VISIT AT THE AQUINO CENTER & MUSEUM, TARLAC CITY

August 20, 2016
MABUHAY!

BENIGNO "NINOY" AQUINO - a FREEDOM FIGHTER, an epitome of true FILIPINO PATRIOTISM, an INSPIRATION of hope, a FILIPINO HERO. Many considered him as THE GREATEST PRESIDENT the PHILIPPINES did not have- an assassin's bullet claim his life on August 21, 1983, just before setting his foot on his beloved country.Until now, no one knew who master minded his murder. His death inspired freedom loving Filipinos to topple down the dictatorial leadership of then PRESIDENT FERDINAND MARCOS. He is the father of the 15th president of the Philippines - BENIGNO S. AQUINO III and husband of CORY AQUINO.

CORAZON " CORY" AQUINO - the house wife who became the 11th President of the Philippines. During her presidency, she carried the weight of restoring true freedom and democracy after the downfall of President Marcos during the world renowned 1986 PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION. Her leadership was highlighted by the promulgation of the 1987 constitution and was challenge in 1989 by a failed well organized and well financed military coup attempting to bring down her government. On August 1, 2009, she died of colon cancer.

GETTING THERE

From the GOOGLE MAP's calculation, it was around 125 kilometers from our departure point at the The Regalia Park Towers Condominium at Cubao, Quezon City to the Aquino Center and Museum at Tarlac City located within Region 3. You'll be passing by the provinces of CENTRAL PLAIN of LUZON, toll gates at North Luzon Express Way (NLEX) and Subic -Clark-Tarlac Express Way (SCTEX). 

OUR ARRIVAL

AUDIO VISUAL PRESENTATION
Upon arrival, you'll be seated in this cozy audio-visual room to watch an inspirational video on the life and struggle for freedom of NINOY.

WALKING PRIDE WITHIN THE MUSEUM HALLS

Ninoy's Car during his stay in Boston, USA.

COMMEMORATIVE PLATE

This is to impress the GREAT faces of Ninoy and Cory at the 500 Peso Bill 

This is to impress the GREAT faces of Ninoy and Cory at the 500 Peso Bill 

OUR GROUP PICTURE

SELFIE - SELFIE AT THE BUS

OUR GROUP'S LUNCH

NINOY'S ASSASSINATION IN 1983

After this visit, an inspiration really filled me to love my country as Filipino. Ninoy and Cory, after all the political persecution that happened to their family, should have silenced themselves and just raised up their kids as a normal Filipino couple. But their good conscience cannot bear to witness that our country is falling into pieces by the stroke of one strong man's dictator hand. With these, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to these great FILIPINO HEROES, who unselfishly dedicated their lives to pursue our freedom and bring back the dignity of a FREEDOM LOVING FILIPINO.
Thank you also to my Bosses: Sir Gerry and Mam Beng Esquivel for sponsoring this trip.

TRAVELLING AS IT IS: ROAD TRIP FROM CUBAO, QUEZON CITY TO AAP TOWER

August 12, 2017
MABUHAY!

TRAVELLING AS IT IS! - is an unedited video footage of my travelling experience. My concept of travelling is riding public transportation, road trip from home to a job destination or just a stroll around the neighborhood. You can hear, feel and see the “REAL” sights & sounds of a place or destination that are usually not tourist trail. There are lot of street food to taste, adventures to seek, lots of local people to meet as well as fellow travelers wanting to share their own personal experiences. ENJOYING LIFE - AS IT IS!

Start: Cubao, Quezon City

Destination: North Luzon Express way

Mode of Transportation: Car

In this road trip, from Araneta Center Cubao, Quezon City, I navigated the Aurora Boulevard and some busy streets of Quezon City- a highly urbanized and I think the largest city of Metro Manila. I passed by to our completed project, the AAP tower building to check out some reported punchlists. Then I headed home passing through Quezon Avenue then exiting to North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).  Just another road adventure showing the real sights and sounds of Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

TRAVELLING AS IT IS! ROAD TRIP FROM ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY TO CUBAO, QUEZON CITY

August 12, 2017
MABUHAY!

TRAVELLING AS IT IS- is an unedited video footage of my travelling experience. My concept of travelling is riding public transportation, road trip from home to a job destination or just a stroll around the neighborhood. You can hear, feel and see the “REAL” sights & sounds of a place or destination that are usually not tourist trail. There are lot of street food to taste, adventures to seek, lots of local people to meet as well as fellow travelers wanting to share their own personal experiences. ENJOYING LIFE - AS IT IS!

