Balikbayan Magazine October - November 2010

balikbayanmagazine.com

october – november 2010

That proverbial gold is history. But you’ll strike an old fashioned friendship in the new town. And discover gold in the hearts of its people. That is our never-ending story.

Come home, your hometown is waiting.

Volume II number 4

US$ 5.00•PHP 150.00

born with a golden spoon sinuglaw, and other glorious food

Smile you’re in candid

CDO

| balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan |

Publisher & CEO | Roger L. Oriel President & Co-Publisher | Cora M. Oriel Editor-in-Chief & EVP ASIA | Lito Ocampo Cruz MANAGING Editor | Louie Jon Agustin Sanchez Associate Editor | Rochelle C. Pangilinan cONTRIBUTING EDITORS | Nancy Reyes Lumen, Candy Villanueva-Lykes, Rene Luis Mata, D.M. Reyes, Althea Lauren Ricardo, Joel Pablo Salud, Walter Villa Contributing WRITERS | Alma Anonas-Carpio, Jewel Castro, Mark Anthony Cayanan, Susan Lara, Ruben Nepales, Janet Susan Nepales Contributing Photographers | Joe Cobilla, Phillip Kimpo Jr., Ted Madamba, Raphael John Oriel, Miko Santos, Andy Tecson Vice President for Advertising | Noel O. Godinez Vice President for Sales | Sharon Ann Z. Bathan vP for Circulation & special events | Vince Samson ACCOUNT MANAGER | Stephanie Marie L. Kho Staff WriterS | Billy dela Cruz, Julie Matienzo Staff Artists | Edward Dy, Valory Lim, Bienvenida Salazar, Kendrick Tan, Joyce Dianne Balansag, Richard Erpilo Circulation Manager | Arthur Sibulangcao Accountant | Ria Fabro

5 Keeping A Journal

FRIENDS, CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

By Roger Lagmay Oriel, Publisher

7 Editor’s Notebook IN MY LIFE

By Lito Ocampo Cruz, Editor-in-chief

8 UNGUIDED TOUR

SMILE YOU’RE IN CANDID CDO (and Misamis Oriental, too!)

By LOUIE JON A. SANCHEZ

22 OUR TOWNSHIP

Pueblo de Oro: The Township on a Hill

By LOUIE JON A. SANCHEZ

28 Enhancing the Township

By RoDOLFo A. MEñES

30 OLD SCHOOL

The Pre-war Ateneo de Cagayan

By JOSE S. ArCILLA, SJ

34 SALT & PAPER

Born With a Golden Spoon

By LOUIE JON A. SANCHEZ

42 NATIVE SON balikbayan Magazine is published by Asian Journal Publications, Inc. 2/F Units D&E Fort Palm Spring Cond., 30th Street, cor. 1st Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, 1200 Philippines. Tel. (632) 856–4921 Send subscription inquiries to subscription@asianjournalinc.com, and advertising queries at advertising@asianjournalinc.com.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage of retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

Peter M. Unabia Rules the Roost

44 LECHON Manok ni Sr. Pedro: THE TASTE OF SUCCESS

By MIKE BAñOS

48 Whose Woods These Are

By MIKE BAñOS

50 Where have all the old trees gone?

By MIKE BAñOS

Asian Journal Publications, Inc. regrets that no responsibility can be accepted for unsolicited material, which will be returned only if stamped, addressed envelope is enclosed.

52 LOCAL HERO

Printed in the Philippines. Distributed in the Philippines for newly arrived balikbayans at Duty Free Philippines, as well as at select hotels, resorts, restaurants and cafes and major bookstores and magazine distributors. Circulated at special events and through subscription in the United States of America.

By MARIO BANZON

The KEYS TO THE CITY

54 ESSENCE OF PLACE

The Houses In Which I HAVE Lived

By CRISTINA PANTOJA-HIDALGO

60 ATELIER

USA Advertising Offices Los Angeles: 1150 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90017-1904. • Tel. (213) 250–9797

By ROCHELLE C. PANGILINAN

San Francisco: 841 San Bruno Avenue West, Ste. 12-14 San Bruno, CA 94066 • Tel. (650) 583–6818

66 ESTATESIDE

New York: 5 Penn Plaza, Ste. 1932, New York, NY 10001 • Tel. (212) 655–5426

By LOUIE JON A. SANCHEZ

Paint It Art Vince Abad Santos: Heritage, Passion in a Name

New Jersey: 2500 Plaza Five, Harborside Financial Center, Jersey City, NJ 07311 • Tel. (201) 484–7249

68 PARTINGSHOT

Las Vegas: 3700 W. Desert Inn Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89102 Tel. (702) 792–6678

By MIKE BAñOS

Nene Arce: The Man Who ‘Shot’ Cagayanos

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| balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan |

PHOTO BY MENCHIT ONGPIN

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Keeping A Journal By roger lagmay oriel, publisher

FRIENDS, childhood memories

Balikbayan Magazine’s recent trip to Cagayan de Oro was nothing but nostalgic. It’s not only because our “tour guide” was our Editor-in-Chief Lito Cruz, who shared with us a lot of anecdotes and childhood memories.

Aside from the fond memories of life at the Ateneo de Cagayan, it was a reunion of sorts for old classmates who now are new found friends.

This is, after all, the city of golden friendship.

At the Provincial Capitol, we met Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno, Lito’s childhood friend and classmate. From his office window, he pointed at the quaint white house across MacArthur Park where Lito grew up.

Oca, as he is popularly known, shared with us his dreams and vision for the province and how it has changed since he first became Governor. The transformation, he says, is much felt even in the capital city itself.

The province is well on its way to a full economic boom.

Hosting various industries such as food processing, steel and metal, and agriculture, it is also finding itself in the growing regional logistics and exports zone map.

And we are not only talking about the Philippine Packing Corporation whose famous Del Monte pineapples from their Bukidnon plantation and other products are processed in Bogo, Cagayan de Oro City. In 2008, the South Korea-based Hanjin signed a deal to put up a $2 billion shipyard and building complex in Tagoloan. The development is expected to provide 20,000 jobs.

We also dropped by the Cagayan de Oro City Hall where Mayor Vicente Emano graciously welcomed us with Glimpses, a guidebook to our favorite city.

Although it was our first time in Cagayan de Oro, we have

Governor Oscar S. Moreno with Publisher Roger L. Oriel.

long been friends with Eric and Desi Canoy, as well as Butch and Charlie Canoy, whose legendary father Henry founded Radio Mindanao Network in 1952.

We also met Oche Pelaez Golez and her son Rudolf, the classical pianist. We talked about her new cultural center at the Liceo de Cagayan, the university her parents, Rodolfo and Elsa Pelaez, founded. The highlight of our trip was our visit to Pueblo de Oro, the sprawling township at Carmen Hill. We had breakfast at the Koresco Hotel with Rudy Meñes, an adopted son of Cagayan de Oro, whose love and passion for the city is simply inspiring.

We are forever grateful to Menchit Ongpin, Dennis Panlilio and Mark Floro who took the magnificent photographs for this special issue. Thank you Rudy and to your hospitable team at Pueblo de Oro for allowing us to use these photographs.

Back in Manila, we were welcomed by the wonderful news that the Asian Journal Publications has been appointed as the official media representative of The Wall Street Journal in the Philippines.

Founded in 1889, The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones & Company, is the world’s leading business publication and holds 33 Pulitzer Prizes for oustanding journalism. We are honored to be in such good company.

Happy reading and may everything you experience from hereon also turn into golden memories! g

| balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan |

editor’s notebook By lito ocampo cruz, editor-in-chief

In My Life In 1972 I wrote a little guidebook to the city called Cagayan de Oro from A to Z. My high school classmate Larry Howland, who now calls San Diego, California home, took the black and white photographs.

Somehow, I lost the only copy I had. But I found a lot of memories.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORIES My brother Monching discovered this vintage 1950s postcard at the Ateneo de Manila University Archives. It shows the city’s cafes and restaurants from that era. My parents Remy and Sioning Cruz owned the Roadside Cafe, Cafe Filipinas, a bed and breakfast called Hotel Perlas, and later in the ‘60s, the Plaza Lunch across the provincial capitol.

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photo by MENCHIT ONGPIN There are places that never seem to leave us. They linger there like old maps to guide us back to our scenic roots. John Lennon found his perfect spot in a place called Liverpool where the music in my iPod all began. In my life, I found my own private Camelot in Cagayan de Oro. This issue is my Valentine to the place I used to call home.

Today, Cagayan de Oro is a tale of two cities—the old city and the new township.

Managing Editor Louie Jon Sanchez takes you on a private tour of Pueblo De Oro, the new township on Carmen Hill. He gives us an unguided tour of the city and the picturesque seaside towns of Misamis Oriental.

Louie Jon highlights hotelier and foodie Eileen San Juan of the VIP Hotel, who also spearheads Kumbira, the city’s celebrated food fest.

Jose S. Arcilla, SJ takes us back in time with a glimpse of the old Ateneo de Cagayan, now Xavier University. Fr. Arcilla is a member of the department of history at the Ateneo de Manila University and is presently the archivist of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus. He is also the Philippine coordinator for the editorial staff of the International Jesuit Encyclopedia being published by the Institute of Jesuit History in Rome. He wrote the sesquicentennial coffee table book 150: The Ateneo Way. Meet the man, the congressman, and ‘Señor Pedro’ himself, Peter Unabia. We revisit his fascinating story from the chicken house to the House of Representatives. A companion piece to the success story of Ang Manok ni Sr. Pedro, is told by his brother Nieto Unabia to Cagayan de Oro writer Mike Baños. Mike

also takes us on a trip of the Mantianak Botanical Garden and Zoological Park at Sugbongcogon, the hometown of the Unabias.

Mike has written for various national, regional and local newspapers and magazines. He won the Kaabag Awards for the Department of Tourism’s Region 10 as its Tourism Writer of the Year for 2006 and 2007.

Contributing writer Mario Banzon listens to one of the city’s homegrown pride, acclaimed pianist and staunch environmentalist Rudolf Pelaez Golez, who at age 12 landed a spot at the prestigious Julliard School of Music Preparatory Division in New York. Since then, he has performed in renowned concerts here and abroad. Can the Filipino-American Symphony Orchestra be far behind?

Associate Editor Rochelle C. Pangilinan profiles the story of the outstanding talents who comprise the country’s first official guild of portraiture artists.

Award-winning writer Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, recently proclaimed University of the Philippines professor emeritus, graces our pages with the first of a three-part essay on the houses of her memories.

Cristina, as writer, editor and teacher, lived in many magnificent places around the world like Thailand, Lebanon, Korea and New York. But it is the ancestral house in San Miguel, Bulacan that this balikbayan remembers best.

To complete the picture, we took a shot at finding the reclusive Nene Arce, the city’s dean of photographers. Alive and well at 86, he is working on a book about his pre-digital life.

Who says you can’t go home again? g | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan |

| the unguided tour |

If there’s one thing that really strikes me in all the trips I’ve made in Cagayan de Oro, I think it would be the hills. There’s something shimmering in those hills of rich red soil and sprawling greens that warmly welcome. It’s as if I am not from elsewhere but simply coming home. I can’t help but smile.

Smile you’re in candid CDO (and Misamis Oriental, too!) by louie jon a. sanchez | the ajpress

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photo by mark floro | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan |

A river runs through Cagayan de Oro.

