We Have Returned!

The other day, I re-read Bob’s column reporting that Live in the Philippines readers are moving to the Philippines. Bob was not expecting this migration, regardless of its size and scope. Like many of us who follow his columns, Bob views it as a good thing.

My wife Emy and I viewed it as a good thing, too. We thought it is such a good thing that we are participating in the “flood of humanity” to the Philippines. Our move, however, is more of a “MacArthur-like” return than just a simple “Gee, that’s a beautiful place” move. Do not get me wrong. Any reason to move could be a good reason in our eyes. We are returning to our friends and family after defeating the soul-sapping invader: uncertainty. While not being totally dispatched, retreat on all fronts is uncertainty’s order of the day. We are able to “land and move inland,” exclaiming that we have returned.

This PAL baggage handler “Ping”, an Ilocano, was one of the first to greet us at the Centennial Terminal’s baggage claim at NAIA. Every time we transit baggage claim, he is the handler who takes care of us. He knows that we will seek him out whenever we are there. He always makes sure that our bags clear customs and find their way to our Laoag flight. All transits are successful meetings and each with that, “Welcome back!” ever-present smile.

We took his picture on our last visit when we asked him to watch for our son who would be transiting baggage claim in two weeks time. We emailed his picture to our son with instructions to seek him out. When our son finally made his trip, he was surprised that “Ping” was calling him by name while eying the passengers from our son’s flight. He made sure our son’s baggage cleared customs and found their way to that Laoag flight – another successful transit!

Our porter (baggage handler) at Laoag International Airport is a cousin who, likewise, greeted us grandly and quickly had our bags in tow. While it is the northernmost international airport in the Philippines, it is small. So is the baggage claim area. I counted eight porters working our flight. The flight was nearly full, so there were about one hundred and thirty passengers. The porters really hustled – our flight’s baggage was deplaned, transported, and “out the door” in just over thirty minutes. Larger airports cannot match that! Though the airport has just installed a baggage carousel, it awaits power hook-up and certification. I wonder how the porters will handle working side-by-side the carousel.

It is about a half-hour ride from the airport to our home. That half-hour tried to fly by as we pass the all too familiar sites, but it seemed to drag on whenever we thought of our destination.

Home always looks good. Such a nice, tranquil place that is soothing in the shade. While the katulangs and our driver took care of the baggage, I found time to visit the nipa hut. What a wonderful place to sit and enjoy one’s surroundings. I just had to go in, sit down, and convince myself that we were actually here. We did it – we made the move (well, the traveling part any way).

When I had fully convinced myself that, yes, we were home; it was time for a personal ritual that I do not fail to perform whenever I come home. I visit Auntie Lydia’s “tiangi” or sari-sari store, across the highway from our house. This visit has a two-fold purpose: to greet Auntie, who has always been supportive and friendly, and to buy two cold bottles of San Miguel Beer. I always offer the first bottle to Auntie. She traditionally declines it.

There will be other San Miguel’s in my life, but those first two cold ones, ritually imbibed upon my return to Pasuquin, are always among the best.

Rituals completed, it is time to head to the house, help unpack, and get a little naptime. The house is new and is my part of a bargain. Emy once told me that the only way we could retire in the Philippines would be to build a new, American style house there. Well, I upheld my part!

The outside has the “island flair,” but the inside has quite a few western amenities. This, indeed, is Emy’s dream house and it makes her happy. I’m happy, too, that we both held up our parts of the bargain.

Like most houses in the Philippines, construction is never 100% complete. There are always little touches and personal tweaks that occur over the years. We had the house wired for both 220VAC and 110VAC, but we have yet to purchase and install a pole transformer that will provide such western magic. We will also purchase and install an outdoor chandelier at the front doorway. Finding just the right one is difficult. I am sure we will find more home improvements as time goes on. For now, however, it is time to enjoy being home.

A nude awakening

Did I type that right? A nude awakening? Isn’t the old saying supposed to be a “rude” awakening?  Read on, and you decide.

