A James Bond Moment

Click this link for the soundtrack . . .

Finally . . . Sagada

We had some remaining Complimentary Room Nights or CRNs at the Baguio Country Club to consume before the end of September. We decided to insert a couple of unpredictable days in Sagada between our predictable days in Baguio. As luck would have it, while having a leisurely breakfast on the morning of our departure to Sagada, we bumped into our old family friend, Anton Carag, eco-tour expert and river master, who basically laid-out our itinerary and referred us to his trusted Sagada tour guide of over a decade, Fabian, FBI (i.e., Full Blooded Igorot and proud of his heritage). Many thanks Anton! Our trip would not have been as meaningful without your intervention.

Our route from Baguio to Sagada

For starters, Super Typhoon USAGI (locally known as ODETTE) was right above Batanes on the Saturday morning that we were departing from Baguio to Sagada. It was raining in Baguio but the weather was not severe. We were also assured that the road to Sagada had long been concreted, except for some of the usual patches of landslides and ongoing repairs. So, off we went via La Trinidad (the Strawberry Capital of the Philippines) and the Baguio-Bontoc Road (a great value toll-fee of P15 one-way for the 4x4 KIA doublecab pick-up I borrowed from Dad), also known as the Halsema Highway.

I just googled this picture of the toll gate.

In light of the weather, we were resigned to miss-out on the awesome mountain views along the way (which we saw on our return trip) but we did not expect to encounter near zero visibility beyond the car in front of ours during half of our road trip. Between the rainfall, fog and mist, it was as if we were driving through the densest clouds. Anton rightfully estimated our road trip to last approximately 7 hours; we made it in 4.5 hours. Departed Baguio Country Club at 11:30 am and arrived in Sagada at 4 pm--a tiring but adventurous drive. We had to make a couple of stops along the way to take a leak and I noticed, upon exiting the vehicle, the smell of pine--kinda like the smell of Baguio when I was a kid 35 years ago.

George's Guest House, our home in Sagada

On Sunday morning, Fabian brought us to the northern part of Sagada, where we picked-up another local guide, Norma, who led our trek to Bomod-Ok Falls or the Big Falls. It was an hour and half each way but the return trip (which was mostly going up) was particularly brutal. It was worth every step and I do recommend that it be taken slowly and deliberately, as there are many opportunities to slip, fall, injure yourself or worse. Crossing the river at one point (going to the falls and back) was particularly nerve wracking, as the strong current could have easily made us slip and fall into the water.

With Norma and Fabian before our trek to Bomod-Ok Falls

After lunch, we were off to Narda's Peak for a comprehensive view of Sagada's rice terraces, which would probably be a great launching site for paragliding and hang gliding--provided there was a designated landing site and "recovery cable system" to return gliders and equipment back to the Peak, much like the existing cable systems used by the local miners in Sagada.

Narda's Peak . . . paragliding anyone?

We visited Sagada Weaving. It was Sunday, so no one was at work. "No Picture Taking" said the signs around the shop. Fabian explained that most of the weavers were elderly Igorot women who believed that those taking their pictures were stealing their souls.

Thereafter, Sagada Pottery, where beautiful stoneware pottery is locally crafted. We met a local craftswoman, Siegfried, diligently tending the kiln, while patiently articulating the laborious process of refining the local clay before it is made into any object. I felt sorry that I could only afford to purchase a small pipe.

Finally, a visit to a nearby lake (large pond) where the locals like to picnic. A brief stroll from the lake to an elevated point gave us a glimpse of Tirad Pass, as far away to the west as Ilocos Sur. The Battle of Tirad Pass was a battle in the Philippine-American War in 1899 where General Gregorio del Pilar and most of his men, severely outnumbered by the American regiment, lost their lives to enable Emilio Aguinaldo to escape to Palanan, Isabela via . . . Sagada, of course!

Tirad Pass, Ilocos Sur in the extreme background

Monday morning and our first stop was a peculiar limestone formation with . . . hanging coffins, which Sagada is famous for. According to Fabian, the dead in Sagada wanted to be in the light or wanted to have a full view of the mountains they loved. Hence, their coffins were place at the entrance of caves or hung high on the side of mountains. Our second stop was Lumiang Cave, which may be the oldest burial cave in Sagada. Then, we were off to Eco-Valley, which had more hanging coffins.

Hanging coffins from afar

A bit closer. Yes, it's skull and bones. Fabian himself arranged it.

Grand opening of the Lumiang Cave

No spelunking on this trip.

Selina, who took all the pictures, hiked with me every step of the way!

At the end of the day, all roads in Sagada lead to the Yogurt House, which serves the best food in town.

Best food in town

Pope Francis' Interview and the RH Law

“The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules."

“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods."

“The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently."

I selected the three above statements of Pope Francis under the sub-heading "The Church as Field Hospital" in his recent interview, in light of the small-minded and obsessive imposition of the church (at least in the Philippines) of its doctrine against artificial contraceptive methods vis-a-vis the implementation of the Reproductive Healthcare Law of the Philippines--currently pending in the Supreme Court.

