Visit Cicada Hills: Recreation, Events and Solitude

Davao City - The smooth 3-hour ride from the downtown area via Buda Highway could easily bring you to Cicada Hills located in the boundary between Davao City and Bukidnon Province. Cicada Hills is part of Brgy. Lorega, Kitaotao, Bukidnon. 

Cicada Hills Entrance. Photo by Br. Jeff U. Pioquinto, SJ 

I didn't notice a signage of its name along the highway but it was easy to locate because its entrance way is directly fronting Seagull Mountain Resort (the more popular rest and recreation spot in the area). 


After we alighted our van, we were warmly greeted by the cool weather and the smiling staff already expecting our arrival. 

Our team was there for a Planning Workshop, wanting to stay away from the hustle and bustle of the city as we do the daunting workshop. It was a great decision to conduct the activity at Cicada hills because it provided a light and cool ambiance for the discussions of serious issues of the office's operation. 

Roaming around the resort, one could easily envisage bringing a family for short vacation or some sort of rest and recreation. Aside from it being like a little Baguio in this part of the city, Cicada Hills also have a swimming pool. According to its manager Liza, the best time to swim is noontime up to the rest of the afternoon as the water gets very cold in the evening or early in morning.  

Cicada hills also offers a good venue for personal solitude. It is so serene and calm. A good place to reflect and soul-search, if you may. At times the silence of the place is broken by the sound of the bees and the birds in the protected forest which is the backdrop of the whole resort. 

Since they don't have their own resto yet, you may bring in and cook your own food. They have a spacious kitchen, and dining sets are ready for the use of guests. 

If you plan for a getaway that is truly restful and fun, visit Cicada Hills. 

For reservation, you may contact Liza @09177962202 and 092558-CICADA (242232).

This Swan welcomes you at the gate. 

Giant pine trees line up just outside the gate of Cicada Hills. 

The Main door of the cottage we stayed.

There are a number of cottages you can choose from depending on the size of your group. 

Cicada Hills features some of the works of local renowned artist Victor Secuya. This one is dedicated to the place. 

This fire place located in the main function/dining could be a piece of conversation. 

Another Secuya piece. 

A special nook just for anything: drinking coffee or tea, reading a good book or just getting some sun.  

Cicada Hills offers a panoramic view of Brgy. Lorega in Kitaotao, Bukidnon. 

The Living area of our cottage features another Secuya artwork, a wooden center table with carving depicting Philippine rural lifestyle topped with glass and a furniture where you can easily    

Dining space turned working space with the protected forest. 

Opps! picked some colorful petals to add to the ambiance of our working table. 

Something for the kids and kids-at-heart. 

At night you can enjoy a bonfire. 

Brilliant SONA 2016 from Brillante Mendoza

Director Brillante Mendoza directs the first State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte. Presidential Communications/Released

Film Director Brillante Mendoza achieved what he was aiming for: make common viewers feel that president Duterte is close to them while watching in their living rooms, in barbershops, in carenderia or even with their cellular phones.

His cuts were unorthodox and unprecedented for an event like State of the Nation Address of the President. Lighting was subdued as opposed to the previous ones with well-illuminated plenary hall. The screen’s output of somewhat color-graded videos commands sincerity and dominance of the speaker, who is the highest leader of the land.

Shots of the hand movements, midriff shots (shoulder to waist),under-the-nostrils angle, the close-up shots and the one-third – two thirds shot of the president and the Philippine national flag were well-planned. It made one feel that the president is so much within reach but at the same time sent a message that he is strong and powerful.

Although, I was annoyed on transitions at some point.

All in all, Brillante was brilliant in his new take of how SONA should be felt by the masses who are not inside the hall. He made his own platform of “change” that this administration is standing on.

For video, here's one from Rappler:

#Dapaw: Official Entry to the 9th Mindanao Film Festival

#Dapaw is a short narrative film about Jessica Bustamante, a typical millennial who is a newly hired public school teacher assigned in remote Brgy. Dapaw.

While Jessica tries to be the best teacher that she could be, it is her new environment and her pupils have become her "teachers" for the real lessons of life. HEr assignment has opened her eyes to the glaring issues of poor quality education, insurgency, poverty and the seeming neglect of the government in the area. 

Watch it here:

Mindanao Film Festival to showcase Guerrilla Films

 

Guerrilla Filmmaking Workshop attendees with mentor direk Arnel Mardoquio (6th L). Photo: Mindanao Film and Television Development Foundation, Inc.

Local filmmakers gear up to showcase this week short and full-length films in the 9^th Mindanao Film Festival.

This year’s MFF to be screened at Cinema 5 of Gaisano Mall of Davao from December 4-10, 2013 is said to be record-breaking with over 50 entries from across Mindanao.

