Sanctuarium of the Philippines

As a country who is bounded by traditions, are we still for a traditional burial or now thinking for an alternative and practical ways specially in times of recessions.

We are accustomed to burying our deceased love ones the traditional way because of the belief that the soul of our departed will continue to be with us even after death. We still prefer for a physical presence of the person in the traditional ceremony for we are still bounded with their memories and that's what we cherished.

While our cab is heading Jack terminal bound for Laguna last hallowen, we passed through the Araneta avenue and saw flock of people inside and outside Sanctuarium- a towering 12 storey complex which is considered as the largest columbarium in Asia and stands out along the line of funeral parlors who do same business in this area.

Over the years, traditional burial has been overshadowed by the growing numbers of people who are willingly and prefers cremation of their love ones because of financial consideration. It is now gaining popularity among Filipinos nowadays and already being offered by well known funeral operators. Needless to say, with the boom of our population, public cemeteries are crowded and traffic jams builds up heading to cemeteries especially on this occasion. So people see "cremation" more economically in the long run".

Why cremation?

Cremation according to Wikipedia is the process of reducing human remains to basic chemical compounds in the form of gases and bone fragments. Cremation may serve as post funeral rites-an alternative for internment for the actual body in a casket. Once a body is cremated, ashes are placed in an urn and is surrendered to the family so they wish to bring it home or prepare for a disposal ceremony.

Crematorium operators such as Sactuarium, is a the first of its kind in our country and has everything in one roof. If you are in this kind of business, in order to compete, innovations is prescribe. The Sactuarium has a luxurious vigil chapels with air-conditioned family rooms, a Budhist temple for our Chinese brothers and a Sky Garden at the roof deck. The facility also has underground secured parking, coffee shops, convenience store, flower shops, audio-visual library and the state-of-the-art crematorium. This is a total memorial service in a 12-steps feature sets.

So how much it cost to avail this services? I got this breakdown from a research work:

• one vault - P115,000 - P165,000
• one vault and cremation - P130,000 - P180,000
• one vault, cremation and services - P155,000- P365,000

Part of the service includes transport of the deceased to the Sanctuarium to the hospital, embalming, use of standard casket for funeral ceremony, the use of vigil chapel, documentation assistance such as registration of death certificates, securing permits, and other mementos such as audio and video presentation.

As I see it, the Sanctuarium will become a showcase and standard bearer of a totally new concept in memorialization. It house 5-Star amenities to service the living while being the final resting haven for the departed loved one. Apparently, the Sactuarium offers the best alternative to overcrowded cemeteries that are open to the elements. There is no question that the building will set the standard in the future.

Now regardless on our own personal belief and priority in life, the world is changing and its upon us on how we approach the new paradigm of Filipino tradition and custom.

UNDAS 2009: A Filipino tradition to remember

If the western world may call it a halloween celebration, Filipinos celebrate this occassios in honoring the dead. Every Novermber 1 and 2 of the year, Filipino families went to the cemetery and visit the tombs of their departed love ones. Often the occasion is treated as a reunion or banquet, with families bringing food and drink and camping out all day or even overnight. It is an official, state-recognized holiday, so people get leave from school or work on these days.

This year,the celebration was riddled by calamities and majority of the people who lived in the suburban Metro Manila and parts of northern Philippines suffered from the wrath of typhoon "Ondoy" and "Pepeng" and just recently, typhoon "Santi" triggered strong winds at the eve of "Undas". Nevertheless, the celebration goes on and it does not prevent every Filipino families from visiting the cemeteries and continue the strong ties that most of us continue to savor for years.

Should the Philippines start thinking the Web 2.0 way?

While the world turns its eyes on a boob tube watching our fellowmen drowned and helpless at the helm of typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana), who haven't thought that the online and mobile community would initiate a massive campaign to deliver its message across the global community inspite of failed telecommunication, electricity and disaster preparedness.

