Bulacan Province

[allan_dude]

^ Tuwing nadadaan ako sa Bulacan, tingin ko mas pinili ng mga tao ang simpleng pamumuhay. Dahil dito napanatili nila ang mga makukulay na tradisyon at buhay na buhay ang culturang Bulakenio. Maunlad ang probinsya at moderno ang mamamayan.

Mas agresibo nga lang dati ang mga karatig probinsya sa pag hatak ng mga bagong prohekto. Nasabi ko na "Bulacan is waking up!" sapagkat hindi pa na "maximize" ang "full potential" ng probinsya.

Ang ginagawang Northrail at ang planong North East Luzon Expressway ay iilan lamang sa maraming prohekto na tutulong ng husto sa karagdagang kaunlaran ng probinsya. Kaya para saken, ang Bulacan ang isa sa mga lugar na dapat nating abangan.

[kalbongdad]

Originally Posted by allan_dude

^ Tuwing nadadaan ako sa Bulacan, tingin ko mas pinili ng mga tao ang simpleng pamumuhay. Dahil dito napanatili nila ang mga makukulay na tradisyon at buhay na buhay ang culturang Bulakenio. Maunlad ang probinsya at moderno ang mamamayan.

Mas agresibo nga lang dati ang mga karatig probinsya sa pag hatak ng mga bagong prohekto. Nasabi ko na "Bulacan is waking up!" sapagkat hindi pa na "maximize" ang "full potential" ng probinsya.

Ang ginagawang Northrail at ang planong North East Luzon Expressway ay iilan lamang sa maraming prohekto na tutulong ng husto sa karagdagang kaunlaran ng probinsya. Kaya para saken, ang Bulacan ang isa sa mga lugar na dapat nating abangan.

ay sya purong tagalog....bulakenong kabayan....

[allan_dude]

^ Pangasinan po ako

[v_rod]

Originally Posted by allan_dude

^ Tuwing nadadaan ako sa Bulacan, tingin ko mas pinili ng mga tao ang simpleng pamumuhay. Dahil dito napanatili nila ang mga makukulay na tradisyon at buhay na buhay ang culturang Bulakenio. Maunlad ang probinsya at moderno ang mamamayan.

Mas agresibo nga lang dati ang mga karatig probinsya sa pag hatak ng mga bagong prohekto. Nasabi ko na "Bulacan is waking up!" sapagkat hindi pa na "maximize" ang "full potential" ng probinsya.

Ang ginagawang Northrail at ang planong North East Luzon Expressway ay iilan lamang sa maraming prohekto na tutulong ng husto sa karagdagang kaunlaran ng probinsya. Kaya para saken, ang Bulacan ang isa sa mga lugar na dapat nating abangan.

Malaki rin siguro ang magiging epekto nito sa development ng Angeles, Pampanga.

[3cr]

Bulacan rivers among ‘Dirty 30’
By KATHERINE ADRANEDA and DINO BALABO
The Philippine Star
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=93170

A New York City-based environmental group has named the river system traversing Meycauayan City and Marilao town in Bulacan as among the 30 dirtiest in the world, posing a danger to human health.

In its World’s Worst Polluted Places 2007, the Blacksmith Institute described the Meycauayan-Marilao river system as “extremely polluted” due to haphazard dumping of industrial waste.

But the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) questioned the report, pointing out that the determination of water quality is based on several criteria, with tests going beyond one-time sampling and may even take years.

Experts of the EMB’s water division said Blacksmith should specify the criteria it used in declaring the river system among the worst in the world.

Water quality, according to them, is determined through certain criteria such as, principally, dissolved oxygen (DO) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and total suspended solids (TSS) and total dissolved solids (TDS).

Engineer Jun Rivera, of the DENR-EMB, said it might not be possible to find one river as “worst” on both the DO and BDO criteria since each criterion has a different parameter.

“A river may be declared worst, but that should be qualified in terms of the level or parameter used,” Rivera said.

“Even the sampling, it cannot be a one-time sampling because there should be an established trend first considering that water samples may vary due to certain factors like rain, which can definitely affect the water in the river,” he added.

According to the Blacksmith report, industrial waste is indiscriminately dumped into the Meycauayan-Marilao river system, a source of drinking and agricultural water for 250,000 people. The river also traverses Obando town.

Blacksmith blamed the river system’s pollution on small-scale lead recycling facilities and tanneries that dump untreated “hexavalent chromium-laced” wastewater into the waterway.

“The river system is extremely polluted due to wastes received from tanneries, gold and precious metals refineries, the largest lead smelter in the Philippines, and numerous municipal dumpsites,” it said.

Blacksmith said the dumping of toxic waste into the river has severely affected the health of residents, who have complained of nausea, eye irritation and respiratory ailments.

It further noted that the river system eventually contaminates fishing areas around Manila Bay since it feeds directly into it, further endangering the health of more people.

Other places listed in Blacksmith’s “Dirty 30” were two sites in Africa, six in China, 10 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, six in Latin America and the Caribbean, and five in South Asia.

“Toxic pollution in these sites has resulted from sources as diverse as massive industrial estates, large-scale mining and smelting operations and even Cold War era chemical weapons production,” Blacksmith said.

In the National Water Quality Status Report 2001-2005 of the DENR-EMB, the Meycauayan-Marilao river system was listed as among the 19 priority water sources for cleanup and rehabilitation.

[overtureph]

‘Centuries of industrial malpractice doomed Bulacan rivers’
By Dino Balabo
Friday, September 21, 2007

MALOLOS CITY – Over two centuries of industrial malpractice and disregard for the environment caused the contamination of the Meycauayan-Marilao River in Bulacan that was named one of the 30 dirtiest waterways in the world by a New York-based environmental group, officials said.

Bulacan Provincial Administrator Gladys Sta. Rita told The STAR that pollution of the river system began in the 1800s when Chinese settlers set up the tannery factories that process raw cow hide into leather and the jewelry-making shops in Bulacan.

“There was gold in Bulacan then so the Chinese established jewelry shops here,” Sta. Rita said.

In its World’s Worst Polluted Places 2007, the Blacksmith Institute described the Meycauayan-Marilao River as extremely polluted due to the haphazard dumping of industrial waste.

Sta. Rita said the jewelry and tannery industries prospered in Bulacan since the 1800s and at present there are 114 registered jewelers and some 2,000 unregistered jewelry shops in the province.

The tannery industry, on the other hand, peaked in the 1960s to the 1980s, until China started mass production of cheap shoes that flooded the Philippines and the world market.

At present, there are only 22 registered tanneries in Meycauayan and nearby towns.

Sta. Rita said that the tannery and jewelry factories in Bulacan use primitive technology, have no waste water treatment facilities or anti-pollution measures and dump their toxic waste directly into the local river system.

She said jewelers use mercury in their operations, but are now using rubber scrubber to replace mercury in the processing of gold.

Aside from tanneries and jewelry factories, Marilao is also the home of the Philippine Recyclers Inc. (PRI), whose officials used to brag that their waste is clearer than the water of the Marilao River.

Marilao Mayor Epifanio Guillermo told The STAR that “it (PRI waste) might be clear but not clean.”

Sta. Rita said Bulacan officials have already learned of the Blacksmith Institute’s report for a long time.

“We have been working with them (environmentalists) in the last two years. We know that the problem did not happen overnight, and it will not be solved overnight as well,” she said, adding that they have been working with concerned citizens and business leaders to revive the river system.

Mayor Guillermo blamed the residents and factories of the nearby towns of Sta. Maria and San Miguel in Bulacan, Caloocan and Valenzuela City for dumping garbage and hazardous waste into the river.

Residents said that industrial waste is being dumped regularly in a creek while in San Miguel, garbage from Metro Manila and Nueva Ecija end up in the municipal dump in Barangay Balaong just outside the Biak-na-Bato National Park.

