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Cebu Provincial Capitol

Posted on February 5, 2009

Having passed by this government building growing up, I have often overlooked the beauty of its dignified dome, Ionic columns and golden statues of draped figures that encompass one of the best preserved colonial buildings in the country from the American occupation.  Designed by Juan Arellano, the Filipino architect best known for Manila’s Metropolitan Theater and Post Office Building, the gleaming white neo-classical seat of the provincial government of Cebu was constructed from 1937 and inaugurated a year later by CommonwealthRead More→

Sinulog Festival

Posted on March 27, 2008

Ever since I was a kid, an occasion I look forward to every year, even more than I do Christmas or New Year, is the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City. The nine-day celebration, in honor of the Holy Child Jesus, culminates every third Sunday of January with a Grand Parade that meanders through the festooned city streets, with elaborately dressed dancers, magnificent floats and colorful ‘higantes’ (papiér-mache giants), all moving to the infectious rhythms of tribal dance and heralding “VivaRead More→

Manila Ocean Park (Oceanarium)

Posted on March 16, 2008

The buzz-worthy upgrade to Manila’s tourist belt is the new Manila Ocean Park, the country’s first world-class oceanarium and the first in the world to include a boutique hotel, mall and open water habitat (all still under construction). This is probably the best thing that has happened to the city since the Planetarium. The oceanarium, situated in stark contrast above the unappealing waters of Manila Bay, opened last March 1. With an area of 8,000 square meters, the spacious park boastsRead More→

Pawikan Festival (Morong, Bataan)

Posted on March 9, 2008

Let’s go to turtle town! Along the western coast of the historic peninsula of Bataan sits the sleepy town of Morong, where every late November local townsfolk celebrate marine turtle conservation with their annual Pawikan Festival. Its sandy shores are vital nesting grounds for the endangered Olive Ridley species, the smallest of the world’s eight sea turtle species. Interestingly, what was once a site of rampant poaching and illegal egg collecting has become a successful community of environmental advocates for theRead More→