NEWSFEATURE: Bamboo resort is where a thousand Comval mainlanders went to for Easter

By Cha Monforte, Rural Urban News

april 12

Over a thousand Compostela Valley mainlanders chose to soothe themselves in the cool spring and rushing clear river waters in Andap, New Bataan in celebrating Easter after a sleep-scarce Black Saturday and as the Holy Week culminated.

(photo by Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

“At the night of Good Friday, our overnight cottages were fully occupied. On Saturday, our guests were going out as new ones kept on coming in,” said Sheila Cualing-Soriano, management overseer of Bamboo Garden, an inland resort known for its swimming pool with cool spring water tapped from a highland of a nearby hill.

(photo by Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

(photo by Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

By the pool’s side, visitors and guests can alternately choose to frolic in the rushing cool, clear riverwaters of Andap splashing at stones and boulders.
“I’m glad what it is turning out now from what my late father had started,” Sheila said knowing the thousands of frolickers that came in during the Lenten Season.
For yesterday’s Easter treat of the resort for her guests, Sheila belted out a live band show, ledge dancing contest and Easter egg hunting.
Sheila is the eldest in the brood of five of former New Bataan Mayor Margarito “Nonoy” Cualing, who started carving out a big pool at the resort’s centre point in November 2005. It had its soft opening May 2006, but three months after, the former mayor died of lung cancer.
The inland resort, developed inside the 12-hectare Cualing property, is just about a 10-minute motorcycle ride from New Bataan poblacion.
It is cut by a rushing Andap river by the frontage of the concrete section of the Andap-Maragusan road, and its developed portion gets a breathtaking view and cool ambience of the rising hills and greeneries nearby.
“We’re still at present working on what technology and how to access Internet and cable TV connections to best serve our guests considering our location,” Soriano said referring the hills and mountains that entrap the place.
“But at best we’re offering what is natural like our spring water in the pool,”she added.
While also tens of thousands of frolickers in yesterday’s Easter celebration usually mobbed the beaches, Comval mainlanders for having no seas have been glad they have been seeing entrepreneuers developing inland resorts in the valley like the Bamboo Garden.
Comval mainland consists of the six towns located in the landlocked fertile valley, which are Mawab, Nabunturan, Montevista, Monkayo, Compostela and New Bataan. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

Filed under: bamboo garden, comval hotels resorts, new bataan, sheila cualing-soriano, bamboo garden, comval hotels resorts, new bataan, sheila cualing-soriano

NEWS: 300 New Bataan evacuees return home

oct 29

COMPOSTELA VALLEY- Some 300 evacuees from faraway highland barangay of Manurigao in New Bataan started returning home by 3:00 yesterday afternoon since Sunday’s start of skirmishes between government troopers and communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.

Municipal information officer Marvin Ilajas said in text message that the evacuees who sought temporary refuge at the municipal gym have been returning home after the municipal disaster coordinating council in town declared the Manurigao area as already safe for the evacuees to return.

The evacuees since Monday trickled in to the town poblacion after eight government soldiers were killed in an ambush staged by the NPA rebels.

Ilajas said that during the evacuees’ temporary stay at the municipal gym Mayor Lorenzo Balbin Sr had to shell out funds from their limited resources for the rice, canned goods and other foodstuffs for the large number of evacuees.

He added that the Dept. of Social Welfare and Development, Cong. Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora and Governor Arturo “Chiongkee” Uy had also chipped in provisions for the evacuees.

The military said Monday that the slain soldiers were on a humanitarian mission in the town when ambushed by the NPA rebels.

In emailed statements to the media, Rigoberto Sanchez, a regional spokesman for the New People’s Army (NPA), claimed that the ambushed soldiers were on a military operation and part of a bigger group deployed to track down NPA rebels in the province.

On Monday, NPA rebels launched separate attack to government soldiers in Monkayo resulting to the wouding of trooper Cpl. Robert Cabadocia of 66th Infantry Battalion.

The separate military report said the soldiers were bringing the body of a dead comrade to Sarangani province who died in Friday’s land mine attack when harassed by undetermined number of NPA rebels communists in Olaycon area in Monkayo.

