A state of mind

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

—Napoleon Hill

 

By Alex P. Vidal 

 

DINAGYANG Festival is not just an event, it has become a state of mind for most Ilonggos. 

Wherever an Ilonggo lives around the world, he or she experiences a particular mindset or mood that is associated with or inspired by Dinagyang Festival, which has “globalized” Iloilo.

If Taj Mahal connotes New Delhi and Mardi Gras implies Rio de Janeiro, Dinagyang alludes to Iloilo.

It’s gratifying to think that if you are born and raised in Iloilo, you are part of the universal consciousness that is ensconced in the religious and cultural pneumatics. 

With ideas and attitudes anchored on battlecry that nobody can stop them from doing what they want and what they will achieve, Ilonggos relish in the struggle, fight, and determination in everyday life.

An ideal llonggo state of mind fluctuates between thinking and engaged—whatever a current situation demands of it. 

There isn’t a formula that dictates when we should be in one state and when we should be in the other, but much like dancing, we need to find a rhythm and delicately move as the situation or music requires.

Viva Senior Santo Nino!

 

-o0o-

 

Appeal from Kansas City-based Ilonggo Marvin Salcedo, who hails from Sara, Iloilo: “Sen. Raffy Tulfo please help us in putting behind bars those who are accountable in the failed Ungka flyover construction. Or perhaps turn it over to Department of Tourism to turn it into a P680-M tourism project and promote it similar to Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. 

“Let us also support Kabataan Partylist Raoul Manuel in his call to investigate the anomalous Ungka flyover bridge. He is the only Ilonggo solon to initiate a congressional hearing regarding this highway robbery happening in front of Pavianhon and Ilonggo peoples' eyes. The only lawmaker who has the balls, so to speak.

“What would be the best name to call the Ungka flyover if it will be turned over to Department of Tourism?”

 

-o0o-

 

SAVING OUR PLANET. Let’s polish off watermarks. Instead of using chemical treatments for wood, or varnishes that contain air-polluting chemicals, let’s get rid of watermarks using a dry cloth. Let’s rub the mark with olive or almond oil or mix butter with cigarette ash to turn it brown, then polish.

SAVING OUR PLANET. Clean clothes with bleach. If we want to get rid of blood in our clothes without using bleach, let’s pour salt or cold club soda onto the stain and soak in cold water before washing. For a more stubborn stain, mix cornstarch, talcum powder, and a little water into a spreadable paste and apply; then allow to dry and brush away.

CLOSER. Close to us is not family but death.

The secrets of the universe, according to Eykis, are:

1. We must learn to cultivate our own garden.

2. The kingdom of heaven is within.

3. Everything in the universe is exactly as it should be.

4. It’s never too late to have a have a happy childhood.

5. Where I go, there I am!

6. Keep it simple.

7. These are the good old days.

8. You are perfect.

ANTHROPOMIMETIC MACHINES. No matter how closely a robot resembles a human on the outside, if we crack it open, the jumble of wires is unlikely to bear much resemblance to our insides. A group of European researchers aims to bridge that gap--its robot prototype is anthropomimetic, making it mimics the human form.

HEAVY AND LIGHT. Heaviest weight is not elephant or iron but responsibility. Biggest is not the mountain or sun, but our lust and desire. Lightest is neither wind nor feathers, but not praying or delaying it.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

Last but not least

 

“Festivals are happy places, and you don't really want to enjoy them on your own.”

—Christine and the Queens

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

BECAUSE it is held in the fourth weekend of the month of January each year, Iloilo City’s Dinagyang Festival (January 27-28 major events) is considered as the last—but not least—festival in relation to the celebration of the holy child Jesus, Senior Santo Niño, in the country’s Christian community.

But if the Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo and the Sinulog Festival in Cebu are considered to be the Wimbledon Open and US Open respectively, Dinagyang Festival is both the French Open and Australian Open because of the two major and dazzling highlights—the cultural presentation on Saturday and ati dance competition on Sunday.

When everyone else is tired and weary after rounding up all the other festivals with the same characteristics and cultural value in the month of January, Dinagyang Festival towers above the totem pole for tourists, marketing strategists, pilgrims, politicians, and media. 

The two popular Visayan festivals in Kalibo and Cebu are unique with each other: Kalibo’s Ati-atihan highlights the ritual of the native dance while Cebu’s Sinulog focuses on the dance’s historical aspects.

The Dinagyang Festival has been known to be a dyed-in-the-wool cultural and religious celebration. 

Although Dinagyang has its roots in the Ati-atihan festival that represents the Ilonggos’ link in our Christian faith, the Iloilo celebration also specifically pays tribute to the arrival of the Malay settlers in the country, including the notable barter of Panay Island from natives called Ati.

In terms of marketing, global impact, and number of activities lined up during the week-long celebration, Dinagyang Festival is considered to be the largest event held in honor of Senior Santo Niño.

 

-o0o-

 

There should be no need for a religious or spiritual activity or celebration anywhere in the Philippine or around the globe to constantly remind us that we must love one another, respect each other, don’t gossip and foment intrigues, stop judging others, don’t envy, stop the irrational jealousy, be happy, and always make it a habit to pray. 

With or without the religious festivals and religion’s valuable reminders, we are supposed to know what is right and wrong; what is evil and good.

If we are compelled to only practice these Christian virtues because of the homilies from religious leaders and the temporary euphoria brought by the religious festivals. 

We become hypocrites after several weeks and months and back again to our moral and spiritual aberrations.

If we are spiritually and morally strong, we will always choose the right path and eschew wickedness even if Lucifer will be the one to lead and organize the bacchanalia. God bless us all.

 

-o0o-

 

THE administrations of all the five previous Philippine presidents—Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Benigno Aquino III, Rodrigo Duterte—have failed in their malice-ridden bids to tamper with the Philippine Constitution.

The sixth administration, under Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., is bound to fail, at least according to the recent developments in the fresh move for people’s initiative for Charter change (Chacha) now that the senate has made its voice heard loudly.

Many Filipinos may be suckers to populist presidents and their antics, but majority of them still value the sacredness of the fundamental law of the land and they have been proven to be assertive and allergic to any attempt to amend, rearrange, distort, and “improve” it however strong is the justification put forward by prime movers in the Lower House.

