Hudyaka sa Panglao bursting with colors & cheers

Wake-uppers:

Seen:  Commander Agapito Bibat of the Philippine Navy was chosen as class president of International Maritime Offices Course Class 52 by the International Maritime Officers Course (IMOC) School in the US with 36 participants from 26 participating countries around the world.

Scene: Pat Ruiz was among those who attended the early mass at the St. Joseph Cathedral for the August 25 nationwide against the pork barrel system and term extension of elected officials. Pat Ruiz said, “We had offered the highest form of prayer thru a mass in relation to the existing pork barrel in our country. We have still pork, it is still not pork less. The congressmen had identified projects using the national agencies and it is lump sum. In this regard, we call for active citizenship that people in Tagbilaran will also be taking into account that we are not yet pork less. And pork barrel is the cause of corruption, if there is corruption there is poverty. That is why it is a continuing advocacy that we will say no to any form of pork barrel.”

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Bursting with colors and cheers, the culminating events 

of the annual Hudyaka sa Panglao, took place last  August 27-28

 in honor of Panglao’s patron, Señor San Agustin. 

The festivities were led by Mayor Nila Montero.- LPU

The last time I was in Panglao Island, the Alona Beach was showing itself in full magnificent glory, breathtakingly beautiful, as it always did every day except when nasty weather or habagat is in the country.

Early last week, I was at Alona Beach, it is beautiful as ever, awesome, breathtaking, spellbinding and totally majestic, still transfixed me in awe, holding me (actually us) in captive seduction as the waves were rushing into the shore as if flirting with us as we were at the Alona Tropical for a presscon with Panglao Mayor Nila Montero and Vice Mayor Pedro Fuertes.

Our group — from the Bohol media— had a sumptuous lunch together with Mayor Montero and some guests. Some media friends had stayed overnight at Alona Tropical where they had experienced the hospitality of  the resort staff including Roldan Cuevas, Rico Guigue and Deo Guden.

...with the members with Bohol media

Mayor Montero and Vice Mayor Pedro Fuertes also shared to the media the latest developments and projects of Montero-Fuertes administration. They also boast of the town’s establishment of Panglao Solid Waste Utilization and Conversion Technology.

During break, I brought Christopher Lumactud (Bohol Chronicle’s layout and graphic artist) to the nearby Amorita Resort for a quick look-see of an (old) friend Cesar Paterno, an executive producer of ABS-CBN, who was with Katherine De Castro. Kat (she was also doing her ice bucket challenge), was doing a story on Bohol for her show on ABS-CBN.  When Kat saw me, she asked in jest if I owned a resort in Panglao for which I vehemently denied. Ha! Ha! Ha! Those Magandang Gabi, Bayan days!

At the Panglao town plaza, we were told that ten contingents were joining this year’s Hudyaka.

“Hudyaka is about merry making and thanksgiving to our patron saint Augustine,” said Mayor Montero.

BC’s layout and graphic artist Christopher Lumactud 

with ABS-CBN reporter and host Katherine De Castro. -LPU

August is probably Panglaoanons’ most colorful month for celebrating the Hudyaka festival honoring the blessed San Agustin. Aside from the usual revelry — pulsating drumbeats, colorful floats, fluvial parade and Hudyaka street dances — the attendance of some celebrities in this extraordinary celebration made it more memorable to all the Panglaoanons.

While taking pictures during the street dance parade, someone surprised me. There was Rebecca “Bikay” Lusterio, the pride of Panglao! Bikay went home to attend the town’s fiesta. She is taking up her Masteral studies in Denmark.

 “It is my home and I missed it. It’s so nice to see it again,” said the former best child actress. “It’s very beautiful, colorful...it’s nice to see the talents of the people of my hometown.”

At the height of the euphoria, there was another power interruption.  And it was raining. Someone told me that the search for the Festival Queen held on the vesper night was stopped because of power interruption. Imagine a celebration with no electricity! But it didn’t dampen the spirit of the Panglaoanons.

The 5 in 1 for the environment Climate Change Advocacy 

Campaign of the PIA-Bohol. Courtesy: Elvie Bongosia

Panglao is soaring to even greater heights, making stellar improvements in economy, education, environment and health. Like the white-sandy beaches of the town is so famous for. Panglao, the jewel of the south, is making waves!

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Students & volunteers plant trees to fight climate change

Students, teachers and volunteers engaged in tree planting and sensitization discussions on climate change mitigation in Ubay town on Friday.

The event, tagged ‘Climate Change Advocacy Campaign’ centered around engaging students from the third district of Bohol on the importance of tree planting; its social and economic benefit to combat global warming and contributes to the global mitigation efforts with local actions.

One of the practical ways to combat climate change is to plant more trees in order to take more carbon out of the atmosphere. The organizers said that it is important to make sure that climate change information gets to the grass roots to enable the young people to know what it is all about.

Former child actress Rebecca “Bikay” Lusterio

 with her fiancé during the town fiesta. -LPU

 “I join this tree planting because I want to help the environment back to its normal balance,” said Jeselle Bautista. 

Spearheaded by the PIA-Bohol, the students also had a journalism seminar on news writing, feature writing, photojournalism and broadcasting.  

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