Named after Dr. Higinio Mendoza, war hero of Palawan. Doctor Mendoza’s resistance to Japanese control led to his execution at Canigaran on January 24, 1944. His remains and those of several unknown soldiers were entered into the memorial found on one side of the park.

The park is shaded by age-old acacia trees and surrounded with ornamental plants. On the east side of the park is an amphitheater where countless presentations are year-long. (Puerto Princesa City Tourism Office)

Location: Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Get to see and realize how vast and beautiful the island of Palawan is by visiting Rancho Sta. Monica. A viewdeck owned by the Mitra’s, Rancho Sta. Monica offers the most breathtaking view of Palawan a few hundred feet above the rest of the city.
Public transport bound for Sta. Monica are found along Malvar St. Chartered vehicles are also available to the ranch. (Puerto Princesa City Tourism Office)

Location: Sta. Monica Heights, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan

In 1872, a Spanish expedition proclaimed the Immaculate Conception of Mary as the patroness of Puerto Princesa. That same year, the first mass was celebrated here. However it took almost a century before the cathedral on Rizal Avenue, going to the pier, was built in 1961 under then Bishop Most Rev. Gregorio Espiga. The angular structure departs from most churches in other parts of the Philippines, providing visitors with an interesting glimpse of unconventional religious structure. (Puerto Princesa City Tourism Office)

Location: City Proper, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan

The Philippines’ largest airline, Cebu Pacific (CEB) expects delivery of three more brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft during the last quarter of this year as part of its expansion plan. As a result, it will increase frequencies to several domestic and international flights.

Because of this, Cebu Pacific offers a 50% off system-wide seat sale promo fare to any of its 33 domestic and 16 international destinations from July 10-12, 2010, for travel from September 1 to October 31, 2010.

This includes flights to Brunei, Beijing, Osaka, Seoul (Incheon), Busan, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Taipei, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

Domestic flights on 50% off sale include flights from Manila to Boracay (Caticlan), Cauayan, Tuguegarao, Laoag, Coron (Busuanga), Dumaguete, Cebu, Surigao and Pagadian, as well as flights from Cebu to Dipolog, Bacolod, Iloilo and Butuan. Cebu Pacific also has direct flights from Davao to Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and Cebu.

This seat sale is meant to push the airline’s additional domestic and international flights. Starting October 27, 2010, Cebu Pacific will increase frequencies from Manila to Cagayan de Oro (6 times daily), Zamboanga (thrice daily), Pagadian (5 times weekly), Davao (6 times daily), Tagbilaran (twice daily), Coron (12 times weekly) and Kalibo (16 times weekly).

On November 24, 2010, the following flights will also have increased frequencies: Manila-Boracay (79 times weekly), Manila-Cebu (13 times daily), Cebu-Boracay (twice daily), Cebu-General Santos (daily), Cebu-Puerto Princesa (daily), and Cebu-Bacolod (twice daily). The Cebu-Zamboanga and Davao-Zamboanga routes will also be upgraded from an ATR72-500 to an Airbus A319, increasing capacity for its daily flights.

Meanwhile, Taipei flights will become daily starting October 31, 2010, and Jakarta flights will be 4 times weekly starting December 19, 2010. Seoul (Incheon) flights will be twice daily starting January 24, 2011.

“We encourage every Juan to take advantage of our additional flights and 50% off system-wide seat sale to explore different local and international destinations,” said Cebu Pacific VP for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog.

“The frequency increases are part of our expansion plan, as we expect delivery of three brand-new Airbus A320 during the last quarter of this year. We are very excited and look forward to offering more high quality travel products to our guests,” she added.

For bookings and inquiries, go to www.cebupacificair.com or http://funtours.cebupacificair.com, call (02) 7020-888 or (032) 230-8888 or visit nearest travel agents. Guests who need to manage their bookings (rebook, cancel, reroute, among others) can do so through the ‘Manage My Bookings’ section in the Cebu Pacific website.

Based on Civil Aeronautics Board data, Cebu Pacific overtook Philippine Airline’s passenger numbers in the first quarter of 2010, making it the largest airline in the Philippines. Cebu Pacific flies to the most ASEAN destinations and routes from the Philippines, and is the only low-cost carrier to fly to all the major North Asian countries of Japan, South Korea and China.