We agree with former Comelec chair and constitutional expert Christian Monsod who said that in some of the attempts, “people saw selfish motives like a proposal to grant authoritarian powers to the president, sync the Bill of Rights with the Anti-Terrorism Act and allow elected officials to stay in power for as long as they want.”

The 1987 Constitution limits the president and vice president to a single six-year, non-renewable term.

After Marcos Sr., Arroyo was the longest serving president, staying in power for nine years but this was not the result of Chacha, but a Supreme Court ruling that allowed her to run for a regular six-year term as president after serving three years as replacement of Estrada following his ouster for massive corruption.

 

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY? More than 13,000 tech employees have been laid off so far this year, data shows, as the industry doubles down on investments in artificial intelligence, according to CNN.

On January 23, eBay's CEO Jamie Iannone announced the company is cutting 1,000 positions, or about 9 percent of its full-time employees, citing the "challenging macroeconomic environment." Meanwhile, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has warned employees to expect additional layoffs in the months to come as the tech giant reorients itself toward AI "and beyond." Duolingo laid off around 10 percent of its contract workers as it moves toward a heavier reliance on artificial intelligence tools. Amazon has also cut hundreds of jobs this year, including at the game streaming platform Twitch.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

Signal shutdown is scary

“Monsters aren't as scary if you start shining lights on them.”

—Wyatt Cenac

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

INSTEAD of making an appeal to the Iloilo City Government to approve the proposed shutdown of telecommunications network during the major events of the Dinagyang Festival, the Police Regional Office-Western Visayas (PRO-6) should focus on the police works vis-à-vis the potential saboteurs and other troublemakers.

The telecommunications network shutdown has been proven to be worthless and unnecessary if its intention was “to maintain peace and order” when it was implemented in the previous Dinagyang Festivals.

In fact, Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Trenas and the city aldermen were correct to nix the absurd proposal made earlier by the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO).

We’re sure the Ilonggo populace and the civilian authorities will back City Hall on this matter. 

Ditto for the visiting tourists, the Department of Tourism, the Iloilo Business Club, and other major stakeholders and sponsors. 

We expect Trenas, et al to further deny the appeal made by PRO-6 director, Brig. Gen. Sidney Villaflor. 

Trenas was expected to explain to Villaflor a signal shutdown during the festival’s highlight days or major and side events wouldn’t be necessary.

Like a power outage, a signal shutdown during the important local events like the Dinagyang Festival is scary and appalling. 

It’s like shining lights on the sleeping Frankensteins who don’t intend to wake up in the first place. 

 

-o0o-

 

In the age of Internet and the social media, where electronic and satellite communications are vital and compulsory, shutting down the signals is like separating the Ilonggos—or the entire metropolis for that matter—from the rest of the world.

It’s like cutting off the entire city and province from the civilization albeit temporarily; and it has major negative consequences in the business, tourism, and safety of the Ilonggos. 

Ilonggos can’t afford a double whammy. Only weeks ago, or in the aftermath of the New Year’s Eve 2024 celebrations around the globe, a massive and perilous darkness brought by unannounced power interruptions, blanketed the entire populace and its environs.

With no assurances from the authorities, including the badly battered National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the Department of Energy, and other major sentinels in the country’s power industry, it isn’t far-fetched that power blackout will once again terrorize the Ilonggos like a thief in the night.

And what it if would strike anew during the Dinagyang Festival, or on the days—the highlights of the religious and cultural festival—that telecommunication shutdowns were implemented? God forbid.

 

-o0o-

 

Typically responsible for maintaining public order and safety, enforcing the law, and preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal activities, the police in the region aren’t actually hard-pressed to safeguard the Ilonggos and their visitors during the Dinagyang Festival.

It’s their primordial duty to monitor, check and countercheck the movements and activities of lawless elements even without a mammoth festivity.

The City of Love is not a war-torn territory; it has been relatively peaceful with no history of sabotage from malcontents and terrorist disruptions. 

There have been no reports of terror groups and organized gangs mulcting from the business establishments and threats to inflict a mayhem in the civilian population if their demands weren’t met. 

Iloilo City and the neighboring municipalities affected by the festival’s economic and cultural spheres and influence isn’t as big and complicated as Metro Manila where the police authorities have been able to safeguard the people without much ado especially during the recent chaotic and more dizzying Black Nazarene procession.

 

-o0o-

 

BRUTAL TEMPERATURE. A brutal winter storm has been sweeping across the US, with around 79 percent of the country expecting below-freezing temperatures early this week. Over 140 daily cold records could be broken from Oregon to Mississippi as temperatures in Memphis, Dallas and Nashville could stay below freezing for at least 72 consecutive hours. The storm has caused dangerous road conditions and airports are experiencing thousands of delays and cancellations. More than 4,000 flights within, into or out of the country, were postponed on Sunday, and over 1,000 were canceled, according to tracking site FlightAware. Residents in some states, including Texas, have also been urged to conserve electricity to prevent straining power grids.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

Fil-Ams will still come to watch ‘Dinagyang’

“It has been said that a pretty face is a passport. But it's not, it's a visa, and it runs out fast.”

—Julie Burchill

By Alex P. Vidal

THE “tit for tat” response of the Duterte administration on Uncle Sam’s decision to ban from entering in the United States government officials responsible for the continued incarceration of Sen. Leila de Lima has sent shivers down the spine of many Filipino-Americans (Fil-Ams) who regularly go home to the Philippines.

Although the Duterte administration has banned only the US senators who pushed for the Bill that resulted in enforcement of the travel ban on Filipino politicians involved in De Lima’s jailing, it also announced that American citizens entering the country would be required to have a travel visa. 

But we received reports that the Philippine government “won’t be harsh” on Fil-Ams scheduled to visit the Philippines this year to watch and participate in prominent religious and cultural festivals like the Dinagyang in Iloilo City, Ati-Atihan in Aklan, Sinulog in Cebu, among other popular destinations for celebration of the feast of Senor Santo Nino in the month of January.

The Philippines will be in the receiving end it its top leaders mishandle this conundrum with the US government in this David vs Goliath diplomatic row.

