A Creative City That's Intolerant Towards Certain Creatives

You don't like their songs? Then don't listen to their songs. You don't like their music genre? Then ignore their music genre. You don't like their messaging and branding? Then ignore everything about them. You don't have to pay attention to them.

You don't want to go to the band's concerts? Then don't go to the band's concerts. You don't want to go to the band's events? Then don't go to the band's events.

You don't want to support the band and their kind of art? Then don't support them and their kind of art.

You can hate their music and their art all you want. That's cool, that's okay, that's perfectly fine. Everyone has his/her personal taste when it comes to music.

Again, you can hate the band. You can hate their music. You can hate their way of artistic expression.

But...

But don't trample on the rights of others who want to listen to their songs or their music genre or their art.

Going out of your way to prohibit the band from playing and even attempt to declare them as persona-non-grata in the city reeks of intolerance.

To each his own.

You're bending to the whims and demands of one group while being intolerant to another group. You call yourself a creative city pero you prevent certain artists/musicians from expressing their art?

Just because a band and their music offends you doesn't give you the right to prohibit them from expressing their art. Being offensive especially within the confines of art is not a crime. You can't just ban an author because his book offends you. You can't just ban a filmmaker because his movie offends you. You can't just ban an actor because he appears in offensive movies.

A city that keeps on announcing itself to be a "creative city" should be more tolerant to all types of creatives and artists and their brand of artistic expression.

Lastly...

Do I Iisten to black metal music? No, I don't. It's not my cup of tea.

Am I a fan of the band that was prohibited from performing? No, I'm not.

So why am I defending the band and the organizers of the music event/gig? Because at the end of the day, they are artists and there are people who like their brand of artistic expression and who would like to see them perform live.

That's it.

Let people listen to the songs they want to hear. Let people support artists they want to support. Let people choose the music genres they want to listen to.

FOR CONTEXT:

Deiphago, a black metal band, was supposed to hold a concert/gig at a bar in Baguio City next week. Some "faith-based leaders and representatives from the academe" went to the Baguio City council to complain about the upcoming concert. They wanted to stop the concert as well as declare the members of the band persona-non-grata in Baguio City.

The city council then passed a resolution prohibiting the event. However, they rejected the request of the complainants to declare the band members persona-non-grata in the city.

How Did the Hangar Market in Baguio City Get Its Name?

A lot of people are curious as to how this section of the Baguio City Public Market got its name.

The answer is simpler than you'd think. In 1955, an aircraft hangar (yes, a literal hangar) was moved into the location to serve as a selling place for local vendors. The place was referred to as Hangar Market and the name stuck to this day.

Today, the market has stalls selling all sorts of goods from flowers to vegetables to ground coffee.

So yeah, it's not because "hangers" are sold here. Adding to the confusion is the fact that there's a lot of clothes and hangers being sold in the nearby stalls and shops.

Hangar Market in Baguio City.

PMA Cadet Found Lifeless In Academy's Swimming Pool

A 4th class cadet of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) was found dead in the bottom of the academy's swimming pool on Friday afternoon (November 8). The cadet was identified as Mario Telan Jr. He is the third cadet from the military school to die in the last few months. Telan Jr. was a classmate of Darwin Dioso Dormitorio, the cadet who died last September due to hazing.

Telan Jr. was reportedly found already lifeless at the deep end of the swimming pool by his classmates. The incident is believed to be an accidental drowning. However, the police are investigating if there is any foul play involved.

Telan attended a swimming class at 11:00 am which ended at noon. When he failed to show up for his succeeding classes, his classmates started looking for him. After an hour-long search, they found him at the pool.

Telan was rushed to the station hospital inside the academy where he was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.

"PMA deeply grieves for this unfortunate loss of one of our sons. All necessary assistance will be extended to the bereaved family and loved ones of Cadet 4th Class Telan," the academy said in a statement.

The Four Commandments For Cities Of The Future

By Bridge Telva Mapangdol - [I work in the Internet Marketing industry with specialization in content, social media, email marketing, and in Search Engine Optimization.]