Start: ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY (ADMU)

Destination: REGALIA PARK TOWER, CUBAO, QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA

Mode of Transportation: Van

In this road trip, I was with my co-workers from an ocular inspection of our construction project in Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU). We navigated the busy streets of Quezon City- a highly urbanized and largest city of Metro Manila. We also passed by and took our lunch to our favorite noodle house that serves PANSIT BATIL PATONG, which is a pride delicacy of CAYAGAN province north of Luzon, Philippines. Pansit Batil Patong is composed of large round noodles with chopped carabao (water buffalo) meat & internal organs, carabao chicharon (water buffalo fried skin) mixed with white onion, red chili pepper and sugar cane vinegar.

TRAVELLING AS IT IS: ROAD TRIP FROM ARANETA CENTER CUBAO TO FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY (FEU) EAST ASIA MANILA

August 11, 2017
MABUHAY!

TRAVELLING AS IT IS! - is an unedited video footage of my travelling experience. My concept of travelling is riding public transportation, road trip from home to a job destination or just a stroll around the neighborhood. You can hear, feel and see the “REAL” sights & sounds of a place or destination that are usually not tourist trail. There are lot of street food to taste, adventures to seek, lots of local people to meet as well as fellow travelers wanting to share their own personal experiences. ENJOYING LIFE - AS IT IS!

Start: ARANETA CENTER CUBAO, QUEZON CITY

Destination: FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY EAST ASIA  MANILA CITY

Mode of Transportation: Car

In this road trip, I was with my co-workers going to an ocular inspection of our construction project in Far Eastern University (FEU) Manila. We navigated the busy streets of Quezon City- a highly urbanized and largest city of Metro Manila then Manila City, the capital of the Philippines. We also passed by and took our snacks at ZARK’s BURGER, for a large dose of greasy hamburger.

TRAVELLING AS IT IS: ROAD TRIP FROM CUBAO QUEZON CITY TO ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY

August 11, 2017
MABUHAY!

TRAVELLING AS IT IS! - is an unedited video footage of my travelling experience. My concept of travelling is riding public transportation, road trip from home to a job destination or just a stroll around the neighborhood. You can hear, feel and see the “REAL” sights & sounds of a place or destination that are usually not tourist trail. There are lot of street food to taste, adventures to seek, lots of local people to meet as well as fellow travelers wanting to share their own personal experiences. ENJOYING LIFE - AS IT IS!

Start: CUBAO, QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA

Destination: ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY (ADMU)

Mode of Transportation: Van

In this road trip, I was with my co-workers going to our construction project in Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU). We passed thru the busy streets of Quezon City- a highly urbanized and I think the largest city of Metro Manila. We did an ocular inspection to our completed project to check on the punchlist items still ongoing with rectification. 

TRAVELLING AS IT IS: ROAD TRIP FROM CUBAO QUEZON CITY TO ANGELES CITY, PAMPANGA

August 11, 2017
MABUHAY!

TRAVELLING AS IT IS! - is an unedited video footage of my travelling experience. My concept of travelling is riding public transportation, road trip from home to a job destination or just a stroll around the neighborhood. You can hear, feel and see the “REAL” sights & sounds of a place or destination that are usually not tourist trail. There are lot of street food to taste, adventures to seek, lots of local people to meet as well as fellow travelers wanting to share their own personal experiences. ENJOYING LIFE - AS IT IS!

Start: CUBAO, QUEZON CITY

Destination: ANGELES CITY, PAMPANGA

Mode of Transportation: Car

In this road trip, I am going to an ocular inspection of our construction project in Quezon City. I navigated the busy streets of Quezon City- a highly urbanized and I think the largest city of Metro Manila. The construction of our project is in full swing composing of three (3) towers. Then from Quezon City, it’s a 2 hour drive towards Angeles City, Pampanga which is my hometown. I also included a link below regarding an article I published about historical landmarks in Angeles City.

TRAVELLING AS IT IS: A WALK FROM FARMER'S MARKET, CUBAO, QUEZON CITY

August 8, 2017
MABUHAY!

