Provincial beauty (Businessworld)

First appeared in the Aug 7, 2014 issue of Businessworld. Click here for the original story 

Special thanks to family for bringing us around and opening our eyes to the beautiful lass that is Negros occiental.

Text and photos by Jennee Grace U. Rubrico

Provincial beauty

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Negros Occidental greets its visitors with a sunrise that paints the sky pink and purple, and sugarcane plantations that turn both sides of the highway into seas of green. Its people speak in soft voices, their inflection melodious, and one wonders if they ever get into a fight.

One of the rivers in Mambukal where bathing is allowed.

The breeze ruffles the trees and blows some of the summer heat away, and makeshift one-room houses with earthen floors and a Singer sewing machine still stand in subdivisions, beside mansions with multi-car garages.

Its capital city of Bacolod, known for its chicken inasal, pastries, and the Masskara festival, is opening up and hosting new malls and peak hour traffic along Lacson Street, its main thoroughfare. Bars make for a lively nightlife in a section of the city, while on parcels of land farther away, the state of its economy is seen in new villages being built by the country’s biggest real estate companies.

But even on the cusp of urbanization, Negros Occidental holds on to quaint provincial pursuits. And like the refined country lass that it is, Negros Occidental does not flaunt its beauty, choosing instead to let suitors discover for themselves its many attractions.

ROMANCE IN THE RUINS
In Talisay City, less than an hour away from Bacolod, stand the ruins of a mansion that hints at the opulence in which the landed gentry lived. Story has it that The Ruins, which is touted as the Taj Mahal of Negros, was built by sugar baron Don Mariano Lacson for his first wife, the Portuguese Maria Braga.

To see it up close is to know why a skeleton of what was once an elegant home that was burned down by the US Air Force in World War II could draw so many visitors -- and catch the eye of the makers of a local teleserye about star-crossed lovers who are born and raised in an hacienda. The multi-storey structure, which looks more like an unfinished building than a victim of arson, bewitches at dusk with its Italianate architecture and egg-white glossed neo-Romanesque pillars.

In one wing on the ground floor, a glass chandelier hangs from the ceiling, belying the extent of the damage done by the fire on the building’s integrity. Although the floor is cracked, the staircases are intact, and the sections are held in place by intricate columns.

Sky Ride at Campuestuhan

The second storey, where a belvedere is located -- to allow the owner of the mansion to gaze at his property, according to the tour guide -- the damage dealt on the building is more telling. At the landing, a section of the floor that is covered in plastic indicates renovation work and only allows for a path that is about a foot wide for people to walk through. The cement floor is broken in places and when a girl jumped off a raised platform after her picture was taken, the building shook.

From the vantage point, the grounds and a classical fountain that has been fronting the building since the 1920s evoke romance. How many parties have the grounds hosted? How many dalliances has the fountain seen in the 90-odd years it has stood there?

The building itself holds a secret that betrays the owner’s affection for his wife -- on the pillars that hold it up, M’s that are rotated sideways to face each other are embossed. The initials are said to be Don Mariano’s way of showing his love for Maria.

HIGHLAND ADVENTURES
Talisay knows how to have a good time, being home to a mountain resort that offers fun and adventures for children of all ages. Campuestuhan Highlands is a carnival for kids, complete with playgrounds, park rides and swimming pools. For the adventurous, a suite of outdoor activities covering an obstacle course, horseback riding, zip line, and canopy walk are available. Those who require an extra boost of adrenalin can try mounting a bike and cycling on a tightrope with the Sky Ride.

The squeals of delight may drown out Campuestuhan’s quiet grace, but those who pause to take in the view of the mountains that abut the property on one side and the valley that stretches out on the other are blessed with a glimpse of the resort’s substance. Wait for that magic hour before sunset, and on the platform for the canopy walk, see the property bathed in diffused orange light that brings out the inner radiance of everything it touches. This, along with the breeze that blows feathery kisses on the face, makes the stretches of dirt road one needs to maneuver to get to the resort worth the effort.

TOUGH TREK
Meanwhile, an hour’s ride down a road through sugarcane fields on a well-maintained highway would take one to the foot of the dormant volcano Mt Kanlaon, where a sanctuary of a different kind rests. Mambukal Resort is a natural showcase of 12 waterfalls that requires stamina, determination and sense of humor to explore.