Taft Street. Plaza Cuartel is the restored ruins of an old garrison where Japanese soldiers burned 143 American prisoners of war inside a tunnel and stands as a grim reminder of World War II atrocities. Only ten prisoners survived to tell the story about what happened inside that tunnel. (Puerto Princesa City Tourism Office)

Location: City Proper, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan

Get yourself immersed in local day-to-day life as you visit the market where most of the local produce are brought for commercial purposes. Fresh sea foods, as well as recognized Palawan food items such as kasuy and lamayo are available at affordable prices.
The market is located along Malvar Street. One can take a tricycle since most ply along this route. (Puerto Princesa City Tourism Office)

Location: Malvar Street, City Proper, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan

Palawan Museum. The Museum is the repository of Palawan relics and artifacts including those from Tabon Cave, where remains of first Filipino were found. The structure that now houses the museum used to be the seat of the City Government of Puerto Princesa. (Puerto Princesa City Tourism Office)

Location Map

Location: Puerto Princesa City, Palawan

A developed seafront strip in Puerto Princesa City providing a scenic place to view the sunset.It is located just beside the seaport in Downtown, Puerto Princesa.

Location: City Proper, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan

Silica Beach and Nasin-aw Beach are great places to visit for a swim or just bumming on a white sand beach without leaving the confines of Puerto Princesa City Proper. The place is just approx.10-15 minutes by tricycle from the Airport or Rizal St.

Location Map

Location: Puerto Princesa, Palawan

How to Get to Batad from Banaue Town Proper

A jeepney leaves Banaue Town Proper (stationed in front of the Public Market) once daily every afternoon at around 2-4pm. The fare is P150 and travel time is 1 hour. If you’re arriving in Banaue early morning, you can rent a jeepney to take you there. If you’re traveling in alone or in a small group, you can try to find other tourists enroute to Batad who are willing to split the cost of renting the jeepney

How to Get to Banaue Town Proper from Batad

A jeepney leaved Batad for Banaue Town Proper every morning at 10am. The fare is P150 and travel time is 1 hour.

How to Get around Batad

There are no motorized vehicles to be found anywhere in Batad village since there are no roads. This means, of course, that one must get around on foot. You will find a lot of local people wanting to guide you trough the various interesting places of the village for P400.

While the rice terraces of Banaue are mud-walled, those of Batad are stone-walled. They form an amphitheatre and are an impressive sight. These amazing irrigated rice paddies were carved into the mountains over two thousand years ago. The village is nestled among perhaps the finest examples of them in the region. Anywhere in or above the village provides phenomenal views.

Accessibility: The a magnificent view of the “ampitheatre” can already seen from Batad village. You may walk along them if you like. It is around a 15 minute trek to the terraces itself from Batad Village Center.

Manila – Banaue Bus Schedules, Bus Lines, and Bus Terminals

Florida

• Manila Terminal: Earnshaw St. cor. Loyola, Espana, Manila City, Metro Manila
• Frequency: Twice Daily at 10:00PM and 10:45PM
• Fare: P400 for first bus and P450 for 2nd bus
• Travel Time: 8-9 hours
• Contact Details: +632-731-5358

Autobus

• Manila Terminal: Dimasalang corner Laong-laan Street, Sampaloc, Manila City, Metro Manila (in front of University of Santo Tomas)
• Frequency: Once Daily at 10:00PM
• Fare: P400
• Travel Time: 8-9 hours
• Contact Details: +632-743-3227 or 735-8096 or 736-2831 or 735-8098

Cable Tours (Manila to Bontoc via Banaue)

• Manila Terminal: E. Rodriguez Sr. Boulevard, Makati City, Metro Manila (near Trinity University of Asia and St. Luke’s Hospital)
• Frequency: Once Daily at 8:00PM
• Fare: P400
• Travel Time: 8-9 hours
• Contact Details: 0929-819-4688, +6374-774-1290, 0927-265-3929

The Tappiyah Waterfalls is 70 meters tall with a wide swimming pool. A visit to Batad Rice Terraces would be incomplete without seeing this beautiful cascading waterfall with an enormous natural pool. The Tappiyah Waterfalls can be reached about 30 minutes walk from the village of Batad. (Banaue Tourism Council).

To go to Tappiyah Waterfalls without guide: When arriving to Batad Village Proper from the saddle point, walk towards the rice terraces amphitheater. Go through past it and up to the promontory. From here, go down again. There are stairs / pathways from this point and it will end at the foot of the waterfalls.

