Tuesday, May 20, 2008

updates

been quite busy for the past few weeks because of tons of paper works to accomplish. can't find the time to blog about some happenings that occurred recently. so these are what happened:


MAY 1: BATAAN OUTING WITH THE MCF RIDERS


we had an outing with the MCF riders in a beach resort in bataan during the labor day holiday. the MCF riders are a group of motorcycle enthusiasts from the cityhall. we were originally about to go to san juan, batangas but there was a sudden change of plans, the reason why we travelled to bataan for a long and gruelling 6 hours. that's one problem if the trip is unplanned; no itineraries, so instead of spending more time enjoying the place, we spent more time looking for a resort to stay in.

our group have our own van so we left early from the beach to go to the dambana ng kagitingan in mt. samat in pilar, bataan. we planned about going there long ago so this was the right time to go there. we just made it in time before they close at 5 pm. the entrance gate is located at the base of the mountain and one has to pay a P20 entrance fee (P10 for children). you will then travel way up to the top of the mountain on a zigzag road passing through some lush greeneries.

after marvelling at the awesome sight from the mountaintop, we went up to the viewing deck located at the top of the cross. there is, again, a P10 entrance fee. in getting to the top, you have options of either taking the elevator (with an 8 person capacity) or through a spiral staircase. but mind you, taking the stairs up the 36-stories high structure is no joke. no wonder cobwebs are forming on the steel stairs. who in their right mind would climb the stairs anyway?


i was caught speechless as i look at the panoramic view from the viewing deck. it was simply awesome. the strong winds, the golden sunset, it was a perfect moment to contemplate. we took lots of photos before going back down. after descending the photo shoots continued until we decided to head back to manila at dusk.






























MAY 3: MOBILE PASSPORTING


it is the role of every local government units to provide the most convenient service to its constituents. as part of this, the city government of marikina through the local civil registry, in cooperation with the department of foreign affairs conducted a mobile passporting service in marikina to accommodate the passport needs of marikina residents and non-residents as well.

being the coordinator of marikina in this project, it is my duty to receive, check, and verify the documents and interview the applicants. we had 698 applicants where 641 got approved.

on the may 3 processing and payment day, everything turned out just well. even though this is my third time to handle this kind of activity, i still get nervous fearing an unexpected problem may arise. but because of proper planning and coordination with the concerned departments, possible problems were averted. i was congratulated by the DFA consuls present and the staff as well, whom i have known for some time already, and even joked about me transferring to their department.

this mobile passporting activity is held every quarter, depending on the availability of the DFA mobile passporting staff since many cities and municipalities also conduct the same activity.






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