On second thought, summer is not yet done, so another commercial may capture the 2012 Philippine Summer category. =) What do you think? Any suggested TV commercial?

The other commercial (“Staring Contests: More Fun in the Philippines“). What do you think? Your opinions below.

The commercial was launched on Monday morning (30 April 2012) in the international news channel CNN, according to Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr. in his twitter account. Now, spread the word! Or check the other TV commercial. As we always say here in VisitPinas, tell the world what’s beautiful about ‘Pinas!

There’s an ongoing battle between SM Baguio and those who oppose the plan to move pine trees from the site of the proposed mall expansion area. In our informal poll [see Agree to cut/replant Baguio pine trees and other trees for SM Baguio expansion?], 97% said no to the move of SM.

Something struck me while looking at the hillside populated by pine trees, standing at the commissary below The Mansion. The view: a group of trees leaning against the traffic and human intrusion, with a sign on a one-way road that says “No Entry”. Here:

It’s like a war between humans and trees in Middle Earth. The same battle involving pine trees will be waged by other people in the future. It will not end until the pine trees are gone. Or when humans are gone.

This is one of the rare posts in VisitPinas that the first paragraph is not followed by a photo. The second paragraph would contain a warning of the graphic images below. Do not proceed if you abhor blood even in photos.

This is one of the rate instances in VisitPinas that we grappled whether to include the photos because of the blood. Besides, how would a photo of a bloodied person be consistent with VisitPinas’ advocacy of advancing what is beautiful about the Philippines?

This is among the many instances in VisitPinas that we didn’t expect the subject to fall on our laps (or more properly, to fall in front of the long convoy of vehicles stuck in standstill traffic because of the procession of bloodied penitents in Tarlac City). We were on our way to Baguio City, passing Tarlac City to get to MacArthur Highway. We didn’t expect them there because we thought they could only be seen in Pampanga, together with the penitents who allow themselves to be nailed, with real nail through their palms, on the cross.

And yet there were so many of these penitents in Tarlac City, their faces covered in cloth, backs shirtless and bloodied by the constant strikes of whips. They do the whipping on their own, holding a rope with strips of bamboo at the end. For every step — and that’s for every step — they swing the bamboo-studded end of the whip alternately to the left and right, resulting to both sides of the back to be equally swollen. And bloodied.

It’s painful to watch. Not as painful as watching the suffering suffered by Christ in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ, but painful enough for us to cringe every time we hear the bamboo end strike the back. You could hear the “whack, whack” even with the windows closed. You could see the drips of blood sticking to the sides of the car on the road.

Rows of self-flagellants pass by the cars on standstill traffic. It’s like a torture for those who are not ready for such a scene. We had to ask why do they have to do that?

To be continued . . . (in the meantime, try to answer that question through the comment section below).

Imagine how difficult it would have been for the Spaniards to look for the real Tandang Sora back in the days. Well, the search may have been difficult, but the Spaniards eventually did find Melchora Aquino, fondly called Tandang Sora by the Katipuneros and the succeeding Filipino generation.

She was captured on 29 ugust 1896 at Pasong Putik, Novaliches, jailed in Bilibid without consideration of her gender and age and made to suffer to divulge secrets of the Katipunan. With the spirit of nationalism, strength and palabra de honor in her heart, she refused to squeal. She was deported by the Spanish authorities to Guam, back when it was still a colony of Spain. When the United States of America won in the Spanish-American War, the Philippines and Guam were among the colonies ceded by Spain in favor of US under the 1898 Treaty of Paris.

Melchora Aquino returned to the Philippines from her exile in Guam on 26 February 1903. She was 91 years old. She died on 2 March 1919 at the ripe age of 107. I’m lucky if I live half her age. But what’s amazing is not only Tandang Sora’s age. It’s what she did with the sunset years of her life.

When Andres Bonifacio led the tearing of cedulas by the supporters of the revolution on 23 August 1896, openly declaring hostilities against Spain and known as Sigaw ng Pugadlawin (Cry of Pugadlawin, or, some say, the Cry of Balintawak), Tandang Sora and her son, Juan Ramos, were present. Born on 6 January 1812, Tandang Sora was already 84-years-old when the revolution broke out.

The house of Tandang Sora served as the secret hiding and meeting place of Andres Bonifacio and the Katipuneros. It’s also the place where she provided food and medicine to the revolutionaries.

If there’s a poster child for solo parents, that would be Melchora Aquino. Born of poor parents, she married a cabeza de barrio or barrio chief, Fulgencio Ramos, and bore six children. Fugencio died when the youngest child was seven.

Tandang Sora’s family tree, also found in the shrine, reveals that of the six children, only Juan, Juana and Saturnina bore children of their own. The other three children of Tandang Sora, Simon, Estefania and Romualdo, didn’t have children.

Tandang Sora was born in Banlat, the site of the Tandang Sora Shrine. Banlat used to be part of the City of Caloocan, but became part of Quezon City. The construction of the shrine was unded by the Quezon City government, just in time for the 200-year birth anniversary of Melchora Aquino in 2012.

