New 1 Piso Coin Commemorating Rizal’s 150th Birthday

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Michelle

Every 30th of December, the Philippines remember a national hero who has a big influence on all its people. He emphasized the importance of education and was devoted in promoting political reform in the country during the Spanish colonization. Jose Protacio Mercado Rizal Alonso y Realonda was an advocate for independence and development of his fellow country men while he had consistently striven for peaceful revolution. He was also known as a prolific author from a young age, a doctor in ophthalmology, a scientist, painter and sculptor. Jose Rizal as he’s famously called was a multifaceted man with so many talents.

Learning about Rizal when I was in school had no difference about learning Science and Math. There were times when his story sounded boring, while at some times, he could fully catch my interest. It changed after I have become aware of the political state of this country where there are hundreds of elected and appointed leaders from the executive, legislative to the judicial branches and yet a man like Rizal was very rare. He committed his life and talents to promote change and development whether of an individual or of the society as a whole. He was very consistent on this thus his life has now inspired me.

I Won’t Look at the Piso Coin the Same Way Again

When you look at the piso coin? What do you see? Is it Jose Rizal or a low denomination that can only afford a piece of candy anywhere in the streets. Does it remind you of one of the greatest renaissance man produced by time and circumstance?

It was right for him to be the man of the coin since I bet everybody can have his own piso without too much effort and can even hold one for a day. Some children still accepts piso whenever they ask for money. It’s a way to remind us all that Rizal made an impact on the awakening of the Filipinos back then and this time on. And so he deserve that honor while he still inspire us to become better people.

I’m ending this post with my shots of the new piso coins released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in commemoration to Jose Rizal’s 150th birthday. It has the same size and weight with the last piso issued in the circulation by the BSP. I’m glad they came up with the idea of changing the design of the piso. Hopefully they’d do this as well for other Philippine coins to follow the banknote’s new generation currency for added security features in prevention of counterfeited bills and smuggling of coins.

Happy 150th birthday Pepe!

(Source: Rizal’s Photo from Wikipedia.org)

List of 2012 Long Weekends in the Philippines

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Michelle

The Malacañang Palace already released their declaration of all regular holidays, special (non-working) days and special holiday (for all schools) for the year 2012 by Proclamation No. 295 signed by President Benigno Aquino III. If you are a traveler or someone who loves to go on out of town trips, I’m sure that you get excited whenever long weekends are declared in school, in your office or in news.

To help you plan ahead just before 2011 end, I have listed all the long weekends including the holy week for 2012. You may want to put them on your planners so you are always reminded. I encourage you to plan your year right and commit yourselves into putting your 2012 long weekends and holidays in good use like taking that out-of-the-country trip you’ve always dreamed of. Make them all worthwhile. I’ll be doing the same thing too!

2012 LONG WEEKENDS IN THE PHILIPPINES

January 21-23, Saturday-Monday (Monday as Special Non-Working Holiday In Observance of Chinese New Year)

April 5-9, Thursday-Monday (Holy week from Thursday to Sunday and Araw ng Kagitingan on Monday)

August 25-27, Saturday-Monday (National Heroes Day, Monday)

November 1-4, Thursday-Sunday (All Saints and All Souls Day on Thursday and Friday Respectively, Special Non-Working Holidays)

November 30-December 2, Friday-Sunday (Bonifacio Day, Friday)

December 29-January 1, Saturday-Tuesday (Last Day of the Year on Monday, Special Non-Working Holiday, First Day of 2013 falls on a Tuesday)

For Eid’l Fitr and Eidul Adha which are yearly observed by our Muslim brothers, Malacañang Palace has provided information through below section:

SECTION 2. The proclamations declaring national holidays for the observance of Eid’l Fitr and Eidul Adha shall hereafter be issued after the approximate dates of the Islamic holidays have been determined in accordance with the Islamic calendar (Hijra) or the lunar calendar, or upon Islamic astronomical calculations, whichever is possible or convenient. To this end, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) shall inform the Office of the President on which day the holiday shall fall. - Section 2, Proclamation No. 295

As I’ve checked, these 2 observances will be on August and October and could make 2 more long weekends for 2012. For the complete and most credible list of holidays in the Philippines this 2012, you may check the online Official Gazette of the Philippines, edited at the office of the President.

Milo: My First Marathon Run

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Michelle

Running has never been a part of my lifestyle. Well, there were times when all I wanted was to feel good and jogging inside the Quezon City Memorial Circle helped me on that but not for so long. It’s cool to run since you could get a lot of health benefits from it. On the other hand, it could take a lot of discipline to make running a habit for me. Last Sunday though, on December 13, I ran on a 5-kilometer marathon held at the grounds of Mall of Asia together with thousands of participants for the 35th Milo Marathon.

