Travel: The beauty of Banton Island, Romblon

Dr. Francisco Datar,Deogs Faminiano (ASCCA) Giovanne Fabro, (Uswag Banto-on chapter), Dr. Ric Nolasco, Ish Fabicon,Jezia Talavera, UP LAYAP

Traveling and research have always been number one in my bucket list of things I want to do. I have traveled to Baguio, Tagaytay, Tarlac, Quezon and Mindoro not so much for fun and tourist purposes; I have basically gone to these places for research when I was in high school. I had gone to Baguio for a national press conference in third year and Mindoro with my twin sister for a national Science Investigatory Project. Two weeks ago I was able to travel further to explore the country in Banton Island, Romblon for my field work in documenting and researching their language called Asi. I went with my professor Dr. Ricardo Nolasco, Dr. Francisco Datar of the Department of Anthropology UP Diliman and one of the founders of ASCCA Sir Ismael Fabicon for four days and proceeded to research about their language to make a dictionary of Asi for the upcoming International SANROKAN Conference in May 2015. 

We had a series of meetings and elicitation field work and we also toured the place, which is famous for its spirit of sharing symbolized by sanrokan (the practice of sharing food with neighboring households), hence the name of the international conference. I have experienced eating their famous dish called Singapore, which is made of camote and their version of rice cake or kalamay. I also had my first time drinking coconut juice from the fruit itself, which they call butong and using a spoon to scrape the coconut meat from the fruit. We also went hiking to their famous cave which houses several fossils and other archaeological pieces of bones and articles which are preserved in the area. 

We also visited their elementary and high schools, which are surrounded by forests and mountains. I was amazed at how the mountains are still full of greenery and trees which are preserved and still untouched over the years. The residents said they used to gather firewood from the top of the mountains when they were kids. The place is also famous for their wells which still date back from many years ago. 

What I admired the most was the sea that is overlooking the place where we stayed. I enjoyed looking at the sea, and especially our travel going to place. From Odiongan we rode a small boat going to Banton Island which took two and a half hours and from there we could enjoy looking a the sea and the small islands that we passed by. I equally enjoyed our trip back to Odiongan where we rode a bigger boat. It was also my first time riding big ships of the 2Go and Montenegro Lines where I could look at the sea.

Boat-shaped altar

Going back to Odiongan in a boat

I really had a blast in Banton Island and I would never forget my experience with the place which is so rich with culture and tradition. 

Sunrise at Banton Island

Feature: Ebola Virus and its resurgence

There is still two good news: that the Ebola virus is still not airborne as the Center for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) had assured, and that there may indeed be a possible cure for this epidemic.

I remembered the movie Outbreak, which depicts a life-threatening and worst-case scenario of an Ebola outbreak which first started in Motaba River Valley in Zaire, Africa and quickly spread in America. The Ebola virus, which may only be transmitted through fluids like saliva and blood, became airborne in this movie and there came a large-scale scheme to prevent the spread of this disease, which in the end became successful. But Outbreak is just a movie, and now reality faces us square front: the long lost disease that had killed thousands of people since 1976 came to haunt us again: the spread of Ebola virus is at work; and what's worse, fear and misconceptions about the disease has spread in a larger scale more than the truth behind the virus itself.

As of October 17, 2014, international reports have said that there is still no cure or new vaccine for the disease, which was first identified and originated in fruit bats. The World Health Organization defined Ebola virus causes a "severe, often fatal illness in humans". To date, the worst outbreak was in 2000 when 425 people in Uganda were infected and over half of them died. As October 17, 2014, there were over 10, 000 cases of the disease in seven different countries and at most 4, 000 death cases. The epidemic seems to be unstoppable, and the Philippines, according to reports, is already very careful not to be affected by this virus. Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon had said that they have been preparing for isolation facilities and private hospitals, according to reports, has braced themselves for the possible entry of the Ebola virus in the country.

However, preparation can only take us so far. The need for a new vaccine that would be used to penetrate and kill the said virus is imperative especially during these times that more and more cases are being reported. 

