Visit www.missuniverse.com or www.nbc.com to vote for Miss Philippines for the Best National Costume award at the Miss Universe 2008 pageant. Vote ASAP kasi baka mag-close na ang voting. Thanks and God bless!

Visit www.missuniverse.com or www.nbc.com to vote for Miss Philippines for the Best National Costume award at the Miss Universe 2008 pageant. Vote ASAP kasi baka mag-close na ang voting. Thanks and God bless!

fenk :nuts:

Colombia stole RP's national costume

^^ Voted!

fenk :nuts:

Colombia stole RP's national costume
She didn't steal RP's national costume. Be it known that BPCI (Binibining Pilipinas Charity, Inc.) chair Stella Marquez de Araneta is a Colombian and has been hiring the services of the Colombian designer Alfredo Barraza, who, Pinoy gays popularly call Bazura. Barraza designed that costume for Gionna (Miss RP 2005) and recycled it this year for Miss Colombia's use. Other gowns worn by our candidates have either been worn by Colombians in other pageants or by our girls. In other words, kuripot ng BPCI at wala silang tiwala sa Pinoy designers. I mean look at the gowns of Misses RP and Colombia this year, both designed by Barraza. Biased--if you know what I mean.

I think it's probably the typhoon Reming that caused Legazpi to drop from the list. :(

fenk :nuts:

Colombia stole RP's national costume

It's not our national costume. It's just one of our tribes' costumes. Remember that the Philippines' national costume is the barong tagalog for men and the baro't saya for the women.

national costume or National Costume? hehe

^^Maganda naman pala ang National Costume na suot ng ating rep.

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/8966/07112008939qq2.jpg

http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/2659/07112008940fc5.jpg

Wakeboard event draws
world’s top sportsmen, guests (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july10/b-story.html)
By Juan Escandor Jr.




A huge crowd gathered to watch top world’s wakeboarders display their skills and tricks at the soon-to-open boat lake of the Camarines Sur Capitol complex.

PILI, Camarines Sur -- “It is the first that it happened,” said Shannon Starling, co-founder and president of the World Wakeboarding Association (WWA), describing the turn-out of participation from foreign nationals and locals in the 2008 WWA World Championship series which was held here from July 1-6 at the sprawling 150-hectare provincial capitol complex.

Starling said the open wakeboard competition world series have drawn here at least 250 participants in the amateur and professional categories coming from 20 countries, the Philippines included, where top seed wakeboarders from Australia, Europe, Canada, South Africa and the United States competed, that he said was a breakthrough in attendance they achieved in the 20th year of the world series since it started in 1988.

He noted that these participants from different continents have travelled far with their families and friends and it amazed him that in other venues of the wakeboard championship world tour, they had not attracted more than 150 competitors in open amateur and professional categories, with riders’ age range from under 9 to 50 above.

Related to water skiing, wakeboarding started in the US wherein the rider, instead of using a water ski, use a board to ride the wake but the innovative use of cable, instead of boat to tow the rider, started in Germany access after Bruno Rixen’s invention of cable powered skiing was officially recognized in the first German Cable Nationals held in 1972. In 1978, an unofficial European Championship was organized in Spain. Finally in 1985, the first official European cable ski championship in Germany was held, and a discipline in waterskiing was born and officially recognized.

Wakeboarding is an extreme sport executed with the aid of cable technology Rixen developed in Germany starting 1950s or with the aid of motorboat tow practiced in the US since the 1960s.

In the 1980s, there was a surge in the number of enthusiasts preferring to use wakeboard rather than ski, so that, a number of companies trained their eyes in the construction of cable parks that are now 160 units all over the world, mostly in Europe and the US, two of which are in the Philippines---one was the Camsur Watersports Complex (CWC) of the provincial government of Camarines Sur and the other one in Calatagan, Batangas.

The proliferation of cable parks opened access to the sport and drew more riders because of the advent of cable technology that eliminated the use of the more expensive boat operation to glide on the water. Since then, the wakeboard fever continues to catch fire among the young ones and extreme sports buffs, so to speak, that made way to the organization of the WWA.

Starling was even more surprised when they discovered that both the cable and boat categories of the 2008 WWA World Championship series could be held here simultaneously at the spacious boat lake of the provincial government which is yet to open.

Now 37, the WWA president who started wakeboarding in Florida when he was 15 years old, was impressed by the watersports facilities available at the provincial capitol here and described them as “nothing like anywhere in the world”.

He said the decision to start the boat wakeboard competition world series to simultaneously run the event with the cable wakeboard competition only happened here because the cable park and the boat lake are in one location.

Starling revealed that the boat wakeboard competition series would also be held in different countries, starting here in the Philippines, with its second stop in Detroit, Michigan in the Malibu Open, then, the series will move to Toronto, Canada; fly to Tokyo, Japan and back in the US for the finals at the Oklahoma City.

Gov. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte, top finalist in veterans division of 2008 WWA Championship series, said the additional watersports facility of the provincial government would officially make Camarines Sur a “watersports capital”, especially in the international tourism map.

Villafuerte said that the watersports facilities of the provincial government are designed to complement the existing number of hotels and tourist accommodation facilities of the provincial government and the nearby Naga City.

He said that with the number of foreign tourist arrivals now, the provincial government has run out of room to accommodate the foreign visitors, including international and national media that he said, are now billeted in several hotels in Naga City.

Starling said all the top pros from Australia, the United States, South Africa and several European and Asian countries are here to compete for at least $50,000 cash rewards for the top players of which the declared champion shall take the biggest cut based on the official results of the 5-venue world tour series.

“Not anywhere else have we ever simultaneously held both in one place the wakeboard competition by cable and by boat but here,” he exclaimed and he added that definitely they would like to hold it again here next year.

Starling said the CWC hosting of the 2008 WWA World Championship series took off in France and it holds it second set here, the first ever held in Asia and the Philippines. He said the next stop is Denmark to be followed by another event in Ukraine and the finals to be held in Germany, where the awarding of the champion shall commence.

CamSur/Naga tops anew Bicol tourist arrivals
CamNorte/Daet outpaces Albay/Legazpi (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july10/cn.html)

LEGAZPI CITY --- Camarines Sur, with Naga City as main hub, lorded it over the five other provinces and key cities in Bicol in terms of tourist arrivals during the first quarter of 2008.

Outrunning by a mile its nearest rival, Camarines Sur/Naga City posted a total of 127,202 tourists from January to March, this year. Of this number, 30,116 accounted for foreign tourists while the rest were domestic tourists, a whopping 97,086 of them.

Total tourist arrivals in Camarines Sur/Naga, in fact, represent almost one-half of the overall distribution of tourist arrivals in Bicol during the period, undoubtedly an impressive feat.

In a report released this week by the regional office of the Department of Tourism based in this city, second placer Camarines Norte/Daet surprisingly edged Albay/Legazpi City, albeit by a slight margin, posting tourist arrivals at 35,271 and 35,157, respectively.

On fourth place is the island province of Masbate, the country’s rodeo capital which is also rich in marine resources with a total tourist arrival of 26,978.

Sorsogon with its whalesharks in Donsol came fifth with 16,786, while Catanduanes, known for its surfs and beaches came sixth with 15,458. Noticeably, however, Catanduanes posted a total of only 299 foreign tourists during the three-month reporting period.

The report clearly shows that Camarines Sur/Naga’s 127,202 total arrivals almost approximate the combined 129,550 tourists generated by the five other Bicol provinces and key cities during the same three-month period.

In terms of total gross receipts, the region’s tourism industry generated a total of P135.7 million in tourism money, P77,684,040 of which, or more than half, were accounted for Camarines Sur/Naga City alone.

Gross receipts posted by foreign tourists despite their relatively smaller number compared to domestic tourists accounted for more in terms of peso generated because foreign tourists normally spend more than domestic tourists do. Thus, gross receipts generated by the over 30,000 foreign tourists that visited Camarines Sur/Naga amounted to P38,849,640 as compared to P38,834,400 expended by some 97,086 domestic tourists that visited the city and province during the first three months of 2008.

The DOT report estimated that a total of `102,431 jobs were generated by the tourism sector during the same period. Traditionally, these jobs are related to hotel and accommodation, food, entertainment, novelty and handicraft, and transportation industries.

Tourist arrivals are determined through registry/guest books of accredited hotels, lodging houses, resorts, and other types of billeting centers. Unregistered guests, like those who stayed in relatives’ or friends’ homes are therefore not included or factored in the DOT report. naga city visitors center

Naga to host 2009 Filipino heritage festival (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july10/naga.html)

WITH big national events already lined up to take place in Naga City in 2009, City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo last week added one more prestigious event to the list by formally accepting the invitation of the Filipino Heritage Festival, Inc. (FHFI) and the National Commission for Culture & the Arts (NCAA) for the city to host the closing ceremonies of the 2009 Filipino Heritage Festival to be held on May 28-29, next year.

This, even as Naga City has earlier won the bids to host the 2009 Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) National Championships and the glamorous National Urologists’ Midyear Convention.

Filipino Heritage Festival is a yearly month-long celebration centered on heritage. It features performances, visual arts, art and trade exhibits, thematic culinary events and other activities highlighting traditions and customs on heritage sites.

With its rich socio-clerico history, Naga City, then known as Ciudad de Nueva Caceres, easily qualifies as a fitting venue for a colorful closing ceremony of the nation’s biggest and longest-running cultural heritage celebration.

In a letter to Armita B. Rufino, president of the Filipino Heritage Festival, Inc, which is based in Makati City, Robredo said Naga City’s acceptance to host the event is in consonance with Presidential Proclamation No. 439 which declares the month of May as National Heritage Month. It is also in line with the city’s unwavering commitment in the nurturing of the Bicol Region’s rich cultural heritage, the city mayor added.

He stressed Naga’s participation in this significant event is also in solidarity with the Filipino people’s common goal to strengthen the social fabric as a potent tool in nation-building.

The celebration of the heritage festival, according to NCCA Chairman Ambeth Ocampo, is a manifestation of joining of hands, hearts and minds to protect, propagate, and celebrate our multi-faceted and rich Filipino traditions.

During the festival, various events are held on specific date in the month of May in different parts of the country, including Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Pampanga, Bulacan, Ilocos, and Metro Manila.

This early, the city mayor has directed Joe Perez of the Naga City Visitors Center to prepare the ground works and coordinate closely with Ana Maria Harper, FHFI festival director, to ensure a colorful and meaningful hosting of festival’s closing ceremonies.

The mayor said that the Naga-leg of the festival should be a concerted effort between the city government and the private sector.

The festival’s working theme for 2009 is “Awit at Kanta” which will highlight Bicol dance and music during the two-day closing ceremonies.

In the initial talks, Perez has appraised FHFI festival coordinator Judith Neric on the flowering of rondalla groups, choirs, and school-based cultural and performing arts troupes in the city and outlying towns. It was in 2004 that the City of Naga hosted the highly-successful First International Rondalla Festival which was participated in by over 21 rondalla groups coming from at least five countries.

Perez has suggested that the 5th Bicol Business Week be timed for next year’s heritage festival that will showcase Bicol trade and products, with a Bicol culinary or food festival as an added feature. It is also hoped that the yearly Penafrancia May Festival would coincide or at least take place close to the date of the heritage festival where distinguished guests and art and culture patrons from Manila and other major cities of the country would come to witness a highly-charged heritage celebration in Bicol, particularly Naga, which was one of the seven original royal cities established during the Spanish times.

An art and photo exhibit on Naga’s history and cultural heritage would also be in order, Perez said.

I didn't know that GMA7 already started its construction and it's opening will coincide with SM.

===============================================================================
For its regional center
GMA7 satisfied with quality of applicants (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july10/gma7.html)

GMA7 MEETS BICOL MAIL. Rikki Escudero (4th from right), VP for Regional TV and Head for News and Public Affairs Expansion Division of GMA7 is flanked by Bicol Mail’s “Cuadro de Jack,” Jason Neola (5th from right), Johnny Escandor (3rd from right, back row), BM Editor Joe Perez (2nd from right), and Jonas Cabiles Soltes (extreme right), during a break from Kapuso’s recruitment sortie at the Metro Naga Public Employment Service Office. The others in photo are members of the GMA7 recruitment staff (from extreme left): Christina Pascual, Regional News Program Manager for Bicol; Jo Marcelo, Admin. Manager, Regional TV; Jeannie Gualberto, Expansion System and Support Manager; and Engr. Roel Reyes, Technical Operations Center Manager.

RHANDY VILLAFLOR
NAGA CITY --- GMA7’s much-awaited Bicol Regional Broadcast Center based in this city will start full throttle operation towards the last quarter of this year or on the first quarter of next year, just in time for the formal opening of SM City Naga.

Rikki Escudero, VP for Regional TV and concurrent Head for News and Public Affairs Expansion Division of GMA7, said the timetable covers completion of their brand new building, and training of newly-hired staff and personnel, particularly those that will man the engineering and news production staff of the regional TV network.

Escudero who is heading the 3-day recruitment of personnel which started last July 8 at Naga’s Public Employment and Service Office at city hall here said she was amazed at the concentration of talent in Naga City and in fact, the whole Bicol region.

“Our recruitment sortie is a great success,” she told Bicol Mail. “We were able to identify many candidates for our hiring short list.”

Escudero assured that the regional broadcast center here will be manned by Bicolanos, from the administrative, to engineering and news production staff. More than a hundred applicants turned up for interviews during the hiring sortie that hoped to fill up some more than 20 vacant positions.

She disclosed that trainings for the newly hired engineering and production staff and talents would take six months at the earliest to assure quality local programming.

“We in GMA Network are excited that the Kapuso brand of entertainment, news and public service will soon be seen and felt in Bicolandia,” Escudero said.

GMA7’s Bicol regional broadcast center, which is nearing completion, is located at Panganiban Avenue, within the Naga City Subdivision, a few meters away from the site of SM City Naga which is also undergoing construction.

Its tower stands a stone’s throw away from the tower of its rival network, ABS-CBN that also beams its regional broadcast from this city.

I didn't know that GMA7 already started its construction and it's opening will coincide with SM.

===============================================================================
For its regional center
GMA7 satisfied with quality of applicants (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july10/gma7.html)

GMA7 MEETS BICOL MAIL. Rikki Escudero (4th from right), VP for Regional TV and Head for News and Public Affairs Expansion Division of GMA7 is flanked by Bicol Mail’s “Cuadro de Jack,” Jason Neola (5th from right), Johnny Escandor (3rd from right, back row), BM Editor Joe Perez (2nd from right), and Jonas Cabiles Soltes (extreme right), during a break from Kapuso’s recruitment sortie at the Metro Naga Public Employment Service Office. The others in photo are members of the GMA7 recruitment staff (from extreme left): Christina Pascual, Regional News Program Manager for Bicol; Jo Marcelo, Admin. Manager, Regional TV; Jeannie Gualberto, Expansion System and Support Manager; and Engr. Roel Reyes, Technical Operations Center Manager.

RHANDY VILLAFLOR
NAGA CITY --- GMA7’s much-awaited Bicol Regional Broadcast Center based in this city will start full throttle operation towards the last quarter of this year or on the first quarter of next year, just in time for the formal opening of SM City Naga.

Rikki Escudero, VP for Regional TV and concurrent Head for News and Public Affairs Expansion Division of GMA7, said the timetable covers completion of their brand new building, and training of newly-hired staff and personnel, particularly those that will man the engineering and news production staff of the regional TV network.

Escudero who is heading the 3-day recruitment of personnel which started last July 8 at Naga’s Public Employment and Service Office at city hall here said she was amazed at the concentration of talent in Naga City and in fact, the whole Bicol region.

“Our recruitment sortie is a great success,” she told Bicol Mail. “We were able to identify many candidates for our hiring short list.”

Escudero assured that the regional broadcast center here will be manned by Bicolanos, from the administrative, to engineering and news production staff. More than a hundred applicants turned up for interviews during the hiring sortie that hoped to fill up some more than 20 vacant positions.

She disclosed that trainings for the newly hired engineering and production staff and talents would take six months at the earliest to assure quality local programming.

“We in GMA Network are excited that the Kapuso brand of entertainment, news and public service will soon be seen and felt in Bicolandia,” Escudero said.

GMA7’s Bicol regional broadcast center, which is nearing completion, is located at Panganiban Avenue, within the Naga City Subdivision, a few meters away from the site of SM City Naga which is also undergoing construction.

Its tower stands a stone’s throw away from the tower of its rival network, ABS-CBN that also beams its regional broadcast from this city.

Wow na man... :applause::applause::applause: magkakaroon na pala tayo ng GMA Network Regional Center sa Naga :banana::banana::banana::banana:

^^Actually, matagal nang news yan ngayon lang naitayo at matatapos na.

^^ Congrats to Naga/CamSur for topping the tourist arrivals in the region again! And I'm excited re: GMA7 in Naga! :banana:

Magkatabi pala ang GMA and ABS-CBN sa Panganiban. Good luck to both networks! Haha!

^^Dumaan ako diyan pero di ko napansin ang construction. Mukhang iba yata ang pinansin me nun ah hehehe. Matindi talaga ang rivalry ng dalawa, pati station tinabi.

^^ Baka hindi lang talaga halata ung construction. Beside Panganiban lang ba talaga o is it inside the Naga City Subdivision?

^^Based on the news, it's inside of Naga City Subdivision facing ata sa ABS-CBN.

^^ Aah. Kaya siguro almost no one noticed the construction going on.

Hi guys, sorry hindi ko pa talaga naipopost ang lahat ng aking Naga photos. Sobrang busy pa kasi eh. Baka next year ko na maipost, waaaaa. :ohno:

A Kapuso station in the Heart of Bicol.

^^ A good unintende pun! Hehe! http://smilies.vidahost.com/kao/otn/blob_box.gif

Hi guys, sorry hindi ko pa talaga naipopost ang lahat ng aking Naga photos. Sobrang busy pa kasi eh. Baka next year ko na maipost, waaaaa. :ohno:

Keri. Basta i-post mo tomorrow ngayon ha? :lol:

A Kapuso station in the Heart of Bicol.

You belong.


^^ Congrats to Naga/CamSur for topping the tourist arrivals in the region again!

Thanks to the French Survivor.

Napansin ko yung itaas ng DMG building, dati may transmission tower ng GMA-7 pero ngayon wala na... doon na talaga lumipat ang GMA-7 sa ibang parte ng CBD-II

Maxado kasi akong curious noong unang buwan ng 2008, may ginagawang transmission tower na parang meters away from ABS-CBN tower pero una, di ko alam na GMA-7 na pala yun... Pero pinag-isipan ko, sa GMA nga yun since nadiskubre ko na wala na yung transmission tower sa DMG building...

Mayor promotes 12 core values to make Iriga a ‘Character City’

‘When you internalize the values, you become more productive’

By LEONARDO Q. BELEN

IRIGA CITY – If it is your first time to visit this city of more than a dozen springs, you will immediately wonder why it is called a "Character City."


And Mayor Madelaine Alfelor Gazmen is very proud about the city’s title.

"Iriga City has its own character which differs greatly from other cities or urbanized capitals and towns," Mayor Gazmen told us when we finally met her at her office in the newly built City Hall.

"When I took over as the city’s chief executive (she is now in her second term), I adopted a 12-core character values which I started to teach to the city government officials, the employees, and then to the barangays. These 12-core character values are what we are now spreading to the students and citizenry in general."

"It is a revolution from within," Mayor Gazmen said. "And when we achieve it successfully, and I know we will succeed, we will have a city that is truly a ‘character.’"

In the local dialect, Bicol, the 12-core character values are:

1. Kalinigan (cleanliness), 2. Kabuutan (generosity. Kindness), 3. Pagka-mapagpaunod (patience, tolerance), 4. Pagka-sugsug (decisiveness, persistence), 5. Pagigin-matanos (truthfulness, justness), 6. Pagka-magalang (respectful), 7. Pagka-maurot (industrious), 8. Kapakumbabaan (humility), 9. Pagkamasarigan (dependability, initiative), 10. Pagka-adimuwanon (resourcefulness), 11. Pagka-oyamut (thriftiness), and 12. Pagka-mapagmakulog (compassion).

"When you internalize the 12-core character values, you become more productive and creative," Mayor Gazmen said.

To have these core values easily adopted by the citizenry, one core character value is observed each month.

Mayor Gazmen, who reports to her office in simple attire, like blue jeans and loud-color T-shirt, succeeded in resolving the differences between the feuding politicians in the city, and they are now united to work for the city’s growth. Her campaign slogan is: Mag kausad kita! (Let us get together).

A very significant project of the city government is the Iriga Gawad Kalinga (GK).

Mayor Gazmen led the construction of the houses which were judiciously assigned to 104 homeless families.

The city government started with 20 units which it also funded, and later, donations come from various businesses, politicians and other concerned parties.

The GK project has even now become a tourist attraction because of its location on the base of a hill facing Mt. Iriga.

Another initiative of the mayor is the city’s Barangay Day, in which the city’s chief executive, the councilors, and other city government officials visit the barangays regularly and conduct dialogues with the people to identify problems and formulate the immediate solutions.

Napansin ko yung itaas ng DMG building, dati may transmission tower ng GMA-7 pero ngayon wala na... doon na talaga lumipat ang GMA-7 sa ibang parte ng CBD-II

Maxado kasi akong curious noong unang buwan ng 2008, may ginagawang transmission tower na parang meters away from ABS-CBN tower pero una, di ko alam na GMA-7 na pala yun... Pero pinag-isipan ko, sa GMA nga yun since nadiskubre ko na wala na yung transmission tower sa DMG building...

Actually, Its overlooking at the Diversion road, the GMA 7 transmission tower and the building ( i think still constructing a bigger building ) is located at the back of Mother Seton Hospital. but there is a small street besides Hope Christian School at Panganiban St. going to that Station.

Last week, I saw a number of the former Newscaster of abs-cbn. applying for a position in GMA-7 that was held in Metro-Peso Bldg.
Dakulon applicants, i think it was for 2 days ang mga nag apply.

Thanks to the French Survivor.

I don't think it's that alone. It won't even add dramatically to the numbers reported because only a handful of people have come for the shoot. Imagine a group of people to do a whole Survivor series, hindi naman ganun kadami di ba? I greatly point the reason to a rising tourism industry in the province and in the city. Sana lang hindi siya maging stagnant, sana mas lumaki pa. :)

galing nung idea nung wakeboarding park.
yun nakatulong talaga sa tourism, no?
naluma tuloy yung sa albay heehee.
sana mga leaders sa albay sing aggresive din nung sa camarines sur

May bagyo?

^^ Meron pero nasa may Batanes. Papunta east ang movement.

galing nung idea nung wakeboarding park.
yun nakatulong talaga sa tourism, no?
naluma tuloy yung sa albay heehee.
sana mga leaders sa albay sing aggresive din nung sa camarines sur

Yeah, I agree. But I'm seeing a lot of development in Albay as well, feeling ko Albay will follow suit, and the rest of Bicol too. Go Bicol! http://smilies.vidahost.com/kao/otn/bloblaugh.gif

I am very happy for the Great development of my dear Province and my City NAGA> :banana::banana::banana:
Progesibo na tlga ang Hometown Ko. CAM. SUR and NAGA:cheers:

So SAD lng Tlga sa ALBAY... nanghihinayang din ako, kc biruin u natalo pa ng DAET in terms of tourist arrival,,, so alarming ano na ba ang mga ginagawa ng mga mayors at governor jan? wake lng po, for sure nasa mga leaders ang mali.:ohno::ohno::ohno:

when I was young Im really proud of having mayon in BICOL,even though wala xa sa Cam Sur but still its part of Bicol...sayang nmn ang beauty ng Albay if nahuhuli sa bilang ng mga turistang pumpunta, it only reflects how undeserving yong mga namumuno jan...:ohno::ohno::bash:
But Take note Guys!!!
I'm proud for Cam Norte and Daet! mabuhay kau jan.:banana::banana:

^^ Welcome to the forums, heartofbicol! We're taking everything here constructively, so please give constructive criticisms as well. 'Wag po tayo magparinig if ever we are indeed doing so. Peace out! I'm proud to be a Bicolano! http://smilies.vidahost.com/otn/blobs/0000007.gif

kevin where do you get that green jumping smiley?

^ He must've sourced it elsewhere because that isn't in the SSC database. :)

^^ Got it from www.mysmilies.com :)

congrats to NAGA CiTY!!!!!! i am very proud to be a nagueño. like our nickname, heart of bicol, our city is the center of everything in Bicol!! it is the best in bicol!!!!no other city or town comes close! sorry na lang sa iba dyan na walang binatbat, baduy, etc. hahaha

Whose alter-ego are you? hehe

Madalì pang magka-ipo-ipo kasuodmang hapon. Hunà ko ma-hale storm na naman.

congrats to NAGA CiTY!!!!!! i am very proud to be a nagueño. like our nickname, heart of bicol, our city is the center of everything in Bicol!! it is the best in bicol!!!!no other city or town comes close! sorry na lang sa iba dyan na walang binatbat, baduy, etc. hahaha

Ano yan? Huminahon ka papz..!! haayz para kang c kua rudeness ^8^v

Ei..uzta..baka naman may image kau jan ng Freedom Sport Complex in Pili and Metro Naga sport Complex .. so we can post it sa Sub-Thread ng Stadium, Arenas...etc..


