A Secret Garden

Source: Manila Bulletin
By BRYAN B. GARCIA

Laiya White Cove Beach Resort (photo by RUDY LIWANAG)
Sun, sand, and sea -- these are the three major must-haves for an ideal getaway. At the right moment, these three factors when combined produce some of the best times.

Out of the 7,107 islands and thousands of miles of coastline, there is one place in the little town of San Juan, Batangas, called Laiya cove, which is about five kilometers of white sand beach, calm waters, and spectacular view. From sunup to sundown, the peaceful ambiance of Laiya never fails to make its visitors long to stay nestled in its warmth forever.

Along this stretch of sandy heaven is a spot called Laiya White Cove Beach Resort, a little corner of paradise. Pulling up from the main road down to the gates and the welcoming area, it was like walking into a secret garden. With exotic vegetation covering the vast expanse of the main court yard, the feeling of isolation sets in and eases the mind right away.

The façade of White Cove exudes a contagious calmness that emanates from the vastness of the space available to guests and visitors. The resort also has a hall where its staff holds weekly Sunday masses.

Found at the Aplaya area of Laiya, which is the central part of the shoreline, the resort lies along the part of the beach ideal for swimming. With a relatively flat sea bed 400 meters off shore, anyone can enjoy the cool crystal clear waters.

After the sun sets, the resort takes on a life of its own. Magnificent lights adorn the facility, turning it into a veritable wonderland.

The place is designed to host large groups and can easily accommodate any function, from corporate events, company outings, family occasions, or a simple family getaway.

Minus the traffic, San Juan, Batangas, is accessible by road with a mere three-hour drive from Metro Manila. Laiya cove boasts of a tropical island ambiance without the hassle of sea travel, a perfect destination for beach lovers and those looking for a relaxing retreat.

For more information on Laiya White Cove Beach Resort, visit their website www.laiyawhitecove.com or call their Manila office at telephone numbers 994-7392, 871-1235, 925-2562, or 926-9348.

Intramuros’ Garden of the Brave

Source: Manila Bulletin
One of the guests who attended the dedication ceremony couldn’t stop crying. Finally, after 65 years, the bravery of his father was finally recognized and will live on through the Intramuros’ Bamboo Garden.

The Bamboo garden is part of the Intramuros Administration’s (IA) plan of developing and reviving the charms of the old Walled City. The garden is dedicated to the heroism displayed by Filipino guerillas when they valiantly fought the Japanese soldiers during World War II.

“There are so many monuments and statues in the city dedicated to the leaders of the revolution or war. But how many sites are dedicated to the common people who also showed bravery during the war? Those who have fought side by side with the popular heroes? They are part of the reason why we succeeded during those trying times,” said Bambi Harper, administrator of IA.

The Bamboo Garden has a memorial landmark with an inscription honoring the unsung WWII heroes. The commemorative garden, which is envisioned to become an inexpensive addition to the Walled City, would be built around donations of bamboo trees.

“We don’t believe that for something to be beautiful, it should be expensive or be lavishly spent upon. Of course being financially supported is always good but a support for a project is not limited to money, like for the Bamboo garden, we graciously accepted Bamboo plants as donations which will be installed and added in the garden,” added Harper.

The IA hopes that the Bamboo Garden will inspire Filipinos to bring out the hero in every one of them for the nation to move forward.

“The garden is dedicated to the heroism of the common Filipino. Their bravery during the war and of course to remind the Filipinos that the struggles in the past are testaments of what we can achieve in the future. Hopefully, we could boost the Filipino’s sense of pride,” relayed Harper.

Harper also added that “it is very possible that when our generation is gone, our children will not remember what transpired here during the war or call to mind these unsung heroes. It is for this reason that we redeem them from oblivion and repay them in a small way. That debt of gratitude that we have for these heroes is the reason why we are dedicating this Bamboo Garden in their memory and in recognition of their sacrifices.”

