San Pablo City

City Councilor Killed

Admin — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:48:02 +0000

For those who still don’t know yet, San Pablo City Councilor Danny Yang was killed in an ambush at Barangay Bautista, San Pablo City.

A city councilor, his bodyguard, and a former village captain were killed while two others were wounded in an ambush by at least six gunmen on Wednesday, police said yesterday.

One of the assailants was also killed when the bodyguard returned fire before he died.

Police identified the dead as Danilo Yang, councilor and noted anti-illegal drug advocate; his bodyguard Brando de los Santos; and Romulo Barcenas, former captain of Barangay (village) Santiago 2. – Inquirer.Net

Was the killing politically motivated? With the upcoming 2010 National and Local Elections, we can only assume that it was. National and Local Elections in our City are generally peaceful and I hope that this does not start a trend of violence as we get nearer to 2010.

Seminar on Natural Healing

Admin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:19:37 +0000

For those interested, Jaime E. Dy-Liacco will be conducting a Seminar on Natural Healing at Kusina Salud on June 20, 2009 from 9 am to 4pm. According to My Family Health Blog, there won’t be any Seminar Fee but Kusina Salud will be serving breakfast, lunch and merienda for only 600PHP.

SM San Pablo: Rumor or Fact?

Admin — Sat, 09 May 2009 04:39:44 +0000

I have been hearing about SM building a Shopping Mall right here in San Pablo City for years and yet not one structure with the SM name on it has ever been built anywhere in the City. Before, it was rumored that an SM Mall will be built in the current location of Banahaw Compound but that never happened.

WikiPilipinas even has a page about it but we know their information is incorrect because according to them, “SM Supercenter San Pablo is one of the newest SM City Malls and is set to open before Mid-2008 . It is located at Rizal Avenue, San Pablo City, Laguna.“

By doing a little Googling, I learned that they (SM) do have plans on building a Shopping Mall here in San Pablo City. According to SMDevelopment.com, “SM San Pablo (Laguna), on the other hand, is in the planning stages and due for completion in 2008.”

That was a year ago.

ManilaTimes.net in an online article said, “Lim said construction for SM San Pablo may start late this year or may be pushed back to early 2009. The facility may be operational by late next year to 2010.” If we follow this news or story then construction should have been on-going but the question is where?

The latest rumor that I’ve collected about SM San Pablo is that construction will start maybe next year (2010) and it will be constructed at Barangay San Rafael near Riverina and Honda San Pablo. Please note that this info is not yet conclusive. It is just what people around me are saying about the construction of SM San Pablo.

Having a major shopping mall like SM in San Pablo City is very significant because it will not only produce those much needed jobs but it will also increase tourism for the city. People from neighboring towns like Calauan, Tiaong, Sto. Tomas, Rizal, Nagcarlan and others will be flocking into the city. Also, it will give me and my family a new place to visit in the city.

SPC High School Class of 1963

Admin — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 03:18:10 +0000

SPC High School Class of 1963 will be having their Grand Reunion on February, 2010 right here in San Pablo City. For more details and information please visit SPCBatch63.org or contact Mr. Gerry Lantican. The comment section is also open for your discussion.

One Stop Shop

Admin — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:09:05 +0000

I was browsing my hard drive compressing and removing old files when I stumbled on three photos of the One Stop Shop. The One Stop Shop is just behind the old City Hall building and, as the name implies, it’s a one stop shop for everything from permits to certificates.

Links for 2008-11-24 [del.icio.us]

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 PST

1,250L$ From metaRL
A few days ago, I converted 5,000mP (metaPoints) to Linden Dollars and yesterday I received an e-mail from metaRL confirming their delivery of 1,250L$ to my Second Life account in-world. Yay! That’s 1,250L$ for me to spend.

Avoid Parking

Admin — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 04:59:35 +0000

It has been a few months since I took a walk around Sampalok Lake. My last walk was with my wife before she gave birth to a healthy baby girl and this was last May. Since then I have been glued infront of my computer.

Yesterday, my wife insisted that I do some walking. Walking is a very good exercise specially for those who are really out of shape like me because it doesn’t put too much strain on your body. Jogging is okay but I think I’ll do that later on when I get used to walking long distances again.