Shout for HELP! rung across the web via the power of social network facilities and community driven new sites. Mobile micro-blogging through Twitter intensified as text messages flooded the world's texting capital. In times of disaster, the Filipino community learned to act collectively and actively while delivering their messages accurately in real time more than our old media has achieved. Through this, Filipinos started again in pionering Participatory Urbanism.

YouTube becomes their own television, Flickr becomes their eyes on actual images while Twitter, Plurk , Ping.fm and Facebook becomes their news on demand updater- all powered by ordinary citizen like you. In the Philippines scenario, a new media news site like the Philippine Online Chronicles (POC) delivered its news via an online platform updated by online contributors. It updated the public on latest news gathering being done by the local media. The site demonstrates how to harness the power of the web and collectively gather all valuable information to inform the public in one site.

Just like POC, other news sites such as Inquirer, ABS-CBN News and GMANews maintain their own twitter page too. Twitter becomes a new compendium of news channel about the Philippines. If you study their sites, their constant follower doubles during the height of the typhoon. This only shows that in the new era of social media revolution, people relies on the web to get information right at their fingertips. People nowadays are engaging with the technology and through its power, they are learning how to make it a valuable tool to save lives.

These people who use the web during the wrath of Ondoy is our new heroes for these lucky individuals who were spared by the calamity had showed their voluntary engagement to be the correspondent of the news. With their own efforts, they help spread the information and seek the help of the national and local government units.

News media entities like ABS-CBN and GMA-7 also learned the power of the web and have proven that they were that effective. They had created fan page in Facebook where updates of the real time relief operation are being plotted, shoutouts was in place to accommodate user's interaction and interactive maps to trace the areas of the devastation and locate those missing people through the free service of Google technologies.

Now, who says that people who use Web 2.0 technologies are people who wants to flirt? We'll, we flirt because we wants to get noticed. We flirt because we wants to make a point and we flirt because we want people to know what we can do. The wave of new media era already made its point. The psychology of the web never stops at the helm of any disasters.

Web 2.0 in Disaster Management?

Why not? We have seen its effectiveness and needless to say, we have seen its power. If the government through its CICT have not seen this scenario, well, they should be. If the government can't do it, the private sector can help them and ten of those people who believe in the power of technology to achieve its goal. If DepEd is now integrating ICT in education, why not come up with ICT in Disaster Management System. The government should now study this move and learn to integrate social media into disaster management and planning.

We all know that the Philippines is under the ring of fire, same with our neighboring countries like Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia. Recently, we learned from the news about killer quakes that struck some of our neighboring Asian countries and yet the Philippines is waiting to be on the list (Let's pray it won't). We have to accept the fact that it's been predicted and was just waiting for the "Big One" to come. The Marikina Fault Line is causing an alarm and the government through its NDCC should act accordingly and not just showcasing its long list of relief operations report.

We have to save millions of lives rather than serving just a few. The examples I have mentioned above are ways and means to start with. Taking those steps are easy and not a rocket science. All we have to do is harness the power of technology and integrate web 2.0 tools to enhance the dissemination of the government's massive information rather than keeping it in a vacuum or in a museum of dust and termites.

We have to learn digital nowadays and throw that analog mindset in implementing government strategies and political will. I admire Jeremiah Owyang's blog which speak on how local government, authorities, and response teams should understand how these social tools work, learn how to integrate into disaster response, and evaluate how they will use them during emergency. But first, we must be cautious and plan a strategic approach to combat those with malicious intent. Nevertheless, it does not prevent us to Think of Nation in a Web. 2.0 way.

Typhoon Ondoy: A Wrath of Nature

At the height of Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana), we have witnessed the anguished and anxiety of our fellowmen. Watched their helpless situation as they continue to fight for their lives.

I am one of those who are fortunate to be spared by this act of nature and very thankful that my family was safe and sound. When this tragedy happens, I was in Bicol region to pay my last respect at the funeral wake of my grand father. I have witnessed via television as things happens and was terrified to see those horrible encounters of men against mother nature.