For sure, Pope Francis is not about to endorse artificial contraceptive methods. And I respect that. However, he also says, "The people of God want pastors, not clergy acting like bureaucrats or government officials."

Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's"--rather like the separation of church and state enshrined in the Philippine Constitution. Even the staunchest opposers of the RH Law concede that the issues pending before the Supreme Court are legal or constitutional in nature--not moral. Yet, why are the Catholic Bishops in the Philippines behaving like a bunch of state prosecutors insisting that the RH Law comply with the moral standards of the church?

Pope Francis offers an alternative approach, "I dream of a church that is a mother and shepherdess. The church’s ministers must be merciful, take responsibility for the people and accompany them like the good Samaritan, who washes, cleans and raises up his neighbor. This is pure Gospel. God is greater than sin. The structural and organizational reforms are secondary—that is, they come afterward. The first reform must be the attitude. The ministers of the Gospel must be people who can warm the hearts of the people, who walk through the dark night with them, who know how to dialogue and to descend themselves into their people’s night, into the darkness, but without getting lost."

And speaking of getting lost, the book entitled "The Alter of Secrets" illustrates just how lost the Philippine Catholic Church is. The horrific disclosures in the book, which have been kept secret from the general public, are not heart-warming, to say the least. I'd say there's plenty of far more critical house-cleaning to be done before the church can claim any moral ground to butt into the affairs of the state, particularly one so innocuous as artificial contraception.

Durian . . . in Oriental Mindoro

Googled this picture. The price (P35 per kilo) is about right in season!

I found another reason to visit the family farm in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro--Durian! Apparently, a number of landowners in Victoria, Oriental Mindoro (about 1 hour drive from Calapan) decided to cultivate different varieties of Durian about 10 years ago. Well, those trees are bearing fruit today, usually between the months of July to October. And what a discovery and treat it is for me! No need to fly to Davao to satisfy my Durian cravings. There is a fruit stall in front of the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Capitol Building in Calapan (not to be confused with the newer Calapan City Capitol Building along the Nautical Highway) selling different kinds of Durian between P35 to P40 per kilo, which was the same selling prices I found in the public market of Victoria.

Some of the varieties of durian in the Philippines

A word of caution. Durians are not created equal. Visit "Different Varieties of Durian in Davao City" for a quick review. I bought a couple of varieties (generally described as native and non-native) at the Victoria Public Market. Both kinds were sweet and delectable. Just remember to open and eat them when they are just ripe and you can't go wrong.

Napoles and the American Gangster

Now that Napoles is in the custody of the Philippine government, P-noy has an ace in his sleeves to clean house, particularly the Lower House and the Upper House (Senate) of Congress. Of course, this assumes her former cohorts (now her worst enemies) in Congress don't assassinate her first.

I was not exactly comforted when Secretary Lacierda, during a live press briefing this morning, informed the media and the public at large that the President himself inspected the holding area in which Napoles would be secured. Read between the lines. The President has no confidence in the overall integrity of the system to secure Napoles, which includes the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Philippine National Police (PNP), among other government agencies. I sure hope DILG Secretary Mar Roxas and PNP Chief Purisima assign their most trusted adjutants to keep Napoles alive and talking.

In the movie, "American Gangster", which was based on the true-to-life criminal exploits of Frank Lucas (played by Denzel Washington), incorruptible detective Richie Roberts (played by Russell Crowe) gave Lucas a chance at a shorter jail sentence if he (Lucas) aided his (Roberts) investigation. Lucas initially offered to bribe Roberts but eventually provided names of dirty cops in the New York Police Department (NYPD), out of respect for Roberts' incorruptibility. In the end, three quarters of the New York Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) were arrested and convicted. Moreover, after having been condemned and sentenced to 22 years of prison (apparently to Lucas' satisfaction), Lucas provided additional evidence that led to more than one-hundred drug-related convictions.

If Napoles knows what's good for her, she should spill the beans quickly and thoroughly before her new found enemies in Congress have a chance to silence her. It would not be surprising at all if, like the New York DEA in the case of Lucas, three quarters of the Philippine Congress (Lower House and the Senate) would be arrested and convicted due to the disclosures of Napoles. The mandate of P-noy and his team is clear. Clean house then transform house.

After the purge, abolishing the Philippine Congress would be a great start! "Let's just abolish Congress then." We, the people, concur!

"Let's just abolish Congress then." We, the people, concur!

Senate President Franklin Drilon said that while the PDAF would be abolished as declared by the President, each lawmaker would still retain their right to direct a portion of the annual budget (P200 million  for each senator and P70 million for a representative) to a hospital or a road project that they desired.

