Ang Dabawenyo

A couple of Dabawenyos have come up with a great new blog: PRC Board Exam Results. The idea germinated from the super-active minds of Winston Almendras (Batang Yagit) and Jehzeel Laurente (JehzLau Concepts). Only this month, Winston came up with the working site, with the objective of providing a centralized repository that provides nursing board exam results, among others. And then Jehz picked up on it right away, believing that it would provide a timely service to the burgeoning number of professionals in the Philippines. Immediately, they transferred the blog site to its own domain, prcboardexamresults.com. Read more »

It is not uncommon to hear about Americans, Europeans or Asians falling in love with Davao and settling down here for good. Davao City has that special appeal even to other Filipinos who hail from other cities. And from time to time, you chance upon a gold nugget in the haul. What’s not very common — but always an inspiration to find — is a foreigner who not only assimilates himself into Davao society, but contributes to its growth as well.

I can name a few: Claude le Neindre, a Frenchman who has gifted Davao with exquisite French cuisine. Watch out for my feature on his French bistro, Claude’s Le Café de Ville. Another worthy mentionable is Bob Martin of Mindanao.com and LiveInThePhilippines.com, among other things. He has singlehandedly done so much to improve the image of Davao and Mindanao in the eyes of fellow Americans and other foreign nationals. Read more »

This is the first of a series of personality features that will be published in this blog. I’ll be featuring Davao people who have somehow made a mark in their particular fields of interest, and in Davao. And what better way to embark on this series but with the Dabawenya herself, Jojie Alcantara.

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All of us have something that we’re proud of in our families. Mine is the creative blood that courses through our veins. Our clan is populated with artistic people, from painters to writers. An aunt is adept at the canvass, and has done exhibits in New York and the Hague. While she modestly disavows being among the likes of Davao’s Ang Kiu Kok, Tita Didit is an accomplished artist in her own right. Other members of our clan are writers with portfolio: three of us have been published already. Yet another: a cousin, Celeste, a star pupil of the renowned Fernandez Piano School in Davao, is now a bona fide student of the prestigious Juilliard School in New York. She is also a practicing doctor in the United States. Read more »