The ruins of the mansion of sugar baron Don Mariano Lacson, also known as the Taj Mahal of Negros.

The mountain trek starts out difficult for beginners and only becomes more challenging, but those who embark on it can turn back at any time. Sometime after setting out, a suspicion that the waterfalls serve more as markers of progress rather than the destination for the journey sneaks into the mind. From the base of the trail, where guides are available to assist adventurers, to the first waterfall takes 10 minutes for the moderately fit, more for the sedentary. To climb all the way to the 12th waterfall would take three hours, according to the estimates of John Rey, our guide.

Between the second and the third waterfalls, the trail turns into an obstacle course that requires arm and core strength, smarts and a healthy dose of self-depreciation to get through. The gaps between the footholds are too wide, and arms are needed to pull one’s weight to close them. Looking like a monkey that has just started learning to swing on trees while navigating the section is not only allowed, it is likely.

The trek is on rocky ground lined with boulders, with the mountain on one side and a continuous flow of bodies of water on the other. It has a slope that starts out benign and turns into a challenge to the mind and body by the third waterfall. But it is worth enduring not only for the satisfaction that comes from measuring up against nature, but also for the song of the brook that accompanies the trekker, the serenity that the waterfalls offers, the trees that rise from the walls of the mountain, and the rejuvenating pools that are sprinkled with stones piled to look like people to ward off the spirits.

For those who cannot rough it, Mambukal’s vantage area for bat watching allows visitors to be mesmerized by the normally nocturnal flying mammals the way a certain ancient vampiric count with the same disposition placed ladies under his spell.

Restoration can be found in the resort spa and the dipping pools that draw water from the volcano’s hot springs. But heed the warning of the closed off section that cautions visitors of sulphurous boiling mud -- it has been known to burn the intrepid.

Drive out of the resort at sundown to be blessed with evening grace in a horizon that is bathed by the sun’s last rays. Be humbled and inspired.

Like a lady who knows her worth, Negros Occidental does not draw attention to itself. Only those who pursue it would realize that the sunrise of bursting colors that greet them when they hit Negros airspace, and the sun-kissed fields of sugarcane that wave to them on the highway are but the beginning of a journey into beauty.

Bohol, as the dust settles (BusinessWorld)

Posted on 07:01 PM, July 17, 2014

First published in the July 19, 2014 issue of BusinessWorld.  Click here for original article

Special thanks go to my sister-in-law's family's hospitality, and to her father for driving us around. Without such hospitality, this story would not have been possible. 

By Jennee Grace U. Rubrico

Bohol, as the dust settles

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The broken highways, damaged hotels and the rubble that centuries-old heritage buildings have been reduced to continue to bear witness to the devastation wrought by what the Bol-anons dub kinagrabihan -- the worst catastrophe to hit Bohol in recent history.

Damage caused by last year’s earthquake to the Church of San Pedro in the town Loboc, Bohol. -- AFP

Eight months after the magnitude 7.2 temblor hit the island on Oct. 15, 2013, workers continue to sift through the ruins of Spanish-era churches that had been held together by a mortar of egg white, arranging and labelling stones based on the sections they occupied in the places of worship in an effort to save what they can of the landmarks that helped secure for Bohol a prominent place in the annals of Philippine history and tourism.

“We have not yet been able to take out the multicab under the rubble in front,” a worker at the ruins of the flattened Loon Church -- the biggest in Visayas and Mindanao before it collapsed -- says in the vernacular. “We also cannot move those pillars,” he adds, pointing to wooden columns at the center of the closed-off property that can be reached through a highway that has been rerouted due to rehabilitation work on impassable roads.

“They’re so big, machinery will be needed. We don’t even know how they placed those when this was being built. They’re too heavy for people to carry.”

Behind the ruins of the church that is said to have taken all of three minutes to crumble, locals who have built temporary shelters beside fallen houses point to sink holes that swallowed entire classrooms then spit out sulphuric mud that skinned the soles of their feet.

“We cannot rebuild, because we have been told that the area is still dangerous,” the mother of the barangay captain says.

She points to the ocean behind the homes. “The land has risen, the sea has receded, and there are many cracks on the sea floor. Ninety per cent of our livelihood here is fishing, but fishermen don’t want to push to sea because they are afraid that the cracks will suck them in.”

