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HILL ABOVE THE CLOUDS. The overlooking view of Baguio City from Spring Hills Elementary School in Loakan.
There are two types of people who visit a new place. The one who takes out their cameras and starts taking every single thing that their cameras could capture. The other one is someone who asks, looks, and searches for everything that interests them about the place.
Visited and may be known by many for its sceneries and cold weather, Baguio City is also known for its colorful and diverse culture.
Like many historical places in the Philippines, the North has an abundant history to offer. From tourist spots to the more important piece that Baguio has — the indigenous peoples (IP) and places, and knowledge.
A Place of Paradise
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Originally, Baguio was called "Kafagway" by the people of the Kankanaey and Ibaloi tribes of the Cordilleras who inhabited the city before foreign occupation. Later on, colonization urbanized the Cordillera Region and the city of Baguio. These changes swiftly shifted the lives and identities of locals and IP to a more economic system.
One of these was the construction of Kennon Road which connects Baguio to Pangasinan and to some parts of the Ilocos region. The creation of this road paved the way for accessibility and growth in the development of Baguio.
Not only roads are created during these times, but also historical and heritage places that make tourists go back and forth in the City of Pines. Some of these known places that make Baguio City a heritage city are: Baguio Cathedral, Baguio Market, Teacher’s Camp, Session Road, Diplomat Hotel, Baguio Colleges and Universities, and the famous Burnham Park.
Session Road, for instance, is not only a touristy spectacle but an avenue of culture and art. Today, it houses the famous Sunday Session where the road closes to cater to artists, buskers, and cosplayers.
These heritage sites go way back in the history of Baguio. A lot of changes were made, but what remains is a paradise city with its cold weather above the clouds and continuous life for locals and tourists.
More than just a city
On October 31, 2017, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) declared Baguio a creative city of arts and folk arts. With its heritage sites, rich culture, arts, and people that bring a colorful and bright image to the city, it is no wonder why Baguio was the first creative city designated in the country.
In Baguio, there are numerous galleries and museums that feature works by different artists. But the city’s artscapes do not stop at the galleries, because murals are everywhere. The city also prides itself with local cafes built with the artistic genius of the locals. One of these is the famous Ili-likha Cafe owned by the National Artist of the Philippines for Film, Kidlat Tahimik.
It can be regarded as a popular tourist destination; Baguio stands more than just a place for locals and tourists; it is a city of life and creativity—that is one of the valuable heritages it could have.
A lot of things happened that made a valuable change in Baguio, but the cultural heritage it could have will still be the same from the past to the present. More than the progress and changes in the city in terms of environment and infrastructure, nothing can replace the history and vivid memories of someone, whether a local or a tourist, on a hill that is above the clouds that serve as the life for everyone. Indeed, a place of paradise.
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— Kyla Claire Abawag
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COLORS ON WHITE. The works of Ayonna Cawang, a four-year-old artist, displays life and stills in different forms at the Tam-awan Village Gallery.
Wonder how one’s love and passion for art sparked? Art is a language that talks to you based on how you see the world.
Ayonna was two and Elmo was three when they ventured into the world of art. Both children were born with parents inclined to the arts. One has a visual artist mother, one has a father that has deeply enjoys art. Children are highly influenced by what they see and their exposure to art can spark their interest and imagination. Emulating what they see from their environment, these children will draw you into the world created on their canvas to see the colors and stories from their eyes.
Ayonna loved to sing and play the guitar, but her mother noticed after her Volkswagen-themed solo exhibit that her child was inspired to express herself through art. After this, she began selling pieces of her art to doctors in exhibits.
Meanwhile, Elmo started with doodles of his daily life, what he sees and what he experiences. With the help of his parents, he started pouring the colors of his life through canvases. He painted different characters, both animate and inanimate, and exhaled life to these creatures using his brush.
Ages three, two—that early phase of child wonders. In the eyes of young artists Ayonna and Elmo, their art depicts what life is in their world.
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The little warrior of art
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In Pinsao’s haven for the culture-savvy, the Tam-awan Village, there display about 150 paintings of a four-year-old. Riding a jeep from the town to Pinsao proper, you will find a place where culture and art bloom. Called as a haven for artists, Tam-awan Village not only showcases Cordillera culture through hut and bulul displays. The village also has its own gallery that features artworks from different artists from the region, including Ayonna.