The religious and cultural festivals we mentioned to be held in the different regions are among the top drawers of balikbayans who are mostly coming from the United States.

They shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire and their vacations be disrupted only because our top government officials have chosen to trade tongs and hammer against mighty America instead of silently settling the problem and avoiding a potential catastrophic diplomatic crisis.

-o0o-

US citizens have access to 184 countries and territories without a travel visa or with a visa on arrival as of October 1, 2019, it was learned. 

Of the countries that do not require a travel visa, some have different time frames after which a passport is reportedly required. 

These time frames can be 30, 60, 90, or 180 days and so on or unlimited, according to the World Population Review (WPR).

Because of the high number of countries that US citizens can travel to without a visa, it's simpler to mention some of the ones that do require a visa.

Here’s what we have learned more from the WPR: US citizens do not need a tourist visa to enter any of the 28 countries that are European Union members. 

This includes the United Kingdom, which is possibly leaving the European Union, and US citizens will not need a visa either way. If a US citizen wants to travel to Russia, however, a visa is required, can take up to three weeks to process, and costs $139.

In countries where visas are required, travelers are subject to registration fees, departure taxes and fees, fingerprinting, and being photographed. 

-o0o-

Additionally, the WPR added, some countries, such as Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Niger, require an International Certificate of Vaccination.

In Libya, Sudan, and Syria, anyone with Israeli entry or exit stamps on their passport may be denied entry into the country.

China requires a travel visa for US citizens. The application must include travel dates, itinerary, and proof of onward travel out of China and the application must be typed with no handwritten corrections. Additionally, every visitor between the ages of 14 and 70 is fingerprinted upon arrival and departure.

US citizens are not permitted to travel to North Korea, with or without a visa. 

The travel ban took effect in 2017 after a United States student died after being released from a North Korean prison. Failure to adhere to the rules can result in criminal penalties and having one’s passport revoked. 

In order to travel to North Korea, US passport holders would need to obtain a special passport validation from the United States government.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

  

Obey City Hall

"In city hall and in local government, you have to get things done without drama." 

-- Jim Gray

By Alex P. Vidal

WITH barely seven weeks to go before the Dinagyang Festival 2020 will unravel in Iloilo City, City Hall executive assistant for power Randy Pastolero is hard-pressed to help clear spaghetti wires and poles that obstruct major streets where the festival parade route will pass.
Obstructing poles and spaghetti wires are perhaps some of the worst elevated eye sores in the history of Iloilo City.
Pastolero was reportedly scheduled to take to task the Iloilo Utilities Group (IUG) composed of Panay Electric Company (PECO), telecommunication, and cable companies on November 26 to prioritize the removal of poles in the City Proper and La Paz even as Mayor Geronimo "Jerry" Treñas has given the PECO only until the end of the year 2019 to remove them all.
The time table given by the city mayor apparently was to ensure that everything will be in order and normal and Iloilo City's beauty won't be disfigured by the wires' ugly sight when the week-long annual religious and cultural festival unwraps in January 2020.

-o0o-

PECO and the telcos have been at loggerheads; they have been pointing an accusing finger at each other for the 254 and other poles identified by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the city streets.
Treñas won't take sides.
All he wants is to fix the problem, to cut and cut clean.
Pastolero's job is to coax both parties and agree to show that they belong and are willing to listen, cooperate and help; and that they should be part of the solution, not the problem.
Instead of prolonging the blame game, PECO and the telcos will have to drop their guns and stop sharpening their knives; they will have to listen to the siren of cooperation.
With dispatch and alacrity, they should obey City Hall and start hitting the ground running.
If they are able to remove the obstructions together sans mudslinging, people will credit them for cooperating with the City Hall and for "showing concern" for the welfare and safety of the public.

-o0o-

THERE'S nothing wrong if the press will criticize Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano for the mess in the ongoing 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) being hosted by the Philippines while the Games are in progress.
Cayetano's admirers and defenders decry that it's not good to wash our dirty linens in public while visitors, athletes, officials and other participants from other Southeast Asian nations are still here.
The visitors don't and won't give a damn how the host media make their reports.
This is how democracy works in the country. We don't curtail the press because the host country's top organizing official is the one being lambasted.
As chairman of the Philippines Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHILCOG), Cayetano, who loves to wear many hats, is accountable for all the lackluster preparations, including the alleged shenanigans in the construction of sports facilities.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Corporate execs take 'token' jobs for Ilonggos

"The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it."
--Theodore Roosevelt

By Alex P. Vidal

THE names of Dr. Rogelio Florete and Salvador Sarabia Jr. are associated with the corporate world; each holding executive positions in their respective business empires.
Florete is a media and jewelry mogul, while Sarabia is a former tourism undersecretary under the Arroyo administration whose family made a name in the optical and hotel industry.
They can steer the wheels and expand their business domains without having to belabor themselves in other areas outside the parameters of their corporate interests.
But they accepted the challenge from Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo "Jerry" Treñas to take an active role in the management of the city's tourism and business affairs without any emolument in return worth their time and expertise.
Florete is now the head of the Iloilo City Festivals Foundation, Inc. (ICFFI), a newly-formed foundation that will handle the staging of all festivals in the city, primarily the Dinagyang Festival.
Florete's new role outside his private corporate office requires him to mingle and have a tete-a-tete with ordinary people, something he rarely does in the past as a security-conscious and very private person.

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As in charge of the Dinagyang Festival's publicity committee, Florete recently met the Iloilo press together with Iloilo City Tourism Officer Junniel Divinagracia and publicty assistant Florence Hibionada.
Florete went down from the totem pole of his corporate cocoon to solicit the suggestions of media people on how to ensure the successful coverage of next year's brand-new edition of Dinagyang Festival.
Florete is supported by the foundation's interim officers who are also mostly corporate geniuses in their own right: Felipe Uygongco as vice chairperson; Atty. Jobert Peñaflorida as president, Dr. Ronald Raymond Sebastian as vice president, Roland Uy as treasurer, and Judgee Peña as public relations officer.
The gathering of stars in the business sector to help spruce up the city's festivals and other tourism programs is a major pull upward for the new City Hall administration.

