Pangarap......continued

The next speaker was Sir Don-don and he presented to us one of the products of PREGINET project, which is E-Learning. It is an Online Course Offering that makes available courses in business, professional development, IT, and other technologies over the network via a tour and actual demonstration of the processes they are doing and applications they are using. We were shown Wireless Local Area Network Infrastructure and they performed an actual video conferencing. We were also shown how the nationwide network is monitored.

The National Computer Center (NCC)

After a heavy meal of native food at Mang Jimmy’s canteen located inside UP Diliman, Quezon City, we proceeded to the National Computer Center (NCC) nearby.

So far, we had not been late in reporting to all our seminar venues. Sir Jun and Ma’m Emmie made it sure. Even our hosts were as prompt as we were. We did not have to look for the hosts. They were already waiting for us.

As usual, we were always welcomed and escorted to a seminar room. We were shown a filmed presentation about NCC and NCI as separate organizations. While NCC, which is currently under the DOST, is a government ICT policy making body, NCI concerns itself with ICT training and transfer of technology on basic and advanced computer training for government employees as developers, users and planners of information systems.

We also toured around their facility but were not allowed to take pictures. The policy is for security reasons according to them. Sir Jun requested that the policy be waived, in as much as, when the NCI personnel were at CSC and Catnet they took pictures of our installations including equipments that they had not seen in their own facility. The request was denied. Sir Jun commented, in jest ( although we are sure he meant what he said ), that they also would not be able to get pictures of our facility in the future. The NCI personnel were “put on the spot” and were apologetic.

The NCC/NCI facilities include; Seminar rooms, for holding executive conferences, executive briefings, demonstration of IT solution technologies and other important events. They also have four computer laboratories with two (2) super spare servers and 16 workstations each. Their environment is based on both UNIX and Windows. They also have the latest RDBMS and other software tools installed in all laboratories. We were ushered into one of the laboratories. Unlike MFI, at NCC/NCI there are no specialized laboratories except for Local Area Networking.

After which, we proceeded to their IT Museum. There we did some fun tricks to the equipments, especially the antique ones together with our jolly chaperon Ma’am Emmie. The NCC’s IT Museum houses past and present IT equipment used by the institute in the conduct of its IT training and seminars. It also features historical highlights and projects done. We were able to see the evolution of computers, diskettes and printers.

NCI also provides IT Library services located at the second floor of the NCC building that contains the general reading room and the counter for lending of materials to authorized users. The lending counter is equipped with computer for efficient lending and accurate monitoring of borrower’s accountability. The reserve section contains reference copies of book designed as reading materials. The collection consists mostly computer tools and other related topics. There are about 6,000 volumes of library holding which consists of books, serials and vertical files and audiovisual materials. Bibliographic access is through the Online Public Access Catalog terminals. Lastly, we took a glance at NCC’s control room where mainframe computers and IT infrastructure are kept.

Except for not allowing us to take pictures inside the facility, the NCC/NCI personnel are generally very accommodating and very professional. They really exist for public service, thereby achieving the NCC’s goal of making ICT be of service to the general public. It was indeed a worthwhile hours we spent, truly a very educational tour.

Corporate Information Solutions Inc. (CIS)

Our next venue was the Corporate Information Solutions Inc. at 3:oo in the afternoon. It is located inside the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) compound in Pasig City. Mr. Victor Lim warmly met us at the lobby. The building was so simple and yet so impressive inside out. It was a refreshing site to behold. Its ambience was conducive to the thinking processes. It is so serene and inviting. No wonder the people there were so warm and accommodating. After we had seated ourselves, Mrs. Yoli Arbis introduced herself, and to our surprise, she was the CIS Chief Executive Officer herself ( maybe, we, too, are impressive that the CEO herself met us ! ). She also introduced the two other people with her, Mr. Victor Lim and Ms. Cathy.

Mrs. Arbis gave us a brief orientation about the company and we learned that CIS was established in 1974 and it was and is still a Meralco ( the power utility) subsidiary. It was the first Filipino IT company in the Philippines with Capability Maturity Model (CMM) Level 3 Certification. CIS offers high quality software development and other ICT-related services such Bayad Centers, Solution Center and Data Center. In all, it has 2007 IT professionals. They provide both micro and mainframe skills.

