Iloílo City and Province

[chymera00]

Originally Posted by wecky

WELCOME centralian_EXCEL_2k4 ... what a long username ... nice to hear from you ... I am a Centralian as well .. graduated 1995 (BSN) ... and if I am not mistaken, Whyte (in Manila) is a centralian, too. Are you visiting our school's forum as well? Hope to see you in the end week of July til August (and thereafter) for our Centennial Celebration. Have a good day.

We can actually have our own SSC Forum Meet - Iloilo City (that is if you people are interested For other people who want to, just tell us your intent to join so we can plan ahead. Hoping to see some of you people in July-August

[chymera00]

This is peraps the only Pano of the Iloilo Skyline to date. This was taken on the newly opened Iloilo Business Hotel. Credit should be given to the guy who happily let me in the roof deck to take some pictures

At the left is Mandurriao District (SM City Iloilo), then Jaro District, then La Paz District, then City Proper (You can see the Jalandoni Bridge)


Pictures of the newly Rennovated SM Ledesma:

Right Side


Front Side


General Luna St.

[chymera00]

ILOILO - IN FOCUS
Mt. Manaphag or Mt. Pan de Azucar, Concepcion

*Mount Manaphag is situated in Pan de Azucar (also the other name for the peak), an island which could be reached by a pumpboat in 45 minutes from Concepcion town in Iloilo province. With white-sand beaches, spectacular crags and verdant hills, Pan de Azucar Is. belongs to a string of small scenic islands dotting the northeastern coast of Iloilo.

* Landmark of Concepcion. It is a mountain situated in Bgy. Tambaliza with craggy slopes and ideal for mountain climbers; at 7,148 ft, the second highest spot in Panay.

* A fabled limestone sugar loaf mountain, where one can swim, snorkel, fish, go boating or simply bask on the white sand beach.

* Pan De Azucar is known for environmental-educational activities. It is drawing visitors every year not only from Iloilo but from other neighboring provinces as well.

* According to legend, a giant named Toya used to inhabit the summit of Manaphag. Toya takes a bath in a lagoon on the summit, using for a scoop the shell of a gigantic manlot or clam. As modern man seeks ways to to distinguish the facts and fictions in a myth, testimonies abound, either negating or upholding, some elements in the Manphag legend. Based on the observations of many climbers who had reached the summit, the peak of Manaphag is very narrow to be able to sustain a lagoon of a size. However, some sources adamantly maintain the belief for the existence of the lagoon, found in a sizable tract of flat ground slightly below the summit in the northwestern side. As to the presence of a giant manlot, one version has it that the manlot is merely a rock with the rough semblance of the real thing. A contrasting view holds it however to be a real oyster; allegedly, it was taken out for its pearl aboard a helicopter a couple of decades ago.

Another thorny issue about Manaphag is the standing claim that it is an extinct volcano. A steep cone resembling the hard core of a long eroded volcano, it naturally perpetuates the notion of the common folks who consider it as a kulob nga bulkan or inverted volcano - whatever that means. At any rate, the dominant rock of Manaphag is dalepe or sedimentary rock - not igneous or volcanic. Whatever is true, only the experts could tell with authority.

* On the way to Pan de Azucar, one could not possibly miss its unusual shape from afar. The mountain, which is 180.44 meters above sea level, is called Mt. Manaphag by local.

* The tourism management council charges a PhP10 entrance fee for visitors, which is used for community and environmental activities on the islands.

* *Mt. Manaphag is a relatively low peak. However, it possesses two remarkable features - its spectacular crags and very steep incline. Perhaps the steepest peak in the country, Mt. Manaphag flaunts of slopes ranging from 60 to 90 degrees.





ARTCILE:

Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 22:58:46 +0000
From: Philippine News Agency <pna@gaia.psdn.iphil.net>
Subject: pn: The Mystery Behind Pan de Azucar (Features)

By Neonita A. Gobuyan

ILOILO CITY, April 27 (PNA) - Pan de Azucar, the second highest
spot in Panay Island, is now an attraction as one of the tourist
destinations in this part of the country.

Pan de Azucar at 7,148 feet above sea level is situated in the
northern Iloilo town of Concepcion and known as the replica of the sugar
loaf cone of Rio de Janeiro.

Concepcion, some 111 kilometers from Iloilo City has 25 barangays and some of them are located in the 11 islands and islets.

Pan de Azucar, the highest island mountain has three barangays with
Tambaliza as the biggest village barangays populated by around 3,000.

