Baguio In MY Heart

A year ago, our volunteer group Green Initiative Baguio- Benguet organized the First Environment Summit in Baguio-Benguet. It was the largest multi-sectoral assembly involving the Government, NGOs, Academe, Church and Business Sectors. Mayor Reinaldo Bautista talked about planting cedars rather than pine trees.

A year ago, we talked about how Baguio and Benguet are disaster hotspots as overpopulation, pollution, indiscriminate land use, mining, and logging operations contributed to the destruction of the city and the mountain range.

WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE WORLD BANK REPORT THAT RANKED BAGUIO AS ONE OF THE SEVEN RISKIEST CITIES IN THE WORLD

A year ago, that's all we did. We talked. We produced a wonderful document that was distributed to all participants in CD form. 

Now, Typhoon Pepeng exposed the fragility of the Cordilleras.  It couldn't withstand the onslaught. You would think that a mountain range as large as the Cordilleras would have the strength to tame a relatively small typhoon. But that is how weak the city and the mountains are. Literally, the city melted like a cake left out in the rain.

THIS IS THE HEIGHT OF TRAGEDY: THEY RUN OUT OF COFFINS

Those of you who have been to Baguio and found healing there, please help in its own healing.

Those of you who have been to Baguio and found recovery from the stresses of your city life, please help the city recover from its own pain.

Those of you who have been to Baguio and saw its beauty, please help Baguio reclaim its natural charm and magical splendor.

There are several ways to help. If you want to contribute to relief efforts, Cafe By the Ruins is running a soup kitchen. I believe Gawad Kalinga is organizing its own relief and rehabilitation project.

Those are helpful. But I also think that:

a. The City needs a rest from its most destructive inhabitants - the human species.  It was designed by Daniel Burnham as a habitat for 25,000 people. Today, the daytime population of Baguio (including residents, businesspeople, tourists and other visitors) is close to 300,000. It is true that Baguio grew because of tourism, education and migration. But today, the city needs some space for healing.

b. There are ways to help the city without going up there. Among other things, please buy Cordillera products sold here in the Metro, including vegetables, strawberry, woodcrafts, handicrafts, and others.

c. The student population in Baguio is way beyond its limit. St. Louis University (SLU) for example  has a population of 30,000 plus. Please send your kids somewhere else at this point. I don't think the CICM Fathers would mind.

Baguio has recovered from the 1990 Earthquake. No doubt it will recover from Typhoon Pepeng, afterall the City is Eternal. But recovery is faster if one is given time to rest. I think that is all what Baguio is asking for right now.

I don't think the city wants cedars.

The Best Way to Say Goodbye

Kung gusto mo nang umalis at lilisanin ang puso ko, wag ka naman magpadala lang ng text message or email or magpost ng entry sa blog mo. Sana rin wag mo akong tatawagan sa sun cellular, dahil makatipid ka sa load, magkandarapa naman ako niyan sa kakahanap ng signal.

Puwede bang ako ang pipili kung sa anong paraan mo ako iiwan?

Date tayo sa Morato, kung saan maraming tao, sana Sabado ng gabi, doon sa Starbucks, order ka ng capuccino for two, sabihin mo low-fat milk iyong para sa akin, at brown sugar na dalawang pakete, at tatlong buhos ng cinnamon, kahit papano mapawi ang lungkot ko dahil sa kape.

Sana mahinahon ang pagkakasabi mo ng Goodbye, ayaw ko ng drama, ayaw ko ng eksena. Wag magkunyaring malungkot o di kayay piliting luhaan ang mga mata. Kung hindi ka masaya na ikaw ay lalaya, bakit ka aalis di ba?

Alam ko kung paano mo dapat gawin ang iyong pamamaalam. Magyaya ka ng isang dosenang kaibigan, at dapat may regalo sila lahat para sa akin dahil ako ay nilaglag mo ako, fair lang po ano?

Ito, kapatid, ito ang mga ayaw ko sana mangyari:

1. Ayoko malaman kung sino ang mali o kung sino ang nagkukulang o kung sino ang may kasalanan, hindi iyan makatulong sa isang pusong sugatan.
2. Ayoko ko makipag-away umaga hanggang gabi, tama na iyong sakit na dulot sa paglisan mo, mapapagod pa ba ako sa debate at diskusyon na isa lang naman ang kahahantungan?
3. Ayoko rin na aalis ka na lang bigla na walang paalam, iyong tipong titigil na lang sa kakatext, or di kaya baguhin mo number mo, or magbago ka na ng email add, at bago na rin profile mo sa facebook, insulto naman yata iyon sa puso kong mapagbigay, di kaya?
4. At wag na wag mo ring gawin na ipapasabi na lang sa akin through one of our friends, na hindi na kita dapat mahalin, subokan mo iyon, mananagot ka sa akin

Okay lang na punta tayo sa Baguio, sa may Burnham Park, magboating iyong puting swan ang hugis ng ating sasakyan, at sa kaligitnaan ng lake, sabihin mo na ayaw mo na sa akin. Promise hindi ako tatalon, at hindi kita itulak sa madilim na tubig, basta magbaon ka ng balut at chicharon, okay na sa akin iyon.

Kung may dala ka pang Red Horse, kahit limang bote, hindi na kita masisisi. Isa lang ang aking sagot: maraming salamat, mahal kita, hanggang sa muli, wag mo akong kalimutan ha?

If Looks Could Kill

Sometime between the eleventh round of the Marquez vs Mayweather fight and the punctuating analgesic voice of Dyan Castillejo, the guy in the next table, who volunteered to be the custodian of the remote control among the many customers in this restaurant, scrambled to get his mobile phone from his handbag to answer a call. It seems important as he decided to turn off the frigging television set.

I shall not, for the lack of words, be able to describe the sharpness of the dagger looks thrown at him from various angles. If looks could kill, I'd be bringing my crumpled, hooded, t-shirt to the laundry by now as it would be drenched in blood.

Oblivion is a gift the gods bestowed on this man. Proceeding with his ultra-urgent conversation with soft, studied crescendo, as if to ensure that everyone understands the necessity of his insensitive act, he gave instructions:

"Pare, where are you na? Okey. From EDSA turn left to Kamuning. There is no left turn, so you will do a U-turn near GMA. Then turn right to Kamuning. When you reach Morato, turn left. Yes, there is  a left-turn, no need to do a U-Turn. Go straight, you will reach E. Rodriguez. E. Pare. E as in eagle...."

And so on and so forth as it seems Pare is a first timer in Manila and has listening comprehension problems. After a litany of landmarks which included, heavens be merry, several Gay Massage Spots which Kamuning is known for (thus betraying the man's natural inclinations), Pare got it.

By the time  he turned on the TV, it was midway the 12th round. Mayweather's victory became inevitable -- but our anger did not subside. Another round of dagger looks were thrown at the man, this time with accompanying words which I shall not write because my blog is aspiring to be for General Patronage. Suffice it to say that it involved a particular anatomical feature of the man's mother.

Give it to the guy, he feigned indifference. As in "wala lang!" As if nothing happened. He had that look of inquiry as if totally clueless as to what the commotion was all about.

And then Pare, finally, arrived just as the men were settling their bills.  Wearing stylish clam digger pants, black and grey tight-fitting jacket with zipper down to reveal his chest and layers of seashell necklaces, Pare sashayed, as in sashayed, to the man's table and gave him a warm and prolonged embrace.

The dagger looks turned into smiles. One big guy muttered under his breath, "Mga bakla."

Sigh!