-o0o-

As the new director Iloilo City's MICE or meetings, incentives, travel, conferences, conventions, exhibitions, and events, Sarabia recently hogged headlines when he officially announced the major changes in next year's Dinagyang Festival.
Under the new festival, where Kasadyahan will be separated from the Dinagyang, revelers can now join in the "sadsad" merrymaking, according to Sarabia.
“It will be more vibrant because Dinagyang will now be more experiential, there will be a twist, more people involvement,” Sarabia, who is Treñas' executive assistant, explained.
The foundation headed by Florete will partner with the city government to handle the Dinagyang and Sarabia suggested that the celebration will be joined by private companies, non-government organizations, and other stakeholders that will form their own tribes.
Under the new plans, the street dancing will start at the Provincial Capitol and will end with a mass or any religious event at the Plaza Libertad.
They held stakeholders' consultation in July, where they gathered feedback on how the public would like to see next year’s Dinagyang Festival set on January 25-26.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Kasadyahan’s emancipation

“Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous patience.”
--Hyman Rickover

By Alex P. Vidal

THE good news is the Kasadyahan Festival will no longer be a second class citizen.
If plans do not miscarry, it will have its own identity and territorial waters, no longer as a curtain-raiser for the well-fed Ati Festival.
Dinagyang Festival’s spoiled brat, Ati dance contest will always be the main attraction of Iloilo City’s biggest festival held every fourth weekend of January to honor the Christianization of the natives and to respect the Holy Child Jesus.
Kasadyahan will remain a second fiddle forever.
It’s time to cut and cut clean.
Both events have been jointly held as the week-long Dinagyang Festival’s highlights (Kasadyahan on Saturday and Ati on Sunday) for several years now and buttressed by the Department of Tourism, the private sector, and primarily by the Iloilo City Government.

-o0o-

Kasadyahan’s emancipation from the Dinagyang Festival is, to quote Victor Hugo, “(nothing more powerful than) an idea whose time has come.”
Despite living separate lives starting next year, both festivals will be the winners in many aspects: it will be easier to manage and promote each of them as they won’t compete in the allocations of budget for corporate and government sponsorship; and they will add color to the annual calendar of events of both the DOT and the City Government.
Although Kasadyahan has its own unique presentation and aesthetic featuring Panay’s culture and history, it has been thriving behind the shadow of the more prominent and remunerative Ati dance contest, which actually carries the Dinagyang Festival’s household name.
It has been observed that Kasadyahan also paled in comparison to Ati dance contest when it comes to cornering of juicy sponsors and endorsers.

-o0o-

By reinvigorating and packaging Kasadyahan in another stripe and dimension, it will stimulate awareness among the tourists and investors and produce dramatic effects in the local economy.
The decision to split the two gigantic cultural and religious festivals was hammered out during the Stakeholders’ Consultative Meeting of the Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI) in July 2019, as reported recently by the Daily Guardian’s Emme Rose Santiagudo, who interviewed former Department of Tourism Undersecretary Salvador “Dong” Sarabia Jr. regarding the split.
Now the executive director of Iloilo City’s Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions (MICE) Center, Sarabia Jr. confirmed that Kasadyahan may be held separately in a lean moth “because it’s more cultural.”

-o0o-

Even the kidnappers and killers of prominent Ilongga businesswoman Roberta Cokin would have “benefited” if the government had insisted in pushing through with the reported plan to release rapist and killer Antonio Sanchez based on recent ruling issued by the Supreme Court (SC) that orders the retroactive application of the number of days credited to prisoners for their good-conduct time allowance (GCTA).
The ruling was based on the Republic Act (RA) 10592 amended provisions of the Revised Penal Code and allowed the credit of preventive imprisonment and revision of GCTA of persons deprived of liberty.
We are glad the government has abandoned the absurd move.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Ilonggo ‘soldiers’ recruited for ‘Maharlika Tribes’ force

"The way that people dress makes them part of an army, dressed in their own uniform, determined to do something." 

--Suzy Menkes

By Alex P. Vidal

BEFORE Chief Supt. John Bulalacao leaves the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), he should enlighten the Ilonggos if the recent alleged “massive” recruitment of Ilonggos in Calinog, Iloilo supposedly for enlistment in the armed forces of the “Royal Maharlika Tribes 1-Nation” was legal and authorized by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Army.
Sources said the the group has been recruiting “soldiers” from Mindanao and in some parts of the Visayas; and, recently, it recruited several Ilonggos in Calinog, Iloilo.
The recruits filled up an application form with a sub-title of “Panay Tribal Governance for Self-Determination and Empowerment” and “Rajahnate of Panay.”
Are we being governed by another sovereign state right in our own independent civilian republic?
Are the police and military authorities keeping a blind eye on this supposed enlistment in a private army?

-o0o-

The recruited soldiers supposedly will serve for the Royal Maharlika Federal Force with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Registration No. CN201730139 and Tax Identification Number (TIN) 009-809-228.
Sources also obtained a document showing the group’s main headquarters is in Country Homes Ayala Subdivision, Zamboanga City and is headed by Bae Putri Princess Fatimah Hassah Dominguez, Princess Rajanahnate of Panai.
If the Royal Maharlika Tribes 1-Nation is legal, is the recruitment of soldiers for its “federal force” also legal and authorized?
Is the Royal Maharlika Federal Force authorized under the Philippine law to arm its recruits?
If not, then why was the group allowed to recruit in Iloilo without any supervision from the PNP and Philippine Army?
Or why they weren’t subdued and arrested?

-o0o-

It’s over.
As expected, the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation Inc. (IDFI) headed by Ramon Cua Locsin, will be phased out in favor of the Iloilo City Festivals Foundation Inc. (ICFF), which will be created under the new administration of Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas.
Aside from Treñas’ spat with resigned IDFI vice president Marissa Segovia when the incoming city mayor complained in January this year that he was not invited in the annula festival, it’s a common knowledge that Locsin openly campaigned for Treñas’s rival, his own bilas, Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa in the recent midterm elections.
Locsin, for his part, gambled not only his friendship with Treñas, but also IDFI’s “lucrative” enterprise when he opted to support Espinosa.
It would have been “happy days are still with us” had Espinosa won.
New York Senator William L. Marcy once declared, “To the victor belongs the spoils,” referring to the victory of Andrew Jackson in the US election of 1828.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

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How Joji Jalandoni brought Visayan street kids to NYC

https://thefilam.net/archives/30230

https://thefilam.net/archives/30230?fbclid=IwAR2aqhu24XTSqnCfI0CrOrmsZvSyb9SxKVrI7Wj5QjcRhR2jxWuTcE4u1Ws

Dinagyang, Manggahan NYC parade facilitator is Fil-Am mag’s cover story

“In a magazine, one can get - from cover to cover - 15 to 20 different ideas about life and how to live it.” 