She left for another conference but without leaving us a quotable quote to ponder on, “ Technology is not the end, it is what the technology can give to the business “ which means that no matter how advanced technology will become, it remains a tool, a tool which businesses and other sectors should wisely use for them to evolve and become more productive and of service to the people and community.

Ms. Cathy gave a presentation on the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) Certification process describing it as a framework for organizational improvement that organization could use to determine their ability to develop and maintain software. It is a discipline that guides organizations in software development and maintenance processes. In the lecture, she touched the subject System Development Life Cycle (SDLC), another standard on very large and comprehensive software development and maintenance projects. After a short question and answer portion on the CMM and SDLC, Mr. Lim took over expounding on the services CIS provides as their CEO had enumerated giving emphasis on how they are different from other Computer Solutions Providers.

Mr Lim also introduced to us the Rover, developed in the UK, which is currently being used by Meralco for meter reading and other evaluation processes of consumer electric meters. Rover, although quite expensive, is a capture device that makes “life” easier for meter readers and the company alike. Data captured by Rover are remotely sent to the mainframe computer database as input to various applications.

We were also allowed into their Data Center with Mr. Lim identifying the various mammoth machines.We were finished at past 5:00 p.m. and returned straight to the Kabayan Hotel in Cubao.

The fourth day of our educational tour was over. Although very tiring and stressful, the days of seeing, experiencing and learning were worthwhile days of our lives in the Metro. We’ve been to many companies where cutting edge Information and Communications Technology equipment and applications dominate and they did, really, set the trends in business. We saw and felt the aggressive application of technology in attaining an organization’s vision, mission and goals and objectives.

And yet, this afternoon, we felt ecstatic! Tomorrow is a new day and new environment. Unlike MetroManila where everybody had experience, Subic Bay and Bagiuo are different. Except for 3 of us, the rest had not been to these places.

On January 28, 2004 at 3:00 a.m., we received a wake-up call from the Kabayan Hotel Receptionist. Although fatigued and sleepy, everybody rose from his or her beds to prepare for a long journey. Leaving behind the beautiful memories of Kabayan Hotel (first time yata naming mag-hotel… 3 Star hotel pa) , we boarded our service Coaster and left Cubao at 4:15 a.m.

Our destinations are said to be, from “word of mouth” and write-ups from magazines, periodicals and TV Ads, exotic and beautiful. Beyond the boundaries of MetroManila, is a new and strange place for us. It’s a new territory for us, a territory unknown to us. Sleepy and excited, some, literally, “tinukuran ang mga mata” just to have a glimpse of what places we passed by. Traversing Bulacan and Pampanga through the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), we came across beautiful sceneries like the SM Mall, mango plantations, vegetable farms and others we had not seen in Catanduanes.

We reach San Fernando, Pampanga, past 5:00 o’clock in the morning. Everyone was awakened and same words came out …”Nagutom na ako”. We stopped at the first restaurant we saw, Tapa King Restaurant. Everybody’s smiling. We took our “full to the brim breakfast” like a “low bat” cell phone being recharged. Once again, to avoid boredom during the trip, we had a game of Bingo with prizes to booth, including, even , the red jacket of our tour guide.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Complex
Famous Places, Ecstatic Tourists


We made our way into beautiful Bataan and Zambales passing through the zigzag road on the mountain entry to Subic Bay. It was a beautiful sight to behold as the lush mountains are so green and bright made a prettier sight by the reflection of the morning sun and mist. Truly, a new place for us!

Smoothly – once inside the complex, all vehicles must follow strictly traffic rules whose top speed is 60KPH - driving down the mountain, we inched our way to the SBMA Complex.

We proceeded to the Tourist Operations Center where Senior VIP Services Coordinator, Mr. Chicho Andrew Martinez, boarded our service coaster. He was the assigned tour guide to us that day. We commenced the guided tour through an orientation aboard the bus. We came to know the history of the facility from the time the U.S. Military constructed it until they left as the result of the abrogation of the treaty covering it.

