Daily Archives: 23 April, 2022

Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (Cordova, Cebu)

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The Php30 billion Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), also known as the Cebu–Cordova Bridge and the Third Cebu–Mactan Bridge (colloquially known as the Third Bridge locally), is a toll bridge expressway in Metro Cebu which links Cebu City with the municipality of Cordova, Cebu. The artistically designed CCLEX, with its iconic crosses on top of the twin pylons, has now become part of Cebu’s iconic landmarks.

Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (photo: Pete Dacuycuy)

Here are some interesting trivia regarding this bridge:

Cordova mayor Adelino Sitoy first proposed the bridge to connect his municipality with Cebu City in mainland Cebu.  After numerous studies were conducted, the local government of Cordova and Cebu City entered into a public-private partnership with Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp. (MPTDC).  Then chairman of the Regional Development Council of Region VII Michael Rama also lobbied for the construction of the Cebu-Cordova bridge.  Rama later became Mayor of Cebu City when the Cebu–Cordova Bridge project was already awarded to a company.

Here is the historical timeline of the bridge:

  • In January 2016, the Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp.(MPTDC, the toll road arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. which is a publicly listed infrastructure company and a member of the Manny V Pangilinan Group of Companies), through a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, announced that the construction of the bridge that was to commence in 2017. In the same announcement, MPTDC said that they will be responsible for the construction and financing of the bridge and, once it is completed, its operation as well.
  • On March 2, 2017, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Cebu–Cordova Bridge was held.
  • On April 15, 2021, eight ecumenical “Iconic Crosses,” placed on the two main pylons of the bridge, were lighted during the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines to highlight Cebu’s title of being the Cradle of Christianity in the Far East.
  • As of September 30, 2021, the bridge is 85.38% complete.
  • On October 5, 2021, the final concrete pouring in the main bridge deck was held effectively completing the main bridge deck. The entire expressway is expected to be completed in December 2021, with opening slated for the first quarter of 2022.

Designed by the Spanish firms Carlos Fernandez Casado (CFC) and SENER Ingeniería y Sistemas, the local firm DCCD Engineering Corp and the Danish firm COWI did the engineering works. Built by a joint venture between Spanish firm ACCIONA, and Philippine firms First Balfour and DMCI, the bridge was meant to serve as an alternate route serving the Mactan–Cebu International Airport.

The 390-m. long (1,280-ft.) cable-stayed main span of the CCLEX is supported by 145-m. (476-ft.) high twin tower pylons whose design was inspired by the historic Magellan’s Cross Pavilion. The main span of the 27–m. (89 ft.) wide bridge has a 51 m. (167 ft.) navigation clearance for maritime traffic which allows ships to traverse the bridge. Viaduct approach bridges and a causeway, as well as toll road facilities (its design inspired from the eight-rayed sun of the Philippine flag) on an artificial island, also form part of the CCLEX. It has two lanes in each direction, with a design speed of 80 kms. per hour allowing it to serve at least 50,000 vehicles daily.

The planned expressway extension to Lapu-Lapu City will have a direct connection to the Mactan–Cebu International Airport and will add roughly 5 to 8 kms. (3.1 to 5.0 mi.) to the expressway, and is estimated to cost ₱10 billion to ₱15 billion.

To provide safe and seamless travel between Cebu City and Mactan, which hosts the Mactan–Cebu International Airport, Mactan Export Processing Zone, and some of the country’s premier resorts and hotels, the CCLEX will use an all-electronic toll collection system. The toll plaza, with eight toll lanes (our lanes in each direction) will use radio-frequency identification or RFID electronic payment for toll collection.

Cebu Provincial Tourism Office: 3/F, East Wing, Capitol Executive Bldg., Capitol Site, Cebu City 6000. Tel: (032) 888-2328. E-mail: sugbuturismo@gmail.com.

Department of Tourism Regional Office VII: G/F, LDM Bldg., Cor. Legaspi and M.J. Cuenco Sts., 6000 Cebu City.  Tel: (032) 412-1966, (032) 412-1967, (032) 254-3534, (032) 254-6650 and (032) 254-2811. Fax: (033) 335-0245. Email: phdot7@tourism.gov.ph. Airport Office Tel:  (032) 494-7000 loc. 7548.

