Pampanga: Augusto P. Hizon House in San Fernando now a Heritage House

Last Friday, the historical marker of the Augusto P. Hizon Heritage House was unveiled by representatives of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), City Government of San Fernando, Pampanga, and the Hizon Family. The house was declared a Heritage House by the NHCP on July 21, 2010 bringing the number of NHCP-declared houses in San Fernando, Pampanga to five.


This turn-of-the-century Victorian-style house was originally owned by Teodoro Santos and Africa Ventura. It was later purchased by Maria Salome Hizon, a volunteer of the Red Cross during the Philippine Revolution. The property was acquired by her brother Ramon Hizon. And is currently owned by the heirs of his son Augusto P. Hizon.

Heritage updates from San Fernando
As local citizens continue to oppose the construction of an SM mall along San Fernando's heritage street, here is some good news. The Pampanga High School Building or former UP San Fernando is currently being reconstructed. More than a century old, it was the very building where President Diosdado P. Macapagal finished high school in 1929. Once completed next year, it will house the Museong Kapampangan.

Funds have also been approved for the restoration of the San Fernando Train Station. Work on the station will begin in early 2011. It will house a Death March Museum and World War II Memorial once completed.

Nueva Vizcaya: Citrus fruit overload! Perante, satsuma, poncan & pomelo

On the way back to Manila, I was glad to pass by Nueva Vizcaya because I would be able to buy my favorite local citrus fruits, particularly the perante. Nueva Vizcaya is know as the Citrus Capital of the Philippines. And somewhere in Bayombong, between the town propers of Bayombong and Bambang, are stalls that sell really sweet Nueva Vizcaya citrus fruits which includes perante, satsuma, vizcaya poncan and pomelo among other.s



Prices per kilo vary depending on variety, size and ripeness. I got a kilo of perante and satsuma for Php50 each and several kilos of vizcaya poncans at Php30 a kilo. The red chandler pomelos and sanwelocs are a bit more expensive but juicy nonetheless. Have you tried out citrus fruits from Nueva Vizcaya?

Ivan About Town gives away SEAIR tickets to Batanes & Boracay

1. Ivan About Town and South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) will be giving away two round-trip tickets to Boracay, and two round-trip tickets to Batanes. Two winners will be selected, one winner for the two Boracay tickets and one winner for the two Batanes tickets.

2. To join, simply share any post from http://medblogcontest.com/blog/9/ as a link on your Facebook wall. Make sure you tag both the SEAIR and Ivan About Town Facebook pages when you share the link. And make sure you invite your friends to visit the link and support Ivan About Town.


3. Each post you share on your Facebook wall will be counted as one entry. Only links appearing in the Ivan About Town page, with complete tags, will be counted. So make sure the security settings (note the little padlock beside the 'share' button) of your link share will allow 'everyone' to see it.

4. You can share an unlimited number of posts from Ivan Henares' Thailand Medical Blog. But you can only have one valid post per day. So watch out for new posts and share them to increase your chances of winning.

5. Posts can be shared on your wall from 12 noon of December 9, 2010 to 11:59 p.m. of January 31, 2011 (Philippine time, +8 GMT).

6. We will pick two lucky winners from all qualified entries on February 3, 2011 (Thursday) in a public draw.

7. Winners will be informed and given instructions on how to claim their prizes via Facebook. Decision of the organizers is final.

8. Join now and have a fun summer in Boracay or Batanes courtesy of South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) and Ivan About Town!