Email From UNICEF Help Nepal Now

URGENT: On May 12, a second earthquake of 7.3 magnitude struck Nepal--a country still reeling from a 7.9 earthquake that claimed over 8,000 lives. Dear Joseph, The first quake last April 25 affected 7 million people--1.7 million of them are children in need of urgent assistance. As search and rescue operations unfold in the aftermath of the second earthquake, UNICEF will be assessing in the coming days how many more children need to be reached and provided with critical aid. We have been working around the clock to deliver more life-saving supplies to children since the first earthquake hit—which include tents, safe drinking water, hygiene kits, medical supplies, toilets, and more. You can still help.

The post above was part of an email I received today. I posted it here so that others can help. Click the link below to read or you can click the title above and donate to help Nepal earthquake victims 

http://ngo.sgsupport.asia/philippines/unicef/2015/NepalEarthquake_3rdAppeal/Nepal_Earthquake_3rdAppeal_cold_webcopy.html

17 September 2014, 399th Foundation Day Los Baños, Laguna

1. Los Baños is a first class urban municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. 
2. The town is located 63 kilometres (39 mi) southeast of Manila and is accessible via the South Luzon Expressway.
3. Los Baños has a total land area of 56.5 square kilometers (5,650 hectares) and is bordered on the south and southwest by Mount Makiling, on the north by Laguna de Bay, on the northwest by Calamba City and on the east by the town of Bay. 
4. The town of Los Baños is crossed by five rivers or creeks:
1. The Dampalit river, which is named after an edible herb Sesuvium portulacastrum which often grows near river shores, originates on the north face of Mt. Makiling east of the Philippine High School for the Arts, and feeds into Laguna lake at the boundary of Barangays Lalakay and Bambang.
2. The Saran creek, whose headwaters begin somewhere near the municipal dumpsite, flows through Barangay Anos near the municipal cemetery, and feeds into the lake at Barangay Malinta.
3. The Pele or Pili creek, named after the Pili tree (Canarium ovatum), flows through the west side of Barangay Batong Malake and has its mouth at the boundary of Barangays Malinta and Mayondon.
4. The Molawin River, most familiar to UPLB students because it flows through the UPLB campus and the Makiling Botanic Gardens, is named after the Molave tree (Vitex parviflora).
5. The Maitim river, whose name simply means 'black', flows through the westernmost portions of Los Baños, marking the town's boundary with its neighboring town of Bay. The Molawin and Maitim rivers merge just a few meters before feeding into Laguna de Bay at the shore of Barangay Maahas
5. The town's name literally means bathing places and it was once called as "the town with many hot baths" during the Spanish period. 
6. Los Baños started as a settlement, a barrio of Bay, called Mainit, the Tagalog term for "hot" and alludes to the thermal springs at the foot of Mount Makiling and by 1589, through a Franciscan Friar, it became popularly called by its present name: "Los Baños," which is Spanish for "bathing place."
7. In 1595, a temporary building made of bamboo and cogon was built to serve as shelter for the patients who journeyed to Mainit to seek cures for their ailments. It was on 15 September 1615 when the Friars administered Los Baños as a separate town from Bay.
8. The early traders from Las Pinas such as the "Eusebio clan" and from Manila the "Lopez clan" are considered the earliest to have established farming and business establishment in the area followed by the Kalaws, Clemente and De Castro clan who are all related to each other.
9. One of the country's leading academic institutions, the Univerity of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), was founded as the College of Agriculture in 1909 and being a center of knowledge in various fields especially in the sciences, Los Baños is widely known as a "Special Science and Nature City of the Philippines." and the town was proclaimed as such on 17 September 2000 by then President Joseph Estrada. 
10. Los Baños also hosts other foreign and local and international research centers, such as the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice), the Philippine Carabao Center at the Univerity of the Philippines Los Baños (PCC at UPLB), The ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, National Institute for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB/BIOTECH), and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEAMEO-SEARCA).  
11. Los Baños is also famous for its delicacy, the buko pie or coconut pie. Dairy products such as fresh milk, chocolate milk, kesong puti or native white cheese, pastillas, and yogurt are available at the Dairy Training and Research Institute (DTRI) and at the Philippine Carabao Center which are both located at UPLB.
12. PROCLAMATION NO. 852  DECLARING WEDNESDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2014, AS A SPECIAL (NON-WORKING) DAY IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF LOS BAÑOS, PROVINCE OF LAGUNA

References:

Los Baños, Laguna
Proclamation No. 852, s. 2014
Los Baños

16 September, Foundation Day of Bontoc, Mountain Province

1. Bontoc (Filipino: Bayan ng Bontoc), (Pangasinan: Baley na Bontoc) is a second class municipality and the capital of Mountain Province, Philippines. 
2. Bontoc is the historical capital of the entire Cordillera region since the inception of governance in the Cordillera.
3. The province is very mountainous. The word Bontoc is derived from two morphemes “bun” meaning heap and “tuk” meaning top which when taken together means mountain.
4. Kane, American Supervisor and then Governor, established the capital here after the Philippine Commission passed the Mountain Province Act, building a provincial building, hospital, doctor's office, nurse's home, a school, provincial prison and the Tagudin-Bontoc trail, which by 1926, could accommodate a small car.
5. The municipality also celebrates annual Am-among Festival and Lang-ay Festival.
6. BONTOC lies on the banks of the Chico River about an hour east of Sagada. Primarily used by tourists as a transport hub, the town is also a good base for trekking and has easy access to the beautiful Maligcong rice terraces.
7. Bontoc is home to the Bontoc Tribe, a feared war-like group of indigenous people who actively indulged in tribal wars with its neighbours up until the 1930s. Every Bontoc male had to undergo a rites of passage into manhood, which may include head hunting, where the male has to journey (Sometimes with companions) and hunt for a human head. The Bontocs also used the jaw of the hunted head as a handle for its gongs, and as late as the early 1990s, evidence of this practice can be seen from one of the gongs in Pukisan, Bontoc.
8. Bontoc is the home of the Ifuntok Language, which has variable dialects under it. However, the Original Ifuntok Language is fast dying out, as more of the younger generations speak a mixture of Ilocano, Tagalog, and Kankanaey Dialects. This is partly due to the frequent contact of the younger generations with other regions of the Philippine nation. Some words are not in use anymore. Within the Bontoc proper, only 40% of the local population can communicate using this language without diluting their daily language with other languages/dialects.
9. The local economy depends largely on small trades and agriculture. This capital town's biggest economic potential is tourism with its smaller rice terraces in Barangay Bay-yo, Maligcong and other areas.
10. The road from Baguio to BONTOC is the Halsema Highway or “Mountain Trail”, a narrow, serpentine gash in the side of the Cordillera that’s sometimes no more than a rocky track with vertical cliffs on one side and a sheer drop on the other.
11. Fourteen (14) people, that included Filipino comedian Tado Jimenez, a Dutch woman named Ann Van de Ven and a Canadian man named Alex Loring, were killed when a bus fell into a 500-meter-deep ravine in Sitio Pagang at 7:20 a.m. on 7 February 2014.
12. PROCLAMATION NO. 859  DECLARING TUESDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2014, AS A SPECIAL (NON-WORKING) DAY IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF BONTOC, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE

References:

Local Government of Bontoc Mountain Province, Philippines
Bontoc, Mountain Province
Proclamation No. 859, s. 2014
PHILIPPINES // NORTHERN LUZON BONTOC AND AROUND
TripAdvisor Bontoc Philippines
Bontoc
Bontoc bus crash may have been caused by loose brakes—LTFRB chair

City of Digos, Davao del Sur

1. Digos is a second class city in and capital of the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines and is considered as part of Metropolitan Davao.
2. The city lies on the western shores of the Davao Gulf and southern foothills of Mount Apo on the island of Mindanao, centrally located between the two major cities in Mindanao, Davao City and General Santos City.
3. It is known for its sweet-juicy 'carabao variety mango,' sold locally and exported abroad, thus being dubbed as the Mango Capital City of the Philippines. 
4. In the early days, Digos was a watercourse, a meeting place of inhabitants belonging to the Austronesians settled along the southern foothills of Mt. Apo. The Digos River meets the Davao Gulf and it is ideal for fishing and bathing.
5. During the Spanish Era, a group of natives carrying bows and arrows were approached by some Spaniards traversing the very fertile tracts of land in Davao and there is one Spaniard named Lopez Jaena Pacheco who was also a conquistador during the administration of Governor Claveria serving as the head of the group, inquired about the name of the place from the barefooted natives and believing that the Spaniards were asking where they were bound to, the natives answered "Padigus", which means "to take a bath". Since then the place was identified as Digos.
6. Before its creation into a municipality, Digos was a barrio of Sta. Cruz, a town 16 kilometers away.  Through the initiation of then Congressman Apolinario Cabigon, Digos, became a regular municipality in 1949 by virtue of Presidential Executive Order No. 236, dated 19 July 1949 issued by President Quirino with a coverage that included the barrios of Tres de Mayo, Goma Bansalan, Matanao, Darapuay and the Poblacion where the seat of government was located. 
7. Digos in later years, before its conversion into a city, was regarded as the capital town of the Province of Davao del Sur, long before it gained the status of a First Class Municipality in 1993, being center for trade, commerce and education, accruing to its strategic location at the cross point of two principal thoroughfares in the south.
8. In July 1998, the bid to convert into a city was moved and initiated by Hon. Mayor Arsenio A. Latasa, considering its very satisfactory qualifications required for in R.A. 7160
9. House Bill No. 5672 dated 24 November 1998, of Congress authored by Hon. Congressman Douglas Ra. Cagas, led to the drafting of Republic Act 8798, converting the Municipality of Digos into a component City of Davao del Sur, which was signed by President Joseph E. Estrada on 14 July 2000, and ratified by the Digoseños on 8 September 2000.
10. Nickname(s): City of Sweet Mangoes; Clay Capital of Mindanao; Gate City of the South; Champion City of Good Governance
11. One notable personality from Digos is Kristine Zhenie Lobrigas Tandingan (born March 11, 1992 in Digos, Davao del Sur, Philippines), more popularly known as KZ Tandingan, and is a Filipino singer who rose to fame after winning the first season of The X Factor Philippines in 2012.
12. PROCLAMATION NO. 858 DECLARING MONDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER 2014, AS A SPECIAL (NON-WORKING) DAY IN THE CITY OF DIGOS

