Philippine Travel Notes

Seen during my roam today... The passport office located at the 4 th level of (Metro) Pacific Mall in Mandaue with a dedicated guarded entrance and information desk at ground floor - outside the mall. Not that I need them anytime soon (2 years pa) , but nice to know where they are. Oist, I even went to the information counter and read things like this: That's one benefit of roaming around. If I was just at home doing nothing, I wouldn't have known/seen specific and implied information especially the "lining up" portion. Actually alarming 'no? Yug makakita ka ba ng "5PM to 6AM of the following day" ? Ay, that only means if you don't go to the mall at an inconvenient time, you'll have a hard time applying for, or renewing a passport. Lining-up pa lang yan at the mall (not DFA). Oh well, part of are the signs of our times. At least, we know what to expect.

Okay kapwa ko Pinoy, at which airport do you hear announcements that are funniest or weirdest? Thailand? Indonesia? Malyasia? China? Japan? Korea? Have you considered our very own airports? Here are some that really ring clunky and clanky bells in my ears: “…after completing all your counter check-in requirements, you are NOW requested to proceed…” Don’t tell me you have not heard that! It happens everyday at Mactan airport and just about elsewhere. Bakit kelangan pang sabihin yung “NOW”? Tanggalin na dapat yan kasi alangan namang meron “you are LATER requested". Di ba? The fact na nag-a-announce ka, that already means ngayon, as in NOW NA! “…outgoing passenger [name of passenger], kindly proceed AT…” Bakit “AT”? Hindi ko yata na-encounter ang grammar na yan from kinder all the way to English 5 in college. Di ba “ proceed to ” or “ check at ”? “…first to board are passengers traveling with infants and SMALL children…” Ahm, ambot lang! Di ba ang “small” hindi gina...

We're still talking bayanihan like my previous posts here and here . An articulation, if you may, of my fascination at many entities now helping Yolanada-torn Region VIII. Maybe let's call this "my fascination and gratitude"! UKaid and ACF This afternoon, on my way to Ormoc from Tacloban, I saw this white pickup truck. As usual, pls forgive my Fuji Finepix JX500, it is not at all good in dark, gloomy, rainy, especially in moving (umaandar/tumatakbo) situations. I've tried 'all' kinds of settings. Istorbo! Yun tipong imbis na magkwento ka about what you saw, nauubos ang oras mo with a pesky point-and-shoot camera. [pero magaling sya sa beach pag maaraw]. Anyway, back to that white pickup truck in the picture. The markings on the driver's side say " UK aid " (kinopya ko ang colors, o ha!) that is the international aid arm of UK. At the back, on the right side is that same logo, but on the left is ACF . That is a logo (yes t...

Just an FYI note for me, and for you dear people like me, who keep traveling around Samar & Leyte, I finally got to ride on a VS Grand Tours bus. The mini version , that is! I say mini version , for indeed it's a mini-bus. Bus enough, and bigger than the vans! They have been around for some time now. I think, even before Yolanda struck. But I have just seen them on the road, no idea yet about their destinations or schedules. Today... After lunch, I was at the Grand Tours Terminal in Catbalogan, waiting for the ride to Tacloban, paired with another van to Ormoc. Been there done that. Then I saw this: Not the van. The bigger thing behind it! I said to my royal self... hmm, puyde gad ada! So I went to the "tiketera" and asked about that bus. She told me it was also going to Tacloban, etc., etc. I asked if: 1] I can still transfer to that bus; 2] if I would still catch my van reservation from Tacloban to Ormoc. She said yes to both. So, I transferred! The t...

In the previous story , we asked where the parents were. And here is the answer... They were 'at work'. Some did attend mass at a distance (from the shades of trees) . Why did they keep a distance? Why were they in uniform? Working? On a Saturday? They told me they have to let their children be. Whatever the kids were doing, it was school activity (Saturday make-up class) . Kids can't skip (escape actually!) when they see their parents nearby - especially the little ones in Grade 1. Oo nga naman. ano?! But why were they in that blue uniform? CFW. Ano yan? Bayanihan pa rin! What is Cash-For-Work (CFW) Ever heard about Cash-For-Work Program ? It is a 'disaster recovery' mechanism of NGO s ( N on- G overnment O rganizations) - even NGA s ( N ational G overnment A gencies) . One of many, I must say. It generally aims to help disaster victims help themselves ! How does that work? Aw, disaster victims (like farmers, fishermen, housewives, other mea...

What Is Bayanihan? Helping others they don't even know , and for no apparent reason , other than " because helping feels good ". It still happens. I still see it here & there. May it be forever & ever . I'm encountering these mainly at the Yolanda/Haiyan-devastated areas of Region 8, with the help that keeps pouring in from everywhere, from all walks of life, in all forms . Bayanihan Misnomer ! I just realized, many of us (yes, me included) thought/thinks that bayanihan is about "lipat-bahay" or heavy manual labor things associated with constructing or building. All because, we saw in our school textbooks; we saw on broadsheet editorials; that bayanihan was always portrayed like this: mga taong pasan-pasang ang isang bahay! In reality, it's not only on houses or tangible physical assets ! At times, it can be about "makeup" or "barkada nyong bigo sa pag-ibig" - mag-bayanihan nang pasayahin yan! Very often, it ...