In 2007, seven cities around the world made the longlist of the potential hosts for the 2016 Summer Olympics. These were Baku, Chicago, Doha, Madrid, Prague, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro. Following the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) analysis of the countries’ answers to the application questionnaire, it was announced that the forerunners were Chicago, Madrid, Rio, and Tokyo. After IOC members visited each of the candidate cities, they cast their votes: 66 went to Rio and 32 went to Madrid. What could have happened? How did a South American city prevail over what most of the public know as more progressive cities?

Eduardo Paes, the then-incumbent mayor said, ‘It was emotional and it wasn’t easy.’ He was in Long Beach addressing a TED Talk audience and emphasized that “Mayors have the political position to change people’s lives.” And I believe that that is true.

In his talk, he presented The Four Commandments for Cities in the Future. These are the commandments which he believed played a part in Rio’s eventual selection to host. He pointed out that for a place to become a city of the future, it has to be environmentally friendly, it has to deal with mobility and integration, it has to be socially integrated, and it has to use technology to be present.

A city of the future has to be environmentally-friendly. Simply put, a city must not do any harm to the environment. The thing is, that’s hardly ever the case, and we know that. Cities thrive through urbanization and industrialization and in the process, different kinds of wastes are created as a by-product. What these wastes are is a different discussion altogether. What matters is that something can be done about them.

In an effort to start a green initiative, Paes had to look for areas in a city of 7 million in order to create specks of open spaces. Sadly, Baguio City intends to do just the opposite. Burnham Park and Melvin Jones, including the smaller recreational parks in various parts of the city, are open and green spaces that ought to stay that way. Why?

Open spaces represent an urban area’s quest to preserve the natural environment. Yes, Burnham Park and Melvin Jones have undergone human-initiated improvements across the years, but the idea of obliterating a huge area in order to accommodate a man-made structure is ludicrous. Second, open spaces are the last frontiers of green space provision in a city where concrete structures sprout like mushrooms.

Third, open spaces are where the public can go to in order to recreate and escape the usual concrete visuals they encounter on a day-to-day basis. Fourth, open spaces are where people congregate in order to build a sense of community. To me, it wouldn’t make sense to build an ‘environmentally-friendly’ structure on a land that’s already considered environmentally-friendly.

A city of the future has to deal with mobility and integration of its people. Paes says that since majority of a country’s population are found in cities, there’s a need to prioritize mobility and integration. Now this issue is something that can be addressed by high-capacity transportation systems. The problem is, building it costs a lot of money. So what did he do?

Paes replicated what Jamie Lerner, the former mayor of Curitiba, Brazil has done: create the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). So he took a bus, transformed its interiors into a train car, and allotted an exclusive lane for it to move. Bus stations were also built at different points which gave rise to a high-capacity transportation network.

At the time of his talk, only 18% of Rio’s population are being moved by the BRT. When fully functional, Paes estimated that BRT will be able to move 63% of the city’s population. Beautiful, isn’t it?

The thing about Baguio and La Trinidad is that mobility shouldn’t be a problem if not for congestion. We lack the space to expand our roads but new vehicles continue to come about. Not to mention the fact that because we assert our freedom to own a private car, we don’t really see how that sense of entitlement becomes the very cause of our own inconvenience. And then we blame the government.

We fail to see that auto makers are now mass-producing vehicles for shipment to third world countries. In response, banks are now making it easier for people to get approved on an auto loan by partnering with auto dealerships. Their marketing is so attractive that people don’t realize they’re acquiring debt based on a depreciating commodity.

What we also fail to see is that the solution doesn’t lie in building additional parking lots. The solution lies in decongestion. Yes, the Number Coding Scheme is effective but only when I was in high school. Nor is the parking podium a solution. Build a 10-storey parking structure and it will only serve to displace congestion. When vehicles go back on the road, the same thing happens. It’s a Band-Aid solution.

So what about regulating the number of vehicles that run the streets especially on high-tourist seasons and on weekends? What about initiating an active campaign telling tourists to utilize local transportation when coming up here to visit and when leaving the city? After all, we’re very, very concerned about them, right?

