Amazing Sablayan

January 24, 2012, 4:47pm

Apo Reef aerial shot

MANILA, Philippines — The resort town of Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro unveils its fun side as it celebrates its 110th founding day and Dugoy Festival this month of January.

 Situated on the western coast of the biodiversity-rich Mindoro island, the town takes pride in Apo Reef Natural Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site and the second largest contiguous atoll-like reef coral reef in the world.

 A center for marine biodiversity, Apo Reef has a high diversity of corals and marine life, and has an island covered with terrestrial vegetation.

According to Sablayan Mayor Eduardo Gadiano, the fun has already begun with various sporting tournaments, socio-civic activities, entertainment and cultural events.

He said that the celebration will highlight the town’s amazing ecotourism hideaways which can rival even the more established destinations.

 A few minutes away from the town is Pandan Island, a palm-lined white beach island and unspoilt forest. One can explore the island’s forest and gaze at the colorful species of birds before splashing in the waters of “Wild Lagoon”.

Outdoor lovers can trek Mindoro Pines, dubbed as Mindoro’s “Little Baguio” which sits atop the Pag-asa Mountains, the habitat of Mindoro endemic pine tree specie, pinus mercussi. Located at the heart of Mangyan ancestral lands, immersion with the ethnic communities is a unique cultural experience.

 There’s also Mts. Iglit-Baco National Park, which is also an ASEAN Heritage Park with multi-strata evergreen forests and habitat of the biggest remaining population of tamaraw, the country’s national animal. It has an aggregate area of 106,600 hectares, with more than half of it lying within Sablayan.

 Conservationists can lose themselves at Siburan Forest, which boasts of 5,000 hectares of primary forest, the largest tract of its kind in Mindoro. It is sanctuary to 31 kinds of birds, among them the endemic Mindoro imperial pigeon, Mindoro tarictic hornbill, Mindoro bleeding heart, scops-owl and the black-hooded coucal, more than eight mammal species mammals, like pygmy fruit bat and warty pig and some 80 tropical plants and hardwood species.

Near the base of the forest is Libuao Lake, where one can bask fishing, bird watching, picnicking and boating in one of the country’s cleanest inland bodies of water.

Another nature escape is the 20-foot Malatongtong Falls whose scenic verdant forest backdrop rushes into a natural crystal clear pool towards smaller cascades flowing into the river.

 Back in the heart of the town are the Parola Park and the 16th-century old Spanish church which attest to Sablayan’s historicity, as well as a Golden Gate-inspired hanging bridge. The public plaza, also known as Presing Park, is punctuated by a watchtower and a circa 1860 cannon built against Muslim raiders and intruders from the sea.

 For a taste of local heritage, take a peek at Sablayan Museum, the only one of its kind in the province, which showcases the town’s character. A unique feature is the “nature” section which simulates the town’s forest and underwater world.

 Gadiano said festivities conclude with the Dugoy Festival on Jan. 27 to mark the town’s founding day in 1902 under the American Civil Government. The event’s highlight is a street presentation which pays tribute to the Mangyan tribes of the town, the indigenous inhabitants of Mindoro.

 He noted that even after celebrations had died down, the fun goes on for the rest of the year with its natural wonders. Log on to www.sablayan.net on how to enjoy the fun in amazing Sablayan.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs.

Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with its own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. (053)555-8464/09164422611/  09173373687

Before Costa Concordia, a tragedy portrayed the Filipino as humane seafarer

By Benjamin Pimentel
INQUIRER

 8share147 127

SAN FRANCISCO—Media coverage of the Costa Concordia tragedy has been focused mainly on the clueless captain accused of having a romantic dinner as his ship was sinking and then abandoning his crew and passengers to save himself.

Fortunately, however, the spotlight has also turned to the doomed ship’s Filipino crew members.

When calamity struck in the middle of the night, the Filipinos were disciplined and calm. Most important of all, they thought of the welfare of the most defenseless people caught in the disaster—the passengers, especially  children.

“It felt like the Titanic as we were rescuing the passengers,” ship steward Eugen Pusyo told the Manila Bulletin. “We just threw some of children into lifeboats just so they would be saved.”

A French passenger quoted in media reports recalled how the people who helped them “were cooks and stewardesses, all Filipinos. They roped themselves together to help us get down to the lifeboats.”

Who wouldn’t be moved by these accounts of bravery and selflessness?

It reminded me of another maritime tragedy in which the portrait of the Filipino as courageous, humane seafarers also came into sharp focus.

The so-called Maersk Dubai incident was recalled in a stirring January 1997 article in the New Yorker by Scott Malcomson.

In 1996, a group of Filipino merchant seamen on the Maersk Dubai, a Taiwanese cargo ship, found themselves in a bind.

When one of them, Rodolfo Miguel, discovered two Romanian stowaways in the ship which was headed for Port of Halifax in Canada, he did his duty: he reported the incident to his Taiwanese superiors.

To the shock of the Filipino seamen, the officers put the Romanians in an improvised raft and threw them out of the ship to certain death. Miguel and his fellow Filipinos were stunned.

Then came an unexpected twist in an already horrifying situation.