Naga City Rock:banana::banana::banana:

So SAD lng Tlga sa ALBAY... nanghihinayang din ako, kc biruin u natalo pa ng DAET in terms of tourist arrival,,, so alarming ano na ba ang mga ginagawa ng mga mayors at governor jan? wake lng po, for sure nasa mga leaders ang mali.:ohno::ohno::ohno:

when I was young Im really proud of having mayon in BICOL,even though wala xa sa Cam Sur but still its part of Bicol...sayang nmn ang beauty ng Albay if nahuhuli sa bilang ng mga turistang pumpunta, it only reflects how undeserving yong mga namumuno jan...:ohno::ohno::bash:
But Take note Guys!!!
I'm proud for Cam Norte and Daet! mabuhay kau jan.:banana::banana:

Excuse lang po... it's nice to know naga/camsur and daet/camnorte being the leading tourist destinations in bicol. but when leaving a comment pls be responsible. be sure you know what've written... hindi naman sa mali ang gingawa ang mga leaders dito, it means we need to work harder, the figure also states albay still get tourists, at least. FYI gov. salceda and especially mayor rosal are fore runners in promoting our province in all aspects of developments. pls don't be fooled by those figures in the statistics, they are not meant to stay the same forever. it's good you've highly appreciated camrineses' achievements but not at the expense degrading others.

congrats to NAGA CiTY!!!!!! i am very proud to be a nagueño. like our nickname, heart of bicol, our city is the center of everything in Bicol!! it is the best in bicol!!!!no other city or town comes close! sorry na lang sa iba dyan na walang binatbat, baduy, etc. hahaha

:ohno:

congrats to NAGA CiTY!!!!!! i am very proud to be a nagueño. like our nickname, heart of bicol, our city is the center of everything in Bicol!! it is the best in bicol!!!!no other city or town comes close! sorry na lang sa iba dyan na walang binatbat, baduy, etc. hahaha

If I were a mod. I would ban this guy instantly. I guess first offense lang sya. Pero I didn't see any prevoius post that warrants this behaviour. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/images/headers/16.jpg

:cheers:

^^ IMO, I don't like that side of Baguio. It looks like it's a mass residential project in the city. Basta, it looks dirty. Sana ibang pano na lang ng Baguio ung ginamit na banner. :(

@heartofbicol: You've heard everyone's side, I hope we can hear your side. We'll still welcome you naman, don't worry. Just make sure that that particular attitude will be set aside. :)

[QUOTE=fil07;22677578]http://www.skyscrapercity.com/images/headers/16.jpg

First impression, akala ko Brazil's Slum quarter.

^ reminds me of that scene in incredible hulk where he was living in brazil

^^ Agree. Heehee. http://smilies.vidahost.com/kao/otn/bloblaugh1.gif

^^para talgang slum ang pakakuha niyan.

^ reminds me of that scene in incredible hulk where he was living in brazil

Right, specailly the color of the picture:nuts:

Why can't they find other pictures of Baguio?

^^ Oooopppsss!!!! Tama na yan, guys. This is the Naga City thread. The answers to your questions about the panorama of Baguio chosen is in the Baguio thread. And the people from Baguio would happily answer your questions as well if you have more. :)

ano na nga pala nangyari dun sa Landco Park sa almeda? wala na ba talaga yon?
that was a good looking project i thought

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/proplandconaga.jpg

^^ I do think they didn't go on with the project although, AFAIK, 4 hectares of the total 12 has already been purchased. After the business park, there was an article saying that Landco will instead put up a subdivision in the city, but still no further news has been released since that one. I think the property will be just an unused property until such time that they'll have a bullish feeling over the Naga economy to push through with all of their pending projects.

ano na nga pala nangyari dun sa Landco Park sa almeda? wala na ba talaga yon?
that was a good looking project i thought

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/proplandconaga.jpg

Sayang ng project na iyan kung di matuloy. I guess, they're just waiting for the right time to materialize that project. Ang bagal kasi kung noon pa iyan di baka umiwas ang SM.

Hi there... it has been a long time ive posted from this site. .. btw, need some help from anyone who knows Bicol alot... Me and my officemates will be planning a trip this August. Need some comments and suggestions if this is doable in 4 days...

Our itinerary will be:

Day 1: MNL-WNP (Naga) - Plane
CWC, Naga tour
Day 2: Naga - Caramoan --->> definitely need some guidance...:nuts:
Caramoan - Naga
Day 3: Naga - Legaspi
Cagsawa tour, etc.
Day 4: Legaspi - Naga (My officemates only)
WNP - MNL (Officemates)
LGP - MNL (Me)

......... tour guides??? anyone?..
Need some help.. free meal.. heheheh
__________________




Hi RMB,

The Tourist department of Camarines Sur in the Ecovillage area, is promoting Caramoan, and they will also assist you from Manila to Naga Airport til Caramoan.

please visit this site www.gotavillage.com
and www.caramoanislands.com

or call cp no. 09283083969 or email at camsurtourism@gmail.com

have a nice trip bro. :banana:

^^Good there's an assistance already from the provincial government. This will make the tour easier.

P.5 B allotted for light bulb conversion (http://www.philstar.com/archives.php?aid=20080716112&type=2)
By Paolo Romero
Thursday, July 17, 2008
President Arroyo launched yesterday a P500-million program that aims to jump-start a massive replacement of electricity-hungry incandescent bulbs in households and work places with energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs.

Mrs. Arroyo led representatives from the youth, government, non-government organizations and religious sectors in the symbolic lighting of CFLs at the launching of “Palit Ilaw” or change light bulb program at the Philippine International Convention Center.

CFLs use about 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and lasts 10 times longer.

Mrs. Arroyo said the program would start with the replacement of incandescent bulbs with CFLs in government offices, public schools, state colleges and universities, government hospitals, and public areas.

She said funding for the project came from value-added tax revenues from increased oil prices.

She said “Palit Ilaw” is part of the Department of Energy’s SWITCH program aimed at mobilizing Filipinos in reducing energy and fuel consumption by at least 10 percent this year.

The program will be launched in the provinces in the coming days so that “all Filipinos would be aware of the importance of energy conservation,” she said.

“National fuel conservation is now entrenched as a first principle of statecraft. All government agencies have to reduce their energy bills by 10 percent,” Mrs. Arroyo said.

She also announced the government is now ready to shift into high gear its bio-fuel energy program as the first step to end the country’s dependence on imported oil.

She made the announcement at the Forum on Alternative Fuel for Public Transport at the Philippine Trade and Training Center (PTTC) in Pasay City.

The President said she will inspect starting July 21 the 1,800 hectares of lands across the country planted to jatropha under the government’s jatropha propagation program.

To date, 900 hectares have been planted to jatropha in Tamlang Valley in Negros Oriental; 500 hectares in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija; 200 hectares in Camarines Sur; 100 hectares in General Santos City; 60 hectares in Ara, Palawan; 40 hectares in Cagayan de Oro City; 14 hectares in Bohol; and five hectares in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental.

She said because of the energy efficiency programs initiated by her administration, the country is now 56 percent energy self-sufficient, the highest energy self-sufficiency rating in its history.

She said that aside from alternative sources of fuel, the government will continue to promote the use of natural gas for transport; geothermal steam, wind mills like those already operational in Batanes and Bangui, Ilocos Sur, and solar power for electricity.

“Let me assure our people of one thing, your government shall continue to harness all the resources at our command to help ordinary Filipino families pressured by cost and calamity at the same time. We continue to build a better tomorrow,” she said

Investments, tourism sustain Bicol economy in Q1 '08
By Mike dela Rama

LEGAZPI CITY, July 16 (PNA) -- The 97-percent growth in investments for the first quarter of 2008 and increasing tourism arrivals helped sustain the Bicol Region economy, despite the damage brought about by incessant rains and the rice shortage. The value of investments generated by the region in the first quarter of the year, as monitored by the Department of Trade and Industry, surged by 97 percent to PhP1.498 billion from PhP759.72 million in the previous quarter.

This was based on the Quarterly Regional Economic Situationer (QRES) report by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Regional Office in Bicol submitted to Albay Governor and Regional Development Council (RDC) chairman Joey Salceda. A remarkable increase of 69 percent was also observed from the investments generated by the region in the same period last year.

The services sector continued to be the biggest contributor to investments (80 percent) followed by industry (18 percent) and agriculture (2 percent),” the report said. Investments in the services sector posted a 114-percent growth over the previous quarter with finance, real estate, insurance and business services and wholesale and retail trade as the main sources of growth.

Albay contributed 83 percent of investments in finance and business services while Camarines Sur, Sorsogon and Albay played a part mainly in wholesale and retail trades. Among the provinces, Sorsogon and Catanduanes posted the highest growth (293 percent and 280 percent, respectively) in investments from the previous year. Albay contributed 39 percent to the region's investments and posted a growth of 221 percent from the preceding quarter.

Bicol recorded 256,746 tourist arrivals this quarter which is 48.6 percent higher than during the same period last year. Domestic and foreign arrivals comprised 86.27 percent and 13.73 percent of the total arrivals, respectively. Most of the foreign tourists were from France, the United States and Japan. Estimated receipts amounted to PhP131 million. Several events, aside from the major festivals, like the Tinagba in Iriga City and Tabak in Tabaco City, contributed to the top performance of the region's tourism for the first quarter.

Governor Salceda said that for the third time, Bicol Region hosted the kick-off of Asia's premier extreme sailing event, the Philippine Hobie Challenge last February 16 in Gubat, Sorsogon. The 260-mile journey from Gubat-Sambuyan-Bacsal-Marambut-Suluan to Siargao enticed both local and foreign water sports enthusiasts. It opened the opportunity for the municipality of Gubat to showcase the town's best.

These developments balanced the damage done by incessant rains, triggered by the tailend of a cold front since January 21 in the region, and dwindling supply of commercial rice in major urban centers. Rice prices rose to between PhP23 and PhP32 per kilo in the region. The QRES noted the need for appropriate interventions toward more efficient production and distribution systems to reduce food prices, as well as the continued push for tourism, infrastructure and more remittances in the area.

Tourism in the Bicol region will continue to boom with the surge in activities at the Camarines Sur Water Sports Complex, the annual Butanding Festival in Donsol, Sorsogon, the Magayon Festival and the Rodeo Masbateño in Masbate in the second quarter of the year, according to the QRES. Continuing inflows of overseas remittances are expected to buoy up strong domestic consumption expenditures. The outlook for inflation will be influenced by the impact of global slowdown and the escalating prices of food and energy products linked to imported oil.

This will further be affected by the impending increase in wages of government employees and private sector workers. An additional wage hike in the private sector may result in the downsizing of small and medium scale enterprises (SMES) and may affect employment. "Construction and rehabilitation of more roads, bridges, air and seaports and post-harvest facilities should contribute to the speedy flow of goods and services," Salceda also said. (PNA):banana:

Naga, Bicol welcome
delegates to PCL nat’l confab (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july17/naga.html)


NAGA CITY --- Over 350 to 400 city and town councilors from all over the country are expected to be warmly welcomed with a lot of smiles as they arrive here for the formal opening of the highly-charged First Quarterly National Executive and National Board Meeting of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) on Friday, July 18.

Last Wednesday, PCL Secretary-General Alma Moreno of Paranaque City led an advance party to be briefed on the preparations so far taken by the local PCL organizing group led by PCL-Bicol Chairman and Naga City Councilor John G. Bongat and the city government led by Mayor Jesse M. Robredo to ensure a successful hosting of the much-awaited gathering of the country’s top local legislators.

This morning, July 17, Ms. Moreno, the actress-turned-legislator, will meet with all the members of the host working committees, hotel representatives, and tours in charge for the final briefing at Emerald Room, Crown Hotel, Naga City.

Bongat has asked owners and operators of hotels, bars and restaurants, souvenir shops and other business establishments to roll off the red carpet for the visitors and guests during the 3-day conference.

Senator Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III will be the keynote speaker during the opening ceremonies and dinner to be hosted by Mayor Robredo at the Naga Regent Hotel. The senator will be accompanied by former Education Secretary Butch Abad, a fellow member of the Liberal Party. During the program, student performing artists from the Teatro Dignos of the Ateneo de Naga University and the popular string ensemble, Kwerdas de Naga, will provide music and dance numbers. Homegrown Olivera Brothers, known for their Latino songs and old-time favorites will also serenade the guests.

Registration of delegates will start at 7:00 a.m. of the same day at the La Piazza 1 of Avenue Plaza Hotel. A working lunch will be held at the Avenue Convention Center, to be followed by a national executive officers meeting at La Piazza 2 & 3 of the Avenue Plaza Hotel.

On the second day, the delegates will be treated to a cultural and live band entertainment at the Camarines Sur Convention Center, Capitol grounds, Cadlan, Pili, Camarines Sur during a dinner program to be hosted by CamSur Gov. LRay Villafuerte with Bicolano Senator Chiz Escudero as keynote speaker.

During their stay after a series of business meetings, delegates will be treated to learning tours in and around Camarines Sur and Albay to be hosted respectively by Alrbay Gov. Joey Salceda, Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman, Guinobatan (Albay) Mayor Juan Garcia, Iriga City Mayor Madelaine Alfelor-Gazmen, and Buhi (CamSur) Mayor Rey Lacoste.

Excuse lang po... it's nice to know naga/camsur and daet/camnorte being the leading tourist destinations in bicol. but when leaving a comment pls be responsible. be sure you know what've written... hindi naman sa mali ang gingawa ang mga leaders dito, it means we need to work harder, the figure also states albay still get tourists, at least. FYI gov. salceda and especially mayor rosal are fore runners in promoting our province in all aspects of developments. pls don't be fooled by those figures in the statistics, they are not meant to stay the same forever. it's good you've highly appreciated camrineses' achievements but not at the expense degrading others.

I have no intention na masaktan ang ngbasa ng post ko, If nasaktan kau then its up to you guys "its only my reaction to that issue". and based sa cnavi ko no need na my magalit. Posting to guys ng mga reaction so please dont be over-react.

Excuse lang po... it's nice to know naga/camsur and daet/camnorte being the leading tourist destinations in bicol. but when leaving a comment pls be responsible. be sure you know what've written... hindi naman sa mali ang gingawa ang mga leaders dito, it means we need to work harder, the figure also states albay still get tourists, at least. FYI gov. salceda and especially mayor rosal are fore runners in promoting our province in all aspects of developments. pls don't be fooled by those figures in the statistics, they are not meant to stay the same forever. it's good you've highly appreciated camrineses' achievements but not at the expense degrading others.

For me I'm just saying my comments. Un lng

Naga, Bicol welcome
delegates to PCL nat’l confab (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july17/naga.html)


NAGA CITY --- Over 350 to 400 city and town councilors from all over the country are expected to be warmly welcomed with a lot of smiles as they arrive here for the formal opening of the highly-charged First Quarterly National Executive and National Board Meeting of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) on Friday, July 18.

Last Wednesday, PCL Secretary-General Alma Moreno of Paranaque City led an advance party to be briefed on the preparations so far taken by the local PCL organizing group led by PCL-Bicol Chairman and Naga City Councilor John G. Bongat and the city government led by Mayor Jesse M. Robredo to ensure a successful hosting of the much-awaited gathering of the country’s top local legislators.

This morning, July 17, Ms. Moreno, the actress-turned-legislator, will meet with all the members of the host working committees, hotel representatives, and tours in charge for the final briefing at Emerald Room, Crown Hotel, Naga City.

Bongat has asked owners and operators of hotels, bars and restaurants, souvenir shops and other business establishments to roll off the red carpet for the visitors and guests during the 3-day conference.

Senator Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III will be the keynote speaker during the opening ceremonies and dinner to be hosted by Mayor Robredo at the Naga Regent Hotel. The senator will be accompanied by former Education Secretary Butch Abad, a fellow member of the Liberal Party. During the program, student performing artists from the Teatro Dignos of the Ateneo de Naga University and the popular string ensemble, Kwerdas de Naga, will provide music and dance numbers. Homegrown Olivera Brothers, known for their Latino songs and old-time favorites will also serenade the guests.

Registration of delegates will start at 7:00 a.m. of the same day at the La Piazza 1 of Avenue Plaza Hotel. A working lunch will be held at the Avenue Convention Center, to be followed by a national executive officers meeting at La Piazza 2 & 3 of the Avenue Plaza Hotel.

On the second day, the delegates will be treated to a cultural and live band entertainment at the Camarines Sur Convention Center, Capitol grounds, Cadlan, Pili, Camarines Sur during a dinner program to be hosted by CamSur Gov. LRay Villafuerte with Bicolano Senator Chiz Escudero as keynote speaker.

During their stay after a series of business meetings, delegates will be treated to learning tours in and around Camarines Sur and Albay to be hosted respectively by Alrbay Gov. Joey Salceda, Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman, Guinobatan (Albay) Mayor Juan Garcia, Iriga City Mayor Madelaine Alfelor-Gazmen, and Buhi (CamSur) Mayor Rey Lacoste.



so proud to be chosen as one of the councilors' tour guide around the city!

kakaproud tlga mging nagueno! esp. when they started saying gud things bout the city..hehhee

Hay, some people are just tactless. Just because they think this is a forum then they are so free to air their thoughts on things that affect everyone--so narrow for someone's definition of freedom of speech. And just a point of clarification, I "don't be over react."

On a positive note, SM is taking shape. I am excited about the whole thing. I might have lost track of the hullabaloos, but I wonder when it will open. :-)

^^First quarter next year...

so proud to be chosen as one of the councilors' tour guide around the city!

kakaproud tlga mging nagueno! esp. when they started saying gud things bout the city..hehhee

Wow, Congrats for being their tour guide.

What did they say? May we know about it, please?

Fil-Ams slate Naga visit 1st quarter 2009 (naga.gov.ph)

The National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA) has singled out this city as one of the places in the Philippines that a big delegation from King County, Washington, DC will visit early next year for its local interest/global connectedness program that is aimed at identifying opportunities for bilateral government, business and/or educational opportunities.

In a basic communication sent this week to Joe Perez of the Naga City Visitors Center, the NaFFAA said that a Fil-Am delegation would like to meet with key Philippine government, business and education leaders who would present information on opportunities and challenges in the Philippines.

During the interaction, the King County delegates, led by County Executive Ron Sims and Councilman Larry Gosset, would be asked to listen and to glean from the presentation points with an eye to discuss joint ventures, exchanges, and other collaborative activities.

Tentatively set for February 7-8, 2009, the group will be visiting Naga for a dialogue on “Filipino Imprint on the Local/Global Landscape” and discuss possible joint ventures and projects with the city mayor, other local officials and members of the Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

They also intend to visit Mayon Volcano in Albay and proceed to Caramoan peninsula for an overnight stay on its beaches and other interesting natural landscape.

Among the other places they plan to visit are Manila, Cebu, and Tagbilaran, Leyte.

NaFFAA had earlier established to improve and expand Washington State-Philippine relations through the formation of the Seattle-Cebu Sister City Association, the Tacoma-Davao Sister Association, and the Washington-Pangasinan Sister State Association.

The NaFFAA said that with over 70,000 Filipino-Americans in Washington State alone, with over 34,000 of them living in King County region, it is only natural that such potential be tapped.

It has been reported that over the past 30 years, Washington exports have contributed to nearly one-half of the state’s new jobs. As a major state trading with Asia, the Philippines ranks as the state’s 26th largest export country (China being number one), accounting for $400M in export sales in 2007 alone.

Given the Philippine population, its Western orientation and its economic potential, there is no reason why the Philippines cannot become one of Washington’s top trading partners, NaFFAA stressed in its communication to the Naga City Visitors Center.

The connectedness program also hopes to give the Fil-Am visitors the chance to experience Philippine culture and engage in trans-cultural projects, and help facilitate mutually beneficial program initiatives.

Salcon turns over water project to Naga residents (http://www.philstar.com/archives.php?aid=20080723195&type=2)

Thursday, July 24, 2008
Part of the earnings of Salcon Power Corporation (SPC) has been spent for the establishment of a water system to benefit residents of barangay Colon, Naga City.

SPC, which is generating 191 megawatts of power a day, yesterday turned over the P5.3-million Barangay Waterworks System to the Colon residents as their share of the earnings of the coal plant.

Antonio Labios, Department of Energy (DOE) regional director who graced the affair, said the Energy Regulation (ER) 194 mandated power plants to fund community projects of local government units.

Labios said the ER 194 has been an issue raised in several Regional Development Council (RDC) meetings with local government units wanting to get their share directly from the power companies.

Labios explained that the DOE is agreeable to the suggestion but said that it needs a new law to repeal ER194.

“So far DOE handles the fund but it is the local government unit who decided as to which component it is gonna be used,” Labios said.

SPC executive operating manager Antonio Corpus said the water system is a product of over 650,000 megawatts of power that it generated in the past years.

He assured of more benefits for barangay Colon with the opening of the new plant in partnership with the Korean Power Corporation (Kepco) next year.

The waterworks project, which started in 2005 and finished last year, is servicing 123 households in Colon at P75 per 15-cubic meter.

Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong challenged barangay Colon to take steps in servicing residents in nearby barangays if possible.

SPC is servicing electric companies with sales of P1.3 billion in 2007. — Ferliza C. Contratista/LPM

Back to top

^^It's Naga City, Cebu not here in Bicol.

^^hindi kasi klinaro ng article eh, hindi ba nila alam na dalawa na ang Naga City sa Pinas.

^^hindi kasi klinaro ng article eh, hindi ba nila alam na dalawa na ang Naga City sa Pinas.

Brrr. Hahaha! I think it's high time that Naga be renamed Ciudad de Nueva Caceres, or better yet, Nueva Caceres City. Beautiful name!

Bakit ba naman kc naging pareho ang name ng 2 City eh..!! Mejo nagka2roon 2loy ng pagkalito.. sa mga di naka2-alam..!!

Ew Sir dami q vote sa Ms. U peo wula eh..na2ringan pinaka-adik sa net surfing ang mga pinoy..Pagdating naman online vote di maka-ambag...Haayz:ohno::ohno::ohno:

Same din sa Text international Text Vote..!! Pinoy talaga waulang pagka2 - isa..!!

Bakit ba naman kc naging pareho ang name ng 2 City eh..!! Mejo nagka2roon 2loy ng pagkalito.. sa mga di naka2-alam..!!

Ew Sir dami q vote sa Ms. U peo wula eh..na2ringan pinaka-adik sa net surfing ang mga pinoy..Pagdating naman online vote di maka-ambag...Haayz:ohno::ohno::ohno:

Same din sa Text international Text Vote..!! Pinoy talaga waulang pagka2 - isa..!!

Hehehe. San Carlos City, Pangasinan and Cebu. San Fernando City, Pampanga and La Union. Are there other cities with the same name?

Hayaan mo na. Three years naman tayong nagka-award ng Miss Photogenic (2005-2007) through internet voting din. Nainis na siguro Miss Universe Organization.

^^Talisay City in Occ. Negros and Cebu.

Hehehe. San Carlos City, Pangasinan and Cebu. San Fernando City, Pampanga and La Union. Are there other cities with the same name?

There's still a San Fernando in CamSur. :D

And there's another Naga in Zamboanga although it's yet to become a city. :)

Question:

Is PAL Express operating in the city as well? I checked PAL Express' site and it showed Naga in the list of cities it operates in. Here's the link for PAL Express' site: www.palexpressair.com. Try searching for flights to and from Naga and you'll see that the city is in the list. Weird 'coz I've not seen any news about it.

Modern facility for small-scale entrepreneurs (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july24/modern.html)

A common service facility for small-scale pili nut processors in Naga City will be set up at the DOLE building within the City Hall Compound. It will be provided with packaging and labeling machine, and other equipment needed in the processing of pili nuts.

Funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, the project is managed locally by the Commission on the Role of Filipino Women through its GREAT (Gender Responsive Economic Action and Transformation) Women Program.

In Naga City, the project will be supervised by a local team headed by City Councilor Maria Elizabeth Lavadia with Atty. Leni Robredo of the Naga City Council for Women, in cooperation with the Metro Naga Development Council (MNDC).

The project is a livelihood enhancement program for but not limited to women entrepreneurs. Similar programs also are a being conducted in MNDC-member local government units.

It will enable small-scale pili nut entrepreneurs to be more competitive in the food business and penetrate a bigger market, as the soon to rise facility has passed the standards set by the Bureau of Food and Drugs and other concerned government agencies.

Each pili nut processor would have a scheduled time in using the facility depending on the production volume.

Lavadia said the program would also subsidize qualified entrepreneurs-beneficiaries.

She added that Haciendas de Naga Developer Boy Aman had agreed to supply pili nuts from the estate’s pili farm, which has 800 fruit-bearing pili trees at present. Jonas Cabiles Soltes

CamSur declared cyber corridor (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july24/camsur.html)
By Juan Escandor Jr.

PILI, CAMARINES SUR---President Macapagal-Arroyo last week has declared Camarines Sur province as among the next wave of cyber center to comprise the “Cyber Corridor in the Philippines” during the 8th Asean Science and Technology Week held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Gov. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte said the inclusion of the Camarines Sur province came as the Information Technology business here is peaking up with local and foreign outsourcing companies establishing businesses here with the available facilities in the 150-ha Capitol Complex.

Villafuerte said the Sutherland Global Services, a leading provider of business process outsourcing, is among the companies that now operates here at the 500-seat call center in the IT Park inside the Capitol Complex.

He said another one is a Korean company that also operates here inside the IT Park that employs 25 Bicolano teachers who teach English language through a distant learning technology using television monitors to Korean schoolchildren and professionals.

Villafuerte said that aside from this the provincial government also runs a medical transcription center and 2D/3D Digital Animation Center that provide employment opportunities to Camarines Sur residents.

“The inclusion of Camarines Sur in the Cyber Corridor in the Philippines is expected to result in more companies doing business in the province that will contribute immendselu in more employment opportuinities that will in turn accelerate the provincial economy,” the governor concluded.

Libmanan-Canaman Bridge will rise soon (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july24/soon.html)
By Jonas Cabiles Soltes

LIBMANAN, Camarines Sur---The National Economic and Development Authority has approved the construction of the P886 million Libmanan-Canaman Bridge that would connect this first class municipality to Canaman town.

This was relayed to Bicol Mail by a ranking town official who asked that his name be withheld for lack of authority to speak on the matter.

The proposed bridge would comprise two separate structures to span Bicol River at a total length of almost 500 meters, and would traverse Concepcion and Malbogon villages here and Barangay Fundado in Canaman town.

The proposed bridge would shorten travel time from this town to Naga City and would virtually put this town on the contiguity of Naga City’s metropolitan area.

Planners from the Department of Public Works and Highways already have conducted expected traffic volume studies.

Camarines Sur First District Representative Dato Arroyo has been supporting the project and is reportedly working on the project’s inclusion on next year’s national budget through the General Appropriation Act.