Anyway, I went to Sampalok Lake on foot and walked around it once before walking back home. Nothing much has changed around the lake but I did notice that some cars were left parked at the side of road that surrounds Sampalok Lake. I’m not sure if they were parked their temporarily but they’re making the narrow road narrower. Maybe those that go to Sampalok Lake to exercise should park their cars near the City Hall and not on the narrow road around the lake.

Well, I just feel that those who have cars should not park them on the lake road. Even if their car is a bmw or a lexus, they should avoid parking there. People use that road for jogging, walking, strolling and even bike riding. If cars are parked there then it will make the road narrower which could lead to accidents besides there are lots of room to park on the streets around the City Hall.

Links for 2008-10-16 [del.icio.us]

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT

A Look at Egypt Valley of the Gods
Today I visited Egypt Valley of the Gods. A roleplay and combat sim inspired by ancient Egypt and owned by Skyyy McCallen and Lurgan Ling. They were once the rulers of RPG Empire s Egyptian Empire but unfortunately it was closed but, now, they have their own Egyptian sim to rule.

Links for 2008-10-15 [del.icio.us]

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT

Where is Dark Century?
My home in Second Life is at Animate Me Poseballs which is somewhat connected to Dark Century�s first sim but today, while checking the RPG Empire continent, I noticed that the area is blank.
Horseback Fighting
The King said that there are AKK horses that cost only 1,000L$ but still that’s a lot of money for the average fighter. Not to mention that a newbie fighter won’t be able to afford that at all.

Links for 2008-10-13 [del.icio.us]

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT

A few changes in Medieval England
RPG Empire’s Medieval England (Medevil England sim) has undergone a few changes these past few days. So, I went to there to check out these changes.

Links for 2008-10-11 [del.icio.us]

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT

Samurai Japan is Closing!
It’s a sad day for everyone in RPG Empire specially those who are part of Samurai Japan because in less than ten days the sim known as Samurai Japan, together with another sim, will be closed.
The Roman Empire Sim
Recently, I received a message from mikeD Streeter informing me about the changes that they did in The Roman Empire sim. The Roman Empire is the flagship sim of RPG Empire. As far as I know, the success of The Roman Empire gave birth to other empires which later on became the RPG Empire continent in Second Life.

Links for 2008-10-10 [del.icio.us]

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT

Fishing Vests
I ve been fishing with 7Seas for a couple of months now, I think, and I m really enjoying it. I don t win that much anymore that s because I don t join that many contest anymore as well but I still enjoy fishing a lot.

Links for 2008-10-07 [del.icio.us]

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 PDT

No Mercy for No Mercy 2008
No Mercy started at 8:30AM (my local time) and the opening match was between Matt Hardy and Mark Henry for the ECW Championship. It was a very mediocre match and I don t think Matt Hardy did enough damage to make the defeat of Mark Henry believable.

Lawa ng Labasin

Admin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:17:27 +0000

The City of San Pablo is also known as the City of Seven Lakes because of its seven natural crater lakes. The seven lakes are Sampalok, Bunot, Palakpakin, Kalibato, Pandin, Yambo and Mohikap. Now, there is another lake in San Pablo City and it is located inside the famous Villa Escudero.

Rafting at Lawa ng Labasin. Photo from VillaEscudero.com

I’ve been to Villa Escudero only once and that was a very long time ago but it seems that very little has changed since I was there. They still have the carabao ride while being serenaded by folk singers, the meseum tour, the man-made waterfall, the pools and of course their own little lake called Lawa ng Labasin.

Lawa ng Labasin is not really a lake per se, it’s more like a wide and deep river. I’m not sure if you can go swimming in it but you can definitely go rafting. By the way, when I say rafting I’m not talking about riding a rubber raft. No, you will be riding rafts made of bamboo. Rafters are given life jackets to wear and life guards are always on standby in case anything wrong happens.

Unfortunately, I never experienced this rafting thing at Lawa ng Labasin but a lot of people have and they enjoyed the experience very much. I guess, since most of Villa Escudero’s visitors are city sleekers they don’t get to experience such things in the big city which make new experiences like this exciting and fun for them.

Anyway, to learn more about Villa Escudero and Lawa ng Labasin you can visit the following links below. The links will take you to blogs posted by bloggers about their experiences in Villa Escudero.

