It is more fun travelling on expressways

MALOLOS CITY—Travelling on three expressways operated by the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) will be more fun this Holy week.

This came as MPTC prepared contingency measures to address expected surge in traffic volume, while encouraging sponsors to let motorists taste and experience their products.

This move is a giant leap from the previous years’ usual motorist assistance services like free towing services, deployment of addition patrol enforces and toll tellers, and medical services through provision of ambulance for medical emergencies.

This year, MPTC along with Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC), Cavite Infrastructure Corporation (CIC), and Tollways Management Corporation (TMC) in coordination with Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) has expanded its yearly motorist assistance called “Safe Trip Mo, Sagot ko” (SMSK).

Co-presented by Caltex Philippines, MNTC is beefing up it deployment of field forces along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX),and the Cavite Expressway (Cavitex).

Rodrigo Franco, president and chief Operating officer of the MNTC said that additional manpower will be deployed at major interchanges along the NLEX especially in Balintawak, Bocaue, Mindanao Avenue, Dau and mabalacat.

At SCTEX, they will deploy additional personnel at Tarlac and Tipo exits.

Franco said they expect traffic to surge by 30 percent  or about 60,000 from the daily average of 170,000 vehicles .

He said that traffic surge is expected starting Holy Wednesday until  late Maundy Thursday for north bound vehicle along the NLEX.

At SCTEX, he said that the daily average of 24,000 vehicles is also expected to climb by 30 percent.

Bulacan braces for influx of tourists, pilgrims

Biak-na-Bato National Park, San Miguel, Bulacan. DB

MALOLOS CITY, Bulacan—Police are now coordinating with different civic groups in a bid to step-up “Oplan: Summer Vacation” as the province began to brace for the influx of tourists and pilgrims this summer time and Holy Week.

Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado said Public Assistance Centers are being established  in key areas where people will converge.

“Assist the people politely and make them feel safe and very much welcome in Bulacan,” Alvarado told policemen and public assistance volunteers as the province braces for the expected influx of tourists and visitors this summer and Lenten season.

Alvarado said that Bulacan has virtually become a magnet for tourists, both domestic and foreign, during summer because of its scenic spots, historical sites and crowd drawing cultural practices as well as pilgrimage sites during Holy Week.

“We want to make sure that the public will enjoy their stay in our great province and have a grabnd vacation stay enjoying our hospitality and scenic spots,” Alvarado said.

He said that the Bulacan police headed by Senior Supt. Joel Orduna and various civic organizations are holding meetings in preparation for their Operation Sumvac (summer vacation.

 

DRT road trip. BMF

Alvarado said Public Assistance Centers will be set up in major convergience points and areas where pilgrims are expected to go this Holy Week and summer vacation.

The provincial chief executive said that Bulacan is home to at least 236 resorts and numerous places were traditional as well as bloody Lenten rituals attract multitude of people.

He said that outdoor activities are also expected to increase since some towns have spruced up their resorts particularly those located along the Angat River.

Local businesses are also expected to make a killing since Bulacan is known for their delicacies and other foodstuff. Alvarado also said that fruits of the season and other farm products like turnips, mangoes and peanuts are also abundant and is now being harvested and sold.

Meanwhile, Bulacan police director Sr. Supt. Orduna  said maneuver platoons from the Provincial Public safety company will augment local policemen along major thouroughfares and in crowd drawing sites in the different parts of the province.

Multitudes are also expected to flock the Catholic Chapel in the farming village of Bgy. Kapitangan in Paombong town where faith healers are being nailed to a wooden cross at a man-made Goltha as well as to witness hundreds of bareback flagellants whipping their bloodied bodies.

This early, pilgrims by the thousands have already began streaking to the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Bgy. Sta. Rosa I mainly due to the mysterious image of Jesus Christ which was caught by a CCTV.

Meyto shrine, Calumpit, Bulacan. DB

Parish Priest Fr. Prospero “Pros” Tenorio said that the number of devotees has began to increased a day after the CCTV footage showing the mysterious image of Jesus Christ—similar to the Divine Mercy image—was broadcast in National TV and at You-Tube.

“I still cannot say if it’s a miracle or an apparition of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s for the Bishop to Decide and after an investigation the final say will be the Vatican,” Fr. Tenorio said.

