Spare Tire

The machine is a grain thresher "tirelessly" crawling its way to work along the main road near the Koronadal-Tampakan border in South Cotabato, Philippines. Walking alongside it is its equally "tireless" owner-operator.

Traversing the 8-kilometer road linking Tampakan and Koronadal, however, has remained a tiresome endeavor for most motorists as a good part of it remains unpaved and very rugged. In her last State of the Province Address (SOPA) last year, the former provincial governor had promised to have the road finally paved before her term ends in June 2010.

Koronadal is the capital city of the province of South Cotabato. Tampakan is its neighbor to the east, and is a largely agricultural municipality which hosts SMI-Xstrata, one of the world's largest mining investors.

The Farm @ Carpenter Hill

This is the facade of the Japanese Courtyard hotel which is among the featured services of The Farm @ Carpenter Hill in Koronadal City, Philippines. I took this photo during the Photojournalism Workshop for Soccsksargen Bloggers in December 2009. The Farm @ Carpenter Hill sponsored the venue and food for the workshop and served as the subject and backdrop during the workshop's practicum.

The Farm @ Carpenter Hill is all of hotel, restaurant, garden resort, and events center rolled into one. It is situated in a 12-hectare expanse along the National Highway just outside the poblacion (center) of Koronadal City; and is fast becoming a destination for locals and tourists alike who want to dine, unwind or celebrate life in a fabulous manner. Its Japanese-themed villas and hotel, all set up with a touch of Zen, offer perfect accommodation for transients in Koronadal and South Cotabato. Within its spacious grounds are different venues that suit every type of occasion - from the Island Cottage and the Mini Conference Room for smaller meetings to the Japanese Hall, the Convention Center, and the Grand Gazebo for big parties. Gastronomes will not find The Farm wanting either as its Aviary Bar & Cafe and its Sushi Bar offer a diverse selection of food and drinks that satisfy even those with more discriminating tastes.

For bookings, reservations and other inquiries, one may visit The Farm's office along the National Highway, Barangay Carpenter Hill, Koronadal City; or call the following numbers: +63 (083) 228 1888 or +63 (083) 228 9010; mobiles +63 918 9210425 / +63 922 8489098

The Farm's Sushi Bar

Justice!

Lighting candles for justice. On November 23, 2009, at least 57 persons were brutally murdered by gunmen in what has become widely known as the Ampatuan (Maguindanao) Massacre. Most of the victims - local politicians, their supporters, lawyers, and journalists - were part of a convoy accompanying politicians on their way to formalizing their candidacies for the forthcoming national and local elections. The incident has gained worldwide condemnation not only because of the sheer atrocity and impunity by which it was carried out (allegedly upon the orders of sitting government officials), but largely because of the huge number of mediamen in the body count (at least 25; the largest number of journalists killed in a single day in recent history).

The woman and child above are among the citizens of Koronadal City who gathered downtown on November 25th to show their indignation of the killings and say a collective prayer for the victims.

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Note (Nov 2010): Casualty figures for journalists killed in the incident have since been pegged at 34; excluding one (1) whose body is still missing.

Signos?

Took this photo one late afternoon on September 30, 2009, while I was just outside the national high school campus of Koronadal City in the Philippines. This and the sudden gust of strong, wet winds and a power outage moments later, sent people into a mild panic.

The paranoia is forgiven. Four days prior to this, typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) had just swept the island of Luzon and ravaged Metro Manila and nearby areas with the country's worst flooding catastrophe in 40 years; and weather people had just tracked another super-typhoon (Pepeng/Parma) brewing east of northern Mindanao.

School's out

You wonder where the people of Koronadal - the city being landlocked - get their daily source of cheap protein. I have the answer - they get it straight from their own public market!

"School is out" for these two common food fish of the Filipino - the bilong-bilong or moonfish (above, in B&W) and the tulay of the scad family (below) as they lie to serve their purpose in this circle called life.

Old sew

There's a tailoring shop in Koronadal City awkwardly named Aurora Sari-Sari and Marketing Center. It's where I took this photo of an old sewing machine. I remember my mother (who's about to turn 79 in a couple of months), who used to sew our clothes using a similar but differently-branded tool. She hardly uses it now as its already too laborious for her to just push the thread into the eye of the needle.