This Week in Batangas (July 18 to 24, 2016)

Rain or shine, the culminating celebration for the Sublian Festival will be held on July 23 in Batangas City as customarily done on such date. Now on its 28th year, Sublian coincides with Batangas City’s founding anniversary. This year marks the city’s 47th year of cityhood. Sublian features not only the subli dance, but also the traditional harana, kundiman songs, and folk dances (Jota Batangueña and Jota Rizal), and lupakan, among others.

The event on July 23 will include a Flag Ceremony at Plaza Mabini, an inaugural and prayers at the Batangas City Convention Center, the Sublian Float Parade going to Basilica Immaculada Conception and Batangas City Sports Coliseum, more singing, dancing, and contests at the Coliseum, and finally the Paghahatid sa mga Mahal na Poong Sto. Niño at Sta. Cruz (Delivering of the Holy Sto. Niño and Holy Cross) to Basilica Immaculada Conception.

Sublian came from the word subli, a combination of the words subsub, a Tagalog word, which means falling on the head, or being in a stooped or crouching position; and bali, a Tagalog word, which means broken or bent. Sublian means the act of or the process of dancing subli or expressing devotion to the Holy Cross through dancing.

Historical weather records establish July as a rainy month in Batangas because of the onset of southwest monsoon season. At the start of the week passing clouds are expected to be seen in the horizon with 25 percent chance of progressing into rain towards the latter part of the day. But as the week progresses, cloudy skies will dominate the Batangas skies, with an average of 60 percent chance of thunderstorms in the afternoons and rain showers in the evenings. Umbrellas and raincoats will come in handy in this kind of weather. Wearing boots (or bringing boots) will be practical to those living in flood-prone areas or areas with ongoing road repairs and drainage constructions.

Batangas City, being the capital and administrative center of the province, is a bustling city, especially at this time of the year as classes have already begun. To ease the traffic, public utility vehicles have to take a longer route because of the many one way roads. There is also one designated drop-off station, and that is Batangas City Grand Terminal along Diversion Road, the road leading to Batangas Port. All types of public utility vehicle are not allowed to stop along Diversion Road. From the grand terminal, commuters can proceed to their destinations, via bus if they are going to Lucena, Quezon, or Manila; and via jeepneys if they are en route to Batangas City proper, and other nearby towns like Bauan, Mabini, and San Pascual.

Contributing to the traffic buildup in Batangas City are the ongoing Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects. These projects are the construction/rehabilitation of flood mitigation facilities along Calumpang River and the rehabilitation of the road leading to Batangas Port along Cuta-Sta. Clara Road, Batangas City.

Sans traffic, Batangas City is approximately 108 km away from Manila. It is one and one-half-hour travel via the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR); or two hours away from Manila if the old intertown route will be taken.

Lima, singko (five per 5 cents) is a Tagalog/Batangueño expression that refers to ordinariness and that is how ordinary and readily available lomi is in all towns and cities of Batangas. Lomi or pancit lomi is a thick and hearty fresh soup dish made whose main ingredients include thick noodles, liver, hard-boiled chicken or quail eggs, kikiam, and meatballs, to name a few. It is best eaten with soy sauce, calamansi, siling labuyo (small chili pepper), and lots of onions.

Lomi houses or lomian are in almost every corner of Batangas City. Most of them are hole-in-the-wall type of restaurants. Here are some of them: Tia Ila’s Lomilicious hole (Pallocan West, Batangas City); Mega LomiHaus (Mega Heights Subdivision, Alangilan, Batangas City); Enya’s Lomi at (Vergara St., Poblacion, Batangas City); MGM Lomi (Pallocan West, in front of Days Hotel near SM City Batangas); Megalicious (Balagtas, Batangas, near SM Hypermart); Emjaykas (Balagtas, Batangas, near SM Hypermart); and Jhorjanes (Balagtas, Batangas City, near the very end of the Batangas exit of the Star Tollway, and Bolbok, Batangas City, the other in front of the Batangas Sports Complex).

With the ongoing Sublian Festival and influx of local and foreign Sublian tourists, Batangas City, including SM City Batangas, is in for a busy week. This week SM City Batangas celebrates Sublian Festival by holding the Spongecola Album on July 23. This coincides with the ongoing sale that started on July 15 and will end on July 24.