BSIM Batch 2005

2005-08-11T03:38:00.000-07:00

Ahh, Pangarap! In your name, we are the "best of the best".

Along the way, we surmounted so many anxieties, obstacles, hardships and challenges strewn across our path. But, we did overcome all of them!

We did our very best, sweat and tears and all, encouraged by the support of the following :

Our parents, brothers and sisters: who never complained about our never-ending financial needs. Instead, they gave us love and understanding, moral and spiritual support. As much as we dreamed, they, too, wished for us to fulfill our dreams despite themselves "dying a little" in supporting us.

Our friends: for reaching out to us to share our anxieties and excitement over our “Pangarap” and wishing us luck and offered prayers for our safe travel.

Ash, our dear departed classmate, friend and inspiration: who served as our angel above interceding on our behalf that we may be able to carry out and reach our goal. We sense her being with us always, prodding us to go on. We share our triumph with her.

Sir Jun, our chosen adviser and best friend: for his fatherly care, support and encouragement from the tour preparation to the very end of our tour by giving us insights, inspiring stories and sharing experiences that made us strong and determined, made us persevere and made us steadfast.

Madam Emmie, our chaperone and friend: laughing with us even if it was the silliest of jokes, like a mother in her tender love and care.

CICT Dean, Faculty and Staff: for bearing with us on our shortcomings and/or idiosyncrasies by giving their support, trust, and concern instead.

BSIM Class 2006: For whom we document our educational tour in order to bequeath experiences and lessons learned in this undertaking that this may serve as their beacon to do better than our best.

And above all,

The Almighty Father, whose love and blessings were showered upon us and made our educational tour truly richly rewarding in knowledge gained and returned us safely to the comforts of our home.

To all of them, we humbly dedicate in gratitude "Pangarap".

"Pangarap" - a battlecry

The BSIM Class 2005 undertook the " ICT Educational Tour" under the subject Advanced Seminar 1 of which the tour is part of the syllabus. The objective of the tour is "to complement ICT classroom knowledge with a 'real world experience' on how ICT is variously deployed and used in the workplace by visiting plants/ installations where mini-seminars are conducted for them or questions and answers on all facets of the integrated installation from hardware, software and people that enable an organization an optimum use of ICT affording the organization to attain competitive advantage and/or productivity".

Prof. Exequiel A. Mariano, Jr. handles it. We were afraid of him at first because he has a reputation for being a terror professor. Our fears were unfounded. Up close, we found him to be the opposite of his reputation. Our fear was gradually replaced by disbelief! We now lovingly call him "Sir Jun" because he was not only a teacher but became a father and a friend to us all in the course of our subjects under him.

At the outset though, Sir Jun did not mention the inclusion of the tour. It is us who mentioned it to him and pleaded to him to push through with it.

It is then that we found out why he deliberately did not mention it. Having a tour is an expensive proposition. He was considering our parents' capacity and willingness to spend for the tour. He had, instead, lined-up various seminar-type topics with prospective speakers/lecturers to be invited.

He tossed the decision, whether to go or not to go on tour, to our parents and us.

The consensus was nearly unanimous, even from the parent’s side. We prevailed upon Sir Jun. We assured him there were no objections from the parents. And, we will help our parents raise the finances required.

Sir Jun lined up plants/installations to be visited. The Laguna Techno Park, Philippine Stock Exchange ( PSE) in Makati, Asia Pacific College in Makati, AMA Computer College and Bureau of Internal Revenue ( BIR) in Quezon City, National Computer Center/National Computer Institute and Preginet at DOST-ASTI in UP Diliman, Meralco Foundation Institute ( MFI) and Corporate Information Solutions Inc.( CSI) in Pasig City, and GMA7.

The class inquired what we expect to see in SBMA in Subic in Olongapo City and in Baguio City. Our Sir Jun retorted that although there are ICT installations, which are more or less advanced over other installations, it would be very expensive.

Nonetheless, he told us that Acer Computer Plant and the SBMA complex has plenty to offer in terms of ICT Applications. But it would be very hard to get the nod from ACER to tour within their plant.

Baguio City has also many things to offer aside from its scenery and climate. University of Baguio is a university with advanced computer curricula and installations largely because it has support from Texas Instruments Inc, whose plant is also in Baguio City. The Philippine Military Academy ( PMA), the Presidential Mansion, assorted theme parks, fresh vegetables and silverwares are all in Baguio City.

