Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Cong. Velasco's projects in Marinduque


Under the watch of Cong. Lord Allan Velasco national and local road infrastructure projects have been simultaneously undertaken province-wide in such a manner that no one thought was ever possible. This is part 1 of  projects in various stages of completion from 2011 to 2012, in the municipalities of Boac, Buenavista, Gasan and Mogpog only. So-called barangay priority projects are approved for implementation based on recommendations, first and foremost, from the barangay level to the District Offices of Velasco inn consultation with the municipalities. Funds are sourced from Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), Various Infrastructure Including Local Projects (VILP), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Energy (DOE), National Electrification Administration (NEA). 


With the administration’s thrust to prioritize delivery of services, Cong. Velasco has made representations with the DOH for the upgrading of hospitals in Marinduque and the completion of Dr. Damian Reyes Provincial Hospital. The construction of this hospital has been protracted for the last 9 years, but will soon cater to the people’s need for sufficient and effective medical services. 

Daig Farm-to-Market Road, one of numerous FMR's funded through Velasco's PDAF

A sports complex ideal for the holding of sports training programs and venue for big sports tournaments and other events in rising in Sta. Cruz, is one of many infrastructure projects undertaken by Velasco. The province of Marinduque has a lot of catching up to do in tourism infrastructure thus the present aggressive upgrading of national and local road networks province-wide, alongside the construction of covered courts and multi-purpose buildings.

Cong. Velasco has introduced a micro-financing program availed of by local residents engaged in small livelihood industries such as production of native delicacies, sari-sari store expansion, handicrafts manufacturing and trading of Marinduque-made products. Implemented by the DTI Marinduque Office loans range from P3,000 to P50,000 to qualified beneficiaries.

Leaders and Achievers of Velasco recipients
Others are implemented in cooperation with national agencies such as Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the case of micro-financing for small and medium-scale industries and livelihood-training programs, and in the case of educational assistance for college students, with the Department of Budget and Management, Commission on Higher Education (ChEd), Technology Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and local institutions such as Marinduque State College (MSC), Educational Systems Technological Institute (ESTI), Marinduque Midwest College (MMC), St. Mary's College of Marinduque (SMCM), Buyabod School of Arts and Trades (BSAT), Torrijos Poblacion School of Arts and Trades (TPSAT) and Sta. Cruz Institute (SCI). Welfare programs (medicines, hospitalization for indigent cases in Manila, burial assistance), for provincial constituents are undertaken in cooperation with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-Mimaropa), and identified Manila or Lucena City-based hospitals.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

"D Wonder Twins of Boac", PETA's adaptation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night




D Wonder Twins of Boac


PETA'S 
D WONDER TWINS OF BOAC
Adapted from William Shakespeare’s 12th Night
MARCH 2, 2013 / SAT / 8PM / PETA
Ticket Prices: 800 and 600

Contact Us: 
Robert Ceazar Marzan  (0922.888.5348)
Jayme del Rosario (0927.202.2017)
or Onay Sales (0917.908.0565)

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Take a trip down memory lane as PETA adapts William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night into a flavorful swinging sixties musical! 

Celebrate the fun and freedom of this decade and enjoy this tale of love, confusion and mistaken identity. 

“D Wonder Twins of Boac” mixes 60s fashion and music under the setting of the late 60′s Philippine film industry–during a transition after the golden years of local cinema. 

The story begins in the hometown of the Wonder Twins, Bastian and Viola, in Boac, Marinduque where the twins are known for singing and dancing in talent contests, carnivals and town fiestas. The twins dream of making it in showbiz, so they pack up and head for Manila where the big film studios are in search for the next stars. But the hapless siblings are shipwrecked and Viola loses contact with her brother and believes him to be dead.

Viola resorts to begging in the streets of Malate and decides to audition under a male disguise to Campanilla Pictures, a big time studio owned by Doc Orsino (essayed by Bodjie Pascua and Juliene Mendoza).