What about reviewing the effectiveness of the existing Number Coding Scheme? What about starting an initiative that highlights the role of road discipline in uninterrupted flow of traffic?

A city of the future has to be socially integrated. Paes discussed this part by focusing on the favelas in Rio. Slums can be found in any city. For his part, Paes emphasized that favelas need not be a problem. Instead, they can be a solution. So instead of having people go to the heart of the city to avail of educational, health, and social services, Paes brought these services to the heart of the favelas by looking for existing structures and transforming them into habitable spaces. I call this the social integration counter flow.

This is something that we already have. We have health centers, day care centers, and primary schools in local communities. And although there are communities in far-flung areas, we have dedicated people who go on their way to serve. I call this social integration in progress. We’ll get there as we learn from what we do.

A city of the future has to use technology to be present. During his talk, Paes called his secretary of urban affairs in Rio’s Operation Center to see what’s going on. His secretary gave him an update on the weather, the traffic condition, and even where the garbage collection trucks were at that moment. It was wonderful.

Now, for the majority of us, one of the best indications of technological integration is the installment of CCTVs in strategic areas in the city. This is a great beginning only if it’s used to respond to something sneaky real-time and not after it happened. Yep, that means enforcement visibility not only when it’s time to shut the bars down for curfew or when it’s time to manage the traffic flow.

The Internet is also now lending a hand in terms of making communication and networking a lot faster. And so is the prevalence of GPS. But do you know what we lack in this space? Responsiveness, and the perfect example is social media.

Very rarely do social media pages attributed to government organizations and political or public figures entertain the comments on their pages or posts. I’m not sure why but in my field, this reflects on the quality of engagement from the person or organization represented by the page. The same applies to websites that lists an email address. You send an email but no one responds. So I’m not sure now what that email address is for. So there’s the challenge in technology. If it’s expertise that’s lacking, there’s a lot of people in the city who I know are tech-savvy enough to man the digital space. And mind you, if these spaces are optimized, we won’t have to wait for the radio announcer to announce that classes have been cancelled because of an impending storm. With technology, we can actually feel that our local leaders are with us and not above us.

The miniscule land areas of Baguio and La Trinidad offer a huge challenge. I’m clearly aware of that. But challenges have their own accompanying solutions now or later. We may never get a shot at hosting the Olympics but it’s the out-of-the-box solutions that we implement that takes us a step closer to greatness. We can be cities of the future only if we go beyond the bounds imposed by our own dull way of thinking.

[Update: The plan to construct a multi-level parking lot in Burnham Park has been rejected by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Read the article here.]

BENECO Plans On Offering Up To 35Mbps Internet Connections At Only 350 Pesos Per Month

Up to 35Mbps internet connection at only 350 pesos? Sign me up. I'll mark the dotted line right away with no reservations whatsoever. The Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) is one step closer in realizing its plan of offering fast and cheap internet services for its 190,000-strong subscriber base. In a press briefing, officials from the cooperative announced that their project has been approved by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). The project is going to be a collaboration by the three parties.

Of course, there's a long road ahead before we will be able to see this come to fruition. I don't think they will be able to implement the program this year. Besides, they will probably offer the service in batches. But this is a very promising development if you take into account the state of internet services in the country. We have one of the slowest but most expensive internet connection services in Asia.

Projects like this one by BENECO, NEA, and DICT can potentially hit two birds with one stone. First, they are offering much faster and much cheaper internet connections. Two, the project can serve as a warning sign for internet service providers in the country that if they don't get their acts together, their user-base will drastically decline.

For the project, BENECO will be using as leverage their 100-kilometer fiber optic line in Baguio City and Benguet. An additional 80-kilometer fiber optic line will be laid out in the immediate future. This is great news and we can only hope that the project delivers with regards to its lofty promises.

Panagbenga Festival 2018 Schedule Of Events

With less than four weeks to go, the 23rd edition of the annual Panagbenga Festival is right around the corner. With the theme "Celebration of Culture and Creativity", the city aims to showcase once again its status as one of the most culturally-rich urban centers in the country. It also happens that the city is just a couple of months removed from being declared a "creative city" by the United Nations.

