Palawan Resto: Ka Lui's restaurant

In visiting Puerto Princesa, there is one restaurant that has become so popular that if you do not pay a visit to this restaurant then your Palawan Experience is not complete. This restaurant is located at the heart of the city and has become an attraction that everytime someone goes to Puerto Princesa, it is a must that they pass by Ka Lui's restaurant.

The restaurant has not changed a bit since I last dined here six years ago. The only difference is that you need to get a reservation before coming in! I said WHAT?!? That means the restaurant has attracted more and more people that you need to reserve a table either at 6:30 pm or 8:30 pm. Good thing we got a reservation. Not that the restaurant is small, its just that it has so many customers.

The place has improved tremendously and the ambiance is an atmosphere that captivates your soul when you eat. For those of you who plan to eat there, go there in slippers since one's shoes are asked to be taken off when you enter the dining area. The bamboo flooring is nice though and even if you don't have your shoes on there won't be any problem eating because you will be using your hands and not your feet.

The price is quite the same when you eat in manila. If you are in this province , the price is quite expensive if compared to the other places. But what the heck, the food is great and I myself forgot to take pictures since I was so hungry I emptied the bowls first before realizing that there was something I forgot to do and that is to take souvenir photos. Hopefully when I return next year there are more pictures of the food and not us.

15th NYC in Puerto Princesa

The last time I was in Puerto Princesa for a convention was in 2004 and that was a convention for High School students then. This time, its the STI National Youth Convention for STI students that has visited the island of Palawan. It was a nice reunion since the last time I was in Palawan was the summer of 2008 and I must admit it is a place worth going back to. This was the first time the STI Convention was held in Palawan and all the STI Students were excited. Some High School students were also invited to witness this event. Here are some highlights.

GLOBE's ROMY DE VILLA

He started the roadshow in Baguio

and closed it in Puerto

PIDO AGUILAR was the only speaker

to be in ALL NYC Sites

RICKY BUNAG,

like Romy was in Baguio

and ended the event in Puerto

The STI Students were all happy

as they join hands to show their support

15th NYC in Naga City

The STI Naga Dancers

Yours truly dancing

with a swollen ankle

Princess Cruz on

the Innovate Topic

Pido Aguilar as usual with the

Influence Topic

Ricky Bunag tackles the

Interact topic

Guest star Neil Coleta

15th NYC in Cagayan de Oro

The crowd might have lessened but the enthusiasm of the STIers from Northern Mindanao were just the same as the ones from Southern Mindanao. Going to Cagayan de Oro for me always gives me a relaxed atmosphere specially because the host school is a veteran group of STIers who are very hospitable and helpful. To make a long story short, they make sure that your queries, concerns are addressed.

One fun thing was when STI College Cagayan de Oro's School Administrator Colbert Rabaya welcomed the seven STI schools participating in the convention. He mentioned the nicknames of the cities where they come from. From the City of Promise, STI Ozamiz. From the Forrest City STI Malaybalay, from the Mountain City STI Pagadian, from the City of Golden Harvest,STI Valencia, from the city of Orchids STI Dipolog, from the city of water falls STI Iligan and from the City of Golden Friendship STI College Cagayan de Oro. This welcome perked up the crowd. As usual additional remarks came from yours truly.

Today's NYC is a homecoming for Romy de Villa who last took the stage in Kalibo. Before the convention we talked about possible plans of Globe and how they can partner with STI and the programs that we can do with that. The talk actually got me excited and am happy to partner with Globe. He went on with his usual talk that was also widely received by the students of STI.

Veteran Speakers Pido Aguilar and Ricky Bunag as usual wowed the crowd again with their usual witty remarks and antics. Pido's actions after each influential element was a hit and his song was widely received by the STI students. On the other hand, Ricky's antics on every tip he gave was greatly received and almost everyone was laughing.

This time around we had a new celebrity who joined our team - Eduard Duallo. Eduard is a commercial model and is one of the group members of the SOP Boys that regularly perform in the weekly show SOP from the Kapuso network. Just like that the female students immediately trooped to the foot of the stage to get a closer glimpse on this 21 year handsome artist. Too bad when he was near me he looked ordinary. After the show, a welcome dinner once again at our favorite restaurant - Panagatan.

