I'm back in the hustle and bustle of Makati City... on a first world setting browsing elbows with the expatriates and top level executives of the international service community... very far from where I have just been... our town in Mainit.
But in a few posts, I will be featuring what I will call "
the Switzerland of the Philippines"... a first hand account of the treasure soon to be available to the rest of the world, right at the very heart of Mainit... the cool TATAGMANPAI and MAMATPA areas. The top most part is the boundary between Brgy. Tagbuyawan,
Mainit, Surigao del Norte and Sitio Tambulayag, Brgy. Pili,
Malimono, Surigao del Norte. The northern view is the
Tagbuyawan Summit, on the eastern side is a magnificent view of the entire Mainit Lake, while on the west features a spectacular panorama of the Philippine Sea, overlooking the island of Camiguin and the rest of Mindanao.
Breathtaking, stimulating, powerful... geeeh... a DREAM LAND! I can not believe what I saw.
Though I'm here in one of the best working environment in the country, even dubbed as the most secure highrise building in the country, I already miss my hometown... my old folks... home.
Anyway... let me just summarize to you my little achievements particularly highlighting the accomplishment of the
3 missions I set for myself on this visit and others which I can say PLUS PLUS PLUS.
1. Got several sessions with Konsehal Nonong tutoring him on setting up his blog. It is still on beta stage and he requests anonymity first before its launch. But if you want a peek,
email me. We target next week to share its address.
2. Met Fr. Rey Maldo and the rest of the Parish Leaders. I will update you about the Fiesta Celebration plans including requests for your support. We know that you want to be part of our yearly Fiesta even though we are quite far. In advance... THANK YOU very much.
3. I've already blogged about my
meeting with Fryan and Fracks. And yesterday,
Fryan has generously assisted me on my personal request to address an illegal eviction issue in Surigao City. This linkage is indeed very fruitful and I am indebted to Fryan (and even his Mom who works for the City). The issue will hopefully be resolved peacefully. A bonus is that the engaged family will be recommended to be a
Gawad Kalinga recipient.
Here are other accomplishments in my short visit back home. Each will merit a separate post.
4. Hopped around the lake via pumpboat (
I got one last May when I decided to take part in the fishing industry) and took photos of the several lake spots.
Sad, I had sun burns (huhuhu).
5. Traversed Quezon - Magsaysay -San Isidro - Matin-ao - Tolingon - San Francisco - Mansayao - Tagbuyawan - Mabini - Roxas - Magpayang via motorcyle and took photos of the landmarks in the barangays - school buildings, barangay centers, new houses, etc.
My sun burn worsened (double huhuhu).
6. Revisited our tree planting site and happily seen the Bangkay trees grow taller than me. But sad to note that some parts were burned and trees were destroyed.
7. Took photos of the actual sand quarrying in the Panayakpan Area and the "destroyed" lake shore left by this illegal and unregulated practice.
I have taken photos and shown these to Councilors
Nonong Behagan (Environment and Tourism Committee Chair) and
Roxie Salino (Peace and Order Committee Chair) who promised to take action via legislation
. Fr. Rey (Catholich Church) and
Pastor Casera (UCCP) also showed support in addressing the problem. Fr. Rey will make a homily on this.
8. Attended a Municipal Fisherfolks organizing meeting held at the
Agricultural Training Center. Being a fishing gear owner, I have to participate in the discussions. The folks were organized and elected new officials (my trusted man - Manong Fred Cañete - was eventually elected PRO) and also tackled issues that need legislation e.g. what fishing gears should be declared illegal (baling, kuryente, etc). For the first time I met Mayor Mondano, who led the organizational meeting with help from Councilor Roxie, and discussed potential project collaboration between LGUs and the Pidjanga. I highlighted ecotourism (my
Siargao - Lake Mainit Tour dream) and the potential linkage to funding agencies through support to the Municipal Development Plan.
9. Met Pastor Casera (UCCP) for the first time who encouraged me to visit the MAMATPA area which is a 350 hectare DENR grant dedicated to plant hundreds of thousands of trees (some are already released last month and Mahogany seedlings and Tangantangan seeds will be available by September 14).
10. Of course, quality time with my Daddy (who is still bed-ridden) and my brother Concon, and my close friends and classmates.
I had to retire at 4AM and rise at 6AM to maximize this very limited time. The fatigue is worth it. I would have stayed longer but I have to be back in my duty station.
I will be busier in the coming months... I just received a call from my boss in Sri Lanka that from my Bangkok travel end of September, I have to go straight to Geneva for our Global Staff Meeting. I will return to Manila just for a week and will have a 2-week trip to New Delhi and Chennai in India. In between, the
Global Fund monitoring visits to provincial Philippines.
So please bear with me... I'll try my best to blog about the about accomplishments during the nights (or extra time) of those trips.
God bless and
Mabuhi an Pidjanga!
(Ooops... witnessing a first hand account of a
Buhawi in Lake Mainit was truly a bonus!!!)
Post:
Zimm (
www.pidjanga.blogspot.com)
Aug 28, 2007
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Our Bantay Danao, our Barangay Tanods, and Municipal Police are not monitoring to STOP the quarrying! They are ther JUST to ensure that quarrying IS constrained within the PERMITTED sites!!!
I got a response from Barangay Quezon related to my earlier post where I insisted that Quarrying is a Battle We can Win!
With the given reply, I can now sympathize with the barangay government as I understand why the problem still do proliferate. As a barangay, and with tanods armed only with batuta, where most of the operators and quarry workers are either friends of relatives, Quezon cannot fully implement the sand quarrying policies. The barangay officials and policy enforcers also cry for support from the municipal government especially from the police force. They hope that with police authority backing up the tanods, more illegal operators and workers can be apprehended.
With this, the Pidjanga Blog would like to join the call for the municipal government to ensure police presence in the area and implement the quarrying policy. Mayor Ramon and Vice Mayor Banoy... we hope that this issue has reached your respective offices, and that something is being done.
But while I understand the limitations of barangay's capacity, I do not completely agree that they can not do something. If there is political will to protect and conserve our beloved lake, this can be done. They can intensify education campaigns and empower the local community to do the policing themselves. If the tanods lack the weapon, why not the power and pressure of the people do the work.
Make noise about it, let the perpetrators know that you are against them, and show them that you are serious!!!
Again, I enjoin everyone to this cause. Let's conserve and preserve Lake Mainit... let it remain a living lake for our children and grandchildren. Let us be caretakers of this God's beautiful gift... the Philippines' deepest and cleanest lake!
Go and tell... STOP the illegal sand quarrying in our town!