MANILA, Philippines [2nd UPDATE] - In the first 3 months of 2012, the Philippine economy posted a surprising 6.4% growth — higher than the expections of market players, economists, funding institutions and even the government itself.

This economic performance is the second highest quarterly growth for the Aquino administration and “the highest first quarter performance in a non-election year since 2006,” noted the Aquino government.

But the Agri Sector only grew by a percent. This is not inclusive.

A clean and not-so-crowded-with-hawkers-and-beggars Plaza Miranda and Quiapo Church, anyone has seen this kind of scene in their living memory?

An effigy is a sculptural representation of a well-known human being, usually gracing church entrance or any other prominent buildings obviously in Church Architecture it is borrowed from the west. The Fu Dog is a sculpture of an animal in Oriental Buildings, to signify that the building is prominent or is the home of a well-known person. The Fu Dog is always in pairs. The Fu Dog is very much borrowed from Oriental Culture.

The East meets the West, San Agustin Church, Manila.

Insigne y leal ciudad de Manila

There are 10 artists who have already played the iconic Superheroine Darna in Film and TV.

Make it 11 if you want Dolphy’s Darna Kuno to be counted.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Luneta Hotel, we’re almost there. Like Ayuntamiento de Manila, this is also one major major Old Manila Landmark that I’ve seen from its derelict and ruined state to its rebirth.

It looks like a really really romantic wedding setting.

Burgos Museum, Vigan City

This is just behind the Ilocos Sur Provincial Capitol and is the birthplace of the Priest Martyr Jose Burgos. The house was actually built in the late 1700’s and the parents of Jose Burgos bought this from the owner. The house was bought by the Government and is now a regional branch of the National Museum showcasing some of Ilocandia’s most illustrious (and controversial) historical figures. The Museum also showcases the architecture of Ilocos Churches and the culture of the Ilocanos in the Prehispanic and the Hispanic periods.

For a Metro Manila resident who is used to the presence of U-turn slots, Flyovers and other eyesores, Davao might be a weird city.

This is my first time to be in Davao (in Mindanao in a more larger sphere), for a Metro Manila guy who is used to have Mindanao as a conflict headline, the first thing I realized is that Imperial Manila media and the Foreign Embassies had been messing with us for so long. Davao (and Mindanao generally) is a peaceful place.

Metro Manila has been messed up and is overwhelmed by its traffic, garbage and pollution problems, and yet Davao manages to get it organized: vehicles run on a good speed even in the absence of a speed limit rule, there are no garbages dumped in the street, sidewalk vendors don’t exist and sidewalks are for pedestrians, as it should be, and everybody seems to obey traffic rules, median islands of highways are neatly landscaped and provides shade to pedestrians. Davao’s orderliness puts Metro Manila to shame. And yes, the city proper is highly walkable.

And yes, McArthur Highway is Davao’s best highway, with the road bound to Toril District giving you a scenic panorama of Mt. Apo.

I was in in the city for only 2 days, and it is bitin. I might come back in the future.

DOT wants drinking to be more fun in PH with ‘Manila sunshine’

Cheers! Manila may soon be known for more than just its traffic; thanks to ‘Manila Sunshine’, a signature cocktail “that will define the city of Manila.”

Like the city itself, Manila Sunshine is a combination of the country’s best ingredients. 

“What makes Manila Sunshine distinctly Filipino is the base of lambanog, or coconut wine. This drink is mostly produced in the province of Quezon, which is known to be the biggest producer of lambanog; the process of making and appreciation of which has been a part of the Filipino tradition for centuries,” Makati Shangri-La, the hotel that came up with it said.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said he was “very pleased that the Manila Sunshine drink is finally a reality.” He said the Department of Tourism had approached the hotel to create and name a drink after Manila.

On top of the lambanog base are flavors of pineapple and mango, a hint of orange from triple sec, and the spice of Tanduay dark rum. The drink is also garnished with tanglad, or lemon grass, and a pineapple slice.

