MikeLigalig.com

ang problema lang kay sa bohol, murag walay maka tao nga political leader. those in power now are all trapos and we can expect to see more of the same if any one of these people are elected into office. dapat naa untay alternative. kanang dili trapo.

sad to think that despite strings of well publicized incidents involving communities that get covered by mudslides follwing heavy rains, and warnings from authorities for people living in similar surroundings to vacate and seek safer havens, the same thing happens over and over. sad. sad.

given the record of americans who "come to the rescue" in troubled places and act like a self-proclaimed international policeman, i'm just wondering why until now the americans have not sent even one single warship in the area, even if only to intimidate rowdy somali warlords.

slackware: i second the motion!

an international airport in bohol is going to be ONE BIG MISTAKE. on the short term, it will enrich the landowners whose lands will be absorbed by the airport's land requirement, it will enrich the contractors who will be undertaking the physical construction, it will enrich the politicians who will be involved in the approval of the project and release of funds and everyone else who will be signing the project documents. but for the long term, this international airport will only waste a lot of public money, both for construction and maintenance. Why? because it can NEVER sustain its own operations and this is what makes it a losing proposition to begin with. if they want a better and safer airport, sure they can go ahead and build one. they can even put it up on panglao island, but only for domestic flight operations. the mactan international airport is sufficient to serve the needs for the visayas area. so, don't you ever believe the rants and raves of the proponents in government saying that this project will help improve the economy of bohol. i can tell you with certainty as morning comes after the night that these government officials are ONLY after the 20 to 30 percent commission that they will receive from the winning contractor.

calle: tama gyud ka. Shame on us because despite all these scams and irregularities involving millions of people's money that we have come to know about, we have not done nothing to punish the perpetrators. this is exactly the reason why it keeps repeating itself. because we have done nothing.

scams in government involving millions of people's money have become commonplace in this country that these incidents do not shock us the way they used to. perhaps for a time people express their frustration and disgust over the gall of these people we put into power to steal our money. the truth of the matter is that this massive theft of public funds will NEVER STOP for as long as we, as a people, continue to behave as we have in the past vis-a-vis this almost endless string of elected leaders robbing public coffers dry. if we truly want to stop all these, we can. we can start locally. we can start cleaning up the fund mess involving the controversial dam in central bohol. someone's head has got to roll!

middlemen men (compradors) have always been the ones responsible for the skyrocketing of prices. what is probably the most ironic truth of all is that middlemen are not in anyway involved in the actual production or harvest of goods. wala silay hago and yet the are the ones that dictate (read control) the prices of commodities. this is exactly the same reason why the price of rice skyrocketed a few months before the harvest. the people who are ingaged in the actual labor such as farmers and fishermen earn so little and can hardly eat and yet middlemen who do nothing make the most money. so ironical! middlemen should be ELIMININATED! what money that goes to middlemen should go to the farmers and fishermen who are the ones that break their bones to produce/harvest commodities that people have to eat. DOWN WITH MIDDLEMEN!!!

i agree, slackware. nothing beats the good ole kinampay ube from dauis or corella.

obama... binay... layo ra gyud kaayo. not a single point for comparison.

grizzled grafters will do anything for money. the question now is: why are these people still free? kung pasagdan lang ni karon, these people will surely do it again. dapat pang bitayon na ning mga tawhana kay dili na ni sila mada ug misa, aurora o barangay.

if i were a legislator, i'd pass a law that will punish scammers with death by musketry in public. sigurado gyud nga wa nay mosunod ba. anybody remember the chinese drug lord which the marcos regime put in front of a firing squad at the luneta with a lot of people actually witnessing it? nahilum gyud ang drug scene ba. if it is done again now, mahilum gyud nang tanan buyagon ba, regardless of whether these are criminals wearing barong tagalogs and armed with briefcases, or criminals wearing rubber shoes and armed with guns.

interesting information, slackware. i had seen this only in mindanao. but then again, maybe i wasn't paying enough attention to plant life while still in bohol.

speaking of ube, naa koy nakita nga klase sa ube nga vine lang. meaning, nangumbitay lang pud ang iya mga unod kun asa mikatay ang mga dahon. violet pud siya morag kinampay pero medyo pait2. pero if himoon nga jam, medyo mawa na ang iyang pait nga after taste... is this ube species  found in bohol?