I live in a kind of mid-level neighborhood.  Oh, it’s probably slightly upscale by Philippine standards, probably a little downscale by US standards.  Most of the people who live in my neighborhood are Filipino professional types, and Missionaries from abroad.  The neighborhood is certainly not “upscale” – it’s not a gated community or anything even near to that.  Twenty years ago, this would have been an upscale Philippine neighborhood.  These days, it is an upper-mid level neighborhood that has declined from what it used to be.  I really like the area, though.

Our house is quite nice, although it’s about 40+ years old.  It’s big, about 4,500 square feet, or 450 square meters.  There are many similar houses in my neighborhood.  It’s not an unusual place for the neighborhood, although a place this size is certainly not average in the Philippines.

About 2, possibly 3 years ago, the vacant lot next to us suddenly had a “building” on it.  The building, if you want to call it that, is basically nothing but some wood holding up some tin roofing material, open air.  People live in it.  It’s kind of a shack, in the middle of some quite nice houses.  It is a single level place.  Our house is two levels, and I spend the vast majority of my time on the second level, where my office and bedroom are.  I have included a photo of the “house” as it can be seen from my office window, basically all you can see are the sheets of tin that make up a makeshift roof.  The place certainly doesn’t fit in with the rest of the neighborhood, but that’s how things are in the Philippines.  The people who live in this place are a little different.  They collect junk, it seems.  They have a big bin full of old glass bottles.  They have a huge pile of old scrap pieces of lumber.  I don’t really know what goes on over there.

From our bedroom, if you open up the curtains on the side of the bedroom and look out the window, you are looking down into the “front yard” of this place.  Not much to look at, but really, we don’t go look out that window much, and you would really have to walk right up to the window to be able to look down to ground level and see anything over there.

I have a daily routine, it’s pretty much a set pattern of things I do, at least for part of the day.  I mean, as the day grows later, I tend to deviate, depending on what comes up that needs my attention.  But, the very beginning of my day is pretty set in stone, though.  I generally get up sort of early.  First thing I do is turn on my laptop, and while it is booting up, I go open up the curtains in my bedroom, and open the window.  The early morning air in Davao is usually crisp and cool.  Opening the window, I can usually be nice and cool in the bedroom until about 9am or so, at which time I head into my office (which is also in the house, by the way) and put on the air conditioning.

One day last week, I got up and my morning routine started off as normal.  I got up at 5:30am.  Made my way from bed, turned on my laptop.  While waiting for it to boot up, I went and opened the curtains.  It was early, not fully daylight out yet, but light enough outside to see pretty well.

When I opened the curtains, I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.  I guess the light was dim enough that I didn’t pick up on the details.  Next, though, I slid the window open, and it made some sound.  Suddenly, there was some quick movement outside my window.

I took a quick look to see what was going on, and there was a woman taking a shower outdoors, about twenty feet outside my window! She was naked, except a pair of shorts.  When she heard the window open, she jumped, realizing that somebody was there!  What a way to start the morning!

I mean, I never thought about it before, but this “shack” next door does not have an indoor shower!  The people shower right outside in the open!  Apparently this lady didn’t figure that I would get up that early, or at least I would not open the window and look outside!  Based on her reaction, she was certainly surprised to see me!

Being a very neighborly person, I keep waiting for the neighbor to show up again for her daily shower.  I mean I have been watching regularly.  I figure I could at least wave to her and yell out the window – “Hi!”  But, no luck so far, I haven’t seen her again since!

Ah, the joys of getting up early!  It gets your day off to a wonderful start!

Several Steps Back To The Time Of Coal Power!

The City where I was born is called Bradford, situated in West Yorkshire in the Industrial Heart of the country in the gloomy Northern Area of England! This area really became developed in the Industrial Revolution when the invention of Steam Power was the latest and greatest technological breakthrough to hit the world! Bradford was at that time the center of the worlds woolen industry so with the new power source, literally thousands of new facilities or mills were constructed in order to speed up the production of the finished woolen cloth and vast fortunes were made by the Wool Barons!

In order to produce the steam, Coal, which is a fossil fuel was readily available in huge quantities and had for a long time been processed to produce gas for household and street lighting purposes, I am sure that most people have seen films of Jack the Ripper carrying out his evil deeds under the Gas Lights of old White Chapel in London! Coal was burned to supply everything from the production of Electricity in later times, Steam to supply the  power to drive the textile machines, Steam to power the boilers for heating purposes in Offices, Hospitals, Schools etc, Steam Engines were the prime movers for the Vehicles and Railways of the day, coal was the standard fuel for cooking and heating in the homes, basically, life in them days revolved around coal!