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The white canvas, different strokes of pastels and acrylic will surround you once you enter the village gallery that displays numerous paintings with different characters.
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Ayonna Cawang, now four, grew up watching her mother, Eden Cawang, exhibit her art. Like Ayonna, her mother also started doing art back in her early childhood. Mother Cawang said that her daughter’s first acrylic painting on canvas was created when she was one year and nine months old. After two months, her first painting was bought by a doctor. Ayonna goes by the same native name as her mother who is a visual artist. Mother Cawang calls her daughter’s portraits “objective paintings” because Ayonna’s subjects are often animals, flowers, and her grandparents. The child paints every object she sees and tells stories about them.
At the age of two, she started participating in art exhibits. Her first art exhibit was at the Coffee Festival of La Trinidad in 2021, and she sold another painting in the Benguet Capitol for the Cordillera Month art exhibit. When Ayonna turned three, she amazingly painted her first self portrait.
She may be known as a little artist by many, this young girl is also a warrior. As Ayonna paints her canvas with bright colors, with black and dark green as its main accents, she fights a congenital condition every day. Ayonna battles a rare disease called Biliary Atresia that makes her liver dysfunctional for the bile, a fluid created in the liver and stored in the gallbladder, is trapped in the liver causing damage and scars to liver cells. Despite this circumstance, the little warrior withstands scarrings and continues to wave her brush to manifest her love and learnings for and about the world.
Ayonna strives to inspire other children, showing them that diseases cannot hinder her from creating a colorful world using her art tools.
Looking through the canvas on how a four-year-old warrior sees animals like horses and characters like Spongebob, her little stories of her acrylic fill me with delight. Ayonna is a child with simple strokes that reminds you of how a child is, observant and adaptive of what she sees in people around her.
The earth warrior of pugad
The world shut down during the pandemic. But Ennsar Luis “Elmo” Modelo opened a new world while he blooms and produces colors in isolation.
In Elmo’s exhibit, I noticed the canvas with a bear-looking creature, wearing a yellow long sleeve, and floating in a blue background. Along that wall are different works with flashy colors and distorted faces and bodies that reminded me of Picasso’s paintings. All of the works were created by Elmo and some of the works displayed were shown in his solo exhibit called “Earth Warriors.”
As one enters the Pugad ni Art Studio in Puguis, La Trinidad, the plywood wall will welcome you. It displays earth warriors alive on the canvas of a seven-year-old artist with brimming confidence shown in his posture and smile. The child always has his hair tied in a small ponytail that keeps his hair away from his face. Like the colors in his paintings, his clothes fall on the spectrum of earth tones like brown to striking colors like orange.
According to the description of Elmo’s exhibition, the earth warriors are his interpretation of “the struggles, new realities, and nature” during the pandemic. Elmo wants to convey his advocacy on “how to protect and preserve the world they live in, beloved Mother Earth, not only for this generation, but the ones after it” through the strokes of his brush.
The art world of Elmo lit up when he was three. He started painting with the help of his father. His parents said, “Instead of the usual toys, he leaned towards crayons, pencils and sketch pads.”
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As Elmo grows, he forms his distinct art style because his subjects are painted based on his interpretation. During the pandemic when children cannot play outside because of the virus, the budding artist coped by developing his art. He wished for other children to develop a way to express themselves and their dreams.
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Elmo’s world is promising. At a young age, he uses his hands to create a big change to change the world. His care for the Earth blends with pastels and acrylics, and the beauty of his art goes beyond self-expression.
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Warriors keep culture alive
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A melting pot of different art styles, cultures, and ages is what I discovered as I explored Baguio and La Trinidad. Art can exist as long as you have a tool and a space, and it exists everywhere in these places. Culture and local art continuously live seeing that art galleries continuously flourish by giving a platform to different artists in the Cordillera region.
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As a wanderer in the worlds of Ayonna and Elmo, I saw the secure and promising future of art in Cordillera. Mixing their worlds gives you a purpose to fight daily struggles and step out of our confinements. The presence of their innocence and fresh minds fill the absence of the past years; they will create their own future and experience in art in their ways.