ang angay mopatubag ana should be the government, either the LGU within whose municipal waters the cargo was released or the provincial government. test gyud ni if our elected officials do have the will to enforce existing laws of the land. but then again, you may have a point there bnc, nga basin ug natingalan na daan ang atong mga officials amo nga all quiet at the western front na. but where the so-called environmental groups in bohol? syaroha pud nila ba kay wala gyud silay kisaw. do you think natingalan pud sila? jz asking.

you may have a point there, calle. but a constitutional convention might address the apprehensions that you expressed. at least there will be representatives of the people who will be sitting as convention members and they can be as vigilant as they would like to be to ensure that the real/original intentions for which the conventionis called is not defeated. there is always the danger of having the way of what most politicians want though, and that is a constituent assembly.

calle: knock on wood. the name of grace padaca actually came to mind right after writing my last post. she has been doing a good job of governing isabela where a lot of illegal logging has been going on for the last few years... i think richard gordon also did a good job as sbma chair of organizing olongapo residents into volunteers that was instrumental in making what sbma is now. if the same can thing can be done in a bigger perspective, it would surely make a lot of difference.

if polluting any part of an environment is covered under the clean water act of 2004, then the provincial government should initiate the the prosecution of the owners of the barge carrying tons of cement that sank off the waters of bohol. at least they should be made to pay for a clean up, just like what was required of the owners of the oil tanker that spilled tons of oil in guimaras some time ago.

i'm just wondering if there is any provision in the bohol environment code that penalizes people who pollute the environment, deliberate or not.

A layman: now that you agree with me -- and i hope several others, perhaps the next move would be to identify people who can fit the bill. you mentioned in a previous post that you think lito osmena is one good potential leader. perhaps i can add other names like edward hagedorn or rudy duterte. maybe you have more names to add to the list?
Sir lindy: i'm a true blue boholano but now residing in davao city.

it might be logical to try to find out first what the proponents for a charter change want to change in the constitution before deciding to change it or not, before making any conclusions.

ms da binsi: i was looking at the pics and i really enjoyed the ones that showed the lighthouse. one is particularly picturesque that it looks like a real postcard. but then again, perhaps you had a very hi tech camera and equally state-of-the-art accessories... great pics

i was reading the front page of this thread and i an inclined to agree with manay tess that this country needs someone like lee kuan yew. he steered singapore to economic prosperity with an iron will. can you imagine a small rock island (probably similar to corregidor) becoming a very rich city state? they don't have the natural resources they need -- no forests, no agricultural lands, no workforce -- and yet they are one of the richest asian nations today. comparatively, the philippines has all the natural resources it needs -- agricultural lands, forests (or whatever is left of it), workforce, etc. -- and yet, according to a recent survery, it is the ONLY country in the ASEAN region listed in the roster of hungry countries of the world! there are indeed lessons to learn from the singaporeans. it is my conviction that one of the important factors that made the level of economic development for singapore possible was lee's iron will to impose discipline.  if the philippines can have the resolve of the singaporeans to impose discipline, i believe that this country can prosper. also another good example is the resolve of the south koreans to punish erring public officials. so far, they have jailed two ex presidents for graft and corruption charges. unlike erap who was put under house arrest with modest accomodations, these 2 korean ex presidents were jailed in regular prison cells and they were not exempted from wearing prison uniforms. they both are made to wear handcuffs and leg irons each time they are taken to appear in court. this is definitely the kind of resolve that this country needs. kung pasagdan lang and pinoy with its traditional politics and governance, i have no doubt that nothing good will ever come out of this country.

buwadsanga: try asking david duchovny  :-)  kadto gani male lead sa "x files" TV series. he just recently completed a rehabilitation program for sex addiction.

Rodolfo Antonino's comments to identify the provisions in the Constitution that will be proposed for amendment before asking the people whether or not they favor a change in the charter is all very logical. every one has been talking either to support or reject a charter change. yet no one has moved -- until now -- to identify which provisions in the constitution to change so people will have a basis for making a choice. this is obviously the first step to undertake, and then go from there...

people who go to the point of "thou shalt not admit" obviously failed to observe yet another commandment that they should have done first before they got to the point of admitting: "thou shalt not get caught"  :-)

cement manufacturing is a VERY pollutive industry. according to estimates made by environmentalists, every ton of cement produced generates particulates (abog) that can reach to more than 350 kilos. this is the main reason why people rejected the proposed cement plant in bolinao, pangasinan which taiwanese investors wanted to do during the tenure of FVR. kung nadayon to, daghan unta cemento sa pilipinas. pero mamuti pud tas kaabog.

fdaray: thanks for the info.