The Banaue Ethnic Village and Pine Forest Resort is located along the highway past the viewpoints / viewing deck of the Banaue Rice Terraces. It can be reached by Jeepney or Tricycle approx. 20 minutes from the Banaue Town Proper or 10 minutes from the highest / furthest viewpoint. The entrance fee to Banaue Ethnic Village and Pine Forest Resort is P50.

Location Map

The most spectacular views are in Banaue Town Proper, Batad, and Cambolo. There are excellent viewpoints along the highway to Bontoc just a few kilometers from Banaue Town Center. The panoramic view on the highest viewpoint in Banaue almost accurately resembles the illustration of the Ifugao Rice Terraces printed on the PHP1,000 bill.

Location Map

The numerous viewpoints of the Ifugao Rice Terraces are conveniently located just a few kilometers from Banaue Town Proper. There are a lot of tricycles for hire to get to any of the viewpoints for P80-P100 per tricycle. Travel time is less than 15 minutes to the highest viewpoint. It is also possible to walk uphill, which will take around 1-2 hours by foot to the highest viewpoint.

Taxi

The most obvious and easiest option is to take a taxi, which can be quite expensive depending on how far your destination is. A ride to Mall of Asia in Pasay City costs around P150 and around P300 – P500 to most places in the City Center. From Manila International Airport, there is a taxi queue outside the terminal at the right side of arrival area upon exit. The airport management will give you a piece of paper with the details of the taxi you boarded and contact details of the airport office. These taxis are generally safe since the airport management takes note of each taxi leaving the airport.

When going to the airport it is always important, as with any other city, to insist that the driver use the meter. Never agree to ride the taxi if the driver fails to turn the meter on.

NAIA Loop Shuttle Bus

For those considering a cheap, safe, and comfortable option, passengers can use the Airport Shuttle (NAIA Loop Bus) located further away from the taxi queue. The Airport Shuttle has only 1 route, looping from Terminal 3 to the other terminals (Domestic Terminal, Terminal 1, and Terminal 2) in the NAIA complex and then going to Pasay Rotunda. The drop off point in Pasay Rotunda is within a short walk to the MRT – Taft Station (Blue Line) and LRT – EDSA Station (Yellow Line).

Google Map of NAIA Loop Bus Drop-off and Pick-up point in Pasay Rotunda:

The fare from NAIA Terminal 3 to Pasay Rotunda is just P20. Additionally, the Airport Shuttle complex is free when transporting from Terminal 3 to other terminals in the airport complex for the convenience of passengers with connecting flights. When going to NAIA Terminal 3, the pick-up point for passengers is also the same as the drop-off point  (in Pasay Rotunda), the NAIA Loop Shuttle bus leaves approximately every hour.

Train (Manila Light Rail Transit)

A direct railway line to and from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is still in the planning stages. The southern extension of the LRT (Yellow Line) is codenamed LRT-6 and will run from Baclaran all the way to Cavite, passing NAIA.

Based on Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) data, Cebu Pacific flew 1.97 million guests during the first quarter, out of 3.89 million domestic air travelers. CAB data also showed that Cebu Pacific cargo transported 20.49 million kilos, out of 38.50 million kilos in air cargo early this year. This gives Cebu Pacific Airlines 50.6% market share when it comes to domestic passengers, and 53.2% market share for cargo.

The sale includes seats to and from Osaka, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Kota Kinabalu, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Taipei, among other Cebu Pacific Air international destinations. Also up for grabs are seats to prime tourist destinations such as Boracay (Caticlan), Puerto Princesa (Palawan), Busuanga (Coron), Cebu, Bohol (Tagbilaran), Siargao, Dumaguete and Laoag. Inter-island flights for those visiting family and friends are also available, including Cebu-Clark, Cebu-Bacolod, Cebu-Iloilo, Davao-Zamboanga and Davao-Cagayan de Oro.

Cebu Pacific would like to celebrate with their passengers, given the things they have achieved so far this year, and offer even lower fares than usual. So hurry, grab your 50% off seats at www.cebupacificair.com now!

see also 20 Busiest Airports in the Philippines in 2009.