The downside of this wonderful new power source was that coal is a dirty fuel and pumped out every kind of pollutant imaginable but nobody really knew or cared about these things as thousands of jobs were produced and money was plenty, for the mill owners at least. Everything was filthy as the thick black smoke from thousands of factory chimneys was billowing 24 hours a day continuously, the air in Manila would have been considered pure compared with the English air of the time! It was only after some years that the now well known health issues were realized! This kind of pollution went on for over 100 years and only started to decline when new Man Made Fabrics replaced the heavy Woolen Cloth produced in Northern England so with this turn of events, the factories started to close down! In the 1960’s, the government, realizing the problems, went on a clean up drive to make life better for the people, Coal was now being replaced with new forms of power such as Natural Gas from the North Sea, cleaner ways of producing Electricity like Hydro Power, Nuclear Power and Oil were now being developed, household cooking and heating were now either Gas or Electric, many areas were declared Smokeless where Coal and Wood were no longer allowed to be burned as a fuel! Even cleaner forms of fuel were being used in vehicles!

In 2003, the last time that I visited my home town, it was not the same place where I grew up! When I was a kid I remember everything being black, even a new building did not stay clean for long! Mothers could not get the laundry clean because as it was hung out to dry, specks of soot wood land on it! With everything being covered in soot, it was impossible to keep kids clean also! Now, it was a very clean place, all but one of the mills had been demolished and the air was clean and clear, the only major change that I noticed was the amount of immigrants there or maybe I just had not noticed this point as I had not really lived there since 1970!

Basically, what I am saying is that the age of coal is now nearly a thing of the past in many countries and areas around the world as new forms of Power Producing Technology are taking over but unfortunately, in the Sarangani area of Mindanao Coal has arrived and the problems with it are just beginning!

There are plans to build a 200 megawatt Coal Fired Power Station at the mouth of Sarangani Bay right on top of a Marine Protected Area and World Class Dive Site! The plan for this Facility is to expand to 900 megawatt as the requirement for power increases! The company says that there will be no pollution and new Clean Coal technology will be used and only imported Low Sulfur Content Coal will be used to fuel the plant but the same company are backing a proposed Coal Mining Operation near Lake Sebu, one of the local beauty spots and the coal quality there is proven to be young and of low quality! Say what you want, there is no such thing as Clean Coal, the smoke from the discharge chimneys might not be visible but the pollutants certainly are still pumped out into the atmosphere adding to the Greenhouse Gas volumes that scientists say are the major cause of Global Warming!

Now, also in Gen San, the many Fish Canneries are using Coal for their heating requirements because as they say, Coal is cheaper than Bunker Fuel! All these companies have secured the required Environmental Compliance Certificates but who checks on these Coal Burners and what happens to the Toxic Ash which is a unwanted bi product of coal burning! as more and more companies are starting to burn coal, I can see back to my youth living in a heavily polluted city, with financial gain being the motivator for the introduction to the area of this new, Clean Coal Technology as they call it!

There are plans in this area for several new ventures such as a large Open Pit Copper Mine, New Open Pit Coal Mine, Industrial Parks, Cement Works etc and all this will have power supplied from the Coal Fired Power Station, who will benefit the most from all of this, the people of the area or a few faceless facility owners who probably do not know where Sarangani Province is!

With the world going Green and new really clean and renewable technology being available, why must Coal be resurrected? The simple reason is PROFIT plain and simple, the health and wealth of the local population does not matter, the damage to the environment does not matter, the future of our children does not matter, only the bottom line, profit is seen by these companies, nothing else matters to them!

I really hope that the government will see sense in time and not let such abuses to the environment and health of the people happen as there are other forms of energy available to achieve the same end!

Note, President Ronald Regan was wearing a suit which was made of Bradford Wool Cloth when he was shot!, such cloth is good but it is not Bullet Proof!

Return to Mayberry?