mao gyud. the suggestion indicated above is apparently tongue-in-cheek... since bohol is being promoted as an ecotourism destination, nature should have been kept at its most pristine state possible in the face of developing these areas where tourist are encouraged to visit. dapat, physical development should be kept to a minimum and structures and materials to be used must be made of non-permanent materials. and most importantly, there must be a master plan on how ecotourism in bohol must be pursued. equally important is having a blue print of how specific areas to be developed must be implemented. dapat dili yagaw like whaty alona beach has become.

if you can think of more names later, paki post na lang diri. we can probably make a collection or something :-)

it was in the news on TV one morning while i was getting dressed for work but i really wasn't really able to catch the whole story. what i remember was holcim's assurance to its workers that they will not be laying off any of them. instead they will be reassigned to other plant locations... whatever the reason for the suspension of plant operations might me, it is certain that it is one reason for the shortage of cement in the market that's driving up its cost.

this has nothing to do with the philippines as the 51st US state.. but in addition to the comment on the jack and jill song, isn't it ironic that such a children's song can be so gory? translated to bisaya, it would go something like: si jack ug si jill mikatkat sa bukid kay mag kawos ug tubig. naligid si jack ug nabuak and iyang bagulbagul. unya si jill misunod ug kaligid sa bakilid... this is certainly not good material for a grade schooler to learn. maayo na lang nga kasagaran bata mokanta ani nga song, wa pa kasabut kung unsay meaning sa ilang gikanta.

mr. daray: what's the difference between ube jam and halayang ube? i regularly buy halayang ube at NCCC and it looks, smells, and tastes just like ube jam.

ms da binsi: nalingaw kaau ko sa imo list :-)

there might be a problem that is currently bugging the cement industry. despite the high demand for cement which is reason enough to maintain, if not double its production capacity, holcim, one of the largest cement manufacturers in the country, has in fact closed down one of its plants very recently.

raquel: so, nagpuyo diay ka duol sa redemptorist? naa raba bag-o development ang ayala land diha atbang sa redemptorist. it's called abreeza. pero dugay pa siguro na kay wala pa may construction sa building, land development pa lang...

people in bohol have a way of doing "development" nga usahay mapalabian na. ang hinagdanan cave which has natural lighting man unta ilang gisug-an ug flourescent. now, they have lighted the banks of loboc river. siguro i suggest nato nila to install an elevator at the chocolate hills. how's that for development?

mistyeyed: having grown up in tagbilaran, we probably share the same experience especially with the concern of accessing water. it was worse during the early 80s until improvements in the 90s. things are a bit better now, at least I can take a shower in the second floor of hour house. but given the growing number of water users serviced by the the water system, time will come when accessing water will once again become a problem. unless they tap additional sources now to cope with an anticipated water demand.

mayor leon calipusan and other loboc leaders obviously need to be educated on ecology and biodiversity preservation. bohol is being promoted as an ecotourism destination and yet they are altering the natural beauty of the place which is its main attraction. where is the logic here?

the healthy way to go is to go organic... zero pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, antibiotics, commercial animal feeds...

mistyeyed: you sound like a typical tagbilaranon.

most politicians treat so called public service as a big business enterprise. thus they don't mind putting up capital to buy people's votes to get elected into office. Perhaps it might help if voters adopted a "No vote selling" policy.

hehehe, joke lang ang pumpboat... but it does get flooded near that area after a heavy rain. same in some places along boulevard and uyanguren. surprisingly, there wasn't a single drop of rain today despite the storm signal in surigao del norte to level 3. sabagay, people here tell me they never have typhoons in davao. do you have the same opinion?

the main root of the problems besetting this country have always been; (1) corruption occuring at all levels of government, and (2) policies that favor the capitalist. these are the two main reasons why a great majority of this country are hungry. naturally, reversing the situation would require an iron hand to impose law and order (walang, kaibigan, walang, kamaganak, etc...), and policies that would facilitate equitable distribution of wealth or any variant that comes close. in other words, we need a dictator. a dictator whose obsession is to mitigate poverty and ensure that all filipinos go to bed in their own homes with a full stomach every night. if i were president, i would be that dictator.

there are always exceptions to every rule but on the whole, filipinos are indeed known to be particular about personal hygiene and grooming, maski alho ang ilang hagdanan.

for safety purposes, it might be best to just stay away from any kind of food product that traces its origin from china. there is evidence indeed that melamine contamination is more prevalent than previously thought. there are even reports that even animal feed have been laced with melamine so that during testing, the product will yield a high protein reading. you can just imagine how this can affect the food chain... so, better stay away from anything to eat which is made in or has ingredients that come from china.

i went to lanang last tuesday night, it wasn't flooded... i don't think it ever floods in lanang. sa davao light hinuon going towards the flyover, mobaha diha, nakasugat gani mi ug pumpboat sa kalsada.

in davao city, the bulk of rambutan and lanzones has been lesser compared to that of last year. but you will find durian practically everywhere even now.