Sir Jun told us that to coordinate and get approval from those many organizations to visit and ask for mini-seminar and/or orientation would be very hard. We insisted that there must be a way to do all these. There are, indeed, many ways. He allowed us to use the CICT telephone to make arrangements and that preliminary arrangement would be followed up by formal requests duly signed by the Dean and President as they did in the first ICT Educational Tour.

Weeks passed. Making arrangements, really, was a hard act. We are on the verge of surrendering. The class brainstormed on actions to take. We made a pact and a “battle cry” from which we draw our strength and tenacity to attain our goal.

“Pangarap” was born!

We shall not exclude SBMA and Baguio City. These are the cores of our dream at the moment. “Win one battle at a time, and win the war eventually”. One success leads to another, and who knows, our successes might lead us to our dream of the future, a stable ICT Career.

But we have to confront and surmount the obstacles. We resolved to “ take and walk the Extra Mile” headon. The class was unanimous. It made us smile and gave us temporary relief. Our dream codenamed “Pangarap” embraced us all.

Fate smiled on us as well.

Engr. Melanie Rojas of the College of Engineering informed Sir Jun they are arranging their educational tour through a packaged tour operator and oriented him about the things they had done and could do.

In a week’s time, the class had a conference with Royal Quest Tours Inc. We decided to avail of their services.

Our anxieties about having the tour turned to excitement.

the preparation

During the initial planning stages of our tour preparation, we were heartbroken due to the sudden demise of our class president, Irish Jane “Ash” P. Rosauro. We lost our sense of direction and focus. We were leaderless and wandered about. We felt as if we were orphaned. There was a hiatus in the planning activities. Ash was the gel that bound us together.

Back to our senses, we were reminded of her single-mindedness on a goal. Notwithstanding her being sick, she continued to conduct planning sessions that may have had aggravated her condition. Remembering it, it provided us inspiration. Even in death, she served as model to us.

As the saying goes, “the show must go on !”.

We recovered from this poignant episode but without forgetting her.

Yes, we moved on!

We reorganized our class. We unanimously chose Niña Jessela V. Buendia as Class President. She will continue to lead from where Ash left us and complete the planning process. She will be assisted by Ave Valeza, the Vice-President, Josephine Tablante, the Secretary, and Chona Salvidar, the Treasurer.

We brainstormed on steps to take. As always, the first step is the hardest - fund raising. Sir Jun shared to us some experiences when he handled the first ever ICT Educational Tour. He gave us tips on fund raising. We created different working committees.

The Committee on Solicitation was chaired by Ma. Helen S. Guerrero with Averose Lumbao and Elizabeth Soriao, as members. Sir Jun helped us compose solicitation letters and gave us the names of his friends to solicit from. We also included in the “target list” businessmen and politicians. We ignored our feelings of insecurity in this task. We felt awkward in this role. Are we mendicants? Yet we swallowed our pride and continued with the “mission”!

Sir Jun encouraged our other fund raising proposals. We created a Committee on Christmas Caroling chaired by Deborah Gonzales or Ate Debz. with Alvin Vienes, Geraldine Sales and Niña Jessela Buendia as members. Practices were conducted as early as November.

We did not have many in the class who had the voice and who could sing. Yes, bashful we were all ( Hiya-hiya pa kasi!). But we were fortunate having Ate Debz. She patiently conducted voice exercises on our class. We took as many practice opportunities as we could muster ( we told you we are tenacious !) within the Risen Christ compound. We didn’t let opportunities slip away. But there were times some of our classmates lost focus and zest ( tsismis, txting or “low batt” – eh kc hindi naman kami perfect). Thanks to Ate Debz for being so firm and yet not offensive. She saved many practice days as productive ( birit na kami! Wish ko lang.) days. Ate Debz on the guitar, Yoy on the tambourine and the rest voices ( angelic na yata voices namin).

Don John Teves was given the task of securing a booth at the Virac Town Plaza for the Christmas Cheers. He submitted and complied with all requirements in the reservation of a booth. Unfortunately, our best efforts were not enough. The booth envisioned to augment our funds for the tour was not meant for us (or so we thought - just to assuage our wounded feelings). Our lucky stars were missing this time.

We considered writing a letter to “Wish Ko Lang” requesting ( desperado na kami! ) for financial assistance for our tour. But again, reason and consideration for others ( mas maraming nangangailangan ng tulong kaysa sa amin) prevailed upon us not to write the letter. For us, this realization was the handiwork of the Unseen. Yet it made us cry.