"Most of the people here are fisherfolks while some produce rice,
coconuts and other products," Barangay Captain Geronimo Dosejo
disclosed.

This majestic mountain has a mysterious story which is being
recalled by Ester Mosqueda, a native of the island.
Mosqueda rendered a narrative song in native dialect called

"composo" she personally wrote with facts narrated by her own father.
The song tells a story of a giant living in this place who

became lonely and restless. The giant decided to visit the island of
Negros facing the area.

He prepared a provision of bread and red compact sugar and started
the journey by crossing the body of waters separating both islands.
While swimming half way, a small fish called Kamantahan touched his
private parts and eventually he dropped his provision of bread and
sugar.

The narration continued recalling that the bread and sugar were
carried by waves and grew into a tall mountain.

Then came the Spanish Friars who learned about the story of the
mountain and decided to name it Pan de Azucar.

The island mountain is now one of the tourist attractions of the
town of Concepcion. (PNA) RPP/wpt/NAG/




Pictures and some Info taken from: http://www.geocities.com/siba_ph/Manaphag.html (Be sure to visit!)

[wecky]

what do you call this statue again ? It's a four-lady statue in front of Old Provincial Capitol ... loved to see it when the fountain is on ... hope they will turn it into a dancing fountain ... really a great symbol of Imperial ILOILO !

Chymera, will you be able to ask anybody the name of this famous fountain? My old folks used to tell me about it but kind of lost it now.

Thanks for the pic ... this statue is a one of Iloilo's symbol.

[wecky]

Pictures of the newly Rennovated SM Ledesma (Guanco):

Right Side


Front Side


Thanks for the pics Chymera ... I loved this SM, the first ever SM in Iloilo ... I used to shop here, more than I do in SM City Iloilo in Diversion Road ... liked most of the clothing display, etc than that of the city ... gone are the old SM, too many memories indeed .... but really I am glad that it was renovated and made it looks better. Thanks to SM .. remember the logo before ... "Iloilo shops at SM".

[wecky]

Originally Posted by centralian_EXCEL_2k4

Thanks chymera for the pics. Im so happy with the exponential growth of the Iloilo economy which is manifested by the booming construction all around the city and its suburbs.

By the way im inviting all Ilonggo forumers to vote and rate Iloilo City in the rateitall.com website. Currently we're on the no. 1 spot surpassing the more industrialized cities of Sapporo, Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan.

Iloilo's economy doing great indeed, Centralian_Excel ... hopefully, it will improve and progress more.

[sandrin]

Hey Chymera, nice skyline. I'm so glad to see all the trees in the area. It's obvious that there's more room for development and hopefully landscaping will be taken into consideration too.
I hear ya Wecky, that's one of the best Capitol in Pinas at present. I also like the Miag-Ao church particularly the elaborate designs on its facade.

Ok as promised, here are some Guimaras pictures taken by my brother:


Guimaras Island


Guimaras hills


Guimaras Sunset

[ThisFire]

I love this kind of place. Booming, developed town with lots to do and resources, but at the same time nature and scenery is right there. Cebu is like this as well. They must develop places into this kind of mould.

[chymera00]

Originally Posted by sandrin

Hey Chymera, nice skyline. I'm so glad to see all the trees in the area. It's obvious that there's more room for development and hopefully landscaping will be taken into consideration too.
I hear ya Wecky, that's one of the best Capitol in Pinas at present. I also like the Miag-Ao church particularly the elaborate designs on its facade.

Ok as promised, here are some Guimaras pictures taken by my brother:


Guimaras Island


Guimaras hills


Guimaras Sunset

Guimaras and Iloilo share a lot in common and its safe to say that Guimaras is a part of Iloilo (culturally and proximity-wise). But I'd like to say this so other people won't get confused, Guimaras isn't a sub-province of Iloilo anymore, Guimaras is an independent province of Western Visayas.

Those are nice pics Sandrin, thanks for sharing them. I will be sharing mine too coz I just visited it two days ago, we went to Puerto del Mar (resort beside Alubihod Beach Resort). But i'll be posting them on the "Tourism" thread or on a new one Too bad we didn't get to go boating, else, I'd be flooding another forum

[chymera00]

ILOILO - IN FOCUS
Tinagong Dagat, Lambunao

* A lake situated at the outskirts of Lambunao, Iloilo near the Iloilo-Antique boundary. 16 kms. from the poblacion or about 25 kms. from the Iloilo National College of Agriculture (INCA) campus by mountain trail. 2,000 ft. above sea level. Surrounded by 40 hectares of rolling hills. Abounds with eels, edible snails, carps and other fisth.



from Singarong Backpackers (Read more of experiences of Tinagong Dagat.)