Generally there are five strains or species of Ebola virus: 1) Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus); 2) Sudan virus (Sudan ebolavirus); 3) Taï Forest virus (Taï Forest ebolavirus, formerly Côte d’Ivoire ebolavirus), 4) Bundibugyo virus (Bundibugyo ebolavirus) and 5) Reston virus (Reston ebolavirus), where the first four of them are known to cause disease in humans, while the last one only causes the disease  in nonhuman primates, particularly in monkeys. The Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus) is the strain that causes humans to become ill and show signs of the life-threatening disease.

There are two reports which have shed light to the the probable cure for the Ebola virus. One report reveals that there is an experimental vaccine, called cAd 3-ZEBOV, which has began phase 1 trials in Oxford last month. Another report, which was stated by Dr. David B Allen, a retired Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon, and medical director at Cannabis Sativa Inc. said that cannabis, a component of marijuana, can penetrate the virus and kill it. Basically cannabis have healing properties and best used through juicing or eating, Cannabinoids, on the other hand, are a group of related compounds which include cannabinol with the active components of cannabis. Cannabidiol (CBD) is considered as a new class of antimicrobial which prevents toxic shocks. These toxic shocks, in particular, are exhibited in the Ebola virus strain because it is a complex RNA viral organism which replicates and in turn, involve many mutations that makes it difficult to create a new vaccine. However this could be counterattacked by the cannabidiol compound, and when eaten raw, does not even have any dangerous side effects.

These studies are still subject to further research, but they have provided hope in the current outbreak of the virus in various countries. The government and the international institutions must never lose hope in finding a cure and a new vaccine for the said epidemic. 

K'na: the Dreamweaver: Always dream. Have faith.

Cinemalaya proudly presents this epic movie which revolves around a dreamweaver who has the power to end the war between their tribes of the north and south. But she has to sacrifice her love to do so.

Figaro opens at Ayala Fairview Terraces

Coffee plus cakes plus movies equals: sublime happiness. 

Now you can grab your favorite hot latte or brewed coffee to the movies with Figaro's newest opening in Ayala Fairview Terraces last August 4. Have a nice coffee date with your loved ones and friends with Figaro's hot espresso or chocolate cookie frost and cheese, blueberry or chocolate muffins (P70 each).

You can also try their crisp and sumptuous asado or tuna pies (P60 each). Sugar cake rush? Try their traditional and bestseller red velvet cake (P119 a slice), carrot cake, triple chocolate cake or sansrival cake slices before you grab your pop corns to watch your favorite movies. Figaro is strategically located beside the movie houses in Ayala Fairview Terraces in the fourth floor for customers to enjoy and indulge in coffee and movies at the same time. Figaro's latte will definitely soothe your soul while you cry or laugh at the lines in the blockbuster movies you want to watch any time.

Chocolate cookie frost (P140)

Figaro Buttermilk Cookies (P55/piece)

"From coffee to cup." This has been the signature line of Figaro, which was first born in 1993 in Glorietta, Makati. It took the company and the group of coffee enthusiasts to establish their passion for cafe in the Philippines for two years, which aims to promote natural brewed coffee served directly in the cup. The coffee crescendo continued to inspire coffee enthusiasts as the company expanded to a whopping 82 branches all over the world--from the Philippines, China, Saudi Arabia, Papua New Guinea and Malaysia.

There are many ways on how to produce good coffee and Figaro definitely is a master of natural brewed cafe served in a cup. Pure coffee beans are brewed and roasted to perfection to capture the natural and aromatic essence of coffee that customers will definitely enjoy.

with musician, OIC Marketing Department Ms. Joan Cortez
and Business Development Officer Carmela Tecson

The new branch of Figaro in Ayala Fairview Terraces had a nice ambiance with a pianist playing both classical and contemporary songs like Titanium and Rolling in the Deep. Having a cup of coffee while waiting for your favorite movie definitely defines the beauty and perfect combination of coffee and movie.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich (P189)

Pesto Pasta (P179)

Make your next cup of coffee even better with Figaro.

