Baguio's Street Dance Parade, it is.

On the third week of February every year, tourists come to Baguio not just to watch the much anticipated Floral Parade  but also the Street Dance Parade.

Today, it just happened and it attracted million of people from different sides of the country and even abroad.

The street dance parade were participated by different institutions and organizations with the lead of the City Government and other local government units of Benguet.

It started early. In fact, various members of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines prepared for their duties  at six in the morning.

Interns and students of NSTP of different college and Universities in Baguio helped in crowd control, and even littering control for th mevent.

Also, as of 7:25, bleachers in the Athletic Bowl was almost full and Session Road was pretty much jampacked with people who wanted to watch the parade.

As of 9:15, the participants started to arrive at the athletic bowl, the "final destination" of the parade.

As usual, the Philippine Military Academy band heads the parade.

Different department heads of government offices arrived next to the PMA band.

The parade went smooth with the grace and colorful costumes of the participants.

On the other hand, ambulances and different medical groups were just around the area to monitor the crowd and be just ready in case of emergency.

Tomorrow, more people are expected because it is the much awaited event in the City. Tourists say that they hope the crowd would be more disciplined, and hope no danger.

It is safe to assume that there is about 2.2 million people in Baguio visiting/staying for the weekend.

Reports and information from Pamela Isleta.

Indigenous rights or cultural heritage?

Casa Vallejo.

• One of the earliest structures in the City of Pines.
• Baguio's oldest hotel (in use).
• Cultural Property.
• Controversial ownership claim of an indigenous family at the moment.

Who stands a chance?

First hand information, they say, is sure the best information a journalist could have but then one of the members of the working staff of Casa Vallejo said that they were given an order not long ago to never say anything about the issue.

Who are we not to understand? It is better that way than making them lose their jobs, right?

In the midst of all the issues and concerns, what really happened?

Here's a timeline that might help.

January 3, 2014. – an eviction notice was given to the management of Casa Vallejo 3 followed the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples’ issuance of two certificates of ancestral land  titles (CALTs) to an Ibaloi family. They claim that the land where the hotel stands belong to them “since pre- Hispanic times.”

January 10, 2014- A press conference was held at Casa Vallejo. DENR’s National Resources Development Corporation lawyer said that they are completely unaware of NCIP’s decision.

January 14, 2014- The day Casa Vallejo was supposed to close. Apparently, affected people and supporters were there to camp in front of the hotel to show their resentment.

January 28, 2014- As a report from PIA Cordillera-  Ancestral land claimants will have to wait for an indefinite time for their Certificates of Ancestral Land Titles (CALTs)  with the  order of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to  its regional office in the Cordillera Region  to suspend the  issuance of CALTs.

Perhaps, the biggest question today is: It survived a century of wars and calamities, will it survive the force of NCIP and the demolition?

Yes, it stands its ground for the longest time, as a part of Baguio heritage, so to speak, why not leave it that way?

It will fuel more outrage, when the "claimnants/owners" will turn the century-old heritage for their profit-oriented mindset.

A condominium in front of the mall?

Wow, Baguio, you are one of a hotspot for money-based buildings, eh?

Cultural heritage, please. It is, and will always be, a part of Baguio City's identity.

WHAT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS HERITAGE SITE? 

Credits to: http://asmartrock.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/the-ghosts-of-casa-vallejo/

·         It became a German Prisoner of War detention center in 1917

·         Dormitory 4 to house the employees of the Bureau of Public Works before the 1920s, when the American colonial government began populating Baguio

·         Became a hotel in 1923

·         Salvador Vallejo (where it got its current name) leased the hotel from the government in 1927 and converted it into a hotel;

·         It became a British and Indian refugee center in 1940;

·         Together with Baguio Cathedral, it survived the Japanese carpet bombing during World War II in 1941

·         Served as a temporary site of the Baguio City High School in 1945 after WW II

·         It is the the only remaining building of the Government Compound built from 1908 to 1909

·         It has been named by the Baguio Centennial Commission as one of the 10 oldest institutions in the city

More stories at:

http://car.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=91389765138

http://car.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=21389927625

http://car.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=21391076065

http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/47946-baguio-casa-vallejo-safe-now

http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/47720-indigenous-rights-heritage-baguio-casa-vallejo

http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/148579/whats-behind-the-surprise-eviction-notice-of-casa-vallejo

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/local-news/2014/01/10/vallejo-tenants-face-eviction-322541

Good luck, tourists.

February is love month, they say.

Nah, February is more amazing because of PANAGBENGA FESTIVAL! 

Tourists come and go, I know because the traffic in town is not likely the traffic during regular days in the City.

I see buses of tourists and students coming from different parts of the country, roaming around to see what Baguio could offer. 