"dapat ang bag-ong gobernador sa bohol kahibawo mopasidaan ug mopakgang aning mga hangol nga negosyante sa bohol."   dapat lang gyud. i second the motion.

usually the price of goods and services are dictated by the price of oil. over the lat few weeks, there has been a decrease in oil prices with the decrease of prices in the world market. this has spurred the transport sector to demand that oil companies lower their selling price of oil prices proportionately, and oil product retailers have been bring down the prices of what they sell. however, if there are no adjustments in the prices of goods and services including transportation fares which is proportionate with the decrease in oil prices, then any oil price decrease will only benefit two sectors of the economy and they are the transport sector and industry whoare the direct users of oil products. the consumers (you and me) who feed the transport sector as well as industry will be the ultimate losers.

this one single issue has seen a lot of buck passing by many of our public officials.  it is hardly inconceivable that a very small issue like the drainage issue in tagbilaran is taking so very long to resolve even with the involvement of the provincial governor and the DENR secretary. the city government could have easily done this. obviously, our city officials are not up to their jobs. puro lang istorya. way nahimo.

i hope the quality of the sea waters in cainggit beach has improved now. a few years back, water testing was conducted by the department of health and the sea waters of cainggit yielded positive presence for e. coli.

bol-anon nga cebuano: with the kind of mob mentality that tagbilaran businessmen have against investors from other places, it is doubtful that SM, gaisano or any other big business can set up branch operations in tagbilaran. take for example ceres liner. it was able to operate but only for a very short while. gipangitaan lang ug gamay bikil and its franchise was cancelled. another example is the very long struggle that mercury drug had to go through before they could set up local operations. when they applied, left and right and protesta that were filed by local drugstore owners with the sangguniang panglungsod... it's very funny that the bohol provincial government would go to the extent of establishing a bohol investment promotions center (BIPC) for the purpose of promoting aand attracting investments for bohol. but if investors like gaisano, SM would like to come and set up local operations, barahon dayon sa mga local businessmen. more often than not, our officials succumb to pressure exerted by these local businessmen being recipients of election money donations.

the war in iraq is simply economic in nature. in other words, business-related. the americans are there for the control of oil. just like america's involvement in the gulf war in kuwait in 1990.. does anyone really think america went out to the middle east to save kuwait from saddam's aggression? no. america went to kuwait to ensure saddam does not get his hands on kuwaiti oil.

there have been many instances in the past when soldiers have surrounded the moro rebels and been ready to blow all of them to kingdom come but each time they inform the military hierarchy of the situation and secure their clearance to wipe out the enemy, there is always an order for the AFP to withdraw? does anyone have an explanation to this?

many thinking filipinos believe that the abu sayyaf and to a large extent the MILF are creations of and therefore sponsored by the philippine government through the AFP. what do you think?

i think dan lim handled the tagbilaran drainage issue in the worst possible way. it runs smack of his lack of political will to implement the law. the very long time that it took the issue to resolve is indicative of his weakness as a leader even for simple issues as cutting of a mere 38 illegal connections so that the whole city of several thousand people will stop suffering due to his seeming protection for this special 38. (or is it .38 special?)

mike and bol-anon: sad to say but  that's the way it works in the philippines. it's really the innocent civilians who get caught in between this deadly game of cat and mouse with the end view of making a fast buck. deadly indeed and pathetic as well.

raquel: yes, the area near davao light still gets flooded but i think it's getting worse because even the downtown area get's flooded. ditto for boulevard and the area near the entrance to the cemetery near the alexian brothers compound. this is the area that becomes a bottleneck when there's rain kay daghan motirik nga multi cab pampasahero. i don't know how long this problem is going to last for davao although i am aware that the city government is trying to do something about it, only that their efforts seem to have been in vain kay sige lang gihapon baha kun magulan... yep, daghan gihapon marang diri. it's one of my favorite fruits too and it is almost always available here all year round. lanzones are hitting the streets once more pero medyo mahal2 pa. rambutan is always available although during summer, meyo daghan and supply... yep, you should come for a visit if and when the time is good. lots of things to do and places to see in davao :-)

teaching the biology of reproduction during grade school has been done in the philippine public schools since the early 70s. in high school, relationships were incorporated in sex education. in college, the element of deep relationships with a view to marriage was given focus to prepare young people for responsible adulthood and parenthood. it is quite amusing to hear about so-called advanced countries getting into something that filipinos have been doing for so long. take for example the wearing of a school uniform. ever since i can remember, everyone in the philippines wears a uniform, from students (private and public), to office workers. but it was only around the mid 90s when american schools began implementing the use of school uniforms. that's something i consider pretty backward for people who are supposed to be pretty advanced.