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— Ariza Anjeli Diola
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For every typhoon that sets its eye on the North, the Cordillera mountains are battered to their slow collapse. On May 30, parts of the region experienced landslides and rockslides during the onslaught of Typhoon Betty. Apart from this, numerous river swellings were also recorded.
Even with its mountainous terrain, the region seemed to endure the same problems over the years—the crumbling of its parts and, frankly, flooding—triggered by heavy and continuous rainfalls.
As recorded, the 2009 Cordilleran landslides caused by Tropical Storm Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng, and the 2018 Itogon, Benguet landslides spawned by Typhoon Ompong, were considered as part of the "Deadly landslides in the Philippines," according to an article posted by Rappler.
Official records from the 2009 Cordilleran landslides reported at least 120 people dead in Benguet Province–58 of which are from Itogon, 23 in the Mountain Province and 25 in Baguio City.
Even with this history, the terror brought on by natural calamities continues.
Crumbling, still crumbling
Typhoon Betty did not miss the chance to include the mountains of Cordi in its prospect of disturbance. Along with the almost two-day unceasing rain, landslides and rockslides stirred the residents. From May 30 to 31, multiple roads were also closed throughout the course of the typhoon.
According to PIA Cordillera’s Facebook page, in Benguet, the Gov. Bado Dangwa National Road, particularly at the Taba-ao Viewdeck section in Kapangan, was temporarily closed on due to a rockslide, as well as the Labey - Lacamen Road specifically at Sitio Bangen and Sekong area due to continuous falling debris. While the Halsema Highway, particularly at Caliking, Atok, and Kennon Road, particularly at the Camp 6 area, were also prohibited to travelers due to soil erosion.
Even these mighty mountains are vulnerable to climate hazards, not only causing delays in travel but also posing great risks to the welfare or even casualties of the residents close to them as well as the workers that clear the area. Not to mention the possible shelter damage and compromise to the livelihood of the locals.
When this happens, as the mountain crumbles down, the lives of the people affected crumble down with it.
Still, it floods
The falling rocks, debris, and mud are not the sole problem that Typhoon Betty brought to the Cordi. Believe it or not, the mountain has its "sinking areas" and swelling rivers.
Mountain Province also ran into temporary road closures, not because of landslides but of "sinking areas." Such places were the Poblacion Section, along the Abatan, Bauko-Bontoc Road.
Monitoring the water level was also a must during the course of the typhoon. The Balili River in La Trinidad, Benguet, experienced an increase in the water level due to continuous rainfall, as did the Upper Amburayan River in Pasdong, Atok. Mountain Province’s Chico River also swelled as a result of the moderate-to-heavy rainfall experienced in the municipality.
Meanwhile in Abra, the Madalipay, Salncec to Barangay Dugong crossing was impassable due to river swelling.
In Baguio City, a clogged drainage system caused gutter-deep floods.
During the 2021 severe tropical storm "Maring," the city experienced flooding on its major streets. While in 2018, Typhoon Ompong devastated and flooded roads in Baguio City—some were gutter-deep, others reached knee-deep—since the sewerage system was not able to accommodate the intensity and volume of continuous rainfall.
Fortunately, before the onslaught of Typhoon Betty to the city, precautionary measures were done to prevent flooding. Authorities from Baguio City Police with barangay officials, unclogged different water inlets and creeks.
River swellings are a thing in the Cordi region, and once the river swells, floods are possible, even on the mountain.
High, but not so mighty
History speaks for itself. The mountainous terrain of the Cordillera is still indeed vulnerable to the adverse effects of typhoons.
But even with the recorded incidents brought on by typhoons, the same problems keep repeating.
According to the data presented by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, because of the geological characteristics of Cordillera, it is prone to landslides, while low-lying areas with rivers in the region are vulnerable to floods.
However, it's not the geophysical characteristics of the region, such as having steep slopes, that is the sole reason to be blamed. Man-made activities are also a contributing factor. The agency said that reduction of forest cover and removal of vegetation are some of the activities that contribute to landslides.
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— Geronne Abad
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He was a cook in his 20s. Then, a nurse shortly after. When the pandemic froze all life, flipping pages was the unexpected turn that moved him to discover his niche.
Now 41, Lester Laoagan has published two novels since 2020.
