The Calbayog Coffee Table Book Teaser

As reported, the Calbayog Coffee Table Book was launched last October 16, 2008. The launching program was part of the events slated for the 60th Calbayog Charter Day Celebration.

My friend Nelson Petilla made a teaser for the book. In a way it gives us a glimpse of the book that will try to present Calbayog history.

Here are some details of the book courtesy of Nelson:

Finally its here! A documentation and showcase of history and heritage of Calbayog that will instill pride among generations of Calbayognons is now in a book.

The book traces the beginnings of Calbayog’s history and explores its cultural, economic and political development as the premier city in Samar island and the center of the Diocese in Samar. It also showcases the beautiful natural tourist attractions that make it the Philippines’ only City of Waterfalls.

Features six major stories:
1. Calbayog’s social and economic history;
2. Calbayog as the Religious Center of the province;
3. The culture of Calbayog showing its music, theater & dance, literature, and visual arts;
4. Governance with its unique role as the only city in the entire island of Samar;
5. Its people who have propelled Calbayog to national prominence and have accomplished outstanding achievements; and
6. Calbayog’s Natural Heritage.

The book is hard bound with protective sleeve, contains about 200 full color pages and glossy photographs, 11×26 inches in full spread, and will be printed in limited (1,000) copies only.

I would have wanted to include the video that Nelson uploaded in YouTube, but I'm having a hard time uploading it in this blog post. In the meantime you may please check these links:

Nelson's Photoblog
YouTube

A Concert for SOS Calbayog

We would like to invite all Calbayogons, especially those based in Metro Manila to watch "Village Boys", a Concert featuring International Tenor Dominique Moralez and Baritone Nonon Baang.

This will be held at the Philam Life Auditorium, U.N. Avenue, Manila on December 8, 2008 (Monday) at 8:00 pm.

This concert will have SOS Calbayog as its beneficiary. It is organized and directed by Mr. Nonon Baang who is a professor at the UST Conservatory of Music. He is the brother of Mario Victor Baang, the Village Director of SOS Calbayog.

Tickets are priced at Php 500, Php 300 and Php 150 (for students, but with limited slots). For tickets and other inquiries you may call SOS Calbayog at (055) 209-37-98.

Barangay Consultative Dialogue

About a week ago, the Sanguniang Panlungsod spearheaded a Consultative Dialogue in Barangay Pilar. On the agenda, among other issues was the peace and order situation in the left river area.

Present in the dialogue were the city officials namely Mayor Mel Sarmiento, Vice Mayor Ronald Aquino and Councilors Jonas Montealto, Arturo Pasacas, Ambrosio Dean, Susano Salurio, Virgil Clemens and Raymund Uy.

Also present were Sr. Insp. Eduardo Serrano of PNP Calbayog and 1Lt Sorelo of the 20th IB (PA).

The dialogue had for its theme: "Pulong-pulong para san mahimyang nga pag-ukoy, ngan mauswag nga kinabuhi"

Mayor Mel Sarmiento speaking before the Pilarnons who gathered for the acitivty.

Vice Mayor Ronald Aquino

Councilor Monmon Uy

Mayor Mel Sarmiento (on the rostrum) with (seated r-l) Councilors Jonas Montealto, Arturo Pasacas, Monmon Uy, Sonny Salurio, Benjie Dean and Virgil Clemens.

The CKC - Jose Gomez Orchestra in Concert

12 December 2008
Matinee 3:00 pm / Gala 6:30 pm
Frs. David and Leopold (CKC) Auditorium

This just in . . .

I recently got hold of some pictures of Mayor Mel Sarmiento when he attended the 4th World Urban Forum in Nanjing, China. It would be recalled that Mayor Sarmiento was invited to moderate two events during the said Forum. We are still waiting for pictures taken during the said events. In the meantime let me share these pictures:

Mayor Mel Sarmiento with Vice President Noli De Castro who was one of the Keynote Speakers from the Philippines.

