This coming month of May will be the 80th Anniversary of the Japanese invasion of Northern Mindanao and subsequent surrender on May 10, 1942 of the United States Army Forces Far East Mindanao Force in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. It is sad how eight decades later, little is remembered of the sacrifice of the Filipino and American …
Author Archives: Mike Baños
A Kingdom for a Pearl: The Tale of the Lost Nautilus Pearl of Sulu
Natural pearls have been prized for their beauty and rarity for over four millennia. Oriental Pearls (also called Bahraini or Genuine Pearls), are the world’s most precious gem and continue to break world record prices in both the Middle-east and in the west. Natural gulf pearls are among the finest in the world and are …
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There and back again: How the Sultan of Sulu saved Borneo’s elephants from extinction
While the Philippines does not have an endemic breed of elephant today, the ones now existing in the Indonesia portion of Borneo apparently owe their survival to some elephants earlier gifted to the Sultan of Sulu but which he later sent back to North Borneo (Sabah) while it was still under the dominion of the …
Pueblo de Oro wins two golds at 2021 Real Estate Excellence Awards
Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation (PDO), the property development arm of the ICCP Group, recently bagged two gold awards in the Property and Real Estate Excellence Awards organized and presented by FIABCI (Federation Internationale des Administrateurs de Bien-Conselis Immobiliers) on December 9, 2021. Eduardo del Rosario, Secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban …
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Memories of Old Zamboanga: The Old Mankin House in Pasonanca
When my mother, Ma. Ester Desembrana Baños passed away a few years ago, among the mementos she left behind were a number of photo albums some of which had pictures of Old Zamboanga dating back to the early 1920s and 1930s. I was particularly intrigued by one which showed a regal residence which she captioned …
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Cagayan de Oro remains PH’s 7th Most Competitive Highly Urbanized City in 2021
Cagayan de Oro has retained its 7th Place Rank in the Philippines’ Most Competitive Highly Urbanized Cities ranking in 2021. Besides its Top 7 ranking, Cagayan de Oro was also tagged as the 6th Most Improved Highly Urbanized City in the recently concluded virtual awarding rites of the 9th Regional Competitiveness Summit of the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness …
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How they did it: Parasat keeps CDO, Misor and Bukidnon towns connected in Odette aftermath
When people in most cities in Mindanao woke up in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette on Friday, 17 December 2021, they found they had neither mobile nor internet services in their gadgets and computers. This posed a major problem not only for LGUs and disaster response agencies unable to contact their personnel in the field, …
Mysteries of that Quaint House along Sayre Highway, Bukidnon
Malaybalay City, Bukidnon – Travelers along the Sayre Highway going from Malaybalay to Valencia and vice versa have long been curious about this mysterious house at Barangay Cabangahan near Bancud, with its man and animal sculptures and baroque architecture. According to Levi Ann Pacana Babas, contrary to popular belief, the house was actually built in …
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Displaced journalists reinvent themselves in digital media
Even before the global pandemic became full-blow, many journalists all over the country were already finding themselves out of work as social media displaced many community newspapers, and no less than 11,000 workers found themselves jobless with the closure of ABS-CBN. However, being journalists and by nature resourceful, it did not take long for some …
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Pros and Cons chime in on HB No. 9850: An Act Integrating a Comprehensive Study of Philippine History during World War II into the Higher Education Curriculum
The House of Representatives unanimously approved with a 195-0 vote on third and final reading on September 7, 2021 House Bill No. 9850, a measure integrating a comprehensive study of Philippine history during World War II (WW2) into the Higher Education curriculum. The World War II in the Philippines Education Act mandates the study of …