She later on becomes an intermediary to his love-proposals to Olivia Nepomuceno (Shamaine Buencamino), the last living owner of BLV Studios in the hope of striking a wedding and a merger of the two biggest film studios of the era.

At the climax of this romping comedy of errors, Viola gets tangled in a web of love interests brought about by her disguise.



SHOW CREDITS:
This modern adaptation is written by notable playwright and theater actor Rody Vera and directed by PETA Artistic Director Maribel Legarda who won in the recent PHILSTAGE Gawad Buhay! Awards for directing “William,” PETA’s rap-musical that reintroduces Shakespeare to the youth through rap and hip-hop, and who also directed the hit comedy musical “Care Divas.”

“D Wonder Twins of Boac” stars Cris Villonco and Chrome Cosio as Viola and Bastian. They are joined by theater veterans Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino and Bodjie Pascua.

The cast also includes Juliene Mendoza, Gino Ramirez, Paolo Rodriguez, Carlon Matobato, Riki Benedicto, Gie Onida, Eric dela Cruz, Roi Calilong, Kiki Baento, Kat Castillo, Tricia HuseƱa and Divine Aucina. The play’s music is composed by Jeff Hernandez, choreography by Carlon Matobato, costumes by John Abul, set design by Lex Marcos and lighting design by Jon Jon Villareal.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Buenavista's grand Santo Nino Festival


The picturesque town of Buenavista
 The Santo Nino is the oldest and most popular religious image kept in almost every Catholic home and work places in the Philippines. The image played a significant role in the propagation of the Catholic faith especially at the start of Christianity in the country, the first image having been brought by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. Many believe that the revered image has the power to heal the sick, grant one’s wishes and so it has attracted countless numbers of devotees.

January is the month of Santo Nino Festivals where many towns, cities and provinces pay homage to the Child Jesus through days of prayer that culminate in the holding of street dances. Prominent among these street festivals are Ati-atihan in Kalibo, Dinagyang in Iloilo and Sinulog in Cebu that over time have become major tourist draws.
Many barangays in Marinduque have likewise adopted the Sto. Nino as their patron and hold fiestas in honor of the Holy Child, but the town of Buenavista has honored the same as its patron for over a hundred years.
Last Saturday, January 19th students from Buenavista’s secondary schools staged their own version of the Sto. Nino Street  Dance. Yook National High School and Buenavista National High School (BNHS) Main, with its campus annexes in barangays Bagacay, Sihi, Bagtingon, Daykitin and Lipata-Tungib came strong with a total of seven contingents.
Unlike most street dances Buenavista’s Sto. Nino Festival is not a competition but held only for the sheer fun of it and for sharing of youth creativity. For costumes and accessories, the Bagacay contingent apparently took off from their barangay-bred Tubaan festival that extensively utilized coconut leaf sheath, flowers, coconut leaf splinters and husks. Theirs were easily the most interesting festival costumes. The Lipata-Tungib contingent showed off abalone seashells that abound in those coastal barangays. Many girls wore skirts in various colors, textures and designs over black or beige tights and leotards or cycling shorts, while some wore Filipiniana. Most applauded for their tight, exuberant, clean choreography was the Daykitin group.
Many Buenavistans of all ages lined up the major streets of town to watch the performances. They cheered for their hometown boys and girls who all shouted the rallying cry that echoed throughout this fascinating town, “Viva Santo Nino! Arriba Buenavista! Viva Marinduque!”

The contingent from Bagacay with costumes and headdresses made of coconut leaf sheath, husks and leaf splinters.

The drummer boys from Buenavista National High School

The girls from Sihi and Timbo wore Filipiniana

Girl from Sihi with Santo Nino

Girls from Bagtingon wore butterfly-inspired costumes,
that's where the biggest number of butterfly species in Marinduque could be found.  

The performers from Yook National High School.

Tight, exuberant, clean choreography from the Daykitin contingent.