There is also a possibility that it would be constructed through a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme in partnership with Japan International bank and World Bank. Jonas Cabiles Soltes

^^
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=13.6690063&lon=123.1041241&z=15&l=0&m=a&v=2

http://images.inquirer.net/img/thumbnails/new/hea/pag/img/2008/07/20080727.jpg

http://bp0.blogger.com/_ROX8SmP4E6I/SCIInZDHZkI/AAAAAAAAAHE/7UM2VpGt1ek/s320/filipina+yzd+20080424.jpghttp://bp0.blogger.com/_ROX8SmP4E6I/SCII2ZDHZlI/AAAAAAAAAHM/k1n2pp8UBUk/s320/filipina+yzd+20080508.jpg

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/9757/072620081054ro2.jpg

More tourists seen with ‘Survivor’
(http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20080721-149837/More-tourists-seen-with-Survivor)

http://media.melty.fr/media-actu-image-156634-article-s.jpg
http://media.melty.fr/media-actu-image-156632-article-s.jpghttp://media.melty.fr/media-actu-image-156631-article-s.jpg
http://media.melty.fr/media-actu-image-162888-article-g.jpghttp://media.melty.fr/media-actu-image-162688-article-g.jpg
http://kohlanta2008.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/kl-carte-caramoan.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAbJjGCJVVI

WOW, JUST WOW... If I have time, I'd be watching this on YouTube!!! :)

There's still a San Fernando in CamSur. :D

And there's another Naga in Zamboanga although it's yet to become a city. :)

rename Naga as Caceres! wheheheh...

There's still a San Fernando in CamSur. :D

And another San Fernando on Burias Island, Masbate. :lol:

http://images.inquirer.net/img/thumbnails/new/hea/pag/img/2008/07/20080727.jpg

http://bp0.blogger.com/_ROX8SmP4E6I/SCIInZDHZkI/AAAAAAAAAHE/7UM2VpGt1ek/s320/filipina+yzd+20080424.jpghttp://bp0.blogger.com/_ROX8SmP4E6I/SCII2ZDHZlI/AAAAAAAAAHM/k1n2pp8UBUk/s320/filipina+yzd+20080508.jpg


:okay: :okay: :okay:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080727-150929/Caramoan-finds-fame-tourists-on-YouTube-Survivor

Caramoan finds fame, tourists on YouTube, ‘Survivor’
By Ephraim Aguilar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
07/27/2008

POWDERY WHITE SAND, CRYSTAL blue waters, lush vegetation, rock formations, marine life and, yes, fabulous sunsets—these are scenes from “Koh-Lanta Caramoan,” the French edition of the popular TV reality game show “Survivor,” shot entirely in the Caramoan Peninsula in Camarines Sur and now showing on YouTube.

Another website features a breathtaking view of Caramoan from a helicopter—the contestants’ first glimpse of the peninsula. Other tourist spots in the country are featured like Mayon Volcano in Bicol, the Banaue Rice Terraces, Chocolate Hills in Bohol, and Donsol, which is promoting itself as the butanding (whale shark) capital of the world.

Caramoan has been getting a lot of attention since the French edition of “Survivor” started airing in the first week of July. Already, tour packages to the peninsula’s white sand beaches and pristine islands, have proliferated on the Net.

YouTube user “TomFRules” has listed 10 of the peninsula’s best islands and beaches in his clip titled “10 reasons to go to Caramoan.”

Internet-savvy Kristina Gadaingan, who hails from Bicol but works in Manila, has already seen some episodes of the latest season of “Survivor-France” on YouTube.

10M viewers

She is excited to see the show because it was shot entirely in Caramoan, touted as the next Boracay.

“I’ve always wanted to go to places like Boracay or Palawan. I never knew there’s such a beautiful place close to home,” says Gadaingan of Legazpi City.

“Koh-Lanta Caramoan” started airing this month in French-speaking countries across Europe and in Canada. At least 10 million people are expected to watch “Survivor-France.”

Filipinos, who may not be able to see the French edition of the reality game show, are turning to the Internet to access what they can through the popular video-sharing site, YouTube.

Early post

A quick search of YouTube listed several interesting videos—some are trailers of the French reality game show while others are clips from actual episodes.

One of the earliest clips which was posted by user “kohlanta20081,” a week after the pilot episode aired in the first week of July, has been suspended, probably due to copyright infringement.

Another user, “kohlanta20083,” has posted two 30-second teasers of the latest episodes last Tuesday. No one knows, however, how long this could evade copyright watchdogs.

Longer clips

If you prefer longer clips showing more of Caramoan’s beauty, then check out http://2008-koh-lanta.skyrock.com. The blog has more clips of “Survivor-France” and more information on the contestants, however, since the site is in French, it may be a little difficult to navigate.

Another site, http://vodstream.tf1.fr/tf1divertissement/koh_lanta_8/episode_1/catchup1_ WMV9_464Kbit_etf1_169.wmv, opens with aerial views of Caramoan shot from a helicopter. Again, it is in French.

If you’re lost in translation, the site, http://babelfish.yahoo.com, translates foreign web pages into English and vice versa.

Virtual tours

Try googling “Caramoan” and you will find many references and links. First on the list is http://caramoan-paradise.blogspot.com.

Click on the link and this is what you get: “Need a worry-free, fun, exciting and adventurous stay at Caramoan? Been wanting to experience Philippine’s Secret Paradise? Eager to explore Camarines Sur? We can help you make your travel special. Please get in touch with me and let us start planning on your stay.”

YouTube user “danymous” has posted random video clips of Caramoan, added some music and the result is a music video showcasing the peninsula’s scenery—a musical virtual tour, so to speak.

Poor town hopeful

With all the exposure Caramoan has been getting, Mayor Constantino Cordial Jr. says he foresees his fourth-class municipality achieving second-class status within five to 10 years.

According to Cordial, Caramoan residents are also looking forward to the P320-million infrastructure projects pledged by President Macapagal-Arroyo through the Camarines Sur provincial government.

According to the mayor, the amount will cover expenses for the road networking, seaport repair and airport construction.

“We are in favor of all the development projects. But we have only one plea—that nature be preserved at its best,” says Cordial in a mobile phone interview.

Gota beach, which was closed to the public by the provincial government last summer because of the “Survivor” taping, has been reopened to the public.

However, Caramoan residents are now charged an entrance fee of P150 and tourists, P300. Cordial says the amount is quite expensive especially for the locals.

Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Raymund Villafuerte has said that once development projects are in place, the entrance to Gota beach may not always be free.

He also says Caramoan residents will benefit from the development of Gota beach in terms of employment opportunities.

Second time

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, during his visit to Caramoan on May, said this was the second time “Survivor-France” chose the Philippines for its location.

“Survivor,” a popular TV reality game show produced in many countries, isolates its contestants in the wilderness to compete for cash and prizes. They are divided into tribes and they vote off other contestants until only one is left.

The show is known to choose locations in exotic environments.

Last year, “Survivor-France” was shot in Palawan and after it was aired, the number of French tourists arriving in Palawan increased by 23 percent, Durano said.

^^ Those news are nice! Tourist boom in Caramoan would soon be felt! :cheers:

^^ San Fernando is quite a common name huh? :lol:

rename Naga as Caceres! wheheheh...

If there's a plebiscite amending the city's name, I'd prefer Caceres than Naga. It sounds better. Basta. :colgate:

I like Caceres, too. But adding "Nueva" is better idea. Nueva Caceres City!

I like Caceres, too. But adding "Nueva" is better idea. Nueva Caceres City!

Coolnesssssssssss papz...Nueva Caceres City :banana::banana::banana:

peo mas magandang pakinggan ang Metro Naga kc maiksi lang ang name compare 2 Metro Nueva Caceres unless Metro Caceres pedeng - pede xa

palagay dapat un ibang Naga ang mag change ng name eh..wahehehhehe
wak na poh tau...!!

^8^v

This is no brainer. Naga does not need to change its name. Besides being the most pretigious among the Naga/s of the Philippines, it is the oldest city as well. Likewise Naga City, Bicol has been awarded with national and international awards changing the city's name would rather be confusing. too late for it, it should be the other Naga/s that should be thinking about changing their name..rather they don't because by then they could ride or tag along with Naga City's famous name and achievements..:)

ARROYO'S STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS (Transcript) (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/109854/ARROYOS-STATE-OF-THE-NATION-ADDRESS-(Transcript))
07/28/2008 | 11:26 PM

Email this | Email the Editor | Print | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us State of the Nation Address of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
2nd Regular Session of the 14th Congress
Republic of the Philippines
28 July 2008

Thank you, Speaker Nograles. Senate President Villar. Senators and Representatives. Vice President de Castro, President Ramos, Chief Justice Puno, members of the diplomatic corps, ladies and gentlemen:

I address you today at a crucial moment in world history.

Just a few months ago, we ended 2007 with the strongest economic growth in a generation. Inflation was low, the peso strong and a million new jobs were created. We were all looking to a better, brighter future.

Because tough choices were made, kumikilos na ang bayan sa wakas. Malapit na sana tayo sa pagbalanse ng budget. We were retiring debts in great amounts, reducing the drag on our country’s development, habang namumuhunan sa taong bayan.

Biglang-bigla, nabaligtad ang ekonomiya ng mundo. Ang pagtalon ng presyo ng langis at pagkain ay nagbunsod ng pandaigdigan krisis, the worst since the Great Depression and the end of World War II. Some blame speculators moving billions of dollars from subprime mortgages to commodities like fuel and food. Others point of the very real surge in demand as millions of Chinese and Indians move up to the middle class.

Whatever the reasons, we are on a roller coaster ride of oil price hikes, high food prices and looming economic recession in the US and other markets. Uncertainty has moved like a terrible tsunami around the globe, wiping away gains, erasing progress.

This is a complex time that defies simple and easy solutions. For starters, it is hard to identify villains, unlike in the 1997 financial crisis. Everyone seems to be a victim, rich countries and poor, though certainly some can take more punishment than others.

To address these global challenges, we must go on building and buttressing bridges to allies around the world: to bring in the rice to feed our people, investments to create jobs; and to keep the peace and maintain stability in our country and the rest of the world. Yet even as we reach out to those who need, and who may need us, we strive for greater self-reliance.

Because tough choices were made, the global crisis did not catch us helpless and unprepared. Through foresight, grit and political will, we built a shield around our country that has slowed down and somewhat softened the worst effects of the global crisis. We have the money to care for our people and pay for food when there are shortages; for fuel despite price spikes.

Neither we nor anyone else in the world expected this day to come so soon but we prepared for it. For the guts not to flinch in the face of tough choices, I thank God. For the wisdom to recognize how needed you are, I thank, you Congress. For footing the bill, I thank the taxpayers.

The result has been, on the one hand, ito ang nakasalba sa bayan; and, on the other, more unpopularity for myself in the opinion polls. Yet, even unfriendly polls show self-rated poverty down to its 20-year low in 2007.

My responsibility as President is to take care to solve the problems we are facing now and to provide a vision and direction for how our nation should advance in the future.

Many in this great hall live privileged lives and exert great influence in public affairs. I am accessible to you, but I spend time every day with the underprivileged and under represented who cannot get a grip on their lives in the daily, all-consuming struggle to make ends meet.

Nag-aalala ako para sa naka-aawang maybahay na pasan ang pananagutan para sa buong pamilya. Nag-aalala ako para sa magsasakang nasa unang hanay ng pambansang produksyon ng pagkain ngunit nagsisikap pakanin ang pamilya. I care for hardworking students soon to graduate and wanting to see hope of good job and a career prospect here at home.

Nag-aalala ako para sa 41-year old na padre de pamilya na di araw-araw ang trabaho, at nag-aabala sa asawa at tatlong anak, at dapat bigyan ng higit pang pagkakakitaan at dangal. I care for our teachers who gave the greatest gift we ever received – a good education – still trying to pass on the same gift to succeeding generations. I care for our OFWs, famed for their skill, integrity and untiring labor, who send home their pay as the only way to touch loved ones so far away. Nagpupugay ako ngayon sa kanilang mga karaniwang Pilipino.

My critics say this is fiction, along with other facts and figures I cite today. I call it heroism though they don’t need our praise. Each is already a hero to those who matter most, their families.

I said this is a global crisis where everyone is a victim. But only few can afford to avoid, or pay to delay, the worst effects.

Many more have nothing to protect them from the immediate blunt force trauma of the global crisis. Tulad ninyo, nag-aalala ako para sa kanila. Ito ang mga taong bayan na dapat samahan natin. Not only because of their sacrifices for our country but because they are our countrymen.

How do we solve these many complex challenges?

Sa kanilang kalagayan, the answer must be special care and attention in this great hour of need.

First, we must have a targeted strategy with set of precise prescriptions to ease the price challenges we are facing.

Second, food self-sufficiency; less energy dependence; greater self-reliance in our attitude as a people and in our posture as a nation.

Third, short-term relief cannot be at the expense of long term reforms. These reforms will benefit not just the next generation of Filipinos, but the next President as well.

Napakahalaga ang Value Added Tax sa pagharap sa mga hamong ito.

Itong programa ang sagot sa mga problemang namana natin.

Una, mabawasan ang ating mga utang and shore up our fiscal independence.

Pangalawa, higit na pamumuhunan para mamamayan at imprastraktura.

Pangatlo, sapat na pondo para sa mga programang pangmasa.

Thus, the infrastructure links programmed for the our poorest provinces like Northern Samar: Lao-ang-Lapinig-Arteche, right now ay maputik, San Isidro-Lope de Vega; the rehabilitation of Maharlika in Samar.

Take VAT away and you and I abdicate our responsibility as leaders and pull the rug from under our present and future progress, which may be compromised by the global crisis.

Lalong lumakas ang tiwala ng mga investor dahil sa VAT. Mula P56.50 kada dolyar, lumakas ang piso hanggang P40.20 bago bumalik sa P44 dahil sa mga pabigat ng pangdaigdigang ekonomiya. Kung alisin ang VAT, hihina ang kumpiyansa ng negosyo, lalong tataas ang interes, lalong bababa ang piso, lalong mamahal ang bilihin.

Kapag ibinasura ang VAT sa langis at kuryente, ang mas makikinabang ay ang mga may kaya na kumukonsumo ng 84% ng langis at 90% ng kuryente habang mas masasaktan ang mahihirap na mawawalan ng P80 billion para sa mga programang pinopondohan ngayon ng VAT. Take away VAT and we strip our people of the means to ride out the world food and energy crisis.

We have come too far and made too many sacrifices to turn back now on fiscal reforms. Leadership is not about doing the first easy thing that comes to mind; it is about doing what is necessary, however hard.

The government has persevered, without flip-flops, in its much-criticized but irreplaceable policies, including oil and power VAT and oil deregulation.

Patuloy na gagamitin ng pamahalaan ang lumalago nating yaman upang tulungan ang mga pamilyang naghihirap sa taas ng bilihin at hampas ng bagyo, habang nagpupundar upang sanggahan ang bayan sa mga krisis sa hinaharap.

Para sa mga namamasada at namamasahe sa dyip, sinusugpo natin ang kotong at colorum upang mapataas ang kita ng mga tsuper. Si Federico Alvarez kumikita ng P200 a day sa kaniyang rutang Cubao-Rosario. Tinaas ito ng anti-kotong, anti-colorum ngayon P500 na ang kita niya. Iyan ang paraan kung paano napananatili ang dagdag-pasahe sa piso lamang. Halaga lang ng isang text.

Texting is a way of life. I asked the telecoms to cut the cost of messages between networks. They responded. It is now down to 50 centavos.

Noong Hunyo, nagpalabas tayo ng apat na bilyong piso mula sa VAT sa langis—dalawang bilyong pambayad ng koryente ng apat na milyong mahihirap, isang bilyon para college scholarship o pautang sa 70,000 na estudyanteng maralita; kalahating bilyong pautang upang palitan ng mas matipid na LPG, CNG o biofuel ang motor ng libu-libong jeepney; at kalahating bilyong pampalit sa fluorescent sa mga pampublikong lugar.

Kung mapapalitan ng fluorescent ang lahat ng bumbilya, makatitipid tayo ng lampas P2 billion.

Sa sunod na katas ng VAT, may P1 billion na pambayad ng kuryente ng mahihirap; kalahating bilyon para sa matatandang di sakop ng SSS o GSIS; kalahating bilyong kapital para sa pamilya ng mga namamasada; kalahating bilyon upang mapataas ang kakayahan at equipment ng mga munting ospital sa mga lalawigan. At para sa mga kalamidad, angkop na halaga.

We released P1 billion for the victims of typhoon Frank. We support a supplemental Western Visayas calamity budget from VAT proceeds, as a tribute to the likes of Rodney Berdin, age 13, of Barangay Rombang, Belison, Antique, who saved his mother, brother and sister from the raging waters of Sibalom River.

Mula sa buwang ito, wala nang income tax ang sumusweldo ng P200,000 o mas mababa sa isang taon – P12 billion na bawas-buwis para sa maralita at middle class. Maraming salamat, Congress.

Ngayong may P32 na commercial rice, natugunan na natin ang problema sa pagkain sa kasalukuyan. Nagtagumpay tayo dahil sa pagtutulungan ng buong bayan sa pagsasaka, bantay-presyo at paghihigpit sa price manipulation, sa masipag na pamumuno ni Artie Yap.

Sa mga LGU at religious groups na tumutulong dalhin ang NFA rice sa mahihirap, maraming salamat sa inyo.

Dahil sa subsidy, NFA rice is among the region’s cheapest. While we can take some comfort that our situation is better than many other nations, there is no substitute for solving the problem of rice and fuel here at home. In doing so, let us be honest and clear eyed – there has been a fundamental shift in global economics. The price of food and fuel will likely remain high. Nothing will be easy; the government cannot solve these problems over night. But, we can work to ease the near-term pain while investing in long-term solutions.

Since 2001, new irrigation systems for 146,000 hectares, including Malmar in Maguindanao and North Cotabato, Lower Agusan, Casecnan and Aulo in Nueva Ecija, Abulog-Apayao in Cagayan and Apayao, Addalam in Quirino and Isabela, among others, and the restoration of old systems on another 980,000 hectares have increased our nation’s irrigated land to a historic 1.5 million hectares.

Edwin Bandila, 48 years old, of Ugalingan, Carmen, North Cotabato, cultivated one hectare and harvested 35 cavans. Thirteen years na ginawa iyong Malmar. In my first State of the Nation Address, sabi ko kung hindi matapos iyon sa Setyembre ay kakanselahin ko ang kontrata, papapasukin ko ang engineering brigade, natapos nila. With Malamar, now he cultivates five hectares and produces 97 cavans per hectare. Mabuhay, Edwin! VAT will complete the San Roque-Agno River project.

The Land Bank has quadrupled loans for farmers and fisherfolk. That is fact not fiction. Check it. For more effective credit utilization, I instructed DA to revitalize farmers cooperatives.

We are providing seeds at subsidized prices to help our farmers.

Incremental Malampaya national revenues of P4 billion will go to our rice self-sufficiency program.

Rice production since 2000 increased an average of 4.07% a year, twice the population growth rate. By promoting natural planning and female education, we have curbed population growth to 2.04% during our administration, down from the 2.36 in the 1990’s, when artificial birth control was pushed. Our campaign spreads awareness of responsible parenthood regarding birth spacing. Long years of pushing contraceptives made it synonymous to family planning. Therefore informed choice should mean letting more couples, who are mostly Catholics, know about natural family planning.

From 1978 to 1981, nag-export tayo ng bigas. Hindi tumagal. But let’s not be too hard on ourselves. Panahon pa ng Kastila bumibili na tayo ng bigas sa labas. While we may know how to grow rice well, topography doesn’t always cooperate.

Nature did not gift us with a mighty Mekong like Thailand and Vietnam, with their vast and naturally fertile plains. Nature instead put our islands ahead of our neighbours in the path of typhoons from the Pacific. So, we import 10% of the rice we consume.

To meet the challenge of today, we will feed our people now, not later, and help them get through these hard times. To meet the challenges of tomorrow, we must become more self-reliant, self-sufficient and independent, relying on ourselves more than on the world.

Now we come to the future of agrarian reform.

There are those who say it is a failure, that our rice importations prove it. There are those who say it is a success—if only because anything is better than nothing. Indeed, people are happier owning the land they work, no matter what the difficulties.

Sa SONA noong 2001, sinabi ko, bawat taon, mamamahagi tayo ng dalawang daang libong ektarya sa reporma sa lupa: 100,000 hectares of private farmland and 100,000 of public farmland, including ancestral domains. Di hamak mahigit sa target ang naipamahagi natin sa nakaraang pitong taon: 854,000 hectares of private farmland, 797,000 of public farmland, and Certificates of Ancestral Domain for 525,000 hectares. Including, over a 100,000 hectares for Bugkalots in Quirino, Aurora, and Nueva Vizcaya. After the release of their CADT, Rosario Camma, Bugkalot chieftain, and now mayor of Nagtipunan, helped his 15,000-member tribe develop irrigation, plant vegetables and corn and achieve food sufficiency. Mabuhay, Chief!

Agrarian reform should not merely subdivide misery, it must raise living standards. Ownership raises the farmer from his but productivity will keep him on his feet.

Sinimula ng aking ama ang land reform noong 1963. Upang mabuo ito, the extension of CARP with reforms is top priority. I will continue to do all I can for the rural as well as urban poor. Ayaw natin na paglaya ng tenant sa landlord, mapapasa-ilalim naman sa usurero. Former tenants must be empowered to become agribusinessmen by allowing their land to be used as collateral.

Dapat mapalaya ng reporma sa lupa ang magsasaka sa pagiging alipin sa iba. Dapat bigyan ang magsasaka ng dangal bilang taong malaya at di hawak ninuman. We must curb the recklessness that gives land without the means to make it productive and bites off more than beneficiaries can chew.

At the same time, I want the rackets out of agrarian reform: the threats to take and therefore undervalue land, the conspiracies to overvalue it.

Be with me on this. There must be a path where justice and progress converge. Let us find it before Christmas. Dapat nating linisin ang landas para sa mga ibig magpursige sa pagsasaka, taglay ang pananalig na ang lupa ay sasagip sa atin sa huli kung gamitin natin ito nang maayos.

Along with massive rice production, we are cutting costs through more efficient transport. For our farm-to-market roads, we released P6 billion in 2007.

On our nautical highways. RORO boats carried 33 million metric tons of cargo and 31 million passengers in 2007. We have built 39 RORO ports during our administration, 12 more are slated to start within the next two years. In 2003, we inaugurated the Western Nautical Highway from Batangas through Mindoro, Panay and Negros to Mindanao. This year we launched the Central Nautical Highway from Bicol mainland, through Masbate, Cebu, Bohol and Camiguin to Mindanao mainland. These developments strengthen our competitiveness.

Leading multinational company Nestle cut transport costs and offset higher milk prices abroad. Salamat, RORO. Transport costs have become so reasonable for bakeries like Gardenia, a loaf of its bread in Iloilo is priced the same as in Laguna and Manila. Salamat muli sa RORO.

To the many LGUs who have stopped collecting fees from cargo vehicles, maraming, maraming salamat.

We are repaving airports that are useful for agriculture, like Zamboanga City Airport.

Producing rice and moving it cheaper addresses the supply side of our rice needs. On the demand side, we are boosting the people’s buying power.

Ginagawa nating labor-intensive ang paggawa at pag-ayos ng kalsada at patubig. Noong SONA ng 2001, naglunsad tayo sa NCR ng patrabaho para sa 20,000 na out of school youth, na tinawag OYSTER. Ngayon, mahigit 20,000 ang ineempleyo ng OYSTER sa buong bansa. In disaster-stricken areas, we have a cash-for-work program.

In training, 7.74 million took technical and vocational courses over the last seven years, double the number in the previous 14 years. In 2007 alone, 1.7 million graduated. Among them are Jessica Barlomento now in Hanjin as supply officer, Shenve Catana, Marie Grace Comendador, and Marlyn Tusi, lady welders, congratulations.

In microfinance, loans have reached P102 billion or 30 times more than the P3 billion we started with in 2001, with a 98% repayment record, congratulations! Major lenders include the Land Bank with P69 billion, the Peoples’ Credit and Finance Corporation P8 billion, the National Livelihood Support Fund P3 billion, DBP P1 billion and the DSWD’s SEA-K P800 million. For partnering with us to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit, thank you, Go Negosyo and Joey Concepcion.

Upland development benefits farmers through agro-forestry initiatives. Rubber is especially strong in Zamboanga Sibugay and North Cotabato. Victoria Mindoro, 56 years old, used to earn P5,000 a month as farmer and factory worker. Now she owns 10 hectares in the Goodyear Agrarian Reform Community in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay, she earns P10,000 a week. With one hectare, Pedro and Concordia Faviolas of Makilala, North Cotabato, they sent their six children to college, bought two more hectares, and earn P15,000 a month. Congratulations!

Jatropha estates are starting in 900 hectares in and around Tamlang Valley in Negros Oriental; 200 in CamSur; 300 in GenSan, 500 in Fort Magsaysay near the Cordero Dam and 700 in Samar, among others.

In our 2006 SONA, our food baskets were identified as North Luzon and Mindanao.

The sad irony of Mindanao as food basket is that it has some of the highest hunger in our nation. It has large fields of high productivity, yet also six of our ten poorest provinces.

The prime reason is the endless Mindanao conflict. A comprehensive peace has eluded us for half a century. But last night, differences on the tough issue of ancestral domain were resolved. Yes, there are political dynamics among the people of Mindanao. Let us sort them out with the utmost sobriety, patience and restraint. I ask Congress to act on the legislative and political reforms that will lead to a just and lasting peace during our term of office.

The demands of decency and compassion urge dialogue. Better talk than fight, if nothing of sovereign value is anyway lost. Dialogue has achieved more than confrontation in many parts of the world. This was the message of the recent World Conference in Madrid organized by the King of Saudi Arabia, and the universal message of the Pope in Sydney.

Pope Benedict’s encyclical Deus Caritas Est reminds us: “There will always be situations of material need where help in the form of concrete love for neighbour is indispensable."