‘I didn’t know I had the talent’
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The dead hours of the night would find Lester scribbling what he calls his ‘manuscript’. He has been writing his dream novel in the quiet—starring the Igorot God, Kabunyan—way before his first published book in 2020. But this habit was an on-and-off commitment because writing was never his first choice.
“It’s just recently,” Lester began. “I’m just a guy who wrote a book during the pandemic.”
An interest overshadowed by the lack of resources and self-doubt, every attempt at writing was blocked by his responsibilities as a former community nurse in La Trinidad and coordinator of the Philippine Red Cross Baguio Chapter. And on the times he could, his apprehensions stood in the way.
“I did not know, until now. I still have the... what is this... imposter syndrome.”
Sometime in 2016, he hustled his way through Europe to send money home. In between stories about his stay in France, Poland, or the European way of life, Lester somehow finds himself circling back to writing. “A church there had no idea what to present,” he continued talking about the play he wrote and directed for the church. “I volunteered and they liked it. They were the ones who kept bragging that I have a talent in writing.”
This is where he believed in himself a little.
Then came the pandemic. Uncertainty filled his last months in France as the then 2019- nCov slowly paralyzed the workforce. He was trying to make ends meet with his mortgage. News about forced resignations was just around the corner. So, before he was even forced to leave, Lester decided it best to head back to the Philippines and start looking after his mentally challenged brother.
The lockdown that put life on hold for two long years was unexpectedly what Lester needed to reflect on the commendations he used to get as the scriptwriter and playwright in their school plays and barangay projects. “I did not acknowledge it but thinking through, I now realize that maybe I have a knack on this avenue,” he added.
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Brothers
On Lester’s Facebook profile, one would see an occasional Clarence post. Clarence chilling on a rocking chair. Clarence enjoying pancit. Clarence happily holding a can of spray paint. The joys of mundanity.
Clarence Laoagan, now 38, is the man behind The Man Without Personality—his first novel and a fictional story set during Martial Law about an autistic child whose diagnosis came later in his life due to sociopolitical struggles. It was published by the National Library of Romania in August 2022.
The third of the four Laoagan siblings, Clarence has had Kanner’s Syndrome since birth. It renders him unable to function by himself and carry out daily tasks like eating and bathing. Other than being nonverbal, Clarence’s condition requires full-time care.
Yes, close kami,” said Lester when asked about his brother.
“Mostly, it’s just me,” he added as he told of his daily duties as his brother’s caregiver. He also mentioned his other siblings and spoke highly about their careers: the oldest, a filmmaker based in New York; the youngest, a surgeon at Atok District Hospital.
Their tight-knit relationship prompted Lester to supplement his first novel with Autism in the Family, a non-fiction about the ways they “navigate life as a family with an autistic brother.” It was published March this year.
The Laoagans’ struggle in dealing with their brother’s personhood made way for the second book. “I just wanted to convey that even though we’re living with someone with autism, we didn’t even understand him completely,” Lester said. “It explains the struggles and how to cope with... having someone autistic in the family.”
He noted how both novels aim to picture the situations of people with special needs in a country like the Philippines where support is dismal.
On Chances and Struggles
“Just an observation, even the homeless in France carry books. Even those involved in blue- collar jobs.” The budding writer hints at a bleak outlook on the Philippine art community as a challenge impending local writers like him.
“The art as a form is not always taken as a serious career choice, it’s only taken as a hobby or time-chiller,” the writer said as he talked about professional writing in dismay.
Before he found his 312-page novel ready for publishing, The Man Without Personality took him three years—with only one editor entertaining him. It took nine months before his draft was finally returned but the edits were too substantial that he eventually had to edit his own.
“I approached some English teachers whom I know or some friends who read but they are not willing. So, I just re-edited it,” Lester recalled.
The biggest toil was finding a publisher. Due to the lack of Cordillera-based publishers and unfortunate Manila centrism, he believed shooting his first shot with online publishing companies would acquire him a better chance of getting published.
“When you’re an artist, if you only stay within the Cordillera, even though you have years of experience, you’re still a struggling artist. One must go to Manila to be a successful artist, that’s why I relied on the internet.”
A daring and smart move it was to simply try, chances certainly did not come to Lester. He made them. Now, his name sits among writers found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and Ukiyoto Publishing.
