Queenbank holds
Top LevelManagement Conference

RESOURCES SOAR TO 1.3B

ILOILO City -- The Florete-led funder, Queenbank holds its Top Level Management Conference here this February 4-6, 2008 at Queenbank Bldg. on Valeria-Solis Streets. This annual three-day strategic and planning session will gather all senior and middle level officers nationwide with this year’s theme: “Responsible Banking.”

The Bank’s key objective is to lead in social, economic and environmental issues both in thinking and in practice. A culture of providing a complete array of service is created not only to customers and clients but also to the shareholders.

Despite erratic economic movements, business conditions were generally favorable for Queenbank in 2007. As key indicators, revenues improved by 6.45 percent for 2007 at P114 million. It continued to operate cost-consciously and kept loan loss provision at a minimum translating revenue growth into a significant increase in profitability. Revenues were 14 percent more over 2006 figure .

To date the Bank’s capital position is at P650 million. Shareholders of the bank had paid the last tranche of the P250-million Capital Build up Program, making Queenbank one of the highest capitalized thrift banks outside Metro Manila. Total resources stood at P1.3 billion at the end of 2007.

With Chamber of Thrift Bank Director, Dr. Rogelio M. Florete as its Chairman and President, Queenbank continues to strengthen client base through relocation and opening of new branches, thus fortifying customer reach.

As part of its five-year strategic planning, a second Branch in Bacolod City was opened for business last November 2007 and a second branch in Pangasinan in Urdaneta City is set to open this first quarter – the first being in Dagupan City.

Also on the drawing board is a Metro Manila Branch.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Taking on social responsibility is part of Queenbank’s identity. Recognizing children as our future, it is essential for society to make it possible for them to get a good start in life and to prepare young people better for their later careers.

It is for this reason that Queenbank continues to allocate funds to pursue the scholarship program for dependents of Bank employees.

Land Management Services Records Facility building to rise soon

A contract signing for the planned Lands Management Services (LMS) Records Building Facility, which will have house both the office and all the records of the Sector, took place at the DENR Regional Office recently.

Engr. Mamerto Caballero, Chief of the Surveys Division said that the volume of records which now weigh almost 72 tons is considered dangerous for the structural design of Masonic Temple where the LMS is currently renting. Masonic Temple is an old building that with the weight of the records, the fear of collapsing is eminent if a natural calamity like earthquake occurs.

Regional Technical Director Celso V. Loriega, Jr. said the building will be constructed adjacent to the old Casino Español Building at Sto. Rosario Street.

He disclosed that for thirty four years (34) years, LMS have been renting and only now that it has acquired a building. The facility he said is an important component for LMS operation and a dream come true. Loriega informed that Region 6 is among the fortunate regions in the country that was given funds for the construction of the six hundred twenty five (625) square meters facility that can provide a parking area for DENR vehicles and other amenities for DENR personnel.

Regional Executive Director Lormelyn E. Claudio added that she looks forward to have additional floors to be added to the facility once additional funds are available by next year. These floors will accommodate other plans of the Regional Office. The groundbreaking for the actual construction will take place on February 7 this year. The construction is estimated to run for 6 month period according to Engr. George M. Mangerre of McGuire Industrial Development Company.

source: The News Today (http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/04/land.management.services.records.facility.building.to.rise.soon.html)

I think we should highly encourage our towns to join the kasadyahan. The flexibility of this will allow each town to showcase its own culture.

I think they'll do that on April. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed since it'll be the first time that the Iloilo provincial tourism office will have its very own "Festival of Iloilo Province's Festivals" showcased in the city.

Congratulations to Marcos Caratao (aka chymera00) for being mentioned in today's episode of Boy and Kris. Boy said it like this: "Thank you to Marcos Caratao, administrator of exploreiloilo.com". Also, chy's name and website url was included in the closing credits :applause:
a well deserved credit! again, congrats to @chymera!:)

For the 2nd time that Tito Boy has acknowledged Toto Chy. :okay: A recognition well deserved. :)

1st in-country marine fish hatchery course for RP slated

by ES Subong

Iloilo (4 February) — The 1st in-country marine fish hatchery training course for the Philippines is scheduled on April 7-27, 2008, aimed to disseminate marine fish hatchery technologies that have been developed by different institutes and projects in Asia-pacific region.

The training course is fully funded by the Australia Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR) and is being undertaken in cooperation with the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center’s Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD), facilitated by the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA).

The training is focused on small-scale hatchery systems which can be used for multiple species, including barramundi/seabass and groupers can also be adopted by medium and large-scale hatcheries.

The venue for the training will be at Tigbauan and Guimbal towns, depending on the activities.

Participants to the training will be limited to Filipino citizens and residents only, with a total of 10 fully funded positions available from ACIAR. Priority will be given to participants from the commercial, private sector in order to foster the development of commercial marine fish aquaculture in the Philippines, while the main target groups are hatchery/nursery operators and technician who are already involved in hatchery business/activities.

I think they'll do that on April. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed since it'll be the first time that the Iloilo provincial tourism office will have its very own "Festival of Iloilo Province's Festivals" showcased in the city.

This would be great! If the municipality cannot join, maybe that municipality can support a nearby town or a town of the same district. The should share a common cultural heritage. Even Passi City's Pintados and Sta. Barbara's Kahilwayan SHOULD join to serve as example and inspiration to those towns who are still on the process of developing their own festivals.


For the 2nd time that Tito Boy has acknowledged Toto Chy. :okay: A recognition well deserved. :)

Popular na gid si toto chy bah!!! Congrats!!!

Just want to share something.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2070/2241864794_ae107aaac3.jpg?v=0
Photo by Tara Yap. :D (Kiko, SSC Iloilo and Gov Tupas)

Press Release – 3rd Visayas Food Expo and Conference on the brew

The UPV Food Technologist Alumni Association (UPVFTAA), once again, brings to Iloilo the 3rd Visayas Food Expo and Conference on February 20-22, 2008 at the Grand Hotel, Iloilo City. This event aims to enhance competitiveness in the food sector by providing cutting edge technologies and industry trends in food processing.

This years food expo and conference will highlight new trends and updates on Food Safety, Healthy Baking, All About Coffee, GRAS Food Additives, Food Microbiology, Enzyme Technology, Packaging and Pre-Mix Technology. Aside from the conference proper, the three-day activity will also include skills competition for HRM students on fondant cake decoration, fruit and vegetable carving and table setting, and product exhibits of food ingredients, equipment, books and magazines from our invited exhibitors. A new segment called "food clinic with the experts" will also be offered on limited slots. The "Food Clinic" is a one-on-one consultation with invited experts on the areas covered by the conference lectures. This is an opportunity for business owners and those planning to put up their own, a chance to ask for advice and tips from the expert s in the food industry.

This biennial event organized by the UPVFTAA has been a venue for the organization to fulfill its mandate of promoting the value of food science and technology in the food industry. The previous food conferences organized by the UPVFTAA has been so successful that it paved the way for the organization to win the "2006 Outstanding Alumna Chapter" of the University of the Philippines. This shows that the UPVFTAA strives to provide excellent venues for the major players of the food industry to converge and share recent developments that would lead to an informed and empowered regional food sector.

Food business owners, technical experts, professionals and HRM/food science faculty and students are invited to join in this big event. For inquiries, registration details and programme, please contact the UPVFTAA President JOHANNA C. JAMERO at 0906-3054475.

source: The News Today (http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/04/press.release.3rd.visayas.food.expo.and.conference.on.the.brew.html)

Hirinugyaw- Suguidanonay celebrates ancient tradition
by Bombette G. Marin
photos by Marcos Caratao, Jr.

http://thedailyguardian.com/images/stories/Hirinugyaw040208a.jpg

IN the spirit of honoring the roots, the town of Calinog in central Iloilo is having the Hirinugyaw-Suguidanon Festival. More than fifty nine kilometers away from the city, this is the closest one can go to witness a cultural celebration—preserved for centuries by literature, dance and arts.

The town is having its tribe competition Feb. 3.

The festival aims to give the new generation an overview of a heritage that dates back to pre-Hispanic times. More than being a modern adaptation of the ancient, the Hirinugyaw-Suguidanon is actually a product of research and genuine efforts towards authenticity.

http://thedailyguardian.com/images/stories/Hirinugyaw040208b.jpg

The festivities mirror the practices of the Halawudnon, an indigenous group in the mountainous areas of Calinog. The tribe has managed to keep many of its ancient pagan celebrations, rituals and other customs related to courtship, or worship, dance and music.

A fascinating feature of the tribal presentation is the Suiguidanon in which performers chant epic poems about enchanted folk heroes and their exploits.
This folk epic poem carries the traditional title—Sulod Hinilawod of Panay.
Considered as one of the longest epics in the world, Hinilawod is a Hiligaynon epic tells the story of the exploits of three brothers who were demigods: Labaw Donggon, Humadapnon, and Dumalapdap of Panay.

Hirinugyaw dancers move to the rhythm chanting vocals, Halawodnon.

While we find "neo-ethnic" choreographies and "modified" costumes in some of the local festivals, this segment is believed to be done just as it was in pre-colonial times. Hirinugyaw-Suguidanonay's charm is not in the spectacle of Dinagyang. Its charm lies in its authenticity enabling Ilonggos to—in the truest sense—look back to their cultural origins.

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://www.theguardianiloilo.ph/)

12 vie for Ms. Iloilo Paraw Regatta 2008

Twelve candidates vie for the beauty title Miss Iloilo Paraw Regatta this year.

The search is one of the highlights of the 36th Iloilo Paraw Regatta Festival Feb 15-17, along the coasts of the Iloilo Strait. The grand coronation will be at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand Feb 15.

Last year the crown belonged to 2007 winner Christy Joy Comohoy, who was first runner-up in the 2007 search for Miss Tourism in Western Visayas.

Iloilo Paraw Regatta was selected as the third top tourism event in the country by the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) and considered as the second best tourism festival in Iloilo City after the Dinagyang Festival celebrated every fourth week of January.

The candidates this year are April Sheen Bernas, 17 years old of John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University; Caress Jane Lacson, 21, of the West Visayas State University; Melinaire Jalipa, 23, of the University of Iloilo; Natalie Grace Roberts, 16, of the Iloilo National High School; Sarah Kate Luceno, 18, of the University of Perpetual Help-Laguna; Mary Raymond Velez, 17, of the Western Institute of Technology; Psyche Parcia, 21, of John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University; Winlove Dupit, 19, of West Visayas State University; Abigail Alejandro, 19, of St. Therese-MTC Colleges; Sherenel Ann Danieles, 21, 0f the University of San Agustin; Mary Kirnette Gallenero, 20, of West Visayas State University; and Rubi Marie Tonogbanua, 19, of John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University.

They will be at the Pale Bleu Fashion Showcase Feb 11, a talent competition Feb 12, the Samba de Regatta torch parade Feb 13 and technical and dress rehearsals Feb 14. Also they will have one-on-one interviews with the judges, swimsuit prejudging and selection of the Darling of the Press Feb 15.

The Paraw Regatta Queen will receive P30,000 in cash, crown, bouquet, sash and a Department of Tourism trophy. All major and minor award winners will receive the DOT trophies.

The first runner-up with receive P15,000, crown, bouquet and sash; second runner-up with P10,000 and crown; third runner-up with P7,000 and crown and fourth runner-up with P5,000 and crown. All non-winners will each receive P1,000 consolation prize.

Other prizes include corporate and special awards such as Miss Negros Navigation Princess, Miss Diet Coke and Darling of the Press spearheaded by the Iloilo City Hall Press Corps. Minor awards include Miss Friendship, Miss Photogenic, Most Talented, Best in Festival Costume, Best in Swimsuit, Best in Gown and Best Public Speaker. (LCP/PIO)

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://www.theguardianiloilo.ph/)

^^^^ Is there any plan to increase their branches in Iloilo City?

http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/04/jaro.cathedral.jpg

Devotees of the Our Lady of Candles flock to the Jaro Cathedral during the patronal fiesta of Nuestra Señora dela Candelaria last Saturday.

source: The News Today (http://www.thenewstoday.info/#)

Terracotta sculpting given boost

http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/04/terracotta.jpghttp://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/04/terracotta3.jpghttp://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/04/terracotta2.jpg

Last Jan. 25, 2008, Pink Pepper witnessed the blessing of the terracotta training center at the Smart Gawad Kalinga site in Sooc, Mandurriao.

In this center, kids as young as 11 years old, were trained by renowned Ilonggo painter and sculptor PG Zoluaga.

Smart Telecommunications envisions the terracotta-training program to harness local talent and resources in creating alternative sources of livelihood.

According to Zoluaga, they started training last December. "It's as if we were playing. At first, it was hard to adjust and I don't want to force them. What I did was, I kept on working, until they realize they had to continue doing so, too," Zoluaga said.

"I'm here to help these kids to enhance their creativity and to develop their artistic minds. I let them work on their own ideas and concepts," he added.

In order to motivate the children, he tells them stories.

Meanwhile, Darwin Flores, senior manager of the Community Partnership Public Affairs Group of Smart, said that he is happy for the project. We plan to market this at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)."

"We are hoping that our next project is an oven. From clay, we could form beautiful shapes," he added.

Smart also gave stuff to the GK residents in line with their "Wish Ko sa Smart" project. The gifts came from the employees of Smart Mindanao.

Rev. Fr. Jesuzimo Candado, parish priest of Sto. Ñino Parish, led the blessing. The people of Smart and PLDT came in full force. Some of them were Atty. Jane Paredes, Smart legal officer and Rene Lescano, manager, PLDT Iloilo.

Other cooperating agencies were the Iloilo City Task Force on Street Children, Western Visayas College of Science and Technology, Iloilo City Gawad Kalinga Coordinating and Devt. Council and Gawad Kalinga Caretaker Team (Couples for Christ). /RCS

source: The News Today (http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/04/terracotta.sculpting.given.boost.html)

This photo was taken during the latest Feast of Our Lady of Candles

http://images.habagatcentral.multiply.com/image/3/photos/141/500x500/36/DSCF0215.JPG?et=9BqhiKnF0MHLtpyI0sXakA&nmid=80305461

http://images.habagatcentral.multiply.com/image/5/photos/141/500x500/37/DSCF0216.JPG?et=AFFQd0LUEYsNpwpVB6FNSw&nmid=80305461

Imagen de la Nuestra Señora de Candelaria

The image which is the center of devotion of the feast. Believed to be miraculous as it grows every year, and getting heavier, thousands flock here to see the image during Her feast every February 2.

Speaking if Iloilo Supermart in Pavia, is it already underconstruction or hearsay pa lang? If it is u/c, may ara kamo render sang Iloilo Supermart nga ini? What are the nearest subdivisions sa inugpatukod nga Iloilo Supermart? Any other establishments near the area? Please give more details. Thanks.

The thing I know that the area has been cordoned by container vans already and the Iloilo Supermart mobile has been passing by the banwa earlier this morning, with that Raffy Benavides' jingle. :D

The Iloilo-Sta Barbara Economic Corridor is getting bigger everyday. This is a positive business outlook of expanding economy of Iloilo City. Soon the corridor will converge and become a premier economic hub of the metropolitan area. Remember, there are 4 economic corridors within MIGEDC but the area going to Sta Barbara is becoming more popular and leaping for progress.

We'll see about that! Hehehe!!! ;)

By the way, another addition for the city promotion videos is the:

"Gastronomical Tour of Iloilo" again made possible by the City of Iloilo and ON Creative Productions. It is now being shown on Sky Cable.

Hoy Kent, indi ako si Lloyd "@sugarboy". :D

Sa banwa kami, rapit sa tienda.

Sorry nong Bong... he he he he... nah bakit lloyd ang tawag ko sayo. Hay... :D Cool sa banwa ka gali... marami akong relatives sa Santo Tomas, Pandong, kag sa iban pa nga banwa sang passi.

or polo and walking shorts. It's common yet it's a smart fashion IMO.

whatever's comfortable.i don't care much about brands ,anything goes, as long as it looks good on me.:banana::)

Sorry nong Bong... he he he he... nah bakit lloyd ang tawag ko sayo. Hay... :D Cool sa banwa ka gali... marami akong relatives sa Santo Tomas, Pandong, kag sa iban pa nga banwa sang passi.


You mean 'baranggay' sang Passi? What's happening to you Kent? Balong ka guro ay. :lol:

There is a Santo Tomas baranggay (which I haven't set foot) but definitely no Pandong.

Miag-ao celebrates 10th Salakayan festival
By Ruby P. Silubrico

THE town of Miag-ao, Iloilo celebrated its 10th Salakayan festival, one of its grandest festivities to attract both local and international tourists.

Miag-ao, the abaca and piña weaving capital of the province, celebrated the weeklong festival from January 27 and ended it with a dance competition last Saturday.

The name "Salakayan" is coined from Miag-aowanons' gallant defense against colonization of bandits and Moro pirates.

Former Miag-ao mayor Gerardo Flores, who is the overall in charge of the events, said several "balikbayans" came home just to witness the unique events lined up for the weeklong celebration in their town.

The performance of five competing tribes in the morning was followed by a merrymaking contest joined by 29 "Higantes" (replicas of giants) that depicts the different personalities of Miagaowanons. A cultural dance show presented by the Balangaw dance troop from the University of the Philippines and several choral presentations were also held.

Flores said the tribes' presentation, which was showcased by various public and private high schools in the said town, interprets the culture of the Miagaowanons during the early 18th century.

The food festival located at the public plazas sponsored by various restaurant owners completed the celebration.

Miag-ao Mayor Julieta Flores expressed gratitude to the "untiring support" of the balikbayans, the local government officials, the non-government sectors and the barangay officials, that made the festival once again a success.

source: Sunstar ILOILO (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ilo/2008/02/05/news/miag.ao.celebrates.10th.salakayan.festival.html)

World's Largest Individual Flower Blooms in Igbaras, Iloilo
By Bombette G. Marin

IT IS the world's largest individual flower. Locals call it corpse flower due to the vile smell (like rotting meat) it gives off. Its diameter can grow to over 100 centimeters and can weigh up to 10 kilograms. Even its smallest flower specie (the ones commonly found in the Philippines) measures 20 centimeters in diameter. It has a lifespan of 5-7 days.

Rafflesia, is a genus of parasitic flowering plants having five petals but has no stem, leaves or true roots. It is a parasite that attaches itself to a host plant, a vine they call Tetrastigma (a relative of a grape), and grows only in undisturbed rainforests, to obtain water and nutrients. The flower occasionally breaks through the bark as a huge bud and expands into a huge blossom. Unless one sees evidence of an old blossom, you could walk right past a Tetrastigma vine without ever knowing that a complete Rafflesia plant lives inside its stem.

The flower was discovered by an Indonesian guide and named it after the leader of the expedition, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (adventurer and founder of British colony Singapore) in one of the rainforest in Indonesia in 1818. It has 17 species all found in southeastern Asia, and in the Philippines, its genus arnoldii, named after a botanist, Joseph Arnold, is the most common growing Rafflesia in identified areas. Its vividly hued lobes bordered the flower's broad circular basin. Numerous depressions marked the upper surface of its diaphragm with pure-white spots on the lower surface of the diaphragm. Further down, inside the corolla of petals, are reddish, tentacle-like, branches known as its ramentae and are said to be the source of the Rafflesia's odor.

People around the world make special pilgrimages as far as the rainforests of southeastern Asia hoping to see these extraordinary blossoms. But, more often, their mission fall short since these flowers are scattered and hard to reach and with short and unpredictable blooming periods.

For this reason, there is great interest in conserving Rafflesia sites and the simplest and most obvious way to conserving it is by preserving its habitat. Cultivating it could save this endangered specie.

Maintaining a Rafflesia habitat is an outstanding tourism potential for the rural folks. It causes ecotourism as many people go to identify areas annually hoping to see it bloom. Though not relatively abundant, Ilonggos can now view Rafflesia through a 30-minute mountain hike in the rural village of Barangay Igcabugao, one of the 46 barangays of Igbaras, a fourth-class town south in the province and 40-kilometers away from the city.

However, a variety of factors may impede the development of such habitat like poor roads in the area, uncertainty in the protection of natural resources, illegal activities degrading the site and security problems. Tourism is now developing with visitors to the area, aside from a trek to the habitat, there is some jungle trekking to the waterfalls and caves along the barangay. With that, it will be possible to encourage tourists whose visits will help pay to preserve Rafflesia's habitat, rather than destroy them. The next few years will determine whether here, and elsewhere, more species probably will be found.

Barangay Igcabugao has an accommodation -- a visitor centre with guides, and a campground with shelter. Despite its popularity as an identified destination site, local tourists have not yet degraded the area. The local government of Igbaras headed by its very active, tourism-oriented municipal mayor, Honorable Jaime E. Esmeralda, is all out to develop ecotourism for Igbaras. The town contains some of Iloilo's richest series of exceptionally beautiful forested mountains, from lowlands to highlands, large enough to preserve the integrity of the town's ecosystem.

Igbarasnons can now have a lasting influence and be remembered by people everywhere for their commitment to nature and its protection, and future conservation work that will help protect their habitat for the wonder of future generations. This vision is a future where the town's magnificent natural heritage is preserved, protected, explored and adored by many Ilonggos and for generations to come.

source: Sunstar ILOILO (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ilo/2008/02/05/feat/world.s.largest.individual.flower.blooms.in.igbaras.iloilo.html)

City Hall eyes higher tax take
By Jeehan V. Fernandez

The Iloilo City Government foresees a 45-percent increase in taxes once it begins its computerization program.

“Based on the industry average of computerized cities, there’s a 20-percent to 45-percent increase in tax collections. It will be of great help to the city’s income,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.

The computerization project cost the city P14.8-million, half of which came from a World Bank (WB) grant.

Conceptualized last year, the city hall hopes to complete the computerization on April. Now, the project needs 20 to 50 encoders to work on business permits and real property taxes (RPTs).

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://www.theguardianiloilo.ph/)

City Hall eyes higher tax take
By Jeehan V. Fernandez

The Iloilo City Government foresees a 45-percent increase in taxes once it begins its computerization program.

“Based on the industry average of computerized cities, there’s a 20-percent to 45-percent increase in tax collections. It will be of great help to the city’s income,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.

The computerization project cost the city P14.8-million, half of which came from a World Bank (WB) grant.

Conceptualized last year, the city hall hopes to complete the computerization on April. Now, the project needs 20 to 50 encoders to work on business permits and real property taxes (RPTs).

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://www.theguardianiloilo.ph/)

The thing I know that the area has been cordoned by container vans already and the Iloilo Supermart mobile has been passing by the banwa earlier this morning, with that Raffy Benavides' jingle. :D



We'll see about that! Hehehe!!! ;)
OK. Thanks for the updates. I hope there's a render of the new Iloilo Supermart to be built in Ungka, Pavia.

Just want to share something.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2070/2241864794_ae107aaac3.jpg?v=0
Photo by Tara Yap. :D (Kiko, SSC Iloilo and Gov Tupas)

Wow! SSC-Iloilo with Sen Kiko Pangilinan. Grabe gid smile ni Eric, Bernie and Chymera ba? Hala Bira guys!

Btw, please post the you tube link of Boy and Kris yesterday's (Monday) continuation of Boy and Kris Iloilo Adventure.

Cheers>

Bernie, can you describe the Gastronomic Tour promotional video of Iloilo? I'm bit curious about this thing. I'm sure this video will entice more tourist to come and savour the best of Ilonggo cuisine. Right now, we have three of the biggest menu LaPaz Batchoy, Pancit Molo and Chicken Inasal. We still have plenty more but not as popular as these three. Do you think they'll feature them? And how will they present the video? Any idea?

ILOILO BANWA PINALANGGA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXO2Egir7jo)

-- this Iloilo song really made me teary-eyed. I missed Iloilo so much.

:grouphug::hug::okay::fiddle::fiddle:

ILOILO BANWA PINALANGGA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXO2Egir7jo)

-- this Iloilo song really made me teary-eyed. I missed Iloilo so much.

:grouphug::hug::okay::fiddle::fiddle:

From : Lapsus

PAVIA: HOME OF THE BEST
THE Pavia, Iloilo Police Station along with Oton and Maasin Police Stations were recently awarded by Prov’l Director Col. De la Paz as “Top 3” in performance in Iloilo Province.
The Pavia PNP is headed by the newly promoted Maj. Rogelio Ortigas.
Under the leadership of Mayor Cadio Gorriceta, the Municipality of Pavia is a consistent winner:
• the best plaza in Metro Iloilo and Guimaras
• the best National LGU-Coop Partnership
• the best barangay tanod in the region
• the best DILG office in the region
• the best Barangay Justice System in the region;
• No.1 in local income in Iloilo Province, and many more!
Congrats and more power!

^^ Wahahahahaha!!! No comment! :D Pero I love it here. :D

@NOng Space. Like the tinuom nga uong, tinuom nga manok, binakol, batchoy, seafood, etc etc. I think its title is "Ang Manamit..." something like that. I haven't got a chance to see the whole video yet but only parts of it.

From : Lapsus

PAVIA: HOME OF THE BEST
THE Pavia, Iloilo Police Station along with Oton and Maasin Police Stations were recently awarded by Prov’l Director Col. De la Paz as “Top 3” in performance in Iloilo Province.
The Pavia PNP is headed by the newly promoted Maj. Rogelio Ortigas.
Under the leadership of Mayor Cadio Gorriceta, the Municipality of Pavia is a consistent winner:
• the best plaza in Metro Iloilo and Guimaras
• the best National LGU-Coop Partnership
• the best barangay tanod in the region
• the best DILG office in the region
• the best Barangay Justice System in the region;
• No.1 in local income in Iloilo Province, and many more!
Congrats and more power!
tani maging CITY na ang Pavia!

sa Boy&Kris, guest si Eric Delos Santos(?), ang fashion designer nga ilonggo.

tani maging CITY na ang Pavia!

Hahaha!!! I think it will have a hard time being a city since right now, LCP is protesting. Also, it might not qualify because of the population we have (30k as of 2000) and a small area.

