MALAYBALAY CITY | BUKIDNON NEWS | COMMENTARY | OPINION – Following a reportedly “promising” Tapok Tapok a.k.a. night cafe during the recently concluded 134th Aldaw Ta Malaybalay, we were told that the Malaybalay City council now has plans of making this night cafe thing a permanent fixture.
Reportedly, the proposal to turn a street beside the Plaza Rizal into a night cafe every Friday and Saturday is now pending before the Malaybalay City Council. Now, the big question is — is this a good or bad idea?
Remember the recent burning of vehicles in Barangay Dalwangan, Malaybalay City? And what about those 4 Malaybalay City cops who got ambushed? Should we still worry about these things?
Do we have enough policemen to guard not only the Tapok Tapok / proposed night cafe but the other areas in the city as well?
We understand that the businesses that participate in this night cafe usually sell food and drinks — i.e. barbecue, pika-pika, small meals, softdrinks, beer (and perhaps other alcoholic drinks). While this event can be good for business (and tourism, we think), does this also mean that it’s good in terms of security for the residents of the city?
Night cafes are not new in Malaybalay City, though. Since a few years ago, a month-long night cafe is usually conducted every December at Freedom Park.
What do you think — is the proposed Malaybalay City regular night cafe a good or bad idea? Please share your thoughts below 
Bukidnon Online is a privately owned blog that has been live since 2007.
Bukidnon Online is a labor of love whose founder/chief editor was invited to tour America as an official 2012 International Visitor Leadership Program delegate (U.S. Government-sponsored program for emerging global leaders).
Aside from featuring Bukidnon tourist spots, festivals, events and updates, Bukidnon Online also prides itself as a source of highly exclusive news, interviews and videos.
This Bukidnon blog was nominated as Best Travel Blog in the 2009 Philippine Blog Awards and was declared as Best Travel Destination Blog for Mindanao finalist in the 2010 Philippine Blog Awards.
Bukidnon Online is also the prime mover of the Bukidnon Bloggers group.
It also organized the first ever Blogging 101 and How To Make Money Online Workshop.
BukidnonOnline.com also spearheaded the historical Google Mapping Party where volunteers created Bukidnon maps and placemakers via Google Maps.
Bukidnon Online also helped make possible the visit of the Ambassador of Malaysia during the 2011 Kaamulan Festival as their private guest. The Kaamulan visit was the very first ever of a foreign ambassador.
Contact us at bukidnononline@gmail.com
For me its a good idea. When the night cafe was still there, I even tell my friends that “Kung ing-ani man galing ang malaybalay, bisag friday and saturday night lang, bibo unta bah. Pareha sa divisoria ug sa balingasag”
However, there are still other issues that should be considered. Like security.
But, generally, I am in favor with this idea, but again, hope the government should still observe their responsibilities, especially in providing a guaranteed security for the people in Malaybalay.
Additional: More tourists will feel free and safe to visit our place if they will be assured in their safety.
Night Cafe is not a new idea. It is patterned after the namesake “Night Cafe” of Cagayan de Oro,which started this “entrepreneural venture”, which creates an event, a Mecca for “worldly delights” like eating barbeques, drinking beer and alcohol, listening to techno “noise barrage”. If there is good thing about night cafes, I guess it is this: it adds money to the treasury of the city. Recently, I bumped into some political insiders of Malaybalay City, who confessed that Malaybalay City’s Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) plus other available funds stay along P350 million. Malaybalay is not alone in thinking about establishing night cafes. My home-tome, Maramag, had it before with disastrous effects. To name a few, the number of people going to Mass on Sundays declined, since night cafes took place on Saturdays until wee in the morning. People in the neighborhood could not sleep because of the nerve-rocking cacophonies from featured local bands. Fist fights,someone getting shot, someone being mauled are examples of the security nightmares night cafes might bring in our beautiful sleepy rustic city in the province. If Malaybalay City wants to spruce up its image as a tourist destination, our lawmakers must think of original ideas like using the BFI areas to adventure parks for horseback riding, with ponds, zipline, swimming pools, zorb adventures, classy restaurants. That would blend well with a pilgrimage to the already known Benedictine Monastery, Jesuit Retreat House and Carmelites for solitude and prayer. Malaybalay deserves more than just a haven for thieves!
Yeah..Ur exactly right! Ur point is impressive..
OMG I SUPER AGREE with the tourism thing. Can’t we all just focus on “selling” the province the right way? Why do we always have to resort to these types of events? I’m sorry but with all the “lakbay aral” and foreign trips made by our government officials, don’t tell me wala man lang silang nakuhang ideas dun? Heck I’ve only traveled to a handful of countries and I came back with so many ideas na! Wish our politicians and other government employees could be more creative and really come up with good programs.
the first night cafe was at the baywalk in manila, not in cagayan de oro if you’re familiar with place. and then the yearly income of malaybalay as of december 2010 is almost @ p800 million not p350 million. you have a lot of research to do pal! you have a good point but an old one! but i agree with you on the zipline. but what we need is like a divine mercy kind of tourist spot just like at the el salvador. in that way we can create income not just to city government and pockets of the politicians but to the vendors, public transpo and to the hotels in this city. why is that so? that will be on my next comment
Hi Nonoy, your comment about “creating income for the pockets of the politicians” is interesting. Care to discuss that further? It seems you know something that most people don’t.
hello again.. it simply means that since it is very obvious that part of or should i say most part of a “funded” project by this city will always go to the pocket of a politician. and who could that be? well there’s only 13 of them excluding the mayor. and who ever gets the most business establishments and farms all over this town, you’d be the judge. going back to the tourism, yes dont you think that will create income not only the politicians but to our fellow citizens as well…i mean if we have a tourist spot just like what el salvedor did. and then here’s the night cafe if our visitors decide to stay for a night. so it is’nt that bad at all if studied well and prepared well by the city. i know that our government are not allowed to do that for a tourist spot so maybe a group of religious people can make that project if they want.
I think this is a good idea as long as there are enough policemen to maintain peace and order. Cleanliness and sanitation should also be given importance so there is a need for portalets to be installed. And lastly, I hope they won’t sell alcoholic drinks and cigarettes to minors.
earl bout what u’ve said”wont sell alcohol and cigarettes to minors” will definitely wo’nt happen…
Not only should the police monitor this but the business owners themselves must follow the law and not sell ciggies and alcohol to minors.
I’m not exactly sure what it is but someplace to go occasionally might be a nice idea. Mostly I ;like the quiet in Malaybalay but once in awhile boredom does set in and a change is welcome for an evening out without needing to travel and dela with buses and other public transport from Valencia or CDO.
PS: How do I correct a typo in this blog? I DO know how to spell “DEAL”
I’m all for clean, good fun and night out with friends. Just don’t like the idea of violence especially when the cause is something that could be prevented in the first place.
@junbals: ur exactly right about those things…
the malaybalay council should think first the security of the people…night cafe in malaybalay is absolutely not a good idea..MALAYBALAY has a GOOD IMAGE, let’s not mess it’s image…malaybalay is known for solitude that is why there r monasteries in there and retreat houses. MALAYBALAY has more to offer..its jst a matter of dscovering it’s true potential
Hear, hear!
@nonoy, ur obsession with money going to the pockets of politician shows the deep-seated distrust you have with the powers that be. However, there is a need to propel this city and encourage it to move from a reactive (wait and see) to a more pro-active political involvement, or better still, from a traditional to a more transformative kind of politics. There is really no deficit of good ideas, of creative imagination, of good will in this city. We need to trod the path of the road less travelled, and not to switch readily to survival mode. For me, night cafe is cheap money making. It is nothing original. We should think at the level of “how are we going to sell” Malaybalay as future unique tourist destination in Mindanao. Bukidnon, and for that matter Malaybalay, being the heart of Mindanao, should offer nothing less than the very best. It should be as unique as the Benedictine Monastery, the monks’ blend. I could think of the longest forest trail in the Philippines, or the biggest recreational family park in the country, comparable to the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, in Sidney, Australia. There is nothing wrong with dreams, as long as we dream together….