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Bilar celebrates Sinulog Festival,
too
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Pinoy Aquaman conquers Surigao Strait
Wake-uppers:
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Members
of Batch ’77 of Cogon Elem. School
in Tagbilaran City repaired and
rehabilitated
the corridor and canal lining of their alma mater
last Friday to
improve sanitation at the school
and make sure that the environment is
conducive for teaching and learning.
Contributed
Photo/Lorna B. Suello
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Scene: Former students
(Batch ’77) of Cogon Elem. School in Tagbilaran City repaired and rehabilitated
the corridor and canal lining of their alma mater last Friday. According to Lorna Bagotchay-Suello, the
event aimed to improve sanitation at the school and make sure that the environment
is conducive for teaching and learning. “We want to help the school in
improving the pathway. We feel that the school did a lot to us and that it is
our turn to do something for the school,” said Suello. She also added that the
school has produced many students who are successful in life. “And we feel we
need to mobilise ourselves to make sure that the school continues to deliver
its core function,” she added. Eleonor Balatero is the Batch ‘77 president.
Scene: A talent
handler-manager (THM) is surely among the richie-rich in town these days. THM
has been deluged with all sorts of projects of late, said a socialite VRS. In
spite of newfound affluence, THM can be quite stingy, added VRS. “THM is not
the type who would shower friends with gifts or treat friends,” said VRS. “Now
you know why THM is wealthy!”
Scene: Delegates have arrived in Cebu City for the
51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) on January 24 to 31, 2016. Pope
Emeritus Benedict XVI chose Cebu as the venue of the, announcing his pick
during the Mass at the closing of the 50th IEC in Dublin, Ireland, in 2012. The
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines had expressed intent to host
the 51st IEC in the Philippines, which would be a fitting prelude to
preparations for the celebration in 2021 of 500 years of Christianity in the
country.
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Aileen
Sendrijas Pasagad, 44, was ready for Sunday’s street dancing in her hometown,
as the city of Cebu held its Sinulog
festival on the same day.
Pasagad,
the led dancer of barangay (village)
Zamora, one of the 24 contingents which joined the 34th Sinulog Festival in
Bilar town, had checked her costume since Saturday.
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Aileen
Sendrijas Pasagad (with Butch Bernas)
holds the image of the Sto. Niño during
the
Sinulog Festival in Bilar, Bohol
province,
an evident that the devotion for Sto. Niño is
not just evident in
Cebu but in other
provinces as well. Leo
Udtohan/Chronicle
|
“I
just want to make it sure everything’s okay for our performance,” said Pasagad,
a barangay kagawad of Zamora.
She
also said she was a devotee of the Sto. Niño since 2008.
“Even
if we were not in Cebu where the original Sinulog Festival, here in Bilar, we
celebrated the Sinulog Festival every third Sunday of January as paying homage
to the Holy Child, our second patron saint,” she said.
It’s
Pasagad’s second year to offer her dance.
“While
I was dancing, I also had my wishes to the Señor Sto. Niño,” she said.
She
prayed for blessings and good health for her family.
This
year, however, church officials of the Saint Isidore the Farmer Parish Church
decided to cancel the contest and make the event simple. It was to give
priority to the on-going church restoration. The church was damaged by the
strong earthquake in 2013. The Sto. Niño should be the main focus of the celebration
and should not the contest, church officials said.
But
for Pasagad and other dancers, it didn’t matter.
“It’s
not a problem to us if we have a simple celebration as long we could dance as
our way of thanksgiving,” she said.
Teofila
Sarabia, 90, from barangay Villa Suerte, at least 18 kms from the town, was
among the crowd who witnessed the festival. She said she was happy that her
town had the festivity since she had no time anymore to visit Cebu’s Sinulog as
she used to when she was young.
“I
am already old and weak for that. And the fare is expensive, she said. She said she was contented to witness the
Sinulog in Bilar though not as grand like in Cebu.
“I
just hope this tradition would continue," said Sarabia who was asking for
the Sto. Niño to grant her good health and guidance.
Twenty
four contingents from different barangays joined this year’s festivity.
“The
performance was impressive. Nice dance steps and colorful props,” said Butch
Bernas, 33, a choreographer based in Tagbilaran City.
Three
towns in Bohol celebrated last Saturday its annual fiesta honoring its patron
saint, Sto. Niño. These were Cortes, President Carlos P. Garcia (CPG) and
Valencia. A street-dancing competition was
held in Anda town last Monday.
The
Sinulog in Bilar was a proof that the
devotion for Sto. Niño is not just evident in Cebu but in other provinces as
well.
* * *
Pinoy Aquaman conquers Surigao Street
Ingemar
Macarine aka Pinoy Aquaman, swam across the Surigao Strait non-stop last
Sunday.
Macarine,
an environmental lawyer by profession, spent 10 hours and 37 minutes to swim
the 10.99-kilometer distance between Sumilom Island to Punta Bilar, Surigao
City.
He
aimed at raising awareness of the need to promote clean seas and Surigao
tourism.
He
said strong currents kept pulling him off course so he had to change direction
at five times.
“It
was not that difficult because the weather was fine,” he said. “Though the
current was strong and it changed direction five times. And also thousands of nasty
jellyfishes.”
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"Pinoy
Aquaman" lawyer Ingemar Macarine
swims across the Surigao Strait nonstop
last
Sunday to promote clean seas
and Surigao tourism. Contributed Photo
|
He
said prior to his swim, he took time to
read the Bible and pray.
"I
read the Bible for guidance. And my favorite is Psalm 23,” he said.
Macarine,
the founding president of Surigao Runners Club, was escorted by two boats -- a
small one carrying his navigator and a bigger boat loaded with rescue team and
friends.
He
said he constantly used freestyle and had no difficulty with his swimming
techniques.
“I’m
so happy when I reached Punta Pilar because I was able to reach my target,” he
said.
He
also said that he exerted effort against the strong currents as the same in
real life.
“In
real life, we need to fight strong currents-problems, challenges and
situations- to make us stronger,” he said.
Macarine
had done similar feats in the past. He was acknowledged as the first Filipino
to swim the 2.7-kilometer from Alcatraz Island Penitentiary to San Francisco
City in April 2014.
He
was also the first man to swim the
4.2-kilometer stretch in two hours from Basul Island to Surigao City in Dec.
2013, the first man to conquer the Babuyan Channel by swimming
from Palaui Island to Mainland Sta. Ana, Province of Cagayan with a distance of
7.2km in 2hours on June 15, 2014.
He
was also the first man to swim from Santa Fe in Bantayan Island to San Remigio
in mainland Cebu, covering the distance of 19.99 km. He spent seven hours and
45 minutes to reach mainland Cebu.
He
was also the first man who attempted to swim from Visayas to Mindanao by swimming from San Ricardo,
Southern Leyte to Surigao City, Northern Mindanao. Although the swim was
unsuccessful, he made a personal record
of swimming 23 kilometers in five and half hours in may 2014.
In
November 2015, he was named by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) as one
of its Filipino environmental heroes for pioneering solo channel swimming in
the Philippines to promote marine conservation.
He
is planning to swim Pamilacan Island,in Baclayon, Bohol on Jan. 31, and in
Europe, this year.
Macarine,
who hails from Surigao, is currently the election officer of Tubigon town.
* * *
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