15th NYC in Koronadal CIty

February 2005 was the last time I came to the city of Marbel which has reverted to its original name - Koronadal. For One I was quite excited on this trip not because I was going to meet up with the Ilocano team from STI College Koronadal and Tacurong but also a new speaker has joined the team. Enter Pastor Adrian Ding who took the 5am Cebu to Manila flight so that he can join the team for the 7am Manila to Gensan trip.

When we landed there was a smirk in my face that was hard to take off since its back to the place where my heart suffered a severe set back many years back. Am glad that I have overcome such debacle and is now ready to face the challenge of being back here. Luckily, after meeting the gorgeous students of STI College Koronadal i forgot everything and was happy to meet new friends.

The team this time was composed of Greg Igaya of Globe Telecom, Pido Aguilar of Abundance and as I mentioned before Adrian Ding who was last seen in the NYC during the 13th version of our convention where he subbed for a sick Dennis Evangelista. I was lucky his schedule permitted him to join us. Adrian is a veteran speaker whose different style and approach in giving talks gives another good angle to the NYC. Adrian speaks through God with sincerity and his command of the visayan dialect is a big plus in relating to students who speak the same language.

Neil Coleta, our resident guest artist had the time of his life when he was warmly received by the STI students from General Santos, Tacurong, COtabato and host Koronadal. His charm caught the eye or the many colegialas as their screams and requests for pictures were overwhelming. Like what we always joke about, Neil owned Koronadal. Well, lets just see the what's in store for the other sites.

15th NYC in Davao

STI students participate

If someone were to ask me what place do I always look forward to when we have a student's convention, the answer will always be Davao. The warm reception and ready smile of the people of Davao is very infectuous. At the same time the most appreciative crowd comes from the schools that join the NYC in Davao.

STIers from atop listen to the speakers

Coming from a nerve wrecking convention in Koronadal, our team got to Davao at 12 midnight and did not waste time to rest. As for me, I had to open some emails and answer some since I have been out of the information highway and was in a different highway the whole day. It took us four hours to get to Davao since the roads were quite dark and the drivers wanted to drive cautiously. I got to sleep at around 2am in the morning and woke up at 6 am. Tough Luck.

Princess Cruz of Globe Telecom sharing the latest trends

My team started to set up the stage and other technical stuff by 8:00 am in the morning and I followed suit at around 11am. Unfortunately i was greeted by some bad news as the Host school changed my entrance dance number. Taking nothing away from the wonderful Hello World dance group, their dance number was good but their suggested entrance dance number is not the entrance dance number suitable for the NYC. Eventually the original dancers came to the venue to finish the dance number I sent and my entrance dance number was a hit again.

Pido teaching the Bayani Song

Our three speakers, Princess Cruz of Globe Telecom, Adrian Ding and Pido Aguilar were again received warmly and every joke, however corny it was, made the delegates laugh hard. Students from STI San Francisco, STI Tagum, STI Digos, STI Kidapawan and STI College Davao formed the 1500 strong STI delegation that trooped to the CAP Auditorium here in davao city.

Adrian shared a lot to the STIers

Luckily they went home with lots of learnings and hopefully act on what they have learned. There was certain angle in Adrian's talk that made a lot of students want to start enacting the 8 tips to be hirable. As I have mentioned, that talk is primarily for the students who still have time to hone all the skills needed to be hired. Hopefully the students of STI here who are studying in the schools I mentioned will put into their hearts what they have learned and hopefully will be gainfully employed when they graduate. My hats off to my NYC team who did a good job in making this Davao sojourn another one for the books.

15th NYC Video

My Entrance Dance number

for the 15th NYC

at the SMX Convention Center

STI 15th NYC in Metro Manila

They came in droves. 18,000 STIers braved the Metro Manila traffic as the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City became the Mecca of STI faithfuls who witnessed the STI 15th National Youth Convention. Forty STI Colleges from Metro Manila and nearby environs were at hand to witness this spectacular roadshow presentation that featured a bounty of things to learn.

