their belongings as early as August when the volcano was showing signs of unrest.

“It’s better to always be prepared because Mayon these days is so uncertain,” she said.

Aside from clothes, the Lascanos brought with them food and cooking utensils.
“We were told that relief goods will not yet be distributed tonight (Tuesday) so we made sure we would have something to eat until tomorrow morning,” Lascano said in Bicol.

Adelina Atun, 60, knew as early as Sunday that she and her two children were likely to be evacuated.

Mayon’s rumblings have become louder, Atun said. “Sometimes, the volcano would sound like an airplane,” she said, adding that the intense crater glow would make her feel nervous.

Atun’s husband, however, like most of the menfolk in the village, was left to guard the family’s property and farm animals.

When the first batch of evacuees from Matanag arrived at Albay Central School, the classrooms had already been emptied.

10 families in 1 classroom
The school will also accommodate 362 families from the village and 84 more from Barangay Padang, said Evelyn Bachiller, assistant camp chief.

Ten families, regardless of size, will share one classroom and comfort room.
Bachiller said there were not enough water sources in the school grounds. “We only have one water pump available because the rest had been stolen. But we expect the city government to set up water stations soon,” she said.

Some classes were suspended indefinitely near the danger zone. Officials will find a way to squeeze in classes in school buildings to be used as shelters, Salceda said.

About 30,000 people were moved when Mayon last erupted in 2006. Typhoon-triggered mudslides near the mountain later that year buried entire villages, killing more than 1,000 people.

Most violent eruption

Mayon’s most violent eruption, in 1814, killed more than 1,200 people and buried a town in mud. A 1993 eruption killed 79 people.

The Philippines lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common. Twenty-two out of 37 volcanoes in the archipelago are active. With reports from Alcuin Papa in Manila and Associated Press

12/16/2009 page one image

2009-12-16T01:45:00.001+08:00

AFTER HALF A CENTURY

2009-07-23T16:02:00.001+08:00

DoH: Sorsogon ‘malaria and filariasis-free’
By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 15:38:00 07/23/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines -- After more than half a century, the Department of Health (DoH) declared Sorsogon province "malaria and filariasis free" on Thursday, Bicol health officials said.

It was a milestone to finally declare the province free of the two infectious diseases, Doctor Nestor Santiago Jr., Bicol regional health director, said.

The province has had cases of malaria and filariasis as early as the 1950s and was only finally declared free of them this year, Dr. Alan Lucañas, infectious disease coordinator of the DoH in Bicol, said.

Representatives from the DoH central office in Manila went to Sorsogon for the declaration.

According to the DoH website, malaria is a disease caused by protozoan parasites called Plasmodium. It is usually transmitted through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito.

Its symptoms are chills, fever, too much sweating when the fever subsides, and headache.

Filariasis, which is commonly known as “elephantiasis” because the victim’s legs and arms would swell to a size like those of an elephant’s, is a disease caused by a parasite transmitted by mosquitoes.

Its symptoms are pain and swelling of the breast, vagina, scrotum, legs, and arms; fever, cough, chills, and wheezing.

6 Albay students test positive for H1N1

2009-07-23T15:58:00.002+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 15:37:00 07/23/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—A Benedictine school in Albay suspended classes Thursday after six of its grade school students tested positive for the Influenza A(H1N1) virus, Bicol health officials reported.

Dr. Alan Lucañas of the Department of Health in Bicol, said Thursday the six students of St. Agnes' Academy in this city were now well but were still under home quarantine.

The St. Agnes' Academy declined to identify the H1N1-infected students and refused to give information to the media.

It only announced that classes would be suspended until August 3.

Provincial and city health officials, in coordination with the school, are now contact tracing or identifying other students or teachers who have had close contact with the victims.

They are also finding out if the victims have traveled recently.

Lucañas said the confirmation of the cases was delayed three weeks because the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine— the technology used for testing and confirming H1N1 cases—in the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Manila, was out of order.

All cases nationwide are being tested in the RITM, which in turn send the results in a matter of three to five days to the regional health offices for intervention.

Lucañas said the three-week period that the results were delayed mattered a lot in the enforcement of precautionary measures in the school.

St. Agnes' Academy reported to the DoH high incidence of fever and colds among its students starting early July.

Dr. Nestor Santiago Jr., Bicol health director, said there were now 28 cases of H1N1 in the entire Bicol region—10 in Albay and 18 in Camarines Sur.

He said there were two suspected cases whose test results were pending.

Santiago said the DOH had already localized its intervention measures against H1N1 virus, devolving them to provincial and city health offices.

Founded in 1912, St. Agnes' Academy is the oldest school in Albay, with now around 3,000 students.

The school is the first to suspend classes in Albay province due to the H1N1 virus.

‘Hatton’, ‘Pacquiao’ draw hits on YouTube

2009-05-09T21:51:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 20:53:00 05/09/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines -- Not many would know that a month ago, British boxer Ricky Hatton, whom Manny Pacquiao knocked out in a fight in Las Vegas recently, said in an interview that he would finish the Filipino boxing legend in just two rounds.

But the video of the interview, which has drawn over 54,000 hits on YouTube from the time it was uploaded on March 29 by YouTube user bingcherry06, is actually a comedy act featuring a tiny-voiced Hatton that speaks Bisaya.

The interviewer asks Hatton after how many rounds he thinks he can beat Pacquiao, to which the British boxer answers, “Duha ka rounds (Two rounds)!”

What makes this video funnier now is its contrast to the result of the actual fight, where Pacquiao defeated Hatton in a glorious knockout as early as the second round.

The video was created and uploaded a month ago.

“Duha ka rounds! Timing jud kaayo (Two rounds! How timely!) Bisdak rules!” a YouTube user posted a comment.

The funny YouTube video gained more than 25,000 hits just after the Pacquiao-Hatton fight in Las Vegas. It was also reposted on the social networking site Facebook.

The interviewer asks, “Dili kaha ka mahadlok ni Pacquiao? Ingon ra ba mga tawo nga naa daw kini banipas o agod-agod (Are you not afraid of Paquiao who, people say, has an amulet)?”

Hatton throws a strange answer, “Di na musalir sa akoa oi. Kay didto sa amo sa Siquijor, barang man uso sa amoa. Di mi mutuo og agod-agod. (He is no match to me. In our place in Siquijor, witchcraft is the 'in' thing. We don't believe in amulets).”

“Katong mga silingan namo sa una nga mga wakwak, wala na, gaboksing na sila kay para daw pud sila makasapi. (Our neighbors who were witches are no longer there; they are already into boxing -- to have money),” the Bisaya-speaking Hatton added.

The original video was an interview of Hatton after his fight with Paulie Malignaggi late last year.

The dubbed video has earned more than 250 comments from YouTube users.

Darnel Forro, an Ilonggo student based in Winnipeg, Canada, said he could not stop laughing while watching the video though he could not really fully understand it.

The way the Bisaya lines would match Hatton’s lip movements was amusing.

Forro ran to his father, who was formerly a military sergeant in Cebu province and the Mindanao region, for translation. He said his father laughed so hard before he could even translate it.

This is not the first time videos dubbed in a native language have gained popularity on YouTube.

One of the firsts was the Ilonggo version of a scene sliced from the film 300. It was titled “Benjo Kag ang Batalyon Pitbull (Benjo and the Pitbull Battalion). It has been reposted many times.

The Internet is also laden with funny photos of Pacquiao. These are digitally edited photos showing Pacquiao’s face attached to different bodies.

Several versions were uploaded on YouTube. One of them, which earned as much as 250,000 hits and 470 users’ comments, is a montage of photos showing Pacquiao as Superman, Michael Jackson, Gollum (Lord of the Rings character), Sergio (Dingdong Dantes’ character in the local version of Marimar), and many more.

Another video with more than 220,000 views shows boxer Emmanual Marquez II and Pacquiao dancing Hawaiian to the tune of Pearly Shell.

Forro said the videos would not have been as funny if not for Pacquiao.

Twitter, Facebook abuzz over Pacquiao win

2009-05-03T17:26:00.004+08:00

‘Unbelievable,’ says Mariah Carey
By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 16:48:00 05/03/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – On her Twitter page, popular singer Mariah Carey said Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao’s win over British Rocky Hatton was “unbelievable.”

Carey’s entries or “tweets” were announced by her Filipino fans on the social networking website Facebook.

The popular singer said: “This is quite violent.” Another entry read, “I can’t even know what to say.”

Towards the end of the fight, Carey, said Pacquiao was “unbelievable.”

Facebook was filled with shouts on Pacquiao’s victory. Some said those who viewed it on pay-per-view did not get their money’s worth because Hatton “kissed the floor” as early as Round 1 and was knocked out on Round 2.

“Talo! Talo ang mga nanood sa mga malls. Round 2 lang [Losers! Those who watched in malls lost. The match ended in Round 2],” one user said.

Other Facebook users said:

“I feel bad for Hatton. He saw the whole milky way.”

“Asar si Aling Dionisia kasi naunahan siya ni Hatton na himatayin! [Aling Dionisia was irked because Hatton fainted ahead of her].”

“Ano kayang regalo ni Pacquiao kay Aling Dionisia? “Eskenejens? [What would be Pacquiao's gift for Aling Dionisia? Skinny Jeans?]”

Pacquiao’s mother, Dionisia, has fainted on national television several times whenever Pacquiao had a fight.

“Mas matagal pa ang paghahanap ng parking kaysa laban ni Pacman. [It took longer to find a parking space than to watch the Pacman fight].”

"Panalo na naman si Chavit!” [Chavit is again a winner]," referring to former Ilocos Sur governor Luis Chavit Singson, a close supporter of Pacquiao.

“People forgot the H1N1 Virus over Pacman-Hitman fight,” another Facebook user said.

Lozada family in Albay worried, angry

2009-05-01T00:52:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:07:00 05/01/2009
INQUIRER.net

LIGAO CITY, Albay -- Even if they already knew that an arrest was going to happen, the family of Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, the key witness to the alleged corruption in the scuttled National Broadband Network contract, could not keep themselves calm.

Roberto Vargas, 59, Lozada’s brother-in-law, said the whistleblower was constantly communicating with his family here in Bicol, mentioning about a possible arrest on perjury charges.

Watching news of the arrest on TV, Lozada’s eldest sister Carmen was “worried and angry,” said Vargas.

Carmen left Bicol for Manila Wednesday night to show support to her brother.

“Even though we knew about the arrest even before it happened, the family was still in shock. We felt disgust over the country’s justice system,” Vargas added.

He said the family considered the arrest a form of political harassment.

“Who would believe that the perjury case was filed only to protect Mike Defensor’s reputation? There is certainly more to it than that,” Vargas said.

“But it’s up for the public to judge. We just have to read between the lines,” he added.

Vargas also said the family supported Lozada’s refusal to post bail and honored his steadfast willingness to face the battle.

But Vargas said the family could not help but worry about Lozada’s safety.

“Baka may mangyaring masama sa kanya (Something bad might happen to him),” Vargas said.

The Senate has withdrawn the security it gave to Lozada but Vargas said the family was thankful for the nuns who have been guarding him and who have been holding vigils for him.

“The family needs everyone’s prayers for Jun’s safety,” Vargas said.

To the left of the city hall are small convenience stores owned by the Lozada family.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer tried to interview one of Lozada’s aunts in one of the stores but the old woman irately said, “I don’t care about him. I don’t know him!”

Vargas later apologized to the Inquirer, explaining that not everyone in the family had the courage to face Lozada’s battle.

He said Lozada’s aunt has always been afraid of people prying on family matters.

The Lozada family here is known to be private and religious.

When Lozada was still touring schools to give talks, he would visit his family here in Bicol.

Vargas said Lozada, who was once tagged “probinsyanong intsik (Chinese from the province),” would always tell them that he never regretted telling the truth at the expense of his freedom and safety.

He would always tell the family, “My soul is intact. I have no regrets.”

But Vargas said Lozada also admitted that it was hard explaining everything to his wife and children, who are now facing a new ordeal after the arrest.

Pastor Dan Balucio, secretary general of the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) in Bicol, said Lozada’s arrest only proved the government’s continual “manipulation of truth and justice” in order to cover up the anomalous transactions involving high-ranking government officials.

Balucio said religious and civic organizations that supported Lozada at the height of the NBN deal controversy decided to launch the Free Jun Lozada Movement after the Labor Day celebration.

“We will conduct prayer rallies and mass mobilizations to call for Lozada’s freedom and the dumping of the case against him,” Balucio said in a phone interview.

Jeepney drivers stop plying Bicol streets

2009-04-28T03:48:00.000+08:00

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:55:00 04/27/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay—Jeepney drivers refusing to pay new increases in fines for traffic violations did not ply their routes on Monday morning, stranding commuters in the main streets of Bicol’s four provinces.

Organizers of the transport holiday said they were protesting the “unreasonably increased traffic fines, fees, and penalties” being imposed nationwide by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

The Concerned Drivers and Operators for Reform (Condor) asked for a moratorium and revocation of Order 1008-39 of the Department of Transportationand Communications. The affiliate of the Pagkakaisa Ng Mga Samahan Ng Tsuper At Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) has around 10,000 public utility drivers and operators as members in Bicol.

Ramon Roco, LTO regional director in Bicol, said the penalties for traffic violations were increased in March by as much as 1,000 percent under the DOTC order.

Driving without license now carries a fine of P1,500, or double the old rate. For unregistered or delinquently registered vehicles or those traveling with expired plates, the fine has been raised from P900 to up to P4,000.

For violators

For out-of-line vehicles, popularly referred to as “colorum,” the fine was increased from P1,000 to P6,000.

Licenses of violators are also suspended for 90 days, much longer that the old period of only seven days.

Mar Magistrado, LTO regional operations chief, said that as early as 2008, the agency had been disseminating information about the new penalty scheme and had been getting negative reactions, especially from transport groups.

But he said the new policy was intended for violators. “It will not affect the livelihood of public drivers. It will affect only if they will refuse to obey traffic regulations,” he said.

Roco said the new fines were low compared to other countries that strictly enforce traffic laws. “In the United States, a person could go bankrupt just for drunk-driving but here fines are really low that drivers would no longer mind if they committed violations,” he added.

Joel Ascutia, Condor-Piston regional president in Bicol, said in a phone interview that Monday’s strike was successful although some drivers did not join because they needed money. “Many of our drivers are saving up for the tuition of their children,” he said.

Ephraim Aguilar and Rey M. Nasol, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Bicol transport strike held vs steep fines

2009-04-27T15:53:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 14:39:00 04/27/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--Vehicular traffic has been paralyzed late Monday morning in four provinces in the Bicol region.

This was after the transport group Condor-Piston held a transport holiday to protest the government's exorbitant fines on traffic violations.

Condor-Piston (Concerned Drivers and Operators for Reform-Pagkakaisa Ng Mga Samahan Ng Tsuper At Opereytor Nationwide) is asking a moratorium and revocation of Order 1008-39 of the Department of Transportation and Communication which it said "unreasonably increased traffic fines, fees, and penalties" being charged nationwide by its implementing arm, the Land Transportation Office.

As of 10 a.m., 95 percent of public utility vehicles in Albay province were taking part in the transport holiday, 85 percent in Camarines Sur, 80 percent in Camarines Norte while a motorcade protest was held in Masbate province, said Joel Ascutia, Condor-Piston regional president in Bicol.

A transport strike was also staged simultaneously in Davao City.

Condor-Piston, an affiliate of Piston, has around 10,000 public utility drivers and operators under in its wing in the Bicol region.

George San Mateo, Piston national secretary general, said the transport group is asking President Macapagal-Arroyo to intervene after DOTC refused to suspend the order despite a recommendation of the House committee on transportation.

On April 21, the House committee held a public hearing attended by transport group leaders wherein the committee ruled that the DOTC order has to be suspended for lack of public consultation before passage and for its arbitrary implementation.

San Mateo said Piston and its affiliates would continue to hold protests and even a nationwide transport strike until the order is canceled.

Ascutia said in a phone interview that the strike turned out to be successful although some drivers opted not to join the transport holiday due to financial need.

"Many of our drivers are saving up for tuition fee of their children come the enrollment period next month and the opening of classes in June," said Ascutia, also the concurrent Condor-Piston national deputy secretary general.

On March 26, a transport strike was held by Piston in its provincial affiliates in Cebu, Negros and Bacolod City.

Sun-dried beef tapa cooks in just seconds

2009-04-27T15:20:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:16:00 04/26/2009
INQUIRER.net

MASBATE CITY, Philippines -- Breakfast that cooks in just seconds.

This is what the business of Mariano Natural, 53, and wife Mercy, 55, is all about. They manufacture and sell tasty beef tapa that cooks in as fast as three seconds.

Tapa is a mainstay on the Filipino breakfast table. It is meat cut in thin slices and cured with salt and spices to preserve it.

The word “tapa” is associated with smoked fish, which is natively called “tinapa.” It is usually fried or grilled and served with “achara” or pickles.

The couple’s beef tapa is not just cured with salt and spices but is also sun-dried. Cooking it is faster than driving through the nearest fast-food restaurant to have your fill before you go to work.

This homemade tapa has started to reach places through trade fairs organized by the Department of Trade and Industry in Metro Manila and by word of mouth.

There are balikbayan and overseas workers, like those from Saudi Arabia and Germany, who have placed orders to bring with them this tasty meat abroad.

In a government-sponsored trade fair at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay reportedly ordered 20 kilograms of beef tapa from the Natural couple.

Longganisa

The couple works out of Barangay Tugbo here, which is about 15-minute tricycle drive from the Masbate port. They started with making and selling homemade longganisa to augment Mariano’s income as a fisherman and vendor.

