The ferry, MV Rabaul Queen, sank 80 kilometers east of Lae City, Papua New Guinea second-largest city, and 16 kilometers from shore, Thursday (February 2) morning. The ferry was on its way to Kimbe Wharf in West New Britain Province en route from Rabaul and into Lae.

The ferry with at least 300 people on board and is operated by Star Ships Shipping Company, capsized around 5:00 AM local time due to rough seas and strong winds, then after 4 hours, it sank.

The Australian Navy ship which was patrolling in the area received the mayday call and responded immediately. They arrived at the scene at around 9:00 AM, and rescued the majority of the survivors.

At least 238 survivors were rescued by rescuers as of 6:30 PM local time, and others are still missing.

I was reading the news today when I noticed a news story about a vehicular accident happened in city of Tandag in Surigao del Sur. The news caught my interest since I came from Surigao del Sur, particularly in the town of San Agustin.

According to the Inquirer, 4 people died in the accident when the dump-truck they’re riding crashed into a house along the Provincial Road of Cabiles Subdivision in the village of Telaje, Tandag City after side-sweeping a tricycle. Two of the fatalities are students of Jacinto P. Elpa High School of Tandang City.

The fatalities are identified as:

1. Jerome Domingues (third year high school student)
2. Roberto Gabe Jr. (third year high school student)
3. Cornelia Mocay
4. Sherly Acevedo

I just want to correct that the city’s name is not Tandang but Tandag.

I just want to take note that the name of the truck driver according to the Inquirer’s story is Virgelio Bolonia Corlit, and the students are hitch-riding the dump-truck in which the fatalities were at the top of the truck and the other two students injured, Joseph Ramirez and Julius Vellescas seated at the front. The driver of the tricycle is Ryan Policarpio.

GMA-News on the other hand reported the same vehicular accident. But in its news report it said that the driver of the truck who is now being tracked by the authorities is Ryan Policarpio and the fatalities are reported as the residence of the house smashed by the truck.

]]> http://www.selaplana.com/2012/02/01/one-incident-two-different-news-stories/feed/ 0 http://www.selaplana.com/2012/01/28/philippines-puerto-princesa-undergound-river-one-of-the-new-seven-wonder-of-nature/ http://www.selaplana.com/2012/01/28/philippines-puerto-princesa-undergound-river-one-of-the-new-seven-wonder-of-nature/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:21:59 +0000 Digg Blogger http://www.selaplana.com/?p=10919

The Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) in the Western Philippines is now one of the official New Seven Wonders of Nature. The Founder-President of the New7Wonders confirmed it and congratulated the people of the Philippines for supporting the PPUR during the campaign during the his meeting with Puerto Princesa Mayor, Edward Hagedorn, PPUR Campaign Coordinator, Nardz Cillafranca, and New7Wonders Director, Jean-Paul de la Fuente, where they discussed about the Official Inauguration and the promotion of the PPUR as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

About the Puerto Princesa Underground River or PPUR

The Puerto Princesa Undergound River is located in Puerto Princesa City in the Palawan Island. It is a 8.2 kilometer navigable river that flows through a cave where you can see stalactites and stalagmites.

Maasin Country Lodge is located along the Canturing River in Barangay Mambajao, Maasin City Philippines. It offers 26 single and double rooms with bath. Rooms can be a non-aircon or fan only, air-conditioned, superior, de luxe, and matrimony. For dining needs, it has its own restaurant. It also has a conference facility for any occasions like wedding, seminar and other conferences. Laundry service is also available.

Prices of the rooms of the Maasin Country Lodge is a bit higher compared to other cheap hotels in Maasin City. The prices ranges from PhP650.00 toPhP 1,200.00. However, if you’ll compare it to other good hotels with good accommodations in Maasin City, the Maasin Country Lodge is a way cheaper.

You can contact the Maasin Country Lodge for reservation at (63)(53) 381-2102 or FAX ((63)(53) 570-8858.

Maasin Country Lodge Photos

Maasin Country Lodge – Front. Showing the Restaurant.

Aircon room with 2 single beds.

Matrimonial accommodation

Hotel and Accommodations in Maasin City

1. Ampil Pensione 

Related:

1. Surigao City Hotel
2. Ormoc Hotel

Manuel “Matty” Moroun, Owner of Ambassador Bridge, Jailed?

