Cebu Pacific, the leading domestic airline in the Philippines, has inaugurated its operations hub in Davao City last 8 May 2008, to further serve the island of Mindanao. Hopefully this will mean more air routes to the “missionary” destinations on the island. This is the carrier’s third hub, after Cebu and Manila.

The new hub now services 4 domestic destinations from Davao: Manila, Cebu, Iloilo and Zamboanga; as well as 2 international destinations: Hong Kong and Singapore. Cebu Pacific is currently the only Filipino airline offering flights from Davao to Singapore. The other airline servicing this route is Singapore Airlines’ regional carrier, Silk Air.

We are making Davao our third hub in order to make the city and the rest of Mindanao more accessible for tourism and trade. We understand the need to offer a more convenient and affordable service out of Davao and hope that the public will take advantage of these new services.
- Candice Iyog, VP for Marketing and Product

And take advantage we will! Travel and tourism have been transformed into what they are today, thanks to Cebu Pacific’s revolutionary Go Fares. In 2007, the airline provided air transport to 5.5 million passengers. This year, it is expected to exceed 7 million passengers.

To give you an idea, the lowest one-way year-round Go Fare for a flight from Davao to Iloilo is P288 (exclusive of the ridiculously high tax imposed by the government). This is, of course, apart from the famed Piso Fare that passengers can catch from time to time when booking online.

Speaking of which, it was Cebu Pacific that popularized the use of Web-based personal ticketing among Filipinos. It would seem that the one function that used to be exclusive to travel agencies, issuing tickets to passengers, is now becoming a thing of the past.

The airline has a spread of 21 domestic flights from its 3 hubs, and flies to 14 international destinations. Pretty soon, Cebu Pacific will start flying to 2 more: Kaohsiung in Taiwan and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia.

Kudos to one of Asia’s youngest fleets!

Take a look at the new logo for Davao’s festival of festivals. This year’s members of the promotions committee are all young, energetic and forward-looking Dabawenyos, and that fact is evident in this new image of Kadayawan sa Dabaw.

We thought (I was invited to join the promotions committee) that the Kadayawan festival needed a boost in the arm for a more modern approach — but without abandoning the traditional aspects, naturally.

What do you think?

So, I thought it might be good to blog about it, to help her find potential buyers. Here are some information I got from Mawie. The establishment is located on Mt. Apo Street, near the rotunda. It is around 70sqm, with a mezzanine. It can accommodate around 30 people.

Food type: Italian cuisine with pasta dishes as specialty (excellent dishes!); high-quality coffee and fruit-based drinks, hot and ice-blended; specialty cakes (and they’re really good, too).

Inclusive in sale price:

• naming rights and licenses
• recipes of the existing dishes
• tables and chairs
• countertops and dividers
• kitchen equipment and utensils
• dining ware
• existing decorations and supplies (food, kitchen, miscellaneous)
• 2-week intensive kitchen staff and service crew training and orientation
• finances monitoring system
• list and contact numbers of suppliers

If you’re interested, please drop me a line, and I’ll put you in touch with Mawie. Please, somebody assume Caffe Vivere! Their food is actually really good, especially the Shrimp Diavolo– to die for!

I respect Benj and I wouldn’t insult his intelligence by engaging him in a battle of wits to try and win him over to “my side”. And I know he respects me as well. We have amicably agreed to disagree. I do agree with him on one point, though: intelligence can be a bane to the intellectual.

We think too much, consider too many angles, and are therefore encumbered by our own intelligence from embracing what’s in fact plain to grasp for the … uh … less intellectually inclined.

Does this mean that people who believe in God are not intelligent? I don’t think so. Intelligence and faith are not mutually exclusive. However — and I think this is what atheists do not quite comprehend (or cannot accept) — faith does entail being blindly believing. We have no empirical proof of God’s existence whatsoever, and yet we believe in His presence. This is at the very core of Christianity (and perhaps of Islam and Judaism as well), that we put trust in a Supreme Being whom we cannot see or touch.

Writing this, a thought crept into my mind: Why? Why do I believe even without any shred of evidence of God’s existence? Is my belief simply a product of conditioning, upbringing?

Admittedly, I’m Catholic because I had no choice in the matter. However, my belief has long since been reinforced because I have experienced God. When I was in high school, I attended Mass almost everyday, and when I’d pray to ask for something and then receive it, I’d feel this inexplicable warmth all over my body. I lost this religiosity in college, for several reasons.