i think there is some truth to the fact that there is some form of connivance between the military and the moro rebels. but this seeming connivance occurs in the top command level. the soldiers in the field, including the generals and other field officers, are also subject to the power play between people who wear coats and tie or a barong tagalog. this war is not between soldiers and rebels, they are mere pawns in a power play... previously, i have always wondered why the well-armed AFP with all its military might which is backed-up by armored personnel carriers and helicopter gunships cannot supress a small band of armed mujaheedins that roam the muslim areas in mindanao. well, somebody was telling me a while back that there have been countless times when the AFP would be so close at pulverizing these rebels into tiny bits but each time they inform manila about the situation and ask for clearance to release all the firepower, manila would order the AFP to withdraw... personally, the reason why the two top rebel commanders of the MILF remain at large is because that is what the government wants. only, the government is angry now because a TV network made an exclusive face-to-face interview with a commander whom government is supposed to be going after and it is embarassing them because it makes them look like a bunch of wimps.

i think this new initiative that showcases the practicality and versatility of bamboo as a material for all occasions/seasons (construction scaffolding, housing materials, furniture, fashion accessories, etc.) if pursued vigorously by government as well as the private sector that have a stake on how bamboo products can be used profitably can provide the gumption that it needs to get a massive  nationwide bamboo planting campaign forward.

thanks for the tip, mike. i'll give posting pics a try soon... seems like you've become one of us technology victims :-)  can't blame you though, as i myself can't go for too long without having the need to go net surfing.

it's about time that government does something to increase the buying price of corn so that more farmers will be encouraged to plant this crop. aside from being used as rice substitute and animal feed component, corn can be made into biodegradable plastic.

everything that they are saying about bamboo is really old news. nothing new here. if government people should start something really new, then they should start planting bamboo in places where there are bamboo-based industries like bohol that makes a lot of cottage industry products that are made from bamboo. all river banks should also be planted to bamboo to address continuing soil erosion and the consequent siltation that it brings. to make a difference from past endeavors, they should ensure that bamboos planted are sustained to ensure they reach full growth and maturity... in the late 80s the DTI even initiated a similar drive but nothing came of it. i hope this renewed interest in bamboo will not end as ningas-cogon.

we filipinos had better stay away from anything to eat that's made in china.

the government is most likely unhappy with ABS-CBN for showing on national TV that exclusive interview with Commander Bravo because it demonstrates how TV reporters can be better at conducting intelligence as they have done to determine the actual location of the MILF rebel leader.  the AFP has been trying to do for the last 3 months or so with no success what TV reporters only took a few days to accomplish.

there was an article i read on reader's digest a few years ago about bamboos and the thing that struck me most about this grass is that despite its being a grass it is several times stronger than steel.  in hongkong, tall skyscrapers under construction do not use metal scaffolding materials. instead, bamboo is used... this next bit of info about bamboo was not in the RD article but i learned that bamboo is one very good material to use for protection of riverbanks against erosion. this is because its root system allows it to take a good hold and wider area of the soil.

i agree with you, mike. after countless trips to many parts in bukidnon, i too, am dreaming of having my own little payag in one of the many rolling hills that abound in the area.  if you have traveled from maramag to kalilangan, the bukidnon town that borders with lanao del sur, the scenes and vistas that you see is reminiscent of pictures that you see of new zealand especially if you pay attention to the cattle grazing on a distant hill. i'll probably try and post some bukidnon pics that i have when i get to learn how to post pics.

from what i know, the night creature which i earlier described is really called tambaloslos. i had chills up my spine the first time i heard this when as little children we were listening to ghost stories before going to bed... of course now, the term is used as a colloquial term to mean a person who is bu****-buangon, pilyo, way buot... by the way, kagwang is the visayan term for flying lemur, a flying mammal... i also heard that sigbin is a night creature belonging to the same league with tikbalangs but its appearance is similar to that of a kangaroo.

