World’s Longest Mat
The people of the agricultural town of Basey, Samar own the distinction of having weaved the world’s longest mat, or “banig” in the local parlance. During the town’s Banigan-Kawayan Festival on September 29, 2000, hundreds of people paraded the mat, which extended for more than a kilometer.
The one-meter wide mat has been weaved for several weeks by groups of people from the different barangays of Basey. While the mat was not submitted as an entry to the Guinness Book of World Records, Basey Mayor Wilfredo Estorninos described the feat as a source of pride for all Basaynons.
Each year, the town, which has weaving as its prime industry, comes to life when it celebrates outlandishly the feast of St. Michael, its patron saint. The highlight of the feast is the Banigan-Kawayan Festival, where the women of Basey weave a variety of intricately designed mats from sedge grass locally known as tikog (Fimbristylis milliacea). This tradition was handed down from many generations. The Church of Basey was built in 1864.
1 comment March 19, 2009
Worlds Largest Flower
In February 2002, an environmental organization discovered what could be one of the world’s largest flowers in the 5,511-hectare Sibalom National Park in Antique province.
Measuring about 22 inches in diameter, the endangered flower, locally named as “Uruy”, (Rafflesia sp.) has no stem and leaves.
(Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer)
5 comments February 23, 2009
Need a Host?
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Add comment February 21, 2009
World’s Sweetest Fruit
What can be considered as the world’s sweetest mango is produced in the island province of Guimaras. While other countries have different varieties of the tropical mango (Mangifera indica), none of them tastes like the superbly delicious Guimaras mango, which is a variety of the popular Carabao Mango (Manginera indica).
In 1995, the Guinness Book of World records listed the Carabao Mango as the sweetest fruit in the world. In the Philippines, mango ranks third among fruit crops in production, next to banana and pineapple. The country supplies mangoes to Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and recently the United States. In 1995, the Philippines produced 432,322 metric tons of mangoes, with an average production of 6.35 metric tons per hectare and 250 kilograms per tree from a total production area of 68,056 hectares.
8 comments February 15, 2009
Sa mga Mata ni Ekang
Title: Sa mga Mata ni Ekang
Reporter: Kara David (of Sine Totoo GMA7)
Reaction:
The documentary of Kara David entitled “Sa mga Mata ni Ekang” is a story of an ordinary child who is about 4 years old. There is nothing special about her except the people around her.
Her Father is a pedicab driver who turns out to be a holdaper in the evening. Her Mother on the other hand is a drug pusher and user at the same time. She was also used to be a prostitute. Her Grandmother is a myrmidon which is also known as “bugaw”. While her 15 year old uncle is a smoker, drunkard and a computer addict.
I wonder what is ahead in Ekangs’ life. Actually Ekang isn’t alone. She is not the only victim in the story. She has a little sister who is just a month old.
This documentary of Kara David opened my eyes into reality. This is reality. Poverty is all over the Philippines that we always tried to deny and ignore. All Filipinos should be aware of it. We should know what is happening around us.
Ekangs’ life is just one in a million of Filipinos who suffered poverty and hunger. No one can blame her family for having those kinds of jobs.
They have no choice they say. I somehow believe them.
Being a prostitute, pusher, smoker, and uneducated is hard.
They have to face all kind of criticism everyday. They have to hide from the authorities. They are not free. They are afraid of their own ghosts.
According to them they used to be rich, but because of carelessness and being irresponsible they didn’t used their money wisely. Instead of using it for business they used it in casinos and other things that are not important. That is the reason why they decided to be what they are.
We cannot judge them in the life they chose. They are doing this for a living. Let us not judge them for they are only human. I believe that everything happens for a reason.
Ekangs’ future depends on herself alone. If she chose to be like her family then we can’t blame her. I pity Ekang. She doesn’t deserve to have this kind of life in such an early age.
I feel so lucky that I have a better family. Though not perfect, still I feel lucky for being educated and cared for.
Ekang’s life should be an inspiration to those who feel that life has been unfair to them.
If you believe life has been unfair to you what else would you call Ekangs’ life?
2 comments February 4, 2009
World’s Largest Golf Event
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the biggest amateur golf tournament takes place in Baguio City, Philippines every year. Dubbed as the Fil-Am Golf Championship since 1949, the 72-hole golf tournament attracts close to 1,000 amateur golfers from all over the archipelago.
The sites of the prestigious event are the challenging par-69, 5,001-yard Camp John Hay golf course and the par-61, 4,038-yard Baguio Country Club. Among the top contending teams in the event are the Canlubang, Southwoods, Calatagan, and Wack Wack
Add comment January 31, 2009
Five Guinness World Records
On 15 March 2008 – nearly 487 years to the day after Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Philippines – businesswoman Sister Grace Galindez-Gupana (Philippines) achieved five Guinness World Records in a single day.