Now, Burnham Park is, by all means, crowded just like every approach of the month of February. 

The increasing trend of tourist arrivals is inevitable especially this month because according to surveys, Baguio City remains to be one of the top 15 favorite destinations of both local and foreign tourists in the country.

The staff of City Tourism Office of Baguio are not able to provide statistics of tourist arrivals because it is still not the "peak season" of tourist visits.

However, the National Statistical Coordination Board of Cordillera Administrative Region posted the statistical data of arrivals of tourists in the city last 2012. 

Also, news stories from the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) reveals the state of tourism arrivals last year, and it can be inferred that there is really relatively high number of tourists that come to Baguio every February.

PO2 Anabelle Macli-ing of the Tourist Police Unit in Burnham Park said that people from Baguio should expect tourist arrivals on the third week of the month. 

When asked about the state of their business, Noel Salonga, one of the owners of the Salonga bike rentals said that there are more tourists last year compared now.

"Mas malakas kita namin last year. Ngayon gutom kami," he said.

In accordance to what Joel Maruyong said, that last year, even in the first two weeks of the month, there are many tourists in the city. 

He said that boat rentals are low, but then he is still expecting that more tourists will visit he City next week.

In relation to the approaching festival, reports show that the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) will double its forces for a better traffic management scheme. 

BCPO's traffic plan is now being implemented. 

The tourism industry of Baguio was never low.

The summer capital has always been one of the most visited places in the country because of the cool air and the many places that the city could offer to tourists.

Here's the schedule of activities for Panagbenga, by the way.

Friendly reminders:

1. Make your hotel/transient/inn reservations now, or as early as possible because Baguio will be full-packed with other people from other places again.

2. Better to be driving your own cars.

3. Bring jackets and comforters. (Because you could just park your car on the side of the road and sleep inside, you know, typical tourist whatnot)

4. Plan your trip ahead of time. HAVE YOUR ITINERARY READY.

5. Expect water shortage, okay?

Good luck, tourists. 

Read More...

Yesterday, I came across an article by Juan Miguel Luz of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. It is titled A Nation for Non-readers, and is about the "undeveloped" reading habits of Filipinos. 

Someone once remarked that we are not a nation of readers; we are a nation of storytellers. Ours is a culture of oral history passed on by word of mouth not through written word.

I think there is something wrong with the statement. Storytellers? What difference could it be with being a reader?

The problem is, books nowadays are too expensive. 

The general population, especially in the Philippines, can not, so to speak, afford buying books that could enhance their reading comprehension which must lead to grammar expansion.

Photo courtesy of http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-reasons-that-prove-the-world-is-not-getting-stupider.php

In a article by Queena Lee Chua of Inquirer.net, she said that there is really a decline in readership among Filipinos.

According to Chua, a survey was conducted and it showed that despite of the proliferation of bookstores, publishers and writers, there is a decrease in reading in our nation. 

"Only 92 percent of respondents say they read, down to two percent from 2003. The reading of books, comics, newspapers, and magazines has gone down, by seven, 13, 14, and 15 percent, respectively," she said.

Overtime, there is a remarkable increase of literacy rate, but does this mean that the reading habits of Filipinos develop, too?

If, let's say, 85% of the general population are literate, does it follow that 85% of them are economically well-off? Do they have the access to good books?

It may not be parallel to the economic stability of the Philippines.

The growing population does not really imply illiteracy but, culturally speaking, people from other races still look at Filipinos as though we are not good enough to compete.

What should we do to somehow eradicate this notion?

The National Book Development Board of the Philippines uploaded a very good example on how to increase the literacy rate of students, comes along with the increase of their reading habits in their issue of book watch.

Source: http://nbdb.gov.ph/images/bookwatch/bookwatchfirst.pdf

What else more to do? I suggest that:

1. There should be a regulation of book prices.

2. The Philippine government should conduct more book drives not only in schools but also in communities.

3. School libraries should contain really good reads, not only academically but those literary works.

4. There should be a One Town. One Library move/project.

5. Create a nation of bookworms.

There will be a growth and increase in the number of intellectual Filipinos if these happen.

The literacy rate of Filipinos may also bag its highest, if that is possible.

To cap this literacy and to be a bookworm thingy, I found a really good quotation, a reason why people should really read more:

I think that most people go into bookshops and have no idea what they want to buy. Somehow, the books sit there, almost magically, willing people t pick them up. The right person for the right book. It’s as though they already know whose life they need to be a part of, of how they can make a difference, how they can teach a lesson, put a smile on a face at just the right time.”

-          Tamara Goodwin, The Book of Tomorrow

Sources:

http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/philippines/literacy-rate

http://readphilippines.com/Forum/are-filipinos-readers--t42s100.html