Philippine Barangay Power (II)

Barangay Captain of Buhangin, Davao City and very good friend of mine 


James 'Jimmy' Salvador


during my last interview with him. 


Among other things he explained to me his efforts to get more scholarships for poor families, so that their children will be able to continue going to school and study for a better future. 

Kudos to you, Jimmy and THANK YOU!

Death toll in diarrhea outbreak in Palawan hits 23

If you stay in Palawan or you plan to travel there, please take care!

Check out this:

Death toll in diarrhea outbreak in Palawan hits 23 - Regions - GMA News Online - Latest Philippine News

Designer Silverio Anglacer

To be featured soon here on this website.

Check it out!

Davao Region Athletic Association

The Davao Region Athletic Association (DAVRAA) meet took off on April 9, 2011 at New Bataan Sport Complex with delegates coming from all neighbouring provinces.

(Thanks a lot A. Dayao, DS Comval for the information!)

Goethe Institute Turns 50 - Goethe Institut wird 50! (Part II)

The Goethe-Institut Manila 50th Anniversary celebration meant everything: meet people, meet good old friends - but the most important thing: learn more about Philippine-German relations. Goethe and Rizal, and much more.

The round table discussion on the roles of international institutions and art communities moderated by Jay Cruz was very interesting indeed. The part "Music of Rizal" after the opening speeches of the German Ambassador and the director of the Goethe Institut was really touching. Sometime later followed documentary film screenings such as "As told By Butterflies" by Nawruz Paguidopon, or "Entablado" by EJ Mijares.

Another unique part was the presentation of commemorative stamps. I would like to thank the Director of the Goethe-Institut in the Philippines, Mr. Richard Kuenzel for his friendly and immediate permission to publish some parts of his second speech:

"Please allow me to touch a very precious chapter of this year's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Goethe-Institut in the Philippines. As you all know, this is also the year of the 150th anniversary of the National Hero of the Philippines, Dr. Jose Rizal. The Postmaster of our host country as well as the National Historic Commission encouraged us to have a commemorative stamp printed which underlines the very special relationship between Dr. Rizal and Germany. Not only studied dr. Rizal in Heidelberg ophtalmology and has his most important work "Noli me tangere" printed 1887 in Berlin. Not only was the last remaining copy of the film "Noli me tangere' (1961, Gerardo de Leon) restored 1996 in the Federal Film Archive in Koblenz/Germany and was passed to the late President Cory Aquino, and not only put in the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Goethe-Institut all efforts into restoring the two manuscripts "Noli me tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" - resting in the national Library - by experts and trainers from Germany, but beyond these facts Dr. Rizal did open his heart to very important facets of life in Germany at the end of the 19th century, and by doing so established the actual first substantial cultural relations between our two countries. 

...

To conclude the presentation of the stamps commemorating the very tender personal relationship to germany, in which Rizal compared the feeling of exotism with a friend, I should like to draw your extension on Rizal's last poem which he wrote in the night before his execution. Hidden in a kerosine lamp, he gave the paper to his sister Trinidad, the last person to visit him in the cell. "There is something in it," he whispered. - MI ULTIMO ADIOS was soon after translated into German by Pastor Karl Ullmer in 1897. "Last farewell" - "Letztes Lebewohl"."

Halika na! Harvardian Grand Alumni Homecoming in Davao City

Goethe Institute Turns 50 - Goethe Institut wird 50!

The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Philippines, der Botschafter der Bundesrepublik Deutschland auf den Philippinen, Mr. Christian-Ludwig Weber-Lortsch (links) and the Director of the Goethe-Institut, the German Cultural Center in the Philippines, der Direktor des Goethe-Instituts auf den Philippinen, Mr. Richard Kuenzel.

The German Ambassador and his beautiful wife. Der deutsche Botschafter und seine huebsche Gattin.

More and more guests arrive. Immer mehr Gaeste treffen ein... .

A new Philippine stamp. Check out more in my article.

Eine neue philippinische Briefmarke. Mehr darueber im folgenden Artikel.

Good friend of mine Mr. Helmut Frielinghaus, German Language Consultant, Goethe Institut Manila and his beautiful wife.

Herr Helmut Frielinghaus und seine huebsche Gattin.

It has been indeed an outstanding and touching 50th Anniversary celebration last March 7, 2011 in Makati City with a lot of special guests, i.e. the German Ambassador Mr. Christian-Ludwig Weber-Lortsch, the Ambassador of Austria, Mr. Wilhelm Donko, the Ambassador of Greece, Mrs. Xenia Stefanidou, the Ambassador of Italy, Mr. Luca Fornari, and the Ambassador of Switzerland, Mr. Ivo Sieber. Among many other VIP's one could also meet the Philippine Postmaster general Atty. Antonio de Guzman. the Honorable Adolfo Ascuno, Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy of the Supreme Court as well as Dr. Raul Sunico, President of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Allow me to quote H.E. the German Ambassador in the Philippines, who said:

"Today we do not celebrate the German patron/poet who would turn 262 years. We celebrate 50 years of Goethe Institute/House in Manila, a German sponsored but home-grown institution. A true spiritual-cultural joint venture. 

As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe out it: "The best education for a clever person is found in travel!"

The mother tongue of Goethe and Einstein and the present pope offers a gateway to German/European higher education. A qualification that opens the door for better jobs and salaries.

Goethe and Rizal tried to blend their works with their foreign experiences. Businessmen, politicians and diplomats usually concentrate on what is doable. The better ones try to translate visions into reality."

(To be continued! Fortsetzung folgt!)

La Boheme, Tosca and many more... .

The history of a lonely, modest and melancholy Italian classical composer... .

Check out more here:

http://www.klausdoringclassicalmusic.webs.com

I Am Back - In Printed Media

I grew up writing articles when I became 14 for a college magazine. 

1969 I started with the local daily Westfalenblatt Bielefeld, Northrine Westfalia, West Germany.

During the 1980s I met my Philippine mentor Professor Dres. Monsignore Hermogenes E. Bacareza, former Chaplain of the Philippine Community in Berlin. 

I started my first column in the mission oriented TINIG NG BAYAN, published in Abra. Since that time I was honoured and blessed being able to publish columns in different Philippine publications.

Since February 2011 I am so blessed becoming a regular Friday columnist of Mindanao Daily Mirror. Thank you so much to the publisher and editor-in-chief  "Tita" Marietta F. Siongco and  general manager,  society editor  and health journalist   Ana Theresa F. Basilio,  B.S.N. and R.N.

Besides all "internet-stuff' I will remain as an "old fashioned printed media journalist" living in the Philippines since 1999 for good and loving this country, which became my second home.

Natural Disasters in ComVal

While staying in Manila for several days, I received the message of more unusual rain and natural disasters from one of my favourite regions in Mindanao, Compostella Valley with its capital Nabunturan.

ComVal Governor Chiongkee Uy (whom I'll be meeting soon in one of these days!) inspects the damages at Barangays Tagbaros and Elizalde, Maco, where a tornado hits the are, while heavy flood of water rushed to the barangay road and damaged the Tagbaros bridge and its nearly surroundings.

Thank you to Abert Dayao, ids, for sending me these (sad) informations. Hope to see you guys soon under better conditions.