We're still mourning and my cousins anguished in pain when they have learned that Ondoy's wrath did not spare their homes in Manila. Some of their children was left behind and don't know if they are safe. Phones were paralyzed at that moment and was thinking to go back to Manila the soonest time despite impassable areas in Quezon province.


Well, we all have our own stories to share but this is just a minor event compared to those who really have braved life in death in the 9-hour rains of Ondoy. In few days, we have seen depressing images and stories of victims of calamities brought by typhoon and many more stories untold from those people whose lips were silenced by their untimely passing in a tragic display of nature’s fury.

The tragedy has led us to reflect to ourselves, this moment we learn to pray intensely and continue to ask to ourselves how in the world a harrowing event so unimaginable could happen right the heart of the nation.

The bottom line... we never learned our lessons and mother nature made her own personal accounting. They say that nature has its own ways in making things pave way for people to realized what they have done to mother nature. She has accounted us for all our actions against the very law of life and balance.

Now, who's to be blamed?

Accountability and responsibility is a key lesson to be learned.. and how many lives should be sacrificed in such big calamity that has not just swept our dreams away and castigated our country. How can we prevent future catastrophe from happening once again the future... Ondoy has reminded us for so many times in the past already. Are we really having a chronic environmental amnesia?

Let's do our share.. climate change is no longer a hypothesis of the 21st century. We all have a responsibility to the the world we are living in.

Thank you Tita Cory for the Inspiration

Losing someone you love is a heartache that could last a lifetime said Kris Aquino. As I joined more than 300 people who filled the Manila Cathedral for the necrological mass in honor to our beloved former president Corazon C. Aquino, thoughts of her dating back as far as 16 years ago had changed my life.

Good and happy memories, dedications and countless honor have been mentioned in both print and broadcast media, and nothing i can add could possibly make her larger in most Filipinos' eyes than she already is.

As I listen to Kris thank you and reminiscence speech about her mother, I remember that moment when I had face to face encounter with this very famous woman. I was a working student then at SM Super Sale Club (now SM HyperMart) when I heard that familiar voice comes from my behind and asking for a "mozzarella cheese".

I never imagine that after her term as president and becomes "Citizen Cory", you would see her in plain attire roaming the supermarket with her family and enjoying her private life. Kris Aquino was new in showbiz that time and I never recognized her. Though with body guards, she remains simple and always throw a smile to those who passed by and greeted her.

That very moment is a significant day for me for we had a little chat. She'd able to interview me as I slowly guided her to the dairies aisle. She admired me for being a working student but then scolded when I told her that my parents had no knowledge that I'm working. She told me that even then, my parents should have the right to know what I have been through and for sure they would understand.

So, a week later, I've able to tell my parents about my decision and she's right, they understand and respect it. Indeed, madame president simple gesture gives me confidence to do the right thing.

Tita Cory, as most Filipinos called her is really a simple housewife and a mother to her children. I am one of those who can attest ten of those who shared their stories about her and of giving a motherly advice whenever she goes. That's one of the virtues that made her so popular. We see our former president in every one of us. She was a reluctant politician, god-fearing individual and an endearing mother.




She had touched the lives of many and continue to be an inspiration of the country. Today, I give my last respect in my little way. Like most Filipinos, I am one of those who like to have a glimpse of her before she rejoined her creator. Gladly, this former working student who had served a mozzarella cheese way back then has already a career on its own—an IT practitioner and a budding photo journalist. If I haven't inculcated in my mind the words she autograph in my inventory logbook, I think I won't be here with other field photographers covering the biggest event of Cory's humble life and our history.

Farewell Tita Cory ...Thanks for the INSPIRATION you have given me... and being a mother of the entire FILIPINOS.

Filipiniana research in Spain

While figuring out how can I put new entry on this blog, I found out that it was a year ago when I had visited Spain and had promised that I wanna continue to post about my travel experienced here. Accidentally, I found out this hanging story and lucky enough to grab this time for it to get published.

This time around, I wanna share to you one reason why we were in Spain-... we went there for several reasons but the most important purpose is on vital research materials we discovered in this very historic place for our Filipiniana.net project. We wanted continue our dreams to enrich its contents and remain free to all Philippine studies researchers and students.