Last week, I had a meeting in Intramuros, and was waiting at Luneta Park for my colleagues to arrive. So, I chose one of the little food stands by the park entrance, bought a Diet Coke, and sat there half people watching and half messing around with my Blackberry while waiting. So, I’m sitting there, and see a group of about 20 kids, very obviously street children, around 10 years old or so,  just hanging around by the side of the fountain in the park. A cop walks up to them, and I’m watching, expecting him to shoo them away or something. He walks away, towards his car, opens the trunk, and brings them a soccer ball for an impromptu football match. The cop joined in, as did a couple of other adults around (They asked me to play too, but I was dressed for my meeting), and they played for about 10 minutes, until the cop had to leave and drove away. I must admit, I was really smiling the whole time I was watching this… It really was a nice scene and truly made my day. It also got me to thinking: This would NEVER happen in the United States. This was something from a different time. A time in the States that I only vaguely remember, and I’m over 40 years old.

I was thinking about how America was different then. I remember being on a farm and riding in the back of a pickup. We rode our bikes without helmets. We could go just about anywhere in our neighborhood and be safe. We shot BB guns and slingshots at tin cans. We were taught to find a police officer if we were in trouble. I remember falling off my bike and a lady giving me a bandaid, giving me cookies, and calling home. There were no metal detectors in school, and disputes were settled with fists only, instead of guns. We didn’t need day planners.  If I dared so much as to smart off to an adult, I would get backhanded. What is different now? Kids are still the same. Indeed, Socrates was essentially telling kids to “Get off his lawn!” over 2,000 years ago, as evidenced by his quote: ”Children nowadays are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyrannies their teachers“.

It dawned on me that America has become paranoid. Unfortunately, the result of this fear is that scenes like I witnessed in Luneta Park no longer happen in America. Everyone is a suspect. Everyone is up to no good. Why? Is life truly that much more dangerous than 30 years ago, or do we simply hear more about bad things in the media. When colleagues in the States ask me how I can live in a third-world country, they simply don’t believe me when I tell them that people are different here. They are not so different, but their values and mores are different. I think money is the corruption in the States, as is lack of suffering. People no longer take responsibility for their actions. It is far too easy to  pass the blame, sue the evil corporation, blame racism, sexism, or any of dozens of other “-isms”.

Other things I have seen in the Philippines that never happen any longer in America:

1. A couple of months ago, I was at Mall of Asia, using the restroom, and as I’m zipping up, I saw a kid trying to reach the faucet. Before I could even notice, one of the security guards picked the kid up and held him over the sink so he could wash his hands. Try that in America, well-intentioned though you may be, and you are likely to end up behind bars on molestation charges.
2. There are at least 15 neighbors who will watch our son, at any time, and we can leave him with them, knowing he will be safe. No, I don’t check any pedophile vregistries… I don’t need to here.
3. I saw a motorcycle accident, and people actually stopped to help. In fact, too many were trying their best (It actually interfered with the police.) There were no lawyers on the scene, by the way.
4. I had a flat tire in the province, and in a span of 5 minutes, at least 5 people stopped by to help me change the tire.
5. Very, very seldom do you hear kids speaking to an adult in an obnoxious manner. The vast majority of kids still say “Sir” and offer “Mano Po”. Not many adults here are referred to as “Dude”.
6. Everyone in our compound knows their neighbors, waves, and says “Good Morning”… Every day.
7. In Abulug, charity begins with food. At, nearly every house I have visited there, people offer food. My Mother-in-Law has never let someone leave her house on an empty stomach. This includes times when they had no food to spare.
8. Nearly every time someone in the compound has a birthday, there is a big party and everyone is invited. This differs from American birthday parties, which have largely become gift grabs… Here, no gift is expected… Just your presence.
9. The barbershop in Ballesteros, where the men sit there playing chess all day, and everyone is welcome to play.
10. Accidents still happen here, but the rest of the world is not liable. There is still responsibility for your own actions. Highly unlikely that McDonalds coffee lady would collect so much as a single Peso because she didn’t know that coffee is hot. Likewise, Mr. “Gee, I didn’t know this chainsaw would cut off my hand!” gets zilch.