Pinagsasama-sama natin ang mga programa ng DSWD, DOH, GSIS, SSS at iba pang lumalaban sa kahirapan sa isang National Social Welfare Program para proteksyonan ang pinaka-mahihirap mula sa pandaigdigang krisis, and to help those whose earnings are limited by illness, disability, loss of job, age and so on—through livelihood projects, microfinance, skills and technology transfer, emergency and temporary employment, pension funds, food aid and cash subsidies, child nutrition and adult health care, medical missions, salary loans, insurance, housing programs, educational and other savings schemes, and now cheaper medicine—Thanks to Congress.

The World Bank says that in Brazil, the income of the poorest 10% has grown 9% per year versus the 3% for the higher income levels due in large part to their family stipend program linking welfare checks to school attendance. We have introduced a similar program, Pantawid Pamilya.

Employers have funded the two increases in SSS benefits since 2005. Thank you, employers for paying the premiums.

GSIS pensions have been indexed to inflation and have increased every year since 2001. Its salary loan availments have increased from two months equivalent to 10 months, the highest of any system public or private—while repayments have been stretched out.

Pag-Ibig housing loans increased from P3.82 billion in 2001 to P22.6 billion in 2007. This year it experienced an 84% increase in the first four months alone. Super heating na. Dapat dagdagan ng GSIS at buksan muli ng SSS ang pautang sa pabahay. I ask Congress to pass a bill allowing SSS to do housing loans beyond the present 10% limitation.

Bago ako naging Pangulo, isa’t kalahating milyong maralita lamang ang may health insurance. Noong 2001, sabi natin, dadagdagan pa ng kalahating milyon. Sa taong iyon, mahigit isang milyon ang nabigyan natin. Ngayon, 65 milyong Pilipino na ang may health insurance, mahigit doble ng 2000, kasama ang labinlimang milyong maralita. Philhealth has paid P100 billion for hospitalization. The indigent beneficiaries largely come from West and Central Visayas, Central Luzon, and Ilocos. Patuloy nating palalawakin itong napaka-importanted programa, lalo na sa Tawi-Tawi, Zambo Norte, Maguindanao, Apayao, Dinagat, Lanao Sur, Northern Samar, Masbate, Abra and Misamis Occidental. Lalo na sa kanilang mga magsasaka at mangingisda.

In these provinces and in Agusan Sur, Kalinga, Surigao Sur and calamity-stricken areas, we will launch a massive school feeding program at P10 per child every school day.

Bukod sa libreng edukasyon sa elementarya at high school, nadoble ang pondo para sa mga college scholarships, while private high school scholarship funds from the government have quadrupled.

I have started reforming and clustering the programs of the DepEd, CHED and TESDA.

As with fiscal and food challenges, the global energy crunch demands better and more focused resource mobilization, conservation and management.

Government agencies are reducing their energy and fuel bills by 10%, emulating Texas Instruments and Philippine Stock Exchange who did it last year. Congratulations, Justice Vitug and Francis Lim.

To reduce power system losses, we count on government regulators and also on EPIRA amendments.

We are successful in increasing energy self-sufficiency—56%, the highest in our history. We promote natural gas and biofuel; geothermal fields, among the world’s largest; windmills like those in Ilocos and Batanes; and the solar cells lighting many communities in Mindanao. The new Galoc oil field can produce 17,000-22,000 barrels per day, 1/12 of our crude consumption.

The Renewable Energy Bill has passed the House. Thank you, Congressmen.

Our costly commodity imports like oil and rice should be offset by hard commodities exports like primary products, and soft ones like tourism and cyberservices, at which only India beats us.

Our P 350 million training partnership with the private sector should qualify 60,000 for call centers, medical transcription, animation and software development, which have a projected demand of one million workers generating $13 billion by 2010.

International finance agrees with our progress. Credit rating agencies have kept their positive or stable outlook on the country. Our world competitiveness ranking rose five notches. Congratulations to us.

We are sticking to, and widening, the fiscal reforms that have earned us their respect.

To our investors, thank you for your valuable role in our development. I invite you to invest not only in factories and services, but in profitable infrastructure, following the formula for the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway.

I ask business and civil society to continue to work for a socially equitable, economically viable balance of interests. Mining companies should ensure that host communities benefit substantively from their investments, and with no environmental damage from operations.

Our administration enacted the Solid Waste Management Act, Wildlife Act, Protection of Plant Varieties, Clean Water Act, Biofuels Act and various laws declaring protected areas.

For reforestation, for next year we have budgeted P2 billion. Not only do forests enhance the beauty of the land, they mitigate climate change, a key factor in increasing the frequency and intensity of typhoons and costing the country 0.5% of the GDP.

We have set up over 100 marine and fish sanctuaries since 2001. In the whaleshark sanctuary of Donsol, Sorsogon, Alan Amanse, 40-year-old college undergraduate and father of two, was earning P100 a day from fishing and driving a tricycle. Now as whaleshark-watching officer, he is earns P1,000 a day, ten times his former income.

For clean water, so important to health, there is P500 million this year and P1.5 billion for next year.

From just one sanitary landfill in 2001, we now have 21, with another 18 in the works.

We launched the Zero Basura Olympics to clear our communities of trash. Rather than more money, all that is needed is for each citizen to keep home and workplace clean, and for garbage officials to stop squabbling.

Our investments also include essential ways to strengthen our institutions of governance in order to fight the decades-old scourge of corruption. I will continue to fight this battle every single day. While others are happy with headlines through accusation without evidence and privilege speeches without accountability, we have allocated more than P3 billion – the largest anti-graft fund in our history – for real evidence gathering and vigorous prosecution.

From its dismal past record, the Ombudsman’s conviction rate has increased 500%. Lifestyle checks, never seriously implemented before our time, have led to the dismissal and/or criminal prosecution of dozens of corrupt officials.

I recently met with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US agency that provides grants to countries based on governance. They have commended our gains, contributed P1 billion to our fight against graft, and declared us eligible for more grants. Thank you!

Last September, we created the Procurement Transparency Group in the DBM and linked it with business, academe, and the Church, to deter or catch anomalies in government contracts.

On my instruction, the BIR and Customs established similar government-civil society tie-ups for information gathering and tax evasion and smuggling monitoring.

More advanced corruption practices require a commensurate advances in legislative responses. Colleagues in Congress, we need a more stringent Anti-Graft Act.

Sa pagmahal ng bilihin, hirap na ang mamimili – tapos, dadayain pa. Dapat itong mahinto. Hinihiling ko sa Kongreso na magpasa ng Consumer Bill of Rights laban sa price gouging, false advertising at iba pang gawain kontra sa mamimili.

I call on all our government workers at the national and local levels to be more responsive and accountable to the people. Panahon ito ng pagsubok. Kung saan kayang tumulong at dapat tumulong ang pamahalaan, we must be there with a helping hand. Where government can contribute nothing useful, stay away. Let’s be more helpful, more courteous, more quick.

Kaakibat ng ating mga adhikain ang tuloy na pagkalinga sa kapakanan ng bawat Pilipino. Iisa ang ating pangarap – maunlad at mapayapang lipunan, kung saan ang magandang kinabukasan ay hindi pangarap lamang, bagkus natutupad.

Sama-sama tayo sa tungkuling ito. May papel na gagampanan ang bawat mamamayan, negosyante, pinunong bayan at simbahan, sampu ng mga nasa lalawigan.

We are three branches but one government. We have our disagreements; we each have hopes, and ambitions that drive and divide us, be they personal, ethnic, religious and cultural. But we are one nation with one fate.

As your President, I care too much about this nation to let anyone stand in the way of our people’s wellbeing. Hindi ko papayagang humadlang ang sinuman sa pag-unlad at pagsagana ng taong bayan. I will let no one – and no one’s political plans – threaten our nation’s survival.

Our country and our people have never failed to be there for us. We must be there for them now.

Maraming salamat. Magandang hapon sa inyong lahat. ArticlesMedia Links
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^^so it's up to the other "Nagas" whether to change or retain their name
as to Naga City, Bikol remain as it is.

This is no brainer. Naga does not need to change its name. Besides being the most pretigious among the Naga/s of the Philippines, it is the oldest city as well. Likewise Naga City, Bicol has been awarded with national and international awards changing the city's name would rather be confusing. too late for it, it should be the other Naga/s that should be thinking about changing their name..rather they don't because by then they could ride or tag along with Naga City's famous name and achievements..:)

It's a good point. But whatever it is.. Naga City, Metro Naga, Nueva Caceres, Caceres (is the original city in Extremadurra, Spain). The new Naga City in Cebu or upcoming Naga's to come, can never be compared to our rich in history/culture, resources as well as our financial establishments.

^^so it's up to the other "Nagas" whether to change or retain their name
as to Naga City, Bikol remain as it is.

this is a rhetorical statement...

This is no brainer. Naga does not need to change its name. Besides being the most pretigious among the Naga/s of the Philippines, it is the oldest city as well. Likewise Naga City, Bicol has been awarded with national and international awards changing the city's name would rather be confusing. too late for it, it should be the other Naga/s that should be thinking about changing their name..rather they don't because by then they could ride or tag along with Naga City's famous name and achievements..:)


very well said papz..!! un...un eh

Naga City is one of the Original Cities in the Philippines..no need 2 change it's name talaga dapat..Hayaan natin mga Naga na yan sa other province dapat sa Naga, India sila or sa Nagasaki para solo natin ang pinas ^8^v ...!!

Naga City Rockz :banana::banana::banana:

Naga City Rock :banana::banana::banana:

:lol: Has anyone happened to see that rock? Jawk! Peace. Ahaha.

Sisay may pic sa bus kan penafrancia? sobrang hi class na ito ah... garo business class or a380 na bus hehehe

^^ The new Peñafrancia buses are actually Mercedes Benz-made. When I saw it, it was so like sosyal. :D The thing is I don't have any picture of it. :(

:lol: Has anyone happened to see that rock? Jawk! Peace. Ahaha.

I'm also looking for that rock ever since he posted that. :lol: :nocrook:

Sisay may pic sa bus kan penafrancia? sobrang hi class na ito ah... garo business class or a380 na bus hehehe

check this site, maybe this is the one your looking for..

http://pentours.blogspot.com/

another one

http://colnagoc40.multiply.com/photos/album/30

City earns from plastic waste; more dumptrucks purchased


Friday July 25, 2008
The city government recently entered into a contract buying agreement with two local junk shop operators that would turn plastic wastes into cash while at the same time reducing, if not totally eliminating the volume of non-biodegradable materials dumped daily at the Naga City Materials Recovery Facility in Bgy. Balatas here.

This was disclosed by Division Chief Engr. Joel Martin, of this city’s Solid Waste and Pollution Management who also heads the Motorpool as its officer-in-charge.

Martin disclosed that City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo recently entered into a memorandum of agreement with Arenas Junkshop located at Bgy. Del Rosario, this city, and Team Plastics Milaor of Milaor, Camarines Sur where the latter two junkshops agreed to buy waste plastics dumped at the Balatas MRF at pick-up price of P2/kilo, based on current market price.

Engr. Martin estimated that at least 10% to 12% of total mix wastes collected daily out of the city’s garbage are plastic wastes. This translates to about four tons, or more, of plastic wastes collected daily from the city’s households, schools, and office and business establishments.

Such volume, he said, when sold to the junk shop owners would mean at least P8,000 going into the city coffer daily.

Meanwhile, Engr. Martin disclosed that the city government had recently purchased through local funds two units of dump trucks and a towing truck to further boost the city’s garbage collection and MRF maintenance and management.

It was learned that the three brand new 6-wheeler type trucks cost P750,000 each, which was relatively a lot cheaper compared with purchases made by other LGUs for the same type of trucks.

Martin also disclosed that the city had earlier purchased a modern trailer-type vacuum declogger worth P6 million, again through local funds, that the city uses in the effective and fast declogging of the city’s crisscrossing drainage canals.

With the machine, declogging of drainage canals and retrieval of wastes that clog canals and the sewerage system would be conducted on a regular basis to minimize incidents of flooding and waste water overspill.

I always believe in the "Art of RE-CYCLING", specially todays climate change :)

Naga City Rockz :banana::banana::banana:

wahehehehe..aw mga papz..na MANGYAN na naman kau ^8^v

kanya kanyang style yan....wahehehehe

Sir Jerry uzta sa Goa...?! yan 2loy na O.T nah...!!?

Sisay may pic sa bus kan penafrancia? sobrang hi class na ito ah... garo business class or a380 na bus hehehe

E2 ba hanap mo papz..!?

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w227/axelSparxx08/23.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w227/axelSparxx08/benzy.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w227/axelSparxx08/17.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w227/axelSparxx08/24.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w227/axelSparxx08/IMG_4435.jpg


Welcome aboard one of Peñafrancia Tours’ most comfortable coaches with its new extra-deluxe Comfortec Benz © series which offers wider seats, spacious legroom and an extra-mile of unique features at very friendly rates.


Peñafrancia Tours launches most expensive bus series
Peñafrancia Tours officially launched its new Comfortec Benz bus series last April 20, 2008 at its home city of Naga.

The launching started with a motorcade around the city's major streets. The formal inauguration which was led by Peñafrancia Tours' Vice President for Administration and Finance, Ms. Lynette L. Cu, followed at the Starmark Royale where the buses were blessed and formally introduced to the elite riding public composed mainly of professionals and businessmen. Leading the ribbon-cutting and breaking of wine were Messrs. Don Ramos, Head of Technical Department of Mercedes Benz Philippines and Don Morales, Vice President for Marketing of Del Monte Motorworks, Inc. Both lauded Peñafrancia Tours for setting new standard and leading the public transport industry in the Bicol Region through the striving of its Executive Vice President & Gen.Manager, Mr. Bonifacio L. Cu, Jr. and its Vice President for Operations, Mr. Bonifacio Bryan L. Cu.

The Comfortec Benz buses are the more luxurious of its first Comfortec series which was introduced a few years back, and are bespoken of as Bicol Region's most expensive buses not only because they are the only European-made buses now plying the Bicol-Manila route but also because they came from the world's most respected luxury car manufacturer, the Mercedes Benz. The contrast, however, of this expensive and luxurious bus series lies in its highly affordable fare rate.

This new bus series gives its riders the luxury of space with its limited capacity of only 21 highly comfortable seats that feature an adjustable headrest, leg support and footrest. The passenger's viewing pleasure is not only enhanced by its 32-inch flat screen HDTV but also with its individualized audio system where audio jacks are installed in every seat so every passenger can just plug an earphone and have the pleasure of self-controlled sound volume.

Other features of the Benz series include a rest room complete with lavatory and mirror and a sleek toilet seat with push-button flush. The bus also runs on an air-suspension body system to make your travel truly comfortable.

To distinguish the new series from the other bus series of the company such as the BJ series and the deluxe Comfortec series with their tri-color ribbon-laced white-painted body, the extra-deluxe Comfortec Benz buses adopted glossy silver with red and gray body paint colors and design.

The Benz series initially services the Manila - Naga City route but is planned to extend to farther destinations when more units are acquired.

Peñafrancia Tours Rockz :banana::banana::banana:

Wow, it's a beautiful bus! Sasakay ako dyan! Hahaha! Ganda!

Naga City Rock :banana::banana::banana:

wahehehehe..aw mga papz..na MANGYAN na naman kau ^8^v

kanya kanyang style yan....wahehehehe

Sir Jerry uzta sa Goa...?! yan 2loy na O.T nah...!!?

Naks, style pala yun? "Naga City Rocks!" na lang para maayos naman tingnan.

Goa, my second home, is a lovely pulsating town. It already has a central terminal, probably the first town in Camarines Sur to have one. There are UCPB, Landbank, and PNB branches here, and of course, a favorite resto, Biggs. When I came here, Goa was a third-class town. Now, it has equaled the feats of Nabua, Calabanga, and Sipocot. If there were a Partido province, Goa would be the perfect capital. Hehehe!

Naka2limutan q lague lagyan ng z.....rockz yan dati eh...wahehehhe

aw..galing naman...lam nyo mga ninuno q nag donate ng ilan sa mga municipal property jan..estorya lang yan ng lola q...Dati - rati naki2kain lang sa bahay nila yang mga former Mayors ng Goa..knowing naman sa Bicol..lahat halos magkakakilala specially the oldies...!!

gabos may pag-galang sa mga gurang...yan ang gus2 q sa mga Bicolano eh..!!

Try 2 visit our Place in Salog..and Cagaycay...Visit mo ung wild river namin and the beautiful shot of Mt. Isarog along the Highway..!!

Cge Sir..!!

http://cwcwake.com/images/CWC_EXTREME_PLAYGROUND1024.jpg

Naks, style pala yun? "Naga City Rocks!" na lang para maayos naman tingnan.

Goa, my second home, is a lovely pulsating town. It already has a central terminal, probably the first town in Camarines Sur to have one. There are UCPB, Landbank, and PNB branches here, and of course, a favorite resto, Biggs. When I came here, Goa was a third-class town. Now, it has equaled the feats of Nabua, Calabanga, and Sipocot. If there were a Partido province, Goa would be the perfect capital. Hehehe!

Isn't it that Goa is considered the center of Partido?

I think so...i remember when i was in Lagonoy..They bought all the Fiesta needz in Goa not in Lagonoy's Banua...Cguro nga kc halos lahat, eh meon na sa Goa unlike in other Towns...Lagonoy, Sangay, San Jose etc....cguro mga 90% ng tao jan sa Goa namimili..!!

center of education na rin ang Goa..dba Sir..daming prominent School jan..!!
(ew teka..san ka poh ba nag22ro?)

Tama ka nga jan Sir kung meron nga pong Capital ang Partido Area...it'z Supposed 2 be na Goa na nga..!!

Qualified na po bang maging City ang Goa?! is there anybody there pushing it to cityhood..?

Teka..O.T na ata tau ah..!!!

Naga City Rockz:banana::banana::banana:

^^ I think Goa still doesn't reach a number of requirements. Its population, I think, still is not more than 100K so hindi pa siya actually pwede. Plus ung income niya, hindi ko rin sure kung OK na and the land area. Dami factors eh. Pero sa tingin ko, it will wait for a few more years before it can for cityhood.

http://images.inquirer.net/img/thumbnails/new/hea/pag/img/2008/07/20080731.jpg

^^ Bilib ako kay Grace Padaca tsaka kay Jesse Robredo. Ayoko kay Ed Panlilio.

Robredo-Padaca in 2010?

^^ For president and vice president? I doubt it. I think it will still take time for both to be really known in the country. You know politics in the country, fame and popularity.

I think so...i remember when i was in Lagonoy..They bought all the Fiesta needz in Goa not in Lagonoy's Banua...Cguro nga kc halos lahat, eh meon na sa Goa unlike in other Towns...Lagonoy, Sangay, San Jose etc....cguro mga 90% ng tao jan sa Goa namimili..!!

center of education na rin ang Goa..dba Sir..daming prominent School jan..!!
(ew teka..san ka poh ba nag22ro?)

Tama ka nga jan Sir kung meron nga pong Capital ang Partido Area...it'z Supposed 2 be na Goa na nga..!!

Qualified na po bang maging City ang Goa?! is there anybody there pushing it to cityhood..?

Teka..O.T na ata tau ah..!!!

Naga City Rockz:banana::banana::banana:

I think Goa cannot be a city yet. Its population isn't even close to 50 thousand. The income has considerably improved (second-class from third-class three years ago). The area is quite small, even if it includes the town of San Jose. There isn't even a government hospital (which, I think, is one requirement too).

Yes, it's the center of education in Partido area. It has PSU, which now offers more courses than it did before, Partido College, WRI, Fatima School of Science and Technology, and another computer school whose name I am momentarily forgetting.

I teach at the Philippine Science High School - Bicol (which is also in Goa), though I am from Daraga.

It may take years for Goa to become a city, but that isn't a drawback because the town is very alive.

I used to think that Lagonoy was better but when I reached it last year, I found that it is as sleepy as Tigaon. San Jose town proper is sleepier (very crude ang atmosphere), and yet its barangay Sabang is more popular than the town itself. Sagnay is quite detached but I love its dominant aura, a quiet town by the sea. Oh, I am being too talkative, but well, I am happy to be here five days of my life in a week. :)

Robredo-Padaca in 2010?

I honestly hope that Robredo enters the national scene. Kayang-kaya nya!

Sagñay is quite detached but I love its dominant aura, a quiet town by the sea.

I agree. I miss that town. I don't know what it has over me but I did love my vacation there which was almost 6 years ago. I hope I have another chance to stay there. :)

Jan ba located un Nato Beach..!?..ganda ng place na un..laki ng mga wave

pede sa surfing..!!

:banana::banana:

^^ Yes! Dun un! Ganda nga ng waves dun kaso maitim masyado ung sand. :( Pero masaya pa rin! :D

MICHAEL PADUA: MR. TYPHOON'S LATEST WEATHER FORECAST

EVEN AT A YOUNG AGE, MICHAEL Padua already knew what he wanted to do in life. “My mom told me that since I was about four years old I would run outside the house, look at the sky and observe the storms,” he laughs.

Now at 34, Michael is a celebrity of sorts, popularly known as “Mr. Typhoon” for turning his personal hobby of typhoon forecasting into serious public service.

Michael relays his weather information through his website, www.typhoon2000.ph. But local radio and TV stations get their weather info from him.

MR. TYPHOON

Like a one-man weather bureau, Michael gathers information from three weather agencies in the area: the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the US Navy & Air Force, Japan Meteoroligical Agency (JMA), and our very own PAGASA. He reveals that he gets most info from JTWC due to their advanced, technical forecasting methods. “I manage to interpret these into layman’s terms so that the public would understand. I guess that’s my forte.”


To further get accurate reading, Michael has his own equipment. “That’s a big thing for me because I can now record important data in my own backyard and transmit the data to people worldwide."

JUST A HOBBY

For Michael, typhoon forecasting started out just as a hobby. Unlike most forecasters though, he doesn’t have a degree in Meteorology.

What he lacked in formal training though, he made up for years of acquiring knowledge. By first grade, he was already teaching his classmates about typhoon signals. From newspaper cuttings of typhoon reports to attending workshops in PAGASA, Michael soaked up all the information he could lay his hands on.

He eventually took up BS Geography in UP Diliman, a course that he says has helped him more in explaining where typhoons pass.

Like a man possessed, Michael says that when a big storm is headed towards the country, he can stay awake for 48 hours straight. “The adrenaline is there whenever a storm comes.”

Michael says that last year’s Reming was the most memorable for him. “That super typhoon scared me! I often get excited during typhoons but not that one.” He adds that his weather instrument recorded gusts of 190 kph before it was hit by flying debris.

BATTING AVERAGE

Asked about the accuracy of his predictions, Michael says his average would be about 90 to 95 percent. “With typhoon or weather prediction, it’s a must that you learn all elements affecting a typhoon before you can forecast."

Sometimes though, forecasting comes to him instinctively. “It’s a gut feel. I can already look at the satellite and instantly know if there’s a storm brewing,” he shares. Michael cites the recent Typhoon Dodong, which he reported a day ahead of all the weather agencies.

Michael explains that his real day-job is actually Internet Center Administrator at the Naga College Foundation. But typhoon forecasting remains his first love. “It makes me happy.”


http://www.bicolhomepage.com/contents/september07/padua.html

Naga’s historical landmarks
By Jose V. Barrameda, Jr.
(First of a series)

http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july24/mapa1.html
CLICK to see MAP

CIUDAD DE NUEVA CACERES. This 1780 map shows the Naga Cathedral at its original site near the Naga River. That site is presently occupied by the Naga public market. Near the cathedral is the Casa Real, or town hall. The convent of San Francisco is at upper half of the map, its site presently occupied by San Francisco church. The bridge over the Naga River is approximately where Tabuco bridge is, where the Peñafrancia fluvial procession starts.

FROM COFFEE TABLE BOOK ‘VIRGIN OF PEÑAFRANCIA’ BY VITALIANO R. GOROSPE, S.J.

1. The Naga City Police Station at Barlin Street

Site of the Cuartel General of the Guardia Civil in Camarines. It was constructed of granite blocks and wood in 1870, shortly after the Guardia Civil succeeded the Carabinera de Seguridad Publica in 1863.

During the mass arrests in September 1896, Florencio Lerma (who was also held in the Casino Español); Cornelio Mercado; Don Tomas Prieto, alcalde of Nueva Caceres; and Macatio Valentin were brought to and tortured in the cuartel by Civil Guards under the direction of Captain Francisco Andreu, chief of the Guardia Civil in Ambos Camarines, and Don Ricardo Lacosta, Spanish civil governor of the province. The horrific torture wrenched the first of two legally infirm confessions from the frail pharmacist Prieto which the authorities used as basis for the arrest, torture and prosecution of scores of Filipinos in the province, some of whom were also subsequently forced to sign fabricated confessions under extreme duress.

Around midnight of 18 September 1898, two European Guards, a responding Spanish voluntario, Captain Andreu, his wife and children died in the cuartel when Filipino Civil Guard corporals Elias Angeles and Felix Plazo led an uprising of Bicolano and Tagalog Guards in Nueva Caceres. The action resulted in the formal surrender of the Spanish colonial government in Camarines, after more bloodshed, to the Filipino forces on 19 September 1898. Ciudad de Nueva Caceres and the province of Ambos Camarines thus became the first in the Bicol Region to be liberated by arms after three centuries and before the arrival of General Emilio Aguinaldo’s republican army in the city.

On 1 September 1901, following the organization by Captain Edward S. Luthi of a Philippine Constabulary Detachment in Ambos Camarines, the cuartel became the PC provincial headquarters. The occupancy by the Constabulary was interrupted by World War II, but the Constabulary soon returned after the war that saw Naga liberated from the Japanese Occupation forces on 13 April 1945 by guerrillas of Camarines Sur before American forces got to Naga, at that time the capital town of the province.

On 30 March 1978 the century-old building, which was by then the headquarters of the defunct Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police (PC-INP) in Camarines Sur. was totally razed by fire caused by faulty electrical wiring.