Actually, Manuel Moroun  (84) along with an executive of the Detroit International Bridge Co, Dan Stamper (actually the President of the company), have been jailed through the order of the Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Prentis Edwards on Thursday, January 12, 2012 for failing to comply a court’s order issued on February 2010.

The Michigan Court of Appeal, however, ordered that the two men be freed on the next day, Friday, while they were still appealing the ruling of the Wayne County Judge Prentis Edwards.

The problem of these two men, Moroun and Stamper, started when they (in behalf of the Detroit International Bridge Co) signed a $230 million contract in 2004 with the Michigan Department of Transportation to connect two highways to the bridge that will allow truckers and motorists to avoid the local surface streets. The plan is to direct truckers and other traffic to the bridge without passing the neighbourhood, thus minimizing the traffic at the local streets.

In 2009, the state’s Department of Transportation filed a lawsuit against the company of Moruon for its failure to build the project based on the agreed design.

In February 2010, ordered the company to rebuild the portion that has been protested by the state’s agency.

However, the court realized that its order was ignored by the company. So, the two big men of the company were charged of contemp.

What actually makes it controversial is that it’s an unusual even that a multi-billionaire man like Manuel “Matty” Moroun has been brought to jail for contemp.

About the Ambassador Bridge

The Ambassador Bridge is privately owned and controlled bridge by the Detroit International Bridge Co. of Manuel Moroun which connects the city of Detroit in Michigan and the city of Windsor in Ontario, Canada, spanning the Detroit River. The bridge was complete in 1929.

Luxury Cruise Ship Costa Concordia Ran Aground in a Tiny Island

The Costa Concordia, a luxury cruise ship, ran aground off the coast of Tuscany, tearing open the body and making some 4,200 people aboard to evacuate aboard lifeboats to a nearby island, Isola del Giglio, late Friday, January 13, 2012.

Among the 3206 passengers and 1,023 crew members, there are at least 30 people injured with the majority suffering only bruises and at least two in serious condition, 8 people are confirmed dead and authorities are still searching for the missing people who jump off the ship out of panic when the ship started to tilt, and some might be trapped inside.

Rescuers searched the 9,570- foot- long ship’s interior with 2,000 cabins which is also leaning to its right for passengers or crews that might be trapped inside. As of Sunday, the ship is already lying on its right side with half of it submerged.

The Evacuees

The evacuees stayed in school, hotels and a church on the Tuscan island of Giglio. Other evacuees were sent via helicopters to Grosseto, and the others who are rescued by local ferries were sent to the port of Porto Santo Stefano.

The Route and the Cause of Accident

The cruise ship left Civitavecchia port near Rome for a Mediterranean cruise in early Friday. The passengers were eating dinner when they heard a loud noise at about 8 PM (local time) like a noise when dragging large metal. The ship lost its power and it started to list on its right.

A voice from the ship’s messaging system told the passenger to calm and that the ship experienced electrical failure. The passenger did not believed it, because if it was just an electrical failure then why is the ship listing already. The passengers panicked. They ran to their cabins to get life jackets. And others jumped off the ship to swim into the shore. Then few minutes passed, they were told to abandon ship.

Regarding to the cause of the accident, the authorities are still investigating about it. The ship captain, Francesco Schettino (52) was arrested already and might be facing manslaughter charges. Besides, the captain left the ship even the rescue is not yet done.

From the recording of the “black box”, it was revealed that the ship captain ignored the order of the port official to supervise the rescue.

However, the owner of the ship revealed that the ship captain may have made “significant” errors that led to the accident. “The route of the vessel appears to have been too close to the shore, and the captain’s judgment in handling the emergency appears to have not followed standard Costa procedures,” according to the CEO of Costa Cruises. The company revealed that the Costa ships have programmed routes in which if they deviate, the it will sound an alarm.

It was noted that the Costa Concordia did not follow the programmed route of the ship, wherein it sailed near (150 meters) to the island. The ship captain allegedly changed the course of the ship to “show off” his colleague and a family in the shore.

According to a report, the ship captain invited the boss of the ship’s restaurant, Antonello Tievoli, into the bridge and told: “Come and look. We’re passing your Giglio.” (source:  Mirror)It was confirmed by the parents of Tievoli saying that their son called them and told them that the Concordia would be passing.  Tievoli’s sister, Patrizia, posted a Facebook message few minutes before the accident, saying that the Concordia would pass… really close, which is a big hello from her brother.”

