Firefly360's Blog
A Collection of Published 360VR Articles and Personal JournalsCVMP Fatluk at Tagaytay
The Come Visit My Philippines (CVMP) Facebook page was started by Bessie Badilla, Alex Baguio and Francois Medina; inspired by an article of Tourism Sec. Mon Jimenez, they started posting images of the Philippines in an effort to entice more tourists as well as to showcase the beauty of our country.
The group has since ballooned to over 32,000 members and still growing. Last December 21, at the picturesque Josephine’s Restaurant in Tagaytay, the group held its first ever gathering with no less than Sec. Mon Jimenez in attendance.
More than a hundred members show up for the simple potluck; there was an overflowing of food, specialties that even came from different provinces; at the end of the event, the leftovers were donated to a nearby orphanage. The group also sold CVMP theme t-shirts with the entire profit going to the victims of the recent flooding in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Dumaguete.
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Mt. Kanlaon – Kinship with an Active Volcano
The Hike for Light (H4L) project is being undertaken by the Philippine Solar Foundation to provide solar lamps to those communities living near the mountains that has no access to electricity. In cooperation with Kaya ng Pinoy and the 1st Philippine Mt. Everest Team, the project aims to summit 6 of the country’s highest peaks with 200 climbers and distribute 500 solar lamps to change the lives of those communities.
148th Birth Anniversary of Gat Andres Bonifacio
Today the nation marks the 148th birth anniversary of Gat Andres Bonifacio (November 30, 1863 – May 10, 1897), founder and the supreme leader of the Katipunan.
Bonifacio was born to Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro in Tondo, Manila and was the eldest of five children.
Bonifacio was married twice. His first wife was a certain Monica who died of leprosy. His second wife, Gregoria de Jesús was of Caloocan, whom he married in 1893. They had one son who died in infancy.
On July 7, 1892, the day after Rizal’s deportation was announced, Bonifacio and others founded the Katipunan, or in full, Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (“Highest and Most Respected Society of the Children of the Country”). The secret society sought independence from Spain through armed revolt.
When Spanish authority ordered an intensive manhunt, Bonifacio called thousands of Katipunan members to a mass gathering in Caloocan, where they decided to start their revolt. The event, marked by the tearing of cedulas (community tax certificates) was later called the “Cry of Balintawak” or “Cry of Pugad Lawin”.
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2nd Anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre
November 23rd marks the 2nd anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre wherein exactly two years ago, 58 people were killed, mostly journalists. It is also the first international commemoration of the International Day to End Impunity as declared such by the International Federation of Journalists and the International Freedom of Expression Exchange to recall the Ampatuan Massacre.
The march started near the University of Santo Thomas, and then proceeded to the heart of the “university belt” in Manila where a brief program was held. Along the way, volunteers traced body outlines on the concrete pavement with chalk and leaders of different student journals toke the stage and delivered their messages. The march ended at the foot of Mendiola Bridge near Malacanang; a dramatic program was again enacted. Relatives of the victims voiced their sentiments using placards and banners while some members of the media lie on the street to have their body traced. The program ended with the lighting of candles in remembrance of the victims, for which justice has yet to be served.
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The Island of Cuyo
Author’s Note: Palawan has three capitals: Taytay was founded in 1623 and became the capital of the entire territory of the Calamianes; Cuyo became the second capital of Palawan from 1873 to 1903; and the present Puerto Princesa as the seat of the Palawan Provincial Government in 1911 by the New American Administration. This article is the last of three parts about the Palawan capitals.
Literally located in the middle of nowhere, the Cuyo Group of Islands is composed of 45 islets scattered in the Sulu Sea. It lies south of Mindoro and is halfway between Palawan and the island of Panay. Cuyo is divided in three municipalities, namely Cuyo, Agutaya, and Magsaysay. Cuyo is the oldest town in Palawan which has a culture of its own and was preserved for more than 350 years.
From the sea, Cuyo Island’s first visible landmark is a light tower by the pier. Many of the streets leading to the town have already been cemented but the town has preserved the Hispanic plaza-iglesia structures. Dominating the town centre is Cuyo’s 1860 church, convent, and fort built by the Spanish and finished in 1680; nearby stand a schoolhouse, a gymnasium, and a monument of the National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal.
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