List of Festivals and Events in Eastern Visayas

Here are the Festivals and Events in Samar and Leyte for the Year.

• Kadayaw Festival - January

Pambujan, Nothern Samar - Thanksgiving for God’s blessings during the first full moon.

• Sinulog ha Malitbog - January 15
  

Malitbog, Southern Leyte - Religious streets pageant as homage to the Holy Child Jesus.

• Homonhon Landing - March 16

Homonhon, Eastern Samar- Reenactment of the discovery of the Philippines in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan.

• Karayapan Festival - March

Guiuan, Eastern Samar - A colorful festival depicting how the early Guiuan Townsfolk enjoyed nature’s bounties, rich marine life, fertile land, verdant forest. It is also a thanksgiving to their Patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mother.

• Pamalandong Ha Palo -Holy Week
  

Palo, Leyte - Dramatic reenactment of Christ’s suffering on the cross on Good Friday.

• Turugpo Festival -Holy Week

Barangay Camansi, Carigara, Leyte - Carabao Fight (Pasungay) and horse fight (Paaway) on Black Saturday.

• Sunduan ha Carigana - Holy Week

Carigara, Leyte - Grand Homecoming and festivities on Easter Sunday highlighting the rich history of Carigara, once the capital of Leyte.

• Sinugdan - March 31 (First Mass)
  

Limawasa, Southern Leyte - The First Catholic Mass in the Orient is commemorated with the anniversary program and festive activities.

• Sanggutan Festival - May 18

Barugo, Leyte - Honoring the age-old process of coconut wine making. a dance of “tuba” lovers.

• Pahoy-Pahoy Festival - May 25

Calbiga, Samar - Grand Parade of colorful scarecrows and street dance to celebrate a good harvest.

• Santacruzan/Flores de Mayo -May

Month long nightly procession to depict the search for the cross by saintly Queen Helena.

• Manoglaya Festival - June 12

San Antonio, Northern Samar - Cultural Tourism Festival. Manoglaya is the ancient name of San Antonio. “Mano nga Paraglaya” literally means fisherman using net.

• Lingganay Festival - June 19

Alang-alang, Leyte - Street pageant depicting the legendary and mythical story of the bells.

• Bagulan Festival - June 19

Paranas, Samar - Marry-making after a good coconut harvest.

• Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival - June 27

Tacloban City, Pintados showcases the ancient practice of body painting and how Tacloban’s ascendants came to accept Christianity and develop a great love fo the Senor Sto Nino.

Kasadyaan is a pageantry of colorful and diverse festivals of the municipalities of Leyte depicting their culture, history and way of life.

• Subiran Regatta

Tacloban City - Exciting Race of native sailboats with outriggers displaying seamanships.

• Sangyaw Festival - June 29

Tacloban City - Sangyaw showcases the tapestry of culture of the Warays who are described as the essential Visayans becauseof their zest for life and carefree nature.

• Balyuan - June 29

Balyuan Ampitheater, Tacloban City Ceremonial exchange of images of the Holy Child between Tacloban, Leyte and Basey, Samar.

• Sto Nino de Leyte Fiesta - June 30

Jubilation on the recovery of Tacloban’s patron saint which was lost at sea in 1955. Fluvial procession, social, cultural and religious activities are held.

• Kaadlawan han Samar - August 11

Catbalogan City, Samar - Week-long celebration of Samr Province’s Foundation Day.

• Hulatan, Festival

Julita, Leyte - Depicts the historical events which led to the creration of the municipality.

• Pasaka Festival - August 15

Tanauan Leyte, Legend has it that Tanauanons witnessed the assumption of Blessed Mother into Heaven. After seeing this great Miracle, they rejoiced and celebrated the event with dances.

• Lubi-lubi Festival - August 15

Calubian, Leyte - A lively festival focusing on the coconut three and its uses.

• Buyogan Festival - August 19

Abuyog, Leyte - "Buyog" (bees) dancers, depict the origin of the town's name in a well choreographers dance.

• Bankaton - August 20

Lavezares, Northern Samar - Exciting motorboat race.

• Sarakiki - September 1-8

Calbayog City - A dance inpired by the movement of the cock.

• Padul-ong -September 7

A mythical presentation of how the image of the blessed Virgin was mysteriously transported to Borongan from Portugal and its connection to the Lady in White who frequented the Hamorawan Spring and caused its water to miracuously heal the locals.

• Balangiga Incident - September 21

A commemorative pageant on the Philipine-American encounter in 1901. A reminder of the Filipinos’ quest for freedom.