According to Chris McKesson, professor of naval architecture at the University of New Orleans, “they saw it at the last minute, and they tried to swing the ship to the right to miss, … when you swing the nose to the right, the tail swings little to the left.” And that’s what happened, “she swung her tail over and kissed that rock.”

About Costa Concordia

The Costa Concordia which has 2,000 cabins is owned and operated by the Costa Cruises company. The said company is also owned by the Carnival Corporation which is known as the world’s largest cruiseline. It also has 13 decks, 13 bars, 5 restaurants, 4 swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms. It was built in 2004-2005 at a cost of €450 million at the Fincantieri Sestri shipyard in Italy.

The ship was involved in an accident on November 22, 2008 when it hit a port wall and was damaged while docking.

Filipino Crew Members

According to reports, there are 300 Filipino among the more than 1,000 crews of the Costa Concordia cruise ship. Two of them are injured.

I don’t know if the ship crews described in the report as quoted below are Filipinos. I hope they’re not the ones referred on the report:

The worst part came when a lifeboat crew member told everyone, “Women and children first,” Smith said. “All these families who were clinging to each other had to be separated,” he added.

After helping passengers, some crew members jumped overboard and swam ashore. …

Life rafts were “twisting and turning,” and the crew pulled in some rafts and put the people back on the ship, but the crew never returned for them, Smith said. (source: CNN)

Surigao City Hotel and Accommodation

About Surigao City

Surigao City is a second class city which is the capital of the province of Surigao del Norte. It is considered the gateway to Mindanao since it is the starting point of the Maharlika Highway in Mindanao which is connected via the Roll On-Roll Off vessels to the last point of the Maharlika Highway in Southern Leyte.

photo credit: skyscraper.com

Where to Go for Accommodation in Surigao City

 Tavern Hotel

It is considered as the oldest hotel of Surigao City which started in 1946 by the late Domingo Alvarez. It was renamed Hotel Tavern Surigao in 2004 which is also the time when it was incorporated with Mr. Jake as  its President and is currently owned by the Tavern Development and Management Corporation.

Rooms:

In the East building the rooms are available in categories:

1. Standard Interior: With twin beds for PhP2,200.00
2. Standard Sea View: With Matrimonial bed for PhP2,500.00
3. Suite Interior: With Matrimonial bed for PhP2,800.00
4. Suite Sea View: With Matrimonial bed for PhP3,100.00

In the West building they have:

1. Standard City View: With twin beds for PhP2,500.00
2. Standard Sea View Balcony: With Matrimonial bed for PhP2,800.00
3. Suite Sea View Balcony: With Matrimonial bed for PhP3,800.00

Every room has:

1. Buffet breakfast for two person at Café Rosa
2. Children below 12 years old are free to stay with parents
3. Electronic door locks
4. Extra bed is only PhP650.00 with breakfast
5. CCTV security at lobby and parking
6. 24-hour housekeeping and 18-hour room service
7. Complimentary pick up and drive to airport
8. Full laundry service
9.  7-stop scenic elevator with view of boulevard.

It has its own restaurant, banquet and function rooms, and other services like airline ticketing office.

You can contact (63)(86) 826-8566 or 231-7300 to 01 or FAX (63)(86) 826-3280 or Email booking@hoteltavern.com for reservation.

The Philippine Gateway Hotel

The Philippine Gateway Hotel or the Surigao Gateway Hotel offers affordable rooms in different types. It has 61 rooms all carpeted and air-conditioned, cable tv, hot and cold shower, internet connection, telephone and of course, the house keeping service. It is located in the corner of the Surigao Highway and the Maharlika Highway. Other hotel facilities and amnesties includes: Bar, Hotel – Airport transfer, Internet service, Jacuzzi, Meeting facilities, Outdoor pool, Poolside bar, Restaurant and Wi-fi Internet.