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photo by DENNIS PANLILIO

Hanging out at Macahambus Nature Park.

They call it the city of gold, and there’s much magnificence as the plane touches down the runway—that same runway cradled by the lovely hills. The magnificence perhaps is in the homey atmosphere apparent in the air. After all, this is one hometown much loved for its old glitter and new charm.

The recent trip was no exception, only that I got to explore the city more, and some other old hometowns up north in Misamis Oriental. I began the road trip, passing through the wonderful Pueblo de Oro real estate development, and the whole city and seeing once more the scenic Cagayan de Oro River, the provincial capitol, the St. Augustine Church, the bustling streets, and even the Divisoria that transforms into a grand food plaza at weekend nights.

There remains the old familiar quaintness that makes one yearn for more sights and sounds. There is so much to see in this city, which ultimately prides itself of being a melting pot of cultures, a wonderful convergence of the indigenous, the colonial, and the contemporary.

Around town, one can stay at the old watering holes, or go malling at Limketkai and SM, where one could easily get entertained. But the real world at Cagayan de Oro is in the outdoors.

My first time here was about the outdoors, and I went straight to the famous Cagayan de Oro outdoors at the Macahambus Nature Park. Okay, I told myself, these are just trees—but when I started to walk the makeshift rope bridges, it eventually dawned on me that they weren’t just trees but really tall trees. I saw trunks and trunks of trees and I just went on, walking. I had to cross at least four of the bridges, which easily moved sideways at each careless step. I just held on tight, only to find out how the walk would end.

photo by MENCHIT ONGPIN I fell in love with zip lines in Cagayan de Oro. From then on, I always made it a point to get up close with nature through a fast and furious ride along ropes. After the heart-pounding walk, I had to climb a tower where I would be apparently sent back to where the sky trail began. My knees shook at first but there was simply no turning back. Making sure my flip-flops won’t find themselves lost in a jungle, one of the guys slid my pair onto a hook, which he fastened onto my belt. And then, I leaped. The ride took at least three minutes to complete.

It wouldn’t come as a surprise to find out that at the outskirts of a bustling city is a curious presence of flora and fauna, remarkable in their exquisite beauty. The scene by the zip line had that transporting effect that was even made more breathtaking by the crisp forest air. Actually, despite its emergence as a top growth area in Northern Mindanao, Cagayan de Oro has remained green, and on any mountain or hill spot, say, at the roads leading to Bukidnon, this is still very much apparent.

Cagayan de Oro is the real city of the outdoors, and it’s more popular today because of its myriad nature and even river activities surely to test one’s stamina. Aside from Macahambus, there’s also the popular river rafting at the Cagayan de Oro River, which usually lasts for four hours at least. More than 10 rapids await the brave in the course, and if the trip down the river is not enough, one may even jump off a bridge at the outskirts of the city to enjoy the cool river waters. For the more adventurous, there are also caves to explore, like the one in Monigue, and the Catanico Falls.

Indeed, the hills presage outdoor adventure. | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 11

The city, however, is a vast hometown that takes a life of its own. The Divisoria, I believe, is the centerpiece, where people converge to have fun. During the weekdays, the roads here simply contain the usual hustle and bustle. But come weekends, when everyone is up for a party, a night café emerges in the streets. In all my visits, I enjoyed the sumptuous street food, the music, and the night market, which brings in more life to the party, already aglow.

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photo by MARK FLORO | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 13

The Macahambus Advendure Swinging time at Duca Bay. Park is not for the faint-hearted.

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photo by MARK FLORO

photo by menchit ongpin In Cagayan de Oro, and in Misamis Oriental at large, you’ll have to be ready for detours. You’ll really never know. Once, you might be having lunch at a quaint town, which apparently had just celebrated its fiesta a few days back. You’re enjoying some slices of the Cagayan de Oro ham re-cooked in its syrup, and you’re suddenly informed that you have to start running to see the other sides of town. That was what happened to me while I was in Opol, a seaside town at least 30 minutes away from the capitol.

The journey was long, and there were—in the map—11 towns to see.

In my recent trip, we were on the way to Medina, to see the clear beaches and some old town heritage. But before that, we had what seemed to be the litany of towns appearing in each arch. Tagolaoan.

Villanueva. Jasaan. Balingasag. It was a long trip (and it was a good thing I brought a book this time) so I had time to take sights of the bay, and of course, the inviting view of the nearby Camiguin island with its sleeping giants and the volcano we know today as Hibok-hibok. Lagonglong.

Salay. Binuangan. Sugbongcogon.

The string of towns seem endless, and we even had the chance to stop over a fruit stand selling lanzones from the town of Esperanza—complete with biting black ants. Kinoguitan, Balingoan, Talisayan. It was a beautiful and picturesque hometown road trip. Night brought us to the little town of Medina, where a

beautiful beachfront room awaited us.

The place: Duka Bay Resort, which had curious sturdy trees along its coastline. The trees I learned are baoc-baoc and talisays, planted in the 1960s by the instruction of the matriarch of the Pelaezes, the owners of the property.

The word “duka,” I learned, is taken from the Bisaya, which means, “sleepy.” I was not totally surprised at all since the sea breeze spoke for itself. The town Medina prides itself of this haven of sorts, which faces Gingoog Bay, and the Camiguin Island. The bay today is known for its diverse dive spots, and for a while, sea turtles abound in the area, making it a spectacular marine sanctuary. The resort began construction in 1997, and from then on became a popular destination, not only among locals, but also with foreign tourists.

Duka Bay Resort is also a showcase in marine biodiversity, I learned. Along its shores, a program of coral reforestation is conducted, involving not only the resort owners but also the community at large. Aside from encouraging water sports, Duka Bay Resort also involves guests in marine conservation education.

Today, Duka Bay Resort is a pivotal presence in taking care of that side of Gingoog Bay, which is now teeming with rich marine life. A trip on a glass bottom boat had shown that life at the bay is slowly being brought back to a fine state. | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 15

photoS by L.O. CRUZ

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The Pelaezes came from this town, and they have been influential, not only in the province, but also in the country at large.

The good vice president of course, Emmanuel Pelaez, spent his childhood years here. From Duka Bay Resort, we were led to what is popularly called in the town as the “White House” where the illustrious Pelaez history unfolded. If the walls could only speak, they would perhaps retell the historic meetings that happened here,

like the one during World War II, when the guerillas agreed to battle hand in hand with American forces. The wide windows face the beach, where another big tree had been standing for many generations. The sight was simply romantic; one couldn’t definitely help but feel transported into another time and place where life was simpler. The house will soon be a showcase of the Pelaez history, which is, also this country’s, in the first place. | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 17

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The return to the Cagayan de Oro is as amusing as the sojourn to Medina. But a detour is again in order, as we passed through Bugo, where the Philippine Packing Corporation (PPC) complex stands. PPC is of course where all of the much-loved tomato, fruit, and pineapple products are processed. The quick drive brought us trailing the roads up to Bukidnon to see the famous Del Monte Clubhouse.

My first Bukidnon detour was three years ago, and I was even fortunate to get to as far as Malaybalay, where I got to see the Benedictine Monastery and the majestic Church of the Transfiguration. The trip simply captivates with the postcard-perfect scenery. And I practically took in all of the scenes again, even if this time, the trip was only up to the green fairways of Del Monte Golf Club, where a clubhouse is popular for its juicy burgers.

When I got to the clubhouse and had my burger (even if it’s not allowed in my diet, for crying out loud), I understood why. And

it comes with a bottomless serving of pineapple juice, fresh from the processing plant. This was pineapple country anyway, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to find so many, even in the clubhouse.

For P50 a fruit, we asked to have a fresh one. The sweetness was unbelievable, and the name of the variety is the one that really surprised: Sweet 16.

It would be remembered that Cagayan de Oro, and ultimately, this patch of earth in Bukidnon played an important part in World War II history. In 1942, en route to Australia, Gen. Douglas MacArthur began to fulfill his promise of returning—to the country, and to Asia. At the town of Santo Niño in Manolo Fortich, MacArthur’s planes landed and took off, undetected by Japanese radar, in preparation for the exile to the land down under. The MacArthur episode is very much remembered today through a memorial shrine at Macajalar Bay in Cagayan de Oro.

photo by MENCHIT ONGPIN | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 19

Lobbying at the VIP Hotel.

Back in the city, I had a fortunate encounter with a renaissance man, the writer and historian Reuben Canoy, who was once the city mayor and consequently, assemblyman at the Batasang Pambansa. The conversation was quite nostalgic, as the man remembered the old city, and of course, the pioneering days of a city icon, the Radio Mindanao Network (RMN). He also talked about his latest book, “The History of Mindanao.”

Cagayan de Oro is also Canoy country. Here the patriarch Henry, Reuben’s elder brother, envisioned the establishment of a radio station some 60 years ago. RMN is now owned and managed by a new generation of Canoys, Henry’s sons Eric, Butch and Charlie. With Eric as chairman and president, the network has reached a whole new level, even investing in television and new media.

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Back when everyone was still being convinced to buy transistor radios, RMN began as a community station, delivering news and information and in the end, defining the heart and soul of the city.

RMN, today more popularly known as “Radyo Mo,++ Nationwide,” has grown into the country’s largest radio network, and it had its humble beginnings in the city of golden friendship.

The road trip ended with me enjoying a divine afternoon of Monk’s coffee and turon at the VIP, a quaint little hotel that made me feel like a real VIP during my stay. At the lobby bar where one could enjoy art—there’s actually an H.R. Ocampo near the front desk—there’s nothing much to wish for after seeing and hearing so much. Not to mention all that glorious food. g

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| our township |

by louie jon a. sanchez | the ajpress photos by menchit ongpin

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In Spanish, the word “carmen” refers to music, and to some extent, even poetry.

Such an astonishing name, I tell myself. It even evokes among all things in popular culture, The Sound of Music, if we were to talk about green rolling hills, and a bustling town where a belfry stands, a witness to what could be warm, lively pastoral. In my mind, the establishing shot played once again. The heroine with open arms strides with a song, proclaiming the hills are alive...

Indeed, the hills are alive here at Cagayan de Oro, the hills known to many old timers as Carmen. Firstly, the airport is conveniently tucked on a hill, and any visitor would get his first glimpse of the city, literally on top of the hills. The location has also given rise to several rest and recreation properties mainly geared towards tourism.

After all, Cagayan de Oro is the gateway to Northern Mindanao, connecting roads to various cities and trading ports.

One of the more visible and vibrant projects in the area is of course the township of Pueblo de Oro, six kilometers away from the airport, and five kilometers away from the Cagayan de Oro City hall. A 360-hectare master-planned property under the aegis of the Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation (PODC), the project began in 1995.

Envisioned as a mixed use complex, it was designed to complement Cagayan de Oro’s prime position as a commercial, industrial and financial hub in the region.

Rodolfo Meñes, Pueblo de Oro Vice President and General Manager for Mindanao, whose wife hails from the area, recalls fondly the pristine beginnings of Pueblo de Oro as a plain pasture land with a scenic terrain and plateaus overlooking the city and its transformation into today’s bustling township. The development, he says, came at an opportune juncture, right after the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan Industrial Corridor project corridor was completed under the USAID program.

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“That was some time in 1994,” says Meñes, who joined the company in 1995. “The land was considered romantic by many Cagayanons since they could go up here and enjoy the scenery, especially at night.” He relates that the lands were originally owned by an influential clan, and parts of it, by the Society of Jesus, which has been running Xavier University (Ateneo de Cagayan).