The festival will kick off with an opening ceremony on the first day of February. The highlights of the celebrations will be the Grand Street Dance Parade and Grand Float Parade that will happen on February 24 and 25, respectively. Below is the schedule for the main and traditional events of the festival. This schedule doesn't include events and activities organized by parties other than City Hall and the official festival organizers.

Date	Event	Venue
February 1	a.      Panagbenga Opening Ceremony and Parade b.      Drum and Lyre Competion – Elimination Round (Elementary Division)	Panagbenga Park – Session Road – Athletic Bowl
February 1 – March 4	Baguio Blooms Exposition and Exhibition	Juan Luna and Lake Drive in Burnham Park
February 11	a.      Handog ng Panagbenga sa Pamilya Baguio b.      Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom c.       Panagbenga Open Kite Flying Competition d.      Panagbenga Cultural Show	Melvin Jones Grandstand and Football Grounds
February 14	a.      School-based competitions b.      Floral arrangement contest for elementary and high school	School campuses
February 15 – February 17	a.      School-based competitions b.      Landscaping competition	School campuses
February 16 – February 18	PMA Alumni Homecoming Weekend	Philippine Military Academy
February 16	Flower Tee Open Golf Tournament	Baguio Country Club, Camp John Hay
February 17	Spring Festival/Chinese New Year	City-Wide
February 24	Grand Street Dance Parade	Panagbenga Park, Session Road, Maharlika, Harrison Road, Athletic Bowl
February 24 – February 25	Exhibitors and Sponsors Day	Ganza Parking Area
February 25	Grand Float Parade	DILG, Session Road, Maharlika, Harrison Road, Melvin Jones Football Grounds
February 26 – March 4	Session Road in Bloom	Session Road
March 3	Pony Boys Day	Wright Park
March 4	a.      Closing Ceremonies and Awarding b.      Grand Fireworks Display	Baguio Athletic Bowl

Christmas Tree Art Installation In Baguio City Partially Burned Down In Suspected Arson Case

What's up with Baguio City and the burning of Christmas trees? In January of this year, the giant Christmas tree installed at the center of the Rose Garden in Burnham Park was reduced to ashes in a suspected case of arson. Now, the Christmas tree art installation atop Session Road nearly had the same fate when it partially burned early morning on Monday (December 11).

According to the Baguio City Police, the art installation on Upper Session Road was partially burned around dawn but the cause is yet to be established. Somebody (or some people) not happy with the design of the installation may have attempted to burn it down. If proven that this is the case, it would be tantamount to arson. But we can't discount the possibility that the case may be an accident. The installation has electrical wires and parts so there's always the chance that rogue electricity caused the blaze.

The installation is the work of Maela Liwanag Jose, a Baguio-based artist. It received mixed feedback during its unveiling. But art is art. Just because you don't like the work doesn't mean you have the right to ruin it. You don't look at a painting and hammer it down to pieces if it doesn't adhere to your artistic tastes. On my part, Jose has my support. Truth be told, I'm among those who didn't really embrace the design of the installation. But I appreciate the fact that Jose took the risk of creating it. The work is unique. It's out of the box. And that's great. The best artists are those who create new ground instead of going with the flow.

Fortunately, only two panels of the installation were burned. Restoration of the work will start soon with the assistance of City Hall.

Photos by Ivory Collins.

Baguio City Designated as a CREATIVE CITY by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

Consider this as yet another feather in Baguio City's ever colorful cap. In a much-awaited announcement, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Baguio City, along with 64 other cities from 44 countries, as a "Creative City". With the designation, Baguio City is officially joining UNESCO's Creative Cities Network. Established in 2004, this network promotes "cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development".

In their statement which was released on Tuesday (October 31), UNESCO said that the Creative Cities Network is at the frontline of the agency's "efforts to foster innovation and creativity as key drivers for a more sustainable and inclusive urban development". UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova added that the new additions to the network "showcase an enhanced diversity in city profiles and geographical balance, with 19 cities from countries not previously represented in the network".