--Maya Angelou

By Alex P. Vidal

NEGROS-born Josephine “Joji” Jalandoni, main facilitator in the participation of Iloilo City’s Dinagyang Festival and Guimaras’ Manggahan Festival in the annual Philippine Independence Day Parade in New York City in 2018, is the cover story of The Fil-Am’s June 2019 (Issue 16).

JOJI JUELE JALANDONI during the 2018 Parade

The Fil-Am, founded by Cristina DC Pastor and published by A & V media, is a popular newsmagazine serving Filipino Americans in New York.
“When we think of the 55,000 Filipinos in New York City and the nearly 300,000 who live in the Tri-State of New York-New Jersey-Connecticut, we think of all the stories just waiting to be written. A wedding at St. Patrick’s, a cousin’s graduation at NYU, or just playing tourist guide to folks back home who insist on lining up for Letterman,” screams the magazine’s on-line information.
The article, found on page 6 and 7, was written by the magazine’s founding editor Cristina DC Pastor, with a title: “How Joji Jalandoni brought Visayan street kids to NYC”.
Here’s the entire article:
Josephine ‘Joji’ Jalandoni grew up in Victorias Milling Company (VMC) in Negros Occidental--known as the “Sugarbowl of the Philippines”--where the landed families derived their affluence from sugar plantations. Sugar was one of the country’s top agricultural exports up until the 1980s, and the sugar cane farming families at the time were flush with cash.
Her father, Jose Jimenez Juele, a mechanical engineer known as Triple J, was one of the executives of VMC and Victorias International lnc. Her mother, Estrella Ebro Juele, was a high school teacher.
“Those were happy days growing up in Victorias Milling Company, the biggest refinery sugar central in the country. I grew up thinking sugar is free, that is, until I got to college,” reminisced Joji, a slight smile forming.

The sweet life

“Life in VMC was ideal we grew up feeling we were all part of one big happy family. My siblings and I, we are what we are because of the family values our parents instilled in us,” she said.
Her two sons -- Jose Carlos and Jose Inigo -- grew up nurtured in a loving home by an extended family of grandparents, aunts and uncles.
“They were raised instilled with the same core values espousing the importance of integrity, excellence and love of family,” she said. “I’m so proud of them.”
Joji, the second of five siblings attended St. Theresita’s Academy in Silay City, a school that produced good Catholic Ilonggas. She went to Silliman University in Dumaguete City for college, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
In New York, where the wings of fate had flown her, Joji found work in hospitals, gained experience and worked her way up through the ranks. She earned a master’s degree in Hospital Administration/Nurse Executive Program from Teachers College Columbia University. In the health facility where she now works, she holds the position of Infection Control and Prevention Associate Director, where her positive attitude, creative problem solving and professional skills make her highly effective in her role.
She became active in the Filipino community of New York despite the long hours she devoted to her work. She is a core member of the Philippine Nurses Association-NY from 2003 up to the present, and was president of the Silliman University Alumni Association from 2007-2009. With every organization she joined, she made sure she contributed to the goals of growing the membership, fundraising, developing young leaders, whatever the organization’s needs were.
The desire to “preserve and share” the rich Philippine traditions brought Joji to PIDCI or the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc.
“Through the 28 years of celebrating the commemoration, the New York festival has gained many reputations, foremost of which is it is the largest celebration of Philippine Independence in the world, larger even than that held annually in the Philippines,” she said. “It takes almost a year to organize.”
She remembered how, in the beginning of her involvement with PIDCI, she rode the Nursing Float. “We won Best Float. The next thing I knew I was one of the volunteers, became one of the Board Directors, vice president, and acting president in the latter half of 2009.”

PIDCI president

In 2011, she was elected PIDCI president and served for a year. It presented, for Joji, a platform to bring the Dinagyang of Iloilo and the Manggahan of Guimaras to perform at the Independence Day parade. She first invited the Dinagyang in 2011 and for three more years after that. In 2018, the Dinagyang and Manggahan dance troupes joined forces to bring color and cadence to Madison Avenue. About 70 young Filipinos dressed in the costumes of their regions danced to Ati-Atihan beat, energizing the parade as FilAms, watching on the streets, cheered and rocked to the beat. Clearly, a day bursting with ethnic pride.
While it was Joji who facilitated the kids’ travel to the U.S., there would be additional responsibilities, such as finding homes that would welcome them and sponsors who would provide meals and sightseeing trips.
“The Ilonggo community rose to the challenge,” she said. “From chaperoning these kids to providing them with hot meals and their favorite chocolates, these generous patrons made sure that these young kids’ dream of seeing New York City becomes a reality even for just a moment in time.”
Through the “gargantuan feat,” Joji was recognized by The Outstanding Filipinos in America as a 2018 honoree in the field of Arts & Culture.

How did she do it?

With a lot of faith in her network of friends, family, community leaders, and some government and local officials.
Asked why and Joji looks back to a time when she was a young student in the province, and life was rich with promising opportunities.
“The street kids and students of Dinagyang and Manggahan are kids of farmers,” she mused. “Yes, they will be all professionals of their chosen careers, and one day as parents, grandparents, titos and titas will have stories to share about how once upon a time they had visited Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and watched Broadway shows like ‘Peter Pan, Finding Neverland.’ These adventures opened their eyes that there is a big world out there full of possibilities and opportunities.”
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

No Iloilo Dinagyang delegation in 2019 New York parade

“If you're not in the parade, you watch the parade. That's life.”
--Mike Ditka

By Alex P. Vidal

The 21st Philippine Independence Commemoration Parade (29th Annual Parade, New York City) on June 2, 2019 will miss the presence of the delegations from the Dinagyang Festival and the Iloilo Trade Mission.
The Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI), the parade organizer in cooperation with the Philippine Consulate General in New York, has not confirmed the participation of the Ilonggo groups this year.
Both the Dinagyang Festival of Iloilo City and the Manggahan Festival of Guimaras Province and city officials from the first-ever private-initiated Iloilo City Trade Mission and Investment Forum Ilonggo Fashion and Jewelry Show in the East Coast held on June 4-10, 2018, took part in the biggest parade for the Philippine Independence Day in the East Coast on June 3, 2018.
Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa, who spearheaded the Iloilo Trade Mission, was joined last year by his wife, Gina Sarabia-Espinosa.
Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation boss Ramon Cua Locsin led the Dinagyang Festival delegation.

