ABOUT Quibal Peñablanca, Cagayan

Quibal is a barangay of the philippine municipality Peñablanca in the province Cagayan in Cagayan Valley which is part of the Luzon group of islands. The municipality Peñablanca with a population of about 40,336 and its 24 barangays belongs to the partly urban areas in the Philippines. Quibal had 2,314 residents by the end of 2007.

Odessa-Tumbali Cave System in Penablanca (Cagayan)

The Odessa-Tumbali Cave System is located at Sitio Abbenditan, Barangay Quibal in Peñablanca, Cagayan Philippines.

The Odessa-Tumbali Cave System (Abbenditan Cave) is the third longest cave in the country. It's a great spot for wet sport caving and known to have the perfect cave system.

ABOUT Peñablanca, Cagayan

Land Area: 1,193.20 km2 (460.7 sq mi)

Peñablanca is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines.

According to the latest census, it has a population of 40,336 people in 6,690 households.It is one of the largest municipalities of the Philippines in terms of land area. There are more or less 360 caves in the municipality. It is here where you can visit the famous Callao Caves a seven chambered cave with a chapel. It is in this municipality where you can also visit the beautiful, fascinating and challenging Cave, the Sierra Cave.                                               Peñablanca is divided into 24 barangays:

Aggugaddan Alimanao Baliuag Bical Bugatay Buyun Cabasan Cabbo Callao Camasi Centro (Pob.) Dodan

Lapi Malibabag Manga Minanga Nabbabalayan Nanguilattan Nannarian Parabba Patagueleg Quibal- I born in this place San Roque (Litto) Sisim

PeÑablanca another Tourist spot

Crystal caving.  From the spacious caverns of Callao, we plunged into the more confining Sierra Cave.  There's a locked gate at the entrance for a good reason -- the cave's stalactites and stalagmites sparkle like gems when they're hit by light beams from our flashlights.  As Ted of the tourism office noted,  unlike Callao Cave which is considered "dead" with its chalk-like formations, the Sierra Cave is very much alive.  The water and minerals seeping through the ceiling are actively and painstakingly building the impressive stalactites and stalagmites, millimeter by millimeter.  The textures the minerals form range from what Ted describes as spiky "pretzels" to thin and wavy "bacon".

Stalactites form fancy shapes and texture like this "bacon"

Being in a cave like this can make one feel small in the grand scheme of creation -- how relatively short we humans have roamed the earth compared to caves that took millennia to grow.  Which leads me to my point -- closing the gates to deter thieves and tourists taking home souvenirs that took eons to build is indeed a very good idea.

Info: Callao and Sierra Caves can be reached via private and public transport; around an hour away from Tuguegarao City • Access to Sierra Cave is restricted; permission to enter and explore must first be secured from the DENR and Cagayan Valley Tourism Office .

If you took the Florida sleeper bus from Tuguegarao to Manila; Tuguegarao, the caving capital of the Philippines, can also be reached via air (travel time: less than one hour) • The Florida Bus overnight sleepers currently ply the Tuguegarao-Sampaloc, Manila route once a day at 9:15pm; Fare: P1,050; Travel time: 9 hours with no stopovers; Capacity: 32 passengers divided into upper and lower decks •

Robin Padilla is Diether's new mentor

Robin Padilla and Diether Ocampo (Jerome Ascano, NPPA Images)

Can old dogs in showbiz still learn new tricks?

Apparently yes, according to Diether Ocampo, who has been an actor and talent of ABS-CBN for 15 years now.

His new mentor is Philippine Cinema's "Bad Boy," Robin Padilla, who stars with him in the ABS-CBN's primetime action-drama series, "Guns and Roses."

Although Robin is just three years older than Diether, 37, the latter has come to call the action star “the maestro” or master.

The ‘kuya’ Diet never had

It was Robin, he said, who guided him through their “explosive fight scenes” together.

It was Robin who inspired him to take on the physical training he did so he could survive his action scenes.

It was Robin who became, said Diether, “the older brother I never had” because Robin would mentor him in “some scenes” and was always approachable whenever he needed advice.

Diet was also floored by Robin’s humility, even if the latter was the bigger star.

“I learn on the job and I can never repay him for the experience,” Diet added.

He knows “the maestro” got his depth of acting not just from the many roles he has played but also from his life experiences, including his many struggles and achievements.