Construction of P370 M Iloilo-Zarraga radial road imminent
By Maricar M. Calubiran

The construction of the P370 million radial road from Barangay Lanit, Jaro until Zarraga town is more likely to happen as the budget for the project is already included in the current national budget. It is only one of the projects through the Mega-Region Economic Development Strategy of the national government.


Mayor Jerry Treñas said he is set to have a meeting with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Director Rolando Asis to discuss the radial road project. The construction of the radial road from Lanit to Zarraga would open new areas for investments.

Zarraga is 15.7 kilometers away from Iloilo City. It is the converging point of two national highways that serve as the main roads of Central Panay including the provinces of Aklan, Capiz and the northern towns of Iloilo. Its economic growth depends mainly on agricultural sector. While, fishpond area occupy 24 percent of the total land area.

Treñas said the projected development in areas which leads to Zarraga would entail new zoning planning. It would require a new land-use regulation in new growth areas included in the mapped zones. No other details of the project was released.

Apart from the P370 million radial road, there is also a pending P170 million road widening project from Sta. Barbara to Iloilo City. Sta. Barbara is one of the towns under the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC).

The acceleration of the economic growth and development of Sta. Barbara, Oton, San Miguel, Pavia, Leganes and Iloilo City is pushed because of the operation of the Iloilo Airport of International Standard. The government wants to spur economic activities not only in Iloilo City but its neighboring towns and the island-province of Guimaras


From The News Today Iloilo

Chinese Consul to grace Chinese New Year celebration
By Maricar M. Calubiran

Consul General He Shi Jing of the Chinese Consulate of the People's Republic of China in Cebu would be the special guest of the Chinese-Filipino community of Iloilo as they celebrate the 2008 Chinese New Year.


The consul will arrive on February 8 in time for Chinese New Year program. Aside from the consul, the Iloilo Chinese-Filipino community also invited popular singer Jose Marie Chan and Teresita Ang See of the Citizens Action Against Crime (CAAC).

The Iloilo Chinese-Filipino Cultural Association set the main program a day after the Chinese New Year which is February 7, 2008. This year is the year of the earth rat.

On February 8, there will be a grand parade which will start at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol until Plazoleta Gay. There will be cultural shows, world-class pyrotechnics display, food festival and night market at the Plazoleta Gay and in the so called China town of Iloilo.

The five-day Chinese New Year celebration here will start tomorrow (Tuesday) with a cultural show at the Robinsons Place. The Iloilo Sun Yat Sen High School will take care of the cultural show. The following day, a show titled "Pot-Pourri", which is a Chinese festival of dances and an exhibit which centers on the "Wonders of China and Beijing 2008 Olympics will also be held at the Robinsons Place.

The Iloilo Hotels Restaurants and Resorts Association (IHRRA) will spearhead the food festival on February 8. It will showcase Chinese cuisines from known Chinese restaurants. The kiosk-renters are encouraged to serve and prepare authentic Chinese cuisines during the food festival.

The restaurant that serves the best Chinese cuisines and best kiosk adorn with Chinese trinkets will receive a P10,000 cash prize each.


From The News Today Iloilo

mayo kay may road widening from sta. barbara, kung sa diin located ang airport, to iloilo city.

Boy and Kris- Iloilo (& Guimaras) Adventure Part 2

bOEY6Askb7U
Part 2.1

-nfjUkpjCS4
Part 2.2

Boy and Kris- Iloilo (& Guimaras) Adventure Part 2

f4o9MZNY9bE
Part 2.3

lKDFzD6WSYg
Part 2.4- Closing Credits

gin-cut ko ang portion ni dawn zulueta with kris nga galuto...ang importante man lang ay ang about sa Iloilo&Guimaras nga topic

gin-cut ko ang portion ni dawn zulueta with kris nga galuto...ang importante man lang ay ang about sa Iloilo&Guimaras nga topic

thank you gid hmmp for letting us ilonggo watch boy &kris show online.baw! daw nabuhi man ang ang akon mga dugo.proud to be ilonggo gid:banana:

well kumusta na kamo mga people of iloilo!ara pa kamo da.istoryahanay naman ta a.wala diri wala didto pero may punto.watch up guys!

so far iloilo city is slightly catching up with all the improvements that are going right now.reading on the news and with your feedback their at home(ssc iloilo based)people I can see that iloilo is gaining grounds.so far i'm happy know all the developments that are coming.everyday i'm excited to open my computer because i know i will gather more good news in our forum and exchange some ideas with my people.sorry sometimes just a lurker lang but i'll try my best to contribute now basta my time lang.baskog gid kita nga mga ilonggo!

Welcome ka gid irong206.
Keep on posting and participate sa discussions with our Kasimanwas and fellow forumers here.

Please visit the Samahan thread for Ilonggo to know more sa mga abyan 'ta diri.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=577733&page=2

From : Lapsus

PAVIA: HOME OF THE BEST
THE Pavia, Iloilo Police Station along with Oton and Maasin Police Stations were recently awarded by Prov’l Director Col. De la Paz as “Top 3” in performance in Iloilo Province.
The Pavia PNP is headed by the newly promoted Maj. Rogelio Ortigas.
Under the leadership of Mayor Cadio Gorriceta, the Municipality of Pavia is a consistent winner:
• the best plaza in Metro Iloilo and Guimaras
• the best National LGU-Coop Partnership
• the best barangay tanod in the region
• the best DILG office in the region
• the best Barangay Justice System in the region;
• No.1 in local income in Iloilo Province, and many more!
Congrats and more power!


Best Agro-Industrial Area in the Region
Best Agro-Industrial Area in the Philippines


:banana:

Did Pavia overtake Oton in terms of income? :)

mayo kay may road widening from sta. barbara, kung sa diin located ang airport, to iloilo city.

Yes, but its quite slow but at least making progress. Seeing those houses being demolished on the right of way of the highway is a close step towards widening.

so far iloilo city is slightly catching up with all the improvements that are going right now.reading on the news and with your feedback their at home(ssc iloilo based)people I can see that iloilo is gaining grounds.so far i'm happy know all the developments that are coming.everyday i'm excited to open my computer because i know i will gather more good news in our forum and exchange some ideas with my people.sorry sometimes just a lurker lang but i'll try my best to contribute now basta my time lang.baskog gid kita nga mga ilonggo!

Hehehe!!! You can contribute anytime amigo! :okay: Iloilo is quite getting away from the shadows of its plunder over the last 5 decades. Or at least away from no attention at all. And its a good sign.

Again, with all these infrastructures trickling in, I'm optimistic about it, although slowly but surely.



Best Agro-Industrial Area in the Region
Best Agro-Industrial Area in the PhilippinesDid Pavia overtake Oton in terms of income? :)

Sa san-o lang ni man? Anyway, I don't want to make superlatives again unless there's a concrete proof. Pavia has a long way to go to fulfill itself as RAIC. It had failed several times but now seeing a new beginning. :okay:

^^ It was posted (BIG billboard) near Vitarich. ;)

Runway 20 ILS approach into Iloilo airport on a rainy morning
f5drLBkLglw
by Pilotokoto

Best Agro-Industrial Area in the Region
Best Agro-Industrial Area in the Philippines


:banana:

Did Pavia overtake Oton in terms of income? :)
Minus the IRA, Pavia has the highest local income

with:

2. Pototan
3. Estancia
4. Oton
5. Santa Barbara

2006 Figures ni ha, wala pa ko 2007 nga available

^^ Marc, where did you get the figures by the way? I've been searching the web for days regarding IRA, IRA dependency, the LGU code and the total local revenue of the cities and towns in Pinas.

DOLE to launch workers income augmentation program


Iloilo City — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will launch on February 6 the Workers Income Augmentation Program to assist organized and unorganized workers in the formal sector in engaging into business that would provide them additional sources of income and employment for their family members.

Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo Brion said that the program dubbed “Dagdag-Kabuhayan para sa Manggagawa” is part of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s thrusts in poverty alleviation.

Secretary Brion said that the beneficiaries of the program would be assisted to form a project management team which will direct and supervise the daily operation of the business while they are in their respective jobs.

The DOLE press report disclosed that to avail of the program, the unions and organizations where the workers belong must be duly accredited with the DOLE. The DOLE press report further disclosed that the unorganized workers, on the other hand will be assisted through the DOLE accredited co-partners.

Interested workers and labor organizations may contact the nearest DOLE office or the Bureau of Labor Relations for program details. by T. Villavert

Unicef HIV programme officer to visit Iloilo

Iloilo City — Mr. Philip Castro, UNICEF HIV Programme Officer, will be in Iloilo City on February 8, 2008 as opening speaker on the second day of the Life Competence Learning Seminar at the Audio Visual Hall of the West Visayas State University, Iloilo City.

Mr. John Piermont V. Montilla, executive director of the Kabataang Gabay sa Positibong Pamumuhay (KGPP) said that the Life Competence Learning Seminar is a joint undertaking of the KGPP and West Visayas State University-University Extension and Development Center, and in cooperation with the Canstellation for AIDS Competence will be held February 6-10, 2008, and will also feature Professor Usa Duongsaa from Changmai Thailand as resource person on the topic The Practice: The AIDS Competence Process.

In a PIA interview, Mr. Montilla said that Mr. Castro’s visit is part of his monitoring and evaluation-visit of the UNICEF country programme for children 6 implementation in Western Visayas. During the seminar, Mr. Castro will be presented with local responses of the local government units in the UNICEF-supported HIV programmes implemented in Bacolod City, Iloilo City and Estancia, Iloilo.

The UNICEF HIV Programme Officer is also scheduled to visit prostituted boys in Molo, the selected brothels in Iloilo where 100% condom use is being promoted, and to witness the planning workshops of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children in Baraqngay Sum-ag which is being spearheaded by the peer educators, the SK and Barangay Council.

The Barangay Sum-ag officials will highlight children’s participation in responding to HIV and AIDS. The activity will also showcase the “TeenBayan,” a joint partnership between KGPP and Barangay Sum-ag, where most-at-risk children and the youth learn about STI, HIV and AIDS, and other adolescent reproductive health issues.

Mr. Montilla explained during the PIA interview that the KGPP or Kabataang Gabay sa Positibong Pamumuhay is enrolled with the ADB-NGO AIDS Competence Programme funded by the Asian Development Bank in partnership with the AIDS Constellation Thailand, and it will go through two years of implementation in seven countries- Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Thailand. by T. Villavert

City market vendors assail new tax rate

By Maricar M. Calubiran

Market vendors in the city's different public markets are up in arms against the implementation of the new tax ordinance which drastically increased the rental and entrance fees to the markets.

A petition by the market vendors from Lapaz Public Market, obtained by The News Today, sought the intervention of City Mayor Jerry Treñas regarding the new tax rate which they call as excessive.

In the petition, the vendors said the very high rental and entrance fee imposed under the tax ordinance caused the closure of some stalls inside the market. They said almost a quarter of the market is already closed for business. The manifesto was signed by some 126 vendors under the Lapaz Vendors Association headed by their president Jacqueline M. Valladolid.

In the 2007 tax rate, a stall with the area of seven square meters is charged for P0.60 for 30 days or P126 per month. While, in the 2008 new approved rate, a stall holder who occupies an area of seven square meters will pay P378 for 30 days. There is an increase of P252 in the new tax rate.

The manifesto, written in Hiligaynon, stated that the vendors are not against the increase of the taxes, but they said the increase should be commensurate to their income and should be realistic. They even appealed before the city government to review their taxing scheme as some of the goods that entered Lapaz public market come from the Iloilo Terminal Market (Super) and has already been taxed before it entered into the Lapaz public market.

The vendors also asked the city government to stop the operation of the "talipapa" in Lapaz to make sure the buyers would buy goods at the Lapaz market.

The vendors also said the number of customers or market goers who used to buy their goods at the Lapaz market already lessened. Both, the vendors and the customers suffered because of the increase in the rental and entrance fee. The vendors, in turn, increased the prices of their commodities in order to get back the taxes they paid.

The vendors also claimed that they resorted to loaning money from Indians, Taiwanese and Vietnamese to augment their deficiency in making money or profit out of the goods they sell. They also contested the short period of notice for the public hearing regarding the new tax rate. "The time is too short for the public hearing." The public hearing was held in the middle of December and the new tax rate took effect immediately in January 2008.

In their letter, the vendors said "it is not their concern" on whether the city has not imposed the new tax rate for more than 15 years. "There were multiple increases on fees and taxes for reason that the government has not increased fees and taxes."

The vendors also added that the burden to raise money out of taxes should not be put on them. "The slogan says "USWAG ILOILO" paano mag-uswag ang Iloilo nga mga vendors kay sobra kataas sang ang rental fees and entrance fees. Instead sang USWAG, GUTOM ILOILO vendors sang merkado publiko," the letter said.

The News Today learned that the Iloilo Central Market Merchants and Vendors Association headed by Rex Donasco and the Iloilo Terminal Market Vendors Association led by Roland Gascon also raised the same concern.

Meanwhile, Mayor Treñas said he is optimistic that the appeal of the vendors would get a positive response from the City Treasurers Office and the committee on ways and means of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.

Copies of the vendor's letter were already provided to City Treasurer Katherine Tingson and the legislative body for their perusal.

Earlier, owners of business establishments in the city also complained that the new tax rate as embodied in the new tax ordinance was very high and and detrimental to the businesses in the city.

LCP to meet with Pimentel, Hofer over IRA issues

By Maricar M. Calubiran

League of Cities in the Philippines (LCP) chair Mayor Jerry Treñas will meet with Senator Aquilino Pimentel and Zamboanga Sibugay Representative Ann Hofer to address the problems on the creation of new cities that would cause the eventual reduction of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of existing cities in the country.

Treñas said the two are willing to sit down with the league and discuss the issues regarding the creation of new cities.

Pimentel is considered as the "Father of the Local Government Code." Under the Local Government Code, a town should have a locally generated income of at least P100 million annually before it could be classified into a city. It should either have a land area of at least 100 square kilometers or a population of 150,000.

On the other hand, Rep. Hofer authored House Bill 24 that seeks to amend Republic Act 9009 or the Local Government Code by exempting the capital towns of provinces from the income requirements of city hood.

Treñas reiterated that the league is strongly opposing the creation of new cities that do no meet the income requirements because of the resulting decrease in their IRA share. He said the IRA is the tax share of local government units, which get 40 centavos of every peso in tax collected by the government from different forms of taxes.

The league is alarmed with the proposal to convert 28 capital towns into cities as it will result in the reduction of the IRA share of cities by P56 million each. Currently, there are already 136 cities. There are only 61 cities before the Local Government Code was approved, said Treñas.

Meanwhile, employees of the city government yesterday wore black arm bands to dramatize the city's strong opposition on the creation of new cities and the reduction in the IRA share. The city would lose P36 million from its IRA share because of the 16 new cities. A message which states "Ibalik ang IRA" was inscribed in the black arm band.

Employees will wear the black arm band every Monday. The city could not fly the flag at half mast as they are holding office at the Robinsons mall. This will continue until no resolution is made regarding the IRA cut and the creation of new cities, said Treñas.

The LCP is also calling for a moratorium on the creation of new cities for at least two years and filed a petition before the Supreme Court to freeze the IRA share of 16 new cities pending the resolution of the case they filed.

^^Eric de los Santos One of the Most Promising Entrepreneurs under 35 yrs. Old by Entrepreneur Philippines Magazine (2001).

2005 & 2006 Most Outstanding Designer (Apparel), (Iloilo City Awards), "In recognition of his outstanding marketing performance leading towards market dominance, goodwill, high level customer confidence, and market acceptability." Awarded by the Philippine Marketing Excellence Awards Institute, Sales and marketing and the Asian Institute of Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

One of the ten winners of the Philippine Fashion Design Competition 2005. The search for the Philippine representatives to the renowned Concours International des Jeunes Créateurs de Mode (International Competition of Young Fashion Designers) held in Paris, France. source Ericdelossantos.com

Realtor slams deafening equipment

By Jeehan V. Fernandez

REALTOR Quin Baterna yesterday slammed the noisy operations of the heavy equipment owned by China International Water and Electric Corp. (CWE).

Baterna said it started passing through the 150-meter road stretch of Brookside Subdivision at Barangay Cubay, Jaro, Iloilo City late last year “without necessary permits.”

CWE is working on Package 2 of the P4-billion Iloilo Flood Control Project (IFCP) which started in January 2006.
The contract package includes the improvement of Iloilo River, Upper Ingore Creek and Jaro River Mouth with excavation works on the waterways.

“We appreciate foreigners who want to do businesses and investments here provided they respect our laws and dignity to protect the interest of the residents. The issue here is not about financial consideration but they have not secured permission from the barangay,” said Baterna.

“Several 16-wheeler trucks are entering this private property. We cannot quantify the noise pollution but it has psychological effects on the residents. They have disturbed the tranquility and destroyed the cemented road – it’s shaking,” he told reporters.

He added that a CWE project site engineer “verbally harassed” him when he was about to take pictures of the heavy equipment as “evidence” with the presence of barangay leaders.

Baterna said they sat down with CWE project manager Liu Limin and barangay officials regarding the matter.

“They (CWE officials) admitted they had no idea that Barangay Cubay is covered in the project – it was lost in the plan – which is impossible because they have local consultants involved,” the realtor explained.

Baterna said they have brought up the idea that since CWE has done damages on the road, the Chinese contractor will repair it later on.

“We will allow it after signing an agreement to that effect,” he clarified.

The multi-billion IFCP aims to mitigate flood damage, thus create a more sustainable urban community and provide a safer and more pleasant living condition in the metropolis.

The project which is expected to be completed on January 2009 will be a great solution to the perennial problem of flashfloods in the city.

World’s largest individual flower blooms in Igbaras
By Bombette G. Marin
http://thedailyguardian.com/images/stories/trsm2Feb6.jpg

IT IS the world’s largest individual flower.

Locals call it corpse flower due to the vile smell (like rotting meat) it gives off. Its diameter can grow to over 100 centimeters and can weigh up to 10 kilograms. Even its smallest flower specie (the ones commonly found in the Philippines) measures 20 centimeters in diameter. It has a lifespan of 5-7 days.
Rafflesia, is a genus of parasitic flowering plants having five petals but has no stem, leaves or true roots. It is a parasite that attaches itself to a host plant, a vine they call Tetrastigma (a relative of a grape), and grows only in undisturbed rainforests, to obtain water and nutrients.

The flower occasionally breaks through the bark as a huge bud and expands into a huge blossom. Unless one sees evidence of an old blossom, you could walk right past a Tetrastigma vine without ever knowing that a complete Rafflesia plant lives inside its stem.

The flower was discovered by an Indonesian guide and named it after the leader of the expedition, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (adventurer and founder of British colony Singapore) in one of the rainforest in Indonesia in 1818.

It has 17 species all found in southeastern Asia, and in the Philippines, its genus arnoldii, named after a botanist, Joseph Arnold, is the most common growing Rafflesia in identified areas. Its vividly-hued lobes bordered the flower’s broad circular basin.

Numerous depressions marked the upper surface of its diaphragm with pure-white spots on the lower surface of the diaphragm. Further down, inside the corolla of petals, are reddish, tentacle-like, branches known as its ramentae and are said to be the source of the Rafflesia’s odor.

People around the world make special pilgrimages as far as the rainforests of southeastern Asia hoping to see these extraordinary blossoms. But, more often, their mission fall short since these flowers are scattered and hard to reach and with short and unpredictable blooming periods.

For this reason, there is great interest in conserving Rafflesia sites and the simplest and most obvious way to conserving it is by preserving its habitat. Cultivating it could save this endangered specie.

http://thedailyguardian.com/images/stories/trsm4Feb6.jpg

Maintaining a Rafflesia habitat is an outstanding tourism potential for the rural folks. It spurs ecotourism as many people go to identified areas annually hoping to see it bloom. Though not relatively abundant, Ilonggos can now view Rafflesia after a 30-minute mountain hike in the rural village of Brgy. Igcabugao, one of the 46 barangays of Igbaras.

Igbaras is a fourth-class town south of the province, some 40 kilometers from the city.

However, a variety of factors may impede the development of their habitat such as poor roads in the area, uncertainty in the protection of natural resources, illegal activities degrading the site and security problems.

Tourism is now developing with visitors going to the area. Aside from a trek to the habitat, there is some jungle trekking to the waterfalls and caves along the barangay.

With that, it will be possible to encourage tourists whose visits will help pay to preserve Rafflesia’s habitat, rather than destroy them. The next few years will determine whether here, and elsewhere, more species probably will be found.

Brgy. Igcabugao has an accommodation – a visitor centre with guides and a campground with shelter. Despite its popularity as an identified destination site, local tourists have not yet degraded the area.

The local government of Igbaras, headed by its very active, tourism-oriented municipal mayor Jaime E. Esmeralda, is all out to develop ecotourism for Igbaras.

http://thedailyguardian.com/images/stories/trsm5Feb6.jpg
The town contains some of Iloilo’s richest series of exceptionally beautiful forested mountains, from lowlands to highlands, large enough to preserve the integrity of the town’s ecosystem.

Igbarasnons can now have a lasting influence and be remembered by people everywhere for their commitment to nature and its protection, and future conservation work that will help protect their habitat for the wonder of future generations.

This vision is a future where the town’s magnificent natural heritage is preserved, protected, explored and adored by many Ilonggos and for generations to come.

Kung Hei Fat Choi!!! Iloilo!!!
http://images.habagatcentral.multiply.com/image/13/photos/16/500x500/83.jpg/Parol%20Ilonggo-Chino.jpg?et=uOdmiAkTZtj53OL1gIm%2BNg&nmid=21222994
The Chinese Community of Iloilo will be celebrating the Chinese New Year on Friday, of course in Calle Real CBD Area. Program starts by afternoon! :)

Happy Lunar New Year!!!
:banana: :banana: :banana:

^^ Happy Chinese New Year :)

Kung Hei Fat Choi

Anyhow, are there are any activities regarding the ChineseNew year?

Best Agro-Industrial Area in the Region
Best Agro-Industrial Area in the PhilippinesCorrection ni:

Best in the Philippines in LGU-Cooperative partnership. :)

World’s largest individual flower blooms in Igbaras
By Bombette G. Marin
http://thedailyguardian.com/images/stories/trsm2Feb6.jpg

IT IS the world’s largest individual flower.

Locals call it corpse flower due to the vile smell (like rotting meat) it gives off. Its diameter can grow to over 100 centimeters and can weigh up to 10 kilograms. Even its smallest flower specie (the ones commonly found in the Philippines) measures 20 centimeters in diameter. It has a lifespan of 5-7 days.
Rafflesia, is a genus of parasitic flowering plants having five petals but has no stem, leaves or true roots. It is a parasite that attaches itself to a host plant, a vine they call Tetrastigma (a relative of a grape), and grows only in undisturbed rainforests, to obtain water and nutrients.

The flower occasionally breaks through the bark as a huge bud and expands into a huge blossom. Unless one sees evidence of an old blossom, you could walk right past a Tetrastigma vine without ever knowing that a complete Rafflesia plant lives inside its stem.

The flower was discovered by an Indonesian guide and named it after the leader of the expedition, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (adventurer and founder of British colony Singapore) in one of the rainforest in Indonesia in 1818.

It has 17 species all found in southeastern Asia, and in the Philippines, its genus arnoldii, named after a botanist, Joseph Arnold, is the most common growing Rafflesia in identified areas. Its vividly-hued lobes bordered the flower’s broad circular basin.

Numerous depressions marked the upper surface of its diaphragm with pure-white spots on the lower surface of the diaphragm. Further down, inside the corolla of petals, are reddish, tentacle-like, branches known as its ramentae and are said to be the source of the Rafflesia’s odor.

People around the world make special pilgrimages as far as the rainforests of southeastern Asia hoping to see these extraordinary blossoms. But, more often, their mission fall short since these flowers are scattered and hard to reach and with short and unpredictable blooming periods.

For this reason, there is great interest in conserving Rafflesia sites and the simplest and most obvious way to conserving it is by preserving its habitat. Cultivating it could save this endangered specie.

http://thedailyguardian.com/images/stories/trsm4Feb6.jpg

Maintaining a Rafflesia habitat is an outstanding tourism potential for the rural folks. It spurs ecotourism as many people go to identified areas annually hoping to see it bloom. Though not relatively abundant, Ilonggos can now view Rafflesia after a 30-minute mountain hike in the rural village of Brgy. Igcabugao, one of the 46 barangays of Igbaras.

Igbaras is a fourth-class town south of the province, some 40 kilometers from the city.

However, a variety of factors may impede the development of their habitat such as poor roads in the area, uncertainty in the protection of natural resources, illegal activities degrading the site and security problems.

Tourism is now developing with visitors going to the area. Aside from a trek to the habitat, there is some jungle trekking to the waterfalls and caves along the barangay.

With that, it will be possible to encourage tourists whose visits will help pay to preserve Rafflesia’s habitat, rather than destroy them. The next few years will determine whether here, and elsewhere, more species probably will be found.

Brgy. Igcabugao has an accommodation – a visitor centre with guides and a campground with shelter. Despite its popularity as an identified destination site, local tourists have not yet degraded the area.

The local government of Igbaras, headed by its very active, tourism-oriented municipal mayor Jaime E. Esmeralda, is all out to develop ecotourism for Igbaras.

http://thedailyguardian.com/images/stories/trsm5Feb6.jpg
The town contains some of Iloilo’s richest series of exceptionally beautiful forested mountains, from lowlands to highlands, large enough to preserve the integrity of the town’s ecosystem.

Igbarasnons can now have a lasting influence and be remembered by people everywhere for their commitment to nature and its protection, and future conservation work that will help protect their habitat for the wonder of future generations.

This vision is a future where the town’s magnificent natural heritage is preserved, protected, explored and adored by many Ilonggos and for generations to come.

maganda siguro regalo to sa valentines!:D:jk: parang napaka exotic ng dating!:lol:

:wave:

taken last Saturday

Jolina Magdangal, Raymund Guttierez and Ogie Alcasid at the Iloilo Business Hotel lobby while waiting for their departure to the airport.

