Everybody was enthusiastic about the long weekend because of the first ever official Chinese New Year holiday in the Philippines. Me and my husband also took advantage of the free time and went on a short trip as well. We decided to accept my sister's invitation to visit the whole family at Olongapo City and then did a side trip to one of the most historic mountain of Central Luzon, Mt. Samat of Bataan.
photo coutesy of Coastal Lagoon Las Pinas - Paranaque
Last week was the first time I've heard about the already approved plan of building a 625 Hectare reclamation area right in front of Freedom Island, the last remaining coastal periphery of salt marshes, mangrove frontier and avian refuge for over 80 species of birds in the whole Metro Manila area. Being able to house such a biodiversity, it was declared a critical habitat in 2007 through Proclamation 1412. The environmental impact assesment office of the DENR said that the company who already won the bid to construct the reclaimation area for 14B pesos has already passed the necessary documents and has already submitted the necessary data to comply with environment regulations. He candidly said on TV that if there will be a time that something goes wrong, they can easily fine and incur penalty to the company responsible for any damages done.
Now, I wonder:
Can we really pinpoint those people who will be responsible for any environmental loss?
Make them accountable for anything? Can we really put a price on environmental damages?
Does somebody really care enough?
The Department of Tourism are all smiles when people started sharing this new catch-phrase all over social media networks -- the new tourism slogan: IT'S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES seems to be the talk of the town. Some criticized the campaign though, saying that DOT copied the ad from Switzerland who has also used the same slogan in 1951. Personally, I don't really care. That was 61 years ago and nobody has copyrighted that slogan anyway so it's free for the taking. Secondly, what I love about the slogan is that it just doesn't talk about the beautiful places our 7,107 islands could offer but really says a lot about who the Filipino people are by nature, which I am proud to say are just simply happy, fun-loving and very helpful people. And I think, that alone, can become our competitive edge that we can invest on to beat our Asian neighbors when it comes to attracting tourists. We are after all the12th most populous country in the whole planet so why can't we use our numbers to our advantage, right? ^_^
Below is the new "Pilipinas Tara Na! Byahe Tayo" version. I never grew tired watching it.
Super Proud to be Pinoy!
On the other hand, I am a little itsy-bit sad when they decided to discontinue the WOW PHILIPPINES campaign which I also love love love. I think about the money that was put into that and how much effort was made to make that slogan stick. But nevertheless, I am still all support to the new DOT secretary in his aim to make Philippines more fun for the tourists. My only hope is that they can also think of a program that will benefit local travelers/backpackers or Filipino families who like me wishes to visit beautiful places around the Philippines. ^_^
"There is nothing noble about being superior to some other man. True nobility is being superior to your previous self."
- Hindu proverb
It's funny to be writing about a new dream. I think that the last time that I decided to really chase dreams was when I was 10 years old, not even in high school yet.
I was very naive about the real world, hungry to be independent but at the same time oblivious and uncaring of what tomorrow brings. And, like many Filipino children, I dreamt of the most simplest things in life. Obvious things. Basic needs. It took me 20 years to realized them. What they are?
My husband who used to work in the Sto. Tomas, Batangas, remembered his former office mates inviting him to this place after office hours whenever there's an occasion. He said it seems to be the go-to restaurant of the locals. So when we saw their banner on our way to Lake Pandin, San Pablo, I didn't hesitate to stop and try their special Bulalo (stewed beef marrow and ox tail with vegetable broth).
Going to San Pablo City, you can never miss San Pablo Cathedral. Built in 1774 by the Augustinians, it has long been a must-see neoclassical architecture found in the very heart of busy San Pablo. We stopped by this historical structure on our way to Lake Pandin for an eco lunch tour, the cleanest among the seven lakes of San Pablo City.^_^
From afar, you can never miss its inviting high dome and bell tower. There's a plaza on a roundabout just before you enter the church that houses the Philippine Flag as shown in the picture below but we weren't able to go there because of the heavy rain.
One Super Rainy Saturday, out of ignorance that the deadly Typhoon Sendong was rampaging through Visayas and Mindanao region and sending neverending rain in Southern Luzon, me and my husband drove off to San Pablo, Laguna.
Home of the San Pablo Cathedral Church and considered one of the oldest city in Laguna. It is most popular for having seven lakes (or pitong lawa) namely:
Lake Sampaloc, Lake Palakpakin, Lake Calibato, Lake Muhikap, Lake Bunot, Lake Pandin and Lake Yambo.
Although this post will only describe our journey to one of those seven lakes. It is still a worthwhile experience to read about especially if you are planning to pass by San Pablo. I also highly recommend taking the Lake Pandin green rafting experience knowing that supporting this program help preserve the cleanest lake in San Pablo and also brings livelihood to those who live near the lake.
But before I go on detailing about our trip. I think I have to get this off my chest. To be honest, I feel a bit uneasy writing about this particular trip knowing that on the very same day more than 1,000 Filipinos lost their lives because of the flash floods that hit Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete and other parts of Visayas and Mindanao islands one week before Christmas, many are still missing and thousands remain homeless up to this day. It's really heartbreaking to know that many welcomed 2012 in evacuation centers. My prayers goes to all who has experience this terrible tragedy. And, I would like to encourage anybody who is reading this blog to give to Red Cross Philippines. Just click here to go directly to their website.
For Filipinos, I know having the title as the text capital of the world, we can easily extend our donations via sms messaging. Just Text RED<space>AMOUNT to 2899 (Globe users) or 4143 (Smart users). Amount may be 5, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 or 1,000 (Globe users) and 10, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 or 1000 (Smart users). Transaction is free.
