2 policemen in Dalican, Bontoc were killed during an alleged attack by NPA rebels

Two policemen died while two others were wounded when alleged members of the New People's Army or NPA attacked them while conducting a tactical operation in the vicinity of Bandong Hill, barangay Dalican in Bontoc. The attack happened last Saturday (March 29) which coincidentally was the 45th founding anniversary of the NPA. The NPA which is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines was formed on March 29, 1969.

According to Supt. Davy Limmong, public information officer of the Police Regional Office Cordillera, joint elements of the Regional Public Safety Battalion, 54th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and PPSC of the Mt. Province Police Office were in the area to conduct a tactical operation after receiving reports that there are rebels encamped in the area. It was during this tactical operation that the cops and soldiers were fired upon.

The two policemen killed during the encounter were PO1 Marcelo Kilasen and PO1 Jefferson Sari. Those who were wounded were PO1 Benildo Magan and PO1 Romeo Fakat Jr. Magan and Fakat Jr. were immediately brought to the Bontoc General Hospital for medical treatment.

Mt. Province has been the location lately of encounters between government forces and rebels. In June of last year, NPA rebels attacked over a hundred police trainees in Kabunagan, Tadian who were out for a morning jog. A trainee died while several others were wounded.

Mark Eddiva of Team lakay is going to Brazil for his next UFC fight

Mark Eddiva who just won his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut earlier this month is gearing up for another fight inside the UFC cage. Fighting under the Team Lakay banner, Eddiva will be facing Edimilson Souza, a fighter from Brazil who is much more experienced than him.

Of course, the Cordilleran mixed martial artist is no stranger to facing an opponent who has a record that is double or triple that of his own. In his UFC debut earlier this month in Macau, China, he went the full three rounds against Jumabieke Tuerxun, a fighter who has over a dozen professional fights. At that time, Eddiva only had five fights under his belt. Eddiva won that fight in a lopsided manner. The irony of it was the fact that he was a huge underdog going into the fight.

For his upcoming tussle against Edimilson Souza, Eddiva will likely be deemed yet again as the underdog. Souza who boasts a record of 14-3 has been on an 8-fight winning streak, the last of which was a decision victory in September of last year in his UFC debut. Seven of these victories were via knockouts, five of which were in the very first round.

With that said, Souza is someone who can strike. A very, very dangerous opponent indeed for Eddiva. Although he is Brazilian, Souza's biggest weakness is when he is on the ground. All three of his defeats were via submission. What's interesting here is that Eddiva is actually really good in grappling. He has after all won two of his fights by submission. So it's likely that part of Eddiva's gameplan for the upcoming fight will be to take the fight to the ground.

Eddiva versus Souza is part of the main undercard for UFC Fight Night: Sonnen vs. Silva on May 31, 2014 at the Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The event will be headlined by the highly anticipated match between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva.[Update: the main event has been changed to a match between Stipe Miocic and Fabio Maldonado.]

Cordilleran Activist Shot And Killed In Kiangan, Ifugao

William Bugatti of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance was shot and killed last Tuesday night at around 7 p.m. along the Ifugao Highway in Bolog, Kiangan. He sustained three gunshot wounds. The circumstances around Bugatti's death are still unclear. The perpetrators are still unidentified. Piya Macliing Malayao of the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines made the statement that "Bugatti was on his way home from the office when he was gunned down."

Cristina Palabay who is secretary of the human rights organization Karapatanhas provided Interaksyon with a "copy of a purported list of 28 “target persons” in Tinoc town supposedly drawn up by Charlie Company of the 86th Infantry (Highlander) Battalion, which is based in Barangay Impugong, Tinoc." Bugatti is number 21 on the list. The remarks/assessment accompanying his name says "utak ng NPA" (brains of the NPA).