When I was a little older, I had a very tumultuous episode with my parents, and I was desperate for a resolution to the problem. Nobody could console me (nor my folks). After years and years of ignoring my faith, I turned back to prayer. I prayed as fervently as I knew how… and then, that soothing warm feeling I used to get back then came rushing back. No answers came with the warmth… but I gained a renewed strength to face my problems.

I’ve had other experiences that have made me more resolute that God does exist, but that was the most significant for me.

One other. There is an imagery that I employ whenever I try to explain to people why I believe: the universe. Can you imagine the universe as having a limit, a boundary? Let’s say it does. But if it does have a boundary, what’s beyond? Although I know infinity is also difficult to fathom, can you imagine that there’s absolutely nothing beyond?

What about life? After death… what? Will we just cease to exist completely after we die? Or do we move on to a different plane of existence?

Is it mere human arrogance to claim that we will transcend this fleshly manifestation? Is it misguided anthropocentrism to believe that we have a higher purpose beyond this lifetime?

I have no answers. I only have my faith, one that is very personal. Faith, after all, is a journey, not a destination.

The first time, we already had dinner somewhere else, and then just went to Kangaroo for coffee. The second time, I did try to order a sandwich, but they forgot my order, even after a couple of times that I went back to the counter to ask for it… Still, I won’t give them a thumbs-down for customer service — the guy at the counter knew just how to handle the situation. The cappuccino over there is pretty decent, at least.

Since they’re still in the “soft opening” phase, I guess they can be forgiven for some lapses. Chalk it up to growing pains.

The place, though, looks really nice! I like it that the layout is not flat or square. I mean, there are different “levels” to the design of the place: there are the usual tables (some with very comfortable wing chairs), but there are some booths too. And, there’s a semi-separate area for small meetings, equipped with an accordion door. They also have a few tables out front for smokers.

Of course, free wifi!

When it was still under construction, I thought it was going to be a franchised brand. Turns out it’s a completely homegrown affair. I look forward to seeing Kangaroo establish a level of service that will be worthy of its excellent outward appearance. It really looks like a perfect watering hole for coffee lovers like me.

Today I was at Bo’s — not by choice, though — to get my caffeine fix via my favorite brew, Americano. Café Americano is a blend of espresso and hot water, which is steamed into the dark coffee. If it’s the other way around — coffee poured into hot water — that is known as Australia’s Long Black Coffee.

What the barista was trying to do was more akin to Long Black, the taste of which is different. So I attempted to teach her how to do it. But she insisted she was right, because that’s how they did it there, she said. Regardless, it was the way she said it, complete with a sideways smirk, that irked me. She tried to do what I was trying to explain to her, but she just couldn’t get it: she steamed water into the cup first and then tried to pour the espresso into it. Then in her inexplicable logic, she put tap water in the cup too! What the…

At Bo’s in SM City Davao, and recently at Bo’s on Katipunan Ave. in Quezon City, I can say that their Americano is excellent. And they prepare it the way I know how.

It’s just disgusting how many establishments here in Davao neglect to train their staff, not only in the proper and consistent preparation of their offerings, but more importantly in customer service.

Still, the six days were productive. I was able to recruit some talented contributors to my current project, PinoyTech.TV, and I was able to touch base with my long-time friends in the industry, like Janette and Richard Eldridge of Infinit-O.

I actually came close to extending my stay… but my wallet was grumbling already. If you’re in Manila and you don’t have a clear itinerary or set schedule, you’ll find your resources getting drained faster than you planned. Since I’d decided to make the trip only a week before, that’s exactly what happened to me. Not that I’m complaining, really. I mean, on the whole, it was all worth it.

Arriving in Davao, the cool breeze was refreshingly welcoming, and the pull of free-wifi-enabled coffee shops beckoned to me almost instantly (yep, iniinggit ko kayo, guys! hehehe!). But I’m already missing some things in Manila: Fully Booked, the bookstore that occupies one entire building; the plethora of shops and restaurants; and the opportunity to cement close friendships with some bloggers I’ve come to know.

Well, there’s always the Internet, and the next trip to the Metro.

Oh yeah, it was great to see a lot of interest in Davao during the iBlog4 Summit. I hope this will translate to more Manila-based bloggers coming to Davao for blogging events this year!

