Wanted: Jacqueline Bermejo

The good thing that always comes out in times of tragedy is the outpouring of love amongst people. We seldom see our people unite for a common cause. Politicians have in so many ways divided our already divided nation. For some reasons, disaster is the only thing that can unite us all.

I salute all the selfless and nameless policemen, soldiers and countless of volunteers who risk their lives just to help our fellow kabayan. I salute our fellow OFWs, Filipinos all over the world and the international community; they never failed to lend a helping hand in times like this. I have renewed admiration to the NGOs, especially the Philippine National Red Cross for their undying service to the Filipino people. I’ll always remember our extended families. They are always there to help us when we have nobody to turn to.

Disaster like this also brings out the worst of people. Some doesn’t have compassion and even go to the extent of criticizing the displaced and helpless victims of the calamity. I am talking about Jacqueline Bermejo, the bitch whose name is now synonymous to hypocrisy. She’s became infamous for displaying tasteless arrogance and hollier than thou attitude over the web.

Jacque Bermejo was quoted in her facebook saying “buti n lng am hir in dubai! maybe so many sinners bak der! so yeah deserving wat hapend!” What the heck! Who the hell is she to judge people? I’ve seen her photos and she’s not even beautiful. In short, wala siyang karapatang magmaganda! I hope that Department of Foreign Affairs would strip her of her passport and Filipino nationality. The Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) should also ban her from entering our country. If she’s really proud of being in Dubai then, it’s better for her to be there forever!

If you want to contact her for whatever reasons, here are Jacque Bermejo’s contact details:
Tel: +971 4 4329633Fax: +971 4 4329632Mob: +971 50 3416640

Greatest Flood in the Metropolis

We can say that we Filipinos are used to or even immune to disasters, floods, volcanic eruptions, series of typhoon and any other natural disasters. But we never anticipated what had happened last weekend. The rain that caused the flooding destroyed everything our fellow Filipinos have worked for. That includes the destruction of their livelihood, houses and life’s worth.

Looking at the pictures of the flood is a humbling experience for me. The flooding only shows that people, regardless of their status in life are equal in the times of crisis. We human beings are vulnerable to the wrath of nature. The flood not only affected the poor and the lowly but the rich who lives in exclusive subdivisions as well. It also killed and displaced people in a massive scale.

Now that water has receded, the blame game starts to roll. So called so-so scientists blamed the flood on global warming. Opportunistic oppositionist politicians and irresponsible people in the media blamed it on Gloria. I say we have nobody to blame but ourselves that the flooding happened. It’s about time that we Filipinos should own up and take responsibility for our actions. It’s not bad to admit mistake because it’s the only way that we will reform and clean up our acts. We should not wait for a calamity as big as this to happen before we realize that the things we did in the past had brought this to us.

Below are the errors that people made that triggered the massive flood.

- The destruction of the trees and the absence of trees in the metropolis.
-Allowing buildings to rise and subdivisions to be made on areas that are prone to floods.
- Shanty houses of the squatters on the riverbeds that causes the rivers to overflow.
-The habit of throwing everything everywhere. That helps clog our rivers, drainages and sewers.

The list could go on and on but the reality is that, it wouldn’t have happened if we were kind to Mother Nature. Nature has no choice but to be cruel in order to be kind. We are experiencing this kind of stuff so that we could learn from it and change.

Eid Al Mubarak!

Everyone is busy buzzing around for the Eid Al Fitr Holidays. We’re lucky that our company declared a nine (9) day none working holiday. Since today is our last working day, people are on vacation mood. Everyone seems to be happy and that includes me.

I easily got bored so my primary concern now is how I will spend my 9 day break. This Thursday, I’ll be busy preparing for my friend’s birthday. Yeah right, I may not be the celebrator but I play an important part in his birthday, you know. On Friday, I’ll be in Aramco to attend a seminar for ‘would be Ninongs’. Yes, my future Kumpare Brother A invited me to be the godfather of his son John Christian. It may take awhile so I’ll be pretty occupied on that day. Some of my friends have planned to go to the Half Moon beach and then to Bahrain Bridge but it wasn’t decided yet.

Per previous experience, most of the outings that my friends made are spontaneous and unplanned. They’d just give me a call and wallah! However, should none of the plans push through, here are some of the things that I would definitely do.

-General Cleaning. Eid is the best time of the year to do general cleaning.

-Cleansing Diet. I usually schedule four (4) days to detoxify. Yes, no more soft drinks and unhealthy food.