There are many posts and articles on the Net where everyone talks about the “smiles” here. Yes, people here tend to smile quite a bit, but those types of comments are usually rather superficial. That is what you notice when you are here on vacation. What I am talking about is the very fabric of day to day life here. The values that no longer exist in the United States. I am not trying to sugar coat anything or paint a misleadingly rosy picture. This country has some very severe problems for which there are no easy solutions. However, these values go far beyond any “Family Values” catch phrase (BTW, I absolutely abhor that term) or political bull. The values here are just how people were raised… The Golden Rule is still observed. If you see someone hungry, give them something to eat, because you may be hungry someday. If you see someone in trouble, try and help. Be nice to your neighbors and they’s be nice to you. Simple rules of living, but rules that are rarely followed in America anymore. America is Time, Money, Security.

In Klaus’ column today, a reader posted a link to a web site where an American was complaining about how everyone in the Philippines was so unfair to foreigners and how Filipinos all hate foreigners. It read as a whiny, arrogant, “Everyone feel sorry for me” diatribe. This guy lived in Angeles City near the whorehouses, and, in my mind at least, outside of marrying his wife, made very little effort to assimilate into the culture or truly get to know those around him. That is his loss. Everything about moving here has not been rosy for me, and there are things that go on in the Philippines that I truly dislike about the country. HOWEVER, the family structure, values, and respect for others is something SPECIAL. I have travelled to virtually every country in Asia and Europe, and grew up in America, and I can truly say that the Philippines is unique in this respect in this day and age. Many places in the world have nice beaches, climate, shopping, or whatever. This is unique and only here.

I titled this article “Return to Mayberry?”, because that is what people are generally like here. I remember North Carolina, as a kid, being not all that different than Andy Griffith’s portrayal. Living in the Philippines is, in many respects, a return to Mayberry or America 50 years ago. There is respect for others, charity, kindness, family, and an appreciation about what is important in life. These aspects of Philippine life rarely get discussed or heard above the typical “Sex, Beach, Cheap, Beer, Smiles” talk. This is what you notice once you’ve been here a bit. This is what awaits you if you open your eyes, relax, and interact with others. This is what awaits you if you treat others with respect as fellow human beings. This is what is so truly special about the Philippines.

My First Impressions

When i first came to the Philippines I really didn’t venture to much into the Barangay or neighborhoods, mostly just visiting the major landmarks maybe the beach and pretty much stayed in the bigger cities.

But, now that I am a resident here the whole meaning of living in the Philippines is different. The sights, smells, and sounds:  I guess you can equate it to living in the countryside without leaving the city. What I mean is when I listen to my surroundings I hear roosters crowing, pigs grunting and squealing, and of course motorcycles and cars zooming the streets along with the daily vendors walking or riding up and down the streets ringing a bell, playing ice cream truck music, or just yelling out their wares!

It really isn’t bothersome to me actually i kinda like it. Now, as most of you that know who I am know that I am in fact mobility impaired and use a wheelchair for mobility most of the time I also have an electric scooter that I brought from the states that made a huge hit with the valet’s that assist the wheelchair users at the airport. I was taken by surprise at the reaction I got from them as I took it for granted it being an everyday site as it is in the States.  But as the theme goes, you definitely aren’t in Kansas anymore.

So as I roam the neighborhood that I live in traffic actually stops!  Its been many times I’ll go to the convenience store up the street to get some sugar or bread etc.  and the tricycle drivers look turn away look again then just stop right there in the street to gaze in wide wonder at the Kano on the strange electric bike, I often wave and they continue on but it seems no matter where I go in my city here, my method of mobility is always a conversation starter from how does it work to how much did it cost.

There is actually a fairly large population of expats that live here in Tagum but they are mostly concentrated in a single subdivision that is gated and caters to the working professionals mostly doctors lawyers teachers and retired expats. Me and my wife chose to live in a middle class neighborhood if there is such a thing here and live the traditional Filipino lifestyle. I live here in a two bedroom house with a single CR with my wife Riza and two of her younger sisters and a younger brother that all came to live with us from the Compostela Valley Province so that they can attend a better high school and help with the daily household chores.