• Banigan Festival - September 28

Basey, Samar - Street dance showcasing the banig (mat) a truly unique to Basey.

• Leyte Gulf Landings Anniversay - October 20
  

Abuyog, Dulag, Palo and Talosa Leyte - Commemorates the landing in Leyte of the Allied Forces of Liberation.

• Karisyuhan han Pasko ha Palo - December 6 to first Sunday of January
  

Palo, Leyte - A festival to preserve the beautiful old-fashioned Filipono traditions of celebrating Christmas.

• Kaadlawan Festival in Tanauan - December 21

Tanauan, Leyte - A nightly presentation evoking the true spirit of Christmas.

• National Skimboarding Competition - December 27-30

Tanauan, Leyte - National event for skimboarder in the shorline of Tanauan hailed as the Skimboarding Capital of the Philippines.

• Alikaraw Festival - December 31

Hilongos, Leyte - Alikaraw means happiness in the midst of disorder. Despite chaos and tribulation, the people of hilongos find time to thank God for their blessings through dances and songs and pray for a bountiful year ahead.

Tour Guiding Seminar Held in Leyte

A two-day tour guiding seminar was held at the SMED Center sponsored by the Provincial Government of Leyte, Leyte chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Department of Tourism, that aimed to help interested sectors in assisting tourist who visit various places in the province.

The holding of the tour guiding seminar, according to DOT Regional Direcotr Karen Tiopes, is one of the DOT's preparation for th ebig event that will happen next year in the province of Leyte.

Among these events is the holding of the biggest athletic event for elementary and high school students which is the Palarong Pambansa 2009 where the Provincial Government of Leyte is the host, the Leyte Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival of Festival that happens in the honor of Tacloban City's and Leyte Province patron Senior Santo Nino and the commemoration of the 65th Leyte Landing Celebration.

Dir. Tiopes said that there are existing tour guides in the province but they need to learn more techniques in tour guiding to increase their knwoledge as tour guides so that they can relay good stories or disclose information about their provinces to visiting tourists.

The two-day seminar included knowledge and accuracy on the history or background of the places that are being visited, proper decorum and being honest and alert.

The seminar was attended by forty students from the Leuyte Normal University and people from the tour guiding bussiness.

DOT Toursim Appreciation Course

Tourism is a fast growing industry and yet this is not understood very well, that is why the Department of Tourism Regional Office in Region VIII conducted a lecture on tourism appreciation to inform the public particulary the tourism advocate and frontliners on what tourism is all about and to know their role in tourism development and promotion.

Tourism involves varies activities and is a fragmented industry with many parts, each with its own separate contribution, yet they are interrelated and dependent on each other.

The lecture discussed topics on tour guiding, homestay program, tourism standards and accreditation, tourism promotion and marketing, statistical tourist arrival data generation, planning and product development, tourism product packaging, tourist reception, tourism frontline or costumer service, roles of stakeholders and culture of tourism.

The first day of lecture was attended by tourism oriented establishment like, hotels, restaurants, souvenier shops, and travel agencies, and on the second day, it was attended by the tourism advocate in government or the person-in-charge in touring their guest around the city.

DOT Regional Director Karina Tiopes, in an interview at the Express it at the Park said that "at present the Philippine tourism industry, although experiencing the problem of tourist arrivals from the North American region, has a tourist market from Asia and Europe and now the DOT is nurturing a new market, the Russians, who are knwon as big spenders, who are into long vacation, and don't care if how long they wil stay in one place and its cost.

"For some market we will experience a slump, but we have other markets that can augment them" Dir. Tiopes said.

Morover, Eastern Visayas has a lot to offer for tourist. Among these are the Sohoton Cave and Natural Park in Basey Samar, where the DOT had enhanced its tour packaging, by lessening the travel time to reach the place.

A tourist who wishes to visit Sohoton Cave wil now take an alternative route by riding a kayak assisted by licensed cave guides.

Basey Tourism Fast Growing

Old Basey Church



Tourism industry in Basey is one of the fast growing tourism industry in Eastern Visayas. To give assurance to the visiting tourist in Basey, the local government units assures then that they are safe in Basey by providing adequate security, that includes the help from the military.

"Tourist arrivals in Basey are well documented and we are among one of those who have regular report on tourist arrivals, that submits to the Department of Tourism," Ms. Evangelina Ritaga, Tourism Officer of Basey said.

Although the number of tourist arrivals in Basey is increasing, tourism facilities that will encourage more tourist to visit their town, are still lacking.

Although the number of tourist arrivals in Basey is increasing, tourism facilities that will encourage more tourist to visit their tow, are still lacking.

Among these toursim facilities are lodging facilities such as hotels that will ecourage to stay longer in Basey when they visit the place.

Ms. Ritaga said that she had already talk to the local government of Basey regarding this problem and they promised to take action on this problem next year, for they will host the National Caving Congress in Basey on March.

Ms. Ritaga also revealed in the interview that they are planning to have a river cruise in Basey, which will be manage by a private tourism association.

"There is a plan to have a river cruise in Basey. Last August 25, I visited Bohol as required by the Department of Tourism and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. I studied the process of river cruise in Bohol," Ritaga said.

Rivers in Basey are much longer and more beautiful, that is why a river cruise is advisable to be added as one of the addititonal attractions for tourist," Ritaga added.

"At present the Basey Tourist Services Association already forwarded a proposal to the DOT, for a river cruise plan, which they will manage.

The plan for a river cruise in Basey was also presented to the media by Col. Francis Lanuza, 801st Brigade Commanding Officer in an interview at Express it at the Park.

Among the well-known tourist destination in Basey that are regularly visited are the Old Basey Church located in the poblacion of Basey, Sohoton Cave, Rawis Cave and Balantak Falls.


Sohoton Cave

PALAPAG Northern Samar

In the north-eastern part of the underserved province of Northern Samar lies the historic Municipality of Palapag. It is a place of breathtaking scenery and captivating Fil-Hispano beauties.

It is bounded on the North by the vast Pacific Ocean, on the West by the Municipality of Mapanas, on the west by the Municipality of Laoang and on the south by the Municipality of Catubig.

It has a total land area of 17,960 hectares or 179.60 sq. km.. It is approximately 56 kilometers away from the capital town of Catarman, Northern Samar.

It has 32 registered barangays. It is sub-divided into four major regions namely; Central Region, composed of 4 barangays, Riverside Region composed of 7 barangays, Seaside Region with 9 barangays and the Woodland Region, composed of 12 barangays.

Generally, it is characterized as mountainous, but the river valley is wide plain. It is mountainous from the eastern portion to the southern part of the poblacion. Hilly along the coastal area. Level land can be observed from the north-western portion and within a considerable distance from Barangays Mapno and Sumoroy. Its municipal boundaries are mountains and forest lands.

There is no data available on the climate of Palapag. However there is such data for the Province of Northern Samar which can be used to represent the climate of Palapag.

The climate of the province falls under the second climate type which is characterized by having no distinct dry season and with very pronounced maximum rainy period from November to January. May is the driest month.

There are ight types of soils identified in the area. They are the Palapag clay loam, Bugkol loamy sand, Bugko sandy loam, Catubig loam, Catbalogan clay loam, Lugo clay loam, hydrosol and beach sand.

The municipality embraces a land area of 17,960 hectares. Of this land area, 39 percent of the land is considered alienable and disposable land and sixty-one percent is establised timberland.

Palapag lessed with fertile wide level land and goods grazing grounds, thus making it as one of the mosr productive agricultural towns in the province of Northern Samar. Obviously, the main occupation of the people is farming and the main products are rice, corn, coconut, abca, bananas, fruits, vegetables and root crops. In addition, the people raise cattle, hogs, chickens, ducks, and goats. Sand and gravel also abound in Palapag.

The municipality's 17,960 hectares of agricultuiral lands are criss-crossed by rivers and its tributaies. The most prominent rivers are: Kag-anibong River, Canonghan River, Binatiklan River, Ibaliw River, Gass River and the Sangay River. All these rivers are tributaries of the Palapag River whose outlets are the Lanang Bay on the West and the Pacific Ocean on the North. These rivers can be tapped for irrigation purposes, agricultural uses. These ample water resources make a good site for agriculture.

Noth-eastern wind knwon as Amihan previals throughout the year with fine weather. North-northwestern wind, Canaway, occurs when there is an approcaching typhoon. Typhoon occurs once or twice with ayear. Floods are often the results of typhoons.



HISTORICAL PLACES



The Remains of the Old Catholic Church.


This church was constructed during the Spanish era. It was made or coral rock tablets and plastered together by a mixture of lime and honey. It was one of the oldest churches in the Philippines bult by the Spaniard missionaries.



Agustin Juan Ponce Sumoroy's Monument.

Agustin Juan Ponce Sumoroy is the man responsible for the Palapag uprising against the spaniards in the year-long rebellion from 1646 to 1650.


BEAUTY SPOTS:






Up photos:Rikit Dikit, Palihon Island
Down photos: Cabatuan Rock Formation, Talolora Beach

Tanauan Holds PASAKA Festival

The people of Tanauan, Leyte once again held their annual PASAKA Festival, with five contingents coming from different schools and districts of Tanauan.

This year's PASAKA Festival in honor to the patroness of Tanauan, Our Lady of Assumption, was graced by Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Leyte Governor Jericho Petilla.

In an interview with Tanauan Mayor Roque Tiu, he revealed that according to some information it is only their town that holds an annual festival. He also added that only the PASAKA Festival that represent the region in the Aliwan Festival had bagged the 2nd place award.

The winner of PASAKA Festival will represent Tanauan in the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival in 2009.

Mayor Tiu added that PASAKA is more than making the people specially the young children, know the culture and history which is uniquelly Tanauan , it is also a reflection of unity and cooperation among the townfolks.

The PASAKA was conceived and initiated in 1992 by Mayor Roque Tiu and his wife PIA Regional Director Olive Tiu as the Chairperson.

The PASAKA prides itself in being one of the town Festivls in the Region which has been consistently holding annual contests. The other festival is Pintados Festival, founded by Mayor Tiu, the first President of the Pintados Foundation.

Mayor Tiu also admitted that this year's PASAKA Festival participants wanted to decline due to financial problems, but still they are happy because even with the said problem they were able to showcase the festival and the people of Tanauan, together with some tourist enjoyed their presentation.

Tanauan is classified as one of the progressive towns in Leyte and tagged as one of the most business friendly municipality in the country.

What to know about Dengue

As early as January, the Department of Health started its campaign on Dengue awareness which, according to them, dengue is now a continuous illness, contrary to the past where it followed a pattern.

"Dengue", a Swahali term for "bad air" was first known in the world as "Philippine Hemorrhagic Fever" when the first epidemic of dengue was recorded in the Philippines. Later on, the health authority applied the word dengue to the illness when they found out that it is not only endemic to the Philippines, but in other parts of the world as well, especially in tropical and humid places.

The early launching on dengue awareness was aimed to reduce the morbidity and mortality due to dengue and to increase the awareness of the community in combating dengue to totally eradicate and stop the transmittal of the disease to humans.

The month of June is declared as National Dengue Awareness Month to battle the spread of dengue in the community. The campaign will go down from the national government to the local government, and the community.


As of the moment, there is no vaccine for dengue and the most important thing everyone should to do is to control the spread of dengue virus by means of cleaning their surroundings and searching for possible breeding grounds of mosquitoes.

A mosquito that carries dengue virus is different from mosquitoes that carry the malaria virus which attack or bite people who are inactive and mostly bite during nighttime. Mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus are those bite active people mostly during early morning and late afternoon.


The Mosquito

A larva mosquito is mostly a bottom feeder, it swim and glides, and breathes through a terminal structure called a siphon; would favorably survive at 16-24 C; does not mature at 12 and 39C and rest at an angle to the water surface.

An adult mosquito bites through the day, two hours after sunrise and two hours before sundown; they actively bite at 26C temperature an largely bite at 26 to 35C. They favor low moisture and warmer skin. They are more attractive to moving and active persons, that is why, most of its victims are children.

In their act of feeding, they approach from behind and not by frontal attack. If the first attempt fails, they will attack from a different quarter. They prefer dark corners, shades, dark objects, hanging objects or materials; settle on sides away from light, and do not normally rest on wall surfaces.

A Dengue-carrying mosquito normally flies upwind towards the light and attacks victims from 50-300 meters from breeding sites.

People must also know that it is only the female mosquitoes that bite because blood is a necessary component for female mosquitoes during incubation period. Once a female mosquito becomes fertile, she is fertile for her entire life. A male mosquito does not bite, it only zips and gets it food from fruits and plants nectar. The female mosquito's life expectancy stays up to 30 days, while the male mosquito stays fro 21 days.

During the oviposition, the adult female mosquito may lay 60 to 100 eggs. It prefers dark background containers and from two o'clock to six o'clock, is the peak of their oviposition. In two weeks, about fifty of the one hundred eggs become female. If these female mosquitoes are fed with infected blood on their first blood meal, they can transmit the virus to at least 350 people if they live for 20 days after becoming infected.



The Process in Acquiring Dengue Virus

Typically, mosquitoes at first, do not carry dengue virus. In the process of mating of mosquitoes called swarming the male and female mosquitoes will only mate once. After they mate, the female mosquito will produce eggs which will take 10 to 12 days in complete cycle, to become mature.

Once the female mosquito reaches adulthood, it will start to bite. For her to acquire dengue virus, the female mosquito must first bite a person who is a dengue virus, it will take ten days, before it can spread the virus. In 30 days of its life, the female mosquito will bite eight to ten times, which is equivalent to eight to ten victims.


Dengue Signs and Symptoms

There are certain signs and symptoms a person will feel once one acquired the dengue virus, these may include, high continuous fever lasting for two to seven days, nausea or vomiting, abdominal pain, body weakness, bleeding tendency from nose and gums, persistent red spots on the face, extremities and trunks.


Dengue Danger Sign


Spontaneous bleeding
Persistent vomiting
Cold, clamming skin
Restlessness, Weak rapid pulse and
Difficulty in breathing


Once a person feels the above mentioned signs and symptoms, he must immediately consult the doctor for proper prescription of medication and for monitoring of his health condition. There is still no vaccine for dengue virus, so the better thing to do is to ask and consult a doctor, is what a person should do once one acquires the dengue virus.


How to Control Dengue

If against the larvae, here are some tips that we can do to control them

Applying larvicides to the breeding site.
Source reduction (dispose useless containers, thorough cleaning of domestic water container, puncture or bore holes on used tires and clean clogged gutters)
Biological contorl (use of larvivorous fish)


For adult mosquitoes.

Modify and manipulate environment.
Turn water containers upside down.
Fill-up tree holes and bamboo stumps.
Proper container management.
Eradicate breeding sites.


Space spraying or fogging should be done in proper application, with right chemical dosage, right techniques and right timing. Fogging or spraying must be done by a pesticide applicator and should be done in a minimal foliage.

One the recent directive of the DOH fogging is strictly prohibited and they appeal to the local government units to stop asking the DOH to conduct fogging for dengue control. This is becuase fogging is too expensive (from the machine that they use, chemical and labor) and may also raise environmental issues.

Fogging accoding to the DOH, must be done during epidemic at least four times at weekly interval. When conducting fogging, it should be in right dosage, and must use a water-based fogging device in view to the Clean Air-Act.

Proper health education, promotion and community participation must be done in combating dengue. Evryone must have correct knwoledge and information on what to do so that they can contribute in stopiing the spread of dengue in their community.

There must be an advator for health education especially to those who are still not aware of the virus and on what to do once there is a case of dengue and prior to cases of dengue and proper sanitation.

The community, especially the health officials, must conduct surveillance on places where there are dengue cases to stop an epidemic and most especially the local government. The barangay and municipal concils must pass an ordinace as guideline for thier community members on dengue prevention, which may include or impose sanctions or penalties for those who will not follow.

Tourist are Safe in Eastern Visayas

Colonel Francis Lanuza, Commanding Officer, 801st Brigade, Philippine Army assures tourist that they are safe in Eastern Visayas as they have already downgraded some insurgency front in region.

This was his answer to the reaction of a top airline executive who vocally expressed that local tourism in Eastern Visayas, particularly in Calicoan Island, which is being tagged as the next Boracay, is being threatened by the presence of insurgency. This was the reason according to the airline official why their airline company had scrapped the plans of opening a Manila-Guiuan flight.

"We do not want another Sipadan to happen again," the airline executive said.

The airline executive also said that local tourism in the region is always in the offing. The proper authority must take concern on the security of the tourist if they want tourism industry in the region to flourish.

Col. Lanuza in the similar interview assures the safety of tourist once they visit Guiaun. The army offensive in the area of Eastern Samar had successfully crushed insurgency that had been long problem in the area.

When Col. Lanuza was asked on the decision of the airline company to scrap the idea of having a Manila-Guiaun flight, Col. Lanuza said that from an economist point-of-view, he would rather open a Manila-Boronga flight rather than a Manila-Guiuan flight. Borongan is located at the center of Eastern Samar and economic activity wise Borongan has much to offer.

Economic progress in Eastern Samar is slowly seen by the people, with the help of tourism promotion in the area which needs to be promoted.

"Tourism promotion" to attract tourist, this is what is lacking in Eastern Visayas which akes it behind in its neighboring regions like Bohol, Cebu and Negros.

