Bariles was surprised to find out last week, when passing through Beatiles Street beside the OLPGV Parish Center in downtown GenSan, to see saw many young men with crew cuts walking out of the gates of the former campus of the Notre Dame of Dadiangas for Girls (NDDFG), renamed the Notre Dame of General Santos City (NDGSC) a few years back by its Dominican administrators.

Upon closer look, he saw a small tarpauline banner which bore a new name for what used to be the headquarters of the first exclusive-all-girls school in the Tuna Capital.  In bold black letters, it read – Welcome.  MINDANAO POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE ANNEX.

Please note the the main campus of the Mindanao Polytechnic College (MPC) is located at the junction of the National Highway and the Makar-Koronadal Road, about 7 kilometers from downtown General Santos.  It is the city’s premier school for nautical and marine engineering courses, and lately, of HRM courses (maritime-based).

Mindanao Polytechnic College Annex at the old Notre Dame of Gen. Santos Campus

Always the inquisitive one, Bariles went inside and observed some male students lounging around the campus and took some more shots of the wide quadrangle with the St. Dominic’s Hall in the background.

Old NDDFG/NDGSC Campus as it looks now

Obviously, classes have not started yet since the students inside were still finding their way around the campus.  Later, Bariles  found out from reading some memo at the bulletin board near the former admin building that the campus will be used mainly by their HRM Deparment.

Meanwhile, while near the gate, Bariles took shot of this old grotto of the Virgin obviously needed some major clean-up.

The old NDDFG/NDGSC Grotto

It was a shock at first for Bariles, having known this place as the old hallowed grounds of the female counterparts of the boys of the Notre Dame of Dadiangas College – High School Department (now the NDDUniversity) from where he graduated.

Later on, he realized that it would be beneficial for the Diocese of Marbel which owns the property since they can put to good use the rent from Mindanao Polytechnic College.

At the same time, the valuable buildings and all the facilities here (all put up by the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Sienna) may still be utilized by the young generation in their pursuit for good, affordable education (to be provided in this case, by the Mindanao Polytechnic College). This is better than the eventuality of these structures falling into ruin due to neglect and non-use.

For readers who are Dameans, how do you feel about this?

Two weeks after Parokya ni Edgar‘s jampacked performance at the KCC Mall of GenSan Rooftop, courtesy of Touch Mobile, it is the turn of another Manila-based band to rock the Tuna Capital once again this weekend.

Exactly on the 4th of July, Saturday,the group which popularized such songs as Princesa, I, Aaminin, Upside Down and many more will be in General Santos City in a show billed as Tanduay on the Rock with 6Cyclemind, Tanduay being the official sponsor.

Tanduay Concert in GenSan

The concert which is co-presented by Manila Broadcasting Company (Love Radio or K101 FM) and  KCC Malls is FREE and will start at 7:00pm at the Rooftop of KCC, which is turning out to be the choice venue of concert producers lately.

By the way, local band Centerpoint which just released their own CD will be frontacting for 6Cyclemind. Watch out for a future post on them here.

The Centerpoint Band of GenSan

And since the concert producer is a liquor company, the show would not be complete without the presence of sexy performers to excite the male concert-goers.  Commissioned to heat up the men are Viva Hotbabes  Hazel Cabrera and Zarah Lopez.  If you don’t know who they are, then here are their pics below.

Viva Hotbabe Hazel Cabrera

Viva Hotbabe Zarah Lopez

Now, if these aren’t enough reasons for you to watch Tanduay on the Rock with 6Cyclemind this Saturday, then let me just leave you with the music video of their hit song and my personal favorite, “UPSIDE DOWN”.  This video received more than 1,200,000 hits at YouTube, an indication of its international appeal.

Thanks to Love Radio’s Kabayan Joe and DJ Iya for the tip.  If you have other upcoming events, please write to us.

As Bariles’ homage to the man who was intrumental for his love of music, and surely for the rest of theworld, too, he has embedded a music video of Michael Jackson’s “Ben”, from the 1971 movie of the same title at this blog’s main page.  “Ben” was one of the first songs Bariles learned by heart and Michael, the first foreign artist he has idolized.

Michael Jackson (with Slash here) was given a Dance Tribute by Cebu Inmates (AP Photo/Tsugufumi Matsumoto}

Ever since Bariles learned of the death of the King of Pop, early Friday morning from plurks of his friends, he couldn’t help but be devastated over the sad news, especially when tuning in to CNN’s updates.  Hoping that Michael was just in a coma, he held on, praying that he could still recover, get up and moonwalk his way out of his hospital in Los Angeles.