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‘A big ambition’
Now that his goal of advocating autism awareness has materialized, Lester is focused on realizing what he believes is a pipedream: to publish a Game of Thrones-like novel that is based in the Cordilleras.
“I observed that best-selling novels are always based on the Western world,” told Lester whose research about the Cordillera lore is currently in the works.
La Trinidad grown, Lester was clad in a cowboy hat on the day of the interview. He said it emulates the men of his tribe, the Ibaloi-Inuntogs of Benguet. He talked enthusiastically about their culture and the many misconceptions conceptions about it.
There is, according to him, a lot to know about the ancient Cordillera. From tribal wars to more controversial issues like canine butchering and the complexity of the term “Igorot”, the North is a world-class tale in its own right. And as an Ibaloi, he is set on telling their story.
“Actually, Igorot is not a tribe. It’s just a term used by the Spaniards... or it came from the... Igolotes meaning people from the mountain. It’s the general term,” he clarified.
Every once in a while, Lester posts updates on this dream project. He currently frequents libraries to learn more about indigenous knowledge.
It was a poem writing contest that sparked his passion for words. He was nine. Perhaps, if nine-year-old Lester would read this, he would have never guessed where words could take him. Whatever self-doubt that held him back for years is slowly waning behind one simple yet also grand plan: to just keep writing. Not known to many, Lester never outlines. While it is a peculiar writing habit that would have writers turn their heads, it is also a damning attestation that in the world of art, you do you.
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— Rachel Ivy Reyes
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With more than a hundred languages in the Philippines, it is not surprising to know that Filipinos can speak three languages or even more. But have you ever wondered about speaking without articulating any word and utilizing neither the mouth nor the voices?
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No, it is not love that I am referring to or what others consider the universal lingo. It is the sign language that I speak about. Although Filipinos are effortlessly multilingual by nature, Filipino Sign Language (FSL) is not common to all.
For 28-year-old Christopher Catbagan, what was never an interest is now advocacy. The first and only interpreter among the government offices in the Cordillera, Christopher is a multilingual speaker of both verbal and non-verbal language.
“Actually, wala akong pakialam no’n sa sign language, pero nagkaroon ako ng desire na maging voice ako ng mga deaf,” he said.
Nine years ago, Christopher started interpreting. Today, he is the newly appointed FSL Interpreter in the Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) of the City Government of Baguio.
Christopher learned sign language in their church where the deaf community themselves teach. His aunt served as the church’s first interpreter.
“If other people can’t do their part to help the deaf community, ako na meron akong access sa sign language, triny kong matuto hanggang naging part na rin ako ng deaf community”
Christopher said.
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The need for more voices
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Last April, Christopher was appointed as an interpreter of the FSL in the PDAO to translate worded messages for those who are hearing and speech impaired whenever the city government conducts programs involving the deaf community.
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A channel for the deaf community and the government is how Christopher sees his job. “So para mas ma-reach out ‘yung mga taong disabled, kailangan ng mga interpreter para mas maintindihan nila at mabigay ‘yung needs nila para hindi sila naiiwan o nawawala,” he said.
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He, however, mentioned that Baguio City was a bit late in hiring a sign language interpreter since the FSL Act or Republic Act No. 11106 was enacted in 2018. This law declares FSL as the national sign language and mandates schools, government offices, workplaces, and broadcast media as platforms to provide deaf Filipinos access to it.
“Ngayon marami pang inaayos, mahirap kasi na kami-kami lang ‘yung nagshe-share ng ideas na hindi pa nanggagaling sa community,” he said. “We check our mistakes at kung ano pa ‘yung pwede naming ibigay na magkakaroon sila [deaf community] ng right connection with the government.”
While his appointment as an FSL interpreter is a starting point for the deaf community, the unspoken truth is that Baguio lagged in enforcing this law. There are six provinces in the region and not one has an FSL Interpreter.
“Kaya late lang na nagkaroon ng sign language interpreter kasi late na rin na na-implement ang FSL.” The lone Cordilleran government interpreter added. “Ang mahirap sa ibang lugar na malapit sa Baguio kaunti lang ‘yung sign language interpreter, kapag sa provinces halos wala.
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Inaccessibility of FSL Learning
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The FSL is different from the American Sign Language (ASL), which most of the Filipino deaf community is accustomed to. The FSL and ASL are both visual languages but vary due to the cultural connection attached to language.