While Miguel was walking on the deck of the ship one day, another Romanian, Nicolae Pasca, suddenly approached him. Looking weak from days of hiding without food, Pasca wanted to surrender to the Filipino. In the Romanian’s hand was a Bible.

Knowing that Pasca was in danger, Miguel quickly guided the Romanian to a new hiding place.

Though they could not understand one another, Miguel struggled to tell the Romanian that he should consider the Filipinos his allies, the New Yorker piece related. “Filipino, no problema.”

He then pointed to a verse in the Bible the Romanian had with him. The verse was Psalm 91 part of which goes: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

“Read this every time when you sleep,” Miguel told the Romanian, according to the New Yorker account.

Miguel then secretly rallied his fellow Filipinos.

They were not able to protect the two other Romanian stowaways, and many of them had struggled with guilt and helplessness because of what happened.

But now they were going to do everything they could to protect another Romanian stowaway.

It could mean losing their jobs, and maybe even their lives — but it was the right thing to do. They were not going to let another human being die!

They came up with a code for the Romanian, according to the New Yorker account. They called him “ibon”  — bird. And they would ask whoever was assigned to bring food to their secret friend, “O pinakain mo na ba ‘yong ibon?” (Have you fed the bird)?

When the ship finally reached Halifax, the Filipinos jumped ship and reported the incident to authorities. The Romanian survived. The ship’s Taiwanese officers were arrested. (They were later extradited to Taiwan, according to Wikipedia.)

During a hearing in Canada, according to the New Yorker, Miguel struggled in broken English to declare in the courtroom, “I’m not here to lie. I’m here to stand and to stop the things that happened.”

But he and the other Filipinos struggled with the consequences of saving the Romanian’s life. According to the New Yorker, their families reported receiving threatening anonymous phone calls warning that the stranded Filipino seamen should not testify in the case.

Miguel’s wife reported to the police that two men tried to abduct her, the New Yorker said. Miguel himself told Malcomson how, as he remembered the families of the Romanians and their own families, he felt that “we are in a trap, between the families of the living and the families of the dead.”

It’s a tragic, yet inspiring, story of courage and human decency — one that should be remembered as we honor yet another group of professional, honorable and humane seafarers from the Philippines.

BI promotes indefinite stay to foreign investors employing Filipinos

By Jerome Aning
Philippine Daily Inquirer

 2share46 38

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Immigration has called on foreigners with businesses here to employ Filipino workers so they could avail of a visa that would enable them to stay indefinitely in the country.

Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. issued the appeal after the bureau resumed implementation of the special visa for employment generation (SVEG), which would grant indefinite stay privilege to foreigners with investments in business enterprises employing at least 10 Filipinos each.

Holders of the SVEG, also known as the job generation visa, also enjoy multiple entry privileges, thus they can enter and leave the country as they wish without the need to secure reentry or exit permits.

David said that the BI has been encouraging foreign businessmen to avail of the visa as it would generate employment opportunities for Filipinos.

The BI announced the resumption of the scheme two weeks ago when it released the revised implementing rules and regulations for the SVEG that were approved by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

The SVEG was first introduced in 2009 pursuant to Executive Order No. 758 but the bureau suspended the program last July pending revision of its rules to make it more responsive and relevant to the purpose of the law.

The visa is still subject to restrictions imposed by the Constitution and existing laws on foreign investments.

Lawyer Cris Villalobos, head of the BI-SVEG one-stop facility, said the new rules provided for the outright issuance of an indefinite visa to a qualified foreign applicant, instead of the initial probationary one-year visa provided in the old rules.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) shall certify that the visa applicant employs at least 10 Filipinos whose employment contracts shall also be submitted, according to Villalobos.

Under the new rules, household service workers are no longer to be counted in the 10 employees a foreigner has to hire in order to avail of an SVEG.

Instead of the office of the BI chief, a hearing officer will now process and act on the application within 15 days. The period to file an appeal of rejected application to the commissioner’s office was also shortened from 45 days to 15 days.

The BI also scrapped the old rule providing for the grant of a one-year probationary SVEG while the employer complies with the requirements.

The failure to comply with the requirement of hiring at least 10 Filipino workers remains a ground for the revocation of the SVEG. Under the old rule, the holder is given a year to comply with this requirement; the new rule shortened the period to just 30 days.

The new rules also lengthened the time for the annual reporting of SVEG holders from one month to two months.

The commissioner was also authorized to conduct periodic inspections to ensure compliance, to promulgate additional rules, and to create an oversight committee to monitor implementation of the rules.

The SVEG was introduced by the BI pursuant to Executive Order No. 758, in 2008, issued by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to attract more foreign investors and to create more job opportunities for Filipinos.

The SVEG holder is given multiple entry privileges and conditional extended stay, without need of prior departure from the Philippines. The same privileges can also be extended to the holder’s legal spouse and unmarried children below the age of 18.

SVEG applications may be filed at the BI main office or any of its field offices in the country. A P10,000 application fee, P1,000 BI clearance fee, P20 legal research fee, and P1,000 express lane fee shall be charged to each applicant.