He is the president of the Masbate Fish Vendors’ Association.

“We thought if we’re going to engage in business, it had to be related to food,” Mariano said. “It is a common need and will never run out of demand.”

He added that Mercy thought of making homemade longganisa with a P10,000-capital. The new business had fair sales and ran smoothly.

After Mercy attended government-sponsored training programs, she learned how to create other products like beef tapa, pork tapa, and bamboo shoot pickles.

This was the humble start of what later would become the Nomer’s Masbate Meat Processing.

The home-based company now earns at least P100,000 in net income in a week and is seeking to become a household name, hoping to tap the export market.

Ranches

Touted as the rodeo capital of the Philippines, Masbate is known for its ranches. Cattle-raising has been a long-running tradition in this island province.

The Natural couple sources out meat from local ranches, making sure the meat is fresh and of good quality.

The meat is marinated in special seasoning for more than 24 hours to lock in the flavor. Then it is sun-dried for an entire day and cut into strips.

The cut tapa is then vacuum-sealed in a pack and labeled.

The Mariano couple learned modern packaging techniques through programs of the DTI.

3 seconds

After the tapa has been dunked in heated oil, it will only take three seconds to cook it before it is ready for consumption.

Not only does the tapa cook very fast, it also has a long shelf-life.

“[The tapa can] last for five to six months, or even up to a year if kept frozen,” Mariano said.

Nomer’s beef tapa sells for P100 for every 125 grams, the pork tapa for P75, and the pickled bamboo shoots for P60 a bottle.

The tapa is also available in different flavors: sweet-spicy, salty, spicy, sweet.

Mercy said it would be necessary to add more flavor options since people’s tastes also vary.

She said she hopes they could export their products someday, but that they would need to first upgrade their facilities to increase production.

They also need to learn strategies on how to tap the foreign market.

She admitted that they still have a long way to go, adding that small Filipino entrepreneurs need to have continuous education and support from the government to enable their businesses to grow.

“We need a dehydrator so that when the sun doesn’t shine, we can still produce something,” Mercy said. “Today, we only rely on the natural heat of the sun to dry our meat.”

She said they are expecting to receive equipment grants from the Department of Science and Technology this year.

Nomer’s Masbate Meat Processing contact number is (0908) 566-9159.

Quake jolts Legazpi

2009-04-07T20:03:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 12:09:00 04/07/2009
Filed Under: Earthquake
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY--A magnitude 3.7 earthquake shook this city 6:37 p.m. Monday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in Manila reported.

Local villagers described the earthquake as "strong but abrupt." It was strong enough to be felt by a person sitting down. The strong and quick jolt was followed by weaker tremors that lasted not more than 10 seconds.

State seismologists, in a bulletin, said the earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, was located 23 kilometers north of Legazpi City. No damage to infrastructure was expected.

On Sunday dawn, two earthquakes were also recorded, a magnitude 3.1 in Baguio City and a magnitude 4.2 in Cauayan, Negros Occidental.

Villar’s rivals seek injured boy in Masbate

2009-03-26T21:29:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 17:37:00 03/26/2009
Filed Under: Politics, Accidents (general)
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--The boy who was run over by horses in Masbate City last week is now stable and out of danger, but this time, he is being run over by different creatures: annoying politicians.

Russell, 11, a fifth-grade student of Jose Zurbito Elementary School, was wounded as Senator Manuel Villar’s helicopter was landing in the sports arena where the annual Rodeo Masbateño festival was opened.

The chopper’s landing stirred up dust on the ground and spooked five horses, which dashed around the stadium, running over Russell who sustained facial abrasions and contusions in the head.

“We were nervous when we heard about what happened to our son. First, because we weren’t there and we had no idea how serious it was,” Russell’s father, Roberto Bentor said in a phone interview.

Villar’s dramatic entrance, which cut a speech of a top local official, sparked criticism from some of the locals, saying it was improper.

Russell was rushed to the hospital semi-conscious and had to breathe through oxygen equipment. Doctors have also kept a dextrose plugged to his vein during his first day of stay in the hospital.

His classmates paid a visit until he regained consciousness.

His teacher Lovella Patricio claimed that Russell had a seizure right after his fall. He did not undergo a CT scan, which was not available in Masbate City.

Bentor said they only wanted a CT scan for his son to make sure he was completely safe after the head injury.

He added the hospital bills were covered by their PhilHealth insurance.

Salvador Belgica, Jose Zurbito Elementary School principal, who had a meeting with Russell’s parents Thursday, said the family was not interested in any financial help and would only want their lives back to normal.

Belgica said politicians wooing Russell’s family have been bothersome and annoying.

He said Russell was getting scared by the unusual attention he and his family have been getting.

Roberto said that, after the incident, at least four political camps, known to be Villar’s rivals in the 2010 presidential elections, had approached them.

He, however, refused to name who the politicians were.

“We did not entertain any of them and we have no plans of accepting any offer from them. We don’t want to get involved in politics,” Roberto said in Filipino.

There were also radio reports this week that Russell was still in serious condition but Dr. Adolfo Almanzor, Masbate provincial health officer, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that he was discharged from the hospital a day after he was admitted.

Earlier, Villar said he had no intention of disrupting the event and apologized to those who felt offended.

“From what I know, there were some [safety] issues but the pilot was able to land without too much disruption. Nevertheless, if some people were inconvenienced, I apologize. The very warm reception of the crowd on that occasion encourages me to return to Masbate soonest,” he said.

Cowboy Manny spooks horses, guests in rodeo

2009-03-22T12:22:00.003+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
INQUIRER.net

MASBATE CITY--Talk about a dramatic entrance.

A helicopter descended from the heavens, stirring up dust, while a political jingle played at full blast. Senator Manuel Villar, who came dressed as a cowboy, alighted from the chopper and was brought to the grandstand by a mob of aides and supporters.

This happened in the middle of the opening ceremonies of the annual Rodeo Masbateño festival here on Wednesday, disrupting a speech by a top local tourism official.

Five horses, spooked by the chopper’s landing, dashed around the stadium like mad creatures and ran over a boy who was injured and rushed to the hospital.

Dr. Adolfo Almanzor, provincial health officer, said the boy arrived at the hospital semiconscious and was found to have suffered abrasions on his face as well as cerebral contusions.

Meanwhile, the star-struck masses howled as cowboy Villar paced closer and started shaking everyone’s hand.

Villar, who is running for president in 2010, later delivered a speech.

Respect culture of place

For most people, the senator’s entrance was too grand to ignore.

But for education supervisor Erusita Rosero, cultural coordinator of the Department of Education in Masbate City, Villar’s behavior was not proper.

“No one should disrupt an activity like that. Visitors should properly respect the culture of a place,” Rosero said.

“Since he (Villar) was invited by politicians, there could also be something political behind his visit,” she added.

So sorry

Rosero said all guests were welcome to Masbate. She added there was nothing wrong with inviting Villar but his visit should not be used as an opportunity to campaign.

Throughout the opening rites, Villar was repeatedly referred to by emcees and other politicians as the “next president of the Republic of the Philippines.”

Asked for comment, Villar said he had no intention of disrupting the event and apologized to those who felt offended.

“From what I know, there were some [safety] issues but the pilot was able to land without too much disruption. Nevertheless, if some people were inconvenienced, I apologize. The very warm reception of the crowd on that occasion encourages me to return to Masbate soonest,” he said.

Not intentional

Masbate Governor Elisa Kho, who was with Villar during his late entrance, said the circumstances were not within the senator’s control.

She said they already apologized to Maria Ong-Ravanilla, regional director of the Department of Tourism, for unintentionally disrupting her speech.

“I think it was not being disrespectful,” Kho said in a phone interview.

She added that the 2010 elections were not that far off and politicians tend to grab every opportunity to introduce themselves to the public.

“It cannot be avoided,” Kho said.

She also said that Villar pledged support for the annual rodeo festival and to Masbate province once he was elected president.

Why not the airport?

Local trader Carmelito Fajara, 37, said there were varied reactions from Masbate residents. Some were offended, while others couldn’t care less.

“But since the city has an airport, I think it would have been wiser if [Villar] had landed there so he could quietly enter the stadium,” Fajara said.

“It’s only now, after many years, that I have witnessed such a scene during the rodeo festival!” he added.

“Dili pa ngani siya nagiging presidente (He is not even president yet),” was another comment from a local resident.

Villar’s visit to Masbate spooks horses

2009-03-21T22:33:00.008+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 18:13:00 03/21/2009
INQUIRER.net

MASBATE CITY, Masbate—(Update) A senator’s chopper descended from heaven, churning up clouds of dust from ground, and then a political jingle began to play loudly as he was ushered by a mob of aides and supporters to the grandstand.

This happened in the middle of the opening ceremonies of the Rodeo Masbateño festival here last Wednesday, disrupting the speech of a top local tourism official.

Five horses in one corner of the stadium were spooked by the helicopter’s landing and vaulted away, overrunning a boy who had to be rushed to a hospital.

Dr. Adolfo Almanzor, provincial health officer, said the boy, who was semi-conscious when brought to the hospital, suffered abrasions and cerebral contusions.

Probably star-struck, the masses howled as Senator Manuel Villar, who is running for president in 2010 and was dressed like a cowboy, paced closer to them and shook everyone’s hand.

The senator’s dramatic entrance was too grand to ignore, but for some it was a form of disrespect.

For education supervisor Erusita Rosero, cultural coordinator of the Department of Education in Masbate City, said Villar’s behavior was not proper.

“No one should disrupt an activity like that. Visitors should properly respect the culture of a place,” she said.

“Since he (Villar) was invited by politicians, there could also be something political behind his visit,” Rosero said.

She added that every guest was welcome to Masbate province and that there was nothing wrong with Villar being invited but she wished his arrival at the festival should not have been used for careless campaigning.

“Sa pagkaka-alam ko, although there were slight issues, the pilot was able to land safely without too much disruption,” Villar said in a statement e-mailed to the Inquire Saturday evening. “Nevertheless, if some people were inconvenienced, I apologize. The very warm reception of the crowd on that occasion encourages me to return to Masbate soonest. I thank them.”

Throughout the opening rites, Villar was repeatedly addressed by emcees and other politicians as the “next president of the Republic of the Philippines.”

Local trader Carmelito Lajara, 37, said there could be varying reactions from people; some might have been offended while others may have not.

“But since the city has an airport, I think it could have been wiser if [Villar] landed there instead so he could more quietly enter the venue. In that way, he wouldn’t get so much attention,” Fajara said.

“Only now, after many years that I have witnessed the Rodeo festival, did such a scene happen!” Fajara said.

“Dili pa ngani siya nagiging presidente, (He has not yet even become president)” was a common side comment from some Masbate residents.

Sought for comment, Masbate Governor Elisa Kho, who was with Villar during his late entrance, said the circumstances were not within Villar’s control.

She added that they apologized to Maria Ong-Ravanilla, regional director of the Department of Tourism, for disrupting her speech.

“I think it was not being disrespectful,” Kho said in a phone interview, explaining that the 2010 election were not so far off and politicians had to grab every opportunity to introduce themselves to the public. “It cannot be avoided.”

She added that Villar pledged support to the annual Rodeo festival and to Masbate province once he is elected as president.

Banking on good name to attain success

2009-02-08T19:59:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon

DARAGA, ALBAY--Wendy Destacamento, 55, a local producer of processed meat, knows that her products are of the best quality simply because her own grandchildren eat them.

Wendy, a grandmother of three, says there is nothing as reliable as what’s cooking in your mother’s kitchen—a familiar taste that never jades the appetite.

“We earned our buyers’ trust by our “lutong-bahay” (home-cooked) reputation,” Wendy says. “We ensure the quality of our products since they’re what we eat, and they’re what our own grandchildren eat.”

Wendy and her husband Oscar, 60, have been locally producing fresh cut and processed meat products in Albay province through Juanito’s Meat and Marinated Products—a homegrown company they put up 24 years ago.

It started in 1985 with a meager capital of P1,500. The couple would sell fresh pork to friends. That eventually led to the establishment of an outlet in this town’s public market. Later, another branch opened in a more strategic place in Legazpi City.

Oscar says that since locally processed meat products cater only to smaller areas requiring shorter freezing time, they are free from harmful preservatives.

Juanito’s Meat has since expanded, producing other meat products as well, such as hotdog, ham, meat loaf, luncheon meat, corned beef, smoked hamonado, foot-long sausage, bologna, embutido, burger patties and lumpia shanghai.

Oscar says Juanito’s does not use genetically engineered or modified organisms or additives in their products. It also uses organic color such as paprika or “paminton.”

He adds they do not use dumped or cheap meat from other countries. Juanito’s products have also been fortified with anticarcinogenic properties and Vitamin C.

The Destacamento couple has never been daunted even if Juanito’s sits alongside other popular meat brands in shopping mall freezers in the cities of Legazpi and Lucena.

Juanito’s may not have put out advertisements on TV or newspapers, but it has a loyal clientele whose number has grown through the years by word of mouth.

“People who have tested the quality of our products eventually become our loyal buyers,” says Wendy. “And they tell their friends about us, too.”

She says locally processed meat products are more fresh since it is intended for smaller communities and is expected to reach consumers soon after production, thus requiring no artificial preservatives.

After the scare that gripped the world when some food products imported from China were reportedly contaminated with melamine—a white powder used in plastic-making harmful to human health—local food producers expected a boost in sales.

Oscar, who is also vice president of the Bicol Region Association of Meat Processors, says their sales increased by 15 percent after the China food scandal late last year.

However, Oscar adds that this boost in sales is still measly compared to profits and property lost to the “Supertyphoon Reming” in late 2006. The power outage that lasted for more than a month caused them to temporarily cease operations.

“We almost closed down our business,” Wendy says, recalling the tragedy. “We even told our workers they had to stop working for us, and when we gave them their separation pays, they didn’t want to take the money.”

It was then that Wendy realized they were “helping people earn a living ... and that we were also providing quality food to the locals, so we decided to press on no matter how hard it was.”

Another challenge faced by local meat processors is the limited market.

The couple says it really takes constant effort to maintain good product quality on which to build a good and trusted name. Only by doing so will the number of their loyal costumers grow.

(Juanito’s Meat may be reached at 0915-8246003.)

Spend more on social services, gov’t urged

2009-02-05T18:21:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon

LEGAZPI CITY--WITH THE GLOBAL ECOnomic crisis looking like it will be “deeper, broader and longer,” the government should prioritize social protection measures over a stimulus package, said Albay Gov. Joey Salceda.

Instead of the “big-jolt” spending of a stimulus package to pump life into a sickening economy, the government should spend more, but slowly, on basic social services, said Salceda, who is one of President Macapagal-Arroyo’s economic advisers.

Salceda, who spoke at the Bicol Regional Development Council meeting here, said the global economic slowdown is likely to last three years.

Salceda, who is the Bicol-RDC chair, argued for a change in the development framework, saying that in a stimulus response to the crisis, as in the P330-billion stimulus package, government resources could run out.

He said the government should focus on long-term projects, take advantage of low economic activity, and expand productive capacity while creating jobs to support incomes.

Salceda explained that in an economic crisis, demand—or the daily activity of buying and spending that keeps an economy going—weakens. Even if prices of goods are low, people do not have the money to spend.

If businesses and consumers would rather save than spend, then the government should do more of the spending, Salceda said.

“When everyone stops spending, only the government can take risks. When there is no demand, only the government can create demand,” Salceda said.

He said government should be doing the spending because it can afford to take big losses and its losses are spread out over the entire population and over time.

In the meantime, the governor advised people to be frugal spenders and businessmen to cut down on essentials.

He said people should build their skills to make themselves more marketable. With a report from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.

Bicol disaster exec hurt in road mishap

2009-01-21T19:59:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:42:00 01/21/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—A top Bicol civil defense official active in disaster operations was wounded after his service vehicle collided head-on with another vehicle in Daraga, Albay Tuesday afternoon, the Bicol police revealed Wednesday.

Office of the Civil Defense Regional Director Raffy Alejandro was aboard a Tamaraw FX government vehicle being driven by Ehzel Galit, 29, running towards Bonot village in Legazpi City when it collided with a Kia Besta van being driven by Christopher Vargas, 41, of Obaliw Rinas village in Oas, Albay.

Investigation reports from the Camp General Simeon Ola here revealed that the Kia Besta van, which was registered to a certain Rodelia Largado of Legazpi City, had overtaken a tricycle. Encroaching the left lane, it collided with the Tamaraw FX running from the opposite direction.

Bernardo and both drivers were all wounded and were rushed to the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital for treatment. Both vehicles, which are now in custody of the Daraga police, were damaged.

Gabriela nixes RP-US Balikatan

2009-01-21T15:58:00.002+08:00

Recalls sex abuse cases
By Ephraim Aguilar, Roy Gersalia
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 15:37:00 01/21/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--The women party-list Gabriela has joined other groups in opposing the staging of joint military exercises between the Philippines and the US in the Bicol region this April, fearing a full return of US military basing in the country and the culture of sexual abuse that once prevailed in Subic and Clark decades ago.

Going over records, Jenelyn Nagrampa, secretary general of Bikolana Gabriela, recalled their group filed 97 cases of rape and sexual assault against American soldiers in Clark and Subic, in which 15 of the victims were children.

She said this was before 1990 when the US bases in the country were closed down.

Nagrampa added that when the US military bases were in the country, more than 3,000 cases of abuse of women and children were filed by other sectors and individuals against US servicemen in Clark Air Field from 1980 to 1988.

"Sadly, justice was not served to any of the victims. None of the cases have been resolved. Others have not even been reported," she said.

"The public should be reminded that there was more than just one Nicole," she added.

Nicole was the victim in the much-publicized Subic rape case in 2005, wherein US Marine Daniel Smith was convicted while three others were acquitted. Smith is detained at the United Estates Embassy as he asked the Philippine Court of Appeals to review his case.

The Subic rape case is considered a landmark case, being the first case of a conviction among over 3,000 cases filed against US service members in the Philippines.

Nagrampa said Gabriela would file a resolution in the House of Representatives urging the government to ban US troops from coming to Bicol.

The annual joint military exercises, which Philippine Army officials said would include humanitarian projects, would be staged in three Bicol provinces -- Albay, Masbate, and Sorsogon--in April.

She added that if Balikatan would push through in Bicol, it might increase cases of women abuse, prostitution, and spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Earlier, Bishop Lucilo Quiambao of the Diocese of Legazpi expressed opposition to the coming of the US troops in Bicol, saying it might affect the moral condition of the people, especially women.

Nagrampa said that aside from the resolution to be filed in Congress, Gabriela would also step up its awareness campaign among women in areas covered by the exercises.

Tessa Lopez, spokesperson of Bayan-Bikol (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, New Patriotic Alliance), said a massive rally has been scheduled for January 22 expected to coincide with the reported arrival of US Ambassador Kristy Kenney to Bicol.

"This is to show the urgency and seriousness of our call against Balikatan and the long-debated Visiting Forces Agreement," she added.

A Sorsogon-wide group named "Sorsoganon United Movement Against Balikatan at Para sa Kapayapaan" or "Sumaba ka" (Speak out) was launched over the weekend to seek a stop to the planned Balikatan exercises in the Bicol region.

The group joined other people's organizations, human rights advocates, and the Catholic Church in Legazpi City, which already took a position opposed to the exercises, said Jocelyn Bisuna, spokesperson of the region-wide alliance called Ban Balikatan.

"We hope that other formations like these will be formed at the soonest time possible in other Bicol provinces so that we can show the US troops that we do not want them here and we have not forgotten our history," added Bisuna.

4 poaching vessels seized off Donsol

2009-01-20T19:35:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:16:00 01/20/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--Four suspected illegal fishing vessels were caught by marine law enforcers off Donsol, Sorsogon Monday afternoon, the Philippine Coast Guard revealed Tuesday.

Lieutenant Commander Joey Velarde, the PCG-Bicol chief of staff, said the vessels identified as Conqueror, Mama Susan, St. James, and Red Fox were seen using "super lights."

The "super lights" method is considered illegal in the country. It uses 1,000-kilowatt powered bright lights to attract schools of fish to the detriment of marginalized fishermen.

He said a team composed of members of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the PCG caught the vessels near Burias Island, Masbate or 1.5 nautical miles off the Donsol coast.

Velarde said the vessels and their passengers were still being investigated.

Illegal fishing is a violation of Section 93 of Republic Act 8550, the law on the development, management and conservation of the fisheries and aquatic resources.

Section 93 provides that the use of super lights is not allowed within municipal waters and violators are meted prison terms from six months to two years or a fine of P5,000.

Donsol is a sanctuary of the world-famous "butanding" that has gained reputation as the whale shark capital of the world and was hailed by Time Magazine as the "best animal encounter in Asia."

NDF: Hold Balikatan in flooded provinces

2009-01-16T16:58:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 14:58:00 01/16/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--The communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF) in Bicol challenged the Philippine Army to hold the 2009 RP-US Balikatan exercises in provinces recently hit by flashfloods if their aim is purely humanitarian.

"Why is the 2009 Balikatan centered on Albay, Sorsogon, and Masbate, when these provinces have not really been hard hit by heavy rains, floods, and landslides unlike Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, or some areas in Mindanao?" Greg Bañares, NDF-Bicol spokesman, said in a statement released Friday.

"This only shows that the aim of US forces visiting Bicol is military in nature and not just humanitarian," Bañares said.

Over the week, storm surges and landslides triggered by heavy rains across the country have killed at least nine people and displaced nearly 200,000, according to disaster officials.

The tail-end of a cold front sweeping through the country's eastern seaboard has been bringing heavy rains across 11 provinces from northern Luzon to the eastern sections of the Visayas and Mindanao since last week.

Bañares claimed the aim of the joint military exercises to be held in April is to familiarize US forces with guerrilla conditions in the insurgency-torn Bicol region.

"May lumang kasabihan na, 'Mag-ingat sa mga Griyego na may dala-dalang regalo.'" [There is an old saying, ‘Beware of Greeks bearing gifts’],” he said.

Bishop Lucilo Quiambao of the Legazpi Diocese, in a local television news interview, warned the government not to allow US forces to get involved in armed battles and to protect civilians who might be caught in the crossfire.

He also warned that prostitution might worsen with the presence of the American troops, endangering people's morality, especially the youth.

The militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan, New Patriotic Alliance) welcomed Quiambao's opposition to the 2009 Balikatan.

"Even the good bishop does not believe that the US troops will only be engaged in humanitarian missions because in every Balikatan exercise, war games and even actual combat operations are part of the package," said Tessa Lopez, Bayan-Bicol spokesperson.

Chiz raises fear on ‘hidden agenda’in Bicol war games

2009-01-16T14:21:00.000+08:00

LEGAZPI CITY—Opposition Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero said he remained wary of other items in the agenda that may be concealed from the public about the 2009 Balikatan Exercises, which will be staged in three Bicol provinces in April.

The 2009 Balikatan is a joint Filipino-American military exercise, which Philippine Army officials said would focus on medical missions and engineering works in the provinces of Albay, Masbate and Sorsogon.

However, recognizing that the humanitarian missions will benefit the people, Escudero urged caution on the part of the government to make sure the RP-US military exercises will not leave any Filipino disadvantaged.

“Our government better make sure that this exercise will adhere to the terms it has been devoted to and not use it as front for other endeavors that may antagonize and stir indifference from various sectors,” said Escudero, who hails from Sorsogon, one of the planned sites of the Balikatan.

Escudero expressed fear that the Balikatan would be used to allow US forces to interfere with the Philippine government’s war on communist rebels in the Bicol region.

“The Balikatan should avoid, at all cost, any intervention that may straddle in our internal affairs,” he said in a statement. “Any outside force touching it (insurgency fight) meddles with our sovereignty.”

The Communist Party of the Philippines Sunday ordered its armed wing, the New People’s Army, to increase tactical offensives against government targets to protest the Balikatan.

A rally was set on Jan. 22 to protest the planned holding of the Balikatan in Bicol, said Tessa Lopez, spokesperson of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic Alliance) in Bicol.

“The past years the Balikatan had been in Mindanao, now, since Bicol is still considered a hotspot of communist insurgency, it is here,” Lopez said.Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon

17 rescued off Masbate

2009-01-16T13:43:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 13:43:00 01/16/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY -- Fishermen rescued 17 people from a motorized boat forced to seek shelter from huge waves churned up by strong winds, the Philippine Coast Guard reported Friday.

The M/B Noynoy, bound for Pilar, Sorsogon from Masbate City had to take shelter near San Miguel Island at around 2 p.m. Thursday, said Police Officer 2 Glicerio Villaluz of the PCG in Bicol.

Fishermen within the vicinity rescued the passengers and took them to Guinhadap village in Monreal, Masbate, where they could wait safely until the waves subside.

Sea travel has been intermittently cancelled in Bicol, stranding more than 2,500 passengers in various ports since Wednesday.

Corazon Samar, chief meteorologist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said the strong winds were caused by the northeast monsoon, which is hitting the country's eastern seaboard until end of February.

She said the winds in Southern Luzon were as strong as 30 kilometers per hour.

Waves could be as high as 3.7 meters to 6 meters.

5,000 passengers stranded in Bicol ports

2009-01-14T14:29:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 13:07:00 01/14/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY – At least 4,932 passengers were stranded in four Bicol ports as of 11 a.m. Wednesday due to big waves caused by the northeast monsoon, the Philippine Coast Guard reported.

Also stranded in the ports of Matnog, Tabaco, Virac, and Legazpi City were 316 cars, 112 trucks, 75 buses, and six sea vessels, said Ensign Jeffrey Collado, PCG-Bicol operations assistant.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) detected no tropical depression but only the surge of the northeast monsoon affecting the seaboards of Luzon, Visayas, and Eastern Mindanao.

Corazon Samar, chief meteorologist of PAGASA-Legazpi, said seas in the southern and western seaboards of Southern Luzon, have been described as "rough" to "very rough."

She said the waves in this area have been as high as 3.7 meters to up to six meters.

In Legazpi City, Samar said wind gusts have been measured at 15 meters per second or 30 knots with a velocity of 55 kilometers per hour to 73 kph.

Samar said winds have been stronger and waves bigger in open seas or seas facing directly the Pacific Ocean like the Albay Gulf.

The northeast monsoon will last until February or early March, according to Samar. PAGASA expects a transition to the southwest monsoon after that. The southwest monsoon will affect the other side of the country or the western seaboard.

Ex-militiaman slain by rebels in Albay

2009-01-13T19:39:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 18:44:00 01/13/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--Suspected communist rebels shot dead a newly-retired member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) inside his residence Monday afternoon in Tabaco City, police said Tuesday.

Jose Basilan Sr., 59, was shot in the neck and right shoulder, said investigator Police Officer 3 Joel Subeldia.

Quoting the victim’s wife, Subeldia said Basilan was playing cards in Bantayan village when three gunmen barged in and shot him.

Recovered from the crime scene were a slug and empty .45 caliber shells.

On Sunday, the Communist Party of the Philippines ordered its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), to launch increased tactical offensives against state security forces in protest of the 2009 Balikatan, a joint Filipino-American military exercises to be held in three Bicol provinces in April.

Boy drowns in Catanduanes flood

2009-01-13T16:46:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 16:24:00 01/13/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--A five-year-old boy drowned in the rising floods in Catanduanes brought by the week-long rains in the island province, according to reports reaching the Office of Civil Defense in Bicol on Tuesday morning.

Raffy Alejandro, Bicol civil defense director, identified the boy as John Mark Tatad of Gigmoto town.

Families affected by the landslides and floods have reached 14,643 or 74,701 persons in 162 villages. Some 217 houses have been reported damaged.

The Catanduanes Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council is still distributing relief goods in the form of rice noodles and canned goods to victims in the towns of Bagamanoc, Baras, Bato, San Miguel, and Viga.

The relief assistance amounted to P432,000, Alejandro said.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development also delivered 100 food packs and clothing.

NPA apologizes to Masbate gov, says she wasn’t target

2009-01-13T13:08:00.000+08:00

LEGAZPI CITY—ADMITTING IT WAS behind the explosion of two roadside bombs Sunday that wounded Masbate Gov. Elisa Kho and a security aide, the New People’s Army (NPA) apologized to the provincial executive, saying she was not the target of the attack.

Greg Bañares, spokesperson of the communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF) in Bicol, said the NPA’s Jose Rapsing Command had ambushed a police patrol car and did not expect Kho’s vehicle to be just behind it.

“The attack was not intended for Governor Kho as the police have been claiming. We apologize to her,” said Bañares in a phone interview with the Inquirer.

Bañares said it was not true the patrol car, which belonged to the 507th Provincial Police Mobile Group (PPMG), was part of Kho’s convoy.

He said the NPA also fired on the PPMG vehicle, wounding five of its passengers.

“Our comrades did not fire on Kho’s vehicle, a civilian car, and we let it withdraw safely from the scene,” Bañares said.

He said the attack was part of the increased tactical offensives ordered by the Communist Party of the Philippines ahead of the 2009 Balikatan exercise in Bicol. (See story below)

One of the NPA rebels suspected of being behind the attack was identified by Bicol police director Chief Supt. Paterno Bangui as Joel Atibago, a former member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu). Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Quake jolts Occidental Mindoro

2009-01-12T15:30:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 15:12:00 01/12/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines -- A magnitude 3 earthquake shook Occidental Mindoro province 10:01 a.m. Monday, state seismologists said.

The earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, was located four kilometers east of Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro.

It was felt in the towns of Paluan, Mamburao and Puerto Galera.

No damage was recorded and no aftershocks were expected, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in Manila said.

Suspect in Masbate gov’s ambush named

2009-01-12T13:00:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 12:44:00 01/12/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY--One of the suspected communist rebels behind the failed assassination attempt on Masbate Governor Elisa Kho Sunday has been identified, a police official said.

Chief Superintendent Paterno Bangui, Bicol police director, in a press conference Monday, identified one of the suspects as a certain Joel Atibago, a former Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) member.

Police said they were also checking on Ayabit Yanson of Gahit village, who prepared the food for the armed perpetrators.

The governor and one of her security aides were wounded in the ambush.

Kho and her convoy were traveling along the national road toward Masbate City when members of the New People's Army (NPA) detonated two improvised bombs in Barangay (village) Gahit in Cataingan town.

Kho and a bodyguard suffered cuts from glass shards that hit them from the shattered windshield of the vehicle.

Bangui also said that the National Democratic Front, through its Bicol spokesman Greg Bañares, owned up to the ambush in a press release aired on late night television news Sunday.

Bangui said Bañares’ statement pointed to the Jose Rapsing Command of the NPA based in Masbate province as the one behind the slay attempt. Bangui claimed that the NDF apologized to Kho for its "mistake" in its statement.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer tried to verify this with Bañares but he has not responded as of posting time.

The Khos are a well-known political family in the province. Kho replaced her husband, Representative Antonio Kho, as governor in 2007. Son Wilston is the youngest mayor of Cataingan town, having been elected at the age of 21.

The island has long been known for rough and often violent politics. Masbate was the only province placed under Commission on Elections control in the Bicol Region during the 2007 elections.

Masbate is one of the hotbeds of communist insurgency in the Bicol region, which will be the venue of joint Philippine and United States military exercises, called Balikatan (shoulder to shoulder), in April.

Masbate gov hurt in ambush by suspected NPAs

2009-01-12T10:22:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar and Jonas Soltes, Inquirer Southern Luzon

LEGAZPI CITY—SUSPECTED COMMUNIST rebels ambushed and wounded Masbate Gov. Elisa Kho at 11:30 a.m. yesterday in Cataingan town.

Masbate Police Director Teodore Sindac said Kho and her convoy were traversing the national road toward Masbate City when members of the New People’s Army (NPA) detonated two explosive devices along the road in Barangay Gahit.

Sindac said Kho was wounded in the eyebrow as glass shards from her car’s windshield hit her face. Her security escorts were unharmed.

Sindac said Kho proceeded to the family-owned Khokha Beach in Cataingan after the ambush.

Masbate police and Army troopers from the 9th Infantry Battallion immediately launched a pursuit operations to capture the perpetrators.

Sindac said the rebels were reported to have fled to the upland villages of San Rafael and Cadulauan, both in Cataingan.

Samar police alerted

Checkpoints were set up at the town boundary while the Samar provincial police were alerted to the possible withdrawal of the rebels to that province, which is across from Masbate island.

The Khos are a well-known political family in the province. Kho replaced her husband, Rep. Antonio Kho, as governor in 2007. Son Wilston is the youngest mayor of Cataingan town, having been elected at the age of 21.

The family defeated another political clan in Masbate, the Espinosas.

Masbate is one of the hotbeds of communist insurgency in the Bicol region, which will be the venue of joint Philippine and United States military exercises, called Balikatan, in April. (See related story on Page A)

Birthday celebration

Two days before the ambush, Kho joined in the celebration of her husband’s birthday which was highlighted by the distribution of 50 cows to farmers

Sandra Cam, former police drug asset and admitted “jueteng” bagwoman along with former Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chair Efraim Genuino reportedly attended the party.

Ako Bikol, a nongovernment organization chaired by property developer Elizalde Co, spearheaded the giving away of the cows at Khokha Beach together with local government officials. Recipients included two farmers from each of the 20 municipalities and one city of Masbate.

Balikatan link

Rep. Reno Lim of Albay’s 3rd district condemned the slay try but dismissed speculation it was meant to protest the coming Balikatan exercises on the island.

Lim was one of the officials who announced the holding of the joint RP-US military games in Bicol in a press conference last week.

Masbate is the second poorest province in the country with about 80 percent of its residents living below the poverty line.

The island has long been known for rough and often violent politics. Masbate was the only province placed under Commission on Elections control in the Bicol region during the 2007 elections.

Placer attack

Communist rebels in Masbate exploded a roadside bomb and instigated firefights with government soldiers when President Macapagal-Arroyo and her Cabinet held a cabinet meeting in Placer, another town in Masbate, to assess the damage caused by recent Typhoon “Frank.”

No one was hurt in the blast, which police suspect was caused by a land mine.

A fourth-class municipality, Placer is a known hotbed of insurgency.

After a Christmas holiday ceasefire, the NPA leadership has reportedly ordered its fighters to step up attacks on government forces. Recently, a land mine was reportedly used to ambush a police car in Rizal province, the eastern flank of Metro Manila.

Masbate gov hurt in ambush

2009-01-11T20:09:00.001+08:00

Aide also injured
By Ephraim Aguilar, Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net, Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 14:49:00 01/11/2009
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines--(UPDATE 4) The governor of Masbate and one of her security escorts were slightly wounded after they were ambushed by alleged New People's Army (NPA) rebels before noon Sunday, a police official said.

Governor Elisa Kho's convoy was traveling along the national highway in Gahit village, Cataingan town on her way to Masbate City, when suspected NPA guerillas detonated two improvised bombs by the roadside as her vehicle passed, said Chief Superintendent Paterno Bangui, Bicol Region police chief.

Kho and a security escort, who could not be immediately identified, were slightly wounded by the glass shards from the shattered windshield of their vehicle, but both have been declared out of danger, Bangui told INQUIRER.net.

