Experience Negros Heritage Through Churches

I will be going with friends who were commissioned by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) to conduct photo-documentation of Catholic Churches in Western Visayas. Today will be the start for the Negros Occidental leg which will end on Monday, December 1.

I know it will be a grueling three days considering the distance to be covered but I don’t mind. This is a rare opportunity  to visit all the municipalities and cities of Negros Occidental.

This is our proposed itinerary:

Date & Time	Particulars	Remarks
29-Nov
7:30 AM	Assembly Time at JD Gen. Luna St.
7:45	Departure for Dumangas
8:30	RORO to Bacolod	Via Jumalia
10:00	Bacolod to Bishop’s Palace
10:30	Bacolod Churches	Suggested Churches: Cathedral, Hua Ming, Triumph of the Holy Cross, Lupit, ST. Jude, Tangub, Divine Mercy Shrine (Going Bago)
12:00	Lunch
1:00	Bago	We’ll cover as much as we
1:30	Pulupandan	can of the churches along
2:15	Valladolid	the highway.
3:00	San Enrique
3:45	Pontevedra
4:15	Hinigaran
5:00	Binalbagan
5:30	Himamaylan
6:00	Kabankalan
8:00	Sipalay	Overnight at Sipalay Tourism Center
30-Nov
5:30	Rise
6:00	Mass/Sipalay Church
7:00	Breakfast
8:00	Hinobaan
10:00	Cauayan
11:00	Ilog
12:00	Candoni	We’ll cover Candoni if time permits.
2:30	Isabela
3:00	Moises Padilla
3:30	La Castellana
4:00	La Carlota
5:30	Murcia
6:15	Don Salvador Benedicto
7:00	San Carlos	Overnight at Algers
Dec. 1
6:00	San Carlos
7:00	Calatrava
8:00	Toboso
9:00	Escalante
10:00	Sagay City
11:00	Cadiz City
12:00	Manapla	Including Chapel of the Cartwheels
	Lunch
1:00	Victorias	Including St. Joseph the Worker Church
2:00	E.B. Magalona
3:00	Silay City	Sidetrip to Heritage Houses
4:00	Talisay City	Sidetrip to The Ruins
8:00	RORO to Dumangas	Via Tri Star

Two Carlos Hilado Grads Top November 2008 CE Board

The pioneer Civil Engineering graduates of Carlos Hilado Memorial State College has produced top caliber graduates as two landed in the Top Ten of the November 2008 Civil Engineering Licensure Board Examination.

At second place, with a 98.95 percent rating, is Jeshurin Dacules Severo and at fourth place with a 97.55 percent rating is Janean Peñaflorida Labaosas. The schools got 100% passing since eight takers all passed the board exams.

This feat goes to show that poverty should never be considered a hindrance in achieving one’s goals. As a state college, the enrollees of CHMSC are mostly poor but deserving students. CHMSC provides an opportunity to the less privileged but intelligent students to gain access to quality education at a lower cost.

The college is noted for having one of the best programs in Teacher Education for continuously ranking high in the LET. The achievement of CHMSC’s pioneer Civil Engineering graduates signals that the school will soon be among the best schools in this field, at par with the bigger private universities.

CHMSC is one of the three state colleges in Negros Occidental and the first to be established in 1983 when three schools were merged into Paglaum State College -  Negros Occidental College of Arts and Trades (NOCAT), the Bacolod City School of Arts and Trades (BCNTS), and the Negros Occidental Provincial Community College (NOPCC). Paglaum State College was renamed Carlos Hilado Memorial State College in 1994 and in 2000 the Negros Occidental School of Fisheries (NOSOF)was integrated to CHMSC.

Now celebrating its Silver Year, CHMSC boasts of four campuses with main campus inTalisay City and satellite campuses in Alijis and Fortune Towne in Bacolod City and in the Municipality of Binalbagan.

Namet Gid Eh!

I watched Namets! last night and was lucky enough to have a glimpse of Angel Jacob and Christian Vasquez who were sitting on the row in front of me. They played the role of Cassie Labayen and Jacko Teves, respectively, the two former lovers whose lives got intertwined through their love for food.