Photo by Bulatlat.com

And here's the purported hitlist supposedly drawn up by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Photo by Bulatlat.com

WARNING: Poisonous Shellfish Being Sold In Baguio City

The Philippine Star reports that some of the shellfish being sold in Baguio City are poisonous and are not fit for human consumption. Shellfish coming from the towns of Anda and Bolinao in Pangasinan were found to be poisonous by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

Thus, authorities have advised that shellfish coming from the towns mentioned shouldn't be consumed by people. Symptoms for shellfish poisoning include abdominal cramps, nausea, and vomiting. You can read more about shellfish poisoning here and here.

According to Wikipedia, "There are four syndromes called shellfish poisoning, which share some common features and are primarily associated with bivalve molluscs (such as mussels, clams, oysters and scallops)."

Photo source: Flickr/jpellgen

Eduard Folayang to fight Japanese ring veteran for ONE FC 15: Rise of Heroes

The man they call the "Landslide" is set to enter the cage yet again this coming May. Eduard Folayang, the poster boy of Philippine mixed martial arts will be on the undercard of ONE Fighting Championship: Rise of Heroes, a fight card scheduled to unfold at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila on May 2, 2014. It will be Folayang's sixth appearance for the burgeoning Singapore-based MMA promotional company. His current record under the ONE FC banner stands at three wins and two losses.

To share the cage with Folayang come May 2 is Kotetsu Boku, an older and much more experienced fighter from Japan. Boku sports a 21-9-2 fight record compared to Folayang's 13-4. Boku is 36 and Folayang is 29 so there's an age difference of seven years. However, age doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent for the grizzled Japanese fighter as evidenced by his quick knockout win over Arnaud Lepont just a few weeks ago at ONE FC 14: War of Nations.


The two fighters share a common opponent from their previous fights and this is Vuyisile Colossa of South Africa. Folayang defeated Colossa via unanimous decision way back in 2010. Boku lost to him by unanimous decision last year. This is not at all a reliable way to gauge how Folayang and Boku stack up against each other but in a way it gives the Team Lakay fighter a bit of an advantage.

Rise of Heroes will be headlined by a match between Bibiano Fernandez and Masakatsu Ueda. It will be the former's first defense of the ONE FC bantamweight title which he won last year when he defeated Soo Chul Kim.

Also fighting in the undercard is Jujeath Nagaowa, a female Cordilleran boxer who will be making her MMA debut against Jeet Toshi (2-1) of India. There's also the chance that Rey Docyogen (also from Team Lakay) will be joining the card.

21 Girls Rescued From Bars And Nightspots In Abatan, Buguias

Accompanied by social workers from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group operatives swooped into bars in Abatan, Buguias last week and nabbed 21 women. Seventeen of these are bar girls. The other four are managers, handlers and cashiers. The girls were brought by the police to Baguio City for processing.

The Philippine Star reported that the CIDG were tipped off about these young girls working at various nightspots in the burgeoning northern town. The Manila Standard mentioned that four suspected prostitution dens were raided by the police.

Of the 17 bar girls rescued, 10 are minors which means they are below 18 years of age. Although some of the girls are from the Cordilleran region, most of them are from the lowlands. 7 are from Bulacan, 1 from Ilocos Sur, 1 from Pangasinan, 2 from La Union, 4 from Benguet and 2 from Mt. Province.

Of the 4 girls from Benguet, three are from the town of Mankayan and 1 is from Itogon. The 2 girls from Mt. Province are from the towns of Paracelis and Bauko.

What's even more saddening about these reports is the statement of Sr. Supt. Jimmy Catanes, the regional director of the CIDG. According to him, "Prostitution in Abatan, Buguias is deeply rooted because of backing by numerous influential people." So this problem of prostitution in Abatan is worse than what it seems. It's unclear as to who these "influential people" are as Catanes didn't elaborate.

Prostitution has been around in Abatan for years now. It's also spreading to neighboring towns. Catanes has a message for the people involved in such activities. “We want to get to the bottom of these and get the coddlers and traffickers of women and children.” Catanes stated.

Flickr/ukdenners

To BDO La Trinidad, Please Have Compassion For Your Clients

This morning, I went to the branch of Banco De Oro located along Km. 4 in La Trinidad. As usual, there's a long line of customers. I've been to this bank several times in the past and I have to say that the line this particular morning was longer than usual. A few more people and it would've reached the exit door.