Cebu Pacific Air has daily flights from Manila to Cebu’s Mactan International Airport.  It also has flights from Clark (Pampanga) and Davao City.  Book via www.cebupacificair.com.

Adlawon Vacation Farm (Cebu City, Cebu)

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The Lodge at Adlawon Vacation Farm.  The lower ground floor houses three guestrooms.  Kusina Luche is on the upper floor.

The 15-hectare Adlawon Vacation Farm (AVF), considered a “buhay probinsya” (provincial living) kind of staycation, is a quick but relaxing escape from the hustle and bustle of the busy metropolis.  Situated in the rural side of Cebu City, it serves as a venue for retreats, birthdays, weddings and team building activities.

Al fresco dining area

The huge farm, owned by Atty. Danilo Ortiz and Dra. Melinda “Peluche” Ortiz, was opened last October 16, 2018.  It has a mini mahogany forest, gardens with different varieties of plants, vegetables and flowers; seedling nursery (Plantasia); obstacle course; basketball/multi-purpose court; picnic areas; a mountain bike trail; toilets and bath; wood treatment plant; fishponds; animal pens; a campsite; an aviary; stables; fruit orchard (kamagong, durian and miracle fruit) and the Resurrection Chapel with its own Stations of the Cross.

Cactus Graden

The Lodge, the main structure on the farm, houses the reception area, front desk, 2 function rooms (for team building), a restaurant (Kusina Luche), a library, lounge and entertainment center, a view deck and 3 airconditioned guest rooms with private bath.

Check out “Restaurant Review: Kusina Luche”

A pair of pigs

Animal feeding at the farm

Overnight rate is ₱3,500 per night, good for 2pax with free breakfast for 2 (₱4,000 per night on weekends).  For those on a budget, there’s a 6-pax, payag (P3,000 per night, no complimentary breakfast and aircondtioning).

A farm payag (bamboo hut)

For children, there’s a game arcade and a playground where you can play croquet. Cocoon swings hang from the branches of strong and mighty trees. Another popular feature of the farm is its Celebrity Steps.

Cocoon Swing

Celebrity Walk

For souvenirs, Adlawon sells handmade bags and mugs, olive oil, vinegar, cookies and pastillas.

Refreshment Parlor

Their Farmer’s Market sells reasonably-priced vegetables and fruits.  The ladies manning the market were friendly and accommodating.

Farmer’s Market

Souvenir items for sale

Adlawon Vacation Farm: Sition Proper, Brgy. Adlaon, , Cebu City.  Tel: (032) 516-3948 and (032) 516-3918. Mobile numbers: (0942) 266-7392, (091) 523-1406, (0931) 190-5913 and (0942) 266-7392.  E-mail: avf.cebu@gmail.com. Open Wednesdays – Sundays, 9 AM – 8 PM. Admission: ₱150 per head (₱50 is consumable for food & drinks) and ₱100 per child below 12 years old (infants and toddlers below 3 years old are free of charge).

How to Get There: It can be reached via a habal-habal from JY Square.

Cebu Provincial Tourism Office: 3/F, East Wing, Capitol Executive Bldg., Capitol Site, Cebu City 6000. Tel: (032) 888-2328. E-mail: sugbuturismo@gmail.com.

Department of Tourism Regional Office VII: G/F, LDM Bldg., Cor. Legaspi and M.J. Cuenco Sts., 6000 Cebu City.  Tel: (032) 412-1966, (032) 412-1967, (032) 254-3534, (032) 254-6650 and (032) 254-2811. Fax: (033) 335-0245. Email: phdot7@tourism.gov.ph. Airport Office Tel:  (032) 494-7000 loc. 7548.

Cebu Pacific Air has daily flights from Manila to Cebu’s Mactan International Airport.  It also has flights from Clark (Pampanga) and Davao City.  Book via www.cebupacificair.com.