Alas, that did not happen, and Michael Jackson, the legend who changed the face of music is really gone.  He was 50.

For this post, we have to digress from the usual stuff knowing that you, dear subscribers would understand as we share with you with a touching YouTube video of the Cebu Inmates (from Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center) performing their Michael Jackson Dance Tribute with songs like Ben, I’ll Be There, and We Are the World.

Mr. Byron Garcia, Cebu Provincial government’s consultant on jail matters recorded this Michael Jackson dance tribute yesterday afternoon, June 27, 2009 while more than 2,000 spectators were on hand to witness the performance of these 1,500  Cebu inmates. Please note that the original video of their dance performance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” has been downloaded millions of times already ever since it was uploaded a few years back.

As of this writing, almost 300,000 have already downloaded this new Cebu Inmates Dance Tribute to Michael Jackson video at YouTube.

For us here at GenSan News Online Mag, we could only say, “Thank you for the music, Michael… and,

Rest in peace, Gloved One, rest in peace.

The Cebu Inmates Michael Jackson Dance Tribute which made Bariles cry

Together with the ongoing 4th Mindanao Franchise Expo at the Gaisano Mall of GenSan atrium, another exhibit is on display at the same venue, as part of the Yaman GenSan celebration.  This the the Yaman GenSan Car and Motor Mania Take 2.

YG Car and Motor Mania Poster

Just like its title suggests, it features the latest car models on display from participating automakers Cherry, Hyundai, Kia and Foton.  And if you want to acquire one on the spot, there is an Asialink Finance booth to help process your car loan applications.

Aside from them is a booth from Phoenix, one of the country’s newer players in the gasoline industry, purposely for entrepreneurs on the lookout for a gasoline station franchise for possible ventures.

The Yaman GenSan Car and Motor Mania Take 2 will run until June 28, 2009.  Catch it while you can.

If you happen to travel along the National Highway these days and pass by the two-wing CED Buildings beside the NCCC Compound that hosts the Six Blings Ostrich Restaurant Complex, you will notice that the right wing has already been totally demolished.

This then gives you a good view of something that’s been brewing behind the torned-down building, and here is what it looks like…..

Ced Uptown Square - Phase One

This 20-unit two-story building which stands perpendicular to the demolished structure nearer the highway is the first phase of the P60 million project by the Ced Family, which Bariles has christened THE CED UPTOWN SQUARE for lack of a better term.

This building will house the former occupants of the older structure including Tropical Motorama, plus some more. It is scheduled to be opened to the public in less than two weeks.

Across it will be a similar 20-unit structure which will be for the occupants of the 2nd Ced Building facing the highway, comprising Phase 2 of the project. Right now, it is still undergoing construction.

Phase 2 of Ced Uptown Square

The 3rd and final phase of the CED buildings will be built at the farthermost end of the compound and will stand perpendicular to the first two. According to family spokesperson Jan Ced, who is also the current President of the GSC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, this will be open for food and entertainment establishments, thus making it a one-stop commercial haven for the generals.

Galing ng Generals!  Galing ng GenSan!

Update: July 16, 2009

Rain Cindy, Bariles, Leonard, Lainy, Vilma with Concert Producer and Contest Sponsor Michael Wee (back) and Concert Marketing Head Marc (extreme right)

Congratulations to all the winners and all the bloggers who participated in the contest!  The awarding was done at Coffee Club 101 yesterday afternoon and luckily, despite the heavy rains, four of the winners made it to claim their prizes. (See pix above.)

Mr. Michael Wee, Gensan’s non-paralleil restaurateur and Concert Producer and this blog’s SEO Contest Sponsor were with his staff Marc and Neljo to award the prizes.  Mr. Sonny Sambrio of ABS-CBN Socsargen and his crew were also there to cover the event.

Here is how GenSan News Online Mag came up with the winners.

Please note that Bariles extended the deadline of the contest from the 14th to the 15th because of his TOXIC schedule on the 14th.  This did not however change the rankings of the top placers.  If this however caused discomfort on the part of some quarters, Bariles extends his sincere apologies.

The other entries are winners too and did not go home empty-handed for they each received two General Admission Tickets to the concert.  They are DJ Tammy, Jinky Borela, Sheng Dumalay, Vilma and Gay Carillo.

