Arroyo visits victims of twin bombings in Iligan

ILIGAN CITY (PHILIPPINES) President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Friday visited the people injured in two bombings in a southern Philippine city.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said Arroyo went to Iligan City in Lanao del Norte province, 855 kilometres south of Manila, and visited the hospital where 41 people wounded in the attacks were being treated. Arroyo also visited the funeral home where two fatalities from the twin bombings were taken. Police officials said only two people, not six as earlier reported by city officials, were killed in the bombings of the Jerry Bargain Centre and Unicity Mall.

Investigators said the bombs were left at the baggage counters of the two shopping malls by women wearing veils. Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels, who are active in the province, denied involvement in the bombings. Eid Kabalu, MILF civil relations chief, said he talked with rebel commanders operating in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur and all of them said they had nothing to do with the attacks.

“There must be a thorough investigation before blaming groups like us,” he said. “We express our sympathies to the families of the victims.” The MILF is the largest Muslim rebel group fighting for a separate Islamic state in the southern region of Mindanao.

Hostilities between the military and the rebel group flared in August when the guerrillas launched a series of deadly attacks after a setback in peace talks with the government.

45,000 apektado sa bank holiday sa Cebu

Umaabot sa 45,000 depositors ang direktang apektado sa pagsara ng ilang bangko sa lungsod ng Cebu, ayon sa isang opisyal ng Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC).
Sinabi ni Ferdinand Beluan, PDIC member, na kasalukuyan pang tinatamasa ng kumpanya ang records ng Bank of East Asia, Pilipino Rural Bank at mga sangay nito sa nasabing lungsod, Philippine Countryside Rural Bank at mga bangkong may kaugnayan sa Legacy Group of Companies.
Aniya, kinakailangang kumpleto at bukas ang lahat ng records ng mga nasabing bangko bago isasailalim ang mga ito ng PDIC sa isang malalimang ebalwasyon.
Bukod dito, sinabi ni Beluan na inaatas pa nito ang release ng P250,00 na hinihingi ng mga depositors.
Ayon naman kay Nathaniel Tumbokon ng finance department ng PDIC, 98 porsiyento ng depositors ay saklaw ng PDIC at ang 2 porsiyento ay ng bank’s assets.
Siniguro rin nito sa mga depositors na makukuha nila ang kanilang insurance.
Sa panig naman ni Awin Lim, miyembro ng Cebu federation of Rural Banks, huwag umanong mabahala ang mga depositors at dagdagan pa ang kanilang tiwala sa mga rural banks.

Hapit na 2009 Sinulog Festival

Hay! hapit najud ang sinulog festival sa Cebu. After christmas ug new year mao napud ni ang dakong celebrasyon nga ginahulat sa tanang bisaya. Ginacelebrar ni every third sunday of January. Sa mga deboto ni Senor Sto. Nino viva Pit Senor!
Dili lang diri saCebu, bisag unsang dapit sa Pilipinas ug sa abroad ga sinulog sila.
Excited na kaayo ko sa Sinulog, daghan napud bag ong nawong atong makita ug ma kauban.

Daghan pang update ani ako ipost sunod.

STO. NINO FESTIVAL (Nationwide)

A grand procession of over two hundred well-dressed images of the Child Jesus.

History:

The Santo Niño de Cebú ("Holy Child of Cebu") is a Roman Catholic depiction of the Child Jesus, similar to the Infant Jesus of Prague, and other venerated statues. Like them, it is clothed in textile robes. Santo Niño de Cebú literally means "holy child of Cebú." For centuries Santo Nino served as the patron saint of Cebu, and continues to be celebrated at the Sinulog, the primary festival of Cebú. Currently, the statue is the oldest Roman Catholic relic in the Philippines, and it is located at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in Cebu City, Cebu.

In April 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, in the service of Charles I of Spain, arrived in Cebu during his voyage to find a westward route to the Spice Islands [1]. He persuaded Rajah Humabon and his wife Hara Humamay, to pledge their allegiance with Spain. They were later baptized into the Catholic faith, taking the Christian names Carlos and Juana. Magellan gave Juana the Santo Nino as a symbol of the alliance. However, Magellan died during the Battle of Mactan later that month, and the alliance became more or less moot.

The Spanish returned to the Philippines in February 1565. Cebu was the first stop of Basque explorer Miguel López de Legazpi, who would later found Manila. He defeated Rajah Tupas (nephew to Humabon) on April 27, destroying the village in the process. The Santo Nino was found relatively unscathed in a burnt-out dwelling. This event was quickly acknowledged as miraculous, and a church was later constructed on the purported site of the discovery. Today, the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño is an important historical and religious landmark in Cebu, with devotees forming long line up to pay their respects to the Holy Child.

The Holy See has approved special liturgical texts for use during the local Feast of the Santo Niño in the Philippines, set on the third Sunday of January. The festival that follows is known as the Sinulog, which combines the street festivities and religious devotion of the Cebuano people.

More updates about Senor Sto. Nino Festival (Sinulog Festival)