Donsol’s Butanding Festival reels off May 18

Friday 20th of April 2012

DONSOL, Sorsogon, April 20 (PIA) — All roads lead to this far-flung coastal municipality as townsfolk celebrate the yearly Butanding Festival and the feast of their patron, St. Joseph the Worker, on May 18.

According to town Mayor Jerome Alcantara, the celebration will be both solemn and ultimately festive this time because they will put together the yearly town fiesta in honor of Sorsogon’s patron saint and the Butanding Festival to welcome the reappearance of the whale sharks, which usually come in droves during this time of the year.

The festival used to be held in April but local officials decided to move it to May 18 in time with the town’s fiesta celebration, so that it would be more fun in Donsol during the day, the mayor added.

The town fiesta marks the homecoming of Donsolanos who are now living elsewhere of the country and abroad to take part in the traditional revelries while the festival officially signals the opening of another high adventure season of underwater interactions between humans and the enormous but gentle sea mammal.

“Dual celebrations in a day,” the mayor said. “During the town fiesta, we cater not only to our returning town mates but also to thousands of visitors from nearby places who have been accustomed of celebrating with us.”

“In the butanding season, we play host to another thousands of tourists coming in for whale shark interactions,” Alcantara said.

With two festivities rolled into one, the merrymaking will be certainly fabulous, he added.

There will be holy masses to be capped by mass baptismal of babies at the town’s century-old church in the morning, followed by the traditional food offerings in every house until nighttime and holy procession in the evening, apart from other church activities in honor of the patron saint.

Also part of the fiesta activity is a civic-military parade.

It will be followed by the parade of whale shark replicas to be presented by street dancers in colorful native attires in honor of the butandings in the afternoon.

Another highlight of the festivities is the fluvial procession at the mouth of the long and winding Donsol River where a large pod of butandings usually converge at his time of the year.

It will be participated in by an armada of outrigger boats decorated with whale shark replicas and festive colorful buntings.

In the evening after the holy procession, ballroom and disco dancing will be held at the sprawling town plaza.

Tourists will be offered tours along the Donsol River for firefly watching, which serves as another spectacular attraction.

There will be games and stalls put up at the town plaza all night long while music continually plays until the wee hours of the next morning. People would be in the streets talking with each other and having fun.

“Butanding Festival is the way how we give thanks to the Lord of giving us the gentle butanding. It may not be as glamorous compared to other festivities in the Philippines, but we consider it the most important part of the year as it is the best way we express our thoughts as people and nature-lovers,” Alcantara said.

The presence of whale sharks in the coastal waters here was known to the local residents for over 100 years. But they believed these gentle giants were dangerous.

This wrong notion changed when in January 1998, a group of scuba divers discovered its presence and interacted with the whale sharks.

Even the members of the diving group were having second thoughts if the giant creature was docile, they came in contact with it and found out it is indeed harmless.

The municipality then was categorized only as fourth class for being very poor and known only a part of the geography and national statistics.

Copy of video footage taken by the diving group was passed on to the media, the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF)-Philippines, and the Discovery Channel.

It became a word of mouth passed on to every tourist exploring the Philippines and by March of that same year, the municipality started to become a world-class tourist destination. It is now known as the “Whale Shark Capital of the World”.

Now, this town is officially listed as first class earning an annual revenue of nearly P100 million mostly from its tourism industry that plays host to an average of over 60,000 foreign and local tourist yearly.

These gentle giants arrive from as early as November but the official season starts from February and runs until the end of May, when the local waters is at its clearest and calmest.

Local tourism officials and professional divers have established guidelines on proper whale shark watching intended to maintain safety and to defend the creatures from over exploitation.

“As long as we protect the habitat of these sea creatures and avoid antagonizing them, they will continue to be here.” Alcantara said.

“WWF findings say that whale sharks that are migratory in nature do not actually leave Donsol and they stay here all year-round. They just go deeper into the sea during some months of the year,” the mayor added. (MAL/DCA, Legazpi City)

Original article.

Bicol Army Commander Sacked

ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 05/01/2012 8:48 PM | Updated as of 05/02/2012 6:46 AM

MANILA, Philippines – An Army commander in the Bicol region has been ordered relieved of his post after communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels killed 4 soldiers and a civilian in Camarines Norte last Sunday.

Army 49th Infantry Battalion commander Lt. Col. Epimaco Macalisang is being relieved from his post for command responsibility and lapses, according to Maj. Gen. Josue Gaverza, commander of the Army’s 9th Infantry Division.

“That’s standard (operating procedure). If it’s a debacle, he should be replaced. That’s standard, that’s how the rules in the military work. If it’s a debacle, you should give way to others who can do better and recover. That’s (relief) expected,” Gaverza said.

Around 20 NPA rebels attacked 9 unarmed soldiers while the government troops were holding house-to-house dialogues in Maot village in Labo town last Sunday.

The soldiers had to retrieve their weapons at a barangay hall before they were able to fight back.

Gaverza said Macalisang has a “big command responsibility” for the death of 5 people.

“We are assessing further. If the higher unit commander has a lapse, it (relief orders) will go up,” he said.

The military Board of Inquiry (BOI) is set to investigate the incident.

The BOI is also looking into the death of 11 soldiers and a civilian in a separate attack by NPA rebels in Ifugao.

Army 5th Infantry Division spokesman Col. Miguel Puyao said no relief order has yet been issued over the Ifugao ambush.

“You cannot just relieve (officers) without the result of the BOI. The decision of the commander will depend on it. he cannot just decide without the (result of the) BOI. This also gives justice to the people (involved),” he said.