The old Walled City of Intramuros is filled with history and continues to draw at least 50,000 tourists a month. Within its walls, the city of Manila was built during the Spanish occupation of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1576, having conquered the Malay settlement and “ejected” its former occupants led by Raja Soliman and his uncle Raja Matanda.

Intramuros literally means “within its walls” and is a fortification enclosing the original city with wall thickness measuring up to 10 meters in most portions. The devastation to the city brought by contending American and Japanese forces during the Second World War made Intramuros a pulverized relic and through its rubble, the painstaking job of slow reconstruction inched its way decades after.

Currently Intramuros houses government institutions, schools, churches, museums, restaurants and bars. Around the city, on what used to be a moat, is a golf course developed by the Americans during the early 1900s. Some of Intramuros’ historical sites include the San Agustin Church and Museum, Fort Santiago, Rizal Shrine, the Manila Cathedral and Casa Manila.

Filipino Inventors

Karaoke Inventor
Roberto del Rosario, a Filipino is claiming the right for the invention of the Sing-Along-System (SAS) that eventually led to the development of Karaoke, a Japanese term for "singing without accompaniment". Among del Rosario's other inventions were the Trebel Voice Color Code (VCC), the piano tuner's guide, the piano keyboard stressing device, the voice color tape, and the one-man-band (OMB). The OMB was later developed as the Sing-Along-System (SAS).

Inventor of Incubator
Fe del Mundo, the first Asian to have entered the prestigious Harvard University's School of Medicine, is also credited for her studies that led to the invention of incubator and jaundice relieving device. Del Mundo, an International Pediatric Association (IPA) awardee, is an alumna of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Medicine. Since 1941, she has contributed more than 100 articles to medical journals in the U.S., Philippines and India. In 1966, she received the Elizabeth Blackwell Award, for her "outstanding service to mankind". In 1977, she was bestowed the Ramon Magsaysay Award for outstanding public service.

Water-Powered Car
For more than three decades now, Daniel Dingel has been claiming that his car can run with water as fuel. An article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer said that Dingle built his engine as early as 1969. Dingel built a car reactor that uses electricity from a 12-volt car battery to split the ordinary tap water into hydrogen and oxygen components. The hydrogen can then be used to power the car engine.

Dingel said that a number of foreign car companies have expressed interest in his invention. The officials of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) have dismissed Dingel's water-powered car as a hoax. In return, Dingel accused them of conspiring with oil producing countries. Dingel, however, was the not the only man on earth who is testing water as an alternative fuel. American inventors Rudolf Gunnerman and Stanley Meyer and the researchers of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory have been pursuing similar experiments.

Moon Buggy Inventor
Filipinos consider Eduardo San Juan as the inventor of the Lunar Rover, or more popularly known as the Moon Buggy. The Moon Buggy was the car used by Neil Armstrong and other astronauts when they first explored the moon in 1969. Eduardo San Juan, a graduate of Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT), worked for Lockheed Corporation and conceptualized the design of the Moon Buggy that the Apollo astronauts used while in the moon. As a NASA engineer, San Juan reportedly used his Filipino ingenuity to build a vehicle that would run outside the Earth's atmosphere. He constructed his model using homemade materials. In 1978, San Juan received one of the Ten Outstanding Men (TOM) awards in science and technology.

San Juan, however, was not listed as the inventor of the Moon Buggy in American scientific journals. It said the vehicle was designed and constructed by a group of space engineers. In Poland, the Moon Buggy is attributed to a Polish inventor. Worse, the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) does not recognize Flores in its roster of outstanding Filipino scientists.

Space Engineer
On June 25, 2002, the provincial government of Cavite awarded Edward Caro a plaque of recognition for his 42 years of service at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States where he helped launch the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission or the Explorer. Caro, 70 and a native of Cavite retired from NASA in 2001. In return, NASA during the same year conferred Caro the Distinguished Science medal, reportedly the highest honor it gives to its employees. (Source: Philippine Star)

Fluorescent Lamp Inventor
Many Filipinos acknowledge Agapito Flores as the inventor of the fluorescent lamp, which is the most widely used source of lighting in the world today. The fluorescent lamp reportedly got its name from Flores. Written articles about Flores said he was born in Bantayan Island in Cebu. The fluorescent lamp, however, was not invented in a particular year. It was the product of 79 years of the development of the lighting method that began with the invention of the electric light bulb by Thomas Edison.

