EXPAT Nov 14-27, 2010
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ENTER THE CONFLICT ZONE PAGE 6 expatexpatexpatNEWSPAPER November 14 - 27, 2010 Vol. XXVI No. 129 expatphilippines.wordpress.com The Philippines Forum for International Readers since 1981 AccessBy JAHZEEL ABIHAIL isG. CRUZ Tourism’s Priority – Lim WHAT’S Tourism Sec. Alberto Lim (center) attends a tourism ence.” He was also president of the Makati foster competition among carriers. INSIDE confab in Subic Business Club prior to his current post. “The lack of access has been an issue due As a longtime industry insider, Lim laments to protectionism. If you have better access, the that tourism in the country has “grown too way that Bali had better access and they grew slowly” over the past decade. The Department from 30,000 [foreign visitors] to 3 million, the expects to meet this year’s target of 3.3 mil- way that Vietnam has allowed foreign carriers lion foreign visitor arrivals, and plans a 10- to to bring in the tourists, we would have higher 15-percent increase for 2011 to 3.6 million, visitor numbers,” he adds. a number that will depend on infrastructure He also hopes to regain the meetings, in- growth and policy reforms. centives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) market, which he says the country lost to its “I’m not a PR person,” says Tourism Improvements Needed Southeast Asian neighbors ever since the gov- Secretary Alberto Lim from behind his desk. Bohol needs airport upgrades; Siargao, ernment stopped supporting private sector TRAVEL A man who seems to prefer having his work more surfing facilities; Samar and Batanes, bidders. Now, the country’s largest exhibition Legazpi, beyond the lava speak for itself, he cites one obstacle above all more flights. Lim says these up-and-coming center is 9,000 square meters, compared to as currently standing in the way of a tourism destinations all face tourism infrastructure 100,000 square meters in other countries. page 2 revival: access. shortcomings, a definite priority area for the “But people want to come here for the lan- He’s had 20 solid years in the industry, most Department. guage facility and pre-imposed convention notably as former president of Ten Knots De- An avid supporter of an open skies policy as tours. So we have a lot of extras that others velopment Corporation of El Nido, Palawan previous board member of the Civil Aeronau- may not have,” Lim says. Mandatory accredi- fame, to justify his appointment. “This was tics Board, Lim said civil aviation liberaliza- tation of tourism-related establishments will tion during the former president Fidel Ramos’ additionally be carried out over not the first position offered, but I felt this was page 6 probably appropriate because of my experi- administration in the 1990s worked well to two years, beginning with ac- EXPAT AND THE EARTH SchoolsBy HANNAH VARILLA Learn Value of Rainfall Monitoring he Compostela Valley’s Monkayo Na- cated to training teachers from 17 SSP schools their students. Currently, PRG schools employ EVENTS tional High School in Mindanao re- in disaster-prone areas. These schools have also manual rain gauges in measuring accumulated Birthday bash for Imperial Palace cently nabbed the top prize in Project trained other SSP partner schools, thus adding rainfall twice a day, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Cebu Rain Gauge’s first Rain Watchers Awards, 33 more to the PRG network. Eighteen other water collected is measured in millimeters by page 4 T a recognition of best-performing schools new schools have become part of the PRG a calibrated measuring stick and is recorded based on the proper collection, reading and network, though not under the SSP. onto a data sheet. reporting of rainfall data, integration of the Observing rainfall in various sites in the Beginning in 2007, and now in coopera- awareness campaign into their events, and Philippines is important because the coun- tion with PAGASA and the Department of collaborative partnerships with stakeholders. try is composed of mountainous terrain. The Education, PRG sparks an increased aware- Project Rain Gauge (PRG) is the fruit of country is also vulnerable to extreme rainfall ness among a network of public high schools in joint efforts made among Smart Communica- events such as drought and excessive rain. To such monitoring, making the students gather tions, Inc. and Manila Observatory’s KLIMA date, there is a limited number of ground sta- their rainfall measurements to help build the Climate Change Center in an effort to build tions that can actually provide complete “fine- page 6 better anticipation and public awareness on scale rainfall patterns”. PRG aims make the various calamities