-Meditate. It’s the best time to spend some time with yourself and reflect the things that happened to you in a year. Meditation may not necessarily involve religion. You just have to close your eyes, feel the nature around you. This is the best way to think clearly.

-Write to friends and family. I usually spend some time to write a lengthy letters to my friends and family that I’ve lost touch with.

-Watch Movie. This time, I’m gonna watch all the movies that my friend D downloaded from the internet. I’ve even purchased a media player / External Hard Drive for those movies yet I haven’t had the time to watch them.

Bukidnon’s sheer Beauty

When you ask people what they know about Bukidnon, the stereotypical reply would always be ‘Pineapple and Del Monte.’ Davco, a concessionaire of Dole Philippines recently set up pineapple and banana plantation in the land once owned by the Conjuanco’s. They practically removed all the coconut and replace them with pineapples. Bukidnon is not just about pineapples, Del Monte and Dole. People from the south particularly the sugarcane growers refused the label pineapple country for Bukidnon. Its fertile soil enables it to grow fresh fruits, vegetables, pineapples, banana, sugarcane, rubber tree and cupflower for export.

Bukidnon is also location of the world famous Monastery of Transfiguration run by the Benedictine Order. It’s pretty religious place since you can find Statues of any kind of Saints everywhere. Even the vegetable stall at the Arakan Valley has the statue of Senior Sto. Niño.

Did you know that there are true blue Ilonggos in Bukidnon? Most of them live either in BUSCO (Bukidnon Sugar Co) compound, Don Carlos or in Maramag. Some of them settled in the area during the late 50s and early 60s.

You can reach Bukidnon through Cagayan de Oro, Davao via BUDA (Bukidnon-Davao) Road and Cotabato. If you are in Cagayan de Oro, you can go to the Agorra Terminal and board Kibawe, Kadingilan or Tacurong. All of these routes will reach the southernmost towns of Bukidnon. If you are in Davao, you have to go to Ecoland Bus Terminal which is very adjacent to SM City Davao and board a Cagayan route. Davao is my favorite access point because a travel from Davao would only take 3 hours from Ecoland Terminal to Maramag (Bukidnon). I usually take the Iloilo-Davao flight that would only take 1 hour either through Cebu Pacific or Air Philippines.

If you travel to Cagayan de Oro, it would take you 4 hours to reach Maramag or Don Carlos. Aside from that, there’s no flight from Iloilo – Cagayan. One thing that delays the travel is the Mangima Road or popularly called as the bituka ng manok (zigzag road of Bukidnon). There are also several stops in several towns that add to the delay of your travel.

As an agricultural province, Bukidnon is very strict when it comes to hygiene that people coming to the province must step into the veterinary and sanitation check point. The one in the picture is the BUDA entry point.

When you see Bukidnon’s you’ll be amaze by its sheer beauty and swear that Baguio is over rated.

NAIA’s Power Shortage

Last Sunday’s Power Shortage in NAIA is another international embarrassment. This only proves to the world why investors should avoid pouring in their capital into the country. Authorities don’t even have a back up plan on how to avoid and solve power failure.

How would the tourists and businessmen feel if their flight is diverted to another airport? If you’re a tourist, your hotel confirmation will be cancelled and you’ll end up paying penalties. If you’re a businessman on the other hand and have a very important meeting, there’s a chance that a very important deal will be compromised. God knows how those passengers from the diverted flight have felt. These things happen because of the irresponsible people running the NAIA.

Even without the power shortage, NAIA has been an embarrassment to the country. The Terminal 1 is dilapidated and its facilities were not improved. You’ll also encounter Janitors who asks for money every time they give you paper towel at the toilets. There are also immigration officials who harass passengers at will. People of sinister characters can also be found at the airport. That includes the taxi drivers who charge exuberant fees.

Lacson Vs. Erap

In politics, you don’t have permanent friends and enemies, only permanent interest. You can never trust the person whom you thought of as a friend because sooner or later, he’ll drop you like a hot potato. You’ll also be surprised if your former enemies become your friends.

The privilege speech that Senator Lacson delivered on Former President Erap Estrada yesterday at the Senate was very explosive. It only confirmed Erap’s involvement in Jueteng, the issue that forced him to step down from power in 2001. Jueteng was also the main reason why he was convicted of Plunder and Graft and Corruption practices. Many people consider Erap as a very lucky in so many ways. He was supposed to be jailed but PGMA give him an unconditional pardon.

