The Commission on Population (POPCOM) Bicol regional office reported that early pregnancy and lack of knowledge in FP are main reasons behind its over 5.1 million population.
Do not get surprised when in the next few decades from now another mind-boggling political gerrymandering stirs anew the Bicol region. This time it will emanate from the land of the cowboys, the province of Masbate. We will be reading an unfolding development on these, hence: Burias and Ticao islands […]
We are having a good doze of information on the proposed creation of new (sic) province of Nueva Camarines, thanks to the gerrymandering ideas of some congressmen who may have less things productive and constructive in their mind sets.
The data on rice production cited by Pres. Benigno Aquino III in his second SONA are among the faulty facts and figures. Says IBON Foundation.
It is more of affirmation than surprise that more Filipinos are on board the social microblogging network of Twitter. The Pinoy penchant for technology and innovation in communication, among others, is a common knowledge. Here’s a new development. Twitter announced on 1st of August that its translation center is now available for Filipino and Malay languages.
The formal opening of the port of Pio Duran town of Albay ushers a new era for people and business to open up or look forward to progress. The modern roll-on, roll-off facilities of the port will serve primarily the southwestern Bicol.
During visits and homecomings, I always want to leave the parting word of goodnight. In that way, I can look forward to the next morning in full hope with a sense of things and environ unchanged.
If the Philippine department of education (DepEd) and the government cannot deliver a functional and effective public school system in its bare and minimal level in terms of instructional support and facilities, what can we expect if it adds two more years, more likely as Grades 11 and 12?
How much of ground swell is (being) gathered by the proposal to carve out a new province from the current territorial jurisdiction of Camarines Sur? The exact and final answer to that will be known in the days ahead.
Something we can say with certain degree of certitude: the Philippine education system stinks when it comes to offering positive learning environment and delivery of standard services to the multitude of youths in their critical stage of impressionistic, yet open minds.
The conversion of CSSAC into CBSUA has made a tremendous grandeur for my Alma Matter, a far cry from what I had known during the CSAC days. The new University is expected to provide technological science including education, arts, and science.
A very unwelcome of a weather system, this Chedeng, now intensifying into a typhoon in Bicol. It will be affecting many towns of Camarines Sur as well. The local climate disturbance dampens the day in many countless ways, including the very special day of one special person. For today, a […]
Antigong Simbahan. Catholic churches constructed in Albay by the Spanish conquestadores and friars. Earlier, we posted the teaser for this award winning film by gifted students of the premier state university in the regional capital of Bicol. A presentation by Cbanga360 Production of the mini-documentary by Bem’s Angel Production in […]
With this post, we say goodbye to our handful of friends in the MyBloglog community. Early in February, this writer received a notice from Yahoo that the service is closing. To some who found enough friends and interacted for some time on various issues and field of interest, its bowing out in the social networking arena will be missed.
The staple breakfast bun of Philippine pan de sal we often see on the table courtesy of our friendly baker continue its saga of evolution in price, size and weight. The bakery either diminish the size of the Filipino favorite bread, decreasing its weight, or increase its selling price, two options both of which are not favorable to the consumers at all.
Exactly two weeks before the rain floods of typhoon Bebeng hit the bountiful ricefields of Calabanga, in the quadrant bounded by sitios and barangays of Taculod, San Roque, San Pablo and Ratay, the farmers got busy with their hand-driven rice harvesting tool of sickle (asyab). The farm workers worked fast and quick for the scorching heat of the summer sun has a skin-burning effect.
The recent typhoon (Bebeng) hit the streets of Calabanga and poured enormous flood water on our living rooms. The storm also drained out about one thousand tilapia fingerlings me and my kumpadre seeded on the portion of the creek at the back of our house.
Allow me to splurge in luxury and exaggeration in talking about my sister’s flower plants in her small front yard in Legaspi city. She has appointed enough elbow room and growth space- actually all of the space thereabout- for her source of surprise and delight. She spend good times meticulously […]
I still have my mother and I owe her a lot, and the sacrifices that she made for us her children will always be one of our greatest treasures. I salute all our wonderful mothers, then. May God shower our mothers with abundant blessings today and always!
I strongly believe one of the most beloved pope in the world is Pope John Paul II. He visited the Philippines twice. The first historic and memorable visit to the city of Legaspi was on February 21, 1981. He made a return trip to the country during the World Youth Day Celebration in January 12-16, 1995 in Manila.
