BATANGBALER

Magandang balita ito. Maganda ang ginagawang aksyon ng Task Force Sierra Madre. Dapat silang tulungan nating mga tiga Aurora na ang mithi ay pagmamalasakit sa ating mahal na probinsiya.

Mula sa inquirer.net:

President Macapagal-Arroyo and forest protection advocates have agreed to form a citizens’ body to fight continued illegal logging in the Sierra Madre mountain ranges, the head of a Church-based forest protection watchdog said Tuesday.

The move, according to Fr. Pete Montallana, came in the wake of the apparent failure of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and other government agencies to stop illegal logging in the area.

Montallana heads the Task Force Sierra Madre (TFSM).

He said Bishop Rolando Tria Tirona and a delegation from northern Quezon met with Ms Arroyo last month in Malacañang and voiced serious concern on continued illegal logging in Sierra Madre.

Nandito ang kumpletong balita

Mula sa gmanews.tv:

A Catholic bishop and some priests from Infanta in Quezon province have started leading efforts to defend the environment by mobilizing the local communities.

Fr. Boyet Valenzuela of Dinalungan, Quezon said several priests have also been actively involved in the anti-logging campaign in their parishes.

Valenzuela recently received death threats after leading a group composed mostly of Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) leaders in investigating logging activities.

Mula naman sa website ng CBCP:

The Task Force Sierra Madre, headed by Fr. Pete Montellana, is coordinating the anti-logging campaign. It has exposed the corruption in Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that has allowed illegal logging to continue.

******

Matagal nang daing ng karamihan sa Aurora na itigil na ang lahat na uri ng logging dito sa Aurora maging ito ay yung tinatawag nilang carabao logging o yung commercial logging. Lahat na kakayahan ng gobyerno ay nakatutok lamang laban sa mga small-time loggers o carabao loggers. Iyan ang tinatawag nilang “illegal loggers”. Pero yung mga commercial loggers ay hindi nila pinapansin kahit alam nating mas malaki ang mas malawak ang nagagawa nilang pagsira sa kalikasan.

Kailangan siguro nating malaman kung ano talaga ang posisyon ng mga lokal na politiko tungkol sa lahat na uri ng logging at kung anu ang mga ginagawa nilang hakbang hinggil dito. Sino ang magtatanung?

Mula sa Philippines Star, ni Manny Galvez :

65 nuns, mountaineers conquer, reforest Aurora’s 7,000-ft. high Mt. Balagbag

Sixty five nuns and mountaineers have successfully scaled – and reforested – the peak of the 7,000-feet high Mt. Balagbag in Barangay Dimanayat in this town last week.

The recent two-day historic climb atop Mt. Balagbag established two mountaineering records – the first documented successful climb and the first documented reforestation of the mountain which has also been christened Mt. England by local mountaineers.

Basahin ang kumpletong balita (Philstar),
Nandito ang cached page ng balita sa Google.

Kulang sa fact-checking ang balitang ito. Kaya sa tingin ko ay press release ito at hindi na-verify ng nagreport. Kung tiga Aurora ang makakabasa nito, may mga mapapansin tayo na mga kakaiba sa balita, pero kung hindi-tiga Aurora ay lalabas na totoo ang mga nakalagay dito. Ito ang mga napansin ko:

• Ang Mt. Balagbag at wala sa Brgy. Dimanayat sa San Luis Aurora. Ayon dito sa Multiply site ng UP Mountaineers: “Mt.Balagbag is situated along the boundary of Norzagaray, Bulacan and Montalban, Rizal. Water from its tributaries contributes to the water that passes through Ipo Dam which then goes to La Mesa Water Reservoir.”

(more…)

Mga dalawang linggo na ang nakalipas ng lumabas ito sa Philippine Star. Sana matuluy.

A Filipino-American energy expert has been tapped to lead the way in the launch of renewable energy projects in the province, including solar and wind farms. Sen. Edgardo Angara told said that engineer Larry Asera will help the provincial government in setting up wind, solar and hydro power projects in the province. Angara said Asera, a graduate of the University of California in Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has already done some preliminary studies on the potentials of renewable energy projects in the province.

Nandito ang buong balita.

Long weekend rocks! It gave my fave photographer Jay a chance to revisit Baler after four years and come up with another set of breathtaking pictures of our beloved Province. All taken from our backyards! Amazing. Check out Baler: The Dynamo of Illumination.