Sixteen (16) Ilonggos will to go Manila out of 57 who auditioned out of hundreds who applied for the 1st PINOY IDOL Iloilo "leg" last Jan 31, 2008.
It airs April 12, 2008 on GMA 7

http://i31.tinypic.com/15pfy1v.jpg

PSME holds 2008 assembly today

THE Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers Inc. (PSME), an integrated national association of mechanical engineers and duly accredited by the Professional Regulation Commission, will be holding an assembly of chapter presidents, officers, directors and members today, February 2, 2008 at the MO2 Westown Hotel in Diversion Road, Iloilo City.

The PSME-Iloilo Chapter, host to this assembly, through its chapter president Engr. John Dandee Hechanova, is inviting all mechanical engineers to attend this affair.

For further inquiries, please contact PSME-Iloilo Chapter, telephone no. (033) 500-6919, fax no. (033) 321-1118 or the PSME National Headquarters, telephone no. (02) 412-200, fax no. (02) 412-0309.

source: Panay News (http://www.panaynewsphilippines.com/business3.htm)

hehehe si sir dandee gale ang chap pres sang psme-iloilo :banana:
bag-o ko lang nabal an

tani indi tingub ang celebrations sa isa ka-month like

January- Dinagyang (isaylo sa iban nga month ang Kasadyahan)
February- Jaro Fiesta, Chinese New Year(indi ta na ini masaylo kay amu gid ini ya.hehe)
March(?)- Paraw regatta
etc...

para every month may okasyon. hehe
i heard/read rumors about kasadyahan being planned into an event of itself which i would like to see happen.

as mentioned by spacewagon, there is an ADLAW SANG ILOILO o heard nga SEMANA SANG ILOILO, why not make kasadyahan the finale of this celebration?
tapos medyo i layo sya gawa sa diangayan maybe 3rd or 4th quarter of the year para indi gid tam an ka gasto para sa aton :lol:
plus the usual exhibits/fairs.pwede man dayun ibutang ang dragon boat race ni silent trumpeteer sa sini nga mga inadlaw

Just want to share something.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2070/2241864794_ae107aaac3.jpg?v=0
Photo by Tara Yap. :D (Kiko, SSC Iloilo and Gov Tupas)

:banana::banana::banana:

Sen Kiko and SSC (Society of Sharon Cuneta) :lol::lol:

By the way, another addition for the city promotion videos is the:

"Gastronomical Tour of Iloilo" again made possible by the City of Iloilo and ON Creative Productions. It is now being shown on Sky Cable.

:nuts::nuts::nuts:

waaahhh hopefully meron din yan sa CABLESTAR.
i need to see this one


or maybe fate has it na indi pagpakita ka akon basi kon ano naman ang hambalon ko LOL

Construction of P370 M Iloilo-Zarraga radial road imminent
By Maricar M. Calubiran

The construction of the P370 million radial road from Barangay Lanit, Jaro until Zarraga town is more likely to happen as the budget for the project is already included in the current national budget. It is only one of the projects through the Mega-Region Economic Development Strategy of the national government.

......................

Apart from the P370 million radial road, there is also a pending P170 million road widening project from Sta. Barbara to Iloilo City. Sta. Barbara is one of the towns under the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC).

The acceleration of the economic growth and development of Sta. Barbara, Oton, San Miguel, Pavia, Leganes and Iloilo City is pushed because of the operation of the Iloilo Airport of International Standard. The government wants to spur economic activities not only in Iloilo City but its neighboring towns and the island-province of Guimaras


From The News Today Iloilo

actually the road that needs to be widened is approximately 3kms.
from bangga dama to ileco substation na man lang ang kulang and medyo dali lang ina cguro since there is minimal obstruction unlike sa diversion road and ungka areas.

[/LIST]Correction ni:

Best in the Philippines in LGU-Cooperative partnership. :)

Thanks. Either way, good for Pavia. :)

tani indi tingub ang celebrations sa isa ka-month like

January- Dinagyang (isaylo sa iban nga month ang Kasadyahan)
February- Jaro Fiesta, Chinese New Year(indi ta na ini masaylo kay amu gid ini ya.hehe)
March(?)- Paraw regatta
etc...

para every month may okasyon. hehe

I think they should combine the festivals in one month because the other festivals aren't as popular. Kasadyahan, IMO, would not stand on its own for now. Its best to have it at another date if it's as popular as Paraw Regatta or Dinagyang. It's nice that Iloilo has Festivals going on at around the same dates. In just a month's time, tourists can have the full effect of the Ilonggo culture.

Guess what. This morning at ABS-CBN's Umagang kay Ganda, they are showing live the dragon dance for the Chinese New Year in Iloilo and Manila! :banana:
Thank God again for the promotions. :)

ILOILO BANWA PINALANGGA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXO2Egir7jo)

-- this Iloilo song really made me teary-eyed. I missed Iloilo so much.

:grouphug::hug::okay::fiddle::fiddle:

Same here Amigo Space... thats also one of the reason why I went home for DINAGYANG... to get a copy..... Its actually ILOILO BANWANG PINALANGGA by Tunog Amakan. Also these songs are good to listen: ILOILO BANWA KO by Neson & Jones. Ang Pangabuhi by Cesar Barita... and many more... this is my passion right now... collecting and uploading these Online....for the world to know...for Ilonggos everywhere and for Karay-a Songs... Try listening to Sus Kanami... (nami gid pamatian...)

I'll try to host these songs in case you want to download... since multiply deactivated the download portion...

Anyway, just reading updates.... thanks for posting guys....

If you have time... just click on my siggy (Ambahanon Ilonggo Vol 1) for the Hiligaynon Songs.... :)


And before I forget... Kung Hei Fat Choi!

kiung hee huat tsai da sa mga taga iloilo!!!!

ehem.... magazine covers!!! ahahah

http://b.magmypic.com/uploads/2/03/203a8f7f3d6c539568f472ab52796b0e_NATIONALGEO_med.jpg

http://b.magmypic.com/uploads/3/26/3268f12ee0a8f66c4afc7e08afdc6189_TIME_med.jpg

http://b.magmypic.com/uploads/7/9a/79aa4816b27f8b688415242a1ac02827_NATIONALGEO_med.jpg

That's your dream eric. Hehehe! Daw indi man malayo...just keep up! :)
I like the photos. Dinagyang gid!

^^ How I wish but Dinagyang is culturally marred with so much Panayana. (Ah basta, translate na lang, wahehehe!!! :lol:)

But anyway, there's nothing much for Iloilo right now. It might have burned out from the past 2 festivals...bigger ones...one secula-religious and the other religious. The Chinese New Year seems to be more austere than the previous years yet it has managed to be a "city holiday" every year.

The last of the 4 major festivals in the city, the Paraw Regatta, will be a week after the Chinese New Year.

According to Ms.Lara of Iloilo Biz Club, in her opinion, the Lopezes are quite hyping up the exposure of Iloilo to signal their comeback. I don't know if that is true but I hope it is.

I really hope that we can go beyond these festivals. These are to entice potential investors and income-generating scheme of the city. If we start investing on hotels, convention centers and services and infra, then it will be for the betterment of the city and the province.

^^ How I wish but Dinagyang is culturally marred with so much Panayana. (Ah basta, translate na lang, wahehehe!!! :lol:)

But anyway, there's nothing much for Iloilo right now. It might have burned out from the past 2 festivals...bigger ones...one secula-religious and the other religious. The Chinese New Year seems to be more austere than the previous years yet it has managed to be a "city holiday" every year.

The last of the 4 major festivals in the city, the Paraw Regatta, will be a week after the Chinese New Year.

According to Ms.Lara of Iloilo Biz Club, in her opinion, the Lopezes are quite hyping up the exposure of Iloilo to signal their comeback. I don't know if that is true but I hope it is.

I really hope that we can go beyond these festivals. These are to entice potential investors and income-generating scheme of the city. If we start investing on hotels, convention centers and services and infra, then it will be for the betterment of the city and the province.

Based on reports, I am seeing... Yeah theres more truth to it (Boy & Kris, Bandila etc) and did anybody noticed? The background/backdrop for Wheel of Fortune (was the Miag-ao Church and SAn Jose Church...I happen to see that in the commercial, I don't know what episode though)

Try to take a look at that... Maybe its about TIME they do... its long overdue actually... basi gina pangkalag na sila sang ila mga kanonununo-an. hehehe :lol:

Based on reports, I am seeing... Yeah theres more truth to it (Boy & Kris, Bandila etc) and did anybody noticed? The background/backdrop for Wheel of Fortune (was the Miag-ao Church and SAn Jose Church...I happen to see that in the commercial, I don't know what episode though)

Try to take a look at that... Maybe its about TIME they do... its long overdue actually... basi gina pangkalag na sila sang ila mga kanonununo-an. hehehe :lol:


is it miag ao? daw paoay man ato? may separate bell tower

^^

It could also be Eric hehehe... I just saw it like in a split sec... seems like Miag-ao because of the Bas-relief... but who knows it might be... or not.

hmm i'll try to check youtube to confirm... :)

Sang nagligad adlaw ang wheel of fortune gin backdrop nila ang Molo Church.

^^

yes I saw that too lew... Im still checking kung sa Miag-ao church gid man to ang nakita ko pa gid sa ads...

same with the San Jose Church :banana:

also, iloilo city was part of a scene in prinsesa ng banyera.

^^

mayo kay daw ginapromote gid nila ang Iloilo... we'll see in the near future.. tani sige sige na! It seems they make sure that Iloilo is in their shows... hmmm

Arangka na!

I had to literally dig these up from our archives. These aerial photos are c. 2001.

Looking west-northwest towards molo. Road at foreground is MH del Pilar.
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/9214/molo1az8.jpg (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=molo1az8.jpg)

Molo Plaza area
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1226/molo2ka8.jpg (http://img138.imageshack.us/my.php?image=molo2ka8.jpg)

Kung Hei Fat Choi!!!
Iloilo celebrates Chinese New Year.


(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Ma. Diosa Labiste, Iloilo City

FOR the first time since the Chinese settlers arrived in Iloilo 500 years ago, the Chinese New Year was celebrated here on Jan. 31, thanks to the local government who finally gave them the recognition they deserved.

A huge crowd turned up at the city-sponsored public celebration that featured a food festival and recognition of the contribution of ethnic Chinese to local culture and politics. Iznart Street, the city's old commercial district, which happens to be this city's Chinatown, was decorated with red and yellow bunting, red lanterns and kiosks selling the best of Chinese and Ilonggo cooking.

There were dragon and lion dances, songs, a medley of dances from various tribes in China and an exhibit of Wu Shu martial arts rendered by students from Iloilo Central Commercial High School and Sun Yat Sen High School.

A burst of fireworks and firecrackers to welcome the Year of the Ram entertained thousands of ethnic Chinese and Ilonggos.

Leaders of the Chinese community here thanked the city government, led by Mayor Jerry Trenas, for organizing the event.

"From among us there is a warm feeling of belonging to a community that accepts us as one of them," said Fanny Uy, president of the Iloilo Multi-Sectoral Business Organization.

Sanctuary

Henry Chu-suey, president of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Panay, said the older generation of Chinese considers Iloilo a "refuge and sanctuary."

"We know no homeland other than the Philippines, or Iloilo City," he said.

Iloilo has the third largest number of Chinese business establishments, trade and schools, next to Manila and Cebu, according to John Omohondro in his 1981 book "Chinese Merchant Families in Iloilo." He traces the Iloilo Chinese connection to the Sung Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.) when trading between China and early Filipinos started.

Pre-Hispanic grave sites in Oton, 7 km from here, have yielded Sung and Ming porcelains brought by Chinese traders in exchange for local products like beeswax, abaca hemp, sea shells, and red "sibukaw" dye.

Local historian Rex Salvilla said trading took place at the ancient ports in Araut (now Dumagas), Salog (Jaro), Tabucan (Molo), Ogtong (Oton) and Guibuangan (Guimbal).

The Chinese settlers did not arrive until Spain begun colonizing Iloilo in the 16th century. Pursuant to the Spanish Royal Decree in July 17, 1679 issued by then Governor General Juan de Vargas, the local Chinese established themselves inside "parian," or a Chinese district, in what is now Avancena Street in Molo, this city.

Salvilla said the Chinese presence in Molo gave rise to many Chinese surnames there like Locsin, Lacson, Consing, Ganzon, Quimsing, Conlu, Uygen, Tiongson, Tionko and Layson, among others.

In the 19th century, when Iloilo was opened to international trade through textile and later sugar imports, Chinese settlers started taking active part in trading and export-import business, said Salvilla.

From China came silk and cotton threads which local weavers used in "jusi" and "sinamay" weaving in some 5,000 weaving looms in southern Iloilo.

Iloilo became the textile center of the Philippines then. During the American colonial rule, the Chinese in Iloilo continued to control business, especially sugar trading.

According to Omohondro the present Chinese Ilonggos are immigrants or descendants of migrants from Fukien and Kwangtung provinces. Fukienese comprise about 80 percent of the local Chinese population. The rest are Cantonese, Swatow and Shanghai Chinese. They came to Iloilo to trade, join their relatives or escape political persecution.

Iloilo City Rep. Raul Gonzalez, who spoke during the Jan. 31 celebration, said the local Chinese have stuck it out in Iloilo, even if their fortunes rose and fell.

At the outbreak of World War II, the Chinese formed the Anti-Japanese Patriotic Group and fought side by side with the Filipino guerrillas.

Influence

Through the years, the Chinese influence has filtered into the Ilonggo culture and vice versa. Salvilla said the Hiligaynon culture borrowed many Chinese words like "apian" (opium), "king ki" (oil lamp), "tong" (bribe). The Chinese difficulty in pronouncing letter "r" in "Kinay-a" gave rise to many words like "wala" ("wara" or none), "ilong" ("irong" or nose) and "haluk" ("haruk" or kiss).

Iloilo's popular dishes, La Paz batchoy and Pancit Molo were Chinese-inspired.

The Iloilo Chinese have become major players in the city's economy and politics, putting to doubt claims that they are only concerned about making money, said Diosdado Cadena, provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry here.

In 1991 Chinese businessman staged the first known anti-tax protest after former city mayor Rodolfo Ganzon, himself of Chinese descent, said he will go after business establishments who have tax arrears. The mayor also threatened to inspect stores for violation of laws on labor, sanitary and welfare benefits as well as their failure to get mayor's permit-to-operate. The Chinese business community said the move was meant to harass them and foment anti-Chinese sentiment.

Rivalry

But Omohondro said the Ilonggo Chinese are far from homogenous. They are a fractious community torn by loyalties either to mainland China and Taiwan, although they are cautious to openly declare them.

The community has two competing chambers of commerce, Chinese schools, and fire fighter brigades. The rivalry between the two schools was for a time so bitter that, according to Omohondro, no marriage could take place between the alumni of Sun Yat Sen High School and the Chinese Commercial High School. Some Chinese who are disgruntled by either group went on to form a third group.

But the city government's move to hold a public celebration of the Chinese New Year, gives recognition of the Chinese contribution to Ilonggo culture. An appeal for them to unite and rehabilitate the old commercial district along J.M. Basa and Iznart streets may help heal rivalries and sometimes sectarian concerns of the Chinese community.

Iloilo Tsinoys prepare
to welcome Year of the Rat
By DAVID ISRAEL SINAY

ILOILO City – The Chinese-Filipino community here is preparing for the Chinese New Year – the “Year of the Rat” according to the Chinese zodiac.

This year’s celebration aims to bringing the Chinese civilization closer to the Ilonggos, said Dr. Roland Uy, chairman of the Iloilo Chinese-Filipino Cultural Foundation that spearheads the festivities this year.

Caution will be the watchword for the Year of the Rat, the new lunar year, as Chinese fortune tellers predict financial and political rumblings, tsunamis and epidemics in the year ahead.

The reason, they say, is that water and earth -- two of the five elements Chinese mystics believe are at the root of all things -- are in conflict in 2008.

"Earth usually conquers water, but it is too weak to control the rat, which symbolizes the most powerful water," said Raymond Lo, a Hong Kong master of feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of trying to achieve health, harmony and prosperity by the arrangement of dates and numbers, building design and the placement of objects.

The rat is the first of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac's 12-year cycle and symbolizes new beginnings.

Legend has it that the rat beat the other 11 animals in a race, not because it was any faster, but because of its cunning. After lying to the tiger about the day of the race, the rat rode most of the way on the ox before leaping off and making it first past the finish line.

The Iloilo City Chinese New Year celebration is considered the biggest outside Metro Manila.

Among other activities lined up, the Iloilo Chinese-Filipino Cultural Foundation is holding an exhibit on the Beijing Olympics.

This afternoon, a potpourri of Chinese dances by the Iloilo Central Commercial High School (ICCHS) will open the exhibit entitled “Wonders of China and Beijing 2008 Olympics” at Robinson’s Mall.

Tomorrow, there will be a festival of Chinese dances at SM City Iloilo.

Also on Friday, a grand parade will be staged. It will start at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol grounds and end at the Plazoleta Gay where a cultural show will be held.

The show will be participated by students and faculty of five schools – ICCHS, Iloilo Sun Yat Sen High School, Iloilo Scholastic Academy, Ateneo de Iloilo – Santa Maria Catholic School, and Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus.

There will be lion and dragon dances to “drive way evils spirits” and bring good luck.

A pyrotechnics display will wrap up the cultural show.

The long stretch of Iznart Street will be closed for the food festival, live band and night market. Several Chinese restaurants, fast food chains and family associations will be selling their products.

People’s Republic of China Consul General He Shi Jing is the guest of honor.

The Iloilo City government is supportive of the Chinese New Year celebration. Mayor Jerry Treñas acknowledges the contributions of the Chinese-Filipino community in the continuing progress of Iloilo City.

source: Panay News (http://www.panaynewsphilippines.com/iloilo2.htm)

Kung Hei Fat Choi, ILOILO !

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

Study finds Iloilo City attractive to call center business
By Maricar M. Calubiran

Iloilo City is one of the cities in the country identified as "hot spot area" for business process outsourcing (BPO) or call centers as reflected in a multi-million dollar study funded by the Association of Call Centers in the Philippines. The city is in the league of Metro Manila and Cebu City.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said he was informed by officials of the Diversified Technology Solutions International Inc. (DTSI) regarding the result of the study. He believes the study was done extensively as the funding cost reached 1.5 million US dollars. The same study was purposely conducted to check the viability of call center business and the availability of workers as well as the infrastructure.

DTSI is a leading onshore and offshore systems integrator and technology solutions and services provider. They have offices in the United States and Asia. In Iloilo City, DTSI leased the second floor of the Amigo Terrace Hotel for a call center business, initially, with 80 seats.

Treñas said a copy of the study that was compiled into a book costs $US500. He is trying to get a free copy of the book from Mitch Locsin, an Ilonggo who has been part of the group that made the study on the call centers in the Philippines.

According to the study, Iloilo has qualified graduates fitted to work in the call center and has necessary infrastructure. The availability of fiber-optic communication is also one of the considerations of putting up a call center. The telecommunication companies operating in the city are using fiber-optics technology, said Treñas.

Fiber-optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending light through an optical fiber. The light forms an electromagnetic carrier wave that is modulated to carry information.

Treñas also congratulated the different universities and colleges in the city for producing quality graduates who are qualified to work as call center agents. The good education in the city makes Iloilo City stand out from the rest of the cities eyed for call center operations, Treñas said.

Based on the study, the city is capable of supplying 20,000 call center agents in the future operations of call centers other than those already operational. The city can give more than 20,000 call center agents with the improvement of educational system employed by different colleges and universities, said Treñas.

At present, three call centers are operating in Iloilo City creating employment to more than a thousand call center agents.

source: The News Today (http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/07/study.finds.iloilo.city.attractive.to.call.center.business.html)

Study finds Iloilo City attractive to call center business
By Maricar M. Calubiran

Iloilo City is one of the cities in the country identified as "hot spot area" for business process outsourcing (BPO) or call centers as reflected in a multi-million dollar study funded by the Association of Call Centers in the Philippines. The city is in the league of Metro Manila and Cebu City.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said he was informed by officials of the Diversified Technology Solutions International Inc. (DTSI) regarding the result of the study. He believes the study was done extensively as the funding cost reached 1.5 million US dollars. The same study was purposely conducted to check the viability of call center business and the availability of workers as well as the infrastructure.

DTSI is a leading onshore and offshore systems integrator and technology solutions and services provider. They have offices in the United States and Asia. In Iloilo City, DTSI leased the second floor of the Amigo Terrace Hotel for a call center business, initially, with 80 seats.

Treñas said a copy of the study that was compiled into a book costs $US500. He is trying to get a free copy of the book from Mitch Locsin, an Ilonggo who has been part of the group that made the study on the call centers in the Philippines.

According to the study, Iloilo has qualified graduates fitted to work in the call center and has necessary infrastructure. The availability of fiber-optic communication is also one of the considerations of putting up a call center. The telecommunication companies operating in the city are using fiber-optics technology, said Treñas.

Fiber-optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending light through an optical fiber. The light forms an electromagnetic carrier wave that is modulated to carry information.

Treñas also congratulated the different universities and colleges in the city for producing quality graduates who are qualified to work as call center agents. The good education in the city makes Iloilo City stand out from the rest of the cities eyed for call center operations, Treñas said.

Based on the study, the city is capable of supplying 20,000 call center agents in the future operations of call centers other than those already operational. The city can give more than 20,000 call center agents with the improvement of educational system employed by different colleges and universities, said Treñas.

At present, three call centers are operating in Iloilo City creating employment to more than a thousand call center agents.

source: The News Today (http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/07/study.finds.iloilo.city.attractive.to.call.center.business.html)

Rio Alma to be honored in National Artist Tribute

National Artist for Literature Virgilio S. Almario, popularly known as Rio Alma, will be honored in Pagpupugay sa Pambansang Alagad ng Sining on February 13, 2008, 2:00 p.m. in the University of the Philippines Visayas Auditorium, Iloilo City.

Pagpupugay is an annual event sponsored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) which brings the National Artists to different parts of the Philippines. This is in line with the National Arts Month celebration.

Rio Alma will be joined by the director of the Likhaan: UP Institute of Creative Writing (ICW) Vim Nadera, himself a multi-awarded writer. Aside from the talk of the National Artist, the tribute will also feature dramatic performance of his poetry by UP High School in Iloilo (UPHSI) students.

Rio Alma was proclaimed as the 10th National Artist for Literature on June 25, 2003 for his works as poet, critic, and translator. He currently serves as dean of the College of Arts and Letters of the University of the Philippines – Diliman.

The roster of National Artists for Literature includes Francisco Arcellana, N.V.M. Gonzales, Amado V. Hernandez, Nick Joaquin, F. Sionil Jose, Bienvenido Lumbera, Alejandro Roces, Carlos P. Romulo, Edith L. Tiempo, and Jose Garcia Villa.

Pagpupugay sa Alagad ng Sining is jointly sponsored by the Likhaan: UP Institute of Creative Writing (UPICW), the UPV – Sentro ng Wikang Filipino (UPV-SWF), the Filipinas Institute of Translation of the University of San Agustin, and the University of Iloilo, with the Assistance of UPV Office of Continuing Education and Pahinungod (OCCP).

source: The News Today (http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/07/rio.alma.to.be.honored.in.national.artist.tribute.html)

CASA OFFERING ILECO 2 CHEAP POWER
CENTRAL Azucarera de San Antonio (CASA) in Passi City will soon make available to consumers CHEAP POWER.
CASA’s company generator will produce EXTRA electricity capacity, enough to energize the city and some adjoining towns.
However, this will only materialize if the ILECO 2 Board of Directors will approve the long pending “direct tapping agreement.”
Ano pa ginahulat n’yo?
good start for Passi City and its neighbouring towns. I hope CASA will expand its energy capacity to supply more towns near Passi City. Passi City should learn from the bad of Iloilo City especially when it comes to managing power sector, and to work for something better for better Passi City in the future.


FORT SAN PEDRO
FORT San Pedro, formerly a scenic and historical place in Iloilo City, is owned by the government.
It used to be beautiful, clean and peaceful where people converge especially at nighttime to enjoy the serenity and mild atmosphere as they behold the stars, sky and island of Guimaras just a few kilometers away.
But this old and lovely place is already occupied by restaurants and ugly shanties, so dirty and squalid.
How the owners of these small restaurants and bars, where addicts and criminals meet as their watering holes, have occupied this fort baffles many concerned sectors.
We hope that Mayor Jerry or the members of the City Council will look at the situation and see for themselves if it can be cleared and returned to the city so that the public can enjoy promenading at this fort.

indeed, this is true. I hope they'll look at this concern happening in Fort San Pedro. If developed properly, Fort San Pedro is another beautiful tourist attraction of Iloilo City in the making. We used to swim there every Sunday of 70s to early 80s and matinlo pa. Now, Fort San Pedro looks like a bg waste bin, full of trash. Time to reinvigorate the beauty of Fort San Pedro and make in more tourist friendly.

KUDOS TO MAYOR JERRY
WE congratulate Mayor Jerry of Iloilo City for the success of the recently held Dinagyang and Jaro fiesta.
Aside from the satisfaction of tourists and the residents, the two occasions have been peaceful.
The business sector is also happy because businesses made a killing for many days during the occasions.
Dinagyang is already considered the best cultural/religious gathering nationwide.
The handsome mayor has successfully brought popularity and dignity to Iloilo City – a phenomenon that he never expected in all his life as mayor of the highly urbanized city in the country.
By the way, Mayor Jerry, who is aiming for the congressional seat of Iloilo City, is politically strong as the Rock of Gibraltar.
Nobody can hold a candle to him -- even if he would fight incumbent solon Raul Junior whose father is widely known to have been buying votes to ensure his political survival.
But, as experiences have shown us, the hallowed and ferocious “king” would never admit a defeat.
Majority of Ilonggo voters are selling their votes during elections.
What do you think, Choy?
Tay Guilling “dies-dies” laughing.
Kudos Mayor Trenas! And thank you for making Iloilo City competitive as it should be.

also, iloilo city was part of a scene in prinsesa ng banyera.

Uyy..gatan-aw, hehehehe!!! Daw nakaeskapo naman si Kristine upod si TJ (ahem TJ of SSC Iloilo, hehe!!!)

