Author: 13thWiTCH

T’nalak Festival in South Cotabato

13thWiTCH 0 Comments

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So… my feet brought me to Koronadal City to celebrate the T’nalak Festival.  Actually, I was late.  We were supposed to meet at exactly 6pm.  I arrived thirty minutes later.  Good thing Chi decided to wait for me while the rest went ahead as scheduled.  Otherwise I would have taken the wrong bus and god-knows-what will happen (not the first time though).  Chi and I arrived around eleven in the evening at Koronadal City.  And the city was alive and busy!  Needless to say, it was a three-day-basking full of laughter and dancing with the T’boli and B’laan community.

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Boracay Island, Aklan

13thWiTCH 0 Comments

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It was a lazy day.  After two days of running around manila, it was nice to lounge on the sand while watching people frolic in the water.  Although Manila wasn’t as gloomy as I expected it to be, the sun in Bora was worth visiting over.  The island has changed a lot since I last visited it in 2006.  More stores are now crowding the area and even more hawkers offering pearl earrings, cellphone plastic cases, massages, and packages that involve diving, parasailing, and the like. Continue reading →

Panlabuhan Floating Village, Agusan Marshland Sanctuary

13thWiTCH 8 Comments

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Agusan Wildlife Sanctuary courses through five municipalities — Rosario, San Francisco, Talacogon, Bunawan, La Paz, and Loreto.  Bunawan being the most famous one as it was where Lolong was captured. To those who have no idea who Lolong was, Lolong was the world’s longest crocodile in captivity. He was a 20ft 3in Indo-Pacific saltwater croc and he weighed around 1,075 kg. He was found dead in his cage last February 10, 2013.  

We asked the Panlabuhan locals about what they think of Lolong. “Gamay man siya”.  He’s small,  they said.  Nakadakop mig mas dako pa niya, kaduhaon.  Abi namo namatay kay nasab-it sa pukot.  Buhi diay.  “We caught one that is twice his size. He got himself entangled in one of the nets.  We initially thought that he was dead only to find out he was not” our boat men explained.  When asked where  the crocodile is now.  Gibuy-an nano. “We let him go” they shrugged.    As it should be, our group silently agreed.

Yes, in case you are wondering, the marshland is home to many crocodiles. Continue reading →

Magellan’s Drive

13thWiTCH 4 Comments

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I was cradling a beer and it was early…Was it 9 am (?) I am not sure.  I’m not sure of anything anyway every time I’m in Manila.  The smog and the traffic always confuses me.  And the metro is either too bright or too dark, too wet or too dry.  And the city seems bored but busy.  No.  In a hurry.  The city seems is bored and busy always in a hurry.  As if it has somewhere to go, something to do– All. The. Time.  And it was such, in the morning that Mitchie and I clawed our way to Intramuros.  One of her friends will be touring us.  Okay, I confess, one of her friends will be touring her and some others.  I was just tagging along.  Continue reading →

Visiting Cotabato

13thWiTCH 1 Comment

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Currently in Cotabato City right now for a documentary assignment.  My day starts early and it ends just right after sunset.  Visiting the nooks and crannies of the city has yielded a lot of unexpected surprises.  The Moro people are friendly and the women are beautiful. The children would remember me and would call and wave even a day after meeting them in the streets.   Continue reading →

in a box

13thWiTCH 6 Comments

522788_278798618907970_1581290483_nPeople are always wondering what it is that I am doing.

And the usual question is –do I have a job?
If working is being tied to a 9-to-5-daily-grind-facetime then no, I don’t do jobs.  I, however, do fine art photography that can start around noon that can end three weeks later that entails, as of the latest, numerous hours of sun basking in beaches and climbing terraces.  Those photographs are to be printed and to be sold—ok I lied, Continue reading →

Mainit Hot Spring, Kinabalangan Dvo Oriental

13thWiTCH 2 Comments

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Kinabalangan’s local hangout place.  This is where we soak our weary feet after a hard day’s work around disaster areas in Kinablangan. Mainit Hot Spring actually needs to a lot of help and work to restore it in it’s former grandeur.  But for now, we are happy to just soak our pains away. Continue reading →