There are two lines - one for single transactions and another for multiple transactions. The line for multiple transactions has chairs (about 10 to 12 chairs) for customers. However, the line for single transactions has no chairs at all. And this is what always pisses me off when I go to said bank.

Dozens of people have to stand there in line for long periods of time. When I was there this morning, I had to stand for nearly an hour before I got to the front of the line. I'm a guy in his 20's so the physical effects of having to stand there for an hour isn't much. My feet just got a little achy, that is all.

What concerns me are the other customers who don't have my youth. I'm talking about the older men and women and the sickly-looking folks who have to stand there in line for extended periods of time. The pregnant customers and senior citizens are often served first and that's good but what about the convenience of the other clients?

How can the employees of the bank sit there in their comfy and padded chairs and watch while their customers stand there shifting their feet every now and then to ease the numbness or a developing cramp?

To Banco De Oro La Trinidad, for the sake of decency, give your clients something to sit upon. They may be just standing there but they get tired as well. You are a multi-billion company. The cost of a few dozen chairs is just a pittance. You can have the chairs installed there with just a flick of a finger.

I find it ironic that every time I enter your door, the first thing I see is the big and bold statement on the wall that proclaims "We find ways." I'm sorry to break it to you but you are not finding ways, as far as the convenience of your customers is concerned.

Hopefully, the next time I enter your door, there'll be a chair there where I can rest my weary legs.

Updates On Road Altercation In Baguio City

A video of a taxi driver having a shouting match with some people in a street in Baguio City has gone viral on Facebook. Click here to watch the video. It's a nasty altercation but it's hard to know which between the two parties is in the wrong. The taxi driver is heard cursing but so are the the people he is arguing with.

The uploader of the video has posted another clip on Facebook which shows what looks like to be footage of what transpired before the first video. Both parties are hurling invectives against each other. Who's fault it is? It's hard to know. The video, at least in the most part, shows the side of the people arguing with the driver. Watch the second video below. We repeat, it looks like the events in this new footage shows what has transpired before the original video.

Also, the altercation has been covered by the local media with ABS-CBN reporter Ada Sibayan interviewing the two parties. So we should be able to learn what really happened. Catch the report on ABS-CBN News.

Post by Neng de Leon.

Oh Boy...Road Rage In The Streets Of Baguio City (VIDEO)

Okay, so there's this video of a Baguio City taxi driver making its rounds online. It shows said driver in fits of anger as he argues with some people. The video doesn't show who he's arguing against but it's clear that some of them are women.

It's unclear what provoked the rage but based on the rather animated confrontation between the two parties, it seems that the driver may have nearly hit one of the women. This happened on a street so it could be anybody's fault. Maybe the driver drove too fast. Or the woman crossed the street without following traffic rules. We don't know.

But what's concerning about the antics of the driver is his rage. You can't help but ask "Can't he talk in a calmer fashion?" Can't he settle the issue without turning it into a curse match?

Anyway, here's the video. Watch it and if you have any comments, just leave them on the comments section below.

Post by Neng de Leon.

Update: a new video footage showing what transpired before the video above has been posted. Click here to watch the new video.

Team Lakay's Jerome Wanawan To Fight Roy Doliguez At Pacific X-Treme Combat 43

Pacific X-Treme Combat has announced the complete fight card for their upcoming event PXC 43 which is to be held at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City and it includes a match between Jerome Wanawan of Team Lakay and Roy Doliguez of Sarangani province. Wanawan who has a record of 4-2 is 1-2 in PXC. He won his PXC debut in 2012 against Victor Torre. He lost the succeeding two fights against Eugene Toquero and Ernesto Montilla.

Doliguez, his opponent, has a record of 4-1. His two most recent victories were against Baguio-based fighters. They are Lito Adiwang and Franklin Donglay.