As of yet we don’t have our own means of transportation which is really different for me coming from the States where your vehicle basically is an extension of who you are, but we are contemplating purchasing a tricycle so i can tinker and modify it to my ability to use. I think it will be a fun project. There’s a auto repair shop just around the corner from our house that has from what I am accustomed very primitive tool collection, but I know for a few peso’s and maybe a few San Miguels they will be more than a little helpful in assisting me to accomplish my project.

So, stay tuned to learn more about my adjustment to living in the Philippines as I wheel my way through southern Mindanao.

Philippine Playboy!

People often ask me how I ended up in the Philippines.  The short answer is for a better life.  I must say, that the Philippines has exceeded my expectations.  However, that also required an open mind and a re-evaluation of what is important.

Yes I have a few less creature comforts here than I did in the USA but it didn’t take me long to realize those things were not as important as I thought.  Central air, super fast Internet connection (equal to T3), a DVR attached to my cable box with over 200 channels and hot water throughout the house come to mind.  Those things are nice but they don’t matter, you don’t need them.  Some of these things may be available in different parts of the Philippines, but I don’t have these things any more.

A few weeks ago, I was woken by the sound of the electricity going off.  The thud followed by the air con shutting off.  It was early on a Sunday morning and when that happens in Northern Cebu on a Sunday you can can bet that power will be off all day.  Instead of sitting in Jollibee all day (they have a backup generator), I decided to head off to Bantayan Island wish is about an hour and a half away.

The Good Life On a Budget

Just look at this picture.  I’m smoking a $2.00 cigar that would cost over $10.00 in the USA.  Sitting in a bamboo chair after having lunch at Tristan’s Resort for three at a cost of less than $10.00.

I’m wearing a hand made shirt tailored just for me.  Do that in the USA. Do I look like I have a care in the world?  Nope, as I didn’t.    I think I look like an old playboy that doesn’t realize he peaked many years ago.  LOL  That’s not a bad thing.  I have a good life in the Philippines but it gets so much better.

Hmm, Maybe I am a playboy, I mean look at that girl.  She looks so out of place next to me, or at least she does to me. What’s a beautiful girl like Jessie doing with me?  What would be the chances of me finding a girl like this in the USA?  Just about zero.

But even better than her looks is the way she treats me.  She treats me like a king.  Oh she’s not perfect, she gets grumpy at times but we usually are able to laugh that off.  I just call her my ornery angel and move on.  That’s because of the way she treats me though.

Jessie is ninety percent of why my life is good.  My attitude is part of it too. Get your attitude right, treat a Filipina well and she’ll treat you well too.  Of course there are exceptions, you shouldn’t judge what a Filipina is like based on the ones you meet online but you can meet a good one online if you are careful and don’t move too fast.  I met Jessie online.  I talked to a guy the other day that met his wife at Filipina Hearts.

I think there was someone on this site that mentioned finding his Filipina beauty on that site.  I had an account there at one time.  Talked to some girls with some promise, talked to a lot of girls that just wanted me to send them money.

If you’re thinking about moving to the Philippines, find your adventurous side and get your butt over here!

A word of caution about this playboy thing.  Filipina are crazy jealous and most would admit that.  If you’re planning on being a true playboy, you’re asking for trouble.  Though I know some guys that pull it off.  Just don’t promise more of a relationship than you can give to a girl.  Even if you are careful, she may latch on to you and get hurt.  A hurt Filipina, can be dangerous to the good life. 

For myself, I have everything.  I’ve never been so calm in my life, so relaxed nor have I had such a high standard of living as I’ve found while living in the Philippines.

Showing beneficiary of the action

Lesson 13

Showing Beneficiary of the Action or The Reciever of the Action or the location.

In showing the direction or the beneficiary of the action we need to have a marker.

Markers for the reciever or the direction of the action

Singular    Plural
Proper Noun    Kang        kang ________ ug kang ________
Common Noun    Sa         sa mga

*The plural markers for the proper noun kang ______ug kang _________, the second kang is optional. You can say kang _____ug _______.

Para – it means for (para usually uses the marker kang when it’s proper noun and sa when it is a common noun)

Examples of  para kang or kang:

1. Moluto ang among katabang ug bulad para kang Simon.
   Our helper will cook dried fish for Simon.
2. Palihog hulam ug kwarta para kang Toto ug Tata.
   Please borrow money for Toto and Tata.
3. Mibasa ang akong lola ug libro para kang Alan
   My grandmother is reading the book for Alan.
4. Moadto kita kang Jessica.
   We (excl) will go to Jessica.
5. Palihog bisita kang Inday.
   Please visit Inday.

