Schadow1 Expeditions - the web presence is now a Decade old!

Schadow1 Expeditions - the website (but not the mapping advocacy) will be turning a decade old on November 26. 

This is after over 35 mapping expeditions in the country, calculating more accurate heights of mountains we have mapped, placing over several hundred thousand kilometers of roads and trails, mapping over 2 million structures, and introducing several previously unknown tourist attractions in the country.

We reminisce how we have turned our hobby and passion of mapping roads and sharing these mapping data and information into words and experiences as well as videos. 

Initially, to bring experiences and faces to the men and women who have been building our maps in the Philippines.

Tip: How To Install Schadow1 Expeditions GPS Map On Navigation Systems

Schadow1 Expeditions shares its mapping data with the open source and crowdsourcing community. Hence from its numerous expeditions all over the Philippines for the past decade, over 2.5 million of its data has been shared and integrated to OpenStreetMap. Data from our expeditions are being compiled for offline use to Garmin™ GPS devices. The following is a guide on how to install our maps to your device so that you will never get lost in the Philippines.

on Blatant Disregard to our rights as owners of our expedition data

October 9, 2017

In the morning of October 6, 2017, a Friday, a newspaper publication in Davao has published an article about Tawi-Tawi. I was delighted at first to see that our efforts in May 2017 to finally open Tawi-Tawi to those who see it as war-torn as something to be proud of as Filipinos. Unfortunately, what made this day different from any other day is that we saw very similar data down to its word that was extracted from our documentation. It caught our attention and so we took a deeper look to see what might have transpired. Was it plagiarism?

Taking Risks on Advocating Change Through Mapping

Change is the only constant existence in the world. It is inevitable. And change can lead to the betterment of society and can also lead to its destruction. Yet as citizens, we are tasked as humans, to contribute to uplifting the quality of lives of people. We owe this for sharing our time in this world through co-existence. In this ever changing world; paths, directions, and locations may change. And people must remain to be informed of such changes and so we may adapt. We need a map to graphically visualize them. We need expeditions to experience them, and we need stories to live by them.

What led me from Mapping Advocacy to Disaster Risk Reduction Management

"My name is Ervin Malicdem, a Superman and a Scientist". This is how I call my self like an answering machine whenever someone ask my name when I was only four years old.

It has been my childhood dream to fly and become a scientist as far as my memory takes me back. I've been exposed to encyclopedias and been reading them instead of watching cartoons in TV. And when my parents gave me shopping money during Christmas season, instead of buying toys, I went to the bookstore to buy any hard-bound book about space, constellations, and maps. What led me from Mapping Advocacy to Disaster Risk Reduction Management?

Cyber-libel Case for Exposing Hazards Information

October of last year, I was challenged by a real-estate developer to which its mother-project is located at a large swath of land in Cavite by filing a complaint against me for allegedly committing a crime on this newly minted RA10175 law including cyber-libel on one of its sections. This is amidst using facts from scientific data and observations. This is with a purpose to make people aware on all aspects of its reality so as to help future buyers discern what they are about to undertake or for current homeowners to make preparations with the impending dangers of living in the community.

The Real-estate business and Cyber Crime Law in the Philippines hampering Disaster Risk Reduction Efforts

As the country is disaster-prone being situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the edge of the Pacific plate, and frequently visited by typhoons during the rainy season, by 2012, the government has started to focus on its efforts for disaster risk reduction by investing on instruments, tools, and research; in the hope of completely mapping out the whole country for disaster preparedness. Also in the same year, the cybercrime law (RA10175) was enacted which penalizes the use of the internet for criminal purposes. Although the law is a leap for the Philippines, the Congress has added versions to it which tags libel as a criminal offense; which is deemed detrimental to freedom of expression to which the United Nations strongly opposes. Lately, this same law is being used by a certain real-estate company to protect its interest.

On our 2nd Year: Why we take risks so that a better Philippine map exists.

Two years ago, I had decided to turn my mapping advocacy to have a voice. A window that would give an idea to the world how mapping the country would feel like. People turn on their smartphones, turn on its location feature and open up an application that requires the user to tag one's self to a certain location. Any program that uses locations as an integral part of its functionality obviously uses maps. And these maps are not simply made... they were experienced. And this blog is a collection of our experiences while mapping the Philippines.

The Cavite-Batangas Bus Terminal (SWIPTS) - a year after

Last year, the Southwest Integrated Provincial Transport Terminal (SWIPTS) was inaugurated as first of 3-integrated bus terminals in Metro Manila to decongest the volume of vehicles plying inside the Philippine capital. SWIPTS services commuters to and from the province of Batangas and Cavite. It promised high tech queuing system certified with ISO9001 standards. A year after, let us see what has happened to this promising project of the government.

Tapping Renewable Energy to Empower Communities - An introduction to Solar Power for the Philippines

Part 1 of Solar Energy Series

As a travel and mapping advocate, I have been going around the Philippines, mostly its remote islands and climbing its mountains, to document my expeditions and map the country for navigation and aid disaster resiliency planning. I have noticed that they all have something in common: communities that have inadequate or no power at all because power suppliers could not reach their location yet. This article is Schadow1 Expeditions introduction as we tap the benefits of renewable energy, specifically solar energy to empower communities in the Philippines.

