Security tight as PGMA's may drop by

Kalibo, Aklan – Recognizing the cultural significance and its value in promoting tourism as the Mother of all Philippine Festivals through her speech during her Presidential Visit of the 2006 Ati-Atihan Festival, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is again expected to visit Kalibo to experience often-copied yet incomparable festival, the 795th Kalibo Sto. Niño Ati-Atihan Festival.

Aside from the non-stop preparation for the arrival of guests, visitors and tourists, the Local Government thru Mayor Raymar Rebaldo’s leadership is focusing on the security of the festival where more than 150 policemen from the Regional Headquarters will be deployed to help in the preservation of peace and order especially during the President’s visit.

Mayor Rebaldo, as Chair of the Kalibo Ati-Atihan Management Board has given assurance that a workable security plan was already passed by the Chief of police of Kalibo.

The police will be augmented by soldiers and reservists from the Philippine Army, reservists from the Philippine Air Force, volunteers from the Civil Society Organizations and criminology students from the Northwestern Visayan Colleges and Aklan Catholic College. Terence Toriano

795th ati-atihan schedule

(watch out for the series of photos and images for the forthcoming ati-atihan festival in Kalibo only at www.anwangaklan.blogspot.com) Watch them as they happen!

Enjoy every beat of those rumbling drums, street dancing, delicious foods, meet new friends, discover the history of Ati-atihan, let your cry of help be heard of our Sr. Sto. Nino, and there's more to discover that unfortunately, you really need to see for yourself!

So what are you waiting for? Tara na sa Ati-atihan!

=)SPIRITUAL STREET DANCING1st week up to 3rd Sunday of January
Venue: Principal Streets of the Ati-Atihan Town of Kalibo

NINE DAY NOVENA
Jan. 13-21, 2007
Venue: Kalibo Cathedral

HALA BIRA ATI-ATIHAN NIGHTS
Jan. 9-15, 2007
Venue: Magsaysay Park

ATI-ATIHAN PRODUCTS SHOWCASE
Jan. 15-21, 20078:30 am-7:30 pm
Venue: Pastrana Park

FESTIVAL BAZAAR
Jan. 15-21, 2007 9:00 am-12:00 mn
Venue: Veterans Avenue

KAEAN-AN SA PLAZA (Food Fest)
Jan. 9-15, 2007 9:00 am-12:00 mn
Venue: Pastrana Park

VISUAL ART EXHIBITJan. 15-21, 2007
Venue: Museo it Akean“PAGDAYAW”Jan. 15-21, 2007
Venue: Pastrana Park, Main Streets of Kalibo

BALIKBAYAN & "ATI PIÑA MODA"(A Fashion Show)
Jan. 16, 2007 7:00 pm
Venue: Magsaysay Park

HIGANTE PARADE & AKLAN FESTIVALS SHOWDOWN
Jan. 11, 2007 2:00 pm
Venue: Main Streets of Kalibo

PAHILOT OR PAEAPAK
Jan. 17-21, 2007
Venue: Kalibo Cathedral

BARTER OF PANAY REENACTMENT
Jan. 17, 2007 9:00 pm
Venue: Magsaysay Park

MUTYA IT KALIBO ATI-ATIHAN CORONATION PAGEANT
Jan, 18, 2007 7:00 pm
Venue: Magsaysay Park

3 DAYS FINAL HURRAH
Jan. 19-21, 2007
Venue: Major Streets of Kalibo

ATI-ATIHAN CONTEST
Jan. 20, 2007 7:00 am
Venue: Major Streets of Kalibo

BLESSING OF CHILDREN
Jan. 20, 2007 10:00 am
Venue: Kalibo Cathedral

DEVOTEES' DAWN ROSARY & PROCESSION
Jan. 20, 2007 4:30 am
Venue: Kalibo Cathedral

FIREWORKS DISPLAY
Jan. 20, 2007 11:00 pm
Venue: Magsaysay Park

TRANSFER OF STO. NIÑO IMAGE
Jan. 21, 2007 6:00 am
Venue: Kalibo Cathedral to PastranaPark

PASAEAMAT
Jan. 21, 2007 7:00 am
Venue: Pastrana Park

TORCH PARADE & PROCESSION
Jan. 21, 2007 late afternoon to early evening
Venue: Main Streets of Kalibo

PAGPADUNGOG
Jan. 21, 2007 7:00 am
Venue: Magsaysay Park

For more info and specific description, pls visit: ati-atihan.net Thank you and once again, VivaAkeanons, Viva kay Sr. Sto. Nino!

(support needed for the continued maintenance and upgrading of www.anwangaklan.blogspot.com for inquiries feel free to e-mail us at newsrepublic23@yahoo.com Viva Kay Sr. Sto. Nino!!!)

PNP: Boracay safe for ASEAN delegates

KALIBO, Aklan – The Aklan Police Provincial Office here assures that Boracay Island is safe for ASEAN delegates should they visit the island after the Jan. 10-15 Summit in Cebu City.

