By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

GONE are the days when you would hear a vendor shouting “Balut, Penoy!” in the streets in Manila early in the morning or late in the afternoon. In Pateros, which is known as the Balut capital of the Philippines, the scene just described remains.

“It’s a legacy of Pateros. And that’s what we’re trying to preserve,” said Menandro Concio, president of Concio’s Food Corporation.

Having been in the balut-making industry for 30 years, Concio wanted to save the striving industry of balut. In 2004, he introduced balut to the market in another form, which is the bottled balut or gourmet balut.

Balut is a duck’s egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. It is delicacy in the Philippines.

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UPDATE: Editor’s note: Added videos.

By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

KNOWN for its wood-carved religious images, Paete is a haven for sculpture. But behind the religious images are two different sculptors whom I met while looking for the Last Supper.

When I entered Galerie Christine, I was amazed by the paintings and sculpture displayed.

There I met a young sculptor, Glenn Cagandahan, a Fine Arts graduate of the University of the Philippines-Diliman. He shared that he once only created art when he was in the mood. But then, sometimes it takes a month before inspiration motivates him to do sculptures. His wake-up call came when he was asked to do masks for a theatrical production at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños.

Here’s a video interview I conducted.

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By Ma. Lurenda Suplido-Westergaard, M.D., Contributor
INQUIRER.net

15. GROCERY bags — Since I have to pay for each one I take here in Denmark, I have established a collection of plastic bags from the major supermarkets, all (sort of) neatly stored under the sink. They get to be used many times, until they end up as trash bin liners. I used to have a more massive collection of plastic bags from mall supermarkets in Manila, and they hardly ever got re-used. I wonder what would happen if I brought those to SM and Robinson’s and then say to the bagger, please use these, they’re perfectly recyclable. There’s a fashionable (environmentally friendly) cheesecloth bag here that’s supposed to be used for shopping — to do away with plastic altogether. But if I send this home, it would pale in comparison to our bayong. On her birthday, I gave my mother-in-law a sturdy and finely woven bayong that I bought from Aldevinco in Davao City. It’s her favorite shopping bag.

14. GPS (global positioning system) — There is this amazing car gadget that shows you how to get from one place to another. It has a map that displays exactly where you are and a pleasant female voice that tells you when to turn. Of course this would have to be configured for Philippine traffic where the best option isn’t always the shortest route. There are other factors — peak hours for going in and out of offices, big churches, schools and universities; the scheduling of three-day sales in big malls; fiestas and processions; political rallies; barangay basketball tournaments; burol sa bahay (vigils held at the home of the deceased, with family gatherings spilling over to the street); funeral processions; busted traffic lights; traffic collisions where both parties make a big deal out of superficial scratches on their bumpers; and then there’s flooding…

13. Trains and buses with a fixed schedule — It’s strange to be able to say to someone: “I’ll take a bus at this station at 10:43, transfer to a train at 11:08 and meet you at your office after a six-minute walk.” Yes, in Pinas there’s always a jeep, FX, bus, taxi, tricycle, or pedicab waiting to take you door to door. The adventure lies in when you will actually arrive, and if you have to report your time of arrival, you have to say: “Ah, eh, not sure, siguro mga 20 minutes pa, more or less.”

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By Lurenda Suplido-Westergaard, M.D., Contributor
INQUIRER.net

Editor’s Note: The author migrated to her husband’s Denmark with their toddler just this year.

15. TAKING a taxi out of the supermarket — First of all, taking a taxi is very expensive (more about public transport later), but what I really miss is having an attendant actually carry the stuff out, wait with you as you enter the taxi line, and load up the goods. That kind of service doesn’t exist here. Heck, they don’t even give you free shopping bags at the supermarket: You have to bring your own, or they charge you for each one you take.

14. Being able to drive — First, no license. Second, can’t afford to buy a car (at 200-percent tax, never mind). Third, I easily get lost (one open field looks just like any other). Fourth, I can’t imagine myself filling up at a gas station (me holding the gas nozzle? Ewwww!). Fifth, I wouldn’t know what to do if there’s a solid sheet of ice on the windshield.

13. Taking two minutes to dress up Alex in sando (undershirt), shorts, and sandals — Here: underpants, long socks, normal socks, long pants, t-shirt, long sleeved shirt, sweater, gloves, winter coveralls, boots, hood. Minimum: 30 minutes. If he’s not cooperative, this takes an hour. Pagod na ako, hindi pa kami nakakalabas ng pinto (We’ve not gone out the door and already I’m tired)!

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By Kate V. Pedroso
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Family, health and religion are the three most important sources of happiness among Filipinos, while sex, sports, politics and cultural pursuits rank among the least important, according to a recent study by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).

But sounding incredulous, the NSCB official, who released the results of the study Tuesday, observed: “Could it be that the respondents were just too shy to reveal their true feelings about sex? Or (is it) time to shift stories away from the birds and the bees?”

Romulo Virola, NSCB secretary general, reported that Filipinos ranked family as the most important source of happiness, with a score of 9.45 on a scale of 10. Health came next with 8.95, while religion ranked third with 8.59.

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HERE’S an interesting documentary on the importance of jeepneys in Filipino culture, directed by Jeric Sevilla. This was actually a school project — pretty cool, huh?

Here’s Part 1

Part 2

And Part 3

By Gerald Gene R. Querubin
Inquirer

BOAC, Marinduque–The Muslims have their “singkil” and the Visayans, their “Usahay” and “Dandansoy.” But what do the people of Marinduque have?

This question has inspired an advocacy by a music educator since childhood to learn and preserve songs and folk dances that are truly Marinduqueño.

“I heard old folks in my place singing old short songs aside from the kundiman and love songs with positive values. I listened to some of them and there, my research began,” says Prof. Rex Manuel Asuncion, who is now director of the Center for Cultural Arts Studies of the Marinduque State College in Boac town.

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By EV Espiritu
Inquirer

ITBAYAT, Batanes–No more Ivatan warriors exist today to chant the ancient “rawod,” the stories about their seafarers that are passed down to generations.

The “rawod” chants are tales of high adventure woven out of the mythical journey that the Ivatan forefathers undertook to escape a disaster.

An excerpt, translated by the University of Georgia and attributed to Simina Vohang, illustrates how a “giant flood” battered their ancestors’ boats: “We were on a big boat all kinsmen/In a big boat, sailing on the open sea/We almost reached our island/But the ocean prevented us from sailing home…”

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By Jessica Jalandoni-Robillos
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–For 15 years now, TOYM (The Outstanding Young Men) Philippines 2006 awardee Michael Cacnio has been steadily depicting the good and the wholesome: Filipino values of strong family ties; respect for elders; hardy labor and simple pleasures.

The photo shows Ambassador Cristina G. Ortega and the director general for external relations of the European Commission (EC) Eneko Landaburu (second from left) flanked by Michael and Ma. Theresa Cacnio during the vernissage-cocktail reception for the artist at Berlaymont building of the EC on Sept. 18. Cacnio graduated from University of the Philippines in 1991 with a degree in Fine Arts. He experimented with brass at a time when it was not a popular medium.

Upon deciding he was comfortable with his cut-and-solder method as opposed to molding, he began presenting depictions of children playing traditional Filipino games such as sungka, luksong baka and tirador, inspired by his own childhood in Malabon; and his series of vendors, among them the magtataho and sorbetero.

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CHECK out this video of the Filipino Day celebration on September 1 at Canada’s Wonderland theme park in Toronto.

And here’s Filipino-Canadian Elise Estrada performing at the event.

Videos uploaded by Earsonline.