Namets is a story about food with romance as a side dish. Negrense cuisine takes center stage through Namets. I doubt if there was somebody in the audience who was not craving for food after watching the movie. Prepare for a gastronomic ride on what makes Negrense food unique.

The use of Hiligaynon as the movie’s language proved to be a wise decision. I couldn’t imagine Namets to be in any other language. Get a load of your typical Ilonggo expressions, Bords, Parts, Yuga, Tikalon,  and don’t forget the Gid, the Te and the Eh.

Aside from Christian Vasquez, the cast are mostly Negrenses and they are not just starlets, mind you. Peque Gallaga, Dwight Gaston, and Monsour del Rosario, with the special participation of Joel Torre and Ronnie Lazaro. Top caliber actors, homegrown Negrenses.

Angel Jacob is not an Ilongga but I laud her for doing her homework. Her accent can pass up for an Ilongga’s except that I think she was a little high pitched in some parts of the movie. In my book, she passed the role of a Bacolod girl with flying colors.

I also like the humor of the movie and the interesting characters. Peque Gallaga as Boss Dolpo reminds me of Marlon Brando in The Godfather. He did nothing else but munch on his food and talks gibberish. Dwight Gaston did a brilliant job as his assistant/right hand.

There’s also Joel Torre as a caveman who happens to discover fire and what do you know, chicken inasal. Ronnie Lazaro plays the farmer who’s starving to eat meat and planned on cooking his son’s pet chicken, goat and dog. His family ended up eating noodles after his son told him that if he kills his pets, his father might as well kill him.

I encourage everyone to watch and support the movie. If you’re an Ilonggo, all the more reasons to watch Namets, because it’s about you and your culture. You can still catch the Bacolod screening until Sunday, November 30. DVDs and VCDs will be available this December so grab yourself a copy as I am also planning to buy one. The proceeds from the Visayas Caravan will be for the benefit of Tapulanga Foundation.

Namets! is showing exclusively at the following venues:

• SM Bacolod:  November 24 –30, 2008 SM Cinema 3
• SM Iloilo:  December  1-6, 2008  SM Cinema 7
• Ayala Center Cebu: December 6, 8-10, 2008 Ayala Cinema 4

For reservations, please call:

• Bacolod: (034) 495-0936 / Rhea Sol – 0919-744-7706
  
• Iloilo: Eden – 0929-777-0734 Cebu: Tina – 0908-987-473
• Cebu: Tina – 0908-987-4731
  

I have nothing but praise for the people behind Namets! I am no movie critic but I love the movie and I’m giving it my two thumbs up. I’m sure all those who watched it felt the same way. Kudos to the people who made Namets! possible.

PRODUCTION STAFF

Exec. Producer/Director: Jay Abello

Screenplay: Vicente Garcia Groyon

Line Producer: Heather Europa

Cinematography: Anne Monzon

Production Design: RJ Lacson

Editing: Fiona Borres

Music: Vince de Jesus

Sound Design: Raffy Magsaysay

Production Manager: Ryan Diño

Associate Director: Borgy Torre

2nd Asst. Director: Praise Rufin

CAST

Jacko Teves: Christian Vazquez

Cassie Labayen: Angel Jacob

Boss Dolpo: Peque Gallaga

Oscar: Dwight Gaston

Rodrigo Labayen: Louie Zabaljauregui

Imelda Teves: Michelle Gallaga

Nena Teves: Marivic Lacson

Babyboy Labayen: Monsour del Rosario

Farmer: Ronnie Lazaro

La Basilia White Beach Resort

La Basilia White Beach Resort in Sipaway Island is a favorite weekend destination for locals and tourists who are traveling to Sipaway on a budget. It provides decent accommodation at an affordable rate. La Basilia is located in Brgy. Ermita, Sipaway Island, just less than 15 minutes away from San Carlos City on a pump boat.

Amenities

The resort is ideal for weekend outings but amenities are not really designed for longer periods of stay. There is no 24-hour electricity and there is not much activity to do in the resort except for swimming and for picnic.