Visiting the seaside village of Sibobo brings back some memories of the distant past on this writer. But while our main purpose was only to revisit and take some photos of the place, there was one unintended surprise waiting for us. It was also an unannouced visit to one good and grandlady of the barangay.
It seems there is no stopping the lottery numbers game in the country any time soon. For while the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) sealed the fate of small town lottery in the country, it is also introducing the PCSO Loterya ng Bayan (PLB). The game starts May.
Easter Sunday marked the culmination of the eight-day observance of the holy week and the passion of Christ in most Christian and Catholic communities in the country. This morning, before the first streak of sunlight came out from the dark and still sky, the traditional processions of Santos depart from the church ground of La Porteria, as in most of the local parishes of Calabanga.
Today, April 22nd is Earth Day. The international advocacy group Earth Day Network has chosen the theme “A Billion Acts of Green,” a people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before Rio +20. And the local scene is alive with enthusiasm and effort at protecting the environment.
The religious and pious residents and tourists/visitors of Calabanga town move on to observe the Semana Santa now in midweek. This Wednesday will witness a spectacular yet solemn procession of the Santos and devotees. The procession starts when the afternoon mass dismisses attendees toward the parochial grounds. From there the […]
On Monday, we revive The Bicol House Journal on the online pages of Cbanga360. It will follow the same attitude and aspiration in publishing literary content as before. Looking back we republish here the idealism and objective of the BHJ: The Bicol House Journal is a modest attempt at publishing […]
Semana santa is a tradition deeply rooted in the heart of every Calabangueño. The holy event is ever so old and yet always new. The Calabangueño reflects in solitude, in sanctity and in seclusion. Deep in his heart finds joy and anticipation of the filial, friendly and Godly devotion renewed and refreshed by the holy week celebration. Thus, it tugs him to go on a yearly exodus he just wouldn’t want to miss.
It is disturbing how many graduates from the numerous schools of the country will get job placement afterwards. It will always remain a question forever. For the multitude of graduates, like in clinical nursing, may end up in call centers and the worst scenario- as sales clerks in mall stores, for there are not too many hospitals can absorb the abundant supply of manpower.
To a newcomer and the uninitiated the new parish of St. Peregrine of Laziosi has a humbling effect. The building of course represents the glimmer of a dream rather than a concrete reality. It is because the current building was constructed of lumber (some coconut lumber) and bamboo with nipa roofing.
The Social Weather Station survey from March 4 to 7, from sample respondents of 1,200, revealed that 20.5 percent of respondents or about 4.1 million families say they went hungry at least once in the past three months.
The prevailing Philippine mining laws grant the Department of Environment and Natural Resources the sole authority to approve large-scale mining. Neither the provincial or local governments enjoy the same authority. At last, the powers that be in the government showed the true color of their skins.
The giving of nickname is popular among Bicolano families. Or I would rather say a part of our culture. I grew up in a family where calling someone the real name is a “crime” for a seemingly unsound connotation.
Francia Falcon Apelo, one of the pillars of the local educational community will be surely missed soon enough. She last handled the post of school counsellor at the Calabanga Polytechnic college (now the Central Bicol State University of Agriculture). Previous to that, she was well remembered at the Calabanga Central Division Pilot School for the several subjects she ably handled.
Riding a motor bike on a rainy afternoon is a no-no recommendation when the destination is that portion of the national road that traverses the area about barangay Sibobo. Quite a coincidence we were right in the vicinity of the gravel-and-sand mining operation on the mountainous part bordering the area.
No Filipino goes out of the country with a death wish. When the 122 others on death row and more than 7,000 in jails abroad left, they were full of hopes and dreams to provide a better future for their families. Fifteen million overseas Filipino workers left the country to seek greener pastures abroad in the absence of jobs, livelihood and decent living conditions in the country.
A torture video was uploaded in a popular video-sharing site showing some Philippine military men beating young and new trainees. The torture video was, accordingly, submitted by the beaten soldiers, to express their dismay over the extremely cruel exercises of the Philippine Military.
There was fun- swimming on the beach, sailing by motorized banca, a picnic under the canopy of coconut trees, and visiting former acquaintances. The group also had a good share of fresh buko (tipong) meat and juice on the sprawl of coco plantations.
