Koronadal formerly Marbel

Did you know that Koronadal is called Marbel before? And did you know that almost all of those who know it was called Marbel are long time residents?

Koronadal is a city in South Cotabato. It was named as such because it used to be a field of tall grass called koron. Now, it looks more like a field of pineapples.



Koronadal has wide fields of pineapples. These fields are owned or leased by Dole Philippines. And Dole makes the best pineapple products I have tried. They have even ventured into making peaches preserved in syrup.

When we were there, we stayed in an inland resort called the Farm.



The Farm has several function areas for big and small groups.







And aside from their dorms they have a row of villas for more private and relaxed stay.







It is a single bedroom unit with a queen sized bed, toilet and bath and amenities of a hotel in a small bungalow.

I had a relaxed stay in spite of our hectic and sweaty schedule.

You should try it too. :)

Press release - Bicol rehab to complete soon

During one trip I had with the Secretary of Education, I was asked to prepare two press releases about the rehabilitation efforts of DepEd in the Bicol Region. Here is one of them:

DepEd Bicol rehab nears completion

The Department of Education reports a 98 percent actual physical accomplishment in the construction and repair of school buildings under the Bicol Calamity Assistance and Rehabilitation Efforts (BCARE).

“We have informed President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that of all government agencies in Bicol, DepEd is the first among BCARE agencies to complete its rehabilitation targets,” said BCARE Commission Executive Director Dr Anthony Golez during the last inter-agency coordinating meeting last January 17 at Camp Aguinaldo.

BCARE has identified 2,220 school sites where some 771 new classrooms are up for construction and 7,142 are for repairs.

Figures from DepEd's Physical Facilities and Schools Engineering Division (PFSED) showed that as of January 7, 2008, classroom construction and repair are proceeding at a steady pace with all provinces reaching almost 100-percent completion in the repair and construction of new school buildings.

DepEd is still short of full accomplishment. Specifically, in the case of Maipon Elementary School whose buildings were completely covered by mud, the entire school needs to be relocated to another site. A few other schools are yet to complete construction due to its isolated locations that limit delivery of construction materials. These schools are either located on separate islands or in remote areas no easily accessible to vehicular traffic.

Under BCARE, DepEd has earmarked some P1.2 billion for the construction of new classrooms and repair of damaged ones in Albay, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Catanduanes, Masbate and Sorsogon.

BCARE is similar to a mini-Marshall plan specifically put up to rehabilitate Bicol after suffering the brunt of the succession of super typhoons in 2006. The effort of the United States to rebuild and strengthen allied countries in Europe after World War II was called the Marshall Plan, named after then Secretary of State George Marshall.

DepEd also constructed 15 typhoon-resistant school buildings in Camarines Sur, Legaspi City, and Albay. Six more buildings of this type are being put up around Bicol with funding from the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Another six will be constructed in Region 4-B MIMAROPA also through UNICEF.

This new type of school building doubles as academic classroom and evacuation center. It is made of concrete and steel and elevated one meter above the ground.

END

Smoke in your face

Filipinos are fond of buying scooters.

Scooters are cheap, easy to maintain, and can get you around even in the heaviest of vehicle traffic.

Scooters first came out with their original "kit" design.

Improvements came through paint colors and paint styles. Then came the stickers and logos and artworks on the motorbikes.

After that, flashy lights were introduced. Lights of different colors and intensities "create" and "image" for the bike.

And then there came sound systems. Boom boxes on wheels playing gangsta and punk via a portable CD player.

To further pimp their ride, custom hoods, seats, and tail pipes came.

There are tailpipes that are as big as those of big bikes. And there are those that are designed to make sound like a high speed Ferrari.

And last, but not the least, tailpipes that are angled upward so that the blast of its exhaust slaps you in the face. And this is annoying.

Why does the Land Transportation Franchising Board (LTFRB) not take notice of this? Can't anyone provide high angle and low angle limits for the tailpipe's tilt?

When scooters blast exhaust of my face, I really get irritated. How I wish I can break that tailpipe into two to teach the rider a lesson about being considerate.

Alien engineering part 3

Third installment of the video on alien engineering discussion effects of inertia and a spacecraft's maneuverability.

Credit goes to Danni4815162342



It is heart-stopping.

Traffic management

I am glad that schools are closed today. I was able to get to work in record time. This made me remember the last time I was held back by heavy traffic by inconsiderate drivers.

Saint Paul Drive is a road in Pasig City that is commonly used by drivers going from C-5 to Meralco Avenue. Traffic in this road gets heavy during school days. It is specially heavy early in the morning when students are dropped off by their parents, at noon when primary school pupils are picked up, and in the afternoon when the rest are picked up.

This is usually managed by making the traffic flow in one direction only. And it works.

Unfortunately, the four-lane road gets obstructed just before the entrance gate up to the exit gate. It is in that area where private vehicles collect before entering the gate and where they spread out when they exit.

I thought that to better manage the flow of traffic and allow those just passing by to go through the area without hindrance, the four lanes must be divided.

The two lanes right beside the school perimeter can be used for the qeueu of parents of Paulinians. And the far lanes be kept open for non-Paulinians who just want to get through to Meralco and on to Megamall.

However, some of the more rich and spoiled parents want to do things their way and it jams the flow.

It is early in the morning and heads get hot due to the jam. Well, leave it to the rich to get the roads filled. :)

Travel time - Vacation venues

While riding the FX to work, I heard two guys talk about this:

1. Time to report to the office
2. Where to stay during vacation

FX is a model of the Toyota Tamaraw Asian utility vehicle (AUV) primarily used as a public utility vehicle (PUV) due to its large capacity. It comes between the regular jeepney and the taxi cab.

Reporting time

It is common that people who know each other are interested in the times they get to work. This discussion usually start discussions covering other topics.

This topic is also a form of assurance for some that they are not the only ones who are late for work.

Vacation

As vacation looms, where a person spends that time forms another topic. People compare notes on their planned vacations. They talk about where to stay, what to do, and sometimes how much it costs.

Today, the other passenger will be spending his vacation in the house of one of his buddies. His buddy will be alone this Holy Week and he welcomes the company. He will spend it there with his other buddies and they will probably drink themselves to exhaustion during the four days they will be together.

Religion - Palm Sunday

This Palm Sunday at mass, we heard part of the life of Jesus Christ. From the time he was sentenced by the people to be crucified. I was expecting the homily to be about that but I heard otherwise.

The priest instead read the letter from Cardinal Rosales of Manila. I was expecting it to contain anti-government statements or pro-government ones. But I heard none of those.

The homily centered on the need for our willingness to go through "the desert of change." It asks each and every Catholic to recognize our wrong-doings, commit oursleves to correct them, and vow never to do the same again.

Rather than calling for change in leadership or express support for it, the letter instead appealed for change. Change in our hearts. Change in our lives.

The letter pointed out the corruption and abuses that plaqued our country. A plaque that once was and is still considered as a cancer of society. Corruption is seen not just as an ill in the government but that of the society as well.

In the movie Evan Almighty God, played by Morgan Freeman, asked Evan to build an ark for a great flood is soon to come. As Evan struggled with himself, his work as a Congressman, and as a family man, tools and lumber were delivered to him.

The flood did came but it was not the same flood that wiped the world clean during biblical times. It was a sudden rush of water when a dam, whose construction was substandard due to corruption, ruptured.

In the end, what was emphasized in the film is not doing great things but a simple act of random kindness at a time.

Cardinal Rosales and the bishops of Manila call on all Filipinos to make some changes in themselves. One simple change done altogether a day at a time is one great step toward a better future.