In the neighboring town of Maribojoc as well as in the towns of Loboc and Baclayon, churches, their belfries and stone buildings in different states of ruin are similarly awaiting a verdict on their future.

“We don’t really know what they plan to do with the church,” a local from Maribojoc who was at the site of what was the San Vicente Church said. “They’re gathering the stones, but we don’t know if it will be rebuilt here or in a different location.”

In the capital city of Tagbilaran, where hotels are renovating, the capitol building stands with a partially collapsed wall at its right wing.

Locals involved in tourism note that the toll that the industry took from the earthquake was aggravated by the effects of Typhoon Haiyan, whose impact in the neighboring island of Leyte affected power supply for Bohol.

“The power outage meant that hotels would not have air-conditioning. It was too hot for tourists, and the hotels could not afford generators,” says a local whose trade is to drive tourists around Bohol’s landmarks and attractions.

The devastation can be gut-wrenching. But in the midst of the ruins, the island’s beauty and hope shine through.

Villagers of Maribojoc, Bohol island use bamboo ladders to cross a bridge that was toppled by the 7.2 magnitude quake that hit the area on Oct. 15, 2013. -- AFP

On a Friday afternoon, mass is being heard at the partially damaged Tagbilaran cathedral, whose left wing is covered in scaffolding. Worshippers in office clothes approach the portal, make the sign of the cross, and join in as the congregation sings the hymn. At the plaza fronting it, squealing children chase pigeons around, oblivious to their parents’ call to prepare to head home.

In Carmen, the Chocolate Hills that were eroded by the temblor are now back in shape, and the viewing platform, though much smaller than it used to be and a lot more dangerous, has been cleared of debris and is now accessible.

Even with the bell that used to tower over the platform now standing mute on the ground, the pride of Bohol remains stunning in the sunset, with the fog that envelops the hills creating a mystical aura that transcends disasters natural and man-made.

The Tarsier sanctuary has also kept its appeal. The world’s smallest primate continue to evoke fascination, if not affection, from visitors, ensuring that while they have yet to draw back the many guests who used to drop by, it would only be a matter of time before they will have done so.

And behind Loboc’s gutted church, river cruises continue to operate. On a chilly evening, a coconut-shaped barge plies the river from a jetty in Loay, in search of fireflies.

The insects, when they choose to appear, sparkle in the void, making for both an eerie and fascinating sight, and one may be inclined to think the area enchanted. Adding to the experience are sightings of gleaming egrets that roost on trees, and the sumptuous native food that provides onboard nourishment.

Panglao’s beaches remain pristine and rejuvenating. On a sunny morning at the Dolphin Sanctuary near Balicasag Island, a dozen motorized outriggers sit on azure waters, waiting for the cetacean mammals to appear. Tourists aboard the vessels look around with bated breath, afraid to disturb the very rhythm of the water and scare off the creatures.

Minutes later, a pod of six or seven dolphins bob in and out of the ocean, and the spectators erupt in cheers for what will turn out to be the first of many groups to make an appearance.

Not everyone is impressed. “I expected them to skim the water with their tails and balance balls on their noses,” someone says.

Some feel pity for the dolphins that are being pursued by the boats as soon as they are sighted, although others argue that the creatures must like the attention, or they would not swim so close to the boats.

A snorkelling expedition in the same waters traces the edges of an underwater cliff and showcases the wonders of marine life. Sea creatures of all shapes, colors and sizes swim around the coral reef, which is an explosion of hues against the ocean’s deep shades of blue.

The guide signals, and everyone stops to look down -- many feet below, where the waters are purple, a sea turtle swims, oblivious to the excitement its appearance has caused.

The sun rises over boats in Panglao island in Bohol. -- AFP

The group passes three divers who are exploring the abyss several feet away from the cliff’s edge. Later, the guide directs everyone away from the open sea and closer to the reef, where three giant oysters are resting with their shells open. The guide dives and touches one, and it clams up instantly.

Someone asks for permission to follow suit. “Don’t put your hand near the orifice. There’s a very good chance you will lose it,” the guide warns.

The experience stirs a desire in each individual to take up diving. To witness such beauty is a privilege.