Among the other inventors who claimed credit for developing the fluorescent lamp were French physicist A. E. Becquerel (1867), Nikola Tesla, Albert Hall (1927), Mark Winsor and Edmund Germer. French inventor Andre Claude was recognized for developing the fluorescent tubular lighting systems. Yet, he was not officially recognized as the inventor of fluorescent lamp. It was reported that the General Electric and Westinghouse obtained Claude's patent rights and developed the fluorescent lamp that we know today.

According to Filipino scientists, fluorescent lamp was not named after Flores. The term fluorescence first cropped up as early as 1852 when English mathematician-physicist George Gabriel Stokes discovered a luminous material called "fluorspar", which he coined with "escence". The National Academy of Science and Technology also dismissed Flores being the inventor of fluorescent lamp as a myth. "No scientific report, no valid statement, no rigorous documents can be used to credit Flores for the discovery of the fluorescent lamp. We have tried to correct this misconception, but the media (for one) and our textbooks (for another) keep using the Flores example," a Filipino scientist wrote in her column at the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The fluorescent lamps were introduced into the U.S. market in 1938. Still, Filipinos recognize Agapito Flores as the inventor of the product that illuminated the world.

Videophone Inventor
Gregorio Zara of Lipa City and a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology invented the videophone and developed the Zara Effect or Electrical Kinetic Resistance.

He Discovered Erythromycin
A Filipino scientist reportedly discovered erythromycin in 1949. He was Dr. Abelardo Aguilar who died in 1993 without being recognized and rewarded for his discovery. Reports said Aguilar discovered the antibiotic from the Aspergillus species of fungi in 1949 and sent samples to Indiana-based pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly Co. The drug firm allegedly registered the propriety name Iloson for the antibiotic in honor of Iloilo province where Aguilar discovered it. In 1952, Eli Lilly Co. began the commercial distribution of Iloson, which was sold as an alternative to penicillin. Erythromycin, the generic name of Iloson, was reportedly the first successful macrolide antibiotic introduced in the US.

Computer Guru
Diosdado Banatao, a native of Iguig, Cagayan and an electrical engineering graduate from Mapua Institute of Technology in Manila is credited for eight major contributions to the Information Technology. Banatao is most known for introducing the first single-chip graphical user interface accelerator that made computers work a lot faster and for helping develop the Ethernet controller chip that made Internet possible. In 1989, he pioneered the local bus concept for personal computers and in the following year developed the First Windows accelerator chip. Intel is now using the chips and technologies developed by Banatao. He now runs his own semiconductor company, Mostron and Chips & Technology, which is based in California's Silicon Valley. (Source: Filipinas Magazine)

Modular Housing Inventor
Edgardo Vazquez won a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) gold medal in 1995 for developing a modular housing system. Such a system called Vazbuilt is reportedly capable of building within weeks a house with prefabricated materials that can withstand typhoons and earthquakes. Ironically, Vasquez is not getting enough support from the Philippine government to propagate his technology, which could help provide shelter to some five million Filipino families without their own homes. Vazquez is the national president of the Filipino Inventors Society.

Inventor of Fuel Products
In 1996, Rudy Lantano Sr., a scientist from the Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST), won the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) gold medal for developing Super Bunker Formula-L, a revolutionary fuel half-composed of water. The mix burns faster and emits pollutants, 95 percent less than those released to the air by traditional fuel products. The inventor said his invention is a result of blending new ingredients and additives with ordinary oil products through agitation and mixing, which is a very safe process. The initial plan was to commercially produce two million liters of Alco-Diesel, two million liters of Lan-Gas and an unlimited quantity of Super Bunker Formula-L each day for customers in Luzon.