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The team, led by Dr. Emily Noserale Hagad, president and project coordinator of Philcoman Research Institute, Inc. in the private sector, was composed of Councilor Plaridel Nava, Commercial Diplomat for Trade Relations of the City Rex Aguado, City Local Economic Enterprise Officer Jose Ariel Castañeda, City Planning Coordinator Jose Roni Peñalosa, Western Visayas State University College of Communication Dean, Dr. Carmencita "Menchie" Robles, University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV) Vice Chancellor Mary Ann Gumban, Iloilo Business Park-Megaworld Sales Director Carla Margarita Perez, Eon Group of Companies founder and CEO Felicito Tiu, StackTreck Enterprises CEO Billy Shung Hei Yuen, City Mayor’s Office staff Rosita Celiz, and journalists Florence Hibionada (Secretariat Chief), Tara Yap (Manila Bulletin) and Herbert Vego (Panay News), who also did Herculean efforts to promote Iloilo City as an ideal and perfect hub for business, tourism, education and investment.

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Alma May Tayo, chair of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Iloilo Chapter Exhibitors’ Committee, also actively joined the trade mission in New York, Virginia and Washington D.C. and the New York City Independence Day parade.
City Tourism Operations Officer Florence King Haro Erlano and Iloilo City Tourism and Development Office staff Sheena Julienne Galon did amazing reinforcement tasks during the parade and the trade mission and investment forum.
Executive Assistant Jojo Castro, “Iloilo City’s Bong Go”, was with City Engineer Bobby Divinagracia, and Iloilo City National High School principal and Tribu Panayanon tribe manager, Dr. Blesilda V. Floro.
It was not immediately known if Mayor Joe III’s defeat to Rep. Geronimo “Jerry” Trenas in the May 13, 2019 elections had affected the reported plans earlier to duplicate the Iloilo Trade Mission, which became the talk of the town among members of the Filipino community in the East Coast when it was held for the first time last year.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Segovia's resignation is right

"I think my resignation was the only way to avoid bloodshed."
--Eduard Shevardnadze

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- After her much-publicized quarrel with Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas recently, Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation, Inc. (IDFI) vice president Marissa Segovia made the right decision to tender her "irrevocable" resignation.
They may say she was only carried by her emotions and made the decision to quit "on the spur of the moment" being a woman.
But it's difficult to fix a glass that has been cracked especially if the tiff was tainted with a political undertone.
Treñas reportedly lashed at the businesswoman during a meeting of the Iloilo Economic Development Foundation on Feb. 14, blaming her for not inviting him to the Dinagyang Festival last month.
Treñas and Segovia are not strangers to each other.
They were good friends.
And also their respective families.
They worked together not only to achieve IDFI goals and commitment to public when Treñas was city mayor from 2001 to 2010, but also to help buttress the good standing of the Iloilo Business Club (IBC) in the Ilonggo community where Segovia was also an executive.

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Segovia decided to quit from the IDFI but did not issue any statement to the media ostensibly after "being humiliated" by the congressman's alleged unexpected verbal assault.
If not for politics, there would have been no "heated" confrontation that hurt Segovia and forced her to call it a day.
If not for politics, no one would have raised a whimper that he was left out in the proper protocol for an important event.
Politics smeared their friendship.
Treñas is running again for city mayor versus Mayor Jose "Joe III" Espinosa III, Segovia's other friend, in the May 2019 elections.
If Treñas will win, Segovia will be in a very uncomfortable situation running the affairs of the foundation with her "tormentor" at the helm.
And if Treñas will use his power and influence to scrutinize or audit IDFI's financial records, she will have to belabor painstakingly even if they weren't hiding something.
The mental and emotional stress may not be necessary and good for Segovia, who is highly respected in the business community.

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Meanwhile, no one has owned up to the snafu especially as to why Treñas was not officially invited.
What ensued next was finger-pointing and offensive justifications from IDFI president Ramon Cua Locsin, who made all the explanation--not particularly in defense of Segovia--but to inform the public they were running the foundation well and shouldn't be held accountable for sidestepping some VIPs during the occasion, stressing that the responsibility had already been delegated to the city mayor.
Locsin made a lengthy elucidation like he himself was involved in the fracas.
In a statement distributed to media, Locsin stressed: “We believe that we have discharged our duties fairly and judiciously for the successful conduct of the Dinagyang Festival, and we hope that this will end the controversy raised by those whose self-interest could trivialize the achievements of the Iloilo Dinagyang Festival and IDFI.”
He added: “IDFI has always acted with good faith in dealing with all partners of the festival. This is a major factor for the high trust rating of the public in IDFI. This is also the basis of Ms. Segovia’s statement during one of her interviews that Cong. Treñas was invited in the festivities. The City Mayor was also consistent in his interviews that everyone was welcome.”

Duterte ‘ignores’ Dinagyang invitation

“The safety of the people shall be the highest law.”
-Marcus Tullius Cicero

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Ilonggos shouldn’t consider it as a big deal that President Rodrigo R. Duterte “ignored” Iloilo City Hall’s invitation to grace the just-concluded Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City in the Philippines.
The president can’t just say yes to all the invitations in all the festivals and other social, political, religious and even business gatherings anywhere in the Philippines.
If he accepts one invitation and rejects another, he will be accused of playing favorites.
January is the month of religious and cultural festivals.
Iloilo City was only one of the many cities and municipalities in the Philippines that celebrated the feast of Senior Santo Niño aside from the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City.
Either his schedule wouldn’t allow it, or President Duterte probably decided to skip the Dinagyang Festival on January 25-27, 2019 for security or even health reasons.
The safety of a sitting president is always a paramount concern over other considerations.
Many Ilonggos still couldn’t forget when he called Iloilo City as “the most shabulized” and when he threatened to kill the former mayor, Jed Patrick Mabilog, for being a “protector” of illegal drugs.
It would have been a security nightmare for the “overloaded” Regional Police Office 6 (RPO-6) led by Director John Bulalacao if the president came after being officially invited by Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III.