Lacson to his credit had shown Erap his loyalty over the years. His critics however blamed him for the reasons why the opposition lost in the 2004 elections. His candidacy only divided the already divided opposition. Lacson as a soldier has to defend his integrity amid accusations by Erap and his camp. In the coming days, we will also witness another Privilege Speech from him and a counter speech from Erap’s son Jinggoy.

The sad thing in these verbal exchanges is that the Senate is being used by politicians to cover their wrongdoings. People are fed up and tired of these sorts of political showdown and grandstanding. We should also expect that this kind of stuff will intensify in the upcoming months because of the 2010 presidential elections.

One More Chance

You will always hear this quotation that says ‘Every body deserves a second chance.’ But it’s easier said than done. If somebody betrayed you or did something wrong to you, it takes time before you can forgive the person. For others it would only take remorse and sincere apology, but for some, it could take years.

As for me, I don’t know the word forgiveness. I do not tolerate people who are abusive. If they did something wrong to me, I consider them dead. I guess that is the best way to deal with those kinds of people.

I however have a differing view in the case of people who committed serious wrong doing to our society. Once these ex con have paid their debt to the society, they deserve a second chance.

Naples in Italy is giving the criminals second chance to rebuild their lives. The ex cons who before their convictions were street muggers, drug traffickers and con artists are hired by the Napoli Authorities to guide tourists in the crime plagued city. The Naples program is the best way to re-integrate the criminals to the society. The program is gaining ground and people are embracing the black sheeps back into its fold.

Similar programs are introduced inside the Bilibid where criminals were given livelihood trainings. The livelihood training will ensure that the ex cons will have the skills to survive once they’re out of jail. The Philippine society is less forgiving when it comes to the ex cons. An ex con will forever bear the scarlet letter and no company or business will risk hiring an ex con.
We hope that Ace Durano, the Tourism Minister will be able to come up with the similar program to that of the Naples. He could integrate ex cons to his Trabaho sa Turismo program.

Katorse

The latest Teleserye ‘Katorse’ aired over ABS CBN is gaining audience and receiving rave reviews nowadays. People are so drawn by this teleserye because it’s an art imitating life. Nene (the heroine) and her boyfriend’s promiscuous behavior is the current reality.

Our neighbor’s daughter (Jesusa’s daughter Ai Ai) is way worst than Nene of the Teleserye Katorse because she got pregnant at 12 and is now living with her boyfriend who’s only 16.

I am not here to judge as when I was 17 years old, I also tried the things that my parents warned me about. Being young and all, your hormones are raging and you believe that it’s love. It’s not also in your mind that the things you do are stupid.

Our society is still denying that pre marital sex exists. Because of this, our society failed to act and we ended up with so many underage unmarried mothers. Our bourgeoning population and our government’s failure to launch a respectable birth control program is the primary cause of poverty. In real life, a 14 year old child-mother like Nene who got pregnant at an early age has no capacity to feed her offspring. As she will not be able to finish school, she could not get a better job. She will end up doing menial jobs just to support her offspring. She will then be one of the statistics.

Renal Failure

For sure, you’ve heard several stories about a friend of a friend of yours who suffered and even died of Kidney failure. The same is true for me too. I’ve never had a first hand experience or knew people who suffered the same fate. An Aunt of mine actually died last year of kidney complications but it isn’t counted as first hand information since I wasn’t there when she was suffering from the disease.

I was so shock last Wednesday when somebody told me that my friend, who works for Schlumberger collapsed at the workplace and was rushed to the hospital. He was then diagnosed as having a kidney problem. His company with the advise of the Saudi doctors sent him home (to Philippines) in order to receive kidney transplant. He’s currently confined at the National Kidney Institute waiting for a donor. That explains why he wasn’t answering my calls when I came back from vacation last week.

I initially felt left out when I found out of my friend’s predicament. He was one of the first people I know in Saudi Arabia. Our friendship had a long way. It was only an initial reaction since another friend told me that they really tried to contact me when he (the kidney patient) was first confined in Al Khobar. I shed some tears for my friend but I accepted the fact that I couldn’t do anything except to pray that everything will turn out well.

Working in Schlumberger has some disadvantages. The employees have free overtime and they have work even on Fridays and official holidays. My friend would often complain of fatigue and extreme tiredness. I remembered that I once told him to at least take a one day a week rest. He owes that to himself. He would just say that ‘Sayang ang overtime’… ‘Sayang ang pera’. I never really thought that fatigue and tiredness are just few of the symptoms of the renal failure.