Natural Gas Vehicle
The Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a vehicle that runs on natural gas, whose rich deposits remain untapped under the Philippine seabed. The project's main objective is to look into the potential of natural gas as an alternative fuel to conventional petrol and diesel for the transport sector. The natural gas vehicle (NVG) has been road-tested in Isabela where an existing natural gas supply from the PNOC Gas Plant is located. Test runs have also been made in Cagayan, Ifugao and Mountain Province. The test vehicle used was the Isuzu Hi-Lander 4JA-1, direct injected diesel engine. The use of natural gas as a fuel is cheaper. On a gallon-equivalent basis, natural gas costs an average of 15 to 40 percent less than gasoline and diesel. There are over one million NVGs in the world today, according to the International Association for Natural Gas Vehicles.

Lamp Fixing Invention
A Filipino inventor has developed a technology, which could revive a busted lamp (pundido) and give it more years of functional life than those of new ones. Acclaimed by the Filipino Inventors Society as timely and revolutionary, the Nutec system can prolong the life of fluorescent lamps up to seven years. Nutec was developed by New World Technology, headed by president Eric Ngo and chosen as the "Product of the Year" at the Worldbex 2000 Building and Construction Exposition held at the Manila Hotel. Engineer Benjamin S. Santos, national president of the Inventors Society, called Nutec a timely invention.

"Tubig Talino"
The Department of Science and Technology claimed that it has developed "Tubig Talino", an iodine-rich drinking water that treats micronutrient deficiencies responsible for goiter, mental and physical retardation, and birth defects. "Tubig Talino" is actually a mixture of 20 liters of water and 15 ml of "Water Plus + I2". Consumption of five glasses a day of this iodine fortification in drinking water is expected to provide 120 micrograms of iodine, which meets 100 percent of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of a male adult.

Mole Remover
In 2000, Rolando dela Cruz developed an ingenuous formula that could easily remove deeply grown moles or warts from the skin without leaving marks or hurting the patient. His formula was extracted from cashew nut (Annacardium occidentale), which is common in the Philippines. The formula won for dela Cruz a gold medal in International Invention, Innovation, Industrial Design and Technology Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur in September 2000. In March 1997, dela Cruz established RCC Amazing Touch International Inc., which runs clinics engaged "in a non-surgical removal of warts, moles and other skin growths, giving the skin renewed energy and vitality without painful and costly surgery."

Feminine Hygiene Product Inventor
Dr. Virgilio Malang won a gold medal for his invention "Psidium Guajava Effervescing Gynecological Insert", a silver medal for his "Patient Side-Turning Hospital Bed", and three bonze medals for his inventions "external vaginal cleanser", "light refracting earpick", and "broom's way of hanging" at the Seoul International Fair in held South Korea in December 2002. There were 385 inventions from 30 countries that joined the competitions.

Who Developed Patis?
Contrary to popular belief, there was no fish sauce or Patis yet during the Spanish occupation. Patis began to become a part of most Filipinos' diet only after the Japanese occupation. Here is an account of how an enterprising lady discovered the fermentation of Patis. Immediately after the war, the family of Ruperta David or Aling Tentay started a dried fish business. One day, Aling Tentay stored in jars some salted fish that turned into fragments even before they dried. While in jars, the fish fragments turned into a liquid substance that tasted like our Patis today. Thus the beginning of the thriving Patis business of Aling Tentay, which was officially registered in 1949 and is known today as Tentay Food and Sauces Inc. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer)

A Showcase of Ingenuity
Nothing perhaps has been associated with Filipino technology as much as the country's pride - jeepney. The word "jeep" evolved from the military designation, general-purpose or G.P., of a light vehicle first used by the Americans in World War II. Developed by the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps, this vehicle was powered by a four-cylinder engine and was classified as a quarter-ton truck in carrying capacity. It had served as a command vehicle, reconnaissance car, and ammunition carrier.