Every year, Milo holds running events in some cities in the Philippines to fund their advocacy of giving pairs of running shoes to underprivileged children in the country. They believe about inspiring this young generation to not just be champions in sports or in schools but to be champions in life - as what Milo has been strongly stating on their television ads and in prints. This year, they aimed to provide 10,000 shoes to children studying in chosen public schools. To find out more about this advocacy, you may visit Nestle Philippines for details.

My first run experience might not be different from the rest of the participants. It’s a privilege to help and become a part of an advocacy with a mission of inspiring young individuals to aim high in their lives. Further more, having a Milo singlet would make you remember that at some time, you became a part of this big event. There was an overwhelming feeling of excitement while running. I wanted to know how far I can go for a gracious time given. I could not wait to see that big FINISH sign that says I’m done with the race. Far beyond those emotion and willingness to help though, this race gave me enough time to be alone. To just think about moving on and on. I had been positive since the start of the race until that moment I finished because I was praying most of the time. I was confident that God doesn’t leave me even for a sec and so there was my belief that He’s with me running on the race. So I guess that explains why I love running. It gives me a closer time with my Maker and ample time to thank Him for sustaining me.

The race result just came out and based on the data, I ranked 1,561st out of the 9,987 total participants under the 5k race. I was running (and walking) for more than 40 minutes. I should have timed myself on my cellphone though for a more accurate result since the chips can fail anytime like with some participants.

There was one silly moment actually. I accidentally had some paint on my right leg. Thank God it was green! Somehow the green paint wasn’t out of the Milo trend. It was a green day for all of us!

The Green Pain on my Right Leg

To sum everything up, I had a great time and so did my friends. This Milo Marathon opened me to the possibilities of joining fun runs this 2012.

Cream Dory at Kangaroo Jack

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Michelle

Cream Dory of Kangaroo Jack

It’s typical for me that when I dine somewhere I would order dishes with chicken, beef or pork. I don’t order fish and my reason is because it’s easy to prepare fish meals even at home. But when we had our lunch at Kangaroo Jack in Robinsons Manila, I had the urge to order their Cream Dory in butter and lemon sauce. Why not? I had a small budget that day and the price is relatively cheaper (that is P120, if my memory doesn’t fail me again) when compared to their other single meals. I also ordered their own version of my all-time favorite fresh mango shake. There’s nothing different about their shake but since it’s mango, I was so into it. It’s also my first time to eat Cream Dory and how am I going to rate it? I liked their food presentation and the sauce was great. But in general, I don’t find the fish appealing to me. So I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as how my friends loved their meat dishes.

I still recommend Kangaroo Jack in Robinsons Place, Ermita though. You can’t say anything bad about their service. They were friendly and accommodating. Their place is also clean and the ambiance is inviting. They also have 10% service charge which I didn’t find bad at all. So if you happen to see Kangaroo Jack somewhere, you may wanna try them. I’m sure it’s a different experience from the common fast food chains or small restaurants across Metro Manila.

Experiencing Boracay the First Time

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Michelle

Just like making a first post on my blog, there’s always an excitement I feel with every first-time experience I get, especially when it’s about going to a new place. Last October I was able to get a vacation to a tourist destination in the Philippines, in the island of Boracay. It was my first visit in the island and my first successful travel experience on which I was the one responsible with the planning.

I am one of the Piso Fare patrons of Cebu Pacific. I had experience flying without paying any amount when they launched their Zero Fare Promo and paid 19 pesos on the first Piso Fare I ever heard of. Although this time they’re including other charges, paying 600 pesos for a round trip ticket between Manila and Caticlan is a cheap amount for me (another Piso Fare). And so without much hesitations, I booked seats for me and my boyfriend who was going to Boracay for the first time as well.

Gab and I packed our bags and left for a 6:00 AM flight to Caticlan Airport on October 19. We were transferred to an earlier flight as we were advised that ours was cancelled. I knew from that time that most things will be favorable to us. We arrived earlier than expected in Caticlan. At 7:00 AM we already had our first steps on the island.

We were both so excited to set up our camera and tripod. We feel even excited when we came to the island in a very clear and hot weather on mid-October when news of coming storms and LPA are on every channel. Again, it seemed like things are turning above our expectation and that’s cool. We ended up having 1600+ photos on our camera not sure about how we would be able to share them all in a maximum of 200 photos allowed on Facebook.

Just to share the happiness we felt on our 3-day stay in Boracay, here are some shots we had: