St. Gregory the Great Cathedral and Mayon Volcano

The Diocese of Legazpi comprises the civil province of Albay, a province with a population of almost 1.19 million, 97 per cent of which are Catholics. The current bishop of the Diocese of Legazpi is Bishop Joel Z. Baylon, who was canonically installed last December 10, 2009. He is the sixth bishop of Legazpi. For its titular patron it has Our Lady Mother of Salvation, and for its secondary patron St. Gregory the Great.

The St. Gregory the Great Cathedral is one of the most prominent landmarks in the Old Albay District of Legazpi. It is located near the Peñaranda Park, Albay Capitol and the Legazpi City Hall. It is easily accessible from all points of the city.

St. Gregory the Great Cathedral Altar

St. Gregory the Great Cathedral on Good Friday Night

St. Gregory the Great Cathedral in the 1970s

Photos Courtesy of Dexter Baldon and the OFM Archives Philippines

St. Gregory the Great Cathedral Map:

View St. Gregory the Great Cathedral in a larger map

Please visit Wow Legazpi as we regularly update our Visita Iglesia: The Churches of Albay Series

Photos courtesy of Shubert Ciencia, Arnel Constantino, and the Heritage Conservation Society

Photo courtesy of Raymond Saldaña Photography

In 2008, Raj was appointed by the Center for Initiative and Research on Climate Change (CIRCA) as youth ambassador on Climate Change Adaptation in the province of Albay. For the past two years, she actively participated in the local climate advocacy. She also bagged the Best Developmental Case Study plum in Bicol University for her paper entitled “The Role of Local News Papers in Climate Change Adaptation in 2009.”

In a telephone interview, Raj told the Philippines News Agency that she will continue to pursue her goal to encourage the youth to actively do their part in saving the environment. “I will not abandon my post as climate change ambassador of Albay,” she said.

Nhong Rangasa, CIRCA executive director said that Raj’s contribution in the Climate Change Adaptation advocacy continues. “I personally urged Venus to make use of her talent in the promotion of climate change adaptation, mitigation specially in food security,” he said. Rangasa also recommended the provision of cash incentive and certificate of citation to Raj for winning the title of Bb. Pilipinas Universe. (PNA)

Bb. Pilipinas 2010 winners: (L-R) Helen Henson, 2nd Runner Up and Miss Photogenic; Krista Kleiner, Bb. Pilipinas-International; Maria Venus Raj, Bb. Pilipinas-Universe; Czarina Gatbonton,  Bb. Pilipinas-World; Dianne Necio, 1st Runner -Up. Image courtesy of OMPB Worldwide.

LAP/LQ/MDR/cbd

Source: Albay climate change envoy bags Bb. Pilipinas Universe title, by Mike de la Rama, Philippine News Agency. Accessed on March 8, 2010.

Among the MOA signatories aside from Salceda, were DENR Bicol Regional Executive Director Joselin Marcus E. Fragada, CIRCA Director Nong Ragasa and Col. Marlou Salazar, commanding officer of the 901st Philippine Army Brigade in the region.

The Task Force, Salceda said, initially focuses its attention on tree planting and cleaning up of rivers and water canals. This early, he added, the group has already planted over 54,000 tree seedlings with some 10,000 volunteers having participated in the activity.

The Albay governor pointed out that the Task Force’s initiatives directly address serious climate change concerns and are intended to help ensure that the “next generation will have more resources, safer homes and safer environment.”

Fragada explained Task Force Guardians of Nature and its activities are pilot projects started in Albay and may be replicated in other parts of the country. The Task Force, he added, aims to mobilize all state agencies and private sector organizations as well as individual citizens in caring for nature and the environment.

Fragada said the Task Force will likely be involved in the multi-million peso DENR Mangrove Reforestation Project for which P6 million have already been committed since 2008, and the P170-million Mangrove Protection Project of the Albay Provincial Government.

Source: Albay Province Official Website

“I am proud that Albay will not only be the first province to take the lead in creating a comprehensive program for this critical issue, but also to serve as a model for other provinces and communities to follow,” he said.
He added that MO is the Philippines’ leading scientific research institution on climate change and has been appointed to manage this 20-month program to study the geological, climate, disaster risks, and socio-economic indicators specific to the province, and to provide effective recommendations to address these risks.

Salceda explained that study would be focusing on the area spanning the critical Malinao watershed and Tiwi coast within the province. “MO, in coordination with the provincial government and CGPHI, will undertake and analyze extensive satellite, climate, and technical analysis and field work to fully determine these risks and recommendations which can, in turn, serve as a planning and development tool for the province,” he explained.

For their part, Antonia Loyzaga, MO executive director, said that “their group believes that public-private partnerships between a scientific institution like MO, a proactive government such as Albay, and a private investor and corporate citizen in the form of Chevron, are among the most effective ways to confront the complexities of climate and disaster risks which can be replicated in other provinces.

“The ultimate goal is to build the capacities of provinces like Albay and others around the country so they can not only manage risks within their own communities, but together plan for the future by laying the foundation for the Philippines’ response to climate change and sustainable development,” she explained.

Tony Yee, president and general manager of CGPHI, which pioneered geothermal development in the country beginning in Tiwi, Albay, said that they partnered with MO and the Albay LGU by commissioning and funding the Guidebook as part of its Corporate Responsibility and Community Engagement Program.

“As a long-term partner to our host community, CGPHI believes this Guidebook will both sustain the watershed that supports our geothermal operations, while building the capacity and collaboration with our community stakeholders to improve disaster preparedness and mitigate the effects of climate change for now and the future,” Yee said.

Salceda expressed confidence that once the Sustainable Development Guidebook is completed in June 2011, the findings will be utilized by the Albay LGU and shared with other municipalities for their development planning purposes. (Bucal/PIA)

Albay, MO, Chevron to ink MOA to combat climate change by CT Dematera. Accessed March 2, 2010

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) has already issued its Advisory No. 5 raising the alarm on El Niño that has now affected the neighboring Bicol provinces of Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte and Sorsogon which have all had below normal rainfall in the last five months.

“This also means that our feared Tail End of a Cold Front (TECF) in February would have lower probability. That is our ideal scenario – no El Niño, no TECF,” Salceda said. TECF is a weather condition characterized by cloudy skies resulting scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms.

The governor pointed out that “Albay cannot be complacent considering that we have experienced six months of rainfall below last year’s level and precisely because we are at the middle of El Niño areas.”

Salceda said the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) and the provincial agriculture office will come up with strategies to address the scenarios the province may confront shortly.

The NDCC El Nino Advisory instructs APSEMO to immediately conduct consultations with agriculture authorities for the phenomenon’s impact on agricultural output; and local health authorities, for the expected increased incidence of water-borne diseases.

“Specific areas near the El Niño-hit provinces must also be identified and response strategies should be prepared,” stressed Salceda who has earned praises and commendations for his innovative and life-saving public governance initiatives in previous emergencies in his province.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the current El Nino episode continues to persist across the equatorial Pacific Ocean and leading climate models suggest that tropical ocean temperatures are approaching their peak and will remain above El Niño thresholds through March 2010.

Source: Albay Province Official Website

The criteria for the awards  include the following:

Monitoring of tobacco use and prevention policies
Protection of the people from the effects of smoking
Offer to help quit tobacco use
Warning about the dangers of tobacco
Enforcement/bans on tobacco advertising promo and sponsorship
Raise taxes on tobacco.

The City Government is strictly implementing the smoke-free laws particularly its current ordinance number 0007-2009 authored by Councilor Raul Rosal. The new smokefree version mobilizes a Smoke-Free Unit for the Smoke-Free Committee and the City Health Office as lead agency in the implementation of the said Ordinance.

Police Chief Col. Edgardo Ardales, head of Team Enforcement reported that last year 2009, about 350 violators of smokefree ordinance were apprehended. Majority of violators are apprehended while smoking in public places. Ardales asked the Committee to put up more signages to inform the public. A hundred more barangay tanods in the urban barangays of the city were deputized by the enforcement team to apprehend violators.

Ms. Rose Orbita of the Smoke-Free Committee said that the Committee will liaise with the Civil Service Commission and the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board Regional Offices in the monitoring and implementation of their office’s Memorandum Circulars about smoking and signages.

Source: Smoke-free Legazpi Official Website

The Embarcadero has also pioneered eco-friendly transportation in the Bicol Region by introducing Electric Jeepneys or e-Jeeps. These e-Jeeps carry visitors to and from Embarcadero free of charge. There are currently four e-Jeeps in operation, with plans to add more in the future. With the e-Jeeps roaming around the city, it is very easy to get to Embarcadero from the Legazpi Port District.

The lifestyle hub and IT Park is part of a master-planned development that will cover almost 200 hectares in the city’s southern barangays stretching from the shapely Kapuntukan Hill. A new coastal road called Legazpi Boulevard is currently under construction, extending from the foot of the hill to Brgy. Lamba.

Photos of Embarcadero de Legazpi (Click on image to view larger version):

Photo Credits: Dexter Baldon

For leasing inquiries:
Please visit Bldg. 9, Embarcadero, Legazpi Port, Legazpi City or call (052) 821-1221 or 052)820-0473

For job vacancies:
Please contact Ms. Girlie Hernandez at glhernandez@sunwest.com.ph or call (052)820-0473

Mayor Rosal Welcomes Congressman Lee of South Korea

In an interview, Mr. Kang revealed that Filipinos comprise 50% of the 70,000 foreign workers in South Korea. He also said that Congressman Lee, ranked sixth among the 297 elected members of the National Assembly, is a labor leader.

The Korean visitors had a luncheon meeting with local business leaders. They also visited the ongoing construction of the Bicol International Airport in Brgy. Alobo, Daraga, Albay, as well as the ports of Legazpi and Tabaco. The visitors would like to see if flights between the new airport and South Korea will be possible in the future.

Members of the city council of Asan, South Korea also forged a city sisterhood pact with Legazpi. Mayor Rosal gave each of the Korean visitors a Barong Tagalog as souvenir.

Source: “Koreans Visit Legazpi City” by Florencio P. Narito, Bicol Mail, January 21, 2010. Accessed February 11, 2010
Photo Credits: laohoo

Bonafe expressed optimism that the project will be pursued after the foreign investors in a recent investment meeting signified their commitment to venture in this energy project. Salceda has continuously gave priority to potential energy resources such as geothermal, hydro and wind which are all abundant in the province, Bonafe said.

Salceda’s energy development is in line with the sustainable development efforts of the province with focus on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures. Among the renewable energy projects given emphasis include: the development of geothermal, hydro, wind, solar and ocean thermal energy in the towns of Tiwi, Manito and Cagraray island in Bacacay.

The province has been considered as one of the areas who has a huge green energy reserve in the entire Luzon region. Salceda in an interview said he is giving priority to renewable energy development since this is an environment-friendly project and it will also address the looming energy crisis brought about by El Nino or dry spell and lower the cost of electricity in Albay, including the whole Bicol peninsula.(PNA)
LDV/LQ/MSA/cbd

Source: “Foreign firms bullish on Albay’s energy development”, Philippine News Agency. Accessed February 3, 2010