Happy Birthday, Mama Mary! We love you!

after figuring out ping, gmail is next

still figuring out organizing my gmail account

A cloudy Saturday but hopeful that the sun will come out. We're on our 8th Saturday of NITI's tour Guiding Course.

Internet marketing by Lloyd Luna was a blast!!!

Don Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occ.

Boarding the RORO Boat from Toledo City, Cebu to San Carlos City, Negros Occ.


On board the Boat.


Foggy highway at 4pm

Viewing deck to the falls, but foggy weather at 4pm.


Malatan-og Falls in full view


A broom-maker showing his produce.


A local boy.


Flowers in full bloom in May.


View of the grotto taken from the St. Therese Retreat Center restaurant where they serve the famous camote tea.


A couple amidst the pine trees that line the DSB highway.


Flowers for sale along the highways of DSB.


Early morning weather in June.

Mambukal Mountain Resort

Despite the heavy rains, we set out to Mambukal Resort, in Murcia, Negros Occ. after the sumptuous lunch at Aboy's restaurant which consisted of nylon shell for soup, grilled scallops, grilled blue marlin, oysters, shrimps, crab omelette. Restaurateur Aboy sat with us and offered us his signature tarragon tea with mint leaves to freshen our mouths.

My four guests from Manila loved the scenery of the sugar cane fields. And they were awed by the wide river even though the water was so muddy. When we got to Mambukal, my guests were wowed by the lush vegetation of the area. There were cottages that has a small kitchen and could accommodate six persons. Bats were flying from tree to tree. At first, you wouldn't recognize the bats, since thy are hanging upside down from the trees. At times, they would fly under the bridge as they make their mating sounds.

There are two swimming pools which the young and not-so-young can frolic about. If you wouldn't want to take a dip at their dipping pool, you can indulge for a relaxing body massage at a nearby spa. There's a man-made lagoon where you can go boating.

The visit wouldn't be complete if there were no photos to take. Thus our photo shoot.

St. Michael the Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel was built 11 years ago after the original church was burned. This church can be found in Pontevedra, Negros occidental, Philippines.

Countless Blessings We Take for Granted

Blessings come in many ways. Most often, we fail to recognize it because it seems to come naturally. As we wake up each morning, we thank the Lord for giving us today so we may continue our life’s journey. There is a saying that if you are no longer in this world, then your mission has been fulfilled. But since you are still reading this (pinch yourself!) you still have a mission in life. The simple things like having food on the table, having a job, the gift of family and friends are already our daily blessings.

Let me share with you some of the countless blessings, which I have realized only very recently, I have taken for granted.

Whenever I see the map of the Philippines, I would always take a second glance to remind me of the various places I’ve been to. My previous job brought me traveling to most towns and cities around the country. Based in Manila, I traversed from Laoag up North to GenSan via Cotabato City & Koronadal down South.

I feel so blessed and fortunate to have a job that would take me to most places in the country. Work as you travel, as they say. But at company’s expense of course! I know there must be a lot of others who have already been around the world but have never seen the splendor of Mt. Matutum in Polomolok, South Cotabato or the rustic Cagsawa Ruins in Albay or experienced a foggy morning in Malaybalay, Bukidnon.

Another blessing also may be the fact that since the Philippines is an archipelago and Negros Island is in the middle, we find it convenient to travel to other major cities by plane. So, most of us may get the first time experience of a plane ride by College. Or if you belong to the upper income bracket, you may get it earlier. Come to think of it, our first airplane ride was as a family. We were living in Iloilo City when our Dad got promoted and we relocated to Davao. Being in high school and my three brothers were in grade school, we were really excited about moving and being in a new place. Having been to six different schools in three cities even proved to be a greater blessing!

Sometimes, we fail to appreciate how fortunate we are who come from Negros. If you will just observe the view as the plane touches down in the new Bacolod-Silay Airport, coming from the South, one could see a vast plain land amidst some low hills. Sugar cane fields abound. What you can see is all green. Further down East, lay the majestic Kanlaon Volcano, whose crater can be seen on any clear day. Our land is very suitable for root crops, vegetables and other fruit bearing trees.

We are so blessed with people who invented the computers, cellphones, microwaves for having made our life easier. Can you imagine life today without those?

At the end of the day, before you sleep, you reach for your cellphone to send your goodnight message to your textmate. Don’t fail to mention that we should be thankful for all the blessings that we received today. May we use these blessings to inspire others and to glorify the Almighty. Just make sure you have a Load! Another blessing for the day --- thanks for the inventor of pasa load.

Bacolod as a Tourist Destination

As someone who is new to the industry, one has always his own fresh new ideas. Who knows if these ideas have failed or succeeded? One has always to go through it by experiencing it in order to feel and understand how it is being done.

Seeing the long-term opportunities, I'd like to be in the tourism industry. Through advertisements on TV and print, we see how other places are being packaged and marketed globally. And I'd like to do that to the City of Smiles where I live. Bacolod and Negros are so rich with mouth-watering pastries and delicacies, seafoods, chicken inasal (chicken barbeque), pristine beaches and warm hospitable people. Bacolod has so much to offer. Rich culture and history.

New hotels have risen in Bacolod's landscape in the past year. There are now 13 call centers employing 9,000 people. Bacolod is in the top 5 in the next wave cities for ICT.

Have fun and make it Bacolod!

Cebu Educational Trip

After joining the cultural heritage tour of Negros, I was fortunate enough to join an educational trip in Cebu City. This time as a volunteer staff of the tour agent. The group was composed of 2nd year Computer Science students from Northern Mindanao. Places of interest visited were museums, call centers, newspaper printing office and processing plants among others.



I was reminded when I was at their age. I was adjusting to a new school in Bacolod City. We had no educational tours then. Only field trips in the same community. But now, every year level in school has a program for educational trips, whether within or outside of their community.



Now, back to the students. I think they had a lot of first time experiences. Coming from Northern Mindanao, it was their first time to ride a ferry, first time to visit Cebu and first time to sleep in an air conditioned hotel. However, there were times that some of the students would rather stay in the bus to sleep than go to the place of visit. Well, it would be understandable at their age that they are timid, complacent and passive. It is just such a pity that their parents or guardians must have spent a fortune for their trip and the students aren't getting their money's worth.




I hoped the students were enriched by their trip. Because I was. One should enjoy one's youth. Travel while you are still able. We are so busy working now to save money for our retirement. When we retire, we can't be certain if we are in good health to travel. Such is life's irony.

Don't be a stranger in your own land

Are you one of those people who haven't been around in your own town or city?

It is embarrassing but I have to admit that I am guilty of this. I've lived in Bacolod City for the past 31 years minus a few years when I worked in Manila. But there are places in Bacolod City where I haven't seen or been yet. And some of these places are tourist destinations.

I am glad to have been part of a group of who had the opportunity to visit the various museums in Bacolod and Negros recently. The Negros Museum in Bacolod City has a tale of its own. It says of the rich history of the Negrense as a people, their culture, their way of life, the illustrious families that lived in the times when sugar was the top product of the province. Thanks to our very articulate tour guide, Raymond Bayot. Being a tour guide is an exciting and exhausting job. But he did an excellent job in sharing with us the details of the history of our province.



I believe it is high time that we, residents of Bacolod City, encourage local tours to help boost economic activity. How can i sell these ideas when I haven't even experienced it? I believed that I, myself, have to see these places.



Think about it. So you won't be a stranger in your own land.