As we went around, we noticed the lush green forest around the facility, the well paved roads, the remarkable pristine blue sea water, the first class amenities like hotels and yacht club, the historic massive wharf where the behemoth U.S. Navy battleships and carriers were once docked and repaired, the airport and runway where the mighty naval air force took off and landed for missions in Vietnam and elsewhere, the concrete camouflaged (vegetated hill-like structures that could withstand powerful enemy bombing) mounds that kept ammunitions, bombs and other military ordnance from enemy detection and destruction, housing units once used by Naval Air Pilots, whose roofs doubled as heliports, as well as, the new structures like the many beautiful guest houses constructed for the visiting heads of state of other countries during the APEC Summit led by U.S. Pres. Bush, the many imported vehicles’ auction centers and warehouses, the TechnoPark in whose compound we found the different foreign-owned electronic factories, the duty free shops selling imported groceries, apparels, winery and appliances, abundant fishes in sanctuaries, different species of plants, birds and animals in reserves and sanctuaries that made SBMA an eco-zone where ecological balance is maintained naturally, and many more others that held all of us in awe!

Truly, SBMA is a place to admire and behold.

At the Geographic Information Systems Office (GIS) at SBMA Techno Park, we were shown through demonstration how they worked collaboratively to link location (spatial) and database (tabular) information and enable a person to visualize patterns, relationships and trends using the computer. For spatial data, they utilized GIS ArcView 3.2 and 3.3. For tabular information, they used MS Access and FoxPro DBMS. These enable an entirely new perspective to data analysis and environment management. This office is composed of Civil and Geodetic Engineers, Political Science Professionals, Biological Science graduates, Architects and IT professionals.

This system which is designed for government use had found an application in the emergency line system called e-911 through the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) in monitoring SBMA nature preservation, like forest fires, forest and marine resources abuse and needs, keeping in check the Industrial and Technological hazards to the environment, and even as an aid to authorities in tracking down criminals as shown by its behind the scene capture of most wanted criminals in the country.

We also visited Eagle Comtronics, formerly the Aparri Electronics Corporation, plant that produces a device called cable trap or frequency filter mostly used in television cables. Eagle Comtronics located in Subic is the only plant in the Philippines owned by Eagles Comtronics in New York.

Afterwards, we went to the BRP Hydrographer Presbitero. It is a ship under the DENR commanded by Lcdr. Pascual. BRP Hydrographer Presbitero has for its mission to measure the depth of different ocean floor sections and track routes of Navigational and Commercial ships inside the Philippine territory. Working with the Philippine Coastguard, they could monitor illegal fishing vessels or intruders from foreign countries to take advantage of our marine resources along the ocean boundaries. We could say that BRP Hydrographer Presbitero couldn’t be left behind in the utilization of ICT because they have convergence and innovations for new ICT devices to produce and manage Information Systems.

The City of the Pines (Bagiuo City)
Turista, Turista, Turista !


As we complete the rounds of SBMA, there were many times that everybody seemed to become lost in thought. We were sure it was not because we were tired or got bored or something. It was not because the depth of ICT applications at SBMA or elsewhere was hard to comprehend; on the contrary, we were enlightened by the advanced uses of ICT. We know that more sectors of our society can benefit by more creative applications of it.

We were at a loss that time to describe our feelings. There was that forlorn feeling at about the time we were leaving the gates of SBMA.SBMA was too good a place to leave behind (sana nagtagal pa kami at na-enjoy namin ang lugar). But, there also was a pleasant feeling inside us that made us joyous as we sped along the Zambales and Bataan highways towards Pampanga, Tarlac and Pangasinan until we reached the junction to Kennon Road and to Dalton Pass. Sir Jun chose the latter path for an easier and faster climb to Baguio.

As we opened our windows (pinatay kasi ang aircon para raw huwag mahirapan ang bus), we immediately felt a cold breeze brushing our faces and the scent of pines caressing it as well. Were we not glad that even the moon was full that night (nakikipag-celebrate sa amin)? You bet! As we looked down the mountains, it seemed the stars were beneath us (mga ilaw pala ng bayan-bayan sa ibaba ng bundok). Even if only moonlit, the scene was poetic and too romantic (para sa aming mga turista…ay maliiii!…educational tour pala ito.) for us. Again, many of us were lost in deep thought ( Hoy! Gising!).

Ahh ! Baguio here we come.