The main event for PXC 43 was supposed to be a championship bout between Roldan Sangcha-an (also from Team Lakay) and Rambaa Somdet of Thailand. However, the latter got injured during training so the main event had to be cancelled. It has been replaced by the showdown between Ernesto Montillo and the comebacking Ale Cali.

Also fighting in the card is female Team Lakay fighter Gina Iniong. She will be slugging it out with Japan's Mei Yamaguchi.

Photo: from Wanawan's Facebook page

Kevin Belingon Loses To Dae Hwan Kim In Kuala Lumpur At ONE FC: War Of Nations

Kevin Belingon failed to take home the bacon last night when he fought Dae Hwan Kim in the co-main event of ONE FC: War of Nations at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The South Korean drew the curtain on the Team Lakay fighter at the 4:39 mark of the very first round by submitting him via a rear-naked choke.

Belingon came out aggressive and was on offensive mode during most of the fight. He was throwing punches and kicks and was landing them on his adversary. He also scored a quick takedown but Kim was able to get back on his feet. He took Kim down again by slamming him on the mat. A scramble ensued and Kim ended up taking Belingon's back and submitting him with just 20 seconds remaining in the round.

Kim improves his record to 10-0-1 while Belingon drops to 12-4-0.

Belingon's loss once again highlights a common weakness among fighters from Team Lakay. They need to improve on their ground game. They need to bring their wrestling and grappling skills up to par with the competition.

Another common criticism on Team Lakay fighters is their impatience. They often come out too aggressive which opens them up to their opponents. Biding time is not on their vocabulary. We however have seen great improvements in this area in some of their fighters like Mark Eddiva who patiently dissected Jumabieke Tuerxun in Macau last month.

Belingon was on the upper hand while striking it out with Kim until that choke came. Belingon showed up to fight but you could say he made a mistake when he tried to grapple with Kim. He was phenomenal on his feet and was out-striking Kim. To quote an MMA fan from an online forum "Belingon would've won this fight if he took his time and fought Kim standing up."

Photo by ONE FC

Photo by ONE FC

Photo by ONE FC

Photo by ONE FC

Photo by ONE FC

Is Jollibee Acting Like They Own Baguio City's Streets?

The branch of Jollibee located along Assumption Road in Baguio City has put up this life-sized figure of their mascot on the sidewalk right across the street. The big question is "Do they have the right to do such a thing?" This is not to mention the fact that the figure is clearly obstructing the sidewalk. As Sir Art Tibaldo, the one who took the photo, mentioned in a post, there are blind folks plying this particular street.

This is a busy public sidewalk and business establishments shouldn't be putting things on it that will obstruct the efficient flow of foot traffic.

However, Jollibee deserves the benefit of a doubt here. Is the cement structure upon which the mascot is standing also theirs? Looking at the photograph, it seems as if it's a road sign or something. It may have been there originally and Jollibee just propped their mascot against it. In any case, this doesn't justify the food chain's obstruction of the sidewalk.

Photo by Sir Art Tibaldo

Bad News. Roldan Sangcha-an's Run For The Belt Has Been Cancelled

Roldan Sangcha-an is scheduled to fight for the Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) flyweight title against Rambaa Somdet on March 29 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. Unfortunately, Somdet has figured in an injury so the fight had to be cancelled. However, it looks like the fight card is still pushing through.

Here's the official announcement from PXC:
"We regret to inform all our fans that the PXC 43 Flyweight Title Fight has been cancelled. Contender Rambaa Somdet has suffered a herniated disk in training and will be unable to compete. Roldan Sangcha'an will maintain his number one contender status and fight for the title at a future PXC."

Sangcha-an from a previous fight. PXC photo.

Kevin Belingon Makes Weight For Tomorrow's Fight

Kevin Belingon's fight with Dae Hwan Kim will be the co-main event for the One Fighting Championship: War Of Nations fight card tomorrow at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. During the official-weigh-in, the Team Lakay mixed martial artist who hails from the province of Ifugao made weight and tipped the scales at 134 pounds. His opponent form South Korea also weighed the same.