Makati Shangri-La also offers a non-alcoholic version, the Virgin Manila Sunshine. The drinks were launched at the hotel’s Circles Event Café and is available at Makati Shangri-La’s bars.

The DOT has been promoting the Philippines as a top tourism destination. It has launched social media and international television campaigns to promote tourism to the Philippines. 

According to DOT figures, more than 1.1 million tourists arrived from January to March, a 16-percent increase from last year’s tourist arrivals.

“From this record, we have now achieved 25 percent of our international visitor target of 4.6 million for this year,” Jimenez said when the figures were announced.

He said the increased arrivals show “the world is now starting to see that ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ is not just a bunch of words on a streamer.”

Juan Luna, in 1886 painted a painting called Espana en Filipinas, which personified Spain and the Philippines. The personification of Spain carries the personification of the Philippines in a stair, onvthe way to progress as Spain showed it. This painting is in the Lopez Museum. This is the first personification of the Philippines ever, and I don’t even know why Juan dela Cruz remained.

The same allegory is shown in the most recognizable landmark of Carcar in Cebu, the Carcar Rotunda. Here, in place of Spain, the personification of America is shown here, carrying Filipinas and pointing her to the way to progress. (Do I have followers from Cebu here? Can you please tell me what is the thing that “Mother America” points here?)

I have yet to see a work of art in which Filipinas carries herself on the way to progress, without a maternal or paternal figure saddling her upwards.

Photo Sources:

Espana en Filipinas 

Carcar Rotunda

PS: I don’t know anything about the sculptor of the Carcar Rotunda.

Benham Rise belongs to the Philippines.

The United Nations has approved the Philippines’ territorial claim to Benham Rise, an undersea landmass in the Pacific Ocean potentially rich in mineral and natural gas deposits, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said.

“We own Benham Rise now,” Paje said in a media interview. “This is for future Filipinos,” he added, noting that the 13-million-hectare area off the coast of Aurora province has been shown to have rich mineral deposits.

Paje said the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) sent the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) a letter last week informing the agency that the landmass is part of the country’s continental shelf and territory.

Benham Rise, a seismically active region facing Luzon’s eastern seaboard, is rising slowly to the surface of the Pacific Ocean, Paje said. Perhaps, in a million years—a blink in the planet’s geological time—it will be habitable, he said.

It was the coming together of the best festivals in the Philippines in one place… I can’t even think of any other event in the country that brings together Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in celebration of the ethnic diversity of the nation.

Aliwan Festival can even equal Brazil’s Carnival or New York’s Macy’s Day Parade. If you can’t afford yet to do inter-island travels, I suggest you should see this to feel the diversity of the country and to break your ignorance of the cultures and traditions of the other islands. Cultural Diversity, it’s more fun in the Philippines :)

The description of the event from Aliwan Festival’s Site.

Few nations can compare with the diversity of  artistic forms that can be found in the Philippines. Although separated by no more than a few kilometers of land or water, or both,  our islands are cradles of vastly different cultures.  Anyone who wants proof need only watch the 5,000 dancers, musicians, and artisans that compete in ALIWAN FIESTA every year.

Performing through a four-kilometer stretch along Roxas Boulevard CCP Complex, between the CCP Complex and Quirino Grandstand, massive contingents of streetdancers are accompanied by gigantic floats atop of which ride flawless muses – all  depicting the most popular festivals throughout the archipelago.  Their efforts do not go unrewarded.

Apart from being the toast of media, they vie for  a cool million-peso stake in this unique grand prix – not to mention the prestige of being the best of the best.

Anyways, I went shooting with bunch of awesome people and fixed our Aliwan Photo Sets Here for easier indexing. Click here to see them all!

PS: These are the shots obtained from my mobile phone. I used a film camera yesterday but I still haven’t developed it.

I learned from Davao that it takes 12 freaking years for a mangosteen tree to bear fruit and it only bears fruit every two years and its life span is a century, and the only edible part of it is the white part (minus the seed). That makes the mangosteen so expensive to buy.

Photo from here