In 2004 a Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study was commissioned on the probable scenarios of earthquake impact in Metro Manila. It disclosed that a big inland earthquake of 7.2 magnitude could happen in the area as an offshoot of the movement of the West Valley Fault.
On the day this writer visited the parish of St. Peregrine of Laziosi in barangay Sto. Domingo of Calabanga, a drizzle was on its way. Anyhow, we were able to take the needed frames for our purpose. Our first stop was the construction and project site of the bell tower structure cum “tontonan” combined.
The parish of St. Peregrine of Laziosi is currently building its “Tontonan” or that structure we are always familiar with used during the Catholic church’s Easter Sunday ceremony of “Salubungan” or “Domingo sabat.” The parish is located in barangay Sto. Domingo, municipality of Calabanga.
The open-walled Octagon building of Calabanga is a constant venue of people on the move. Poor and deprived residents of the town’s different barangays pour in mass on a scheduled day, converge, queue on long hours, and associate with the assigned personnel of the LGU/DSWD for paperworks. They are prospective beneficiaries of the national government’s conditional cash grants program.
The calm, salty sea of San Miguel bay kiss the breakwaters of Sabang, Sibobo and other shoreline villages of Calabanga in a clockwork manner. So much unlike as those that brought a devastating tsunami caused by an earthquake that hit the Japanese prefecture of Fukushima and surrounding areas last Friday.
Students enrolled at the Associate in Computer Technology (ACT) course of Central Bicol State University of Agriculture here in Calabanga are engaged in an immersion project in the community and residents of barangay Belen.
In one of our trip to Legaspi city this week, we chanced upon a government building where sacks full of rotten NFA rice were filed up near its entrance. Of course, it’s of no use holding up to those physical vestiges of ineptness and error of a government agency for such a long time. Go ahead, dump the rotten grains which anyway are not consumable anymore.
The revised PH methodology pegs the official poverty threshold, or the amount supposedly necessary for a tolerable standard of living, at just PhP46 per person per day in 2009. This is lower than what would have been a national poverty line of PhP52 according to the old methodology, and effectively reduces the number of poor by 5.32 million without really improving the poverty situation.
You only have to set foot on Calabanga’s heart (the ever commotion-packed Parada) in order to know its language. “Oatat ka man magmarat nin iwos?” a Calabangueño would ask you if you are a stranger. Several dialects would come rushing into your mind but not a single word from the sentence just uttered would equal that which you think you know.
A walk by the breakwaters of Sabang on a Saturday morning is an exercise of inhaling almost seafresh air. What caught the attention of this passerby was the rickety-raggedy nipa structure with kids playing cards. I offered to take a photo of the group as one boy retreated to a corner, and back of the camera.
After nine years of neglect under former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, expectations among overseas Filipino workers were high when the Aquino administration was installed.
It was one of those summer and Holy week scheduled vacations when we packed our bags for a short respite from the pressures of office work and daily commute from Antipolo to Makati. Days we looked up to as the only opportune time we connect with relatives in the province.
Many Pinoys feel a sense of pride upon learning that the Philippines has been acknowledged the text messaging capital of the world in the past years. It is of no wonder since in one household, almost all members of the family that can read and write, therefore can text, have a cellphone for the purpose. But wait, there could be a looming change on this.
For income year of 2007, the local government unit of Libon eclipsed the always front runner first class Albay town of Daraga which slid one notch lower. Libon earned over P113M against Daraga’s P109.8M. Polangui followed in far third with P84M. Coming close was Bacacay with P83.6M annual income.
The unabated rain experienced in major parts of the Bicol region has caused danger to lives and property of Bicolanos. In Camarines Sur, the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council issued an advisory prompting its municipal counterparts to take appropriate actions in their respective areas.
A documentary feature presentation about “Amang Hinulid” of Calabanga, Cam Sur, Philippines. Presented by Cbanga360 Production in two parts.
To her native sons and daughters, Calabanga is a beautiful town even if it seems slow in making progress. Many of its sons and daughters have left her to find their fortunes elsewhere or their particular place in the sun, but it is not a final breakaway.
The town of Siruma boasts of white sand beaches almost equal to that of Caramoan’s. But wait, the beaches of Siruma languishes for attention and development. Camarines Sur has invested, time and resources for Caramoan’s development and Siruma is waiting.
All the merriment and festivities that came with the happiest season of all is winding now, but not until the three mens’ visit to the infant Jesus is consumated. The event is closely associated to the Epiphany.