Our Lady of Manaoag Rosary Sanctuary (Cebu City, Cebu)

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Our Lady of  Manaoag Rosary Sanctuary

Situated on a hillside in the mountain barangay of Guba, 25 kms. (an hour’s drive away) from downtown Cebu City, the Our Lady of Manaoag Rosary Sanctuary is owned by Ms. Edna Ouano Toral who wanted to propagate the devotion of Our Lady of Manaoag in the Visayas.

The sanctuary entrance

Edna, a Cebuana from Mandaue City, once joined a pilgrimage, organized by Chito Makalintal, to Manaoag in Pangasinan for healing as she was seriously ill at the time with complicated ulcers.

The Prayer Room

In 1994, she was healed, a miracle she attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Manaoag.  Since then, she has donated 100 icons to churches in the Visayas and Mindanao.

She also built this hilltop sanctuary of quiet, serenity, contemplation and prayer.  A quiet place to reflect, it is open to the public and use of all its facilities is also free.  Edna simply wants to spread the devotion of Our Lady of Manaoag and to pray the rosary.

Interior of Prayer Room

The road leading to the sanctuary tended to live up to the name of the barangay (“guba,” in Cebuano, means “ruins” or “disrepair”) but, once you reach the sanctuary entrance, you feel the trip was worth it.

Statue of a cherub holding a rosary

Visitors to this sanctuary have to park their vehicles outside and enter on foot, via a concrete bridge over a creek, leading to a footpath lined with cucharita (Althernanthera ficoidea) plants and mani-mani (Arachis pintoi) plants.  On the right is a small rose garden while on the left are mango trees.

The museum

Up the hill is the prayer room, a simply roofed structure, ventilated at its sides by thin strands of wood woven into sunburst patterns (solihiya), with the image of Our Lady at the end.  Inside are benches for devotees and two statues of cherubs holding rosaries.

The museum display

Further up the hill is another small structure housing a museum and an outdoor chapel with a statue of Our Lady, a candle stand, a concrete altar and a number of concrete benches lining the hillside.

The outdoor chapel

Down the hill is a river where wild flowers such as camia (white ginger) abound in season.

Concrete benches lining the hillside

During the last Holy Week, the sanctuary was included in the Highland Pilgrimage Tour launched by the Cebu City Tourism Commission (CCTC).

Our Lady of the Rosary Manaoag Rosary Sanctuary: Cataline Hill, Brgy. Cabulihan Guba, Cebu City 6000.

Cebu Provincial Tourism Office: 3/F, East Wing, Capitol Executive Bldg., Capitol Site, Cebu City 6000. Tel: (032) 888-2328. E-mail: sugbuturismo@gmail.com.

Department of Tourism Regional Office VII: G/F, LDM Bldg., Cor. Legaspi and M.J. Cuenco Sts., 6000 Cebu City.  Tel: (032) 412-1966, (032) 412-1967, (032) 254-3534, (032) 254-6650 and (032) 254-2811. Fax: (033) 335-0245. Email: phdot7@tourism.gov.ph. Airport Office Tel:  (032) 494-7000 loc. 7548.

Cebu Pacific Air has daily flights from Manila to Cebu’s Mactan International Airport.  It also has flights from Clark (Pampanga) and Davao City.  Book via www.cebupacificair.com.

Buwakan ni Alejandra (Balamban, Cebu)

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Buwakan ni Alejandra

Buwakan ni Alejandra (buwak is Bisaya for “flower”), Cebu’s newest pride and a must-see for flower lovers, is known as the “Little Tagaytay of Cebu.” Located in a mountainous barangay in Balamban town, it features a vibrant, 740 sq. m. flower garden on a mountainside which had its soft opening last May 8, 2017.

This breathtaking and charmingly peaceful attraction, BNA for short, is located along the scenic Transcentral Highway.  It was named after Alejandra Bacos, the mother-in-law of barangay councilman Eleuterio Gentapa who is the flower gardens’ landscaper.  He is also the chairperson of the Committee on Tourism of Brgy. Gaas.

