Tourist, locals rally vs. hotel construction in Puka
Transcription
Tourist, locals rally vs. hotel construction in Puka
VOLUME 5, ISSUE No. 5 JUNE 11-20, 2015 ‘VIGIL FOR BORACAY’ Tourist, locals rally vs. hotel construction in Puka O By Karen Bermejo | Photos by Jack Jarilla ver a hundred locals and tourists gathered at the famous Willy’s Rock here to call on the local and national government to protect the island’s environment. The protesters headed by the Friends of Flying Foxes, a group leading conservation efforts for bats here, is urging the municipal government of Malay to cancel the permit for the construction of an “underwater resort” at Puka Beach in Barangay Yapak. They are referring to the Seven Seas Boracay Hotel and Residences being constructed in the area. The protest started with a candlelighting ceremony at the beachfront and a public reading of an “environmental oath” PROGRAM SCHEDULE 5-7AM : TODO KOMENTARYO Jujet Reyes 7-10:00AM : TODO LATIGO Jonathan Cabrera 10:00-12:00PM : MORNING MUSIC 12:00PM-2:00PM : TODO AKSYON Che Indelible 2-3:00PM : PALAUTWASAN MO Jess Salonzo | Reynald Bandiola 3-5:00PM : TODO MUSIKAHAN Dj Daxie For more information visit us at www.boracayinformer.com like and follow us on to conserve the island. Boracay-based international artist Armand “TJ” Tajnlangit and a girl led the singing of songs about environmental conservation during the activity. The group is also behind the online petition urging to stop development at the Puka Beach. Continued to page 2... 5-6:00PM : TODO SERBISYO PUBLIKO Jerome Vega 6-6:30PM : TODO BALITA Jess Salonzo 6:30-8:30PM : HALO-HALO NIGHT Dj Callie 8:30PM-10:30PM : TODO LABUGAY Dj Daxie 10:30PM-5AM : MUSIC /boracayinformer /RadyoTodo885Fm BORACAY INFORMER | 1 The online petition on Change.org continues to gain support and was signed by over 10,000 supporters. According to the Seven Seas website, the Boracay property will have the largest number of underwater hotel resort rooms -- 77 -- with “large acrylic panel windows boasting a 12 square meters of viewing area, or equivalent to 192 inch of viewing screen beneath the sea.” Earlier, the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment an d Natur al Res o ur c es (DENR) in Iloilo said that the underwater hotel of Seven Seas has not been given an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC). The DENR said the company failed to submit all the required documents thus an ECC has yet to be issued. The company despite having no ECC still continued the construction of buildings which is a violation of environmental laws, according to DENR. The Seven Seas, however, acquired a building permit from the local government. Mabel Bacani, executive secretary of Malay Mayor John Yap said they issued the building permit to the hotel for they have submitted the necessary requirement. Bacani also clarified that an ECC is not a requirement to acquire a building permit.* (Karen Bermejo/Boracay Informer) BORACAY BLAZE BFP: ‘Talipapa Bukid fire a wake-up call’ T he fire that turned Boracay’s Talipapa Bukid into ashes should serve as a wake-up call to local authorities and stakeholders of the island, according to the Bureau of Fire and Protection. Fire Inspector Stephen Jardeleza, chief of the Boracay Island Special Fire Protection Unit, said the firefighting capability of the local fire department must be improved. He said additional fire trucks and better fire equipment is also needed. The BFP-Boracay currently has only two fire trucks – a mini-fire truck with capacity to carry 1,000 gallons of water and another mini-fire truck that can carry 500 gallons of water. The BFP-chief said the location of the Talipapa Bukid, situated on a hilly portion of Sito Manggayad, Manocmanoc village made it harder for them to combat the blaze. Jardeleza said that the Talipapa fire was put out with the aid of the Boracay Fire Rescue Ambulance Volunteers (BFRAV) of the Boracay Action Group. Jardeleza said the Talipapa Bukid is among the identified fire-prone areas in the island. The others are the E’Mall and the Muslim community in Barangay Manocmanoc and D’Talipapa in Barangay Balabag. “They are areas in congested locations and not accessible for fire-fighting apparatus,” he said. DAMAGE The fire, considered as the biggest to hit the island resort started at around 2:50 p.m. It was controlled at around 4:50 p.m. but was By Karen Bermejo only put out at 7:10 