Traveling AS IT IS- a raw video compilation of my traveling experiences local and abroad. Traveling nowadays is defined as airplane flights, hotel or hostels booking, fancy hi-tech cameras and drones. My concept of traveling is just a short walk around your place or a road trip going to your work or family. There are so many things to discover, lots of friendly local people to meet, street food to taste, feel and hear the noise of busy streets - enjoying life as it is! 

This is a video of my short walk from Farmer's Plaza to our project in Regalia Tower C. 

TRAVELING AS IT IS: ROAD TRIP FROM CUBAO, QUEZON CITY TO MAKATI CITY

August 9, 2017
MABUHAY!

Traveling AS IT IS! - is unedited video footage of my traveling experience. My concept of traveling is riding public transportation, a road trip from home to a job destination or just a stroll around the neighborhood. You can hear, feel and see the “REAL” sights & sounds of a place or destination that are usually not tourist trail. There is a lot of street food to taste, adventures to seek, lots of local people to meet as well as fellow travelers wanting to share their own personal experiences. ENJOYING LIFE - AS IT IS!

Start: CUBAO, QUEZON CITY

Destination: MAKATI CITY

Mode of Transportation: Car

In this road trip, I am going to an ocular inspection of our construction project in Makati City. I started early in the morning and navigated the busy streets of EDSA Hi-way passing thru several cities of Metro Manila. The construction of our project in Makati City is in full swing composing of two (2) towers. Then also, I included in the video our dinner with one of my favorite Filipino street food, the PARES – meaning pair. It’s a thick soup of beef meat and other internal organs then paired with rice. 

FAMILY SUMMER BEACH OUTING IN PANGASINAN

August 26, 2011
MABUHAY!

This is a short video of our FAMILY SUMMER BEACH OUTING in San Carlos City, Pangasinan. This vacation really proves that the best things in life are free- swimming in a free beach resort with your family.

BOAT TOUR AT CHAOPRYA RIVER BANGKOK, THAILAND

September 17, 2016
MABUHAY!

TRAVELLING AS IT IS! - is an unedited video footage of my travelling experience. My concept of travelling is riding public transportation, road trip from home to a job destination or just a stroll around the neighborhood. You can hear, feel and see the “REAL” sights & sounds of a place or destination that are usually not tourist trail. There are lot of street food to taste, adventures to seek, lots of local people to meet as well as fellow travelers wanting to share their own personal experiences. ENJOYING LIFE - AS IT IS!

Start: WAT ARUT TEMPLE AKA TEMPLE OF THE DAWN

Destination: CHAOPRYA RIVER AND CANALS

Mode of Transportation: Motorized River boat

This short video footage features our river boat ride cruising along Chaoprya River that is part of our hectic Bangkok Tour itinerary. Smiles and excitement filled every faces of our group as the boat speed up crashing through the waves then making frequent stop in front of some points of interest where our tour guide Nom, tells his brief story with pride of his Thai heritage. Then we stopped in the middle of the River where Nom threw some pieces of bread in the water then swarm of fish surfaced waggling their fish tail. This simple fish feeding activity in Chaoprya River really made a big impact on me. If only we could just take good care of our river and water system, just like the Thai did, then we will be enjoying the full benefits Mother Nature has to offer.

ROUGH ELEPHANT RIDE IN CHANG PUAK CAMP, DAMNOEN SADUAK, THAILAND

September 17, 2016
MABUHAY!

TRAVELLING AS IT IS! - is an unedited video footage of my travelling experience. My concept of travelling is riding public transportation, road trip from home to a job destination or just a stroll around the neighborhood. You can hear, feel and see the “REAL” sights & sounds of a place or destination that are usually not tourist trail. There are lot of street food to taste, adventures to seek, lots of local people to meet as well as fellow travelers wanting to share their own personal experiences. ENJOYING LIFE - AS IT IS!

Start: CHANG PUAK CAMP

Destination: ELEPHANT SANCTUARY

Mode of Transportation: ELEPHANT

During our company sponsored outing in Thailand, we trekked upon the narrow foot path -riding at the back of an elephant.

The rough elephant ride at Chang Puak camp in Damnoen Saduak, Thailand brings back my childhood memory. I remember the days when my friends took me for a ride at the back of a carabao (water buffalo) to fetch their herd back home. I remember our bumpy ride through the muddy rice fields of our hometown Pampanga. This ride is similar but the elephant’s back is higher. The trail is not as rough as the rice fields maybe because the tour operator doesn’t want any untoward accident to happen. But since it’s my first time to ride an elephant, it’s a travel adventure really worth filming.