APPO director William Macavinta said the PNP has readied everything in anticipation of the ASEAN delegates’ arrival in the island.

“We have already activated the Task Force Bantay Boracay, and with the full implementation of the One Entry, One Exit policy in the island, the police station in Cagban is manned 24 hours. Security has also been tightened at the Caticlan Jetty Port,” Macavinta said.

Macavinta said that for the protection of tourists, visitors and residents of the island, the PNP force in the island underwent training conducted by the Australian Embassy which centered on identifying modern trends of explosive devices, “ so anytime, the PNP is ready and can react anytime.”

The ASEAN Summit in Cebu City was originally set December 2006 but was cancelled at the last minute. (PIA)

Special Report: The Bat Man of Boracay

(Large flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus), largest flying fox in terms of wingspan in the Philippines-HJDGarcia/funded by Haribon Foundation's Threatened Species Program (TSP) with support from Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)

By Jun N. Aguirre/Paul Icamina
Internews and Features

The night creatures could impact of the resort’s future.

BORACAY Island – Come dusk, like clockwork, bats used to emerge in droves from the bowels of caves deep in the forests and in some shoreline caverns.

The daily ritual comes rarely these days as resorts and housing developments spread to the innards of this premium tourist playground.

Bat habitats in Boracay are threatened and, as a result, could impact on the future of what’s left of this island’s forest cover, according to Maria Renee Lorica of Haribon Foundation, a convervation group.

Bats play a crucial role in the local ecosystem, feeding the ground with rich guano and seeds that grow into trees and vegetation. As such, she said, they generate new forest growth, particularly in Boracay and Northwest Panay.

Lorica, of Haribon’s Threatened Species Program, is documenting the patterns of roost site of bats and flying foxes in the island.

Human activities in disturbed areas like this resort island, she said, have significant effects on wildlife. But little is known on the specifics, she added.

“We will be investigating one aspect of the ecology, the roost,” she said.

Roost site characteristics – such as vegetation, topography, wind exposure and the degree of human disturbance – will be recorded for each roost site in Boracay.

Results will pinpoint the characteristics of a preferred roost site. Recommendations for habitat restoration will then be forwarded to the developers in the area for a possible ecotourism scheme that includes bat-watching.

“This way, a compromise is reached by the developers and the welfare of the bats,” Lorica said.

“Conservation measures will not only be done in the day roost but also in the feeding grounds in the forests of Northwest Panay,” she continued. “Intensive education campaigns will be made in identified critical barangays with the help of local organizations and the academe,” she added.

Filipino wildlife biologist Harvey John Garcia, who heads the Haribon group, said the study have found new species of bats which need further study.

These species need urgent conservation measures from local governments, said Garcia who one could say is the Bat Man of Boracay.

Garcia, Lorica, Mylanar Sualog, Lara Stephanie Tajanlangit and Philip Aviola were commissioned to undertake a three-month survey in Boracay and Mindoro by Haribon and the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund.

“Four species of the yet undescribed Mindoro Flying Fox were caught in Mt. Siburan, Bgy. Batongbuhay in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro,” Garcia said. “One species could be the smallest Philippine Flying Fox because of its size and weight.”

Garcia said hunting, poaching and slash-and-burn farming contribute to the extinction of this species, adding that the local government in Mindoro has no ordinance protecting the bats.

“It has only been recorded from patches of low-land forest that has signs of disturbance in Anahawin River in Mt. Iglit-Baco and recently in Mt. Siburan,” he said.

The researchers interviewed 32 hunters from seven barangays of Sablayan, Mindoro. They hunted bats as a hobby or for food.

“Air gun is commonly employed for hunting but some are also using aboriginal tools such as a thorn club and tree snares. There are no existing ordinance that prohibit the hunting of the bats,” Garcia said.

“Hunters do not distinguish between the kinds of bats they hunt, whether it is common, endemic or endangered,” he said.

Indiana Philippine Medical Association holds medical and dental mission

Kalibo, Aklan – A mission of mercy and of hope will be launched by the Indiana Philippine Medical Association with the Philippine Professionals Association of Indiana, Couples for Christ for Indiana, the Asian American Medical Society, and the UST Medicine Class of 1979 and 1980 on January 22-24, 2007 in selected areas in the Ati-Atihan town of Kalibo including 3 Hospitals where surgeries will be performed.

To avail of the medical and dental surgical services, interested patients may contact the following:

§ Dr. Raymund Quimpo for patients with Cleft Lip, Goiter, Abdominal and Inguinal Hernia Repair, Dental Extractions, and other general and plastic surgery procedures at Dr. Rafael S. Tumbokon Memorial Hospital

§ Ms. Karen Nadate or Ms. Apple Raval for lumps/bumps and circumcision patients at St. Jude Hospital

§ Ms. Pearl Goboy for cataract surgery patients at St. Gabriel Hospital

The free medical and dental checkup, treatment and surgery will benefit Kalibonhons who are unable to afford to pay for hospitals bills or medical insurances for themselves or their family.