Falling in Love with Luzon Amidst Its Pitfalls

Perfection is nothing but an idea, to which everyone aims to be; yet the most genius of them all ends up imperfect at the end. Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, with its magnanimity among other islands in the country may seem to cater everything: From dive sites, pristine beaches, remote islets, magnificent mountains and volcanoes, highly urbanized areas, and to the far rural reaches. Yet seemingly almost perfect with its diversity, there still lies some of its ugly reality. The island may fall short on some aspects, but being aware of its imperfections is the key to falling in love with it.

20 years of Philippine Internet and The Birth of Crowdsourcing

The Philippines celebrates the 20th year of the existence of internet in the country. It has revolutionized communications in the country and opened up the minds of our countrymen that a foreign country is not totally heaven after all; and our country has much more to offer. It also has opened up virtual societies which literally turned the world small and much information is accessible with just a click of a button right inside your home. As for myself, the essence of the internet is when it led to the birth of crowdsourcing.

Of Chasing Sunsets and Sunrises

It was a Thursday night on the way to work. One fateful night of the 30th of April, 2009. I have been working hard for over seven years and coming from a dying business venture I have solely focused on for over eleven years. Striving to adapt with the dirty corporate politics; to where the talent of exaggerating words coming from the mouth have more weight and substance than what can actually be delivered. Running up a motorcycle at a hundred kilometres per hour, a sedan driven by an inexperienced female driver ahead of me running at the same speed, for no reason at all, decided to make a sudden stop. A split second. That is all I had. It was a decision to either make a sudden overtake or hit the brakes. Unfortunately, an incoming 18-wheeler truck is on my side and there is one logical thing to do… hit the brakes. Last thing I heard was a foul cry of screeching rubber against the asphalt. Broken glass and crumpled metal sheets were the last thing I saw that night.

How to use OSM Data and Latest Satellite Imagery for Humanitarian Missions

I have created this article in the hope of having the rescue and humanitarian efforts use the mapping data that came from a crowdsourced project called as Openstreetmap. The Openstreetmap data in the Philippines have been updated to record-breaking levels lately due to the call for worldwide mapping advocates to focus on the areas in the Philippines stricken by Typhoon Haiyan or locally known as Yolanda. Recently, the American RedCross and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs have been extensively using the data to mobilize their relief missions in the country but unfortunately, Filipinos themselves are not exploiting the data to which the beneficiary of the advocacy must have been used by Filipinos in the first place. Media exposure is another thing as local media seems to be focusing more on government inefficiencies and foreign aids while forgetting to feature the most important aspect: How to deliver efficient relief missions.

Schadow1 Expeditions Blog Reaches Its First Year

It was a year ago around 4:00 AM of this same day when I decided to tinker with Blogger and made the first post a reality. It was a time when I decided to finally get my personal experiences of the country to the public and so as to inspire others to travel the Philippines more. Back then, it was my intention to bring the experience of traveling the Philippines with a niche to bring forth the importance of mapping the country that could lead to tourism improvement and more importantly ... so that a Filipino would not be a stranger to his own motherland. What has Schadow1 Expeditions become after a year of being online?

115th Philippine Independence Message: On Nationalism

On the 115th anniversary of the Philippine Independence, Schadow1 Expeditions would like to send a simple message to my countrymen and fellow travelers and mapping advocates.

I am writing this article right where the final battle between the last surge of Spanish colonizers in the Philippines and Philippine Revolutionary soldiers have met in a fierce battle that led to our identity, our citizenry... being called as Filipinos. It happened here more than 115 years ago where our flag was first hurled and brandished in a dramatic moment... in victory.

Palaui Island is Off-Limits. Nationalism or Colonialism?

Palaui Island is an enchanted island to which pictures I saw made me eager to know more of this island. However, this island has no mapping data at all. And because of that, Schadow1 Expeditions has chosen this island to be the focus of our mapping expedition last March 27, 2013. As expected, this island is captivating enough that even the reality TV show, Survivor, chose this island to be its home for their 27th season. Due this, Palaui island will be closed to visitors.

A list of Blogs that influences our next Mapping Expeditions.

It is time to get back to the bloggers that helped me fuel my interest in mapping the areas in the Philippines with very sparse mapping data. These blogs comprise the top 15 in my list wherein I use their experiences to prepare and plan for Schadow1 Expeditions' next mapping project.

Mayon Volcano Surprise Steam Eruption

Mayon Volcano is one of the best tourist attractions due to its perfect cone shape and was in fact once tops the list of the best wonders of the world. Ambitious mountaineers get to Albay, Bicol to climb this very challenging volcano. The fastest of which was able to reach the crater in just over 13 hours. At 0730 AM local time, it has erupted.

Jomalig Map-up and Kids Feeding Project 1st Wave is a Success

April 12-14, 2013

Jomalig Island is a remote island of Quezon province. Too remote that it already borders with the Pacific Ocean; requires three hours land travel from Manila and an additional six hours boat ride from Real, Quezon while facing the challenge of strong waves coming from the ocean. As such, this island has become a point of concern of James Betia of Journeying James for his feeding project and Schadow1 Expeditions' Mapping Project. This article is an account of the 1st wave of getting in to the island to reach out.