Update: Belingon lost the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the very first round. Belingon was doing great in the first minutes of the fight until Kim got him on the ground and worked on the choke. This is Belingon's fourth loss as a mixed martial artist.

Watch the weigh-in below:

Dinosaurs Island In Baguio City And Other New Attractions

There are new attractions in town. Just minutes away from Baguio City, not one but three theme parks are rising in Tuba, Benguet along Marcos Highway. There's Dinosaurs Island, The Holy Land and the Tuba Science Museum. The Dinosaurs Island is now open to the public. The other two attractions are scheduled to open soon.

The theme parks are located in barangay Badiwan in Tuba. For more information, visit their official website or their Facebook page.

From the park's website: "This project aims to bring in one more feature in Baguio city that would definitely enthrall the visitors of this wonderful place. It’s what everybody calls "The Land Before Time". We will go back in time and see how Dinosaurs come back to life again. See up close and interact with the fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex, Spynosaurus and other species with the magic of ANIMATRONICS  TECHNOLOGY."

The Famous Besao Sunset (Photos)

The town of Besao in Mt. Province is known for its stunning sunsets. Just a few kilometers away from the tourist town of Sagada, it would make for a great side trip to visit Besao and enjoy its sunsets.

Below are a few photos of Besao's sunset taken from Agawa, one of the town's barangays. All photos courtesy of Mary Lin-ey Tauli.

Aside from its stunning sunsets and sunrises, Besao also offers other attractions like rice terraces, mountains to climb, and majestic waterfalls. The town is surrounded by hills and mountains that are ideal for hiking and camping trips. If you are planning to visit the town, be aware that there are no hotels or inns there. That said you will have to travel back to neighboring Sagada for a place to stay.

Father And Daughter In Kalinga Returns Canon Camera Worth Php18,000

Here's a story worth emulating. Last week, Eisenhower Jensen, a public utility multicab driver and his ten-year old daughter Shakira were on their way to market in Tabuk, Kalinga when they saw a purple backpack left by a passenger in the vehicle. Opening the bag, they found a wallet, a coin purse, some clothes and a digital camera worth Php18,000. As they can't find any way of identifying the owner of the bag, father and daughter brought it to two local radio stations the following day (Radyo ng Bayan and Radyo Natin).

The radio stations announced on air that whoever owns the missing bag can claim it from Jensen at the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) at the Tabuk City Hall where he currently works as a job order employee. He only drives his multicab during his spare hours.

Three men went to the POSO office to claim the bag but Jensen didn't give it to them as they were not able to identify the color of the bag. The real owner turned out to be Daphne Agtina Damian, a student at the Tabuk City National High School. Ms. Damian explained that she lost the bag thinking that she has left it in Bulanao.

Anyway, cheers to Jensen and his young daughter. Let us be inspired by their acts of kindness and honesty. As we often say to good people doing good deeds, "Matago-tago kayo."

On a side note, the three men who tried to claim the bag even though it wasn't theirs, shame on them. Just a quick question for experts on the law out there: Is there a crime attributable to claiming lost things that aren't yours? Because what these men tried to do is just sick. Here's a lost bag returned by honest people who found it and then here's a group of men trying to claim it even though it's not theirs. Talk about taking advantage of honest people.

Anyway, here's Jensen and his daughter Shakira. We salute you. Keep up the good work. The whole story of their act of honesty can be found here.

Photo Source: Tabuk City Facebook page

Don't Blink. This Is One Fight You Shouldn't Miss.

Kevin "The Silencer" Belingon is scheduled to enter the mixed martial arts cage once again this coming March 14 at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is set to lock horns with Dae Hwan Kim, an undefeated fighter from South Korea. Fighting in the bantamweight division, the two warriors will put their fates into the ring to determine who will climb the One FC rankings. A win will move one of them a step closer towards the bantamweight belt which is currently wrapped around the waist of Bibiano Fernandes opf Brazil.

Belingon and Kim fought against different opponents in the same card last year. Belingon knocked out Santacana while Kim submitted Thanh Vu of Australia.