The boat drops anchor on Balicasag Island, and tourists navigate rocky ground to unpack picnic baskets, rest, and swim in the coral filled sea. The smell of grilled fish permeates in the sea breeze and for a moment, life’s little issues are blown away.

On the far end of the island, an East Asian woman takes pictures as her two children play in the water, while in a hut, three white men in beach shorts take a break from the ocean.

A vendor of accessories comes to peddle her wares. After minutes of haggling, the price of two mother-of-pearl necklace-bracelet-earrings sets is halved and a trade is made.

“Salamat kaayo (Thank you so much),” the vendor says. “Kamo pa jod ang among buena mano (You were the first sale we’ve made).”

When the boat lifts anchor a few hours later, it is to set out to Virgin Island, a sandbar off Panglao. On the strip of sand that is visible in the ebbing tide, a buko (young coconut) vendor reveals the secret of the starfish to a clueless visitor as others frolic under overcast clouds and watch a jellyfish and sea urchin fight in seaweed-covered waters.

As dusk settles and staying out at sea is no longer feasible, Panglao offers its coastal beaches. With its placid waters, picture-perfect beach and a cotton candy sunset, the Dumaluan Beach Resort entices weary frolickers into its shores. There are videoke rooms for those who wish to relax to music, but if they end up being occupied, a musician with a harp goes around the cottages, playing classic tunes for change, to pipe in a festive vibe to the tranquil setting.

The serenity of the night brings to mind an earlier conversation with the locals of Balicasag Island. As batik-painted clothing billow in the wind outside a sari-sari store that sells snacks and water to tourists, a woman manning the store looks out to the ocean before offering a glimpse of the catastrophes’ impact on Bohol’s tourism.

“There was a time after the incidents when tourists did not arrive in the island at all,” she says. “Now, it really is not the same since the earthquake and Yolanda, but at least we are seeing some visitors coming back.”

- See more at: http://www.bworldonline.com/weekender/content.php?id=91107#sthash.QHUDtVFJ.dpuf

Villa Escudero: Glamorizing country life (BusinessWorld

Written for BusinessWorld Weekender, published May 16, 2014. Click here for original article

Travel & Tourism

Posted on 06:18 PM, May 15, 2014

Text and Photos By Jennee Grace U. Rubrico

Villa Escudero: Glamorizing country life

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IT IS a place where buffalo rides are comfortable, feasts are held beside a child-friendly waterfall, and guests can dip their feet in a stream on a hot day without worrying about getting bitten by mosquitoes or other bugs.

(from top)LABASIN LAKE, where guests can go bamboo rafting; the facade of the AERA Museum, which is built to look like a church and Who’s Sexy, the cart or the carabao? One of the buffalo-pulled carts used in Villa Escudero to transport guests.

Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort, a tourist destination south of Manila, gets up to 1,000 visitors a day during peak season for glamorizing country living.

The lack of gilded gates to announce the property’s presence sets the stage for the Villa Escudero show, the easy-to-miss wooden sign by the highway that points to the dusty road leading to the plantation drawing guests deeper into the charade.

In Villa Escudero, the “carabao ride” does away with the leathery-hide-against-seat-of-the-pants experience in favor of the classier and infinitely more pleasant roofed-cart-with-cushioned-seats variety.

It sprinkles a dash of romance into the frenzy of the barrio fiesta by moving the festivities out of the house and into an aquatic setting. Visitors set plates laden with Filipino food down on tables which rise from a pool filled with ankle-deep water that is cool to the feet and teeming with fish small enough to delight toddlers. The man-made waterfall that children bathe in and lovers use as a background for selfies, mushy or otherwise, looms over the revelry.

It is this promise of a fun, hassle-free time in a rustic setting that gained the 40-hectare resort -- carved out of a 300-hectare coconut plantation at the border of Laguna and Quezon provinces -- its reputation as a popular destination for unwinding.

Leaving Quezon City at 7:30 a.m. on a Friday got my group of four adults, a one-year-old toddler and a three-month-old infant to the plantation at noon -- just in time for lunch at the waterfall.