ROAD TRIP ON FOG-COVERED ROAD IN TAGAYTAY CITY

September 2, 2011
MABUHAY!

TRAVELLING AS IT IS! - is an unedited video footage of my travelling experience. My concept of travelling is riding public transportation, road trip from home to a job destination or just a stroll around the neighborhood. You can hear, feel and see the “REAL” sights & sounds of a place or destination that are usually not tourist trail. There are lot of street food to taste, adventures to seek, lots of local people to meet as well as fellow travelers wanting to share their own personal experiences. ENJOYING LIFE - AS IT IS!

Start: Batangas City

Destination: Tagaytay City

Mode of Transportation: Car

During our trip from Batangas City, we navigated the road through Tagaytay City headed for Manila. Tagaytay City is a favorite summer vacation destination due to its cool weather and beautiful mountain scenery. I took a video footage of this road trip because it’s my first time to see this fog so thick that you hardly see the road. It’s an almost ZERO visibility meaning you cannot see the road clearly from a distance of 100 meters. This road condition is too dangerous along with the continuous rain that is why I’m glad we made it home safe. It’s a travel adventure worth reminiscing.

DOUBLE DECKER BUS JOYRIDE AT SINGAPORE PART 2

July 8, 2017
MABUHAY!
After buying a Singaporean Tourist  Pass worth 16S$ for 2 day unlimited public transportation ride, my wife and I headed off to MRT, LRT and bus station for a JOYRIDE.
We hopped again to another bus for a view of Singapore City.

DOUBLE DECKER BUS RIDE AT SINGAPORE

July 8, 2017
MABUHAY!

After buying a Singaporean Tourist  Pass worth 16S$ for 2 day unlimited public transportation ride, my wife and I headed off to MRT, LRT and bus station for a JOYRIDE.

BUDGET TRAVEL TO SINGAPORE: EXPLORING MARINA BAY SANDS & GARDENS BY THE BAY

July 8, 2017
MABUHAY!

This is a photo and video journal of our budget travel to Singapore featuring our visit to Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay.

BUDGET TRAVEL TO SINGAPORE: ROAMING AROUND CHANGI AIRPORT, SINGAPORE

July 9, 2017
MABUHAY!

This is a photo and video journal of our budget travel to Singapore featuring our tour around Changi Airport before heading back to the Philippines.

SCHOOL REHABILITATION PROJECT: NARVACAN, ILOCOS SUR

September 2010
MABUHAY!

After our ocular inspection in La Union, our team of builders headed up further north of the Philippines to Narvacan, Ilocos Sur to visit an old school building which is also a beneficiary of GMA Kapuso foundation's school rehabilitation project. This school building, part of Narvacan Elementary School is 90 years old at the time of our visit in 2010. A once solid and sturdy structure, it now needs immediate repair specially some parts of its structural members due to its gradual decomposition as time passes by.

WELCOME ARCHWAYS

What I really love to see during a road trip in northern part of the Philippines are the welcome archways in every town and small villages, an epitome of warm hospitality of the Filipinos. But I'm not quite sure if the sequence of these archways going to our destination in Ilocos Sur are chronologically in order.

A ONCE STRONG AND STURDY STRUCTURE

THE YEAR MARKER

 A photo souvenir with other builders on the year stamped at the concrete wall of the building probably signifying the year the building was completed.

OCULAR INSPECTION

The long wide corridor with Tongue and groove timber ceiling

An interior stage with real bamboo poles backdrop 

The long and wide jalousie windows with capiz shell transom giving ample natural lighting ventilation.

A large meeting hall with lumber flooring still in good condition.

An existing wood panel door still in good condition.

Detailed carving design

Some deteriorated lumber flooring

The concrete stilt now deteriorated

The wooden floor joist are still in good condition

Concrete stilts now deteriorated exposing steel reinforcing bars

Twisted reinforcing steel bars- evidence that this building is constructed during the early 1900's during the American Period in the Philippines. I've seen this kind of steel bars in some of the old buildings in Manila.  

HEADING TOWARDS VIGAN, ILOCOS SUR

INSIDE SAINT PAUL CATHEDRAL, VIGAN, ILOCOS SUR

This photo is taken at GMA KAPUSO Foundation's website showing Narvacan Elementary School during and after rehabilitation.