The brilliant mind behind the concept, PODC Chairman Guillermo D. Luchangco, pioneered the development and helped to place Cagayan de Oro on the Mindanao growth map. The concept of a township was put in place to lure Cagayanons, especially the strong middle-class and balikbayan markets. “There was a boom in real estate at that time,” Meñes recounts. “And our concept really reached to the market. We offered them a place to stay in the hometown. We wanted them to live where they never have to leave.”

Louis Berger International (LBI), a renowned international urban planning experts, was tapped to create a master plan for Pueblo de Oro. The experience of LBI in master planning the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan Corridor and the SOCSARGEN growth areas convinced Pueblo de Oro that they were taking in a group familiar with the needs of the region. The endeavor turned in a complex of grandeur, mixing in the natural terrain of the hills with a gamut of developments—commercial, institutional, recreational and residential. Today, Pueblo de Oro caters to various needs in its dynamic home consumer market. The property now has exclusive residential villages, middle-income housing packages, and even

affordable housing concepts.

The concept of the township of course is always at the heart of the development. As a bustling pueblo in itself, it carefully integrates with the Pueblo Business Park, and the property’s commercial district, with SM City Cagayan de Oro. The Jesuits are also here to stay with the abiding presence of the Xavier University Grade School and High School. Pueblo de Oro has also donated two-hectares of the property for a Catholic Church to be built by the community for the archdiocese of Northern Mindanao. The priceless gem of Pueblo de Oro, of course, is its world-class championship golf course designed

by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. in the Pueblo Golf Estates.

“At Pueblo de Oro, we are proud to say that anybody can have a view of the bay and enjoy the comforts of home,” Meñes adds.

“This concept was seen as trailblazing, we are glad we were ahead of our time.” Today, Pueblo has grown into 10 subdivisions, each with self-sustaining communities. The property continues to grow with the rise of other facilities and institutions, including a hotel, and soon, a satellite hospital. The pueblo is fast becoming a real bustling town.

Pueblo de Oro however is not resting on its laurels. From the townships, Meñes says that the concepts are undergoing reinvention, aware that they are of the needs of the times. “We want to continue our leadership, to continue pushing the envelope,” he relates. This move has brought them to take the brand to the next level in creating another township outside Cagayan de Oro. This new vision has brought them up North, to San Fernando, Pampanga, where they are now developing three community | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 25

The Courtyards at Pueblo de Oro, two hectares of highly exclusive and fully built up high-end townhouses.

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concepts in their 30-hectare property. Pueblo de Oro also intensified its campaign of reaching the balikbayan market by encouraging them to engage in what is now called patriotic investments.

“We are expanding very rapidly today,” Meñes says. “We have positioned people to look after our projects in Luzon, and of course to maintain and manage our Visayas-Mindanao properties.

We have also involved ourselves in promoting our localities. With Pueblo de Oro, we are not only selling the township, but selling the city, Cagayan de Oro. We believe that culture and heritage is part and parcel of the package. Image is our key and when we build, we build everything.”

Pueblo de Oro has also placed its stake in history by putting up what it calls the Plaza de los Heroes. A black granite memorial shrine is the centerpiece of the plaza, dedicated to the heroes of the Three Battles of Cagayan de Misamis during the PhilippineAmerican War. A narrative is set into stone, describing the battles and remembering the heroes who died or were wounded then.

The complex is also expected to be an information technology hub with the presence of Concentrix, the first call center in Cagayan de Oro. Concentrix opened in 2005, initially with 300 seats and has now expanded to 1,500 seats. The call center currently generates employment for many Cagayanons.

Pueblo de Oro has also put a premium on taking care of the environment. Aside from investing on planting endemic tree species from Mt. Kitanglad National Park in Bukidnon on a 40-hectare area of the property, it has set its sights on a new development concept that benchmarks eco-friendly building technology.

Pueblo de Oro’s showcase projects today are the Courtyards (www.courtyardsatpueblo.com), a condominium development of Asian-modern designed townhouses and Primavera Residences which campaigns for green living. The Italian-inspired condominiums are built using the principles of sustainable architecture. This means that the design and concept makes it possible to be energy-generating, minimizing power usage through maximized use of natural light and ventilation. The project is designed by the Italian ITA, an award-winning firm specializing in green architecture.

“Pueblo de Oro has diversified its concept and has created more opportunities for further development. We are aware that there is a vast potential and we must always be in touch with the times.

There’s still so much to expect and we are gearing towards more growth,” Meñes believes. g

photo by dennis panlilio | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 27

by rodolfo L. Meñes

As stewards of the Township, we have an obligation to look out for the best interests of our homeowners. Among these are ensuring that the value of their property is protected and the quality of life in their respective subdivisions are maintained.

Pueblo de Oro has thus been seeking out quality locators to enhance the Township location, including SM mall, top schools like Xavier University and Corpus Christi, the St. Francis Xavier church, Hotel Koresco, Oro Chamber, and Concentrix, to name a few, all within the Pueblo Township.

One of our goals to complete the Township was to have medical facilities. We have convinced Capitol University Medical City, a premier tertiary hospital here in Cagayan de Oro, to open a satellite ambulatory clinic on Masterson Mile. Our homeowners and even

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those from surrounding communities will benefit from having emergency services in the vicinity 24 hours a day without losing precious time going downtown and having to navigate the distance and traffic.

Health care doesn’t just extend to people but animals as well. Our family has several handsome dogs, each with distinct personalities, and we consider them part of our family. Many of our residents are pet owners too, and I am sure they feel the same way. It is thus heartening to know that a group of veterinarians are setting up the Northern

Mindanao Animal Medical Center also in Masterson Mile. Soon our dog Buster and all the other companion animals could avail of high-end, veterinary facilities and full medical and surgical services with an emphasis on disease prevention.

Pueblo is also committed to preserving the environment in the Township and surrounding communities. Even before the January 2009 floods, a very rare occurrence that affected many of the lowlying areas in the city, Pueblo has built an outflow and detention pond in the lower portion of the Township to contain water runoff from the plateau to the valley before dispersal into the creeks, thus helping protect the areas in Calaanan Valley from flooding. We are also continuing our efforts to maintain, restore, and protect the 40-hectare Pueblo Urban Rainforest in coordination with the DENR through tree-planting activities with students and volunteer groups.

A one-hectare plot of land is earmarked for total care of planting trees by Rotary Uptown, PLDT-Philcom and Xavier University High School alumni.

Another of our projects is the construction of a gabion system above Forest View Homes. Rocks were manually arranged in galvanized iron wire cages to form a secure yet flexible and permeable structure that allows water to drain freely while holding the topsoil in place. The gabions protect the slope from erosion and the homeowners downhill from landslides.

These are just some examples of how we are promoting the welfare of our residents and locators, and as the Township grows, we will continue to find new ways to provide quality services to our Township community. g www.pueblodeoro.com | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 29

by Jose S. Arcilla, s.j. | photos COURTESY OF the ateneo de manila university archives

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“Cagayan,” we are told, is equivalent to “Calagaan,” the place of spirited people. A parish since 1822 under the Recollects, the Jesuits took over the town in 1906. One of them was the famous Fr. Gabriel Font, SJ, known for his zeal and dying phrase as he searched for souls, “No puedo mas, no puedo mas” (“No more, I can do no more”). In 1933, Bishop-elect James T. G. Hayes, SJ saw the need for two high schools for his diocese, and he founded the Lourdes College for girls, the Ateneo de Cagayan for boys.

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Bishop James T.G. Hayes SJ, who founded the Lourdes College for girls and the Ateneo de Cagayan for boys. ATENEO DE MANILA ARCHIVES

“Ateneo,” of course is the name as well of the famous Jesuit school in Manila, Rizal’s alma mater, where, he recalled, classical studies had ennobled his mind and opened a new path he could follow. In using the same name, Bishop Hayes had in mind an institution of learning in the tradition of the ancient Greeks who honored the goddess of wisdom, Athena, in her city, Athens.

Seventeen boys (later, 23) began their first year high school in the new school in 1933. Eighteen of them opted to study Latin as part of their academic program. Four years later, they were the first high school graduates of Ateneo de Cagayan.

How much did it cost to study at the Ateneo? The tuition fee was P48, library fee P1, athletic fee P1, laboratory fee P2. Classes were held in a building at No. 3 Burgos Street, belonging to Zosimo Roa, the oldest town resident at the time. One of the first pupils of the Ateneo had been born in this building in 1919.

To help teachers in the public and parochial schools in Northern Mindanao, a summer school was held for them. Later, the Ateneo opened a department of education, which formed the teachers for Northern Mindanao. Interestingly, the new reinforced concrete building of Ateneo was said to be the first in Mindanao!

Co-curricular activities were part of student life: ACIL, SODALITY (Today, it’s Christian Life Community), Apostleship of Prayer, Dramatics, Glee Club, oratorical contest, Christmas Package Drive (whose donations for the poor increased yearly), varsity sports (e.g., basketball), publication of the student paper and the annual year book, “The Crusader,” etc.

College classes were offered for the first time in 1938. In 1940, the Jesuit Superior General in Rome accepted the Ateneo as a Jesuit institution, and named Fr. J. Edward Haggerty, S. J. as the first Rector. Until then, the Ateneo was a diocesan school.

A new auditorium-gymnasium, inaugurated in February 1941, had its first cultural event, the stage presentation, “The Whirlwind of God,” a play about St. Francis Xavier. In October, large crowds packed the gymnasium when the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles, NCAA champions, came down for two games with the local Ateneo team. The referee for both games remarked that the gymnasium had the “best floor he had seen in the Islands.”

Things seemed normal as the months went by. Rehearshals for the annual plays, Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” were held, the Christmas Package Drive had begun, a Christmas lantern contest was started, the annual Ateneo Alumni Day opened with festive joy on December 7, 1941. Next day, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a military mass was offered, followed by an air derby or contest of model planes. Then came the shock.

The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor! The Philippines had been drawn into a war—not of its own making. The Ateneo ROTC tried to finish their training for the year and was the last to disband. Within the month, Ateneo was emptied. The students went home, the Jesuits went to the hills and eventually to Manila.

But Fr. Haggerty remained and offered the chemistry laboratory to be used to produce quinine for the American troops. Material was available, the chinchona, or the “Jesuit” tree grown in Bukidnon.

The library was transferred to Sumilao.

But the Japanese made Ateneo their headquarters for Northern Mindanao. And when the American war planes came to liberate Mindanao, the entire Ateneo was pulverized, its precious library was burned. But Ateneo refused to die and was rebuilt all over again. It has grown into the present Xavier University. g | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 33

| salt and paper |

by louie jon a. sanchez | the ajpress photos by mark floro

Born With A Golden Spoon VIP Hotel’s Eileen San Juan talks about sinuglaw, Kumbira, and other glorious food memories

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One thing’s for sure, food has its own eloquence. This is what I found out recently on our trip to Cagayan de Oro, my third actually. Everywhere I go in the city, food speaks, rather fondly of its various and varied histories. The taste ranges from the subtle to the complex: from the fresh bounty of the sea, to livestock and fruits. There was a certain point that I was at a loss for words. The gustatory experience is overwhelming that one would really need to be guided in the maze.

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“Food is everything, it has its own language. When you eat food in a specific locality, you come for the flavor, for the richness of tastes. That is the experience,”says Eileen San Juan.