2009 Passenger Traffic in Philippine Airports

Because of the archipelagic set-up of the Philippines, airports are an important means of inter-island transportation. Here is a list of the top 20 busiest airports in the country according to passenger movement in 2009:

Destination – Passener Traffic Volume (year-on-year increase)

• Ninoy Aquino (Manila) International Airport – 24,108,554 (8.3%)
• Mactan – Cebu International Airport – 4,394,823 (20.6%)
• Fransisco Bangoy (Davao) International Airport – 1,967,945 (16.2%)
• Iloilo Airport – 1,324,148 (23.3%)
• Lumbia (Cagayan de Oro) Airport – 1,110,668 (23.1%)
• Bacolod – Silay Airport – 1,020,429 (21.0%)
• Tacloban Airport – 831,650 (32.6%)
• Kalibo International Airport – 639,797 (59.9%)
• Puerto Princesa Airport – 587,753 (22.0%)
• Zamboanga International Airport – 582,917 (24.1%)
• Tagbilaran Airport – 562,787 (40.4%)
• Caticlan Airport – 543,422 (-28.7%)
• Legaspi Airport – 412,875 (46.2%)
• General Santos Tambler Airport – 404,859 (33.7%)
• Butuan Airport – 385,331 (24.9%)
• Dumaguete Airport – 360,515 (17.7%)
• Plaridel Airport – 222,525  (-4.9%)
• Cotabato Airport – 199,133 (90.5%)
• Dipolog Airport – 189,264 (31.6%)
• Roxas City Airport – 173,132 (50.1%)

Passenger volume data for Diosdado Macapagal (Clark) International Airport not yet available. Early estimates for DMIA amount to 600,000 approx. in 2009.

see also 2009 passenger data volume for all Philippine Airports

Source: Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)

On May 10, 2010, more than 38-million Filipinos exercised their right to vote for the Philippines 2010 Elections and chose the next set of leaders that will be shaping the Philippines’ future in the next couple of years and beyond. It was the first time that the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) implemented partial automation of the elections, and within a few days of tallying, the results are already in. Here’s a list of Philippine Elections 2010 Results:

Philippine Presidential Election 2010 Results
(Partial Results as of May 13, 2010 5:37PM)

• AQUINO, Benigno Simeon III C. – 13,750,530
• ESTRADA EJERCITO, Joseph M. – 8,697,418
• VILLAR, Manuel Jr B. – 4,971,034
• TEODORO, Gilberto Jr. C. – 3,655,734
• VILLANUEVA, Eduardo C. – 1,019,918
• GORDON, Richard J. – 465,442
• ACOSTA, Vetellano S. – 162,842
• PERLAS, Jesus Nicanor P. – 48,678
• MADRIGAL, Jamby A. – 41,906
• DE LOS REYES, John Carlos G. – 39,853

Philippine Vice-Presidential Election 2010 Results

• BINAY, Jejomar C. – 13,394,742
• ROXAS, Manuel A. – 12,609,410
• LEGARDA, Loren B. – 3,770,834
• FERNANDO, Bayani F. – 932,993
• MANZANO, Eduardo B. – 702,599
• YASAY, Perfecto R. – 329,218
• SONZA, Jose Y. – 57,391
• CHIPECO, Dominador Jr F. – 47,138

Philippine Senatorial Election 2010 Results

• BONG REVILLA, Ramon, Jr. B. – 17,705,954
• ESTRADA, Jinggoy E. – 17,300,795
• DEFENSOR SANTIAGO, Miriam P. – 15,834,311
• DRILON, Franklin M. – 14,515,778
• ENRILE, Juan Ponce -. – 14,312,731
• CAYETANO, Pilar Juliana S. – 12,534,067
• MARCOS, Ferdinand, Jr. R. – 12,068,587
• RECTO, Ralph G. – 11,330,870
• SOTTO , Vicente III C. – 10,881,710
• OSMEÑA, Sergio III D. – 10,642,635
• LAPID, Manuel M. – 9,994,025
• GUINGONA , Teofisto III D. – 9,422,891
• HONTIVEROS-BARAQUEL, Ana – 8,374,582
• BIAZON, Rozzano Rufino B. – 7,911,695
• DE VENECIA, Jose III P. – 7,649,686

Philippine Elections 2010 General Statistics

• Registered Voters – 50,723,733
• Actual Voters (Approximate) – 38,000,000
• Voter Turnout – 75%

Incomplete data yet for Caloocan City, Las Piñas City

Source: Philippine 2020 Election Results – Commission on Elections (COMELEC)
Disclaimer: PuebloPhilippines.com does not guarantee the accuracy of the data posted here.