Rooms:

1. Standard: With complimentary breakfast, 2 single beds, hot and cold shower, cable tv; PABX telephone line, carpeted floor and fully airconditioned for only PhP 1,450.00
2. Delux: With complimentary breakfast, 2 single beds, hot and cold shower with tub, cable tv, PABX telephone line, carpeted floor, and fully airconditioned for only PhP1,550.00
3. Executive: With complimentary breakfast, 2 single beds or 1 matrimonial bed, hot and cold shower with tub, cable tv, PABX telephone line, fully airconditioned and carpeted floor for PhP1,700.00
4. Suite: With complimentary breakfast, 2 king-size beds, hot and cold shower with tub, cable tv, PABX telephone line, carpeted floor and fully airconditioned, and with sofa and mini refregirator unit at PhP 3,800.00

You can contact Philippine Gateway Hotel through phone at (63)986)826-1283 or 826-1285 or  826-1589 or 232-4880.

Ampil Pension in Maasin City, A Visitor’s Review

Last November  2011, my family visited Maasin City. And since it was already late night when we arrived there, so we decided to stay in a hotel overnight. We were at the Julies Bakeshop when I noticed the Ampil Pension.

Ampil Pension is actually located in Barangay Abgao along Tomas Oppus Street. In front of it is another hotel, the GV Hotel.

Before entering the Ampil Pension premise, I was thinking first whether to stay in GV Hotel or in Ampil Pension. However, the parking space of the GV Hotel is only the space on its front. So, it is not basically safe for our car compared to the parking lot of the Ampil Pension which is located at the back of its building.

So, our choice is the Ampil Pension.

After parking the car, we went straight to its lobby. There were two men in the area, one is using his laptop, and the other guy is watching tv. No one was there sitting on its front desk. We waited for someone to entertain us, but no one. So, I pressed the bell three times. That was the time when the man watching the tv stood and went to the front desk.

The man, who looks like a janitor gave us the menu card. I don’t know what to call it, but since it is similar to the menu card in the restaurant, so I will just call that as menu.

I ordered one room with twin bed worth P550. Wait, it’s not a food, so I think, it is not right to use the word “order”. But I am idiot, and I don’t know what is the right word to use. However, there was no available room worth P550, we rented a P650 worth of accommodation.

Basically, the room we rented has two beds, an air-conditioning unit, a tv with cable connection, and a wash room. The room is good but it is not as good as the rooms of the hotels we previously visited. For example: I  did not find the foot rag, toilet bowl rim, a mirror in the wash room, and the remote control of the tv. But a P450 room of a lodging house in Baybaby City – Leyte that we previously visited  has these things.

And one more thing, the door has no double lock system. So,  when we went to sleep, I just pushed the other bed into the door.

Here are some photos I took at the room we rented:

This is the door of the wash room. There’s no foot rag on it. So, we just move carefully
to avoid any accident, especially after taking a bath.

As we took a bath, we were looking for ways how we could hang the towel.

No toilet bowl rim.

But I think, it was just right for the price, and you can sleep and rest well in it and you will have nothing to worry about your car because it’s safe in the parking lot.

Related:

1. Surigao Gateway Hotel
2. Beach Resorts
3. Ormoc Hotel

The “It’s more fun in the Philippines!” is actually the new slogan of the Department of Tourism campaign. The focus is to make it viral so that everyone will be aware why they should visit the Philippines. And its aim is for the country to get larger share of tourism market.

Even when the DOT campaign has not yet formally launched, yet the slogan “It’s more fun in the Philippines” has already been trending with the hashtag #1ForFun.

The DOT secretary asked everyone of us to support the DOT campaign. They want us to talk about Philippines in Facebook, Twitter, and other Social Media sites. How about in blogs? Hindi yata na mention ng secretary… But it’s okay, there’s more fun in the Philippines.

• Bloggers are not invited on the campaign launch event. Yet’s it’s more fun in the Philippines!
• Philippines is always visited and often times devastated by typhoons. But there’s more fun in the Philippines!
• The President and the Chief Justice are warring, but everyone is still smiling, because there’s more fun in the Philippines!
• Why prosecute the former President, now Pampanga Representative, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo? Well, it’s because there’s more fun in the Philippines?
• The media killing in the Philippines has not yet resolved by the current administration. But still, it’s more fun in the Philippines!

Actually, it’s really more fun in the Philippines!

• Philippine Religious Festivals like Sinulog, Ati-atihan, Kadayawan, Pintados, etc.
• Diving spots and Diving Resorts
• Other tourists attractions like the Palawan Underground River, Hundred Islands, Falls, White Sand Beaches, Caves, etc

On Thursday night, I learned from a news that a low pressure area has been upgraded to tropical storm and our province, Southern Leyte,   is one of the provinces where storm signal number 1 was raised.