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?He...id=20070920214

[kikodj]

can someone post a map of the said river??? thanks

dinawit pa ang Obando hehehehe("j)

[Magdiwang]

to revise

[Magdiwang]

Photos taken during a Fiesta in Brgy Bagbaguin, Sta Maria, Bulacan.
Sept. 2007

















Parish Church of Sta Maria









National Historical Institute's historical marker posted in Sta Maria Church.

I was surprised when I found this marker and I asked the church staff why it was written Church of Pandi. The lady said that during the
Spanish time the town of Sta Maria was a barrio of the town of Pandi.

[kikodj]

nice trivia... @magdiwang

[Magdiwang]

Originally Posted by kikodj

nice trivia... @magdiwang

oh yes...... i am just wondering.

perhaps the Mayor and Parish Priest of Pandi were always sleeping

that's why now Pandi looks like the barrio of Sta Maria

[Sinjin P.]

[lightsaber46]

Wonderful!! Bulacan has a "Super City" Masterplan, Hope our friends here can update us on this.

[[dx]]

Photo by alfman

[allan_dude]

Angat water to reach Bulacan after 87 years

Ray Eñano
Manila Standard

Bulacan, the host province of Angat Dam, will finally get its taste of potable water from its natural resource after 87 long years. The Angat reservoir in San Lorenzo, Norzagaray, Bulacan, has been providing water to Metro Manila since 1920, but Bulakeños ironically have not benefited from their own resource, drawing supply instead from deep wells.

The dam draws its water source from Angat River, which originates from the western flank of the Sierra Madre Mountains. It cuts through the mountainous terrain in a westerly direction to the dam site, aided by three major tributaries, namely Talaguio, Catmon and Matulid Rivers.

Bulacan’s water woes, however, will soon be over. Manila Water Co., the water unit of the Ayala group of companies, has completed a master plan that will meet the demand of the province. The P11-billion water supply project, says Manila Water, will be the biggest infrastructure project in Bulacan.

Water relief to the province, though, will not come immediately. Manila Water is implementing the massive project over a 10-year period in three phases. The first phase, scheduled from 2008 to 2010, will initially cover eight towns, namely Marilao, Malolos, Sta. Maria, Bustos, Balagtas, Bocaue, Bulacan, Guiginto and Pandi.

Phase 2, from 2012 to 2013, will provide water to the towns of Angat, Norzagaray, San Rafael Baliwag and Bustos while the last stage, to be implemented from 2015 to 2017, will cover the remaining 12 towns of Bulacan.

Manila Water says by connecting its pipes to Bulacan, it will address the worsening supply and quality of water drawn from groundwater sources, which currently provides the province’s needs.

“Most of all, the project will provide an answer to the perennial question among Bulakeños as to why they continue to be dependent on deep wells, when in fact, Angat Dam, which supplies nearly 14 million residents from Metro Manila, continues and remains to be the sole source of surface water for the mega city,” an official said.

Bulakeños not alone

Bulakeños are not alone in their misery. Residents of the western zone of Metro Manila, the concession being operated by Maynilad Water Services Inc., are suffering from poor water services despite their proximity to La Mesa Dam in Novaliches, which part of the Angat Dam complex. Water service here is dismal, costly and not available for 24 hours. Residents of Manila (except San Andres), Pasay, Parañaque, Caloocan, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas and Valenzuela, parts of Makati and Quezon City, including the municipalities of Navotas and Malabon, share the same complaint. A Manila resident says her family of five pays a monthly bill of over P800 for a poor water service that is cut off from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. the next day.

In stark contrast, Manila Water’s pipes have made deeper inroads into the eastern part of Metro Manila. Its expansion to Taguig, Antipolo, San Mateo, Rodriguez, Cainta, Angono as well as Baras, Binangonan and Jalajala towns, all in Rizal, is being awaited by residents, who have suffered from poor water services in the past decade or so.

