Baguio City: From a Few Villages to a Concrete Jungle

That concrete and metal jungle in the distance is Baguio City. More than 400,000 people currently call it home. About 150 or so years ago, it was home to Ibaloys who lived in small villages scattered around the area.

The Spaniards were the first foreigners to realize the beauty of the region and its viability as a place for recreation and recuperation. They planned on constructing a sanitarium in Baguio in the late 1800s. Their plan got squashed when the Spanish-American War erupted. 

The victorious Americans picked up on the idea of establishing a hill station in Baguio. The American architect Daniel Burnham was tasked to design Baguio as a garden city for 30,000 people. 

It's 2025 and within the next several years, the city's population will break through the half-million mark. 

#baguio #baguiocity #history #civilization

The Evolving Trails of Mt. Ugo in Itogon, Benguet

This is Mt. Ugo in Tinongdan, Itogon, Benguet. It was discovered and established as a hiking destination after the tragic crash of a plane near its summit in 1987. All 50 people on board the plane perished from the crash.

Rescuers saw the beauty of the mountain. Word got out among the mountaineering community and people started hiking to the place. 

In the past 5 years or so, the trails of Mt. Ugo have changed. It used to be one of the longest hikes in the Cordillera region. Hikers would start their hike from Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya and exit in Tinongdan, Itogon. So ascending and descending Mt. Ugo used to take two days.

Today, the hiking time has been cut short to a few hours because of the construction of roads both on the Nueva Vizcaya and Benguet sides of the mountain. 

From Nueva Vizcaya, you can ride all the way to Domolpos and hike to the summit from there. If you're taking the Tinongdan route, you can ride all the way to Lusod then start the hike from there. 

#hiking #mountaineering #outdoors

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong Accuses Critics Of the SM-Led Development of the Public Market of Circulating Lies

In a recent interview, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said something about "𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱" with regards to the proposed redevelopment of the public market through a public-private partnership with SM.

Here were his words: "𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥." 

Magalong is obviously referring to the concerned individuals, groups, and organizations who have consistently criticized the proposed project and highlighted its negative ramifications to the city if it pushes through. 

Magalong basically referred to them as circulators of lies. In short, he called them liars. 

This is one of the reasons why a lot of people are frustrated and annoyed with Magalong's treatment of the issue. He seems to have already made up his mind that the PPP with SM is the way to go. It's the SM way or the highway. This is crystal clear when you listen to his answers whenever he's asked about the issue.

The thousands of people who protested in the streets and signed petitions are just noise in the eyes of Magalong. To him, they are liars. To him, they are peddlers of lies and false claims. 

Was Magalong ever genuinely interested in listening to the sentiments and arguments of those against the partnership with SM? He wasn't present in the recent public consultations about the issue. People were always looking for him in these consultations. They expected him to be there so he can participate in answering their questions and concerns. After all, he's the father of the city. He didn't attend the recent public consultations. 

If he was present in these consultations, he would've had the chance to tell the critics in their face that they are liars. He would've had the chance to show the facts and evidence that will expose their lies. But he didn't show up. Instead, he calls them liars when they're not around to defend themselves against his accusations.

It's Okay When People Say They Don't Like Igorot Food

An unfortunate characteristic of many Igorots is their tendency to get easily offended when non-Igorots express a negative observation about us, our culture, and our traditions.

For instance, right now, a screenshot of a post is being circulated online among Cordillera-based pages and groups. Vloggers and content creators are also riding the hate bandwagon. In the post, someone described a popular Cordilleran recipe as "nakakadiri", "parang uling", and "halos hindi na makain". 

The person is referring to the 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗼 which is a well-known recipe among Cordillerans. 𝗞𝘂𝗸𝗼𝗱 (pig's feet) boiled to tenderness with black beans is a favorite here in the north.

Many fellow Igorots didn't like the negative sentiments of the person who described it as "nakakadiri", "parang uling", and "halos hindi na makain". The person instantly became the recipient of unhappy, threatening, and below-the-belt responses. 

The bad side of social media has once again reared its ugly head.

We can't expect non-Igorots to like all our food and delicacies in the same sense that Filipinos can't expect foreigners to like the 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝘂𝘁. Non-Filipinos have described the 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝘂𝘁 as awful, terrible, the worst food ever, etc. 

In the same vein, there will always be people out there who won't like our food and drinks, be it the 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗼, 𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗴, 𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗴𝘀𝗼𝘀, 𝘁𝗮𝗽𝘂𝘆, 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗴, etc. 

If they don't like it, there should be no problem. Maybe just leave it at that. There's no need to pitch their heads on a stick and take them to a bashing tour. 

Several weeks ago, I attended a demo at the University of the Philippines Baguio on the making of the 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗴, a Bontoc beverage, as well as the cooking of a food using the 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗴 as cooking base. I liked the taste of the 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗴 itself. The food cooked with it? Not so much. The 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗴 was used as base to cook rice with Japanese fish (𝗳𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗳𝗶𝘀, 𝗷𝘂𝗷𝘂) and tilapia. I didn't like the taste. A fellow attendee described the taste as too strong, too salty, and awful on the tongue.

The point is we like some, we hate some. So when people say the 𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗴 is terrible or the 𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗴𝘀𝗼𝘀 smells and tastes like hell, don't declare war on them. Most likely, they're just describing what their taste buds and noses told them.

A Short History of the Old Bayanihan Hotel in Baguio City

Forever and ever, amen!

The Bayanihan building is among the oldest buildings in the city. It used to be a warehouse. When the Japanese invaders took over the city in World War II, the building served as the headquarters of the Kempetai, the ruthless and dreaded Japanese military police. 

The building incurred a lot of damage during the war. It was rebuilt and transformed into a hotel. Then it became a commercial building that housed offices and wagwagan shops. 

#baguio #baguiocity #baguiohistory

The Changing Sentiments Towards Baguio City's Taxi Drivers

If you've been paying attention on social media, particularly in localized 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗻 forums, there's a constant flow of complaints and rants directed towards Baguio City's taxi drivers. 

- Namimili ng sinasakay.

- Bakante naman sila bakit hindi sila tumigil nung pinapara namin. 

- Bastos.

- Nanghihipo. 

- Naninigaw ng pasahero.

- Naniningil ng extra. 

These are some of the complaints you'll read online. Majority of the city's taxi drivers are not like this. Most of them are honest, kind, and patient drivers. Still, the growing number of complaints is serious matter especially the complaints from female passengers. 

It doesn't help that the city's traffic problems seem to be getting worse. These can be very frustrating, not just to commuters, but to drivers of taxis and PUJs as well. These frustrations often lead to heightened emotions, lapses in judgments, and angry reactions.

Baguio Midland Courier Signage

The signage of the old offices of the Baguio Midland Courier is still there. The paper shut down in July last year after being around for 77 years. 

Around this time of the year, for their year-end issue, the paper would publish their highly-anticipated list of year-end awards. The list would instantly become the talk of the town. It was an amalgam of who's who and what's what. For a person, making it to the list can either be a source of pride or of shame.

This would be the second year that we'll miss out on reading that always-controversial list. 

#baguio #baguiocity #baguiohistory #communitysharing