Philippine Travel Notes

This topic started with this article Finally on same names… there are 4 plus 1 that use the name Victoria! Why the plus 1, we shall tackle at the end of this article! One is a town of Victoria in the province of Tarlac (Region 3 - Central Luzon). This is a big town just next to Tarlac City and sits with the province’s boundary with Nueva Ecija. This is more of a suburb of Tarlac City though since its just about 15kms away and residential villages have been on the rise. Then there is the town of Victoria in the province of Laguna (Region 4A - CALABARZON). This one is on the southern edge of the Laguna Lake and is undoubtedly the biggest “quack-quack” town! Yeah, duck raising and “balut” production is the biggest industry of this town that their welcome monument is an interesting sight of gigantic happy ducks! They even have the Itik Festival which means Duck Festival. Quack! Next is the town of Victoria in the province of Oriental Mindoro (Region 4B - MIMAROPA). This Victoria also...

This topic started with this article There are three San Manuels and be careful with going to these towns. Make sure you identify where you are headed since they are all northbound destinations from the Metropolis. Let’s start from the left. San Manuel is the northernmost town of the province of Tarlac (Region 3 – Central Luzon). This is an agricultural town that boasts of ampalaya (bitter melon or momordica charantia) and all its derivative products. However, just three towns in between is another San Manuel, this time in the northwestern tip of the province of Pangasinan. Yep, this is that town where you find the big San Roque Dam. And who does not know about Butao Spring Resort hehe! This San Manuel is the rice granary of the province! Yet further up northeast and beyond the Caraballo and the Cordillera mountains is another town of the same name, San Manuel in the province of Isabela (Region 2). This town formerly called Callang was named San Manuel in 1952. Being relatively flatlan...

This topic started with this article Proof that this country is home to peace-loving people? Whatever your view is, there are four towns in the country named La Paz – meaning “peace”. The first La Paz is ironically a town up in the province of Abra (Region 15 – CAR). Politically, this town (and the whole province) is not at all very peaceful compared to most others in the country especially during elections! Oh I even know someone who does not want to go there because the opposing factions in those political quarrels are all his relatives. The second La Paz is in the province of Tarlac (Region 3 – Central Luzon). This agricultural town is along the banks of the Chico River and borders Tarlac with Neuva Ecija. Being an agricultural town, bird-watching is fine here especially on the swampy areas – but alas, not even its own locales know or appreciate this kind of recreation yet! The third La Paz is in the province of Leyte (Region 8 – Eastern Visayas). It is an agricultural and landlocke...

This topic started with this article Oh Concepcion! There are four towns that bear this name. Two are in Luzon, one is in the Visayas and the last one is in Mindanao. The first Concepcion is in the province of Tarlac (Region 3 – Central Luzon). It is in fact its biggest municipality. It sits just below Tarlac City and borders with the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Pampanga. The place being in a river basin is agricultural and has a lot of haciendas. Oh yes, this place was the birthplace of Ninoy Aquino. The next Concepcion is a tiny island municipality in the province of Romblon (Region 4B – MIMAROPA). It has only 9 barangays and population is just about 5 thousand! This island town is white sandy beaches all around. But alas, it’s out of the way! There has to be some unique fantastic things there before most tourists flock and gruel the boat ride from Pinamalayan in Oriental Mindoro. It’s even hard to get to this place from the capital, Romblon! Because of that, the hills are still lus...

This is the EVERYTHING Region of the Philippines! Region 3 also mostly indicated as REGION III or Central Luzon has everything for everyone, from kids to serious businessmen. This region is one of the best for outdoor fanatics to history and culture enthusiasts! It has everything from rural seaside towns to exclusive members-only resorts and everything from the illegal gambling operations to glittering modern casinos hahaha! To be able to completely roam and absorb everything that this region has to offer, a month or two may not even be enough! Composed of 7 provinces (12 cities and 118 municipalities), Central Luzon is one of only two regions in the country that spans it shore-to-shore from east to west. I even call this vast place as the region from A to Z! That is A = Aurora (the eastern-most province, kissing sunrise and the Pacific Ocean) and Z = Zambales (the western-most province, hugging sunset and the West Philippine Sea (formerly the South China Sea). This area of the co...