As mentioned over and over again, this is STI's claim to fame, STI is the only school that conducts a nationwide convention for its students. This convention is also a testimony of how STI has grown in the past years. The influx of students that flocked the SMX Convention Center is simply something that no other school in the Philippines can match. So lets just brand these two days STI DAYS!

The Convention included a powerhouse cast of veteran speakers and guests. First to present were members of the Globe Labs team from the Telecommunications industry Globe. Greg Igaya and Sherwin Sowy took turns to give their side on how Globe Labs , an innovation driven group, can shape their future. At the same time, their various takes on innovation showed that Globe Telecom is really in a look out for that technological breakthrough that Filipinos might discover. Who knows, STI Students might be the ones who can do that.

Veteran inspirational and motivational speaker Pido Aguilar took the second topic with much gusto. His take on how STI students can become influential is one for the books. Summarizing it into three important components his Give, Receive and Spread speech gave STI students a better perspective on how they can become modern day heroes. His song Bayani Ka is still playing over my head as I write this blog. Finally, Internationally acclaimed speaker Dennis Evangelista anchored the convention with his zany antics and one of a kind take on how STI students can be hired. The life of Mr Evangelista is a living testament that we can all succeed if we want to. I believe that a lot of STIers will be talking about him for a long long time.

Providing entertainment were the 2009 STI Talent search champions. 2009 STI Idol Grand Champion Charmaine Nodado of STI College Las Piñas left the crowd in awe with her one of a kind rendition of "My Redeemer lives!" I kept reminding everyone that it was an invocation Hymn but the crowd still clapped after she sang. My back up dancers are the Katz Republic, the 2009 Grand National Champion, who also gave one intermission number. Providing additional entertainment are three good looking commercial model artists - Neil Coleta, JR De Guzman and Enz Guazon. The crowd really loved their performance. This one is now finished and I hope that next year we can top it again.

15th NYC Practice

One of the hardest part of the STI National Youth Convention is the practice and preparation for the actual convention. Just like what I mentioned before, the STI Convention is very unconventional as one of its features is the dancing master of ceremonies. This year we have made plans that the dance that I will have will be from Michael Jackson's This is it movie. If you remember their dance number with the song "Sing and Shout" you would probably say that its reloaded version is slightly better than the original. The STI College Alabang dancers are one great dancing crew and I hope that we will make good this NYC, til then!

A lot of NYC faithfuls that have always been going back to the manila run are always waiting for the new gimmicks that usually accompany each and every STI Convention. I just hope this year they will be amazed again.

15th NYC in Cebu City

The Queen CIty of the South was once again the venue for the STI National Youth Convention. This year, besides the host city CEbu, students from STI Mandaue, STI Calbayog, STI Dumaguete and STI College Surigao were at hand to witness this one of a kind extravaganza.

STI students from the south are really different from the northern part of the country, Here, students and Filipinos are more appreciative and always greet you with a ready smile. The culture I believe shows that Visayan people are proud people but more hospitable and accommodating than any other region in the country.

As you can see, the smiles of the students kept us going as the National Youth Convention booked another successful run in the Queen city of the south. The event once again was held at the CAP Auditorium in Osmena St. Cebu. The CAP place is actually the ancestral home of Cebu's foremost politician - Sergio Osmeña Sr.

15th NYC in Ormoc City

The city of Ormoc has always given me fond memories and all because of the countless times we were there for the STI National Youth Convention. This time the stay in Ormoc was different because we stayed for two nights. Normally we would go back to Tacloban City after the event since the flight back to Manila was around 8 am. Here are some highlights of the National Youth Convention held at the Ormoc Astrodome.

Globe Lab's Princess Cruz

spoke for the first time

on the Innovate topic

Ricky Bunag was

called back for action

STI'ers proudly sing

the STI Hymn

Dana and Maricel are all smiles

15th NYC in Bacolod City

I have always fond memories of the STI National Youth Convention, and one of them is the NYC in The city of smiles - Bacolod City. Indeed, students have ready smiles to show and most of the faculty and staff members of the STI College Bacolod school are very accommodating, helpful and will always assist you with a smile.

Yours truly after the dance

Greg Igaya of Globe

talked for the 1st time

and his presentation

brought great insights

on Innovation

Dennis Evangelista was

awesome as usual

Neil Coleta wowed the crowd