Images from the Celestial Gardens

Death comes to all

But great achievements raise a monument

Which shall endure until the sun grows old.

- George Fabricius

Celestial Gardens is a cemetery in Banawa, Cebu City privately owned and managed by the TANCHAN Foundation. The 5.5 hectare burial ground on a high hill is open to the public. One Saturday, I decided to explore it on my own.



The "Gardens" is popular during the Holy Week because of its Stations of the Cross (following the stations in meditative prayer is popularly called "Way of the Cross"). I decided to follow the route of the Stations.

I found out that the "Way of the Cross" is quite conducive to meditative prayer as the route takes you to trees, sprawling greens and uphill climbs. Since it was not the Lenten season when I visited the "Gardens", the Stations were not yet tended. Vines were covering some statues, the white paint of some of them were washed-out and some show visible damage due to acid rain.

This is the view from the Second Station leading to the next station...



By following the well-worn paths, I entered into this trail in-between rows of calachuchi trees...



The trail was literally covered by dried calachuchi leaves accented by its fallen white flowers...



After going uphill for several minutes, I was lead to the centerpiece of the place, the tomb of the person to whom the "Gardens" was originally intended.



I was not able to track the stations, but one of them is situated just near the main tomb.



Downtown Cebu is visible in the Celestial Gardens. Below is the Fuente Osmeña-Jones Avenue area...



And the Lahug area...



Since the sun is already high when I reached the top of the Celestial Gardens, I decided to head back to the main gates. There are still other areas which I have not explored in the "Gardens".

I look forward to low light sceneries and flickering candle lights of those following the Way of the Cross... Celestial Gardens merits another visit...

Dam that Water! (The Malubog Adventure)

(Note: Some images in this article contain subjects proprietary to Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation. The author will respect formal requests coming from the said corporation for the removal of some of these images in exercise of its proprietary rights.)

Traveling from Bacolod City to Cebu by plane, the air highway passes on top of a lake not far from the exposed mountain rock layers of the Toledo mines. I have made several inquiries about this water structure. And recently, I have known it is the Malubog Dam.

Malubog Dam is located in Brgy. General Climaco (formerly known as Malubog) in Toledo City. Designed to hold 2.5 billion gallons of water, the dam was completed in 1970 and is owned by Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation (ACMDC).

After two cancellations, our trip to Malubog finally pushed through last Sunday, September 14, 2008. We rode a bus from the South Terminal in Cebu City and disembarked after two hours in Sangi, Toledo City. We then took the 30-minute jeepney ride going to Malubog.

We were set down on the western side of the Malubog Dam.



The wide valley in Malubog acted as a large basin for the impeded water, thus the formation of the artificial lake. Near the middle of the lake, there is a group of floating cottages.




We decided to cross the water and have lunch in the floating structure. We rode an improvised raft with a "trolley line".  Movement of the raft is made possible by tugging on this line.



One viand, charcoal-broiled pork belly, was cooked in one of the adjoining cottages.



After lunch, we rested for an hour and we took some time taking pictures of the lake's shoreline. The day actually started overcast but the sun eventually appeared on partially overcast skies late noon, and so most of the pictures I took had flat lighting.


The lake has been seeded with tilapia fingerlings some years ago. Some of the locals are fishing near the lake's shore. It is also apparent that the lake is abundant in freshwater crustaceans as evidenced by the many shrimps we have seen scrimping on the few cooked rice grains that we threw into the water to lure fish.



There are motorized outrigger boats plying the lake and taking passengers on opposite sides. A local arranged a boat to fetch us from the floating cottages to the lake's main water source - a small waterfall.





When we reached the shore near the waterfall, we saw some grazing cows. It reminded me of Birch Tree Milk commercials in the early '80's!



We also saw some locals wading the waters for fish...



After 10 minutes of walking along a small stream, we reached the waterfall.





We then trekked the dirt road on the eastern side. This offered another view of the lake.



The dirt road actually leads to the embankment that impedes the water flow. Near the embankment is a short tunnel that leads to the water shafts. The water shafts deliver mill water to the mines.



