Rizal in Dapitan

If you happen to be in Dipolog, or just passing by the city, always make sure that you visit one of the Rizalianas most revered site…Dapitan…Jose Rizal’s place of exile.

The place, the beach and the view is completely the opposite of what is found at the back–Dakak, the tourist magnet of Zamboanga and owned by the infamous Ex-congressman-now-convicted-rapist, Jalosjos. But contrary to what we hear about the sensationalized Jalosjosian controversy, Rizal’s place in Dapitan is a haven for historical buffs wanting to be in a place of significance in order simply to connect with our ascendants.

Rizal’s compound is a replica of his home more than a century ago. Geometrical nipa huts decorate the place. And mind you, each nipa hut has its own form, size and function. For example:

This is an octagonal nipa hut where Rizal receive his patients. The space below is where his patients wait. He also has 2 small square houses at the foot of the hill where patients are being housed or admitted for treatment.

This big square house is the students dormitory. This is where the students sleep and the room below is the workshop. The covered space is where Rizal hold classes. Rizal also has a hexagonal house where his English wife, Josephine Bracken, and his mom are housed.

 

This is the famous rock where Rizal allegedly deflowered Josephine Bracken. This is also where Rizal stays to think and be alone.

Inside the Rizal museum, old pictures of Rizal are being displayed including a framed collection of Rizal’s girlfriends…I think there were 16 of them including those from Europe. Bumilib nga ako sa lahing Pinoy when I was marveling at the pictures eh. hehehe. I couldn’t imagine how a geek is able to captivate all those pretty girls. But on the contrary, Rizal was not just a geek, he was a poet and an artist at heart! So that probably might explain everything. El ultimo Don Juan de Marco!

I heard of a rumor from conspirators that Rizal is the real father of Hitler. Hitler’s not German, right? He’s Austrian. And according to these conspirators, Rizal stayed for a couple of months in Austria and had a few aristocratic girls…that was, as they claimed, the time when Hitler would have been conceived…coincidental talaga. What’s surprising is that if you draw Hitler’s signature mustache in Rizal’s picture, he’d look like Hitler. Both of them, by the way, are short and have big heads, brilliant and multi-talented.

Oh well, nothing perks human interest than human tragedy and conspiracies. hehehe.

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Note: This is a repost of my old blog.

Of former teachers and my hometown

I just arrived from a 3-day trip from Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental. And NO…that was not a vacation which I badly wanted for the past few weeks…it’s still the usual WORK.My boss and I had a meeting in one of the La Salle schools in Mindanao: Immaculate Conception College-La Salle…now managed by the De La Salle Brothers after the Columban sisters realized that their charism is not education (and they promptly asked the DLS Brothers to take over). But what was interesting in my visit was that…after so many years of not being keen on seeing a dreaded Algebra teacher, we accidentally met in the hallway near the President’s office. I had second thoughts at first since it has been like eleven years since I last saw her…and she was very slim then. Now, she has two (2) kids in tow. Anyway, I met my 2nd year Algebra teacher, Ms. Oringot, now Mrs. Suana. You probably now have an idea why she was a teacher not one student would forget. And not because of her name, but because she was one of the good teachers we had…in fact, she’s ICC-La Salle’s Dean of Arts and Sciences now.

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The reunion with my algebra teacher made my mind soar from Ozamiz to the opposite end of mindanao island–Mangagoy, my hometown. Of course, Ms. Oringot often asked about how Mangagoy is; what new developments the city has; whose son/daughter died of leukemia (our town has an abnormal case of leukemia, by the way…my bestfriend was a victim); and, where in the world are some of her good Math students (I’m not one of them, sad to say). And as the typical Mangagoyay would do, I introduced Tinuy-an to her.

TINUY-AN is a four-tiered water falls whose 2nd tier is, I think, six floors high. The water does not cascade but falls from top to bottom thus creating a veil of mist reaching even the farthest end of the site. Water’s cool too kasi galing sa virgin forest sa bundok…sarap ng tubig especially ngayon na 38 degrees celsius. Dami taong ayaw maniwala na may waterfalls pa pala sa ‘Pinas na mas malaki pa sa Ma. Cristina Falls. Tinuy-an is not even found in our textbooks…Ma. Cristina Falls lang at Pagsanjan…eh mas maganda pa ata Tinuy-an sa Pagsanjan eh. Proof? Here are the pics:

This was taken from the nearest nipa kiosk. Ganda ng vantage point…wag masyadong malapit ha baka masira ang digicam mo. Look at the rainforest sa taas…virgin pa yan. Tapos, cascading pa yan papunta sa last tier. BTW, may 2 pang tier sa taas. I think tapos na ata ung steep stairs na ginawa sa right side ng falls para makapunta sa taas.

 

This pic is taken from the 1st tier near the parking area. The 2nd tier’s the biggest…kita from this point ang 2 other tiers after the biggest one. Medyo lumiit ung 1st tier kasi malayo from where my bro stands. Height ata sa 1st tier is around 12 feet…this is where we jump kasi kaya. Wala atang nag-attempt mag-jump sa 2nd tier…but balita namin may tangang estudyante atang nahulog…pero buhay naman…nag-nose bleed nga lang.

