Come to Bohol for the 2015 Sandugo Festival!

Last year's winner of the Sandugo Street Dancing (Photo grabbed from Sandugo FB)

This week, Bohol is in a celebratory mood.

First, July is the Sandugo month around Bohol. But most of the activities are focused on Tagbilaran, the province’s capital.

Sandugo, literally translated as blood compact, celebrates the treaty of friendship between Datu Si Katuna and Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in 1565. Boholanos often brag about this event since Spain was literally welcomed in Bohol while Magellan was killed when he and his men went to the nearby island of Cebu.

Sandugo Festival since then is scheduled every July despite the fact that the blood compact happened in March. Sandugo has become a filler because there are no big events in July and Filipinos all over the world are coming in for their yearly summer vacations.

So came the Tigum Bol-anon sa Tibuok Kalibutan (TBTK).

TBTK is the gathering of Boholanos from around the world. It is a biennial activity. It was first celebrated in Bohol and various places abroad since then. Boholanos are welcomed with cultural activities in the pageantry of Boholano fiesta.

So July is actually a month of merrymaking in Bohol.

How to get to Tagbilaran

There are several flights coming in from Manila to Tagbilaran served by major airlines like Cebu Pacific, Philipine Airlines and Air Asia. The flights usually take an hour.

There are also fastcrafts coming in from Cebu, a major destination in the Philippines. OceanJet, Weesam Express and SuperCat 2Go have more than 2 daily trips from Cebu to Tagbilaran.

There are also boats coming from Mindanao and nearby islands.

When in Tagbilaran, the major transport is the tricycle. A word of caution though, tricycles have their own ghost tariff rates. They can dictate the fare as they please. Don’t mind if there are religious quotes on them. Some are rude. So a note of advice before riding in- HAGGLE. 

Important links

Tigum Bol-anon sa Tibuok Kalibutan

Sandugo Festival 2015

My friend, Chris Ramasola's winning Sandugo logo

Bohol celebrates 2013 Sandugo Festival

Welcome to Bohol and welcome to Sandugo Festival!

Photo grabbed from Soc Garcia

Sandugo (Blood Compact) Festival is a commemoration of the friendship between chieftain Sikatuna of Bohol and conquistador Miguel Lopes de Legazpi of Spain. Both agreed to shed blood on a cup of wine and drank them to forge that friendship. This historic event made Tagbilaran City the City of Friendship.

To commemorate that event, the province celebrated Sandugo Festival, a month-long festivities of culture, heritage and arts. Sandugo started on July 1, also the Charter Day of Tagbilaran City. Main events, however, are celebrated after the Charter Day celebrations of the province of Bohol on the 22nd of July.

If you are interested to come and join in the celebrations, here are the program of activities for the 2013 Sandugo Festival.

July 1

47th Tagbilaran City Charter Day. Expect parades and musical events on this day.

July 1-31

Nightly activities at the City port with different nightly sponsors. Usually bands and cultural presentations.

July 13

Miss Bohol Sandugo 2013 Swimsuit Competition

July 17

Miss Bohol Sandugo 2013 Talent Competition

July 20

Miss Bohol Sandugo Pageant and Coronation Night

July 22

Bohol Day Celebrations (159th Charter Day of the province)

July 24-28

Sandugo Trade Expo 2013 at ICM's The Block. This year's them is Go Green, Buy Local. The Sandugo Trade Expo will feature locally made products focusing on heritage, culture and environment protection by using eco-friendly and indigenous materials. Surely, you will love to go shopping for furnishings, fashion accessories as well as fresh and processed food. 

July 26

Sandugo 2013 Street Party at Tagbilaran's main street CPG Avenue. This is going to be the fun part of the Sandugo Festival. The Bohol Sounddugo Street Party boasts of the biggest, baddest and loudest sound system, perhaps, a first in Bohol party scenes. I am sure you won't want to be left out.