Despite the setback, Sir Jun monitored and prodded us on, all in the name of minimizing our parents’ expenses for the tour. Above all, he gave us his full support. Satisfying school requirements for the tour were set in motion.

Finally, school authorities approved our tour.

We constantly communicated with the tour operator regarding approved/disapproved plants/installation. Those disapproved proposed organizations to be visited were replaced by other venues. It seemed adjustments on venues, dates and time were endless but we persevered.

Luck was not on our side maybe due to time constraints. And yet we hoped. “You lose some, you win some” as the saying goes.

the fund raising

God Help Us!

Even when school approval was not yet granted at this time, even when venues not yet finalized, and even if the contract with the operator had not been signed, we commenced with the fund raising activities simultaneously (ganyan kami ka-desidido, akala ninyo!).

The last week of November, we started our caroling ( Don’t you think it was too early to start ?

…but remember…”Daig ng maagap ang masipag”). It was full of excitement and apprehension being the first night of our fundraising. Could we make it? Could we meet our expectations that many would give us in the spirit of Christmas? Could we sing as practiced or jitters would come in ( magkalat kaya kami?)?

We chose Cavinitan Proper as our pilot ground. We brought flashlights and candles to light our way into the dark streets of Cavinitan. We ignored howling dogs, we ignored wind and rain, we ignored whatever dirt and animal waste we stepped on, and we ignored ogles from open windows and passersby.

The first songs we sang did not approximate the practiced delivery. There were spats among classmates regarding the attitude of some ( hindi nga kami perfect, eh! ) during the carols. But as we progressed from house to house, our group singing was improving and spats diminished. Thanks to those proverbial “cool heads“ ( ikaw ‘yon Ate Debz!) who prevailed and cajoled other classmates “ to tow the line”. (Iyon pala ay nahihiya lang ang iba).

At the end of the night, armed only with a guitar and tambourine and some stones, everything surpassed our expectations! The group gelled and really sang their hearts out to render justice to the beautiful songs we selected. Rendition became superb. We raised P1,100 on the very first night. We had a taste of success. We did not expect to raise that amount. It was maybe because we sang from the bottom of our hearts with feelings and all. That “magic touch” projected into the hearts and consciousness of our listeners that made them generous. It also touched the hearts of our group that bonded each to others and made us, literally, brothers and sisters. “United we stand, divided we fall”.

Maybe because some got tired easily, they lost focus ( NAGKALAT) which led to the “walkout”, literally, of Ate Debz during the Moonwalk caroling. All were shocked and dumbfounded. Nothing, as in NOTHING, made her return to the group that night. Ave and Tintin tried their persuasive best that amounted to nothing ( kung tunay na magkakapatid nga may tampuhan, kami pa kaya?). The rest of us waited for their return to no avail. Nina, Beth and Yoyoy followed, anxious of why it took so long for the three to return. They, too, failed to appease Ate Debz.

Implications of the “walkout” finally sunk into Nina upon her return to the group. She, too, staged a “walkout” by saying “kamo na sana an magpadagos ta habo ko na!”. All were again shocked ( Ano na ini pay?).

Blaming each other, and perhaps because of a little guilt, the rest of us showed some “fighting spirit” and continued with the caroling even without a guitar accompaniment and this time with enthusiasm ( O, hiling mo an … pwede man palan magpalinas ).

Afterwards, we went to Ate Debz ( O, ta uya kamo? … agugoy, may! ) and asked apology ( muntik pang mabulilyaso dahil sa “missed call” at tawanan… ano ba naman ‘yan … kung nangamoy, gulo ito !) from her with a promise to do better from this time forward.

God smiled on us!

the day before the tour
CICT Foundation Day

Everything was ready and all were raring to go. Excitement hanged in the air.

The morning of this day, we visited the grave of our dear Ash. We did not feel sorry for her. Rather, we were thankful to her that she inspired us to do our best. She is in our hearts and minds and she will be with us during the tour.

The day before our scheduled educational tour the CICT family were very busy on its 1st ever CICT Foundation Day. Though we were not in-charge of managing the whole celebration we were obliged to help in preparation for this significant event. The whole CICT family was busy preparing for the symposium, exhibits, and other activities. That was January 23 Friday. The culmination of the anniversary celebration was the Students, Alumni, and Faculty Night. This was the time to relax and unwind. Though we were excited on this particular night, we were much more excited for the following day, the day we start our tour. We were very exhausted that we did not give much attention to the program, dinner and dance. We went home early so that we could have time to prepare our things for the trip.

