Iloilo’s Finest - Events, Food, Places

January 14, 2011

Iloilo’s Dinagyang Festival 2011

Filed under: Events — augel @ 1:09 am

Watch Iloilo’s Dinagyang Festival 201. Nation’s most popular festival, the Dinagyang will fire open it’s opening salvo this Friday, January 14, 2011. This year’s Dinagyang Festival 2011 will have a theme of ‘Iloilo’s Finest, Nation’s Best.” Dinagyang has proven to be one of the best festivals in the country when it won Best Festival for 2 straight years.

Schedule for the Dinagyang main festivities:

January 22, 2011, Saturday
7:00:00 AM Mass for Kasadyahan San Jose Parish Church
8:00 A.M. 2011 KASADYAHAN Competition Freedom Grandstand and other stages
2:00PM SPONSORS MARDI GRAS Judging Area #4 to Freedom Grandstand
7:00 PM LUCES IN THE SKY Part II
7:00 PM Religious Sad-sad to Sr. Sto. Niño San Jose Parish Church

January 23, 2011, Sunday
6:30 a.m Concelebrated high mass for devotees, Tribes, Gov’t. Officials, LOMAS in attendance San Jose Parish Church
8:00 A.M. 2011 Dinagyang Ati CONTEST Freedom Grandstand and other stages
7:00 P.M. Awarding Ceremonies Freedom Grandstand

July 20, 2010

Noynoy Aquino SONA 2010 Live Stream Video

Filed under: Events — augel @ 10:35 pm

Watch President Benigno Aquino III State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2010 Live Stream Online. President Noynoy Aquino will deliver his first SONA at the opening of the 15th Congress at the Batasang Pambansa on July 26, 2010. As stated in Article VII, Section 23 of the 1987 Philippines Constitution:

The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also appear before it at any other time.

For President Aquino’s first SONA, he will discuss his promises to the watchful Filipinos and to the observing foreign countries. His SONA is more expected to be focus on corruption matters among government officials. The Noynoy Aquino SONA 2010 will broadcast live stream over you television and over the internet online. So don’t miss to watch this historic event. Watch Noynoy Aquino SONA 2010 live stream online for free and on pay-per-view subscription on the match event as well as on sopcast channels, justin tv, freedocast for free live stream broadcasting online.

Watch the Noynoy Aquino SONA 2010 Live Stream video.

Watch the Noynoy Aquino SONA 2010 Live Stream video.

August 31, 2009

New Blog at tenniscenter101.freehostia.com

Filed under: Features — augel @ 11:02 pm

Hey guys. I know this is not Iloilo-related but I just want you to know that I have a new blog at Tennis Center 101. This one talks about all things related to tennis: tennis news, tennis schedules, tennis matches and score updates, the players, rankings, and tennis updates. So if you’re a major tennis fan like me, you can check out my new blog at tenniscenter101.freehostia.com and read about roger, rafa, serena, andy and a whole lot more.

August 1, 2008

Celebrate Family Planning in August

Filed under: Events — augel @ 12:13 pm

The month-long celebration starts on August 1, which has been declared as Family Planning Day pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 429.

The celebration will focus on the information, education and advocacy efforts on family planning.

The month-long celebration also calls for Filipino couples to space births of at least 3 years and practice responsible parenthood so that every child born to a family is properly fed, clothed, nurtured and educated.

Family planning issues has been the subject of a heated debate lately between the Catholic Church and proponents of the “free-choice” on family planning methods. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, on the other hand, has reiterated her stand on the family planning issue in her 8th State of the Nation Address (SONA):

The President said: “By promoting natural planning and female education, we have curbed population growth to 2.04% during our administration, down from the 2.36 in the 1990’s, when artificial birth control was pushed.”

“Our campaign spreads awareness of responsible parenthood regarding birth spacing. Long years of pushing contraceptives made it synonymous to family planning. Therefore informed choice should mean letting more couples, who are mostly Catholics, know about natural family planning,” she added.

May 25, 2008

Sandbar Island Beach Resort in Bolobadiangan, Concepcion Iloilo

Filed under: Places — augel @ 9:43 pm

Summer is not complete if you can’t go to the beach. Here in Iloilo, there are a lot of options on where to go. While the usual suspects include Villa, Guimbal or Oton, there are still a lot of undiscovered beaches here. One such place is the Sandbar Island Beach Resort in Bolobadiangan, Concepcion.

How to Get There

Concepcion is located in the northern portion of Iloilo and is more or less a 2 and a half hours drive from Iloilo City. You can either go to the Boracay/North Panay Bus Terminal in Tagbak, Jaro or if you are going with the barkadas, rent a van. Both options will not cost more than 120 pesos.

The island itself is some 30 minutes boat ride away from mainland Concepcion. You should call ahead to arrange for someone from the resort to meet you in the Concepcion market (”banwa”) to take you to the island. A big motorized bangka which can sit up to 15 will cost around 1500 pesos for a round trip travel.

What You Can Enjoy

Upon arriving, you can see a white sandbar about half a kilometer long, framed in the horizon by the Pan de Azucar mountain and other islets. The water is clear as glass and very inviting. One word to describe it would be “breathtaking”.

You may opt to rent one of the two bamboo cottages near the sandbar or pay for a home stay in any of the concrete houses of the Eusala and Fransisco families who make up the island’s native population. An overnight stay will cost 1000 pesos in any of the cottages.

Unspoiled as unspoiled could get, Sandbar Island Resort doesn’t have most of the modern conveniences found in the city. Lights are run by solar energy in the Eusala ancestral house while the rest of the cottages in the beach area are powered by a generator.

Fresh fish can be bought from the main island of Concepcion or from the neighboring islands like Agho. You must also bring any other things that you might need (ice, rice, canned food etc.). You can then request the resort cook to prepare food for you for a minimal fee.

After you have your fill of sunbathing, swimming or sunset watching, you can ask for someone to take you island hopping. There are still a lot of beautiful beaches and islets surrounding the island and you can take your time to explore and know the area even more. The views around the island are simply magnificient.

In the afternoon, you can join the natives in “panginhas” - collecting shells and other edible marine life during low tide before sunset. In the evenings, the same could be done with the aid of a torch or petromax. We call this “panulo”.

After dinner, you can arrange for someone to make you a bonfire. However, you must inform the resort beforehand (ideally in the afternoon) so that they can collect firewood for you.

There are some hammocks scattered around the island. These are definitely perfect for you to lie on and just enjoy some solitude, after from the busy buzz of the city life.

Sandbar Island Beach Resort
Contact Person: Manong Sanny
Mobile: (+63)9068197516

Concepcion Municipal Tourism Office
Contact Person: Mario Lazarito, Municipal Tourism Officer
Mobile: (+63)9194588451 or (+63)918311923
Email: mla65[at]my.smart.com.ph

Next: Celebrate Family Planning in August

Next Page »

Powered by WordPress