“This medical and dental mission will be of great help to our people who have less in life through these kind doctors, nurses, businessmen, and professionals who are living in the United States particularly in Indiana and have sought the time and effort to help out their own countrymen,” said Kalibo Mayor Raymar Rebaldo.

Free consultation and treatment will also be available not only in this town but also in Makato town. Terence Toriano

Russians flock Boracay

THE year 2007 opens with a bang for Western Visayas tourism with the arrival of two charter groups from the Russia Federation in Boracay Island Jan. 5,6 and 8.The groups carry 403 Russian tourists from Vladivostok and Kransncyarsk, Siberia.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Director Edwin G. Trompeta said these charters are scheduled every first week of January in conjunction with the Orthodox New Year in Russia. The groups are staying an average of 8-10 days.

Blue Horizon Travel and Tours, Inc., the company handling the charter groups from Russia since early 90’s with Boracay and Cebu as the main destinations, is optimistic that with the completion of Iloilo and Silay airports, Western Visayas will be beneficiary of direct international flights in the future.

The local governments of Aklan and Malay together with the DOT, PNP have been requested to extend courtesies to the group and ensure the safe, convenient and comfortable stay of the visitors in the island.

The cooperation of the LGU and the composite security task force in Boracay has been requested considering that Boracay has limited entry and exit capabilities for the efficient handling in case of the emergency situation.

It is expected that Aklan province and Malay will realize considerable economic value from the charter.

'Know the Truth'

Former Cong. Atty. Allen Quimpo, Vice Governor Atty. Ronquillo Tolentino, Ret. Judge Nani Zaldivar and Efren Trinidad face the media during a press conference Friday to shed light to the allegations of Mabeth Mobo-Garcia that she was being endorsed by the Tibyog-party in Aklan (Jun Ariolo N. Aguirre)

'Give me time!'

Mabeth Mobo-Garcia talked to the media in a press conference asking to give her time on her decision to run as governor of Aklan. With her is her younger brother Bomby. (Jun Ariolo N. Aguirre)

Tribe registration for Ati-Atihan, On-going

Kalibo, Aklan – With more than 50 tribes expected to join this year, the registration for the 795th Kalibo Sto. Niño Ati-Atihan Festival begins January 2 and will end on the 9th where major contenders in the Tribal, Balik-Ati and Modern categories will take the lead to register.

Tribe leaders are required to fill up a registration form and along with their list of members, 5”X7” photo of their costume, and signed Covenant of Commitment bring them to the Kalibo Ati-Atihan Management Board Secretariat Office at the Second Floor of the Municipal Tourism Building, Regalado Street, this town.

Kalibo Mayor Raymar Rebaldo during the Press Conference of 795th Kalibo Santo Niño Ati-Atihan Festival expressed his optimism that the subsidies of the tribes will be distributed before the deadline of the registration.

“We are expecting more tribes to participate this year and more excitement with the major hotels and inns in Kalibo already booked for the mother of all Philippine Festivals that even President Arroyo has acknowledged,” said Abraham Diestro, the Chair of Tribal Participation. Terence Toriano/

OWWA CITES TWO AKLANON OFW'S

Jun Ariolo N. Aguirre
Iloilo City- Because of their advocacy on the upliftment of community of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW's), two Aklanons were recently given citations by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) here.

Noel Chavez, acting chief of the OWWA regional office said that the two Aklanon OFW's who recieved the citation were Leon Magpusao of Barangay Unat, Ibajay Aklan while the other who recieved post-humous citation was Isidro Lachica of Banga, Aklan.

"The two Aklanon OFW's were given citations because they have pioneered the organizing of OFW communities in Aklan and in Western Visayas," Chavez told this writer in an interview.

Magpusao, once worked as an English teacher in Melchor Memorial School and was forced to go back abroad to work as a technical and para-legal writer for Saudi Electric Company in Saudi Arabia.

Isidro's wife Marinella personally recieved the award given by the OWWA in Iloilo City.

Aside from Mapusao and Lachica, other individuals and OFW organizations who recieved the citations were Vilma Rubinos, Flordelisa Decolongon and Editha Iguiron. For group citations: Hublag DAO-OFW Association (Capiz); Maasin Overseas Contract Workers and Beneficiaries Association (Iloilo); Igbaras OFW and Dependents Association (Iloilo); Federation of Dumangas Overseas Filipino Workers Association, Barangay Bancal Carles OFW Association (Iloilo); San Jose OCW and Dependents Association (Antique); Emerald of OFW's; Tigbauan OFW and Beneficiaries Association, Asosasyon ng Kababaihan OCW's Beneficiaries; Calumpang OFW Association and the Cabatuan Overseas Filipino Workers Entrepreneurs Multi-Purpose Cooperative (COEMPCO).

A separate citations were also given to third mate Jose Noel Saquilayan, a seafarer who helped his Filipino colleagues survive after their Swedish freighter MV Finnbirch capsized in Baltic Sea after encountering rough weather on its way to Denmark last year.