Tandang Sora died where she was born, in Banlat. She was buried at the Cementerio del Norte sa Mausoleo de los Veteranos de la Revolucion, but her remains were later transferred to the Himlayang Pilipino Memorial Park.

The second marker placed by the National Historical Commission in 2012 reveals that the remains of Melchora Aquino was transferred here from Himlayang Pilipino to commemorate the 200th year anniversary of her birth, 6 January 2012. It also indicates that this location is declared a National Shrine by virtue of NHCP Board Resolution No. 4, 24 January 2012.

In Tandang Sora’s honor, UPLB named one of the 11 gumamela that it bred for the Hisbiscus Hybrid Centenial Series as “Gumamela Tandang Sora” (hibiscus Rosa-sinensis)

There was a time when she was honored by gracing the 100-peso paper bill, but now replaced by Manuel Roxas. She later became the face of the 5-cent coin, but removed in the new design (with the hole).

As the days pass by after the 200th anniversary, the honors and memories of Tandang Sora will fade. The structures at the shrine will fall victim to the toll of time and the weather. The markers and directions to the shrine will slowly vanish from the place. When that happens, and we hope we shall never forget, we have our photographs and memories to cling to. We shall remember.

The Palm Sunday is part of Lent (cuaresma or kwaresma). The Holy Week ends with Easter Sunday. The 40-day Lent starts with Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter Sunday.

If you’re a visitor to the Philippines, you may have noticed that Roman Catholics make up a large majority of the population. Filipino Catholics bring palm fronds, or palaspas in the local language, to the church during Palm Sunday. The palaspas is brought home after being blessed by the priest. The same palaspas is later burned and the ash used during the next Ash Wednesday.

The San Agustin Church is just a stone’s throw from another World Heritage Site, the Manila Cathedral. Yet, if we look at the World Heritage Sites of the Philippines listed by UNESCO, there might be a confusion because what’s listed is the Church of Immaculate Conception of San Agustín. It’s the same San Agustin Church, declared as a World Heritage Site in 1993.

Those who are going on a visita iglesia this Holy Week (also check Ilocos, Bicol and Laguna, will find the architectural delight a welcome bonus. The historical significance of this venue is not limited to purely religious significance, including those found in the museum beside the church. The San Agustin Church houses the ashes of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, founder of the City of Manila and the city’s first governor-general.

The San Agustin Church was ordered built by the Augustinian Friars (Order of Saint Augustine). The church is the oldest stone church in the Philippines, built from 1586 to 1606 (the original nipa and bamboo church was built in 1571, destroyed when the pirate Limahong invaded in 1574.

Since San Agustin Church is beside the Manila Cathedral, both were subject to the same earthquakes (which destroyed the Cathedral, which was rebuild) and the same intense artillery and bombing during the recapture of Manila into Filipino-American hands in 1945 (no, the intense artillery and bombings were NOT done by the Japanese, but by the Americans).

San Agustin Church miraculously survived the bombing. The Manila Cathedral was destroyed during the bombing and had to be rebuilt (it’s currently being renovated because of structural weaknesses, causing countless hearts, mostly of brides, to break due to cancellations in wedding reservations).

The marker placed by the National Historical Institute reads: “Oldest stone church in the Philippines. Plans were approved in 1586. Construction started in 1587 and completed in 1607 under the supervision successively of Augustinian Fathers Francisco de Bustos, Ildefonso Perez, Diego de Avila and Brother Alonso de Perea. Its architect was Juan Macias. It has withstood many earthquakes from 1645 up to the present and survived the British invasion in 1762, the Spanish-American War in 1898 and the Japanese invasion in 1942. The church choir has 68 carved Molave seats with Narra inlaids, an artistic lectern and parchment cantorals of the 17th and 18th centuries. The church and its graves were profaned during the British occupation of Manila in 1762. The ashes of early Spanish conquistadores Legazpi, Salcedo, Lavezares, and blessed Pedro de Zuniga and others now rest in the esternmost chapel of the transept. Terms for the American occupation of Manila were prepared in the vestry of the church in 1898. The First Philippine Plenary Council was held here in 1953. Chosen as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993.”

That’s the history bit.

Now let’s go to the reason why we’re there. We were there for another business — attending the lovely wedding of a friend, Marnelli. That was the very first wedding in San Agustin Church that we attended.

The church website indicates that it’s “The Wedding Capital of the Philippines”. We’d really like to know the explanation to this, whether it’s because of the number of weddings being celebrated here. Or because this is a preferred venue because of the historical significance or because of the beauty of the place, and the convenience of having the wedding reception at the adjacent inner courtyard.

If we were at the San Agustin Church for a historical visit, we would have brought a good camera. If, without a good camera, we were at some other place, we won’t probably publish this post because the photos would be of no good. But, as they say in reference to people, you can’t put a good man (or woman) down. Same thing with the San Agustin Church . . . with or without a good camera.

Surfer girls are known for their tan, toned, slender bodies. This surfer girl is no different from the stereotype. The upper body strength and powerful abs needed in surfing chiseled her physique.