The De La Salle University College of Saint Benilde, one of the leading deaf education institutions in the Philippines, stated that deaf Filipinos could easily understand the FSL because its grammar, syntax, and idioms are reflective of our culture. The FSL is also a combination of gestures, and facial expressions, along with hand and body movements while the American counterpart is expressed through hand movement and faces. While FSL and ASL have similarities, they differ significantly in grammar.
Learning this newly established sign language is challenging for several reasons. According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino, 30,000 households have deaf members, however, a small portion of our population only knows how to use the FSL.
“Karamihan wala alam sa sign language ‘yung mga deaf community so ang ginagawa nila binebase na lang nila sa action ‘yung turo. ‘Yung iba namang deaf sa liblib ‘yung school nila, ASL ang tinuturo sa kanila sa kasi ‘yun ‘yung may source material,” Christopher said.
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He also mentioned that the City, just like other parts of the country, is left behind from learning the FSL. Both the deaf community and hearing individuals cannot acquire this language for the lack of learning resources. Whenever available, it is only through online or one-on-one training. Moreover, books and manuals for language learning need to be purchased for the deaf community, Christopher shared.
The insufficient number of interpreters adds to these inaccessibility problems because only licensed interpreters should teach the FSL.
FSL, a love language
In a world where silence and noise cannot be differentiated, the deaf community can only rely on signs, a language so powerful that can express neither the unspeakable nor the unintelligible.
As Christopher interprets what the deaf community would like to talk about, he is always reminded how the community feels toward their own family members: left out.
“Karamihan ng mga deaf community, lagi nilang sinasabi na hindi sila maka-relate sa usapan kapag nag-uusap ‘yung family nila.” He shared. Marami sa mga deaf community na malayo ang loob sa family nila kasi walang communication.”
Christopher urges the hearing individuals, mainly family members of the deaf community to put some effort in learning their language. “Hindi naman ‘yung deaf na tao ‘yung gagawa ng way para makipag-communicate sa mga taong walang kapansanan,” he said.
He said further that the deaf community’s level of understanding is far different from hearing individuals. From experience, he notes shared struggle as the drive behind the community’s close-knit orientation.
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“Shine-share nila ‘yung struggle na ‘yun sa sarili nilang community kaya sobrang close ng deaf community. kasi sila-sila lang nagkakaroon ng communication pagdating sa family, less ‘yung communication, Christopher said.
A true voice of the deaf community, he stated that learning the FSL is not necessarily hard but fun and fulfilling. The enjoyable part, according to him, is when you start to connect with their expressions.
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“Expressive sila at sobrang na-aappreciate nila kapag ‘yung mga taong nakakarinig tina-try nilang makipag-communicate sa deaf community gamit ang sign language,” Christopher shared.
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— Jerson Kent Danao
VOICE OF THE VOICELESS. Inspired by his aunt and trained by their church’s deaf community, Christopher Catbagan is now the first sign language interpreter of the City Government of Baguio.
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The mountain ranges of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) is one of the major strongholds of the country against climate change. And its precious timbers are hot in the eyes of illegal loggers. In 2022, more than P5.7 million worth of illegally cut lumber were confiscated while 60 individuals were arrested by the Police Regional Office-Cordillera.
The continuous illegal logging in the region is also the reason why its forest area is not expanding, a 2020 study found.
According to the a group of researchers in the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),their study “Reforestation and Deforestation in Northern Luzon, Philippines: Critical Issues as Observed from Space,” revealed that there was no significant increase in the forest covering Luzon, Sierra Madre and Cordillera from 2001 to 2018.
In an environmental symposium held in UP Baguio last March, Teddy Baguilat, an environmental defender who is a native of Ifugao, shared how the CAR is experiencing destructive activities.
Slash and build
“Our own region of the Cordilleras, dito mo talaga matutunghayan ang kalikasan,” Baguilat proudly shared. “Unfortunately, because of logging, mining, real estate projects, and even plantation culture, winasak natin etong mga ecosystems natin.”
Human activities are known to be the biggest contributor to climate change according to a report by The Guardian in 2021, especially big corporations that continue to exploit the environment to further increase their sales.