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However, Cagayan de Oro Hotelier Eileen San Juan of VIP Hotel, the premiere hotel at the heart of the city, has captured in so many ways the golden tastes of the locality. Coming from the respected Canoy clan, the family which built the Radio Mindanao Network (RMN), Cagayan de Oro culture clearly runs in her veins.

Being raised in a family whose hospitality is fondly remembered, San Juan advocates local tourism and even spearheads Kumbira, the Cagayan de Oro food fest, which showcases local culinary talents and dishes. She also makes sure that food is splendid at the VIP Hotel, today prides itself of being Kumbira’s overall champion.

“Kumbira has been on for 15 years now,” says San Juan, in our talk at the warm hotel lobby of VIP Hotel one afternoon. The lobby breathes art, as it showcases a stunning H.R. Ocampo piece, and some intricate panels featuring Mindanao vernacular design.

It also contains several interesting pieces like furniture designed by Cebuana Betty Cobonpue, whose son Kenneth is making waves in the international furniture design scene. “It has grown from being merely a local event into a national gathering. It’s really an avenue where we can share not only dishes but practically useful kitchen knowhow.”

San Juan, herself an officer of the Cagayan de Oro Hotel and Restaurants Association (Cohara), believes that Kumbira, celebrated every September, has clearly put the city of gold in the tourism map. “Culinary culture is as important as heritage sites and other tourist attractions,” she says. “Food is everything, it has its own language. When you eat food in a specific locality, you come for the flavor, for the richness of tastes. That is the experience.”

Kumbira for San Juan is also “tourism in education.” In the competitions for instance, you do not actually compete with other people. You compete under a standard. That’s very challenging for many and it helps our locals improve,” she says. “The best part of the event is the debriefing session. We get to assess the experiences of our locals. We also get to give feedback. That’s the kind of exposure we provide through Kumbira.”

Kumbira today is considered the biggest culinary event of Mindanao. It has been lauded as an innovative avenue for food.

“But we just keep on reinventing every year. We make sure everything’s new and at the same time practical. Kumbira is also our way of showing a different face of Mindanao. We have a rich culture, a very, very rich heritage. Food is always a good common ground.”

When asked about Cagayan de Oro food, three things according to San Juan, stand out. “That’s easy. Ham, casuy, and pineapples. Those are usually the three things associated to the city.” The ham business in Cagayan, San Juan says, is still very much around. “There was even a time when it’s only in Cagayan de Oro where you can find a bone ham all year round. Before, my friends from Manila would call me up just to order because that type of ham would only be available during the Christmas season.”

Casuy meanwhile finds itself in various dishes of the Cagayan de Oro cuisine. In one dessert at VIP Hotel for instance, the traditional turon is reinvented with two astounding dips—coffee

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flavored and at the one with grated casuy, mixed with creamy milk.

“Casuy is a very versatile nut. It is a local favorite,” San Juan adds.

Pineapple meanwhile is also part of the banquet because of the proximity of the numerous pineapple plantations. “Bukidnon is just around the corner,” San Juan says in jest.

But there is this Cagayan de Oro dish that San Juan is really proud of—one she is really promoting as the city’s very own. The dish of roast pork and fresh fish cooked in vinegar has steadily become part of every Cagayan de Oro menu. The astounding soursweet taste of the vinegar, usually from the region’s coconut, the hot siling labuyo, and the healthy mix of vegetable garnishing makes every sinuglaw an explosive experience.

“What’s so good about sinuglaw is that all our ingredients are grown here. Everything is fresh. The fish, the pork, everything. Even our vinegar is flavorful. It adds a lot of character to the dish. And it is also versatile because it could be taken at any time,” she says.

There are also some other “secret” ingredients, apparently.

“We call that nut tabon-tabon. We grate it and extract the juice. It gives that certain murky sauce in the sinuglaw. We also put in suwa or lime, in the mix.” So that’s why it had an apparent multidimensionality. “Last July, we tried to create a distinct taste for sinuglaw. It’s actually for the restaurants. We wanted to introduce authentic sinuglaw which everyone can emulate.”

About Mindanao cuisine at large, San Juan says it is enriched by the bounty of nature. “We have a lot of it in our midst.

The fruits for instance are just so many. Mangosteen, durian, mangoes, even our lanzones from Camiguin. The grains of course are very important to our locals because it is an important part of the diet.” She takes for example the popular dish called binaki, which is made of corn. “It is tamales like, but cooked with milk,” she adds. g

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www.asianjournal.com 40 | balikbayan | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayanmagazine.com |

COME FOR THE NEWS, STAY FOR THE VIEWS.

LOS ANGELES • SAN FRANCISCO • LAS VEGAS • NEW YORK • MANILA | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 41

| native son |

Señor Pedro

rules the roost Meet the man, the congressman, and Sr. Pedro himself, and follow his journey from the chicken house to the House of Representatives.

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Nothing is sweeter than the success achieved through perseverance and hard work. Ultimately, people who go through blood, sweat and tears—and sometimes that does happen literally—to attain their goals are those who are most grateful for and most guarded with their success, as opposed to those who barely lift a finger and instantly find themselves basking in glory. Those who worked hard and succeeded are those who have the most interesting stories to tell.

The Unabia family is someone who knows how it is to work hard to reach success and yes, they have an interesting story to tell.

The Unabia family traces its roots to Malaybalay, Bukidnon, where the family patriach, Daciano, leased a small piece of land where he got meager earnings for his harvest. Daciano, with the help of his wife Tering, persisted and managed to send their 11 kids to school, including Peter M. Unabia, the ninth of the brood and who is now also the Congressman for the 1st District of Misamis Oriental Province.

It was in 1994 when Peter’s business instinct took full hold of him. With the help of his brothers, particularly Nieto Unabia, who was a talented cook, he put up a small roadside roasted chicken (lechon manok) outlet in which he named Ang Lechon Manok ni Sr. Pedro.

Ang Lechon Manok ni Sr. Pedro roasted chicken quickly charmed the tastebuds of Filipinos and from its first outlet, it now has more than 300 outlets nationwide.

Ang Lechon Manok ni Sr. Pedro now operates under Anakciano, Inc., of which Peter is the president. Anakciano, Inc. has its commercial farms as well as contract farms to provide the birds needed to supply its business.

It is truly a success story for the books. More importantly, the Unabias is a family who knows how to handle success well: they make it a point to share it with those who helped them along the way.

“We grew up in a poor family, so when our lives began to get better, we wanted to share the blessings,” declared Peter.

Currently, the company has a total of 16 million birds, of which about 2 million are raised in the company-owned commercial farms. The others are grown by 60 commercial farmers with an average capacity of 40,000 birds and another 4,000 backyard farmers with an average capacity of 500 birds.

Most of these farms are located in the provinces of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental.

The backyard farmers are part of the two foundations: Anaktering Foundation, Inc., which was also started by the Unabia family and named after their mother, and the Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. To ensure the contract growers, commercial and backyard farmers meet the standards, Anakciano, Inc. provides them the DOCs, feeds, medicines/vaccinations and technical support.

Still, Mr. Unabia stresses that it is still up to the contract growers and backyard farmers to manage their farms efficiently and meet Anakciano, Inc.’s requirements; otherwise, they will be let go.

“I tell them that this is a business, not a dole out,” he says.

“It is important for the company to make profit to sustain the

program, and so that the business can keep growing and we can continue with what we are doing with them.”

As a way to motivate contract growers to become more proficient and productive, the company awards those who accomplish the specific criteria set by Anakciano. Thanks to this, Anakciano maintains a good relationship with its contract growers.

The operations have been running smoothly so far. The harvest recovery is pegged at 95.8 percent, very impressive considering that their target is 96 percent. Systemwide Full Cost Recovery is at 1.7, which is even better than the target of 1.8, while average live weight hits the target of 1.4 kg.

All of the farms are also required to follow biosecurity measures that include having a 21- to 30-day rest period between batches. Regular disinfection through foot baths, washing, spraying and fumigation are also implemented.

Anakciano, Inc. regularly conducts quarterly Growers Meeting where issues related to nutrition, DOCs, vaccination, medication, diseases, management and harvesting, among others, are addressed. This meeting is also an avenue where problems encountered in the farms are brought up so that they can be immediately attended to.

These measures also have helped in assuring the farms are free from major disease outbreaks.

One problem faced by Anakciano is the uniformity of their birds. Premium-size birds, typically measuring 900g. to 1.1 kg., are produced in an average of 28 days. However, harvesting issues sometimes crop up and there is an oversupply of oversized birds. To resolve this, Anakciano makes sure that harvesting is done on time.

There is no doubt that Unabia is one who can speak about effective management. But he admits that anyone who is running a business is bound to run into problems one way or the other. Still, he is not one who rests on his laurels. He is looking forward to expanding the business more and remains committed to lending a hand to his community and fellow citizens.

“There is a municipality in my district that I’ve been looking at and my goal is to make it self-reliant,” he said. “I want to put up a dressing plant there that they can run and manage on their own. We want to teach them how to do a marketing plan later on. Of course, they will have to give priority to Sr. Pedro for the chicken they produce, but they wil be the one to dictate the price. The ultimate goal is to empower the community/ association so that they will become self-sufficient, to the point that they can and will continue growing their business even without Anakciano.” g | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 43

The taste of success by mike baños

Ang Manok ni Sr. Pedro, perhaps now one of the most popular roast chicken chains in the Visayas and Mindanao—and yes, it is also making its mark in Luzon—is like many of its kind, a beautiful family success story.

Many think it was Rep. Peter M. Unabia of the first congressional district of Misamis Oriental who started “Lechon Manok ni Sr. Pedro” and started it (after all, it bears his name) But his brother Antonietto played a major role in turning the dream into reality.

Antonietto Mamawag Unabia, a local boy from Malaybalay, Bukidnon, studied commerce at San Isidro College.

When he retired from the Philippine National Bank (PNB) as a credit investigator of 12 years, Nieto as he is known to friends, took his lump sum retirement pension and decided to go into business.

Between 1991 and1992, he went into various small business ventures taking the Bachelor Bus around Mindanao. He was at one time or another a comprador of fish from Surigao, dressed chicken from Cebu, office supplies from Cagayan de Oro, and veterinary supplies. He even put up a pool hall and a majongan at his residence. All failed.

Down but not out, Nieto rented half of a 32-square meter lot next to the PNB-Malaybalay branch and started selling snacks to his former colleagues. He would eventually provide breakfast and all kinds of meals in his menu.

Named “Middle Chamber,” Nieto functioned as an all-around guy for his wife Nida, helping prepare the food, run errands and the like.

It was during these desperate times that the idea to sell lechon manok came to him when he noticed that their litsonero after 9 am.

With broilers sourced from nearby backyard poultries, Nieto started experimenting with formulations for three months until he hit the right one which suited his taste. Lechon manok in the first place was already an obsession since high school.

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Still unbranded, Nieto started selling a whole chicken at P90 although he also sold it as cut-ups like wings, legs and breast. As usual, it was his faithful band of PNB colleagues who started bringing whole lechon manoks home to share it with their family instead of simply dining in at the Middle Chamber.

“Sugod pa lamang, abi nako 30 ka tibuok litson manok lamang kada adlaw mabawi ko na akong suweldo sa PNB, (“When we started, I was thinking that with only 30 lechon manok sold daily, I would have already approximated my salary at PNB),” he recalls.