 

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Joey has posted some of his 7650 pics of Tinuy-an in his weblog…ginawa ata niyang banner…ganda kasi ng Tinuy-an.

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Note: This is a repost of my old blog.

Baybay sang Roxas

Malapit nang matapos ang buwan ng Abril at once pa lang ako nakalabas ng Maynila for vacation. Oo, halos every week nasa ibang lugar ako to visit schools or give workshops…pero iba un eh…work kasi ung out-of-town trips lately. Actually, I just got back from a one-day stay in Roxas City. Bad trip nga kasi I spent the whole day in La Salle Affiliate College (soon to be College of St. John). I got to enjoy Roxas only during lunch and dinner where we went to the famous Baybay (or, seaside in Bisaya). Baybay, by the way, is a kilometer-long of beach restaurants and carenderias offering the most delectable seafoods Capiz can offer.

Baybay sunset
(pic taken from T630, pardon the pixelated resolution)

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One of the hosts asked me: “Dili ba bawal sa imo alimango, pasayan, kinilaw na pasayan?”
Me: (a big) “YES!”
Host: “Sir, makaon ka ba sang talaba?”
Me: (another big) “YES”
Host: “Eh sir, basi ma-allergy ka mo?”
Me: “Allergic kung kulang”

Hehehe.

Anyway, they got me all the sinful food they can offer. By the way, sinful food, according to Atty. Mark, is anything edible na iiyak at iiyak ka sa sarap. I think that’s the best description for the lunch I had in Baybay. Speaking of sinful food, I was introduced to the most cholesterolic way in dressing up your kan-on or rice: pour yellowish chicken fat (this, I think, is fat from chicken inasal), sprinkle it with unprocessed salt, top it with vinegar-soaked talaba, and scoop it with your seawater-washed fingers…Uric acid galore! And so I had to buy purinase after the gluttonic session.

Here’s a pic of the talaba I gorged…medyo matagal na kasi akong kumain ng talaba. I acquired the taste years ago during my freshman years in Bacolod.

“Ay kanamit gid!”

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Note: This is a repost of my old blog.

The Rock

A memorial to the men who died in Corregidor:

“Sleep my sons your duty done,
For freedom’s light has come,
Sleep in the depths of the sea,
Or in your bed of hallowed sod,
Until you hear at dawn
The low, clear reveille of God.”

 

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Eversince I was a child, I’ve always wanted to visit Corregidor Island. Stories and movies about World War II almost always made me imagine about tanks and planes and battleships and how they commandeer their respective territories. Drawings of tanks and guns would be scribbled in any writing material I could grab…including our Disney encyclopedia.

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When we were children “gira-girahan” was always our favorite game. Two groups of toy-gun-wielding children would take their positions in an attempt to eliminate all the opponents. Of course, “ratatatat” means we fired our gun…and nobody ever missed…kahit shadow lang ung nakita. And we would usually end up arguing about who-fired-first. And there would be spies, too! Our house in JBC is elevated to about half a meter so you can actually see who’s been running the other side. Spies would be lurking under the house giving information to hiding soldiers behind the bushes and sometimes waiting for a prey for them to ambush. At the end of the day, a group usually ends up a victor though the price is usually a pot of champorado.

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Here are pics taken from a recent trip in Corregidor Island…a very enriching experience for me…I would encourage all who have not visited Corregidor to take a day tour…kahit day tour lang, ok na.

A cannon in the Japanese Memorial

 

One of the cannons in Battery Way

 

An early Howitzer cannon

 

Ruins of the Middleside barracks. This used to house Filipino scouts.

 

Ruins of the Cine Corregidor…R & R for the GI’s.

 

Remains of the Malinta tunnel.

(We joked that if you go through Malinta tunnel, you’d end up in Balintawak)

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Note: This is a repost of my old blog.

An Encounter With the Dark Side of Philippine Tourism

What was originally thought of as a wonderful encounter with the gentle giant, Butanding, turned out to be an encounter with the dark side of Philippine tourism.We left Pioduran, Albay for Donsol, Sorsogon at around 8am in the morning hoping to get a good look of the famous butanding or whale shark.

Upon reaching a part of Donsol, just near the Pioduran-Donsol border, we spotted a group of pumpboats full of toursits circling the seas. Siyempre, lumapit kami kasi we’re sure nandun ung maraming mga butanding feeding on krill. At sa malayo pa lang, kitang-kita na namin ung mga matatabang puting turistang tumatalon sa kanilang pumpboat kung nakaturo na yung kanilang spotter sa dagat…I suppose, may nakitang butanding. So without much further delay, binilisan ng operator ang pumpboat at nakisali naman kami sa saya. And sure enough, may nakita nga kaming 2 maliliit na butanding. Ung first one, medyo malabo kasi medyo makulimlim. Ung pangalawa naman ang medyo ok kasi lumabas na si sun at medyo mas malaki ng konti…kitang-kita ung puting spots niya pati ung round head ng butanding. Nakaka-enjoy…lahat ng kasama namin nakangiti. C Mrs. Lorino nga, ung retiring principal ng San Lorenzo Academy, was ecstatic…tagal na raw kasi siya hindi nakakita ng butanding because the last time she saw one was when she was cooking it. Hehehe.