Cpl. Cabadocia was the driver of the vehicle the soldiers were riding when they were ambushed by the NPAs, a military field report said.

The other soldiers on board the truck fired back, triggering a brief firefight with the rebels. However, there were no reports of rebel casualties during the brief gunbattle as the rebels immediately run away to nearby mountain.

Also on Sunday, undetermined number of communist rebels attacked a patrol base of the Army’s Special Forces Battalion in the village of Canidkid in neighboring Montevista town. The defending troops managed to foil the attack, a military field report said.

Col. Alan R. Luga, commanding officer of the Army’s 1003rd Infantry Brigade, is currently leading the big ground operation in “specified targets” of communist lairs in the province, said EastMincom spokesman Maj. Randolf Cabangbang on Monday.(Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News with reports from PNA)

Filed under: comval military, comval npa, new bataan, comval military, comval npa, new bataan

OPINION: Short draft memoirs: Joecab at his loneliest

BLOGISTA
BY Cha Monforte

It was the day after. Jose “Joecab” Caballero was finally defeated- confirmed by humiliating election results. He was then called as phenom- for slaying big political dragons- long-reigning old Davnor politician Gregorio Dujali and he became a vice gov in the then big beautiful undivided country of Davao del Norte; next the Sarmientos- then known as an institution, first the matriarch Dona Luz, then he became the first Comval gov after Comval was separated from Davnor in 1998; next the son politico-economic heir Roger “RMS” in the 2001 gubernatorial toss up, then Joecab got his second term and went straight getting his last term without a hitch knocking off a token candidate suspected to have run for a proxy war within the unified Lakas ticket in 2004.

But for the so much heck of his organized sectors including the kabirs on dispersal binge Joecab’s camp was so much enthralled and so his formidable opposition camp was also so much enthralled of his nine-year rule characterized by a patronage-driven populist programs. They both seemed put in so overblown expectations that on one hand, Joecab got the province’s District 2 for his own congressional bid and put her daughter then Boardmember Kristine for the gubernatorial bid, while on the other hand, the unified opposition ruing against him had all but made an overkill in plugging all holes in skittish electoral campaign against Joecab’s political machinery and logistics which turned out to be only made of so much hoopla and pretensions. Joecab the phenom was overwhelmingly defeated already in the night of May 14, 2007 election day when the first rush of low turn out of votes for him and Kristine started trickling in to his Dragon headquarters. I heard that in the dead of that night his headquarters was already deserted by his lawyers, loyal followers, so-called strategists, so-called planners, so-called propagandists. I was not in the inner circle of them.

In the early morning of May 15, 2007, at around 6:00 A.M. I and Rey Castardo, also an info man, visited Dragon, and there we saw a gloomy pall of light iinside. Joecab had apparently no sleep, also with Kristine and Madam Mimi. Except for Anamei’s pretty, red-eyed PGO ladies who were sipping San Mig light beer perhaps for a drowse or juices in cans, there were already no Rey Pajarito and lots of political CAOs upstairs of Dragon, that building by the church which became the base in erecting the foundations of the Comval provincial government. There were few CAOs downstairs, but reports said the CAOs failed to deliver the goods for the liners while some of them allegedly stashed it for themselves kept pestering as gripes in the rounds. Accordingly, one had already taken an early vacation, while another one had bought a brand new motorcycle. Joecab had as mouthful on dirty politics and massive vote buying.

Seeing our presence supposed meant to troop around to empathize and give our last salute to the man who recruited us in the first place, he directed me to write a PR for ABS-CBN and the Inquirer. I hurried to write a piece from his dictates. When it was made, as usual he made corrections carefully choosing words not as a politician but more as a lawyer. Almost the journalistic PR was mangled by his own legalese words. I couldn’t do otherwise but finalized it, still fine-tuning it within journalese acceptability. And the usual of him as one abante-atras PR chief dawned again on him. He kept the PR close to his chest, reflecting. He was beaten to the draw in post-election news as a sore loser.  The final PR was never faxed to news outlets. Towards the midday when Dragon was at its loneliest, I and Rey Castardo called it quits. We hit the road for home gutom. The End.