The motive for the attack is under investigation, Bangui said.

Masbate province in the Bicol peninsula is one of the priority areas in the campaign of government security forces to defeat the NPA, the
armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), by the end of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's term in 2010.

Police have also placed checkpoints near the boundary of Cataingan while the Samar provincial police have been alerted on the possible withdrawal of fleeing rebels to their province which is across Masbate island, said provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Theodore Sindac.

Sindac said Kho was not rushed to a hospital and has been safely housed at the family-owned Khokak beach in Cataingan town.

The Kho family is a known political dynasty in the province. Kho replaced now Representative Antonio Kho as governor while their son, Wilston, is the mayor of Cataingan and is also the youngest mayor, having been elected at 21.

Repeated calls by the Philippine Daily Inquirer to the Kho family were left unanswered.

Masbate is one of the hotbeds of communist insurgency in the Bicol region, which will be the venue for the 2009 Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises between Filipino and American troops in April.

Representative Reno Lim of Albay's 3rd district condemned the slay try, prompting authorities to hasten the investigation and pursuit operations.

Lim dismissed possible speculations that the ambush was related to the holding of the joint Filipino-American military exercises in Bicol, which was strongly opposed by the communist National Democratic Front.

Lim was one of the officials who announced the holding of Balikatan in Bicol in a press conference last week.

Cholera kills 2, downs 124 in Masbate

2009-01-09T18:41:00.002+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 18:33:00 01/09/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Health officials noted a cholera outbreak for the past three weeks in Ticao Island, Masbate after having recorded 124 cases and two fatalities in the towns of Monreal and San Fernando, the Department of Health in Bicol reported Friday.

Nestor Santiago Jr., Bicol health director, said in a report that in Monreal town, most of the cases were seen in the village of Guinhadap with a total of 96. There were four cases in the village of Morocborocan and nine in the village of Poblacion.

In San Fernando town, all 15 cases were seen in the village of Ipil.

Most of the victims were children and adolescents. Initial laboratory tests through stool culture revealed three of the 124 cases as positive for Cholera Ogawa.

Cholera is a bacterial disease marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea.

Santiago Jr. said their study of the trend of cholera occurrence in the Bicol region showed a reemergence every three to four years.

"This year, being the fourth year since its last regionwide increase, we expect the reemergence of the disease," Santiago Jr. said.

He said prolonged rainy days and the occurrence of floods in many areas in Bicol as well as the unsanitary toilet conditions in villages are some factors that might have caused the reemergence of the disease.

Santiago Jr. said the DOH had distributed medicines like, fluids, antibiotics, and laboratory supplies to cholera hot spot areas in Masbate.

However, what complicated things, he said, was the confusion as to where to refer the cases since most of the health centers were closed during the holidays. Only hospitals were open.

Menwhile, some 32 diarrhea cases have also been recorded first week of January in the Calaguas Group of Islands in Vinzons, Camarines Norte, of which 21
cases were from the village of Banocboc and 11 from Pinagtigasan.

Twenty-five percent of the victims were infants while the rest were from ages one to 10.

Santiago Jr. said laboratory tests through stool culture yielded negative results for cholera. Water tests have also been conducted but results have yet to be released.

Santiago Jr. said diarrhea cases increase mostly during the rainy season when open wells become contaminated because of poor drainage systems.

Residents in affected areas were advised to do household chlorination to ensure potable water.

Rebels bomb Globe cell site in Albay

2009-01-09T17:08:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 16:42:00 01/09/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Suspected New People's Army rebels bombed the cell site of a telecommunications firm Thursday evening in Malilipot town, Albay, police reported Friday.

The Albay police said that at around 8 p.m., security guard Alan Bongales noticed a dog barking inside the cell site compound of Globe Telecom located in the village of San Jose.

When he went outside to check, 10 unidentified heavily-armed men pointed guns at him, forced him to open the gate, and dragged him 15 meters away from the cell site.

Ten minutes later, a bomb exploded.

The security guard was unharmed while the perpetrators fled towards Barangay Binitayan of the same town, police said.

The communist rebels have been attacking Globe facilities in remote villages purportedly due to the telecommunication firm’s failure to pay protection money.

RP-US ‘Balikatan’ goes to Bicol; no war games

2009-01-09T12:17:00.002+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar and Roy Gersalia
Inquirer Southern Luzon

LEGAZPI CITY—WHILE NO ONE CAN predict how a Barack Obama presidency will affect ties between the Philippines and the United States, a US Navy officer thinks the time-tested “good relations” are not likely to change.

Proof of this, according to Capt. Kelly Schmader, commander of the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, is the 2009 RP-US Balikatan military exercises that will be held in three Bicol provinces—Albay, Masbate and Sorsogon—in April.

Schmader visited the Bicol region yesterday to see to the final stages of surveying and planning for the Balikatan (meaning “shoulder to shoulder”), which is now on its 14th year in the country.

“My commander in chief is President [George W.] Bush. Nobody knows at this point what might happen beyond his administration. But personally, I do not expect that the good RP-US ties will change,” Schmader said at a press conference.

The Balikatan is part of the mutual defense treaty between the Philippines and the United States, he pointed out.

In Sorsogon on Wednesday, Schmader and 30 other US soldiers had a three-hour dialogue with Sorsogon Gov. Sally Lee and Juban Mayor Maritess Guab-Fragata to formalize arrangements for the exercises to be held in the Pacific Board area near Albay and Sorsogon.

The deployment of an engineering battalion and medical mission groups was among the points discussed.

Purely humanitarian

Last year’s Balikatan was held in Mindanao. Its primary objective was to improve the “interoperability” of the two countries’ armed forces for mutual defense.

This time, some 400 American doctors, engineers and nurses, predominantly belonging to the military, will join the monthlong exercises to provide humanitarian aid to depressed areas in Albay, Masbate and Sorsogon, Schmader said.

These provinces are considered hotbeds of communist insurgency in the Bicol region. But Col. Ariel Bernardo, commander of the Philippine Army’s 901st Infantry Brigade, said there would be no war games in the coming exercises.

Intervention suspected

“The Bicol Balikatan shall only comprise humanitarian projects in the form of medical missions and engineering works,” Bernardo said.

But Greg Bañares, spokesperson of the communist-led National Democratic Front in Bicol, said in a press statement that the US soldiers might intervene in the armed battles between government troops and New People’s Army guerrillas.

He also warned that the “fake” humanitarian missions could be used to survey the Philippines’ rich lands and seas or to spy on revolutionary movements.

Bernardo dismissed these accusations, saying the aims of the exercises were peace and development.

“We are [conducting] development projects in depressed communities because we recognize poverty as the root cause of the insurgency,” he said.

Bernardo said the insurgency in Bicol was reduced to a manageable level in 1995 but eventually saw a resurgence because of poverty.

“We do not want that mistake to happen again,” he said.

Local materials

Engineering work (involving the construction of roads and water facilities) and the medical missions are scheduled to begin in the first and second weeks of April, respectively.

Schmader, himself an engineer, said all materials for the engineering work would be acquired locally in order to boost local economies.

Neither the American and Filipino military officials specified the costs and funding source of the 2009 Balikatan despite direct questions from reporters.

But Schmader said the costs would be shared by the countries. He estimated the engineering work to cost around $450,000.

UNDER OBAMA

2009-01-08T21:39:00.002+08:00

Change unlikely in RP-US ties--officer
By Ephraim Aguilar, Roy Gersalia
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:37:00 01/08/2009
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/topstories/topstories/view/20090108-182207/Change-unlikely-in-RP-US-ties--officer

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--(UPDATE) While no one can be sure at this point how a Barack Obama presidency will affect ties between the Philippines and United States, a US Navy officer said the time-tested “good relations” between the two countries is not likely to change.

Captain Kelly Schmader, commander of the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, said proof of this are the 2009 Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises, which will be held in three Bicol provinces this April.

Schmader was in Bicol Thursday for the final stages of surveying and planning of the joint US-RP military exercises, now in their 14th year in the country.

“My commander-in-chief is President [George W.] Bush. Nobody knows at this point what might happen beyond his administration. But personally, I do not expect that the good RP-US ties will change,” Schmader said at a press conference.

He stressed that the Balikatan exercises are part of a mutual defense treaty between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US.

Schmader said around 400 American doctors, engineers, and nurses, predominantly military, will join the month-long exercises to provide humanitarian aid to depressed areas in the provinces of Albay, Masbate, and Sorsogon.

These provinces are considered hotbeds of the communist insurgency in the Bicol region. But Colonel Ariel Bernardo, commander of the Philippine Army's 901st Infantry Brigade, said there will be no war games in the Bicol Balikatan.

“The Bicol Balikatan shall only comprise humanitarian projects in the form of medical missions and engineering works,” Bernardo said.

Greg Bañares, spokesperson of the rebel National Democratic (NDF) Front in Bicol, warned in a press statement that US troops might intervene in armed battles between government troops and communist guerrillas.

He also warned that the “fake” humanitarian missions could be used to survey the country's rich lands and seas or spy on the revolutionary movement.

Bernardo brushed off these accusations, saying the aims of the exercises are peace and development.

“We are pouring in development projects on depressed communities, since we recognize poverty as the root cause of insurgency,” Bernardo said.

He added that, in 1995, insurgency had been reduced to a manageable level in Bicol, but people went back to rebellion because of poverty.

“We do not want that mistake to happen again,” Bernardo said.

The engineering works -- construction of roads and water facilities -- will begin in the first week of April and medical missions in the middle of the same month.

Schmader, also an engineer, said all materials for the engineering works will be acquired locally to boost the economy.

None of the American and Filipino Army officers have been specific about the source and total amount of funds to be used for the 2009 Balikatan despite direct questions by the media.

But Shchmader said the funds will be shared by both countries. He estimated the engineering works alone to cost around US$450,000.

In Sorsogon on Wednesday, US soldiers led by Schmader conducted a dialogue with Sorsogon Governor Sally Lee and Juban town Mayor Maritess Guab-Fragata on the joint exercises to be held in the Pacific Board area near Albay and Sorsogon provinces.

Last year, Balikatan was held in the war-torn Mindanao region. Its primary objective is to improve the interoperability of both forces for mutual defense.

Taiwanese shot dead in Albay

2009-01-07T15:49:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 14:49:00 01/07/2009
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--A Taiwanese official of a cement factory in Camalig, Albay, was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen Tuesday morning, the Bicol police reported Wednesday.

The victim, Lee Shih Ying, 38, assistant marketing supervisor of the Goodfound Cement Factory, was at the firm’s quarry site when he was shot.

Police recovered from the crime scene five empty 9 mm pistol shells.

According to police, the killers also stole the victim's bag before fleeing towards the hilly village of Caguiba, also in Camalig.

2 fishermen missing in Catanduanes

2008-12-08T13:59:00.002+08:00

Rains trigger landslides, floods in Bicol areas
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 23:17:00 12/08/2008
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—As monsoon rains continue to affect Southern Luzon, two fishermen were reported missing while roads have been made impassable by landslides and floods in the provinces of Catanduanes and Sorsogon, officials said.

The Bicol regional disaster coordinating council identified the two fishermen as Edwin Taopo, 40, and Cezar Soriano, 40, of the village of Batalay in Bato, Catanduanes. They were last seen Friday.

A landslide also occurred in the village of Paraiso in San Miguel, Catanduanes.

The Virac-Viga road in Catanduanes was already impassable, Bicol civil defense director Raffy Alejandro said in the RDCC report.

In Sorsogon province, a spillway in the village of San Rafael in Sta. Magdalena, Sorsogon was also impassable due to rising floods. Footpaths in the villages of San Roque, San Isidro in the same town were also flooded.

Some 40 families were already evacuated and are temporarily sheltered at the San Antonio Elementary school in Sta. Magdalena.

Alejandro said the RDCC already requested a chopper from the Philippine Air Force as requested by the Catanduanes provincial government, which intends to conduct an aerial survey of the affected areas.

Corazon Samar, chief meteorologist of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration in Legazpi City said heavy rains in Bicol are caused by the tail-end of the cold front affecting the region.

She said that there is currently a gale warning over Bicol and Southern Luzon, which means these areas will experience winds gusting up to 70 kilometers per hour as induced by the surge of the northeast monsoon.

A low pressure area was spotted in the Samar area Monday morning but Samar said it was an inactive low pressure area and just a remnant of the cold front.

She said the prevailing weather from November to February is expected to be wet in the eastern side of the country especially in the coastal areas.

‘Reming’ survivors meet new aid heroes

2008-12-04T11:47:00.002+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Legazpi City

TWO YEARS AFTER SUPERTYPHOON “REMING” sent lahar from Mayon Volcano crashing down villages in Albay, killing over a thousand people, new heroes have risen from the rubble to sustain what was started from scratch.

Many international relief agencies had ceased to operate in the province, but new institutions are now bringing long-term assistance to the survivors.

A defining moment confronted Gail Narramore, a 30-year-old South African, when she visited the ruins left by lahar in Barangay Maipon in Guinobatan town. A grade school teacher from London, Narramore flew to Manila and Albay in January last year to see for herself the magnitude of the disaster.

Dream

Since childhood, Narramore has dreamed of putting up her own orphanage to care for abandoned, abused and neglected children.

While reading the Bible on a four-hour train trip in London, Narramore said she met an old Christian minister who befriended her. The man, however, died five years later but he had willed that all proceeds from his funeral be given to Narramore so she could start her charity work.

The woman’s visit to Maipon village wrenched her heart. “Around 300 people ran after me the moment the villagers noticed my presence. Maybe they thought I was there to distribute food or clothing. There was deep despair in the eyes of the people,” she recalled.

“It was raining and flooded that day. I saw one house made of bamboo standing, but half of it was buried under sand,” she said.

But Narramore could not forget the face of a woman survivor named Nora. “She looked very happy and was smiling to me as she pointed to her half-buried house,” she said.

Nora was tending a “sari-sari” (retail) store near her house. “I wrote a sign ‘Business as Usual’ and posted it there,” Narramore said.

Despite the tragedy, she said she was “shocked at how these people kept on going.”

Free day care classes

Narramore went back to Manila to learn the legal requirements and ways of putting up a charity institution. In October last year, she started the Tiwala Kids and Communities in Albay.

Tiwala has been holding free day-care classes for poor children in the hilly Sitio Cawayan in Barangay Calayucay, Sto. Domingo town. The schools are far from the village, an hour-long walk down a craggy trail.

“Most of their parents are farmers. The livelihood of the people there were badly affected after Reming,” Narramore said.

Tiwala has also been feeding and educating street children in the capital city of Legazpi.

It has Filipino volunteers and a staff. Narramore and two staff members had been living with the community in a farm in Cawayan, a 45-minute trek from downtown.

Alleviating hunger

Another kind-hearted soul, businesswoman Mediatrix Villanueva has been actively involved in linking government and nongovernment organizations for relief missions.

Seeing thousands of children facing hunger in the aftermath of the supertyphoon, Villanueva, who hails from Daraga town, created the Dios Mabalos Foundation. “Dios Mabalos,” which means “May God bless you in return,” is used by Bicolanos to express gratitude.

Villanueva said her group had been working with the St. Francis of Assisi Foundation and the Pondo ng Pinoy to hold supplemental feeding programs in schools and parishes.

“Since livelihood was badly affected by the disaster, the standard of living of families dropped. Poverty left many children sickly and malnourished,” said Erlinda Samonte, Dios Mabalos project manager.

The foundation has already fed 47,875 children over six months under its daily nutrition program dubbed “Hapag-asa.” It serves rice porridge containing Vita-meal (lentil fortified with over 28 vitamins).

It has already expanded its operations to Aklan, where Villanueva’s mother comes from.

Recovery

The provincial government has created a task force to implement a socioeconomic recovery program called “Albay Mabuhay.”

Its coordinator, Emily Kare, said many of the relief agencies had already closed, but there was still the need to bring the people’s lives back to normal and uplift them.

Albay Mabuhay has been providing skills training, credit assistance for livelihood, and job referrals and placements to beneficiaries.

If there is one good thing that “Reming” had brought to Albay, it strengthened the collaboration between government and nongovernment agencies, Kare said. “We have learned to combine our strengths to help the victims of disaster,” she said.

She said, however, that more funds were needed to complete the recovery as displaced families were still living in “transit” shelters in relocation sites. The dwellings are rooms made of plywood and galvanized iron sheets.

Kare placed the shelter gap at still 5,862 in two cities and five towns in Albay alone. Each resettlement house costs around P150,000.

Romblon's most wanted nabbed

2008-11-28T09:41:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 23:02:00 11/27/2008
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--Romblon’s most wanted fugitive, who is facing 20 counts of rape, was arrested in Mandaon town in Masbate, the provincial police reported on Thursday.

Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac, Masbate police director, identified the suspect as Apolonio Ramilo, 57, who had a P300,000 bounty for his capture.

Chief Inspector Ronaldo Fulo, group director of the 506th Provincial Police Mobile Group, said Ramilo was caught at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in a house in Barangay (village) Buri in a 20-hour pursuit operation.

Ramilo is now in the custody of the Mandaon police.

Unioil cuts prices of gasoline by P6/liter, diesel by P4/liter

2008-11-27T09:58:00.002+08:00

By Ronnel W. Domingo and Inquirer Southern Luzon

UNIOIL PETROLEUM PHILIPPINES Inc. yesterday slashed prices of gasoline by P6 a liter and of diesel by P4 a liter as it trailed other oil firms in previous rounds of price cuts.

Unioil said that as of 2 p.m. yesterday, its suggested retail price for diesel was P34.97 per liter; unleaded gasoline, P38.49; and premium gasoline, P38.99.

