The Freudian Slip Of A Bacolodnon

It is a rainy Puerto Princesa on my last day here in Palawan. The morning lectures went on smoothly, and despite the scheduled tours, the lecture hall was still packed with people. It was more of a slow morning however, considering that most people were tired from yesterday's underground trek, and it is the last day for all the updates and lectures. After lunch, Doc Maricel (Cauayan), Doc Emman (Inapoy) and I decided to go on a city tour. We went to Iwahig, Crocodile Farm, Butterfly Garden, Mitra Ranch and Baker's Hill. I was able to take pictures but my camera's batteries have been drained so I could not as of the moment post the pics. But I will do post them as early as tomorrow, if not on weekends when I arrive in Bacolod, home sweet home. It was a fun tour of the city and I get to visit the biggest penal colony in the country: Iwahig. I was able to also come close to freshwater crocodiles at the crocodile farm. We did drop by the butterfly garden but we decided not to e...

The second day in Palawan was spent "spelunking". We went to the Palawan Subterrenean River this morning and after a chaotic 7:30 a.m. infront of the Legend Hotel, I was able to board the coaster together with Doc Pong, batchmate and fellow DTTB. It was an almost 4-hour drive to Sabang, the jump off point to the Subterrenean River. I was with the delegates from Isabela. There were also doctors from Pampanga. We arrived at Sabang at around 11:00 a.m. already. It was not a relaxing lunch as I would have expected. There were a lot of guests and not enough tables and chairs. We then had to wait at least another hour for us to proceed to the pier where the boats were located that would transport us to the Underground River. There are two ways of going to the Underground River: by boat and by following the jungle trail. It would take 2 hours to reach the Underground River entrance if we would follow the jungle trail. Once we arrived at the Underground River entrance and after anoth...

The AMHOP convention started this morning and tonight, we are having our fellowship and social night. I just have to hurry back to Lola Itang's so I can rest for a while and upload some of the pictures I have taken in the last 24 hours, my first full day here in Puerto Princesa. Post Classified Ads That Produce Results

I am now in Puerto Princesa. This is my first trip to Palawan. I arrived here earlier than I expected. According to my e-ticket, the plane from Cebu was supposed to leave for Puerto Princesa at around 2:50 p.m. but around 2:15 p.m. we were already boarding the plane and by 2:35 p.m., we left Cebu-Mactan International Airport. Prior to departure, I was able to see Doc Pong, a fellow DTTB (batch 23 and a half..long story) and some of the delegates heading for the AMHOP convention. Of course, my fellow Negrense doctors were also there: Doc Weng, Doc Febie and Doc Nely. Some of my DTTB batchmates texted me and told me that they are coming to Puerto Princesa tomorrow, on separate flights. Our plane landed just around 4:00 p.m. here in Puerto Princesa so I had to wait for my ride to Lola Itang. Around 15 minutes later, Lola Itang's van arrived. Together with me were 3 other doctors from Cebu Province. It was a good 10-minute ride from the airport to Lola Itang's. It is supposed to be...

I have just touched down in Cebu-Mactan International Airport. I am on way to Puerto Princesa, Palawan together with the other doctors to attend the Annual Convention of Association of Municipal Health Officers of the Philippines (AMHOP). I am blogging from the SmartBro station inside the airport. My flight will be later at around 2:50 pm. I will be staying at Lola Itang's Pension house which, according to sources, is smacked right at the center of Puerto Princesa. This morning, my wife and the kids all went with me to the airport to send me off to Cebu. I will be gone for almost 3 weeks considering that after my Puerto Princesa trip, I will also be heading to Tagaytay on May 4 to attend the annual CME for DTTB's for 2 weeks! At least this is some source of respite from all the work. However, I will still be working considering that I have yet to finish the module of the Summer Youth Camp for May 21 and I still have to coordinate with the organizers and volunteers regarding pre...

In an attempt to trace the huge family tree of our clan (thanks to the urging of cousins and distant-cousins around the world), we have attempted to start this project: tracing the Nillos Family. We are a huge family and I am just referring to the "legitimates" (wink wink). Of course, the downside of tracing the family tree is you get to discover family secrets, "skeletons" out of the family closet. Be that as it may, it is still interesting to know one's history and family story. Good or bad these family stories contribute to one's personal history. And by knowing one's family history you get to have some idea of your identity as well. It is tough tracing one's family tree, especially if there are so many of you in the family and there are not enough records to validate the real names of these family members. I even joked in our email group that perhaps we are plentier than the Aranetas of Negros. So, if you are a Nillos, try to trace yourself here ...

If there is one tragic flaw that I find in myself, that is I lack patience. I am an impatient man. And what flares up my impatience is display of inefficiency. For example, attending an ill-prepared workshop with facilitators who are seemingly unprepared but would overly-pretend that they are in control, is a good way of blowing up my patience. It is a waste of time on my part, and for me, there is always not enough time. My defense mechanism would be, to either transport myself to my happy place, or express my impatience whether in private or public. Another example would be, being told to prepare and deliver a report which was already reported months before. This coming CME will be another round of reporting to be delivered by the DTTB's. In my first CME in Manila, our batch delivered our Situational Analysis AND Community Diagnosis. In my second CME in Leyte, our batch delivered our Annual Health Plan. Yesterday, I received communication that the report which we will be doing th...

Last Sunday, the family went out to Panaad Park to join in the week-long Panaad Festival. It is dubbed as the mother of all festivals. All towns and cities of Negros Occidental would come to Bacolod at Panaad Park to present their town's products, fiestas and other highlights. It is a time to showcase their town's features. It is a Festival that gathers all the festivals in the towns and cities of Negros Occidental. Well, enough words. Let the pictures speak for themselves. (I actually needed to go back to work...) Post Classified Ads That Produce Results

Yesterday I was able to meet with the SK Chairpersons of 6 barangays and 1 representative from the Parish youth council, and together with the newly deployed NARS and young nurse volunteers, we discussed the idea of holding a summer youth camp with the theme of Fertility Awareness and Saying No to Pre-marital Sex. The objective of the camp is to increase the level of awareness of the young people about sex and the hazards it can pose especially for those who are into pre-marital sex. The reason being one of the observations made at least in my area of assignment is the rampant teenage pregnancy. I remember I had a patient who was 14 years old and was already pregnant. I was able to talk with her and her parents, including the father of the child she was carrying. My advise was to have her baby delivered at the hospital because her pregnancy was risky. A few months ago, I was able to see her in her barangay bringing her baby for the regular immunization. She delivered in a hospital and ...

April 13 is children's day for the young kids and their parents in Candoni. It is our launching of the Garantisadong Pambata 9 and this morning, we held a children's party at the Tourism Cottage right infront of the public plaza. All the kids of the municipal employees and health workers ages 6 months to 71 months were present, enjoying the games and snacks we presented to them. During the launching, DOH representative Eleanor Manzano presented the rationale of GP 9 while nurse Jaycil Nadado and midwife Eden Pioquinto, coordinators of our Newborn Screening Program, gave a brief lecture on newborn screening and its importance before the parents. We even had an actual demonstration of the collection of sample. Mayor Cicero Borromeo was also present this morning and gave away candies and goodies to the kids who lined up before him like he was Santa Claus or an old grandfather. The kids had ice cream and sandwiches and orange juice. It was a fun-filled moment for everyone especiall...