The Philippines is blessed with vast natural resources and a number of popular tourist destinations. And one of the most-visited spots in the country is the Puerto Princesa Subterranean National Park, formerly known as the St. Paul Subterranean National Park. It was later changed by President Estrada to its current name under Proclamation No. 212. Through this proclamation, the area was increased from 3, 901 hectares to 22, 202 hectares to include the offshoots of the underground river and the park was also declared as a protected area of the Network Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) Act of 1992.

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is situated 50 kilometers north of the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan. It can be found in the Saint Paul Mountain Range bordered by St. Paul Bay to the north and the Babuyan River to the east. Entry to this beautiful subterranean river can be found from the little town of Sabang.

This spectacular place has been declared a premier ecotourism destination and included in the prestigious UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) World Heritage List. It is now considered as one of the sites with “outstanding universal value” due to its intense beauty and natural importance.

Tubbataha Reef is currently one of the nominees for the New Seven Wonders of the World. I will tell you more about it so that you can see why Tubbataha Reef should be included as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Tubbataha Reef, also known as Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park, has become one of the Philippines’ protected marine sanctuaries ever since it was established on August 11, 1988 through Proclamation No. 306, which prohibits fishing and collecting of corals within the 33,200 hectares of its reefs and surrounding areas. It is located at the Cagayan Ridge in the central region of the Sulu Sea which is 181 kilometers southeast of Puerto Princesa, Palawan. This magnificent coral reef is administered by Cagayancillo, a municipality of Palawan.

Not only is it protected by different Philippine organizations like the Department of National Defense (DND), Provincial Government of Palawan and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), but it was also declared as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1993, thereby acknowledging its exceptional worldwide value in relation to its rich and diverse marine life species.

Photo by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado of http://photos.the-protagonist.net

Filipinos love to celebrate and whenever they do, they always make stringent preparations especially for the food served to guests, and most of the time, guests are pampered with different delectable Filipino dishes. Considered as one of the most popular Filipino food is Kare-Kare. It is present during fiestas, birthdays, reunions, family gatherings or even on an ordinary dining day with families and friends. It is well-liked by Filipinos and even foreigners.

Jose Rizal, a film released in June 1998 which was directed by Marilou Diaz-Abaya, was one of the highly acclaimed movies in the country. Despite the horrible historical inaccuracies pointed out by critics, this award-winning movie gathered numerous awards and nominations on different awarding bodies such as the 1998 Metro Manila Film Festival, 1999 FAMAS Awards, 1999 Gawad Urian Awards and 1999 Star Awards for Movies. It was also one of the most expensive films in the history of the Philippine movie industry with a record-breaking 80 million pesos budget.

I have seen Muro-Ami when I was in my junior year in high school. It was a requirement of our Filipino class to watch the film and make a reaction paper. At that time, I was not very interested to watch it. I am into fantasy films and thus a movie like Muro-Ami does not suit my taste for movies. But since it was a requisite for juniors, I did not have any choice but to watch it.

I expected the film to be boring and thought that I would fall asleep while watching it but while the film was rolling, I realized that I was gradually hooked up to it.

Amidst the crashing of waves and the raging seas against the cliffs and the sonorous voices of the winds, lies a serene and majestic place in the northernmost part of the country. The magnificence of Batanes captivated the amazing tandem of filmmakers Adolfo Alix, Jr. and his Co-Director Dave Hukom. They both agreed that this wondrous place is the best location for a powerful and heart-warming love story and it led them to do the film Batanes which was inspired by the place itself.

It was revealed that while Alix was shooting his previous film, Kadin, in Batanes, he got inspired to do a love story set in the place. He learned about Vietnamese and Taiwanese fishermen who sometimes get stranded in the islands during typhoons. He thought that it was the perfect material to explore thus he brought with him the writer, Arah Jell Badayos, who did interviews with the Ivatans and came across a Vietnamese who got lost in the sea and found his way to Batanes and eventually married a local.

The movie Batanes was somehow inspired by that idea. The love story revolves in the character of Pam (Iza Calzado), a woman who decided to give up her urban life in Manila to marry a fisherman, Rico (Joem Bascon), in Batanes. They had an ideal marriage but their happiness was cut short when Rico was lost in the sea leaving Pam in anguish. She wanted to leave Batanes to forget the pains of losing her husband but she decided to stay and face her sorrows.

Batanes, considered the smallest and farthest province in the Philippine archipelago, is part of a group of islands called Batanes Islands which are located in the northernmost part of the Philippines. Among these islands, Itbayan, Batan and Sabtang are inhabited and are considered three of the largest islands. Its capital town, Basco, is located in Batan. Due to its topography, it is blessed to have a cooler climate with sometimes a below normal temperature of 13 degree celsius or 55 degrees fahrenheit similar to that of Taiwan.