grazie: you must know the places to visit and hangout in valencia city, given that you used to hang out there in the past. for about a year, i traveled to bukidnon almost every week and made valencia city my sleeping point although during the day, i'd work in malaybalay, at the philippine carabao center, the main campus of CMU and the municipal hall of maramag. i know every twist and turn of this stretch of the highway like the back of my hand... you ever been to apo lake in valancia?

that's something that you can look forward to, grazie, the next time you are in town... in the meantime, i'll be sharing information if there's any new interesting place to visit that i will come to know about.

bol-anon nga cebuano: i agree... especially if intended against terrorists who bomb public buses with innocent passengers on board.

raquel: kanang ilang ihurot una ang ila stock nga napalit ug taas nga presyo before they can bring downs their prices is only applied by them when prices are on thew way down. per when prices are on the way up, ilang ibaligya at high market prices and stock nga ilang napalit adtong barato pa ang ilang pagpalit... in the end, the oil companies are the winners and the consuming public the losers. nonetheless, everyone is feeling slight relief that prices are beginning to go down.

the main reason why gas prices in the philippines remain high despite the continuing drop of oil prices in the world market is that the oil companies are employing delaying tactics in bringing down the cost of oil alongside the drop of world maket prices to maximize the profit margin that they can possibly get. it's really a whole bunch of cow manure for them to declare to the comsuming public that they are losing in their operations. have you ever seen a year-end report of an oil company? they almost always boast of the sales that they generate for that particular year and how it is bringing the company to higher levels with tons of profit being posted every passing year... regarding the oil in palawan, if it is indeed a sizable deposit, will only benefit the government and the people who run it. this is because the government intends to sell palawan oil in the philippines at world market prices. so in effect, its availability will not bring down the price of local oil and people will not feel any kind of benefit that local oil will bring. in plain and simple terms, the oil that they discovered in palawan will be USELESS to the ordinary juan dela cruz.

kiamoy: can you tell me where exactly rafael's farm is located in tacloban? i used to live there for a while and even though it's been like 20 years or so since then, i can still remember most of the places that i visited and hung out in... the place looks very nice and the furnishings that can be seen in the background which is not really much generates enough interest. i noticed the nice placemats that i know are woven by women under the mouth of a cave in basey, samar as i have similar samar-woven items that hung on my wall.

i first heard of the word tambaloslos from old folks in valencia. these are hideous creatures of the night who when they grin can open their mouths in such a way that the upper and lower lips would cover the whole of its own face.

as a post script, someone might like to suggest to the LGU of valencia, bohol to enter into a sisterhood pact with valencia, city, bukidnon.

this certainly has nothing to do with any reason for loving valencia but as fans of valencia, you might find this valencia trivia interesting: did any of you know that valencia city in bukidnon was named after valencia in bohol?  back in the 60s, valencia was a barangay of malaybalay, the capital of bukidnon. back then, it had a different name. then, people in the area though they could stand on their own feet and decided to turn it into a town. with the barangay's conversion into a town, the inhabitants decided to call it by another name. they settled on the name valencia (as in valencia, bohol) which was the birthplace of a mr. jaime galorport, the first teacher of the first school  that opened in the place in 1911 while it was still part of southern malaybalay. interestingly, valencia, bukidnon was officially created as a town in 1961 during the tenure of the late President Carlos P. Garcia. in 2001, it became a city.

aha, i think i know this fishing place that you are referring to, grazie.  there are several of these places along the highway just a little past sirawan on the way to santa cruz. these are actually fish ponds where there are little boats that you can rent and fish from. you can also fish bangus from one corner of the restaurant using a fish rod and bait made from raw bread dough and have your catch cooked in the restaurant in whatever manner you want: sinugba, tinola, whatever. you can also catch fish in a tank using your bare hands. it's really a lot of fun... then, there's this rubber tubing place along the river in darong, near the huge san miguel brewery compound just a few kilometers from sirawan... the newest resort tht i visited in samal is blue jaz resort. it is located just across insular hotel. the last time i was there in june, it was already operational but some of their amenities such as water slides that emptied into water pools were still under construction. i plan to visit again when the water slides are done :-)  also, you might like to visit a cave which is located in a property owned by the monforts that features a large colony of bats which is estimated to number around 1.8 million fruit bats. i have not visited this place but i have seen a TV footage that showed the bats coming out of the bat at dusk. very interesting to watch. you may find details of this cave if you type "monfort bat cave" in any search engine... by the way, next time you are at the crocodile park, don't watch the crocs eat a live meal. let the crocs watch you eat cooked ostrich.  there's also a new showcase of lumad-designed houses as cultural attractions right next to the park. you will get to see authentic davao lumad houses with authentic lumad household wares and art. they have almost everything from kalagans, matigsalogs, klata, bagobos, manobos, etc.