Soon, Malaybalay branch was selling 200 litson manok per day.

Nieto has also his share of memorable moments. During Gloria Arroyo’s visit when she was still senator, Nieto recalls how her husband Mike consumed two whole chickens in one sitting. “Kalami jud” (It’s so delicious), he says. He would hear it more often after that.

It was during this time that his younger brother, now congressman Peter, took notice of his brother’s success and decided to open a branch in Cagayan de Oro. An agriculture graduate from Xavier University, Peter had just retired from his job as a detailman from Unilab. He was looking for another business.

“Our first outlet was located in the present site of Cecil’s Bake Shop at the corner of Hayes and Corrales Avenue fronting Xavier University.

We named it ‘Lechon Manok ni Sr. Pedro’ from the popular RMN radio drama, ‘Ang Manok ni San Pedro’ starring the characters Esteban Escudero, his sidekick Guliat and the magic fighting cock named ‘Ogis.’” The first branch was a partnership between the two brothers who first sourced their chickens from Vitarich.

photo by NOEL GODINEZ | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 45

Nieto Unabia says their lechon manok is selling like hotcakes.

“Sales in our first branch were so-so but we had a hit with our second branch in Ozamiz where we lowered our prices to only P 90 vs. the P 120 offered by competitors,” Nieto recalls.

By the time the third outlet opened in Iligan, they invested on their first service truck.

Besides its delicious secret marinade, Nieto noticed that their consistent use of aluminum foil to wrap their lechon manok made the taste fresher.

“We were the pioneers in the use of aluminum foil instead of banana leaves to wrap our lechon manok,” Nieto said. “It’s a little more expensive but it enhances the flavor. Hygiene is also important.”

Today, Lechon Manok ni Sr. Pedro has over 300 branches nationwide. The usual stall is only manned by one person who doubles as litsonero and cashier. There’s no franchise system to speak of yet, and usually relatives and friends manage the outlets.

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From its humble beginnings with the “Middle Chamber” in Malaybalay City, Lechon Manok ni Sr. Pedro now boasts of related companies, among them a feed mill, an ice plant, a dressing plant, grower operations (commerical and livelihood program through Anak Tering Foundation), a dressed chicken brand called Manok Pinoy and Fido Prito fried chicken chain in Manila, Cebu and Davao. All these operations are under the holding company Anakciano Inc., after their late father Daciano. Anak Tering meanwhile is after family’s late mother Teresa.

Besides Nieto and Peter, the other siblings are also actively involved in Anakciano’s operations. Maribel (Evel) is Chief Executive Officer. Romana and husband Luis Ababao manage the integrated Anakciano plant operations in Mohon, Tagoloan.

Eugene takes care of harvesting and the checking-in of broilers.

Lechon Manok ni Sr. Pedro has indeed come a long way from a backyard in Malaybalay to almost every corner in the Philippines. g

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It is ironic how the Philippines’ blessings all too soon became its bane.

Consider how the country is considered as “mega-diverse” but at the same time a global biodiversity hotspot.

Ten years ago, the Red List of the International Union of the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) listed 52,177 species of which 418 were considered “threatened.” The Philippines has over 9,000 species of flora, of which a third are endemic to the country.

It has 165 species of mammals, 121 of which are found only in the country. The Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Priority-setting Program (PBCPP) described these 165 endemic mammal species as endangered or critically endangered.

In a 1.8 hectare public land in Barangay Poblacion of the Misamis Oriental municipality of Sugbongcogon lays a microcosm of the country’s biodiversity. Known as the Mantianak Botanical Garden and Zoological Park, it is more commonly known as “Mantianak” to locals (don’t ask why).

Sugbongcogon Mayor Benedict P. Lagbas started the project nine years ago with land donated by the Ongchuan family and was brought to fruition in 2007 by Mayor Jerome “Jerry” P. Lagbas.

Originally called the Mantianak Wildlife Rescue Center, it’s not hard to find. Going east from Cagayan de Oro, it lies about 2 kms. from the popular fish landing in Binuangan town after the series of curves known as the “liko-liko” to locals. Coming from Butuan and Gingoog, it’s about 20 kms. after Balingoan port.

With over 200 animals covering some 58 species, Mantianak boasts of reptiles, birds and big mammals, including the star attractions: four Siberian Tigers adopted by Rep. Peter M. Unabia of the provinces 1st congressional district.

Another big attraction is the pair of saltwater crocodiles, considered as the world’s largest reptile. Scientifically known as crocodylus porosus, one is four-feet and the other one 12-feet long, although adults in the wild are known to grow to six to seven meters (20-23 feet) and weighs from two to three tons.

Also included in the Mantianak collection of reptiles is the Philippine monitor lizard (pala-os) belonging to a yellow/black sub-species, and Philippine sailfin lizard (ibid). The Philippines has 332 species of reptiles and amphibians of which 215 are endemic.

Still another attraction is the small herd of Philippine Brown Deer which includes bucks, does and fawns. The herd in Mantianak is from a sub-species called Forrestal, one of which has been adopted

by Sen. Miguel Zubiri of Bukidnon. Philippine Brown Deer (cervus marianus) was originally restricted to the Philippines but was later introduced into the Marianna Islands.

Visitors also revel in Mantianak’s impressive collection of birds which include nine species including exotic Blue and Gold Macaw,

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by mike baños

In a 1.8 hectare public land in Barangay Poblacion of the Misamis Oriental municipality of Sugbongcogon lies a microcosm of the country’s biodiversity.

sulfur-crested cockatoos and eclectus parrots from outside the Philippines and FOUR kinds of hornbills endemic to the country.

With some of the world’s most exotic birds, some 577 species of birds have been documented in the Philippines of which 185 are endemic, with 116 already listed as “threatened” or “nearthreatened” by Bird Life International.

Opened to the public in 2008, Mantianak has already earned Sugbongcogon some P1 million in revenues and has accommodated as many as 1,000 visitors from Butuan who had to be shuttled in three buses over three days. Chad Lagbas-Lao, the facility manager, says even balikbayans from as far as the US have come visiting after learning about it from its Facebook page.

A celebrity visitor was Ms. USA International 2009 Aileen Jan Valdehueza-Yap of Texas whose mother Geget hails from Balingasag and father Boy from Cagayan de Oro. Aileen visited Mantianak when she was still Ms. Texas and had the occasion to pet the tiger named Carmelo when it was younger. g

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Where have all the old trees gone?

by MIKE BAñOS | PHOTO BY DENNIS PANLILIO

Along with the old houses, street names and landmarks which have become a part of the heritage of Cagayan de Oro, are some trees and their fruits which seem to have inexplicably disappeared over time.

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Two trees which have figured prominently in the culture and heritage of Cagayan de Oro are the lambago and kayam.

“Our place was once known as Kalambagohan because of the abundance of lambago,” Roy Gaane, president and founder of Kagayanon International, recalls. The lambago tree (Hibiscus tiliaceus) is a member of the Malvaceae tree family that thrives in low altitude areas like seashores, riverbanks and other areas reached by tidal streams.

Long-time resident Titus Velez reminisces how the lambago produced a yellow flower with some red stripes. As the day came and went, the flowers deepened to orange and then to red before falling off. The branches of the tree would bend over time and the wood has been used for seacraft, firewood, wood carving, rope and many other uses.

“They serve as anti-erosion sa mga riverbanks, trapping silt during the seasonal floods of the Cagayan River,” Velez said. “We used to climb this tree from one tree to another. Kasi almost interlocking ang mga branches. The branches are also very flexible and strong even the small ones. We also use the branches as an improvised diving board. During summer we would enjoy its shade.”

“Under the tree we would cook banana with ginamos and one bottle of Coke. We could sleep in the branches while bringing the old transistor radio (the ones with Nora Aunor’s face on the dial), while listening to dramas from dxCC. We also fly out kites there, well actually on a small clearing besides the trees,” he added.

“Those were the days.

The last lambago I saw was along Iponan river but it’s not there anymore.

I’m not sure if there are still lambago if we go upstream.

I think it is a victim of rapid urbanization.”

On the other hand, the kayam was better known to elder Kagay-anons for its nut which was a popular delicacy during their childhood days in the city. Susong kabaw “I remember that my mother had a suki who would deliver cooked or boiled kayam to the house,” wrote Wendy Ramos-Garcia in her reminisces titled “Memories of the Old Hometown.” “I haven’t seen kayam for a long, long time now.”

“It tastes like castañas (chestnuts) except it is bigger,” Gaane said. “ You can look it up in Google under the name of Tahitian Chestnut or Polynesian Chestnut.”

The tree was even linked in popular culture to one of the city’s barangays.

“When I was still in grade school, there were kayam trees in Consolacion, then known as the red light district of Cagayan,” Gaane said. “When men who patronized the district were asked where they had been, they would say, Nang kayam ‘mi. It became notorious and that was probably why the trees were cut.”

Gaane also recalls other fruits of his childhood in Cagayan de Oro but which are now hard-to-find.

“There was the alubijid tree once found by the side of the Provincial Capitol,” he said. “Its fruit is evergreen and its seed is hairy

like that of the siniguelas except that the alubijid is round and big as a tennis ball. It probably can still be found in the town of Alubijid. It’s crunchy like an apple, green, with hairy kernel. Just like the pangi fruit which was once found in Barangay Tagpangi. It must still be there,” he added.

Gaane also recalls a fruit better known as the cherry which was brownish and about the size of lanzones.

“There used to be a tree at the Kempski compound that later became Rizal Theatre. Being a family friend, I used to get my cherries there.”

When he was a grade schooler in Ateneo de Cagayan (now better known as Xavier University), Gaane said he was a patron of the cherries which used to be sold by the Neri’s who had a property right next to the old gymnasium.

“I remember that cherry tree which belonged to the family of Luisito Neri,” Ramos-Garcia said. “It was delicious but the tree was full of thorns.”

Jazmin Ramos-Sumalinog, eldest daughter of former Pilgrim Institute High School Principal Severino Ramos recalls they used to have a cherry tree in their front yard.

“Didto mi sa taas sa cherry pirmi magsaka to get the dark plumcolored ones. Daghan gusto mopalit when the fruits look so tempting to passersby,” she said.

“Dante, Bobom, Totic and myself agreed to own part of the tree as our respective branches, so that we get fruits only from our assigned branch. Nakaka-miss!”

“The cherry is known as cereales in Davao and serali in the Visayas,” said Sylvia Aguhob, a food tech faculty from Xavier University’s College of Agriculture. She said cherry trees still line the pathway in the car park of the Southeast Asian Rural Social Leadership Institute (Searsolin) at the Manresa campus of XU. Photo courtesy of Market Manila Another fruit which was once abundant in Carmen in what is now the Golden Village was the susong kabaw. “When ripe it is red and hairy like the mabolo but you only eat its flesh like the mangosteen,” Gaane recalls. Like the cherry, he said he hasn’t seen one since his high school days.

Veteran journalist Ben Emata, who is now based in Los Angeles, USA, also has fond memories of the susong kabaw. “This is a sweet fruit that looks like the nipple of a carabao,” he muses. “When I went hunting during my childhood days, susong kabaw were abundant side by side with bayabas or guavas. I have not seen this fruit for a very long time. It was not sold in the market since it was a wild fruit.”