Thank you very much to Ms. Annesy del Mundo!

Apoy sa Dagat Director FM Reyes: "Why not promote our own Philippine islands?"

In a country where the audience is apparently divided into socioeconomic classes, just "how do you make both ends meet?"

A good, well-thought out story, a quality entertainment show, plus a free ticket to the unseen paradise of the Philippine islands--these spell out ABS-CBN's newest teleserye Apoy sa Dagat as director FM Reyes and Nick Olanka and the creative staff  shared their insights and the story behind the soap opera at the Bloggers Conference last February 9.

"This teleserye shall redefine what a quality show truly is, and shall bridge the gap between what we offer in the cinema and in free TV," Direk FM Reyes shared, who believes that quality and educational programs should not be restricted to the elite and high class community but must be offered most especially to those who cannot afford them and who should watch them.

Direk Nick Olanka and the creative staff also shared some of the special techniques they used in the teleserye that also showcases the beautiful islands and beaches in the Philippines like Bataan. I truly learned a lot from the directors especially from Direk FM, who also said that the names of the places involve a semiotic correlation with the emotional load of the story.

"Our efforts to produce an exceptional and quality teleserye, where the audience will not only be entertained by the story but also be educated by the diversity and beauty of our country is most especially dedicated to those who cannot afford quality cinema and cable channels," Direk FM added.

Starring outstanding artists Piolo Pascual, Deither Ocampo and Angelica Panganiban, Apoy sa Dagat is a story of twins Serena and Rebecca who got separated when they were still young. As both lead separate and completely different lives--Serena living with Ruben (Piolo Pascual) in the beautiful island of Bataan and Rebecca living in the corporate world--they will eventually meet each other and prove that fire and water can never co-exist; one will always have to destroy the other.

Direk FM also shared the sophisticated and difficult characters of the twins where Angelica cannot represent both via simple physical differences and must portray each one in completely distinct attitudes, mannerisms and expressions. I have been watching Apoy sa Dagat and just like what Direk FM said, Angelica indeed does an excellent job in portraying the twins.

Apoy sa Dagat is also starred by renowned artists Nikki Gil, Patrick Garcia,  Aiko Melendez, Angel Aquino, Liza Lorena, Freddie Web, Perla Bautista, Sylvia Sanchez, Melai Cantiveros, Regine Angeles, Bryan Santos, Wendy Valdez, Mikylla Ramirez, Zeppi Borromeo, Rico Barrera and Alizon Andres.

Ploning: Home for lychees

Language is a window to one's culture.

Being a Linguistics student for one and a half year now I have learned the significance of our respect for, awareness and knowledge of the diversity of languages, not just in the context of preserving them but also in the notion of treating them as an important key to unlock and acquire new knowledge for humankind, discoveries and revolutionary breakthroughs that may only be accessed through language, and a descriptive perspective and understanding of it.  I have also learned that behind this field of disovery one can also peek into one's unique culture that is intricately woven with language, farming rituals and medicinal herbs, dance steps and song lyrics and poems that are unique and can only be expressed through that language. 

Living in the city for 18 years I have had little experience of different cultures, and reading them in books with no pictures was quite disappointing. And so as I watched Ploning (2008) I was able to peek into the beautiful island of Cuyo, Palawan and to witness a story of  culture that further ignited my passion to learn about them and made me appreciate the diversity of languages in the Philippines even more.

An official entry for the Best Foreign Film Festival of the 81st Academy Awards, Ploning is both a tale and a song about a mysterious woman who hid her past, a lost man who searched for his past and a heartwarming and equally mysterious relationship all reflected through the eyes of 6-year-old Digo (Cedric Amit). Starring renowned artists Judy Ann Santos, Gina Pareno, Tony Mabesa, Eugene Domingo, Tessie Tomas, Joel Torre and Ces Quesada among others, Ploning also showcases the elegant and sophisticated style of Filipino cinema that can top international films and can make us all proud of our own creations. 