Tinagong Dagat which in Hiligaynon means hidden sea is a danao or lake about 4 has wide (others boasts that it is 10 has wide) and is allegedly very deep – more than 240 ft. It is bounded by a crater-like rim with a break in the eastern side. The loftiest, the western side is a limestone cliff called Apog-apog with a perennial waterfall.

Abounding with legends, the lake had been reputed to have salty water. Actually, its water is fresh and teems with freshwater fishes – daroy, haloan, tilapia and pantat. Later, carp and taiwan (an alien catfish) were introduced into it and possibly displacing the native stock. According to one tale, Tinagong Dagat in the 1980’s when a native tribe was inhabiting beside it, used to have goldfish. Sold at a fabulous price by that time, the goldfish enticed some hardy lowlanders to brave the wilds just to catch this gold for a fish.

Today, despite of the presence of a few huts at the very edge of the lake most of the surrounding vegetation is lush old-growth forest called by the local inhabitants as talon.

Access: Tinagong Dagat is situated in the southwest of Lambunao, an interior town in the West-Central border of Iloilo province (Panay Island). Igpulakan, meaning “that which caved in”, the highest peak in Lambunao, is a barrier to access Tinagong Dagat from the nearest barangays accessible to transportation, namely Jayubo and Bagumbong.

However, much of the barrier to Tinagong Dagat is the very trail to Tinagong Dagat itself. While some locals could cover it in 6 hours, outsiders could spend almost two days to reach Tinagong Dagat from either of the jump-off points.

[chymera00]

Another Pano of the City taken from the rooftop of Iloilo Business Hotel:

Right: Whole Downtown up to Molo District (Molo Church is visible):

-------
There are 2 going to be more overpasses in Iloilo (just what we need ). I hope in the future, they spend the city's million's of pesos into more productive projects. And aproach the city's traffic problems by expanding existing roads, constructing more roads, bridges, traffic lights, even flyovers or tighter enforcement of traffic rules (esp. Jaywalking and 'No loading/unloading' violations). Rather than these overpasses, or Perimeter Boundary Ordinances that clearly don't work for us...

Overpass # 1
Between Iloilo Central Elementary School and SPED School


Overpass # 2
In Front of Assumption-Iloilo and Iloilo Central Elementary School


Overpass Locations
Taken for Iloilo City Interactive Map @ www.iloiloonline.tk

[sandrin]

Yeah, majority of the people in Guimaras have Ilonggo ancestries, like us from Guimbal.
Although Guimaras has been an independent province, the culture and tradition is a true Ilonggo itself.


Whooa, Tinagong Dagat is situated at 2000 ft above sea level. I'm imagining a lake at Sagada Mountain. That place has the potential to be the next "Visayan Sagada". I hope the residents living beside the area will continuously protect it, like no dumping of trash or oil spills from boats. As you know, the beauty and tranquility of Sagada has been preserved by the residents themselves with the heplp of American missionaries.

I hope there is a picture of Apog Apog cliff Waterfall too.

[Virtute]

Front Side


I remember this SM back in the 70s. There were bumping cars inside. Had great fun and it was the talk of the town.

I'm becoming more encouraged each time I see more development in Iloilo. Iloilo has been through a lot in the last 100yrs. The burning of the city in the Fil-American war, bombs fell on Iloilo in WWII, economy slowed down and surpassed by Cebu, etc. Maybe someday I can see clump of tall buildings and the financial district in Diversion Rd? Hopefully. It's slowly getting there. I would also like to see a revival of Calle Real!

[chymera00]

Originally Posted by sandrin

Yeah, majority of the people in Guimaras have Ilonggo ancestries, like us from Guimbal.
Although Guimaras has been an independent province, the culture and tradition is a true Ilonggo itself.


Whooa, Tinagong Dagat is situated at 2000 ft above sea level. I'm imagining a lake at Sagada Mountain. That place has the potential to be the next "Visayan Sagada". I hope the residents living beside the area will continuously protect it, like no dumping of trash or oil spills from boats. As you know, the beauty and tranquility of Sagada has been preserved by the residents themselves with the heplp of American missionaries.

I hope there is a picture of Apog Apog cliff Waterfall too.

I haven't been there ... I just get my pics through the brosures I scavenged at the "Fiesta in the City" exhibit in SM City and through googling. I would love to go there though, now ... where can we find them hiking groups

Originally Posted by Virture

I remember this SM back in the 70s. There were bumping cars inside. Had great fun and it was the talk of the town.