Among the competing entries are five short films and two animation films as output of the 11^th Guerrilla Filmmaking workshop conducted by the Mindanao Film and Television Development Foundation, Inc (MFTDFI).

Guerrilla films are made by independent filmmakers with low budget, minimal equipment, skeleton crews and mostly unadulterated ambient environment.  The batch 11 filmmaking workshop attendees were given two weeks to submit their film for screening.

One entry is “#Dapaw” is a short narrative film of the experiences of the young teacher assigned in a remote public school. Being the techie-city girl, the main character Jessica Bustamante is astounded as she swirled in the realities of poverty, lack access to social services and the seeming neglect of government in the area her assignment.

 “Panyawan” talks about the waning family values especially the respect for the elderly. Nanay Sally, started a sojourn to visit her three children living in the city. After a long time of not seeing them, she expected warmth and loving affection but to her disappointment she was met with rejection.

  

"Panalipod Onlayn" is a short film that shows the effects of children's privacy when parents expose them too much to the online world.

"This Ring" is a short film about a married couple on the brink of breaking up and is forced to come in terms with their own marriage at their only daughter's wedding. The film was inspired by a recent survey that there is a growing number of broken marriages in Davao City.

“Lutaw” is a story military men and the politics and scandals that hound the institution.

The animation films included “The Mouse who could Fly” depicting the a mouse which conquered the skies and “The Imagination of Mr. Reil”  revolves on a story of a lone man and his imaginary friend who teaches him to appreciate and value the things around him.

The guerilla films are blocked together for its screen on December 5 (1:30PM), December 6 (7:30 PM the Gala Screening) and December 8 (8:00PM).

9th Mindanao Film Festival

The Guerrilla Films: Lutaw, Panalipod Onlayn #Dapaw, Pnayawan and the Ring

Magnificat: The Musical Envagelization of Faith

Magnificat cast performing the last song of the play.

The ways of evangelization is evolving, and one college in Davao City dares to bring onstage the Gospel through music and dances.

Through the musical play billed as Magnificat: Joy of an Encounter, the Gabriel Taborin College of Davao (GTCD) in Barangay Lasang put onstage the ensemble of more than 60 students to be Gospel characters, choir members and dancers to a theatrical performance that revolves on the central theme of faith.

Bishop Emeritus Fernando R. Capalla express his admiration to the play.

“The Gospel has come to life.”

This was how Bishop Emeritus Fernando R. Capalla described the musical in his short message at the end of the play.

Capalla said the messages of love, forgiveness and faith were clearly delivered in every portrayal, which brought him to tears.

“The musical play was the contribution of GTCD in the closing activities of the Catholic Church’s universal celebration of the Year of Faith,” said Executive Director Bro. Davide del Barba, FSF.

Mary, sings Magnificat Anima Mea Domonum

The Catholic Church in the world celebrated the Year of Faith from October 11, 2012, to October 24, 2013. 

Inspired by Mary’s canticle (Luke 1:46-55), the musical was originally in Italian language borne from a summer workshop of the Brothers of the Holy Family in the early 1980s. In 2003 the first English version was staged in the Philippines through the efforts of Bro. Davide del Barba, who is also the musical director of the play.

After 10 years, the English version was revived, now aligned to the Year of Faith celebration and in time also for the 150th death anniversary of Bro. Gabriel Taborin, the founder of the Brothers of the Holy Family.

The play opened with the solemn rendition of “Credo Domini,” the Year of Faith’s official hymn as Cavanis Fr. Arman Bacalso led the renewal of vows of baptism.  The musical, which run for one-hour and 30 minutes, portrayed the characters in the Gospel who are the source of inspiration and examples that exemplify faith.

The Samaritan Woman

Among the characters were the Samaritan woman who gave Jesus water from the well and where Jesus opened her understanding that God is the water that “quenches the thirst” forever.

The teacher of the law Nicodemus came to see Jesus at night in secret so he could not be seen by the crowd talking to Jesus. In the meeting, Jesus has taught Nicodemus that he should be reborn in spirit and become a child to enter the Kingdom of God. The scene posted the strong challenge of renewal.

The Adulteress

The stories of the disciples Peter, Judas and Mary Magdalene kindled the question of how strong the people’s faith is to God and the challenge to overcome temptations and win the grace of God through faith.

Jesus’s healing of the blind man Barthimeus was symbolic of how the people are blinded in many ways, and that it is the man’s faith that heals himself. While the story of the adulteress, who was condemned by the public, evokes forgiveness.

Peter

The feel-good scene of Zaccheus, the tax collector, a sinner whom Jesus dined with, gave comic and uplifting relief to a heavy message of renewal and giving back to the community.

