Equipment for P2-B Polo Club project starts arriving in Aklan

BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan- Equipment for the construction of the P2-billion Polo Club project in this Western Visayas province have started arriving in the province, says Aklan Governor Carlito Marquez.

The investment of the Alphaland Development Inc. which comprises of a 500-hectare property in Nabas, Aklan is expected not only to boost the tourism lure of Boracay, but also to expand the tourism investment zone in the province.

"The arrival of the equipment means the investors have already started to construct the project which also translates to economic and livelihood employment opportunities for the province," said Marquez.

Because of this development, the province is confident that it could be able to reach its 1.5 million tourist arrivals targeted for 2015.

The Polo and Country Club is an investment tourism hub where tourists can expect to see high breed of horses while enjoying the cowboy-like kind of environment. The planned investment in Boracay is a mixed use of resort complex and water recreational facilities.

"Aside from the Alphaland, expect more new investment opportunities coming to this resort island," said Marquez.

The Alphaland, aside for investing in Boracay, also has already its own investment hubs in Quezon province with its 37-story high-end office building in Ayala Avenue, Makati City.

Kiteboarding: Boracay prepares for Kiteboard Tour Asia

BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan- This resort island prepares for the holding of the Kiteboard Tour Asia (KTA) on March 16 to 20, 2011.

Organizers said that aside from this resort island, other venues for the Kiteboard tour will be on Hainan, China (November 25 to 29); Mui Ne, Vietnam (January 12 to 16); Pranburi, Thailand (February 16 to 20); Philippine tour will be in Boracay and Busan, Korea on April 15 to 19.

"The KTA is open to everyone from anywhere, amateur and pro-riders alike. It is the one and only officially Asian continental tour sanctioned by the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA), the kite surfing world governing body which in turn is the class representative to the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) sanctioning international sailing competitions from world championship to Olympic levels," the organizers said.

The organizers added that they had chosen Boracay to be one of most established kite locations in Asia because of its world reputation for top class wind and kiting conditions and as one of the Philippines' top holiday destinations.

The KTA competitions will be held at the Bulabog beach side of the island where all the kite schools and action takes place during the winter monsoon months.

The kiting here takes place inside a large reef protected bay that means for the most part flat or more or less flat water in al but the strongest of winds, which can be pretty strong during January, so expect chop on those days.

The organizers added that the 2011 event highlights the fully sanctioned continental tour. This means that riders will be awarded world ranking points for winning and being placed within each of the disciplines they compete in.

In turn, riders will then be able to view their overall world ranking position against all other riders in the world on the official International Kiteboarding Association website at any time during the season.

Under the IKA sanction, the KTA is able to run a number of different disciplines under their unified rule and rankings system.

For the 2010/11 tour, the KTA events will concentrate on two of these disciplines. The two KTA tour disciplines are Freestyle and Course racing.

This year, further to the two main IKA points ranking events, the KTA Asian Tour will also include, in the course racing section, a twin-tip sub-class to compliment the race board competitors keeping the entry level to racing open to everyone.

Old Skool will also be making an appearance this year with the KTA Big Air Old Skool continuous cup in association with SPLOCS.

Each tour stop has been designated as a four day event. The first day is allocated as a free ride warm-up day for riders to test out the location and to allow for registration and the competition format, rules and safety briefings to take place.

The following three days are full competition days which will be organized and ran in accordance with the weather conditions on any given day.

The final event, wind-up and prize giving, will then take place at the end of the event party on the final evening of the tour stop.

Private-public partnership boosts Aklan tourism

BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan- The private-public partnership introduced by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III is working well for the Aklan tourism industry says Engr. Roger Esto, the head of the Aklan Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO).

Esto said that in the offing right now is the offer of a subdivision magnate based in nearby Roxas City, Capiz to donate a 5,000 square meters lot in Lambingan beach in Kalibo for the use for the development of the tourism industry.

"Because of the offer of the Ong family in Roxas City, the Aklan provincial government has initially allocated for the development of the lot to be implemented next year," said Esto.

Once the plan pushes through the Lambingan Beach will be converted into a seaport. The seaport will then served as another entry point for tourists visiting this resort island.

"What we are planning to do is to possibly bring tourists from the nearby Kalibo International Airport to the Lambingan seaport and they will board a motorized boat which will then carry them to Boracay Island," said Esto.

The planned seaport travel is considered short cut for the tourists who are excited in getting to this resort island the soonest possible time.

Man jailed over bomb joke

BY BAM LUCES

BORACAY – A 50-year-old man was recently arrested by personnel of the Boracay Special Tourist Police Office (BSTPO) over a false bomb threat.

Junny Pahimuyan of Brgy. Igang, Pototan, Iloilo will be charged for violating Presidential Decree 1727, according to BSTPO Investigator PO2 Ariel Naral.

Pahimuyan was nabbed about 4:45 p.m. on November 2.

