Peñafrancia 2013

It's September once again and in a few days, all roads will lead to Pilgrim City of Naga as the city (and the entire Bicol Region as well as the whole country) celebrates the 303rd year of devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia. As a Nagueño and a devotee of Ina, I don't have any other words to say but VIVA LA VIRGEN and VIVA EL DIVINO ROSTRO! :))

PS. Pictured above is one of the stained glass pieces that can be found in the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. :)

At Dusk

I am always fascinated with the beauty and awesomeness that the sky has to offer during dusk and since I had the opportunity, I tried to capture a view of the Naga City CBD II Skyline at dusk from the window of a room in the third floor of the newly opened NICC Doctor's Hospital. I really like the pic and I hope you like it too! :)

Some of Isarog's Marvels

My father went to a hiking trip recently with his college org mates somewhere in Curry, Pili part of Mount Isarog and he went home with a breathtaking pictures of the two hidden and virgin falls with clean and cool waters. Makasama nga next time! :)

Wow Cubao!

Spent some time in Cubao going around SM Cubao, Gateway Mall and Ali Mall with Ruksii and Pareng MJ. After more or less six (6) hours, we ended up with the items pictured above. That's what we call Shopping Galore! Hahaha. Excited to do that again soon! :)))

One and Only Mayon

Superb Scenery. Mayon never fails to amaze me and all the people who come to see her unique beauty. This time, her silhouette gives a dramatic touch to the colors of the sunset. :) 

Dome of the Apostles

A visual treat for art lovers out there. Here's the half of the Dome of the Twelve Apostles (the first european inspired dome in the Bicol Region) located at the Immaculate Concepcion Parish, Concepcion Pequeña, Naga City. :)

#DaBestPasko

I believe that this is one of the things that ABS-CBN is consistently very good at - Christmas Station ID. Throughout the years, ABS presents new concept and theme of Filipino Christmas. for sure, the Da Best ang Pasko ng Pilipino song will be a hit comes the Christmas Party or Christmas Celebrations in the country. WELL DONE ABS-CBN!

ps. but i still believe that their most successful station ID is the Star ng Pasko way back 2009 because of ramdam na ramdam yun ng mga tao and my personal favorite, Tuloy na Tuloy pa rin ang Pasko some years before. haha. :)

Pilipinas, Tara Na! v.2 and v.3

last time, i posted the newest version of Byahe Tayo made by the department of tourism in line with the launching of their domestic tourism promotion campaign (?). haha. well, that was the first version. now there are two other versions, obviously, it's the second and the third version and should you be interested to watch please do so below. haha. (parang may mali lang. basta yun na yun)


ps. i found out about the second version through alfred's blog. :)

vote for PH

since yesterday evening, i am voting for Dianne Samar Necio in the internet voting for Ms. International 2011 as encouraged by the honorable governor of the province of Albay who is almost sleepless just to make sure that Vietnam will not overtake Philippines in the voting. haha. grabe sa suporta si gob. anyway, you can vote and help Dianne in making the country proud. GO PHILIPPINES! :)

CAST YOUR VOTE AND HELP THE PHILIPPINES! HERE'S HOW:

1. Press the link (http://missinter.cn/vote/index.php?1319993360) .

2. Go to the upper right tally.

3. Go to the rightmost box along the row of Dianne.

4. Press the light-blue, it turns to yellow.

5. Encode the 4-number code.

6. When a ^.^ appears, your vote was counted but when it's absent you must cast your vote again.

7. Wait for 2 minutes (disregard the 30 minutes rule) and repeat step 1.

RSR and Gov. JOEY

it's october 26 and it's Raul S. Roco Day in Naga City if i am not mistaken. well, since my childhood, Raul S. Roco was my idol in public service and in politics. his ideals, his principles and his personality made me believe that he is the best president the Philippines never had. he died early because of prostate cancer a year after the 2004 Philippine presidential elections.

Also, this day is the birthday of the good and humble governor of the province of Albay. every passing day, he proves that he deserves to be an idol of many. his vision for Albay is very wonderful (Albay Rising like California in the next 30 years) but what is more evident is the results of what he is doing. if and only if, he decides to run for a senate seat in the next election, i'll vote for him and even campaign for him. haha.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RSR and GOV. JOEY!

***photos taken from the facebook page of governor Joey Salceda.

VIVA!

HAPPY 301st PEÑAFRANCIA FIESTA!

VIVA LA VIRGEN! VIVA EL DIVINO ROSTRO!

**i do not own the photo. :)

Ikaw ang Pag-ibig

Had the chance to watch 'Ikaw ang Pag-ibig.' a film about the devotion to Our Lady of Penafrancia. very timely for the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. ang masasabi ko lang, nakarelate ako and lastly, VIVA LA VIRGEN!

Just like what i said, the celebration of the 300th year of devotion to Ina officially ended but the devotion continues! :)

legazpi boulevard

Say hello to the new Legazpi Boulevard which is envisioned to become the Roxas Boulevard of Legazpi City in Albay. I do not own the picture above but that's how it looks like by day. Mas maganda kung yung night version. anyway, i only visited it twice and such a perfect place for relaxation and walk therapy. Yung una purong lakad-lakad lang but then the second time was for night life which is starting to be established in the area. ayos! saya! :)

Pilipinas, Tara Na!