Army spokesman  Maj. Harold Cabunoc said field commanders have been reminded to beef up their security.

“With the recent atrocities, ground commanders have been reminded to strictly implement security measures to minimize and preempt unnecessary loss of lives,” he said.

“Unit commanders are also required to continuously train the soldiers on basic soldiery skills to counter the enemy’s tactics, and to require them to be security-conscious all the time,” he added.

Original article.

By: Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1:54 am | Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

Tourists follow a huge whale shark, nearly 6 meters (20 feet) long, swimming near the surface of the plankton-rich water of Donsol, Sorsogon, which has become a prime tourist spot offering visitors a swim with the whale sharks. The Department of Public Works and Highways said it plans to allot P17 billion for infrastructure projects, including road improvements to major destinations including Donsol. AFP PHOTO/SCOTT TUASON

It may take P17 billion worth of road and related projects to fully prop up the country’s tourism industry, according to a proposal from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Public Works Secretary Rogelio L. Singson said in an interview that he and Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez have talked about the road projects needed in key tourism areas all over the country.

“We are submitting P5 billion worth (of infrastructure projects) for 2012 and P12 billion for 2013 in support of the [tourism] master plan,” Singson said.

The economic development cluster of President Aquino’s Cabinet recently endorsed the tourism road map.

The Cabinet cluster is composed of the DPWH, National Economic and Development Authority, and the Departments of Tourism, Budget and Management, Science and Technology, Finance, Energy, Interior and Local Government, Agriculture, and Trade and Industry.

Singson identified some of the infrastructure projects included in the DPWH proposal.

“Road projects in Cebu and Bohol cost P1.2 billion. In Palawan, there are projects like the Coron-Busuanga and Taytay-El Nido roads which, together, cost P150 million,” he said. “Road projects in Puerto Princesa are estimated at P138 million. The roadwork in Sorsogon going to Donsol costs P150 million. There are also projects in Benguet province, Davao City, Cagayan de Oro City, Zamboanga and other areas.”

On his other role as “water czar,” Singson said he had submitted a proposal on the restructuring of functions and responsibilities of water-related agencies.

“It’s now being reviewed by the Office of the President,” he said.

Cebu, Tagbilaran and Puerto Princesa cities are among the tourism areas to be supported by infrastructure work under the government’s program alignment strategy, according to the DPWH website.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr. said that the alignment of infrastructure projects with key programs, such as the tourism road map, was meant to maximize the impact of every peso spent.

Paderanga has described tourism as a “low-hanging fruit” that can quickly generate jobs and spark business activity in the countryside.

Energy Secretary Rene D. Almendras also noted that roads, airports and other infrastructure must be prepared to ensure the comfort of tourists even before the Philippines goes all-out with its tourism promotions.

Otherwise, Almendras said, “it will not be fun in the Philippines for the tourists.”

The Philippine economy must expand, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), by a yearly average of 7 to 8 percent from 2010 to 2016 in order to reduce poverty incidence.

The country’s GDP only grew 3.7 percent in 2011, but is expected to recover starting 2012 due to higher public spending and more business activities brought on by infrastructure and public-private partnership projects, among others.

Original article.

Here’s another one for Sorsogon State College!

Sorsogon State College is ranked third on the most no. of board passers for Licensure Examinations for Teachers (LET) – 60 passed out of 71 examinees!

The news article was published last April 26, 2012.

Poor folks in Sorsogon taught how to make a living from ‘hilot’

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
3:40 pm | Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

MANILA, Philippines—For a poor community in Sorsogon, the traditional “hilot” home remedy will soon become a source of livelihood.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) is introducing the old-school Filipino massage method as a career option to residents of Prieto Diaz town in Sorsogon, a community raring to venture into eco-tourism and wellness services.

Tesda partnered with the local government to train selected residents in several courses, including food and beverage services, hairdressing, cooking and the traditional Filipino tough therapy in efforts to “mainstream” hilot and develop it into a means of living.

A total of 100 students—25 in each course—started training on April 20 at Sorsogon’s Bulusan Vocational Technical School. Tesda Director General Joel Villanueva said the agency would shoulder the training cost.

“Through this partnership with the local government, we hope Tesda can breathe life into this town by tapping its human resources for the development of its wellness and eco-tourism potentials,” Villanueva said in a statement.

Tesda said that while the fifth-class town is rich in potential tourist attractions, most of some 20,000 residents in Prieto Diaz have an average P100 daily income from fishing and farming.

Through the program, Tesda and the local government aim to give Prieto Diaz residents a break at the health and wellness and food and beverage industries, where skilled workers are of high demand, said the agency.

“The people recognize the urgent need to get its acts together with national agencies and indigenous communities to develop significant market niche in beauty and wellness of body, mind and spirit, to create new jobs, alternative employment and business opportunities for its people particularly the new entrants to the labor force,” the agreement said.

Those who will graduate from the program will undergo Tesda assessment for certification.

Original article.

Trip to Sorsogon Later Tonight (crossing my fingers on the bus)

My 100-year grandmother died over the weekend, exactly 2 months after his 100th birthday. I am taking the Isarog line with lazy boy seats. I chose this so that my daughter and I can relax on a long trip, plus it is still less expensive than a last minute purchase of airplane ticket and it goes straight to Sorsogon City.

Hopefully, this is not the hell trip that Rick Alberto wrote about last Holy Week.

And based on my mom’s feedback, it is still a 15-hour trip to Sorsogon if one takes the bus.

Oslob’s tuki tour operators to visit Donsol