And yes!  As an extra treat, all of these  bloggers will also have a chance to meet the members of Side A Band personally at the Grab-A-Crab Restaurant before noon tomorrow for some photo ops.  Thanks to Mr. Michael Wee for all these freebies!  Mabuhay kayo Sir.

Magandang GenSan at maraming salamat sa lahat!  I love you all!  World Peace!!!  – July 16, 2009

It’s great to be back!

As the fishman has promised before his week-long break to transfer to a new Web Host and Domain Name Server; and, to all who have written asking for this, Bariles is proud to announce a contest among bloggers for the upcoming and much-anticipated “Side A” Concert in General Santos City in July at the midst of the Yaman GenSan month.

Ladies and gents, presenting to you GenSan News Online Mag’s “Side A All Hits Live in GenSan” SEO Contest for Bloggers!

Side A All Hits Live in GenSan Poster

Here are the mechanics of the “Side A All Hits Live in GenSan” SEO Contest for Bloggers

1. The contest will run from June 25, 2009 until July 15, 2009.
2. It is open to all subscribers of GenSan News Online Mag who have functioning BLOGS.
3. A blogger participant is limited to one blog post entry.
4. The blog post must talk about Yaman GenSan 2009 and the Side A Band Concert, which is an official activity.
5. The objective of the contest is to top the Google Search Engine Results Pages on the keywords “YAMAN GENSAN 2009” at exactly 12:01AM, Philippine Time, July 15, 2009.  The TOP 5 blog posts on Google SERPS will be declared as the winners.
6. To qualify for the contest you should have the following TEXT LINKS on your entry post:
   1. YAMAN GENSAN – http://www.gensantos.com/2009/06/02/7th-yaman-gensan-2009-promises-to-be-the-biggest-in-its-history/
   2. YAMAN AWARDS – http://www.gensantos.com/2009/06/09/5th-annual-yaman-awards-2009-slated-on-18-july/
   3. SIDE A ALL HITS LIVE IN GENSAN – http://www.gensantos.com/2009/06/01/side-a-band-to-rock-gensan-city-at-yaman-gensan/
   4. GRAB A CRAB RESTAURANT and COFFEE CLUB 101 – http://www.gensantos.com/2009/04/15/gensans-twinbill-diners-grab-a-crab-and-coffee-club-101/
7. Contest updates will be published here at GenSan News Online Mag on July 3, 2009 and July 10, 2009.
8. SEO Contest participants must leave a comment below specifying the URL of their blog post entries.

PRIZES:

• The authors of  Top 5 Ranking Blog Posts on Google SERPs will each receive the following prizes:
  • 2 Gold Tickets worth P1,000 each from Dreamwork Ventures, owned by Mr. Michael Wee.
  • One P1,000 Gift Certificate each from Grab A Crab and Coffee Club 101.

• The first among the Top 5 will receive a Bonus Prize of a free Overnight Stay at the all-new Tierra Montana Hotel.  This comes with a Complimentary Breakfast.

Now, how’s that for a COMEBACK POST from Bariles?  Now go blog about it and make the Fishman proud.

Good luck! 

Good news for Parokya ni Edgar fans from all over Soccsksargen!

Touch Mobile or TM will be featuring them in a concert tomorrow, Saturday, June 20, 2009 at the KCC Mall of GenSan Rooftop.  This concert of the Pambansang Banda ng Pilipinas is part of their nationwide promo tour billed as ASTIGFEST and GenSan is lucky to be included in the series.

Parokya ni Edgar is one of the country’s enduring bands which started during the Pinoy Rock Renaissance of the ’90s.  Headed by former Ateneo de Manila student, lead vocalist Chito Miranda,  the band has already produced 10 albums and another one is on the pipeline for release this year.

Other members of Parokya ni Edgar are Buhawi “Buwi” Meneses, Darius Gerard “Dariuken” Semaña, Gabriel Ignatius “Gab” Chee Kee, Ferdinand “Din Din” Moreno, and Francis Vincent “Vinci” Montaner.

This is actually their 3rd visit to General Santos City and just like their initial performances here, for sure, their concert at the KCC Mall of GenSan rooftop will be mobbed by their thousands of loyal fans (including Bariles).

To get a ticket to this Parokya ni Edgar Concert, here is what you have to do:

Mechanics:

For New TM Subscribers:

• Buy SIM at P30 and get FREE Astigtxt 15 plus 6 Raffle Coupons.