The parish priest said that he was the one who discovered the mysterious image –a radiant white streak of light similar to the image of the Divine Mercy—at around 11:00 pm on March 3. He said that the first image was caught by one of the CCTV camera at around 9:00 where workers were putting a purple curtain at the back of the image of a crucified Jesus Christ—the centerpiece holy icon  at the main altar of  St. Faustina hall at the Divine Mercy Shrine.

What makes the footage mysterious was when the lights were shutted-off at around 10:30pm but the radiant image still remain and recorded up to 6:00 am of the following day (March 4).

Fr. Tenorio also showed the footage to video expert  Clyde Villegas who admitted that he was also amazed on what he saw.

Villegas said he looked for possible sources of light that could have produced the image but it was pitch dark in the area during that time.

He said that he looked at the back of the altar where a mosiac of tainted colored glass featuring the image of St. Faustina, Blessed Pope John Paul II and the Divine mercy Image of Jesus Crist  was located.

“It was already  impossible for  a light to penetrate the tainted glass at night time and it is definitely impossible if it was also covered by a thick purple curtain, the image is really a mystery,” he said.

Orduna said that police teams and Public Assistance Centers will also be put up at the Grotto Shrine in San Jose del Monte City.

Pilgrims are also expected to come in droves at “Banal na Bundok” in San Miguel town where lifesize statues depicting the Way of the Cross are situated. And if the skies is clear, vistors at the “Banal na Bundok” can see a mountain that looks like a “Sleeping Jesus Christ”.—EMIL G. GAMOS, PNA

DOT-3 pushes community-based rural tourism in Bulacan

by Dino Balabo

MALOLOS CITY—A mountain gorge sliced by the Balaong River lined with natural limestone formations, Biak-na-Bato National Park in San Miguel town provides an eco-adventure steeped in history. 

It is also home to dozens of caves, many of which were used as conference rooms, clinics, armories and sleeping quarters of revolutionaries led by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo over a century ago. In the nearby mountain town of Donya Remedios Trinidad, magnificent and well preserved caves can be found along with a number of waterfalls.

These are only some of the potential tourist destinations in eastern Bulacan that must further be developed according to Ronnie Tiotuico, director of the Department of Tourism for Central Luzon (DOT-3).

He said that domestic and foreign tourists are now looking for destinations that are natural and can provide more adventure which are usually located in rural areas.

“Rural towns and villages have better tourism potentials than their counterparts in urban areas like cities,” Tiotuico said. This came as DOT- 3 pushed for the development of community- based rural tourism (CBRT) which focuses on potentials of villages in the region. Tiotuico said that CBRT will generate livelihood and additional income to rural families.

“All you need is for a group, look for a place here in Bulacan, talk to the leaders in the community, teach them how to manage tourism and you will improve quality of lives in far flung barangays,” Tiotuico told hundreds of students who participated in a symposium here dubbed as “Bulacan for Every Juan.”

The said symposium was organized by Tourism students of the Bulacan State University (BulSU). Tiotuico explained the tourism potentials include local products, culture, sceneries and even food.

He said that DOTIII did the same in Barangay Sta. Juliana in Capas, Tarlac Erwin Valenzuela, president of the Bulacan Tourism Convention and Visitors Bureau (BTCVB) and an active adventure tourism guide, affirmed what Tiotuico said, citing the many visitors he brought to Biak-Na-Bato National park and caves in DRT town.

He said that aside from appreciating natural ecology, many tourists now are into adventure like rock and mountain climbing, trekking and cave exploration. Rosie Bautista, the municipal tourism officer of Baliwag, advised her fellow tourism officers to be always on the lookout for tourism potentials in their localities.

“There are many places that we can offer to domestic and international tourists, we just need to be open-minded and update,” she said, adding that tourism can be as simple as local delicacy, culture and scenery not usually found in other places.

Journey to Pugad: A Sunburn-worthy Trip

By Clarisse Inao, BA Journalism student, Bulacan State University

NOTE:  This is Ms. Inao’s  official entry in Wego’s Life Changing Travel Story. You can help her win the contest by liking and sharing their post about this blog through this link https://www.facebook.com/wegoph/posts/10151944302176752

 

Clarisse Inao with children at the island barangay of Pugad in Hagonoy, Bulacan. Dino Balabo

 




I was never a fan of travelling; I’d rather stay home and read than experience the hassle of going somewhere. For me, it’s time-consuming and a total waste of energy, but I can’t believe that a mere trip for a journalism class will turn things around. Please, don’t laugh, but the place I’ve been referring to is within my province only.