slackware, the reason why there are still a lot of battered women particularly those in rural areas despite RA 9262 is the simple fact that they are not aware of its existence. a lot of government agencies as well as NGOs that promote the rights of women and children continue to conduct information dissemination among womenfolk which the law is intended to protect, but soon this will reach the remote barangays as well. even TV which is a very powerful tool for information dissemination due to the wide reach that it can make is involved in this campaign... personally, i think this law should be amended to be applicable to anyone who commits the violation regardless of sex though i would admit that there are more women than men who fall victims of household violence. that way, it becomes fair to all. like the rape law of 1998. prior to that, the crime of rape was only applicable to men. with the new law, the crime can be attributed to anyone who commits the violation -- man, woman, homosexual, lesbian.

grazie, the sand bar in the photo is indeed better than white island in camiguin. i've been there myself and it can be the pits of you go at midday on a hot summer's day because there is zero vegetation and there is nowhere that you can find to hide from the heat of the sun. unless you bring a parasol :-)
swakee, i think i have seen the resort that you are referring to in sumilon island. i remember passing by the area several years ago on the way to boljoon. the resort look very inviting from the road and is very close to the mainland. it probably takes around 5 to 10 minutes by boat to get across. really nice place.

grazie, that gives you a good excuse to visit davao city if and when time permits. there have been some new development on places that you can visit for you and your family to enjoy. like the new resorts in samal, the crocodile park, white water rafting along davao river to name a few.

grazie: there is also an existing law in the philippines which is supposedly designed to protect women and children but which can also be abused by women if they wanted to, and it may also spoil children. it is called Republic Act 9262 or the law against violence on women and children. this law as a whole is seen by many even by social workers of the DSWD to be favored towards women and children, and seems to promote separation of spouses and alienation of families. this law is certainly good news to women and bad news to men. under this law, women who are subjected to physical violence, psychological violence and emotional violence can complain to the barangay captain and even without the benefit of a preliminary hearing to determine whether the allegation of the woman is true, the barangay captain and his deputy can enter the home even without a search or arrest warrant, and on the basis of the wife's verbal complaint they can physically eject the man or husband from the house. the man is not allowed to take anything from the house where he is ejected from including the car in his garage which was bought with the money he earned. then the barangay will issue a temporary protection order (TPO) which will prevent the man from going into his house and going near all of this family members. usually the court specifies a certain distance (in most cases 1 kilometer or so) that the man must observe to keep away from his house or any of his family members. violation to this provision will result in arrest and incarceration in jail. the same thing will happen to the man or husband even if he only threatens his family to stop providing economic support. it means that if a child misbehaves and as a punishment the father will order the erring child to stop going to school, the man or husband becomes liable under this law and faces the risk of being ejected from his own home (if the child or somebody else complains) and put to prison.. similarly, children can no longer be physically punished as easily and naturally as before. parents caught punishing their children, regardless of whether the child deserved punishment or not, becomes liable to be punished under this law. what is worse is that reports filed by neighbors or even strangers who witnesses the incident can be used by the barangay to act on the matter. but probably the strangest provision of this law is that this law is only applicable to men. meaning, the law and its punishment applies only if the violator is a man. if the violator is a woman, this law does not apply. meaning, if a husband beats his wife, it is a crime and he can be ejected from his house and ordered to stay away from his house and family members. but if a wife beats her husband with a hammer, there is no crime and the wife goes scot free. pretty one-sided, eh?

swakee, i wonder which sandbar you are referring to in cebu. sumilon island is found along the coastal road that faces bohol. moalboal is found on the opposite side of cebu which faces negros oriental.

swakee, this is one of the risks of showcasing coral reefs as ecotourism destinations. there are divers who have no regard for the environment and how it connects to biodiversity and thus, knowingly or unknowingly, they contribute to the degradation of these areas by not following rules that have been set supposedly to preserve these areas. i am sure this is also happening in bohol. for one thing, i have not seen seen any buoys around coral reef areas that diving boats can attach themselves to when divers go down under to enjoy the view beneath the water. the absence of buoys would only mean that these diving boats secure their boats using anchors that destroy the corals. what makes it worse is that more corals are destroyed each time a boat comes into the area and drops anchor. of course, there are those who are like their counterparts in hawaii who stand on the corals to make some adjustments on their gear or whatever. indeed, mga gahi gyud ug ulo. someone ought to set rules and regulations to observe in diving areas/marine parks and assign rangers to make sure erring divers are fined if they commit any violations. without this kind of protective measure, the coral reefs may be destroyed by tourist divers faster than the destitute dynamite fishers who blast the fish out of the water to provide a meal for their hungry families.