( Charing lang! Ang iba naming classmates prepared na for more than a month…he he he he….sobra talaga! Ang iba naman ….. naku, nakakainis! Cramming ba…. As if they have all the time in the world…. Wala talagang preparation, as in TALAGANG WALA!)

Almost all were not able to sleep because of excitement!

THE BIG DAY

All Aboard !

We had to be at the meeting place by 10:00 A.M. which is the waiting shed at the entrance of the CSC. This was the agreed time of our departure from Virac going to San Andres.

By 10:45 A.M., the group is not yet complete. We could see and sense that Sir Jun is beginning to get mad. He instructed some of us to contact by voice call those were not yet in. Tension again began to build up among the class (Sino ba naman ang hindi maiinis?). Only two had not arrived.

At 11:00 A.M., Ate Ghie came. Sir Jun then instructed Don John to fetch Marivic. He called back to pick them up on the way to San Andres. So off we went. When we picked them up at Calatagan, Niña, lost her temper ( high blood na naman!). Everybody was silent, afraid to utter something.

Yoyoy tried to break the ice but all he got was a loud roar of “tunong daw dyan Yoyoy!!!!!!!!!!” from the usual Ate Debz, (para pala siyang leon kung talagang galit na galit!).

However, that didn’t last long for as we travel along, someone unexpectedly brought out a camera and announced, “Picture, picture!”. Camaraderie returned. Jokes were cracked. There was endless laughter again. If only Ash was with us ….

At the San Andres seaport, the jeep directly ushered us inside the ferryboat, the Regina Calixta 2, which was almost fully occupied. If only we had arrived earlier, we would not have been separated from each other (masyado kasi kaming “close” sa isa’t-isa).

Finally, we were all aboard the Regina Calixta 2!

We arrived at the Tabaco pier at 3:45 pm seeing our bus already waiting for us. We were met by the Royal Quest Tours Tour Coordinator, Mr. Ray Mujar. Inside, we settled ourselves comfortably. Kuya Ray oriented us about the activities of the tour for about 15 minutes, and then he distributed our free t-shirts and bags with IDs as well as our dinner.

We began our journey to Manila at 4:30 pm with a dinner of Jollibee fried chicken inside the bus along the way. There was a stopover somewhere in Camarines Norte for the bus drivers to have their own dinner and to freshen ourselves a bit. Then we’re back on the road again while some of us took some pictures, jokes here and there until all of us where asleep.

As if God was testing us, the reserve bus driver suffered a mild stroke halfway of the journey. We stopped at the Gumaca Hospital for his emergency treatment. Thank God he was not driving that time ……

Finally, at 3:45 am of January 25, we arrived at the Kabayan Hotel in Cubao, QC.. Twelve (12) hours of travel proved exhausting.

Although we looked tired and groggy from the trip, we still managed to take photos while Kuya Ray arranged our accommodation. We were finally ushered to our assigned rooms at 4 o’clock for a 1 hour sleep. We had to wake up early for the day’s activity.

GMA7 “Kapuso”

SOP, Reel and Real

We had breakfast at Chowking at 5:30 am. We had fried rice and egg with longganisa. Most of us did not like the taste of their food because it was oily.

Fifteen minutes after nine, we left the Hotel for GMA7.We were all excited and in a jolly mood. We would see our favorite noontime show stars. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday. We could not have a tour of the whole GMA7.

There, we waited outside for about an hour, grabbing the opportunity to fill our stomachs with food just to make sure that we would not be hungry once we were ushered inside the studio.

Once inside, we were shocked! On TV, SOP seemed so spacious. In reality, it was small and congested. Luck was really not on our side that day as we were not included on the guest list. So, we had to jostle for a seat against the regular fans that were rowdy. Because of this, we were scattered everywhere. At that time, it was an hour before the show started. We saw Regine Velasquez, Ogie Alcasid and others rehearsing their songs.

The fans of Jolina Magdangal annoyed us because all throughout the show, they screamed, “We love you Jolina” or “We missed you Jolina”. “Hello!!!!!!!”. It was so “plastic”… duhhhh.

But anyway, we enjoyed the show but were not satisfied. The real show was disorderly. On TV, it was “magic”. We left GMA7 at 3:05 pm and took our lunch inside the coaster on the way to SM Megamall. and talking about what we saw and experienced at GMA7.