Baguio City is the first urban center in the Philippines to join the network. To become a member, interested cities must "submit an application that clearly demonstrates their willingness, commitment and capacity to contribute to the objectives of the network". The call for applications for this year was launched back in February. Baguio City was short-listed just last month (September). The network is composed of seven fields: Music, Media Arts, Literature, Gastronomy, Film, Design, and Crafts & Folk Art. Baguio City was designated as a "creative city" under the Crafts & Folk Art field.

Photo by Daniel Feliciano

The Goals of the Creative Cities Network [Source: CCN website]

By joining the Network, cities commit to sharing their best practices and developing partnerships involving the public and private sectors as well as civil society in order to:

1) strengthen the creation, production, distribution and dissemination of cultural activities, goods and services;
2) develop hubs of creativity and innovation and broaden opportunities for creators and professionals in the cultural sector;
3) improve access to and participation in cultural life, in particular for marginalized or vulnerable groups and individuals;
4) fully integrate culture and creativity into sustainable development plans.

Student Dies In A Landslide Accident Along Kennon Road In Tuba, Benguet

One person died while other passengers were injured when the van they were riding got pinned by a landslide along Kennon Road in Camp 1, Tuba, Benguet on Thursday afternoon. The UV Express van came from Baguio City and was on its way to the city of Dagupan in Pangasinan.

The van was traversing a portion of Kennon Road when a huge mass of soil and rock boulders came tumbling down from the mountain slope above the road. The driver tried to stop the car to avoid the landslide but it was too late. The front portion of the van got pinned by the falling debris.

The fatality was identified as Izeiah Karl Jior Medalle, a college student studying Mechatronics Engineering at Saint Louis University in Baguio City. Some of the passengers who suffered injuries were brought to nearby hospitals for medical treatment and examination. The driver of the van who hails from La Trinidad, Benguet suffered a few minor injuries.

Due to the incident, Kennon Road was closed leading to the build-up of vehicular traffic on both ends of the accident location. The road is still currently closed but clearing operations are ongoing. It's possible that the landslide was triggered by the heavy rainfall that occurred around noon, just a few hours before the accident.

Motorists going out or coming to Baguio City are being advised to take alternative routes like Marcos Highway and to watch out for falling rocks when traversing Kennon Road.

Photo by Rafael Paeng Valencia of 911 On Call: Baguio

The Museo Kordilyera In Baguio City Is Now Open To The Public

Culture evolves with the passage of time. In the manner of the scientific theory of evolution, we add and subtract to our culture and traditions depending on the prevailing situations of the current age. With that said, the Cordilleran culture of today is vastly different from the prevailing culture 10 years, 50 years, 150 years, or 200 years ago. There are activities that we performed ages ago (i.e. headhunting) that's virtually non-existent today. The pieces of clothing that our ancestors wore on a daily basis are now semi-permanent inhabitants of our "bauls", taken out and worn only during certain occasions.

For someone like me and others who were born in a time wherein the Cordillera people's cultural assimilation with that of outside cultures has long been completed, our best chance in learning about what our culture looked and felt like in another time is through the works of artists, researchers, and academics. These are people who made it their mission to study and record Cordilleran culture and history. This brings us to the recent opening of Museo Kordilyera inside University of the Philippines (Baguio). Categorized as an ethnographic museum, it "conserves, displays, and contextualizes items relevant to the field of ethnography which is the systematic study of people and cultures."

It's apt that the museum's inaugural exhibits feature mostly visual items of Cordilleran culture: tattoos, photographs of various rituals, clothing, trinkets, weapons, and furniture. Even the most avid student of Cordilleran culture will find something new in the beautiful displays. The academics credited with the exhibits are Dr. Analyn Salvador-Amores, Roland Rabang, and Jules de Raedt. These were curated by Professor Emeritus Delfin Tolentino, Jr., Prof. Victoria Diaz, archivist Cristina Villanueva and Dr. Salvador-Amores.

