The Ultimate Filipino Road Trip In An RV

Wazzup Pilipinas!

If the 120,000 miles of pristine coastlines don’t sell an epic road trip in the Philippines to you, then perhaps the misty mountains and tropical interior will. For travelers, booking a stay in a tropical paradise is one way to experience the lushness of this memorable destination. But there is another way to take it all in, and that is by taking on the long and winding roads in an RV. So pack the snacks and store away the breakables, the archipelago is waiting.


Explore Baguio City To Sagada

While there’s only 80km between these two cities, the scenery is well worth the effort. Consider camping midway to enjoy the undulating scenery as rustic scenery unfolds into a mountainous splendor. This is a road trip where camping on the side of the road to admire the scenery below is a must, and sunrises are worth the stop-over. While Mines View Park offers visitors a great vantage point from the lookout point, it’s just a few kilometers outside Baguio City and travelers are encouraged to explore a bit more. Once in Sagada, visitors can enjoy a day out traversing hilly terrain in a quest for the perfect photo opportunity or spelunking nearby caves.


Beach Resort Hopping On The East Coast

If you’re looking to start your journey in Manila and work your way down to Calatagan, the stops along the way are perfect for endless summer days spent on the beach. The distance is just under 100 kilometers, and along the way, travelers can expect lush tropical beach sites such as Canyon Cove Beach Club, La Primavera Beach Resort, and Stilts Calatagan Beach Resort. Those who don’t necessarily want to fork out the extra cash to stay over at the resorts and prefer to enjoy the amenities as day visitors can stock up their RVs at any of the little towns along the way. It is a good idea to equip RVs with onboard water treatment facilities and solar energy, as not all stops are as well equipped, which compels RV owners to live entirely off the grid.


A Gastronomical Delight

While sights and entertainment play an important part in planning the perfect road trip, another element worth exploring is satisfying those hunger pangs. The province of Pampanga is known as the belly of the Philippines and its quest to become the culinary epicenter of at least the Luzon Island is well underway. But food is not the only thing this province has to offer, as Mount Arayat also happens to be a delightful addition to an itinerary. Apart from providing the perfect backdrop to memorable photos, it also happens to provide lush trails for hikers. The location is quite remote, which makes an RV ideal accommodation.

It won’t take long to explore an entire Filipino island, but that doesn’t mean that travelers won’t have an amazing time doing so. With an RV, a scenic road trip becomes a sublime memory as travelers get to pause at each destination without worries about check-in times and public transport schedules.

Instituto Cervantes' Director General García Montero Arrives in Manila to Close an Exhibition and Present a Book on Spanish Poet Miguel Hernández

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Instituto Cervantes' Director General García Montero arrives in Manila to close an exhibition and present a book on Spanish poet Miguel Hernández

On 16 September 2019, The Undersecretary and Director General of Instituto Cervantes, Luis García Montero, will be arriving from Spain to grace the closing ceremony of the exhibit “Miguel Hernández: In Broad Daylight” at the Intramuros branch of Instituto Cervantes.

García Montero is a poet himself who has won several awards for his works (El jardín extranjero, Habitaciones separadas, La intimidad de la serpiente). He is also a Literature professor who has produced scholarly research and works on Miguel Hernández.

The exhibition, inaugurated last 25 July at the Exhibit Room of Instituto Cervantes, was organized by the Diputación de Jaén (Provincial Government of Jaén) in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the poet’s death. In 2018, the exhibit began its international tour, visiting London, Manchester, New York, Chicago and Dublin. After Manila, the exhibit will be heading to Toulouse and Paris. Being the only Asian city in the international tour of the exhibit, Manila had already been marked as an obligatory destination since the library of Instituto Cervantes Manila is named after the famous Spanish writer.

Born in 1910 in the town of Orihuela in Alicante, Spain, Miguel Hernández was a self-taught poet highly influenced by the classics of the Spanish Golden Age. His book El rayo que no cesa (1936) made him famous in the poetry circles of Madrid, where he had moved to try his luck as a poet. In the capital of Spain he became a friend of Pablo Neruda and had contacts with some members of the literary movement "Generation of 1927", like García Lorca and Vicente Aleixandre. The Civil War did not disrupt his literary career and in fact, during this time, he published Viento del pueblo (1937) and El hombre acecha (1938). After the war, he was arrested and put in jail, where he died in 1942.

Centering on Hernández as an icon of poetry, the exhibit, curated by poet and literary critic Juan José Téllez, offers a glimpse of his life through photographs and digital copies of his works and various documents. The collection also contains original pieces, such as book editions, and facsimiles of manuscripts and letters from the legacy of Miguel Hernández --acquired by the Diputación de Jaén through the writer’s heirs.

Book launching

During the closing ceremony, Instituto Cervantes and De La Salle University will launch the book “Una querencia tengo por tu acento: Four Filipino Writers in Search of Miguel Hernández”. The book launching will be presented by its four authors, namely, Dr. Vicente Garcia Groyon, Dr. Marjorie Evasco, Mr. Joselito Zulueta and Ms. Jessica Zafra.