Another friend of mine said that if your kidney is not anymore working, you have to go through dialysis in order to have your body cleansed. The dialysis would is usually done three (3) times a week at the cost of Php. 6,000 per dialysis. Imagine the exuberant cost of the treatment. If you are poor and don’t have the money to spent, your life will only depend on the money that you can spend. There’s an alternative to dialysis and that is the organ transplant.

I pray that my friend will soon find a donor. That’s the only way he’ll survive this predicament.

Forms and Several Hundreds of them

Welcome to the Philippines! The only Country in the world where you are required to fill out three forms when you’re arriving and another form when you’re departing. If I was not in a good, I swear, I would have torn those forms apart! Right after the plane will fly to the Philippines, the flight attendants would right away give you the three forms to fill out. They’re the Immigration Form, Customs Form and the Department of Health (DOH) forms. I really don’t see the need of these forms if you’re an OFW. I just saw the immigration official stamp the Immigration Form and throw it away. The immigration official did not even dare to read what I’ve written in there. The same is true with the DOH and Custom forms where the respective officials just collected them.

In Saudi Arabia, if you have a residence permit (Iqama), there’s no need for you to fill out forms. What’s the use of the forms when you already have an electronic record with the Passport Office (Jawasat) and the Immigration? Forms will only lengthen your agony in waiting while Philippine immigration is stamping your entry. But Filipinos especially the government is really fond of these forms.

You’ll encounter and fill out several forms even if you’re filing your Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC). That doesn’t end there. If you happen to claim your benefits from several other government agencies such as Philhealth, OWWA, etc you’ll surely have to fill out several hundreds of forms.

When you’re departing the country, the check in counter will ask you to show your OEC. He will then give you a ‘Departure’ form which you have to fill out and hand over to the Immigration Office.

Grabe ang pahirap sa mga forms. If you are like me who haven’t practiced their hand writing for more than a decade, I swear your hands and fingers will be very painful. It’s one of the drawbacks in working in an automated office, hand written reports are not anymore necessary. Everything is done electronically.

The forms that every Filipino has to fill out every time he travels mirror our society. We still lag behind other countries including our Southeast Asian neighbors.

Beboy Baboy

Aside from my mother’s love, pork is the one thing I really missed here in the Kingdom of the Sands. I have to admit that there was a point where I would instantly throw up when I see chicken or beef viands. I missed pork because pork is not available in the market. You’re lucky if you’re in Bahrain or the UAE because you can buy it in selected shops but you’re unfortunate if you’re in the Kingdom of the Sands.

What’s with the Filipino love affair with the pork? Pork is served in almost all restaurants in the country, except of course, if the restaurants are owned by a Muslim or SDA. Pork is almost always present in Pinoy celebrations such as Baptism, Birthdays, Fiestas, Wedding, Christmas holidays or any other holidays that we Filipino can think of. It can be cooked whole, like what they are doing with the pinoy famous lechon, fried, stewed, or any kind of Filipino dishes.

But the thing with pork is that, it’s almost always the cause of all diseases because of its saturated fats. Hypertensive people are always warned by their doctors to avoid pork. Pinoys are however stubborn that they’ll just say yes to what their doctors are saying but would still eat pork anyway. Nasa bawal ang sarap ika nga. Did it ever alarm me that the pork is the cause of all illnesses? The answer is NO. Even the well publicized Swine Flu could not deter me from eating it. My argument is that I only get to eat pork during my annual vacation.

Island Hopping with Philippine Airplanes

Travelling nowadays gets easier especially since airfares are much more affordable. When I went home last month, I boarded PR flight to Iloilo. I did not pay for my PR flight since our company shouldered the expenses. Though PRs rate is comparably higher than 5J and 2P, they also have a promo fare called ‘EconoLight’ where a passenger will not be given any snacks, not even WATER!.

After staying several days in Iloilo, I went to Davao via Cebu through 5J flight. They are using a very small ATR plane for this leg. It’s the first time I boarded that kind of plane. It’s like going to Bora with Asian Spirits’ planes. The only consolation you’ll get is that the Captain is American. While flying with 5Js ATR plane I overheard ladies speaking in karay-a. They were joking that when you fly with Asian Spirit you’re alive but when you land, you’re only a spirit.