Philippine Heritage gives susong kabaw’s scientific name as Annonaceae Uvaria Rufe and it’s found from Northern Luzon to Palawan and Mindanao where it is known as the susong-kalabaw, susog kaba, and a host of other regional variants.

According to MarketMan of the wonderful blog Market Manila, susong kabaw is a member ot the Annonaceae family, which counts among its cousins, guyabano (soursop), atis (custard apple) and ylang-ylang. g | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 51

| local hero |

The Keys to the City Cagayan de Oro on Rudolf’s Mind by mario banzon

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Acclaimed pianist and staunch environmental activist Rudolf Golez may have traveled the world holding concerts in US, Europe and Asia but just like any Pinoy, his hometown, Cagayan de Oro, still ranks as one of his most cherished places. But his filial love for the city goes beyond the conventional fact that he was raised there. It was also in this very same city where he first began performing as an artist.

“I was forced to study piano,” says Golez whose first piano teacher was his mother. “I started when I was four years old, and I stopped completely three years later.” Of course, at seven years old, his interests lay elsewhere. It was his father who would bring him back to music. “One day my father went home with a film biography of Johann Strauss, and it sort of put a spark into my spirit,” he says. Mesmerized with Strauss’s music, Golez resumed his lessons but this time with much fervor.

“My mother noticed how fast I could learn music so she let me study with her former teacher in Cagayan, Sister Lourdes Alegado,” he says.

“Six months later, I had my solo concert.”

Golez, who was then already taking his craft seriously, was sent to Cebu for further studies and, with the help of his teacher, Nelly Castro, the 12-year-old pianist snagged a spot at the prestigious Julliard School of Music Preparatory Division in New York.

“I was culture-shocked,” admits Golez of his New York entry.

“But I was only too engrossed with the music. It was all that I was interested in, which (I now realize) was not a good thing. I think it made more harm than good.” He explains that one needs balanced education in order to be successful in any endeavor.

Still, the young pianist pursued his passion, eventually returning to the country to get his master’s degree in music at the University of the Philippines.

Since then, the pianist has garnered various accolades and rave reviews. He was the sole prize-winner at the First Asean Chopin International Competition in Malaysia and has been included in an all-Mozart tour commemorating the composer’s 250th anniversary and in the 9th International Piano Festivals in Spain. “Of course it helps,” Golez says of the praises and awards bestowed upon him. “But we are artists. We don’t rely

on it. We know it is important for the career but we will always focus on the act of making music itself.”

Golez’s interests in the arts, however, has evolved through the years. Apart from being a pianist, he has also begun producing concerts for his fellow artists. “Although Cagayan is not really the center of the arts, we are doing our share of efforts to promote arts in the city,” he says. “I think people are hungry for good music in Cagayan, so I have had considerable success even in the short few years that I’ve been producing concerts.”

But Golez isn’t focusing his energy on the arts alone.

Apparently, he is as serious about his music as he is about the environment. In fact, there is even a story on the Internet about him going after an illegal logger with his Mercedez Benz.

“I never knew your actions could be broadcasted on the Internet,” Golez laughs. “But yes, I ran after a truck. I was furious at that time and, when I caught up with them, I demanded for their license.”

“But that’s how I feel about the environment,” he says. “I’m passionate about it because I’m from Mindanao. There is still hope in preserving the state of our environment. I think in terms of biodiversity we’re one of the places on top of the list. We have so much diversity of species that there are even those that haven’t been discovered yet. And we may not be able to discover them if we continue at the rate that we’re going now.”

“I want to help in the environment because it is something you cannot put on hold,” he says. “It’s the same with my music.

I have to go out and travel to other places because I cannot just play in our country.” Apparently for Golez, chasing after illegal loggers and performing inside a concert hall are practically the same thing. Both fueled by passion. g | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 53

| essence of place |

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The Houses In Which I Have Lived by cristina pantoja-hidalgo

photos by MENCHIT ONGPIN

In high school, my friends and I used to make a game of describing the houses in which we wanted to live. These changed according to our moods, the books we were reading, the latest movies we had watched. The only rule of the game was that one had to describe this dream house in minute detail, down to the color of the tiles in the bathroom and the types of shrubs growing in the backyard.

It was a harmless game—allowing our fancies to construct Spanish villas and Swiss chalets, penthouse flats and cozy little farmhouses, cottages perched on hilltops and split-level bungalows by the sea.

As I grew older, my dream house tended to exhibit recurring features. It had a tiled roof, tall rooms, French doors opening into a garden shaded by old trees, an attic to serve as refuge when I needed it, a basement to store junk. Most importantly, it had a great many windows to let in the sunlight and the breeze, and a view of both the mountains and the sea.

I imagined entering this house as a bride, raising my children who would flourish like the plants in my garden, and sitting on my rocking chair beside my husband in his, to watch our grandchildren toddling about when they came to visit on weekends.

Needless to say, reality has not even come close to the dream.

For my husband and I have lived the life of gypsies. Not counting the numerous hotels in which we have camped, we have moved a total of 12 times in 25 years.

Our first home was a tiny apartment on Malakas Street behind the SSS Building. It was a brand new “duplex” and rented for only P130 a month. But when we learned we were to have a baby, we had to look for a larger place. We found this two-and-a-half-story house in Teacher’s Village, which looked somehow like it belonged in a farm rather than in the city. And it was partly this, perhaps, which inspired my young husband to indulge a favorite hobby, and set up a small fighting cock farm in our backyard.

After a year, our landlady decided she wanted her house back.

We borrowed some money from the UST Faculty Club (I was an instructor in UST then), and bought ourselves a cottage with a pocketsized garden. We had to put up with some inconvenience, not the least of which was that it was located right in the border of Quezon City, Marikina and Pasig. So we paid our electric bill in Quezon City, our water bill in Marikina, and our telephone bill (when RETELCO finally gave us a connection, seven years after we had applied for it)

in Pasig. We paid our real estate taxes in Marikina, but had no idea which police department and fire department had jurisdiction over us.

Nonetheless we were happy in that little place, and there we stayed, until Tony joined UNICEF, and we became vagabonds.

In Bangkok, our house on Sukhumvit Soi 23 was set well away from the road, and had a long driveway shaded by mango trees.

It was a large, airy house, with a front porch, and French windows opening into a garden which, though fairly small, was lush with Chinese bamboos, a couple of tamarind trees, a frangipani, a hibiscus hedge, climbing bougainvillea, and fragrant with the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle. For a while we had a pair of lovebirds in a cage suspended from the ceiling of our porch, a gift from Tatti Licuanan; and a brown dog called Tippy, who enjoyed chasing butterflies. The only real problem was the green snake, which liked to slither up to the children’s bedroom window and coil itself on the sill, where it was invariably mistaken for the rope attached to the bamboo shades.

In Beirut, we lived for a while in a tiny furnished flat on Rue John Kennedy, with a balcony overlooking the incomparable Mediterranean. When our furniture arrived, we moved to a flat on the 5th floor of an apartment building on Rue du Caire. This one was much bigger, was in fact luxurious. But its balconies looked out into the street, down which ambulances came hurtling with great regularity, accompanied by shrill sirens and gunfire, on their way to the American University Hospital. Beirut itself is an incredibly lovely city built on hills, facing the sea. But when one is often without lights or water, and dodging stray bullets is part of one’s daily routine, the contour of the land ceases to be of much consequence.

Our first home in Seoul was a small flat in a housing complex on the slopes of Mount Namsan. From the bedroom windows, we could watch the trees changing color with the changing seasons; and from the living room, we could look down on the sprawling city, stretching to the banks of the gleaming Han River, and beyond it, to the mountains in the distance. | balikbayanmagazine.com | OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2010 | balikbayan | 55

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But, besides being excessively cramped, we were not comfortable living on the 9th floor of a building with no proper fire escape. (In case of fire, we were supposed to open a little iron box in our balcony, extract the portable ladder in it and attach it to the balcony of the apartment below ours. Even assuming the unlikely possibility that every occupant of every apartment would be home when the building caught fire; and that after everyone had succeeded in prying open the rusty locks in their iron boxes, would manage to connect their ladders; the prospect of clambering down this makeshift contraption was distinctly unappealing.) We decided to sacrifice the spectacular view, and move to a roomy-walk up on Hillside Village and become part of the view from Namsan.

While looking for a suitable house in Rangoon (now Yangon), we stayed in a small furnished cottage on Yarde Road. It was a shabby affair, with faded rattan furniture, musty rugs, no bedroom closets, an enormous mosquito population, and a colony of rats which, according to the youngest daughter, used to emerge from their holes in the walls at night, climb onto the living furniture, and examine her curiously. But she liked the yard with its pomelo trees, and the dog named Mickey who was part of the house.

The most tempting places in the city were the elegant white villas set among ancient acacias and coconut palms, relics from the British colonial period.

Needless to say one risked leaks and mice and mold, termites and ants and primitive plumbing. We therefore opted for a modern bungalow which seemed transplanted from one of our own Makati villages, and strikingly out of place in rustic Rangoon.

Then we proceeded to disguise its modern lines by filling it with old furniture, old urns and jugs and jars and gas lamps, of which there was an abundance in the city’s junk shops.

It was in Rangoon that I discovered the gardener in me. Our house had come with a thick front lawn, and, I think, a couple of coconut trees. But our landlord had not planted anything else.

Mama had always had a passion for plants. And I have vivid memories of her, bowed over her flower beds in our house in a street named Castilla, in New Manila, right after she had put away the breakfast things and just before she went in to cook dinner. Her flowers grew on narrow terraces and ledges in our front garden— zinnias, chrysanthemums, dahlias, periwinkles and daisies in all colors. Cadena de amor and clusters of scarlet bougainvillea were draped over our wall, in the shade of the calachuchi and champaca trees. There were yellow bells beside our front gate, a clambering morning glory outside Mama’s kitchen windows. And our backyard was crowded with fruit trees, which we as children

were encouraged to climb, and around which we liked to chase each other on lazy afternoons.

But, save for some potted violets that I had tended in Seoul, I had never tried to grow anything before.

When Mama came to visit, I asked her to teach me the basics— which trees would grow quickly and serve as a good screen if planted against the fence, which plants thrived in the sunshine and which preferred the shade, which flowers would bloom without much care.

In a few months, I had a screen of kakawati trees, flamboyant San Francisco bushes, santan hedges, a profusion of ferns, birds of paradise, slender white lilies and rosy begonias in ornamental pots.

Our house in Pelham was the prettiest of all. Pelham is a hilly little town in Westchester County, just outside New York City, dating back to 1654. Ours was a brick house built in the early part of the century, and it was almost exactly like the house of my dreams. It had a tiled roof, a fireplace, arched doorways, French windows, a sunroof outside the master bedroom, a back porch, and a basement. The garden was a grove of maples, oaks, beech trees and pine trees. In the spring, there were azaleas, petunias and rhododendrons; in the summer, daisies and tall, pale lilies, and purple irises; in the autumn, a carpet of gold and flame; in the winter, Christmascard snow; and the whole year, two squirrels playing hide-and-seek with King our Japanese Spitz, and Rocky our Pomeranian.

It was not entirely a surprise to me that this loveliness lasted just a little over a year. For is that not the way of such things?

When we moved back to the Philippines, we acquired an old two-story house in a town in Bulacan with a garden big enough to get lost in.

Our friends were astonished, for it was quite dilapidated, and neither Tony nor I were Bulakeños. But the house had a romantic past, and (we were told) a ghost or two, and the town itself had a proud history.