And ultimately, the model of faith, the story of Mary as she praised God singing Magnificat anima mea Dominum (My Soul Magnifies the Lord), where Mary proclaims the Lord’s greatness with humility and grace. The song connected to audience well that one could feel praising God with the song.

Resurrection Scene

The whole story was stitched together with the character of the present-time teacher who met Gabriel, the institute’s founder, and how they relate the story of the Gospel into the present situations of the community of faithful.

The enthusiastic response of the audience motivated the Brothers to have a repeat performance on November 29 for a humanitarian cause. Proceeds of the ticket sales will entirely go to the victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda.

“We are happy and proud of what we have produced,” del Barba said. “Convinced that this form of new evangelization through music and dances is a powerful way of conveying Jesus’s message to the new generation,” he added.

The Brothers of the Holy Family dubbed themselves as educators of the youth since 1835.

The Cast and production crew acknowledge the applause of the audience.

Lyndon’s: Davao City’s “Nega-Star” Resto

Lanang Branch.

Food has never been marketed in a bad taste, but Lyndon’s --- a Barbeque restaurant in Davao City seems to be getting the attention by doing the unconventional.

Lyndon’s marquee banners World’s worst ribs and awful chicken as star of their menu. With that catch, curious foodies flock to taste the world’s worst food.

Negative appeal ads have never quiet effective as employed by this local barbeque house. The resto might not have that “box-office” queue of patronage but with the lunch I spent in the resto, I observed people come and go: couples, groups, and individuals. And at night time too,

showed they really have parishioners. 

Also in their menu are the Disgusting Steamed Tilapia, Wild Scallops , Tadyang ni Ruby, the Tasteless Pansit Canton, Horrible Mechado Rubbish Caldereta and many more ugly tasties.  

Now, does their barbeque really taste that awful?

Well, that’s reverse psychology applied. Their hefty, let me say generous, serving of the world’s worst ribs and awful chicken wasn’t bad at all. Not really extraordinary to the taste but the tender meat with especially concoction of a sauce makes it a contender for a one of the more tasty barbeque around the city.

Affordability: Just like many of the barbeque resto in the City, Lyndon’s is very affordable.

Place and Ambience: Simple. Nothing fancy. Just the way I like it.

What more? I suggest you visit one of their branches.

They have three branches in the City, one in Roxas Avenue, one in Bajada which they will be closing starting September 1, and the one we tried out  the Lanang branch.

Soon they will be rolling out more ugly menu names of Seafoods Paluto and  Organic food such like roasted Duck, native chicken & native pork meat cooked on their trademark Adobe Pugon.

The worst ribs of the world was on my plate.

The Ire of Duterte Loyalists

A friend of mine, a well-educated woman, wrote her mind out in her blog about the recent tragic incident in the city. 

The way she presented her ideas on democracy, democratic governance and society, and human rights were done in a simple, sensible and civil manner hoping maybe she could shed light and present the other (mostly overlooked) side of the coin and provoke a productive reaction. 

Claiming it as her personal view, the article also had a tone challenging the manner how the local authorities handled the situation. No local media here, in my personal opinion, has ever written such a poignant article that "touched raw nerves." 

Despite the seemingly enlightened discourse of her blog entry, it was totally antithetical to the opinion of the majority of the netizens especially those living in Davao city and who are 'ardent supporters and trancedly loyal' to the current mayor and those who idolize Duterte even if they live from afar. 

When she gave permission for her blog entry to be uploaded on a Davao-based news website which has about 8,000 Facebook followers, the chaos began. 

The netizens' reactions were anticipated. But it was not the scholarly, productive discussion thing that took place. What came in were the rave of maniacal, rabid and blood-thirsty tongue-lashing netizens ready to tear her to pieces. 

Only a handful appreciated what she was talking about and commended how she bravely pointed to us the "more lawful" direction; and for showing that not all has yielded to that rising Culture of Impunity. 

There was name calling: idiot, ignorant, non-sense, they even called her a whore.

Did she deserve all of that? Hell, no! 

No one deserves to be chastised for speaking his or her mind out. She was talking of the commonly recognized but never understood, much more, practiced (esp. Davao city) concept of 'due process' which many of us might not fully comprehend due to our limited exposure and education. The concept of democracy and due process ,after all, cannot be appreciated in the streets.  So ironic, I guess, since we won our democracy on the streets.

Her distaste for the people's rejoicing over the public execution of the "criminals" was perceived as support to criminals and their act. With it, they wished her ill.

She wrote, she bled.  

But she deserved nothing of all that negative vibes and stress. 

I believe she got better education than most of those who lambasted her. She was way above their league, so to speak.  She is in the position to write what she wrote.

Given it was on the public domain like internet, and feedback is a component  of democratic dynamism, she took the reactions with a grain of salt. (If it were me, I could have treated it with a load of sh*t.)