^^

mayo kay daw ginapromote gid nila ang Iloilo... we'll see in the near future.. tani sige sige na! It seems they make sure that Iloilo is in their shows... hmmm

Arangka na!

Kid was right, earlier this morning Mareng Winnie Cordero of Umagang Kay Ganda of ABSCBN was at Huashiong for the cultural performance of the students of Chinese dances and the likes.

Is it really how Lopezes are hyping up to signal their comeback or is it the ratings war of GMA and ABSCBN? Hehehee!!! I hope the former will do. :D

I had to literally dig these up from our archives. These aerial photos are c. 2001.
Molo Plaza area
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1226/molo2ka8.jpg (http://img138.imageshack.us/my.php?image=molo2ka8.jpg)

I wasn't at Iloilo yet during this year (or have settled). The skyline hasn't that changed in this area though but I still like pinnacles of the belfry piercing the sky to make a distinct Iloilo skyline (by the way, ara sa Wheel of Fortune ni sang nagligad nga gab-i). :D

ehem.... magazine covers!!! ahahah

http://b.magmypic.com/uploads/2/03/203a8f7f3d6c539568f472ab52796b0e_NATIONALGEO_med.jpg

http://b.magmypic.com/uploads/3/26/3268f12ee0a8f66c4afc7e08afdc6189_TIME_med.jpg

http://b.magmypic.com/uploads/7/9a/79aa4816b27f8b688415242a1ac02827_NATIONALGEO_med.jpg

:lol: I thought it was real. I hope someday we'll have that. We're getting close. :cheers:

I had to literally dig these up from our archives. These aerial photos are c. 2001.

Looking west-northwest towards molo. Road at foreground is MH del Pilar.
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/9214/molo1az8.jpg (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=molo1az8.jpg)

Molo Plaza area
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1226/molo2ka8.jpg (http://img138.imageshack.us/my.php?image=molo2ka8.jpg)

There really was a big change in those areas. Thanks for posting..

Iloilo Tsinoys prepare
to welcome Year of the Rat
By DAVID ISRAEL SINAY

ILOILO City – The Chinese-Filipino community here is preparing for the Chinese New Year – the “Year of the Rat” according to the Chinese zodiac.

This year’s celebration aims to bringing the Chinese civilization closer to the Ilonggos, said Dr. Roland Uy, chairman of the Iloilo Chinese-Filipino Cultural Foundation that spearheads the festivities this year.

Caution will be the watchword for the Year of the Rat, the new lunar year, as Chinese fortune tellers predict financial and political rumblings, tsunamis and epidemics in the year ahead.

The reason, they say, is that water and earth -- two of the five elements Chinese mystics believe are at the root of all things -- are in conflict in 2008.

"Earth usually conquers water, but it is too weak to control the rat, which symbolizes the most powerful water," said Raymond Lo, a Hong Kong master of feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of trying to achieve health, harmony and prosperity by the arrangement of dates and numbers, building design and the placement of objects.

The rat is the first of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac's 12-year cycle and symbolizes new beginnings.

Legend has it that the rat beat the other 11 animals in a race, not because it was any faster, but because of its cunning. After lying to the tiger about the day of the race, the rat rode most of the way on the ox before leaping off and making it first past the finish line.

The Iloilo City Chinese New Year celebration is considered the biggest outside Metro Manila.

Among other activities lined up, the Iloilo Chinese-Filipino Cultural Foundation is holding an exhibit on the Beijing Olympics.

This afternoon, a potpourri of Chinese dances by the Iloilo Central Commercial High School (ICCHS) will open the exhibit entitled “Wonders of China and Beijing 2008 Olympics” at Robinson’s Mall.

Tomorrow, there will be a festival of Chinese dances at SM City Iloilo.

Also on Friday, a grand parade will be staged. It will start at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol grounds and end at the Plazoleta Gay where a cultural show will be held.

The show will be participated by students and faculty of five schools – ICCHS, Iloilo Sun Yat Sen High School, Iloilo Scholastic Academy, Ateneo de Iloilo – Santa Maria Catholic School, and Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus.

There will be lion and dragon dances to “drive way evils spirits” and bring good luck.

A pyrotechnics display will wrap up the cultural show.

The long stretch of Iznart Street will be closed for the food festival, live band and night market. Several Chinese restaurants, fast food chains and family associations will be selling their products.

People’s Republic of China Consul General He Shi Jing is the guest of honor.

The Iloilo City government is supportive of the Chinese New Year celebration. Mayor Jerry Treñas acknowledges the contributions of the Chinese-Filipino community in the continuing progress of Iloilo City.

source: Panay News (http://www.panaynewsphilippines.com/iloilo2.htm)

Kung Hei Fat Choi, ILOILO !

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

Kun Hei Fat Choi talaga!
Dinagyang - Best Tourism Festival chosen by ATOP; Only Festival chosen by UN to represent the country for it's Millenium Development Goals.
Paraw Regatta - Oldest Sailing Race in Asia
Candelaria Festival - One of the Biggest Marian Festival in the Country
Chinese New Year - One of theBiggest outside Metro Manila :banana:

With all these, I think it's justifiable to say we are a "festival capital", IMO, as of now. :lol:

Study finds Iloilo City attractive to call center business
By Maricar M. Calubiran

Iloilo City is one of the cities in the country identified as "hot spot area" for business process outsourcing (BPO) or call centers as reflected in a multi-million dollar study funded by the Association of Call Centers in the Philippines. The city is in the league of Metro Manila and Cebu City.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said he was informed by officials of the Diversified Technology Solutions International Inc. (DTSI) regarding the result of the study. He believes the study was done extensively as the funding cost reached 1.5 million US dollars. The same study was purposely conducted to check the viability of call center business and the availability of workers as well as the infrastructure.

DTSI is a leading onshore and offshore systems integrator and technology solutions and services provider. They have offices in the United States and Asia. In Iloilo City, DTSI leased the second floor of the Amigo Terrace Hotel for a call center business, initially, with 80 seats.

Treñas said a copy of the study that was compiled into a book costs $US500. He is trying to get a free copy of the book from Mitch Locsin, an Ilonggo who has been part of the group that made the study on the call centers in the Philippines.

According to the study, Iloilo has qualified graduates fitted to work in the call center and has necessary infrastructure. The availability of fiber-optic communication is also one of the considerations of putting up a call center. The telecommunication companies operating in the city are using fiber-optics technology, said Treñas.

Fiber-optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending light through an optical fiber. The light forms an electromagnetic carrier wave that is modulated to carry information.

Treñas also congratulated the different universities and colleges in the city for producing quality graduates who are qualified to work as call center agents. The good education in the city makes Iloilo City stand out from the rest of the cities eyed for call center operations, Treñas said.

Based on the study, the city is capable of supplying 20,000 call center agents in the future operations of call centers other than those already operational. The city can give more than 20,000 call center agents with the improvement of educational system employed by different colleges and universities, said Treñas.

At present, three call centers are operating in Iloilo City creating employment to more than a thousand call center agents.

source: The News Today (http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/07/study.finds.iloilo.city.attractive.to.call.center.business.html)

And we did this even without a stable and cheap power. In short, Iloilo, pound for pound, is a major powerhouse for investors.

Uyy..gatan-aw, hehehehe!!! Daw nakaeskapo naman si Kristine upod si TJ (ahem TJ of SSC Iloilo, hehe!!!)



Kid was right, earlier this morning Mareng Winnie Cordero of Umagang Kay Ganda of ABSCBN was at Huashiong for the cultural performance of the students of Chinese dances and the likes.

Is it really how Lopezes are hyping up to signal their comeback or is it the ratings war of GMA and ABSCBN? Hehehee!!! I hope the former will do. :D



I wasn't at Iloilo yet during this year (or have settled). The skyline hasn't that changed in this area though but I still like pinnacles of the belfry piercing the sky to make a distinct Iloilo skyline (by the way, ara sa Wheel of Fortune ni sang nagligad nga gab-i). :D

Regardng the return of the Lopezes, they're doing that to prove that Iloilo is still ABS-CBN. ( I think now, ABS still ranks at the top in Iloilo and not GMA).

Molo's skyline hasn't changed much but the urbanity did. :)

Guess what. This morning at ABS-CBN's Umagang kay Ganda, they are showing live the dragon dance for the Chinese New Year in Iloilo and Manila! :banana:
Thank God again for the promotions. :)
Very nice. I'm all impressed that ABS CBN is taking time to cover what's happening in Iloilo City all the time. Looks like ABS is getting more and more aggressive in promoting Iloilo, maybe cos they know that GMA is gaining more grounds in Iloilo. Next to Metro Manila, Iloilo is the next home of GMA. GMA ratings in Iloilo is very competitive and some of their programs are supported by Ilonggos. If ABSCBN will move fast in Iloilo, surely, their rating will plummet giving GMA a very good margin to two of the media capital of the country.

Same here Amigo Space... thats also one of the reason why I went home for DINAGYANG... to get a copy..... Its actually ILOILO BANWANG PINALANGGA by Tunog Amakan. Also these songs are good to listen: ILOILO BANWA KO by Neson & Jones. Ang Pangabuhi by Cesar Barita... and many more... this is my passion right now... collecting and uploading these Online....for the world to know...for Ilonggos everywhere and for Karay-a Songs... Try listening to Sus Kanami... (nami gid pamatian...)

I'll try to host these songs in case you want to download... since multiply deactivated the download portion...

Anyway, just reading updates.... thanks for posting guys....

If you have time... just click on my siggy (Ambahanon Ilonggo Vol 1) for the Hiligaynon Songs.... :)


And before I forget... Kung Hei Fat Choi!
thanks Metro. I loved listening to Ilonggo songs. Nabulong man kahidlaw ta sa Iloilo. You tube really helps a lot. Kadamo lang videos dira about Iloilo and it's nice nga at times update manta what's going on sa Iloilo aside sa mga balita sa tabloids.

ehem.... magazine covers!!! ahahah

http://b.magmypic.com/uploads/2/03/203a8f7f3d6c539568f472ab52796b0e_NATIONALGEO_med.jpg

http://b.magmypic.com/uploads/3/26/3268f12ee0a8f66c4afc7e08afdc6189_TIME_med.jpg

http://b.magmypic.com/uploads/7/9a/79aa4816b27f8b688415242a1ac02827_NATIONALGEO_med.jpg
more to come for Dinagyang. Thanks for posting them all here Eric.
Hala Bira ILOILO! Hala Bira DINAGYANG! :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

^^ How I wish but Dinagyang is culturally marred with so much Panayana. (Ah basta, translate na lang, wahehehe!!! :lol:)

But anyway, there's nothing much for Iloilo right now. It might have burned out from the past 2 festivals...bigger ones...one secula-religious and the other religious. The Chinese New Year seems to be more austere than the previous years yet it has managed to be a "city holiday" every year.

The last of the 4 major festivals in the city, the Paraw Regatta, will be a week after the Chinese New Year.

According to Ms.Lara of Iloilo Biz Club, in her opinion, the Lopezes are quite hyping up the exposure of Iloilo to signal their comeback. I don't know if that is true but I hope it is.

I really hope that we can go beyond these festivals. These are to entice potential investors and income-generating scheme of the city. If we start investing on hotels, convention centers and services and infra, then it will be for the betterment of the city and the province.
In as much as i would like to ignore the fact of them (Lopez) planning to have a big comeback in Iloilo, I think it is happening inevitably right now. This might be true if you see some projects of Lopezes. I'm sure they will be setting their feet in Iloilo again. The times when they left Iloilo to venture to other parts of the country especially in Manila is a big lose for Iloilo. But, now, they see that Iloilo City business climate is doing really well, and making a comeback to their lost glory in Iloilo is another assertion in their part. We will see in few months or years time. They still have a very big influence in business and politics of Iloilo. If we see or notice new buildings by Lopezes in Iloilo City and neighbouring metro towns, then surely, Lopez is once again claiming Iloilo as their seat of business empire.

Based on reports, I am seeing... Yeah theres more truth to it (Boy & Kris, Bandila etc) and did anybody noticed? The background/backdrop for Wheel of Fortune (was the Miag-ao Church and SAn Jose Church...I happen to see that in the commercial, I don't know what episode though)

Try to take a look at that... Maybe its about TIME they do... its long overdue actually... basi gina pangkalag na sila sang ila mga kanonununo-an. hehehe :lol:
good. This is just a start for Iloilo's aggressive promotion and no other than an Ilonggo mogul, the owner of ABS-CBN is flexing its muscle to help promote Iloilo and put Iloilo back to where it should be.

Sang nagligad adlaw ang wheel of fortune gin backdrop nila ang Molo Church.

also, iloilo city was part of a scene in prinsesa ng banyera.
eye-candies gid man ang mga chuches of Iloilo. Molo Church, Jaro Cathedral, Miag-ao Church, etc are testaments of Iloilo's glorious past. These churches will form a big heritage tourism sector of Iloilo along with its cemeteries, old mansions and Calle Real.

^^

mayo kay daw ginapromote gid nila ang Iloilo... we'll see in the near future.. tani sige sige na! It seems they make sure that Iloilo is in their shows... hmmm

Arangka na!
Same with GMA, I guess. he he he. We'll see. We still a lot of things in store for us in the future thru the big efforts of two of the country's biggest TV Network.

^^ To be honest, GMA is losing ground here. I think ABS-CBN leads right now because at every tv I can see and at every program at TV we talk about, it's always about ABS-CBN. :banana:

^^ Like they have to improve on our power situation first.

Speaking of power situations, I watched the news earlier stating that there would be a Public Forum to be organized by the Dep't of Enegry in Iloilo. It may be regarding to our power woes since there is a good ground for discussion between the coal and the renewable and how to mitigate the effects of increasing oil prices.

I think this is a spur of the Enegry Summit held last week at Manila.

^^ Just an idea, how about combining coal and renewable? In short, renewable coal. :lol:

Very nice. I'm all impressed that ABS CBN is taking time to cover what's happening in Iloilo City all the time. Looks like ABS is getting more and more aggressive in promoting Iloilo, maybe cos they know that GMA is gaining more grounds in Iloilo. Next to Metro Manila, Iloilo is the next home of GMA. GMA ratings in Iloilo is very competitive and some of their programs are supported by Ilonggos. If ABSCBN will move fast in Iloilo, surely, their rating will plummet giving GMA a very good margin to two of the media capital of the country.

One advantage GMA has over ABSCBN is the signal. Beyond Janiuay I think, it'll be difficult to get ABSCBN TV-10 Iloilo's signal unlike GMA which spans from Negros to Capiz.

This is one thing ABSCBN has to realize.

Regarding its 2nd home for GMA, they just treat other GMAs outside MM like the same...they only have 3 stations that have TV studios...Iloilo, Cebu and Davao. And because of the AGB Ratings controversy, both stations are bent on promoting regionalwide. Outside Manila. :D


In as much as i would like to ignore the fact of them (Lopez) planning to have a big comeback in Iloilo, I think it is happening inevitably right now. This might be true if you see some projects of Lopezes. I'm sure they will be setting their feet in Iloilo again. The times when they left Iloilo to venture to other parts of the country especially in Manila is a big lose for Iloilo. But, now, they see that Iloilo City business climate is doing really well, and making a comeback to their lost glory in Iloilo is another assertion in their part. We will see in few months or years time. They still have a very big influence in business and politics of Iloilo. If we see or notice new buildings by Lopezes in Iloilo City and neighbouring metro towns, then surely, Lopez is once again claiming Iloilo as their seat of business empire.


Order na bala sang Iloilo: A Rich and Noble Land. And you'll see there the hidden message of the Lopezes in that book. Or sa intro pa lang, ara na, hehehe!!! :D

Uyy..gatan-aw, hehehehe!!! Daw nakaeskapo naman si Kristine upod si TJ (ahem TJ of SSC Iloilo, hehe!!!)
what program is this? I'm lost in space gid iya. he he he

Kid was right, earlier this morning Mareng Winnie Cordero of Umagang Kay Ganda of ABSCBN was at Huashiong for the cultural performance of the students of Chinese dances and the likes.
Talaga naman! Hindi na talaga tinitigilan. Good to see Chinese New year is well-celebrated in Iloilo. Welcome talaga lahat sa Iloilo. I hope Korean Festival will be staged in Iloilo as well. Siempre, the more highly acceptable we are for all cultures of the world, mas maayo. Any idea sa bagay nga ini cos Koreans are invading Iloilo, just like Chinese in the past?

Is it really how Lopezes are hyping up to signal their comeback or is it the ratings war of GMA and ABSCBN? Hehehee!!! I hope the former will do. :D
I think it's BOTH - the comeback and the battle of ratings. :banana:

I wasn't at Iloilo yet during this year (or have settled). The skyline hasn't that changed in this area though but I still like pinnacles of the belfry piercing the sky to make a distinct Iloilo skyline (by the way, ara sa Wheel of Fortune ni sang nagligad nga gab-i). :D
The belfry makes a Molo's skyline distinct and beautiful. It looks very European from afar and by seeing those two towers piercing the sky seems really awesome. I would rather see high rise developments a kilometer away from this beautiful church to give emphasis to the beauty of Sta Ana Cathedral.

what program is this? I'm lost in space gid iya. he he he

Princesa ng Banyera. Ang paboritong teleserye sa hapon ng masa. starred by Kristine Hermosa, TJ Trinidad, Ara Mina, Rafael Rossel IV, Jackilyn Jose. :D

The belfry makes a Molo's skyline distinct and beautiful. It looks very European from afar and by seeing those two towers piercing the sky seems really awesome. I would rather see high rise developments a kilometer away from this beautiful church to give emphasis to the beauty of Sta Ana Cathedral.

Speaking of Molo and Jaro, I'm seeing the battle of Molo and Jaro in the next 2010 elections in Iloilo City. They have been doing this since time immemorial, wahehehe!!! :D

^^ Can we really build high rises? I think the soil in Iloilo is quite clayish..

@NOng Space. Like the tinuom nga uong, tinuom nga manok, binakol, batchoy, seafood, etc etc. I think its title is "Ang Manamit..." something like that. I haven't got a chance to see the whole video yet but only parts of it.
that's nice. we have more to offer when it comes to food, nice and salacious local food products. Amo ina iya. Good for Iloilo's promotion indeed.

^^ Like they have to improve on our power situation first.

Speaking of power situations, I watched the news earlier stating that there would be a Public Forum to be organized by the Dep't of Enegry in Iloilo. It may be regarding to our power woes since there is a good ground for discussion between the coal and the renewable and how to mitigate the effects of increasing oil prices.

I think this is a spur of the Enegry Summit held last week at Manila.
good one. I hope after this summit we will come up with the idea of what to do and ACT NOW! We are wasting too much time and we wasted few already. Let's not wait for bloody decade to decide what's good for us. Losing all these times are losing opportunities for Iloilo to progress and improve and Ilonggos to find jobs and opportunities.

^^ If you are to invest big time then why not. But for engineers, Iloilo City's soil is one of the most difficult to construct high-rises due to its support capacity and high threat of liquefaction.

But for now, its safe to go mid-rise and low-rise.

technology is changing all the time. If they can build high rises in reclaimed area in Manila, why it is will be impossible in Iloilo? Other major cities build bigger infra projects in reclaimed land only ... just look at HongKong and other major cities in Asia. Best example I guess is Tokyo.

^^ I guess it's basically like Dubai's. So they have to spend a little more to build high rises here.

technology is changing all the time. If they can build high rises in reclaimed area in Manila, why it is will be impossible in Iloilo? Other major cities build bigger infra projects in reclaimed land only ... just look at HongKong and other major cities in Asia. Best example I guess is Tokyo.

Tokyo was never safe for high rises on the risks of earthquakes. I fear it would happen here. Anyhow, we don't need high rises as of the moment. :)

Princesa ng Banyera. Ang paboritong teleserye sa hapon ng masa. starred by Kristine Hermosa, TJ Trinidad, Ara Mina, Rafael Rossel IV, Jackilyn Jose. :D
Oh bless. So what about Iloilo in this teleserye? Is it based in Iloilo?

Speaking of Molo and Jaro, I'm seeing the battle of Molo and Jaro in the next 2010 elections in Iloilo City. They have been doing this since time immemorial, wahehehe!!! :D
two of the greatest districts of Iloilo when it comes to politics and influences. We'll see. Although I love Jaro that much, I bent to support the one coming from Molo, IMO. he he he.

Tokyo was never safe for high rises on the risks of earthquakes. I fear it would happen here. Anyhow, we don't need high rises as of the moment. :)
But it's all high rise in Tokyo. That's the beauty of technology.
Same thing with coal plant. We used to believe how awful it was, but technology change the system and we have to accept change if we want to move on.

^^ I guess it's basically like Dubai's. So they have to spend a little more to build high rises here.
there you go. Another big example IMO. Technology will influence a lot of things in the future. Things that we never dreamt to happen in the past. :)

technology is changing all the time. If they can build high rises in reclaimed area in Manila, why it is will be impossible in Iloilo? Other major cities build bigger infra projects in reclaimed land only ... just look at HongKong and other major cities in Asia. Best example I guess is Tokyo.

But better look at Kobe as well. The city was heavily damaged even for a technologically-advanced Japan. Manila's stability is also in question since they haven't been hit by a hard earthquake since the 19th Century.

The essence here is budget. If you give an engineer a budget like a hundred million pesos, it will only give you either mid-rise or low-rise buildings. Give him more, and he will pile drive even more.

The bedrock in Iloilo City is several feet deep compared to Manila's where it is surrounded by volcanoes and adobe rocks.

Iloilo's scenario is quite unique on its own. Given the local money that we shell out for investing into infrastructures, it will be safe to say mid-rise or low-rise. We receive earthquakes from time to time. If you want to build high-rises in reclaimed and unstable land, you will have to shell out even more, which what I see in Iloilo, isn't. Another one, since space is not running out in the city, why go high-rise if we can go wide?

Its not the question of technology here, its the question of limitations of the soil and budget. Sometimes, we humans have to bind ourselves with mother nature.

For engineers, Iloilo City is very unstable for high-rise. What we need is a multi-million dollar investment for us to attain a high-rise building in Iloilo.

i rather go horizontally at present to mid-rise until it covers the whole metro towns. There's still a wide space available for developments in Iloilo. But in saying this, I just would like to emphasized that there's no hindrance if anyone wishes to build a scraper in Iloilo as technology is supporting it now.

^^ Lovely point. Plus, Iloilo isn't that ugly without high rises. If you happen to see Iloilo when you're riding a plane at night, you will really GO WOW! It really is very very beauiful. :)

i rather go horizontally at present to mid-rise until it covers the whole metro towns. There's still a wide space available for developments in Iloilo. But in saying this, I just would like to emphasized that there's no hindrance if anyone wishes to build a scraper in Iloilo as technology is supporting it now.

I doubt technology can overcome mother nature. :lol: Earthquakes can easily topple objects.

One advantage GMA has over ABSCBN is the signal. Beyond Janiuay I think, it'll be difficult to get ABSCBN TV-10 Iloilo's signal unlike GMA which spans from Negros to Capiz.

This is one thing ABSCBN has to realize.

Regarding its 2nd home for GMA, they just treat other GMAs outside MM like the same...they only have 3 stations that have TV studios...Iloilo, Cebu and Davao. And because of the AGB Ratings controversy, both stations are bent on promoting regionalwide. Outside Manila. :D
that's the thing ABS needs to look at with. If ABS wants the biggest portion of the pie, then they need to do something to increase their capacity in Iloilo. Simple as that. :)

So GMA studios are just located in Manila, Iloilo, Cebu and Davao? Hmmm .. quite interesting. :)

Order na bala sang Iloilo: A Rich and Noble Land. And you'll see there the hidden message of the Lopezes in that book. Or sa intro pa lang, ara na, hehehe!!! :D
I already did. I'm just waiting to arrive in my doorsteps na lang. he he he. Iloilo is indded a Rich and Noble Land.

Viva La Muy Leal y Noble Ciudad de Iloilo ! :banana::banana::banana:

i rather go horizontally at present to mid-rise until it covers the whole metro towns. There's still a wide space available for developments in Iloilo. But in saying this, I just would like to emphasized that there's no hindrance if anyone wishes to build a scraper in Iloilo as technology is supporting it now.

Technology is not a question here. The question is budget and limitations. Someone must be willing to invest for constructing a high-rise building in Iloilo City...and they have to shell out millions of dollars for it.

Constructing a high-rise is not that as easy as Makati or Cebu which sits on adobe. Manila has lesser skyscrapers than Ortigas and Makati because also of the limitation of strength of the soil.

Because in engineering, the deeper the bedrock is, the more it is costly to construct one.

^^ Anyhow, probably in Pavia, they can support high rises :)

^^ Lovely point. Plus, Iloilo isn't that ugly without high rises. If you happen to see Iloilo when you're riding a plane at night, you will really GO WOW! It really is very very beauiful. :)
Iloilo is beautiful, with or without high-rises. It's given. What can we do? he he he he. I loved looking at Iloilo's skyline. Indeed, it's beautiful and unique. I think I'm just visiting another European city whenever I see Iloilo from the plane.

that's the thing ABS needs to look at with. If ABS wants the biggest portion of the pie, then they need to do something to increase their capacity in Iloilo. Simple as that. :)

So GMA studios are just located in Manila, Iloilo, Cebu and Davao? Hmmm .. quite interesting. :)


Same old same old for ABSCBN. They have been expecting for an upgrade (nga ara pa sila sa Lopez lot ha) from Geny Lopez but again family politics.

GMA Studios are in MNL, ILO, CEB and DVO as of this moment, but they do have relay stations for almost every corner of the country.

Iloilo is beautiful, with or without high-rises. It's given. What can we do? he he he he. I loved looking at Iloilo's skyline. Indeed, it's beautiful and unique. I think I'm just visiting another European city whenever I see Iloilo from the plane.

It is a European City, only a bit --- errr --- dirtier..:lol:

Technology is not a question here. The question is budget and limitations. Someone must be willing to invest for constructing a high-rise building in Iloilo City...and they have to shell out millions of dollars for it.

Constructing a high-rise is not that as easy as Makati or Cebu which sits on adobe. Manila has lesser skyscrapers than Ortigas and Makati because also of the limitation of strength of the soil.

Because in engineering, the deeper the bedrock is, the more it is costly to construct one.
who knows? One day, one developer will start putting up a high rise in Iloilo. I'm sure, when it started, may masunod gid. But for now, I would prefer to see horizontal developments. I would like to see metro towns looking like a city before Iloilo City having skyscrapers. Right now, we are filling up Pavia, Sta Barbara, Oton, Leganes and San Miguel with developments to complement with Iloilo. Maybe if these towns are well-saturated na, then we can consider high rises.

Same old same old for ABSCBN. They have been expecting for an upgrade (nga ara pa sila sa Lopez lot ha) from Geny Lopez but again family politics.

GMA Studios are in MNL, ILO, CEB and DVO as of this moment, but they do have relay stations for almost every corner of the country.

Only four? IMO, they should expand to CDO for northern Mindanao, to Zamboanga for Western Mindanao, to Laoag for Northern Luzon, to Lucena to Southern Luzon and Tacloban for Eastern Visayas.

It is a European City, only a bit --- errr --- dirtier..:lol:
not all European cities are clean. Mas madamo pa mahigko diri. But of course, wala lang gina-mention ina. It's not part of promotion kumbaga. Isa pa, makahalit pa ina sa ila tourism industry. And you know naman kung ano ka-importante ang tourism sa Europe.

who knows? One day, one developer will start putting up a high rise in Iloilo. I'm sure, when it started, may masunod gid. But for now, I would prefer to see horizontal developments. I would like to see metro towns looking like a city before Iloilo City having skyscrapers. Right now, we are filling up Pavia, Sta Barbara, Oton, Leganes and San Miguel with developments to complement with Iloilo. Maybe if these towns are well-saturated na, then we can consider high rises.

Aww, I miss Lazuriaga. The Legend Hotel, the Iloilo Corporate Tower, the closest we have to having highrises :(

I wonder if when will Medicus finish their plans, and if RLC will still build the 16 storey hotel.

It is a European City, only a bit --- errr --- dirtier..:lol:

Hay korekek. We need to clean up our acts and not just with giving awards.

Anyway, Calajunan Sanitary Landfill underway.


who knows? One day, one developer will start putting up a high rise in Iloilo. I'm sure, when it started, may masunod gid. But for now, I would prefer to see horizontal developments. I would like to see metro towns looking like a city before Iloilo City having skyscrapers. Right now, we are filling up Pavia, Sta Barbara, Oton, Leganes and San Miguel with developments to complement with Iloilo. Maybe if these towns are well-saturated na, then we can consider high rises.

But that would be sometime in the future that is. Megaworld is even planning for a low and mid-rise buildings being constructed for the airport site. Iloilo City may be crowded but not yet saturated.

Only four? IMO, they should expand to CDO for northern Mindanao, to Zamboanga for Western Mindanao, to Laoag for Northern Luzon, to Lucena to Southern Luzon and Tacloban for Eastern Visayas.
Oh bless our souls. They're quite picky, aren't they? Well, no comment as of this moment.

Same old same old for ABSCBN. They have been expecting for an upgrade (nga ara pa sila sa Lopez lot ha) from Geny Lopez but again family politics.

GMA Studios are in MNL, ILO, CEB and DVO as of this moment, but they do have relay stations for almost every corner of the country.
We'll see what developments ABS CBN will do to improve their Iloilo Studio. Looks like Lopezes are full surprises these past few days. he he he

Oh bless our souls. They're quite picky, aren't they? Well, no comment as of this moment.


We'll see what developments ABS CBN will do to improve their Iloilo Studio. Looks like Lopezes are full surprises these past few days. he he he

Definitely NO COMMENT on the locations of GMA as of now considering they show a patten? :lol: I like this. :lol:

Yes and I wish ABS too will improve their TV camera quality. It looks old and dusty in TV

Aww, I miss Lazuriaga. The Legend Hotel, the Iloilo Corporate Tower, the closest we have to having highrises :(

I wonder if when will Medicus finish their plans, and if RLC will still build the 16 storey hotel.
we'll wait. he he he. Who knows? :)

Hay korekek. We need to clean up our acts and not just with giving awards.

Anyway, Calajunan Sanitary Landfill underway.
good. Calajunan Sanitary Landfill is another good project of Iloilo for its waste management. Amo ini nga proyekto ang dapat suportahan ta. Well done.

But that would be sometime in the future that is. Megaworld is even planning for a low and mid-rise buildings being constructed for the airport site. Iloilo City may be crowded but not yet saturated.
That's okay. I'm more exciting sa Theme Park sang Megaworld compare sa lowrise, medrise buildings. I would love to stroll and meet Dagoy sa theme park sang Megaworld. Imagine mascot of Dinagyang giving entertainment sa mga visitors, tourists and guests. Patok gid ini iya sa mga bata kag batang isip. he he he

Hay korekek. We need to clean up our acts and not just with giving awards.

Anyway, Calajunan Sanitary Landfill underway.




But that would be sometime in the future that is. Megaworld is even planning for a low and mid-rise buildings being constructed for the airport site. Iloilo City may be crowded but not yet saturated.


Regarding the Landfll, still looks the same. I wonder what's their plan..

we'll wait. he he he. Who knows? :)


good. Calajunan Sanitary Landfill is another good project of Iloilo for its waste management. Amo ini nga proyekto ang dapat suportahan ta. Well done.


That's okay. I'm more exciting sa Theme Park sang Megaworld compare sa lowrise, medrise buildings. I would love to stroll and meet Dagoy sa theme park sang Megaworld. Imagine mascot of Dinagyang giving entertainment sa mga visitors, tourists and guests. Patok gid ini iya sa mga bata kag batang isip. he he he

I would have loved it if the theme park was built outside the city or in metro areas so they could expand more, similar to HK Disneyland.

^^ Hehehe!!! But until today, Megaworld hasn't released their plans for Iloilo yet. Haven't spoken with Sir Butch Peñalosa lately.

Anyway, if I haven't lost my digicam, it has the pix of the ABSCBN Studios in Iloilo. All I have is this:

http://images.habagatcentral.multiply.com/image/2/photos/85/500x500/23/IMGP0889.JPG?et=mbv0KQkGMQmkN06xvPJRUA&nmid=62711285
ABSCBN Iloilo meets ABSCBN Cebu.... Tan-awa na lang sa now.abs-cbn.com sa regional TV Patrol Iloilo and Cebu and I'm sure you'll gonna see them. :D

I would have loved it if the theme park was built outside the city or in metro areas so they could expand more, similar to HK Disneyland.

IF theme parks are feasible. Maybe a small park will do for now. Later we can just expand it. HK Disneyland is purpotratedly not earning well.

Anyway, wanna share something:
http://images.habagatcentral.multiply.com/image/6/photos/127/500x500/63/ILED65.jpg?et=qJBJo23Zu5R4CSfd%2ChmSBw&nmid=69932625

That's right. I'm so sad for Disney HongKong. We'll Disney Tokyo and Disney Europe-Paris are doing well especially summer. Pero who know, Disney HongKong will pick up man. Disney Paris okay lang kung summer otherwise, it's also losing. I would rather be here enjoying great rides in Legoland, Thorpe Park, Alton Towers and the biggest one in Blackpool in UK. Mas manami pa. he he he.

But rally, I'm a theme park enthusiast. That's why I love Megaworld's plan to build one in Iloilo City. :banana::banana::banana::banana:

IF theme parks are feasible. Maybe a small park will do for now. Later we can just expand it. HK Disneyland is purpotratedly not earning well.

huh? There's lots of people when I went there. And it wasn't peak season.:lol:

And last year's pictures of the Chinese New Year festivities in Iloilo City:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100451.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100446.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100431.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100426.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100422.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100409.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100414.jpg

^^So many people!

Anyways, why is it that Iloilo CBD was not considered officially as a Chinatown? I mean, only MNL and DVO has them.

The city did. But it's more of just a Chinatown, it's a Chinese Cultural and Heritage Center, I guess. Pangitaon ko karon ang bill nga gin-pass claming the three streets as Iloilo Chinatown.

^^ Iznart, MH del Pilar and Valeria are the thee China town streets,tama ba?

JM Basa, Iznart and Aldeguer Sts. Forming the Calle Real Core CBD.

-----------------------
Anyway, don't you think we're getting too much threads already? I mean we can promote our Chinese New Year here in this thread without making a new one. Dinagyang and Paraw are fine but the Chinese New Year is a different thing. Its being celebrated worldwide as long as there is a Chinese community or a Chinese family. its quite difficult to navigate from one place to another. We prefer to be streamlined and simple.

I oppose the opening of the new thread dedicated to Iloilo's celebration of Chinese New Year.

Anyhow, change topic..:)

Are hotels fully booked this Valentine's Day? :lol:

That gives me an idea. With the number of tourists in Iloilo durng this time,why not make an attraction for Valentine's like Lovapalooza :)

JM Basa, Iznart and Aldeguer Sts. Forming the Calle Real Core CBD.

-----------------------
Anyway, don't you think we're getting too much threads already? I mean we can promote our Chinese New Year here in this thread without making a new one. Dinagyang and Paraw are fine but the Chinese New Year is a different thing. Its being celebrated worldwide as long as there is a Chinese community or a Chinese family. its quite difficult to navigate from one place to another. We prefer to be streamlined and simple.

I oppose the opening of the new thread dedicated to Iloilo's celebration of Chinese New Year.
that's a variety, Bernie. If you don't want to visit some other Iloilo threads and focused in Iloilo Main thread alone, that's fine. Other new threads are great alternatives IMO. There's no harm focusing in Iloilo Main thread alone if that will make you happy. Cheers. :)

Anyhow, change topic..:)

Are hotels fully booked this Valentine's Day? :lol:

That gives me an idea. With the number of tourists in Iloilo durng this time,why not make an attraction for Valentine's like Lovapalooza :)
what is it all about, IloiloCityKid? :)

that's a variety, Bernie. If you don't want to visit some other Iloilo threads and focused in Iloilo Main thread alone, that's fine. Other new threads are great alternatives IMO. There's no harm focusing in Iloilo Main thread alone if that will make you happy. Cheers. :)

Thread utilization IMO is another issue. While other cities are fine with only just a few, we're getting too many. Don't you think we're getting hyped over with these festivals or events and create a new thread just for one festival which is not even a big event as Dinagyang?

Please read my PM.

what is it all about, IloiloCityKid? :)

Lovapalooza = BIG Kissing Event. :lol:

But it's all high rise in Tokyo. That's the beauty of technology.
Same thing with coal plant. We used to believe how awful it was, but technology change the system and we have to accept change if we want to move on.

Wall Street Shows Skepticism Over Coal
Banks Push Utilities To Plan for Impact Of Emissions Caps
By JEFFREY BALL

Wall Street Journal
February 4, 2008

Three of Wall Street's biggest investment banks are set to announce today that they are imposing new environmental standards that will make it harder for companies to get financing to build coal-fired power plants in the U.S.

Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley say they have concluded that the U.S. government will cap greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants sometime in the next few years. The banks will require utilities seeking financing for plants before then to prove the plants will be economically viable even under potentially stringent federal caps on carbon dioxide, the main man-made greenhouse gas.

(end of quote)

. . . and these banks just happened to be some of the biggest in the US

Thread utilization IMO is another issue. While other cities are fine with only just a few, we're getting too many. Don't you think we're getting hyped over with these festivals or events and create a new thread just for one festival which is not even a big event as Dinagyang?

Please read my PM.
I've already sent you my answer. And basically it will be the same.
Again, visiting threads and posting on them is a matter of choice. If the thread does not interest you, just skip it. As simple as that.

I can't comment much about other cities you are talking about as I haven't been or read other cities thread at all.

Cheers.

Lovapalooza = BIG Kissing Event. :lol:
very exciting. he he he

Wall Street Shows Skepticism Over Coal
Banks Push Utilities To Plan for Impact Of Emissions Caps
By JEFFREY BALL

Wall Street Journal
February 4, 2008

Three of Wall Street's biggest investment banks are set to announce today that they are imposing new environmental standards that will make it harder for companies to get financing to build coal-fired power plants in the U.S.

Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley say they have concluded that the U.S. government will cap greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants sometime in the next few years. The banks will require utilities seeking financing for plants before then to prove the plants will be economically viable even under potentially stringent federal caps on carbon dioxide, the main man-made greenhouse gas.

(end of quote)

. . . and these banks just happened to be some of the biggest in the US

Thanks for posting this but will this be applicable in our setting?

Wall Street Shows Skepticism Over Coal
Banks Push Utilities To Plan for Impact Of Emissions Caps
By JEFFREY BALL


Nong Melvin,

Have you been informed about the public forum that will be organized by DOE? I really want to hear the 2 sides, the coal and the renewable and how they can convince the Ilonggos about their stands.

^^^^ that's Wall Street and America has enough energy probably for than 2 to 3 decades pa before they'll start experiencing power problem. Unless they are experiencing the same problem as Iloilo NOW, maybe they can change their mind. Now, they have the option as they still have enough time to think about it. Do we have ample of time (for decades) to think how to solve energy problem in Iloilo? I hope we will be realistic though.

Actually, I was thinking...fter PNOC's expiration of contract in Palinpinon, FirstGas will be the one operating it, as it was mentioned by the news articles. And as Oscar Lopez promised, they will give its energy potential for Negros but majority to Iloilo. This is geothermal and this is cheap.

The thing is, it'll be at 2010 pa, same with the coal power plant being online also by 2010.

If we can convince PECO to go geothermal as baseload or whatever term it may be, it might just bring down the cost of electricity in Iloilo since its cheaper.

These things I've heard in one of the people of the Cathedral. ;)

And as of this time of writing, TRANSCO is uprating the CNP (Cebu-Negros-Panay) Grid. For only a period of 3 months.

I'm just hoping that the Lopezes are so eager to invest in geothermal energy and have it tapped for Iloilo...because its so much reliable and cheap too.

High impact Western Visayas tourism projects gear up
by T. Villavert

Iloilo City (7 February) -- Three quality infrastructure projects in Western Visayas are on track to be completed on schedule or before year 2010.

This was assured by Director Rolando Asis of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Region 6 in his report to DPWH Secretary Hermogenes E. Ebdane, Jr., noting that the projects when completed will boost the tourism industry of Western Visayas.

"These three road network projects would not only improve accessibility to major tourist areas in the region but will also improve the region's socio-economic condition, for it will open employment and investment opportunities," Director Asis said.

The three high impact projects are: the P548 Million-worth road widening project from Iloilo City to the new Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan; P676 Million Metro Iloilo Radial Road and the P453 Million Pandan-Libertad Road ending up to the boundary of Antique and Aklan Province.

Meanwhile, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said that "to keep our economy resilient to major economic disruptions, we have ordered a surge in infrastructure spending- P200 billion from the national government, government corporations and local governments; three thousand kilometers of roads and 10,000 school buildings- these are firewall against the world volatility and as springboard for further growth".

"The good news for the Philippines is that we have matured and diversified our economy so much the last few years that our economic turnaround is permanent and our economy resilient to major economic disruptions," the President said. (PIA)

^^ Hehehe!!! But until today, Megaworld hasn't released their plans for Iloilo yet. Haven't spoken with Sir Butch Peñalosa lately.

Anyway, if I haven't lost my digicam, it has the pix of the ABSCBN Studios in Iloilo. All I have is this:

http://images.habagatcentral.multiply.com/image/2/photos/85/500x500/23/IMGP0889.JPG?et=mbv0KQkGMQmkN06xvPJRUA&nmid=62711285
ABSCBN Iloilo meets ABSCBN Cebu.... Tan-awa na lang sa now.abs-cbn.com sa regional TV Patrol Iloilo and Cebu and I'm sure you'll gonna see them. :D

NAN, Patrol sang Ilonggo!

Abilidad nga labaw sa tanan!!!

Miss ya, maninay...

saw some portion of Prinsesa ng banyera...they shot on location in Iloilo like sa Molo church and they also shot some scenes at Ted's Lapaz Batchoy(hungitay batchoy sang Ted's kag kaon sila puto hehehe)

Actually, I was thinking...fter PNOC's expiration of contract in Palinpinon, FirstGas will be the one operating it, as it was mentioned by the news articles. And as Oscar Lopez promised, they will give its energy potential for Negros but majority to Iloilo. This is geothermal and this is cheap.

The thing is, it'll be at 2010 pa, same with the coal power plant being online also by 2010.

If we can convince PECO to go geothermal as baseload or whatever term it may be, it might just bring down the cost of electricity in Iloilo since its cheaper.

These things I've heard in one of the people of the Cathedral. ;)

And as of this time of writing, TRANSCO is uprating the CNP (Cebu-Negros-Panay) Grid. For only a period of 3 months.

I'm just hoping that the Lopezes are so eager to invest in geothermal energy and have it tapped for Iloilo...because its so much reliable and cheap too.
for sure ni? Kay basi sumala ang arsobispo, mahambalan pa siya nga butigon. Really, why are we so keen to tap energy from other areas of the country kung puwede man lang kita makahimo sang aton. It's really funny nga pirmi lang ta gaasa sa iban. And kung mag-brownout, hambalon lang ta nga nautod or may problema sa cable. This is utterly ridiculous already and it is not funny anymore. At the end of the day, ato kita iya nakapang-laghap ta sa iban nga probinsiya begging to suplly our power in Iloilo City. Is this reliable? Is this sustainable? Man mabuwisit ka man sang patay ka brown out.

To say the least, dapat sang mga renewable supporters, mangita man sang investors and present sa ciudad. Ang mga tawo diri sa sagwa kapoy na mamati sang reklamo kay kung puro reklamo, wala tupa. Dapat kung mag-reklamo may ihatag sila nga alternatives. And so far, hasta subong wala guid. Maayo bala ina nga serbisyo publiko? Indi. For me, bullshit inang bagay nga ina kay wala ina kinalain sa pulitiko nga naga-promisa nga wala naga-tupa. Kung wala man lang sang maayo nga ihambal, pahigad-higad na lang palihog kay biskan sin-o madula-an sang respeto sa bagay nga ini. **** lang. Salamat.

And last year's pictures of the Chinese New Year festivities in Iloilo City:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100451.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100446.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100431.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100426.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100422.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100409.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h291/berniemacksouthcentral/Iloilo%20and%20Negros/P1100414.jpg
masakit man sa mata ang colour sining mga letraot mo Bernie ba? :lol::lol: Pamatyagan ko daw ga-selebrar man ko Chinses new year di.

By the way, yesterday Ash Wednesday gali? Nalipat ako iya. Nabal-an ko lang sang ang amon Irish doctor may marka cross sa ila ulo. Ang isa namon ka-upod tapos niya lang kaon baboy kag karne. hahahahahaha. Sakit tiyan ko kadlaw kahapon. Maayo lang kay manok lang nadakpan ko sang pag-panyaga ko sa canteeen.

not all European cities are clean. Mas madamo pa mahigko diri. But of course, wala lang gina-mention ina. It's not part of promotion kumbaga. Isa pa, makahalit pa ina sa ila tourism industry. And you know naman kung ano ka-importante ang tourism sa Europe.
I agree guid migs. Kadamo diri mahigko nga ciudad kapin sa sa mga madalum-dalom nga ciudad sang Europa? Ay abaw! Pero sa tourism, indi man magpa-pierde. Sa promotion pa lang nga daan daw halos ma-mangha ka na sa kanami-on niya pero pag-abot mo ahay, wala man.

Iloilo is beautiful, with or without high-rises. It's given. What can we do? he he he he. I loved looking at Iloilo's skyline. Indeed, it's beautiful and unique. I think I'm just visiting another European city whenever I see Iloilo from the plane.

technology is changing all the time. If they can build high rises in reclaimed area in Manila, why it is will be impossible in Iloilo? Other major cities build bigger infra projects in reclaimed land only ... just look at HongKong and other major cities in Asia. Best example I guess is Tokyo.

i rather go horizontally at present to mid-rise until it covers the whole metro towns. There's still a wide space available for developments in Iloilo. But in saying this, I just would like to emphasized that there's no hindrance if anyone wishes to build a scraper in Iloilo as technology is supporting it now.
i will also say the same as you. We need to develop areas outside Iloilo City first before thinking on going vertical development. There's still vast areas around the metro that needs more improvement and development. Let's just leave the scrapers to the investors themselves. If they are willing to invest bigger amount to fund scrapers in the city, then well and good. Otherwise, the primary focus of Iloilo City should go hand-in-hand with MIGEDC vision, too. It's not all about Iloilo City only, it's for the whole MIG region.

very nice developments in Pavia. Space, tani indi ka malasawan. Man firm believer ka guid bal-an ko sang Sta Barbara. Tan-awa, gahipos lang ang Pavia pero daw damo sila upcomings haw? :lol::lol::lol:

Study finds Iloilo City attractive to call center business
By Maricar M. Calubiran

Iloilo City is one of the cities in the country identified as "hot spot area" for business process outsourcing (BPO) or call centers as reflected in a multi-million dollar study funded by the Association of Call Centers in the Philippines. The city is in the league of Metro Manila and Cebu City.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said he was informed by officials of the Diversified Technology Solutions International Inc. (DTSI) regarding the result of the study. He believes the study was done extensively as the funding cost reached 1.5 million US dollars. The same study was purposely conducted to check the viability of call center business and the availability of workers as well as the infrastructure.

DTSI is a leading onshore and offshore systems integrator and technology solutions and services provider. They have offices in the United States and Asia. In Iloilo City, DTSI leased the second floor of the Amigo Terrace Hotel for a call center business, initially, with 80 seats.

Treñas said a copy of the study that was compiled into a book costs $US500. He is trying to get a free copy of the book from Mitch Locsin, an Ilonggo who has been part of the group that made the study on the call centers in the Philippines.

According to the study, Iloilo has qualified graduates fitted to work in the call center and has necessary infrastructure. The availability of fiber-optic communication is also one of the considerations of putting up a call center. The telecommunication companies operating in the city are using fiber-optics technology, said Treñas.

Fiber-optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending light through an optical fiber. The light forms an electromagnetic carrier wave that is modulated to carry information.

Treñas also congratulated the different universities and colleges in the city for producing quality graduates who are qualified to work as call center agents. The good education in the city makes Iloilo City stand out from the rest of the cities eyed for call center operations, Treñas said.

Based on the study, the city is capable of supplying 20,000 call center agents in the future operations of call centers other than those already operational. The city can give more than 20,000 call center agents with the improvement of educational system employed by different colleges and universities, said Treñas.

At present, three call centers are operating in Iloilo City creating employment to more than a thousand call center agents.

source: The News Today (http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/07/study.finds.iloilo.city.attractive.to.call.center.business.html)
actually, this study really makes Iloilo City more and more competitive for BPO investors. This will definitely bring considerable proposals of BPOs in Iloilo in the future.

that's nice. we have more to offer when it comes to food, nice and salacious local food products. Amo ina iya. Good for Iloilo's promotion indeed.


good one. I hope after this summit we will come up with the idea of what to do and ACT NOW! We are wasting too much time and we wasted few already. Let's not wait for bloody decade to decide what's good for us. Losing all these times are losing opportunities for Iloilo to progress and improve and Ilonggos to find jobs and opportunities.
not only time was wasted. Isabay mo na ang effort, energy and opportunities because of this concern. Ikaw bala indi ma-buwisit sini? :lol:

50 sailboats all set for Paraw Regatta

FIFTY sailboats will race on the Iloilo Strait Feb. 17 for the 36th Paraw Regatta. This year the regatta will start and end at the Tatoys Resort in Villa Beach.

The foundation is eyeing some P1.5 million to fund all the expenses and the proceeds will help in sending to college two scholars who are children of sailboat crew.

The sailboats are sorted into Category A (sailboats 16 feet and below) and Category B (sailboats 20 feet and above).

A total of P214,000 in prizes are in store for the winners. The prizes include P14,600, P9,600 and P7,200 for the top three Category A winners and P18,000, P14,400 and P12,000 for top three winners under Category B.

All finishing sailboats will receive P600 each and will participate in the raffle with prizes of rice, canned goods and gift certificates.

There will be several side events in this weeklong celebration Feb. 11-17.

Other special events are the selection of Miss Paraw Regatta, samba torch parade and performance, slalom, mini paraw sailing competition, pinta layag, beach football and volleyball, anglers competition, and the grand raffle.

This year’s celebration has the theme “Iloilo Paraw Regatta: Making a name, sailing high.”

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://thedailyguardian.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6090&Itemid=31)

Study: Iloilo a call center hotspot
By Jeehan V. Fernandez

A MILLION-dollar study said Iloilo City is one of the most-sought after location for call center investments.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said the report was made by Diversified Technology Solutions International (DTSI), a company preparing spaces for call centers.

DTSI has leased Amigo Mall, a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza)-accredited IT (Information Technology) Park which grants several tax incentives to investors.

“The DTSI study has a funding of US$1.5million and is selling at $500 per copy. We want to see that and I hope I could get a free copy. I am very happy to note that Iloilo City is considered a hotspot for call centers,” Treñas told reporters.

“DTSI has looked into several locations in the country, pool of graduates and necessary infrastructure for call center locators. Iloilo City could provide up to 20,000 call center agents,” the mayor explained.

The report also said that high-tech infrastructure are in place in the city with the presence of key telecom players and fiber optics technology which involves faster data processing such as the ones used in internet and cable TV.

Next to Manila and Cebu, Treñas said Iloilo was identified as “the best place” to host favorable business climate for call centers.

“I commend the schools here as it only shows a good education system, though we still have to improve,” said Treñas.

Iloilo City is considered the educational center of Western Visayas because of the presence of various universities, institutions and training centers. The strong educational sector churns out a big pool of human resources which attracts call center firms.

Although Treñas said that another concern is that if the energy situation here is not addressed, there’s a power supply shortage by 2010.

Stable electricity is vital for call centers which are operating round-the-clock.

Treñas said power companies have been planning measures on how to address reliable energy to complement fast developments in the metropolis.

He was referring to the proposed coal-fired power plant of Panay Power Corp. (PPC) and Global Business Power Corp. (Global Power).

“The city’s coal plant evaluation task force will assess environmental and health aspects of the project. After which, we will come up a recommendation whether to endorse it or not. We are open for all, but so far, there’s only one proponent,” Treñas clarified.

Several sectors have been protesting the coal plant project on grounds of environmental and health risks but the proponents have assured they will implement safety standards.

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://thedailyguardian.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6095&Itemid=31)

Study: Iloilo a call center hotspot
By Jeehan V. Fernandez

A MILLION-dollar study said Iloilo City is one of the most-sought after location for call center investments.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said the report was made by Diversified Technology Solutions International (DTSI), a company preparing spaces for call centers.

DTSI has leased Amigo Mall, a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza)-accredited IT (Information Technology) Park which grants several tax incentives to investors.

“The DTSI study has a funding of US$1.5million and is selling at $500 per copy. We want to see that and I hope I could get a free copy. I am very happy to note that Iloilo City is considered a hotspot for call centers,” Treñas told reporters.

“DTSI has looked into several locations in the country, pool of graduates and necessary infrastructure for call center locators. Iloilo City could provide up to 20,000 call center agents,” the mayor explained.

The report also said that high-tech infrastructure are in place in the city with the presence of key telecom players and fiber optics technology which involves faster data processing such as the ones used in internet and cable TV.

Next to Manila and Cebu, Treñas said Iloilo was identified as “the best place” to host favorable business climate for call centers.

“I commend the schools here as it only shows a good education system, though we still have to improve,” said Treñas.

Iloilo City is considered the educational center of Western Visayas because of the presence of various universities, institutions and training centers. The strong educational sector churns out a big pool of human resources which attracts call center firms.

Although Treñas said that another concern is that if the energy situation here is not addressed, there’s a power supply shortage by 2010.

Stable electricity is vital for call centers which are operating round-the-clock.

Treñas said power companies have been planning measures on how to address reliable energy to complement fast developments in the metropolis.

He was referring to the proposed coal-fired power plant of Panay Power Corp. (PPC) and Global Business Power Corp. (Global Power).

“The city’s coal plant evaluation task force will assess environmental and health aspects of the project. After which, we will come up a recommendation whether to endorse it or not. We are open for all, but so far, there’s only one proponent,” Treñas clarified.

Several sectors have been protesting the coal plant project on grounds of environmental and health risks but the proponents have assured they will implement safety standards.

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://thedailyguardian.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6095&Itemid=31)

Rotarians, engineers support coal power plant

MECHANICAL engineers and Rotarians are also pinning their hopes for cheap and quality electricity on the proposed coal-fired power plant in Iloilo City.

The Rotary Club of Iloilo (RCI) and the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers (PSME)-Panay passed separate resolutions endorsing the construction of a coal-fired power plant in the city.

The RCI said experts on renewable energy sources they invited to regular meetings “easily identified coal fossil as readily available and extensively used as fuel for power generation in most developed countries.”

Citing the reports of its own members who studied and observed coal-fired power plants, the RCI said “coal fuel utilizing new technologies in power generation will meet the cost, safety and can be constructed in (a) short period of time in Iloilo City.”

“The debate on other alternative sources of fuel other than coal dragged for quite a time without a credible proponent that signified intent to provide additional capacity within the reasonable period,” the RCI said.

The club said “only one proponent and service investor of additional power generator had offered an affordable and safe coal-fired plant” which is Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC).

“The RCI endorses and supports GBPC to undertake the project as no credible investors offered to provide the much-needed additional electricity within the reasonable period of time,” the Rotary resolution said.

PSME-Panay members said they are supporting the project because many of them “have been experiencing and suffered for many years with inadequate, unreliable and expensive electricity.”

The PSME also said that the Philippines and Panay Island must be independent from imported oil.

With the ongoing oil crisis in the world market, the PSME said there is a need to maximize available local fuel resources in the country, particularly coal.

The PSME said they support the projects that will construct safe and affordable coal-fired power plants. They prefer that the plant will be constructed in Iloilo City “to reduce power cost and increase the power supply independency in Iloilo City.”

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://thedailyguardian.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6092&Itemid=2)

Rotarians, engineers support coal power plant

MECHANICAL engineers and Rotarians are also pinning their hopes for cheap and quality electricity on the proposed coal-fired power plant in Iloilo City.

The Rotary Club of Iloilo (RCI) and the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers (PSME)-Panay passed separate resolutions endorsing the construction of a coal-fired power plant in the city.

The RCI said experts on renewable energy sources they invited to regular meetings “easily identified coal fossil as readily available and extensively used as fuel for power generation in most developed countries.”

Citing the reports of its own members who studied and observed coal-fired power plants, the RCI said “coal fuel utilizing new technologies in power generation will meet the cost, safety and can be constructed in (a) short period of time in Iloilo City.”

“The debate on other alternative sources of fuel other than coal dragged for quite a time without a credible proponent that signified intent to provide additional capacity within the reasonable period,” the RCI said.

The club said “only one proponent and service investor of additional power generator had offered an affordable and safe coal-fired plant” which is Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC).

“The RCI endorses and supports GBPC to undertake the project as no credible investors offered to provide the much-needed additional electricity within the reasonable period of time,” the Rotary resolution said.

PSME-Panay members said they are supporting the project because many of them “have been experiencing and suffered for many years with inadequate, unreliable and expensive electricity.”

The PSME also said that the Philippines and Panay Island must be independent from imported oil.

With the ongoing oil crisis in the world market, the PSME said there is a need to maximize available local fuel resources in the country, particularly coal.

The PSME said they support the projects that will construct safe and affordable coal-fired power plants. They prefer that the plant will be constructed in Iloilo City “to reduce power cost and increase the power supply independency in Iloilo City.”

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://thedailyguardian.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6092&Itemid=2)

saw some portion of Prinsesa ng banyera...they shot on location in Iloilo like sa Molo church and they also shot some scenes at Ted's Lapaz Batchoy(hungitay batchoy sang Ted's kag kaon sila puto hehehe)
that's really nice. At least lots of filming were happening in our city lately. It's for promotion and awareness purposes IMO.

for sure ni? Kay basi sumala ang arsobispo, mahambalan pa siya nga butigon. Really, why are we so keen to tap energy from other areas of the country kung puwede man lang kita makahimo sang aton. It's really funny nga pirmi lang ta gaasa sa iban. And kung mag-brownout, hambalon lang ta nga nautod or may problema sa cable. This is utterly ridiculous already and it is not funny anymore. At the end of the day, ato kita iya nakapang-laghap ta sa iban nga probinsiya begging to suplly our power in Iloilo City. Is this reliable? Is this sustainable? Man mabuwisit ka man sang patay ka brown out.

To say the least, dapat sang mga renewable supporters, mangita man sang investors and present sa ciudad. Ang mga tawo diri sa sagwa kapoy na mamati sang reklamo kay kung puro reklamo, wala tupa. Dapat kung mag-reklamo may ihatag sila nga alternatives. And so far, hasta subong wala guid. Maayo bala ina nga serbisyo publiko? Indi. For me, bullshit inang bagay nga ina kay wala ina kinalain sa pulitiko nga naga-promisa nga wala naga-tupa. Kung wala man lang sang maayo nga ihambal, pahigad-higad na lang palihog kay biskan sin-o madula-an sang respeto sa bagay nga ini. **** lang. Salamat.
Just like here in UK. Whoever has the proposal should present not only the best alternatives but link on how to get investors or supporters IMO. That's the way it should be. It's not only walking the talk but proper public service. Anyhow, i don't think there's much to debate at present as there's no other alternative other than coal that is willing to invest additional power energy in Iloilo. I'm glad more and more agencies, organisations, etc are stepping out to proclaim their support act of erecting coal power plant in Iloilo City. Maybe then we can say the ball is definitely rolling.

Ano gani ang 4 questions sang Rotarians ah? :)

i will also say the same as you. We need to develop areas outside Iloilo City first before thinking on going vertical development. There's still vast areas around the metro that needs more improvement and development. Let's just leave the scrapers to the investors themselves. If they are willing to invest bigger amount to fund scrapers in the city, then well and good. Otherwise, the primary focus of Iloilo City should go hand-in-hand with MIGEDC vision, too. It's not all about Iloilo City only, it's for the whole MIG region.
we're not in a hurry. Pag meron, mas maganda. Pag wala, okay lang. The main focal point is making our local economy robust and competitive. If we can provide better jobs and opportunities for all Ilonggos, then that will be the best thing. Besides, scrapers are not the ultimate measurement of urbanity and bigger economy. I just look at London with only few scrapers, yet it the biggest financial centre of world. Maybe then, we can learn something about it, di ba?

I agree guid migs. Kadamo diri mahigko nga ciudad kapin sa sa mga madalum-dalom nga ciudad sang Europa? Ay abaw! Pero sa tourism, indi man magpa-pierde. Sa promotion pa lang nga daan daw halos ma-mangha ka na sa kanami-on niya pero pag-abot mo ahay, wala man.
we need aggressive promotion to improve our tourism. Every now and again. amo ini ang ginahambal sang mga tourism personnels. Promotion plays pivotal role in tourism industry. We're still lagging behind of our neighbouring Asian cities when it comes to promotion. I remembered once that Woe Philippines painted several black cabs taxis here in UK with their Wow Philippines Logo and lined them all in front of Harrods Shopping Center initially. Kanami tan-awon. I hope we can sustain such kind of promotion though it's bit expensive. Boracay gid ang bida sa to. he he he

^^ two of the best news this week. Question is, how can we make Iloilo more competitive and a choice for IT investors in the Philippines? How can we improve our services to these investors? Aside from brilliant and huge human resource available in Iloilo, what other factors Iloilo can offer to make these BPOs choose Iloilo for investments? How will this data affect Iloilo's competitiveness? And how will it affect Iloilo's booming IT industry?

not only time was wasted. Isabay mo na ang effort, energy and opportunities because of this concern. Ikaw bala indi ma-buwisit sini? :lol:
suffice to say, pissed off gid ko Noy eh. Ikaw man bala? But it's so wierd nga kita diri are so concerned about the loses of all these things pero ang ara sa Iloilo daw wala man sang nagahulag? I hope we will not go back sa dark ages sang ciudad where people just literally leave because no investors are willing to invest sa aton due to problems not being addressed immediately. Ang aton mga professionals ato na sa iban nga bahin sang Pinas or kalibutan man wala ulubrahan sa ciudad. Ti, maayo bala ini? Did we learn from our past mistakes? Well .....

Private-public partnership to improve MIWD mulled
By Maricar M. Calubiran

The infrastructure committee of the Regional Development Council (RDC) has endorsed a proposal for a Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility Support (PPIAFS) for the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD). The proposal came in after the World Bank expressed a positive response in giving a grant to conduct a feasibility study for an applicable model for a public and private partnership.

Mayor Jerry Treñas, chair of the RDC's infrastructure committee, said the feasibility study will enable the council to determine what model is good for the proposed public and private partnership for the local water system.

Treñas said the public and private partnership do not necessarily mean the privatization of the MIWD. This will signal a more efficient service and improvement of the water distribution in the city. The availability of water in the city, aside from power supply, is one of the things considered by prospective investors.

Earlier, Treñas hopes that the city's sole water utility would be privatized. He even sought the help of top officials of the Government Office for Corporate Council (GOCC) of his plan to privatize the water district.

Treñas also sought the help of the Sangguniang Panlungsod by approving a resolution favorably endorsing his plan to privatize the water district. However, nothing was heard from the committee which is tasked to study the proposal.

The proposed privatization of the MIWD is one of the mayor's priority project in his last term as city mayor. He expressed concerns over the two basic utilities -- the water and electricity. The insufficient water and power supply will drive away prospective investors in the city, he said.

source: The News Today (http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/07/private.public.partnership.to.improve.miwd.mulled.html)

Private-public partnership to improve MIWD mulled
By Maricar M. Calubiran

The infrastructure committee of the Regional Development Council (RDC) has endorsed a proposal for a Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility Support (PPIAFS) for the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD). The proposal came in after the World Bank expressed a positive response in giving a grant to conduct a feasibility study for an applicable model for a public and private partnership.

Mayor Jerry Treñas, chair of the RDC's infrastructure committee, said the feasibility study will enable the council to determine what model is good for the proposed public and private partnership for the local water system.

Treñas said the public and private partnership do not necessarily mean the privatization of the MIWD. This will signal a more efficient service and improvement of the water distribution in the city. The availability of water in the city, aside from power supply, is one of the things considered by prospective investors.

Earlier, Treñas hopes that the city's sole water utility would be privatized. He even sought the help of top officials of the Government Office for Corporate Council (GOCC) of his plan to privatize the water district.

Treñas also sought the help of the Sangguniang Panlungsod by approving a resolution favorably endorsing his plan to privatize the water district. However, nothing was heard from the committee which is tasked to study the proposal.

The proposed privatization of the MIWD is one of the mayor's priority project in his last term as city mayor. He expressed concerns over the two basic utilities -- the water and electricity. The insufficient water and power supply will drive away prospective investors in the city, he said.

source: The News Today (http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/07/private.public.partnership.to.improve.miwd.mulled.html)

Thanks. Either way, good for Pavia. :)



I think they should combine the festivals in one month because the other festivals aren't as popular. Kasadyahan, IMO, would not stand on its own for now. Its best to have it at another date if it's as popular as Paraw Regatta or Dinagyang. It's nice that Iloilo has Festivals going on at around the same dates. In just a month's time, tourists can have the full effect of the Ilonggo culture.

Amu ina nga indi masyado sikat ang Kasadyahan kay natabunan sang Dinagyang. Nagatago sa landong sang Dinagyang. Kumbaga sa pelikula, supporting lang ang kasadyahan sa bida nga Dinagyang. Gaan break ang Kasadyahan! Kag makita gid nga 95% sa Dinagyang naka-focus ang promotion & 5% lang gani siguro sa Kasadyahan or less pa. Kung lainon ang date sa Kasadyahan, magaan ini sang daku nga promotion.

Kag isa pa, it's not about popularity. Ang sa akon lang, nga tani every month may celebration para sadya. Kumbaga may theme each month.Observation ko, after january&february, daw kasubo kay wala na celebration...mahulat ka pa december para xmas and then january for dinagyang and so on.

isa pa, sa diin nagsugod ang Dinagyang?Chinese new year & paraw regatta?! indi man ini popular sang una.

for sure ni? Kay basi sumala ang arsobispo, mahambalan pa siya nga butigon. Really, why are we so keen to tap energy from other areas of the country kung puwede man lang kita makahimo sang aton. It's really funny nga pirmi lang ta gaasa sa iban. And kung mag-brownout, hambalon lang ta nga nautod or may problema sa cable. This is utterly ridiculous already and it is not funny anymore. At the end of the day, ato kita iya nakapang-laghap ta sa iban nga probinsiya begging to suplly our power in Iloilo City. Is this reliable? Is this sustainable? Man mabuwisit ka man sang patay ka brown out.

To say the least, dapat sang mga renewable supporters, mangita man sang investors and present sa ciudad. Ang mga tawo diri sa sagwa kapoy na mamati sang reklamo kay kung puro reklamo, wala tupa. Dapat kung mag-reklamo may ihatag sila nga alternatives. And so far, hasta subong wala guid. Maayo bala ina nga serbisyo publiko? Indi. For me, bullshit inang bagay nga ina kay wala ina kinalain sa pulitiko nga naga-promisa nga wala naga-tupa. Kung wala man lang sang maayo nga ihambal, pahigad-higad na lang palihog kay biskan sin-o madula-an sang respeto sa bagay nga ini. **** lang. Salamat.

Then action is a must and not words. Relying on another province is not a problem nor a question of pride and economically its not devastating. If it is indeed true and I really hope so since geothermal may bring down the price of electricity in Panay and Iloilo City especially. I'm not totally against coal power plant or so. Maybe by that time (2010), we need energy and increase our baseload. Again, we have to look also with the alternatives as well.

I mean look at Cebu's experience, bulk of the CNP energy from Leyte goes here yet still they construct coal power plants for the island's sustainability of economic growth since they wanted to be independent from Leyte's power. They have also problems with massive blackouts everytime Leyte is being hit by earthquakes. The advantage of theirs however is that they have a reliable and cheap source of energy. For residential I think VECO are charging P3.00+ something from its residents for the generation charge as compared to P8.00 to P10.00 charge of PECO. Majority of VECO's source comes from Leyte but I think they're mixing it also with the coal power plant in Naga town. That made them advantageous to the eyes of any investor.

If they can do that there, why can't it be here? We don't have to close our eyes that sometimes we have to rely on others for power from Negros or Leyte because geothermal energy may bring down the price of electricity that has been hampering the growth of the city. We can mix coal and geothermal at least just to have our electricity cheaper and reliable.

I think the DMCI at Concepcion is at works now. They may start whether there is a partner or none this February or March 2008 and will be online on mid-2010.

masakit man sa mata ang colour sining mga letraot mo Bernie ba? :lol::lol: Pamatyagan ko daw ga-selebrar man ko Chinses new year di.

Last year pa na. I'll be taking pix later but take note, it will not be as colourful as that because I'll be only using a camphone, hehehe!!! :D

that's really nice. At least lots of filming were happening in our city lately. It's for promotion and awareness purposes IMO.

And its not just the background, its the setting of the story that is Iloilo. Karon ara pa na nga sakpan na si Luningning sa atubang Museo Iloilo sang mga migo ko nga pulis. Bwahhahahaha!!!! :lol:

isa pa, sa diin nagsugod ang Dinagyang?Chinese new year & paraw regatta?! indi man ini popular sang una.

Promotion. Intense promotion to the point that they have to declare Ace Durano almost a persona non grata in 2005 but was prevented by Mayor Treñas out of diplomacy and negotiations. :D

we need aggressive promotion to improve our tourism. Every now and again. amo ini ang ginahambal sang mga tourism personnels. Promotion plays pivotal role in tourism industry. We're still lagging behind of our neighbouring Asian cities when it comes to promotion. I remembered once that Woe Philippines painted several black cabs taxis here in UK with their Wow Philippines Logo and lined them all in front of Harrods Shopping Center initially. Kanami tan-awon. I hope we can sustain such kind of promotion though it's bit expensive. Boracay gid ang bida sa to. he he he

Ok, here's the challenge for everyone including me:

Think about 10 Reasons Why should I go to Iloilo if I'm either a domestic or foreign tourist. What makes Iloilo differ from other destinations? What is simply unique and creates an aftertaste for any tourist that is Iloilo?

These questions are the basic fundamentals of tourism and promotion. How do we encourage not just tourists but investors as well to come here? :)

Amu ina nga indi masyado sikat ang Kasadyahan kay natabunan sang Dinagyang. Nagatago sa landong sang Dinagyang. Kumbaga sa pelikula, supporting lang ang kasadyahan sa bida nga Dinagyang. Gaan break ang Kasadyahan! Kag makita gid nga 95% sa Dinagyang naka-focus ang promotion & 5% lang gani siguro sa Kasadyahan or less pa. Kung lainon ang date sa Kasadyahan, magaan ini sang daku nga promotion.


Or I think the provincial towns of Iloilo will have its break by April. Hopefuly it pushes through.

Suggestion lang guys but its up to you. We'll be creating a new thread for all festivals in Iloilo City and Province. Shall we post all the festivals there including Dinagyang or shall we make Dinagyang stand on its own and merge Candelaria, Paraw, Chinese New Year & the festivals of the province? So that we don't have to transfer from one thread to another and have our threads have maximum usage instead of having a dead thread after the event. The thread will be all year round.

Agree ako berns.

That will be the permanent thread for our festivals.

Let's start merging all the festival threads. Open kamo sa pagsuggest kung ano ang pinakamayo nga title. For the meantime Berns will open the new thread and the moderator will merge related threads.

The moderator has megred Paraw Regatta and Chinese New Year threads and this is titled:

Fiesta Ilongga | The Festivals of Iloilo City and Province. (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=576038)

All festivals will be there yet the Dinagyang Festival thread will remain as is since it is already an institution. This is to integrate all the efforts of different towns and cities feasts and to fully utilize the thread.

February 8, 2008
Marco Sison to perform at Iloilo City hotel today (http://www.visayandailystar.com/2008/February/08/people.htm#people3)

Marco Sison, one of the country's greatest balladeers will hold his pre-Valentine concert today and tomorrow at the Aris café at Hotel del Rio, in Iloilo City , a press release from organizers said.

The quintessential vocalist's signature songs – My Love Will See You Through, Make Believe, I'll Face Tomorrow, and that quirky “Si Aida, si Lorna, o si Fe,” continue to be the favorite of many Filipinos.

His close to 24 years of singing has spanned 19 best-selling long play albums, performances in movies, television, and theater, and concerts have seasoned him into a sensitive, enduring performer, the press release said.

He was a soloist of the Philippine College of Commerce's Bagong Himig Choral Group in 1977 when he emerged as singing champion on the noontime TV program, Student Canteen. This title led to a regular stint on the show followed by a recording contract.

Through the years, Marco has top-billed countless solo shows and tandem performances with other leading artists on local shores and abroad. He is a regular topbiller in yearly Valentine dinner concerts in Manila 's fashionable hotels, the press release added.*

suffice to say, pissed off gid ko Noy eh. Ikaw man bala? But it's so wierd nga kita diri are so concerned about the loses of all these things pero ang ara sa Iloilo daw wala man sang nagahulag? I hope we will not go back sa dark ages sang ciudad where people just literally leave because no investors are willing to invest sa aton due to problems not being addressed immediately. Ang aton mga professionals ato na sa iban nga bahin sang Pinas or kalibutan man wala ulubrahan sa ciudad. Ti, maayo bala ini? Did we learn from our past mistakes? Well .....

Or did we? Actually we can do further but the question is when and how? How do we encourage the seemingly apathetic Ilonggo public regarding this? How do you encourage the Ilonggos to take part?

Katalaka gid man kag kis-a kakafrustrate kita mga "martir ilonggo" nga ila ginatawag kay wala man suporta sa ila, puro wakal! Subong wakal sa Malacanang about ZTE Broadband, sa Capitolyo ta, puro man wakal! Pati naman sa energy sector ta wakal kag mahadlok mag-risgo? Kon indi ta magrisgo, sa diin na ta puluton?

I watched Prinsesa ng Banyera awhile ago, I saw Manengneng (Kristine Hermosa ) sa tubang Iloilo Provincial Capitol. Sa Iloilo gali ang setting nila subong. Hehehe! First time ko nagwatch sining programa.

^^baw mayo eh noh...kagapon nagtan-aw ko sa gwa school sina while im waiting the barbecue i bought...nanamian pa ako sina magtan-aw kay may idol ako dira sa ila mong...subong nila gali pagwaon

^^^laban-laban si Ara Mina ang idol mo sugarfreak. hehehe!

^^hahah,,,layo-layo gid sa insakto bro...kaw hah lain-lain gid ya ang sa isip moh...damo subong festival ang iloilo bah,,,ga sunod-sunod lang...nami gali ang month nga january kag february noh,,,anyway basi mag battle of the month naman kita,,,basta ako yah september gid ah

mga peeps,

may ipa raffle ako nga Dinagyang2008 Photo book through my blog Byahilo. im still doing the final selection of the photos to be published. Promo valid for phil residents only.

hopefully by 1st week of march tapos na ini.

Hello eric. Let us know how to join in your raffle promo. Laban-laban may maangal gid diri kay indi sila maka-join sa raffle....hehehe! They can join pero papackage mo na lang sa ila i-charge.

Di bala, space? :D

^^eh kung sino man siya,,,malay mo matapang parin yan,,,kahit na napakalaki ni Eric

Korek ka dyan @lew. akon isa ka kopya maninay.

Foundation eyes P1.5 M budget for Paraw Regatta

By Maricar M. Calubiran

Iloilo Paraw Regatta Foundation Inc. (IPRFI) expects total donation of P1.5 million coming from local government units and corporate firms for this year's 36th Paraw Regatta Festival. The festival is slated on February 10-17, 2008 near the Tatoy's Manokan and Seafoods Restaurant in Arevalo district.

IPRFI chair Manuel Villa Jr. said the city government through Mayor Jerry Treñas donated P600,000 for the festival. The foundation is still waiting for additional donations from the Iloilo Provincial Government, San Miguel Corporation and Petron Corporation.

The foundation also received P100,000 donation from the Department of Tourism regional office through Director Edwin Trompeta.

Meanwhile, the foundation also a projected an expense of P1.3 million for the staging of the festival.

Iloilo's Paraw Regatta was named by the Association of Tourism Operators in the Philippines (Atop) as the third best festival in the country.

Villa said they have big dreams for a more successful Paraw Regatta festival this year though they have a limited budget.

IPRFI is sending two scholars at the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University out of its funds gained from previous years.

The foundation aims to accept additional scholars to take up maritime course and same time increase the privileges of the current two scholars. The foundation aims to give the foundation's scholars free books, lodging, uniforms and stipends, said Villa.

On the other hand, of the P1.3 million projected expenses, P214,000 is allocated for the cash prize of the winners in the paraw sailing competition, said Spike Barredo treasurer of IPRFI.

Barredo said the cash prizes for the winners in the Category A is P14,500, 2nd prize P9,600 and 3rd P7,200. While, the 1st prize winner for the Category B is P18,000; 2nd prize P14,400 and 3rd P12,000.

Category "A" will be for paraws with waterline length ranging from 16 feet and below, and strictly using indigenous materials. Category "B" are for outriggers having a waterline length of 16.1 feet up to 22 feet, with the hull strictly made of wood although the use of aluminum will be allowed.

The foundation is determined to have a grander and successful Paraw Regatta festival even if they have a limited budget.

Chinese New Year fireworks display tonight

By Maricar M. Calubiran

After the successful fireworks display held last Dinagyang festival, Ilonggos will once again witness a world-class pyrotechnics display at the Plazoleta Gay tonight as part of the Chinese New Year celebration.

Tonight's fireworks display may not be as grand as that of the Dinagyang festival but organizers promise a wonderful sight to see on night sky.