As for 5J, all their fare is promo especially if you bought your tickets online. They are very strict when it comes to carry on baggage. You have to go through weigh in with your carry on baggage before you are allowed to board. I forgot to ask what they are going to do if the passenger is morbidly obese. My hunch is that they are going to charge the obese passenger more.

The drawback with these low fare promos of the country’s airline sector is that they don’t give snacks. PR gives peanut and a biscuit for regular fare passengers only. 5J will not give you anything so you have to prepare and buy your own snacks in advance. They are however selling their snack items on board.

It’s nice to hop from city to city. You’ll meet different kinds of Pinoy, the real Pinoy ika nga. You’ll also have the opportunity to see the upgraded airports and infrastructure in our country. Lastly, you’ll be able to visit your family and that’s the most important part of travelling.

The ‘ME’ Girl

I have no TFC Connection here in Saudi Arabia by choice. I don’t want to watch the ‘Bastos’ Willie Revillame who’s degrading the poor and lowly contestants of his show Wowowee. I also do not like to watch ABS CBN News and Current Affairs shows because of its biased against PGMA. I’ve proven the biased when I went home last month. I simultaneously watched TV Patrol and 24 Oras newscasts and was appalled. ABS CBN News has a tabloid type of reporting whereas GMAs 24 Oras is subtle, balanced and professional. I thought that Maria Ressa was hired to make changes but she failed. She willingly allowed herself to be used by the Lopezes to further their business interests and agendas. I don’t really like the Fantaseryes and Drama of GMA. ABS CBNs entertainment shows are far better but when it comes to News, GMA is undoubtedly the best.

I am also irritated every time I see Kris Aquino. Kris Aquino has an inferiority complex that she always wanted to be the center of attention. She’s the ‘ME’ girl. It’s always about her. She has this tendency to always talk about herself. For Kris, it’s always about Moi, Me, Myself, and I. Where the hell can you find a show that the host is also the guest? She wants all the attention in the world. Imagine, Kris Aquino telling everyone that the ghost of her mother visited the school of Josh! She’s just telling everyone that Cory’s soul is not at peace. To the last hour, Kris has been a disappointment to her mother. She should be ashamed of herself.

Unlike Ruffa Gutierrez who matured as a host, Kris became immature and irritating after years and years in the Philippine TV. The only reason why the Lopezes wanted to retain her is because of her mother.

Sure Losers Back Out

Mar Roxas, the man who really wanted the presidency at all cost that he had to curse PGMA at the Makati Rally, has bowed down from the Presidential race. Roxas says that he’s sacrificing for Noynoy Aquino. Blah blah blah blah. He’s only fooling himself and not the Filipino people. He must have realized that he doesn’t stand a chance. All the surveys do not even name him as the man to beat in the 2010 presidential race. It’s sad that with all the baloney about his wedding to Korina Sanchez did not even create affect the surveys. People knows of Mar Roxas’ dark intentions. He’s only interested in his own agenda. He calls himself as Mr. Palengke, of course he owns the Farmers Market at the Araneta Center but it doesn’t make him Mr. Palengke in the real sense. In the first place, he wouldn’t have won the senatorial election if it weren’t for PGMA. It was PGMA who appointed her to the DTI. Sadly, he’s as greedy and as cunning like his mentor Franklin Drilon.

Kris Aquino have only good words to say about Mar Roxas and Judy Araneta. It’s understandable since Kris is Judy Araneta’s godchild. Kris for years has been receiving expensive jewelries from her godmother Judy. But Judy has been known to be ‘Mapangmata’ if you are not from the Alta Sociodad. I wonder how Judy accepted Korina into the fold. She must have been heart broken to be associated with Korina, who’s background is not really impressive. Korina’s popularity may have compensated for her lack of MONEY.

It’s not only Roxas who backed out of the Presidential Race, the incompetent priest turned Governor of Pampanga Among Ed issued a statement that he is supporting Noynoy Aquino. He must have realized that he doesn’t have the money to fund a presidential campaign. His term as Governor is nearing its end yet he has done nothing to the Province. He should have remained a critic of the seating governor. Being a governor is not an easy task and Among Ed is only good in critiquing but not in running of the government.

As for Jejomar Binay, well, he’s not going to win the presidential race even if he spent the money of Makati for his infomercial mimicking Santino’s ‘MAY BUKAS PA’. He might have been an effective executive in Makati but he lacks the ‘it’ factor for presidency. In the weeks to come, we will hear more people who expressed their desire to run for the presidency back down.