Tony decided that the back of the house would be his. At last he could set up the fighting cock farm of his dreams. They would flourish in the sunlight and the shade of the tall tall trees. The front garden would be mine.

Our children firmly declared that they were not leaving the New Manila townhouse in which they were by then comfortably established. But I had found my dream house at last. It was not by the sea, but from its dining room windows and the azotea, one had a clear view of the coconut grove, the rice fields, and the mountain behind them. We were determined to restore it lovingly and sink roots deep in its soil. And, I swore, our wandering days were done. g The first of three parts

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Venus comes home to Manhattan Garden City

The ladies all look forward to the amazing views of the Araneta Center from the balcony of a studio unit at Manhattan Heights.

Bb. Pilipinas World Czarina Gatbondon, Ms. Universe 4th runner-up Ma. Venus Raj, 1st Runner-Up Dianne Necio and Bb. Pilipinas International Krista Arrieta Kleiner.

Megaworld Corp. Chairman & CEO Andrew Tan (second from right) with Ma. Venus Raj and Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. Chair Stella Marquez Araneta.

Megaworld’s Charlie Yu gives the ladies a parting gift.

“Just as the Araneta Coliseum is the home of beauty every time the Bb. Manhattan Garden City at the Araneta Center recently hosted a homecoming party of sorts for Miss Universe 4th runner-up Ma. Venus Raj. Pilipinas pageant is staged, Manhattan Garden City will be the showcase residential aspect of the Araneta Center. It’s a set of Art Deco buildings, On hand to welcome Venus to Manhattan Garden City were Megaworld inspired by the famed New York skyline, that are connected by verdant Corp. Chairman & CEO Andrew Tan and Megaworld Central Properties Inc. garden walkways to the malls and train stations. It’s not only a beautiful place President Anthony Charlemagne Yu. Megaworld’s joint venture residential to live in but also eco-friendly. With this transit-oriented development, you condominium project with the Araneta Group, Manhattan Garden City, has can reach your destination: Ortigas, Makati or any point of the metro within sponsored the Bb. Pilipinas pageant annually since 2006. minutes via the LRT2 or MRT3 line,” he added.

Joining Venus at the Oasis at Gateway Mall were members of her court: Yu also pinpointed to Venus and Bb. Pilipinas International Krista Arrieta her court of beauties the more than Kleiner, Bb. Pilipinas World Czarina 20 amenities in store for residents of Gatbondon and 1st Runner-Up Dianne Manhattan Heights. These include a Necio. Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. swimming pool, kiddie pool, jogging Chair Stella Marquez Araneta was paths, skylights and game room. He also on hand to support her beauty mentioned that the Araneta Center titlists. Kleiner and Gatbondon are offers even more Play options, set to depart soon to compete in their from watching basketball games respective international pageants to and concerts at the Big Dome, to represent the Philippines. shopping at the award-winning After lunch at the Oasis, the Gateway Mall, even dining at the group then inspected the scale Oasis – which the entire group model of Manhattan Heights, Manhattan Heights, the third phase of Manhattan Garden City, will rise across the New enjoyed that day. the new phase of this township “The strategic and convenient development that will rise across the Ali Mall. location alone of Manhattan Garden New Ali Mall. They then toured the City at the Araneta Center makes it a ‘major, major’ winning investment, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom model units in the Manhattan Garden City to paraphrase Venus’ now famous quote,” Yu stated. showroom at the 3rd level of Gateway Mall.

To inspect Manhattan Heights just like Venus and her court did, please “As Filipinos, we are proud of Venus’ accomplishments at the Miss call Megaworld, the #1 and trusted residential condominium developer in Universe pageant. At this time, we also wish Krista and Czarina the best the country, at 810-3333, visit the showroom at the 3rd level of Gateway when they compete in the next few months. Megaworld and Manhattan Mall, or check out www.themanhattangardencity.com. g Garden City will always support them in their endeavors,” Yu declared.

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| atelier |

Painting by Gig de Pio

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by rochelle c. pangilinan | the ajpress

Any writer who does interviews knows that having a set of questions ready prior to any scheduled interview is a universal rule. When it comes to interviewing artists though, you might as well throw away that list of questions as artists are the most unpredictable bunch of all. However, their unpredictability is exactly what makes them interesting interview subjects. Ask anyone and they will surely attest to the fact that artists are never boring, especially in the way their passion manifests whenever they talk about their work—their passion is so palpable that you can actually feel its presence in the room.

It is as if they take American author and philosopher Howard Thurman’s words to heart and more: “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive.

And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

This was what I proved that one rainy Thursday afternoon at the Bahay ng Alumni at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City. The interview was done in one sitting—literally, in one sitting, as I stayed in one seat for the whole duration (they were 11 of them, after all, so it was an interview speed-dating style). The artists were very accommodating, gamely providing me with information of themselves (and for one of them, I even got a dash extra: my own portrait!), and frankly, I have never met a group of people who were more passionate.

These artists comprise the first official organization of portraiture artists in the Philippines, the Filipino Portrait Artists Guild, Inc., an idea which developed while preparing for the “100 Nudes, 100 Years” coffee table book to commemorate UP’s centennial

year. The guild, which is now registered under the Securities and Exchange Commission, has already appointed its set of officers, led by president Romeo Carlos. Under the guild, Romeo says that members hope to have a constant sharing of ideas, discover new mediums, acknowledge new possibilities and constant practice of portrait art, which also includes sculptural portraits. The guild’s secretary, Ricardo de Villa, says that in the future, they are looking into expanding and taking in non-UP members and perhaps have chapters in key cities in the country.

Member Mar Bongalon shares a quote from masterful artist Howard Sanden, who says “They say portraiture is the Mt. Everest of the arts. Only a few are able to reach the summit,” and this serves as an inspiration to the members of the guild.

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Painting by Romeo Carlos

Mar Bongalon Anyone who could slip in his thoughts on “Quantum programming” in a conversation can expect people to listen with both ears, and that is what exactly what happened during my interview with Mar. Mar is a 1967 BFA in Commercial Design graduate who has had exhibits here and abroad (Madrid, Spain and New York, among them). He has also served as a workshop facilitator at the Ayala Museum on the subject of portraiture back in 1999.

It is his commitment to record beauty and focus on the perfection of life which drove him to the field of art. He is a self-proclaimed nature lover; thus nature is often the subject of his paintings.

“Some people have criticized my work as boring,” he says.

“But I consider my work as peaceful, calm, quiet. I guess some just hate quiet, and you know why? It is because in quietness, you are forced to confront your inner self.”

Romeo Carlos It was Mickey Mouse and Popeye who paved the way for Romeo to pursue a career in art. As a pre-schooler, Romeo was fascinated by posters of the iconic cartoon characters displayed in Rizal Avenue that he would always draw them. He continued to draw and finally pursued art as a career after graduating at UP with a BFA in Advertising Design in 1971.

He’s also had a teaching stint at the De La Salle University as a grade school art teacher and later on as a special lecturer in the Communication Arts Department for 10 years before deciding to embark on a full-time painting career.

Romeo’s favorite subject matter are Philippine pastoral scenes, vibrant fiestas, grand old churces and even everyday folk.

Cris Cruz It was his artist-dad who inspired Cris to pursue a career in

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the same field. At the time, Cris’s dad was the most in-demand billboard artist. After graduating at UP (BFA in Painting) in 1957, Cris worked full-time at an advertising agency where he stayed for 18 years. But even with his job at the agency, Cris made sure he continued painting.

It was a move that would prove to be fruitful as he was asked to mount his exhibit, his first, at the Dominique Gallery, which was owned by former senator Nikki Coseteng.

“I felt kind of uneasy because I was just a newcomer,” he recalls. “But I was motivated and encouraged by my friends.

With their help, together with my father, I learned.”

The exhibit, which focused on old houses in Taal, Batangas, was a success. Cris became even more inspired and decided to go full-time into painting, and during this time, he was introduced to Vicente Manansala by his dad.

These days, Cris is most famous for his flower paintings, with watercolor as his medium. Cris shares that he did face some challenges as an artist, especially in the financial aspect, but these never held him back.

“I believe the important thing for us artists is to preserve and produce,” he says. “As long as a collector would want to collect my work, I’ll be happy.”

Gig de Pio Cebu-born Gig, who earned his BFA Painting degree in 1978, is regarded as one of the most respected portraitists in the country today, having done the oil portraits of all the Philippine presidents until the present, as well as several local and national government officials.

Gig was a recipient of both the José Joya scholarship and the Juan Ponce Enrile scholarship. He was also the recipient of the Ten Outstanding Young Artists Award in Manila as selected by the Center for the Advancement of Young Artists in 1975.

Ricardo de Villa It is safe to say that Ricardo did not tread a straight path in the field of art. After finishing a BFA degree at UP in 1966, he worked with the Philippine Advertising Counselor as a staff artist at first then as an assistant art director and art director later on.

With the same firm, he also went on to become an account manager and then worked with Philcom until the National Commission of Culture and Arts beckoned and he served as a project head. He went on to work as production head of other ad firms until Romeo Carlos invited him to participate in “100 Nudes, 100 Years.” After that, Ric gradually went back to painting fulltime.

Like his foray in other fields, Ric has also proved his versatility when it comes to the subject matter in his paintings.

Ric is inspired by other artists and is fond of reading art books and the works of the masters, from the French realists and impressionist painters to the American realist painters to abstract expressionism to minimalism.

Tess Duldulao Tess is a BFA graduate who was an illustrator for Woman and the Home, Women’s and Mirror magazines and at the Benipayo Press before embarking on an advertising career beginning with Adcraft in 1957. She was a creative director for Ace-Compton Advertising and was an art director for Reader’s Digest from 1967 until 1981.

Tess’ first solo exhibit was at the Heritage Art Center in 1982.

As a nature lover, she often uses nature as inspiration for her works. In the exhibit “Kalikasan” sponsored by the UP Alumni Association last year, she had two works where she had Mt. Makiling in mind, “Fire Trees” and “Oasis.”

Amado Hidalgo It was Amado’s love of the sea which would serve as the basis for his famous works. After getting his BFA in Painting degree at UP in 1969, Amado went on to take an 8-to-5 job as a scientific artist in Los Baños, Laguna for Forest Products Research and Development Institute under the National Science Development Board where he was tasked to do illustrations of scientific speciments like insects, barks of trees, leaves and the like in closeup by using a microscope.

Over time, Amado developed an eye strain and eventually a migraine from long periods of looking through microscopes that he found it hard to continue working and eventually quit. He then went home to his hometown in Gonzaga, Cagayan, and it was here that he found his inspiration: the sea.

He went back to Manila and sold some of his paintings to the Sining Kamalig Gallery in Taft Avenue, which was founded and owned by Vida Balboa and Corito Kalaw.

Amado says that for him, his main challenge is “the continuing search for beauty. As an artist, you interpret the creation of God—the beautiful sunset, the beautiful morning on the seashore where birds are flying, the rocks. It’s like poetry on canvass.”

Ben F. Infante After graduating with a BFA degree in 1958, Ben F. Infante embarked on an advertising career in 1960 and made a great sacrifice of putting his painting on hold. Ben worked continuously in advertising firms for 30 years and it was only in the later years when he started to paint again, joining the Saturday Group with Cris Cruz.