Girls from BNHS Daykitin Annex

Lipata-Tungib girls in their seashell costumes

Boy with abalone seashell headband and necklace.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Marinduque as dive destination


Marinduque is among the top scuba dive destinations in the country. Being in the periphery of the Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor that teems with concentrations of marine biodiversity, there are a lot of unexplored sections of coral reefs, steep walls and underwater canyons, one of which is shown here being explored by Cong. Lord Allan Velasco. 


The Congressman’s Canyon in Torrijos as it is called by fellow divers has great biodiversity






Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Boac 2012 Bilabila Street Dance spectacle




No doubt, the recent 2012 Boac Bilabila Street Dance Competition is the most spectacular event staged in this Marinduque town during the last four decades. It may well be that the now-popular Panagbenga and Sinulog festivals have influenced the Bilabila but, but... one has to go back to the 60's when it was widely known that the only Philippine street pageant then, one that utilized costumes, masks, props and attracted the outside word for that Mardi Gras type of spectacle during those years, was none other than the Moriones of Marinduque - as staged in Boac and Mogpog. 

The bigger towns and cities followed suit, the idea of these street pageants as tourist attractions then sparked the creation of Ati-atihan (Aklan), Dinagyang (Iloilo), Sinulog (Cebu), MassKara (Bacolod City), Pintados (Leyte), Sangyaw (Tacloban), Panagbenga (Baguio), Ibalong (Legaspi City) and today, countless others in big, or in the smallest towns in the entire country. Indeed, the creation of such festivals as tourist draws generate the local economy, while promoting local awareness of one's own culture and identity. The Marinduque towns of Gasan, Mogpog, Torrijos, Sta. Cruz, and Buenavista have conceptualized their own such street dances in recent years.

This year's Boac Bilabila Street Dance spearheaded by Mayor Roberto Madla with Councilor Sonny Paglinawan as Over-all Chair is one event that truly showcased the creativity of all those involved and may well be considered a perfect preview of bigger spectacles to come. A united Boac, with her river of the same name that divides the town, has finally arrived.







Thanks to Jingjing Garcia Loto of the Boac Municipal Information Office 
for sharing the Bilabila photos used in this video.


Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Coral Triangle to Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor



From the Coral Triangle to its peak, the Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor where lies Marinduque
The Coral Triangle is known as the world’s center of marine biodiversity. The boundaries of this region are defined by scientists as covering the economic zones of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. A multilateral partnership called the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) was established. This initiative safeguards the region’s rich marine and coastal resources through protection from overfishing, destructive fishing practices, unsustainable coastal development, pollution and impacts of climate change. On the other hand, at the heart of the Coral Triangle, the center of the highest concentration of marine biodiversity in the world is an area accounting for 50 percent of the world's coral species. Within this center of the highest concentratiion of marine biodiversity is the largest concentration of marine life with a recorded 1,736 overlapping marine species in a 10 by 10 kilometer marine habitat. This is situated within the Verde Island Passage between Batangas and Mindoro, northwest of Marinduque. The Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor covers portions of the coastal waters of Batangas, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, MARINDUQUE and Romblon.

Underwater scene at Congressman's Canyon in Torrijos

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Buenavista: 'Rising surely in Marinduque'


On the occasion of the 94th Foundation Day of Buenavista, I noticed this sign. Surely this smallest, once-forgotten town of Buenavista, small but the most scenic place in Marinduque where the Malindig volcano looms over the lives of the peace-loving and culture-bound people living there, is steadily rising above the decades-old hardship and poverty. Small resorts and parks are being built, roads being upgraded, training programs and livelihood programs undertaken, the people no longer feel they are left behind and now recognize their importance in contributing their own share in the island-province's tourism development and economic progress. 

Buenavista girls sway to a graceful, flowing folk dance to celebrate Buenavista Day.

Sweet victory came quite early for Mayor Russel "Jing" S. Madrigal.
No one's running against him in  Election 2013!

Sense of direction recognized by the local women,
Kababaihang Nagkakaisa sa Diwa at Layunin, women united in spirit and in goals.