Jail time

"What is commendable is how he survived the hardest obstacles in his life,” Diether mused. In 1995, Robin was sentenced to 21 years in jail for illegal gun possession, but was released in 1998 after then Senator Ramon Revilla Sr. passed a bill commuting the sentence of those convicted of Robin’s crime.  He also converted to Islam in jail.

Because Robin is known as much for his colorful love life—he was linked at one time or another with Sharon Cuneta and Kris Aquino and rushed into marriage with TV host Mariel Rodriguez—we asked Diether if he ever sought advice about women or romance from the Bad Boy.

"The 'maestro' is also a quiet person and is secretive. I also didn't want to pry on his personal life. Besides he is not the type who would give unsolicited advice," Diether replied.

Love life

Diether, whose marriage to actress Kristine Hermosa was annulled, is now single and denies that romance is brewing between him and Kris Aquino, who he calls his “best friend.”

"My love life is sluggish,” he said. “But it's balanced by a good career and big projects.”

Diether Ocampo is looking forward to doing a family drama he plans to produce with Star Cinema.

Joseph Bitangcol to undergo two operations after mishap

Joseph Bitangcol (Photo courtesy of ABS-CBN)

(UPDATE) Actor Joseph Bitangcol will go under the knife not once, but twice, his mother Lydia told Yahoo! Philippines OMG! in an interview Wednesday.

The actor, who was seriously injured in a car crash along Sumulong Highway, Antipolo City early Wednesday morning, will undergo surgery in the eye area and in the chin.

“Natanggal ang ngipin niya at na-slice ang cheekbones,” relates Lydia.  “Hindi pa  sinasabi ng doctor kung kailan gagawin ang operation kasi kailangan munang mawala ang pamamaga sa cheekbones ni Joseph.”

Lydia also said Joseph needs plates in his chin and cheekbones to repair the fractures in those areas.

“Nakaupo si Joseph sa likod ng sasakyan (a Mitsubihi Montero) at sa gitna ng mga kasama niya nung nangyari yung aksidente. Humampas ang ulo ng kasama niya sa kanya. Gusto ni Joseph ma-control yung paghampas but it was too late,”Lydia continued.

Joseph, who just finished taping for a TV show, was with five friends aboard a Mitsubishi Montero when a dump truck driven by Victor Beltran collided with their vehicle.  Joseph was initially rushed to Amang Rodriguez Medical Center then transferred to Marikina Valley Hospital, where he is currently confined.

His other injured companions were rushed to other hospitals.

Mrs. Bitangcol relates that some of the parents of Joseph’s companions in the vehicle are planning to file charges against Beltran, who is now under the custody of the Antipolo police.

But she remains undecided because her primary concern as of now is Joseph’s health.

Beltran will reportedly be charged with  reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property and multiple injuries.

Beauty queen stabbed in broad daylight

Karla Henry (Contributed photo)

(UPDATE 2) Miss Earth 2008 Karla Paula Henry was stabbed outside her Mandaluyong condominium on Thursday, August 11. 

A drunk tenant stabbed the 25-year-old beauty queen from Cebu at the parking lot of the California Garden Square condominium in Mandaluyong City, ABS-CBN's "TV Patrol" reported later Thursday.

Friends rushed Karla to a nearby Mandaluyong hospital before transferring her to  St. Luke's Global City in Taguig City.

According to the "TV Patrol" report, a certain Jerome Quibuyen, 29, stabbed Karla in the back  as she was on her way to the condominium elevator after she arrived at the parking lot at 6 a.m. Thursday.

Karla is now out of danger and doctors are observing her condition. She is undergoing tests for possible internal bleeding, the report further said.

“We should remind everyone to be extra careful, because people can just attack you,  even in broad daylight,” advised the source, Karla’s friend, who wished not to be named.

Henry,a Fil-Canadian, won the eighth edition of the Miss Earth Pageant at the Clark Expo in Angeles, Pampanga in 2008. She was the first candidate from the host country to win the title.

The source said Karla continued to help promote  environmental causes even after her reign.

Through Miss Earth Foundation’s "I Love My Planet Earth School Tour," Karla visited more than 20 schools and communities, teaching kids about the environment, through games, songs, storytelling, and tree-planting activities.

KOKO PIMENTEL

Lawyer Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel is officially proclaimed as the 12th winning Senator of the 2007 elections. (Voltaire Domingo/NPPA Images)