Last month at the height of the issue on ZTE deal on Diwalwal, I got a chance to see Joecab, the citizen, for the first time at his Panorama home after that gloomy day for an interview on the issue. He said he has already secured peace as plain citizen and stopped counting his political wounds. “I enjoy being a fulltime father now,” he said adding that for nine years he had been always with the people of Comval. But Joecab even berated me in dragging him to the issue, that he would be summoned (not in legalese usage) in an SP probe-inquiry, and even questioned who am I writing for now. It was just like Cong. Way Kurat last Tuesday for suspecting me to be still loyal to one-way PR conscious Joecab. But by that I got the opportunity to level off with Cong. Way K. For all and sundry, I’m back to fulltime media works after a long interregnum. Chief government propagandists who have been used and out of delicadeza and deference must also bow down to the new power holders and not cling to positions even protected by the CSC.

We were with the defunct Northern Star in the days of the cut-and-paste newspaper layouting, covering Mankilam to as far as the interior Sto. Tomas, Pantukan. Laak, New Bataan and up Diwalwal. Also, the good thing in the media now, Press Sec. Jess Dureza, is that the Internet and cellphone spell a difference in getting and sending facts and news at least expense compared to the past ever-peripatetic days. It’s different now in the media, you can now live by and with it but a story is always made for the love of writing and of the profession, said publisher Bert Gorgonio last April when rice prices skyrocketed. “Gwapo ni kay wa tay mga amo,” he added. But the blood of a writer runs deep in me just like Bert, who also had a stint working in Surigao government. Objectivity and fairness in journalism has always been our constant guide. At the end of the day, it will always be our readers who will judge and sustain us. When we err just like any human, we are humbled by your notice of correction or side as we take your right to reply as sacrosanct to a working press. We just always try and strive to be your real press. (For online edition, visit my blog at: http://cha4t.wordpress.com, e-mail: ruralurbanews@yahoo.com or chamonforte@yahoo.com)

Filed under: cha music, comval, dona luz sarmiento, gregorio dujali, laak, new bataan, pantukan, rey pajarito, roger m sarmiento, sto. tomas davao del norte, cong way kurat zamora, dona luz sarmiento, ex gov joecab caballero, gregorio dujali, roger m sarmiento

OPINION: The agreement

BLOGISTA
By Cha Monforte

Now it can be told that Compostela Valley Vice Gov. Ramil Gentugaya had earlier pledged not to run for Congress. I finally chanced upon Cong. Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora at his base in Compostela town the other day and I got what I’ve long wished from him – to interview him tete-a-tete. To me, it was one of the rarest so I threw questions or lose him again.

There I got news right from the horses’ mouth, and what struck me was his information that VG Ramil, Gov. Chiongkee Uy, Boardmember Maricar and Cong. Way Kurat had already forged a prior agreement to avoid wrangling in the future and this is for VG Ramil to seek for his reelection as vice gov and for BM Maricar to run for the congressional post that his father is finishing to serve until 2010.

“That was the day after we took our oath of office,” Cong. Way Kurat recalled. And “I’ll stick to that (agreement),” he added.

I surfed the net when was really that, and lo, the joint oathtaking of newly elected Comval officials was June 30, 2007 (the twilight sky on that festive day was so colorful compliments of the fireworks display heralding the new administration themed in by Uswag Comval slogan). And so, the Ramil-Maricar-Chiongkee-Way Kurat agreement must be July 1, 2007. (Sorry, in my rush of writing a so good news the other day at an internet café in the interior Compostela town I missed to include the date, especially that a paying time is running against me).

When I reached his base at Compostela, Comval’s most popular politician Way Kurat, for ostensibly putting the province in the country’s map by his down-to-earth, newsworthy scenes and brims, was there in shorts and shirts calling up the Singapore embassy chancellor in Manila to help a distressed Comvalenya from Barangay Ngan, Compostela who was earlier imprisoned there but who could no longer be contacted by her relatives. The Singaporean official Cong. Way Kurat called as “my friend” pledged to help.