2. Site of the Casa Tribunal at Elias Angeles Street

Until 1839, the Casa Tribunal or “common house” at this site stood on grounds prone to flooding because of the Naga River that ran just behind the building. The river until that time veered rightwards just after the San Francisco Church, followed a course that is now roughly P. Burgos Street, then snaked left and ran roughly parallel to Elias Angeles Street until the river swerved eastward at the western end of Dinaga Street and continued into its present course.

Following Alcalde Mayor Manuel Esquivel y Castañeda’s project which rechanneled the twisting river into its present course and reclaimed the low-lying area from Padre Burgos and Dinaga, an improved, beautiful Casa Tribunal which provided free rooms to travelers stood on less soggy grounds in 1887. The Becerra Law of 12 November 1889 gave Nueva Caceres and six other principal towns in the Philippines the authority to organize their ayuntamiento similar to those in municipalities in Spain. The ayuntamiento in Nueva Caceres transacted official business in the Casa Tribunal. On 19 May 1893, the Maura Law changed the name Tribunal del Pueblo to Tribunal Municipio, and in Nueva Caceres people began to refer to the elegant ayuntamiento edifice of bricks and wood at the site as the municipio.

During the American colonial regime and the Commonwealth period, the building became the Municipal Presidencia. Destroyed by American bombs in World War II, it could not be immediately rebuilt as the city hall of the new city government of Naga due to a technicality. It was eventually rebuilt as a smaller wooden building that became the city police headquarters. After the century-old Spanish cuartel being used by the PC-INP burned down in 1978, the city government constructed a new building at the cuartel site which housed the Naga City Police Department. The former police headquarter building on this site became the Naga City Library until the latter’s transfer to its new, modern building in the City Hall complex.

3. Site of the Casino Español, corner Elias Angeles and Arana Streets

On this site stood the Casino Español, a spacious building of piedra china and wood that served as the social and recreational center of the male Spanish population of Nueva Caceres and neighboring towns.

Following the discovery of the Katipunan in Manila in August 1896, the Spaniards in Nueva Caceres organized themselves into homeguards and called their group the Cuerpo de Voluntarios. Patterning themselves after the Cuerpo Casino Español in Manila, the local volunarios made the Casino Español their headquarters.

When Civil Governor Ricardo Lacosta ordered to mass arrest all over Camarines starting in September 1896, the Casino Español became one of several holding areas for harsh interrogation and violent torture. Among those taken to the Casino were Antonio Arejola, Camilo Jacob (from the infirmary of the San Francisco Church), Florencio Lerma (who was subsequently transferred to the nearby Cuartel General of the Guardia Civil), Macario Melgarejo, Mariano Ordenanza and Manuel Pastor, and from Daet, Roman Cabesudo, Ponciano Caminar, Diego Liñan, Valentin Lipana, Gregorio Luyon, Adriano Pajarillo, and Pedro Zenarosa. Many arrests were made on mere denunciation by Spaniards in meetings in the Casino.

Two years after, in 1898, enraged Nagueños violently trashed the clubhouse during the bloody uprising led by Elias Angeles and Felix Plazo.

During the American regime, the building was acquired by pharmacist Julian de las Herras. American bombs destroyed it in World War II.

4. Site of the Casa Real at General Luna Street

By 1588, the Casa Real stood at this site. It was made of light indigenous materials and was the residence of the Alcaldo Mayor of Caceres who had jurisdiction over the entire Bicol Peninsula and Catanduanes. The building faced the Naga River which followed a course much nearer to it and remained so for two-and-a-half centuries.

In 1655, the Casa Real was of bricks and lime. The Alcalde Mayor still resided in the building. His jurisdiction had been delimited for more effective control to the geographical area roughly corresponding to present-day Camarines Sur. But because Nueva Caceres was the capital of the province (which at various periods included Camarines Norte) the Alcalde Mayor or Civil Governor also thereby exercised administrative control over the Spanish city which included the pre-Hispanic native villages of Naga, Tabuco, Camaligan and Canaman.

By 1792, in the site which was still vulnerable to sudden flooding from the wayward Naga River and to fire from the flimsy native houses crowded around the edifice, the Casa Real had been constructed with more durable stone materials. After the river’s course was straightened and the area up to the present Plaza Rizal cleared of homes and elevated with earthfill by 1839, the Spanish civil government as well as church authorities undertook a spate of public works projects. One of these was a new government building that, by 1887, had replaced the nearly century-old Casa Real. By then it was more popularly referred to as Casa de Gobierno. To the south side of the new government house was the civil governor’s residence, the lot and building of which were later acquired by an American, Judge Robert Manley, during the Commonwealth period.

Slightly damaged like other Spanish-vintage buildings in the 1898 uprising by Filipinos in Nueva Caceres, the Casa de Gobierno was enlarged and remodeled under the American colonial regime following the cessation of the Filipino-American War in Camarines Sur in the early 1900s. This was the same architectural icon that the invading Japanese Army took over in 1942 and which an all-Filipino guerrilla force in Camarines Sur wrested back, for the second time in World War II, from the Imperial Army of Nippon on 13 April 1945 before American soldiers arrived. Damaged by American bombing raids, the edifice was reconstructed under the new Philippine Government and remained the provincial capitol building of Camarines Sur until a fire destroyed it on 26 June 1976.

5. Calle Via Gainza (Peñafrancia Avenue)

Peñafrancia Avenue was first known as Via Gainza in honor of Bishop Francisco Gainza, O.P. (1863-1879), the 25th and considered by many to have been the greatest Spanish bishop of the See of Caceres.

Until around the second quarter of the 19th century, the thoroughfare was an unpaved road that stretched from the Peñafrancia Shrine in the present Barangay Peñafrancia to the San Francisco Church in front of what is now the Plaza de Quince Martires. Under his prelacy, Gainza widened and paved the road with stones and extended it to its present junction with the western end of Panganiban Drive that was then known as Calle Legaspi. Bishop Gainza’s design had the paved road with two outer lanes for opposing vehicular traffic and a middle lane for pedestrians.

Francisco Caracciolo Urreta Vizcaya de Gainza was born on 3 June 1818 in the city of Calahorra, province of Logroño, Spain. He joined the Dominican Order in 1833 and arrived on assignment to the Philippines in 1846. From a professorial chair in the University of Santo Tomas, he went on to hold various positions and assignments in and outside the country.

A month after he was consecrated bishop of Caceres at the Santo Domingo Church in Manila, he assumed his office in Nueva Caceres, on 19 March 1863. His episcopal rule saw the improvement of the Metropolitan Cathedral along with various churches in his See that at the time encompassed the Bicol Region and the eastern seaboard of Luzon up to Palanan, Isabela. He gave immediate, particular emphasis to the reconstruction and beautification of the Peñafrancia Shrine. A born linguist, he wrote the definitive history of the Patroness in the Bicol language in 1866. On that same year, he delivered his sermon in Bicol. An academic as much as a missionary, he had Fray Marcos Lisboa’s Vocabulario de la Lengua Bicol, long out of print since 1754, reprinted in 1865. The tome had been his basis for his study of the language

As Delegate of the Pope, a position he held concurrently as bishop of Caceres, he spoke out openly and joined the archbishop of Manila and the bishop of Cebu in refusing to defrock Fathers Burgos, Gomez and Zamora as formally requested by the Soanish government in the Philippines.

As an educator he reorganized the curriculum of what is now the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary and turned it into the premier educational institution in Southern Luzon that produced priests and bishops and lay Bicolano and Tagalog professionals up to the early part of the 20h century. His most visible legacy is the present Universidad de Santa Isabel which he established first as a primary school for girls in 1868, then as the first Normal College for women in the Philippines, called the Escuela Superior, in 1875.

On the same year that he opened the Escual Superior, he organized and successfully held in Nueva Caceres the first agricultural and industrial exposition ever in the Bicol Region. On a more lasting note, he extended the novenary in the Metropolitan Cathedral to Saturday, a practice observed to this day and opened with the annual traslaciom of the Lady of Peñafrancia down the length of Peñafrancia Avenue that once was named Via Gainza in his honor and memory. In the 1920s Via Gainza was shortened to that stretch up to Paz Street only; from Paz Street southward, it became Mabini Street.

http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july24/history.html

^ o wow. thats nice.
whats the bigger lake for?
edit" never mind, it says boatlake :D

^^ :lol:

What's a winch? Kulang na lang nin carousel, ferris wheel, horror train... ahihi

yea huh. whats a winch park?
ae those other places named del Rey after the governor himself?

yea huh. whats a winch park?
ae those other places named del Rey after the governor himself?

Because even trash bins here in Cam Sur have LRV. I didn't know that until my student expounded on this line "A steel bridge named after the congressman's wife now spans..." from a poem we discussed in class. Kakalurky!

play of words. can't accuse the gov for naming the government owned properties after him.

^^But the public infrastructures are owned by the people and for the people. If I were to legislate a law, I would make one that would prohibit politicians from taking advantage of public infrastructures and the like for their own benefit (i.e. indirectly campaigning for themselves by putting their names everywhere)...

i was just wondering. not that theres anything wrong with it.
i think its a good name for the boat lake lago del rey.

none of the facilities was named after the gov.

^^But the public infrastructures are owned by the people and for the people. If I were to legislate a law, I would make one that would prohibit politicians from taking advantage of public infrastructures and the like for their own benefit (i.e. indirectly campaigning for themselves by putting their names everywhere)...

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES
SECTION 13. Naming of Local Government Units and Public Places, Streets and Structures.

(d) None of the foregoing local government units, institutions, places, or buildings shall be named after a living person, nor may a change of name be made unless for a justifiable reason and, in any case, not oftener than once every ten (10) years. The name of a local government unit or a public place, street or structure with historical, cultural, or ethnic significance shall not be changed, unless by a unanimous vote of the Sanggunian concerned and in consultation with the PHC.

http://www.dilg.gov.ph/pdf/LGC%20Book%201.pdf

BSP shuts down G7 Bank of Naga City (http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20080801-152085/BSP-shuts-down-G7-Bank-of-Naga-City)

By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 17:42:00 08/01/2008

Close this MANILA, Philippines -- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the country’s central bank, has placed Naga City-based G7 Bank Inc. (Rural Bank of Nabua Inc.) under the receivership of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) effective Friday.

In a resolution approved Thursday, the BSP's policy-making Monetary Board ordered the rural bank, which has a relatively big deposit base of P3.4 billion, to be padlocked as it lacked assets to service liabilities.

In the last few days prior to its closure, some depositors complained at the BSP that they could not withdraw money placed with the bank. Some said they were advised to “split” their deposits within the P250,000 maximum amount per depositor insured by the PDIC.

In a statement Friday, PDIC assured depositors of the bank that the state deposit insurer would conduct payout of valid claims for insured deposits as soon as possible.

“For deposit insurance claims that are deemed valid, payout operations normally start in nine days or less. But, for claims that need further verification, more in-depth examinations are conducted which may include interviewing claimants and requesting them to submit additional supporting documents,” the PDIC said.

G7 Bank is a seven-unit bank with branches mostly in the Bicol region. Its branches are located in the following areas: Daraga, Albay; Ligao, Albay; Naga-E. Angeles-Panganiban Streets; Polangui, Albay; Nabua, Camarines Sur; and Pasig City in Metro Manila

I think Goa cannot be a city yet. Its population isn't even close to 50 thousand. The income has considerably improved (second-class from third-class three years ago). The area is quite small, even if it includes the town of San Jose. There isn't even a government hospital (which, I think, is one requirement too).

Yes, it's the center of education in Partido area. It has PSU, which now offers more courses than it did before, Partido College, WRI, Fatima School of Science and Technology, and another computer school whose name I am momentarily forgetting.

I teach at the Philippine Science High School - Bicol (which is also in Goa), though I am from Daraga.

It may take years for Goa to become a city, but that isn't a drawback because the town is very alive.

I used to think that Lagonoy was better but when I reached it last year, I found that it is as sleepy as Tigaon. San Jose town proper is sleepier (very crude ang atmosphere), and yet its barangay Sabang is more popular than the town itself. Sagnay is quite detached but I love its dominant aura, a quiet town by the sea. Oh, I am being too talkative, but well, I am happy to be here five days of my life in a week. :)

Lagonoy is a residential community. Compared to Tigaon, Lagonoy is more organized and cleaner. Sagnay is a peaceful and organized place for me.

^^ Yes! Dun un! Ganda nga ng waves dun kaso maitim masyado ung sand. :( Pero masaya pa rin! :D

Yup, I don't like the sand. I guess the place is perfect for surfing.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/3500/072620081062eh9.jpg

Gota Beach, Caramoan, Philippines (http://www.philstar.com/archives.php?aid=200808014&type=2)
By Ellen Joyce Oreste
Saturday, August 2, 2008
The pictures I sent you were taken two summers ago at the Gota Beach in Caramoan, Camarines Sur in the Bicol Region.

My friends anfd I stayed for a night.

The water is crystal clear and the place is just amazing, as you can see in the pictures.

For me, this is the best place in the philippines and it can really rival Boracay.

This beach is the location of the new French Survivor edition.

http://www.philstar.com/newphilstar/www/image/20080801/gota1.jpg

http://www.philstar.com/newphilstar/www/image/20080801/gota2.jpg

http://www.philstar.com/newphilstar/www/image/20080801/gota3.jpg

http://www.philstar.com/newphilstar/www/image/20080801/gota4.jpg

http://www.philstar.com/newphilstar/www/image/20080801/gota5.jpg

Naga’s interesting historical landmarks
By Jose V. Barrameda, Jr.
(Last of a two-part series)

6. Calle Real (Elias Angeles Street)

CALLE Real was one of the earliest streets in Spanish Nueva Caceres. It was laid out at about the time that the Castilian settlement was established as a city towards the close of the 1500s.

Originally, Calle Real ran in a northwesterly direction. From the eastern end of present-day Caceres Street (originally Calle Padian) it skirted the western bank of the original course of the Naga River at the central downtown area. It ended just beyond the Casa Real, and was connected by an unpaved road (in the area of P. Burgos Street now) along the northern side of the same river to the San Francisco Church in the east.

By the first half of the 19h century, Calle Real had been reoriented and lengthened in a more northerly direction that it retains to the present. With the transfer and construction of the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Seminario Conciliar and the bishop’s palace at their present site in the 1820s, the Ciudad’s central area enlarged with the rechanneling of the Naga River two decades later and the Colegio de Santa Isabel built afterwards, the paved Calle Real provided a wide and impressive avenue to which the road from Magarao, then called Camino para Nueva Caceres, linked up through the street that by 1899 would be called Bagumbayan.

Calle Real figured as a historic backdrop to events of September 1898, not the least having been the establishment of the Revolutionary Filipino Government of Camarines headed by Elias Angeles in the Colegio which faces the same street that witnessed the early shedding of Castilian blood and on which a delegation of Spaniards less than twenty-fours later walked to formalize the capitulation and end of Spanish colonial rule in the province.

On 15 January 1929, the Municipal Council of Naga (the name which had replaced Nueva Caceres) unanimously passed a resolution asking the American Governor-General of the Philippines for authorization to conduct a drive for public voluntary contributions to fund the construction of a monument to Elias Angeles. Twenty-nine years later, in 1958, the proposal remained unacted. In the meantime, Calle Real had been renamed Calle Elias Angeles.

7. Calle de Legaspi (Western portion of Panganiban Drive)

Until the 1830s, this street did not exist. It was part of the marshy land of the pre-Hispanic village of Naga then bordered by the eastern bank of the Naga River. The river at that time followed a course that ran roughly parallel to the present-day Elias Street, from what is now P. Burgos Street, to the western end of Dinaga Street

By 1839 when the river had been straightened to its present course and the swampy land all the way to Dinaga had been filled up, a rudimentary road from the side of the ayuntamiento building known as the Municipio appeared. It served as a short cut from Calle Real to the new western bank of Rio Naga. A light bridge of wooden planks and bamboo railings provided the first direct link to the other side of the river, to the Camino Real that led to Pili and points beyond. Around 1850, a solidly constructed bridge replaced the wooden span. It eliminated the need for heavy, wheeled vehicles to take the roundabout way via Tabuco to reach the Camino Real in the Pueblo of Naga. Vehicular traffic through the short cut increased and it gained importance as a commercial artery. When the authorities during the second half of the 19th century began to improve roads and name them after illustrious Spaniards, the once lowly footpath became Calle de Legaspi.

8. Puente de Naga (Lt. Delfin Rosales Bridge)

Before Alcalde Mayor Manuel Esquivel undertook his reclamation project, the area bisected by the Rio Naga east of Calle Real was part of the Pueblo of Naga. At that time Naga was accessed from the Ciudad de Nueva Caceres by a bridge of wooden slabs at the river’s original bend south of the San Francisco Church. This bridge led to a road that is now approximately Balintawak Street and ran in a north to southwest direction to the Pueblo de Tabuco. Perpendicular to the road in Naga was the Camino Real going to Pili.

Following the completion of Esquivel’s project around 1839, the Camino Real was extended to the new eastern bank of Rio Naga while a road was laid out on the opposite side that became Calle de Legaspi. With the appropriation of government funds in 1844 for the construction of a sturdier link between the two points, the existing light bridge was replaced with a massively designed one of concrete in 1847. The bridge was named Puente de Naga, and until the early parts of the 1900s people referred to it by that name. In the 1920s the bridge was renamed in honor of Bicolano Jose Maria Panganiban, a leading light in the Propaganda Movement.

Following its passage by the Sangguniang Panlungsod on 18 October 1989, Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo approved the ordinance that changed the name of the bridge to honor the memory of Lt. Delfin C. Rosales who sustained mortal wounds from enemy fire while rescuing a fallen guerrilla soldier on the bridge during one of the most significant events of the city’s history in the 20th century—the Battle for Naga in April 1945.

9. Site of the House of Bicolano Martyr Tomas Prieto (Corner Panganiban Drive and Peñafrancia Avenue)

Around half a century after the reclamation of this land area bounded by the present Naga River on the east, P. Burgos Street on the north, and Elias Angeles Street on the west all the way down Dinaga to the river boundary with Tabuco on the south, Don Tomas Prieto acquired a residential lot on which he built a large house on this site. He allowed a poor Chinese to use a portion of the ground floor while he himself put up his pharmacy store that opened to present-day Peñafrancia Avenue and Panganiban Drive. His botica soon became a favorite meeting place for resident and visiting ilustrados. Gifted with a photographic memory, he entertained his friends and guests who included a Freemason and fellow pharmacist from Cavite, Victoriano Luciano, with verbatim recitations of passages and even chapters of politically banned publications, including Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Luciano was likewise executed by the Spaniards in 1896.

Born on 18 September 1867, Tomas Prieto was the youngest of six children of Dee Se Co, a Chinese from Amoy, China, who took the name Marcos Prieto upon his baptism, and Juana Antonio, a resident native of Nueva Caceres. He spent his early years in the family house which was then at Calle Padian in what is now a part of the Naga City public market. Following his studies in the Seminario Conciliar de Nueva Caceres, he went to the University of Santo Tomas in Manila where he earned a Bachiller en Artes degree. He took up further studies in pharmacy and passed the examinations with the highest grades (sobresalientes) in 1888.

Returning to Nueva Caceres, he put up the first and only botica in the province at that time. He had an inclination for politics and by 1895 he was alcalde (equivalent to mayor) of Nueva Caceres. He still held the position when Spanish voluntarios from the Casino Español arrested him in his fairly new residence late in the evening of 16 September 1896 following an incriminatory confession by Vicente Lukban to the authorities in Manila.

Pronounced guilty by a Spanish military tribunal of the trumped-up charge of rebellion as defined in Articles 229, 230 and 232 of the Codigo Penal para Filipinas, he was executed by firing squad at 7:00 o’clock in the morning of 4 January 1897 at Bagumbayan Field in Manila together with his elder brother, Rev. Fr. Gabriel Prieto, and nine others from Nueva Caceres, namely, Rev. Fr. Severino Diaz, Rev. Fr. Inocencio Herrera, Manuel Abella, Domingo Abella, Camilo Jacob, Florencio Lerma, Mariano Melgarejo, Cornelio Mercado, and Macario Valentin. On 11 November 1896, nearly two months before the trial took place, Don Tomas Prieto’s house on this site and the properties of others arrested and executed with him were confiscated by the government on grounds of rebellion and disloyalty. Don Tomas left behind him his wife, Filomena Pasion, a niece of Mariano Arana, another martyred Bicolano from Nueva Caceres, and four young children. He was twenty-nine years old.

10. San Francisco Church

The church and parish of San Francisco antedated the erection of the Diocese of Caceres in 1595 by nearly two decades.

Originally of bamboo and other light materials, the church was built in this present site on a north-south orientation. Its puerta mayor faced its parish, the pre-colonial pueblo of Naga which lay across the Naga River that at that time curved from its southerly course to a westerly direction before winding southward again alongside present-day Elias Angeles Street.

By the middle of the 17th century, a church of bricks and lime had been constructed. Nearly two centuries later, San Francisco lost a portion of its parish when the river, straightened to its present course to mitigate flooding in Nueva Caceres, established the new boundary between native Naga and the Ciudad de Españoles. The two were connected about a decade afterwards by the new Puente de Naga, but the new boundary later precipitated an ecclesiastical controversy that contributed to the death of Fr. Gabril Prieto and Fr. Severino Diaz.

In the mass arrests of September 1896, the infirmary and basement of the San Francisco parish house were used for the interrogation and torture of some of those arrested from Nueva Caceres to as far as Libmanan. Among the detainees were Mateo Antero, Leon Hernandez (who was transferred to the provincial jail where he died from more torture), Camilo Jacob (transferred to the Casino Español), Eugenio Ocampo, Severo Patrocinio, Pablo Perpetua (later also taken to the provincial jail), Celedonio Reyes, Juan Razonable, and Vicente Ursua.

The infirmary, convento, and the church itself became the refuge of some 500 men, women and children when the Filipino Guardia Civil contingent led by corporals Elias Angeles and Felix Plazo rose up in arms against the colonial government towards midnight of 18 September 1896. Following another attack by the Angeles-Plazo forces the next day, Civil Governor Vicente Zaidin sent a letter from San Francisco offering to surrender the Province of Ambos Camarines to the Filipinos. In the afternoon of 19 September, a delegation of Spaniards signed the protocol of surrender in the Colegio de Santa Isabel, which became the seat of the new Filipino government of the province formed by Elias Angeles that same day.

Reduced to rubble by the heavy bombing of Naga in World War II, the church remained in ruins until the present new edifice was constructed.

Sources and references:

Domingo Abella. Bikol Annals: The See of Caceres. Manila, 1954.

Leon Sa. Aureus. “Third Annual Report of the City of Naga. Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1952.” (Mimeo)

Jose V. Barrameda, Jr. “A Filipino-Chinese Martyr.” Encounter Magazine, January 1989.

_______________(Julian Jose). “The Filipino Martyrs from Kabikolan.” Encounter Magazine, January 1989.

Codigo Penal y Ley de Enjuiciamento Criminal. 3ra edicion. Madrid: Centro Editorial de Gongora, Calle de San Roque,1. 1896.

Francisco Gainza, OP. The Lady of Peña de Francia. Jose V. Barrameda, Jr (trnsl). Naga City: Synergetic Communication Systems, 1981.

Danilo Gerona. Naga: The Birth and Rebirth of a City. Naga City: LGU Naga, 2003. Marcos Gomez, OFM. A Friar’s Account of the Philippine Revolution in Bicol. Apolinar Pastrana Riol, OFM (trnsl). Manila: Regal Printing Co., 1980. Felix de Huerta. Estado Geografico, Topografico, Estadistico, Historio-Religioso, de la Provincia de San Gregorio Magno . . . Binondo: Imprenta de M. Sanchez y Cia, 1865 . Legajo 52 #12 – Camarines Sur. The Philippine National Archives. Francisco Mallari. Vignettes of Bicol History. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1999. Pambansang Surian Pangkasaysayan. Kalendaryong Pangkasaysayan 1521-1969. Manila, 1996. (1st ed. 1970) Juan Francisco de San Antonio, OFM. The Philippine Chronicles of Fray San Antonio. Manila: Casalinda and Historical Conservation Society, 1977. Carmen San Buenaventura. “The Revolt in Naga.” 1934. (Typesript) Jacinto Ursua and Ignacio Meliton. “Martires Bicolanos: Un Episodio de la Revolucion del ’96.” Naga, Camarines Sur, 1940. (Typescript) Manuel Villanueva y Sarremo. Declaracion Jurada. 1938. (Handscript) Notes taken during interviews with Hon. Gabriel P. Prieto in Quezon City, 1959. Ramon Olaño provided documentation on the date of the Provincial Capitol fire on 26 June 1976.

Source: http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july31/landmarks.html

EU picks Camarines Sur for
‘justice for the poor project’

CAMARINES SUR was chosen as one of the five provinces to be covered by the European Union-funded Access to Justice for the Poor Project (AJPP), along with one province from Luzon, one from Vizayas, and two from Mindanao, partly because of a low human development index (HDI) mark it got in 2002.

HDI is a standard poverty incidence indicator combining the measures of life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment, and GDP per capita of a place. Low HDI means high poverty incidence

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Undersecretary Alicia R. Bala, who was here for the launching of the Access to Justice Networks, said the inclusion of a province in the P35 million project was based also on the accessibility of local courts in the province.

AJPP is a project between partnering government agencies that seeks to build and strengthen the capabilities of key players in the country’s judicial system through enabling the poor, particularly victimized women and children, to have greater access to the judicial process.

It aims to enhance the ability of the poor and other “vulnerable” groups to pursue justice through increased information dissemination on basic rights and the justice system.

DSWD is the government agency primarily tasked to implement the project along with the Supreme Court (SC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)and the participating local government units.

The project was started as early as 2006 with target beneficiaries of almost 70 provinces. The number of beneficiaries was cut down subsequently to five after its implementation was delayed by almost two years—owing to a late designation as to which government agency would be its lead implementor.

