help CDO: a plea for prayer, relief goods and financial donations

Cagayan de Oro (CDO), a highly urbanized city in Southern Philippines was hit by Tropical Storm Sendong (International Code Name: Washi) in the dead of the night last Saturday, December 17. Houses along low-lying areas have been washed away by the swelling Cagayan de Oro river and hundreds were killed in an instant. Up to this writing, there are many families who are still searching for their loved ones amidst the rubble and the thick mud, a sight that greeted them after the raging floodwaters have subsided in the morning.

Although our small house is located at an elevated portion in the city, I always answer those who are asking how my family is doing at this point, that they are fine but we also share the sorrows of our friends, colleagues, churchmates and classmates who have lost houses and loved ones over the weekend.

iligan city's halang-halang

I finally have dined at the famous halang-halang food stalls at a wet market in Iligan City. This comes as a surprise because although I spent my college years in Iligan, I was only able to visit this part of the city one Saturday evening last August. It was also raining that time so I thought that a hot bowl of spicy soup, or the halang-halang would be the perfect comfort food for the cold evening.

There are actually many stalls that serve the halang-halang but I chose the one which had yellow tables. This was suggested by an old college acquaintance whom I met at the bus station earlier. It was also located farthest from the road and already overlooked the Iligan bay. Like all the other stalls, it has an open air kitchen, a basic dining area and a rugged ambience. This is indeed a culinary adventure for the budget-conscious who would like to pay more for the food rather than the place.

the tambangongo of baroy, lanao del norte

This is the tambangongo, a kind of sea catfish that my college roommate told me about many years ago. He hails from Baroy, a laidback coastal municipality that overlooks Panguil Bay in the province of Lanao del Norte in Southern Philippines. He said that there is a celebratory atmosphere when their local fishermen would catch this weird-looking fish because it is quite rare to find one. From the looks of it, the frowning mouth or the staring eyes of the fish suggest that it doesn't want to be caught at all in the first place.

Aside from that, the tambangongo's taste, my roommate added, would put even the lechon (roasted pig) to shame. The fish is usually grilled or made into a humba dish. He claims that it is the best dish he has tasted and that at Baroy, the fish is usually wiped off first more than any other dish especially during festive occasions. But I would never know if he was exaggerating or not, since I never tasted one before. When I visited his hometown to attend a wedding, unfortunately, there was no tambangongo that was served during the reception.

rizal shrine (calamba, laguna)

Jose Rizal Mercado was born on June 19, 1861 at Calamba in the province of Laguna. He was the second son and the seventh of 11 children of Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso. He spent his childhood in this two-storey house, located at the heart of the Calamba town center.

The original house, howevever, was destroyed during World War II. It was then reconstructed by virtue of Executive Order No. 145 of President Elpidio Quirino and was said to be funded mainly through the donations of schoolchildren. The reconstruction efforts were spearheaded by Architect Juan F. Nakpil. He researched, designed the ancestral house of Rizal to be a truthful copy to the original. It was then inaugurated on June 19, 1950.

calamba church

Jose Rizal Mercado was baptized at the San Juan Bautista Church at Calamba in Laguna, on June 22 1861, roughly 3 days after his birth. The parish priest presiding over the ceremony was Rev. Fr. Rufino Collantes and his godfather was Rev. Fr. Pedro Casañas.

The small church has undergone several major revisions through the years. It was rightfully declared as a National Historical Landmark last August 19, 1976.

antipolo church

The Antipolo Cathedral is located right at the otherwise crowded center of Antipolo City. It also houses the statue of the Nuestra Señora de La Paz Y Buen Viaje. This religious icon was proclaimed 'patroness of the galleons' for having been on board at least 8 times on various voyages during the heyday of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade.

It is said that when Jose Rizal was just 7 years old, he and his father, took a boat for Manila and Antipolo from Calamba to pay homage to the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage. This was to fulfill his mother's vow to the Virgin of Antipolo, after she survived the difficult delivery of Rizal.

tangub city's hoyohoy zipline: the longest in the philippines

Tangub's very own Hoyohoy Highland Stone Chapel Adventure Park places the otherwise sleepy city in the province of Misamis Occidental, in the growing list of Philippine adventure destinations. This beautiful park, situated 850 MASL (meters above sea level) currently operates the longest zipline ride in the country as of this writing.

It currently has two operational rides: Line 1 is a whooping 1.5 kms and 500 meters deep while Line 2 is 1.2 kms and 400 meters deep. The more than kilometer-long ziplines essentially covers two different mountain barangays in (Hoyohoy) Tangub and (Guimad) Ozamiz. In between these two mountain ridges runs the Labo River, the source of which could be traced somewhere in the deep jungles of the Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park.

doble kara: rizal in art and monuments

This year’s History Comes Alive series capped off with the Doble Kara: Rizal in Art and Monuments lecture at the Ayala Museum in Makati last December 3, 2011. It was a well attended event despite the fact that there was also a historic football match between the Philippine Azkals and the L.A. Galaxy held elsewhere. The encouraging crowd turnout only proves that Dr. Ambeth Ocampo, a well-respected historian and widely read columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, has also a strong fanbase just like David Beckham or the Younghusbands.

The topic is also a fitting conclusion to the many activities commemorating the sesquicentennial year of Jose Rizal’s birth. Amidst the numerous researches, write-ups and even movies about Rizal, you’d be surprise to know that there is still so much to learn about him and that he may have been misrepresented in more ways than one. Ambeth’s lecture last weekend underscored the latter, along with the interesting history behind the Luneta Park and other familiar Rizal monuments.

naawan's different Christmas archway

It is often said the Philippines observes the longest Christmas celebration in the world. The country’s holiday season would unofficial start as early as September and in some provinces, would end on the third Sunday of January. During these months, lavish decorations are installed outside houses, along bridges and at shopping malls. Despite the uncertain economy, there is simply no stopping the Filipino from celebrating this joyous occasion in its pure or excessive form.

Among the many Christmas decorations I’ve seen so far, an iconic archway in Naawan, a small municipality in Northern Mindanao, stands out. It depicted a mosque and a Christian church as pillars on opposite sides of the road, while two hands reaching to one another served as an archway. It was so striking to me that I requested my parents that we stop by the archway to take a good photo of it one December evening in 2006.