November 25, 2018. Somewhere between Naga and Manila. Here I am on the way back home from Naga City where I emceed the 10th National ICT Councils Confederation Summit together with good friend ex-IBPAP CEO Jomari Mercado.
Months back, when I hosted the press launch of the digitalcitiesPH portal of IBPAP, DICT and NICP, my AIM classmate Dan de Leon and NICP president Dr. Tony del Carmen asked me to help with the national summit which was to take place at the Avenue Convention Center in Naga City. Dan is president of the Naga ICT Council. I readily said yes to Dan, and the rest was history. Dan assigned me to co-emcee the two-day conference and the NICP Awards, as well as, moderate two interesting sessions.
It was rewarding to be part of the summit, learn about block chains, cryptocurrency, e-governance, and what the different cities are doing to develop their local IT-BPM Industry and bring about digital transformation and Inclusive growth to the countryside. It was also a great opportunity to meet old friends in the industry like DICT Usec. Monchito Ibrahim (who gamely took our ribbing) and DICT Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin, and make new ones, like Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce & Industry president Dr. Frankie Villanueva, NICP executive director and operations manager AJ Araneta, and dynamic young entrepreneurs of Streetby.com Cherry Ann Lee Angoy and Ronald Rhey Miñoza. I also had the honor of meeting Mayor John Bongat, who had penned the moving opening prayer, and VP Leni Robredo, whose intelligence, honesty and humility, I admire greatly.
It was interesting too not to have to worry about all the moving parts of event management. Honestly though there were times that I almost jumped to my feet to give directions but stopped myself in time to just go with the flow. After all, I wasn’t in charge of organizing the summit, and I had a very capable and funny co-emcee who could easily adjust to last minute changes in the program, and who knew almost everyone in the room.
After the two-day summit was over, the executive director of the Naga Investments Promotions Board Ruel Oliver, learning the I was longing to do some shopping, kindly arranged for a quick trip to the market, accompanied by John Buendia, Sam Bantegui-Ballenas, and Edward Dimaiwat.
Edward is an intern at the City Tourism Office. On the way to the market, we had a lively conversation on what Naga City could offer a tourist like me who only had a few hours to spare. Aside from culture and churches, Edward said Bicol food was a big draw, especially because of its spiciness. I was waiting for him to start naming restaurants when he pointed out that there was a drugstore on almost every street to take care of the effects of over eating. That was hilarious! Seriously though, he recommended visiting The Red Platter for its kari-kare and laing or Bob Marlin for its crispy pata.
John, on the other hand, is in charge of developing livelihood in 27 barangays, many of which are in remote areas. For instance, he is helping Barangay Panicuason in the Uplands of Mount Isarog to start an abaca plantation with the help of Bicol University. He is very passionate about helping the barangays under his watch prosper. From John, I learned that Mayor Bongat’s flagship program Grow Negosyo looks at growing opportunities for wealth by providing four services to MSMEs and SMEs: training, market support, product development and micro-financing.
My three guides proudly pointed out that the old public market was considered to be the largest single-roof wet market in Asia when it was inaugurated in 1969. Shortly before the start of Mayor John Bongat’s term, it was renamed as Naga City People’s Mall. We combed the market for local pili delicacies and dried fish.
I was happy to have Sam and Edward as my shopping guides, especially when it came to the dried fish section. The lady at the first stall was charging me much higher than the other stalls (I guess it was obvious I am not a local), and Edward helped locate a friendly and accommodating vendor. A smiling and kindly Merly Diego not only extended wholesale prices, but also sealed several kilos of danggit, pusit, espada and dilis in vacuum packed plastic bags and then packed them in boxes that could easily be checked in.
That night, Jomari and I skipped the Governor’s dinner to eat crispy pata and creamy laing at the famed Bob Marlin while catching up on industry news. Definitely, Bob Marlin is a “must-not-miss” destination in Naga City. When I first saw the crispy pata, I said this was too much, but it was so good, there was hardly anything to take away.
On the way back, we learned that there was a church close by that had a 6am Sunday mass. Back at the hotel, Dan who had come to give us several bottles of homemade laing as promised, confirmed that Peñafrancia Minor Basilica was just a 3-minute walk, so we agreed to hear the 6am mass.
Early the next day, we walked to the Basilica which houses “Ang Ina” or Our Mother as the Naga people fondly refer to the wooden image of the Blessed Mother crafted in 1710, which is carried aboard on its fluvial parade. We learned from much earlier risers Tats and her husband Elmer that mass was at 6:30 am and not 6:00 am but that there is another church close by with a 6:00 am mass. Since we had to leave by 8:00 am for the airport, we decided to just quickly pop into the Basilica to pray and see “Ang Ina” then briskly walked (almost ran) to the next church.
Huffing and puffing, we made it to the other church for mass, which was in the local dialect. I was captivated by the beautifully painted ceiling with murals from the life of the Blessed Mother. Walking leisurely back to the hotel, we were greeted by the busy and colorful sidewalk market scene. I was tempted to buy suman but thought better knowing I already had a suitcase heavy with bottled laing.
Truly, this trip to Naga City was well spent, not just about doing my small bit to help NICP and countryside development, learning about digital transformation, networking with the industry, meeting new and old friends, but also savoring the experience of discovering the beauty of Naga, the City of Smiles.