At SM Megamall, we enjoyed “window shopping”. Some met their classmates and friends during their high school days. Some their relatives ( charing talaga ang iba sa amin… kc ang totoo, tinawagan nila para may excuse sila na magpaiwan sa mall…hay buhay). We indulged ourselves for about 4 hours. Some got tired early and waited for the others at the designated place in the mall. We found Sir Jun,, Don and Yoyoy, Ma’m Emmie and Ate Debz already sitting on the stairs waiting for us.

We ate our dinner there at the food court. Afterwards, we headed straight to the hotel where Sir Jun treated us with Selecta ice cream. Haaayyy….what a very tiring day.

Even if very tired himself, Sir Jun did not “call it a night” until those who asked his permission to extend their stay at the mall with friends were at the hotel. He had a scare though when Nina’s brother came looking for her at Kabayan Hotel. Nina and Tintin were waiting for Nina’s brother at SM Megamall. while the brother was waiting at SM Cubao. ( Ano ba ito?%23@$ …Diyos Ko! … nag-kita rin sa Kabayan na.)

plants/installations visited
Mini-Seminars/Orientation on ICT

On January 26, we received a wake-up call from the receptionist at 5:00 am. Consequently, we hurriedly fixed ourselves and ate our breakfast for our next destinations for the day, the Meralco Foundation Institute ( MFI) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue ( BIR).

The Meralco Foundation Institute

We left the hotel at 7:29 am so we don’t get snarled by the expected heavy traffic in Cubao. The feared heavy traffic was for real. While enroute to the Meralco Foundation Institute located at the Meralco Center, Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City, Kuya Ray conducted a game inside the bus to avoid getting bored. It brought us great fun even though there were some arguments throughout the game. To break discussions, Sir Jun shared his past experiences in life, love and work. We found his experiences fascinating and full of lessons in life. His “ups and downs” inspired us all ( naka-relate kami…hindi lang puro rosas ang buhay … connect).His advices were full of hope!

At the MFI, Mr. Ronald Capacia and Mr. Zoilo Lagrimas were already eagerly waiting for us. Sir Jun was the first to go down and was warmly received by them. They seemed to be longtime friends (iba talaga ang dating ni Sir Jun).

We were ushered into their lecture room. We were given some backgrounder about their organization. We came to know that the MFI has no connection to Meralco (the power utility) at all. Theirs is a longtime IT and Technology educational institution famous for providing well-trained and certified professionals to various companies here and abroad.

After the orientation about the company, we toured their laboratories and they explained the role and differences of each. They have Network Lab/Simulation Room on various networking environment like Unix, Linux, CISCO and Windows 2000. They also have laboratories on Programming utilizing different programming languages.

It was also emphasized in the orientation that knowledge without Certification could not help anyone get ICT employment opportunities here and abroad.

Almost all areas of ICT have equivalent certification examinations. One has to choose a field of specialization

Although the CSC is not so much behind in terms of equipment and software used, they have more specialized and dedicated laboratories for each of the longer courses like Unix/Linux Networking, Windows 2000 Networking, Enterprise Network, Sun-Micro Systems and Oracle. They also include personal enhancement programs that give holistic training to their participants.

We dream of the day ( kahit hindi na kami) that the Catanduanes State Colleges-CICT will also try to put up these specialty laboratories and provide ICT students the passing chance for certification. How much more opportunities could be opened for us if we graduate armed with various certifications. We shall then be globally competitive in terms of employment. Nevertheless, we appreciate the efforts being provided now by the CICT Dean and Faculty because we know they have several proposals to this end. Meantime, through the Advanced Seminar subjects, accord us an opener on what we still need after college.

We are guided and shown the way!

We proceeded to HMR. This is where slightly used computers and peripherals are found at very low, low prices. Even all types of computer parts, electronic appliances and parts can be found. It is almost a “one-stop shop”.

We took a break and took lunch at the nearby Jollibee.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue

After lunch, we proceeded to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in Quezon City. We were escorted to their Main Conference Room. There, their Network Administrator, Mr. Danny Nuevo, conducted an orientation on E-Commerce applications currently deployed for their business processes, the IS organization and the enabling hardware and software used. The BIR made extensive use of technology convergence in their applications and infrastructure for data and network communications like VSAT from 128 kbps-E1 for the regional and provincial offices, telco leased lines from 64kbps-T3 for provinces having telephone lines and services. Their main systems environment is the SunMicro Systems Enterprise based on Unix.