Before the fireworks display there will be a grand parade from the Iloilo Provincial Capitol Grounds to the Plazoleta Gay where a cultural show will be held. The Chinese New Year begins on February 7, 2008 but the Iloilo Chinese-Filipino Cultural Association set the grand celebration today. Consul General He Shi Jing of the Chinese Consulate of the People's Republic of China in Cebu takes part in today's affair as the special guest of the Chinese-Filipino community of Iloilo.

Traffic is expected to jam from the Iloilo Provincial Capitol to the Plazoleta Gay during the parade. While, the food festival will start as early as 1:00 p.m. until 12 midnight. The Iloilo Hotels Restaurants and Resorts Association (IHRRA) spearheads today's food festival.

It will showcase Chinese cuisines from known Chinese restaurants. The kiosk-renters are encouraged to serve and prepare authentic Chinese cuisines during the food festival. Restaurant that will serve the best Chinese cuisines and best kiosk adorn with Chinese trinkets will receive a P10,000 cash prize.

Today's activities cap the five-day Chinese New Year celebration that started last Tuesday with a cultural show at the Robinsons Place. The Iloilo Sun Yat Sen High School took care of the cultural show on the first day of the celebration.

The Chinese welcomes the Year of the Rat through a festival of dances and exhibit on the splendor of China and Beijing Olympics.

MSMEs boost govt’s anti-poverty & anti-hunger programs


Iloilo City — Around 1,458 municipalities in the country are already covered by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), said Secretary Cerge Remonde who stressed that this has contributed to the country’s economic growth and generated more jobs and income for the people.

Secretary Remonde, who is the Director-General of the Presidential Management Staff and also the oversight official for MSMEs, said the success was reflected in a recent survey which showed a decline of self-rated poverty from 57% three months ago to 46 percent, the lowest since l987.

He described the survey result as a solid proof that government efforts to fight poverty is gaining ground.

The MSMEs development thrust is very much a part of the poverty-alleviation program, Remonde said as he emphasized that the areas still not covered will be given priority this year.

Last year, some P25 billion was allocated for the administration’s micro-lending program. This year’s credit facility for MSMEs has been raised to P40-50 billion, P32 billion of which will be made available to SMEs.

The increase of the allocation will accelerate the growth of small-scale enterprises and boost the government’s anti-poverty and anti-hunger programs, Remonde said.

Recently, Secretary Remonde was directed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to study the possibility of further lowering the interest rates on loans to micro enterprises.

The Malacanang press report disclosed that the current loan interest rates for SMEs range from 9 percent to 14 percent, while those for micro-finance range from 10 percent to 12 percent per annum. by T. Villaver

Study: Iloilo a call center hotspot
By Jeehan V. Fernandez

A MILLION-dollar study said Iloilo City is one of the most-sought after location for call center investments.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said the report was made by Diversified Technology Solutions International (DTSI), a company preparing spaces for call centers.

DTSI has leased Amigo Mall, a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza)-accredited IT (Information Technology) Park which grants several tax incentives to investors.

“The DTSI study has a funding of US$1.5million and is selling at $500 per copy. We want to see that and I hope I could get a free copy. I am very happy to note that Iloilo City is considered a hotspot for call centers,” Treñas told reporters.

“DTSI has looked into several locations in the country, pool of graduates and necessary infrastructure for call center locators. Iloilo City could provide up to 20,000 call center agents,” the mayor explained.

The report also said that high-tech infrastructure are in place in the city with the presence of key telecom players and fiber optics technology which involves faster data processing such as the ones used in internet and cable TV.

Next to Manila and Cebu, Treñas said Iloilo was identified as “the best place” to host favorable business climate for call centers.

“I commend the schools here as it only shows a good education system, though we still have to improve,” said Treñas.

Iloilo City is considered the educational center of Western Visayas because of the presence of various universities, institutions and training centers. The strong educational sector churns out a big pool of human resources which attracts call center firms.

Although Treñas said that another concern is that if the energy situation here is not addressed, there’s a power supply shortage by 2010.

Stable electricity is vital for call centers which are operating round-the-clock.

Treñas said power companies have been planning measures on how to address reliable energy to complement fast developments in the metropolis.

He was referring to the proposed coal-fired power plant of Panay Power Corp. (PPC) and Global Business Power Corp. (Global Power).

“The city’s coal plant evaluation task force will assess environmental and health aspects of the project. After which, we will come up a recommendation whether to endorse it or not. We are open for all, but so far, there’s only one proponent,” Treñas clarified.

Several sectors have been protesting the coal plant project on grounds of environmental and health risks but the proponents have assured they will implement safety standards.

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://thedailyguardian.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6095&Itemid=31)

We must grab this opportunity as soon. Or else, it will go to other cities. Good human resources is not enough, we need a stable source of power as soon as possible.

Happy New Year sa mga Ilonggo Tsinoy!!!
Also to the rest of chinese ssc-iloilo lurkers!!!

High impact Western Visayas tourism projects gear up
by T. Villavert

Iloilo City (7 February) -- Three quality infrastructure projects in Western Visayas are on track to be completed on schedule or before year 2010.

This was assured by Director Rolando Asis of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Region 6 in his report to DPWH Secretary Hermogenes E. Ebdane, Jr., noting that the projects when completed will boost the tourism industry of Western Visayas.

"These three road network projects would not only improve accessibility to major tourist areas in the region but will also improve the region's socio-economic condition, for it will open employment and investment opportunities," Director Asis said.

The three high impact projects are: the P548 Million-worth road widening project from Iloilo City to the new Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan; P676 Million Metro Iloilo Radial Road and the P453 Million Pandan-Libertad Road ending up to the boundary of Antique and Aklan Province.

Meanwhile, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said that "to keep our economy resilient to major economic disruptions, we have ordered a surge in infrastructure spending- P200 billion from the national government, government corporations and local governments; three thousand kilometers of roads and 10,000 school buildings- these are firewall against the world volatility and as springboard for further growth".

"The good news for the Philippines is that we have matured and diversified our economy so much the last few years that our economic turnaround is permanent and our economy resilient to major economic disruptions," the President said. (PIA)

Tagal naman ng planning na ito... Sana maumpisahan na rin!!!

Hello eric. Let us know how to join in your raffle promo. Laban-laban may maangal gid diri kay indi sila maka-join sa raffle....hehehe! They can join pero papackage mo na lang sa ila i-charge.

Di bala, space? :D

basta i will officially annopunce it here. mga last week sang Feb ko i launch.

ill just use the typical blog contests format which is to post comment = 1 raffle entry.


Korek ka dyan @lew. akon isa ka kopya maninay.

maninay? ahahaha abi ko si soulmaker lang gatawag sa akon sina hahaha

i was browsing my 700++ Dinagyang Festival Photos and i am planning to include around 15-20 photos in the photo book. some you've already seen but some never published. not even sa blog ko.

I am actually doing this as a campaign to further increase the traffic in my blog since march/april is fast approaching. nagahilapit na ang lean month sang Byahilo.

After Dinagyang, I might raffle off photo books about: boracay, hot air balloon in clark, Batanes.

anybody can join. but shipping of the photo book is limited only within the phils. :D

Bag-o lang ko nag-abot sa city together with Chymera and IAMME for the Chinese New Year. We would like to thank Mr. Ferrer of Harbour Town Hotel & President of IHRRA for the treat...a reward in judging the food stalls and food being displayed for the IHRRA's best stall and food contest for the Chinese New Year. Hehehe!!!

Iznart was so crowded and it was a fun night for the Ilonggo Chinoys. :okay:

Anyway, lets start with the videos of the fireworks. Chymera and IAMME will gonna post their share later. :)

vyEnRpZx64k

b1xlrwWx5TY

y0s2-KF_PKY

Take note, the fireworks are at sync with the music. :)

Sorry, camphone lang ginausar ko.

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Again, the city was closed.

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TV Patrol Iloilo covering the event

Random pix:
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Kung Hei Fat Choi!
:banana::banana:

:wave:

* three down one to go.matapos na guid man ang festival month sa Iloilo. its been a very tiring month :lol: at least we have a lot of media exposures for these festivals c/o mostly abs cbn (i hope this is a start of the REALIZATION of the comeback of the lopezes ) hopefully indi lang gid more on personal ang ila nga pakay

* nataping gali sa Iloilo ang Prinsesa ng mga balyena ..... esta banyera?hahaha :lol: was it a coincidence the director of the show was here last monday and tuesday for some business aside from the show itself.hopefully they'll be back

* on the other side, hopefully someone from Iloilo would make it to the TOP12 of PINOY IDOL so that we can have more exposures for city via GMA7.

* some portions Amigo mall will be closed by feb 18 to give way for its much need renovation to catch up with its neighbors.

* if im not mistaken about thuis info, the largest concentration of chinese after manila's binondo is in NAGA CITY so hopefully we can have a much bigger chinese new year festival by then when they start their own though geographically it wont matter since each city has its own territory :lol:

Well, Oktoberfest is more than the booze. It's got band concert etc etc. Anyhow, it's not that popular and it's not uniquely Ilonggo.

Its a nationwide "celebration" and we have to compete with other cities so having one in the city will be for the Ilonggos themselves and not quite enough to attract tourists.
it'll just be an added bonus for the tourists who are in the city/province during this time :D

Group bucks Iloilo coal-fired plant
By: Alvin Murcia
AN environmental group has opposed the proposed 165-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Iloilo and the government’s two-faced energy policy.

In a statement, Greenpeace said it is joining the local communities’ struggle in Iloilo to stop the construction of the coal-fired plant because it is one of the causes of global warming.

“The Iloilo coal plant should not be built. We challenge President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to be true to her word and ‘assume the mantle of leadership and work to address the challenge of climate change,’ ” said Greenpeace Southeast Asia Climate and Energy campaigner Jasper Inventor.

“You can’t talk sustainable energy solutions while peddling coal on the side—it’s complete hypocrisy,” he added.

Coal is the dirtiest, most carbon-intensive of all fossil fuels.

At present, Greenpeace said the country has eight coal-fired plants lined up for construction or expansion: 165-MW plant in Iloilo City, Iloilo, 300-MW expansion in Pagbilao, Quezon, 200-MW plant each in Naga and Toledo cities in Cebu, 300-MW expansion in Masinloc, Zambales, 100-MW in Concepcion, Iloilo, 300-MW in Olongapo, Zambales, and the 150-MW plant in Sultan Kudarat.

China, Iloilo City strengthen ties

By Jeehan V. Fernandez

CHINA and Iloilo City have strengthened ties, said Mayor Jerry Treñas after the visit of Chinese Consul General He Shi Jing here yesterday.

The Chinese diplomat was here to attend the celebration of the Chinese New Year at Iloilo’s Chinatown in the triangle of JM Basa-Aldeguer-Iznart Streets, Iloilo City Proper.

The latter has invited City Hall officials to visit the coastal city of Qingdao, the host of 2008 Water Olympics, a sailing competition come July-December.
Qingdao and Iloilo consider each other “sister cities,” a relationship which will hopefully foster economic activity and tourism.

Speaking of tourism, the local government extended P50,000 financial assistance to the staging of Chinese festivity while Bacolod City was reported to have poured P1 million for their event.

Yesterday’s Chinese spectacle was highlighted by a grand parade from Capitol to Plazoleta Gay while executing street-dancing particularly the popular dragon and lion dances.

After which, a cultural show was presented with a world-class fireworks display as finale.

There was also a Chinese food festival and a night market of Chinese wares.

“It only showed that the Chinese-Filipinos community here has joined the mainstream while maintaining their rich cultural heritage,” said Treñas. Iloilo is home to a large Chinese community that has been engaged in several businesses.

“They (Chinoys) have provided jobs to the Ilonggos through their investments. We have also two Chinese fire brigades and several schools in the city. They have donated police patrol jeeps and extended relief assistance during calamities,” Treñas said.

Iloilo City offers 22T call center seats

By Jeehan V. Fernandez

ILOILO City offers 22,000 seats for prospective call centers willing to expand here. This will be highlighted by Mayor Jerry Treñas before a call center conference in Manila on Tuesday.

“It’s a forum for prospective call center locators so that they will know where to invest.

Manila and Cebu are already saturated, thus call centers are ‘looking outside.’ It’s the very reason why we have to do promotions because Iloilo has been included in the roadmap for call centers,” Treñas explained.
He added the city could take advantage of the spillover of booming call center industry which will boost local economic activities.

“Workers will be hired on P8,000 a month starting salary. The available 22,000 seats would equal to P176 million a month. The workers’ spending will (have) a multiplier effect on restaurants, spas, taxis and jeepneys, among others,” Treñas stressed.

He said the money that will be circulating from call center investments would translate into a multi-billion industry a year.

Treñas noted a US$1.5 million study as reported by Diversified Technology Solutions International (DTSI), considered Iloilo City a hotspot for call centers.

DTSI, a company preparing spaces for call centers, has leased the second floor of Amigo Mall, a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza)-accredited IT (Information Technology) Park.

Iloilo's Chinese New Year

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Nightshots during the Chinese New Year

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Jaro Cemetery Pics

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^^ With that, the Chinese New Year Celebration coverage was brought to you by the news team of SSC Iloilo, hehehe!!! :D

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SSC Iloilo coverage of the Chinese New Year Celebrations last night.
(Chymera, yours truly & IAMME)

After the

Chinese New Year Celebrations
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it will be
The 36th Iloilo Paraw Regatta Festival
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on February 16 & 17
at
Villa Beach (Tatoy's), Arevalo District, Iloilo City

The last of the 4 Festivals in Iloilo City. After that, everything will be back to its old, laidback and boring self, hehehe!!! :D

Exciting times for Iloilo indeed. Week to week celebrations. From the biggest to the oldest festivals, we have it all for you. :)

Anyhow, Holy Week's time is a bit far so I guess after Paraw Regatta, we switch back to the old title. :)

A new restaurant opened: The Squares in Arthur's Suite. The hotel remains to be closed for now.
Add to that new drainage system (?) along San Rafael-Tabucan Road. Ateneo construction is now in full blast. Nothing really signficant. The road widening still remains unfinished near the flyover.

:wave:

* Our Chinatown is made up of the JM Basa-Aldeguer-Iznart triangle.If my memory serves me right there are alleys within this triangle that can make one go from JM Basa to Iznart. Now here's another dream of mine :lol: hopefully some creative chinoy business/family can recreate/establish a sort of chinese stores/resto/etc etc along certain alleys inside then it will be a new experience/attraction in/for the city.

* i mean simple tea houses or chinese items stores or bakery or restos would be "neat"

^^ Nice idea. Similar to David's Tea House at SM City.

February 10, 2008
Iloilo City: call center ‘hot spot’ (http://www.panaynewsphilippines.com/iloilo3.htm)

ILOILO City – This southern city is fast becoming a “hot spot” for investment in business process outsourcing or BPO, with the entry of several call center corporations and inquiries on possible locations for more call centers.

Mayor Jerry Treñas disclosed that a study made by DTSI showed Iloilo City as the emerging call center haven after Metro Manila and Cebu.

The study, costing $1.5 million, showed more than 80,000 call center seats in the Philippines.

Iloilo has the necessary fiber optics capability provided by Globe Telecom and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. that can provide an attainable 22,000 call center seats.
Metro Manila and Cebu are “already saturated with call centers” and Iloilo is the best option as the next call center haven in the country, Treñas said.

Iloilo is also the education capital of Western Visayas, hosting several universities, colleges and tertiary schools with a combined 18,000 college graduates every year.
Treñas and University of the Philippines Visayas Chancellor Glen Aguilar, the head of the Iloilo Federation of Information Technology and other members of I-FIT, will be going to Manila on February 12 to present the potentials of Iloilo as the next call center capital of the Philippines.

Treñas said the conference for the prospective call center areas will showcase Iloilo as the next hot spot for call centers.

:wave:

* Our Chinatown is made up of the JM Basa-Aldeguer-Iznart triangle.If my memory serves me right there are alleys within this triangle that can make one go from JM Basa to Iznart. Now here's another dream of mine :lol: hopefully some creative chinoy business/family can recreate/establish a sort of chinese stores/resto/etc etc along certain alleys inside then it will be a new experience/attraction in/for the city.

* i mean simple tea houses or chinese items stores or bakery or restos would be "neat"
hehe my friends call those alleyways as Brgy. Ambot. Kay kung snatchan ka da or hold-up kag mangkuton mo ang mga tawo taga didto kung kilala nila or kung diin nag dalagan ang "suspect" sabat nila pirmi "ambot", hehe pero joke lng na ha. Wala man ko kabalo kung tuod guid man nga delikado na dira.

^^indi lang sila guro magsugid kay basi mga kilala man nila or nahadlok sila,,,amo mana pamatibati ko sa iban...pero kun nabal-an mo nga delikado ti halong ka lang eh...anyway,,,i mis the ACSI busines and computer school mga 2 years ako dira nagschooling...calle real building i think is now almost occupied by the this chool run by the canadian owner and at the back is the canada hotel

DOJ Sec. Gonzalez mahimo magpadalagan bilang mayor sa 2010 election kun kinahanglan
2/10/2008 11:07:14 AM

ILOILO CITY-- Magapadalagan bilang alkalde sa siyudad sang Iloilo si Department of Justice Secretray Raul Gonzalez Sr., kun kinahanglanon.

Ini matapos nagguwa ang balita nga mismo ang nasambit nga tiglikom ang magabunggo sa Vice mayor sang siyudad nga si Jed Patrick Mabilog nga matunog sa karon nga magapadalagan bilang mayor sang siyudad sa 2010 election.

Nahibaluan nga ulihi na lang karon nga termino ni Mayor Jerry Treñas kag magapadalagan na lang kuno ini nga representante sang siyudad sang Iloilo.

Suno sa tiglikom, kun indi mapunggan iya tilawan nga magbunggo kay Mabilog sa pagkaalkalde sang siyudad sa maabot nga eleksyon.

Ginpahayag naman sang tiglikom nga indi mahimo magkontrahanay sa eleksyon ang iya anak nga si Congressman Raul Gonzalez Jr., kag si Treñas bangod kaupod nila ini sa partido.

Apang kun indi mapunggan, nagpabutyag ang tiglikom nga handa sila nga atubangon ini bangod sila ng kampeon.




I hope the other Ilonggos aren't as stupid to support this "honorable" guy..:ohno:

I'd rather go with Mabilog than him.

^^ ayo dyosko. wag na, please fo goddamn's sake. just stay in your barn mr old man.

^^ Haysusme!!! Santa Maria Trinidad!!! :eek: Ang abi ko si Pacita ang madalagan or its better if his son will run for 2010 instead of him!!! But no, ang tigulang pa!!! So its really the battle of Molo and Jaro I guess.

^^ What do you mean Molo and Jaro?

^^ Molo is to Mabilog; Jaro is to the Gonzales. The old elite in politics of Iloilo that is.

^^I'd go for Mabilog if that's the case. But I wish there will be someone better.

^^ Nice idea. Similar to David's Tea House at SM City.

pwede man but i think Davids would like to be located in malls :lol:
some kind like that pero daw homey bala ang atmosphere.
kumbaga HOLE IN THE WALL :lol:

hehe my friends call those alleyways as Brgy. Ambot. Kay kung snatchan ka da or hold-up kag mangkuton mo ang mga tawo taga didto kung kilala nila or kung diin nag dalagan ang "suspect" sabat nila pirmi "ambot", hehe pero joke lng na ha. Wala man ko kabalo kung tuod guid man nga delikado na dira.

it would seem true since the place itself exudes that "aura"

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^^ I love the fireworks pictures. Very nice :applause:

for sure ni? Kay basi sumala ang arsobispo, mahambalan pa siya nga butigon. Really, why are we so keen to tap energy from other areas of the country kung puwede man lang kita makahimo sang aton. It's really funny nga pirmi lang ta gaasa sa iban. And kung mag-brownout, hambalon lang ta nga nautod or may problema sa cable. This is utterly ridiculous already and it is not funny anymore. At the end of the day, ato kita iya nakapang-laghap ta sa iban nga probinsiya begging to suplly our power in Iloilo City. Is this reliable? Is this sustainable? Man mabuwisit ka man sang patay ka brown out.

To say the least, dapat sang mga renewable supporters, mangita man sang investors and present sa ciudad. Ang mga tawo diri sa sagwa kapoy na mamati sang reklamo kay kung puro reklamo, wala tupa. Dapat kung mag-reklamo may ihatag sila nga alternatives. And so far, hasta subong wala guid. Maayo bala ina nga serbisyo publiko? Indi. For me, bullshit inang bagay nga ina kay wala ina kinalain sa pulitiko nga naga-promisa nga wala naga-tupa. Kung wala man lang sang maayo nga ihambal, pahigad-higad na lang palihog kay biskan sin-o madula-an sang respeto sa bagay nga ini. **** lang. Salamat.

Sin-o ang wala tupa? 80% of our energy NOW in Panay and the entire Visayas is supplied by renewable energy (geothermal) paano mo mahambal nga wala tupa!

Luzon is wasting more than 4,000MW as we speak that cost us P1.4 trillion in the public's assumption of Napocor debts while Visayas geothermal still supply 400MW to Luzon, ngaa indi naton ini ma-usar sa Visayas? Efficiency is everything, kabudlay gid ni intiendihon? - we're not that stupid, are we?!

Would you believe that priest calling the Archbishop a liar when there has been a joint pastoral letter of the bishops of Negros, Panay and Romblon against coal plants since 2004. If you believe a guy saying the run-of-river type hydro power plant would submerge large areas of farmlots and forests, my golly, please maski mag wiki ka man lang!

You are against energy coming from Negros because it's from another province as if Panay has coal. Where are we more secured, if our power source comes from Negros or from Indonesia or Australia? Remember Semirara (that is nearer to Bulalacao, Mindoro than Libertad, Antique) is low-grade and will be mixed with indonesian and australian coals. And by all means, Semirara is more than 100 times father from Iloilo City than Negros.

If you believe Fr. Celis that the circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) coal technology has no health and environmental hazards despite the contrary expert opinions of the Harvard School of Public Health, US Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA), Royal Society (Academy of Science - UK), Royal Academies (Nertherlands, Sweden, etc.), WHO, Iloilo Medical Society, etc. waay ta mahimo.

You should join him with his jurassic, feudal, ultra-conservative pre-Vatican 2 practices. Good riddance!

^^ If thats the case, can we search or make a way to tap Negros' geothermal power for Iloilo City and Panay? I mean concrete measures. I hope that there would be also an investor for renewable energy brave enough to break the PECO-PPC sweetheart deals. Is there a concrete alternative for this energy crisis that we have?

Except for mass mobilization, are we also negotiating some people in the business sector (local, national and foreign) for renewable energy source too and also to break the costly price of electricity? Because for one, they have the money to invest in such venture.

Also did we lobby this move at the city council already or the sanggunihang panlalawigan?

Because one things for sure, any ordinary Ilonggo would be only needing is: cheap and reliable power.

As of this moment IMO, I'm neither seeing any concrete plans of proceeding the construction of a coal fired power plant nor any investor willing to invest in renewable except for what Oscar Lopez said as planned in Palinpinon yet.

^^ If thats the case, can we search or make a way to tap Negros' geothermal power for Iloilo City and Panay? I mean concrete measures. I hope that there would be also an investor for renewable energy brave enough to break the PECO-PPC sweetheart deals. Is there a concrete alternative for this energy crisis that we have?

Except for mass mobilization, are we also negotiating some people in the business sector (local, national and foreign) for renewable energy source too and also to break the costly price of electricity?

The problem is the Peco-PPC stranglehold of the market! Just increase the Napocor interconnection from 15MW to 30MW and we drop our electricity cost in the city by around P2.50/kwh! Why are we not using properly the available 80MW geothermal energy? Baseload demand of the city is only 30MW and the rest of the island including Guimaras only 40MW.

If our city officials are serious in giving us cheaper and more reliable electricty, then they should address this immediately.

We're just a NON-governmental organization (NGO) but we've been talking with FirstGen, unfortunately they just came into geothermal last month, they were still with DMCI coal until december, remember? (Concepcion coal will never take-off the ground) and whatever steam they have now are already contracted to Cebu and Negros, no thanks to the foresight of our political and business leaders. FirstGen can only provide us MORE the earliest 2012.

Talked with Chan before they set-up CASA and encouraged the co-generation. Now we are trying Gokongwei for Passi Sugar and New Frontier. We've been talking with UyGongco (Lutod-lutod, Capiz) but they have stakes in the Metrobank proposed coal in Brgy. Ingore, Lapaz (they own the property for the proposed site).

There is California Energy in Libacao, Aklan and we're trying Hokkaido Electric and some possible investors from HongKong tying-up with the Clinton Initiative - look at WalMart, Google and other initiatives on demand-side management. Think beyond the BOX, please!

There is a face-off of RISE and PPC on Feb 12 at the Univ. of San Agustin from 1-5 pm, if you want to learn about the issue come, listen and decide.

Isn't it that we already have a 100MW coal plant lined up for construction near the rich fishing grounds of Concepcion? Do we really need another 165MW plant in Iloilo? Could we consume all that power? Or are we going to end up paying for too much power we don't use?

What benefits will the current uprating bring?

I agree we need more power to supply our needs in the near future. However, we should exhaust all reasonable alternatives before we celebrate the coming of barges laden with coal blown away with dynamites from the mountains.

BTW, streamers in support of the coal plant are all over the city - from the Association of Barangay Captains and several Barangays in Lapaz. Who is paying for these streamers?

Isn't it that we already have a 100MW coal plant lined up for construction near the rich fishing grounds of Concepcion? Do we really need another 165MW plant in Iloilo? Could we consume all that power? Or are we going to end up paying for too much power we don't use?

What benefits will the current uprating bring?

I agree we need more power to supply our needs in the near future. However, we should exhaust all reasonable alternatives before we celebrate the coming of barges laden with coal blown away with dynamites from the mountains.

BTW, streamers in support of the coal plant are all over the city - from the Association of Barangay Captains and several Barangays in Lapaz. Who is paying for these streamers?

DMCI lost their industrial partner, FirstGen, last month. They are now trying to lure in other investors, particularly that one from Singapore, and these possible investors are asking for firm contracts with electric coops or Peco. So, it means they want guarantees that consumers will pay for their capacity irregardless if these are consumed or not. There lies their problem, no coops will sign a contract more than what they need - we will make sure of that.