What’s with Noynoy? Being the son of Ninoy and Cory Aquino doesn’t mean he’s going to win the presidential race. He’s been with Congress for 3 terms before being elected to the Senate but it’s not sufficient to win the presidency. Some people with their own personal agendas are supporting Noynoy’s bid but it’s not going to work out. Being in the shadows of his parent’s achievement will not help him.

The 2010 presidential election will be defined by money. The fight is going to be between Manny Villar and Noli de Castro. Some of you may not agree with me but that’s the reality. Villar has the resources and you need resources to win the presidency. Noli de Castro, if backed by the Administration party may also win the race. Like it or not, the Administration party has the machinery and has the grass root support. Noynoy may dream of becoming a president but he’ll wake up with a bangongot.

Spoiled and Ungrateful Brats

You’ve made an effort to buy toys for your nephews and nieces here in Saudi Arabia. You shipped the toys to the Philippines only to be told that the toys that you bought for them are ugly and it’s not what they wanted. Of course, you’ll be angry! That’s what I felt when I was told by Banding and Heart that they don’t like what I gave them.

I know that they’re just 5 and 6 years old but I couldn’t control my anger. I was angry because they never appreciate the time and effort that I made in order to give them the toys. If it weren’t for my friend D, I wouldn’t have purchased those toys in the first place.

Since working abroad, I never failed to give toys and chocolates to my nephews and nieces. I want them to experience the things that I failed to experience when I was a child. My Aunts and Uncles in Canada never send us toys and chocolates while I was growing up. They send packages to my other cousins and not to us. That’s the reason why I send package every year so that they will not feel that I deprived them of toys and chocolates.

That’s why I am angry when the little brats are ungrateful. I told them that next year, I will never give them anything. It will be a lesson for them because I vowed not to give them anything.

My elder sister told me that both Banding and Heart are spoiled by my sister in law Inday. Even if they can’t afford it, she enrolled the children to an exclusive kindergarten school. And since they can’t afford the tuition fee, they ask assistance from my mother. They never realized that the money that my Mother gave them is for her medicine and it comes from me. Inday spoiled her children so much that she would buy them anything they want even if she can’t afford it. Where the hell can you see children as young as 5 and 6 years old, wearing fancy jewelry? Jewelries are for adults who could afford to buy them. My sister in law is just teaching her children to be worldly and materialistic. That’s the reason why they couldn’t appreciate a gift. A gift, regardless of its value should be appreciated because it comes from the heart of the giver.

OA man ang galit ko, I really don’t care. I promised myself that there will never be next time. They’ll just cry of envy from their other cousins but they will never receive anything, next year.

My Iloilo

Before leaving Al Khobar for Iloilo, I was so worried about the weather. News reports say that Iloilo’s weather was not so desirable and some parts of the City were even flooded. It was a relief to learn when we landed at the Iloilo Airport that my fear was baseless. The design of the new Iloilo Airport is similar to that of Davao. It’s better compared to the old Iloilo Airport in Mandurriao. You’ll only miss the proximity of the old Iloilo Airport to the city. The ride from the New Iloilo Airport to the City was smooth. The road to the Airport was superb in Philippine standard.

I was billeted at the Century 21 hotel in Quezon Street. I love the hotel location because of it’s proximity to SM Delgado, St. Paul’s Hospital and the Atrium at the Capitol. There are so many changes in the city that one day is not enough to explore it. The only comment I have with Century 21 is that their AC is so small that it would take ages for the room to cool. Overall, my experience with Century 21 was alright.

A trip to Iloilo City is never complete without visiting Boardwalk and Smallville Complex. The restaurants at the Boardwalk are hip. You’ll be surprised how the dining in Iloilo totally transformed from the usual Mansion House, Breakthrough and Tatoy’s Manokan. My favorite hang out place inside the smallville is the Pirates Resto Bar. I really love the ambiance of the place. Their concept is also very interesting. I also had the chance to visit Bourbon Street and tried their baby back ribs. I compared their (Bourbon) steak to that of Chilis, Applebees and Tony Roma but Bourbon’s are way better in terms of quality and price.

The best thing that a visitor should do after hours of drinking at the smallville complex is to walk instead of taking a cab. What my friend and I did after night of partying was walking until we reach Ted’s Old Timer Batchoyan near UP Visayas. We did it for five nights!

It was nice to be back. I’ve missed Iloilo so much. I’ve been away for quite awhile that I almost forgot its beauty.