The exhibits are as follows:
1. Batok: Body as an Archive: by Dr. Salvador-Amores
2. Ethnographic Photographs by Roland Rabang
3. The Works of the Late Anthropologist Jules de Raedt

Some of the items on display came from various sources including the BenCab Museum, Saint Louis University Museum, Diocese of Baguio Museum, and the UP Baguio Library and Archives. According to the museum's Facebook page, their mission is to "cultivate an understanding of and respect for the identity and culture of the indigenous peoples of the Cordillera and Northern Luzon as an integral part of the evolving Filipino culture."

Museo Kordilyera is open from 9:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the afternoon. There's an entrance fee of 25 pesos for non-UP students and 50 pesos for non-UP adults. The museum also has a gift shop where you can purchase books, magazines, post cards, t-shirts, and mugs.

Elementary/High School Classes on January 27 (Friday) Suspended in Baguio City (Afternoon Only)

Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan has suspended classes in the elementary and secondary levels in the city for the afternoon of January 27 (Friday). The suspension affects both public and private educational institutions. A civic-military parade celebrating the Chinese New Year will be held on said date. In the administrative order signed by the mayor, it was stated that the cancelling of classes will ensure "utmost participation" for the event.

The parade will pass through Session Road, Magsaysay Avenue, and Harrison Road. Participants will then converge at the Melvin Jones Grandstand. Parade starts at 3:00 pm.

The Cordilleran Sun file photo.

Special Forces Captain From Buguias, Benguet Killed In War Against The Terror Group Abu Sayyaf

A commanding officer of the Special Forces Regiment (Airborne) of the Philippine Army was killed during an encounter with a notorious terror group in Mindanao on Thursday (January 12). Captain Clinton Longbas Capio perished during the nine-hour firefight against an estimated 60 to 80 heavily-armed Abu Sayyaf militants. According to Major Filemon Tan Jr., spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command, Captain Capio fell when an enemy bullet hit him on the right temple. The loss of Captain Capio makes him the first casualty of 2017 on the war on terror in Mindanao.

Four other soldiers were also wounded during the encounter which occurred in the village of Cabcaban in Sumisip, Basilan. One is a Special Forces member (Sergeant Gilbert Dumlao) and three are infantry soldiers (Marvin Indog, Joel Manuel, and Arthur Jimenez). The military organized the attack after receiving intel that armed Abu Sayyaf members were converging in the area. The terror group led by a certain Furuji Indama held the ground for several hours before retreating, leaving behind at least two of their dead comrades.

Captain Capio hails from Amlimay, Buguias, Benguet. Before joining the Philippine Military Academy, Capio took up engineering in Saint Louis University in Baguio City. He then entered the military academy and graduated in 2006 as part of the Mandala Class (Mandirigmang Dangal ng Lahi). A commanding officer of the 1st Special Forces Company, he was assigned to Basilan to help fight the hundreds of Abu Sayyaf members that still operate within the island province. According to reports, Captain Capio's remains will be flown by military plane to Baguio City as soon as the appropriate military honors are done. He was 34 years old and he left behind a wife and a three-year-old daughter.

Messages of support for the fallen officer were posted online by friends, relatives, and fellow soldiers. Randy Diaz, also from the Philippine Army, wrote on his wall, "Captain Clinton Capio, sir thank you for being a good captain to us. We the troops of the 1st Company are proud of you and we salute you sir for being a brave hero. Our deepest sympathy to your bereaved family."

Photo Credit: Randy Diaz via Facebook.

Giant Christmas Tree In Burnham Park, Baguio City Burned Down To The Ground

The giant Christmas tree installed at the center of the Rose Garden in Burnham Park is now a goner. It was reduced to ashes on Tuesday night in what is believed to be a case of arson. According to some witnesses, at least two men were seen running away from the fiery scene. 

Investigators are also not discounting the possibility that the fire may have been caused by faulty electrical wiring. The artificial tree is wrapped with Christmas lights, balls, and other decorations that are powered by electricity. However, a security guard posted in the area said that city employees started removing Christmas decorations in the area the day before the tree burned down.

Around 8:50 in the evening, the Bureau of Fire Protection received an alert call from an employee of a hotel near the garden that the tree was on fire. Several minutes later, nothing was left of the tree except for its metal framework.