After seventeen months into our non-regular, sometimes semi-hibernation style in blogging about Calabanga and many things Bicol, we come up with this summary update: Covered over 210 individual and combined postings, with the 100th entry going online on August 2010.
Discipline and restraint should be the keywords for tonight’s celebration and merriment of the 2011 new year welcome parties. But while majority can not be prevailed, the DOH and the national police have banned the use of some firecrackers such as super lolo, bawang, goodbye Philippines, lolo thunder and others deemed dangerous, life threatening or more, including watusi and piccolo.
Albay Governor Joey Salceda has ordered the reactivation of evacuation plans for landslide and flood prone areas and residents in six towns following the continuous and heavy rains almost all throughout the Bicol region, and most heavily Albay for the past six days.
Despite the supposed high salaries of Filipino call center agents, they could only out-earn their American counterparts by 2037, based on a Watson-Wyatt study released last year and published by the CCAP magazine “Connect”. At that time, the salary rate hikes for the “low-cost but qualified labor” of Filipinos were rising at 9-percent on average versus 3-percent in the US.
The news that the Philippines has overtaken India in the number of new hires in the call center industry has prompted a labor education NGO recently to warn industry stakeholders and the government against risking its workers’ welfare for the sake of such boom, or the projected boom up to 2016.
The past weeks, Albay inmates had been busy doing “assembly” of the always popular, but traditional Bicol parol (Christmas lanterns) made of bamboo and adorned/wrapped with Japanese paper in various colors, shades, cut and design. The end product are hundreds of cute, small and big, five-pronged-star of a Christmas decor.
During a portion of the war years the governor of Camarines Sur was Mariano Villafuerte. Together with wife, Soledad, eldest son Manuel, Japanese military officer named Kwasima, Villafuerte took a motorboat from Sabang, Calabanga and landed at the barrio of Vito in Siruma. The fleeing governor was looking for an influential leader named Pedro P to seek aid and become his intermediary, but who left with his own family much earlier before their arrival.
This year’s yuletide also brings peace, serenity and confidence in the far flung and hinterland areas of the Bicol region with the unilateral declaration of the PH government of a holiday ceasefire with the Communist Party of the Philippines from December 16, 2010 to January 3, 2011.
For the fiscal year of 2007, the LGU of Libmanan was the first and only that surpassed the P100M earnings among the 35 municipalities, while capital town Pili had P87M. Rinconada’s Nabua made P73.2M and the third district town of Calabanga earned P72.6M.
Salceda to junk LP bets because of unfinished Bicol International Airport, which may tip the balance of LP’s winning or losing in his province even as Roxas said he is not afraid to lose Albay. On Thursday, Salceda said his province may junk the administration ticket after the failure of […]
QUEZON CITY, 16 November (PIA) – Safety of Pope Francis’ visit in the hands of PNP. The forthcoming visit to the country of Pope Francis next year will receive the “whole of government approach” security from the Philippine National Police. This early, the PNP is making early preparations to ensure […]
The banca operator is so experienced he managed to device a system of not going straight ahead after departing from Balongay but instead maneuvers a sharp curved route to curtail the push and shove of the current. Imagine being in a crib on a rocking motion. Just looking at the transport boat, do not expect amenities of comfort for the seat will be a piece of bamboo pole nailed across its rim.
The presidential sister Kris Aquino went on leave on her ABS-CBN morning show to campaign for her brother’s, President Beningo S. Aquino III, anointed presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Many of her fans applauded her intention. A twist on that admiration suddenly changed course when the municipality of Dalaguete (Cebu) posted […]
The fiscal administration under President Rodrigo Duterte is boasting of its makeover of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program with the adoption of a “new” approach to fast-track the implementation of two road projects in Luzon. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said that under the hybrid PPP formula, the government selects, […]
The Race to Malacanang opens, campaign season begins. Happening now are the opening salvo of all five presidential, vice presidential and senatorial teams and candidates for the May 9, 2016 elections. Five separate proclamation rallies are being held on strategic places around the country, also based on political preference and […]
What can the alliance of dream, determination, cooperation, faith, hope, charity, hard work, perseverance, community organization and vision accomplish and build?
A parish church and pious Catholic community in the sub-hilly part of Calabanga’s village in Paolbo.