Peace Forum Held in Samar Towns

The Commission on Human Rights headed by CHR Regional Director Paquito Nacino, together with 801st Infantry Brigade, under the leadership on Lt. Col. Francis Lanuza, conducted a Peace Forum in the municipalities of Motiong and Basey, Samar.

The two-day peace forum which was first held in the municipality of Motiong was attended by Jiabong Municipal Mayor Chanita Gabieta, Motiong Mayor Francisco Langi, Paranas Mayor Felix Babalcon and 2nd District Board Member Eunice Babalcon, the second day was held in Basey, Samar attended by Baranggay Officials in Basey.

During the Peace Forum, Lt. Co. Lanuza said that "peace, justice and development" should be given a chance. There must be cooperation among residents, baranggay officials, local government executives and military to answer the existing problem of insurgency that led to the continuing problem of poverty and underdevelopment in rural areas, especially in far flung baranggays.

"Military are equipped with firearms to use against battling insurgency, but we are not just soldiers equipped with firearms but soldiers equipped with social responsibilities."

Included to this social responsibility, is to keep peace and order, justice and development to their area of jurisdiction. "That is why we invited the CHR to document and investigate all human rights complains against those who have violated it."

CHR Regional Director Paquito Nacino said that complains must be fully documented and submitted to the submitted to the proper authority to receive immediate and proper actions.

As an agency commissioned in investigating human rights abuses, the CHR needs help of those who are affected and victimized, for them to file appropriate charges and prosecute anyone who violates the basic right of every man.

The CHR had gathered about 30 complains of human rights violations and other criminal charges like, extortion, murder, robbery, grave threats, disappearance incidents of family members of allegedly perpetrated by members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army.

Nacino added that their office is now in the process of investigating and gathering strong evidence so they could file appropriate and formal charges against the allegedly suspects on the formal complains that they gathered.

The CHR also revealed that there is an increase of human rights violations as compared to last year.

Based on their investigation that was conducted last year, CHR data on the leading human rights violators are the military, followed by members of the CPP/NPA, third the baranggay officials and other government officials, fourth are the unidentified perpetrators and fifth are members of the PNP.

Nacino also clarified that although there are formal complains filed in their office against respondents of human rights violations, they are still considered innocent under the law until they are proven guilty.

107th Balangiga Encounter

Vol. 8 Issue No. 31

Amidst the presence of Tropical Storm Pablo, the commemoration of the 107th Balangiga Encounter Day continues where Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the guest of honor and speaker.

Speaking in front of Balangigan-on, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said that the commemoration of Balangiga Encounter only shows that Samarnons know to give importance to love for freedom and liberty.

President Arroyo said that the Balangiga Encounter is the single victory of the Filipino people in fighting against the American colonizer during the Filipino-American War.

President Arroyo added that at present, the Philippines-US relationship is strong, growing, and mature, which is enhanced by millions of Americans with Filipino heritage and hundreds of thousand of American citizens who live and work here in the Philippines.

"The United States and the Philippines remain steadfast allies and friends in times of global economic uncertainty, and we in the Philippines had been working tirelessly to address challenges arising globally to slow down," President Arroyo said.

Mayor Viscuso de Lira, municipal Maoyr of Balangiga, in his message said that the Balangiga Encounter that happened on September 28, 1908, is still recognized as one of the greatest models in our history and given recognition as it emerged victorious in fighting for freedom and liberty.

Mayor de Liraadded that the fight for freedom in Balangiga still continues as the Balangigan-on are fighting for freedom against poverty with their limited resources.

The Balangiga Encounter happened on September 28, 1908, when the residents of Balangiga struggled for liberty against the American troops . Using bolo and disguising themselves wearing women clothes, the men of Balangiga were successful in defeating the American troops members of Company B, 9th US Infantry Regiment, who had victoriously fought in China on the Boxer Rebellion.

Forty-eight of the seventy-four American soldiers died as the result of the assault and twenty-eight native combatants perished in the combat.

The event in Balangiga was condemned by the American forces and made the entire Samar Island into a "howling wilderness", razing houses and properties to the ground, where thousands died and perished as a result of the reprisal.

The Americans cartered away three church bells, as their war trophy, two of these bells are mounted in Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA and one in South Korea.

A monument created by the National Artist Napoleon Abueva, that will reminisce the bravery of those who had fought against the American troops, is erected at the municipal plaza, together with the statue of Captain Valeriano S. Abanador, the municipal mayor of Balangiga who led his people during the uprising.