In this publication, the four Filipino writers recount their experiences in various places in Spain relevant to the prominent Spanish poet. Novelist Vicente Garcia Groyon composes a portrait of Miguel Hernández and highlights the significance of his work, through interviews and visits to the key places in the poet’s life. Marjorie Evasco, on the other hand, recalls aspects of the peculiar and intense journey in translating the poetry of Miguel Hernández into English. For his part, journalist and writer Lito Zulueta talks about Hernández’s works from a different angle, attempting to connect classical literary tradition which had inspired the poet, to the turbulent period in which he lived, and linking the events of that era to contemporary historical events of the Philippines. Lastly, Jessica Zafra’s essay dwells on the danger of oblivion and underlines the importance of preserving “places of memory”, enriching the panoply of Hernandian places by incorporating the city of Jaen, where the poet’s legacy is safeguarded, as well as Quesada, where his wife Josefina Manresa was born. Complementing the essays of the four Filipino writers are contributions from two Spanish authors, Guillermo Carnero and Jesucristo Riquelme.

This book is an initiative of Instituto Cervantes and is published by the De La Salle Publishing House, in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Fundación Miguel Hernández, Diputación de Jaén, Fundación Legado Miguel Hernández and Turespaña, with the support of Rotary Club Orihuela and Turkish Airlines.

The Exhibit Room of Instituto Cervantes de Manila is located in San Luis Complex, Intramuros, Manila. Entrance to the exhibit is for free. For further information, please visit the website of Instituto Cervantes at http://manila.cervantes.es and its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila

MARINA Conducts Anew Campaign on Rights of Sea Passengers

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) conducted another information awareness campaign on the rights of sea passengers in cases of cancelled, delayed, and/or uncompleted voyages at the Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) in Cebu City today, 05 September 2019.

The campaign, which was formally launched at the Port of Batangas in Batangas City on 11 April 2019, targets to inform sea passengers of their rights, as well as shipping operators of their obligations in cases of trips at sea that cause inconvenience to the riding public.

Through the campaign, the MARINA also ensured the protection of sea passengers against inefficient shipping services, as well as for the promotion of their welfare and safety.

Assistant Secretary Kim Raisa Uy of the Office of the Executive Secretary fully supported the campaign, which is line with the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to provide convenience, safety, and security to the riding public. "

MARINA Deputy Administrator for Operations (DAO) Nannette Villamor – Dinopol graced the campaign where she emphasized the importance of awareness of sea passengers on their rights.

“Now that we are on the first 'ber' month which signals the start of the Christmas season in the country, we replicated the campaign in Luzon here in Visayas, and next month in Mindanao – for we believe that a nationwide approach to information dissemination yields better and more meaningful impact to our stakeholders,” DAO Villamor-Dinopol said.

For his part, Mr. Alexander Cohon of the Philippine Coastwise Shipping Association (PCSA) expressed their support to the initiatives of the government in uplifting the welfare and safety of the sea passengers.

“It is with gratitude that we accept the challenge of MARINA to offer more comfortable and more convenient transportation services to the riding public. Together with the shipping operators of Cebu, we commit to work hand-in-hand with the government to uphold the rights of our sea passengers in cases of cancelled, delayed, and/or uncompleted voyages,” Cohon said.

Participating government agencies included the Office of the Executive Secretary under the Office of the President, Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) – Cebu, Philippine National Police Maritime Group (PNP-MG) and the Department of Tourism (DOT) – Cebu.

Private stakeholders including the Philippine Coastwise Shipping Association (PCSA), Lite Shipping Corporation, Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corporation, Roble Shipping Incorporated, and Asian Marine Transport Corporation also supported the activity.


Rights of Sea Passengers

Under the campaign, the MARINA emphasizes that sea passengers of a cancelled or delayed voyage have the right to information, as well as the right to refund or right to revalidation of their tickets.

If the sea passengers choose to revalidate their tickets, they may also avail of the right to amenities such as snacks or meals and free accommodation if deemed necessary, while waiting for their rescheduled trip.

The MARINA also clarifies that the right to compensation of sea passengers for a cancelled or delayed voyage applies only if the free accommodation is not practicable for the shipping operator.

Meanwhile, sea passengers of an uncompleted voyage have the right to information, right to amenities, right to compensation, as well as the right to be transported to their destination.

The MARINA notes that the rights of sea passengers are absolutely applicable only if the causes of cancelled, delayed, or uncompleted voyage are attributable to the shipping operator.

The riding public is encouraged to read the MARINA Circular 2018-07 for the terms and conditions of the rights of sea passengers that may be accessed at the official MARINA website (marina.gov.ph).

Passengers are also encouraged to report non-compliance of shipping operators by filing a complaint through these contact details: 0995 400 7336 or +632 521 804.