Rates
Entrance Fee            P 10.00
Day Cottage            P 200.00
Economy                 P 500.00 – good for 4 persons
Standard                 P 800.00 – good for 7 persons
De Luxe                  P 1,800.00
Conference Room   P 1,000.00
Session Area           P 2,500.00 – good for 20 persons
Floating Cottage     P 300.00

How to get there

Sipaway Island is accessible from San Carlos City by pump boat. The fare is P10 with travel time of less than 15 minutes. The pumpboat can also be hired at P190 and just tell the boatman to drop you at La Basilia.

For Reservation

For inquiries and reservation, call Ms. Len-Len at cell number (0916) 4611742 or Roldan at (0909) 6402996.
Travel Tips

Make sure it’s not low tide on the day you want to book with La Basilia. The beach is not that good for swimming since the shoreline is too far from the resort. Extra drinking water and food will come in handy as there is not much choice in the island.

Experience Negrense Cuisine Through Namets!

Namets is slang for Hiligaynon word “namit” meaning yummy so expect to salivate from all the delicious food which are featured in Namets! directed by Negrense Jay Abello and screenplay by Vicente Garcia Groyon. Namets was a finalist to the Cinemalaya 2008.

Much can be gleaned about our culture from our local cuisine – our abundant resources, our eating habits, our traditions and a lot more.  Every region in the Philippines has a cuisine unique to it and you’ll know the regional affiliation of a person from the food on his table.

Know more about Negrense life and culture through independent film Namets! which will be showing exclusively on selected cinemas in key Visayan Cities starting November 24. Filmed entirely in Negros Occidental with more than 70 percent of its cast and crew are Negrenses, it’s as Negrense as your chicken inasal.

I was really disappointed to have missed this movie when it was first screened here in Bacolod so definitely, I will not miss it this time. The movie is mouth-watering, no I’m not referring to Christian Vasquez but the food that’s the main character of the movie. I’m sure it will be loaded with delicacies and dishes that are a staple in every Negrense dining table. Those who are diabetic and hypertensive should be warned, the movie can be lethal if you can’t control your appetite after watching it.

Namets! is showing exclusively at the following venues:

* SM Bacolod: November 24 –30, 2008 SM Cinema 3
* SM Iloilo: December 1-6, 2008 SM Cinema 7
* Ayala Center Cebu: December 6, 8-10, 2008 Ayala Cinema 4

For reservations, please call:

* Bacolod: (034) 495-0936 / Rhea Sol – 0919-744-7706
* Iloilo: Eden – 0929-777-0734
* Cebu: Tina – 0908-987-4731

For more info, visit: Namets! Official Website, Namets! Multiply Site

NAMETS teaser from fiona borres on Vimeo.

Namets! Behind the Scenes from Never Say Nunca on Vimeo.

Bacolod City, San Carlos City Featured in Masigasig

Bacolod City and San Carlos City were featured in the October and November issue of Masigasig Magazine, respectively. Masigasig is a free magazine of Globe Telecoms and it features topics on entrepreneurship.

The feature on the two cities highlighted the best practices, business environment, tourism and investment opportunities. This is a good promotion for the two cities considering Masigasig is free and its readers are those who are mostly entrepreneurs and tourists.

Where to get a copy of Masigasig:

• You can read or download Masigasig Magazine issues from Globe Business Website.
• You’ll also get a copy of Masigasig Magazine everytime you buy Entrepreneur Magazine.
• Visit the nearest Globe Telecom Business Center and ask for a copy of the Masigasig Magazine.
• Visit the nearest SME Center of teh Dept. of Trade & Industry in your province for a copy of Masigasig Magazine.

Pataan Mountain Resort, Bago City

Had my grandma not have her hair permed that weekend, we would have not known that Bago City is home to another marvel, the Pataan Mountain Resort. From Kipot Twin Falls, we travelled three (3) kilometers following the road to PNOC (thanks to the locals who gladly gave us directions). Along the way, a lady hailed to hitch a ride with us. Incidentally, she was going to the resort too. Turns out she works for the owner of the resort and her folks work there too. Knowing that, my folks didn’t wait long before they could ask her more questions about the resort. So she gave us a little backgrounder.