Examples with para sa

1. Moluto siya ug isda para sa mga bisita.
   She will cook fish for the visitors.
2. Mibasa sila sa Biblia para sa mga estudyante.
   They are reading the Bible for the students.
3. Palihog kanta para sa mga inahan.
   Please sing for the mothers.
4. Mitrabaho ang amahan para sa iyang pamilya.
   The father is working for his family.
5. Palihog palit ug bugas para sa imong silingan.
   Please buy rice for your neighbor.

Home from home

I was speaking in the last two articles about my recent trip to Baguio and the coastal area s of La Union ,and  was recounting some of the places I have stayed at and my feelings about them.

I finish off this little travel report by telling you about a place I stayed at , which in all honesty was one of the nicest places I have ever stayed at period.

After a disastrous stay the night before at a really poor run resort complex we moved a short tricycle ride to  SUNSET BAY in the Barangay of Canaoay near San FernandoCity in La Union ,which has very well maintained and furnished apartments with satellite TV , and full amenities for a price I was paying the night before for nothing but bare rooms and little amenities.

This resort is well thought out and has no local buildings backing onto it, and  thus it feels so  private with its unspoiled view of the sea and a newly built swimming pool. The whole place is wired for WiFi and is free, so you can sit anywhere and work and of course drink. I even went for a swim in the warm sea, sorry to say I frightened the fish away.

The place is laid out in such a way that even when it rains you can still sit outside or partake friendly banter with the staff at the two eating areas, or play giant Chess or other games that are spread around the resort. To be honest it is unusual in my experience to see such well trained staff, who obviously enjoy the work and the interaction with the customers. The staff were a delight and are a huge asset to Peter and to La Union.

One thing that Peter the owner has really got right is the food. I have to say that he has such a great selection of food from English  style breakfast, and the lunch and dinners selection crossed international borders with Indian,English,American and local dishes with bigger than you expect portions for a price I could not believe. I could not believe that in such a remote area Peter was able to source such good produce, I live in the big city of Davao and I cannot.
It was so restful and great atmosphere that I really was happy just to relax in the resort, but I missed out on visiting the local Macho temple and numerous beautiful gardens. Oh well maybe next time.

The other guests were relaxed and chilled and there was NO drunken behavior as I can tell Peter has a very firm way of keeping the resort at the top. Well done guys.

The Crown of Thorns Sea Star, Coral Killer!

I am sure that in this day and age most educated people around the globe know or have least heard of the terrible depletion of the worlds Coral Reefs and the reasons that the leading marine scientists blame for the problems!

Global warming gets all the blame for everything nowadays but in reality it should not! Many issues are to blame for the problem of Coral Death and man himself does have a part to play but also cannot be totally to blame!

Some of the causes are the work of man such as: Illegal dumping of Chemical and Toxic Waste being dumped at sea! Agricultural Pesticides and Fertilizer being washed from the farms into the Rivers and to the Oceans! Untreated Sewage being dumped directly into the Rivers and Oceans! Household Garbage including Cleaning Chemicals and Plastics being dumped on the shores! Oil Spills from Maritime Disasters and many more Human Interactions all contribute to the general degradation of the water quality which in turn affect the all creatures which live in the Oceans including some of the more fragile species, the Corals!

Man is always easy to blame but we cannot hold him completely guilty as there is another component which can create and cause immense amounts of destruction and that is Mother Nature Herself! She can be blamed for Typhoons, Cyclones or Hurricanes, it depends where you live as to what name you choose to call these horrific storms, She can smash a coral reef to pieces in a very short time by slamming flotsam such as fallen trees and other objects directly onto the reefs! Yes, she is mean when she wants to be (just like my sister) but still has an evil trick up her sleeve because when all the weather is quiet and peaceful, lurking in the depths are some of the most efficient coral killers in the Ocean, The Crown of Thorns Sea Stars!