The streamers are intended for the surreptitious 'Public Hearing' they scheduled this friday, February 15, at the La Paz Plaza from 1-5pm. How can these barangay captains endorse a project when they have not yet seen the environmental impact statement (EIS) that should be the main consideration of the hearing. There is now intense pressure from the Mayor on the barangay officials to show support and mobilize during the said hearing.

Stakeholders are not properly invited and not provided with the EIS so how can one question the subject of the hearing when you are not provided such copies.

They want to overwhelm the opposition and show that everybody supports the coal plant to get 'social acceptability' of the EIA process. You see the Rotary club where members are Moncada, Fernandez, Billena, et. al. and the PSME faction where the key officers are employees of PPC have to issue endorsements.

They think na-isahan nila kami but the Ilonggo people will see through all of these.

:wave:

* Our Chinatown is made up of the JM Basa-Aldeguer-Iznart triangle.If my memory serves me right there are alleys within this triangle that can make one go from JM Basa to Iznart. Now here's another dream of mine :lol: hopefully some creative chinoy business/family can recreate/establish a sort of chinese stores/resto/etc etc along certain alleys inside then it will be a new experience/attraction in/for the city.

* i mean simple tea houses or chinese items stores or bakery or restos would be "neat"

Calle Real, i remember Buho bakery, literally 'hole in the wall' before (i think it's still there) with the hot pancho we buy after practice for the ati-atihan (as an atub-atub warrior in my 6th grade). Even at midnight after the practice, you just call out in the hole how much and what you will buy. You just see the hand giving out the bread. It was quite popular in the early 80s.

Then, there were the batchoyan inside Central Market where you can ask for all the caldos you want. Pili ka lang fish, shells, crabs sa market then puede paluto sa restaurants on the sides like the Pala-pala in Bacolod and the Fish Port in Tanza Baybay. Unfortunately, the place now is dark and dirty and they call it brgy. m_nay.

The problem is the Peco-PPC stranglehold of the market! Just increase the Napocor interconnection from 15MW to 30MW and we drop our electricity cost in the city by around P2.50/kwh! Why are we not using properly the available 80MW geothermal energy? Baseload demand of the city is only 30MW and the rest of the island including Guimaras only 40MW.

If our city officials are serious in giving us cheaper and more reliable electricty, then they should address this immediately.

We're just a NON-governmental organization (NGO) but we've been talking with FirstGen, unfortunately they just came into geothermal last month, they were still with DMCI coal until december, remember? (Concepcion coal will never take-off the ground) and whatever steam they have now are already contracted to Cebu and Negros, no thanks to the foresight of our political and business leaders. FirstGen can only provide us MORE the earliest 2012.

Talked with Chan before they set-up CASA and encouraged the co-generation. Now we are trying Gokongwei for Passi Sugar and New Frontier. We've been talking with UyGongco (Lutod-lutod, Capiz) but they have stakes in the Metrobank proposed coal in Brgy. Ingore, Lapaz (they own the property for the proposed site).

There is California Energy in Libacao, Aklan and we're trying Hokkaido Electric and some possible investors from HongKong tying-up with the Clinton Initiative - look at WalMart, Google and other initiatives on demand-side management. Think beyond the BOX, please!

There is a face-off of RISE and PPC on Feb 12 at the Univ. of San Agustin from 1-5 pm, if you want to learn about the issue come, listen and decide.

hmmmm, this one looks exciting! at least both sides will lay down their cards!;)

'Iloilo should woo int’l airlines’

By Jeehan V. Fernandez

THE new Iloilo airport should attract foreign air carriers from Japan, South Korea and China to fly directly to the new facility.

The Center for Research and Communication (CRC) discussed the potentials of “Iloilo International Gateway” in a presentation before the meeting of Iloilo Economic Development Foundation Inc. (ILED) over the weekend.

Image
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS SOON - There's a possibility that the New Iloilo Airport in the towns of Sta. Barbara and Cabatuan may cater to international flights in the near future. (Photo by Tara Yap)
CRC, which is a private, non-stock, non-profit research institution, provides economic forecasting and industry analysis through written reports, briefings, conferences and seminars. It works hand in hand in this case with ILED, a group business executives lobbying for initiatives and promotions to woo prospective investors to Iloilo.

In the meeting, CRC suggested strategic options for Iloilo Airport to gain more air seats primarily by attracting foreign airlines to have chartered flights here.

CRC said such policy provides “the liberalization of international charter services that shall allow international operations to developmental routes and gateways with or without readily usable allocations can help achieve the objective of promoting the growth and viability of developmental routes and gateways.”

CRC also recommended the appointment of Iloilo Airport authority in the air panel as well as alliance with gateways like Cebu and Davao for their own “open skies” scheme.

The “open skies” policy allows the entry of more foreign air carriers to operate in the country.

Iloilo is considered a secondary gateway though most carriers are focused on using entitlements on main trunk routes.

CRC said the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) shall determine “national interest” taking into consideration the larger interest of the country, especially the users of air services.

very nice inputs. Wow! I hope two coal power plants will be established in Iloilo City and Iloilo Province respectively soon. I'm glad to see more and more organisations are supporting the realisation of coal plants in our province.

I hope to see more pros coming out in the open!

Well done, guys !

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

China, Iloilo City strengthen ties

By Jeehan V. Fernandez

CHINA and Iloilo City have strengthened ties, said Mayor Jerry Treñas after the visit of Chinese Consul General He Shi Jing here yesterday.

The Chinese diplomat was here to attend the celebration of the Chinese New Year at Iloilo’s Chinatown in the triangle of JM Basa-Aldeguer-Iznart Streets, Iloilo City Proper.

The latter has invited City Hall officials to visit the coastal city of Qingdao, the host of 2008 Water Olympics, a sailing competition come July-December.
Qingdao and Iloilo consider each other “sister cities,” a relationship which will hopefully foster economic activity and tourism.

Speaking of tourism, the local government extended P50,000 financial assistance to the staging of Chinese festivity while Bacolod City was reported to have poured P1 million for their event.

Yesterday’s Chinese spectacle was highlighted by a grand parade from Capitol to Plazoleta Gay while executing street-dancing particularly the popular dragon and lion dances.

After which, a cultural show was presented with a world-class fireworks display as finale.

There was also a Chinese food festival and a night market of Chinese wares.

“It only showed that the Chinese-Filipinos community here has joined the mainstream while maintaining their rich cultural heritage,” said Treñas. Iloilo is home to a large Chinese community that has been engaged in several businesses.

“They (Chinoys) have provided jobs to the Ilonggos through their investments. We have also two Chinese fire brigades and several schools in the city. They have donated police patrol jeeps and extended relief assistance during calamities,” Treñas said.
what will Iloio benefit from this tie? Will there be a direct exchange of resources, tourism, etc between Iloilo City and Qingdao? Any idea?

Iloilo City offers 22T call center seats

By Jeehan V. Fernandez

ILOILO City offers 22,000 seats for prospective call centers willing to expand here. This will be highlighted by Mayor Jerry Treñas before a call center conference in Manila on Tuesday.

“It’s a forum for prospective call center locators so that they will know where to invest.

Manila and Cebu are already saturated, thus call centers are ‘looking outside.’ It’s the very reason why we have to do promotions because Iloilo has been included in the roadmap for call centers,” Treñas explained.
He added the city could take advantage of the spillover of booming call center industry which will boost local economic activities.

“Workers will be hired on P8,000 a month starting salary. The available 22,000 seats would equal to P176 million a month. The workers’ spending will (have) a multiplier effect on restaurants, spas, taxis and jeepneys, among others,” Treñas stressed.

He said the money that will be circulating from call center investments would translate into a multi-billion industry a year.

Treñas noted a US$1.5 million study as reported by Diversified Technology Solutions International (DTSI), considered Iloilo City a hotspot for call centers.

DTSI, a company preparing spaces for call centers, has leased the second floor of Amigo Mall, a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza)-accredited IT (Information Technology) Park.
looks like we're expecting for more call centers in the next few months to come. As said by our dear mayor, these call centers will benefit Ilonggos thru employment and jobs, etc. more than a direct taxs i will bring to our beloved city.

thanks for the lovely photos, IAMME.
Kung Hei Fat Choi, indeed.

well, those are the questions we need to ask.

More power for Iloilo ! :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

'Iloilo should woo int’l airlines’
By Jeehan V. Fernandez

THE new Iloilo airport should attract foreign air carriers from Japan, South Korea and China to fly directly to the new facility.

The Center for Research and Communication (CRC) discussed the potentials of “Iloilo International Gateway” in a presentation before the meeting of Iloilo Economic Development Foundation Inc. (ILED) over the weekend.

http://thedailyguardian.com/images/stories/airport110208a.JPG
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS SOON - There's a possibility that the New Iloilo Airport in the towns of Sta. Barbara and Cabatuan may cater to international flights in the near future. (Photo by Tara Yap)

CRC, which is a private, non-stock, non-profit research institution, provides economic forecasting and industry analysis through written reports, briefings, conferences and seminars. It works hand in hand in this case with ILED, a group business executives lobbying for initiatives and promotions to woo prospective investors to Iloilo.

In the meeting, CRC suggested strategic options for Iloilo Airport to gain more air seats primarily by attracting foreign airlines to have chartered flights here.

CRC said such policy provides “the liberalization of international charter services that shall allow international operations to developmental routes and gateways with or without readily usable allocations can help achieve the objective of promoting the growth and viability of developmental routes and gateways.”

CRC also recommended the appointment of Iloilo Airport authority in the air panel as well as alliance with gateways like Cebu and Davao for their own “open skies” scheme.

The “open skies” policy allows the entry of more foreign air carriers to operate in the country.

Iloilo is considered a secondary gateway though most carriers are focused on using entitlements on main trunk routes.

CRC said the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) shall determine “national interest” taking into consideration the larger interest of the country, especially the users of air services.


source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://www.theguardianiloilo.ph/)

http://thedailyguardian.com/images/stories/firework110208a.JPG

The sky lights up above Plazoleta Gay of downton Iloilo City Friday night as the fireworks show wraps up the week-long celebration of the Chinese New Year. (Photo by Tara Yap)

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://www.theguardianiloilo.ph/)

Another big tourism potential of Iloilo is about to unfold. Paraw Regatta is the third best tourism event in the country last year. I hope it will continue to sails high to compete heads on with Dinagyang Festival, the country's best tourism event for 2 years in a row.

Paraw Regatta ‘sailing high’
By DAVID ISRAEL SINAY

ILOILO City – With the theme “Iloilo Paraw Regatta: Making a Name, Sailing High”, this year’s edition of the country’s most popular sailboat race will see over 50 colorful native outriggers out-speeding one another at the Iloilo – Guimaras Strait.

The Iloilo Paraw Regatta Foundation Inc. (IPRFI) said participating sailboats will sprint the 30-kilometer sea course on February 16 and 17.

The country’s premier regatta is now on its 36th year.

Manuel Villa, chairman of IPRFI, said the annual event will again showcase the sailing skills of the Ilonggos.

In Paraw Regatta, participating boatmen use only the wind to propel their boats.

In terms of the number of participants, the Iloilo Paraw Regatta has become one of the biggest sailboat competitions in Southeast Asia, said Villa in a recent press conference at the regional office of the Department of Tourism here.

Considered one of the foremost attractions in the country, this year’s race will also have side activities. These include:

• Miss Iloilo Paraw Regatta
• samba torch parade and performance
• beach football and volleyball; and
• angler’s competition.

In previous years, there were sand sculpting and sailboat painting contests.

The sailboat competition has two categories. Category A involves sailboats measuring 16 feet and below. Category B are for sailboats measuring 20 feet and beyond.

Villa said the IPRFI hopes to raise P1.5 million to cover the expenses and prizes.

Prizes alone total to P214,000. The cash prizes include P14,600; P9,600 and P7,200 for the top three finishers in Category A.

The top three finishers in Category B will get P18,000; P14,400 and P12,000, respectively.

All race finishers will receive P600 each and will have the opportunity to participate in a raffle.

Villa said the foundation has prepared rations of rice, canned goods and gift certificates, as raffle prizes.

The sailboat race will start and finish at the famous Tatoy’s Manokan and Seafoods in the coastline of Arevalo district here.

source: Panay News (http://www.panaynewsphilippines.com/iloilo2.htm)

How can we strengthen the ties with our international sister cities? Will it benefit the City of Iloilo? What, how and why?

China’s consul general encourages Ilonggos to join Qing Dao on Water Olympics

Consul General He Shi Jing of the Chinese Consulate of the People’s Republic of China in Cebu convinced this city to join the water Olympics in China slated August this year.

Consul General He Shi Jing paid a courtesy call before Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas Thursday afternoon.

He will be gracing the 5th year celebration of the Chinese New Year here, which is being organized by the Iloilo Chinese-Filipino Cultural Association and the Chinese-Filipino Community of Iloilo, Friday afternoon.

The city government received an invitation from Qing Dao, its sister city to join the Olympics composed of various water sports.

“I have already confirmed our attendance to the event and we will see later if what will be the participation of the city,” Treñas added.

During the courtesy call, the consul general for the first time became acquainted with the trading system that transpired between the early settlers of Panay and Chinese traders.

“Even before the Spanish came the Chinese were already here because of trade,” Treñas added. (PNA)

source: The ILOILO Daily Informer (http://dailyinformer.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1759&Itemid=137)

^^indi lang sila guro magsugid kay basi mga kilala man nila or nahadlok sila,,,amo mana pamatibati ko sa iban...pero kun nabal-an mo nga delikado ti halong ka lang eh...anyway,,,i mis the ACSI busines and computer school mga 2 years ako dira nagschooling...calle real building i think is now almost occupied by the this chool run by the canadian owner and at the back is the canada hotel
really? May Canada Hotel dira sa Calle Real? Daw wala ko sini iya kabati haw? Even schools within the old CBD wala man mapost diri. Seems like Calle Real is battling with Diversion developments. But it's nice to know that Calle Real is still alive and robust with business activities. Abi ko Diversion lang ang naga-develop. he he he.

Will this industry be resurrected to the fullest? I hope to see more developments in Miagao Weaving industry as Fashion Industry of Iloilo was based on it originally.

IPA: Weaving Threads of Ilonggo Tradition
By Bombette G. Marin

Iloilo and handloom fabrics have been closely linked since the mid-18th century. Despite the production of cotton in England that predominate the country’s textile industry, Indigenous textiles such as jusi, piña and patadyong came to predominate later in the 19th century. The demand for the local fabric continued to grow, and local carpenters and furniture makers built large numbers of looms and installed handlooms in their homes, or built special shops to house them. Women eking out a living devoted a great deal of their time and energy to the processes of spinning fibers and weaving combining it with farming, producing the fabric in the intervals between weeding their crops and feeding their animals. That time, Iloilo became the centre of the textile industry in this Philippines, with thriving weaving communities in Arevalo, Jaro and Molo.

However, our textile industry only covered a small scale activity with the production of raw materials. The deficiencies in the primitive hand spinning wheel, and the difficulty in obtaining the local fabric, enthused an inventive turn of mind into developing replacements. New spinning machineries brought about changes, transferring production of handloom fabrics from people’s homes to now specially constructed small factories. Research, innovations and development in technical textiles, yarn quality, clothing products, process performance, fabric finishing, coloration technology and marketing has brought significant advancement in textile sector that provided high value-added products such as machine-made fabrics to consumers.

The Ilonggo Producers Association (IPA), incorporated from an organized core group of Ilonggo producers, PAGPA (Panay and Guimaras Producers Association) in March 1993, is active in promoting the art of handloom-weaving in Iloilo and throughout Panay.

The time-consuming manual process of weaving patadyong and hablon has remained unchanged for hundreds of years. Looms have been used for centuries to make cloth. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Consisting of four wooden uprights joined at top and bottom, a handloom has a box-like framework; with wooden rollers between both pair of uprights (one for the weft and one to collect the cloth). The weaving process consisted of throwing the shuttle containing the weft back and forth through the threads of the warp. Weaving is a family activity where each family member has a role to play in the process. It generally takes a patient and skilled weaver some days to produce a meter of material.

And in order to raise the technical and artistic standards of loom weaving in Iloilo, IPA has tapped skills of popular local artisans who have acquired their expertise in handloom weaving through several generations. The culture and art of his time-honored tradition are mirrored in exquisite native products vibrant with traditional colors and designs or subtly muted in rural hues. Handloom items materialize from tradition these weavers have nurtured through the years. This enables IPA to bring forth the fabrics’ intrinsic beauty in their products. It has an excellent selection of hand-woven products. These traditional hand-woven items are offered at excellent prices. All our Ilonggo products are handmade with the best quality materials. Whether you are looking for hand-woven apparel or gift products, you will find IPA has what you need.

Business apart, as responsible corporate citizens of Iloilo, IPA is socially committed to nourish rural craftsmanship. IPA envisions blending indigenous craftsmanship with modern design aesthetics. It is even said that world-famous designers such as Donna Karan and Calvin Klein have integrated our local fabrics in some of their designs. Truly, the world recognizes the beauty of our indigenous fabrics and the Filipino’s world class ingenuity and creativity.

IPA is extremely happy to welcome and show its valued customers and visitors their quality hand-woven traditional native products. So, follow the trails to the Iloilo Producers Association Trade Pavilion at the LPHTP (LLACER) Building, General Luna Street, Iloilo City and discover the items perfect for you to have or to give to a friend.

With a professional touch, IPA will always try to uplift the tradition of Ilonggo craftsmanship in the days ahead.

source: The ILOILO Daily Informer (http://dailyinformer.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=13&Itemid=132)

The Acropolis Clubhouse groundbreaking

http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/08/unveiling.of.the.acropolis.clubhouse.marker.jpg
Unveiling of the Acropolis Clubhouse marker

A new residential landmark will soon rise in Arevalo, Iloilo. Called the Acropolis, the subdivision promises an exclusive abode for some 200 families who wish to experience the cool breeze of the sea, flowers and bloom and life at its best.

Recently, the groundbreaking of their clubhouse was held and no less than the dynamic Celestino Valdez, senior vice president came. "We are claiming to be the premiere residential and commercial subdivision of Iloilo City because of its facilities and the location. With the Circumferential Road 1 in place, the value of the subdivision will be given a boost," he said.

The lot sales is doing well, Valdez said. "Considering we are hitting the triple A market where the lot costs over a million pesos. This is a very exclusive community that consists of 248 lots," he added.

Acropolis is developed by Sta. Lucia Realty and Development Corp. with 35 years of experience in the real estate industry. The land is owned by Transvisayan Development Corporation and marketed by Asian Pacific, all credible names in the said industry.

Acropolis can be reached through numbers 320-7172, 320-7173 and 338-1596 with address at JV Jocson Street, Barangay San Jose, Arevalo, Iloilo City.

source: The News Today (http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/02/08/the.acropolis.clubhouse.groundbreaking.html)

Sin-o ang wala tupa? 80% of our energy NOW in Panay and the entire Visayas is supplied by renewable energy (geothermal) paano mo mahambal nga wala tupa!

Luzon is wasting more than 4,000MW as we speak that cost us P1.4 trillion in the public's assumption of Napocor debts while Visayas geothermal still supply 400MW to Luzon, ngaa indi naton ini ma-usar sa Visayas? Efficiency is everything, kabudlay gid ni intiendihon? - we're not that stupid, are we?!

Would you believe that priest calling the Archbishop a liar when there has been a joint pastoral letter of the bishops of Negros, Panay and Romblon against coal plants since 2004. If you believe a guy saying the run-of-river type hydro power plant would submerge large areas of farmlots and forests, my golly, please maski mag wiki ka man lang!

You are against energy coming from Negros because it's from another province as if Panay has coal. Where are we more secured, if our power source comes from Negros or from Indonesia or Australia? Remember Semirara (that is nearer to Bulalacao, Mindoro than Libertad, Antique) is low-grade and will be mixed with indonesian and australian coals. And by all means, Semirara is more than 100 times father from Iloilo City than Negros.

If you believe Fr. Celis that the circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) coal technology has no health and environmental hazards despite the contrary expert opinions of the Harvard School of Public Health, US Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA), Royal Society (Academy of Science - UK), Royal Academies (Nertherlands, Sweden, etc.), WHO, Iloilo Medical Society, etc. waay ta mahimo.

You should join him with his jurassic, feudal, ultra-conservative pre-Vatican 2 practices. Good riddance!

i don't think he's a good riddance. :) It's the power of choice. He chose what he wanted to and so he is entitled to do so. I don't think he's bothered enough if people are campaigning against coal, he's been asked what he taught about it and he was voicing his opinion. Well, let's just respect what other's perceived cos we are individual and definitely we differed a lot in all sense especially opinions to certain matter. :) As long as there's no tangible evidence of renewable energy investments in Iloilo, it would be very difficult for any organisation to lobby or convince anyone. Right now, there's DMCI and Global investors for coal. Where and who's the investor of renewable energy in Iloilo? :)

very nice inputs. Wow! I hope two coal power plants will be established in Iloilo City and Iloilo Province respectively soon. I'm glad to see more and more organisations are supporting the realisation of coal plants in our province.

I hope to see more pros coming out in the open!

Well done, guys !

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:
I agree. I hope to see more supporters backing up the proposal. Nice thinking guid iya.

thanks for the lovely photos, IAMME.
Kung Hei Fat Choi, indeed.
and so with Chymera, too. Cheers to all of you guys. :cheers:

suffice to say, pissed off gid ko Noy eh. Ikaw man bala? But it's so wierd nga kita diri are so concerned about the loses of all these things pero ang ara sa Iloilo daw wala man sang nagahulag? I hope we will not go back sa dark ages sang ciudad where people just literally leave because no investors are willing to invest sa aton due to problems not being addressed immediately. Ang aton mga professionals ato na sa iban nga bahin sang Pinas or kalibutan man wala ulubrahan sa ciudad. Ti, maayo bala ini? Did we learn from our past mistakes? Well .....
literal dark ages guid eh. hahahahaha. Isipon mo lang bala ang mga investors nga madula sa aton kung indi ini masulbar ang problema. Kag kung wala ang mga investors, sin-o ang mahatag sang obra sa mga tawo sa ciudad kag probinsiya sang Iloilo? Biskan sa putot mo lang nga pag-isip, kabalo ka naman siguro sang sabat ah.

Or did we? Actually we can do further but the question is when and how? How do we encourage the seemingly apathetic Ilonggo public regarding this? How do you encourage the Ilonggos to take part?

Katalaka gid man kag kis-a kakafrustrate kita mga "martir ilonggo" nga ila ginatawag kay wala man suporta sa ila, puro wakal! Subong wakal sa Malacanang about ZTE Broadband, sa Capitolyo ta, puro man wakal! Pati naman sa energy sector ta wakal kag mahadlok mag-risgo? Kon indi ta magrisgo, sa diin na ta puluton?
martyr is a big word. Depende lang ina siguro sa aton ah. It's our choice kung ano gusto ta cos we are the one deciding for our lives. Martyrdom is just a state of mind. Maybe Ilonggos before, well, not now -- anymore.

As long as we are unwilling to take a risk, wala matabo sa aton. And some people will always use some tactics para ibuyo kita sa ila gusto. But we have to decide and we need to be firmed.

'Iloilo should woo int’l airlines’
By Jeehan V. Fernandez

THE new Iloilo airport should attract foreign air carriers from Japan, South Korea and China to fly directly to the new facility.

The Center for Research and Communication (CRC) discussed the potentials of “Iloilo International Gateway” in a presentation before the meeting of Iloilo Economic Development Foundation Inc. (ILED) over the weekend.

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://www.theguardianiloilo.ph/)

here we go. May ara na kita go signal. I hope this time, people from capitol and city government will join hands in promoting and luring international airlines to operate in Iloilo. We have to make a broader and aggressive step if we want to make this thing happen in next few months or within 2 years span. Iloilo (city and province), by now, should start talking to international airlines' managers and convinced them of a robust and thriving market of Iloilo. They need to act together and they need to be assertive and quick in response to this development. WillI be seeing an international airline taking off and landing in at Iloilo Airport before the year ends?

http://thedailyguardian.com/images/stories/firework110208a.JPG

The sky lights up above Plazoleta Gay of downton Iloilo City Friday night as the fireworks show wraps up the week-long celebration of the Chinese New Year. (Photo by Tara Yap)

source: The Guardian ILOILO (http://www.theguardianiloilo.ph/)

ang mga temple roofs nga ini temporary lang ini sila? It looks nice kung they'll put these structures permanently for visitors to have a good feel of Iloilo's Chinatown. Indi lang Chinabank ni Sy and Botika Tsina ang mangin focal point dira.

Another big tourism potential of Iloilo is about to unfold. Paraw Regatta is the third best tourism event in the country last year. I hope it will continue to sails high to compete heads on with Dinagyang Festival, the country's best tourism event for 2 years in a row.

Paraw Regatta ‘sailing high’
By DAVID ISRAEL SINAY

ILOILO City – With the theme “Iloilo Paraw Regatta: Making a Name, Sailing High”, this year’s edition of the country’s most popular sailboat race will see over 50 colorful native outriggers out-speeding one another at the Iloilo – Guimaras Strait.

The Iloilo Paraw Regatta Foundation Inc. (IPRFI) said participating sailboats will sprint the 30-kilometer sea course on February 16 and 17.


this is a nice development of Paraw Regatta Festival. Wishing to see bigger Paraw Festival this year. And in order for Paraw to compete with Dinagyang, Paraw should increase more and more activities every year. Also, make Paraw an international event by inviting more international dignitaries to joins Paraw celebration.

^^ two of the best news this week. Question is, how can we make Iloilo more competitive and a choice for IT investors in the Philippines? How can we improve our services to these investors? Aside from brilliant and huge human resource available in Iloilo, what other factors Iloilo can offer to make these BPOs choose Iloilo for investments? How will this data affect Iloilo's competitiveness? And how will it affect Iloilo's booming IT industry?
more stable energy.
opening more PEZA-accredited places for BPOs.
maximising tax incentives.
improving infrastructures of the city and the metro region.