Prony is dead

Wake-uppers:

Scene: At least 24 people died and hundreds were rescued in sea waters off Cebu province where the passenger ship MV St. Thomas Aquinas collided with the cargo ship MV Sulpicio Express 7 last Friday evening. 2Go's MV St. Thomas Aquinas came from Nasipit for a stopover in Cebu has more than 800 passengers and 100 crew while Sulpicio Lines' cargo ship with 36 crew members are all accounted for. Beauty queen Anna Maris Igpit posted on Facebook: I can't sleep thinking about the victims of the ship collision off Cebu. My thoughts and prayers to those who are still lost at sea. May the rescuers be also guided by His divine light.

Seen: Jollibee-ICM has a new, vibrant and refreshing look.

Seen: Spotted in Panglao and Loboc last week was PDI’s entertainment columnist Dolly Anne Carvajal. Hollywood reporter Ruben Nepales and his wife Janet were also spotted in Bohol.

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#Throwback Thursday

It’s a #Throwback Thursday on Facebook as Old Bohol (www.facebook.com/Old.Bohol) is sharing old memories of Bohol.

I dove into the archives from the early days of Bohol and I found a fascinating look-back into what people were talking about.

Cases in point:

Kung ikaw Inday mangita'g pamanhunon,
Siguro-a baya inday ang Bol-anon,
Kung matuman mo suwerte ka

kay ang Bol-anon buotan gayud         

Magmahal kanimo hangtud sa kahangturan...

   -Ang Bol-anon

As everybody probably knows, “Ang Bol-anon” is a popular Visayan song, thanks to our FM stations in Bohol for playing the song every Sunday.

But what some people probably don’t know is that “Ang Bol-anon” was composed by Boholano (not Cebuano) composer Regino Bastes Dano. He swept music lovers off their feet with his “Ang Bol-anon," song that Baby Boomers love to play again and again. Dano came from Poblacion Ondol, Loboc town. The song was one of the repertoires of the Bohol-Tagbilaran Sanghimig Choir, the second time National Champion in National Choral competitions held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (1973) and Folk Arts Theatre (1974).

I bet you didn’t know that photography was a fad at Digal Studio near the intersection of Libertad Street and El Filibusterismo, which currently are CPG and Genaro Visarra Streets. The Digal Studio was located where Footstep is now (fronting LICA Trading). “There used to be a Farmacia in one of the doors of the building owned by the Digal,” says Fernando Po.

Interesting! Interesting!

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Her name is Prony. I saw her when she was small. I attended her “Quinceañera.” I also witnessed when she transferred to her new home in Baclayon town.

That’s how important this “woman” to me that I’d witnessed her life. But sad to say, she died of unknown causes early Wednesday (August 14) in her cage.

Yes, she’s Prony (python reticulates). People called her “The Anaconda of Bohol.”

A visit to Bohol, Philippines is not complete without Prony which is considered as one of the tourist attractions in the province of Bohol.

It was on October 21, 1996 when Prony was found by Sofronio Salibay which measured 5 feet and 5 kilograms at that time. In 2012, Prony weighed 280 kilos and measured 27 feet long. Her waist line was 34 inches.

JingJing Salibay with her gigantic pet Prony. LPU

The Salibay family, which runs the sanctuary and owned the python, maintained she was the largest snake in captivity in the Philippines, though there were no official records.

"Prony is a self-developed and trained Python found in the Philippines," shares Georgia “JingJing” Salibay, caretaker of Prony.

Prony is a very choosy snake! They fed Prony live chickens before but due to her large consumption and the cost of chickens, they fed her with virgin dogs. However, the animal rights groups protested the feeding of dogs. From then on, the Salibay decided to give her two goats or one white pig, and they must be live during feeding time or else Prony will just snub them. After eating, Prony can sleep for the whole month!

Prony is a superstar as Filipino celebrities Kris Aquino, Richard Gutierrez, Dra. Vicky Belo, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Cesar Montano, Kim Atienza, Regine Velasquez, Ogie Alcasid and Hollywood celebrities coach Freddie Roach, Tom Cruise and Brooke Shields went to see her.

Now that she's gone, what will happen to Prony and Wildlife Park (where it houses other animals such as birds, flying lemurs and monkeys)?

“Life must go on,” says JingJing. “She is like a daughter and I know her characteristic. She is the only snake which has human feelings.”

“The Python and Wildlife Sanctuary is still open,” adds JingJing.

What will happen to Marimar who is known for her deadly acrobatic antics?

“I will continue my animal show!” gushes Marimar. 

The Salibay family wants to preserve the snake's body and put it back on display.

I will be missing Prony. She will be remembered forever as an important part of the magic web of life. 

CLICK HERE FOR CNN 

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