The story revolves around Muo Sei (Boyong Fernandez), 30-year-old fisherman in an illegal fishing vessel, haunted by his past and a name he always calls for in his sleep every night. Advised by his Taiwanese boss he was given half a day to find "his Ploning" in his hometown in Cuyo, Palawan, and with the help of the people who once knew Ploning he was able to revisit his past, his childhood fondess for lychees, his memories with his strict brother (Lucas Agustin and Joel Torre), his questions about death and his precious hours with Ploning (Judy Ann Santos), who, he found out in the end to be his true mother. 

Ploning is a geniusly sophisticated film in terms of how it unfolded the story plot: series of flashback to Digo's childhood were all beautifully knitted together and questions you would ask in the first parts were all resolved in the ending that really made me cry: why Ploning wore a white dress in his father's burial, why she never laughed and always kept her feelings to herself, why she wanted to go to Manila. These were questions that 6-year-old Digo also asked, and 25 years later was able to clearly make sense of: that his Ploning was not merely a name printed on a souvenier item in his hometown. 

Crafted with outstanding cinematography, a majestic setting and interwoven with the native culture of Palawan in the form of their use of the Cuyunon language, Ploning is a critically-acclaimed film that truly helps contribute to the awareness of Filipinos about the diversity of our languages and showcase a uniqueness possessed by a culture and a language that should not be discriminated or marked as an inferior or minor aspect of a community. 

According to director Dante Nico Garcia, also a Cuyunon native, the film was also a tribute to his hometown, to the people who still know how to speak Cuyunon and equally to those who have forgotten it. Such outstanding films should be widely disseminated and promoted for the benefit of the indigeneous communities to help them uplift their unique identities and make them proud of their own languages, and equally for the benefit of the present generation who have little knowledge about these cultures. 

Our culture, our languages, our species

I have learned about our endangered languages in my field, and the grave importance of saving and preserving them should not be any less than that of our endangered species. The problem however, is that even though there have been a lot of major pursuits to save these species, especially our marine species, the overall picture remains bleak and grim. Witnessing the exotic and preserved beauty of the coral reefs at Lian, Batangas, I began to contemplate about their national condition and if this shall be the only place I will be able to see such magnificence again.

The Philippines, as the center of marine biodiversity is part of a larger system called the Coral Triangle, where in the Philippines alone 76% of all known corals are found. If this is so, it should be truly alarming that as of 2012, according to the Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), only 5% of the country's coral reefs remain in perfect condition; only 1% remain pristine. That's about 1000km2 left for us to get a glimpse of real, untouched coral reefs, all that was left of the 27 000km2 coral area in the Philippines. 75% of the area is already hopeless because of overfishing, coral bleaching, coastal erosion and illegal, unregulated and unreported extraction of marine wealth, according to DENR.

The issue here is not merely about nice-looking coral reefs that need to be preserved; it's also and largely about 96 million Filipinos near the coasts struggling to make a living; P1.1B at risk of being lost every year as such Filipino trademarks feed our economic stability through tourism and employment; the 500 coral species only found in the Philippines out of the 800 species at risk of being washed out of the oceans forever.

Of course, these are all just numbers, but we would not want to feel and experience the food shortage, the economic downfall, and the guilt until it's too late. May we help, in any way that we can, to preserve what is uniquely ours--our culture, our languages, our species.

Finding Nemo's lair at Lian, Batangas!

 

It may not be a gift in a box, but it was by far the best gift ever.

My parents know very well how much I and my twin sister Jillian love to travel  and how much we hate parties, and so they decided we go out of town instead as a celebration for our 18th birthday. Along with our good  and long-time friend Brine, we all went to Lian, Batangas last APril 15-16.

We first stopped at Tagaytay to have lunch. We ate at an open eatery overlooking the Taal Volcano and tried their famous bulalo and special dilis. By noon we arrived at Lian and we kids immediately popped our shoes off, dashed to the beach, enjoyed the warm sand while Jill looked out for small crabs, built (miniature) sand castles and admired the big ocean waves.