It’s owned by a retired police who bought the property in 1998. Many people had showed interest in co-financing the development of the resort but the owner declined them all. Too many cooks spoil the broth, so they say. Instead, they relied on the concerted efforts of family members who contributed to the growth of the property from a simple bahay bakasyunan to a resort ready to accommodate picknickers,backpackers and nature lovers.

The resort has now at least 9 picnic cottages (much like the day cottages at Mambucal, but built with wood) situated near the pool of water from the falls. Big groups can rent the space which doubles up as a canteen, the pavillion or the other bigger structure (restaurant set-up) at the opposite side of the day cottages. Two overnight rooms are available for group accommodations: one good for 6 and the other good for 15. There is a swimming pool which, during our stay, was dominated by kids. From there, you get a good view of the rice terraces in the lowland plus a good view of your parked vehicle, in case you feel like checking on it once in a while. If you think you are too old for the pool or just didn’t want to pay PHP50.00 to get wet, there is the many pools of water from the waterfalls at no extra cost.

And the waterfalls. Wow… it’s a different sight from the ones I’ve seen in Mambucal. It’s wider and covered with greens all over. My folks took a dip in the pool under the waterfalls but didn’t stay long because the water was cold. I would have gone with them had I been in better health during our visit. (poor me huhuhu).

If you want a new mountain resort experience, do check out Pataan Mountain Resort while it’s not yet known to many. The owners didn’t want to advertise so they rely on word of mouth and referrals of satisfied customers who bring friends and relatives along during their next visits. Works for them really, as they feel that they are not yet ready to draw more crowd than they could serve.

Here’s some useful info about the resort:
Location: Sitio Pata-an, Brgy.Mailum, Bago City

How to Get There:

• By Public Transport

Travel Details	Mode of Transport	Fare
Libertad Market to Ma-ao Public Market	Road Star Bus	P30.00/head
Ma-ao Public Market to Pataan	Tricycle	P30.00/ head; P150 for hire

• Private Transport

Alternative Routes:

1. Bacolod City > Araneta St > Brgy Sum-ag > Crossing Abuanan > Maao Public Market>
2. Bago City > Crossing Mining > Maao Public Market

When you reach the market, you just go straight up following the concrete road til you pass by the signboard to Buenos Aires, then Kipot Twin Falls. No harm in asking locals for directions to be sure (LOL!)

Useful tips:

1. There are no PUJs passing by the resort so you have to work out your transpo details
2. Bring your own food and drinks, if you can help it. They don’t charge corkage fee except for liquor (I’m not sure about the beer though). And bring only what you can consume so you wouldn’t have to bring them all back home.
3. Make reservations in advance.Especially if you plan to stay overnight. You may call any of the following numbers: 476-1330 or 433-0443 or 434-6854
4. Be prepared to get wet.
5. You can’t get your camera too close to the falls because of the mist so I suggest you bring one with a powerful zoom to get a good close-up of the falls.

Enjoy Pataan!

Text and Photos by: Roxie Yap

Napoleones: Only in Bacolod City

Many people would associate Bacolod City with piaya and chicken inasal. However, this sugar capital has more to offer to satisfy ones sweet tooth. Pastry shops in Bacolod City has some of the most sought after recipes that can only be found in this part of the country. One such recipe is the napoleones which has long been the favorite of visitors and locals alike.

Napoleones is a layered puff pastry filled with custard cream and glazed with white sugar on top. It comes with small square size and a larger rectangle size and usually sold in boxes. Biting into napoleones gives you a crunchy sensation from the layered puff then a soft, creamy and sweet taste from the custard cream filling and sugar glaze. Those who had a taste of napoleones could attest to its mouth watering taste, with just the right creaminess and sweetness.

Food blogger Kai noted that napoleones possibly was adapted from the napoleon, which is how the French pastry mille-fuille (a thousand leaves) is called outside of France, which in turn is claimed to have originated from Naples in Italy, thus the name.