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As Iloilo aims to harvest one million metric tons of rice this year, rice traders in the Philippines are reportedly set to import about 1.2 million tonnes of the staple food, as the Southeast Asian country lifts a two-decade-old cap on purchases.
This developed as the National Food Authority (NFA) has approved initial applications from 180 rice traders for permits to import a total of 1.186 million tonnes of either 5-percent or 25-percent broken white.
It was also reported that bigger rice purchases by the Philippines, already one of the world's top importers and consumers of the grain, could underpin export prices in Vietnam and Thailand, traditionally its key suppliers.
According to Reuters, prices in Vietnam fell last week ahead of the country's largest harvest this month, while the Thai market is likely to see additional supply towards the end of January from the seasonal harvest.
Dr. Sailila E. Abdula, acting executive director of Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), has rallied workers to support the upcoming Rice Tariffication Act or currently the Senate Bill 1998, which aims to replace import restrictions on rice with tariffs.
Abdula said cost-effective technologies should be further generated for the farmers to survive the possible influx of cheap rice from the international market.
Under the Senate Bill already signed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, PhilRice will annually receive P3 billion for six years, which will be used for “developing, propagating, and promoting inbred rice seeds to rice farmers and in organizing rice farmers into seed growers associations to be engaged in seed production and trade.”

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The Family Planning Organization of Philippines (FPOP) Iloilo Chapter reportedly distributed thousands of condoms to revelers during the highlight days of the recent Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City.
FPOP Iloilo Chapter program manager Monalisa Diones said they have chosen the festival as a perfect venue to exhort the revelers to practice safe sex and to spread public awareness against the rising cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Iloilo City.
We suggest that FPOP go directly to the barangays and educate the couples not only to practice safe sex, but also to minimize producing battalions of babies.
One major reason why many Filipinos are still wallowing in abject poverty is because of overpopulation.
For lack of proper education and training, many couples in slum areas continue to transform their households into bodegas of babies.
The number of mouths to be fed isn’t proportionate to their income, thus many of them continue to live below the poverty level despite working like dogs.

A whirlwind of pride for Ilonggos

"You don't stumble upon your heritage. It's there, just waiting to be explored and shared."
--Robbie Robertson

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- There is always an element of pride and exhilaration etched on the face of any Ilonggo anywhere in the world when random discussions take a spiral on the Dinagyang Festival.
Ilonggos are always brimming with so much excitement and enthusiasm once someone brings out the topic on Iloilo City's annual cultural and religious festivities that last for a week highlighted by a fluvial parade, colorful ati dance competitions, among other cultural, religious, sports and tourism programs and activities.
There is no other festival or event that defines the Ilonggos' heritage and culture to the level of maximum bliss and erudition.
The hysteria whipped up by all the positive energy that clustered the metropolis for one week is shared by every stakeholder and those behind the wheels that steered the festival to what it is today.
Ilonggos parlayed and talk about the Dinagyang Festival like they were promoting their own values, talents, and personal achievements in the global platform.

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Dinagyang is Iloilo; Iloilo is Dinagyang.
There is so much goodness and substance that radiate in the horizon when an Ilonggo talks about the 51-year-old festival, which has now become the focal point when our tourism officials led by Department of Tourism-6 Director Helen Catalbas and Iloilo City Tourism Chief Junel Ann Divinagracia promote Iloilo City and Western Visayas as a whole.
Even the Iloilo Business Club (IBC) has been smitten by the Dinagyang's potentials and solid impact on business an investment opportunities over the years.
Although their hands are full owing to the stressful security preparations, members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) get a special attention, credit and commendation when the festival goes to bed with nary an anarchy and revelry-related bedlam.
Ilonggos always find the Dinagyang Festival as an occasion to refine and rebuild their spirit and character.

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Ricardo Alonsabe, an Ilonggo Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Victoria, Seychelles, watched the Dinagyang Festival in his laptop in the lobby of a restaurant where he worked last year.
"I opened my Facebook account and was able to get access to the 'live' performances," said Alonsabe, a chef in a restaurant serving African food.
Alonsabe's co-workers and some tourists joined him and they were enthralled by the sound of drums and choreography of ati warriors.
"It's really a world class festival," he chortled.
Alonsabe and thousands of other OFWs all over the five continents were like watching the Dinagyang Festival "live" in the streets.
With the advent of technology, Dinagyang Festival could now be seen on the Internet and in any social media platform.

Cellphone signal cut off a stupid decision

"If I don't have wisdom, I can teach you only ignorance."
-- Leo Buscaglia

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Because of so much paranoia, the local Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership was able to convince the telecommunication companies to halt mobile signals in Iloilo City in the Philippines
during the highlights of the 2019 Dinagyang Festival.
While the rest of the world will be busy texting and talking over the mobile phones for the weekend chat, Ilonggos will be muzzled and pushed back inside the dark cave for several hours.
If Ilonggos within Iloilo City and abroad are unable to transmit important text messages and calls to their loved ones from six o'clock in the morning until two o'clock in the afternoon on January 26 and 27, blame the law enforcement authority's stupid edict, which will only be complied by the telecommunication companies.
If reports were true, even the Internet connections, the most vital of all forms of modern communication worldwide, would be cut off during that period.
The PNP invoked "security measures" for the doltish move.
It's better to be safe than sorry; or, as they always parroted in the security exercises, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

