Masbate: Buntod Reef Marine Sanctuary, Pawa Mangrove Ecosystem & Bituon Beach

Masbate may have been the last province I visited. But it's definitely not the least. It was an exhilarating feeling as I stepped down from the plane into the Masbate Airport, finally having visited all 79 provinces of the Philippines. I wanted to explore as much of Masbate City as I could in a day. So as soon as I found a place to stay for the night, I was off to the beach.


I hired a tricycle to take me to Bituon Beach which is in the neighboring town of Mobo. It's one of the better beach resorts in Masbate. It took about 30 to 45 minutes to get there. If you want accommodation around Masbate City with a beach front you can swim in, this would be it.


But I wanted a more spectacular beach. And after inquiring around, it turned out there was a sandbar off the coast of Masbate City. So I hired a pump boat to take me to the Buntod Islet which is part of the Buntod Reef Marine Sanctuary.


It takes about 20 to 30 minutes to get to Buntod Islet. And from a distance, you could see that the scenery was stunning. On one side of the island was a small forest of dwarf mangroves. This area was covered with a lot of broken shells on the sand.

The opposite end of the island was a long sandbar. On one side of the sandbar, the water was warm, while the other side was cooler. There's also a large wooden structure which acts as a ranger station, where you could have lunch, take a nap or escape the heat of the sun. I didn't realize that Mayor Socrates Tuason was with his family at the hut that Saturday. He even invited us for a drink.



He suggested that I visit the Pawa Mangrove Ecosystem and Wildlife Park which I did. The main attraction is a 1.3-kilometer wooden bridge that connects Barangay Pawa and Sitio Daang Lungsod. It requires some hiking from the National Highway to get to it. There are some huts along the elevated boardwalk where you could have a picnic. And the area is also a great place for bird-watching.


I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening sleeping and resting from the heatstroke that hit me since the sun was scorching hot that day. In between beaches, I got to see some heritage structures around Masbate city including the Masbate Provincial Capitol, several Gabaldon schools, and the Bayot Ancestral House.

Rodeo Masbateño is the main festival of Masbate. But I'll have to come back in April to experience this rodeo show. If I had more time in Masbate, I would have arranged a visit to one or two ranches which are several hours from Masbate City.

Where to Stay in Masbate
I stayed at Baywalk Garden Hotel for one night which is quite comfortable and has free WiFi. It's actually by the shore (can't swim though since it's too shallow) where the nightlife is. But it's not close to the town proper. I moved to GV Hotel which is in town and closer to the airport since my flight was very early the next day.

Baywalk Hotel - (0907) 3042331 / (056) 3336648
Bituon Beach Resort - (056) 3338065 / (056) 3332242
MG Hotel - (056) 3335614
Hotel Sea Blick - (056) 3336911

Philippine holidays and long-weekend schedule for 2011 (Proclamation No. 84)

Hunyo 12 by Claude Tayag (1989 Fiestas Serigraph Series)

Malacanang issued Proclamation No. 84 declaring the regular holidays, special non-working days, and a special school holiday for 2011. I was right about not giving out tentative dates since Malacanang will not follow holiday economics next year.

Too bad most of the holidays next year fall on a Saturday or Sunday. No rest for our labor force next year! Here is the list of holidays and long-weekends of the Republic of the Philippines for 2011:

• January 1 (Sat) - New Year's Day (three-day long weekend from December 31 to January 2)
• February 25 (Fri) - EDSA Revolution Anniversary (holiday and three-day long weekend for schools only) 
• April 9 (Sat) - Araw ng Kagitingan
• April 21 (Thu) - Holy Thursday
• April 22 (Fri) - Good Friday (four-day long weekend from April 21 to 24)
• May 1 (Sun) - Labor Day
• June 12 (Sun) - Independence Day
• June 19 (Sun) - 150th Birth Anniversary of Jose Rizal (proposed legislation to declare a working holiday)
• August 21 (Sun) - Ninoy Aquino Day 
• August 29 (Mon) - National Heroes Day (four-day long weekend from August 27 to 30)
• August 30 (Tue) or 31 (Wed) - Eid't Fitr (calculated date for 2011 pending proclamation)
• October 31 (Mon) - Special Non-Working Holiday
• November 1 (Tue) - All Saints Day (four-day long weekend from October 29 to November 1)
• November 7 (Mon) - Eid'l Adha (three-day long weekend from November 5 to 7)
• November 30 (Wed) - Bonifacio Day
• December 25 (Sun) - Christmas Day
• December 30 (Fri) - Rizal Day
• December 31 (Sat) - Last Day of the Year (three-day long weekend from December 30 to January 1)