“What will happen if we will not take a direct hand (in the identification of projects)? Let’s just abolish Congress then,” he said.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/475275/drilon-lets-just-abolish-congress-then#ixzz2dGHQLlg8

Drilon, the Senate President himself, just doesn’t get it. We, the people, are screaming for the abolition of the PDAF, the pork barrel and/or whatever it may be called in the future, including the abolition of any right (perceived or otherwise) of all legislators (both in the Lower House and in the Senate) to direct any portion of the annual budget to any project they desire. We don’t trust you and we wholeheartedly accept your suggestion (arguably the most worthy in your entire political career) to abolish Congress (both the Lower House and the Senate). This is the first step in overhauling the thoroughly corrupt and inept Philippine legislature.

In place of the abolished Congress should be a legislative body of no more than (or not to exceed) fifty (50) individuals representing the various regions of the Philippines, which translates to an efficient representative ratio of 1 for every 2 million Filipinos based on the current estimated population of 100 million. The sole purpose of these 50 representatives would be to legislate--no PDAF, no pork barrel.

But here’s the real solution. These 50 representatives and all elected officials in the Philippines going forward should be elected under a weighted voting system prescribed under the Responsible Democracy Act of the Philippines. Then, we’ll finally get rid of such poor excuses for legislators like Tito Sotto, Lito Lapid, Jinggoy Estrada, Ramon Revilla, among others . . . and witness real progress in the Philippines.

Thresher Sharks and Malapascua

I googled this picture as the ones I took were too dark.

Like whale sharks (butanding) and Donsol (Sorsogon), the fate of thresher sharks and Malapascua (Cebu) are inextricably intertwined. Unlike the whale sharks in Donsol that seem to have fled the vicinity (except perhaps for a handful of appearances a quarter), the thresher sharks of Malapascua still appear at Monad Shoal at the crack of dawn like clockwork.

Before one of our dives in Malapascua

During this particular scuba diving excursion organized by our friends at Planet Dive (many thanks to TB, Gerard and Dencio for a wonderful trip), we had two early morning attempts to view the magnificent thresher sharks. On the first try, there were already four diving boats ahead of us and only the first batch in our group had a brief glimpse of one thresher shark that quickly disappeared into the deep blue sea. The following morning, we were the second diving boat to arrive and (eureka!) we saw at least two thresher sharks meandering along Monad Shoal. Noteworthy is the the thresher shark's unusually long tail fin, which is not only pretty but apparently critical to the creature's survival. Thresher sharks use their tails like bullwhips to kill or stun prey. The brief video clip below was taken by Philippe Wong during our August 23, 2013 early morning dive at a depth of about 90 feet. Well done Philippe! 

According to the local divers, the thresher sharks visit Monad Shoal regularly to get cleaned and to rid themselves of parasites--dutifully done by the resident cleaner fishes. However, all is not exactly well. The boat loads of scuba divers (as many as 20 scuba diving boats congregate above Monad Shoal at the crack of dawn during the peak months) that visit these days are currently brought to a new section of Monad Shoal. That's because the thresher sharks rarely show up in the "old" section, which begs the question: what scared-off the thresher sharks from the old section in the first place? Moreover, are we, in fact, scaring-off the thresher sharks from the new section of Monad Shoal? Only time will tell.

Our group spent a portion of our final diving day at Gato Island, a marine sanctuary about an hour away from Malapascua by boat. Most enjoyable with its varied topography and good coral conditions. Our second dive at Gato Island was also my first dive through an underwater tunnel, which reinforced what I already knew--I don't like confined spaces, particularly underwater.

One of the first things we saw upon entering the water at Gato Island was dead "dilis" (shiny silver fish about the size of your small finger but much thinner) sprawling all over the sea floor--a result of dynamite fishing, according to the local divers, that apparently still occurs in the vicinity. These illegal fishermen should be caught and executed in full view of the public to mitigate these downright ignorant and destructive practices.

Malapascua itself is a relatively small but beautiful island with white sand beaches that rival Boracay. There's a resort priced like Shangri-La Hotel and others for cost-conscious travelers. For hearty meals without frills, go to the restaurant at Kokay's Maldito Beach Resort. Angelino's is a real gem of an Italian restaurant in this island paradise. It's run by a friendly Italian couple, who I hope will teach as many Malapascuans their delicious Italian recipes.

In the case of the whale sharks in Donsol, it appears their eco-tourism story has come full circle and it's not a happy ending. The whale sharks are virtually gone and so is the eco-tourism livelihood in town. Oslob (about 3 hours drive south of Cebu City) appears to be faring better than Donsol, even though Oslob's methods are a bit controversial. They feed the whale sharks that keep them coming back for more. To date, more than 120 individual whale sharks have been identified visiting the shores of Oslob for some free chow. Again, only time will tell if Oslob is really doing a better job than Donsol at balancing environmental protection and the livelihood of the local community.

After having viewed both the thresher sharks in Malapascua and the whale sharks in Oslob during this trip to Cebu, I wish that every individual would have the opportunity to witness these magnificent creatures up-close and personal for many generations to come.