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PALANAN, THE LAST STAND OF THE FIRST PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano 22 July 2018 Palanan is the last coastal town for this term to benefit the Provincial Government of Isabela’s BRO Farmers Congress. The whole Isabela team arrived by plane from Tuguegarao City via WCC Sky Pasada and the others from Cauayan City via Cyclone Airways. I made the standard operating procedure of paying courtesy to the mayor and handed over historical research materials of the province followed by the discussion of potential tourism sites and issues that may arise upon the opening of the Ilagan-Divilacan Road. Though, there is no road linking Divilacan and Palanan, the latter can be reached only in a two-hour boat trip traversing the shores of Northern Luzon southwards. The lady local chief executive, Hon. Elizabeth B. Ochoa, belongs to the illustrious Bernardo family of this 409 year old coastal town. Palanan, the last stand of the first Philippine Republic, is the oldest

DOT AT DIVI & MACO Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano 13 July 2018 The Department of Tourism (DOT) in Region II, headed by Director Virgilio M. Maguigad, spearheaded the conduct of a five-day Product Development Workshop for Municipalities of the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (NSMNP) from July 10 to 13 at the Tourist Pavilion in Divilacan town. Five Local Government Units (LGU) participated; the City of Ilagan, the Municipalities of Tumauini, Palanan, Maconacon and the host town of Divilacan. The following topics were discussed during the pre-workshop: Republic Act 9125 (NSMNP Act of 2001), Situationer Report of Divilacan, Republic Act 10816 (Farm Tourism), Executive Order 111: National Ecotourism Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP) and Tourism Rapid Assessment (TRA) Tool. After the lectures, the participants were grouped into three for the benchmarking trips in Divilacan tourist areas. Group 1 went to Dicatian Coral Shelf, Crocodylus mindorensis (Philippine crocodil

ILAGAN @ 332 ND & THE BONIFACIO FREEDOM PARK Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano 30 May 2018 The City of Ilagan in Isabela, celebrating its 332 nd patronal fiesta, inaugurated another landmark right in the middle of the crossroad going to the poblasyon and the national highway heading for the north to Aparri and the south to Manila. Mayor Evelyn “Mudz” Catolico-Diaz spearheaded the ceremonies together with Vice Mayor Vedasto D. Villanueva, the City Council, department heads, chiefs of line agencies, CSOs and other groups. Rev. Fr. Amadeo Vinasoy offered a prayer after the ribbon-cutting ceremony and blessed the whole Bonifacio Freedom Park grounds including the Giant Botaka, Bonifacio Monument and analogous structures, Tourist Information and Assistance Office, Pasalubong Center and Stage. When the Spaniards arrived in the Irraya region in the late 1600s, Bolo, the forerunner of Ilagan, was already a settlement headed by Manoto and Sino. On April 21, 1619, San Miguel Ar

NATURALLY BEAUTIFUL DINAPIGUE & THE DUMAGATS Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano 09 April 2018 The Isabela Tourism Office, being the Secretariat in the 2018 Bambanti Festival was given the chance by the Provincial Governor, Festival Director General and the Provincial Administrator to visit, explore and document the beauty of coastal Isabela. The southernmost coastal town of Dinapigue was our choice since it is more accessible than the other three coastal LGUs of the province. To reach Dinapigue, we traversed the two provinces of Quirino and Aurora exiting from Ipil junction in Echague passing through Jones and San Agustin towns and entering Quirino by Maddela up to Nagtipunan. The first town after the boundary of Quirino and Aurora provinces is Dipaculao and after reaching the junction at barangay Dinadiawan, we made a left turn to Dinalungan town. We made a short stop at the 409 year old Casiguran town and meditated and prayed at the miraculous Nuestra Señora dela Ermita

VISITA IGLESIA at the CRADLE of the 1 st REPUBLIC Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano 29 March 2018 Every Maunday Thursdays, my wife and I visit Roman Catholic Churches in a certain locality to pray, meditate and also as our form of penitence. This past years, we were able to journey around all the Spanish period Churches in the City of Manila and more recently all the parishes of Rizal province. This year, I drafted an itinerary particularly in the capital city of Malolos in Bulacan province. Included in our circuit are seven parishes in the Vicariate of Malolos plus the seat of the diocese - the Cathedral-Basilica Minore of the Immaculate Conception or commonly known as the Malolos Cathedral. According to Rappler, there are several theories on the origins of the church visit or visita iglesia practice. Among them is of early Christian communities of the Roman Empire commemorating the suffering and death of Jesus in 7 parts: Garden of Gethsemane, The House of Annas, Tribun

5-5 VISITA IGLESIA DE GAMU Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano 25 March 2018 The local chief executive of the Municipality of Gamu, Isabela came up with a faith tourism program for tourists and day-visitors especially during the Semana Santa or Mahal na Araw which is the most significant religious observance for the country’s Roman Catholic majority and most Protestant groups. The Visita Iglesia or the Seven Churches Visitation is a pious Roman Catholic Lenten tradition to visit seven churches on the evening of Maundy Thursday after the Mass of the Lord's Supper where the Blessed Sacrament is placed on the Altar of Repose for Adoration. The pious and able would double the number of churches to fourteen, while the infirm and elderly usually visit only one or a handful. Until the 1970s, people recited all fourteen stations in every church, but the more recent form is to pray two stations per church. The more devout would carry a cross to each church, while others consider the