Gorgeous and Instagram-worthy, its stunning landscape is home to more than 200 varieties of colorful, locally grown flowers.  Unlike the celosia flower farms in Sirao, this botanical garden takes pride in colorful varieties of dahlia.

Check out “Sirao Garden”

Other flowers planted include roses, hibiscus (gumamela), sage, hygrangeas, morning glory, wax begonias, angel’s trumpets, bougainvillas, etc.

Spider Flower (Cleome Hassleriana), native to southern South America in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southeast Brazil, it has also been introduced to South Asia, including the Haor area of Bangladesh and India. It is an annual growing to a height of 150 cm. (60 in.), with spirally arranged leaves. The leaves are palmately compound, with five or seven leaflets, the leaflets up to 12 cm. (5 in.) long and 4 cm. (2 in.) broad and the leaf petiole up to 15 cm. (6 in.) long.

Planted at the center are dozens of pink-colored flowers called Spider Flower (Cleome Hassleriana) which look like birthday cake candles.

The author amidst a bed of Spider Flowers (Cleome Hassleriana)

Also intriguing is nipplefruit, fox head, cow’s udder, or apple of Sodom (Solanum mammosum), a peculiar-looking plant locally known as “Mickey Mouse” plant. Adding to the charm are different shapes of floral arches.

Solanum mammosum, commonly known as nipplefruit, fox head, cow’s udder, or apple of Sodom, is an inedible Pan-American tropical fruit that is grown for ornamental purposes, in part because of the distal end of the fruit’s resemblance to a human breast, while the proximal end looks like a cow’s udder.

These could be admired from a steel boardwalk with rainbow-colored footpaths with a picturesque mountain in the background.  On average, the garden gets more tan 70 visitors on weekdays and hundreds on weekends.

The author along the rainbow-colored pathway

The garden also has a restaurant which reopened February 1, 2022 after being damaged during Typhoon Odette. Their bestsellers include soy fried chicken, quarter leg chicken barbecue, special bam-i, baraku shrimp, pork gising-gising and chicken picata.

Alejandra’s restaurant

This scenic location is perfect for pre-nuptial and pre-debut photo shoots.  Upon entering the garden, visitors must first attend an orientation.

The steel boardwalk

Smoking is not allowed in the premises and visitors should only walk along a designated trail.  They are also not allowed to pick flowers (they are also not for sale) and step in areas where flowers are planted.

Floral arches

Buwakan ni Alejandra: Transcentral Highway, Sitio Bunga, Brgy. Gaas, 6041 Balamban.  Mobile number: (0947) 358-9142, (0921) 812-9664 and (0908) 768-9379. E-mail: bna.gaas@gmail.com.  Open daily, 7 AM – 5:30 PM. Admission: Php 75 (Adult), Php 50 (Child, 6-10 years old, and Senior Citizen/PWD).

How to Get There: Located a few meters away from Adventure Café and Florentino’s Eco-Park, it is a 30-45 min drive from JY square or Marco Polo via the scenic Transcentral highway.  From the Ayala Center Terminal, take a V-hire going to Balamban via Transcentral highway route. Fare is P120 per person (one-way). Inform the driver to drop you off at Buwakan ni Alejandra.  Another option is to take a habal-habal from JY Square Mall.

Cebu Provincial Tourism Office: 3/F, East Wing, Capitol Executive Bldg., Capitol Site, Cebu City 6000. Tel: (032) 888-2328. E-mail: sugbuturismo@gmail.com.

Department of Tourism Regional Office VII: G/F, LDM Bldg., Cor. Legaspi and M.J. Cuenco Sts., 6000 Cebu City.  Tel: (032) 412-1966, (032) 412-1967, (032) 254-3534, (032) 254-6650 and (032) 254-2811. Fax: (033) 335-0245. Email: phdot7@tourism.gov.ph. Airport Office Tel:  (032) 494-7000 loc. 7548.

Cebu Pacific Air has daily flights from Manila to Cebu’s Mactan International Airport.  It also has flights from Clark (Pampanga) and Davao City.  Book via www.cebupacificair.com.