Mayor Mel Sarmiento with Senator Rodolfo Biazon (the other keynote speaker from the Philipines) and Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte.

Mayor Sarmiento with other Filipino delegates to the WUF-4

National Book Week Celebration at the City Library

The Calbayog City Public Library will celebrate NATIONAL BOOK WEEK.

The acitvity opens at 9:00 am today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Expected to attend are the City Mayor together with the City Officials and the Department Managers.

The City Library which is headed by Ms. Sofronia Enguito - Delabajan is located at Cajurao Street, Barangay Balud, Calbayog City.

The Supreme Court declares 16 cityhood laws unconstitutional

The Supreme Court has finally decided on the petition of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP). The issue on hand is the constitutionality of the conversion of some municipalities into cities.

For a complete text on the decision, please check this link.

For other/related reports on the issue, you may check these links:
GMA News
BusinessWorld Online
Balita.ph
ABS-CBN News

Board Member Nancy Rosales sworn in as Acting Samar Vice Governor

Board Member Rosenaida "Nancy" Rosales (Samar, 1st District) was sworn in as Acting Vice Governor of Samar yesterday. She took her oath before Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento.

Board Member Rosales was sworn in to the position after Samar Vice Governor Jesus Redaja took oath as Acting Governor of Samar following the 90-day preventive suspension that the DILG served on Governor Mila Tan.

Alay Lakad 2008 update

As I have reported earlier, Alay Lakad 2008 was held last Saturday. This year's walk-for-a-cause was aimed at raising funds that shall be utilized to for various programs and services designed for out-of-school youth. Alay Lakad 2008 was anchored on the theme: "Kagalingan ng Kabataan, Responsibilidad ng Bayan".

As per memorandum issued by Mayor Mel Sarmiento, the LGU, in addition to the regular services provided by the CSWDO shall provide the following services / interventions:

- Scholarship Program at the Calbayog Millenium Technical and Vocational Training Center.

- Diversion program for the Children and Youth in Conflict with the Law.

- Educational assistance and other psychosocial inteventions f0r sexually-abused youth.

- Skills training and livelihood project for qualified out-of-school youth and youth victims of traficking.

- Values formation for the youth sector.

The walk commenced in front of the City Hall. It was follwed by the Mass presided over by Fr. Tony Rosales, ofm; and as short program at the TTMIST Socio Cultural Center.

Fr. Tony Rosales, ofm presiding over the mass

Councilors Noel Sermense, Ver Porlares and Sonny Salurio. Behind them are Mrs. Editha Paculan and Dr. Socorro Bohol.

The OIC (Mayor) Councilor Noel Sermense

SWDO OIC Tessie Mumar delivering her report

TTMIST Prexy, Dr. Socorro Bohol

SOS Calbayog Village Director Mario Victor Baang

Young dancers presenting "The Rights of a Child" through a dance

The Kinetic Dance Company

As of today, a total of fifty-one thousand seven hundred sixty-five pesos (Php 51,765) has been received by the City Social Welfare and Development Office.

Here is the list of donors and amount donated:

- Metrobank: Php 350.00

- Rawis Barangay Council: Php 385.00
- Dep't of Agrarian Reform: Php 245.00

- Commission on Audit: Php 140.00
- St. Vincent de Paul College Seminary: Php 400.00
- CGS Charismatic Renewal Group: Php 500.00
- Bagacay Barangay Council: Php 385.00
- La Milagrosa Academy: Php 875.00
- DepEd Calbayog: Php 14,450.00
- Christ the King College: Php 4,795.00
- Matobato Barangay Council: Php 350.00
- SOS Calbayog: Php 860.00
- Carmen Barangay Council: Php 355.00
- UCPB: Php 455.00
- San Policarpo Barangay Council: Php 1,000.00
- SAMELCO I: Php 7,350.00
- WESADEF: Php 420.00
- Radyo ng Bayan: Php 630.00
- FilProducts: Php 455.00
- SSS: Php 245.00
- TTMIST: Php 6,615.00
- PNP Calbayog: Php 4,000.00
- Rotary Club: Php 1,000.00
- PNB: Php 455.00
- COMELEC: Php 330.00
- Office of the Clerk of Court: Php 315.00
- Register of Deeds: Php 245.00
- RTC Branch 32: Php 785.00
- OCCI: Php 200.00
- MTCC: Php 200.00
- Bureau of Fire Protection: Php 1,500.00
- STI Calbayog: Php 750.00
- RTC Branch 31: Php 725.00