Just this morning, my wife called me up telling me that the classes were suspended by the Dep-Ed’s Division of Southern Leyte. According to the news report, storm signal number 2 was raised early today in various provinces including our province. However, teachers in my wife’s school were advised by their head to stay at the school.

So, it’s signal number 2. But it seems that there is no typhoon here. ( Thanks God! ) Of course, there’s rain but it’s not that heavy and the wind is not that strong. The only sign of a typhoon that one could notice immediately here in my location is the high waves.

As of this morning, PAGASA raised storm signals to the following:

Signal number 2 in:

1. Southern Leyte
2. Bohol
3. Southern Cebu
4. Southern Negros
5. Siquijor Island
6. Surigao del Norte including Siargao Island
7. Surigao Del Sur
8. Dinagat Province
9. Agusan Provinces
10. Davao del Norte
11. Davao Oriental
12. Samal Island
13. Lanao Provinces
14. Misamis Provinces
15. Zamboanga Provinces
16. North Cotabato
17. Compostela Valley
18. Bukidnon
19. Camiguin
20. Maguindanao

Signal number 1 in:

1. Palawan including Cuyo Island
2. Eastern Samar
3. Western Samar
4. Northern Leyte
5. Northern Cebu
6. Northern Negros
7. Iloilo
8. Capiz
9. Antique
10. Aklan
11. Guimaras Province
12. Davao Del Sur
13. Sultan Kudarat
14. South Cotabato
15. Sarangani Province
16. Basilan Province

Sunday Sendong Update

there are at least 500 people confirmed dead caused by the typhoon and hundreds more are missing. Most of the victims are swept out by the water while they are sleeping. The most affected area by Typhoon Sendong or Washi are the city of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro City.

Tuesday Sendong Update

Late Monday, according to the national disaster council’s (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council) data, the death toll caused by the typhoon Sendong (Washi) rose to more than 900, and there are 1500 injured and less than 100 still missing.

The cities of Iligan and Cagayan De Oro, the hardly hit areas of the typhoon Sendong are now considering of having mass graves for the unclaimed dead bodies and those in the state of advance decomposition. However, there are some who opposed to mass graves because for them it is an unChristian. It was noted however that funeral parlors in the cities (a dozen and few in Iligan and less than a dozen in Cagayan de Oro) are rejecting newly brought bodies for they could no longer accommodate them.

In Cagayan De Oro, most of the confirmed dead are children and women who lived in the river bank.

This typhoon is considered the deadliest compared to the typhoon Ondoy and Pepeng. The previous killer typhoons killed more or less a thousand people in combined.

Cagayan De Oro’s major water facility was damaged and the city lost 80 percent of the potable water needed while bottled water in stores are running out.

The President and the Typhoon Sendong

While Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City and the rest of the affected areas of the typhoon suffered from great loss brought by the typhoon, the President and his Security personnel were partying in Malacanang. An act that most of the Filipinos hated so much.

Instead of issuing an apology, the Aquino sisters defended what their brother did and said that life must go on for their brother even during that tragedy. They forgot that when their parents died, every Filipino tried to stop their daily activities just to pay respect to Ninoy and even to Cory.

Dealing with Comment Spam

While Tropical Storm Sendong or Washi is here, I am also busy deleting all the spam comments that this blog has received. Their comment is not that bad but the message is just the same. It seems that one message was spun for thousands times and sent to different  blogposts.

I already tried several ways in fighting against these spams:

1.) First, I set the blog in a way that any comment that contains URL will be immediately sent to the SPAM folder. But it seems that it is not really effective although I found thousands of comments that have been marked as spam but there are hundreds of them successfully escaped.

2.) So, I decided to set the blog in a way that a comment of a commenter that has no approved comment will be queued for moderation.  And then, I will just delete them or mark them as spam later. The only problem of this is that I need to waste my time checking and deleting thousands of comments.

3.) So, now I finally set this blog in a way that old blogposts will no longer accept comments. I don’t know what will be the negative effect of this to this blog.

Civil Engineer Licensure Examination Middle East Result

By the way, congratulation to the lone passer of the recent Civil Engineer Licensure Examination held by the PRC in the Middle East.