Their bout this coming week is the co-main event in a fight card headlined by a welterweight clash between Brock Larson of the United States and Nobutatsu Suzuki of Japan.

Here's Belingon putting on the finishing touches on David Santacana in December of last year.

Here's the promotional video and preview for the two top fights in the card. The Belingon-Kim feature plays halfway through the video:

Is This Baguio Police Officer Abusing His Power?

In the Baguio Auto Forums on Facebook, somebody posted the following:

"Share ko lang po mga sir. Perfect example of ABUSE OF AUTHORITY. Happened around 10:40 this morning along Legarda Road/ G. Del Pilar St. Traffic was smooth, lahat gumagalaw. Biglang may motorsiklo ng LTO na umovertake sa kanan, ginagamit pa yung wangwang niya, turning right yun jeep going down Kisad, binilisan nung motor.

Bumangga siya sa middle part nung jeep, nung nakita niya na alanganin yung pwesto ng pagkabangga, inusod niya yung motor niya paharap (as the picture shows) para siya ang magmukhang nasa tama.

What's worse is that the LTO officer pa ang may ganang magalit, binulyawan niya pa yung driver tsaka hinuli ang lisensya tsaka bigay ng ticket. Dami nakakita mga bystanders, mga employees sa area tsaka mga pasahero sa ginawa, hindi na lang siya nahiya."

The post was accompanied by the following photo collage:

Photo: Benedict Adrias

[Update; a reader (Mr. Almora) left the following comment]: "Hindi yan LTO. BCPO officer yan. PO3 yung rank sa ticket. According to LTO Rules on citation tickets, the rank, complete name and designation must be indicated on the citation ticket and signed. The TOP given to this police officer must be recalled by the LTO and he should be suspended from the traffic division of the Baguio City Police Office. He is a shame to men in uniform."

La Trinidad Strawberry Festival 2014 Schedule/Calendar Of Events

With the theme "Breaking Ground For Sustainable Agro-Tourism", this year's edition of the annual Strawberry Festival will kick off with a Kapihan event on March 10 at the La Trinidad Municipal Park. The main events for the festival will roll out starting on March 18. These include the search for the biggest/sweetest strawberries, a landscaping competition, horseback riding, and art/photo exhibits.

Other scheduled events include a job fair, a fun run, a singing competition, and a boxing card at the Benguet State University Closed Gym. Check out the full calendar of events further below.

In the Strawberry Festival, the various barangays of La Trinidad showcase their products.

Flickr/ Manchester-Monkey

So How Well Did Mark Eddiva Perform In His UFC Debut?

Last Saturday, Mark Eddiva made history by becoming the first homegrown Filipino mixed martial arts fighter to successfully debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the biggest stage in the world of MMA. He accomplished what his team mate Dave Galera failed to do last January. If you can recall, Galera debuted in the UFC a couple of months ago when he faced Royston Wee in Singapore. He wasn't able to clinch the victory.

When he was contacted by the UFC, Eddiva was torn between heeding the call and focusing his studies in a university in Baguio City. Not willing to forego the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Eddiva answered the call, trained for a tough fight, flew to Macau, China and put on an impressive performance over China's Jumabieke Tuerxun. What's ironic was that he wasn't supposed to win the fight (at least in the eyes of most fans). He was a 4-1 underdog. His ring experience didn't stack well against Tuerxun's, he has fought lesser quality of opponents, and he has been inactive for over three years. Many thought that inexperience and ring rust will cause the Team Lakay fighter's downfall. Eddiva erased all of these thoughts by dominating Tuerxun the whole duration of the fight.

No doubt about it. It was a good showing against a skilled opponent. Eddiva has shown improved fighting skills compared to the last time he entered the cage. He can strike. He can grapple. His takedown defense is more than decent. However, he has a lot of ground to cover before he will be able to hang with the top dogs in his division.