PO2 Pat Joenard Belermino and SN2 Hope Parreño, members of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Boracay on duty at the Passenger Assistance Center in Boracay Cagban Jetty Port, earlier noticed Pahimuyan and a porter carrying two boxes.

The PCG members were suspicious of the boxes which were wrapped by a packing tape.

Without passing the passengers’ area, Pahimuyan and the porter brought the boxes to the MBCA Roselyn boat bound for Caticlan Jetty Port, they said.

Belermino and the boat captain approached Pahimuyan and inquired about the contents of the box.

“Ano na, bomba? (Is that a bomb?)” asked the boat captain. Pahimuyan shouted, “Huo, bomba ini (Yes, it is).”

Pahimuyan’s response caused panic in the area, police said.

The PCG members held and ordered Pahimuyan to put the boxes down for verification.

Pahimuyan was acting arrogantly while the boxes were being opened, according to Belermino and Parreño.

They found nothing but kitchen utensils inside the boxes; there was no bomb.

Belermino and Parreño asked the BSTPO to arrest Pahimuyan.

Pahimuyan was subjected to an inquest the other day in Kalibo, Aklan.

But Pahimuyan, assisted by Atty. Flosemer Chris Gonzales of the Public Attorneys’ Office, executed a waiver of detention pending preliminary investigations.

Pahinuyan later admitted that he was drunk and did not think that his joke would cause a commotion, police said.

Pahimuyan, temporarily residing in Brgy. Yapak here, is currently detained in the lockup cell of the BSTPO./

Filipina joins Top 20 World's Coolest Intern Candidate

BORACAY Island-- A 21-year old Filipina made it as one of the 23 World's Coolest Intern candidate in the world of blogging.

Jonha Revesencio of Kalibo, Aklan was considered by the organizers on her blog entry "Defying Gravity" and is the sole representative of the Philippines in the world competition.

She asked Facebook, Twitter and Youtube fans to like her page so that she could be able to win the event.

The organizers said they received at least 1,900 applications and only 23 of them have been selected for the final competition.

The organizers should have only 20 chosen finalists but were extended to 23 because some of the finalists got tie scores.

JamiQ, the organizers' partner and one of Asia's most established online sentiment analysis and research consultants, has audited and consolidated the top 20 applicants based on their digital footprint from a quantitative perspective.

Revesencio graduated in STI-Kalibo and has been interested in blogging since then. She is now in Iloilo City working as a call center agent.

"We have been overwhelmed with the response from the applicants and the effort they and their supporters have put in which only makes the decision for the Standard Chartered Breeze team even tougher as we search for our latest addition.

So before we introduce our Top 23, we would like to tip our digital hats to all applicants for making the World's Coolest Intern even cooler.

It has been our privilege having you as an applicant and we look forward to staying in touch and the possibility of working with you. A big thanks from all of us and our partners in the Breeze team," the organizers said.

Among others, bloggers from Singapore, India, Australia, USA, Malaysia and Hong Kong are competing in the said event.

Funboard: New features on the 22nd International Funboard Cup

BORACAY ISLAND- Spectators could expect new features on the forthcoming 22nd Neil Pryde Boracay International Funboard Cup slated Jan. 24 to 29, 2011.

Nenette Graf, one of the organizers of the event, said that, originally, the event only consisted of timed slalom races. However, next year's event will feature speed trials, Kiteboarding freestyles, and kiting hangtime.

"The races are free for spectators to watch and are held in the international seaside community of Bulabog beach. The event brings competitors from all over the world to compete for friendship, victory and honor," said Graf.

The pristine white sand, blue smooth waters and hammering Amihan winds of Bulabog beach are said to make funboard competition an ideal venue for this resort island.

Neil Pryde is the title sponsor and has been involved in the creation and running of this event for the past 22 years. Unknown to many, the annual funboard cup has been considered as Asia's longest running international sporting event for windsurfing and kiteboarding.

The CNNgo.com have voted the funboard cup as one of the top 52 Weekend Events Destination in the World in 2010.

Boracay Community Market revived to cater to both locals and foreign tourists

BORACAY ISLAND,- The Boracay Community Market has been revived here once again by its organizers to showcase the organic products, souvenirs, home-baked bread and muffins, farm fresh vegetables and foods, local artists and paintings, as well as local indigenous crafts.

The organizers said that the community market is open to all Boracay residents who want to sell their stuff and is located at the Plazoleta area white beach.

The opening will be staged on November 6.

"As we near Christmas, the market provides an opportunity for the tourists to meet more local offering regionally produced," the organizers said.

The organizers only charge P100 per table on each interested local vendor.

Held every Saturday, the community market has been materialized by the locals as a venue for discussions on gossip about the lifestyles around this resort island, current events while showcasing the local ingenuity of the locals.

The organizers also hope that the local culture of the Boracay residents could be showcased through the said community market.