Batangas and Quezon, Constant Wanderer (weird they went to Batangas and Quezon but landed in Villa Escudero which is in San Pablo City, Laguna?)
Heredero y Herederas del Chateau Escudero
TBN invades Villa Escudero: Be Bench (there are many photos here of Lawa ng Labasin)
Villa Escudero in Pictures, memories by jenn
labor day getaway, collapsing barricade (here, Villa Escudero is in Batangas)
Highs and Lows at Villa Escudero, Prinsesa Lakwatsera (she got the address right)

War Games Back In Theaters

Admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:27:28 +0000

Back To The Future 1, 2 and 3 starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd are just an example of how good 80’s movies were. Other 80’s movies which I really liked are the Ghostbusters, Aliens, The Last Starfighter, Somewhere In Time, Beetlejuice, Rain Man, 48 Hours, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Raiders of the Lost Ark and others that are just too many to mention. These are the movies I grew up with and I still watch them everytime they are featured on my favorite movie channel.

Now, on July 24th, 2008, an 80’s movie will make a return to the big screen to celebrate its 25th Year Anniversary and that movie is not other than WarGames which stars a very young Matthew Broderick in his second starring role.

War Games is a story of a young man who accidentally broke into a military computer system thinking that it was a game but instead he found himself poking inside the Defense Departments war computer.

The movie will be screened for one night only in select US theaters. Included in the movie are never before seen interviews with the cast and crew and you’ll also get a sneak peek at the making of War Games: The Dead Code.

So, don’t miss this chance to see War Games in the big screen again. Tickets are on sale now! Screening starts at 7:30PM. Hurry!

Legend Of The Seven Lakes

Admin — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:24:13 +0000

We have seven crater lakes in San Pablo City and each one of them has their own story or legend on how they came to be. I’ve always wanted to feature each of the lake’s legend in its complete form but I couldn’t seem to find any of it online.

Anyway, today I came across a summary of Sampalok Lake’s Legend at Traveler on Foot and then after doing some Googling I discovered the rest of the legends at Seven Lakes (San Pablo City) International website.

The Legend of Sampalok Lake

According to the legend, the 105-hectare lake was once an orchard of tamarind trees which bore the sweetest fruit in the land. It was owned by rich yet childless couple. The tamarind orchard was fenced and guarded by a fierce watch dog.

One day, an old woman begged the couple for some fruit. Proud and unkind, the couple turned the old beggar away. But the old beggar warned the couple not to be selfish. And when the inhospitable couple let the guard dog loose to dismissed the old beggar again, the old woman’s haggard looks melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. Fearful for what they have witnessed, the couple tried to apologize but it was too late. As punishment, the enchantress sent a storm that brought heavy rains throughout the night.

The next morning, a vast expanse of the water covered what used to be the couples tamarind orchard. It was said that through its clear waters, the dark mass of tamarind trees still rooted to the sunken ground, could be seen.

Traveler on Foot

The Seven Lakes (San Pablo City) International version of the legend of Sampalok Lake is kinda different but contains the same general idea.

The Legend of Sampalok Lake

According to a legend, the lake derived its name from a giant tamarind (sampalok) tree in the garden of a selfish stingy old woman who drove away a fairy disguised as an old man asking for some fruit as a cure for his ailing grandson. Instead of yielding to his appeal for help, the stingy old woman had him driven away by her ferocious dogs. The old man was badly hurt.

Hardly an hour after the old man left, there was a thundering noise followed by the cracking of the earth. The next instant the entire orchard sank into a colossal pit which was eventually filled with water. Henceforth, the villagers called it Lake Sampalok.

Seven Lakes (San Pablo City) International

The legends of the other six lakes (Palakpakin, Bunot, Yambo, Calibato, Mohikap and Pandin) can be read at Seven Lakes (San Pablo City) International website.

I remember reading these legends in a book back in high school and the legends in that book were written in story format but I just couldn’t remember what book that was or where I read it.

Typhoon Frank

Admin — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:47:22 +0000

Typhoon Frank passed over San Pablo City yesterday with strong winds and somewhat heavy rain. As always, power went out and it stayed out until this afternoon. Typhoon Frank was not as strong as Typhoon Milenyo but it still left its mark in San Pablo City.

Inquirer.net reported that around 390 families were evacuated and 40 houses were destroyed (read full story).