One noticeable attribute of Eddiva which is so unlike most Team Lakay fighters is his composure inside the octagon. He is willing to take his time. He doesn't want to rush things. We have seen so many times in the past how reckless Team Lakay fighters often approach their opponents. If an opponent gets hurt or wobbled a bit, they jump in with reckless abandon. This often opens them up for timed counters. Remember Honorio Banario? He got knocked out twice in two fights by Koji Oishi. You could say part of the reason why this happened was the recklessness in Banario's approach.

Ultimate Fighting Championship/Facebook Page

It's good to notice however that Team Lakay fighters continue to improve and evolve. Every time they enter the cage, we get to see more weapons added to their arsenal. A perfect example of this was the recent showing by Eddiva. He was able to impose his will on Tuerxun. And he mixed his strikes very well. Elbows, punches, jabs, knees - he was throwing these all night with success and accuracy.

No matter how good he looked last Saturday night, there are still a lot of questions hovering over Eddiva. His fight with Tuerxun definitely exposed some of the chinks on his armor. The submission attempts by Tuerxun which put Eddiva in scary waters twice or thrice during the third round are bad signs. Yes, Eddiva was able to get out of the attempts but this begs the question of "What if he was up against a high-level jiu-jitsu fighter?"

In conclusion, Eddiva did a great job in defeating Tuerxun. let's hope we get to see him again this year inside the octagon. Good luck to him.

Mark Eddiva Emerges Victorious In His UFC Debut (Photos)

Going into the fight against Jumabieke Tuerxun as a 4-1 underdog, not many people thought the guy from the Philippines can pull it off. Needless to say, Mark Eddiva proved them all wrong by dominating his Chinese opponent en route to a unanimous decision victory. Eddiva was the less experienced fighter between the two having only 5 fights compared to Tuerxun's 14. However, when they finally squared off inside the UFC's octagon, experience wasn't much of a factor as Eddiva imposed his will upon Tuerxun throughout the fight. All three judge scored the fight 30-27 for the Team Lakay fighter.

This is not to mention the fact that Eddiva was inactive for over three years. His last fight before signing up with the UFC was way back in January of 2011. This long stretch of inactivity was one of the main reasons why many fans thought it'll be very difficult for him to win the fight against Tuerxun. But he proved that ring rust wasn't a concern of his by snatching the victory in a dominant fashion.

With the impressive win, Eddiva has opened a lot of doors for himself in the UFC. More fight cards are being lined up to be held in Asia (Japan and a second coming in Macau) by the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world. The way he performed last night in Macau against a quality opponent like Tuerxun, the folks at UFC are surely paying attention now. With that said, let's hope we get to see Eddiva again in said upcoming cards.

Eddiva is the second homegrown Filipino fighter to fight in the UFC. The first one is Dave Galera, a fighter also from Team Lakay who debuted in the organization last January in a losing effort against Malaysia's Royston Wee.

Eddiva versus Tuerxun was the opening bout for the The Ultimate Fighter China Finale held in Macau, China yesterday (March 1). The main event was a welterweight showdown between Dong Hyun Kim and John Hathaway which the former won via a nasty spinning back elbow in the third stanza.

Eddiva pushing Tuerxun against the cage while raining down punches upon him. Photo: UFC Facebook Page

Eddiva celebrates as he's announced as the winner of the bout. Photo: UFC Facebook Page

Eddiva during the weigh-in a day before the fight.

The Best Igorot-Inspired Digital Art You'll Ever See (Photos)

These digital artworks by a Manila-based artist are nothing short of amazing. You have got to respect the impeccable attention to details. Hats off to the artist who goes by the username squeegool on Deviant Art. All these great pieces of work are his and you can check out more of his awesomeness here. Get more updates about his work from his Tumblr blog here.

There's not a lot of artists out there who choose to use the Igorot culture as themes in their works. There's only a handful of them. One of them is Jeff Cablog, an artist who hails from the town of Barlig in Mt. Province. There's also Jordan Mang-usan, a Cordilleran artist currently based in La Trinidad, Benguet. You can see many of Mang-usan's work at the Tam-Awan Village in baguio City.

Mang-usan is a unique artist with the fact that he uses the sun and a magnifying glass to create his masterpieces.