I’m working on my vegetable pots today.. Just to make a quick recall I filled four pots with potting soil mixed shown on our previous video here. I set aside those pots for few days and waited and made sure if the mix will really retain moisture content. With the […]
Zika virus is spreading “explosively” in the Americas, and could spread even further afield amid an “extremely high” level of alarm, said a senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday. Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, made the statement while briefing WHO’s board members in Geneva on the Zika […]
This is why many folks, including the downtrodden and the masses belonging to the so-called ‘laylayan’ have endeared the respect and adulation for the Philippine vice-President. In yet another relevant and accurate assessment of the prevailing socio-economic condition of the country during the prevailing new normal, VP Leni Robredo minced […]
Ownership of the University of Nueva Caceres change hands. Kind of. For decades, the Hernandez family of Naga city and Libmanan town used to own and manage the first and largest university in Bicol. But not anymore as the education arm of the Ayala Corporation, the AC Education, Inc., (AEI) […]
It’s final. Malacañan okays burial of former President Marcos in Libingan Despite many who are against the move, including civil organizations, victims, relatives of victims and survivors, the move to finally intern the body of former President Ferdinand Marcos to the Libingan ng mga Bayani at Fort Bonifacio is almost […]
December 2013 Dentist Licensure Examination results The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announces that 271 out of 580 passed the November 2013 Dentist Licensure Examination (Written Phase) and 265 out of 281 passed the Dentist Licensure Examination (Practical Phase) given by the Board of Dentistry in Manila this December 2013. The […]
Last Friday, Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ ravaged a large part of the Visayas region. It was one of the strongest typhoons in this country’s history, if not the world’s. “We thank the experts from PAGASA, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Phivolcs, and DOST, who gathered together and gave us the right, detailed, […]
LEGAZPI CITY, Feb 17 — Hundreds of residents of this city hoping to catch a fleeting glimpse of rare visitors flock to the shoreline. For the third time, whale sharks, locally known as butanding, have reappeared in the waters off this city. The presence of these gentle sea giants, six […]
Fish farms in Lake Buhi suffered another fishkill, just after the heavy rains brought by Typhoon “Lando.” The heavy rains dumped resulted in the upswelling at the bottom of Lake Buhi, causing a fishkill estimated at P14.5 million worth of cultured tilapia in fish cages, according to the Bureau of […]
Two years today, after super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ ravaged mostly areas in the Eastern Visayas region, the people of Tacloban City and nearby towns will commemorate the event with a string of activities on Sunday, November 8, 2015. The city government of Tacloban urged survivors to join the Sunday commemoration of […]
French warplanes carried out over 30 airstrikes against positions of the Islamic State (IS) de facto capital of al-Raqqa in northern Syria late Sunday, a monitor group reported. The strikes targeted the city of al-Raqqa and its surroundings, amid a state of alert among IS militants in the city, according […]
Bicol farmers are facing an immediate challenge based on the seasonal climate outlook advisory by the Department of Agriculture covering the months of September this year up until January 2016. Reduced rainfall and increase in temperature might reduce crop yield, specifically in rain-fed as well as irrigated areas at the […]
It would seem that the political parties do not represent or attempt to represent all Filipinos in all sectors in the lawmaking bodies of the republic. That is why there is the “party list” mechanism that came into being during the presidency of Fidel V. Ramos. On March 3, 1995, […]
Japan is militarily fortifying island chain in East China Sea Japan is fortifying its island chain in the East China Sea under a strategy intended to keep China’s navy from dominating the Western Pacific Ocean, Japanese military and government sources said. The United States is pushing its allies in Asia, […]
According to the Press Emblem Campaign, below are the ten most dangerous countries for journalists in the world: 1 Syria – 88 2 Pakistan – 55 3 Iraq – 46 4 Mexico – 46. 5 Somalia – 42 6 Brazil – 36 7 Philippines – 34 8 Honduras – 26 […]
Follow the update on the disqualification case for the presidential run of Senator Grace Poe. Here, sharing the live stream coverage as the Supreme Court of the Philippines (SCOTP) on Tuesday begin the oral arguments on the disqualification case against Sen. Grace Poe. The Poe-Llamanzares Vs. Comelec Oral Arguments G.R. […]
Election hotspot Masbate province has all the eyes and ears of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the region. After sending 700 policemen last week to the province under the regional task force, a second batch of 100 officers will beef up police presence […]