FïnèPrînt

I would just like to share these pictures of the Burnham Lake minus the water.  Instead of boats, I found backhoe in the middle of the famous Burnham Lake. Instead of tourists admiring the cold weather, I saw workers busy clearing the man-made lake.      The clearing project of the Burnham aims to fix the flaws of the lake that was built during the American regime in the Philippines.     The boats were placed outside the lake, and was replaced with backhoes.     After draining the lake, tilapia, wallets, and cellphones were found at the bottom of the lake. The tilapia were given to the bystanders. Tourists and residents watch as workers clear the now muddy Burnham lake with backhoes.    The empty Burnham lake is expected to be refilled with water by January 25, in time for the Panagbenga Festival in February.

        Being assigned in the Benguet beat, Monday is a very important day. There is a heavy coverage every Monday, and the days to follow is for the reporter to work on the details of the stories. View of La Trinidad, Benguet from the balcony of the Capitol            It's been part of my weekly routine to attend the Provincial Board Meeting in the morning, and the Municipal Council Meeting in the afternoon every Monday.        There isn't much newsworthy stories in the agenda of the two meetings last Monday. In case there is, they usually wouldn't elaborate on the matter or put the issue for next week's agenda. I couldn't think of any stories to work on, but my supervisor, Ma'am Malen, attended the Board Meeting and asked me to what's my story? I immediately blurted about the mining issue I saw on the agenda though I'm not sure what it's about. She said okay and told...

Provincial Board Meeting at the Capitol It's my third time covering the provincial board meeting at the Capitol in La Trinidad, Benguet. However, aside from the Board Members and Vice-Governor Pacalso, the new Provincial Director P/Sr. Supt. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. was also present. He discussed about the  checkpoints that would be set up as part of the election gun ban. The board members also asked him about his plans regarding some issues such as juvenile offenders, sex trades, and marijuana. The media people was able to interview him as he personally approached us. He think he is friendly and open-minded. I hope he does well. During the interview with PD Azurin, I also met Sun Star Baguio reporter Ma'am Ruby. She is the supervisor of Cyril Encarnacion.  In the afternoon, I attended the Municipal Council Meeting in La Trinidad. I was surprised to see that almost all the councilors were present. The last time I was there, Council Botiwey acts as the presiding officer an...

     Today, I had my first assignment for 2013. My supervisor, Ma'am Malen, is on travel right now, and she asked me to do a news story about the status quo on taxes. I went to La Trinidad municipal hall to gather information. I am really glad that the staff are all friendly and approachable. I didn't had trouble getting information since they are all willing to help even though they are busy.      Aside from getting the information I need, I also learned the process and the requirements needed to get married. ^_^

Official Seal of Benguet Province source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/en/8/80/PH_seal_benguet.png        Last Monday, I went to the Benguet Capitol to cover the Provincial Board Meeting. It was my first covering the board meeting so I was very nervous and somehow clueless. Luckily, ate Annalyn, a SunStar intern under Ma'am Malen, was also there. I also met Sir Larry from Baguio Chronicle.      The meeting started a bit late. I got a copy of the meeting's agenda and I looked for an interesting story. Unfortunately, nothing was news worthy enough. However, vice-governor and presiding officer Crescencio Pacalso read the urgent request of governor Nestor Fongwan to approve the donation of Php 200,000 for the Pablo victims in Mindanao. I thought that it would be a good story.       In the afternoon, we went to the Municipal hall of La Trinidad to cover the Council Meeting. It was also my first time to actually cover the me...

     I was sent to cover the presentation of the draft of provincial communications protocol and early warning system at the Benguet Capitol last week. The presentation was set at 9 in the morning, but I came in late because I had a class until 10:00 A.M. plus the travel time took 30 minutes. Rosemarie Melencio from PDRRMO presents the communication protocol draft.    I was at lost when I came in. Since I was late, they were already at the second part of the presentation. Moreover, the presenter and the guests were speaking in English and Ilocano, I could not understand most of what they were saying since they mostly conversed in the dialect. After a few minutes, I finally picked up the flow of the discussion and was taking down notes. A guest asked me what company I was representing (in Ilocano so I had to ask him to speak in Tagalog) and I said I'm a SunStar intern. He was a little surprised. I was wondering why he why he such a reaction after h...

Source: http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/61/6147/AG2G100Z/posters/harley-l-schwadron-have-you-been-waiting-here-long-cartoon.jpg      In my last post,I talked about how waiting is inevitable and how important it is to develop patience. However, not all waiting ends well. Sometimes, even though no matter how long you wait, you will realize that you are waiting for nothing. And no, I am not talking about love.       I was sent to cover the council meeting in La Trinidad Municipal Hall. The council meeting was set at 2 in the afternoon. I had no idea where the council meeting would be or how it goes so I decided to come early and find out. I came at around 1:30 PM and ask the information desk of the municipal hall. She told me it was upstairs, but I couldn't find it. She didn't told me that I should use the stairs at the end of the hall, and what office I should go.       I went around the mu...