Below is the embankment that holds the bulk of the lake's water.



I was standing on the northern side of this bridge when I took the picture above.



The water from the embankment flows underneath the bridge above and drops to this nauseating rocky ground. The water shafts can be seen at a far distance.



We ended the day with another bumpy ride. We hitched from Malubog Dam to Brgy. Lutopan in ACMDC's truck service for its workers. We passed through the coiling dusty roads and for the first time I was able to see the mines.



Special thanks to Wilson Pogoy and Genisa Dacillo for guiding us through this adventure as well as the sumptuous lunch in the middle of the lake.

Digging Seashells in the Buagsong Seashore

She digs seashells in the Buagsong seashore.
The shells she then sells on a per kilogram toll
To fancy shell shop owners beyond Camolinas' doors.
So if she digs shells on the seashore,
I'm sure she would need many seashore shells to earn more.

---

Buagsong is a fishing community in the island of Cordova in Cebu. Cordova is very close to the island of Mactan, so close that most people still think it to be part of Mactan. Cordova is known for its eel delicacies. The shores of Buagsong is one of the primary sources of eels (locally known as bakasi) in the island.

For the past few weekends, I have been a frequent visitor to the shores of Buagsong. I wanted to observe how the traps for the eels are laid, how the eels are gathered and how they are cooked. Furthermore, sunsets in Buagsong are always fiery. But these past weekends, the weather has not been cooperating well, and the sky was almost always obscured by clouds.




What intrigued me most in Buagsong is that during low tides there seems to be a visible "sandbar" and I always see people walking their way towards it in knee-deep water. 



And so instead of focusing only on the eels, I decided that I needed to see that area too. And so, one Saturday when the low tide forecast was around 5:00PM, I decided to visit Buagsong one more time...

When I started wading to the "sandbar", a boatman warned me there are deep depressions in the sand in the area and that I need to walk slowly and to gauge my every step. After several minutes, I took a picture using my 300mm lens.



After taking the shot, I took a step forward and it was too late to back off. I fell into a depression! Lucky for me, the depression immersed me in waist-deep water. My bag containing my camera and lenses was successfully lifted before the plunge. Dripping wet, I still pressed on.

The boatman that warned me (named Rico Casquejo), curious of what I was trying to do, followed suit. And I had a ride in his wooden banca. I then asked him to bring me to the "sandbar".



As we got nearer and nearer, I realized that there was no sandbar after all. I was looking at mounds-many mounds. The mounds were actually made of dug-up shells.









I approached the people working there. I introduced myself and told them of my curiosity. Slowly, one woman, named Susan Balongcas warmed up to me and we chatted for several minutes. She eventually allowed me to take a picture. However, I did not have the courage to ask her to face the camera.



I learned that they were actually digging shells to sell to souvenir shop owners. They are sorting these shells and they have preference to small, white univalve mollusks locally called as "kyo-os". The merchants that buy them nicknamed these shells as "bubbles". They are sold for PhP 20.00 (US$ 0.43)/kilogram. In a day, they would be able to collect around 5 kilograms of these shells. When demands are high, these would cost up to PhP 35.00/kilogram.

When we left, Rico told me that Susan and her fellow diggers are actually not from Buagsong. They live in another area in Cordova called Camolinas. The buyers of these shells would come to Camolinas in cars and do the bargaining. He said that there were several complaints from the fishermen of Buagsong regarding the diggings.

The eels in the area live in small holes underneath the sand. The diggings destroy the eels' habitat. Disappearance of these eels would greatly impact the livelihood of the Buagsong fishermen. Rico pointed out that the officers of Buagsong responded to the complaints by placing a demarcation - lines of mangrove seedlings. Diggers are not allowed to cross or go beyond the mangroves.

Thinking through this adventure, I realized that the two local livelihoods are clashing: one at the expense of another. Poverty complicates this issue. Digging for shells is detrimental to the eels' habitat as well as to the livelihood of the fishermen. However, digging and selling these shells are also the livelihood of another group of impoverished people.

This is a basic issue that needs to be addressed.

(Note: I still haven't seen live bakasi freshly caught from this shore."