Vice-Governor Tonton Uy, former Mayor Ofelia S. Madrigal, Cong. Lord Allan Velasco and
Mayor Jing Madrigal during the launching of Buenavista Manpower Development Center.

Boys from Bagacay rhythmically bang their kalutang bamboo instruments
to make their welcome presence strongly felt.

The luxurious Bellarocca Island Resort and Spa is situated in a
Buenavista island off the southwestern coast.

Concreted road in Libas leading to Lipata where one takes an 8-minute
speedboat ride or a 15-minute motor-banca ride to Bellarocca Island.

Road in Tungib-Lipata going to Dampulan, Torrijos
along Marinduque's southeastern coast.

The Libas-Yook road now upgraded.
Buenavista's new coastal park. Playgrounds for children and activity areas
now occupy the spot where an old market place once stood that kept the beach waters polluted.

Seeking and finding the truth about Regina O. Reyes

 
 ‘Circumvent’ is a verb that, according to definition, means to avoid, overcome, find a way around something such as a law or rule in a cunning way. It is consistent with concealing, cloaking, confusing, deceiving, eluding, escaping, misleading, scheming, tricking those the circumventor (how else would you call the person who engages in those acts?), wants to victimize.

What if somebody, judging by his or her acts, appears bent on deceiving people and blatantly pull one great trick over an entire populace? How would you feel if you are one of that great exploited mass of a populace?


I ask, because in recent weeks, this modern means of interactions called social media, particularly facebook page discussions among Marinduquenos, has been burning on issues involving a certain local candidate in the forthcoming elections.


The candidate is Regina Ongsiako Reyes, running for Congress representing the Lone District of Marinduque and according to the Certificate of Candidacy filed before the Comelec, she was born on July 3, 1964.


Questions about the year of her birth “1959 not 1964”, the civil status she declared in her COC, “Single”, etc. raised many eyebrows. After all, she was appointed Provincial Administrator of the Provincial Government of Marinduque, a public position, of course,  in January 2011, under the name Regina Victoria O. Reyes-Mandanas. That meant she was legally married to a person with that surname, and that legal documents must have been presented before the authorities concerned to justify the use of that name – and her appointment, right?  And after all, the same name has been displayed in huge letters in tarpaulins, and used in official letters she must sign. Even in the official website of the Provincial Government of Marinduque the Mandanas name is prominent. So what is it again, this time?


Discussions on Facebook pages such as “Marinduqueno Mandin” administered by Pipo Nepomuceno and Lolong Rejano’s “Erguhan Kita Bilisi” tackled issues relating to Reyes. Among them, aside from the civil status issue are, the said questionable COC date of birth, “July 3, 1964” that did not jive at all with the Voter’s List Registry’s, “July 8, 1959”, residency issues, including the period of residency she declared in the COC, “36 years and  2 months”, whether she holds a foreign passport or not, etc.


However, Marinduque is such a small rural province that the lives of politicians and their family members are often included in the people’s usually rice-and-fish menu during lunch or dinner. It’s politics often talked about. It is common knowledge that Reyes has been based in the United States, “nasa Amerika”, you hear now and then, but how long she has lived there, no one might know, exactly. That she worked there as a lawyer is also known as it is even bragged about by her mother when introducing her daughter to local gatherings.


‘Seek and you will find”, says the Bible. There are ways to find out the truth of a mystery and as many ways, to understand the why of it all. As a starter, Google provides almost countless snippets at a glance that could be relevant to what one might wish to find. That could lead you, if you are a serious seeker/searcher, to some curious legal cases filed in the United States against your subject. Then your curiosity is aroused further because of that, and since “walang lihim na hindi nabubunyag”, make a connection...


Isn't it so that when passengers exit or enter the Philippines, they would have to fill-out an embarkation and disembarkation card, respectively? In the old system, information contained therein were encoded by the Bureau of Immigration, a tedious process but at present, hand-written information are already recognizable by computers...




