Balicasag & Virgin Islands in Bohol

I missed Balicasag island on my last year's trip in Bohol. So this time, I made sure to see it, which part of our group did on our last day in Bohol. Paul Incon provided us with a car for a half day tour of Ballicasag, including a brief stop at Hinagdanan Cave, for Php 1,200 from Tagbilaran.

We arrived in Alona Beach by 6:00 am, to board a motor boat that will take us to Balicasag island below for Php 1,500 rental. After about an hour at the sea, we never saw any dolphin, so we just docked at the island and transferred to paddle boats at Php 150 charge per person. The paddle boats are supposed to take us to the crowded snorkeling area, which are accessible by a 5-minute walk from the beach anyway. 

Revisiting Bohol 2012 with HRCCAP

My first visit in Bohol last year has been a very enjoyable experience here. So when an opportunity to see it again this year came up, I made sure that my colleagues in HRCCAP won't miss what Bohol has to offer.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, dropped our bags to Vest Pension House, then proceeded to Punta Cruz Watchtower in Maribojoc. There were more tourists in the area that time, but the views are equally nice. 

Amazing Solo Hike to Mt. Balagbag in Rizal

Last Saturday when a coworker invited us to his advance birthday celebration in San Mateo, Rizal, I decided to climb Mt. Balagbag as well to maximize my trip from Laguna. My initial plan was to be at the jump off point in Sitio Karahume by 11:00 am, and do the 2-3 hours ascent via waterfalls trail. However, I need to attend on some family matters earlier that day, so I was only able to leave Binan by 11:30 am.

Arriving at Alphaland Mall in Magallanes by 12:10 pm, I took my lunch there and bought a sandwich for mountain snack. Afterwards, I boarded the MRT train, alighted in Santolan station, then rode a Fairview Tungko-bound bus by 1:10 pm. Bus fare to Tungko is Php 55/person.

BPI-Chowking Promo, 12 Sept - 15 Nov. 2012

So after the BPI credit cards' promo with Pizza Hut group had ended last 31 August 2012, they tied up now with Chowking for a new promo that runs from 12 September to 15 November 2012. Below is a repost of their email to me:

Greetings from BPI Express Online!

Please be advised of our latest Shop Anywhere Promo"

Hotel Preciosa & Grand Astoria Hotel

During our two nights of stay in Zamboanga City, we also stayed in 2 different places. This is the only trip where I did not reserved our accommodation, thinking that our arrival date is off peak period anyway, but I was wrong. From our 6:00 am arrival in Zamboanga airport, we asked the tricycle driver to take us to Hermosa Hotel, one of the inexpensive hotels in the downtown.

Upon arrival, I was surprised that they are full, and would not allow me to temporarily store our luggages. Besides, my youngest son is uncomfortable on their dark gloomy lobby, so we tried the adjacent Grand Astoria Hotel. Unfortunately, the better-looking and more expensive Grand Astoria also was running at full occupancy, yet they allowed us to temporarily store our luggage on their place.

Oops! ..I Did It Again - Sen. Tito Sotto Spears

Last 13 August 2012, the Phil. Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto III delivered a speech against the Reproductive Health Bill, blaming a brand of oral contraceptive (Diane) that eventually killed their 5-month old son in 1975. But according to the drug manufacturer Bayer, they introduced the Diane pill in the market on 1978, and only in 1985 was it released in Asia. So did Sen. Tito Sotto used his son's death for political mileage?

Two days later, his speech was criticized for plagiarism, for copying and pasting parts of his speech from 5 sources. The most notable plagiarized part came from Sarah Pope's "The Healthy Home Economist", which he denied at first, but his chief of staff Hector Villacorta later admitted on copying-pasting parts of the blogger's post.