a.m. the following day. Jardeleza said at least 100 mercantile stalls and 100 residential and boarding houses were gutted by the fire. The P20 million estimated damage meanwhile could increase upon the submission of affidavit of loss of the fire victims, according to Jardeleza. According to the Municipal Social Welfare and Development of Malay, the fire affected at least 185 families, and over 800 individuals. The covered gym and the day care center of Barangay Manocmanoc served as evacuation centers for some fire victims. HELP FOR VICTIMS Aside from the relief assistance from the local government unit of Malay, the Philippine Red Cross –Boracay Chapter and other private individuals in the island also gave food packs and offered temporary shelter to the fire victims. Some residents of the island also opened their doors to the victims Boracaynon Marissa Licerio-Gabriel, who now resides in Switzerland allowed three families to stay in her house. “This is our only way to express our sympathy,” said Gabriel. Gabriel said she will allow the families to stay until they could find a new place. TALIPAPA FIRE Meanwhile, it was not the first time that a flea market in this resort island was razed by fire. Ten years ago, on Jan. 21, 2005, a fire also hit the old Boracay Talipapa, located near the boat station 3 of the White Beach. The public market was then transferred to the present site of Talipapa Bukid. Most of the victims of the June 17 fire were also victims of the 2005 fire. One of them is businessman Edward dela Cruz. Dela Cruz, also the president of the Boracay Talipapa Business Owner Credit Cooperative said most them were not able to save their goods because the fire reached their area quickly. “We saw when the fire started. We tried to stop it, but the fire spread quickly and reached the wet market,” he recalled. He said that more than 100 kilos of meat delivered that day were just burnt by the fire. Despite what happened, Dela Cruz still hopes to recover again from this tragedy. RELOCATION The vendors have transferred to Sitio Kipot in Manocmanoc village, about 200 meters away from Talipapa Bukid. Malay Councilor Jupiter Gallenero, who heads the Boracay Fire Incident Management, said the vendors were allowed to put up their stalls in the 1,000 square meter private property in the area. He said the relocation site will be used for free by the vendors for the next three months as the municipal government also plans to construct a standard public market in the area.* BORACAY INFORMER | 3 Aklan police stations to receive patrol jeeps P olice stations in Aklan will soon receive brand new-patrol jeeps, Interior and Local Government secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II said during his recent visit in the province. Roxas said patrol jeeps will help improve the anti-criminality and emergency- and disasterresponse operations of police officers here. The Philippine National Police is under the Department of Interior and Local Government. Roxas was in the province on June 13 to distribute cash aid under the Recovery Assistance for Yolanda (RAY) program of DILG. He meanwhile assured Aklan mayors that each town will receive patrol jeep regardless of their political affiliation. “There will be no discrimination based on political affiliation. All towns in Aklan will get brand-new police patrol jeeps,” Roxas said. “Through this, we can boost anti-criminality measures and consequently entice more tourists,” he added. (Informer/ Boy Ryan Zabal) 4 | BORACAY INFORMER Aklan police WV’s ‘second fastest’ By Boy Ryan Zabal M embers of the Aklan Police Provincial Officer were the “second fastest” in Western Visayas in terms of average response time to crime calls. APPO registered an average actual response time of 4.49 minutes in April, records from Police Regional Office 6 showed. Its officers responded to 381 crime calls that month. APPO is second to Bacolod City Police Office, which recorded an average 3.82 minutes, and responded to 605 crime calls. The Aklan police officers’ record in April was an improvement from its 5.2 minutes average response time recorded in January. Next to Aklan was Iloilo City Police Office, with an average response time of 4.95 minutes to 331 calls, followed by the Regional Public Safety Battalion with 5 minutes to one crime call. Other police stations in the region and their average response time for April are as follows: * Antique Police Provincial Office – 5.02 minutes, 160 calls * Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office – 5.54 minutes, 1,272 calls * Capiz Police Provincial Office – 5.8 minutes, 271 calls * Guimaras Police Provincial Office – 8.35 minutes, 62 calls; and * Iloilo Police Provincial Office – 9.32 minutes, 557 calls. Overall, police officers in Western Visayas responded to 3,640 crime calls in April, records showed. Officers at the New Washington police station were the “fastest,” with an average response time of 2.52 minutes in April; it responded to 21 crime calls. Average response time and the number of crime calls the other Aklan police stations responded to that month are as follows: * Makato – 2.63 minutes, 19 calls * Libacao – 2.68 minutes, three calls * Numancia – 2.99 minutes, 52 calls * Madalag – 3.60 minutes, five calls * Tangalan – 3.75 minutes, eight calls * Malay – 3.81 minutes, 14 calls * Ibajay – 4.05 minutes, 11 calls * Kalibo – 4.10 minutes, 112 calls * Banga – 4.27 minutes, 14 calls * Buruanga – 4.33 minutes, three calls * Lezo – 4.47 minutes, five calls * Boracay (Tourist Assistance Center) – 5 minutes, 40 calls * Balete – 5.36 minutes, 14 calls * Nabas – 6.42 minutes, 26 calls * Altavas – 7.71 minutes, seven calls * Malinao – 8.82 minutes, 11 calls; and * Batan – 9.38 minutes, 16 calls.* BORACAY INFORMER | 5 FEATURE L isteners and readers of Radyo Todo and Boracay Informer extended help to at least 119 families who are victims of the fire that razed 100 houses in Purok 2 Laserna at Kalibo’s poblacion last June 12. The relief goods, mostly clothing and kitchen wares were donated by listeners and netizens of Radyo Todo and Boracay Informer thru its Todo Bueoligan campaign. The distribution of the relief goods was conducted on June 19, exactly one week after the fire which broke during the Independence Day. The fire, which started at around 4 p.m. of June 12 affected more than 100 families composed of over 500 individuals. Katodo Jonathan Cabrera, the general manager of both media companies, who also celebrated his birthday that day led the distribution. According to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), an electrical short circuit caused the fire The area is one of the identified fire-prone areas in the capital town. Fire investigators estimated a total of P2 million worth of properties were lost in the blaze.* TODO BUEOLIGAN Radyo Todo, Boracay Informer extends help to Kalibo fire victims TBK Jun Cabecilla handing over his service in relief distribution to his kaBarangay at Purok 2 C. Lacerna, Kalibo, Aklan a week after fire engulfs the said area. 6 | BORACAY INFORMER Radyo TODO Station Manager Jonathan Cabrera assisting Relief Distribution at Purok 2 C. Lacerna, Kalibo. With much excitement, this boy hurriedly wear his shirt thanking the Radyo TODO staff for giving it to him. BORACAY INFORMER | 7 www.boracayinformer.com FIND, FOLLOW, AND CONNECT WITH US Boracay Informer is published by HMV Multimedia Productions, Inc. with main business office at Manggayad Main Road, Brgy. Manoc-manoc, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, Philippines. w w w. b o r a c a y i n f o r m e r. c o m Publisher HMV Multimedia Productions, Inc. I B General Manager Jonathan Cabrera Operations Manager Lilia dela Cruz Editor-in-Chief Karen Bermejo Layout & Graphics Kent Jufre Taborda Online Administrator Bryan Gonzales Columnists & Contributors: Megs Lunn Atty. Ronquillo Tolentino Odon Bandiola Narciso Dionson Maria Solita Zaldivar-Guzman Michel van der Kleij Central Office : Manggayad Main Road, Manoc-manoc, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan Tel. No. (036) 288-2418 (Operations & Marketing) Manila Office: Big Bag Marketing Services and Promotions Email: [email protected] 8 | BORACAY INFORMER An emotional world OPINION BORACAY FURRY TAILS Michel van der Kleij H umans are an emotional lot. That much is very clear to me. In fact, I can’t help noticing during my travels (and I’ve been to quite a few places ranging from Europe to Africa and the Americas to Asia) that emotions vary not only from individual to individual, but also from region to region. Being from Northern Europe, I’m not usually the emotional type but rather more on the calculating end of the scale. Still, emotions are part of everyday life and we continually transcend from one emotion into the next; all day long and even as