Archive for the 'Philippines' Category
September 28th, 2008 -- Posted in Ilocos, La Union, Patron Saints, Philippines, Religious Shrines, Religious observances, Travel |
The century-old church of St. Catherine in Luna, formerly called Namacpacan, houses the miraculous image of Our Lady of Namacpacan, patroness of Ilocano travellers. The shrine is located at the town proper of Luna, approximately 40 kilometers northwest of San Fernando.
The year 1690 saw the birth of a new town as idyllic in its formation as its name implies. Situated along the fringes of Northern La Union coasting the China Sea, it was named NAMACPACAN to glorify the native trait of hospitality which residents showed towards the people of neighboring towns who retreated to its thick forests when they were persecuted by the colonizers.
It was in the year 1871, when an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary was brought along its shores by a lucky stroke of fate, which eventually became venerated as the Image of Our Lady of Namacpacan. The image was ordered from Spain by a certain Augustinian Priest then assigned to the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. Brought to the Philippines in a ship, it was heading for the province of Ilocos Sur when a storm forced the crew to seek shelter at Darigayos, a barrio of the town then named Namacpacan. When the storm abated, they tried to resume their journey, but strong winds forced them back to the port; several attempts were made to sail, but each time they did, their progress was impeded by the winds. Finally, the captain of the ship decided to carry the statue to the port and have it carried overland to its destination. Again, the natives met difficulties when the box containing the image could not be budged an inch, so that after several unsuccessful attempts, they concluded that Our Blessed Lady must have chosen the town of Namacpacan as her sanctuary. Rev. Fr. Marcelino Ceballos, the Parish Priest of Namacpacan then, negotiated with the Augustinian Friars who came to claim the statue, and the sacred Image was carried in procession to the Church of Namacpacan. A big feast marked the arrival of Our Lady in town. The townspeople came out in their best to meet the parish church and which came to be known as Our Lady of Namacpacan. An altar at the northern portion side of the church was constructed to house the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Namacpacan. By virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 1543, the town’s name was changed to Luna in 1906 to honor the Luna brothers, Antonio, the General and Juan, the Painter, whose mother, Doña Laureana Novicio Luna hails from the place; however, the townspeople became so attached to Our Lady that the name, Our Lady of Namacpacan, remained despite the change of the name of the town.
continue reading »
September 26th, 2008 -- Posted in Ilocos, La Union, Patron Saints, Philippines, Religious Shrines, Religious observances, Travel |
Basilica of Our Lady of Charity
The renowned organ situated at the left area of the altar.
The Agoo Basilica enshrines the miraculous image of Our Lady of Charity. This imposing structure of Mexican-Baroque architecture is the venue of religious rites, foremost of which is the Semana Santa.
It is situated at the center of the aged town of Agoo, the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity has stood for scores of centuries now as one of the long venerated configurations of the Virgin in the Philippines.
It was founded in 1578 when two zealous Franciscan priests, Fray John Baptist Lucarelli of Pesaro, Italy and Fray Sebastian de San Francisco of Baesa, Spain on the time they got in the country for their evangelical mission. The settlement of the Franciscan Order opened the doors to Agoo’s embrace to God’s supremacy over mankind, making the town the first point of contact with Christianity for the Southern Ilocos region.
At present, the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity commemorates its Patronal Fiesta every 4th of May as a tribute to its myriad of help that will live forever in the hearts of its thousands of devotees far and wide.
September 24th, 2008 -- Posted in Festivals, Ilocos, La Union, Philippines, Street Dancing, Travel |
Pindangan Festival is a celebration every March 20 commemorating the Founding Anniversary of San Fernando City as a City. Authored by then Gov. Victor F. Ortega, it was ratified on March 20, 1998 subsequent to Republic Act 8509 converting the municipality into a component city of La Union on February 13 of the same year. The original name of San Fernando, Pindangan in the Ilocano dialect means a place where meat is sun dried with salt for preservation. Because of the place’s abundant dried meat, the place was called Pindangan.
The festival features the annual street dancing competition among students and residents from various schools and barangays in the City of San Fernando that marks the first day of the five-day celebration. Students from the elementary, secondary and tertiary levels including the different barangays and civic organizations in the city set foot their best street dance steps and displayed their colorful costumes. Residents, local and foreign tourists alike trooped to the streets during the festival to witness the street dancing by the participants in a stunning display of mastery, gaiety, coordination and energy.
September 12th, 2008 -- Posted in Ilocos, La Union, Philippines, Provinces, Regions, Travel |
La Union is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Its capital is San Fernando City and borders Ilocos Sur to the north, Benguet to the east, and Pangasinan to the south. To the west of La Union is the South China Sea.
People and culture
Ninety-three percent of the population is Ilocano and is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. There are communities of Pangasinense in the south, Igorots in the Cordillera foothills, and Chinese in the city.
La Union is highly literate, with San Fernando City as the administrative, educational, and financial center of the region.
Economy
The economy is diversified with service, manufacturing, and agricultural industries spread throughout the province. The Port of San Fernando operates as an increasingly active shipping point, and the former American airbase Wallace Air Station, having been converted into a business and industrial area, helps to facilitate such commercial activity.
Tourism to the province is driven by airlines and passenger coach bus lines like regionally owned Farinas Transit Company and Partas.
Tourists often flock to the beaches of Bauang, or to the more secluded ones further north for snorkeling, surfing or other water sports; the more northerly beaches near San Juan specifically cater to both local surfers as well as portions of the world surfing circuit.
Geography
La Union is subdivided into 19 municipalities and 1 city (San Fernando City).
Municipalities:
- Agoo
- Aringay
- Bacnotan
- Bagulin
- Balaoan
- Bangar
- Bauang
- Burgos
- Caba
- Luna
- Naguilian
- Pugo
- Rosario
- San Gabriel
- San Juan
- Santo Tomas
- Santol
- Sudipen
- Tubao
Physical
Like most of the region, the province is squeezed in by the Cordillera mountain range to the east and the South China Sea to the west. Yet, unlike other portions of Luzon and the Philippines’ two other island groupings, the Visayas and Mindanao, La Union experiences a rather arid and prolonged dry season with little precipitation to be expected between the months of November and May.
Brief History
La Union, “The Union” or “The United” in Spanish, was formed in 1850 when the Spanish colonial government merged the southern towns of Ilocos Sur province, the northern towns of Pangasinan, and the western towns of Benguet to the east.
September 10th, 2008 -- Posted in Festivals, Gifts, Philippines, Thanksgiving |
The Philippines “national thanksgiving day” was declared by the late President Marcos on September 21. However, having more than 7,000 islands in the entire archipelago “thanksgiving day” is being celebrated in different places on different dates. Why? Filipino people have many reasons to be thankful: it could be due to a good harvest, founding of their city or a traditional celebration to highlights their native products that give livelihood to the people. A Thanksgiving gift for Filipinos come in a form of native products, something ornamental or even food (delicacies).
A perfect example of one of Philippines’ thanksgiving day is the recently celebrated Bonok-Bonok festival of Surigao City. This is an annual celebration every month of September in honour of the city’s patron saint San Nicolas de Tolentino. It features street parties and traditional ethnic dance rituals. It is a deeply traditional event to ask Gods for good health and thanksgiving too for bountiful harvests.
Thanksgiving is the reason for having many festivals here in the Philippines. Every festival, the city is field with decorations and the streets are jam-packed with local and foreign visitors to watch street dancers, parade, exhibits, and more. Every household is preparing food especially their delicacies that every visitor must try on. Come and visit the Philippines and experience many colorful and merry “thanksgiving days.”
August 7th, 2008 -- Posted in Accommodations, Hotels, Philippines, Travel |
The Philippines’ Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea and the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park are among the Top 77 candidates of the New 7 Wonders of Nature nominees.
This magnificent destination, Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, housed different and astonishing variety of marine life like majestic whale sharks, elusive seahorses, manta rays, colourful reef fish crowd corals, and many other species of different kinds. Many of those are already considered endangered that is why protection and conservation of this particular marine sanctuary plays a vital role. Tubbataha is considered as the best dive site in the Philippines that is why booking for diving dedicated ships that operate during the “Tubbataha Season” is made months or year in advance . You can check Tubbatahareef.org, the official website for Tubbataha Reef, wherein you can find complete information about this amazing place: history, conservation, tourism, etc.
Conservation of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, tagged as the longest navigable underground river in the world, is very vital to protect its unique cave system, wildlife, lush old growth tropical rainforest and the unspoiled natural beauty of the park. The main focus of the conservation is the 8.2 km. long underground river that runs beneath the amazing limestone formation before flowing directly in the South China Sea. For more details and information on this national park you can check Puerto-undergroundriver.com.
For new and returning visitors, there are Palawan Hotels that can be booked to access these two amazing and wonderful destinations in the Philippines. Hotel reservation sites in the internet gives comfort to local and international visitors of the parks to find accommodation at a very reasonable price. You can check different hotel reservation sites one by one or for a more easy way you can check them simultaneously under one site like in HotelsCombined.com. In here, you can save time searching for hotels of your choice of destination, compare hotel rates and instantly get the lowest rate or the one that suits your budget for your accommodation.
Philippines has lot of amazing and wonderful places of attractions to offer to its visitors. You can always find the best deals for your accommodation, food and transportation and the people are very warm and friendly.
July 29th, 2008 -- Posted in Philippines, Tourists Spots |
One of the Philippines’ pride and currently nominated in the New 7 Wonders of the World is Tubbataha Reef Marine Park in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is home to some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world. Rising from the volcanic depths of the Sulu Sea in the western Philippines, these magnificent atolls encompass an astonishing diversity of marine life.
The park is an underwater sanctuary where nature can thrive. Tubbataha is the Philippines‘ only National Marine Park and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a place of global importance, being preserved for generations to come.
From majestic whale sharks to elusive seahorses - Tubbataha supports an unparalleled variety of marine creatures. Colourful reef fish crowd corals growing in the shallows while sharks and manta rays haunt the steep drop offs to the open sea.
A team of rangers are stationed on the reef year-round and, from March until June, divers visit Tubbataha to experience the wonders of this unique underwater world.
The name ‘Tubbataha’ is the Samal word for “long reef exposed at low tide”. Samals are seafaring people of the Sulu Sea and are one of the few people who have accessed the Park in early1980’s. Cagayanen people who are more geographically associated with Tubbataha Reefs referred the Park as ‘gusong’.
July 26th, 2008 -- Posted in Philippines, Tourists Spots |
The most famous man-made artifact in Bohol and nominated in the New 7 Wonders of the World is the Chocolate Hills.
The Chocolate Hills is an unusual geological formation in Bohol, Philippines. It is composed of around 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills of about the same size, spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometres (20 sq mi). They are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, hence the name.
The Chocolate Hills is a famous tourist attraction of Bohol. It is featured in the provincial flag and seal to symbolize the abundance of natural attraction in the province. It is in the Philippine Tourism Authority’s list of tourist destinations in the Philippines; it has been declared the country’s 3rd National Geological Monument and proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
July 24th, 2008 -- Posted in Philippines, Tourists Spots |
The Philippine pride in the beautiful land of Puerto Princesa and nominated in the New 7 Wonders of the World is Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park.
The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is one of the most important conservation areas in the Philippines. It was created to protect the impressive cave systems, lush old growth tropical rainforest, interesting wildlife, unspoiled natural beauty of the area and one of the most impressive cave system in the world. Its main focus is 8.2 km. long underground river that flows beneath a spectacular limestone formation before directly emptying into the sea.
It is a core area for the Palawan Biosphere Reserve and is designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA). It was also declared as a National Geological Monument. In recognition of global significance, the PPSRNP has been inscribed to the list of natural World Heritage Sites.
As a natural area, the Park has attracted an increasing number of hikers, biologist, photographers, students and nature lovers. It is a source of pride and a key element in the identity of the people of Puerto Princesa in particular and of the Philippines as a whole.
July 23rd, 2008 -- Posted in Philippines, Tourists Spots |
One of the active volcanoes with a near perfect cone lies in the region of Bicol and nominated in the New 7 Wonders of the World is Mayon Volcano.
Five hundred fifty three (553) kilometers from Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, rises a near perfect cone volcano and one of the seven wonders in the world, the famous Mayon Volcano. Its summit measures 2,421 meters above sea level (masl) while its circular base has a radius of about 48 kilometers. Mayon Volcano is surrounded by five (5) municipalities and three (3) cities with a total land area of 5,775.70 hectares. Its symmetrical form at any horizontal direction made this volcano a truly scenic wonder.
Mt. Mayon is the most active volcano in the Philippines. Records showed that a total of 47 periodic eruptions occurred during the last 323 years. The earliest volcanic eruption occurred in February 1814, which has caused severe destruction and the worst bringing Cagsawa in a complete ruin of the town and submersed it to mud, boulders and ash. Another destructive eruption occurred in 1897 and the latest occurred in June 2001. But inspite of the rearing threats faced by Albayanos, Mt. Mayon is still loved and admired regarding it as their fountain of strength and persistence.
March 30th, 2008 -- Posted in Philippines |
This is the Philippine flag. Let me tell you the different symbols and colors in our flag as well as their meanings or symbolism.
BLUE - this color symbolizes peace and justice; RED - represents the color of our heroes’ blood; WHITE - symbolizes purity; TRIANGLE - this shape with three (3) equal sides/lines represents the equality among people; SUN - symbolizes freedom; 8 RAYS OF THE SUN -represents the first 8 provinces who fought against the Spaniards (Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan, Laguna, Maynila, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Tarlac) and the 3 STARS - represents Luzon, Vizayas and Mindanao.
This is one of the best things I really do appreciate in guiding my daughter on her studies. I get a chance to recall my lessons way back then and together I learn things again. Likewise, I can give you information as accurate as I can.
