Recently in Aklan Category

By Anna Valmero INQUIRER.net "My height is a gift from God," said Ijaz Ahmed, a towering Pakistani who has come to the Philippines to raise funds for his right leg operation. Ahmed claims to be 8 feet and four inches and weighs 287 pounds. According to doctors, Ijaz, 26, is still expected to grow by three to four inches, giving him the chance of clinching the Guinness World title for world’s tallest living man. Ijaz hails from Punjab and has worked as farmer before his injury, having been born to a family of farmers. In 2002, he injured his foot in a car accident. Doctors had told him the operation would cost $50,000 and so in 2006, he embarked on a tour to raise money for his operation. Over the past two years, Ijaz has raised a third of the total amount required for his operation. Ijaz took a trip to the Philippines after he met Ann Sia of Clara International during a 2006 event in Malaysia. Sia said Ijaz was a guest in her company’s event along with a three-foot man. Upon learning of Ijaz’s condition, she offered to host Ijaz after he visits Manila for his fund raising project. “My friend Ann invited me to go to the Philippines to raise funds for my operation. She said the people here are friendly and very kind,” Ijaz said. Sia said a Filipino pledged to help Ijaz on his leg injury and has scheduled him for a medical checkup at a Makati hospital. When asked if he has a girlfriend, Ijaz smiled and said: “Right now, I don't have a girlfriend because in Pakistan, we have arranged marriages. My parents will choose the girl for me.” Ijaz, through the help of his caretaker and interpreter Jamil Ahmed, has submitted papers for application to the Guinness World Records. Ijaz will go back to Pakistan in December so Guinness World Records can measure his height, said Jamil. At present, Bao Xishun of China holds the Guinness World record because Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk was stripped of the record in August 2008 when he refused Guinness representatives from getting his height. “I have already submitted papers to Guinness but I do not really mind if I am hailed as second or third tallest living man in the world. I am happy I am here today,” said Ijaz. Ijaz said he dreams of peace, accessible healthcare and education for everyone. At present, he chairs a nonprofit organization for differently abled children in Pakistan. Ijaz will stay in Manila for less than a month.

IT weighs about a kilo and said to feed four people but when I asked the lady at the counter how many people have tried to finish it ALONE, she casually said: "Madalas mga tricycle driver po [Often, tricycle drivers can finish it]." So with tinged (and later on, foolish) pride, I decided to give it a go. That huge chunk of white doesn't look so imposing from the outside, even though by my estimate it is thrice the size of the biggest you can find at 7-11. My strategy was to cut it in quarters, confident I can eat what four people can since it was late afternoon when we arrived at PVL Food Haus and I haven't had lunch yet. I chose the bola-bola variety -- no thanks to my colleague Erwin Oliva who told me it tastes better. See the picture above? Imagine a large chunk of meat plus boiled egg inside it. I threw in the towel after finishing about three-quarters of it. Until now, my wounded pride still tells me I should have chosen the Asado, half-sure the softer filling would've been less cruel to ingest in my mouth. Don't ask me if it tastes GOOD -- I would say that it isn't that outstanding. Or that I'd rather eat Hen-Lin's siopao because it tastes better. Or better yet, I was too busy thinking how to finish this one huge siopao it didn't matter much if I actually like it. (Photo courtesy of INQUIRER.net multimedia reporter Marjorie Gorospe) Watch this video and see how long I consumed one.

Our search for the giant lanterns of Pampanga led us to Tatang Erning (real name Ernesto Quiwa), one of the most respected lantern makers in the province. We found him in his home in Barangay Sta. Lucia, a few minutes away from San Fernando city proper. His home also serves as the base for his lantern-making business. Tatang Erning, however, is more famous for his giant lanterns. He has been making them in time for the city’s annual Giant Lantern festival since the 1960s. He is a fourth-generation descendant of the Estanislaos, one of the pioneering families who have been making lanterns ever since the “Ligligan Parul” began taking place in the 1930s. Nowadays, though, Tatang Erning lets his sons do most of the dirty work but continues to be actively involved in designing these lanterns. These lanterns can reach as high as 18 to 20 feet and lit up by as many 6,000 light bulbs. That many bulbs require the use of mechanical rotors to light up the lanterns. Tatang Erning’s business, meanwhile, thrives on his fame, having showcased his giant lanterns in both local and international events. The green structure (see photo) forms half of several giant lanterns he was commissioned to build, earning him and his family millions of pesos. These lanterns should be shining brightly at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport by now.

GOOGLE his name and the first entry leads to a collection of trivia naming him the longest serving editor-in-chief in the world. Unofficially, at least. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Sir Etienne Dupuch holds the "world’s longest editorship" at 72 years -- he was editor-in-chief of the Nassau Daily Tribune in the Bahamas from 1919 t0 1972, and then as contributing editor until his death in 1991. Sy Yinchow, meanwhile, stakes his claim as the world’s longest-serving editor-in-chief, since technically, Dupuch held that title for only 53 years. Yinchow (also known by his pen name Chua Kee) first became editor-in-chief of the Manila New Day, an underground newspaper he founded in 1945 at the height of the Japanese occupation. Since then, he’s been editor-in-chief for at least three newspapers -- until today he’s the chief editor for United Daily News, a broadsheet catering to the local Chinese community. Born in China’s Fujian province, his family migrated to the Philippines when he was three years old. Until now, he’s been living in the same house in Binondo with his wife Jade, whom he affectionately refers to as a former beauty queen and the first acknowledged “model mother” within the Chinese community. A place in the world record books would be just icing on the cake, though. Yinchow has published several books, translating Chinese poems from -- as far back as the Tang and Sung dynasties -- into English. The 90-year old Yinchow was born in 1919, according to him during the height of the renaissance in Chinese literature. Journalism is his career but he considers literature his passion. So he takes pride in numerous accolades given to him for his precise “word-for-word, rhyme-by-rhyme, meter-by-meter” translations. During my conversation with him, I was quite amazed at how he was able to remember all the highlights of his career, realizing I am talking to someone more than nine decades old already. So what’s his secret? For starters, running as a sport and eating shrimps and walnuts.