we sleep. The evolutionary reason for emotions is still being debated in the scientific world. Some emotions clearly make more (logical) sense than others. Imagine that a predator would be prowling a prey and then turn soft just at the moment he or she should strike. Such a predator and all those like it would soon die out. Hence, the need for aggression in a predator seems obvious. But the predator, assuming we are dealing with a mammal, is most likely also a parent. Clearly, the opposite of aggression is required for raising the young. Call it tenderness, or love even, the mammalian parent has it. The need to provide for a young family therefore calls for two emotions. However, as a mammal you can’t become a parent by yourself, so you need a partner. You could argue that the urge to procreate in mammals and other animals is what drives them together, but in the case of mammals something else happens: pair bonding. Observe what happens when a parent that has been out hunting returns home with the prey: that partner will be greeted with enthusiasm by both the other partner and the young. The home coming is indeed an event that gives joy to the whole family. And if you’ve ever watched a cat or a dog as it was sleeping, you’d notice the same REM (Rapid-Eye-Movement) sleep, indicating vivid dreaming. What I’m getting at is that most animals, and most certainly the ones that stand close to us from an evolutionary point of view, primates and other mammals, must know emotions just as we do. They all show the same complex mix of emotions as humans, including facial expressions and body language (albeit different than ours). The capability to have emotions enables them to exhibit very complex behavioral patterns, such as hunting, playing, social group interaction and even mourning when a well-loved member of the group dies. It is generally accepted that highly social animals such as ourselves, other primates, dogs, elephants, dolphins etc. evolved to have larger brains to deal with the complexities of emotions and social behavior. Clearly, emotions have shown to be advantageous throughout evolution. Ethically speaking then, animals deserve to be treated with the same respect as humans. Since they experience fear, trust, betrayal, joy, hunger, thirst, and so on, we cannot possibly allow them to suffer. This is what our rescue mission at Aklan Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Center is all about: we give joy and respect to former stray animals, many of them disabled. Why? Because we are morally obliged to do so, after all we share the same emotions! Please tune in next time when I will explain a bit more about the virtues of vegetarianism. Would you like me to write about a particular subject or give feedback, please contact me at [email protected] The Aklan Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation page is also on Facebook. https://www.facebook. com/pages/Aklan-Animal-Rescue-RehabilitationCenter-Philippines/307429692618106 BORACAY INFORMER | 9 How to plan an ideal ‘low-cost’ wedding COLUMN CLOUD WATCHING “ “ Maria Solita Zaldivar-Guzman In love, what is meant to be will always find a way Matt was 22 and I was 20 when our love story started. We met in an unconventional, but perhaps in a modern way, which is through Facebook. Four months after our meeting on the social networking site, we became a couple. It was in the wee hours of the 4th day of January 2011, he was 10 | BORACAY INFORMER out drinking with his friends while I was in my room blogging. A text message popped up, asking me to marry him. It was him. My heart pounded because of excitement while telling him I would marry him in a heartbeat—Las Vegas style. Then, the moment turned into a funny scene when he said he could not bring me to Las Vegas for a wedding because it was too expensive. I laughed but then explained to him what I meant with the Las Vegas style. I said we would get married instantaneously to start the rest of our lives together right then and there. It was the first time we ever talked about marriage on a serious note, the first time he asked someone to marry him, and the first time I said ‘yes’ to a proposal. We knew; we just knew, we are meant to be. I went home to Aklan for the Ati-Atihan Festival 2011 and we lived together for two weeks. It was another first that happened to us, living under the same roof despite being regarded as taboo. It was