The American soldiers brought these vehicles to the Philippines in the 1940s. After the war, these vehicles were left by the Americans and converted by the Filipinos into public utility vehicles. Employing artistic and indigenous designs, the Filipinos came up with a longer, well-decorated, techni-colored and sleeker vehicle, which they later called jeepney. From the standard military jeep, the body was extended to accommodate between 20 to 30 passengers. Modern jeepneys now sport very colorful and intricate paintings, fancy adornments, and metallic decors reflective of Filipino sentiments, values, and culture. The town of Las Pinas has been recognized as the jeepney-producing center in the country. Today, public utility jeepneys or PUJs serve as the primary means of transportation in most provinces. For this, the Philippines came to be known as the "land of the jeepneys".

Other Noted Scientists
Among the other noted Filipino inventors and scientists are Benjamin Almeda who was acknowledged for his food-processing machine; Teodula Afrika for nata de coco; Ramon Agpoon for dragon fire stove; Adriano Alfonso for cultured cement; Laurelio Anasco for "dormitron"; Arturo Baluyot for Philippine-made airplane; Guillermo Barredo for Maharlika water heater; Pelagio Bautista for hydrosil; Dr. George Camara for experiments on teleophthalmology; Carlos Casas, stand-alone amplifier called Voca CDX 1001 Superamp; Gonzalo Catan Jr. for green charcoal; Roberto Celis for multipurpose portable survival kit; Rolando Cruz for emergency water heater;

Ernesto Darang for shake-and-serve nurser; Armen Dator for magic street sweeper; Maria Carlita Rex Doran for ampalaya solution against HIV; Jaime Escolano for fiber-processing machine; Pepito Fajicular for multipurpose routing machine; Leonardo Gasendo for salt evaporator; Ramon Gustilo for artificial bone replacement systems; Oscar Ibarra for studies on algorithm and computing; Samuel Ignacio for early warning device for vehicles; Marc Loinaz for one-chip video camera; Jacinto Ledesma for rocking dental chair; Cipriano Lim for safety switch box; Dr. E. V. Macalalag Jr. for universalurinary stone solvent;

Antonio Madrid for charcoal furnace; Felix Maramba for coconut oil-fueled power generator; Jose Navato for digital fever detector; Maria Ylagan Orosa for developing banana catsup and pineapple vinegar; Francisco Quisumbing for Quink pen ink; Jose Rodriguez for research on leprosy; Felipe Santillan for rotary dryer; Cornelio Seno for "Pressure Fuild Machine"; Manuel Silos for siloscope; Juanito Simon for Tribotech; Camilo Tabalba for telephone electronic; Ned Teves for endotracheal tube cardiac monitor; Juan Urbano for fountain pen; Carmen Velasquez for research on Philippine fish species; and Dr. Gregorio Zara for TV-telephone.

Needing Support
The Council on Philippine Affairs (Copa) has blamed the government for driving Filipino inventors away from the country. At least four cases were cited for this, namely:

*

Ben Santos, the inventor of the "zero oil waste recycling" was subjected to interrogation by the Economic Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (EIIB) for alleged economic sabotage.
Rudy Arambulo, the inventor of multi-shock bullet, has failed to convince the national police and the military to purchase his product.
*

Johnson Fong, who has re-engineered carbonless paper, had to export his product first, re-label it and bring it back to the Philippines as an import in order to be accepted in the country.
*

Roberto del Rosario, the inventor of sing-along system, had to fight for his right over the karaoke system which most Filipinos think was a Japanese invention. The Philippines was reportedly the second largest market of karaoke, yet del Rosario did not receive his due share.

"This is our colonial mentality at work. This reflects how little faith we have in ourselves. We are indeed our own worst enemies. Others may shoot themselves in the foot. We like to chop our own heads in the most unusual way possible," a Copa official said. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Cebu emerges as RP's top tourism destination

Source: Philippine Star
CEBU, Philippines - Cebu has emerged as the number one tourism destination in the Philippines for 2009, the official year-end report of the Department of Tourism (DOT) revealed.

Cebu ‘s total tourist traffic arrival for the year hit 1.61 million, a 1.2 percent increase compared to the figure recorded in the previous year.

Korea remained the top tourist market for Cebu accounting for 29 percent of the total foreign tourists.