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In their assessment, if telecommunications are suspended, troublemakers or terrorists with high tech gadgets and deadly weapons will be thwarted and won't be able to exploit and disrupt the City of Love's festive atmosphere.
In their thinking, clever bomb experts wont to utilize long-distance or wireless explosives, might strike at random and sabotage the world-renowned religious and cultural festival.
They have imagined the worst possible scenario, and it is part of their job--and paranoia.
If we remember it right, they have done the same display of morbid doubts and fears in the last four stagings of the Dinagyang Festival.
With more than 2,300 police officers to be deployed within the performance areas and their environs to monitor the peace and order situation on top of the PNP's vast intelligence network, it's inconceivable for any high tech amok or terrorist group to breach the police's security phalanx and create a public mayhem.
The best precautionary measures are still actually sustained sleuthing and monitoring to be done days or hours prior to the two-day highlight events.
Iloilo City is not a security nightmare geographically.
It is surrounded by rivers; and the only way for any determined terrorist or bomb wacko to sneak in is via the parachute.
It appears, however, that the possibility of Extra Terrestrials (E.T.) entering Iloilo City and mixing with the crowd to join the revelry is more possible than the suicide bombers or jihadists succeeding to detonate an explosive device while the Ilonggos are shouting "Hala Bira!"

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Let's review the history. Long ago--more than 3,000 years--a band of Greek princes and heroes made a war on the city of Troy, in Asia Minor.
They laid siege to the city, but the Trojans were not easily beaten and the war went on for 10 years.
It might not have ended even then had not Odysseus, the cleverest of the Greeks, devised a scheme to overthrow the city.
The Greeks pretended that they were giving up the siege and began making preparations to leave.
One of the things that they did was to build a gigantic wooden horse.
They left this on the shore, and then went on board their ships and sailed away.
When the Trojans saw the Greek warriors depart, there was great rejoicing.
Believing the horse to be a luck offering to the gods, they opened their gates and hauled the horse inside as a prize of victory.
During the night, however, when the feasting was over and the Trojans were asleep, a door was opened in the side of the hollow wooden animal and out crept a band of Greeks who had been concealed inside.
These men opened the gates of the city and let in the main army of the Greeks, who had sailed back again as soon as darkness had fallen.
Thus Troy was captured and destroyed.
Long ago the blind poet of ancient Greece, Homer, told about the Trojan horse in his Odyssey.
Even today the name is applied to a person or persons who get inside enemy territory and help outside forces to get in and conquer it

Ilonggos in trade delegation who worked ‘silently’

“Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.”
--Frank Ocean

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- When I had a chance to engage Iloilo City Tourism Officer Junel Ann Divinagracia in a long tete-a-tete at the Madison Square Park after the 120th Philippine Independence Day parade here organized by the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI) on June 3, the first thing I asked was “Where is Department of Tourism (DoT) Regional Director Helen Camarista-Catalbas?”
Since two flashy regional festivals--Iloilo City’s Dinagyang and Guimaras’ Manggahan--and one trade mission were involved in the sizzling East Coast event, Atty. Catalbas should have been in the entourage, Divinagracia explained.
But because the new DoT secretary, Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, has just assumed and has been constantly communicating with all regional directors in the country, Atty. Catalbas probably needed to stay behind, she surmised.
Divinagracia pointed out that Atty. Catalbas "has been very supportive" of all their programs, including both in their tourism and business-related activities, especially when Iloilo City hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministeral meeting in 2015.

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I also missed Divinagracia’s predecessor, city tourism consultant Ben Jimena, who first accompanied the Tribu Panayanon during the 2013 Philippine Independence Day parade here in a delegation led by Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.
As I have asserted several times, City Hall should bring one representative from the Public Information Office (PIO) in the next trade mission and investment forum.
PIO Chief Lucy Montealto-Sinay or her representative would be able to greatly help sustain the publicity of the day to day week-long activities.
Mayor Jose Espinosa III talked lengthily and enormously about Iloilo City’s peace and order during the open fora.
It won’t hurt if in the next trade mission, they tag along the chief or a representive from the Iloilo City Police Office (IPPO) to speak about peace and order and assure potential investors of their security.
There were other Ilonggos in the delegation who worked silently and were sparingly mentioned in the media but who, in one way or the other, have made gigantic contributions in the success of the first-ever private-initiated Iloilo City Trade Mission and Investment Forum Ilonggo Fashion and Jewelry Show in the East Coast on June 4-10, 2018.

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I didn’t have the exact list of all Iloilo delegation members, but I spotted Iloilo City Councilor Plaridel Nava, who came with his family. Nava talked about the Iloilo City Ordinance on Noise Pollution in the EduCare for Early Childhood Education talk in Fairfax, Virginia.
His wife helped model for hablon cloths in the Virginia leg fashion show.
Alma May Tayo, chair of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Iloilo Chapter Exhibitors’ Committee, also actively joined the trade mission in New York, Virginia and Washington D.C. and the New York City Independence Day parade.
City Tourism Operations Officer Florence King Haro Erlano and Iloilo City Tourism and Development Office staff Sheena Julienne Galon did amazing reinforcement tasks during the parade and the trade mission and investment forum.
Executive Assistant Jojo Castro, “Iloilo City’s Bong Go”, was with City Engineer Bobby Divinagracia, Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation boss Ramon Cua Locsin, and Iloilo City National High School principal and Tribu Panayanon tribe manager, Dr. Blesilda V. Floro.

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City Mayor’s Office staff Rosita Celiz did a factotum for Iloilo City First Lady Gina Sarabia-Espinosa and Secretariat Chief Florence Hibionada.
The rest of the team, led by Dr. Emily Noserale Hagad, president and project coordinator of Philcoman Research Institute, Inc. in the private sector, were Commercial Diplomat for Trade Relations of the City Rex Aguado, City Local Economic Enterprise Officer Jose Ariel Castañeda, City Planning Coordinator Jose Roni Peñalosa, Western Visayas State University College of Communication Dean, Dr. Carmencita "Menchie" Robles, University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV) Vice Chancellor Mary Ann Gumban, Iloilo Business Park-Megaworld Sales Director Carla Margarita Perez, Eon Group of Companies founder and CEO Felicito Tiu, StackTreck Enterprises CEO Billy Shung Hei Yuen, and journalists Tara Yap (Manila Bulletin) and Herbert Vego (Panay News), who also did Herculean efforts to promote Iloilo City as an ideal and perfect hub for business, tourism, education and investment.