LG Electronics Philippines officially inaugurated its new office at the 15th and 16th floors of One Paseo building last April 22, 2025 in Arcovia City, Pasig
Today, I experienced something truly special—something that felt less like a tourist stop and more like being lovingly welcomed into the soul of a community. I found myself in Morong, Rizal, attending the 25th Pabasang Bayan, a profound celebration of faith, tradition, and artistry held at the Ynares Gymnasium in Brgy. San Juan.
I arrived not fully knowing what to expect. But from the moment I stepped into the venue, I was captivated by the sight of life-sized images depicting various biblical scenes displayed throughout the gymnasium. Each image is lovingly cared for by local camareros, families who treat these saintly figures not just as religious icons, but as treasured heirlooms passed down through generations.
The event is presented by the St. Jerome Parish and organized by the local group Recamadero, who clearly poured heart and soul into every detail—especially the scenes depicting the Passion of Christ.
As a traveler, I often seek experiences that are “off the beaten path,” and today, I found a true gem. Not just because of its spiritual and cultural richness, but because of the way it reminded me of the power of community, heritage, and shared belief.
If you ever find yourself in the Philippines during Holy Week or the Easter season, make time for Morong, Rizal. Witness the Pabasang Bayan—not just with your eyes, but with your heart. The exhibit runs until tomorrow, April 13, and many of these sacred images will also join the Holy Week processions, especially on Good Friday.
Tips for Fellow Travelers:
Respect the solemnity of the event – Dress modestly and keep conversations soft; this is a deeply spiritual occasion for many.
Engage with the locals – They're incredibly warm and always eager to share the stories and meaning behind the traditions.
Follow their official page – Check out Recamadero.MorongRizal on Facebook for updates, event details, and a deeper dive into its history.
Until next time, Morong. Salamat sa isang makabuluhang karanasan. 💛
Today is Holy Monday and a blessed day to visit the Bl. Ivan Merz Reliquarium Home of Sacred Relics in Marikina City. A small home turned into a mini-museum of sacred relics from all over the world.
You will be required to take off your foot wear when entering the Reliquarium to maintain the cleanliness and sanctity of the place. Take a glimpse of the relics or say a little prayer of your special intentions.
There are more than 1,000 relics found inside the Reliquarium, the third most in the Philippines. And the relics are coming from the bodies, vestments, place of birth, missions and my favorite section, from the Holy Land. It also includes relics from the apostles, and early Christians recognized for their holiness.
Relics are arranged according to the date of saints' feast days from January 1 to December 31. I learned that St. Rita of Cascia's feast day is also my birthday.
Relics of St. Rita of Cascia - Feast Day - May 22
You can also recognize some relics coming from famous saints like these from St. Pio de Pietrelcina, St. John Paul II, St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Valentine, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and St. Faustina Kowalska.
Relics of St. Pio de Pietrelcina and St. John Paul II
Relics of St. Therese of the Child Jesus
But the center of the Reliquarium is the relics from the cross of the Crucifixion and there are secondary relics on the nails and thorns used in the passion of Christ.
Relic of the Holy Cross
Bl. Ivan Merz
Bl. Ivan Merz is of Bosnian descent, born December 16, 1896. He fought during World War 1 and decided to be a layman. He took the perpetual vow of chastity and devoted his free time to the Church. A young missionary and taught about Christianity to young Croatians until he died on May 10, 1928 (feast day).
He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 22 2003 and declared him as Apostle of the Youth. He was then recognized by Pope Benedict XVI for his holiness by mentioning his name in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation: "Sacramentum Caritatis."
Bl. Ivan Merz is the perfect patron saint for young people, youth ministers, military personnel, philosophers, philologists, students, educators, liturgists, theologians, devotees of the Holy Eucharist, and lay faithful engaged in Christian apostolate.
He is also a powerful and compassionate intercessor when it comes to academic or professional examinations, dental and lung illnesses, couples who seek for a child and HIV/AIDS victims.
Bl. Ivan Merz Center and Reliquarium is open every Tuesday to Sunday, 10am - 7pm. There is also no entrance fee. They've open it for Holy Week 2018 that's why we are lucky to visit it today. Here is the schedule for this week:
Holy Tuesday - Pabasa, 7am onwards Maundy Thursday - 7am - 11pm Good Friday and Black Saturday - 7am to 7pm Easter Sunday (April 1 and 2) - CLOSED
* Office and Reliquarium resumes operation on Tuesday, April 3.
A visitor gets a certificate, a scapular and a stampita with the prayer to Bl. Ivan Merz. You can leave a letter where your prayer intentions will be included in every day masses for the whole year.
Visit the Bl. Ivan Merz Center and Reliquarium at SE Narra cor Champagnat St, Marikina Heights, Marikina City. Near St. Scholastica's Academy and C&B Mall.
For more information about the Reliquarium, prayer requests, religious items and souvenirs, you can contact them via:
Phone: +63 2 6212230, +63 956-1253804
Emal: vp.ivanmerz@gmail.com
Facebook Page: ivanmerzcenter
Last Holy Week, I and a set of bloggers took ourselves unknowing of a very long travel to Cagayan Province. We were supposed to participate in the Ropali-Shell Partakan Festival -- "Partakan" meaning speed in the Ilocano dialect. Almost like an Amazing Race for motorcyclists to the endpoint in Sta. Ana municipality in Cagayan.