If the origin of napoleons is indeed the French pastry, then it’s probably introduced by one of the Gaston clans who originated from France and settled in Negros Occidental. This is just my theory and may entirely be untrue. Nobody has came out and claimed to have formulated the recipe of napoleones so I think we are free to speculate.

When talking about napoleons, two pastry shops in Bacolod come to mind, Roli’s and Virgie’s. Though Roli’s is the more well-known for napoleons, Virgie’s is easily gaining popularity.

Manila-based buyers no longer have to wait for friends and relative from Bacolod to give them pasalubong in order for them to have a taste of napoleones. Both Roli’s and Virgie’s has napoleones available in Metro Manila.

Tips: If you’re in Bacolod City, do buy at the main outlets because the price is lower. Buy Virgie’s at their showroom at San Sebastian Street. Roli’s Bakeshop at Roli’s Arcade has a much cheaper price than in other outlets.

Virgie’s Homemade Products
#59 San Sebastian Street, Bacolod City
Tel. Nos. (034) 434-1788, 434-1588
Fax No. (034) 434-6188

Other Outlets in the Visayas
• Edemar Store- Iloilo City
• Gaisano Metro – Cebu CityAbaseria Café – Cebu City
• Sally Young – Cebu City
• Other Major Supermarkets and Upscale Restaurants & Cafes

In Metro Manila & Luzon
• Michelle’s Homemade Putong Ube
• Shopwise & Rustans Supermarket
• Pinoy Eats Pioneer Supermarket
• Orientways Marketing
• Rowena’s Pasalubong (Tagaytay).

Roli’s Bakeshop
Roli’s Arcade, La Salle Avenue, Bacolod City
Tel. Nos.: (034) 433-3257, 709-3162, 709-2772

Other Outlets
• Lopues East Centre, Bacolod City
• Lopues Mandalagan, Bacolod City
• Plaza Mart, Bacolod City
• Building A SM Megamall
• The Block, SM North Edsa

Of course, the recipe of the napoleones is a trade secret but if it’s really related to the mille-fuille, then this recipe I sourced out online may more or less be similar.

Mille-Fuille (Napoleon Pastry) Recipe

Ingredients
• 1 package frozen puff pastry

Pastry Cream
• 3 cups milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 1/2 tablespoons cornfloure (corn starch)
• 2 tablespoons butter

Whipped Cream
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1/4 cup icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar

Directions

1. For the pastry cream: Put 2 1/2 cups milk, sugar, vanilla and almond extracts in a small boil to come to the boil.
2. Dissolve the corn flour in the remaining milk and pour into hot milk.
3. Whisk the corn flour into the milk and turn off heat.
4. Beat the egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl and slowly whisk in some of the hot milk into the yolks, whisking all the while.
5. Do this until you have incorporated nearly all the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly, to temper the yolks.
6. Add any leftover milk mixture and place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard.
7. Refrigerate and cool completely.
8. For whipped cream: Place all ingredients in mixer bowl and whip until snowy peaks form.
9. Remove 1/3 of whipped cream and fold into pastry cream.
10. For pastry: Preheat oven to 425F.
11. Take 1 sheet of puff pastry and lay out flat, with long side facing you.
12. Cut in 1/2 lengthwise.
13. Repeat with other sheet of puff pastry, so you have 4 equal pieces.
14. Butter a cookie sheet or baking pan large enough to contain the puff pastry pieces and place the pastry on the cookie sheet.
15. Pierce the pastry all over with a fork.
16. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 300F and bake a further 35-40 minutes (pastry should be baked through and a deep golden-brown).
17. To assemble: Place 1 sheet of pastry on a platter, spread with half of pastry cream, ensuring you don’t spread all the way out to the edges of the pastry.
18. Place another sheet of pastry over and spread with remainder of pastry cream.
19. Place third sheet of pastry over and spread top and sides of assembled pastry with whipped cream.
20. Crumble up the fourth pastry sheet with your hands and sprinkle broken pieces of pastry on top of whipped cream and press some onto sides.
21. Place in refrigerator for 1/2 hour to set.
22. Just before serving, place 2 tblsps of icing sugar into a sieve and sieve directly over cake.
23. Serve immediately.