After being met with a welcome drink of sago’t gulaman by a lady wearing a tapis, we went on a short ride to the lunch venue on Sexy -- though it was not clear if the name/adjective pertained to the spacious cart which looked like a jeepney without an engine, or to the robust albino buffalo pulling it, because while both looked handsome, neither was particularly alluring. The coachman said 22 dedicated buffalo take turns pulling seven carts around the park and that after each round, the load is removed from the beast, which then rests in a pool to await its next trip.

Though our ride didn’t last more than 10 minutes, entertainment was on hand -- another tapis-attired lady and her equally traditionally garbed guitarist serenaded us with familiar folk songs such as “Pipit” and “Paruparong Bukid” from the back seat of the cart. 

The all you-can-eat lunch made the day tour fee of P1,400 per adult worth paying. Grilled tilapia, vegetables cooked in coconut milk, fresh tomatoes, raw mangoes, steamed okra, peeled turnip, grilled pork belly, and steamed rice, among others, competed for attention. But what won my heart and palate was the bagoong (sautéed shrimp paste) in the clay jar which, though flavorful on its own, made other dishes it was mixed into taste even better.

As is expected at any town banquet, crowds formed at the buffet tables, but staff were on hand to keep order and help guests with everything from securing eating space to getting their drinks. The waiter who took our order of fresh coconut juice was quite the professional -- when he found out that the remaining stock of young coconuts contained less liquid than normal, he got back to us and asked if we still wanted our drinks. Waiters of a lesser calibre would have brought in the order and hoped the guests would not notice the difference. 

After the meal, we burned off the calories by walking to the venue for the cultural production that the resort stages on weekends. Regional dances, including the Singkil, Manglalatik, and Fandango sa Ilaw, were performed to live music. Perhaps the most engaging number was the Sayaw sa Banko, where two pairs of dancers performed increasingly daring stunts on narrow benches while keeping the tempo of the music. The dancers intentionally fell from time to time, prompting heckling from the other performers and eliciting laughs from the crowd.

Guests who wish to get more exercise or take a closer look at the scenery can have a go at bamboo rafting in the man-made Labasin Lake. The rafts, which can seat two people, do not come with a boatman, so those who are up for the challenge are sure to work up a sweat. 

For culture and art aficionados, the AERA Memorial Museum is a must-visit -- but be warned that it is not for the faint-hearted. Housing 300-year-old relics, old dolls, stuffed animals mounted on walls, skulls and coffins -- even a shrunken human head in a jar -- the museum is crammed with the stuff that horror stories are made of. However, there is more to the pieces than their shock value, and the place also houses items that do not necessarily induce nightmares.

Built to look like a church, the museum is a sanctuary for religious art. 

Among the attention-grabbing relics are ornate altars that tower over the ground floor, and larger-than-life images made of ivory.

A barnacled jar that is said to have been fished out of the Sea of Corinth hundreds of years before Christ stands on its own on one side of the museum. Tucked in a corner, an illustration created out of the words of the New Testament is perhaps the most popular item in the building -- the work garners quite a bit of mention on Web sites and online reviews.

On the upper floor, the weapons, armor, traditional costumes and numismatics showcase, along with the clothes that former Philippine presidents wore to their inaugurations, take guests back to different points of the country’s past.

On the grounds outside the museum, tanks, a fighter plane, and cannons that hark back to the world war serve as installation art.

The museum prohibits photo-taking, and children below the age of four are not allowed entry.

Taking the electric jeep would bring guests to the village that plantation workers call home. According to the driver of the e-Jeep we took, 70 families, all of which have one or more members working in the plantation, stay in the village.

The route passes a quaint chapel that is known for being the venue for the wedding of celebrities Lorna Tolentino and the late Rudy Fernandez. After we had a snapshot taken in front of the altar, the driver hastened to mention that Villa Escudero offers a wedding package for those who want to get married in the chapel -- and it comes with a horse-drawn carriage.

Villa Escudero also has pool facilities -- perhaps as a concession to guests who would want to take a dip after a long day of sightseeing. There are two pools for children, and two for adults, one of which has a Jacuzzi. One may want to think twice about the pool, however, during peak season. 

Sharing the pools with 1,000 other guests -- the average that the resort gets on summer weekends, according to one of the staff -- may not be the best way to spend the day at Villa Escudero.