Bala said the project would last only until mid-August as the funding organization refused to extend the term of the project. But she said she was optimistic that the project would help in creating a system for reporting cases of domestic violence, rape, incest, trafficking in human, child labor, and juvenile delinquency.

The project is also aimed at creating a referral system for the said cases with the help from frontline personnel of participating government agencies and non-government organizations.

Other provinces covered by the project are Oriental Mindoro, Capiz, Lanao del Norte, and Sultan Kudarat. All in all, it covers 756 villages in 36 towns.

Source: http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/july31/eu.html

Yup, I don't like the sand. I guess the place is perfect for surfing.

Aww. I love the fine black sand. We were there on May 28, had fun. I loved the black sand especially when the sun was up.

SC stops court from evicting Naga City gov’t

By Juan Escandor Jr.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 02:27:00 08/05/2008

NAGA CITY – A Supreme Court ruling has temporarily stopped a regional trial court here from ejecting the city government from a five-hectare lot in favor of several private land claimants.

In a 17-page decision promulgated on July 9, the high tribunal reversed a Court of Appeals’ decision and ordered the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction to stop the execution of the ejectment order issued by RTC Branch 26 against the Naga City government.

The RTC issued a writ of execution pending appeal in 2005, when it ordered the local government unit to vacate the property on J. Miranda Street, where the government buildings and facilities were built, in favor of the Mariano heirs who claimed land ownership.

The Supreme Court set aside the court’s writ of execution pending appeal, notice to vacate and notice of garnishment. “We have ploughed through the records of this case and we are convinced of the pressing need for a writ of preliminary injunction,” it said.

“What the rule requires is that the act complained of be probably in violation of the rights of the applicant. Under the rules, probability is enough basis for injunction to issue as provisional remedy.”

The decision was penned by Associate Justice Leonardo Quisumbing, chair of the Supreme Court’s Second Division, and concurred with by Associate Justices Conchita Carpio Morales, Dante O. Tinga, Presbiterio J. Velasco Jr. and Arturo D. Brion.

Since Judge Felimon B. Montenegro issued the ejectment order on June 20, 2005, the city government had filed several motions to stop the ownership claim of the Mariano heirs, including a petition for preliminary injunction at the Court of Appeals.

A denial by the appellate court on Aug. 16, 2006, prompted the city to seek redress at the Supreme Court.

“Considering the circumstances of this case, we find that the Court of Appeals abused its discretion when it denied petitioner’s application for writ of preliminary injunction because of the pendency of respondents’ motion to issue writ of execution with the RTC, but ruled on the merits of the application at the same time,” the Supreme Court said.

It pointed out that the people of Naga would be deprived of access to basic social services as the contested land has government offices that perform important functions vital to the orderly operation of the local government.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20080805-152666/SC-stops-court-from-evicting-Naga-City-govt

^^ For president and vice president? I doubt it. I think it will still take time for both to be really known in the country. You know politics in the country, fame and popularity.

exactly the problem of our current presidential system of government. Popularity contest. Where in if we implement Parliamentary system yung mga binoto sa natin na ministers from our local legislatures lang ang pwedeng maging candidate for Prime Minister and to be voted by the ministers of parliament themselves and not the people. This way safeguarded ang highest post, making sure that highly qualified individuals can only make it to the top. And since it is being voted by the people elected ministers, these makes sure that divisiveness in the cabinet will be very minimal.

Aww. I love the fine black sand. We were there on May 28, had fun. I loved the black sand especially when the sun was up.

And here are shots of the beach.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/freaky_jerry/Banca2.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/freaky_jerry/Cottages-1.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/freaky_jerry/Foam.jpg

^^ Looks like Pasacao, a much cleaner Pasacao that is. :D

1M devotees expected at Peñafrancia festival in Bicol

MANILA, Philippines - Over a million devotees are expected to attend the Peñafrancia Festival in Bicol this September, Caceres archdiocese spokesman Fr. Luisito Occiano said.

Occiano, vice rector of the Basilica Minore that hosts the Our Lady of Peñafrancia, made the assessment in a statement on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website.

"The Archdiocese of Caceres is now preparing for the 2008 celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Patroness of Bicolandia this September with more than a million devotees expected to attend," Occiano said.

He also said a series of seminars would be undertaken in the different parishes in the city in preparation for the upcoming festivities.

Occiano said the seminar is aimed to brief the men devotees who would carry the image in processions in view of a more proper coordination and orderly activity.

The religious festival officially kicks off on September 3, with the start of the novena to the Divino Rostro.

It will end on September 12, with the Traslacion procession bringing the image of Ina from the Basilica Minore to the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral for the novena prayers.

On September 20, the colorful fluvial procession will take place. Here, the miraculous image will be brought around the city.

The image will then be transferred to a waiting pagoda to take the image back to her basilica minore..

This yearly activity dates back to the 17th century and has never failed to attract devotees, some of whom said they were cured of their diseases.

"It is our wish to see to it that with the big volume of devotees coming to visit Ina, order and solemnity of the religious activities are observed while everyone is given the chance to visit, pray and honor her during the occasion," said Occiano. - GMANews.TV

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/112003/1M-devotees-expected-at-Pe&ntildeafrancia-festival-in-Bicol

And here are shots of the beach.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/freaky_jerry/Banca2.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/freaky_jerry/Cottages-1.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/freaky_jerry/Foam.jpg

Are those in Nato, Sagñay? It looks calm not what i expected.

And here are shots of the beach.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/freaky_jerry/Banca2.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/freaky_jerry/Cottages-1.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/freaky_jerry/Foam.jpg

ew...!! Wow..na miss q yan ah..!!..Kulet ng waves jan..!! Dami pang seashell..!!

I remember last 2005 naligo kami jan...banda sa may batuhan..biglang lalim dun..sus...diit pa q malamos..may bangin din pala sa 2big..?!

thanx Sir...it'z brendetz

1M devotees expected at Peñafrancia festival in Bicol

MANILA, Philippines - Over a million devotees are expected to attend the Peñafrancia Festival in Bicol this September, Caceres archdiocese spokesman Fr. Luisito Occiano said.

Occiano, vice rector of the Basilica Minore that hosts the Our Lady of Peñafrancia, made the assessment in a statement on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website.

"The Archdiocese of Caceres is now preparing for the 2008 celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Patroness of Bicolandia this September with more than a million devotees expected to attend," Occiano said.

He also said a series of seminars would be undertaken in the different parishes in the city in preparation for the upcoming festivities.

Occiano said the seminar is aimed to brief the men devotees who would carry the image in processions in view of a more proper coordination and orderly activity.

The religious festival officially kicks off on September 3, with the start of the novena to the Divino Rostro.

It will end on September 12, with the Traslacion procession bringing the image of Ina from the Basilica Minore to the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral for the novena prayers.

On September 20, the colorful fluvial procession will take place. Here, the miraculous image will be brought around the city.

The image will then be transferred to a waiting pagoda to take the image back to her basilica minore..

This yearly activity dates back to the 17th century and has never failed to attract devotees, some of whom said they were cured of their diseases.

"It is our wish to see to it that with the big volume of devotees coming to visit Ina, order and solemnity of the religious activities are observed while everyone is given the chance to visit, pray and honor her during the occasion," said Occiano. - GMANews.TV

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/112003/1M-devotees-expected-at-Pe&ntildeafrancia-festival-in-Bicol

Peñafrancia is fast approaching. Just few weeks more, the celebration will begin.

^^ And don't forget to post photos huh?! :D

Propuestong LTO Reg’l office ihohobo sa Almeda Highway

An oficina rehiyonal kan Land Transportation Office (LT0) sa Bicol naghahalat na sana kan deed of donation kan tres mil metros cuadradong lote gikan sa City Hall kan Ciudad nin Naga nganing sa laog nin tulong bulan ponan na an contruccion kan bagong edificio kan LTO Bicol na digdi na ihohobo sa Naga hali sa Ciudad nin Legaspi.

Mawot nang maaraman kan LTO main office kun sain na parte sa Almeda Highway nganing maponan na an proceso sa pagbalyo kan titulo mientras na plano pang magbakal nin sarong hectaria lote na idodonar sa City Hall nganing digdi ibugtak an Motor Vehicle Inspection System sa rehiyon Bicol, sabi sa mga pahayag sa Bicol Mail ni Director Ramon S. Roco.

Ngonian na semana an mga oficial kan sinambit na agencia nakatalaan na magvisita kan lugar sa Almeda Highway na pig- aasegurar kan City Hall, alagad kaipuhan makapotan na muna kan local na gobierno an mga documentos sa pag-donar kan lote hali sa familia Almeda.

Si Bise Alcalde Gabriel H, Bordado Jr. nagsabi na an familia Almeda nagcierto na kan donacion kan lote mientras na dapat na areglaron muna an mga documentos.

An director kan LTO Bicol an nag-atubang na sa miembros kan Sanggunian Panlungsod na pigpahayag kaini an intencion kan saindang oficina central para sa sinambit na proyecto afuera kan icoconstruir na edificio kan babalyohan kan oficina rehiyonal.

Igwa nang preparadong fondo an sinambit na agencia sa pag-implementar kan proyecto huli ta delicado an saindang LTO regional office sa Ciudad nin Legaspi sa pagbulos kan lahar kun na tuga an Volcan Mayon.

Si nangyaring bagyong Reming kan taon 2006 na pigsabayan kan pagbulos kan lahar gikan sa Volcan Mayon na-afectar an oficina sagcod na grabi si destroso sa mga records, computer unit asin dakul pang kagamitan sa oficina sagcod na pigkakarkulo na maabot sa 40 milliones pesos si danyos.

Kun ihobo na sa Ciudad nin Naga an oficina rehiyonal mayo nang haditan sa ano man na pagbulos kan lahar.

Tugot na an oficina central kan LTO mientras na an district office sa Naga isasaro na sa bagong edificio.

LOMANG EDIFICIO KAN LTO GIGIBOHON LEGISLATIVE BLDG

Kun vacantihon na kan LTO an lomang edificio kan district office, kataid kan oficina rehiyonal kan NBI, ini gigibohon na Legislative Building nganing digdi na ibalyo an session hall kan Sanggunian Panlungsod, sabi ni Bise Alcalee Bordado.

Kaipuhan sanang pakarhayon an edificio huli ta sa presenting kamugtakan sa City Hall piot na para magka-igwa nin marhay na kamugtakan asin oficina an mga miembros kan consejo local.

An lote na natitindogan kan district office kan LTO sadiri pa kan LGU Naga.

Source: http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/august07/lto.html

Are those in Nato, Sagñay? It looks calm not what i expected.

It's honestly great there! We were there the whole day. The silence was enthralling.

And here are shots of the beach.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/freaky_jerry/Banca2.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/freaky_jerry/Cottages-1.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b214/freaky_jerry/Foam.jpg

Probably this should also be here. :D

http://siaoling.com/projects-malls.php

Jose Siao Ling pala ang nag-design ng SM. Wala lang. Hindi ko mapost ung photo. Hehehehe. :D

^
here kevin :D
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/mall17.jpg
image from http://siaoling.com/projects-malls.php

Advanced Happy fiesta to Naga City (sept 21)!!!! Advanced Happy Birthday to me as well (sept 20)!!! Hehehhe...

^
here kevin :D
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/mall17.jpg
image from http://siaoling.com/projects-malls.php

That looks better compared to the first rendering.

Naga remains robust amid economic crisis (www.naga.gov.ph)

By Juan Escandor Jr. and Jonas Cabiles Soltes

Describing the economic situation for the past 12 months “a storm that threatens whole societies”, Mayor Jesse Robredo, 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Government Service, said the city’s local economy remains robust despite the onslaught of soaring fuel prices and double digit inflation.

Addressing the city council here Tuesday morning for the state of the city address, Robredo reported a slight increase of 3.9 percent in the 612 newly registered enterprises as of the end of June 2008, compared to 591 registered enterprises in June 2007, that he said valued P454 million in total investments.

“In spite of the doubling cost of construction materials, we issued 46 percent more building permits this year over 2007, netting P562 million this year, 50.6 percent higher than last year’s P373 million,” he said.

Robredo noted, however, a decrease in application and approval of new subdivision permits from six last year to only three this year even as he reported a jack up in the value of investments from P59.5 million in 2007 to P376 million in 2008.

The mayor claimed the investments at the end of June 2008 have generated some 5,568 new jobs, based on the standard government computation that every P250,000 investment adds one job into the local economy.

“Moreover, data from the Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry business registry shows that the local economy is in fact more robust than we expect it to be. A total of 1,217 new firms opened shop in 2007, bringing the total to 8,303 from 7,086 in 2006---a bigger 17 percent increase,” Robredo went on.

He said the local economy has also been propped up by a thriving underground economy that he said served the people well in difficult time wherein roughly one of every three firms registered belong to the informal sector.

Naga City with a population of less than 200,000 belongs to category of small cities in the Philippines which the Asian Institute of Management declared as among the most competitive cities in the country.

Public satisfaction

Mayor Robredo’s report also focused on the city’s accomplishment in “building a more progressive city, establishing a livable urban district, and sustaining world-class governance system” amid grim situation fueled by rising cost of living.

Robredo especially cited economic indicators showing that the city’s economy remained “vibrant” and “resilient” amid economic uncertainties felt worldwide

He said city residents had a high level of satisfaction on the overall performance of city government officials, as reflected by a recent survey of Ateneo de Naga University’s Social Science Research Center.

According to him, the main reason why the city government had enjoyed a high level of satisfaction and trust among city residents was its innovative pro-poor programs, including programs in housing (Kaantabay), education (NEED, Sanggawadan, and QUEEN), livelihood and enterprise development (Metro PESO and CSWDO’s microlending), health and nutrition (Sentrong Sigla, Nutri-Ataman/Nanay/Dunong) which, he said, alleviated poverty in the city.

He said city government programs had contributed in achieving the target Millennium Development Goal numbers for the city including lower malnutrition and cohort survival rate for schoolchildren.

Naga City Coliseum

Robredo said that he remained convinced of the necessity of fully developing the Naga City Coliseum which would need P155 million, so the city government would proceed with the needed borrowings as it takes advantage of the fixed competitive interest rate, adding that the P155 million adjusted project cost was driven by the 100-200% increase in cement, steel bars and other construction materials.

He said that from a purely financial standpoint, the original projection that the Naga City Coliseum would be able to pay for itself was no longer true. Instead, the cost of fully developing the facility would be subsidized by the city. But with revenues from the SM mall coming on stream starting next year, he said that current levels of socioeconomic services of the city government would not be compromised by the full development of the coliseum.

He added that from a broader economic standpoint, the completion of the coliseum would generate direct and indirect benefits to the city’s economy that conventional cash flow projections could not do. This would be in the form of new enterprises that would be established, jobs that would be created, and various sociocultural events that would benefit society as a whole, he said.

Land Valuation

On real property valuation reform, he said the city government would clearly distinguish between real property valuation (which is a technical exercise mandated by law) and taxation, which would be open for discussion and negotiation.

He said that in response to the position taken by the Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the city government would reduce existing tax rates.

He also mentioned the establishment of a new sanitary landfill once Balatas dumpsite was closed, along with the revitalization of Naga River.

He said that the city government would assign persons to monitor Balatas-Dayangdang and the Isla-Penafrancia area to contain illicit drug trade that continues to proliferate in the area.

Urban Renewal Project

He said the P10 million urban renewal projects in the city’s old central business district had been started, and lampposts would be installed to complement the ones placed along Panganiban and Magsaysay Avenues. Plaza Quezon in the city proper would also be improved.

The city mayor also said that the city government would be developing and investing P4 million to set up Plaza Nueva Caceres beside the Naga City Public Market. The new plaza would feature monuments depicting important events in the city’s colonial era.

Another monument dedicated to Tomas and Luduvico Arejola would rise at the intersection of P. Diaz and Gen. Luna St. This project would be a tripartite undertaking between the city government, the Arejola Foundation, and city residents, he said.

To anchor the recommended historical walk within the city proper, markers for historical sites would be put up in places that used to be part of the original Ciudad de Nueva Caceres.

Robredo said he was confident that these projects would be carried out through multisectoral participation.

US parish builds Gawad Kalinga village in Camarines Sur (http://www.philstar.com/archives.php?aid=20080816166&type=2)
By Patricia Esteves
Sunday, August 17, 2008
For the parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi in San Jose, California, selfless love and compassion for the poorest of the poor must truly transcend borders.

And that is why the St. Francis of Assisi has built a village for poor families in Ocampo, Camarines Sur through Gawad Kalinga (GK) in keeping with their creed to serve and look after the poor wherever they may be.

St. Francis of Assisi is the first parish in the US to formally partner with GK and their very first village, consisting of 35 homes, was constructed in 2006.

“The stewardship of this church (is) taken from Matthew 25: to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, visit the sick. The spirit of St. Francis of Assisi is to reach out to serve others. This church is very big in serving the less fortunate,” says Julius Bercasio, full-time worker at the parish.

Msgr. John Sandersfield, pastor of St. Francis, together with Julius and dozens of parishioners, came to the Philippines and participated in the bayanihan build.

For five days, they immersed in the community and Julius says it was an amazing experience.

Growing up in the States as a second generation Filipino-American, Julius was disconnected to the Philippines and had a vague sense of his Filipino identity.

“I was born and raised here and my parents didn’t teach me to talk in Tagalog. Before I went on this GK trip, I considered myself more American than Filipino. I got some Filipino culture but not a strong identity,” says Julius.

But all that changed when he went to Bicol for the GK build and mingled with the poor beneficiaries.

“I’ve always known about the poverty but never firsthand. I went into the slums, and I saw the stark contrast between the GK villages and the slums. We had exposure to what GK is all about. Just hearing the story and the whole vision, I really was attracted to that, and seeing my pastors who were sick but still proceeded to do the build for the poor was really inspiring to me,” Julius enthuses.

He comes back to the country for a GK build every year, and Julius was assigned to lead the youth group whom he taught and guided.

Julius says he wants to share with young Fil-Ams the transformative experience he went through while building homes for the poor and to teach them to always have a heart for the poor.

“That’s my goal, to present opportunities like that to people who have never been exposed to that type of poverty. A lot of people born in America are living in a bubble. American culture is so individualistic, the American dream is being successful by what car you drive, how big your house is. Now, I am more into the Filipino dream, into bayanihan, of sharing, of embracing our creed of ‘less for self, more for others, enough for all,’” Julius says.

“I want Filipino-Americans to experience what I’ve experienced in the GK build, because I want them to see how great Filipinos are in serving their own countrymen, in creating positive and vibrant environment. I’m very proud to be a Filipino,” he adds.

A natural fit to GK

St. Francis of Assisi Parish is a small Christian community in the Evergreen area of San Jose, California with a very active lay leadership.

The concept is a small parish that can attend to the spiritual needs of the parishioners because a big parish can have a tendency to lose relationship with the parishioners due to the difficulty in connecting with a lot of people.

Its main advocacies are serving others, social justice and charity work.

“If we want it to be a big parish, we could have turned it into a mega church, with ten thousand parishioners, but that’s not our religion. Our religion is relationship and to just help one another and feed off each other,” says Julius.

Joe Millares, partnerships chair of GK-Ancop USA and a St. Francis parishioner, says Fr. John, who adheres to the concept of small churches, was attracted to building a village in the Philippines because he believes that is the way to build a community.

“Fr. John would always tell us that the idea of going to the Philippines was to help people raise their dignity but in the process, the parishioners are the ones being transformed. They experience the joys of a simple life,” he says

The parish continues to support the welfare of the beneficiaries of the GK Ocampo village in CamSur and to raise funds.

Every December, the parish also holds the traditional Simbang Gabi.

Before, each Simbang Gabi was sponsored by a family with a token gift aside from the regular collection but now, families offer their gifts and tokens for the beneficiaries of GK village in Ocampo, an expression of love that is being true to the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi – to be a man for others.

Back to top

^
here kevin :D
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/mall17.jpg
image from http://siaoling.com/projects-malls.php

My hero! :D

Urban Renewal Project

He said the P10 million urban renewal projects in the city’s old central business district had been started, and lampposts would be installed to complement the ones placed along Panganiban and Magsaysay Avenues. Plaza Quezon in the city proper would also be improved.

The city mayor also said that the city government would be developing and investing P4 million to set up Plaza Nueva Caceres beside the Naga City Public Market. The new plaza would feature monuments depicting important events in the city’s colonial era.

Another monument dedicated to Tomas and Luduvico Arejola would rise at the intersection of P. Diaz and Gen. Luna St. This project would be a tripartite undertaking between the city government, the Arejola Foundation, and city residents, he said.

To anchor the recommended historical walk within the city proper, markers for historical sites would be put up in places that used to be part of the original Ciudad de Nueva Caceres.

Robredo said he was confident that these projects would be carried out through multisectoral participation.

Ui! New plazas! Nice! :banana::banana::banana:

Should've been "amid" not "amidst".

^^ Tama naman ah.. :?

^^ Tama naman ah.. :?

Hehe. "Amid" is American; "amidst" is British. Philippine English is basically American. Parang when I attend Deped functions, the copy of the program is named "PROGRAMME" just so it would appear scholarly. :) Bicol Mail does not use a certain style guide in publishing articles, APA, MLA, Turibian, and the one used primarily in publications, Chicago Manual.

^^ I was saying that "amid" is what is in the title, not "amidst." So tama siya. :)

^^ I was saying that "amid" is what is in the title, not "amidst." So tama siya. :)

Ahaha. Oo nga. Sa Bicol Mail website, nakalagay "amidst". The word was corrected by the one who posted the article in this forum.

^^ Kaya daw ta nalerki ako sa post mo, Sir Jerry. :lol:

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/5601/072620081052yz8.jpg

CamSur open its doorway to international tourism maps (http://positivenewsmedia.net/am2/publish/Tourism_24/CamSur_open_its_doorway_to_international_tourism_maps.shtml)

PILI, Camarines Sur, Aug. 15 (PNA) -- The Camarines Sur provincial government is striving for the center-stage of tourism destinations around the world with its 'Caramoan Peninsula.'

Governor LRay Villafuerte said the wake of tourism development came about when the provincial government launched the Caramoan Peninsula that has caught worldwide attention, particularly in Europe.

He said the tourism potentials of Caramoan Peninsula is comparable to other prominent tourist destinations in the world and are now obviously in the international tourism eye.

Villafuerte said selected places around the Caramoan Peninsula, was chosen by the hit reality TV game show "Koh-Lanta Caramoan" - the French franchise of the popular American "Survivor" series to film the episodes entirely on the location at Matukad Island, chosen for its pristine beauty and untamed charm.

The series started to be aired weekly all over Europe since July until September this year.

According to Corinne Vaillant, film and show director, "we chose Caramoan for its 'wild paradise' charm, Caramoan's powdery sand, neighboring islets, towering limestone formations, and even coconut trees truly make a lost, wild paradise."
Tourism Secretary Ace Durano expressed excitement over the anticipated surge of tourists from Europe to Camarines Sur generated by the Koh Lanta Caramoan primetime program as well as reruns at the Internet YouTube, which is expected to generate influx of foreign tourists, which might doubled the figures generated after the airing of Koh-Lanta Palawan." (PNA)

City, municipal engineers set to hold 7th nat’l convention in Naga (http://positivenewsmedia.net/am2/publish/Events_26/City_municipal_engineers_set_to_hold_7th_nat_l_convention_in_Naga.shtml)

NAGA CITY, July 27 (PNA) -- Some 600 city and municipal engineers from various parts of the country are expected to attend the 7th National Convention of the City and Municipal Engineers Association of the Philippines (CMEAP) on August 13-15 at the newly completed modern Naga Regent Convention Center here.

This year’s convention theme is “Local Government Engineers: Unyielding and Steadfast to Local Government Units Development Goals.”

Naga City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo will welcome the delegates and participants while Camarines Sur Gov. LRay Villafuerte will keynote the convention.

The three-day convention will tackle issues such as the new implementing rules and regulation of the National Building Code of the Philippines, the legality and status of the position of city and municipal engineers appointed as local building officials, and earthquake engineering and disaster management on building administration.

There will also be an open forum and discussion with Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Ramon P. Aquino to chair the panel.

Host City Engineer Leon ‘Chito’ Palmiano IV said there will be product presentation within the convention proper to make the participants acquainted with the latest products and technology in building construction and other engineering works.
Congressman Dato Arroyo (1st district, Camarines Sur) and Tigaon Mayor Arnulfo Bryan B. Fuentebella have also been invited to give inspirational messages during the convention. (PNA)

Hehe. "Amid" is American; "amidst" is British. Philippine English is basically American. Parang when I attend Deped functions, the copy of the program is named "PROGRAMME" just so it would appear scholarly. :) Bicol Mail does not use a certain style guide in publishing articles, APA, MLA, Turibian, and the one used primarily in publications, Chicago Manual.

Does it mean the word PROGRAMME does not have to do with either British or American?

Guys, I saw all of Elias Angeles St. is already asphalted since last week. Buti na man, mas maganda nang tingnan kaysa nung dati..

^^That's good news! I'll take a pic of it. Perhaps, this is part of the urban renewal project of the city government.

^^That's good news! I'll take a pic of it. Perhaps, this is part of the urban renewal project of the city government.

Yes, Elias Angeles Asphalt overlay might be a part of Urban Renewal Project. Sidewalk lampposts there were not yet finished. At may nakita akong "Priority Project" ni either PGMA, Congressman Villafuerte or Mayor Robredo na nakalagay pala "Biak na Bato-Elias Angeles-Bagumbayan rehab and improvement with exception" ata. dun mismo sa centro, may sidewalk na pala kagaya sa panganiban.

^^ That Starview Hotel takes so long to finish. Hmph! :D

Does it mean the word PROGRAMME does not have to do with either British or American?

Programme is British. :)

Prestigious Ateneo Awards Conferred To PIME, Nagdilaab Foundation and Naga City Mayor


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 24, 2008) – A Catholic missionary organization, a Philippine foundation and a Filipino city mayor had been conferred the prestigious Ateneo awards in Zamboanga City in Mindanao.

The Pontificio Instituto Missioni Estere (PIME) was accorded the Archbishop Luis Del Rosario SJ DD Award. Italian missionary Fr. Julio Mariani represented the PIME.