Inching our way into that long winding road within Baguio City, we reached our arranged accommodation at Villa La Maja at 11:09 p.m. Upon disembarking from the bus, many immediately posed for pictures (excited talaga! Biro mo ‘yan, hatinggabi na “picture, picture” pa….), while some took body and muscle stretching, and still others just tried to feel the different aura ( mamay, papay…sana kaiba ta ika…ang silam nin feelinggg…ibaaaa…ayyyayayy – sabi ni alvin) of Baguio City.
As we got settled, the boys (?) knocked on the girls (?) door. With Sir Jun, we let them in. Sir Jun opened a bottle of French Red Wine (tinotoo pala ni Sir Jun ang request naming na upon reaching Baguio, we toast for our “dream come true”) and said, “Cheers everybody! Happy Birthday Sheena! Ma’m Emmie then opened a Spanish White wine for all to share (See? We are one big happy family.).

We woke up more than an hour late as scheduled the morning of January 29 (talagang pagoood na pagggoddd!). After a late breakfast (7:30 a.m., late na ba ‘yon?) at the SSS Canteen, we proceeded to the University of Baguio. Engr. Erwin Pallo, an instructor at the UB-CISCO Local Networking Academy, met us warmly. As expected we toured the university ICT facilities. As in MFI, the university had specialty laboratories like CISCO Lab where networking trainings and certification reviews are given, the Call Center Lab where call center agents are trained, the Communications Center Lab where WAP and other cellphone technologies are learned and experimented, and the SunMicro Systems Enterprise Networking Lab. Almost all their equipment in these specialty laboratories were from Texas Instruments under a grant and partnership program.

Engr Pallo had mentioned the importance of Knowledge and skills certification for ICT graduates in their future quest for employment and career. Although we know that the CSC-CICT Dean and Sir Jun are working for these, we just hope that in the very near future, the CSC Administration would accord us the same opportunity as the other schools accord their students. (Maybe, outside the regular budget, the CSC Administration could resort to fund sourcing from other sectors in the government- as CATNET was similarly funded - or private entities).

The University of Baguio tour made us ponder if we, as a school, could even approximate their dynamic stance on curriculum, technology and their applications in the “real world”. They seemed to react progressively and profoundly to emerging trends and new business environment. Can we? We were sufficiently enlightened to clamor for these dynamisms in our own school.

At the Philippine Military Academy, we were enthralled not only by the serene and scenic view of its surroundings but also by the facilities and environment that is very conducive to learning. Although we expected what we saw as to the discipline shown by the movements and decorum of the cadets, we were still mesmerized by them, specially so, that we were shown a filmed orientation/briefing on “ A Day in the Life of a Cadet”. The film showing “touched a chord” in Ronald’s consciousness as he once applied for admission to the Academy.

It was, regrettable though, that our request for interaction with the cadets was turned down because of on-going classes. Instead, we bought souvenirs and took more photos around. Downhill going out of the compound, most were admiring the scenic view and again got “lost in their thoughts” until we reached SSS where we had a hurried lunch.

To cap our Baguio City sojourn, we had a “whistle stop” at the Botanical Garden. We shopped at the Ebay’s Silver Shop for silver jewelries for ourselves and loved one’s.We admired the passing views of The Mansion, Camp John Hay, Wright Park and other captivating sights on our way to the Mines’ View Park.

Here at the Mines’ View Park., we indulged in last minute shopping spree for more “pasalubong” to our loved one’s and simply enjoying the scenic view.

When it was time to go, there was gloom inside the bus. Most were halfhearted in throwing cursory glances to the scenes we passed by, maybe afraid to leave charming memories behind or simply hesitant to let go of the “pangarap”.
Through the Session Road, we left the City at a little past 4:00 p.m.. Down the famous Kennon Road, we had one last stop, the Baguio City Entry Landmark.

We had mixed emotions. We are both happy and sad. Happy that “pangarap” was attained and sad because “pangarap” was hard to let go. As we completed the zigzag road and reached the lowland, we came to grips with reality. We were on our way home.

Our tour was over.

At past 11:00 in the evening, we reached Pasay City where our bus for home was patiently waiting. As soon as everybody was aboard, we began the long trip to Tabaco City. We boarded MV Eugenia for Virac on January 30, 2004.

Home sweet home!