Here are some more pictures taken from the activity:

Ms. Chuchu Torrijas - Aquino with some employees of the Civil Registry Office

TTMIST's Courier staff headed by Rhes Saplad

For more images, please check this link.

meanwhile at the City Jail . . .

The Parole and Probation Office in coordination with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Calbayog recently conducted two activities at the Calbayog City Jail.

The first activity was the "Launching of the Bilis Relis Jail Decongestion Program".

Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento as he delivered his message to the jail inmates during the Launching of the Bilis Relis Jail Decongestion Program

Myrna Tecbobolan of the City Parole and Probation Office. Seated (r-l) Mayor Mel Sarmiento, Parole and Probatiopn ARD Josefina Singko and Chief Inspector Ramil Vestra of BJMP Calbayog.

Chief Inspector Ramil Vestra addressing the program participants.

The other activity the PPO & BJMP Calbayog conducted was the "5-day Therapeutic Community (TC) Modality Training".

The training which was conducted by the Regional TC Team was held at the Calbayog City Jail in Brgy. Gadgaran was aimed at introducing to the inmates behavioral shaping tools applicable for their reformation and rehabilitation.

Present during the activity were Parole and Probation Regional Director Arturo Gabrieles, Chief Inspector Ramil Vestra and Myrna Tecbobolan .

RD Arturo Gabrieles as he delivered his message.

C/Insp Ramil Vestra delivering his message.

(seated l-r) RD Arturo Gabrieles, C/Insp Ramil Vestra and Myrna Tecbobolan during the training

Alay Lakad 2008

Personnel from from various government agencies, student and administrators from local schools and members of various Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) will once again participate in the annual walk-for-a-cause dubbed as Alay Lakad.

The activity is aimed at raising funds for various programs for the out-of-school youth, abused women and children and other undertaking. Each participant contributes 35 pesos (at 5 pesos per kilometer).

Alay Lakad 2008 will take a different twist. Participants will no longer go to the airport (a good 7 kilometers away from the city proper) as it has been done in the past so many years. In an effort to promote awareness of the walk and its cause, the organizers decided to hold it at 5:00 am (an hour later than the usual time) and it will be held through the streets of the city proper. This will be highlighted by a Liturgical Celebration and a Short Program at the TTMIST Socio-Cultural Center.

A rant (and I apologize for it)

My apologies to my regular blog visitor, but let me give you some rant with this blog update. This is a result of a comment from a blog post in my other blog on Calbayog events (http://www.calbayogevents.blogspot.com/)

Do you remember my previous post entitled "googling Calbayog"? I got a comment from an anonymous blog visitor. Let me rephrase that, somebody named "anonymous". I would have wanted to just publish the said comment in comments section of that blog post, but I understand not so many visitors are into it, so I decided to feature it as a blog update. Here's the comment:

"What was the something NOT RIGHT in the feature about the article? Obviously, you have not read it between the lines properly because you are missing the points. Do you want something more flamboyant or embellishing remarks about the city? That featured article is about the summarization of the city itself.And by the way, the word "google" has been around for quite sometimes. It just now being ubiquitous due to the advent of internet." Anonymous 11/6/08

So, what do I say?When I posted that blog update, (which was labeled "wala lang") it was all in the name of fun and/or amusement about how PAL could miss the fact the Calbayog City is not the capital of Catbalogan. That simple. For sure, if I may take Mr/Ms Anonymous comment, PAL does not have an issue about Calbayog being the worst city there is and thus dowgrade Calbayog to being the capital of Catbalogan. I was not expecting any (if I may borrow Mr. / Ms. Anonymous terms) flamboyant or embellishing remarks about Calbayog. I have heard more than enough of my share about Calbayog being criticized for being just that - MARAUT NGA CIUDAD. YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME!