Endorsed by Romeo Olazo, Ben held his first exhibit at Finale Art in Makati City and eventually was invited to be their resident artist. Since then, Ben has had seven solo exhibits, mostly using

Mar Bongalon

Cris Cruz

Romeo Carlos

Ric de Villa

Tess Duldulao

Amado Hidalgo

Ben Infante

Norlie Meimban

Jonah Mar Salvosa

Anna Vergel

Photos courtesy of Anna Vergel

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Painting by Ric de Villa

pastel as his medium. Ben aims to be a “complete artist,” sharing that he doesn’t really have a preference of subjects.

“I like landscapes, still life, portraiture, figures, drawing. I don’t want to specialize in just one thing. I want to do everything,” he says.

Norlito Meimban For Norlie, being an artist is part of his genes. HIs father and grandfather were artists—his grandfather was even a student of the late National Artist Fernando Amorsolo. After earning his BA in Fine Arts degree in 1988, Norlie worked and did animation at an advertising firm where he stayed for 12 years. But he admits he didn’t enjoy it as much as he should because it wasn’t really his passion.

So Norlie continued to paint and joined art competitions, like the Metrobank Art Competition, and won third place in 1990 and Honorable Mention honors in 1989 and 1996. It wasn’t long before Norlie had a chance to mount his first solo exhibit of surreal figures which he called “Bondage of Time” to signify how his time was bonded to so much work. The exhibit was a success and this was followed by several other exhibits, the most notable of which was “Mga Larong Kalye” which depicted games of yesteryear like kite-flying, luksong tinik, etc., which was featured on Net 25.

To this day, he says he wouldn’t be as successful if it wasn’t for his father, whom he considers as his mentor. “My dad always used to say that every work should be from the heart, and that every artist should let his painting speak for itself,” he says.

Jonah Mar Salvosa As a kid growing up in Bicol, Jonah Mar Salvosa was so fond of drawing that he settled doodling on brown paper bags (the ones used for bagging pandesal). His dad took notice and in one of his trips to Manila bought Jonah Mar a sketch pad and a few art books as pasalubong. This kicked off Jonah Mar’s art career as

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since then, he started joining and eventually winning art contests.

After earning his BFA in Painting degree at UP in 1975, Jonah Mar considered teaching but instead decided to work on his paintings. He got a chance to hold his first solo exhibit in the 1970s, with orchids as his subject.

Jonah Mar shares that artists often face challenges but he says that this should not be a reason to stop pursuing an art career.

“Many stop painting because they think that if they don’t sell, they’re not good artists,” he says. “ Your target should not be making a lot of sales with your art works, your target should be being able to show what you are feeling, show what you want to express. For me that’s the true mark of an artist.”

Anna Christina Vergel Anyone who has met Anna Christina Vergel would attest that she is one multi-talented woman. Anna is a model, a triathlete, an entrepreneur and an actress and works in events management.

Anna is also one who is always in pursuit of learning. Before earning her BFA in Visual Communications degree at UP in 2008, she pursued studies at the Philippine School of Interior Design.

Currently she is taking up her masters in architecture at UP. Anna has participated in several group exhibits and has mounted solo shows. She never finds herself at a loss of inspiration and does portraiture, abstract and still life.

“I am inspired by the leaders and masters like Rembrandt,” she says, adding,”But I am also inspired by other artists who strived hard because they really value art and they appreciated art and practiced art without any definite monetary returns, no assured income.” g For inquiries and requests on solo/family portrait sessions, portraiture, commissioned works or solicitations/sponsorships, you may visit the The Filipino Portrait Artists Guild, Inc. office at Antel Suite or call their office at (02) 888-4117.

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| estateside |

Heritage, Passion in a Name

by LOUIE JON A. SANCHEZ | the ajpress

For one who belongs to a family whose surname is etched in the chronicles of Philippine history, Vince Abad Santos is an exemplar of one generation carrying the torch of the forebears. Past heroism, or even a simple legacy, could be quite a feat to accomplish, especially at these differing times and contexts. But for Vince, there’s also a passion that could continue keeping the flame of heritage alive.

At first, what is surprising is Vince’s journey to the road less traveled. Growing up in a family of lawyers, with a great grand uncle, the war-time hero Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos leading the roster, it would have been imperative for him to be seen donning the suits and sporting the legalese that has been the gospel of his family’s legal background.

But he has found his niche and has made a name for himself in an industry equally challenging, almost as “nationalistic” as that one which had become synonymous with his family name. For at least 15 years, he had been involved “on and off,” as he says, in real estate. Most recently, a fulfilling venture he has been engaged for quite awhile opened anew, exciting doors of opportunities.

“Real estate is something tangible. It never loses its value,” Vince says, in a chat with Balikbayan Magazine at the

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headquarters of Unibuilt Real Estate Corporation (Unibuilt), where he is the president. “If we look at it, real estate is really where tunay na yaman is. It is an industry full of potential, and for us here, there’s so much to show.”

At the rate of how things are going in the real estate business, Vince says that there’s also so much to see. “The market is bullish right now. There’s also a shift to the Philippines for real estate investments. Investors doubled in a few years’ time, and there are a lot of ideas to choose from. Basically, competition is up, and it is a good sign of business.”

Vince believes that creativity is the key—and with it, a good dose of business acumen. “Right now, many people investing in real estate shift their paradigms. A property is not only for household consumption. In fact, it could even earn money for owners,” Vince shares.

With this in mind, Unibuilt. spearheaded new concepts in condominiums. At Taguig’s Bonifacio Global City, the company built two high profile addresses—Fort Palm Spring and F1 City Center.

Fort Palm Spring was completed in 2008, while F1 City Center is gearing up for its third quarter 2010 opening. Both condominiums boast of what is called a “Build Your Own” method where owners may save up to 40 percent and construct units paying only the direct cost. “It is an investor-friendly set-up which speeds up construction,” he says.

But creativity is of course immense. In launching F1 City Center, Unibuilt introduces a condotel concept that realizes the investment return for unit owners. “Instead of the usual end user paradigm, we help the users earn. The investors will be part of the pool.”

In the concept, 70 percent of the structure will be used as a five-star hotel. The remaining 30 percent will be up for high-end residents. “It is a great investment, we think. And we’re getting warm reception so far,” Vince says. “When it opens, it will be the only five-star hotel in the area.”

To help them realize the project, Unibuilt partnered last

March with a very aggressive global hotel group, Best Western International. Best Western International, which prides itself to be “the world’s largest hotel chain,” provides support “to over 4000 independently owned and operated hotels in 80 countries and territories worldwide.”

The hotel will be the first and the flagship hotel of the luxury Best Western Premier brand that is now making its presence felt in the Philippine market. “It is a very exciting partnership, indeed,” says Vince. “And the partners believe in the great tourism potential of the Philippines. We are very proud.”

The F1 City Center Hotel is strategically located in The Fort’s prime business area. It is in close proximity with the shopping centers (Market! Market!, Bonifacio High Street) and the newly opened St. Luke’s Medical Center. Developments are underway and the area will definitely attract businesses. The hotel also offers a modern lifestyle concept that provides serenity in the hustle and bustle of daily life.

“In this project, we are also talking to the Filipino market abroad. We also believe in patriotic investments, and this is definitely one,” Vince says. g

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| parting shot |

Nene Arce: The Man Who ‘Shot’ Cagayanos

Photo by Constantine P. Arce

At the spry young age of 86, Carlos Neri Arce is set to publish a book about his family’s journey in Cagayan de Oro over the last 90 years. His working title: Threshold.

“Because it’s the story of how my father, Dr. Jose Arce of Quiapo, Manila, who came to Cagayan de Oro (then known as Cagayan de Misamis, capital town of the province of Misamis), worked as a dental volunteer for the Red Cross. He was charged of the areas from Oroquieta to Balingasag. He married Catalina Neri in 1920,” recalls the acknowledged dean of Cagayan de Oro’s photographers. “It’s also about my life.”

And what a journey it has been! Born in February 5, 1924, “Nene” as he is fondly known to his family and friends, started school at the Cugman Primary School, then moved to the St. Augustine School for his intermediate level.

Among his classmates were Dante Sarraga, Paking Pabayo and Renato Roa. He finished high school at the Ateneo de Cagayan, but received his diploma only much later because of the Second World War. When he completed his B.S. Commerce at the same school in 1951, he started out as a postal employee earning the princely sum of P30 a month under postmaster Cipriano Queppet and Inspector Pablo Dael.

After a short stint with Compania Maritima, Nene was hired by Manfred Lion, a Czech national who opened the Cagayan Photo Supply along Velez Street across what is now the VIP Hotel. When Lion left for the United States, Nene became the manager of the store, which sold cameras and other photo supplies. It was in this store where he first learned photo developing and printing from his uncle Nicanor Velez.

In 1955, the Cagayan Photo Supply closed shop. Nene opened “Arce’s Photo Supply” at the Paterno Velez building in the old Yacapin and Del Mar (now Velez) streets. In 1985, he moved his shop to the ground floor of his present residence along Rizal Street.

Although the store popularized the Arce name around town, it was ultimately his art and legacy which he passed on to his students that made him the legend that he is today.

However, it was Junie Manlapig, one of the Top 10 photographers of Davao

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City, who planted the seed as they went to Baloy Beach one day. While walking around the beach, Junie suddenly borrowed his camera to shoot a picture.

“What a waste of film, I thought,” Nene recalls. “I’ve been through that same place many times, and I thought there was nothing worth shooting there.”

However, when he developed the roll of film later that same evening, Nene noted he missed seeing five things that Junie shot in the picture: the ripple of the wind across the water, the beauty of the coconut and nipa palms in the background, the contrast of the kaingin patterns in the mountains in the distance, the beautiful cloud formations above the hills, and the overhanging branches of the siniguelas tree laden with fruits in the foreground.

From then on, photography became his new calling. When Junie Manlapig visited three years later, Nene showed him his folio. Junie was simply astounded at what he saw.

Nene describes his photos as “conservative, nature’s realism” and his favorite shots were those he took at beaches and river banks. He must have shot more photographs of beaches in his lifetime than anyone else in the country.

His criteria for a good photograph: “It must tell a thousand and one words.”

Although he entered at a number of photo competitions in his prime, Nene modestly claims he only won “consolation prizes” and never a major one. His pride and joy, however, are his students who have won awards, including one who swept all the major prizes at a major photo competition in Davao City.

“I taught my students everything I knew,” Nene said. “I know I cannot take my trade secrets to the grave so I passed them on to my students without any reservations.”

In 1965, at 40, Nene tied the knot with Charito Roa Pelaez of Balingasag, who was 15 years his junior. It was his colleague and fellow photographer Goñong Sala who introduced him to his wife.

After 46 years of marital bliss, the couple was blessed with four sons (Carmelo, Christopher, Cedric and Constantine) and two daughters (Christine and Cecille). He now enjoys the company of 14 grandchildren. Carmelo was born on the feast day of barangay Carmen, so they decided to christen all the children that followed with names starting with “C.” When he reached his 70s and taking photographs was increasingly becoming a chore, Nene turned to painting. He would usually turn his favorite photographs into paintings.

Now, as he sums up what he calls a “beautiful life,” Nene pursues a new career as a writer of his family’s heritage and legacy.

He defines Threshold as “a place or point of beginning; the outset,” or more appropriately perhaps, as “the boundary beyond which a radically different state of affairs exists.”

This must be his way of finally painting a thousand words. g Mike Baños