Pampanga: Augusto P. Hizon House in San Fernando now a Heritage House

Last Friday, the historical marker of the Augusto P. Hizon Heritage House was unveiled by representatives of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), City Government of San Fernando, Pampanga, and the Hizon Family. The house was declared a Heritage House by the NHCP on July 21, 2010 bringing the number of NHCP-declared houses in San Fernando, Pampanga to five.


This turn-of-the-century Victorian-style house was originally owned by Teodoro Santos and Africa Ventura. It was later purchased by Maria Salome Hizon, a volunteer of the Red Cross during the Philippine Revolution. The property was acquired by her brother Ramon Hizon. And is currently owned by the heirs of his son Augusto P. Hizon.

Heritage updates from San Fernando
As local citizens continue to oppose the construction of an SM mall along San Fernando's heritage street, here is some good news. The Pampanga High School Building or former UP San Fernando is currently being reconstructed. More than a century old, it was the very building where President Diosdado P. Macapagal finished high school in 1929. Once completed next year, it will house the Museong Kapampangan.

Funds have also been approved for the restoration of the San Fernando Train Station. Work on the station will begin in early 2011. It will house a Death March Museum and World War II Memorial once completed.

Nueva Vizcaya: Citrus fruit overload! Perante, satsuma, poncan & pomelo

On the way back to Manila, I was glad to pass by Nueva Vizcaya because I would be able to buy my favorite local citrus fruits, particularly the perante. Nueva Vizcaya is know as the Citrus Capital of the Philippines. And somewhere in Bayombong, between the town propers of Bayombong and Bambang, are stalls that sell really sweet Nueva Vizcaya citrus fruits which includes perante, satsuma, vizcaya poncan and pomelo among other.s



Prices per kilo vary depending on variety, size and ripeness. I got a kilo of perante and satsuma for Php50 each and several kilos of vizcaya poncans at Php30 a kilo. The red chandler pomelos and sanwelocs are a bit more expensive but juicy nonetheless. Have you tried out citrus fruits from Nueva Vizcaya?

Ivan About Town gives away SEAIR tickets to Batanes & Boracay

1. Ivan About Town and South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) will be giving away two round-trip tickets to Boracay, and two round-trip tickets to Batanes. Two winners will be selected, one winner for the two Boracay tickets and one winner for the two Batanes tickets.

2. To join, simply share any post from http://medblogcontest.com/blog/9/ as a link on your Facebook wall. Make sure you tag both the SEAIR and Ivan About Town Facebook pages when you share the link. And make sure you invite your friends to visit the link and support Ivan About Town.


3. Each post you share on your Facebook wall will be counted as one entry. Only links appearing in the Ivan About Town page, with complete tags, will be counted. So make sure the security settings (note the little padlock beside the 'share' button) of your link share will allow 'everyone' to see it.

4. You can share an unlimited number of posts from Ivan Henares' Thailand Medical Blog. But you can only have one valid post per day. So watch out for new posts and share them to increase your chances of winning.

5. Posts can be shared on your wall from 12 noon of December 9, 2010 to 11:59 p.m. of January 31, 2011 (Philippine time, +8 GMT).

6. We will pick two lucky winners from all qualified entries on February 3, 2011 (Thursday) in a public draw.

7. Winners will be informed and given instructions on how to claim their prizes via Facebook. Decision of the organizers is final.

8. Join now and have a fun summer in Boracay or Batanes courtesy of South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) and Ivan About Town!