The Big 3 (Petron, Shell and Chevron) and other oil firms that have moved pump rates in sync in previous rounds are mum about changing their current prices.

The last time most of the oil companies cut prices was on Saturday. They reduced prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene by P1 per liter.

The cuts brought pump rates in Metro Manila of unleaded gasoline to between P36.07 and P41.51 a liter, diesel to between P34.97 and P38.17 a liter, and kerosene to between P41.80 and P47.49 a liter.

The Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston), which yesterday led a transport strike in the Bicol region, acknowledged the Unioil rollback but said the group was asking for a rollback by the Big 3.

“If the small players, like Unioil, are able to cut prices, why not the giant companies?” said George San Mateo, Piston national secretary general.

He said the slight increase in the price of oil in the world market to $51 a barrel on Wednesday was “negligible” and did not diminish his group’s resolve on a cutback of P8 a liter.

Classes were suspended in all schools and universities in Sorsogon and Albay yesterday because of the transport strike.

Flying V lambasted Unioil for “using media to sensationalize announcements with deceiving numbers to advance (its) image and credibility.”

Joey Cruz, Flying V vice president for retail network operations, said the company was still evaluating its next move. But should it again cut prices, it would be by as much as P3 a liter for gasoline.

“For this month, Flying V has already announced price cuts totaling P3 per liter for gasoline and P4 per liter for diesel,” Cruz said. “To match Unioil’s changes, we only need to deduct these figures from their announced levels.”

On Tuesday, Seaoil Petroleum Corp. cut prices by P2 a liter for gasoline and P1 a liter for diesel.

Dubai crude down

Data from the Department of Energy show that prices of the regional benchmark Dubai have gone down by about $80 per barrel after peaking at $131.27 in July.

The price of Dubai crude stood at $54 a barrel as of Nov. 17.

The price of unleaded gasoline based on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), benchmark for refined petroleum products fell to $54 a barrel, while the price of diesel stood at $78 a barrel.

Amid an increasingly deteriorating economic outlook, world oil prices continue to decline as traders worry about weaker demand for energy.

Overcharging

In Bicol, public transport workers, who are clamoring for an P8 cutback in diesel and gasoline prices, urged President Macapagal-Arroyo to use her power to prevent the “Big 3” oil companies from overcharging the public.

“That is if the President is not conniving with the giant oil companies. Her tolerance of the overpricing can be considered a betrayal of public trust,” said San Mateo.

San Mateo said that, with the P8 overprice, the three oil companies were earning almost P48 million daily in profits from jeepney drivers and P29 million from tricycle drivers.

The estimates were derived by multiplying P8 with 30 liters, the normal daily consumption of a jeepney, and with 200,000, the total number of public utility jeepneys nationwide.

The same formula was used for tricycles, which normally consume five liters daily. There are at least 650,000 tricycles in the country.

Paralyzed

Public transport was virtually paralyzed in Albay and about 70 percent of public transport was halted in Sorsogon.

San Mateo claimed that 70 percent of vehicular traffic was paralyzed in Naga City and 90 percent in Iriga City.

No strike took place in Catanduanes while a transport caravan was held in Masbate. Figures were still being gathered in Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte provinces as of 11 a.m. yesterday.

Supt. Eliciar Bron, Bicol police spokesperson, said more than 10 government vehicles had been deployed to offer free rides to the public.

The PNP, Army, Air Force, Navy and local government units initiated a free-ride program.

Other drivers ply routes

In Sorsogon, the strike paralyzed the transport of passengers to the towns of Gubat, Juban, Magallanes, Irosin, Matnog and Bulan. But Mike Frayna, president of the Federated Association of Sorsogon Tricycle Operators and Drivers, said not all drivers joined the mass action.

Some drivers in other groups, who earlier said they would join the nationwide strike, did not do so and instead continued to fetch passengers.

Frayna particularly referred to Provincial Transport Alliance president Ding Bobis, who earlier said his group would lead the transport strike but was the “first” to continue carrying passengers bound for Legazpi City.

Bobis is one of the drivers of Filcab vans from Sorsogon to Legazpi.

Naga City officials said transport services continued unhampered even as members of Condor-Piston participated in the strike. They said a majority of the drivers from other transport groups continued plying their routes.

Lito del Rosario, chief of the Naga City Public Safety Office, said the overall situation of the transportation services in the city was normal as of early morning yesterday.

He announced that there was no need for the schools to suspend classes.

Short notice

Tyrone Jaucian, leader of the Federation of Trimobile Operators and Drivers in Naga Inc., complained that his group was not prepared to take part in the strike because it was informed at short notice.

Jaucian said the group only committed support to the strike.

Rafael Duque, president of the Federation of Transport Operators Drivers Association and Cooperatives (Fetrodaco), said nothing happened even as he committed on Tuesday the participation of his group in the regionwide strike.

Duque pledged that all the drivers and units of Fetrodaco, a province-wide transport organization, would stop plying their routes but cautioned that they could not guarantee a 100-percent transport paralysis because of the short notice.

Joel Ascutia, regional chair of the Concerned Drivers and Operators for Reform (Condor)-Piston, said Shell, Chevron and Petron should implement a one-time big rollback since oil prices in the world market had dropped significantly.

San Mateo said a transport caravan would proceed to Metro Manila on Nov. 28 and visit the main offices of the Big 3. With reports from Ephraim Aguilar, Roy Gersalia and Juan Escandor Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon

Transport strike cripples Albay

2008-11-27T04:48:00.000+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar, Roy Gersalia, Juan Escandor Jr.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 04:48:00 11/27/2008
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Public transport was virtually paralyzed in Albay province and about 70 percent of public transport was halted in Sorsogon province.

George San Mateo, Piston secretary general, claimed that 70 percent of vehicular traffic was paralyzed in Naga City and 90 percent in Iriga City.

No strike took place in Catanduanes province while a transport caravan was held in Masbate province. Figures were still being gathered in Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte provinces as of 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Supt. Eliciar Bron, Bicol police spokesperson, said more than 10 government vehicles had been deployed to offer free rides to the public.

The Philippine National Police, Army, Air Force, Navy and local government units initiated a free-ride program.

Other drivers ply routes

In Sorsogon, the strike paralyzed the transport of passengers to the towns of Gubat, Juban, Magallanes, Irosin, Matnog and Bulan.

But Mike Frayna, president of the Federated Association of Sorsogon Tricycle Operators and Drivers, said not all drivers joined the mass action.

Some drivers in other groups, who earlier said they would join the nationwide strike, did not do so and instead continued to fetch passengers.

Frayna particularly referred to Provincial Transport Alliance president Ding Bobis, who earlier said his group would lead the transport strike but was the “first” to continue carrying passengers bound for Legazpi City.

Bobis is one of the drivers of Filcab vans from Sorsogon to Legazpi.

Naga City officials said transport services continued unhampered even as members of Condor-Piston participated in the strike. They said a majority of the drivers from other transport groups continued plying their routes.

Lito del Rosario, chief of the Naga City Public Safety Office, said the overall situation of the transportation services in the city was normal as of early morning Wednesday.

He announced that there was no need for the schools to suspend classes.

Short notice

Tyrone Jaucian, leader of the Federation of Trimobile Operators and Drivers in Naga Inc., complained that his group was not prepared to take part in the strike because it was informed at short notice.

Jaucian said the group only committed support to the strike.

Rafael Duque, president of the Federation of Transport Operators Drivers Association and Cooperatives (Fetrodaco), said nothing happened even as he committed on Tuesday the participation of his group in the region-wide strike.

Duque pledged that all the drivers and units of Fetrodaco, a province-wide transport organization, would stop plying their routes but cautioned that they could not guarantee a 100-percent transport paralysis because of the short notice.

Joel Ascutia, regional chair of the Concerned Drivers and Operators for Reform (Condor)-Piston, said Shell, Chevron and Petron should implement a one-time big rollback since oil prices in the world market had dropped significantly.

San Mateo said a transport caravan would proceed to Metro Manila on Nov. 28 and visit the main offices of the Big 3.

Bicol drivers to hold strike tomorrow for P8 oil price rollback

2008-11-25T14:26:00.001+08:00

INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY—A militant group of jeepney drivers yesterday announced a Bicol-wide strike tomorrow to press the top three oil companies to immediately bring down prices of diesel and gasoline by P8 per liter.

Joel Ascutia, regional chair of the Concerned Drivers and Operators for Reform (Condor)-Piston, yesterday said Shell, Chevron and Petron should implement a one-time-big-time rollback since oil prices in the world market had dropped more than three times already.

From the highest $147 a barrel, crude oil price has already gone down to a record low of $45.

The group expects more than 10,000 drivers of jeepneys and tricycles to join the strike from 1 a.m. till midnight and paralyze 95 percent of vehicular traffic.

Ascutia said the riding public should also benefit from the great plunge of world oil prices.

George San Mateo, secretary general of Condor-Piston, said that with the P8 overprice, the three oil companies were earning almost P48 million daily in profits from jeepney drivers and P29 million from tricycle drivers.

The estimates were derived by multiplying P8 with 30 liters, the normal consumption of one jeepney a day, and with 200,000, the total number of public utility jeepneys nationwide.

The same formula was used for tricycles, which normally consume five liters daily. There are at least 650,000 tricycles in the country.

Mateo said that although oil prices were legally deregulated, President Macapagal-Arroyo should exercise an oversight function through government agencies and task forces. “(Her) tolerance of the overpricing of giant oil firms is considered a betrayal of public trust, which is an impeachable offense,” he added.

Tessa Lopez, regional spokesperson of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said the Big 3’s excess profits would reach at least P320 million daily, covering both public and private transportation.

Ascutia said Condor-Piston was calling for the lifting of the 12 percent value-added tax on oil, the scrapping of the oil deregulation law, the nationalization of oil exploration and production, and the abolition of the cartel system in the industry.

The group’s leaders also urged laborers and employees not to go to work, students and teachers not to attend classes, and poor families to hold a noise barrage during the strike.

In Manila, the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board will hold a public hearing on a fare rollback on Dec. 3. Last month, it granted a 50-centavo probationary rollback but consumers are asking for P1 more with the further decreases in world oil prices. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon

30,000 more teachers needed, says DepEd chief

2008-11-19T15:29:00.000+08:00

LEGAZPI CITY—PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE country lack at least 30,000 teachers, a problem that can be addressed by investing more funds on the education sector despite the crisis, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said Monday.

Lapus, who was in Albay province for the formal turnover of school buildings donated by the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (Unicef), said the whole world is now focused on education as the best anti-poverty measure amid the global financial crisis.

“But I believe we are not that vulnerable to the crisis. We are far from the eye of the storm, so to speak” he said.

Lapus added that there are no indications of a declining trend in the amount of foreign aid pouring in for the education sector as the world crunch looms.

As proof, he cited the Safe Schools Project of the Unicef, which aims to build 60 classrooms in 49 schools and to rehabilitate 86 classrooms in 36 schools with funds of at least $321,000.

“I believe that our country is not so vulnerable to the crisis. We have a diversified economy and sources (of foreign aid),” Lapus said.

He added that there are countries, like Australia, that have increased their aid for the country’s education by as much as three to four times.

Lapus said the classroom gap is also gradually being bridged.

“We now generally have a 1-is-to-45-classroom-student ratio, which is what the law requires,” he said.

The Safe Schools Project aims to build elevated hazard-resilient classrooms that can also serve as safer evacuation centers in times of disasters. There are now 16 typhoon-proof school buildings in Bicol.

The buildings are made of concrete and steel while the roof is reinforced by concrete beams to withstand pressure. The floor line is built one meter above the ground. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Ill-fated ferry docked at illegal port

2008-11-14T11:54:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:55:00 11/13/2008
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—The port in Dimasalang, Masbate from where the ill-fated MB Don Dexter Cathlyn left on November 4 before the tragedy that killed at least 43 was found out to be an illegal private port.

Conducting a separate and independent investigation on the Masbate ferry tragedy, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) found out that the Dimasalang port has been a private docking facility of the owner of Don Dexter Cathlyn.

Dante Jimenez, VACC chair, said that according to the locals of Dimasalang town, the port has not been licensed by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

"We are writing to the PPA officials in Manila to ask them how this port in Dimasalang came about. Can private ports be easily established anywhere in the country?" Jimenez said by phone.

He said the VACC was also questioning why public utility vessels were allowed to operate in a private docking facility.

He said there was no Coast Guard detachment at the private port, which was, naturally, not subject to government control.

Jimenez added that if there were many other unlicensed private ports in the country, the government could be losing huge revenues.

He said the ports could also be venues for smuggling activities.

The ongoing Special Board of Marine Inquiry in Masbate City is delving mainly on the alleged overloading of passengers and the sailing of the boat without due notice to the Coast Guard.

Captain Henry Caballero, Bicol Coast Guard commander, said the boat captain, Dante Bombales, did not inform the Coast Guard detachment in Cataingan town before it left the port in Dimasalang town.

Cataingan is 30 kilometers away.

Lucita Madarang, Maritime Industry Authority director in Bicol, confirmed the VACC findings.

She said the PPA on Thursday furnished the Marina a copy of the cease and desist order issued to Gene Zuñiga, owner of the Dimasalang port and the Don Dexter Cathlyn.

The order disallowed operations of the private port, where five passenger vessels dock.

The PPA, in the document, said Zuñiga applied for a foreshore lease covering an area of 1,000 square meters for the establishment of a commercial port but it has not yet been approved.

The motorized boat was on its way from Dimasalang, Masbate, to Bulan, Sorsogon, when it was struck by a squall, which caused it to overturn and toss its passengers into the sea.

The official manifest registered 119 passengers but the Coast Guard list showed there were 156 aboard the ill-fated boat.

Marina documents showed it had a passenger capacity of only 100.

Madarang said that based on Marina's separate investigation, a total of 120 survivors signified claims on the financial aid extended by the

government on the tragedy victims.

If all the claimants are to be believed, this would mean 172 were aboard the motorboat.

"This is not to prejudice the ongoing inquiry. We will still validate these figures," Madarang said.

Rescuers have already retrieved 43 bodies, the latest of which was found floating on midsea.

The corpse was identified by relatives as that of Minda Velarmino, 54, of Barangay (Village) Cudolan in Dimasalang town, said Ensign Jeffrey Collado, operations officer of PCG-Bicol.

Two Coast Guard vessels are still perusing the seawaters of Dimasalang in search for bodies.

The Don Dexter Cathlyn sinking came just four months after that of Sulpicio Lines' MV Princess of the Stars off Romblon at the height of a typhoon last June 21, drowning about 800 passengers and crewmen.

Masbate Coast Guard exec axed

2008-11-10T11:55:00.000+08:00

LEGAZPI CITY—A MASBATE COAST guard station commander was relieved from office to make way for a fair investigation on the cause of the MB Don Dexter sea tragedy that killed at least 42 people, a Coast Guard official said Sunday.

Capt. Henry Caballero, Bicol Coast Guard commander, said Capt. Reynaldo Fabico, Masbate Coast Guard station commander, was temporarily relieved from office before the conduct of formal investigation.

The Special Board Marine inquiry will start today in Masbate City and is expected to delve on the alleged overloading of passengers and the sailing of the motorized boat without due notice to the Coast Guard.

Caballero said the boat captain, Dante Bombales, did not inform the Coast Guard detachment in Cataingan town before it left the port in Dimasalang town.

“We do not have a Coast Guard detachment in Dimasalang. The captain should have sent a radio message to the Coast Guard detachment in Cataingan, which is 30 kilometers away,” Caballero said.

The motor boat was ferrying passengers from Dimasalang to Bulan, Sorsogon when it capsized after a sudden squall struck it five kilometers off the shoreline.

Apprentice seaman Jecosalem Berces of PCG-Bicol said that as of Sunday, 42 were reported dead, 10 missing, and 105 survivors.

The official manifest registered 119 passengers but the Coast Guard list showed there were 156 aboard the ill-fated ferry.

Documents from the Maritime Industry Authority showed that the MB Don Dexter had a passenger capacity of only 100.

Two Coast Guard vessels are still perusing the seawaters of Dimasalang in search for missing corpses. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon (ATN)

OVER BOAT SINKING

2008-11-09T17:19:00.003+08:00

Masbate Coast Guard chief relieved
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:08:00 11/09/2008
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines--A Masbate Coast Guard station commander was relieved to make way for a fair investigation on the cause of the MB Don Dexter sea tragedy that killed at least 42 people, a Coast Guard official said Sunday.

Capt. Henry Caballero, Bicol Coast Guard commander, said Capt.
Reynaldo Fabico, Masbate coast guard station commander, was temporarily relieved before the holding of a formal investigation.

The Special Board Marine inquiry will start Monday in Masbate City and is expected delve into the alleged overloading of passengers and the sailing of the motorized boat without due notice to the Coast Guard.

Caballero said the boat captain, who was identified as Dante Bombales, did not inform the Coast Guard detachment in Cataingan town before it left the port in Dimasalang town, both in Masbate province.

"We do not have a Coast Guard detachment in Dimasalang. The captain should have sent a radio message to the Coast Guard detachment in Cataingan, which is 30 kilometers away," Caballero said.

The motor boat was ferrying passengers from Dimasalang to Bulan, Sorsogon when it capsized after a sudden squall struck it five kilometers off the shoreline.

Apprentice Seaman Jecosalem Berces of PCG-Bicol said that as of
Sunday, 42 have been confirmed dead, 10 remained missing, and 105 survived.

The official manifest registered 119 passengers but the Coast Guard list showed there were 156 aboard the ill-fated ferry.

Documents from the Maritime Industry Authority showed that the Don Dexter Cathlyn had a passenger capacity of only 100.