Ateneo awarded PIME in recognition of its 40 years of committed service to the people in Mindanao through inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and pastoral ministry among others.

PIME has missionaries across Mindanao, mostly in far-flung areas, helping the poor.

The Nagdilaab Foundation in Basilan province was also conferred the Ateneo Peace Award and so was Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City in Camarines Sur, who received the Mayor Cesar Climaco Award.

The Nagdilaab Foundation, represented by Jessica Flores, was awarded because of its dedicated leadership and unwavering involvement in the “Pantabangan Basulta,” a consortium of ten non-government organizations that engage and support local leader and multisectoral constituents in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi to develop sustainable interventions to promote peace and development in partnership with communities and stake-holders.

The Ateneo de Zamboanga University also recognized Robredo’s outstanding and exemplary achievements in public service. It said Robredo demonstrated peerless brand of leadership, good local governance, and transparency and for giving credence that effective city management is compatible with yielding power to the people.

Fr. Antonio Moreno, president of Ateneo, and Rev. Romulo Valles, the Archbishop of Zamboanga, led the awarding ceremony at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University on Wednesday. (Mindanao Examiner)

Source: http://www.mindanaoexaminer.com/news.php?news_id=20080823222119

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/5601/072620081052yz8.jpg

I see that Caby's Cabana is still being patronized by people. Nice! How about the building left by Pizza Hut? Any signs of it being renovated for future tenants?

^^The former Pizza Hut has been taken by Biggs. It's currently under renovation.

^^ Exciting! :D

^^ Waaah!!! I miss their cheese burger!!! :cry:

Are they changing the design of the building? I hope they does. Pizza Hut na Pizza Hut kasi dating nung design eh.

^^Yup and they're adding another portion.

^^ What do you mean adding another portion? Like expansion?

^^Sort of. But it's just a small portion.

Yes, Elias Angeles Asphalt overlay might be a part of Urban Renewal Project. Sidewalk lampposts there were not yet finished. At may nakita akong "Priority Project" ni either PGMA, Congressman Villafuerte or Mayor Robredo na nakalagay pala "Biak na Bato-Elias Angeles-Bagumbayan rehab and improvement with exception" ata. dun mismo sa centro, may sidewalk na pala kagaya sa panganiban.

Kay Congressman Villafuerte pala yun na project so that means it's not part of the urban renewal project of the city government. But the installing of lamppost has been started.

Kay Congressman Villafuerte pala yun na project so that means it's not part of the urban renewal project of the city government. But the installing of lamppost has been started.

Oo nga, kay villafuerte yun. Anyway, yung asphalt overlay ay nasa portion na ng Bagumbayan Sur, tapos na pong pumatong ng aspalto sa Elias Angeles St. 'di ko pa alam kung ano na ang status ng biak-na-bato section ng Centro. Palagay ko, parang may asphalt overlay na yun...

Kay Congressman Villafuerte pala yun na project so that means it's not part of the urban renewal project of the city government. But the installing of lamppost has been started.

Can you please post photos of these lamp posts. I wanna see it! Thanks in advance! :D

^^Sort of. But it's just a small portion.

Where are they adding a small portion? To the area between their building and McDonald's building? Or are they adding something in front of the building?

^^In between of McDonalds and their building. It's near completion na!

Oo nga, kay villafuerte yun. Anyway, yung asphalt overlay ay nasa portion na ng Bagumbayan Sur, tapos na pong pumatong ng aspalto sa Elias Angeles St. 'di ko pa alam kung ano na ang status ng biak-na-bato section ng Centro. Palagay ko, parang may asphalt overlay na yun...

Where is that Biak-na-Bato section?

Can you please post photos of these lamp posts. I wanna see it! Thanks in advance! :D

Sorry pala, no installed lampposts pa pala. They have just finished the foundation and no erected lampposts yet as of this moment.

^^ Sayang. I thought there are lamp posts already installed. I hope they're beautiful. :D

^^In between of McDonalds and their building. It's near completion na!

Picture! Picture! Picture! :D

^^Next week:D

Where is that Biak-na-Bato section?

On the other end of the bridge beside Naga City Public Market, that is Biak-na-Bato. It is a main road connecting from the National highway to the centro of Naga. While the other one is Panganiban Drive.

^^ Aaah! Biak-na-Bato is the road intersecting Gen. Luna St. near Queen Bank, right?

^^ Aaah! Biak-na-Bato is the road intersecting Gen. Luna St. near Queen Bank, right?

Correct! :yes:

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4287/082720081138hf0.jpg

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/1900/082720081140yk6.jpg

Correct! :yes:

Sabi ko na nga ba! :D

^^Next week:D

Thanks! :D

Well if someone is going to turnn this forum into a Naga sales pitch, I'll jump on board. I loved Naga City. I felt like I was in the Wild West. Small, prosperous city, where one could easily establish oneself. No big shopping mall, but then one would hope SM never get the chance, lest it become another franchise morph. I loved the Bicol coastline down to Legaspi too, though Legaspi was a hole.

Hehe. "Amid" is American; "amidst" is British. Philippine English is basically American. Parang when I attend Deped functions, the copy of the program is named "PROGRAMME" just so it would appear scholarly. :) Bicol Mail does not use a certain style guide in publishing articles, APA, MLA, Turibian, and the one used primarily in publications, Chicago Manual.

According to professors of English, simple lang naman daw naman ang solution. Kung preferred mo British English then dapat daw consistent ka the whole publication. If American type of English is your choice, then the whole publication should be in American English. But she said, whatever you use, there is no problem as long as the parenthetical notations are also consistent whether it be APA or MLA. If APA from the start, then be consistent with it. The goes with the ALA. I think the APA is used by the American Psychological Association while the MLA is used by Modern Language Association of America. Accordingly, "in many instances, the Chicago Manual and MLA formats agree entirely; when MLA differs from Chicago Manual, directions for the alternative MLA entry appear in parentheses below the main entry" (Ballou, et. al. ix)

^^ Welcome to the Naga City thread @TONZI and @Shouganai! :hug:

Naga City, I like...

Complete Schedule of Activities for the Peñafrancia Festival 2008 (http://www.sinjin.ph/2008/08/29/penafrancia-festival-2008-schedule-of-activities/)

According to professors of English, simple lang naman daw naman ang solution. Kung preferred mo British English then dapat daw consistent ka the whole publication. If American type of English is your choice, then the whole publication should be in American English. But she said, whatever you use, there is no problem as long as the parenthetical notations are also consistent whether it be APA or MLA. If APA from the start, then be consistent with it. The goes with the ALA. I think the APA is used by the American Psychological Association while the MLA is used by Modern Language Association of America. Accordingly, "in many instances, the Chicago Manual and MLA formats agree entirely; when MLA differs from Chicago Manual, directions for the alternative MLA entry appear in parentheses below the main entry" (Ballou, et. al. ix)

Yes, the problem always comes with inconsistency.

[QUOTE=garzland;24393648]Does it mean the word PROGRAMME does not have to do with either British or American?[/QUOTE

Hehe. The only point I am trying to make is that "program" should be preferred to "programme" since we are following American English for a very obvious reason.

Complete Schedule of Activities for the Peñafrancia Festival 2008 (http://www.sinjin.ph/2008/08/29/penafrancia-festival-2008-schedule-of-activities/)

Thanks for posting this Sinjin! :)

Happy Fiesta!!! :cheers::banana::cheers::banana:

Zialcita: No winnable Lakas presidential bet yet (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=129769)

By DELON PORCALLA
The Philippine Star

The Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats party admitted Saturday that they have no winnable presidential bet for 2010 yet.

While the number of presidential aspirants in the fragmented opposition is the least of its worries, the lack of a potential winner for the administration is a problem that needs to be seriously addressed by the ruling Lakas-CMD party of President Arroyo, a senior House member has conceded.

"The problem is not with recruitment but with winning. We have (presidential) candidates, but the problem is that they’re not winnable. This is not to say that they’re not qualified and competent, but they are not popular," Parañaque Rep. Eduardo Zialcita said.

The statement made by Zialcita, Lakas-CMD vice president for recruitment and deputy spokesman as well, was shared by his fellow Lakas congressman, La Union Rep. Victor Ortega, chairman of the House committee on constitutional amendments.

Both administration lawmakers agreed that Lakas needs to iron out kinks in the party and announce its official presidential candidate before the year ends, or at the latest early 2009, even if it’s still two years before the May 2010 elections.

"We have to have a rallying point," Ortega told reporters during the weekly Ayes and Nays forum in Quezon City.

He and Zialcita, just like Speaker Prospero Nograles, said the party is always open to adopt candidates from other parties allied with the administration coalition.

"We can always adopt candidates from other parties. That’s not a first time. We did that with GMA, who was Kampi president before," Zialcita said.

Open to guest candidates

The party is not limiting its choices within the party, but could accommodate guest candidates from other parties.

Zialcita also revealed that Vice President Noli de Castro, a former newscaster of TV giant ABS-CBN, has "repeatedly refused" their "invitation" to join the ruling party, for reasons they still do not know.

"As early as the time of (former Speaker) JDV, he has been saying, let’s work first," Zialcita disclosed, adding that Lakas’ doors are always open to him.

He, however, admitted they cannot force De Castro to join them, noting that the latter won the Senate race in May 2001 without any party.

But as far as Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon (Liberal Party) is concerned, this will be an "advantage" on the part of the former broadcast journalist, who will therefore have the "freedom to choose" which party to join.

"Unlike the others, the Vice President is not yet tied to any party," he said. LP has openly announced its presidential candidate, Sen. Mar Roxas, while Nacionalista Party will have Senate President Manny Villar as its standard bearer.

Nevertheless, Zialcita said it is not yet too late in the day to thresh out problems within the party.

Citing the case of Barack Obama, he said they have candidates who he thinks can "electrify" awareness in the public and probably win the 2010 polls.

He mentioned Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, Quezon City Mayor Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis-Ray Villafuerte and Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando, who has openly declared his presidential ambition.

Zialcita said they can recruit their candidates from allied parties like Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino or Kampi (with which it has an ongoing merger), NP, LP, Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) and Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino.

Nograles, who sits as Lakas president, earlier hinted that they are not limiting their choices to Lakas stalwarts, but are open to the idea of picking a standard bearer who will come from the ranks of parties within the administration coalition.

"In politics, anything can happen, and it is pregnant with possibilities. Hindi natin alam, (we may be) enemies today (but) friends tomorrow," he told reporters.

The House leader also said it was a fallacy to consider critics of President Arroyo as automatically opposition.

"Are (Senators Francis) Chiz (Escudero), Loren (Legarda), Manny (Villar) or Mar (Roxas) opposition? I want to correct the misconception that if you are criticizing the President or her government, you are automatically opposition," Nograles said.

The Speaker clarified that such is not the case in the House of Representatives, where Escudero and Legarda’s NPC, Villar’s NP and Roxas’ LP all belong to the administration coalition.

"We have an open-door policy. We believe that this country needs to unite and not divide our people – the politicians especially. When politicians reason and bargain with one another and not speak in forked tongues, we can all get together as one," the Speaker added.

Nograles issued a statement welcoming Villar into the coalition. He said "political parties such as the NP, which are supportive of the administration’s programs and policies, are welcome to become part of the administration alliance in 2010 and beyond."

"We envision one solid and strong republic with one strong administration party starting with the two largest, Lakas and Kampi, but never to the exclusion of our other allies who are supportive of the administration’s programs and policies," Nograles said.

The Speaker remains optimistic that the ongoing effort to merge Lakas and Kampi will materialize in time in preparation for the 2010 presidential polls, including possible additional alliances with other political parties.

"I’m still very positive that we can have this merger although I am not discounting the possibility that some areas in the local level will remain a free zone. On the overall, I’ll be very happy if we can achieve a 95 percent success rate at uniting the local leaders, including rival groups, who are either with Lakas or Kampi," Nograles said.

"Of course we will also consider other administration allies as part of a super-alliance that we intend to have in 2010," he added.

‘No to Noli vs Villar’

Meanwhile, Sen. Joker Arroyo expressed hopes that his two friends and co-members of the Wednesday Club – De Castro and Villar – would not run against each other in the presidential elections in 2010.

"I hope they will just talk but I really can’t tell because they are the candidates," Arroyo said over station dwIZ.

"But it is better if they will not fight each other so that our group will remain intact. I don’t think it will affect the friendship but that is what Senator Pangilinan and I feel, that they should talk," Arroyo said, referring to another club member, Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan.

A recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations showed that if presidential elections were held today, it would be a tight race between De Castro and Villar.

The June survey commissioned by a political party said De Castro had 26 percent preference and Villar, 22 percent.

On the other hand, Legarda had 12 percent; Escudero got 11 percent, with Sen. Panfilo Lacson and former President Joseph Estrada both tied with nine percent each. Roxas had seven percent followed by Sen. Richard Gordon with 0.8 percent.

The SWS survey was the latest presidential survey conducted by the polling firm for the 2010 elections. – With Aurea Calica, Perseus Echeminada

UNC holds diamond Olympics
By Ricardo E. Perez

Dare to be Different, Exceed Expectations. These words would best characterize the opening day activities of the University of Nueva Caceres 2008 College Intramural Games.

The threat of Tropical Depression Lawin was not enough to dampen the festive spirit of the students as they gathered for an early morning parade around the major streets of Naga City last August 26, 2008.

For the first time, in a trend setting innovation to the annual sports activity for the school, 4th year students of the University High School Department were encouraged to join in the parade along with the group of their choice representing various college departments participating.

With six college muses in open air cabs, and athletes in their specially made and colorfully designed sports uniforms sponsored by Smart Communications, the Diamond Olympics was off to a rousing start.

After the torch relay and the ceremonial lighting of the “Olympic Torch” by the USG President with the College Board of Governors at the University Grounds, the entire college population of the school gathered at the Sports Palace. With each department and their designated space, University Officials led by Dr. Dollie H. Sison entered the main entrance of the Gymnasium.

Rex Hernandez, University Student Government President called for and introduced the participating teams for the opening ceremonies that included the traditional flag raising of Departmental Banners and the oath of sportsmanship led by Jande C. Cecilio, Captain Ball, Basketball Men’s team, College of Computer Studies. Thereafter, the University President formally declared the opening of the UNC Diamond Olympics.

The morning program’s highlight was the eagerly anticipated selection of the “Miss Diamond Olympics” with six beauteous college representatives in their respective sporting attire. The selection was preceded by an Olympic Song composed exclusively by multi awarded song writer Ferdinand Dimadura who interpreted his own composition “Be Strong, Be True, Believe” which was also adopted as the theme for this year’s Olympics. RC Padua and Hayeen Palencia emceed the affair.

Miss Domiel May Mercado of the College of Nursing, Neilanda Legaspi of the Arts & Sciences, Venus Clutario of Engineering & Architecture, Abegail Bicaldo of Education, Dulce Tandog of Computer Studies and Kharren San Juan of the College of Business and Accountancy represented their respective Colleges in the search.

At the end of the program Dulce Tandog was adjudged Second Runner Up, Neilanda Legaspi First Runner Up, while Domiel May Mercado of the College of Nursing emerged as the Grand Slam Winner with four titles to her credit including Miss Photogenic, Miss Body Beautiful, Best in Sportswear and the title Miss Diamond Olympics.

The board of judges for the selection were composed of Mr. Danny Caurel of Fuller Life, Jonathan Jalmasco of Four Pixels Photography and Diane Pelagio former Miss Naga City 2004. The successful holding of the Miss Diamond Olympics was made possible through the support of Fuller Life, Four Pixels Photography, Jollibee and Pepsi Cola which sponsored the event.

The afternoon games of Volleyball, Kick Baseball and Patintero (a traditional Filipino game) was well attended and enthusiastically supported by the students who did not mind the wet and soggy ground at the various playing venues inside the campus. Rain or shine, the UNC Diamond Olympics will set a new record in attendance, participation and support from the Administration and the students of the University.

Source: http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/august28/unc.html

First phase of urban renewal project in Naga is underway
By Jonas Cabiles Soltes

Soon, Naga City will be a “city of lights.”

Architect Hernani Aguilar of the planning and development office of Naga City said that by the end of this year, the city’s old central business district (CBD) should be fully illuminated by street lights similar to the lamps lining Panganiban and Magsaysay Avenues.

The interconnected J. Hernandez Ave., Gen. Luna St., Elias Angeles St, Caceres St., Prieto St., Abella St., Evangelista St., P. Burgos St., and Peñafrancia Ave., all in the old CBD, would all be lined up with the street lights that cost P23 thousand each, said Aguilar, who is also the head of the city government’s urban renewal project.

Aguilar said however that unlike the previously installed street lights in two of the city’s thoroughfares, the lamps that would be put up in the city proper would glow brighter owing to a slight change in design. The lamp design also was custom-made to withstand typhoon-force winds.

He also said that sidewalks in the city proper would be restructured so it would be more “friendly” to passers by especially to differently-abled persons. “We would put up ramps wherever it is needed,” he added.

At present, sidewalks surrounding Crown Hotel and neighboring buildings have been restructured to have a tiled look. The restructuring of the sidewalks would be completed before this September’s Peñafrancia festivities, according to Aguilar.

Source: http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/august28/first.html

CamSur dragon boat crew eye retaining Java sprints crown

PILI, CamSur. Hopes are high for the Camarines Sur Dragon Boat team sponsored by Governor LRay Villafuerte to stage a repeat performance of their spectacular runs last year and retain the championships in the Java Sprints International set on September 14 and 15 at the Bedok Reservoir in Singapore.

Unheralded on their very first stab at an international race abroad, Camarines Sur swept the golds in the 200 meters, 500 meters and 1,000 meters in last year’s edition of the Java Sprints.

This year the team also plans to participate in the free style events which coach Ruben Brazal is equally confident of winning.

Before going to Singapore, the local paddlers who are conceded to be the “winningest” dragon boat crew in the country today, will join the second leg of the Philippines Dragon Boat Federation (PDBF) Championships as a sort of final tune-up race.

The team’s confidence comes in the wake of a very fine performance at the 6th Club Crew World Championships held at Penang, Malaysia early this month where Camarines Sur emerged the best performing team of the seven crews representing the Philippines.

The local crew placed second in the 2,000 meters, third in 500 meters and fourth in the 200 meters, the best performance of a Philippines team in the world races ever.

The Camarines Sur Dragon Boat team includes steersman Gerby Bergonio, signalman Jessie Asay and paddlers Steuward Bermundo, Roberto Belencio,Gemmop Villacote, Ryan Abe, Erwin Villacote, Bernabe San Andres, Raymund Borja, Gimeniano Abarientos, Jonathan Bricinio, Romeo Medina, Erwin Rivera, Rodel Pineda, Alvin Tible, Alex Villacote, Bernardo San Andres, Albert Sanchez, Ronald Alimorong, Jaime Buenzalida, Alex Abordo, Jorge Asay, Raul Borja, Reynante Borja, Erwin Tayao and Daniel Almendral.

Source: http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/august28/boat.html

PGMA pays tribute to 2008 Ten Outstanding Public School Teachers

Manila (2 September) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo paid tribute to the 2008 Ten Outstanding Public School Teachers for their valuable contributions to the teaching profession, their personal integrity, character, instructorial competence and professional community involvement.

An annual event sponsored by the Metro Bank Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the Metrobank Group of companies, the search for outstanding teachers was established to promote the culture of excellence in education.

During the awarding rites held at Malacanang's Rizal Hall, the President presented each of the awardees a gold medallion in recognition of her outstanding performance. Four of the awardees came from the elementary and four from secondary levels, and two from the higher education category.

The President congratulated each of the awardees and posed with them for a souvenir photo, along with their respective family members, relatives, nominators and mentors.

Aside from the gold medallion, the outstanding teachers received a trophy and a cash prize of P300,000 each.

The awardees for the elementary level were: Jesusa M. Antiquiera, an English teacher for 36 years of Padre M. Gomez Elementary School; Lyn Padillo, an English Master Teacher for 12 years of Naga Central School, Naga City; Maydelyn R. Antioquia, an English Teacher for 16 years of President Manuel Roxas Memorial School-North, Roxas City, and Marie Theresse M. Bagas, the 1st awardee of West City Central School of Cagayan de Oro City and a Science Master Teacher II for 34 years.

For the secondary school category, the winners were Rowena R. Hibanada, the 1st awardee of Pedro Diaz High School in Muntinlupa City. She has been teaching Social Studies for 14 years.

Ermie E. Rabara, who has been teaching Chemistry for 25 years in Midsayap-Dilangalen National High School; Jeanette G. Dials, an Assistant Professor I, an English subject teacher for 18 years at the Mariano Marcos State University Laboratory High School in Laoag City; Noemi O. Obcena, a Master Teacher II in Cagayan National High School in Tuguegarao City where she has been teaching English subjects for 31 years; Dr. Irma R. Makalinao, a professor IV of the University of the Philippines-Manila who was cited for her 14 years of work as an toxicology and children's environmental health specialist; and Virginia C. Cuevas, Ph.D., a professor VIII of the University of the Philippines- Los Banos, who specializes on plant and fungal ecology.

On behalf of her fellow awardees, Hibanada thanked the President and their respective nominators and mentors for their support and belief in their respective contributions in building the future of the Filipino youth as well as the nation.

The awardees vowed to continue building the pillars of public education even as they affirmed their commitment to the upliftment of the nation and the pursuit of excellence in education.

Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/default.asp?m=12&fi=p080902.htm&no=17

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4287/082720081138hf0.jpg

Bilis ng Construction ng SM City ah! dami ng mall ng Naga sa 2009.:cheers:

Noynoy Aquino tells Joker Arroyo off

Close this MANILA, Philippines—A case of a junior rebelling against his better?

Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III was left fuming after an encounter Wednesday with the elderly Sen. Joker Arroyo, the lawyer and good friend of his father, the martyred opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., and one of the most loyal advisers and officials of his mother, President Corazon Aquino.

Aquino angrily suspended the hearings of the local government committee that he chairs, claiming that Arroyo had insisted that the reapportionment of the first and second district of Camarines Sur to create another congressional seat be put on the agenda.

Aquino said it was “unreasonable for Joker Arroyo to insist and dictate the calendar of the committee” which he said was scheduled to take up the matter of adding more districts to Camarines Norte and Cavite.

He said the issue of two provinces adding more seats had already undergone thorough discussions and was on the committee’s agenda that day as Camarines Sur was not.

“He [Arroyo] insists on telling me what to do. I am granting he is a lot older than me but I have enough faculties in my possession to be able to run the committee which he himself voted me into,” Aquino later told reporters.

He asked why Arroyo was so interested in rushing the matter of adding a congressional seat to Camarines Sur, insisting on it when he represented Makati, and not Camarines Sur, during his time in the House.

The talk is that the interest in adding another district to Camarines Sur’s four congressional districts is to accommodate the ambitions of Rep. Dato Arroyo, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s son, and Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya in the 2010 elections.

Dato Arroyo replaced Andaya as the representative for Camarines Sur’s first district but the budget secretary is said to be contemplating another run for Congress.

Joker Arroyo was unapologetic, insisting that he was from Camarines Sur and that his interest was to help the representatives from the Bicol province.

“It [Camarines Sur] needs additional districts. That was not my idea, it came from members of the House. I’ve been helping many people from the House because I was there,” he said.

On the insinuation that the additional seat was in order to allow Dato Arroyo to seek re-election and Andaya to return to Congress in 2010, Arroyo said: “That is malicious, tell them that is bullshit.”

But the plan to reapportion Camarines Sur’s congressional districts is likely to be shot down as a new district is unlikely to meet the 250,000 minimum number of registered voters.

Aquino said Representative Arroyo should realize that as chair, he would defend any report to the floor made by his committee especially if the additional districts would exceed the limits imposed on the number of registered districts. Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080904-158575/Noynoy-Aquino-tells-Joker-Arroyo-off

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES
SECTION 13. Naming of Local Government Units and Public Places, Streets and Structures.

(d) None of the foregoing local government units, institutions, places, or buildings shall be named after a living person, nor may a change of name be made unless for a justifiable reason and, in any case, not oftener than once every ten (10) years. The name of a local government unit or a public place, street or structure with historical, cultural, or ethnic significance shall not be changed, unless by a unanimous vote of the Sanggunian concerned and in consultation with the PHC.

http://www.dilg.gov.ph/pdf/LGC%20Book%201.pdf

It still doesn't make sense. Pero gusto kong pangalanang "Noli Fuentebella Road" yung Goa-Tinambac road. Makabua. It's only 24 kilometers, na kaya in 20 to 30 minutes. Naku, inabot kami ng almost two hours. The reasons are obvious. I wish Kuya Noli gets the ride of his life on that road para magising sya. Kawawa mga tao dun.

^^Sana Magsimula na rin ang PM hehehe

Coops to hold national summit in Naga (www.naga.gov.ph)

When the dusts of the highly-celebrated Penafrancia fiesta in September have finally settled, hotels and restaurants in this vibrant city in Bicol will once again be brimming over with guests and hordes of delegates as the city hosts the 9th National Cooperative Summit in October this year.

Slated on October 22-25, the biggest summit of the nation’s cooperatives will take place here to unite the broadest number of coops in the common policy, and technical and business agenda, to advance the cooperative movement in various endeavors and lines of economic and non-economic activities.

The summit, which is expected to be attended by some 3,000 delegates from all over the country, will be led by Chairperson Senen C. Bacani of the Philippine Cooperative Center and former Sen. Nikki Coseteng, an advocate of cooperativism. The latter, accompanied by Felix Borja, secretary-general of the Cooperative Union of the Philippines, came to the city Wednesday, Aug. 27, to finalize plans and programs with City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo.

The theme of the summit is “Cooperatives: Breaking through Barriers and Beyond.”

Organizers said the summit is a response to address cooperative issues in this fast-changing world by utilizing the movement’s resources; while simultaneously promoting various products and services for cooperative security and development. The delegates expected will represent more than a million cooperative members from across the country.

The city mayor has designated Metro Peso Manager Florencio Mongoso and Jose Perez of the Naga City Visitors Center to be the host project coordinators for the event.