The 12-meter tree was built using cogon grass, twigs, bamboo, scrap metals, and other recycled materials. It reportedly cost the city an estimated amount of 500,000 pesos. It was a hit among both locals and tourists visiting the city. It served as an additional attraction to the garden's dancing fountain lights. [Sources: Bombo Radyo Baguio, Interaksyon]

Photo credit: SLU's Hottest

No Classes In All Levels In Baguio City On January 18 According To The City Vice-Mayor

Classes in all levels in Baguio City will be suspended on January 18 (Wednesday), according to Edison Bilog, Vice-Mayor of the city. Bilog made the announcement on his official Facebook page. Here's the full post: "Sa lahat po ng nagtatanong sa akin, as per information relayed to me by the city mayor (Mauricio Domogan), classes in all levels would be suspended on January 18, 2017. However, the city mayor's office would still be talking to the authorities of all private schools in the city of Baguio relative to the suspension of classes."

January 18 is the scheduled day of visit to the city by the more than 20 candidates of the Miss Universe beauty pageant. The contestants will have a parade through the main thoroughfares of the city (Session Road and Harrison Road). A few days ago, Domogan said that suspending classes in the city may be the best option in ensuring that the parade will go smoothly

Photo by The Cordilleran Sun

The Fake Monk Mafia In Baguio City

Beware of these men dressed up as Buddhist monks roaming the streets of Baguio City. They've been spotted in Session Road, in Leonard Wood, in Harrison Road, and other major streets in the city. Their alleged modus operandi is to put a bracelet in your hand or hang beads or a necklace on your neck and then suddenly ask for money ranging from 100 to 500 pesos. They can be aggressive in insisting that you pay them. They often don't accept amounts below these. This is a scam, pure and simple.

If these men are genuine devotees of Buddhism, they should be spreading the belief system's teachings, not trying to siphon away money from people. A lot of the people they approach are young people (mostly students) because they are easier to manipulate.

In short, please stay away from these robed men. They are even seen wearing cowboy hats to sort of take advantage of the prevailing culture here in the Cordilleras.

Stay away from these men. If you see them, move aside. Don't let them put a bracelet on your hand or beads on your neck. If they insist, just remove the bracelet or necklace and return it to them. If they become aggressive, call the police.

To the Baguio City police, please do something about this. Many people, especially unsuspecting students have fallen for their traps. To those who have fallen to these men's modus operandi, please feel free to tell your stories below to raise more awareness.

Apparently, the "fake monks" problem is rampant in places like Hongkong, Macau, Los Angeles, and New York City. Here is a link to a story by the New York Times about fake monks roaming Times Square: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/02/nyregion/fake-monks-begging-buddhist.html

Photo by Mr. Dagiw-a via Facebook

To All Tourists Visiting Baguio City, Please Read This

[Note]: This is an edited and updated version of a piece I wrote about two years ago. I'm republishing it here since the issues discussed here are yearly problems that the city has to face.

Before anything else, in behalf of Baguio folks, I would like to extend my gratitude for your interest in spending time in our beloved city. I'm fully aware of the undeniable fact that a huge chunk of the reason why Baguio City continues to grow and develop is because of the economic benefits that tourists have poured into the city's coffers through the years. Baguio City has reached its status as a top tourist destination in the Philippines partly through word-of-mouth. And at the forefront of this word-of-mouth campaign are the thousands of tourists who flock to the city every year.

So thanks again, tourists. You are a major part of the lifeblood of this city. You are directly embedded into the complicated system that has been keeping the city afloat since its founding over a hundred years ago.

But here's the thing. Being a tourist destination is a double-edged sword. It has its dark side. Tourists can harm a place just as much as they can help it grow and improve. Thus this humble letter to tourists planning to visit or are currently in Baguio City.

When I logged in online this morning, I saw a lot of people complaining about the state of Baguio City this holiday season. People are crawling like thick ants in the streets that there is barely space to breathe. Vehicular traffic is so slow you'd think that somebody poured thick molasses on the road. Garbage is in every nook and corner. Many visitors are not respecting city rules and regulations.