Regina Ongsiako Reyes' embarkation and disembarkation entries as recorded by the Bureau contains surprising information that appears to shed light on issues raised in the social media. It shows after all that she has, indeed, a U.S.A. passport, a U.S.A. passport with number 306278853 under the name Regina Ongsiako Reyes, born July 3, 1959. She appeared to have started using the said passport in 2005. Based on Philippine Bureau of Immigration records therefore, Gina, as she is called, had obtained U.S. citizenship in 2005, and accordingly, a U.S. passport that she immediately used thereafter. Said record also shows that with the said passport, she repeatedly enters the country as a "BB", Balikbayan. Not as a returning Filipino citizen.


But what do these things really imply? In my opinion, some of the rich and powerful just continue to break the law before the very eyes of those they've always perceived as their own serfs and subjects, the latter having very short memories, anyway. It implies that they exercise their right of suffrage in the Philippines, seek elective office here even as they are citizens of a foreign country. They get appointed to a public office here without renouncing their allegiance to their foreign country. They can change their civil status as they please, falsify their age according to their own caprice, get away with the law.


But one may still hope that there is hope in this particular instance. Let's see how the COMELEC, the guardian of elections with exclusive jurisdiction over matters such as this relating to a candidate's qualifications, will live up to its name. Let's hope and pray that the COMELEC will be a decisive instrument of change and truth for the Filipino people in general, and the people of Marinduque in particular.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Half-a-million pageviews on Marinduque Rising



Pageviews are instances of a webpage being loaded by a browser and the pageviews metric reflects the total number of pages viewed. Based on daily visits to this blog, Marinduque Rising, the pageviews count is expected to reach half-a-million by tomorrow, January 8, 2013. 

Our heartfelt thanks to all Marinduquenos abroad, all forward-thinking Marinduquenos in the Philippines who have regularly followed this blog and to all Internet readers worldwide who have gotten increasingly interested to know more about people, places, events, history and travel matters pertaining to this tropical paradisical island-province we all so deeply love.

Thanks for all the encouragement to continue this great and unique Marinduque adventure we have taken.

Bernie Jambalos III passes away

The late Bernie Jambalos

Family members and friends of Engr. Bernardo “Boy” N. Jambalos III of Boac, Marinduque deeply mourn his passing away last Friday at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City. Also known as “Bernie” to many Marinduquenos, he was a top corporate executive and successful businessman. He was one of the pillars of the Marinduque First Saturday Movers, Inc., composed of prominent Marinduquenos in the Philippines who engage in community projects for the uplift of our less fortunate Marinduque folks.  We condole with the family of the late Engr. Jambalos.

I remember walking on the beach in Amoingon one late afternoon in 1998, and passed by a solitary man seating on that pebble beach, just gazing at the sunset. It was Engr. Jambalos, and it was on the day after he lost the bid for the congressional seat. He had wished to serve his people in that capacity. Recognizing each other, we had a quiet chat focusing on the untoward events that occurred a few days before, related to the conduct of the elections, and the man remained stoic, expressing his profound sadness...   


Amoingon Beach
“Morn after morn dispels the dark,
Bearing our lives away;
Absorbed in cares we fail to mark
How swift our years decay;
Some maddening draught hath drugged our souls,
In love with vital breath,
Which still the same sad chart unrolls,
Birth, eld, disease, and death.”

BHARTRHARI (Against the Desire of Worldly Things)

Thursday, January 3, 2013

LAV plays Santa to poor kids and mothers

After the New year's Eve revelry, Cong. Velasco visits a local Gawad Kalinga village to distribute Christmas gifts. 
In this photo he's seen in a brief chat with a kid on New Year's Day.

Other kids excitedly line-up to receive their papasko from "P.A.".


More kids and their mothers await their turn.

LAV enjoying a Christmas carol, "Ang Pasko ay Sumapit", sung by the residents.

The happy folks also find time to share their simple stories with the Congressman.