Past summits were held in Bulacan, Davao City, Cebu, Manila, Tagaytay City, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, and Puerto Princesa.

This year’s summit was originally slated to be held in General Santos City, but the worsening armed conflict in Mindanao led the organizers to hold it instead in Naga City. This city has been known to be hosting big conferences and conventions with significant success, the latest of which was the national executive convention of the Philippine Councilors League in the later part of July 2008 and the national convention of the City and Municipal Engineers Association of the Philippines earlier this month of August 2008.

http://islandparadisephilippines.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/20070806.jpg
www.islandparadisephilippines.com

http://www.camarinessur.gov.ph/images/mini_pics/tn_beach1.jpg
www.jappinoy.15.forumer.com

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www.pinoyexchange.com

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www.prinsesalakwatsera.wordpress.com

Robredo to speak before 2 Australian universities (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/sept04/speak.html)

NAGA City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo will be in Sydney, on September 25 to 28 to give a lecture at two universities, launch the Synergeia Foundation in New South Wales, and hold a forum with the Bicolano community, the Philippine consulate General in Sydney has recently announced.

Mayor Robredo will speak on “The Challenges and Promotion of Good Governance in the Philippines” at the University of New South Wales on September 25 at 4:00 to 6:00 pm, at the School of Social Sciences and International Studies, and at the University of Sydney on September 26 at 4:30 to 6:00 pm, at Education Room 325, Education Building, Manning Road.

His audiences are expected to be Australian and Asian academics, university students, and opinion-makers, said the Sydney consulate.

Mayor Robredo will also launch in New South Wales the program of Synergeia Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the assistance of marginalized schools in the Philippines. He will also hold on September 27 an interactive forum with the Bicol Communities League, Inc. (Bicol Inc.) with its president Fiel Fraulein Bandekar.

Naga, a modern multi-awards city

Mayor Robredo transformed Naga City from a stagnant provincial town to a prosperous city. The improvements in the economic, fiscal, business, and social climate of the city were so remarkable that it has received over 150 awards and citations from international organizations, including the Most Cost-Effective City in Asia (UK, 2005), Women-Friendly City (UN Development Fund for Women, 2004), Model City for Government Procurement (World Bank and Procurement Watch, 2003), CyberCity Award (UNDP, 2002), International Award for Improving the Living Environment (Dubai, 1998), and “Most Child-Friendly City” (Philippine Council for the Welfare of Children, 2006).

A few years ago, Naga bested richer urban centers Manila, Makati, Cebu, Marikina, and Davao when it was recognized as the “Most Business-Friendly City” by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (in 2003, 2004 and 2006).

For his leadership of Naga City and empowerment of its civic groups, Mayor Robredo was honoured with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service (2000).

The Ramon Magsaysay Awards is the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize and is awarded to individuals and organisations in Asia for exceptional service to the public, integrity in government, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society.

The Magsaysay Awards have been given to more than 200 recipients since these were first presented in 1958.

Reprinted from “The Filipino Australian”, Sydney, Australia, Aug. 15, 2008

The first and the biggest in the Bicol Region Olivan SEAOIL Mega Station (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/sept04/seaoil.html)

Entrepreneurs usually tread on unchartered waters, and become the trailblazers that propel the growth of the local economy. But it takes a man with a vision and tenacity to challenge and compete with the market leaders (or giants) of the oil industry. These giants are Shell which controls 38% of the market, Petron (35% share), and Caltex (22% share). The independent players (including SEAOIL) account for only 5% share of the Philippine petroleum market.

Mr. Adolfo Olivan is a Naga-based businessman whose pioneering spirit and business acumen made the SEAOIL known not only as a quality brand of petroleum products and lubricants but also the choice of many Bicolano motorists today.

Mr. Olivan, 68 years old, and “Apeng” to his friends, learned the ropes of doing business from his father at the coastal town of Pasacao, Camarines Sur. He started with a sari-sari store, copra trading, and eventually with a hardware store. He also engaged in several agribusiness ventures, aquaculture, and has pioneered in the manufacturing of animal feeds.

While busy managing his various businesses, Mr. Olivan also joined civic organizations like the Rotary. However he feels like a fish in the sea water when he involved himself in the local Naga City Chamber of Commerce & Industry which he eventually led as its president in 1984 up to 1988. Under his dynamic leadership the local chamber received national recognition, and was able to access projects and funds from international partners like GTZ (German Technical Cooperation), and the Technonet Asia (Singapore-based), government institutions like the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), and the National livelihood Support Fund (NLSF) among others.

Always looking for an opportunity to serve others, he also involved himself in the charitable and humanitarian projects of the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry. As a recognized business leader, he was oftentimes invited as a resource speaker in business fora and symposia of schools and universities. With his noble purpose of giving recognition to the outstanding businesspersons in the Bicol region, he initiated and funded the annual “Halyao Award’, held during the culmination night of the Bicol Business Week under the auspices of the Metro-Naga Chamber of Commerce & Industry since 2005.

He is also in the forefront in times of calamities like typhoons, fire, and other emergencies marshalling the business community to extend aid, and the needed assistance to the affected persons and communities. Although he is happy to extend public service, public office is not his cup of tea. He does not enjoy the limelight unlike his elder brother, the late councilor Benito Olivan of Naga City.

In 2001, Mr. Olivan opened the Olivan SEAOIL gasoline station in a grassy lot near the bridge along Magsaysay road in Naga City. It is located right beside a large Shell station that is why nobody thought that it would survive the competition. But his business sense told him that he can pull it through despite the odds.

Since the motorists do not know SEAOIL then, and the quality and reliability of its petroleum products, Mr. Olivan put his credibility at stake. He would let his friends and other businessmen try the petroleum products, and persuades them to continue using it. Through perseverance and sales strategies like giving group discounts to jeepney drivers, giving freebies, and personal campaign, the sales of his gasoline station improved year after year.

Mr. Olivan would oftentimes observe the services rendered by the gasoline boys in other gasoline stations, and he would solicitously encourage his own personnel to imitate said good practices. Maybe because of the competitive pricing and improved customer service the gasoline station slowly thrives. Today, 50% of the sale comes from the regular customers or “suki”, 30% are from walk-in motorists, and 20% comprised the institutional or commercial buyers.

The disadvantage of small independent players in the oil industry according to Mr. Olivan is that they have to purchase the inventory of petroleum by cash. And every time there are price increases, they need to produce additional capital to be able to get the normal volume of supply. It means that they have to shoulder the cost of money for the inventory, so much so that sometimes they just break even. Petroleum products have inelastic prices. They are having a stiff competition with the multi-national oil players that is why they have to be contented with small profit margins.

It is a tricky business to be able to balance the need to make some profit, and at the same time to maintain goodwill with one’s customers, according to Mr. Olivan. But it is a good thing that SEAOIL Philippines is very supportive to its dealers. SEAOIL has a year-round support program consisting of company-wide promotional activities, direct marketing consultancy, and a 24-hour technical assistance package.

SEAOIL Philippines is the first independent petroleum player to open a gasoline retail station. Technologically-driven, customer-focused and globally competitive, SEAOIL Philippines is harnessing all its energies to become the leading force in the country’s oil industry Today, the SEAOIL Group of Companies employs over 500 highly motivated and skilled personnel and constitutes over 1% of the country’s annual downstream oil industry’s revenue of 240 billion pesos. It currently has 105 stations nationwide, most of which are franchised to dealers who enjoy a low-risk investment yielding stable returns.

In the short term, SEAOIL is aggressively constructing more gasoline service stations at strategic locations consistent with its aim to be the supplier of choice for the A, B, C and D market segments. As a Filipino-owned company, SEAOIL Chairman Francis C. Yu said, SEAOIL has the competitive advantage in its unique perspective and understanding of the needs of the distinctly Filipino market. In the long run, the company envisions itself to be the most omnipresent player in the oil industry, with a retail fuel outlet at every corner.

The SEAOIL Group of Companies manifests an advocacy of environmental protection through its continuous development of products that lessen, if not eradicate toxic emissions from vehicles. It has partnered with ABS-CBN’s Bantay Kalikasan Program to enforce measures that would help clean the country’s environment. It likewise led the nation’s oil industry in offering 2004 Clean Air Act compliant fuels and is currently a strong proponent of the Department of Energy’s drive to develop renewable sources of energy

-0-

With the inspiring growth of the Olivan SEAOIL, Mr. Olivan believes that with his sons Donald and Howard, and daughters Dr. Wenny, Christine, and Aileen helping him mange their family businesses, they can reach new heights. Especially so that their 7,000 square meter-property is strategically located in the busy business hub in front of Avenue Square along Magsaysay Avenue, Naga City.

They agreed that now is the time to think big, and open new frontiers for the changing business landscape and consumer preferences in Naga City. The growing number of highly mobile, tech- savvy, financially stable consumers need a new and dynamic place to shop, bank, fill their fuel tanks, have an appointment with the dentist, or have their cars repaired with utmost convenience.

And that is the reason why from its modest beginnings and countless difficulties, the Olivan SEAOIL has now metamorphosed into a Mega Station being the biggest in the Bicol region. It has 28 personnel, and operates longer hours from 5 AM to 10 PM daily. It also accepts credit cards payment. It is being ably managed by Mr. Olivan’s two youngest daughters Christine and Aileen.

SEAOIL differentiates its products in the market through its unique additive blend, Generation Five (G5). G5 is added to all of its fuel products, keeping engines clean; giving faster and cleaner tank filling; reducing harmful emissions; protecting engines from scuffing, wear and pitting; and further lessening fuel miscibility with water. SEAOIL Industrial Diesel Oil (IDO) is designed for medium and low-speed diesel engines operating in stationary.

E10 is reformulated gasoline which combines regular 90% unleaded/premium petroleum gasoline and 10% ethanol (ethyl alcohol). It boosts octane levels for better engine performance and reduced exhaust emissions. E-thanol10 is water-free and is produced from the fermentation of agricultural materials such as sugarcane, corn and cassava, potato, etc. Unlike pure fossil fuels, E-10 is practically renewable, environment-friendly, and will soon reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum.

Lubricants Seaoil is a leading provider of a complete line of world class lubrication systems that are custom engineered to fit the exact requirements of its customers in the automotive, construction, marine, transportation, power and manufacturing industries. GEO SUPREME is a multi-grade oil (SAE 20W-50) specifically formulated to meet the most severe requirements of all makes and types of gasoline engines

To complement the SEAOIL Mega Station, the Olivan family have invited the Ford San Pablo to open its first showroom and sales office in the Bicol region. They will be selling the American brand of Ford vehicles and SUVs that include the Ford Escape, Focus, Lynx Ghia, Expedition, and others. There is a bay area to provide repair and maintenance service to their customers.

To complement the Olivan Builders that sell constructions and hardware materials by wholesale and retail, the eldest son Donald opened, and manages the latest and the most modern Olivan Home Depot that specializes in home furnishing & finishing materials, floorings like tile & granites, bath & water closets, faucets & sinks, light fixtures & chandeliers, paints, doors, and many home improvement items. The spacious, well-stocked, and well-arranged displays will help you choose the right selection of materials especially with the helpful tips of the store assistants ready to serve you. The fastidious and imaginative Don is just too happy to know the needs and wants of his customers and satisfy them. He also continuously updates himself and his staff on the latest trend and innovation on home improvement so that they can introduce it to the discriminating tastes of the Bicolano homeowners.

On the other hand, the Total Smile of Dr. Wenny Olivan-Villegas has state-of-the-art dental facility to serve dental care needs of her patients. Of course, the ready and able staff of the BDO headed by its energetic Branch Manager Tony G. Camalla, Marketing Officer Mario C. Ibardaloza, and Cashier Carol Castro would just be very happy to serve their invaluable clients at their new branch besides the Olivan Home Depot. The bank premise is well-secured and has ample parking space.

Indeed, the Olivans have come a long way, opening new frontiers for high-gear living!

-----

This is soooooo nice! A Ford sub-branch will be opening in the city! :banana::banana::banana:

The first and the biggest in the Bicol Region Olivan SEAOIL Mega Station (http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2008/sept04/seaoil.html)

To complement the SEAOIL Mega Station, the Olivan family have invited the Ford San Pablo to open its first showroom and sales office in the Bicol region. They will be selling the American brand of Ford vehicles and SUVs that include the Ford Escape, Focus, Lynx Ghia, Expedition, and others. There is a bay area to provide repair and maintenance service to their customers.

-----

This is soooooo nice! A Ford sub-branch will be opening in the city! :banana::banana::banana:

Good for Naga! This is a huge investment that will propel the cities economy even further.

Just a side though: When I was still in pinas I always had this similar notion that american cars not only FORD are great, sosi, alta soyodad, etc. Then when I arrived here in the states, boy have I had a rude awakening. American cars are not only gas guzzlers, they are unreliable, inefficient, breaks down a lot, design are hideous... that's why they have abysmal sales. Put it short they have a bad reputation.

Cars with highest reputation here is: Honda, toyota, Nissan is in second tier, mitsubishi is in 3rd, then the rest. The american cars are at the bottom. So don't be fooled. :)

In the luxury segment: the german cars, Lexus, Acura, Infinity then american luxury cars... Lincoln, Mercury, etc.

Nice to know that the cars topping the charts are from asia!

DOT eyes more tourists from Europe (http://www.philstar.com/archives.php?aid=2008090615&type=2)
By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio
Sunday, September 7, 2008


The Department of Tourism (DOT) is targeting an increased number of European visitors in the country as it participates in more trade fairs in Europe next quarter.

“Our presence in these travel trade fairs sustains our drive to bring in the European market which remains one of our highest spenders,” DOT Secretary Joseph Durano said.

The European markets outpaced the growth rates registered by other tourist source markets from January to July this year, the DOT noted.

Arrivals from the Russia Federation grew 35 percent; France, 26 percent; Spain, 22 percent; and the United Kingdom,18 percent. The Scandinavian market, comprised of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, recorded a 16-percent jump in tourist arrivals.

The first trade fair is the Travel Trade Gazette (TTG) Incontri, the premier business-to-business travel trade event in Italy, which will be held on Oct. 24-26 at Rimini Fiera, Italy.

“This is somewhat a venue for business planning because budgetary considerations are decided straight away,” added Durano.

Last year, more than 30,000 tour operators and 2,300 stakeholders participated in the event. The event’s highlight is the two-day business negotiations involving presentation of new products, sealing deals with partners and forging agreements between travel trade buyers and sellers.

This is followed by the Dive Show 2008 at Birmingham, England on Nov. 1-2 in the National Exhibition Center.

More than 300 exhibitors from 50 countries all over the world attend the event every year.

Through the event, Durano said the country can promote various diving destinations such Batangas, Bohol and several parts of Palawan. Another diving prospect is the Caramoan Group of Island in Camarines Sur , the venue of KohLanta, the French version of the famous Survivor reality show.

Sogod Bay in Leyte, Malapascua in Cebu, and Apo Island in Negros that are fast gaining popularity for their well-preserved coral reefs and exotic marine life will also be introduced.

Back to top

Nakunan ko kanina ung mga linalagay na street lights..
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3282/2836504627_289130c58b.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3296/2837339096_489c210a57.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2837338854_e9f6756425.jpg?v=1220816030
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3151/2836504953_13fde02577.jpg?v=0

ito naman ung bagong biggs katabi ng mcdo at cabys..
may st. party jan kanina..
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/2836503975_aa96da504c.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3250/2837338538_669c23d675.jpg?v=0

On the Naga-Camaligan-Gainza merger (http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2008/09/on-naga-camaligan-gainza-merger.html)

good day peeps!
i'm RON or ONAX.:D
gusto ko lang po sana malaman kung may mga SSCers na naka base sa CAMARINES SUR:)
may climb kasi kami sa Mt. ISAROG on Sept27-28.
and i have plan na magpaiwan and will stay there for 2 more days para mapasyalan ko yung mga pasyalan dun:D
like CamsurComplex, Caramoan, EcoVillage, etc.
hope you can give me idea kung magkano kaya yung mga fares going Caramoan, EcoVillage at Camsur Complex.
i might be staying on a cheap motel sa NAGA City.
if ever there are SSC peeps nearby the area. i'll be glad to meet you guys:D
hope to see you soon:)
maraming salamat po:)

good day peeps!
i'm RON or ONAX.:D
gusto ko lang po sana malaman kung may mga SSCers na naka base sa CAMARINES SUR:)
may climb kasi kami sa Mt. ISAROG on Sept27-28.
and i have plan na magpaiwan and will stay there for 2 more days para mapasyalan ko yung mga pasyalan dun:D
like CamsurComplex, Caramoan, EcoVillage, etc.
hope you can give me idea kung magkano kaya yung mga fares going Caramoan, EcoVillage at Camsur Complex.
i might be staying on a cheap motel sa NAGA City.
if ever there are SSC peeps nearby the area. i'll be glad to meet you guys:D
hope to see you soon:)
maraming salamat po:)

Nakunan ko kanina ung mga linalagay na street lights..
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3282/2836504627_289130c58b.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3296/2837339096_489c210a57.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2837338854_e9f6756425.jpg?v=1220816030
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3151/2836504953_13fde02577.jpg?v=0

Will these lamp posts be installed along the entire Peñafrancia Avenue?

ito naman ung bagong biggs katabi ng mcdo at cabys..
may st. party jan kanina..
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/2836503975_aa96da504c.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3250/2837338538_669c23d675.jpg?v=0

Nice! So the door with the balloons is the expanded portion just beside McDonald's right? :)

On the Naga-Camaligan-Gainza merger (http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2008/09/on-naga-camaligan-gainza-merger.html)

In the posted link, I found this one quite interesting:

Together with Canaman and Milaor, Camaligan actually hosts the immediat urban sprawl radiating from the city center. There are already housing projects in the area - the most recent of which is the Deca's Northfield Estates - that straddle the Naga-Camaligan boundary. The Camaligan Fishing Port, while underutilized, can expand and diversify the city's industrial base. The Abella-Jolly Neighbors roadlink, once completed, will also open up the Queborac area to new development opportunities.

Where is this Deca Northfield Estates exactly located?

good day peeps!
i'm RON or ONAX.:D
gusto ko lang po sana malaman kung may mga SSCers na naka base sa CAMARINES SUR:)
may climb kasi kami sa Mt. ISAROG on Sept27-28.
and i have plan na magpaiwan and will stay there for 2 more days para mapasyalan ko yung mga pasyalan dun:D
like CamsurComplex, Caramoan, EcoVillage, etc.
hope you can give me idea kung magkano kaya yung mga fares going Caramoan, EcoVillage at Camsur Complex.
i might be staying on a cheap motel sa NAGA City.
if ever there are SSC peeps nearby the area. i'll be glad to meet you guys:D
hope to see you soon:)
maraming salamat po:)

Hindi mo naman ni-flood ung threads na may connection sa Mt. Isarog noh @Ron? :lol: :jk:

^^
di naman.. medyo lang:D
hay...sana someone could give me ideas. kasi im still thinking kung magpapaiwan ako.
ayaw kasi nilang magleave e.:(
tsaka sana ok ang weather sa Bicol that time.:)

More tourists seen with ‘Survivor’
(http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20080721-149837/More-tourists-seen-with-Survivor)

http://media.melty.fr/media-actu-image-156634-article-s.jpg
http://media.melty.fr/media-actu-image-156632-article-s.jpghttp://media.melty.fr/media-actu-image-156631-article-s.jpg
http://media.melty.fr/media-actu-image-162888-article-g.jpghttp://media.melty.fr/media-actu-image-162688-article-g.jpg
http://kohlanta2008.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/kl-carte-caramoan.jpg

this is one of my favorite reality show but i've only watched the US series. how i wish that i can get a copy and able watch this survivor:france to able see the beauty of Caramoan.
the company where i work is a French company and they do love Philippines:D

^^
di naman.. medyo lang:D
hay...sana someone could give me ideas. kasi im still thinking kung magpapaiwan ako.
ayaw kasi nilang magleave e.:(
tsaka sana ok ang weather sa Bicol that time.:)
You can ask Sinjin regarding Camsur watersports(?) complex

Gusto ko rin makapunta ng Bicol ulit. I'll try to ask my relatives there in Naga.

hello NAGA.
balita ko magkaka SM na sa Sorsogon nasa wilkipedia kc, unfortunately wala Legazpi.

kelan opening ng SM Naga????
Tagal hehhehhe

^^
di naman.. medyo lang:D
hay...sana someone could give me ideas. kasi im still thinking kung magpapaiwan ako.
ayaw kasi nilang magleave e.:(
tsaka sana ok ang weather sa Bicol that time.:)

You can go to this Web site, Ron. :)

http://www.camsurwatersportscomplex.com/

this is one of my favorite reality show but i've only watched the US series. how i wish that i can get a copy and able watch this survivor:france to able see the beauty of Caramoan.
the company where i work is a French company and they do love Philippines:D

Baka meron silang copy dun sa France. Pa-send mo sa'yo. :D

One million devotees expected in annual Peñafrancia pilgrimage

Naga City (10 September) -- At least one million devotees are expected to attend the Peñafrancia Festival starting Friday, Sept. 12 up to Sept. 20.

This, according to Fr. Luisito Occiano, vice rector of the Basilica Minore, who said that the Archdiocese of Caceres is fully prepared for the 2008 celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Patroness of Bicolandia.

Occiano said a series of seminars were held in the different parishes in this city in preparation for the upcoming festivities. "The seminar was aimed to brief the men devotees who will carry the image in processions in view of a more proper coordination and orderly activity."

The religious festival officially kicked off on September 3, with the start of the novena to the Divino Rostro which will end on Friday, September 12, with the Traslacion procession bringing the image of Ina from the Basilica Minore to the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral for the novena prayers.'

On September 20, the colorful fluvial procession will take place along the Bicol River after the street procession from the Metropolitan Cathedral. The image will then be transferred to a waiting pagoda to take her back to the Basilica Minore, home to the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia.

This yearly activity dates back to the 17th century and has never failed to attract devotees, some of whom said they were cured of their diseases.

"It is our wish to see to it that with the big volume of devotees coming to visit Ina, order and solemnity of the religious activities are observed while everyone is given the chance to visit, pray and honor her during the occasion," said Occiano. (Archdiocese of Caceres)

http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&r=&y=&mo=&fi=p080910.htm&no=07

^^
oo nga e.. kaso frenc languange.. good luck sa akin. kung may sub title.. mas ok:D

Iriga City Hall, Camarines Sur

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/cityhall1.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/lobby.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/lobby3.jpg

photos from iriga.gov.ph

umunlad ka naman hehe

Where is this Deca Northfield Estates exactly located?

Bagumbayan Norte, papasok ng San Vicente, Canaman.

^^ Nyaaaaaa! Sabi duman nasa boundary nin Naga saka Camaligan? Malabuon man...

Ang bilog na lote halos maookupar na ang Camaligan pero ang main gate yaon sa my San Vicente, Canaman. Kumbaga Canaman-Naga-Camaligan ang nakakasakop.

^^Bago na pala ang Iriga City Hall!!!

ano tong nsa tahaw kan queborac and bayawas?

One million devotees expected in annual Peñafrancia pilgrimage

Naga City (10 September) -- At least one million devotees are expected to attend the Peñafrancia Festival starting Friday, Sept. 12 up to Sept. 20.

This, according to Fr. Luisito Occiano, vice rector of the Basilica Minore, who said that the Archdiocese of Caceres is fully prepared for the 2008 celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Patroness of Bicolandia.

Occiano said a series of seminars were held in the different parishes in this city in preparation for the upcoming festivities. "The seminar was aimed to brief the men devotees who will carry the image in processions in view of a more proper coordination and orderly activity."

The religious festival officially kicked off on September 3, with the start of the novena to the Divino Rostro which will end on Friday, September 12, with the Traslacion procession bringing the image of Ina from the Basilica Minore to the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral for the novena prayers.'

On September 20, the colorful fluvial procession will take place along the Bicol River after the street procession from the Metropolitan Cathedral. The image will then be transferred to a waiting pagoda to take her back to the Basilica Minore, home to the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia.

This yearly activity dates back to the 17th century and has never failed to attract devotees, some of whom said they were cured of their diseases.

"It is our wish to see to it that with the big volume of devotees coming to visit Ina, order and solemnity of the religious activities are observed while everyone is given the chance to visit, pray and honor her during the occasion," said Occiano. (Archdiocese of Caceres)

http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&r=&y=&mo=&fi=p080910.htm&no=07

Wala bang pics?

bday ko sept 20... weheheh... I hope this is a good sign! :)

^^Dapat pumunta ka ng Naga and visit Ina.

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/7163/091420081161vr9.jpg

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/3488/091420081160lc0.jpg

^^Dapat pumunta ka ng Naga and visit Ina.

Di pwde... may pre-board exam kami... pero nagnonovena naman ako since saturday...:banana:

ano tong nsa tahaw kan queborac and bayawas?

Queborac and Bayawas? Garo harayo na man.. :?

Ang bilog na lote halos maookupar na ang Camaligan pero ang main gate yaon sa my San Vicente, Canaman. Kumbaga Canaman-Naga-Camaligan ang nakakasakop.

Aah. Okei. Ang na-imagine ko kaya tulos boundary ng Naga-Camaligan sa may Abella. :lol:

Wala bang pics?

Ask Garz. :D

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/7163/091420081161vr9.jpg

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/3488/091420081160lc0.jpg

The design looks nice. It actually looks better than the old Villa Caceres Hotel. :)

-----

Garz, request. Can you take photos of the Olivan Seaoil Station? Please? Thanks! :colgate:

^^
oo nga e.. kaso french languange.. good luck sa akin. kung may sub title.. mas ok:D

Malay mo meron nang may Emglish subtitle. :D

Iriga City Hall, Camarines Sur

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/cityhall1.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/lobby.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/lobby3.jpg

photos from iriga.gov.ph

Nice! The interior looks like a hotel's. :laugh:

^^Ok, I will if I have the time. Ford Naga is already open and I have to take pictures of that.

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/7363/091420081162yi7.jpg