PHLPOST Launched the Flower Paintings of President Corazon Aquino on Scented Stamps

Bulong Pulungan sa Sofitel, Manila -Philippines

L-R Ms. Deedee Siytangco , Mr. Enrique Tagle- Philpost  ,PEZA Director General Lilia De Lima,  Philippine Star President and CEO Miguel Belmonte (fourth from left),  Philpost President -Ceasar Sarino , Mr. Manuel V. Pangilinan (represented by Ramon Isberto, Smart Communications Head of Public Affairs), , and Metrobank Chairman George Ty (represented by Chito Sobrepena).

Mr. Manuel V. Pangilinan owns the “Rosary and Roses Series,” De Lima the “Blooms of Unity,” Belmonte the “Overflowing with Good Wishes,” and Ty the “Enchanting Blossoms” and “Fifth Painting.”

rose scented stamps featuring five paintings of former President Corazon Aquino will be sold to the public starting Aug. 1 to mark her fifth death anniversary.

This will be the first time in the history of Philippine stamps that PHLPOST will be using scented papers.

flower paintings of former president Corazon Aquino

The block of four stamps features the Aquino painting “Overflowing with Good Wishes” that is now in the possession of The STAR president and chief executive officer (CEO) Miguel Belmonte; “Blooms of Unity” that is with Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) director general Lilia de Lima; and the “Enchanting Blossoms” and “Fifth Painting” that are with Metrobank Group chairman George Ty.

Meanwhile, the souvenir sheet will feature the “Rosary and Roses Series” painting that she gave to businessman Manuel Pangilinan.

The two designs for the first day cover cachet will feature the paintings lent by the Aquino family.

The local printer Amstar Co. Inc. had to source the scented paper and scented ink from abroad.

The smell of roses would stay with the stamps for one to two years depending on how these would be preserved.

set of stamp which includes 4 piece stamp and a souvenir sheet

However another constructive criticism by stamp collectors which was echoed by Mr. Enrique Tagle– ”   If the stamp is exposed to the elements, it might lose its scent immediately, but if it is placed inside a sealed glass or inside acid free plastic, then the scent would be preserved longer.”

Mrs. Aquino, mother of incumbent President Aquino, was the country’s 11th president. She is credited for restoring democracy to the country.

One of her hobbies was painting and flowers were her preferred subject.

Tagle said it took PhlPost a long time to come out with this series because it was difficult to find the paintings of Mrs. Aquino.

She gave away most of her paintings to friends so there are only a few paintings left with her children.

Php 100 Souvenir Sheet

Technical Description

Type of Issuance: Special – marking 5th Death Anniversary of President Corazon C. Aquino

Theme: Flower Painting of former President Corazon C. Aquino

Block of 4: 40mm x 30mm At Php 25.00 each

Souvenir Sheet : 95 mm x 93 mm  Php 100

Special Feature: rose scented

Paper: Imported watermark

Printer: Amstar Company -Philippines

Quantity : 200,000 pieces or 50,000 per design

Souvenir Sheet : 7,000 pieces

First Day Cover : 6,000 pieces

It was Aquino’s close friend and former spokesperson Deedee Siytangco who helped PhlPost get in touch with the paintings’ owners.  Metro Bank Foundation ordered some 5,000 pieces of The First Day Covers , while a well -known stamp dealer ordered some 500 pieces thus leaving 500 pieces for ordinary collectors . The total FDC’s printed  is one of the biggest orders for this year .

NOTE: Although this is the first time that paintings in private collection will be featured in Philippine stamps  . Some Philatelists  ( stamp collectors ) are weary that this is some sort of a crude form of advertisement ( further enhancing the price of the actual paintings that are featured in the stamps. ) Or was it politically motivated.

 Website: www.phlpost.gov.ph

 

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Hill 394 Forest Reserve

It was past 9:00 am when the group reach the forest reserve in this side of Subic. According to Engineer Ricardo Alcantara one of out local guides in the area. When the Americans were in control of the area.

Mr. Alexander Mesia showed the trail left by the troop of monkeys

         The forest reserve is usually off-limits to the locals, until 1992 when the area was formally turned-over to the government . Very few groups  were permitted  to visit the reservation . In 2011,  they only allowed two to  three  groups to visit the place .

panoramic view of the surrounding mountain and forest areas from hill 394 summit

Subic’s most popular peak takes you 394 meters  or about 1, 293 feet above sea level and offers a spectacular view of the legendary Mount Natib and Subic Bay, in the northwest.  Hill 394  let its beauty speak for itself. This is a popular area for bird watching, mountain hikers  ,  students of biology and botany .

Concrete ammunition bunkers are found all over the forest reserve , apparently they can easily be mistaken as a small hill , but in a close inspection these are storage places for the ammunition of the Americans.

 ammunition depository bunker during the American stay in Subic now these bunkers are abandoned and swiflets  and  Eurasian tree sparrow or maya-maya  make these bunkers as their second home

According  to our guides , these bunkers are camouflage by the thick forest vegetation and grasses .  There are about 400 to 500 such ammunition bunkers  that were scattered around the former military naval base forest reserve and adjacent area.   The  construction zenith of these hill- shaped depot  happened during the Vietnam war in the mid 1960’s  to early 1970’s . These are multimillion dollar project and a closely guarded military secret of the American naval station .   Some of  the bunkers  are now converted into art galleries or restaurants.