Then suddenly, nilapitan kami ng isang pumpboat with three persons on board and who introduced themselves as officials from Philippine Tourism Authority. They said na may bago daw’ng municipality ordinance ang Donsol at kailangan daw na magparegister sa PTA. Since we don’t know na may existing ordinance palang ganun, we opted to leave the place na lang. They got our names and ayaw pang maniwala ung tagaPTA…nagalit ang gago at nagmura pa. Since, we don’t want anything to do with them na kasi nga mga bully, we left the place. And after a few meters away, we heard a gunshot from their direction at ung kasama niyang goon was pointing the gun at us! Tuloy ung isang kasamang teacher namin napasigaw ng: “Ser, may baril! Sama na lang tayo kahit sandali lang!” I felt my head froze and felt that the gun was pointed at me…kahit hindi ako ung nag-negotiate…feeling ko tuloy that’s the end of my life.

Now this lawyer from a prominent family in Gumaca (who was the one who negotiated with the PTA) started shouting: “Hindi kami sasama sa iyo! Binaril nyo kami! We are unarmed civilians at takot kami sayo! May kasama pa kaming mga babae at bata! You have no right to detain us!” Looking at him, I wondered…ganito ba matakot ang mga lawyers ngayon? Tapang pala kung matakot…Napaisip tuloy ako na kumuha ng law after my MA para matapang ako kung natatakot. hehehe.

And after the shouting match, pina-alis na kami…bilib ako sa pumpboat operator, tulin ng takbo ng boat…kinabahan kasi.

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The incident led me to question why Philippine tourism is still having a difficult time until now (kahit na may opportunity kasi devastated pa ang Indonesia and Thailand from the tsunami).

Does the PTA have the right to detain people? Or worse, discharge weapons? Do the officials have the right to bully local tourists? What a great way to attract and welcome tourists, right? Register now or I’ll shoot you!

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Of course, I do have a few reflections (funny ones…can’t help being Filipino. hehehe.):

1. Always secure a permit. Sa La Salle nga kung wala ka entry permit lalangawin ka lang sa labas ng gate.

2. Always have a camera or a videocam with you to document any harassment. Unfortunately, when I was trying to record everything on videocam, di ko pala napindot ung lecheng “record” na yan…wala tuloy nakuha. There goes my evidence…buti na lang ung lawyer’s father was able to record everything. So, kailangan din ng…

3. Presence of mind. During that time, present nga ung brain ko but my mind was drifting somewhere else. Sa stress probably. Speaking of stress…

4. Being under stress is a good justification to do stupid things. I forgot to click that stupid ‘record,’ Mike allegedly lost the list of names when we heard the gunshot, two kinds of guns (9mm and a revolver) were reported although there was only one gunman, and the lawyer’s father unwittingly boarded the PTA ship (which of course is a bad idea kasi baka biglang tatakbo ung boat at mapilitang mag-dive.)

And lastly,

5. Consider taking law studies…makes you fearless in times of fear. hehehe.

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Note: This is a repost of my old blog.

Nung ako’y pumunta sa Albay

I used to think that the four-hour bumpy travel from Davao City to Mangagoy (my hometown) is the longest and the most tiring of all trips. But my monthly trips to Albay…specifically Pio Duran…is my worst. It’s actually a nightmare for some. Di nga nakatulog boss ko nung pumunta dun. Hehehe.We usually leave Manila at around 10PM so we can be in Albay 9AM the next day. So, you are expected to sleep the whole trip and work the next day. And to top it all, I’m doing that once-a-month. It’s not that I’m complaining or what…it’s just that even the most fit and the most enduring would say “Teka-teka” with that loooong trip.

But, the usual “silent” complaints running through my head ceases when, at 7:00AM, the tip of the majestic conical volcano looms in the horizon of Albay…beautiful…just beatiful…

It’s like this experience: Once, gusto ko nang mag-CR kasi lalabas na! But nasa FX pa ako at ma-traffic…tapos, ung driver nagmumura kasi bigla siyang ki-nut (tagalog conjugation of cut)…tapos, nainis ako kasi katabi ko siya’t ung laway’s showering on my face…tapos, pinagpapawisan na ako at gusto na talagang lumabas…and finally, nasa babaan na…I ran as fast as I could towards that cramped room of heavenly bliss…and as I discharged it all out, I felt that beatific feeling of ecstatic bliss…just like watching that majestic Mayon…

Anyway, here’s a pic I got of Mayon from a plane en route to Manila from Legaspi…I know, bawal magbukas ng cellphone sa plane…but, sayang ang moment eh. hehehe.

There’s just something with that mountain which brings awe and wonder to those who see it. Makes you realize that you’re just a tiny speck compared to its majesty.

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Note: This is a repost of my old blog.