The Department of Tourism just launched it's domestic tourism campaign with the slogan, Pilipinas, Tara Na! just this week coupled with reviving of the Byahe Tayo song in three versions though only one version was released. Anyway, from what i had seen in the internet there are some criticisms as to the new campaign with some even thinking that this is the replacement of the embattled, Pilipinas Kay Ganda. Ang hirap talaga sa karamihan ng mga Pilipino, ang bilis magbigay ng reaksyon ng hindi muna inaalam ang mga bagay-bagay. However, i personally believed that the logo is not that visually appealing. there's no something that can really encourage me to travel and roam around the 7,107 islands of the country. siguro, kelangan pa ng improvement pero ang sabi nga ng DOT, everyone is encouraged and is free to make their own interpretation of the Pilipinas, Tara Na! campaign logo. pero hopefully, the department can improve it within the following months or days. mas magaling at mas maganda ata ang pwedeng magawa ng Pilipino na logo. pero of course, criticisms can never be erased dahil sabi nga, we can never pleased everybody. At ako bilang isang Pilipino ay susuporta sa campaign na ito dahil i personally believe that there is so much that the Philippines can offer. ngapala, inaabangan ko na din ang international/foreign tourism campaign ng DOT. hopefully, something appealing.

The "Pilipinas, Tara Na!" Logo

The Pilipinas, Tara Na! campaign is a domestic tourism campaign targeted towards Filipinos, an effort to encourage local residents to visit the many attractions in-country. Given that a very broad audience is being targeted, the creative team zoned in on what is most important to many: family. As such, the creative team feels that it is best to illustrate the joys of traveling through the perspective of family, especially what appeals to children – perhaps the most important and influential members of the smallest to the biggest of clans.

While details of the other campaign components are still under wraps until the launch later this summer, the major elements of it flow from this rationale of appealing to the family-loving Filipino in general. This includes the centerpiece: a remake of the very successful and catchy “Biyahe Tayo!” song featuring some of the biggest Filipino artists, which has been made into many various versions by Filipinos across the country, even the world.

One necessary component of the campaign is the logo. In keeping with the campaign title, Pilipinas, Tara Na!, the logo invokes a call to action, an invitation for each Filipino to visit the country’s own beautiful destinations using different modes of transportation.

The Pilipinas, Tara Na! logo is rendered in comics style to appeal to a broader audience regardless of age, gender and socio-economic status, evoking light-heartedness, a spirit of fun and a sense of pride in our country.

Original Filipino cartoons or komiks proved to be an entertaining medium through which the Filipino way of life was told. When the first Filipino comics, Kenkoy¸ was published, it became very popular that it was translated to other regional languages and was used in different media. More komiks were soon created, depicting the lives and culture of Filipinos and injecting humor on different issues. Similarly, the old-school vibe of the Pilipinas, Tara Na! logo is meant to stir nostalgia among older generations. As children, many of us have fond memories of local vacation trips with our families, trips that now seem to be outshone by the opportunities to travel abroad, or that are exchanged for getting the latest gadget. The destinations that were most visited before still exist now and the aim is to create the emotional pull that would get parents to want to visit them again for the younger generation to enjoy as they did.

The plane, jeepney and ship signify the country’s most utilized modes of transportation, providing an obvious connection to travel as well as the call to action. The colors depict a sense of nationalism as its shades are inspired by the Philippine Flag. The vibrant sun extends this patriotic theme and portrays hope for brighter local tourism prospects.

During the conceptualization of the campaign logo, the creative team conducted a focus group discussion where several studies were presented. While different interpretations ranging from the very basic text-only designs to more contemporary styles appealed to certain groups, it was found that this more basic, simple and fun rendering of the logo appealed to the greater audience.


*NOTE FROM THE DOT:
While this is the official logo of the Pilipinas, Tara Na! Domestic Tourism Advocacy Campaign, everyone is welcome to create their own interpretations of Pilipinas, Tara Na!. Make posters, shirts, caps, buttons and display or wear them with pride. We need your help. Let’s all be tourists in and tourism ambassadors for the Philippines.

Pilipinas, Tara Na!

RH now

i can't stop campaigning for RH Bill in my own little ways especially that tomorrow (if i am right) is the scheduled debate about RH Bill in the House of Representatives. well, i guess i stated the reason why i am for RH Bill passage. let me state some of my reasons by quoting the staunch RH advocate Carlos Celdran, "the bill aims to provide awareness and education. it isn't about abortion or population control." i would like to believe that at this point in time, i don't personally need RH but thinking about the millions of Filipinos living under the poverty line, we need to educate them. we need to give them the chance and opportunity to choose their path away from poverty by (in this case) giving them access to both natural and artificial family planning whichever they would want to use. we are a nation of strong 92 million and more Filipinos. yes, i believe that population is our very asset but then again, this bill is not about population control and i would like to believe that the bill will paved way for a sustainable population growth which will be very helpful for the country. we cannot waste more and more time. our time is now! i'm pro-life. pro-quality life for the Filipino people. pass the RH bill!

as to the opposition of the catholic church, well, i am a proud catholic but i think supporting the RH bill will not make me less of a catholic because i know God wants the best for His people and God wants better life especially for the poor. but let me quote another statement, this time from Leloy Claudio with regards to the opposition of the Catholic church. "Condoms and anti-colonial novels are, after all, eerily similar: they piss off the powerful because they liberate" and perhaps you can read his blogpost about the RH bill and the Catholic opposition through this link.

wowBATANES

during the holy week, the television was packed with different shows which are mostly replayed. it just happened that i became interested with GMA NewsTV's Pitong Paglalakbay which i thought was made some three to four years ago. well, because of that i just added BATANES, the northermost islands of the Philippines to the Places that i want to visit. it's quite preserved bahay na bato and very simple style of life plus the fresh winds blowing from the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and the Ivatans and their unique Ivatan Hats being used to protect themselves against the sun and rain and their lush mountainsides along with their preserved lighthouses. wohooo! i think Batanes is just the perfect destination if you want to reflect.

MARARATING DIN KITA BATANES!

SOMEDAY WE'LL MEET! :D