The report indicated that Chinese tourists to Cebu grew by a whooping 70 percent as more chartered flights were mounted between Cebu and Shanghai, as to Guangzhou.

A hefty growth in tourists from Kuwait was also recorded as students from the same markets streamed to Cebu for short-education programs.

More than the expansion in international and domestic flight frequencies to Cebu, from major tourist markets and destinations in Central Philippines, accommodations also increased as 804 new rooms opened in 2009.

Based on the report, this include the P3.18 billion Imperial Palace Water Park, Resort and Spa offering 567 rooms, the Citi Park Hotel with 105 room accommodations, the 84 rooms opened by Alpa City Suites, the establishment of Oftana Suites with 24 rooms, and another 24 rooms introduced by Gran Terra Suite.

DOT also attributed Cebu’s dynamic tourism industry in 2009, amid the global tourism slowdown, to the innovative and young entrepreneurs that bravely put their money on providing tourism-support services that prepped up existing tour package in Cebu and nearby destination.

The report mentioned the Island Banca Cruises, which helped provide spice for Cebu’s attractiveness to local and foreign tourists.

Existing heritage tour has also been enhanced to allow tourist to experience a different cultural and historical aspect of Cebu.

Cebu’s long-time partner in tourism—Bohol, also posted a 10.9 percent growth, hitting a total of 313,317 visitors.

Foreign tourists in Bohol, reflected an increase of 18 percent from previous year’s volume while domestic tourists went up by 7.9 percent.

Hong Kong and Chinese tourists to Bohol also recorded a remarkable increase of 467 percent and 99 percent respectively.

Bohol’s vibrant tourism figures for 2009 is attributed to the product diversification being undertake by the local government units (LGUs) and the private sector to stimulate greater tourist traffic and longer stay in Bohol.

Product development innovations were undertaken by the municipal government of Danao in Bohol which brought a new dimension and perspective to adventure tourism. Dubbed as Ecological, Environmental and Educational Adventure Tour (EAT) – Danao, this product which is fully funded by the municipal government offers an extreme and exhilarating challenge with its 45-meter plunge, 1.5-kilometre Suislide, caving, river tubing, rappelling, kayaking and root climbing.

Though with limited promotion capacity (initially only through word-of-mouth), foreign and domestic tourists trooped to this destination to experience a real adventure.

Following Cebu, in the top 10 top destinations in the Philippines is Camarines Sur, Metro Manila, Baguio City, Davao City, Boracay Island, Cagayan de Oro City, Zambales, Bohol, Puerto Princesa City, Camiguin, Cagayan Valley, Negros Oriental and Ilocos Norte.

Cruising the ‘Golden River’ of Basey, Samar

Source:inquirer.net
By Vicente Labro
Inquirer Visayas First Posted 09:35:00 08/20/2009


BASEY, Samar, Philippines—The Cadac-an River has played a significant role in the history of the ancient town of Basey in Samar province.

It got its name from being the biggest river in the area, with the mouth currently measuring about 500 meters.

Basey was originally located near the river’s mouth, in a place now known as the village of Binongto-an. Like other early coastal settlements, it was not spared from plunder by the Moro marauders, which resulted in the poblacion being moved a few kilometers north of Binongto-an to its present site.

Because of the Moro raids, people living in villages along the river bank had to move deeper into the uplands, some of them venturing into caves now known as the Sohoton Caves. Archaeological diggings in the 1960s uncovered graves of early people inside one of the Sohoton caverns.

During the Philippine-American War, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Filipino revolutionaries established a camp atop a cave, now called Panhulugan, at the confluence of the Cadac-an and Sohoton rivers. From their vantage point, they would throw bamboo spears and drop boulders into the river where an enemy boat was passing by.

The Americans, however, were able to eventually overrun the camp in the late 1901.

The Cadac-an River has also been a mute witness to the environmental destruction of the mountains of Basey by a commercial logging firm, which, according to the mayor, had enriched itself and left nothing to the poor municipality. Thousands of logs were floated on the river and dragged to the outside world from the 1960s until the early 1980s.