In 2015, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order for SM Supermarket in Baguio City to stop them from cutting down over 182 pine and alnus trees after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) gave them the approval to expand their mall. In 2019, SM attempted another expansion for its Sky Park Project in Luneta Hill, which prompted the high court to render the TRO permanent.
Vista Residences, a condominium development under the Villars’ company, Vista Land & Lifescapes, Incorporated, was given a permit by DENR in 2018 that allowed them to cut 53 Benguet pine trees and a Norfolk pine in Purok 3 Outlook Drive for a construction project.
In 2020, the permit was put to use. There was a deal with the company to compensate by planting 200 tree seedlings for every tree that got cut down, amounting to 10,800 seedlings. However, no statement nor update was made or posted by Vista Residences about the promised tree seedlings since then.
The environment continues to struggle to survive and win its fight against big corporations that hide their plans of malls, condominiums, and subdivisions under the guise of “development”. In a 2021 report of the Global Forest Watch (GFW), the Baguio City forest lost over 40 hectares from tree cutting from 2001 to 2021.
Unfortunately, problems in the environment do not just end in deforestation.
Overflowing waste
Side by side with deforestation is the staggering amount of landfill that continues to pollute the lands and the seas.
“Ako kasi mahilig magdive,” he shared, a seemingly lighthearted fact about a hobby but actually bears a heavy situation that highlights the state of the coastal ecosystems. “Kaso lang kapag ako nagdadive, andami kong nakikitang basura. And most of these are plastics.”
In Session Road alone, the installment of trash bins still cannot mitigate all waste both from tourists and residents, especially on weekends. According to the General Service Office (GSO), Baguio's waste went from 402 tons in 2015 to 581 tons in 2022.
The volume of tourists after pandemic restrictions have been lifted contributes to the ever growing amount of landfill and other environmental problems in Baguio City, such as traffic and cramped spaces among others.
Inevitably, waste management has become a problem for the city as well. While 69% out of the 581 tons were sent to the Materials Recovery Facility, the cost of solid waste management remains expensive. The city government spent P186 million last year alone in the city’s expenditures for waste management, which is why talks of privatizing it are in the works. This would cut the current number by P45 million.
Long-term consequences
“The biggest issue of your generation, is climate change,” Baguilat started off. “Kahit ‘di siya masyadong napag-uusapan, pero para sa akin, ‘yan ang pinakamahalagang usapin ng inyong henerasyon — how to fight climate change.”
The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, the Climate Change Knowledge Portal inferenced based on their statistics dating from 1980 to 2020. Since 1990, the death toll from the 565 disasters experienced by the country stands at 70,000--with over $23 billion in infrastructure damages. The country also tops the WorldRiskIndex (WRI) list of states with the highest disaster risk (vulnerability to extreme natural events and climate change).
In the Cordilleras, Benguet, which is a vegetable-based agriculture area, has been experiencing the effects of climate change in the forms of landslides, soil nutrient depletion, and crop failure due to the unpredictable fluctuations in temperature, the United Nations-Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) reported in 2015.
The same report notes the province of Ifugao’s long droughts or typhoons because of the province’s vulnerability to landslides and irregular rainfalls, which greatly affects the farmers’ livelihood of producing rice and other crops.
During the climate change summit February this year, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong stated the plan to transform Baguio into a "smart, livable, green, and sustainable city”.
"We must work together to implement sustainable practices in our daily lives and this includes reducing waste, conserving water, and using environmentally friendly product," Magalong said.
Youth in action
Amidst the country’s environmental situation, the critical youth makes Baguilat optimistic.Hence, he challenged them to continue helping in forwarding the calls and advocacies for the environment, climate change and indigenous peoples’ rights, just like other societal issues.
Meanwhile, the symposium gained a positive response from the audience who expressed strong commitment in forwarding environmental justice and encouraging their fellow youth to join the fight.
“The youth have a deeper and more genuine understanding of the need to address climate change as a global issue and, more importantly, as an issue concerning the Cordillera Region, where environmental defenders are being attacked by the state,” said CJ Martinez, a student of the UPB. “Their role manifests itself greatly in the way they echo the experiences of the people as well as the current situation of the environment.”
Justine Dulfo, a student activist, shared her own sentiments: “As part of the generation that is deeply involved in social media, we have the direct power to reach a wider network of people to better understand what climate change really implies even for areas outside the capital such as the Cordillera.”
