Duterte to lead groundbreaking of Bicol International Airport

P4.8-B Bicol airport okayed after 12 years

by Rhaydz B. Barcia | Manila Times

LEGAZPI CITY:President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to lead groundbreaking for the long-delayed construction of the P4.8-billion Bicol International Airport in Barangay Alobo, Daraga town on December 8. [Read more]

Queen Sofia of Spain visits Albay

     Queen Sofia of Spain visits Albay today, making her the second high foreign dignitary to visit the province since Pope John Paul II in 1981. 

Queen Sofia at Josefina Duran Memorial Hospital in Ligao City.

          She arrived in the province onboard the presidential plane and was welcomed by Albay Governor Joey Salceda, Legazpi City Mayor Geraldine Rosal and other local and national officials.

        From the airport, the queen went directly to the Penaranda Park and leads the unveiling of the monument of Jose Maria Penaranda, the first Spanish official to seat as governor of the province from 1834 to 1843.

        She then visited the Spanish-funded projects in Albay, including an evacuation center at Camalig North Central School in Camalig; Josefina Duran Memorial Hospital in Ligao City; and the Climate Change Academy at the Bicol University Compound in Legazpi City.

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Photos courtesy of Dr. Glenn Thaddeus Isip

K-Pop superstars 2NE1 in Albay for the Photo Essay Book

K-Pop superstars 2ne1 in Albay for the Photo Essay Book. 

Source: samecut123jez | Youtube 

Video courtesy of TV Patrol Bicol 

Source: samecut123jez | Youtube 

Video courtesy of 24 Oras

PDI | ‘Pili’ soon to be Bicol’s intellectual property

By Mar S. Arguelles

Inquirer Southern Luzon
Source: Inquirer.Net

LEGAZPI CITY—The next time you see a packet of pili nuts labeled Bicol, take a closer look.

Soon, pili would be listed as an intellectual property of Bicol, which means any pili pack that claims to be produced by the region will have to be genuinely from Bicol. False claims would be a criminal act.

A regional official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Bicol pili would be on the list of food products registered at the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.

Jocelyn Berango, spokesperson of the DTI office in Bicol, said having Bicol pili registered as an intellectual property was the department’s way of helping fully develop the region’s pili industry.

Once registered, Bicol pili would get its own geographical indication, or GI, from the intellectual property office.

GI identifies the origin of a product and is a sign to be pasted on goods associated with specific regions or provinces, said Berango.

GI would name the place where a product originated, much like champagne, the bubbly alcoholic drink, has been tagged as originating from Champagne, a grape-growing province of France.

According to Berango, GI is a powerful tool not only for regions, but the entire country. It helps provinces, regions and the country compete globally, she said.

She said listing Bicol pili as the region’s intellectual property would help promote it in local and international markets.

Tourist arrival in Albay up by 44%

by Sally A. Atento

Source: www.pia.gov.ph

LEGAZPI CITY, January 8 (PIA) -- Tourism Bicol regional director Susan Ravanilla has affirmed the impressive growth rate of tourist arrivals in Albay from January to June 2011 which so far is the highest in the past years.

Legazpi Airport

Tourist arrivals in Albay has considerably increased to 234,081 tourists in 2011 compared to 162,506 in the same period in 2010, a 44 percent growth rate compared to the previous year.

Tied up with the 44 percent boost in the number of tourist arrivals is the 51 percent growth in foreign revenue for the first and second quarter of 2011, from P122 million revenues for 2010 to P180 million generated.

This growth also generated 836,623 jobs for the 1st quarter of 2011.

According to Ravanilla, tourist arrivals peak during the first two quarters of the year.

"The people are the direct beneficiaries of this tourism boost,” the director furthered.

The tourists' countries of origin included the United States and the United Kingdom which also comprised the biggest tourist arrival rate in Sorsogon.

Ravanilla also said that Donsol contributed a lot to the tourism growth rate in Albay since their foreign visitors usually stayed in this city for accommodation, bar hopping, shopping and other stuff that they can try and enjoy.

Mayon Volcano

Also boosting the number of tourist arrivals in Albay is Albay’s month long Magayon Festival in April, including the nightly beer plaza and presentations at Albay Park and other festivities and events that appealed to both domestic and foreign tourists.

From the median term development plan, the tourist arrival target for 2012 is 2 million which was already achieved in 2010 and is expected to be surpassed in 2011. The challenge then for 2012 is to go beyond the said target, the DOT Bicol director said. (MAL/SAA, PIA V/Albay)

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