I went to Hagonoy, Bulacan and I never was the same again after.

You might raise your eyebrows knowing where I went. I know it is not as extravagant or as exciting as going to Boracay, or to Bohol. There was no beach party to anticipate, no grand hotel to stay in, no selfie-worthy background to snap upon to. It was almost boring. I admit I was half-hearted while preparing myself that morning. I can’t imagine how much regret I will feel if I decided to stay home that day.

Brgy. Pugad, Hagonoy Bulacan is not a paradise. The councilor even warned us before the trip that we have to expect the worst; dirty water, garbage, clogged drainage, and every face of poverty. I felt uncertain, not knowing what to expect. When I went into the boat, all I was praying is to be back as soon as possible.

The moment the motor started, I closed my eyes and felt the breeze of the air. I smelled the sea. I smelled the coming adventure, still, I’m uncertain. When we got to the barangay, we were welcomed by old dilapidated houses, and children eyeing us in questioning looks. It was not a good first impression for me. We walked under the scorching heat of the sun, with dried fishes at the sidewalks and children following us. Half-day of not -so-good events and all I want to do is go back home.

 

BulSU students on board a boat.  DBalabo

Everything started to turn upside down when I got the chance to interview and interact with the people.

There were a lot of stories of loyalty, like how Manang Isabelita told me her childhood days and why she stayed in Pugad despite the promises and opportunities the urbanized parts of Bulacan offered. It is because of the memories that no amount of money can replace.

Stories of survival were also in every corner. How people managed to survive typhoons and floods with gigantic waves from Manila Bay hitting their barangay. How they managed to survive poverty with fishing as one of their main options to live. Accounts of red tide and the impact of climate change to their only source of living.

There was a unique story of camaraderie, how Manang Mercedes is the official burial coordinator of the barangay. Pugad is an island which is the main reason why death is more difficult to bear with no cemetery around. They have to transport the body from Pugad to Hagonoy proper by 1-hour boat ride. Manang Mercedes is well-known by rendering her service to arrange everything from death to burial process, sometimes when the family is really in need, for free.

There was Teacher Josefina who also grew up there. She witnessed how difficult it is to get education in their barangay with only elementary school for the youth; she witnessed how politicians made promise every elections to give progress in the education system, and how those promises were broken everytime. But she is a living proof that anyone can be successful as long as he dream and work enough to achieve it. She graduated and became a professional teacher, and she chose to go back to her roots and teach in Pugad.

 

Pugad kids and sun dried fish. DBalabo

There was a tale of faith, how the numerous personal struggles and disasters a counselor in Pugad experienced restored his beliefs in God. From a drunkard man then, he’s now a public servant serving his barangay and teaching them how to believe when life is giving you many reasons not to.

And what really struck me, is the children. Those questioning eyes I met when we got there were in reality, eyes of the young ones who were excited to tell stories to new people, eyes of the young ones who yearns for attention from us. I told them stories, but they also told them theirs. Their dreams, like finishing their education and go back in Pugad as successful individuals. Their dreams for their hometown, their wishful thinking that one day, their barangay will be more suitable to live at, one day they will not rely to those politicians anymore as their hope, that they will be the hope their town has been waiting for so long. Their hopes that someday,people will not be afraid to go there and listen to their stories, people will visit their barangay not because of requirement but because they want to witness its beauty amidst poverty.

I was ashamed of how I judge Pugad by how it looks like when I first stepped my foot on it, how I judged the people the first time I saw them. I was humbled, how I constantly complains about the number of school works I have to do when there are youth like me who wanted to learn but didn’t had the opportunity to do so. I was very proud, of how Bulakenyos even in far-flung areas showed heroism in their own ways, like how our hometown heroes did in the history.

BulSU students on damage fishpond dike.  DBalabo

I came home that day with so many thoughts in my head. I came home exactly just like how I left it that morning; with few clothes, a notebook, a camera and some money, but I felt I brought home many more. I came home with lessons, experiences, stories to tell and a renewed perspective in life.

Funny how when I got into the boat that morning, all I want to do is go back home already, but when I got into the boat the second time around to leave, all I want to do that time is to plan when I will go back to Pugad again.