July 28

Sandugo 2013 Streetdancing Competition. I hope there's going to be a big bunch of competitors this year. Last year was quite a disappointment among photo enthusiasts who came in to join the street dancing photo competition.

Don't forget to wear a smile. Boholanos are known to be hospitable and may welcome you to their homes. But be careful and be wary of scammers and other bad elements. Tagbilaran is recently experiencing major crimes done even in broad daylight and the police seems not able to solve them.

I am proud

I am proud that my works are all over Tagbilaran City for the Sandugo Festival happening this week. My promo designs were chosen for the Sandugo Trade Expo which will open this Wednesday, July 20 at 4pm at the Island City Mall.

I deserve a brag. ;)

Threatening the President and other idiotic stories

And so I happened to go to that opening ceremonies at the Sandugo OTOP Trade Fair not knowing the President will be also there. You know how nightmarish it is when a president is around. The inspections, the groping guards who made the ocassion justifiable, the long lines so you can only come in.

I hated the President more, because I so happened to bring my camera.

I fall in line.

Turn on the camera please. If I was more insane I could have fucked my camera right there and then without having to turn it on.

I told the guards I won't be using it. They put some security sticker on it. Oh my, that cam I so guarded zealously so that not even dust could settle on it but now an orange sticker defaced its presence.

They got my Stabilor orange highlighter.

What for? I asked them. They were just told to do so.

What about my two ballpens? I could harm the President with these.

No, I was actually using the term dunggab which means to stab in Bisaya. Pwede nakong dunggabon si GMA ani. I could stab GMA with these ballpens. Nobody seemed to mind me. They just laughed.

Defeated with my attempts to threatened the President, I retreated to a corner where some friends were chatting.

Maybe I am good at comedies.

(The only picture of President GMA I took. When I saw that it was blurred, I did not take another shot.)

Breeding and Professionalism Matters

Remember Jerome Sala? That young man from the province of Bohol who bested others in ABS-CBN's Star in a Million 2005 show?

Well- he got married and started a hollow blocks business in his hometown of Pilar in Bohol. Management problems, I heard, had him with no projects despite winning that prestigious show.

And he did it again!

No, he did not win anything but I heard from the grapevine that Jerome Sala Ucab is banned from performing anywhere in Tagbilaran City and worst in the whole province of Bohol due to a conflict with Mayor Dan Lim and Governor Erico Aumentado. Sources say that Mr Ucab was requested to act and sing in the Dagohoy Musical to recap the Sandugo festivities on July 26 (Sunday) but he turned down the offer due to management (again!) and money matters. Chismosos and chismosas who heard the angry call of Mayor Lim was happily shocked with the words the famous mayor is known for.

Such a waste of talent! Mr Ucab should not let that Star in a Million win bloat his ego and become his waterloo. Fans of Mr Ucab should defend him now and perhaps explain his side.

Meanwhile, Cesar Montano and his wife Sunshine Cruz, who were asked to act on that same musical readly accepted their roles. Montano, who proudly wears his Boholano heritage everywhere, is proud to be part of that musical and is rehearsing his role when I wrote this.

This goes to show how breeding and professionalism affects a person.

(All pics from wikipedia.com)

Approved Design for the Sandugo Regional OTOP Trade Fair

My Billboards Are Up!

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

While on my way to Bohol for the Sandugo activities, the sky was gloomy and it rained since the other night. My eyes were fluffy because I have very limited sleeping hours these past weeks and now I am nursing a flu when a sudden downpour made us wet while we bury our aunt last Saturday.

I am literally shuttling and dashing through time and space.

When I boarded Weesam Express, a beautiful rainbow appeared in the skies of Cebu. I am just exhilarated. Seeing this magnificent natural phenomena made me sat in awe and wonder. And while I am dazed by its beauty, I sat there moved and rested.

Life is beautiful.


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Having no cam to capture its beauty, I use this pic from The World of Atmospheric Optics by John Flannery SDAS
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