Tabunan Tree Planting - A Rivet on Corporate Social Responsibility

(This article is also posted in PBSP's Visayas Regional Office site: www.pbspvro.blogspot.com )

And after six years of employment in Fairchild Semiconductor (FSCP), I was finally invited to engage in the annual tree planting activity organized by the company's Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Committee. The activity was held in the mountainous area of Tabunan, Cebu City on an overcast Saturday, August 30, 2008. For my first outdoor immersion in corporate social responsibility, I planted one mahogany seedling and took pictures. :)

The event was held in association with Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). PBSP is a non-profit consortium of corporations. It is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, leading the advocacy on the practice of corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility is the business sector's  obligation in involving itself with the efforts of improving the quality of life among the poor. PBSP as an advocate of this philosophy focuses its programs on integrated area development, technology management, capability building, enterprise development and local governance. 

A memorandum-of-agreement exists between PBSP and FSCP for this yearly activity - FSCP to provide funds and planters and PBSP to take charge of the site preparation and seedlings. A PBSP representative is assigned to the participating company. Danny Cabantug voiced this event for PBSP.

We assembled in FSCP at around 7:15AM. After 30 minutes, four vehicles headed off to Tabunan from Lapu-lapu carrying about 45 participants. When we reached the designated stop, we descended a slope to our adopted area for tree planting.


In the Filipino setting, a short prayer always commences most activities.



Danny and Boy Wahing then explained the rationale of the activity, site selection and the ground rules. PBSP has prepared around 700 to 1000 mahogany and pili seedlings. Tabunan is part of the Central Cebu Protected Area and a recognized natural watershed.



Reforestation is being done to achieve 50% forest coverage for watersheds such as this one. PBSP also tapped the locals of the area to prepare the holes for planting. After the short orientation, the planting (and the clicking) officially began.

Shiela Oyao, a fellow engineer, paused and posed for this shot.



They all cramped in a row to fill the frame for this shot. Maricel Gudes (second from the last) is a regular visitor of this site and the one who invited me to this activity. She is joined by Nelson Montañez, Eva Igot (another blog visitor), Susan Alazas and Lupe, a line inspector I only know by nickname.



Jinky Arevalo, the chair of the EHS Committee, with trowel and seedlings in hand also granted me a pose.

The planters eventually ran out of holes. Danny instructed the locals present in the area to make some more.

When it seemed that all the holes were filled in with seedlings, the group (inherent to Filipinos) decided it was time for picture taking.

And shutters closed and opened. Practically, I could not give in to their requests as much as I want to. After a while, some decided to have refreshments. Coconuts were abundant in the area and were sold at an overwhelmingly low price. The locals obliged.



After several minutes of poses, we all headed back to our vehicles. We descended further down the valley to Tabunan River where we took our lunch. When I saw the river and the footpath ascending towards the opposite mountain, I recognized that it was the same river we trekked a month ago when we scaled down Mount Manunggal.

We trekked upriver to reach another FSC adopted spot. Underneath a tree opposite the area was the lunch site.

The dry area underneath the tree was quite small so the seating positions were constricted. Lunch was served and eaten in proud Pinoy style: using hands.



The cool waters of the river made lunch refreshing and prepared the group for the walk back to our vehicles. When I said that I will take a picture along the footpath, Susan, Eva and Genisa turned back and smiled for the camera.



I was surprised to see a watermark in the bank of the river. So before finally leaving, I took some pictures of the wooden post. I was able to take one picture with a truly candid shot. The rest had poses. Louelle Lumauag graced this shot.



So after five hours and one seedling later, I was safely back in Lapu-lapu, culminating the activity with a fruit shake, siomai and tempura. Thanks to Maricel Gudes, Roric Magdayao and Jinky Arevalo for my participation in this activity!

To justify the lone seedling, my environmentalist friends told me that the role I played to this rivet of corporate social responsibility is not purely that of a planter, but that of a scribe - to document and help facilitate the awareness that corporations also have obligations to fulfill and to contribute, not only to its employees but to society as a whole, in many different forms - be it one seedling at a time.