The article (a blog entry, not a news story just to be clear) was not at all offensive. It talked about the rule of law, of the justice system however frustrating the process maybe, of human rights, of being civil and being human. If only our minds are open and our eyes are not blinded by hypnotic following of whoever has influence on us. 

Personally, I think the reactions were bordering somewhere between insane, comic and hopelessness. Some of them, only confirmed what she wrote, about how the scary culture of impunity has slowly crept in the consciousness of people. To give you an example, here's one:

".... Davaonos are different and our mentality of justice is different for a reason. We don't waste time in killing, yes KILLING criminals because the rest of the country is ineffective and completely incompetent in dealing with such matters...." - from K****** Marfori.

 Scary. Just Scary. 

Now, a lesson or two can be learned from my friend's experience. But, I appreciate how calmly, civilly, bravely and intelligently she handled the situation she was in.

At the end of the day, what is important is we stood by the principles we believed in. We have chosen which side we favored, for not choosing between the "white or the black" is tantamount to being dead.

Well, life continues. A beautiful one is ahead of us.

Consenting to the Culture of Impunity

(I have forgotten about this blog. The blog which I intended to write feel-good stuff about Davao City and maybe about Mindanao. But now I might shift to writing more than just the feel-good things.)


It was the recent "shootout" incident in Davao City that prodded me to find a venue where I could vent out my thoughts on the issue. 

That fateful Thursday afternoon, I got my hands busy juggling with things both at work and personal matters. I had no idea what was happening in downtown Davao. When I logged in on my FB account, a seaman friend of mine, as of this posting was in Russia, sent me a PM asking on news about the shooting incident near Allied Bank in Claveria Street. (That seaman worked in Allied Bank before).

As I had nothing to share with him, I "Googled" it and searched possible FB accounts which might have info on the matter. My little research revealed me this info: 

Three suspected members of a kidnap-for-ransom group were killed in a shootout with police authorities in Davao City. Two died on the spot while the other died at the hospital. The shootout occurred at a bank in Claveria where the kidnap victim, who was accompanied by her abductors, was supposed to withdraw the P15 million ransom at around 12:30 p.m.

....Manhunt operations against the 10 other suspects who escaped on board two vehicles are still ongoing. Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has issued a shoot-to-kill order against the suspects.  (News Excerpt)

And then, the flood of pictures and video, so gruesome I cannot believe people, most of them residents of Davao, were applauding them, sharing them on their FB timelines.  One newly elected politician posted the graphic video (shared more than 13K times the last time I checked) captioned with a harsh warning to criminals and would-be criminals messing in the city.

Either they felt victorious that bad elements were gunned down in their city where the Mayor pledged to keep them safe and secure by going after criminals and law offenders; or to show support for the local authorities, or for the sake of joining the bandwagon at that moment (another fleeting internet phenom.) Whatever reasons they have, I think it was so twisted to hit me to the core and led me to ask myself, "What has become to the people of Davao?"

I felt aghast at how they accorded praises to whoever they thought it was due, how condemning they were, and how "proud" they were of the bloodbath.  

(I opt not to post screen captures of FB postings as examples, since they are my friends and even relatives. We have dissenting opinions to the issue.) 

I am with you guys; yes, they are criminals, like those kidnappers, are menace to the society. But we are a community of human beings. We have laws. And criminals they maybe, they have rights granted to them by the democracy we all enjoy. 

So, where is the due process?  Whatever happened to it? We just couldn't kill anyone summarily. We cannot allow ourselves to become ruthless animals. 

I am pretty sure you will point out the "rules of engagement." They-shoot-first, police-fires-back. I've thought of it too. But hey, are we that intolerant to yield to the easy-way of getting things done. Remember they got the others inside the bank, right. 

I live in Davao City for half of my life, I have benefited from the strong hand of the local government against criminals. It made me feel at peace and secure. I am thankful. But it doesn't change my opinion on summary executions.

The incident was not a fictional entertainment. More that the actually shooting and killing, it involved realities of how we perceive democracy and the benefits it afforded us;  our reverence to human rights, or to basic grain of respect to human being. 

The local media was on their usual news stunt: straight, just-the-fact news of the incident. They were doing their job. I am not in the position to question them, but I was hoping for them, as the so-called fourth estate of the society, someone could have raised the question on the culture of impunity. And their stories to delve on the accountability of those in authority, just to provide the balance to the information being circulated among the masses; to help provide a clearer picture as to how people should critically create opinions. 

But none so far. This is a scary picture, that's all I can say.

Our actions and reactions, the causes we support, the ideals we fight for are a matter of personal values, morals, the kind of education we get, and the kind of society we want to live.

Should we condone the Culture of Impunity?

Let me hear your thoughts, too. Please leave a comment. Thanks.