The day was long and truly peaceful that made me feel alive in a new and different way. The clear blue ocean untouched by human civilization, the strong, cool wind and the sand that slowly turned cold and comforting to the feet all made me shed all the stress and boredom of the city away. It was fun enough that we--Jill, Brine and I spent the rest of the day talking and chatting about a wide range of topics--from Brine's fun moments back at UP Los Baños, movies, current issues, strategies in the Games of the General to constellations.

We also went boating that afternoon and I was amazed at the strong ocean waves that seemed to be Poseidon breathing heavily. We explored the ocean more the next day at around 6am when the ocean was calmer. We were able to go as far as the next island with pure white sand along the shores, to a mountainous rock with a unique carving where the waters were shallow enough for us to catch a good glimpse of the coral reefs below. It was a breath-taking sight and a truly life-changing experience as we spotted small colorful fishes and small and big corals with different shapes. We also saw small flying fishes along the way. The kuya who toured us said it was a good thing that no one dares to destroy the corals and sell it because it is prohibited in the place. He also mentioned that pawikans lurk near the shores every December.

Witnessing the beautiful coral reefs and how they are preserved in Lian made me reflect about the national condition of these Philippine gems as of today. May we all help in any way possible to preserve our coral reefs, not only for the sake of its cultural and environmental importance, but also for a number of factors they are intricately and critically webbed into.

A Gift to Nature: Figaro Tree Planting and Eco Tour

3 cups of coffee= 9 coffee trees. That hit me hard and had proven me guilty as I remembered the times when I drank more than three cups of coffee a day and I didn't even know it cost more than a dozen trees. And I'm truly glad and honored that I could repay nature after I participated in Figaro's Tree Planting and Eco Tour, organized by Figaro Coffee Company in collaboration with the Figaro Foundation Corporation, last November 5 at Brgy. Esperanza, Alfonso, Cavite with famous bloggers, Figaro Club members, franchisees and business partners.

I truly learned a lot about coffee as Mr. Emil Cuaresma of the Figaro Foundation gave trivias and a lecture about the origin of coffee in the Philippines and its four main varieties, namely Arabica, Liberica, Excelsa and Robusta.

It felt like an educational field trip as we first visited the Gourmet Farms, one of Figaro's partners proudly unveiling their rich diversity of herbs and coffee and their bigger plantations which use organic fertilizers and the traditional carabao for tilling the land. I was overwhelmed to see firsthand and even smell the fresh rosemary herbs that Jamie Oliver of TLC always uses in his mouth-watering dishes. We also spotted Sharon Cuneta's Herb Collection of peppermint, rosemary and lemongrass.

I equally enjoyed their refreshing Banaba drink after the long but rejuvenating walk around the farm.

"From crop to cup." The aromatic scent of coffee and herbs wafting through the air and greeting us the moment we stepped foot on the entrance of the farm simply proved how fresh and organic coffee are produced at Gourmet Farms. We also toured the factory where they manufacture coffee and I learned that roasting coffee beans to catch that desired flavor sure isn't an easy job, as their taste instantly changes in a matter of seconds if the time limit for roasting was not followed.

After a hearty lunch prepared by the host family of the coffee farm that felt very provincial to me for the very first time, Mr. Crismel Verano, CEO of Figaro acknowledged the family and imparted the concept of giving back to nature and the project's significant contributions to help the coffee farmers and of course, the economy of the Philippines. The project also attempts to make the country one of the top exporters of coffee in the world, as it once had been.

The tree planting experience was something I would never forget and I'm proud of as I was able to repay nature even though I'm still a student. These kinds of activities I'd proudly say as the "real" projects that truly contribute something productive for the community and the country even in its little ways. Most of all, it made me discover the true meaning of responsibility as shared by Mr. Verano.

It was truly an unforgettable experience, especially that I could not  fully enjoy what nature could offer anymore as I was born in the city, and not to mention with famous bloggers and with my mentor and food blogger Ms. Josephine Bonsol. Thank you very much to Ms. Annesy Del Mundo for letting me experience this wonderful trip with a great cause and gave me the opportunity to give back to and mingle with nature.