The endless repetition of watching the wave, catching it and mounting the board show how serious she is. When you wake up at dawn, head towards the middle of the sea and practice until the sun burns you deep brown, it cannot be interpreted other than being serious.

And many serious surfers flock to San Juan (La Union). which is generally-acknowledged Surfing Capital of the North. It is easily accessible from Metro Manila, either through a 6-hour land trip or a 1-hour plane trip through the neighboring San Fernando City Airport.

Even if February is not within the two distinct surfing seasons in this side of the Philippines (I understand the surfing seasons are July to October and November to March), the sea, littered with so many local and alien surfers, produced respectable waves.

[See maps and directions on how to get to Kahuna Beach Resort and Spa found in Brgy. Urbiztondo, San Juan, La Union, where the San Juan Beach or Urbiztondo Beach is found.]

By “alien” I mean “foreigners”, and there are tons of them here, distributed in many first-rated beach resorts in the area (see, for instance, the Kahuna Beach Resort). International surfing gear manufacturer Billabong holds events in San Juan. The Billabong Surf School, known as the No. 1 surf school in the Philippines, was opened in San Juan in 2003 by Filipino-Australian surfer Luke Landrigan.

If you know surfing in San Juan (La Union) or in any part of the Philippines, including Siargao (Surigao) and Baler (Quezon), please share your knowledge on Philippine surfing through the comment section below. Thanks.

I’d admit that I’d probably die of boredom if thrown in some lonely island somewhere in the middle of the West Philippine Sea. We’re accustomed to cable television and the movies, skyscraper offices and enormous shopping malls.

But precisely because the world is so loud, and because we need to step back and reassess our bearings, we need peace and quiet from time to time.

This is where Hacienda Isabella comes in and this is where its beauty starts.

Looking for Hacienda Isabella is a struggle in itself. It’s not easy to find exactly where it is found. No, contrary to common misconception, it’s not found in Tagaytay City, although it’s near and easily accessible through Tagaytay City.

A little sleuthing will reveal that Hacienda Isabella is found in Brgy. Carasuchi, Indang, Cavite. Say that again: Carasuchi. It’s difficult to remember, and it helps to think about a flower, incidentally also found in this resort, calachuchi (spoken, no offense meant, like a Japanese). [See map for directions]

It doesn’t help that there are only a few markers, concentrated mostly near the resort/hacienda. This is a place more hidden that other destinations that call themselves “hidden” gardens.

Through the main highway of Tagaytay City from the direction of Sta. Rosa, Laguna, pass through the Taalena Restaurant, Leslie’s, RSM, Cliffhouse and way beyond the main market. Around 10 meters from the Bag of Beans (the original restaurant site) there’s a right turn which bears the marker of Hacienda Isabella. [See map for directions]

A good 30 minutes worth of drive from that intersection definitely reinforces the impression that this secret treasure does not want to be found easily.

After the curves and sharp turns, through a long stretch of straight well-paved road of this part of Indang, Cavite, two huge weather-beaten wooden gates guard the Isabella lodge.

As the gates swing open, one is transported to a world that we hear only in books, in documentaries and in certain corners of the Philippine archipelago. It’s a world fast disappearing in our modern society.

That Hacienda Isabella is a place to commune with nature and to spend meaningful time with companion/s, whether a significant other or friends, is notable from a number of things, or rather from the lack thereof.

There’s no TV, cable or otherwise. The rooms, grouped together in separate villas, are bereft of entertainment and communication devices. There’s no intercom, although the wi-fi connectivity is a welcome feature. The only modern “gadgets” in the room are the aircon unit and the water heater in the bathroom. The closest thing that would come close to entertainment in each room is a pair of interesting books.

Hacienda Isabella serves organic food. Extremely fresh green salads, punctuated with the bright yellow color of jackfruit strips. They’re grown here. Jackfruit trees and other fruits litter the property. After all, “hacienda” figures prominently in the name of this place, and “hacienda” does not exist without trees and the greenery of nature.

The other half of the name, “Isabella”, refers to the daughter of Ms. Kuh Ledesma (thanks for being a gracious host), the owner of this 4-hectare property. We’ve read that she designed this place, from the rooms to the stones. We personally know that she went all over the Philippines to buy antiques and all things really old.

And we’ve personally experienced how these items blend well with Spanish-style architecture prevalent in the Philippines of yore, creating an atmosphere that harks back to a much simpler life.

The wide open lawn, perfect for events like weddings and receptions, is bordered by fruit-bearing trees and various plants.

The wooden beams and trusses of white-walled structures are exposed, part of the charm of this place. Not much plastic here. And, consistent with the hacienda, the simple architecture is revealed in the predominantly straight lines of the structures. The curves are found in the wooden carvings used as highlights of the place.

If one would consider looking for Hacienda Isabella a difficulty, then it’s a journey worth taking. The height of how we enjoy something is roughly equivalent to the level of difficulty we encounter getting there (or achieving that which we desire). The rustic seclusion offered by Hacienda Luisita Isabella, with the minimal features needed for a comfortable stay, is a step back to rediscover inner peace.