Two Coast Guard vessels are still perusing the seawaters of Dimasalang in search for bodies. All bodies earlier retrieved have already been claimed by their relatives, said Dimasalang Mayor Dempha Du Naga by phone.

The Don Dexter sinking came just four months after that of Sulpicio Lines' MV Princes of the Stars off Romblon at the height of a typhoon last June 21, drowning about 800 passengers and crew.

‘Quinta’ stops retrieval operations for ferry victims

2008-11-07T12:58:00.003+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
and Alcuin Papa, A6
INQUIRER.net

STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY RAINS brought by Tropical Depression “Quinta” prompted authorities to suspend retrieval operations of nine more missing passengers of the MB Don Dexter Cathlyn.

The death toll stood at 42 while there were 101 survivors as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Bicol.

The motorized boat was on its way from Dimasalang, Masbate, to Bulan, Sorsogon, on Tuesday afternoon, when it was struck by a sudden squall, which caused it to overturn and toss its passengers into the sea.

Transportation Undersecretary Elena Bautista visited Dimasalang town with PCG officials to start the preliminary investigation of the sea tragedy.

Bautista questioned the boat owner about the cause of the tragedy.

A special Board of Marine Inquiry will determine whether force majeure or human error caused the sinking, and look into reports that the boat was overloaded when it left Dimasalang, Masbate.

Commodore Cecil Chen will head the special Board of Marine Inquiry, according to PCG spokesperson Capt. Enrico Evangelista.

Senior Supt. Reuben Sindac, Masbate police director, earlier said 119 passengers were officially recorded. But a list sent to the Inquirer by Capt. Henry Caballero of PCG-Bicol showed there were 42 dead, nine missing and 100 survivors, for a total of 151.

Due to bad weather, President Macapagal-Arroyo’s scheduled visit to Dimasalang town on Thursday afternoon was canceled.

From the Local Peace and Security Assembly (LPSA) in Clark Zone, Pampanga, Ms Arroyo was expected to arrive in Dimasalang town to console victims of the tragedy and give them financial aid.

Raffy Alejandro, civil defense director in Bicol, said the retrieval operations were called off after Masbate province was placed under Storm Signal No. 1.

Signal No. 1 was also raised over Mindoro island, the northern part of Palawan, Romblon, Camiguin, Biliran Island, Western Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Aklan, Capiz, Antique, and Guimaras Island.

The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers.

Quinta is expected to bring gloomy weather to Metro Manila with high chances of rain in the coming days, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said yesterday.

Lots of rain

“It is a weak typhoon but the weak ones bring lots of rain,” Nathaniel Cruz, Pagasa weather bureau chief, told the Inquirer.

Rains could become widespread over the eastern section of the country and may cause flash floods and landslides.

Quinta started as a low pressure area affecting Mindanao but developed into a tropical depression as it moved toward the Visayas, according to Cruz.

Cruz said the storm was moving toward Central Visayas as it was spotted 40 kilometers northeast of Mactan, Cebu. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 45 kph near the center.

Quinta is forecast to move northwestward at 19 kph. It is expected to move toward northern Palawan before it exits the South China Sea.

Cuyo Island

By Friday morning, Quinta is predicted to be 80 km north of Cuyo Island or 90 km South of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.

It is expected to be 440 km west of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, by Saturday morning and 830 km west of Metro Manila by Sunday afternoon.

Because of the storm, two ships of the Philippine Navy were withdrawn from the vicinity of the capsized boat off the coast of Masbate, said Lt. Junior Grade German Acido, Naval Forces Southern Luzon spokesperson.

Authorities prohibited sea vessels from sailing to and from Masbate island.

Stranded

At least 126 passengers, 15 motorized boats, seven sea vessels, six trucks, and four cars were stranded in the ports of Masbate City and Pilar, Sorsogon.

Alejandro said families of the victims of the sea tragedy already received P3,000-burial assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development and P5,000 from the Masbate provincial government.

This does not include the financial assistance to be given by the President.

Registered owner

Alejandro said survivors of the tragedy complained against the boat owner’s nonchalance. Quoting the irate victims, Alejandro said the boat owner’s office was closed prompting police to search for her.

Documents from the Maritime Industry Authority showed the Don Dexter Cathlyn was registered to a certain Amiel Tamayo but a certain Gennie Zuñiga was reported as its owner.

The Inquirer tried to call Gennie Zuñiga but a woman who picked up the call said she was not there.

Princess of the Stars

In Sibuyan, Harbor Star, the private salvor recovering bodies inside the MV Princess of the Stars, suspended the retrieval operation yesterday.

In a statement, the company said divers managed to recover three bodies from Deck B, putting the total retrieved cadavers at 166.

Due to the bad weather, the tugs and the barge that are being used in the retrieval operation sailed from Sibuyan Island to Romblon for shelter, the company said.

Harbor Star is expected to wrap up the retrieval operations this weekend. It will then transfer the bodies to Cebu City, where the National Bureau of Investigation will process DNA samples to identify the victims.

The Princess of the Stars, which is owned by Sulpicio Lines, capsized in Sibuyan Sea in June when it sailed into the eye of Typhoon “Frank.” Only 57 out of the 850 passengers survived the tragedy. With a report from Kristine L. Alave

British tourists warned vs RP sea travel

2008-11-06T13:36:00.003+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 13:28:00 11/06/2008
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY -- The sea tragedy involving the MB Don Dexter Cathlyn, which capsized Tuesday off Masbate province killing at least 42, has prompted the British embassy to issue a travel advisory warning its tourists of inter-island travel risks in the country.

"Inter-island travel by small boats can be dangerous as storms appear quickly," the advisory posted on the embassy's website Wednesday night said.

The same advisory underscored "terrorism in Mindanao and a high incidence of piracy and armed robbery against ships in and around the Philippine waters."

The motorized boat was on its way to Bulan, Sorsogon, when struck by a sudden squall which caused it to overturn and toss its passengers into the sea.

Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac, Masbate police director, had said that 119 passengers were officially recorded. But a list sent to Philippine Daily Inquirer Southern Luzon by Captain Henry Caballero of the Coast Guard in Bicol showed that there were 42 dead, nine missing, and 100 survivors, for a total of 151.

"You should be aware that maritime rescue services in the Philippines may not be as comprehensive as they might be in the UK," the advisory added.

Authorities are investigating if the motorized boat was overloaded as claimed by survivors and as shown in the discrepancy between the PCG list and the passenger manifest.

Coast Guard officials said transportation undersecretary Elena Bautista was in Masbate Thursday morning meeting with the boat owner and concerned government agencies.

Maria Ong-Ravanilla, Bicol tourism director, said foreign embassies would normally issue travel advisories but these were not seen to affect tourist arrivals.

She said small vessels like MB Don Dexter Cathlyn were not the facilities for tourists.

"We have bigger passenger ferries and roll on-roll off [ro-ro] port facilities, we advise tourists to take them instead," Ravanilla said by phone.

Quake rocks Bicol, Samar areas

2008-11-06T12:04:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 11:06:00 11/06/2008
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY -- A magnitude-5 earthquake rocked Bicol and Samar provinces 9:04 a.m. Thursday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in Manila reported.

Phivilcs said the tectonic earthquake was felt in varying intensities in Sorsogon City; Legazpi City; Catarman, Samar; Virac, Catanduanes; and Easter Samar.

No damages were reported or aftershocks expected, state seismologists said.

Militants decry ‘VIP treatment’ for Bolante

2008-11-06T10:04:00.006+08:00

LEGAZPI CITY—MILITANT groups in the Bicol region on Tuesday decried what they said was the VIP treatment being received by former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante while a peasant leader continues to languish in jail on suspicion of rebellion.

Felix Paz, national council member of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and concurrent chairman of its Bicol chapter, said Randall Echanis, deputy secretary general of the KMP, is now in jail despite suffering from Bell’s palsy and chronic hypertension.

Echanis was arrested Jan. 28 this year by suspected military and police agents in ski masks and civilian clothes, at the Builders Training Center in Barangay Calumangan, Bago City, Negros Occidental.

He was at a conference in preparation for the National Rural Congress (NRC) being called for by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Echanis was accused of membership in the Communist Party of the Philippines central committee. Along with CPP founder Jose Ma. Sison and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, he was accused of 15 counts of multiple murder in connection with the so-called Hilongos, Leyte mass graves.

“While Joc-joc is being pampered in St. Luke’s Hospital, many peasants are wasting in jail for crimes they did not commit,” Paz said.

Bolante is the alleged architect of the so-called fertilizer fund scam, which involves the supposed diversion of P728-million in Department of Agriculture funds to the 2004 campaign of President Macapagal-Arroyo.

Bolante returned to the country last week after being deported from the United States. He was served a Senate arrest order immediately upon arrival but remains confined at the St. Luke’s Medical Center, where he is considered under the chamber’s custody.

Paz said Echanis was instrumental in gathering data from farmers when the KMP testified in the Senate probe of the fertilizer fund scam.

“It is sad to note that many peasant leaders and a journalist who bared the scam have been killed or abducted like Marlene Esperat, Perla Rodriguez and Nilo Arado, and then we see Joc-joc as if he is a lamb that has to be protected,” Paz said. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon

INQUIRER.net

Death toll in ferry tragedy rises to 42

2008-11-06T10:03:00.003+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar, A1
Inquirer Southern Luzon

LEGAZPI CITY—THE DEATH TOLL IN the sea tragedy involving the MB Don Dexter Cathlyn has climbed to 42, and the Philippine Coast Guard is preparing to launch an investigation.

Capt. Enrico Evangelista, spokesperson of the Coast Guard, told the Inquirer in Manila that a special Board of Marine Inquiry would determine whether force majeure or human error had caused the tragedy, and look into reports that the boat was overloaded when it left Dimasalang, Masbate, on Tuesday afternoon.

The motorized boat was on its way to Bulan, Sorsogon, when a sudden strong wind struck it and caused it to overturn, tossing its passengers into the sea.

Senior Supt. Reuben Sindac, Masbate police director, had earlier said 119 passengers were officially recorded. But a list sent to Inquirer Southern Luzon by Capt. Henry Caballero of the Coast Guard in Bicol showed that as of noon yesterday, there were 42 dead, nine missing and 100 survivors, for a total of 151.

President Macapagal-Arroyo will fly to Masbate tomorrow afternoon to deliver insurance money to the families of the victims, according to Lucita Madarang of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) in Bicol.

Madarang said the President would hand out P200,000 for every casualty. She said the excess passengers, or those not included in the manifest, were not covered by insurance.

For 100 only

Marina documents showed that the wooden Don Dexter Cathlyn had a passenger capacity of only 100.

Late on Tuesday, survivor Pedro Bultron of Palanas, Masbate, said: “We were crowded inside. Some passengers were already standing. Maybe the boat lost its balance.”

PO3 Isagani Princesa, assistant detachment commander of the Coast Guard in Cataingan, Masbate, said it was “standard operating procedure for a departing vessel to give notice on the number of its passengers before [setting sail].”

But this was not done because the Coast Guard office is located in Cataingan, which is about 30 kilometers from the Dimasalang port, he said.

Princesa said the Don Dexter Cathlyn was only a small craft with a gross tonnage of 13.7 and net tonnage of 9.3.

The owner of the boat is Amiel Tamayo of Dimasalang, and not Edward Yap, as earlier reported.

Tamayo is the owner of the Don Dexter Sea transport, Princesa said. He identified the captain of the capsized boat as Dante Bombales.

A team from the local government of Bulan was to have helped in the search-and-rescue operations in Dimasalang yesterday, but heavy waves prevented it from traveling to the site.

Breaches in procedure

Bombales is now in the custody of the Coast Guard in Masbate.

Evangelista said Bombales would be investigated for not informing the Coast Guard that the boat was sailing, and for failing to submit a required document known as the master’s oath of safe departure.

The document serves as a captain’s sworn statement that his boat is seaworthy.

Marina has sent a show-cause order to Bombales and to boat owner Tamayo. The two men have been told to reply within 10 days.

Repeated calls by the Inquirer to Tamayo went unanswered.

The fine imposed on an operator of an overloaded passenger vessel weighing up to 50 tons is P2,000 (for first offense), according to Marina development specialist Emelita Miranda.

She said the permit to operate could be canceled if the operator was proved liable for a tragedy.

The planned investigation is the second to be undertaken by the Coast Guard this year.

In June, the MV Princess of the Stars owned and operated by Sulpicio Lines Inc. sank off the coast of Romblon. Only 56 of the 864 people aboard survived.

The Board of Marine Inquiry that investigated the tragedy blamed the vessel’s captain for sailing to Cebu from Manila despite the bad weather, and Sulpicio Lines for allowing the ship to leave port.

Isolated thunderstorm

Corazon Samar, chief meteorologist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration in Legazpi City, said an isolated thunderstorm could have caused the Tuesday tragedy.

“There was no recorded tropical depression but only an intertropical convergence zone, causing strong winds mainly in the northern and northeastern coasts,” Samar said on the phone.

“There is no way of predicting isolated thunderstorms, and they happen only within a span of one to two hours,” she said. With reports from Kristine L. Alave in Manila; Roy Gersalia, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Arroyo to give aid to sea mishap victims

2008-11-05T19:20:00.002+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:59:00 11/05/2008
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is set to visit Masbate province Thursday afternoon to award insurance money to the families of the victims of the ill-fated MB Don Dexter Cathlyn, an official of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) said.

The motor boat was ferrying passengers from Dimasalang, Masbate to Bulan, Sorsogon when it capsized.

Lucita Madarang, Marina-Bicol director, said Arroyo will hand out P200,000 for every casualty.

The presidential chopper is expected to land in Masbate at 2 p.m. Thursday, Madarang told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.

She said the excess passengers, or those not included in the manifest, are not covered by the insurance.

A total of 119 passengers were officially recorded said Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac, Masbate police director, but the Philippine Coast Guard in Bicol accounted 151 passengers—including those who died, survived, and are still missing.

In a list sent to the Inquirer, Captain Henry Caballero, PCG-Bicol said there were 42 dead, nine missing, and 100 survivors as of Wednesday noon.

Documents from the Marina showed that the wooden 13.73-ton MB Don Dexter Cathlyn, owned by a certain Amiel Tamayo, only had a passenger capacity of 100.

Recalling the tragedy, survivor Pedro Bultron of Palanas, Masbate said a sudden strong wind struck the boat causing it to capsize.

"We were crowded inside," Bultron told the Inquirer by phone. "Some passengers were already standing. Maybe the boat lost its balance," he said.

Ferry capsizes off Masbate; 40 dead

2008-11-05T09:51:00.005+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar, A1
Inquirer Southern Luzon

LEGAZPI CITY—A SUDDEN strong wind yesterday caused an interisland ferry to capsize off Masbate province, killing at least 40 passengers.

Of the 119 passengers aboard the MB Don Dexter Cathlyn, 76 survived, said the Masbate police director, Senior Supt. Reuben Sindac. The survivors are in the custody of the provincial police.

Three others on the manifest have yet to be accounted for. Police and rescue crews also have yet to account for the vessel’s crew.

“We were not able to determine how many crewmen there were... You know how it is in boats—the arrangement is very informal,” Sindac told the Inquirer in Manila in a text message.

Rescuers said no more survivors could be seen around the boat, which overturned 5 kilometers off the coast of Barangay Magcaragit in the town of Dimasalang in Masbate.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Masbate commander Reynaldo Fabico, who was aboard the rescue vessel, said rescuers were finding only corpses.

Survivor Pedro Bultron, 52, said the boat was overloaded and that the tragedy happened very fast.

“A strong wind suddenly struck our boat. It quickly turned upside down. All I could see were big waves,” Bultron, of Palanas, Masbate, told the Inquirer by phone.

He said the Don Dexter Cathlyn was heading to Bulan, Sorsogon, from Dimasalang when the wind struck.

“We were crowded inside,” Bultron said. “Some passengers were already standing on the aisle. Maybe the boat lost its balance.”

The boat left port at 1:30 p.m. in clear weather.

PCG-Masbate received the report on the mishap by phone at around 2:40 p.m., said PO3 Freddie Sanorjo.

100 body bags

Dr. Adolfo Almanzor, the provincial health officer, said an estimated 100 body bags had been requested from the Department of Health office in Bicol for transport last night to the disaster site.

Dr. Alfredo Lim, chief medical officer of the Espinosa Memorial Hospital in Dimasalang, said the bodies were being temporarily held at the town plaza, and that some of the survivors were there to identify their kin.

The dead included 11 children, according to The Associated Press.

Almanzor said 27 survivors were taken to the hospital and given first aid.

Lim said nine of the 27 were confined, with their injuries ranging from abrasions, contusions, hypertension and head wounds.

Bultron himself had a head injury and was among those confined.

“We held on tight to the [capsized] boat. We were in the water for an hour before the rescuers finally retrieved us,” he said.

Crying children

Bultron said he was on the way to Manila with two other relatives, and that his cousin had saved him from certain death.

He said he saw many other passengers struggling in the water, but what caught his attention were the cries of children.

He also said there were probably passengers trapped underneath the boat. “Rescuers would have to dive to take them out,” he said.

Sindac said the boat was “hit by a sudden gust of wind” just off Magcaragit.

He said the weather phenomenon was locally known as “subasko.”

Another PCG official, Capt. Enrico Efren Evangelista, said “there was a squall and the wind was strong.”

He described the Don Dexter Cathlyn as a “large motorized banca” used in interisland routes. “It’s for short distances,” he said.

Evangelista identified the boat operator as Eduardo Yap, and said the latter was now in the custody of PCG Masbate.

Only five months earlier, the MV Princess of the Stars owned and operated by Sulpicio Lines Inc. sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon, killing more than 700 passengers.