brought on by strong ty- job easier. phoons. By creating ground stations across the According to Darwin Flores, senior man- country through the Smart Schools Program ager for community partnerships at Smart, (SSP), a collaboration of 50 public schools un- the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and PEOPLEAlberto Torrijos shares insights der Smart, PRG can successfully monitor the Astronomical Services Administration (PA- into Australia overall local climate with supplementary data GASA) conducts the school trainings using page 9 on local rainfall measurement obtained from modules developed by the weather bureau them. for the proper recording of rainfall data. The The first phase of the project has been dedi- teachers who receive this training educate 2 expat newspaper NOVEMBER 14 - 27, 2010 travel Perfect cone Living it Up on By C. JUDE DEFENSOR Photos by BUTCH BONSOL “As soon as you step out of the plane, you can’t miss it,” is how people who’ve already been to Legazpi consist- ently replied when asked if one can see Mayon volcano from the city. Turns out, it already looms into view if you so happen to have a window seat. The dramatic landing approach into the airport can even provoke thoughts that maybe you could end up crashing right into the peak. But finally stepping out onto the runway and having it tower over me in all its conical majesty, I couldn’t help but tweet/ Facebook status-update right away that the iconic volcano was just so much bigger, and yes, way more perfect than I could have imagined or than a zillion picture postcards could do justice to. Lest we forget that this is an active geologic entity, with a temper as fierce as the chili peppers that the Bicol- anos love to mix into their meal, a plume of smoke rises evocatively from its crater, a reminder of the fury resting within. Mayon has been both nurturing mother and hei- nous bitch to the Bicolano people. Besides her beauty that draws tourists from all over, her lava flows and spewed ash yield spectacularly fertile soil, and the heat from her belly translates to potent geothermal energy. But then when she blows her top, you better steer clear. It’s a marvel of geol- ogy how despite her devastating eruptions, Mayon’s apex always seems to re-form itself into as perfect a cone as pos- sible once the magma cools and the ash clouds clear. And like the volcano it’s most identified with, the city of Legazpi itself was also pleasantly surprising in its capacity to impress. Cruising around its streets, one feels a tranquil provincial vibe, but can also note the shiny big city ameni- ties that the city doesn’t lack for. Just a few minutes from the airport and you’re at the Hotel Venezia, an oasis of quiet elegance tucked away in the middle of a residential subdivision. Comfortable and practical, it’s an ideal base to explore the environs for those who want some peace and undisturbed “me” time on their trip. For those who want to be in the thick of things however, it has a sister prop- erty making quite a mark right in the middle of downtown Legazpi. A shiny bauble of a boutique hotel, the Hotel St. Ellis would impress even in Manila, but it’s downright radical (in the best way possible) all the way out in Al- bay. Well-appointed and designed to the nines, the hotel is also a shining ex- ample of adaptive reuse, showing how demolition-happy developers may want to learn a les- son about making the most of existing architecture. Repur- posed from a storied older building that included a hotel with a shopping ar- cade and cinema, it’s no exaggeration to say that photos of its lobby and hallways wouldn’t be out of place in the pages of that series of coffee table books on small yet chic boutique properties. What also struck NOVEMBER 14 - 27, 2010 expat newspaper 3 travel Dive Coron at me about Legazpi was how complete tions, from crunchy salted pili to a sweet of religious icons and imagine how the and convenient a tourist destination it is. better-than-marzipan mass of nuts ground people of Legazpi must have come in and Discovery Resort If you’re in a rush, it’s less than an hour’s with milk and sugar (another fave). Shop- prayed for their safety from their wrathful Discovery Resort is a tranquil and natural flight away from Manila, with both Phil- ping there was a treat in itself as cheesy neighbor. paradise on Decanituan Island, located in ippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific giv- photos of Filipino celebrities, of varying So as our plane back to Manila took the heart of the Calamain Islands north ing you a choice of arrival and departure degrees of fame (or infamy) graced the off and we stole one last glimpse at the of Palawan. Situated on its own 9-hectare times.