For Existing TM Subscribers:

• Buy P20 load and register to Astigtawag 20 and get the following:
  • Free P10 load
  • Four (4) Raffle Coupons
  • One (1) Concert Ticket
• Buy P15 load and register to Astigtawag 15 and get the following:
  • Free P5 load
  • Three (3) Raffle Coupons
  • One (1) Concert Ticket

Coupons will also serve as entry passes to the games which are to be played during the concert.  Freebies and lots of prizes and surprises await lucky concert-goers.

Meanwhile, here is a video of their spoof of Village People ‘s Macho Man, entitled what else but “Macho”.  This is their first single off their last album “SOLID”.  Enjoy!

Bariles received an email from Mariles Puentebella, the Station Manager of GMA TV-Davao. The email contained the GenSan Jobs available for their soon-to-be-launched TV station affiliate in General Santos City sometime this year, which will go by the name, GMA-8 Socsargen.

Earlier, we featured their first round of GenSan Job Openings in this blog which you may check out by CLICKING HERE.

Upon Mariles’ request, GenSan News Online Mag is publishing the job vacancies for GMA-8 GenSan:

SALES & MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE

Qualifications:

• Male or Female;
• Between 22 to 33 years old;
• Graduate of 4-year business or management course;
• With or without sales experience.

SEGMENT PRODUCER/WRITER

Qualifications:

• Male or Female
• Between 22 to 28 years old
• Graduate of 4-year communications course;
• Proficient in oral and written English, Tagalog, or Bisaya;
• With or without experience.

MESSENGER/COLLECTOR

Qualifications:

• Male;
• Between 24 to 30 years old;
• With college level education;
• Own motorcycle a plus;
• Must have police and NBI clearance.

CAMERAMAN (Project-Based)

Qualifications:

• Male;
• Between 24 to 30 years old;
• At least 5 feet 5 inches tall;
• Graduate of 4-year course;
• Must know how to drive, with professional driver’s license;
• Must have basic camera work experience;
• Basic editing skills a plus.

EDITOR/GRAPHICS ARTIST (Project-Based)

Qualifications:

• Male or female;
• Must have experience in video editing;
• Video sample of previous works preferable.
• Own basic editing equipment a plus.

Send your GenSan job application letter, resume, with most recent photo to:

You may also send it through gma8gensan@yahoo.com. Indicate the Gensan job/position applied for on the subject field.

Deadline for submission of application is 28 June 2009.

Alliance Tuna International, Incorporated, one of the Philippines’ largest canned tuna exporters which is located in General Santos City is set to open a new processing plant in its Barangay Tambler HQ costing around P60million!

This publicly-listed company which processed a total of 30 thousand tons of tuna in 2006 exports their products to over 40 countries.  Their current facilities churn out a daily output of 120 metric tons.  While based in GenSan, Alliance Tuna  has marketing offices in Manila and Thailand and thus has been able to widen its reach internationally.

According to its President and CEO, Mr. Jonathan Dee, the new plant which opens by the second half of 2009, will be processing salmon instead of tuna. This is the product of a joint venture with New Zealand’s Prime Foods Limited, a company much into processing, canning and exporting smoked salmon and other seafoods. It is New Zealand’s third largest supplier of smoked seafood, enjoying about 35% of the market there.

The new plant has a capacity of producing two tons of packed salmon a day. These will be exported to Australia, Asia and Europe.

For the 1st quarter of 2009, Alliance Tuna earned a net income of $19million, which is 34% more than last year.  Thus, with its new project in General Santos City, not only are their profits expected to soar even higher but will also mean more direct and indirect employment for the “generals”.

In her Independence Day speech at Koronadal City last Friday, June 12, 2009, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo bared her administration’s moves to modernize and improve the General Santos International Airport to the tune of P121 million.

Citing the need to push South Central Mindanao’s tourism destinations, the president remarked that part of her plans to improve on the economy of the country is to invest more on infrastructure, and this is where GenSan International Airport‘s rehab comes in.

She further explained that the Department of Transportation and Communications has budgeted P40 million, including the P10 million last year for the rehab of the terminal building facilities of the GenSan International Airport and the construction of its perimeter fence.

For 2010, DOTC officials added P81 million for the provision and rehabilitation of air navigation and air traffic control facilities, improvement of the control tower and fire station buildings, and the construction of an administrative building for the airport which has been classified as a Secondary International Airport.

The GenSan International Airport which was constructed mostly from US Aid Funds amounting to$50 million formally opened on July 6, 1996, making it officially 13 years old next month.

For years, it has been rumored to be used by the United States military to increase their presence in the ASEAN region since it boasts of the 3rd longest runway and the biggest land area in the Philippines today.