Walter “Wally” Bayola’s great great grandmother Basilisa is the wife of his Lolo Pendong Nepomuceno is from Bato town.
The family transferred to Virac with Wally’s Lola born in the capital town. His grandma is related to the Teves and Rodulfo of Bato town and the Arcilla clan of Virac (probably Dean Solon Arcilla as he remembers the Arcillas his lola described as being connected to the state colleges).
He no longer remembers any of the Arcillas from the island although some visited them when he and his mother lived in Naga City.
He remembers traveling from Albay with his mother when he was four or five years old on board a motorized banca from Tabaco, with his Nanay telling him to just hold on to the banca as they were already near Virac and the sea was already rough.
“May thrill pala pag pupunta ka rito,” he said, recalling their two plane rides to Virac during two straight days of rainy weather.
He added that it was good that they were already on vacation from Eat Bulaga, having gone to NAIA after just a few hours of sleep following their Dec. 17 Christmas party.
Jose Manalo, on the other hand, had nice words for the welcome extended to him by Catandunganons, especially their hosts, Nilo and Edna Segismundo of E-Crown Hotel & Resort.
“Gusto ko pang bumalik dito kasi hindi ko pa naikot,” he told the Tribune in an interview at the hotel’s La Terraza Restaurant.
During the show at the hotel grounds, the two comedian hosts certainly gave the audience what they wanted: a two-hour entertaining mix of comedy and music.
Their spiels were interspersed with curses from Manalo at the hotel staff who desperately tried to prevent pools of rainwater at the tarpaulin roof from falling on the concert goers
Those who bought or were gifted tickets ranging from P500 to P3,500 went home satisfied, with the lucky ones bringing home raffle prizes consisting of mountain bikes, mini-refrigerators, TV sets, electric fans and Noche Buena packages courtesy of E-Crown Hotel.
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In the future, the E-Crown management is considering the use of a collapsible tent structure for the event venue that could be installed or removed in a day, considering the unpredictable weather on the island. The tarpaulin roof would have to be of sturdy material such that it could be removed easily and stored for future use.
The Segismundo couple does not want to ruin the passing motorists’ view of the pristine mountainside at the back of the hotel by a permanent structure.
Just below the mountain is the pool area of the hotel, parts of which is still under construction.
Nilo Segismundo told this writer that they spent no less than a million pesos just for the comedian duo, not excluding the other eight members of the Knights Band and the two other bands that performed during the concert (the Catanduanes PPO Band and Barney & Friends).
We do not expect to earn from the concert, he said, as they just want to make their fellow islanders happy this Christmas.
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HOLIDAY FOR UNBELIEVERS. An atheist became incensed over Christmas holiday preparations. He filed a lawsuit about the constant celebrations given to Christians and Jews while atheists had no holiday to celebrate. The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the long, passionate presentation by the atheist’s lawyer, the judge banged his gavel and declared, “Case dismissed!”
The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling. “Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter, and many other observances. Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur, and Hanukkah. Yet, my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!”
The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said, “Obviously, your client is too confused to know about, much less celebrate his own atheist holiday!”
The lawyer pompously said, “Your honor, we are unaware of any such holiday for atheists. Just when might that holiday be?”
The judge replied, “Well, it comes every year on exactly the same date. Psalm 14:1 states, ‘The fool says in his heart, there is no God.’ Thus, if your client says there is no God then, according to the Bible, he is a fool. April Fool’s Day is his holiday. Now, get out of my courtroom!”