Note: This is a dessert that is quick to make and assemble but has to be eaten close to making, otherwise the puff pastry absorbs moisture and becomes soggy.

A very nice variation is to thinly spread the first and second puff pastry sheet (the ones that you spread with the custard) with a thin scraping of seedless raspberry jam before you spread with custard.

Roxol Bioenergy Gets Incentives

Roxol Bioenergy Corporation, a subsidiary of Roxas Holdings Inc.,  was granted by the Board of Investments (BOI) with tax incentives for its P1.138 billion investment in a proposed bioethanol plant in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental.

The component of the project that would make bio-ethanol was given pioneer status since it is certified as one of the non-conventional fuels being aggressively promoted by the government.

The manufacturing plant will require about 365 tons of molasses everyday to produce 100,000 liters daily of bioethanol. The company has decided to produce bioethanol at a larger capacity because of the huge market that has been created following the passage of the Biofuels Act of 2006.

On the other hand, the segment that produces potable ethanol with invetment of P292 million was given non pioneer status since it accounts for only 16.7 percent of the total production volume and falls under the listing of agriculture/agribusiness- agricultural by product of the 2008 investment priorities plan (IPP).

Both plants will be located in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, adjacent to Central Azucarera de La Carlota, a sugar mill owned by Central Azucarera Don Pedro (CADP) Group Corp., also a subsidiary of Roxas Holdings.

Roxol Bioenegery Corp. has previously tapped KBK Chem-Engineering Private Ltd. of India to design and build the equipment and production facility for the bioethanol plant.

The project is expected to start commercial operation in January 2010 employing 64 people.

Image Credit: Roxas Holdings

Bacolod City One of Top 10 Next Wave Cities for Outsourcing

Bacolod City ranks fifth in the the latest Top 10 “Next Wave Cities” for BPO development in a scorecard ranking developed by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and the Commission on Information, Communications Technology (CICT) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

So-called “next wave cities” are areas around the country outside Metro Manila and Metro Cebu which offer the best potential to support the growing BPO sector. The 30 cities considered for the list were scored on talent (50%), infrastructure (30%) business environment (15%) and cost of doing business (5%).

Neighboring Iloilo City was ranked third with a score of 80.93% while Bacolod’s score was 78%.  Bacolod topped the business environment category with the score of 96% while Iloilo got the second place with 92% score.

The ranking is an indication that the initiative of the BNeFIT is gaining grounds in making Bacolod City as a favored BPO destination in the country. Just recently, an international study also cited Bacolod City among Emerging Global Outsourcing Cities.

Here is the complete scorecard ranking of next wave cities with their corresponding scores:

City	Score	Talent	Infra	Cost	Business Environment
METRO LAGUNA	88.35%	89.20%	94.67%	62.22%	81.60%
METRO CAVITE 85.	47%	84.00%	93.33%	63.33%	82.00%
Iloilo	80.93%	72.00%	89.33%	86.67%	92.00%
Davao	80.40%	78.00%	94.67%	80.00%	60.00%
Bacolod	78.00%	70.40%	81.33%	80.00%	96.00%
Angeles/Clark/Mabalacat/Dau	77.10%	67.20%	100.00%	60.00%	70.00%
Baliuag/Marilao/Meycauyan	73.53%	65.60%	94.67%	66.67%	60.00%
Cagayan de Oro	73.13%	62.80%	90.67%	86.67%	68.00%
Malolos/Calumpit	72.93%	68.40%	84.00%	66.67%	68.00%
Lipa	72.53%	67.20%	86.67%	66.67%	64.00%

The e-Services Philippines, organized by the Center for International Trade Exposition and Missions (CITEM) is currently in a series of roadshow at the next wave cities. This major event in Philippine ICT Industry will be stopping in Bacolod City this December 2008. The e-Services Philippines Roadshow already kicked off its Davao leg last November 6.

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