Now, about googling which I wrote as "googling". I may not be familiar with the workings of a real webmaster - which explains why I settled for blogspot, kay masayun - but I am FULLY AWARE that the term google has been around for sometime, more than just a search engine, microsoft has been after it, and that google was founded by two men (now-billionaires) who are below 40 years old. I TAKE OFFENSE IN YOUR STATEMENT about me not knowing about google. Why do I have to say "what a term"? I just am not totally at ease with the term in the same way that I am at ease in saying that my name can be googled. Try typing my full name and my blog will appear and I'm proud of it. By the way, when I came up with this blog, it was for the simple reason of being able to reach out to a good number of Calbayognons. And mind you, I am not earning anything from it. Not even when I had some google ADs all over the blog.

I don't know what is your issue with Calbayog, her officials and her people. And yes, do we include her church officials and the investors? Okey, granting for the sake of argument nga puro magraut an mga opisyales san ciudad; nga maraut an ciudad san Calbayog. An kuri sa iyo san sobra niyo kagdati, an iyo la nakikit-an an maraut sa ciudad sa Calbayog ug an maraut nga ciudad san Calbayog. No need to enumerate the citations that credible institutions gave Calbayog. For people like you, bisan pa an Nobel Committee an maghatag citation, maraut la guihapun an Calbayog. Kamo man ada an mga dati, pero puro la kam yakan, wara kam guin bubuhat or at least guin yayakan nga iyo mga ideya agud sundun san taga-Calbayog pagpakaupay san ciudad! (oops, I dunnow if you speak waray, but I believe the preceding paragraph is best said in binisaya)

By the way, Mr/Ms Anonymous thanks for visiting my blog. And yes, this blog update is categorized under the "wala lang" label. This time the "wala lang" label does not equate with "in the name of fun".

something to make you feel good

The Commission on Health Care of the Diocese of Calbayog in coordination with the City Government of Calbayog (on October 5 to 12, 2008) conducted a cleft lip and palate operation dubbed as Operation Pahiyum. This year's operation was the 12th to be conducted by the commission.

26 children benefited from the operations conducted by volunteer / missionary doctors from the Caraniofacial Foundation of the Philippines, Inc. The operations were held at the Our Lady of Porziuncula Hospital (OLPHI).

The Diocesan Commission on Health Care is under the care of Monsignor Francisco Cinco III. It was cited as the Outsanding People's Organization during the recent Calbayog Charter Day Anniversary.

Here are some pictures taken as the beneficiaries posed for a souvenir picture with Mayor Mel Sarmiento, Msgr. Jun Cinco and the missionary doctors.

Calbayog Boy Scout in 2nd ASEAN Scout Jamboree

Kristoffer Eric Urmeneta Batalla or "Kit" is back from Jakarta, Indonesia. He was there as the representative of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) during the 2nd ASEAN Scout Jamboree which was held at the Cibubur Camping Grounds in Jakarta from October 18 - 26, 2008. BSP Calbayog led by its Chair, Councilor Noel Sermense was on hand to give Kit a warm welcome when he planed in last week. There was a marching band, a motorcade that brought him to the city proper and a presscon with the City Mayor at the Calbayog Museum.

For more pictures, please check this link.

Kit with some of his fellow scouters.

Kit being welcomed by BSP Calbayog staff as his grandmother Brenda Urmenta waits with a garland.

Calbayog scouters as they welcomed Kit.

(For more pictures, please check this link)