Eco-tourism has been the new wave or the new culture that the Philippine government has trying to imbibe in restoring and maintaining world-class tourism. Nonetheless, before it has been totally implemented in the department of tourism, as far as I can remember, the province of Palawan already reflected this kind of culture and attitude in making their place locally and globally competitive.
That has been the literal Spanish translation of Puerto Princesa according to the official website of Puerto Princesa City. Legend has it that there was once a princess with rare beauty roamed around the bay during night time, thus the name 'Puerto Princesa' was attributed. Other stories claimed, however, the reason for its name was because of the place's geographic value as a harbor or port, being naturally sheltered by unfriendly weather the whole year and a suitable deepness for those ships to anchor during that time and thus the description 'Princes of Ports' was given (in Spanish, ‘Puerto Princesa’).
I was a first (1st) year in high school student when I was able to be at Palawan. It was our school’s annual Summer Camping that time and I was so excited because that was the first time I boarded a 'real' big ferry. It was definitely 'Super'! I thought I did not need any medication for sea sickness, but when the boat started to move away from Manila port, I seemed that my world was literally turning upside-down. I really thanked God for the fast relief that time. It took almost half a day before we found our vessel in the ports of Palawan and indeed it was so different from the port where we came from.
During that time, we were surprised that there were a lot of divers making a living in the port itself. What made us be amazed of these divers was the fact that they were swimming in the harbor and we could never have had imagined it could possibly happen at the ports of Manila! These divers made a living by amusing tourists that if one of us throws a coin to the sea they would try to 'dive' for it!
When we arrived at Puerto Princesa City, we were welcomed by the bishop of Palawan (a proud alumnus of our institution) and we stayed at his place for the next day before totally camping out at Mount St. Paul. As first timers, many of us prepared for the camp and at the same time explored the city as we roamed around the place.
It was in Puerto Princesa that I first saw a signed board that prohibited 'spitting' in the city streets. Natives were so disciplined and the whole place was definitely a paradise! It was incomparable to the busy streets of Metro Manila. During that time, my classmates and I were talking about the place's 'charisma' as if the city placed us under its spell and all we could say were words of admiration and wonder. The only regret that we had was we never had that much documentation as per taking some photos of the place. It was absolutely a very wonderful experience for us!
Palawan was not yet through in giving us reasons to admire her wonders. When we went to Mount St. Paul, our Boy Scout master and leaders told us that we were going to hike to reach our campsite. I was very excited that time because, again, it would be my first time to really get 'in touch' with Mother Nature, as I hiked through Mount St. Paul. It was tiring and at the same time memorable experience for me. We stayed for almost five (5) days in camp, but it was indeed unforgettable. In those five (5) short days, we were able to appreciate sky or star gazing because the place was really away from the usual city lights. That was the time I saw a ‘shooting star’ and it was amazing! We never missed during our stay hiking our way to a very good swimming spot where we swam with big tides to our delight!
The camp was designed for us to know and to be trained in the ways of a Boy Scout. For these reason, we were never treated as a 'tourist' that everything was available in one click. Nonetheless, it could be arranged though, if you visit the place as a tourist. For us, we were Boy Scouts to be trained and at the same time learn to appreciate nature. In order for us to enjoy the wonders of the underground river of Palawan, we needed to take a hike again through what they called that time the 'Monkey Trail'. Living by the given name, the trail was indeed for monkeys freely roaming around because without the structure in which we were threading, we cannot be at the underground river, and only monkeys could jump from one rock to another to get to the other side. There was another way though, and it was through the bay boarding a small motor boat.
We were all exhausted when we reached the entrance of the underground river, but after a hearty lunch and few time of rest, again, we were back in action. After gearing up some safety paraphernalia, we boarded a small motor craft and entered our way through the cave’s opening. As soon as darkness enveloped us, the strong carbide lamps by the tourist guide illuminated a particular spot in the cave as they explained its significance. The most remarkable sight I had in this place was when the guide explained some sort of 'cathedral' or 'church' inside the river as they attributed religious figures to stalactite and stalagmite formations.