I'm becoming more encouraged each time I see more development in Iloilo. Iloilo has been through a lot in the last 100yrs. The burning of the city in the Fil-American war, bombs fell on Iloilo in WWII, economy slowed down and surpassed by Cebu, etc. Maybe someday I can see clump of tall buildings and the financial district in Diversion Rd? Hopefully. It's slowly getting there. I would also like to see a revival of Calle Real!

Bumpercars? di ko naabutan yan, hehe, oldie . I dun think theres much room in Diversion Road. I'd like it better if it was more like an industrial area

[wecky]

These are two of the most beautiful pictures of Iloilo that I loved dearly ... really great ... nice photoshoots, contrast, etc ... by the looks of it, the place seems really glowing. Cheers to Chymera.

[wecky]

Originally Posted by chymera00

UPDATE:



Went googling and found these pictures of the present state of the Panay Railways. I wont be posting all pictures so be sure to visit these links:

1. http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~Philrail/panay_2004.htm
2. http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~EPhilrail/Fsiraipanai.htm
3. http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~Philrail/capiz.htm
4. http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~Philrail/New%20Frontier.htm
5. http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~Philrail/Cen...ntos_Lopez.htm
6. http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~Philrail/panayrail.htm

Its in Japanese so you might want to translate it using this Online Translator (Reccommended if you want to give yourself a good laugh)

Hoping the plan to revive the railway will be realised soon ... this is one of the best infras Iloilo can have once it will be put in place ... please do update us about this matter from time to time. Ta.

[wecky]

Originally Posted by chymera00

Iloilo - In Focus



Its so0o0o beautiful, Is this real? I also noticed a Balbagon Island, but its in Camiguin. Maybe the pic is of that one ... oh well

Another group of islands that Iloilo should be proud of ... the Gigantes Islands ... this includes the Pan de Azucar (I think so) ... hope to visit them this coming August (if possible) ... I heard this place few years ago but wasn't lucky enough to visit them ... think right now will be a good time since they are developing this group of islands as well. The first picture I've seen about these islands mesmerize me as one of them looks like or formed like the high peak of Rio de Janiero.

[wecky]

Originally Posted by centralian_EXCEL_2k4

Thanks chymera for the pics. Im so happy with the exponential growth of the Iloilo economy which is manifested by the booming construction all around the city and its suburbs.

By the way im inviting all Ilonggo forumers to vote and rate Iloilo City in the rateitall.com website. Currently we're on the no. 1 spot surpassing the more industrialized cities of Sapporo, Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan.

been to rateitall website ... yeah, right now we are leading there ... hehehe .. at least for once we can say, we're the no.1 ... yahooooooo !!!!!!

Centralian_EXCEL, welcome again to this forum ... if you have time, please IM me ... hope you can go home by July_August for our Centennial ... it will be a great celebration though .. remember last January when CPU opened the Dinagyang 2005 .. gosh, there was a standstill traffic for more than an hour in city proper ... the centennial activities since January was great but the highlight for all alumni locally and abroad will be in July-August-September. Been listening to Bombo Radyo Iloilo here in UK ... would you believe that? Bombo Radyo Iloilo can be heard all over the world via the CPU's website ... of course, who will forget the Toyang Ermitanya, Bombohanay sa Udto, and the best of all ... the Zona Libre .... CPU is broadcasting their activities worldwide via net as well ... we all alumni around the world can see what's happening there in CPU like the Opening of Lights last December, Graduations, other contests, etc .. that's why Centralian abroad are updated with what's happening in the campus, more or less. Hope to see you there!

[wecky]

Originally Posted by chymera00

lovely .. if it will be realised, this will be the first flyover of Iloilo .. really, I don't like the flyover .. it destroys the beauty of the place ... here in London, you can't see any flyovers within the business and shopping areas. Though we must admit that together with developments and progress, we have to deal with all of these craps. Anyway, hope the bridge project will be fully operational soon. ta.

[wecky]

Originally Posted by chymera00

We can actually have our own SSC Forum Meet - Iloilo City (that is if you people are interested For other people who want to, just tell us your intent to join so we can plan ahead. Hoping to see some of you people in July-August

I'll be very glad to meet you all, Chymera. I'm sure that I will be going home by that time ... just spare the last week of July to first week of August as it is the peak time for our school's centennial celeb ... can meet you all anytime after that, I guess .. just let me know in advance for your plan/s. Cheers!