i am in the news

it’s true!

totoo nga that i am in the news, that i was a news item. pero ‘wag kayong matakot o mag-alala kasi hindi po ako na-aksidente. hindi rin po ako gumawa ng isang kasalanan o isang bagay na labag sa batas.

ito nga po ako sa net ngayon at hindi nasa ospital o sa loob ng bilibid. mabait po ang taong ito,lalo na kung tulog. very harmless.

anyway, ‘yong sinasabi ko po ay ‘yong isang news feature na ginawa ng sunstar cagayan de oro. i was interviewed kasi by one of their correspondents kung ano ‘yong services na binibigay ng kumpanyang pinapasukan ko. hindi naman po ako takot sa media interviews. in fact, mas gusto ko nga na nai-interview ako ng media para naman maibenta ko ‘yong mga services namin. hindi pa kasi kilala masyado ‘yong kumpanya namin. pero hindi ibig sabihin po na pipitsugin ‘yong company na ito. at kung alam lang nila kung ano kami. i’m sure maraming magsipuntahan sa akin. i’ll be the love of their lives.

iyong company kasi namin have something na makakatulong sa mga entreprenuers lalong-lalo na sa panahon ngayon.

malinawa cool spring

surigao del sur is so blessed with beautiful spots, not to mention its inhabitants. the province, which is considered one of the poorest provinces in the country, is awesomely gifted with natural bounties from its sea, rivers, mountains, forest, etc. but all these gifts and this beauty are being challenged by greed of few individuals. greed in the guise of development and generation of jobs. mining companies have started to operate in the northern part of the province which is home to one of the world largest deposit of iron.

but let’s not talk about mining issue here nor the province being a member of club 21. 

one of the tourist spots in the province is the Malinawa Cool Spring located in Parang, Cantilan, Surigao del Sur. it’s  1.5 kilometer away from the national highway. you can either hike or take a tricycle ride from the highway. it’s 6-kilometers away from the town proper of Cantilan; 2-kilometer away from Malitang-tang Cave, a mysterious cave just beside of the national highway.

fresh cool water flows beneath the boulders at Malinawa Cool Spring. if i remember it right,  100 gallons of mineral water flows every second from the mountain. it is said that beneath the rock mountain lined with trees is a wide cave. it is, however, difficult now to enter the cave since a swimming pool has been constructed to collect the flow of mineral water. unless, of course, you are a seasoned diver.

the water from the spring was used to irrigate the nearby rice farm. until today, the overflowing water still runs through the irrigation canal, which in turn irrigates farms nearby.

i had first visited the place in 1998. it was through the invitation of my cousin from Cantilan. we just drove there with a hired tricycle, had picnic and swam until our body could no longer stand the cold. we used the water to cool our drinks then. you buy a case of beer and softdrinks, put it near the opening of the mountain or spring and in just an hour,  you’ll have a ready cold drinks.

there had already been changes in the place now. the last time i visited the spring, there is already a modern well-maintained swimming pool and a mini convention center. it is already equipped with shower rooms and small cottages. thanks to the local government unit of Cantilan and the Department of Tourism. 

with this development, many could already enjoy night stay at the spring. it was difficult then to stay at night for security reason. i am not talking about being kidnap by abu-sayaf or what since our province is relatively peaceful. the mini convention center,  backdropped by nature’s splendid beauty, could also be a best place to hold weddings or any special celebrations.

i plan to bring my fiancee there. it’s best that we should enjoy first the beautiful places in the province that nurtured us for many years. she had visited other beautiful places in the country but i guess she had missed the wonders of her province. Malinawa Cool Spring is one of these places.  

luxurious road

“luxurious road” connotes something else than what it literally means. we may think that it is something or some place that tourists would love to visit. 

i could not image that the term ‘luxurious road” had already become a buzzword today. i thought we, surigaonons, were the only one who had coined this term to describe our highways. actually, i have written about this in my other blog 2-years ago. i was amused upon learning last saturday while i was having a haircut and chance upon an article in the inquirer, that even people in western samar have nicknamed their highways with it too. 

the  term “luxurious road” came from the local dialect word lukso-lukso which means hopping. this is the experience you are going to get once you pass our highways. it was like your into a cross-country competition.

i was glad when i went back to my province last year that the condition of our highways did somehow improved. few kilometers of our highways had been cemented. i just hope that within this year the construction of our highways will be finished. president arroyo had even promised surigaonons on her May 2008 visit to our province that she had a budget of a billion pesos for the Davao-Surigao Coastal Road. it had been countless years, many presidents had passed, that we have brave (i forget the past participle for this.. hehhehe)  this ugly condition of our highways, which is fit only for carabaos to pass.

i commend the people of western samar that they finally stand to fight and assert for their share of development in their province. this fight of yours is also our continuing fight in our province of surigao del sur. the people in the government should now take heed of our request. we deserve also the developmental projects they usually give to the more developed provinces and cities. after all, these urban areas needs the produce of our agricultural land.