I thought to myself, it couldn't be this bad? So I went to town to sort of verify the complaints. I reside in the nearby town of La Trinidad so I had to commute to town. It took me nearly two hours to reach Baguio City. This commute on average would take me 30 minutes. This shows how bad the traffic has become because of the congestion within the city. And yes, when I reached the city, trash is indeed mounting and city rules and regulations are being violated left and right.

Now, it would be completely unfair to blame these problems to tourists. City residents also have a part in it. However, it would be fair to say that tourists contribute significantly to these problems (especially during the holiday season when tourist arrival reaches its peak).

I'm going to make this brief and clear. As a concerned resident, I've listed below some of the things that I would love tourists to do and not to do. Please take these as friendly suggestions.

1) Don't treat Baguio City as if it's a huge waste basket. It's utterly disappointing to walk around Burnham Park and see trash and litter everywhere - under the flower beds, under the park benches, on the picnic grounds, etc. When I walked up to SM, I passed a lot of trash on the flower beds between the police station and Banco De Oro below the shopping mall. Candy wrappers and empty soda cups were deliberately thrown into the flower beds.

It's highly recommended that you carry bags with you where you can place your trash. There are garbage bins distributed around the city but these aren't enough to accommodate all the litter produced by the thousands of residents and tourists. If you see a full garbage bin, don't just throw your trash around or near it because such act will cause others to do the same. Before you know it, the bin will turn into a mounting garbage dump.

2) Follow traffic and pedestrian rules. Most Baguio residents know how and when to cross the street especially within the central business district (CBD). They know what red, orange and green lights mean. With the influx of tourists, Session Road has turned into a mad house. The traffic lights seem to be non-existent. People walk and cross the street whenever they wish.

Photo by Daniel Feliciano / The Cordilleran Sun

3) As much as possible, don't bring your cars into Baguio City. Try to take the bus. Baguio City has very narrow streets and nearly zero parking facilities. The city is having a very difficult time dealing with the number of resident cars already. Bring tourist cars into the picture and the city will literally choke.

4) Make sure that you have a place to stay before you travel to the city. At this time of the year, most hotels, inns and lodges are fully-booked. So if you come here without an advanced booking, you will likely find yourself stranded with no place to stay. Tourists often take this for granted but this is a very serious problem. Worse, there are scammers out there who prey on stranded tourists. Consider yourself warned.

5) Do a bit of research and read about the city and its people before you come here. You have no idea how insulting and saddening it can be to hear tourists say, "Asan na mga Igorot? Gusto ko makakita ng Igorot!". There's nothing wrong with the question per se but in the context of the rampant ignorance about indigenous peoples in the Cordillera, it's rather insulting. The truth is you are walking among them in Session Road, eating among them at a nearby fast food restaurant, etc. Or better yet, go to City Hall. The mayor and majority of the councilors are Igorots.

These aren't too much to ask. Do keep them in mind. So, welcome to Baguio City, enjoy your stay, and have a blast. Thank you.

Baguio City And Benguet Artists Mount An Art Exhibit To Celebrate Indigenous Peoples Month

Dozens of visual and performance artists based in Baguio City and Benguet came together to mount a group art exhibit dubbed Pamana Art Exhibit 3 at the Victor Oteyza Community Art Space along Session Road. The exhibit which opened on October 8 is part of the Cordillera region's celebrations for Indigenous Peoples Month. The artworks will be on display until November 4. Most of the pieces are for sale.

This year's theme for the celebrations is "Indigenous Peoples Empowerment Towards Peace, Unity, and Development." According to Art Tibaldo who also has two works in the exhibit, the show was "spearheaded by spouses Raffy and Joselyn Kapuno with the support of various NGOs, cultural groups and the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples."

Also scheduled for the month are the following events: a regional IP youth assembly, screening of relevant films at the Baguio Cinematheque, forums on indigenous rights, autonomy, and federalism, a book launching, tree planting, and the Gong Festival.

Here are some photos from the art exhibit.