Towards the end of the lecture, Mr. Nuevo delved on the development strategies adopted by the BIR and posed a question to the class, “Do you know where you are going?” The question summed up everything about his lecture. Strategic and Information Systems Planning must always be resorted to for accuracy and efficiency by charting the vision, mission, goals and objectives, and the corresponding IS of any organization. It sets the organizational direction.

On the personal level, the same question made us ponder our future in ICT. He emphasized that being certified as to knowledge and skill is one (1) option to be considered.

Mr. Nuevo then escorted us to their Network Operations Center (NOC). The Network Supervisor guided us on the tour of the center by identifying the different machines and their specific roles in their mission critical business processes that makes the BIR the biggest government revenue collector. The NOC operates on a 24x7 basis. Because of this, we were shown how extensive are their backup and redundant connections.

They are spending hundreds of millions yearly to maintain this service. Wow !

And, they are very much conscious about security. No photo ops were allowed inside the center.

As usual, we received wake-up call at 4:00 pm, January 27, 2004. Even though all felt tired and sleepy, excitements still show in the movement and faces of everybody. We took our breakfast at the usual restaurant, Chowking ( Ano ba ‘to, nakakasawa na!). Our schedules for the day were at the Advance Science and Technology Institute (ASTI), National Computer Center (NCC) and at Computer Solutions, Inc. (CSI).

While in route to ASTI at 7:30 am, we played games aboard the coaster in order to stimulate everything in us.

The Advance Science and Technology Institute (ASTI)

ASTI is located at UP Technology Park Complex, C.P. Garcia Avenue, UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City. Given a warm welcome, we were escorted to their seminar room in the ground floor for a mini-seminar/orientation on their programs/projects and the infrastructure they have.

The first speaker, Ma’am Sally oriented us about ASTI. It is under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) that spearheads in providing initiatives to bringing together stakeholders in the S&T development of the country in order to identify, discuss issues and gaps, and propose possible solutions to the issues confronting the S&T development in the Philippines.

The ASTI has a group called Open Source Group. It is one of the research groups of the ASTI Computer Software Division. The general objective of the group is to enable the general public to avail of the benefits of open source technologies. This is accomplished by introducing those new to the system to the most commonly used applications in typical office/school work environments. Open source advocacy is also fostered through training seminars, presentations and demonstrations. She also introduced to us their three projects, which are The Bayanihan Linux Project, the Philippine Research, Education, and Government Information Network (PREGINET) and the Digital Microwave Radio Project.

The Bayanihan Linux Project provides total Desktop Solution providing the following key features: it is based on Redhat 8.0, easy installation (3 click install), user friendly operation with KDE 3, support for Journaling file system, Integrated Office Suite and PIM application, multimedia support and support for Bluetooth Application Development. The Bayanihan Linux users will benefit on its reliability, security, interoperability, and it is virus resistant.

On the other hand, for the past four years, PREGINET paved the way for a nationwide broadband network that interconnects academic, research, and government institutions in the country. It had since become the national research and education network with links to international research networks such as the Asia Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) and the Asian Internet Interconnection Initiatives (AI3). PREGINET extends its reach to the far ends of the country, with exchange points in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, and with access points in almost all regions. Unfortunately, our province is not yet part of PREGINET ( Sir Jun provided information that the CSC and the Province had submitted its Letters of Intent to interconnect with the project and that most probably it will be realized before the end of 2004).

It has also the following services: 1.) Internet Access through a highly redundant proxy system. Other network features include multicast and native Ipv6 connectivity, as well as a 24x7 on-call network support. 2.) Video Conferencing that allows live video conversations, Internet chat, or applications sharing for presentations, lectures, meetings or for simple correspondence available to all its access points. 3.) Multimedia Streaming that provides live video streaming services for events, meetings, and lectures, as well as multimedia broadcast for archived video materials. PREGINET offers a multitude of other services including technical consultancy, online and live trainings, web hosting or service co-location, and site monitoring.

The Digital Microwave Radio Project is concerned with designing the future broadband wireless system of PREGINET. It is conducting research in the design and development of systems for broadband wireless networks. The project is looking into three areas of discipline such as Error Correction Coding, Digital Signal Processing and RF/Microwave Circuit Design.

Pangarap......continued

2005-08-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

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!