A Book About Ibaloy/Ibaloi Culture and History

With Ibaloy Day fast approaching, here's a good book to help you learn about the Ibaloys. This is a book every Ibaloy should find time to read. I'd also recommend it to non-Ibaloys who are interested in learning about Ibaloy culture and history. The pieces in this collection range from the academic/scholarly to the sentimental/nostalgic. These include works by June Prill-Brett, Jessica Kintanar Carino, Bienvenido Tapang Jr. and seven other authors. 

What is "chiva"?. Jimmy B. Fong, the book's editor, writes in his Preface that "chiva is an Ibaloy term referring to all sorts of storytelling and sharing of narratives such as stories, genealogies, traditions, and legends". It's an appropriate title for this collection of articles/essays about the Ibaloys. 

Many of the pieces in this book describe and make sense of how Ibaloys navigated the waves of colonization and other outside forces that tried to mangle or take away their cultural identity. 

This book covers just a small portion of Ibaloy culture and history. Just the tip of the iceberg. But it's a good place to start for anyone in want of studying the Ibaloys. It's a book that will get your foot through the door. 

Most of the articles end with notes and references which you can use/follow for further study and investigation. 

If you want a copy of the book, get in touch with the Cordillera Studies Center or the Museo Kordilyera at the University of the Philippines Baguio. You can also check if they have copies at the Mt. Cloud Bookshop. 

#cordillera #ibaloyculture #ibaloyhistory #benguet

New Movie Adaptation of Emily Bronte's Classic Novel "Wuthering Heights"

Today I learned that there's a new upcoming film adaptation of Emily Bronte's classic novel Wuthering Heights. It's scheduled for release this coming February. Wuthering Heights is one of the very few classic novels that I actually enjoyed reading. So I might watch this one to find out how faithful they would be on the source material. 

Wuthering Heights has been adapted for the movie screen a few times in the past. The most notable of these adaptations are the 1939 adaptation starring Laurience Olivier and Merle Oberon and the 1992 adaptation starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. 

The 2026 adaptation will feature Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff respectively. Interestingly enough, Jacob Elordi just starred last year in another movie adaptation of another classic novel. He played "the monster" or "the creature" in Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. 

#movieadaptations #filmadaptations #classicnovels

The New and Modern Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Museum

This building tucked in the woods is the new Philippine Military Academy Museum. It was formally soft-launched in November last year. According to the Academy, they are preparing to open the museum for the general public sometime in the first quarter of 2026. 

Wolf Moon Over Baguio City and La Trinidad, Benguet

Get out right now and look at the night sky to catch a glimpse of the Wolf Moon, the first full moon of 2026. This is also a supermoon. Supermoons are full moons that are closer than normal to earth and they seem larger and brighter in the sky. There are only three or four supermoons in a year. So yes, you only get to see them a few times a year.

The Wolf Moon was named after howling wolves. Took these pictures today both in Baguio City and La Trinidad.

#wolfmoon #supermoon #nightsky #baguio #latrinidad

Agave Plants Along the Yellow Trail in Camp John Hay Keeps Getting Vandalized

Some visitors at the Yellow Trail in Camp John Hay in Baguio City keep on vandalizing plants along the trail. These agave plants which are located within arms-reach from the trail have leaves covered in etched markings. 

An unpleasant characteristic of many Filipinos is their urge to leave their mark everywhere they go.

Etching your name on the leaves of the agave plants is harmful to them. Leaf decay always starts from parts of the leaf that have been vandalized.

The vandalization of these plants have been going on for too long. Maybe it's time for Camp John Hay to put up signs beside the agave plants to remind people to not vandalize the plants.

SM Withdraws Its Baguio City Public Market Development Proposal

SM Prime Holdings Inc. has withdrawn its proposal to redevelop the Baguio City public market. This was announced through the Baguio City Public Information Office's official Facebook page. The announcement added that Mayor Benjamin Magalong was informed of SM's withdrawal through a letter sent to his office. 

It was in February of 2020 when SM sent their unsolicited proposal to the city for the redevelopment of the market. 

The proposal has met opposition from concerned residents, groups, and organizations. Street protests and petitions were held in Baguio City to oppose the proposal which they described to be akin to mallification or privatization.

The city council was supposed to vote next week whether they will reject or accept the proposal.

#baguio #baguiocity #publicmarket #breakingnews

Why Did SM Withdraw Its Baguio City Public Market Development Proposal?

The city council's review period for the SM market deal will end on January 9. On or before this date, the city council will vote to decide whether to accept or reject SM's proposal. So the city council is just a few days away from making its decision. 

The vote is no longer happening after SM's withdrawal of its proposal. This has surprised a lot of people because SM rarely backs down from lucrative projects like this. They almost always win. They often get what they want.

So why did they decide to back down this time? And why did they back down just a few days away from the city council vote?

Was it a calculated move to save face? Did their intel-gathering tell them that the city council will likely vote NO to the proposal? 

To save themselves the embarrassment of getting rejected, did they decide to just withdraw the proposal instead of waiting for the city council's decision? 

The withdrawal looks like a calculated PR move to lessen the potential negative impact on their corporate image.

You can't blame them though. As far as corporate image is concerned, "𝗦𝗠 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹" is a better headline for them than "𝗦𝗠 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹".