Balitang San Pablo : Online

The Winners (from left) are Sandy Marie B. Belarmino, first place; Peejeh P. Sahagun, second place; and Eric Mae M. Batralo, third place. (CIO/J. Aningalan) Sandy Marie B. Belarmino, a fourth year student at the San Pablo City Science High School emerged as the first place winner in the essay writing contest coordinated by the City Population Office to help celebrate this year National Family Week. The theme is “Fathers and Families. Responsibilities and Challenges, Maabilidad si Dad.” She received a token cash reward of P2,000 provided by Mayor Vicente B. Amante. Other winners are Peejeh P. Sahagun of Laguna College , second plance and received P1,500-cash reward, and Eric Mae M. Batralo of Santo Angel National High School , third place and received P1,000-cash reward. The contest was participated by 12 fourth high school students representing 12 institutions providing secondary education in the City of San Pablo . City Administrator Loreto S. Amante said they opted to sponsor a

THE AGONY OF LEADERSHIP When he confirmed to Fr. Jerry V. Bitoon of Save the Lkes Movenment (SLM) that he will abide by his covenant as a leader with the majority of the people, that the establishment of his brother at the lake will be the first to be demolished come come February 29, 2000, Mayor Vicente B. Amante admitted that this is inevitable agony of leadership. By his choice to lead, he must sacrifice a large measure of selfhood and individuality. He must leave behind personal attachment that will hinder him from achieving his goals to the city’s seven crater lakes. As mayor, he cannot and does not live for himself alone. He live for others, His life is self-surrender, self-giving, abds self-sacrifice. This painful act of giving self to other is the substance of leadership, because he new that he must not fail the fragile faith of his people on government that lies in his hand. He must reflect the hope as well as the fear of the people.

a. The official name of the memorial is “Andres Bonifacio Shrine.” b. The figure of Andres Bonifacio was sculptured on concrete cement by Conrado Balubayan of Bagumbayan, Santa Cruz , Laguna c. The construction was funded by the local government unit through budgetary appropriation enacted by the Sangguniang Panglunsod for Calendar Year 1997, on motion of Kagawad Ireneo G. Biglete as part of the preparation.to commemorate the centennial of the Declaration of the Philippine Indepencence. This is in compliance with the provision of Republic Act No. 7356 creating the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. d. The shrine is located on the western bank of Sampaloc Lake , a stone throw from the monument of the martyrs of the country (martirez dela Patria) at the end of Andres Bonifacio Street . The 8-foot figure of Andres Bonifacio is facing South. e.

Ang puno ng maulawin o molave na itinanim nina Hukom Tagapagpaganap Bienvenido V. Reyes ng Pangrehiyong Hukumang Tagalitis at Punonglunsod Vicente B. Amante noong Hunyo 11, 1998 sa binuksang Liwasang Sentinyal bilang bahagi ng pagdiwirang ng ika-100 Taon ng Kalayaan ng Bansa na sa dalawang pagkakataon ay nabali na ang mga sanga nito dahil sa malalakas na hihip ng hangin, subali’t ang tumubong mga bagong sanga ay higit na naging malalaki at matatag, kaya ito ay nanatiling nakatayo at napaglabanan ang matinding hagupit ng Bagyong Milenyo, tulad ng dalawang lider na nagtanim nito na patuloy na nakapaglilingkod sa pamayanang kanilang kinakitaan ng unang liwanag, sa kabila ng mga tinamo nilang puna at pansin ng kanilang mga detraktor. (RET)

SAN PABLO CITY – When “Yakap sa Lawa,” a movement initiated by local leaders during the early months of Year 2000 to help protect the city”s seven crater lakes, was formally launched during a program by the Sampaloc Lake attended by then Congressman Heherson Alvarez as keynote speaker, City Mayor Vicente B. Amante shared the views of environmentalists that the city’s seven crater lakes must be conserved and preserved, and wildlife call for help; the watershed that provide water to these bodies of water, Mounts San Cristobal and Banahaw east of the city proper must also be conserved. Amante in briefing a group of humanity students from the Ateneo de Manila University that visited his office before the expiration of his third term in office, declared that the environ of Mounts San Cristobal and Banahaw must be protected since these are “power mountains” revered by believers that include so many foreigners. Amante added

The tilapia monument erected by the Heirs of Jose C. Agahan by the Sampaloc Lake inaugurated last May 30, 2005 by City Mayor Vicente B. Amante, City Councilor Karen C. Agapay, and PCAMRD Executive Director Rafael D. Guerrero III as final activity in the commemoration of the month of May as Fisherfolk Month declared by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and to commemorate the 50 th year of the local tilapia industry the city. Mr. and Mrs. Jose C. Agahan introduces tilapia in San Pablo, the now famous “City of Seven Lakes,” by seeding Sampaloc Lake near the City Hall, and Palakpakin Lake at Barangay San Buenaventura, with tilapia fingerlings on summer month of Year 1955 at no cost to the local government unit. Tilapia is now the number one table fish in the world Dr. Kevin Fitzsimmons of the College of Agriculture of University of Arizona and Vice President of the World Tilapia Association (WTA) said last September at the 6th International Semina

The holding of the First Coconut Festival, Mardi Gras Style , on January 12, 1996 , was actually conceived by Robert M. Non , an advocacy officer of the San Miguel Group of Companies based here in Laguna who suggested it to then Secretary to the Mayor Adolfo “Rudy” J. Vergara, and Project Development Officer Ruben E. Taningco, in June of 1995, while Mayor Vicente B. Amante and City Administrator Hizon A. Arago were on official travel to the United States. On his return, Mayor Amante approved the idea/proposal as a compliance to the provision of Republic Act No. 7356, an Act Creating the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and with the approval of the Sangguniang Panglunsod, then headed by Vice Mayor Danton Q. Bueser, an ad hoc committee chaired by City Administrator Hizon A. Arago, assisted by former Councilor Vergel Cosico and Businessman Arthur T. Reyes was organized to formulate the program of activities for the holding of street dancing contest. Resear

Sa Karangalan ng Unang Ginang ng Bansa Dra. Evagelina Macaraig Macapagal Ang lansangang ito ay nabuksan at napaunlad sa pamamahala ng Emmergency Employment Agency (EEA) na inilunsad ng pangasiwaan ni Pangulong Diosdado Macapagal, na isang tuwirang pagsuporta ng pangasiwaang pambansa sa pangarapin noon ng pangasiwaang lokal na masimulan ang pagpapaunlad ng industriya ng turismo, bilang isang estratihiya sa pagpapaunlad ng kabuhayan ng lunsod. Bilang isang paggawain, ito ay binigyan ng Office of the City Engineer ng project code name na “Dagatan Boulevard,” bagama’t ang opisyal na project title ay “Proposed Peripheral Road of Sampaloc Lake,” na natapos na may-uring “macadamized all weather road” noong katag-arawan ng 1965, na kaalinsabay ng isinagawang rehabilitasyon ng makasaysayang “Hagdang Bato” na itinayo noong 1914, na ngayon ay bahagi na ng desinyo ng ng Opisyal na Sagisag ng Lunsod ng San Pablo, na nawasak sa pagtatapos ng Ika-2 Digmaang

By Ruben E. Taningco Nobody knew the number of steps it has: when it was constructed and by whom, until Mayor Vicente B. Amante asked his private secretary to actually count the number of steps and copy the wordings on the tablets affixed on the lower part of the park structure. The Hagdang Bato (concrete stairway) leading to the Sampaloc Lake, which is now a famous local landmark, is now part of the logo or official seal of San Pablo, being the City of Seven Lakes. It was constructed in November 1915 under the administration of municipal president Marcial Alimario, but many, including the youth and technical personnel of the local engineering office, simply look it for granted. Nobody knew the number of steps it has, when it was constructed and by whom, until Mayor Vicente B. Amante asked his private secretary, Ruel B. Briones, to actually count the number of steps and copy the wordings on the tablet affixed on the

What is now known as Doña Leonila (Mini-Forest) Park overlooking the Sampaloc Lake is actually a portion of the site for the City Hall Complex purchased in 1937 by the Municipal Government of San Pablo headed by President Inocencio Barleta, which was partly developed after the termination of World War II under the administration of appointed City Mayor, Dr. Fernando A. Bautista. During the incumbency of elected Mayor Lauro D. Dizon Sr., with the help of the Rotary Club of San Pablo, and under the supervision of Dr. Juan B. Hernandez, then club secretary of the local Rotary Club and Chairman of the City Beautification Committee, constructed some park structures at the park, with the fountain featuring the country lass with agriculture harvest as centerpiece. Probably, Hernandez and then City Engineer Perfecto Reyes were inspired by the figures affixed on the façade of the City Hall Building which symbolizes progress. Sometimes on April of 1961 when then President Carlos Garcia made a

