Joomla! site syndication http://www.tagosds.org 2009-01-07T06:02:38+01:00 http://www.tagosds.org http://www.tagosds.org/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png text/html 2008-09-10T23:40:49+01:00 http://www.tagosds.org http://www.tagosds.org/content/view/95/49/ In Tago, crab is a delicacy, not a mentality! As a child I always believed that crabs would never run out in Tago, my hometown in Surigao del Sur, even if they were peddled in the streets morning, noon and night. Back then crabs were readily available that if a surprise visitor arrived minutes before lunch, my mother would tell our maid to boil water before leaving in haste. Just as the water began to bubble, she would be back with crabs dangling in her hand in one hefty bunch. Then about three years ago, supply began to dwindle for no apparent reason. Alarmed, Mayor Hermenegildo P. Pimentel Jr. investigated and learned that juvenile crabs--- matchbox-sized crabs that swim or walk on the muddy bay bottom ---are being transported on the sly to Zamboanga del Sur, Lanao del Norte and Capiz Province, where they’re sold as seedlings to fishpond operators. This explains why our crabs have become smaller, dearer and rare that we have to order them days in advance. Realizing that Tago’s repute as Surigao del Sur’s crab capital was at stake, Mayor Pimentel met with crab gatherers and traders and pointed out to them that in effect they were selling crabs to extinction because if these crablets wouldn’t reach maturity, then who would mate to create the next generation of crabs in the freshwaters of Tago? He also stressed that this practice, if not stopped, would threaten the balance of ecology and Tago’s legitimate crab industry, and would make losers in all of us. But these concepts proved complex to crab gatherers who sell crablets at P10 each to survive. “Three crablets already mean a kilo of rice for our family,” they said. text/html 2008-08-20T00:46:57+01:00 http://www.tagosds.org http://www.tagosds.org/content/view/94/51/ It is with conviction that we say that the 2008 Search for Mutya ng Tago (SMT) was the best SMT bar none! But then again, we said the same thing in 1998, which only means that the Search for Mutya ng Tago continues to evolve both aesthetically and artistically! The 2008 SMT has set a new record in Tago’s pageant history: the production value was tops and the 10 candidates were the best any organizer could ever hope to assemble---flawless, pretty, graceful, and smart! THE VENUE Imagine an atrium right in the middle of a tropical rainforest. Imagine a stage painted in stark white with no décor except for a striking interplay of bamboos, crazy vines, exotic orchids, birds of paradise, bird’s nests, and fireflies. Imagine some round tables and chairs shrouded in white dotting the area near the stage for sponsors, donors, and parents to occupy. Imagine votive candles couched in floral vignettes as table tops. Imagine the first four bleacher posts from the stage rendered as coco trees, drooping with coco and betel nuts outlined with tiny rice lights. Imagine a glaring spotlight at the main entrance capturing and transforming all these in dreamy hues. And lastly, imagine a uniformed waiter from Goldbar serving drinks and canapés and you get the ambience of a 5-star hotel! Yes, the 2008 Search for Mutya ng Tago was a dinner show! Mario Quinonez summed it best by saying: “pag sud mo pa sa gym, kibale kaw pasingud sa langit!” text/html 2008-08-04T22:34:35+01:00 http://www.tagosds.org http://www.tagosds.org/content/view/93/49/ To know the truth of history is to realize its ultimate myth and inevitable ambiguity. -Roy P. Basler- The most popular yarn about how Tago got its name involves three Tagon-on women hiding from unseen enemy soldiers on a cloudy Tuesday, six full moons after the First World War broke out. Just as they were about to enter their hideaway, an American soldier emerged from a bamboo clump, holding a rifle with his right hand and three limp roosters with his left. When he asked them what the name of the place was, the women, who didn’t speak English, thought he was asking them what they were doing. And so they chorused, “Yag Tago (we’re hiding).” He left and told his companions that the place was called Tago; the name stuck! But there’s a far less simplistic and more interesting tale about Tago’s provenance that came out in 2005, in a crude two-page computer generated gazette, written in Visayan, published and sold at P10 a copy by Ex-Mayor Petronilo Salas. Passed on by oral tradition, the story was culled by Salas from Alpio Prado, Emilio Pareja, and Atty. Garcia of Tago; Rafael Consuegra and Antonio de la Casa of Cagwait; Juan Montero and Hilario Murillo of Bayabas; Manuel Perez and Pedro Oribe of San Miguel; and Uldarico Navales, Asay Tello Quintos, and Manolo Serra of Tandag. text/html 2008-06-24T02:48:38+01:00 http://www.tagosds.org http://www.tagosds.org/content/view/92/51/ Tagon-ons can’t contain their excitement that this year’s 90th Araw ng Tago Celebration in August will be capped by the Search for Mutya ng Tago. But this is expected given that the last pageant was staged in 1998! Mayor Hermenegildo P. Pimentel Jr. launched the Search for Mutya ng Tago in 1986, just six months after the EDSA Revolution. The tilt has since then become a benchmark against which all other beauty pageants are measured. And though it comes few and far between, the Search for Mutya ng Tago has become the much awaited event of the Araw ng Tago. The Search for Mutya ng Tago is all about the pursuit of excellence and the celebration of Tago’s beauty, elegance, and culture. It showcases young aspiring Tagon-on women in a high quality production that is guaranteed to develop their self-confidence, talent, leadership, personal and social skills with self-discipline, grace, intellect, diligence, and style. Through the pageant, the candidates will have an opportunity to develop friendships, teamwork and other invaluable experiences that will be with them for the rest of their lives. And it’s the hope of the pageant organizers that the contestants will learn from the experience and use it as a stepping-stone to achieving their goals. text/html 2008-03-30T19:58:35+01:00 http://www.tagosds.org http://www.tagosds.org/content/view/91/51/ Four Tagon-ons passed the 2007 bar examination, namely: Allen L. Montenegro, Peter Bill C. Elizalde, Wilfredo C. Rebuyon, and Roseller P. Villarubia. People in the know said that it was the hardest in eight years. Two of the four newly minted lawyers---Allen and Roseller--- are Purisimians. And interestingly their personal history and traits intersect: both were honor students of Batch ’96 in Purisima School, Allen being the valedictorian and Roseller, first honorable mention; though both laconic and self-effacing, they had the same passion as student leaders in high school and college.