It was an estimated 13 hours from Manila but we arrived after 21 painful hours to our accommodation in Cagayan. Passing through different provinces north of Manila. Any wrong turn will take you to another province - might be a good thing as I was longing to go to Baguio which is just at the Western side of Nueva Vizcaya. We all felt that our butts nearly deflated in the long travel. It could have been easier and comfortable if plane tickets were booked for us. Below was an honest story and expect a few rants.
Good thing we managed ourselves along the way with road chats a enjoyed the view of the mountains and valleys of Bulacan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela and finally Cagayan. Let me share with you a few stops that you will pass by on the road to the North part of the Philippines.
You can drop by at Malolos, Bulacan where a religious and historical landmark called Barasoain Church sits. We didn't make it here because there were no instructions from the organizer that we have to check in different spots along the way.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel of Barasoain Church, Malolos, Bulacan (c) Pamana.ph
A long 1.5 hours (almost from home to Makati on a regular basis) via MacArthur Highway, we arrived at Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija for the next Ropali Stop. There we learned about the real itinerary from start to finish. Apparently, many of the Ropali and Shell stops didn't comply for the requirements of the Partakan Festival promo. And since we were media outfits who were just invited to cover, we think that we should also do the challenges in the nearby stops. Instead, we just went on and had breakfast on the first okay stop along the way until we found Five Mamas.
It's a battery-saving tour when I didn't open my mobile data along the way. Vivo Y55 is efficient for that not to mention that it takes the photos that I want, how the way I like it. The Professiona Camera feature works best for my still-life photos.
The zigzag and elevating road in Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya gave ear pops which I barely noticed because I was light sleeping along the way. We had a few stops for stretching, lunch and number 1 (for Php5) and number 2 (for Php10). And before we enter Isabela province, we stopped at Lower Magat Eco Tourism Park as it is also included in the tour. It's the spot for a new photoshoot while we are looking for tupig.
I almost forgot that many establishments are closed since Thursday because it was Holy Week and normal operations resume Easter Sunday so we found it hard to locate dining areas.
We continued the drive, thanks to our very reliable driver, Lito, who remained as cheerfully and patient with us when we are getting grumpy due to the long travel time. Imagine nobody was able to freshen up or had taken a bath that time. We're still on the road at sundown and we're again driving where our headlights is just the source of light. Looking out the window and up is seeing the Milky Way on the ceiling. And your imagination will just invite some stories that you might not want to hear but tolerating it just to keep you awake and support those who have been awake for a while. It's been a past time activity until 10:30pm.
Around 5 arches or so and around 637 km traveled, we arrived at Sta Ana, Cagayan. We're about to meet the Partakan Festival people, but was also a hard time to know where they are. The GPS isn't much of a help but mobile signal is good. Finally we can stretch our bodies which are excruciating with pain. We had our dinner at Nassim Hotel & Restaurant where it also took hours before they served us food. I was told that they do it first come, first serve. So when there are a few people ahead of us, they will partake of it first. They just prepared the meals when we arrived when the order was made 3 hours in advance. The main person who invited us wasn't even too accommodating and she's been enjoying Cagayan more than a day already.
I understand that somehow they want to promote tourism in the area. The place is peaceful, no question, and you'll love the view of the mountains and sea. But in cases that Holy Week is a travel escape for many of us, the hotels in Cagayan (there's a few of them) should have anticipated the number of people coming in so that they have stocks to serve. Displaying good hospitality for tourists is a good business for countries like the Philippines.
i passed by the Morning Show on 94.7 Mellow and they got a very interesting topic on food. i didn't get to catch the whole talk show but i think i got some essential info about the food the we take. it has something to do of living well, stress-free and better immune system. and since today is the start of the Lenten season, fasting should be observed for us Catholics.
of course, on top of it are fruits and vegetables. we all sort of know of the "fibres" sweeping away food toxins and cleanses our body. the intake of these also slows down ageing and keeps the skin moisturized and young.
how much meat do we need to eat? according to their guest, and some of you might already know, too much red meat may increase hypertension and might help you to get heart attack earlier in your life. this includes beef. a person should only take a matchbox-size of red meat everyday in his meal. next on the meat list is pork and lastly is chicken. as many of us didn't know, we shouldn't be eating the neck and wing parts for those are the parts where animal antibiotics are injected. so everytime you eat either the neck of the wings of a chicken, you're taking in animal antibiotics.
speaking of antibiotics, it was very ironic that there is a huge number of antibiotics in the market but all of them cannot cure one thing: the common cough and cold. the only cure for it was our own defense mechanism, the immune system. so we better make our immune system strong by active hydrogen water or AH water. i never tried it because it was very new to me.
they also got this question and i hope you can answer too. i've encountered this i think in highschool and i didn't get it either:
"What is better than God, worse than the devil, and if you eat it, you'll die?"
a very tricky question isn't it? no spoilers out there. hehehe...
Posts