Things are revealing now particularly when reports were heard for sometime  that the governor had confided to several Lakas partymates and allies about his difficulties in walking in a tightrope just to keep the Comval unity surging given that he had already a prior commitment to BM Maricar. Ostensibly, this must be the continuation of the Cong. Way Kurat’s revelation that the governor has already “said his piece” and “Maricar is his choice”.

Cong. Way Kurat must have been optimistic still that the fortified Lakas-CMD would remain united with a powerhouse unity slate and that for the present running tiff between VG Ramil and BM Maricar over his post to end.  “The solution was already made,” he said referring to that July 1, 2007 agreement. He quipped that after I offered a scenario of BM Maricar running for the vice governor’s post and him for Compostela mayoral post, to keep the peace. It’s no-no, but for a win-win, VG Ramil must stick to the agreement.

But verily, Cong. Way Kurat is quite confident that VG Ramil will honor the agreement. “He is a good gentleman who has a word of honor… as well as the governor.” He knew VG Ramil too much, “from a good boy to a good man ….to a good politician and good leader in the province.”

With modesty, the congressman said that he molded VG Ramil in his political career starting when he was still the SK federation honcho after BM Maricar’s SK stint in the erstwhile undivided Davao del Norte. No wonder that the VG in his 2004 inaugural speech at Nabunturan Compre gym singled out and paid tribute to Way K with words as “my idol, my mentor”. That was the time when Gob. CK was first elected as a BM allied with ex-Gob. Joecab who defeated a token gubernatorial bet Trino Tirol.

From that interview, I also learned that the congressman and Monkayo Mayor Manuel “Junjun” Brillantes have no running feud between them and that they are seeing eye to eye and with a twosome of them leveling off . And that’s a far cry compared to the vice governor talking to the mayor only with a group, he said. But maybe the congressman is referring to the Friday Club at Marco. BM Maricar, too, is accordingly in constant communication with the mayor’s brother Lito and sister Olaycon Kapitana, Diel. I stand too apprised and updated now, thanks, but for a couple of weeks or so, I’ll wait for VG’s statement after the honeymoon with his beauteous, intelligent, Unilab executive better half- Joanna Ang-Gentugaya.

BLOGBUZZ: We still have to hear news after the scheduled meeting of the provincial directorate of Lakas-CMD in  Comval. Its chair is the governor, being the provncial Lakas chairman, with the other officers: vice chair- District 2 Cong. Rommel “Bobong” Amatong, secretary- BM Maricar, treasurer- VG Ramil, and the chairmen of the 5 committees held by Cong. Way K, Compostela Mayor Rey Castillo, New Bataan Mayor Lorenzo “Boy” Balbin, Nabunturan Mayor Macario “Dodong” Humol,    and Laak Mayor Rey “Reynab” Navarro, and provincial elder Pros Amatong as a member emeritus with also 1 vote like the rest…. Heard from the rounds after the NBI raid on the suspected culprit establishment where the UM Tagum sex scandal was camcorded. A lass just informed me, “Kuya di man to sex toy penis sa sex scandal nga na-mention nimo sa imong series of news ato, but a plastic container of Her Bench lotion.” I thought that Bench is only known of selling branded shirts and polos. For that, Bench company should better review the forms of its product containers at the risk of selling unwanted objects that someone may hold dear. (For online edition, visit my blog at: http://cha4t.wordpress.com, email: ruralurbanews@yahoo.com, or chamonforte@yahoo.com)

Filed under: boardmember maricar zamora-apsay, brillantes, compostela, comval congressmen, comval officials, comval politics, comval unity, cong way kurat zamora, cong. bobong amatong, congressman rommel amatong, laak mayor rey navarro, maricar apsay, new bataan, new bataan mayor lorenzo balbin, ramil gentugaya, ramil gentugaya wedding, trino tirol, vice governor ramil gentugaya, way kurat, way kurat zamora, boardmember maricar zamora-apsay, gov. chiongkee uy, nbi tagum tagum sex scandal, provincial elder pros amatong, tagum sex scandal update, tagum sex video scandal, vice gov ramil gentugaya