Most people will have never seen or heard anything about the Crown of  Thorns as it is seldom seen except by Scuba Divers and Fishermen but it is a very great threat to many kinds of coral species! In Australia, on the Great Barrier Reef they discovered this problem many years ago and to date they still have not found the reason for the sudden outbreaks of them and more so they have not found any efficient method of dealing with the problem!

The Crown of Thorns is a multi-legged Sea Star which grows to the size of a dinner plate, can be different colors from Green to Purple and it feeds on the corals by turning its stomach inside out in order to dissolve and devour the helpless coral polyps! So far so good but the description so far sounds like any simple Star Fish but the Crown of Thorns as the name suggests still has a Wicked Defense Strategy as each of its spines is like a Hypodermic Needle loaded with a very Toxic Venom and when man comes in contact with this pain is immediate and the wounds can take a long time to heal as I found out some years ago when our group of divers were collecting a group of Crown of Thorns from a shallow reef! We all had sacks to collect them in but one diver turned around and the current caught his sack and it hit me on the calf muscle and I was stung several times, Ouch said I, or something to that effect, to cut a long story short, one puncture wound would not stop weeping fluid for about 2 months and about 10 thousand peso’s later, after a further month the wound healed but has left a nice depression in my leg to remind me of that day!

The different ways to deal with them start with the simplest method which is to collect them in sacks , baskets or string them in Tuna Fishing Line like a Necklace and get them out of the water as this is the way to kill them as they are 80% water, on land they dehydrate and die! Sodium Bi sulfate can be injected into them under water and this will kill them but a specialized injection system is required! Whichever method is to be used, the diver should be extremely careful and try not to get injured by the stings! If you do get stung we have found out from experience that if you squeeze the wound straight away under water until you get as much of the venom as possible out of your body then on land soak the wound in hot water there is a good chance that you will not be very badly hurt! Some people have chopped them up and left them in the water but unfortunately the have a special power which gives them the ability to grow a complete new creature from each piece, just like the Terminator!  There are natural predators to deal with these creatures but the Triton Shell which eats them is also a great delicacy for fishermen and the large Groupers and Wrasse have been nearly fished out in many areas!

Unfortunately, when a plague of Crown of Thorns appear they should be removed from the water as quickly as possible but if the government gets involved there is a maze of paperwork to get through before any funds can be issued in order to stop the problem so its usually up to the private sector to attack the problem first! Some years ago, there was a huge outbreak near Glan at the tip of Sarangani Bay, in order to stop the problem, the Rotary Club of Metro Dadiangas along with a Sister Club from overseas raised funds to pay the local fishermen 1 x KG of rice for every 20 Crown of Thorns they removed! For every 5 KG of rice they also got 1 can of fish! At the end of the project, 126,000 Crown of Thorns had been removed and the plague was at an end! To get the local fishermen to remove them is the cheapest and most efficient way to deal with these creatures that we have discovered to date!

Now, on every dive, some divers carry a sack or a piece of Tuna Line in case they see any Crown of Thorns on their dive, if they see any then they remove them! There numbers can be controlled as long as you stay on top of the problem, its no use to plan ahead if there is a plague in your area, you must act immediately as each on can eat around 1 square meter of coral per week so you can imagine what kind of damage to a reef 500 can cause if left unchecked! If you could eat them then they would not be a problem but to date I have not discovered any one who can find any use for them!

When we remove them from the water they are just left to dry out in the sun and then buried but they can be dug into the ground as a fertilizer! As long as there are plenty of them then we will keep on catching them! It is nice to think that one day we will have won the battle with the Crown of Thorns but to be honest, I think that such an idea is just a dream and they will always be around! Lets hope not!

(Note) Many Crown of Thorns WERE killed during the taking of the Pictures!

Crossing river to city

ALABEL, Sarangani (July 27, 2009) – Grade VI pupils of New Canaan and Kiangkos Elementary Schools cross a river and walk for eight hours Thursday, July 23, during their educational tour “Making Little Dreams Possible” sponsored by the Alcantara Foundation. A few weeks ago, volunteers from the provincial government and staff of the Quality Education for Sarangani Today (QUEST) went up the mountains to visit the schools, bringing along workbooks for the lumad school children. (Released for publication on LiP by Cocoy Sexcion/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)