euphoria. We felt like newlyweds, like real husband and wife. We planned a secret civil wedding but young as we were, we failed to comply with the requirements. That plan was something nobody knew except us and we felt delighted that we were that certain toward each other in a short span of time. We were officially engaged on my 21st birthday when he gave me a silver engagement ring as his present. From living under the same roof to being apart made our love grew stronger. Before I left for Ireland, he went to Manila to COLUMN spend three days with me. Then 134 days passed and I found myself inside an airplane back to my hometown and hours after, I was riding on Matt’s motorcycle and we had dinner at a restaurant. That same night, I went home to his house and since that very day, slept and woke up next to him. Our journey to forever has finally started—a new chapter of our love story. We had been planning on getting married to give closure to the speculations of those who did not approve of our avantgarde love story. But the odds did not favor us until we eventually decided to have a child. A month before our birthdays, our parents prompted us to get married, which we believed was very timely too. We had a red-themed civil wedding complete with an entourage on the 21st of February 2012. There was no honeymoon, of course, as it seemed not anymore necessary. We never really gave much thought about having a church wedding. It was something we did not really push to happen just as long as it would take place before he turned 30. But that changed early this year. It all started with Yeng and Ya n ’s wo n d e r l a n d - i n s p i r e d wedding on Valentine’s Day. I was so in love with the concept of their union and I told Matt that I wanted the origami bouquet as well. A week after that, we attended Tyke and Kate Del Rosario’s wedding, in which Ball was a firsttime ring bearer. We both liked their wedding concept and the celebration was intimate, simple yet elegant. During the reception, Kate danced with her father and I got teary-eyed. Matt noticed and asked me what was wrong. I told him that I felt a little nostalgic knowing that I will never have th o s e f ath er- an d - dau ghter moments in our wedding day. Not that it mattered because I am not the only one in the world anyway. He placed his arm around my shoulder and told me that we will get married and that it was going to be a church wedding. He never liked cathedral weddings, thus when he said that, to say that I was overwhelmed was an understatement. I asked him when and he assured me that it will be sometime in 2017. One night, I stumbled across prenuptial sessions and was amazed with the hipster and quirky themes. I showed it to him and joked that when I win an online contest or a lottery then we could get married anytime. He laughed at me but agreed if ever my bizarre thoughts come to life. To cut the long story short, it was my father-in-law who became the answer to our financial dilemma regarding the wedding. When I told Dadat about our plan to get married, he gave us the go signal almost immediately. Matt told me to do the whole planning and he will help take care of the budget. I was ecstatic so I immediately informed my mother and mother-in-law about it, then our siblings and immediate family members. I was filled with wedding ideas until I was able to conceptualize the “Meant To Be Wedding”—a low-cost wedding, mostly done pro-bono, exchange deals, and hand-made. Matt was glad that I decided to become our own wedding planner with the help of our friends because it would make the whole wedding even more meaningful. That way, we can trim down our budget especially the miscellaneous. From the first day that I started with the preparations, the two of us never argued about the wedding. Every day seemed blissful for me and he loved that I was happy and smiling, and I was not at all stressed. Soon enough, he started planning with me and even suggested using Marsala as our color motif. BORACAY INFORMER | 11 We went to the Cathedral Parish of St. John the Baptist and booked our wedding on the 21st of October. That date is our 5th anniversary as a couple and it is the ideal date to exchange our vows in front of God and our loved ones. My idea of an origami campaign was to invite people to help in creating the flowers for the bouquet and the artsy decorations. Karen Bermejo, my EIC in Informer, and