Fiestas and festivals

• Sinulog sa Digos - every January 15
• San Isidrio Labrador - every May 15
• Padigosan Festival - every July 19
• Mary Mediatrix - every August 22
• Araw ng Digos - every September 8
• GKK/BEC (Gagmay'ng Kristohanong Katilingban/Basic Ecclessial Community) Fiestas - Depends on the feast day of the patron saint.

References:

Digos
The City of DIGOS at a Glance
Digos City | Facebook
St. Benedict's Monastery - Digos
KZ Tandingan

7 September, Foundation Day of Bais

1. SIPONG FESTIVAL
   

   A colorful and lively mardi gras festival participated in by the different barangays, local and national offices in a choreographed street dancing. Magnificent floats and spectacular head dresses can also be viewed during this event. This biggest annual merry making marks the Charter Day celebration of Bais City.

2. Bais, officially the City of Bais and often referred to as Bais City, is a third class city in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. 
3. Bais City is just about 45 Kilometers (28 mi), or 1 hour drive north of Dumaguete City, the capital city of Negros Oriental province in the Philippines with a total land area of 31,964 hectares (78,980 acres) or over 316 square kilometer.
4. Bais is best known for its Dolphins off the coast in the Tañon Strait which are the most popular Tourist attraction of the region. Although its premier attraction -- Dolphin and Whale Watching is promoted, one should not expect to see any whales on regular basis. A few whales only have been spotted very rarely in 2012 after yearlong absence.  Dolphins are spotted in big numbers mainly from March until October with the best surface conditions from mid-August to mid-October. Spinner and Bottlenose Dolphins are the most common species in the Tañon Strait.
5. Bais once belonged to the municipality of Manjuyod and gained “city-status” in 7 September 1968 and belongs to the second district of Negros Oriental.
6. Other references suggests that the name "Bais" originates from the two bays (Bais).
7. There is, however, a dispute that the name Bais was taken after the eels locally called "Bais" that used to thrive in the Pelarta River which runs beside the city center. 
8. Pelarte River has been the source of irrigation water for the nearby sugar farms and also has a big influence on the city's geography, as it deposits sediments in the former mangrove areas during the (formerly annual) flood season and these former mangrove swamps have now dried out and become populated with residents. In the late seventies, under the government of Genaro Goñi, there was established a river control system stretching from the city center towards the low lying areas in order to lessen flooding during the rainy season.
9. In the early days of Spanish exploration, some Spaniards came upon a swampy land and docked their boats at the vicinity of the two small islets that guarded the village while exploring the place they saw natives fishing along the coast. The Spaniards approached the natives and asked for the name of the place. The natives could not understand Spanish,and believing that the Spaniards were asking for the name of their catch, the natives answered saying "Ba-is", from the day on this swampy valley of the Old Panlabangan and Talamban Hills became known as Bais.
10. Bais City is the largest producer of raw sugar in Negros Oriental. There are two sugar mills in the city. The Central Azucarera de Bais was established by Tabacalera of Spain in the early 1900s and is one of the oldest in the country. The other mill, URSUMCO (Universal Robina Sugar Milling Corporation) was formerly URSUMCO (United Planters Milling Corporation) and constructed in the mid '70s by Marubeni Corporation of Japan as a project of Ignacio Montenegro (also of Spanish roots).
11. Other places of interest this location are the historical Central Azucarera de Bais where one can find the Balwain Locomotive is, as well as beaches and a mangrove park.
12. PROCLAMATION NO. 855 DECLARING TUESDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 2014, AS A SPECIAL (NON-WORKING) DAY IN THE CITY OF BAIS

NOTABLE BAISANON

• Gen Segrio Sinco - local hero during the Spanish Rule
• Dr. Vicente G. Sinco - founder of Foundation University, former UP President
• Jovenal Villanueva-Somoza - World War II
• Josefa Villanueva-Perez - historian, visual artist
• Demetrio Larena - civil governor, political hero and co-founder of Silliman University
• Mileton Larena - political hero and Board Member during the American Regime
• Emplaz Paulio-Violeta - cultural worker and visual artist
• Penn T. Villanueva-Larena - cultural worker, civic leader, accredited tour guide, tourism educator and Stamp collector
• Hermigildo Villanueva - first senator the city and the province has produced

References:

Bais City - Negros Oriental - Philippines
Bais, Negros Oriental
Bais City, Negros Oriental The Home of Dolphin Watching in the Philippines
Bais City, Negros Oriental | Facebook
Proclamation No. 855, s. 2014
Dolphin Watching at Bais City, Negros Oriental
BAIS CITY PROFILE
Bais, it's yours to discover!
September