The group first had to get the necessary permits from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority . Here are some of the conditions :

1.) Extreme precaution shall be taken not to cause any disturbance / destruction in the forest , aquatic / marine environment .

2.) Proper waste disposal shall always be observed.

3.) No trails shall be created on forest areas.

4.) Collection of flora and fauna maybe allowed for identification purposes only.

5.) Results of the study can only be used for academic purposes and shall not be published without proper coordination and approval from the office.

forest trail created by the Americans

Normally , the hike going up the trail up to the topmost part will only take between 45 minutes to 1 hour however it took the group almost 2 hours to reach the  hill summit  ( due to initial surveys conducted )

old ficus balete  tree -possibly more than a century -old

The debate among botanist and forest experts would reveal that this is a disturbed lowland forest which means that the forest was already disturbed long time ago from logging (  Americans and Japanese occupation  )  Since it was assumed that the trails were made by the Americans. The topmost portion of the hill was flatten and bulldozed using heavy equipment . Apparently the area was used as a helicopter landing  site during their jungle survival trainings.

summit of hill 394 – notice the lack of natural vegetation and flat terrain

You can see that the area was disturbed and most of the trees are missing .  The area is said to have been used as a forest survival training site intended for jungle survival .  The fallen logs  must have been used by the US military when they were in Subic long time ago.

 group picture

The area that the group visited  , is said to be the extended ancestral domain of the Aeta living in the nearby Zambales area.

Notes:

* The team saw some plastic bottles and brought them down to our van ( we had to dispose of the plastic bottles properly)  We saw at the trail, apparently the plastic bottles  were from the previous hikers who just left them .

* The group is highly compose of credible people from various environmental NGOs and experts coming from DENR, National Museum, and Academe .

* A  preliminary survey of flora and fauna was done  within the trail areas.

* At the end of the 2 hour trek, the group  surveyed more than 100 species of trees, about 2 dozen birds, 1 orchid species, about half a dozen ferns  and half a dozen aroids  ( along the established trek path ).

* The team  saw tree sapling that are germinated ,  this is a natural way of re-forestation . however there are signs that foreign non-endemic trees  examples are Gemelina , Mahogany , weeds, flowering plants that were naturalized  in this part of Subic.

* Feral population of cats and even rats poses a treat to the local endemic wildlife bird and small mammals .

Taiwan Horticulture Show 2010

The 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition (the 2010 Taipei Int’l Flora Expo), a category A2B1 horticulture exposition, is set to open on November 6th, 2010, in Taipei. It will be the first such internationally recognized exposition to take place in our city, and the seventh of its kind to take place in Asia. And to ensure its success, we are hard at work upgrading our infrastructure and improving our services, transforming Taipei into a city of gardens. We fully expect this event to promote the growth of floriculture in our country and drive economic and urban development around Taipei, as well as enhance the image of our city in the international community.

Featuring a theme of “Rivers, Flowers, New Horizons”, the Expo will include 14 exhibition halls, each with its own unique style, spread across an area of 91.8 hectares, all dedicated to showcasing notable achievements in horticulture, science, and environmental protection technology. Our aim is to inspire visitors to embrace new ideas and implement green practices for themselves, thereby achieving the goal of protecting our precious Earth in all its unique beauty.

The Exposition’s Logo

The logo’s dancing petals represent human celebrations and shared values. After a competition that lasted two months, the organizing committee finally decided on a mascot and logo. Designers from Taiwan , Hong Kong , Macao , Europe, Japan and the U.S. all participated in this competition. There were 1669 entries in total, and the winning entry became the unique symbol of the Exposition. The Expo’s logo is based on five simply designed petals, and each petal, flowing with a pattern of moving lines, represents human activities. Each of the five colors—blue, green, red, orange and purple—represents a continent. The five petals combine in abstract images of dancing people. These bright colors also hint at the cheerful atmosphere that will characterize the Expo.

The Expo Mascot

The Expo’s mascots, flower fairies, play a moving melody about spring, summer, fall and winter. The Expo mascots are inspired by the fairies of the seasons. The band linking them symbolizes the harmony of the four seasons as well as the rhythm of nature. The mascots stand for the four seasons, because in Taiwan , each season brings the blooming of different flowers. The flower fairies form a “flower band.” Together, they serenade us with the melodies of the seasons, and their colorful outfits and friendly smiles express their happiness and passion for the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition. With the approach of the Expo, our mascot band will bring a cheerful message to every single corner of the world.

Introduction to the winner of mascot designing contest

Designer: Lee Kai-an
Planner and designer for DOPLAN Co., Ltd.
Awards: Gold Award, National Competition of Ideas and Design, dpi Magazine, 2002
First Prize, HiNet ADSL Cyber-Advertizing Contest, 2002
Second Place, Keelung City Fire Bureau Mascot Design Contest, 2006