With the support of the Philippine National Red Cross, Sister Gupana embarked on a mass medical mission to provide 24 hours of free screenings for the marginalized Pintong Bocaue community. In doing so, she established four Guinness World Records:
Most blood identification tests in 24 hours: 260
Most cholesterol readings taken in 24 hours: 527
Most blood pressure readings taken in 24 hours: 2,302
Most diabetes readings taken in 24 hours: 503
Sister Grace wanted to involve children of the community in a record-breaking attempt too, and recruited youngsters from the local Baranggay Pintong Bocaue school to complete the longest drawing. Using coloured crayons, the children drew a picture of a long dragon with horns. The drawing was subsequently burned, in a symbolic act representing the victory of good over the devil.
All records were accredited in person by the Director of Records from Guinness World Records, who flew from London to Manila to certify that each record attempt had been carried out legitimately and to present Sister Gupana with certificates for her new records.
Sister Gupana is not new to record breaking. Last year, the ardent supporter of the State of Israel and its citizens reaped her first two Guinness World Records in the Holy Land for the largest flag (18,843 m²; 202,823 ft²) and for the largest banner (54,451 m²; 586,103 ft²).
For Sister Grace, breaking a record is a way of showing to the world that Filipinos can make a difference and are capable of helping and supporting those in need.
In regards to her remarkable feat, Sister Gupana states, “7 records is an amazing achievement for a lifetime.”
1 comment January 20, 2009
Largest Loot in History
Much has been said about the late
President Ferdinand Marcos being the world’s richest man. While this
title was not officially designated to Marcos, the late dictator,
however, was known as the man who took away the largest loot in
history. While deposed President Joseph Estrada faces plunder charges
for allegedly amassing some US$82 million in kickbacks and payoffs
during his 31-month stint at Malacanang Palace, Marcos had reportedly
stolen billions of dollars. There were different versions of the fabled
Marcos wealth.
The fabled Marcos wealth reportedly
consists of billions of dollars and tons of gold bullions deposited in
several banks in Switzerland. Government lawyers claimed that Marcos
had used dummy foundations to hoard his wealth. Among such foundations
that the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) had
identified are Sandy, Xandy, Wintrop, and Rayby.
Former
Senate President Jovito Salonga, who served as the first PCGG chairman
under the Aquino administration said the agency had identified 51
Marcos bank accounts in Switzerland, 23 of which are in Credit Suisse;
3 at Swiss Bank Corporation in Fribourg; 15 in Swiss Bank Corporation
in Geneva; 6 at Banque Paribas in Geneva; 3 at Hoffman in Zurich; and
one each at Lombard Odeii and Trade Development Bank in Geneva.
According
to former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez, the Marcos family still
keeps some US$13.4 billion in deposits at the Union Bank of Switzerland
under the account of Irene Marcos-Araneta, on top of a hoard of 1.241
tons of gold at an underground bunker at Kloten Airport in Zurich.
Chavez also disclosed that former First Lady Imelda Marcos has 800,000
ounces of gold in unfrozen accounts in Switzerland.
Before
this, Australian private investigator Reiner Jacobi, who served as a
PCGG consultant in 1989, had unraveled the so-called Irene Araneta
account and even went to the extent of claiming that the Marcoses had a
US$250-billion gold hoard in Switzerland. The PCGG, however, described
Jacobi’s claims as exaggerated and too fantastic.
In
October 1999, Filipino businessman Enriquez Zobel, a known crony of the
late president told a Senate committee that the Marcos wealth could
have swollen to US$100 billion in gold and dollar deposits, the bulk of
which is deposited with the US Treasury. In his sworn testimony, Zobel
said the Marcos wealth is distributed to gold deposits, dollar
accounts, and real estate properties located in various parts of the
world.
The Marcos gold deposits alone, Zobel said, may
have reached US$35 billion. Zobel had also mentioned the US$13.4
billion Irene Marcos Araneta account at the Union Bank of Switzerland.
The gold bars are allegedly kept in various banks in Portugal, Vatican
City, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Solomon Island, and the US. Zobel
said Marcos obtained the gold bars after the Liberation (1946) from the
Yamashita treasure and from soldiers who sold their gold bars for only
US$20 per bar. Another version was that of Rogelio Roxas who claimed
that Marcos’ men seized the real golden buddha from his house at Aurora
Hills in Baguio City on April 5, 1971. The buddha reportedly costs
billions of dollars.
In February 2001, the Philippine Daily
Inquirer disclosed the alleged attempt of Irene Marcos Araneta to
launder billions of dollars in deposits under the 885931 accounts from
Union Bank of Switzerland to Deutsche Banks in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Aside from the Marcos family and the Philippine government, the 9,539
victims of human rights under the Marcos regime have interest in the
Marcos wealth.
3 comments January 18, 2009
The Leaf Musician
He became famous around the world for his distinct talent. The Guinness Book of World Records has recognized Filipino National Artist Levi Celerio as the only man who could play beautiful music with a leaf. Celerio appeared in “That’s Incredible” and the Mel Griffin show where he played music with a leaf.
The Guinness Book of World Records said: “The only leaf player in the world is in the Philippines”. As a composer and lyricist, Celerio wrote more than 4,000 songs.
Source: http://www.txtmania.com/trivia/world.php
4 comments January 14, 2009