This emblem served as logo in the medallion given to the Ten Most Outstanding San Pableño Awardees in 1990 on the suggestion of Dr. Conrado P. Aquino, and when asked by Mayor Zacarias Ticzon to described it, I simply said that “It symbolizes progress in agriculture and industry brought about by the Commonwealth Era. . The lady on the left of the Commonwealth logo hold palay stalk with banana on the ground, since I was told by my father that palay, banana, coffee and lanzones are abundantly harvested in most barrios of then Town of San Pablo. The lady on the right hold a wheel, and standing on a banca and coconut to denote our seven lakes, and beginning of coconut based industrialization, the building was designed after Franklin Baker Company plant has become operational and proclaimed as the world’s biggest dessicated processing plant. My materials then were prepared without thorough research, and just to satisfy Mayor Ticzon. I intentionally withheld it to be released t

The site of the present City Hall Complex was purchased by the Municipal Government of San Pablo during the administration of Municipal President Inocencio Barleta in 1937, but the actual construction of the townhall was undertaken during the administration of Municipal President Cristeto Brion, and it was inaugurated with Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon as guest of honors on March 30, 1940. According to Hometown Historian Juan B. Hernandez, it was during the ceremonies that Quezon promised that he will readily approved the bill being authored by Assemblyman Tomas D. Dizon proposing the conversion of the town into a city. Quezon fulfilled his promised when he signed Commonwealth Act No. 520 on May 1, 1940. When the first set of city officials lead by former Laguna Governor Potenciano Malvar as City Mayor took their oath before Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan on January 2, 1941, the town hall was readily converted into city hall to house the Office of the City Mayor, the Off

C I T Y   O F   S A N   P A B L O FACTS AND FIGURES Land Area:      21,400 Hectares (Including the Seven Lakes )                                     (DENR-Land Management Bureau Data) Number of Barangays:   80 Barangays      (50 Rural Barangays                                                                                 30 Urban Barangays )                                         All barangays are being serviced by Manila Electric    Company and with land lines of the PLDT                                     and DIGETEL. 66 barangays or 75% of the                                    population of the community are  being serviced by the                                    San Pablo City Water District. Population:      237,259   (NSO-August 1, 2007 Census) Number of Registered Voters:                                     134,486 voters in 182 clustered precincts                                     (COMELEC Data for May 10, 2010  Elections) Cultural History:                  

By Loreto S. Amante  Situated 82 kilometers southeast of Manila , about 500 feet above the mean sea level, San Pablo City is a fascinating blend of atural beauties and timeless history. Dubbed as te “City of Seven Lakes,” lies in the apex of the heart-shaped Province of Laguna , fanned by the swaying coconut breeze, nesting among the foothills of Mount San Cristobal and Mount Banahaw . Archeological diggings undertaken before World War II by the late Don Arsenio M.Escudero reveals that it is a thriving community that had existed long before the coming of the Spanish. From a big settlements (or barangay), Sampalok, of the town of Bay, the Augustinian fathers made it into a parish in 1596, then into a town or pueblo under a gobernadorcillo in 1647, and renamed it San Pablo delos Montes, after Sain Paul, The First Hermit, at first under the Province of Laguna, later under Batangas for 100 years, then back to Laguna before outbreak of the Philippine-Spanish Wa

A photo contest covering the theme "Climate Change in the Philippines (causes, consequences and responses) is now open to all Filipino photojournalists and photography enthusiasts with promising cash prizes in euros and special prizes. According to the Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines and the Philippine Center for Photojournalism, major sponsors of the photo contest, the competition is open to all Filipinos except for the staff of the delegation. Eligible photos are those published or unpublished, taken in the Philippines from June 2007 to November 2008. A maximum of up to ten (10) standalone photos may be submitted by a participant. In addition, participants may submit up to a maximum of 5 photo stories comprising 5 to 12 images per photo story. Images submitted as part of a photo story will also be considered on their merits as standalone photos. Entries may be taken by a digital camera (with at leas