While in Spain, we roam around the old streets of Barcelona, Madrid and even to its country side. We find time to make our stay valuable and memorable. If I have the luxury of time, this travel is worth several blog post since it has really a wide Philippine related stories to tackle. Anyway, what makes this travel so exciting is that our limited days of stay makes us do a thing such as seen in the movies like "National Treasure" and "Indiana Jones" :). We do our research Proxy-Connection: keep-alive
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d try to trace the location of an old bookstores, museums, old houses, old hotels, universities and national libraries just to find out materials for the digital library.

Someone might consider us crazy for doing these and to think that our national government has its agency to do this job. But don't worry, we are not doing this for a repetitive work that's why we called it as research. As a private entity inside a foundation, I think, we also have to help our government in doing some of its functions specially if it is also for the common benefit of its people. Since, we have the capacity and luxury of time to do it, why wait if the opportunity is already here for a reason. Government and private entity should work hand-in-hand to support the needs of its citizens and for a scholarly research, this is where Filipiniana.net take its lead.

Anyway, while our team is on its way to the FTFK Conference held in Barcelona , we have found ourselves at the gate of the Universitat Pompeau Fabra. It is considered as the best university in Catalan. We have finally met in person Ms. Gloria Cano, a known Spanish scholar who studied about Philippine history. Ms. Cano as far as our research is concerned is the only Spanish historian who had an intensive studies and research on Philippines studies. She made a new revelations about the 55-volume records written by American scholars, Blair and Robertson and because of that, her name now rings around the Philippine historian circle.

Gus, who is an avid fan of Retana and history buff finally finds his match in the study of Philippine history during the Spanish colonial period. Gus and Gloria are acquaintance by phone and only this very moment that they got a thorough discussions on their personal take in the field of Philippine studies. Ms. Cano presented her paper and discussed to us her latest findings on the role of James Leroy in shaping the written documents about the Philippines.

One of the best thing that excite us is her announcement that the university has acquired a rare book that we might be interested in. No one uses that book except her. She told us that this is the University's newest acquisition and she thinks it is very valuable in Philippine studies. She invited us to see it. This is the second time that this book has been opened for Filipinos. It was first seen by her newly found scholar friend and an institution in Philippine historian circle, Mr. Reynaldo Ileto.

We passed by the central library and proceeded to a specialized collections that only Ph.D candidates has access. She brought us into the old remnants of the Olympic building were it was converted into a research library. The library has 4 floors and was organized based on the field of studies.



So, we go up to that very secured area, where stairs are as narrow as what we can found in a bell tower. This area if for rare book collection and only a lone librarian was present. He showed us to the vault and Gloria brings out an old box that contains that old book that was securely wrapped in a cushion plastic. As we move to a more spacious room, she excitedly lift the 4-inch thick and very fragile looking book and a 1-inch thick record book. Upon seeing its title, we have concluded that really, this book has a lot of secrets that should be revealed in the future. It has a concrete dates and descriptions of what had transpired during the 17th centuries in terms of Real states ownership.

Gloria, indeed got a rare find and according to her, she was thankful that her boss got this in a old book sale and ask her if it is valuable enough for her studies. This book, if studied page by page can reveal more stories about that era in Philippine history. With those records, it would also tell how hacienderos during that time and some of familiar family names had acquired vast of land in our country.

While inside a library section and as Ms. Cano narrates about her priceless asset, I have found out that this library is really has a massive collection of books on Philippine studies. They also have the entire collection of Blair and Robertson, Islas Independencia de Filipinas and other stuffs that any Philippine historians or history buffs would salivate if they see these collections.


If we got enough time, we can have flip through each pages of the book but we are in a hurry for the opening of the Free Technology, Free Knowledge Conference in Fira de Barcelona. Besides, my Spanish is very limited and find it hard for my limited brain to digest. She now frequented Manila for ICOPHIL and featured one of her paper in our published book entitled " More Hispanic Than We Admit".