Manila Water’s expansion project this early has warmed the hearts of some residents, especially those in Angono. One Angono resident relayed to this writer that for the first time in 10 years, his household has seen potable water coming out from the tap. And after a long, long time, water flowed from the shower-head.

Financial incentives

The provincial government of Bulacan, meanwhile, stands to gain financial incentives from the Manila Water project, including a P250-million infrastructure fund, P68 million for water districts, P20 million in annual development assistance and use of water rights, and P10 million in annual fees to be divided between the host towns of Norzagaray and Doña Remedios Trinidad. This actually means a guaranteed yearly financial package worth P61.8 million for the next 10 years.

As Manila Water starts the laying of kilometers of transmission pipelines and construction of treatment plants, an estimated 10,000 jobs will be available to residents of the province.

[IMPRESARIO]

From SSC-Iloilo

[SUV111]

image hosted on flickr

[overtureph]

Music video captures horror of WWII rape

By Tonette Orejas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 10:36pm (Mla time) 01/01/2008

CANDABA, PAMPANGA—Like professional music artists, 10 of 61 survivors of mass rape by Japanese soldiers 63 years ago here have sung their ordeal in a music video in a bid to pass on their story before they all die.

“We have recorded our story at last,” said Isabelita Vinuya, 73, leader of the Malaya Lola (Free Grandmothers).

Relief and pride beamed from her face as she handed the Inquirer a copy of their work, “The Song of Malaya,” on Monday.

Short work

Subtitled “Lament of the Comfort Women,” the less than five-minute music video featured Vinuya, Pilar Galang, Francia Buco, Emilia Mangilit, Belen Culala, Belen Sagum, Leonor Sumawang, Ceferina Turla, Petronila dela Cruz and Felicidad Turla—aged 70 to 81—as singers. They were dressed in their baro’t saya (formal Filipina dress) when they performed on camera.

The song “Malaya Lola,” which the 96 victims composed after they went public in 1996, is the musical narrative that wove some footage of World War II battles and reconstructed scenes at the Bahay na Pula, a brick mansion of the Ilusorio family in nearby San Ildefonso, Bulacan, that the Japanese Army converted into a garrison.

The clips flashed fast, interspersed with images of the women singing in solo, trio or group the parts of the 18-stanza song that tells of what they witnessed on Nov. 23, 1944, and weeks after that.

No training

Because no one among them was trained to write music or poetry, they tapped the tradition of “pangangaluluwa” to be able to compose songs.
In Mapanique, young and old residents alike visit homes and sing dirges for the dead. The “pangangaluluwa” is done on nights of All Saints’ or All Souls’ Day or during wakes in the village.

They have done 10 songs so far and the piece, “Malaya Lola,” is rich with details and emotions of that fateful day.

It began when the Geki Group of the 14th District Army under Japanese Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, attacked the village of Mapanique, a suspected bailiwick of the Filipino rebel army, the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon.

The soldiers pillaged and burned the village and killed almost all men and boys whose corpses were thrown into a common grave. The grandmothers, mothers, aunts, sisters, wives and daughters of the victims were forced to watch as Japanese soldiers killed them.

Under threats of being stabbed by bayonets, the women were forced to carry the soldiers’ loot to the Bahay na Pula, more than a kilometer away. The women and girls were then raped repeatedly.

Suffering

In several cases, pairs of mothers and daughters were abused in the same room, according to the Asian Center for Women’s Human Rights that documented the case and brought this to the international war tribunal.
The video ran an English translation of the song as the women sang this in Tagalog with crisp Bulacan and Kapampangan accents.

For copies of the video, call Isabelita Vinuya at 0915-884-4034.


Copyright 2008 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquire...icle_id=109859

[barrera_marquez]

May nakuha akong Wikipedia article tungkol sa sunog sa Bocaue, may video pa!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December 2007 Bocaue Fire.

[anone]

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