Pistang Dagat 2013 images

Hours after super typhoon Yolanda move out of Philippine Area of Responsibility, hundreds of residents barangays Pugad and Tibaguin in the coastal town of Hagonoy in Bulacan boarded their boats for a fluvial parade celebrating the annual Pistang Dagat while dedicating prayers for the victims of typhoon.

Here are some of the images taken during the Pistang Dagat last Saturday, November 9.

Exotic tea rose marbles to be used on Plaridel's monument?

MALOLOS CITY—Finally, the P1.5-Million nine-foot monument of the great propagandist Marcelo H. Del Pilar is re-installed and is now standing in front of the Bulacan provincial capitol building.

However, there is no schedule yet for its inauguration as its base and floor remain unfinished.

Sources said that the provincial government is considering to wrap the base with sliced marbles and the floors will be laid with tiles.

But local residents here suggested that confiscated tea rose marble blocks from the Biak-na-Bato National Park should be used.

They noted that said blocks, when sliced into slabs, will be the best material to wrap the base and used on the floor.

Others agreed nothing that it will also showcase the rich mineral resources of the province.

“It’s a good idea, but we have to check legal concerns on the tear rose blocks,” Ceasar Villanueva, the chief of staff of Governor Wilhelmino Alvarado said.

Villanueva is also the project manager of the construction and installation of the nine-foot monument made from cast bronze.

Villanueva explained that there are claimants on the exotic tea rose marble blocks which were confiscated sometime in 2008.

Others suggested that the flood of the monument be lined with different shades of marble blocks mined in Bulacan.

Based on earlier information gathered by Businessweek, Bulacan is home to at least five shades of marbles.

It includes ivory marble which is pure white and resembles an ivory; and there are marbles with shades of blue, green, beige and brown.

In the past years, issues concerning marble mining in Bulacan became contentious, but it was primarily focused on the exotic tea rose marbles which were mined within the mineral reservation are3a of the Biak-na-Bato National Park in Donya Remedios Trinidad town.

The monument of Del Pilar was erected at the center island of the provincial capitol here based on the provisions of the New Provincial Administrative Code of Bulacan whist recognized the great propagandist as “provincial hero” of Bulacan.

The monument was made by sculptor Jose Dionas Roces who also sculpted the tallest monument of Dr. Jose Rizal in Calamba City in Laguna, and the monument of the late actors Fernando Poe Jr.,and Dolphy Quizon in Manila.  Dino Balabo

Alvarado urges Filipinos to pay tribute to the Philippine flag

MALOLOS CITY- Hundreds of provincial government employees led by Gov. Wilhelmino  Alvarado gathered in front of the provincial capitol building for the celebration of the  National Flag Day on Tuesday, May 28.

The governor, on his speech, said that commemorating the importance of the national flag  brings back not only the spirit of patriotism but also the essence of being a true Filipino.

“Taglay nito na parang isang kaluluwa ang buong kuwento ng pakikibaka ng maraming  henerasyon para sa kalayaan at mga pagpupunyagi ng isang lahi upang kamtin at tamasahin ang isang buhay na dakila at marangal para sa ating lipunan sa habang panahon,” he added.

He also emphasized that the flag as a symbol of our democracy serves as a guiding light for  public servants of today’s generation.

“Bayaan natin ang bandila ay pumainlanglang at mamayagpag sa ating mga puso at isipan  upang sa bawat araw na dumaan ay paglingkuran natin ng buong katapatan at walang pagiimbot ang ating mga kalahi at ang ating bayan upang ang daang matuwid ang maghatid sa atin sa isang gobyernong naglilingkod… para sa lahat ng Pilipino,” the governor said.

Alex Balagtas of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines added that the flag is an important aspect of our citizenry and must be honored and respected.

 “Isa itong napakahalagang bagay sa mga Pilipino, dahil ang pambansang simbolo, ang  watawat, ay siyang naging gabay sa ating pakikipaglaban para sa kalayaan at pagkabansa. Kaya  nararapat na igalang natin bilang makabuluhang bahagi ng ating kasaysayan at maging sa ating  hinaharap,” he said.

In accordance to the Republic Act 8491 Section 7 also known as “Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, the National Flag Day is being celebrated every May 28. The present Philippine Flag  was designed by Aguinaldo and sewn by Doña Marcela Agoncillo, Lorenza Agoncillo and Delfina  Herbosa de Natividad in HongKong. The celebration of the National Flag Day also marks the  start of preparation for the Independence Day on June 12.