A Ballet of Light at Baler is an account of this trip by Jay’s companion Atty. Alman Dave Quiboquibo.

Jay’s photos, including the cover picture, are featured in the latest issue of Digital Photographer Philippines. Go score one.

From Manila Bulletin by Ariel Avendaño:

DINGALAN, Aurora – Aurora Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo urged village folk here who are dependent on illegal logging and charcoal-making activities to refrain from their old ways and shift instead to planting of high-value variety of pepper which is now gaining a big demand in the domestic market.

The Mahogany Upland Farmers Association (MUFA) chaired by Engineer Romeo Callanta has introduced the production of hybrid Taiwan pepper, noting the huge requirement in the local market.

Click here to read the complete news
(more…)

The newly organized Aurora art group named Dimalangat is inviting everyone to the opening of their first arts exhibit titled Tiwala at Kapaligiran. It will be on June 15, 6:00 pm at Bistro Baler, T. Molina St. Brgy. 5, Baler, Aurora. The exhibit will run until June 27, then the artworks will be transferred to Museo de Baler to be part of an all-Aurorans exibit to coincide with the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day celebration.

The future looks bright for the arts and culture in the Province with the forming of this group and the recent creation of the Aurora Arts Council last May 28. Expect more activities like this in the future.

********

This marks the 1000 posts since Batangbaler evolved into a blog back in December 2004. The first incarnation of Batangbaler was as a simple website hosted on geocities way back in 2001. Let’s celebrate!

An hour-long video documentation of the 2004 Villa Aurora Relief Operation by Volunteers for Aurora. More info about the operation here.

The video was uploaded in 6 parts. Here’s part 1:

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

I almost missed this one. This news adds a new twist to the illegal logging situation in Aurora. from journal online by Mamer Bañez.

Four non-government organizations and people’s organizations urged Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza to reinstate a former community environment and natural resources officer in southern Aurora who was sacked due to alleged “rampant illegal logging” in the town.

The Ugnayan ng Mamamayan sa Lungsod at Nayon, Inc., the Catholic Association of Ibona composed of 525 families, the Dingalan chapter of Task Force Sierra Madre and the Multi-Sectoral Forest Protection Committee called on Atienza to reconsider his earlier decision relieving former CENRO Meliton Vicente, Jr., citing his efforts to protect the natural resources in southern Aurora. They also denied reports that illegal logging is rampant in the town.

Read the last sentence and decide. The full news is here.

Last Wednesday, May 14, text messages about a prediction that a 6.8 magnitude earthquake will happen in the country spread like wildfire, adding a few more million bucks to the coffers of our favorite cellphone companies. The timing of this “hit” text message was uncanny, coming on the heels of the devastating quake in China and two minor shakes in the country, one the night before (never noticed) and another in the early hours of the morning (shook me up from my “pa-in-in” moment). The rumor was later dismissed as a hoax by Phivolcs (watch the news here, and read here). But we Balerianos don’t take rumors like this for granted. Out town is a natural disaster prone area and news like this makes us panicky and nervous. The building where I work is on the foot of the mountain, so when I got the message, I immediately dismissed it as a prank, but I went home early anyway. A salary deduction is better than being buried alive by a mountainful of rubble. Who says earthquakes can’t be predicted? It happened before.

And here’s an unrelated topic: Seair is offering a seat sale. Get a Manila-Baler roundtrip ticket for as low as Php2,999.00 only! Book and buy your tickets now because limited seats are available. Selling period is until May 18, 2008 only. Travel period is from June 16 to October 12, 2008. Tickets are valid until October 12, 2008. (This is not a paid advertisement, just a public service announcement. But Batangbaler is open to advertisements if they want to)

image from PAGASA website

from gmanews.tv

“Butchoy” was forecast to be 620 km northeast of Hinatuan, Surigao Del Sur by Friday evening; 700 km east of Borongan, Eastern Samar by Saturday evening; and 1,090 km east of Casiguran, Aurora by Sunday evening.

Click here to read the complete news

from inquirer.net by Tonette Orejas:

BALER, Aurora, Philippines — The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) has started the bidding process for the upgrade of radars and purchase of equipment to improve the weather bureau’s forecasting in the country.

Dr. Prisco Nilo, Pagasa director, said of the five radars laid out in the archipelago, the one in this town would be converted into a Doppler radar.

Click here to read the complete news