While some elements of the Villa Escudero experience could come across as contrived -- those cement statues of rural folk and farm animals that dot the grounds and give unsuspecting guests a scare at night, for instance -- the hospitality extended by most of the staff at least seems genuine. A minor altercation with a poolside employee threatened to mar our otherwise pleasant day at the resort, but the supervisor we talked to about it handled the situation well.

A day tour is sufficient to sample what Villa Escudero has to offer, but those who wish to stay longer can book rooms in the property. According to its Web site, other activities in the resort include bird watching, cycling, and watching coconuts being harvested.

For details visit http://www.villaescudero.com.

See more at: http://www.bworldonline.com/weekender/content.php?id=87461#sthash.v4tM45MB.dpuf

Malaysian varsity seeks more students from Brunei (The Brunei Times)

Published in the January 13, 2014 issue of The Brunei Times. Click here for original article

Malaysian varsity seeks more students from Brunei

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  The Terengganu campus of UCSI University, located in Marang, Terengganu Darul Iman. The varsity is recruiting students from Brunei and other neighbouring countries this year. BT/ Jennee Grace U Rubrico
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  The Crystal Mosque in the state of Terengganu. The Terengganu campus of UCSI University is incorporating Islamic programmes into its academic offerings in light of its demand for the courses. BT/ Jennee Grace U Rubrico
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  Mohd Suhaimi Shamsuddin, chief operating officer of the Terengganu campus of UCSI University, speaks to ‘The Brunei Times’ in his office. BT/ Jennee Grace U Rubrico

Jennee Grace U Rubrico

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Monday, January 13, 2014

THE Terengganu campus of Malaysian varsity UCSI University is recruiting students from Brunei and other neighbouring countries to beef up its enrolment, as it adds more Islamic modules and programmes into its range of academic offerings.

UCSI Terengganu Chief Operating Officer Mohd Suhaimi Shamsuddin (picture) said in a recent interview that the campus, which currently has 200 students, is working on getting more enrollees from neighbouring markets after already penetrating the Arabic countries and China.

Currently, 25 per cent of its students come from the Arab countries while 18 per cent are from China, Mohd Suhaimi said. Around five per cent are from Maldives and Sri Lanka, while the rest are from the ASEAN states, he added.

“Our focus countries for 2014 are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Brunei and Papua New Guinea,” he said.

The next intake of the campus is in May, during which it hopes to get 40 new entrants.

The campus has a tie-up with UCSI Kuala Lumpur for its Medical programme, wherein Malaysian medical students earn part of their credits in the Terengganu campus.

UCSI Terengganu also has programmes on Education, and Oil and Gas Management, which the official said is a monopoly of the campus.

“We offer both BBA and MBA for Oil and Gas Management... In ASEAN, only this campus offers the programme,” he said.

The campus is working on a fourth programme, on Islamic Banking and Finance, Mohd Suhaimi said.
“Currently we have eight students (taking it up). We need two more for it to be launched as a programme,” he said.

The move to offer the Islamic finance programme, he said, stems from the location of the campus as well as the global clamour for more conservative banking practices.

Noting that the campus is hosted by an Islamic state – around 97 per cent of Terengganu’s one million-strong population are Muslims — he said the UCSI Group has decided to incorporate Islamic course offerings into the programmes of the Terengganu varsity.

“The east coast of Malaysia is synonymous to Islam. We offer Finance in the Kuala Lumpur campus, but we took Islamic Banking and Finance and placed it in Terengganu,” he said.

Meanwhile, shifts in the global economy also precipitate the need for more Islamic finance offerings, he added.

“The economy is different now because of 2008,” when the global banking industry went into a crisis due to unmanageable sub-prime loans. “Everybody is searching for Islamic banking and finance,” he said.

The campus is also integrating an Islamic module into its early childhood development offering, Mohd Suhaimi said.

Other initiatives in the offing include potential collaboration with international universities that would allow students to earn some of their credits in the campus before proceeding to partner universities elsewhere and vice-versa.

"We are looking to collaborate with other universities and institutions to minimise expenses for the students. We (should) have the same syllabus, so students can do two years here and one year in the partner institution, and vice-versa," he said.

The campus, Mohd Suhaimi said, accommodates students of all faiths, as evidenced by the fact that Christians, Buddhists and Hindus together make up half of its populace.