If my folks could’ve heard them, they would’ve thrown a fit. My folks, I mean. But I didn’t mind. Hearing them chat and hoot and guffaw and go about their antics made me recollect my own time in high school (which wasn’t all that long ago… or so I try to convince myself).

Some years ago, one of the students threw a plastic bag over our common wall and into our backyard. We thought it was trash, but something was moving inside! It was a cat, the poor thing. My sister, who was still living with us that time, was so furious. But I was secretly amused. Kids.

I never did anything like that back in high school, although I had my share of pranks here and there. I was the one who covered for my more mischievous friends. Although on rare occasions I did turn them in, just for good measure of credibility with the powers that were.

And even then, we were already living beside the same campus. (And we were often late!) That means I’ve been living here for… well, some considerable time now.

In my teens, Matina used to be an idyllic location, with large swaths of unused residential lands, a few shops in some street corners, and not much else. Just houses mostly. But now, it has become a bustling neighborhood, and has almost turned into a commercial district. A number of houses have been turned into restaurants and stores now, especially those near St. Paul Parish.

And the high school and grade school — boy! — they’re overflowing to the brim! Back then, we were only five sections of 30-40 students each. Now, they say the first-year level has 20+ sections with at least 40 students in each! And you can hear they’re that many. (Is it because Davao’s population has ballooned that much? Or is this a sign of commercialism in education…?)

Some of my relatives in the compound are musing about moving out and selling… but it can’t be done unless all of us agree. You see, it’s a walled property with eleven lots, and I guess the value of each won’t amount to much unless they’re all disposed of together. Besides, it would be rather strange to have non-relatives living (or operating a shop or something) in the compound with us.

It would be sad if we moved out, after almost two decades here (that’s an aggregate number for all my relatives here, so don’t try guessing my age! hehehe). But then, this place is so huge! Thing is, I don’t think we’ll ever agree as one on this issue. Also, one of my aunts is only now having her house built. So that’s that.

Like I said, I don’t really mind the noise. Hearing those kids on the other side of the wall keeps me feeling young.

Oh boy… is this what they call emo blogging??

I look forward to reconnecting with old friends in Makati, and to meet new ones during the iBlog4 Conference on the 26th. That’s going to be at the UP Diliman campus. Meaning, I’m going to see my alma mater on the way — it’s been ages since I last saw the Ateneo de Manila. I wonder if I’ll still recognize it…

Leaving at 7AM via Cebu Pacific. It’s so easy to book flights now via this airline’s online reservation system. It even has a way for you to change your bookings, all painlessly accomplished online. Well, the fees aren’t all that painless, though: P560 to rebook a flight?? Sheesh…

I can’t say I’m very excited to go to Metro Manila. The traffic, the pollution, the throng, the hugeness of the metropolis… Even if I’ve lived there, I could never get used to the place. If only I could stay put in Makati! Still, Manila has her charms.

There’s this article that my aunt emailed me about the place: City on the Edge of Forever. It’s rather long, but I recommend you read it to the very end. It’s a romantic and yet grounded account of the city. Reading it made me wish I could write that way about Davao!

I don’t want to jump the gun on the Kadayawan organizers, so I’m not going to divulge anything before the official announcements. But I would like to mention that this year is going to be different. For one thing, the younger generation is starting to take over the reins, and we’re bringing in fresh ideas.

The changing of the guards, so to speak, will surely be evident in the way the festival will be marketed to the rest of the country, and — to a limited extent — to other countries. And hopefully, this freshness will also be apparent during the festival itself in August. Expect the unexpected!

Of course, I know that the planners won’t for a second neglect the origins of the Kadayawan. No matter how we would like to modernize the event, we mustn’t forget that it is a celebration that’s deeply rooted in our past, in our indigenous culture.

The Kadayawan (”beauty” or “goodness”) festival is historically a celebration of everything that is good about Davao. It has also been identified with the traditional symbols of our city: the famous Waling-Waling orchid, the Philippine Eagle, Mt. Apo and our fruits. This year, it is being proposed that we carry all of this under one overarching idea, that of abundance.

I just hope that those who are still the ultimate decision-makers for this event will see the sense in what the young bloods are trying to inject into the planning of this festival.

Ok. I’ll stop there. We’re supposed to have another meeting to discuss the brochures and other collateral materials, but I’m going to be in Manila for the iBlog4 Conference this Saturday. At any rate, I’m going to keep you, my dear readers, updated on the Kadayawan sa Dabaw event details.