Furthemore, Baguilat emphasized how the general population can learn from them, in treating the environment better. “Invite and learn more from indigenous people,” Baguilat encouraged.
Indigenous groups are on the frontlines, fighting all over the country to prevent the further destruction of the environment. While most people are afraid about natural resources running out, IPs are more concerned about the survival of the generations that will come after them.
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— Joellene Landingin
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Since 1984, women have been moving past what is expected of a Maria Clara. GABRIELA, a progressive Filipino party, organizes Filipino women toward a collective movement calling for reform. In the Cordilleras, INNABUYOG is the known alliance group of indigenous women's organizations that advocates equality for the people. However, in recent years, political vilification has put many lives on the line with state authorities branding anyone who opposes an enemy of the state.
One of Cordi's indigenous women's rights defenders and staunch human rights activists is Innabuyog Gabriela’s former Vice Chairperson Beatrice “Betty” Belen. In 2020, she was illegally arrested in their house in Barangay Uma in Lubuagan, Kalinga by armed groups allegedly saying they confiscated three firearms in Belen's house.
Audrey Corce, Secretary General of Innabuyog Gabriela, re-draws the dark experience of Belen, citing how indigenous women like Belen, who is a community health worker and leader in her community, suffer from voicing out their rights.
“Dapat hindi niya dinanas iyon, ‘yung nangyari sa kanya. That should not have happened kung sincere talaga ‘yung ating government na solusyunan ‘yung mga hinaing ng indigenous women in their communities. Lalong lalo doon na sa hinaing ng ‘our rights as indigenous people should be respected.’ Lalong lalo na when it comes to ‘yung right natin sa ancestral domain at saka sa self-determination,” said Corce.
Aside from illegal arrests and red-tagging, indigenous women also face struggles on their ancestral lands. Militarization and developmental projects like dams pose a big threat to women laborers as displacement of IPs almost always comes next to land grabbing.
The Gened 1 and 2 dam projects in Apayao, for example, are currently threatening IP communities by destroying their villages and ancestral lands. Since the majority of the population of Apayao depends on the river, the dam negatively impacts and destroys their grounds, floods their lands, and takes away their main sources of livelihood – fishermen, and farmers who are all dependent on the river. Numerous locals and IP organizations in the region have been opposing the project, but all their appeals are met with hostility.
In the eyes of the incumbent University of the Philippines Baguio University Student Council College of Arts and Communication Representative Angelika Joven, land privatization and illegal logging, among others, worsen the already dismal situation of IPs in the North.
“Nakakadismaya siyempre you would expect the government to actually help them have a better life pero ‘yung nangyayari ay sobrang kabaliktaran nito,” she added.
A female activist herself and a red-tagging victim, Joven emphasized how taking their advocacies to the streets is a right due for every Filipino. For her, challenging oppressive power structures is no sin.
The human rights defender also believed in the importance of the Cordillera women who stood up against the tyranny of Marcos Sr. One of these women is Luchie Maranan. In her martial law story, published in the Positively Filipino magazine, Maranan, a then-fresh UP Baguio graduate, moved to the countryside. For her, it was a time that called on the people to reclaim the power that was theirs to begin with.
Until now, the influence of women like Maranan reminds Joven and her generation that the darkest days of the country saw the unwavering grit of women who braved the front lines.
Concurrently, Corce added how women can have a great potential to effect change in the community and country. Collective strength and action, she mentioned, are what will prompt progressive, systemic action.
“We must not stop organizing ourselves,” said Audrey with full hopes and determination despite the worsening situation of the indigenous women of the Cordillera.
The celebration of women should not only take place during March. The true recognition of the rights of minorities goes beyond a month-long dedication. When women no longer have to ask for respect and resort to assertion just to claim their space, only then can we say that we have progressed as a people.
Since time immemorial, womanhood has battled against the status quo that othered women into weak, controllable beings whose only role in the world is reproduction. History shows, however, that for women, no barrier is high enough to silence the voice of those hungry for genuine change. Above our fears, there awaits a pipe dream that holds our collective longing for liberation. In the eyes of a woman, the battle of one is the battle of all.
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— Kyla Claire Abawag