Before we left our campsite, we were given a sort of talk or conversation about caring for Mother Nature. It was then that I realized that even in my young age, I could contribute and do my share preserving the wonders of nature. I also realized that it was really possible for us to make a difference in caring for Mother Nature. As a final note, the official caretaker of Mount St. Paul prophesized that Palawan would be known because of the wonders Mother Nature had bestowed for them and it was up for the locals how they would act in order for them to thank Mother Nature by caring these wonders. Indeed, the custodian was correct Puerto Princesa or Palawan has been truly a 'City in the Forest and Sports Tourism Capital of the Philippines'!
Whenever I hear the word or the place Iloilo, there are two (2) things that linger in my mind. These two beings had been key persons in the history of the Philippines. One of them had been born and died during the establishment of Philippines independence. The other person had literally made 'revolutions' for the benefit of the Filipino people. Though they were born in different timelines in the course of Philippine history, yet they had some commonality or parallelism in a way or two.
This guy never let his family's poverty had its way for him to learn and be a keystone for the Filipino Propagandistas during the Spanish Revolt. At a young age, he was under the care of a friar since his parents had been financially challenged. He entered the seminary at a young age and had become the secretary of his uncle (an honorary vice consul of Portugal in Iloilo). Nonetheless, his priestly formation had been halted after his parents were convinced of his ambition of being a doctor. Because of some technicalities in his qualification, he was denied enrollment and was instead assigned or appointed in a hospital as an apprentice or a novice. Unfortunately, due to his parent’s lack of fund, he was forced to return to Iloilo and practiced medicine in local communities instead.
As Lopez-Jaena practiced medicine in his hometown, he was made aware of the injustices of the Spanish regime during those days. His awareness led him to write 'Fray Botod'-a satirical account of ill-mannered friar that made use of religious approach though his acts were contradictory to what he was preaching. This angered religious leaders during those days and had threatened his very existence. This publication had been a turning point of his revolutionary life and was forced to sail for Spain in 1879. In Spain, he met Jose P. Rizal and Marcelo H. del Pilar and founded the Propaganda movement. This triumvirate had produced the 'La Solidaridad'-a sort of a newspaper trying to uplift and consolidate the Filipino passion of having a sort of sovereignty and a sense of equality as humans. His talents in literature and politics were manifested through his speeches especially when he was at Spain. He died in Spain and was buried in an unmarked grave. His remains, unfortunately, was never brought back to the Philippines. His legacy would be remembered as a literary contributor to the propaganda movement through La Solidaridad and as its editor.
Jaime Lachica Sin or for the devout Catholics in the Philippines, he was the late Jaime Cardinal Sin. His Chinese lineage was from his father Juan Sin. His mother Maxima Lachica was of Aklanon descent. As a young boy, like Graciano Lopez-Jaena, he entered the same seminary, St.Vincent Ferrer Seminary and unlike Lopez-Jaena, he eventually finished his studies and was ordained priest.
The life of Cardinal Sin had been an exemplar of what a real Christ should be. As the appointed Archbishop of Manila, he was aware of the abuses of the present government. Being a spiritual leader and a citizen of the Philippines he was compelled to act against the fraud and corruption that had been going on during those days. He played a major role of ousting the Philippines' then head of the state by encouraging Filipinos not to be afraid by going out in the streets to end the dictatorship of the present administration in a peaceful and prayerful manner. This historical event had caught the world by surprised since it was a series of nonviolent demonstrations in the Philippines main road EDSA (or Epifanio de los Santos Avenue) until the present leader then vacated the seat of power and installed a new state leader (Corazon Cojuangco Aquino) in 1986.
Since then, Cardinal Sin had been actively voicing out his views regarding current or occurring issues that affect the Philippines as a whole. Many of his critics vented out about the separation of the church and state (actually, many of Filipinos have a wrong notion of this 'separation'. The real essence of this statement is all about pinpointing an official religion of the state). Nonetheless, as a Christian and a Filipino he knew his role to uphold the right and made sure moral decisions were prioritized.
Iloilo must have been much honored to have this 'heroes' originated in this blessed place. These personalities had been a symbol of patriotism and instruments of change for the better. Sin and Lopez-Jaena could never have been the champions for Filipino people as simple as it seemed. Rather, it was their choice that made them great making both of them archetypes of selflessness.