Operations to retrieve bodies trapped in the ship’s hull are continuing. With reports from Tarra Quismundo and Kristine L. Alave in Manila

Ferry capsizes off Masbate; 40 dead

2008-11-05T09:51:00.004+08:00

GROWING UP WITHOUT TV

2008-11-02T15:08:00.002+08:00

Brothers build dreams on handmade scrapbooks
Text and photos by Ephraim Aguilar, page B4
Inquirer Southern Luzon
INQUIRER.net

DARAGA, ALBAY— They say everyone is born with an artistic side. It is how these talents are honed at a young age that will spell the difference between adults with artistic flair and those without.

Baruga brothers Jhonmark, 19, and King George, 17, grew up in a home without television. Tinkering with art materials became their pastime. Thus they developed an eye for mixing colors and a hand for cutting shapes and putting pieces together to create an artwork.

“Our mother didn’t want a television set in our house and we didn’t know why. So most of the time we were busy doing artwork at home,” King George says.

Today, the Baruga brothers, who are both education students in Bicol University in Daraga, Albay, are gaining popularity among their peers for their artworks.

Their products? Handmade scrapbooks and greeting cards.

They have been invited to set up their own exhibits in different places in the Bicol region and have also been receiving individual and bulk orders of their handcrafts.

The Baruga brothers realized that their hobby had the potential of becoming a profitable enterprise.

They have already created over 70 scrapbook designs for their exhibits. The designs fall under themes or categories, among which are the “Four Seasons, Festivals, Coffee, Black and White, Emo (emotional hardcore) and Gold and Silver.”

While maintaining their grades as academic scholars, Jhonmark and King George manage to work on their handcrafts every week to meet orders.

The two have devised their own strategies on saving time and dividing tasks. King George is usually the thinker, while Jhonmark is more the doer.

Designs

“Themes and design concepts would usually come from me, that is my strength, while my brother is good at finishing touches,” King George says.

He adds that they could finish 50 scrapbooks in a day if the paper had already been cut and other accessories prepared in advance. They deliver orders within seven days.

In one of their exhibits at Bicol University here, a 30-piece order was placed by students from another university.

“It feels good that people are not just able to appreciate our work but also want to have our artworks as their own stuff,” Jhonmark says.

Aside from the common designs, the Baruga brothers also cater to personalized orders.

Two of the most saleable scrapbook varieties are the “Coffee” and “Four Seasons.”

The “Coffee” scrapbooks come in shades of brown and are literally made of coffee. The covers and pages have been brushed with liquid coffee creating a vibrant brown and a pleasing aroma.

The “Four Seasons” collection has four items designed after winter, spring, summer and fall. They come as collector’s items or a boxed set.

Scrapbook prices range from P75 to P500 depending on the size, the design and the materials to be used. Customized items are a little more expensive than the ready-made ones.

“Scrapbooks in commercial establishments would range from P225 to P1,000 and they are bare. But the companies manufacturing them would sell accessories separately, which are more costly,” says King George.

Personalized scrapbooks come in various forms and shapes. One of them came in the shape of a guitar or a dress, reflecting their owners’ interests in music and in fashion.

“Designs are limitless. We create just almost anything, whatever people want,” Jhonmark says.

The regular size of a scrapbook is 9 inches by 5 in. The prices of handmade greeting cards range from P5 to P30, depending on the size and design. The brothers also sell personalized picture frames and boxes.

Most of these products are made from indigenous materials—from dried and dyed hay, abaca fiber, seeds, flowers, feathers, leaves, shells, scrap paper, cloth and other objects picked from just anywhere then recycled.

Dream

Since childhood, the Baruga brothers already showed signs of entrepreneurship.

“When our teacher assigned projects, we would go to the city to shop for art materials and sold them to our classmates. We lived in a rural town where students seldom visit the city,” Jhonmark recounts.

King George says their parents, who were supportive of their interests and talents, gave them P10,000 to mount their first exhibit.

“We invested it in tools to make our work easier and faster. We want to pay our parents back once we have gained profit,” King George says.

King George says greeting cards and scrapbooks manufactured through advanced technology are still available in bookstores but can be quite expensive. And since they are mass produced, the designs are very common.

“We dream to become like Hallmark,” Jhonmark says, half seriously.

Hallmark is a century-old international company that produces greeting cards and keepsake ornaments.

Jhonmark adds that they envision to build a local company that will make available to the locals cheaper but stylish greeting cards and memory-keeping items.

Underwater cable seen as threat to ‘butanding’

2008-10-23T15:24:00.001+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar, A17
Legazpi City

THREATENING A MULTIMILLION-PESO TOUR-ism jewel, a submarine cable planned to be installed by a giant telecommunications firm in Donsol, Sorsogon, the whale shark capital of the world, is eyed with suspicion.

Seeking to expand its network, Globe Telecom plans to install this year a 164-kilometer underwater cable from Donsol town to Calbayog, Northern Samar.

Local tourism officials are worried that this network expansion project would affect the safety of the butanding.

“We cannot risk the whale shark habitat in Donsol to some foreign object planned to be installed there,” Maria Ong-Ravanilla, Bicol tourism regional director, says.

Globe, in a letter addressed to Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, said the project is part of a five-segment cable from Southern Luzon to Northern Mindanao, which will improve the reliability and availability of the country’s mobile communication technology.

The cable’s jump-off point from the tip of Southern Luzon to Visayas is Barangay Dancalan in Donsol. This village serves as jump-off point for tourists who engage in whale shark interaction.

Ong-Ravanilla says Globe has asked for an endorsement from the Department of Tourism so it can get an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

She says the DOT will issue an endorsement for Globe if it gets an approval from the Donsol mayor and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), an agency protecting whale sharks in the town.

“What we need from Globe is an environmental impact assessment report,” she says.

Construction materials

She says Globe has been summoned by the Sorsogon provincial board for an inquiry but none of its local managers are authorized to speak for the company.

Ong-Ravanilla says there have been reports from residents in Barangay Dancalan that Globe had already delivered construction materials there.

“The villagers saw PVC pipes, which they said, were owned by Globe. What we do not want to happen here is for (Globe) to start its construction before the issuance of an ECC,” she says.

The WWF, an agency implementing whale shark conservation guidelines in Donsol, is cautious about Globe’s expansion project.

David David, lead coordinator of the whale shark tracking project of WWF in Donsol, said they are researching for the specifics of the project to determine the possible effects of the submarine cables on whale shark habitat.

In the 2008 season, WWF recorded 114 whale sharks through its photo-identification technology, which determines whale sharks individually by means of their spots, he says.

The spots of whale shark are unique to every creature, just like human fingerprints, he says.

Tourism industry

Jay Christie, project director from the Ericsson Telecommunications, one of the project contractors, says that the company has taken note of the tourism activities in Donsol and will fully coordinate with tourism officials.

Donsol is one of the country’s top three ecotourism sites. Based on WWF data, Donsol’s butanding interaction contributes more than P50 million to the economy annually.

The town’s attraction was declared as the “best animal encounter in Asia” by Time magazine in 2004.

Tourism in Donsol has also pulled the town from being a fifth-class to a third-class municipality.

Butanding interaction activities in Donsol cover eight villages and tourists number more than 10,000 a season.

Mayon trail run tackles global warming

2008-10-20T10:03:00.003+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar, page one
Inquirer Southern Luzon

LEGAZPI CITY—SOUTHEAST Asian Games gold medalist Allan Ballester looked straight at Mayon Volcano’s amazing peak as he treaded a trail.

Ballester, 34, is one of those who took part in the first Mayon Trail Run (MTR) in Albay yesterday. The event was part of an awareness campaign against global warming.

More than 150 runners negotiated a shaggy hill laden with manmade obstacles, a river crossing, and a pile of volcanic rocks in the 5-kilometer fun run and 18-km adventure foot race.

The race was organized by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) and Northface, an international brand of sports apparel and outdoor equipment. JCI is a worldwide federation of young leaders and entrepreneurs whose members are more popularly known as Jaycees.

Even for the most experienced runners, some of them holding national and international titles, the MTR was one of the most grueling and unusual races.

The race started from the Peñaranda Park in the city to the top of Ligñon Hill in Daraga town, then down to a newly created back trail traversing the Yawa River to the Bonga Gully, one of the main pathways of volcanic debris swept by heavy rains.

Reaching the lava front, the racers made a U-turn and climbed back to Ligñon.

In his 14-year running career, Ballester said it was only in the MTR that his race plan became erratic.

“In my past races, I would stick to one race plan till finish. But here, I had to change it because the trail was packed with unexpected challenges in every segment,” he said.

The race also required great endurance and the application of different skills, he said.

“I just kept looking at Mayon’s peak as it felt like the sandy and rocky trail never ended. We had to climb rough terrain and slippery wooden stairs, and cross a river,” Ballester said shortly after he crossed the finish line.

Winners

Ballester said most of the runners were used to road races on smooth and flat pavements, making the MTR really different.

The winners, who came from different running teams, were—Male: 1st, Elmer Sabal (1:09:30); 2nd, Allan Ballester (1:10:08); 3rd, Cresenciano Sabal (1:10:35).

Female: 1st, Leszl Gitarueles (1:32:26); 2nd, Merlita Arias (1:45:07); 3rd. Ellen Tolentino (1:49:08).

The oldest runner was 71-year-old Vicente Caurez of Los Baños, Laguna, who was well-applauded when he finished the race standing strong.

Trail running as an adventure sport is more popular in Europe, according to Ballester. He said Albay’s trail run opened doors for the promotion of this endurance sport.

Provincial tourism officer Joe Briones said the trail run could be held annually and could draw more tourists.

These days, many tourists are looking for new sites for ecotourism and adventure sports. Briones said it would be good to have them both.

Yves Eli Yu, MTR project chair and vice president of JCI-Legazpi, said the trail run also sought to promote awareness of climate change.

Global warming

He said runners in the event and the spectators were made to realize the effects of global warming by making them experience nature.

“Taking part in this trail run is like touching Mayon’s soul. Your run toward its lava front reminds you of the lahar that killed and displaced over a thousand people at the height of Supertyphoon ‘Reming,’” Ballester said.

With the damage and floods caused by Reming on Nov. 30, 2006, Albay officials linked the disaster to the changing climate.

A2C2 campaign

After the tragedy, the provincial government launched the “Albay in Action for Climate Change” (A2C2) campaign, a pioneering local climate change adaptation in the Asia Pacific.

Yu said the JCI-Legazpi was jubilant that the MTR took place a day after 10 lawmakers from Asia, Europe, Africa and South America signed the Manila Declaration on Climate Change, which calls on rich nations to create a global fund to help reduce disaster risks brought by rising sea temperatures.

The five-page document, titled “The Manila Call for Action of Parliamentarians on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation,” was issued at the close of a two-day consultative meeting at Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

Yves said that for developing countries like the Philippines, it would be a big help to start small through awareness campaigns like the MTR.

3.9-strong quake jolts Legazpi, Sorsogon

2008-10-18T17:59:00.002+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 16:58:00 10/18/2008
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay -- A 3.9-magnitude earthquake shook Legazpi City and
Sorsogon City at 7:21 a.m. Saturday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

In a bulletin, state seismologists said the earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, was located 50 kilometers northeast of Sorsogon City.

No damage or aftershocks were expected, Phivolcs said.

‘French Survivor’seen behind 2,000% Bicol tourism hike

2008-10-17T10:14:00.001+08:00

ATN

LEGAZPI CITY—FRENCH TOURIST ARrivals in the Bicol region rose by 2,229 percent from 912 in the first two quarters of 2007 to 21,247 over the same period this year, the Department of Tourism here said.

“This is an astounding leap,” said Maria Ong-Ravanilla, Bicol tourism regional director. She said the filming of the French edition of the popular reality game show “Survivor” early this year in Caramoan, Camarines Sur, was a major factor.

France was fifth in terms of tourist influx in Bicol in 2007 but it suddenly climbed to the top spot, placing United States second with 11,847, Japan with 5,032, Germany with 2,844, and Australia with 2,385.

In 2007, she said the Bicol region ranked sixth among other regions with total tourist arrivals of 897,680. Bicol was seventh in 2006 and ninth in 2004 and 2005.

Top tourist attractions in Bicol are Donsol town’s whale shark interaction in Sorsogon, Albay’s Mayon volcano, and the Camarines Sur Water Sports Complex in Pili town.

Ravanilla said for the first two quarters of 2008, the tourism industry earned a gross income of around P305 million and has generated a total of 198,539 jobs.

“Our gross receipts amounted to around P443 million for the whole of 2007, but now, for only the first two quarters of 2008, we have already earned 69 percent of that,” Ravanilla said.

The “French Survivor” started airing in the first week of July and has been viewed by some 10 million viewers from French-speaking countries in Europe and Canada.

Caramoan Peninsula, which was only known to backpackers before it found fame on French Survivor, boasts of virgin, powdery white sand beaches with crystal blue waters, rock formations and rich flora and fauna. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Food poisoning downs 31 in Masbate

2008-10-15T13:06:00.002+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 12:46:00 10/15/2008
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY -- At least 31 residents of a village in Masbate were rushed to a district hospital there due to food poisoning after eating fish bought from the public market, a police official said Wednesday.

Chief Inspector Salvador Retuermo, Cataingan chief of police, said the victims, who are residents of Barangay (village) Poblacion in Cataingan town, complained of severe stomach ache and vomiting.

The victims ate fish noontime Tuesday and were rushed to the hospital late afternoon of the same day, Retuermo said.

Retuermo said there were more than 31 people who ate fish from the same source but not all showed symptoms of poisoning.

He quoted the municipal doctor as saying that the assorted fish (tangigue, rumpe and malasugi), which vendors said came from Tagapul-an, Samar, were possibly contaminated with formalin.

The victims are under observation in the hospital while police are investigating.

‘Survivor’ boosts Bicol tourism

2008-10-14T18:22:00.003+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:44:00 10/14/2008
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines -- French tourist arrivals in the Bicol region grew more than 20 times, from 912 in the first two quarters of 2007 to 21,247 during the same period this year, thanks to the filming there of the “Survivor” reality TV show, the Department of Tourism (DoT) here said.

"This is an astounding leap," said Maria Ong-Ravanilla, Bicol tourism regional director, attributing this to the filming of the French edition of the popular reality game show early this year in Caramoan town in Camarines Sur.

France was fifth in terms of tourist arrivals in Bicol in 2007 but suddenly climbed to the top spot, placing the United States second with 11,847, Japan with 5,032, Germany with 2,844, and Australia with 2,385.

Ravanilla said the breakthrough in tourist arrivals is expected to secure a spot for Bicol as one of the country's top tourist destinations.

In 2007, she said the Bicol region ranked sixth among other regions with total tourist arrivals of 897,680. Bicol was seventh in 2006 and ninth in 2004 and 2005.

Top tourist attractions in Bicol are Donsol town's whaleshark interaction in Sorsogon, Albay's Mayon Volcano, and the Camarines Sur’s Water Sports Complex in Pili town.

Ravanilla added that for the first two quarters of 2008, the tourism industry earned a gross income of around P305 million and generated a total of 198,539 jobs.

"Our gross receipts amounted to around P443 million for the whole of 2007, but now, for only the first two quarters of 2008, we have already earned 69 percent of that," Ravanilla said.

The French Survivor started airing in the first week of July and has been viewed by some 10 million viewers from French-speaking countries in Europe and Canada.

Caramoan Peninsula, which was known to only to backpackers before it was used as a location for Survivor France, boasts powdery white sand beaches and crystal blue waters, rock formations and rich flora and fauna.

Fishing ban around ferry wreckage lifted

2008-10-14T16:18:00.002+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 15:32:00 10/14/2008
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines -- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has lifted the five-kilometer-radius fishing ban it imposed around the sunken MV Princess of the Stars off Sibuyan Island in Romblon after tests detected no chemical residue in the waters.

Water samples were taken and analyzed by the National Pesticide Analytical Laboratory after the last drum of the highly toxic pesticide endosulfan was removed from the wreckage.

A total of 402 containers of endosulfan have been recovered from the sunken vessel.

"No contamination of the toxic chemical was found," said Juvy Barillo, hazard inspector of BFAR-Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) in phone interview.

In an advisory released Monday, BFAR chief Malcom Sarmiento Jr. declared fish at the wreckage site and around the rest of Sibuyan Island safe for human consumption.

San Fernando Mayor Nanette Tansingco earlier said fishing outside the five-kilometer fishing ban radius entailed great fuel costs for the Sibuyan residents.

For months, she said, people would not buy marine products from Sibuyan, fearing these were contaminated.

Engineer Rey de Juan, deputized civil defense coordinator in Romblon, said retrieval of bunker oil from the sunken vessel is ongoing while the retrieval of bodies will start next week.

The Princess of the Stars, owned by Sulpicio Lines Inc., capsized and sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon on June 21 when the ferry sailed into the path of typhoon "Frank" with more than 800 passengers and crew.

Wed ex-priest favors family planning bill

2008-10-13T13:05:00.004+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar, page A7
Inquirer Southern Luzon

DARAGA, ALBAY--Rafael Triunfante, a married former priest, has come out in favor of the controversial reproductive health bill and criticized the Catholic Church for trying to stop its passage in Congress.

The Rome-educated Triunfante said the Church’s hard-line stance against modern birth control methods and sex education, which the bill would promote, showed a lack of compassion for the problems of married couples and the poor.

The bill, authored by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, is being debated in the House of Representatives. Influential Catholic bishops are lobbying for its rejection, saying it goes against Church doctrine.

Triunfante was ordained a priest in 1968 but he left the ministry after 11 years. Now 63, he has been married 28 years and has two children.

Both methods

One of the pioneers of the Philippine Federation of Married Priests Inc. (PFMP), Triunfante admitted having used both natural and artificial means of birth control.

He said most people wanted to plan their families but they did not have the resources—information, services and money. This is what the bill seeks to address.

He also lamented the lack of reproductive health services for the people.

With its rigid stance against the bill, the Church may have lost a “ministry of compassion,” he said.

After he left the priesthood, Triunfante said he felt he had climbed down from a pedestal and was better able to feel the pulse of the people.

“When you’re a priest, people put you on a pedestal. People always want to serve you rather than you serve them. I knew something was wrong with this,” he said.

Dialogue

Triunfante said other PFMP members were hoping the Church would at least be open to a dialogue with them on the reproductive health bill.

“But the Church would not even want to listen,” he said, adding that this was also how the Church treated many priests who still wanted to serve God, even though married.

“We were isolated. The Church was not open,” he said.

He said the PFMP, which promotes the dignity of marriage and family life, was founded in 1972 and now has a membership of over 500 couples nationwide.

Triunfante said that his open stand on the reproductive health bill was not influenced solely by his married life.

He said he believed in the “theology of liberation,” which teaches that knowing the issues of the people and living with them makes ministry more effective.

Triunfante said he felt frustrated and isolated from the people.

“I felt like my life was not normal anymore, especially my sex life. There were realities that could not be ignored,” he said.

Granted a scholarship, he studied Philosophy and Theology in Rome, where he was exposed to the Vatican Council’s discourse on the celibacy of priests.

“This imbibed in me the spirit of reformation,” he said.

Married priests support RH bill

2008-10-11T20:25:00.004+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:46:00 10/11/2008
INQUIRER.net

DARAGA, Albay -- Will the stand of the Catholic Church on the controversial reproductive health bill differ if priests, who are bound to a vow of celibacy, were allowed to marry and not denied of a sex life?

Rafael Triunfante was ordained priest in 1968 and had been active in the ministry for 11 years, but at 63, he has been happily married for 28 years with two children.

Triunfante admitted having used both natural and artificial means of family planning, the latter being the subject of discourse as the bill authored by Albay Representative Edcel Lagman still pending approval in the House of Representatives.

Also known as House Bill 5043, the measure requires government hospitals to include contraceptives in their supply purchases and would require mandatory reproductive health education in schools, which are both opposed by the Catholic Church.

The Church hierarchy has been dodging the passage of the bill, even by the use of the pulpit, saying the bill “promotes a culture of death and immorality.”

Triunfante said most people want to plan their families but they do not have the resources -- information, services and money -- which the bill seeks to address.

He said the lack of information available on family planning restricts people's choices.

He also lamented the lack of reproductive health services for the people which should ideally be made available both by the Church and state.

With its rigid stance against the bill, Triunfante said, the Church may lose its “ministry of compassion.”

Triunfante, who has been ostracized by the Church after he quit the ministry, was wary of being vocal about his stand on the reproductive health bill because, he said, it would be easy for people to judge him as a “sour grape.”

But, he said, after he decided to leave his “pedestal” to be more immersed in the community, he learned to heed the people's needs and to take side with their voice.

“When you're a priest, people put you in a pedestal. People would always want to serve you rather than you to serve them. I knew something was wrong with this,” he said.

Triunfante, one of the pioneering members of the Philippine Federation of Married Priests Inc. (PFMP), said even the group was hoping that the Church would at least be open to a dialogue.

“But the Church would not even want to listen,” he said, adding that this was also how the Church treated many priests who still wanted to serve God even after they married.

“We were isolated. The Church was not open,” he lamented.

The PFMP, which promotes dignity of marriage and family life as one of its objectives, was founded in 1972 and has now a membership of over 500 couples nationwide.

But Triunfante clarified that his open stand on the reproductive health bill was not solely influenced by his married life.

He said he had always believed in the “theory of liberation,” which teaches that knowing the issues of the people and living with them makes ministry more effective.

In 1980s, Triunfante reviewed his life with the help of a Jesuit spiritual adviser.

“I felt like my life was not normal anymore, especially my sex life. There were realities that could not be ignored,” said Triunfante, who recounted having lived a very secluded life in the seminary as young as 11 years old.

He studied Philosophy and Theology in Rome, Italy through a scholarship, where he was exposed to the Vatican Council's discourse on celibacy as an option for priests.

“This imbibed in me the spirit of reformation,” he said.

After having been an active priest for 11 years, Triunfante took a leave of absence from the ministry for one year and lived in an urban poor community to see how it felt to be near the people before he decided to get married in 1980.

“I was no longer happy because of my frustrations. I felt I was isolated and far from the people,” he said.

“Now, the Church and the state can sit down for a while and discuss things that can be agreed upon, especially on providing a better life for the people,” he added.

5.5-magnitude quake rocks Bicol, Samar

2008-10-09T11:09:00.003+08:00

By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 10:48:00 10/09/2008
INQUIRER.net

LEGAZPI CITY -- A 5.5-magnitude earthquake shook Bicol and Samar areas at dawn Thursday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported.

State seismologists located the 3:09 a.m. earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, 46 kilometers east of Sorsogon and was felt strongest in Legazpi City, Sorsogon City, and Irosin, Sorsogon.

It was also felt in Panganiban, Catanduanes; Catarman, Northern Samar; Catbalogan, Western Samar; and Borongan, Eastern Samar; Naga City, and at the Ligñon Hill in Daraga, Albay.

Phivolcs warned the public against the possible occurrence of aftershocks.

On Monday, a 4.8-magnitude earthquake also rocked Bicol and Eastern Visayas shortly after midnight.

RH bill debates should involve sex workers, STD victims, says NGO

2008-10-09T09:25:00.001+08:00

A14

LEGAZPI CITY—HUNDREDS of nameless people vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases should also be heard in the heating up debates on the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill, an official of a nongovernment organization said.

Cristita Triunfante, executive director of the Mayon International Development Alternatives and Services Inc. (Midas), said she lamented the seemingly “myopic” view that some people had on the controversial bill.

Current debates are only centered on whether population control will alleviate poverty or whether the legislation is moral or immoral, she said.

“But these are not only the important aspects. Critics of the bill need to have a holistic view by looking into all other elements of reproductive health,” she said.

Midas is a nongovernment organization partnering with the Global Fund AIDS project in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STDs through education and policy advocacies.

It reaches out to three groups most vulnerable to sexually transmitted infection (STI)—people in prostitution, male having sex with male persons, and migrant workers—by educating them on HIV/AIDS and other STDs and giving them contraceptives.

From January to September, Midas has reached out to 2,223 people in four areas in Bicol with high incidence of STI—the cities of Tabaco and Legazpi in Albay, and Sorsogon City and Matnog town in Sorsogon.

Triunfante, who also chairs the Bicol Integrated Reproductive Health Alliance, noted an increasing trend in the number of people vulnerable to STI.

“Victims are becoming younger. More youths are now engaging in prostitution than before, even males as young as 12, due to poverty,” she said.

But she added that government programs and policies were not leveling up to address the problem.

Nongovernment support is also limited, she said.

Midas has been working with local governments to come up with ordinances creating an AIDS council in the localities that will monitor the spread of the disease and will educate people on prevention.

“Once the RH bill is passed and signed into law, there will be more comprehensive reproductive health services for the people, which includes the proper management of STI cases and prevention,” Triunfante said.

She said that in her experiences at work, not all health offices in towns and cities had personnel trained in handling STI cases.

There is also a lack of social hygiene clinics equipped with enough facilities, she added.

The legislation, also known as House Bill No. 5043, requires government hospitals to include contraceptives in their supply purchases and would require mandatory reproductive health education in schools, which is both opposed by the Catholic Church.

It would also require local governments to employ enough midwives or attendants for a ratio of one for every 150 deliveries per year; to have an emergency obstetric care and maternal death review; and to provide mobile health care services. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Edcel: Bill backers, not Church, have numbers

2008-10-07T10:07:00.001+08:00

REP. EDCEL LAGMAN YESTERDAY SAID the supporters of the reproductive health bill had the numbers to pass the proposed population-control legislation.

Lagman, a leading proponent of controversial House Bill No. 5043, said the measure’s co-authors now numbered 108 out of 238 congressmen.

Based on the “normal quorum” of 150 in the House of Representatives, he said, the bill’s supporters constituted a majority.

The Albay lawmaker also corrected media reports that “misquoted” him as saying that the bill was “12 votes shy of the approval of the House.”

Lagman’s statement contradicted the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) claim that the proposed Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development Act of 2008 had lost the support of congressmen.

Jaro Archbishop and CBCP president Angel Lagdameo had earlier said that a survey conducted by Catholic Church-owned Radio Veritas showed that out of 177 congressmen interviewed, 111 were against the bill, 43 in favor and 23 were undecided.

HB 5043 needs 120 votes to be approved on second reading in Congress.

The proposed law would make artificial contraception more accessible to the public through health programs and calls for sex education in schools, both of which the Catholic Church opposes.

The Catholic Church, meanwhile, tried to downplay an emerging rift with other religious groups over the controversial bill.

“The people should not conclude that the debate over the RH (reproductive health) bill is a war of religion, as some members of the media have tried to portray it,” Lagdameo said in an interview over Radio Veritas on Friday.

“This is not a war of religion because each [group] has its own position on the RH bill. The Catholic Church’s position is clear that [the bill] is against the teachings of the Church and should not be made into law,” he said.

The Iglesia ni Cristo and Jesus is Lord Movement have endorsed the bill, along with some Protestant and Muslim leaders.

The bill requires government hospitals to include contraceptives in their supply purchases and would require mandatory reproductive health education in schools.

At present, local governments make contraceptives available in barangay health centers.

The bill would also require local governments to employ enough midwives or attendants for a ratio of one for every 150 deliveries per year; to have an emergency obstetric care and maternal death review; and to provide mobile health care services. Dona Pazzibugan; Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon

‘Pablo’ strands 1,758 passengers in Bicol

2008-10-01T12:28:00.001+08:00

01 October 2008, ATN

TROPICAL STORM “PABLO” HIT EASTERN Samar yesterday, dumping rain over several provinces in the Visayas and Luzon.

President Macapagal-Arroyo was forced to cancel her Cabinet meeting in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, and chose to travel to Tacloban City in Leyte for an emergency meeting of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council later in the evening.

Pablo, packing peak winds of 65 kilometers per hour and gusting up to 80 kph, was expected to make landfall between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., forecasters said.

In Bicol, 1,758 passengers were stranded, the Coast Guard reported at 4 p.m.

A total of 35 trucks, 20 cars, 46 buses, and four sea vessels were forced to stay in the ports in Pasacao, Camarines Sur; Tabaco City, Albay; Virac, Catanduanes; and in the towns of Bulan, Matnog and Pilar in Sorsogon.

Port authorities in Matnog suspended all vessels going to Allen port in Samar on Monday midnight, leaving over a thousand passengers stranded there, according to SPO2 Narciso Juntereal of the Highway Patrol Command.

In its morning bulletin yesterday, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) raised Signal No. 2 over the Samar provinces, Leyte and Biliran island.

Signal No. 1 was hoisted over Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Masbate, Ticao Island, Burias Island, Romblon, southern Quezon, southern Leyte, Capiz, Aklan, northern Iloilo, northern Negros, northern Cebu, Surigao del Norte, Siargao and Dinagat Islands.

“These areas will experience stormy weather. It’s rainy with strong winds,” forecaster Joel Jesusa said in a phone interview. “People in these areas should expect rain and gusty winds, from 30 kph to 60 kph,” he said.

At 10 a.m., the storm was swirling over the Philippine Sea some 140 km east-southeast of Guiuan. Moving west-northwest at 15 kph, it was forecast to be near Catbalogan, Samar, today.

Pagasa alerted people living in low-lying areas and mountain slopes against flash floods and landslides, and those living in coastal areas under signal No. 2 against big waves and storm surges.

The rest of Luzon, including Metro Manila, will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rains and thunderstorms.

The President attended the 107th Balangiga Encounter, considered the biggest single victory of the Filipinos during the Filipino-American War, as planned. She is the first President to ever grace the commemoration of the historic event.

On Sept. 28, 1901, hundreds of native fighters, mostly wielding bolos, surprised soldiers of Company C, 9th US Infantry Regiment in an attack meant to free 80 men being used for forced labor.

Speaking during the commemoration, Ms Arroyo recognized the tourism potentials of Western Samar, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar.

The tourism industry of the three provinces still lag behind their neighbors due to the lack of infrastructure and tourism-related facilities, as well as the insurgency problem, she said.

The President said she had directed the Department of Public Works and Highways to pave the major roads and highways of the Samar Island so that it would become accessible.

She revealed plans to rehabilitate the old but unused airport in Guiuan to serve as a gateway to the island.

“These roads and airports are expected to boost both the local and foreign tourism,” she said.

Ms Arroyo said she had instructed National Security Adviser Secretary Norberto Gonzales to create the Leyte-Samar Peace and Security Council to address the peace and order problem in the area. Ephraim Aguilar and Roy Gersalia, Inquirer Southern Luzon; Joey A. Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas; and TJ Burgonio in Manila.

Underground river leads online poll

2008-09-30T10:21:00.001+08:00

30 September 2008
By Ronnel W. Domingo in Manila and Ephraim Aguilar in Southern Luzon

THE PUERTO PRINCESA SUBTERRANEAN RIVER NATIONAL PARK in Palawan is topping the New 7 Wonders of Nature online poll, according to the live ranking results on its website yesterday.

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said that as of yesterday four of the country’s natural havens had again shown a strong presence in the online poll: Bohol’s Chocolate Hills was ranked No. 4, Palawan’s Tubbataha Reef, No. 5, and Bicol’s Mayon Volcano, No. 11.

The New 7 Wonders of Nature is an ongoing campaign of the Switzerland-based foundation, the same group behind the New 7 Wonders of the World search last year. The results are determined by the number of votes cast by logging on to the website (www.new7wonders.com). Voting is until Dec. 31.

“We are pleased with the current rankings but as the deadline draws near, we should be more persistent in urging Filipinos to vote and actively promote our candidates,” Durano said.

Great tourism boost

Although the competition mandates that only one nominee per country would be included in the official final seven, having four strong nominees at this stage was a great boost for Philippine tourism, he said.

The other top placers are: Ha Long Bay in Vietnam; Cox’s Bazar Beach, Bangladesh; Al-hasa Oasis, Saudi Arabia; Ganges River, Bangladesh and India; Ali Sadr Cave, Iran; 9 Sundarbans Forest, Bangladesh and India; and Lake Saiful Maluk, Pakistan.

“The whole world is tuned in to this competition. Even if only one of our candidates remains in the final seven, we have gained so much publicity for our country as a destination with diverse natural sites,” Durano said.

Eduardo Jarque Jr., tourism undersecretary for planning and promotions, said nominees in the search must be a natural site, a natural monument or a natural landscape.

“There must be no human interference involved in the creation of the sites,” he said.

77 sites in next round

The nominees that make it to the top 77 sites will be eligible for the next round. Voting will continue until July 7 next year, according to the website.

A panel of experts under professor Federico Mayor, former director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), will review the top 77 nominees and choose 21 finalists, which will be declared on July 21 next year.

The finalists will then be put to a popular vote.

The finals will run from 2009 to 2010, with each of the 21 finalists having a chance to be presented to global voters through the New 7 Wonders World Tour.

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2-km navigable underground river.

According to the New 7 Wonders website, “The underground river is reputed to be the world’s longest. At the mouth of the cave, a clear lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing right to the water’s edge. Monkeys, large monitor lizards and squirrels find their niche on the beach near the cave.”

Lagman laments moot attacks vs reproductive bill

2008-09-27T13:02:00.001+08:00

27 September 2008, A15
By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon

LEGAZPI CITY—ALBAY REP. EDCEL LAGman deplored the “irrelevant attacks” on the reproductive health bill thrown by opposing lawmakers during deliberations in Congress on the controversial population measure.

Lagman, principal author of House Bill No. 5043 on reproductive health, referred to the long-winding debates, which were mostly queries or objections on the procedure and technicalities of the bill’s approval at the committee levels.

The bill was approved by four committees in the House of Representatives—health, population and family relations, appropriations and rules.

Deputy House Speaker Raul del Mar raised alleged “technical defects” in the approval of the bill by the health committee and the population and family relations committee, which jointly approved the bill without a dissenting vote.

Del Mar questioned the legitimate funding support and reproductive health advocacy of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation Inc.

In a statement sent to the Inquirer, Lagman said he was confident the bill would still be passed despite the “dilatory tactics” of those opposing the measure.

“Delay is not victory,” he said.

Lagman’s daughter, Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro, also defended the bill from Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez who proposed that discussions on the bill be deferred.

Golez said the bill not only divided the country but also took away focus from the more important task of addressing the world financial crisis.

Lagman-Luistro said that when “financial crisis” was on the table for discussion, so should “population” and “quality of life.”

“We have to understand that the reproductive health bill is not only a measure on population management but also a way of uplifting the Filipinos’ quality of life, especially in these dire times,” she said.

Lagman-Luistro also hit lawmakers who said the bill was not necessary since artificial contraceptives were already available in stores.

“Availability does not necessarily mean access. This bill will eventually have funds to ensure people’s access to contraceptives,” she said.

She added that there were now at least 99 lawmakers supporting the measure.

When Lagman-Luistro represented the first district of Albay in Congress in 2001, she authored House Bill No. 4110 or the “Reproductive Health Care Act,” which served as the basis for her father’s HB 5043.

The bill promotes the use of both artificial and natural means of family planning, among others, which is being opposed by the Catholic Church, religious groups and even President Macapagal-Arroyo.