It was probably the logging operations that caused the siltation of the river and changed its color from clear to light brown. The locals, however, saw a golden hue and started calling it the Golden River.

Protected area

In 1935, in a move to preserve the natural beauty of the area between the villages of Inuntan and Mabini, the farthest upstream village, the government declared protected the 840-hectare Sohoton Bridge Natural Park, which could be reached through the Golden River.

The national park boasts of caves with magnificent stalactites, stalagmites, and other rock formations, and of a natural bridge, an arch-shaped rock that connects two ridges over the river below.

Hundreds of tourists visit Basey every year, lured by the beauty of the park, particularly the spectacular Sohoton Caves.

The number has kept growing through the years such that the Sohoton Caves would eventually become the most frequently visited place in Eastern Visayas, according to the Department of Tourism regional office.

The growth in tourism prompted the DoT to train locals to become professional service providers to visitors.

Skills training that included cave guiding, kayaking, and food preparation were conducted last year, participated in by members of people’s organizations, such as the Sohoton Services Association (SSA), Basey Tourism Association (Batosan), and the Rawis Community-Based Resource Management. Each group has about 30 members.

The idea was to create a pool of service personnel for tourists and provide more income to the community.

While in the past, tourists had to take a one-hour tedious motorboat trip to reach the national park, today they travel in style and take a leisure ride by boat—an open pavilion on top of two outriggers—that serves food, provides entertainment, and allow them to see the landscape.

The river cruise is run by the municipal tourism office, in coordination with people’s organizations whose members were trained to become professional guides under the DOT’s Ecotourism Product Development Livelihood Project, with the support of Basey Mayor Wilfredo Estorninos.

The cost

For the cruise, municipal tourism officer Evangeline Ritaga said a P600-fee is collected per person for a group of at least 20 for the trip to the caves, inclusive of food and guided tour inside.

Ritaga said the number of local and foreign tourists who took the river cruise from May 18 to July 17 alone had reached 215. “This did not include the passengers on the maiden voyage of the river boat during its soft opening on May 11, which numbered 67,” she said.

Tourists not going to the caves can also take the cruise at P400 per person for a group of similar size. The package still includes a meal, but the passengers had to disembark at Sitio Rawis, from where they could go either to the Balintak Falls Nature Park or to the Rawis Cave near the wharf. Separate charges are collected for either destination.

People who want to paddle their way to the Sohoton Caves from the village of Inuntan can rent kayaks. The package includes a guide and free use of life jackets.

On August 9, no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visited the area, took an adventure cruise, and explored the magnificent Sohoton Caves.

In 2006, she declared the Central Philippines as the premier tourist destination in the country under her super regions program. It comprises of Palawan, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Bicol, Romblon, Siargao, and Dapitan/Dipolog.

Central Philippines boasts of unique natural wonders, white beaches, vast forest reserves, and diverse ecosystems, among others.

Ritaga revealed that her office is providing free guide services to tourists who want to go to other places in Basey, especially in the town proper where visitors could see mat weavers working in houses or go to the century-old stone church of Basey and other places.

Improvements

Karen Tiopes, tourism regional director, disclosed that the DoT plans to put up a modern jetty port at the village of Binongto-an to best serve the tourists. The port would include a jetty terminal with a ticket booth, souvenir shop, and comfort rooms.

There will also be a river promenade, tourist center, and parking space.

Two small jetty terminals will also be established in the village of Inuntan and at the Sohoton Caves area. The terminal in Inuntan would have eco-lodges where tourists could stay overnight or for days. The one at the Sohoton Caves entrance would serve as rest stop for tourists.

The Sohoton Caves would also be lighted and the trails inside improved, according to Tiopes.

Basey, a coastal town about 35 kilometers away from Tacloban City, could be reached from Tacloban by a 45-minute land trip passing through the picturesque San Juanico Bridge. Tacloban, on the other hand, is just an hour away from Manila by plane. Flights from Cebu to Tacloban are also available.