Harold Sarabia of Harold Sarabia Couture, both consented to become the team leaders for the campaign. Karen and Jasmin Homo, my editor for Raven Magazine and Soup Bowl, will also help me in creating the Raven Magazine special edition which will be the wedding giveaway. To top it all, Francisco Intela, one of Aklan’s pillars in fashion, designed my wedding gown. Matt and I have a song entitled ‘Soup Song’, which was written by me and sung by Vep Vega of Coffee Drama. Vep is our wedding singer and we will use that song for our music video, which we intend to air during the reception. The music video is directed by Romart Martesano, founder of Aklanon Cinema. JS Rey of Dodge & Burn Images is the one in-charge of the prenuptial sessions along with DJ Rey and Cristian Dioso. We have already started with the first two e-sessions and the photos will be used for the Save the Date and wedding invitation. Family and friends sponsored some of the wedding expenses. I already did the wedding programs, guest list, marital bliss bookmarks, and paper airplanes with a few helping hands. The entourage will be the one to design and pay for their own attires as long as they follow the color palettes that we chose for them. Alas, we are truly blessed with people who do not only love us, but 12| BORACAY INFORMER support us all the way. The thing about our wedding is that everyone is involved and can suggest. It does not have to be expensive to be beautiful or perfect. We want that the ones we love have a hands-on part in our wedding. Matt and I promised that we will not stress ourselves with things not happening according to plan. If the flower girls and the bearers have a tantrum, let their parents walk with them. If the color shades of the dresses are not exactly the same, then so be it. If the sound system has a technical glitch, have someone sing it in acapella. If the food does not taste great, drink beer to swallow. Weddings are never going to be perfect. There will always be details not followed. We just have to refrain from getting disappointed when things do not happen as expected. It is our day and we have to cherish every moment of it, enjoy every second. Four months from now and I will walk down the aisle of the cathedral holding an origami bouquet, excited to reach the altar where my husband is waiting, with Ball sitting on his shoulders grabbing his hair, both of them smiling at me while I smile back at them.* Boracay Kitchen Mainroad Station 1, Boracay Island Malay, Aklan Tel No. (036) 288-2410 iBoracay I Boracay D’mall de Boracay, Boracay Island Malay Aklan 09053460464 White House Resort Station 1, Boracay Island Malay Aklan Tel No. 036-288-3675 ASYA PREMIER SUITES BORACAY Sitio Cagban, Brgy. Manoc-Manoc, Boracay Island Malay, Aklan Philippines 5608 Tel: (6336) 288.1790 Fax: (6336) 288.1789 TILAPIA N' CHIPS G/F Kamayan Bldg. Station 2, Balabag, Boracay Island, Malay Phone:(036) 288 2283 BANS RESORT Station 1, Barangay Balabag, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan Tel. Nos.: (036) 288-3156 / (036) 288-3837 Fax No.: (036) 288-4510 Mobile No.: (0909) 691-1038 CROWN REGENCY & CONVENTION CENTER Boat Station 2, Main Road Barangay Balabag, Boracay Island Malay, Aklan 5608, Philippines Phone number: (+6336) 506 3111 Fax number: (+6336) 506 3131 E-mail: [email protected] CANYON DE BORACAY Station 2 Alice in Wonderland, St. Boracay Island, Malay, Borocay Island, Philippines OLE Spanish Tapas Bar & Restaurant D’Mall Phase 4 -#1, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, Philippines Phone number: (036) 288-5940 Email: [email protected] Website:www.oleinboracay.com The Orient Sun Travel and Tours Across E'Mall, Zone 7 Manggayad Highway, Manoc-Manoc, Boracay Island Malay Aklan, (036) 288-2789/09278220727 Email:[email protected]/[email protected] EMERGENCY HOT LINES Municipal Tourism Office Department of Tourism - D’Mall Boracay Tourist Assistant Center/PNP Boracay Action Group Red Cross Phil. Coast Guard Boracay Hospital Bureau of Fire Protection Municipal Health Office Mayor’s Office Malay Auxiliary Police PNP Cagban (036) 288-7108 (036) 288-3689 (036) 288-3066 (036) 288-2338 (036) 288-2068 (036) 288-6150 (036) 288- 3041 (036) 288-4198 (036) 288-5624 (036) 288-8772 (036) 288-5269 (036) 288-4392 For iMap inclusion, just contact: (036) 288-2418 www.boracayinformer.com BORACAY INFORMER | 13
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