the only way to avoid ingesting melamine is to avoid chinese-made food products altogether. having said this, i am beginning to wonder that there may be other harmful ingredients that the chinese have mixed in their processed foods that have not been discovered yet because we are so focused on testing chinese-made food products solely for its melamine content. 

if balilihan is indeed considered the vegetable capital of bohol, there is certainly a need to expand areas in bohol that should be planted to more vegetables. if recent reports are true, bohol rates very poorly in terms of vegetable production. cebu, which has less water resources and has relatively rocky topography in contrast to bohol's better soil condition, is faring better with much more vegetables produced than bohol. vegetables thrive better in high-elevation, cooler areas. potential areas where vegetables maybe grown are carmen, dagohoy, sierra-bullones, pilar, upland areas of valencia, garcia-hernandez and jagna. and in order to gain a competitive edge in the market, bohol can focus in organic vegetable production. basically, there are two immediate benefits that can be derived from organic vegetable production: (1) organic farming inputs are much, much cheaper than organic farming inputs so it does not require a lot of capital which the ordinary farmer would surely find difficult to access anyway ; (2) organic vegetables are very healthy. they are chemical-free and thus contains zero carcinogens. (carcinogens are cancer-causing substances that chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides bring).

i hope that the coral reefs in the philippines especially those found in bohol gets properly maintained. according to scientific studies, philippine reefs are the most diverse of all coral reefs in the world. it hosts about 2,000 fish species. in contrast, the great barrier reef in queensland, australia which is the largest coral reef system in the world hosts only about 1,500 fish species. the sad thing about the diverse philippine coral reefs, however, is that of the approximately 620 coral reefs in the philippines, around 70 to 75% are either dead or dying. needless to say, there is very little left of the coral reefs in the philippines which we are now exploiting for scuba diving safaris. cited as causes for the degradation of coral reefs are: harvesting of shells and coral species for souvenir collection purposes, and the growing number of hobbyists that are engaged in tropical fish collection... what we can do to help conserve fishery resources and preserve our remaining coral reefs is to not patronize shell and coral souvenirs and refrain from buying tropical coral fishes for our fish tanks at home.

the sandbar in the photo does look like snake island which was feature in the front page of the sunday issue (october 12, 2008) of PDI but that's a long ways off. it's in palawan. this bohol islet must be one of those that are found in northern bohol.

i was born and raised in tagbilaran city but i have made davao city my home for the last 6 years. i do come home to tagbilaran every once in a while though but not necessarily for fiesta :-) i do enjoy sharing what i know so you can expect updates here and there every now and then.

thanks for the information, mike.

the city government, upon orders of mayor duterte actually undertook a major operation of sucking silt and solid wastes in major drainage systems in the city especially those in low-lying areas during the summer months this year. obviously, the recent flooding is a manifestation that their efforts have not paid off. needless to say, there is more than clogged drainage systems and waterways that causes these floods each time there is considerable amount of rain.

permanent pocket residents:

1. house keys
2. coin purse
3. spectacles
4. hankie
5. cell phone
6. swiss army knife
7. wallet

this is exactly what happens when a country populated by a servile people is run by a bunch of crooks.

hey mike, where is this place? reminds me of a sandbar i visited while island hopping some ten years ago in talibon.

grazie: you're welcome. you should take the zip line if and when you get the chance.
fdaray: we probably went to camp sabros around the same time. the cable ride wasn't there yet when i last visited. i only saw the new amenities in a recent tv feature. the park has certainly improved a lot since then.

mike: thanks for the comment, it's very flattering although i know that it's not your intention.
manay tess: your friend who started out with a piece of land to plant trees in is so much better-grounded and realistic than than sen. legarda who plans to undertake an ambitious task of planting 10 million trees. i just wonder if she has any idea where and how she will produce that much number of tree seedlings that are of plantable size... yes, if i were that technically equipped, i'd send my comments about her tree-planting plan myself. but since i'm not, i would be happy if someone technically capable can do it in our behalf.

wealth that are accumulated by big business is a result of people that buy their products. at the end of the day, it is the consumer that creates wealth for business financiers.

a kid like that should be fed to the crocodiles :-)