Benguet: Baguio reinvents itself as an adventure destination!

Are you sure you've seen the best of Baguio? Think again! Baguio is now promoting itself, together with its neighboring towns, as an adventure destination. These Benguet towns are collectively called BLISTT (Baguio, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay). Add Bokod, Benguet to the list as well, with Ambuklao Dam.

With Baguio as a jump-off point, you can kayak or river surf at the Ambuklao Dam and Tuba, visit the Balatoc Mines in Itogon, go rock climbing, river hiking, bouldering, rappelling, or ride an ATV in Camp 3, hike up Mount Pulag in Bokod and Kabayan, fish by the Agno River, or go spelunking at the Ambongdolan Caves in Tublay. Baguio City itself is also becoming a major airsoft destination. There are simply so many choices!


We went off-road go-karting along one of the rough roads by the Agno River. If we had more time, we could have tried out more stuff.

All this is being organized by the Baguio Convention and Visitors Bureau (BCVB). And what's good about this new service is you can plan an adventure with style, with your own butler and waiters setting up alfresco dining for you! They even had a bar for the group!

Baguio's adventure tours are still in its infancy. And it's exciting to see how this develops. I hope I get to visit again to really try all of these cool activities.

Baguio Convention and Visitors Bureau
+63 74 4424088

Baguio: Panagbenga Festival 2010 Calendar of Events

Panagbenga Festival 2010 promises to be even bigger. The Baguio Flower Festival has already begun and continues to attract visitors to Baguio City, the Summer Capital of the Philippines. Here is a list of major events this year:

• February 14: Fluvial Parade featuring Camelot on the Lake, Burnham Park
• February 26-28: Abanao Nights, Abanao Square
• February 27: Grand Street Parade, Session Road to Athletic Bowl
• February 28: Grand Float Parade, Session Road to Athletic Bowl
• March 1-7: Session Road in Bloom, Session Road

Baguio: The Manor at Camp John Hay prepares a dinner feast!

The Manor at Camp John Hay served the most memorable dinner during the entire Lakbay Norte trip. You have to give it to the Baguio Convention and Visitors Bureau (BCVB) for preparing a feast for us. And welcoming us to the dinner was none other than Baguio City Mayor Reinaldo Bautista, Jr.

Also there to welcome us was Atty. Damaso Bangaoet, Jr., the father of the Panagbenga Festival which is being held this month.


And to make sure the food was nothing but perfect, renowned chef Billy King, the man who brought Le Soufflé to Manila and now the secret behind the gastronomic magic of The Manor in Camp John Hay's Le Chef Restaurant, personally supervised his staff of chefs and waiters.



It was indeed a grand selection that included soup, salad, sushi and sashimi, juicy roast beef slices, grilled meats and vegetables on skewers, bowls of Mongolian barbecue, home-made sausages with salsa, and irresistible desserts (it was strawberry overload), more than enough to fill our stomachs. After our third or fourth servings, we all gave up!

For the night, I also stayed at The Manor. The rooms were spacious, cozy, and nicely layed-out. I wish we could have slept longer. But we had to be up early the next day. Breakfast would have also been a feast! But I wasn't able to enjoy it due to our tight schedule.

The Manor, Camp John Hay
+63 74 4240931 to 43 / 50 to 53
+63 2 8450892 / 8450911
reservations@cjhhotels.com

Baguio: Is Baguio a hopeless case?

Baguio City is the only hill station in the Philippines. For those not familiar with hill stations, a hill station in Southeast and South Asian countries is a high-altitude town used especially by European colonialists as a place of refuge from the summer heat. It looks like the Spanish were not into hill stations since it was the Americans who established the first and only hill station in the country. And that’s why we have Baguio City which is celebrating its centennial this year.

Many of these Asian hill stations (such as Simla and Darjeeling in India, Cameron Higlands in Malaysia, Bandung and Bogor in Indonesia, Dalat in Vietnam, and May Myo in Myanmar) were able to preserve their character. But Baguio, sad to say, was not as the destruction of what makes it unique continues as we speak, with the uncontrolled development and short-sightedness of many businessmen who continue to erase the character of the city in the name of progress and wealth generation. I'm sure they're bound to realize that despite all their money, they can no longer bring back Baguio’s charm. I hope they realize that sooner than later.

There are still a few enclaves of Baguio’s original character such as Camp John Hay and the Teachers’ Camp area with towering pine trees and Baguio’s green and white architecture. Those are the colors that define Baguio just like white houses are characteristic of some Greek Mediterranean towns, or the bright pastel colors that define several Latin American capitals.

In fact, we’ve long been telling the city that a quick solution to beautify the deteriorating Baguio landscape is by repainting the houses in former mountain vistas using Baguio’s historical colors: white, brown or pink walls with green roofs. Imagine how Quezon or Aurora Hill would look like if all the houses there followed this color pattern? It would be an attraction in itself and worth taking pictures of, the same way we take pictures of mountain villages in Europe. And we are not reinventing anything since those are Baguio’s colors. Shouldn’t it be that when a tourist sees green and white houses and buildings harmoniously mixed with lush pine trees, one should know that he is in Baguio City?

There was actually a petition that went around on Baguio and it says:
“We believe that the City of Baguio is culturally, environmentally and aesthetically unique and different from other cities in the Philippines. We believe that Baguio is the nerve center of four rich and diverse cultures: the Filipino culture in general, the highland Cordilleran culture, the lowland Ilocano culture, and the heritage culture brought about by the Americans during the early 20th Century.

“We believe that in the past two decades, the City of Baguio has experienced a substantial degradation of its unique culture, environment and art. We believe that the approval of certain politicians with no respect for the aesthetics and the environment of Baguio to put up concrete structures such as malls, overpasses and flyovers only worsens Baguio City's lamentable decay as a "City of Pines." We believe that this overdevelopment and resulting pollution have to stop.

“We believe that due to its unique history and blend of cultures, Baguio can be to the Philippines as Barcelona is to Spain, Chiang Mai is to Thailand, and San Francisco is to the United States: a main center of arts, culture, philosophy, education, tourism, sustainable development and environmental awareness. We believe, therefore, that the City of Baguio deserves to be declared a "Special Heritage Zone," so that the degradation brought about by overdevelopment can be minimized and gradually controlled. We believe that Baguio City's heritage as a center of culture and environmental awareness is a valuable asset not just to the Philippines, but also to the world.

“We now respectfully call on the residents of Baguio and the Filipino people to sign this humble petition, and for the local and national governments concerned to implement and declare Special Heritage status on this unique mountain City as soon as possible, preferably before the Baguio Centennial in 2009, so no further destruction on its limited cultural, environmental and aesthetic resources may continue.”

But one thing about petitions is that while written well, are not addressed or sent to people who can make it happen. Plus the constant follow-ups and lobbying are not done too. So despite the wide and laudable circulation of this petition, I doubt if it has been sent to the right policy and decision makers.

It’s already centennial year and still there’s no one moving. Maybe someone out there is listening; someone who can push the national and city governments to make real efforts to preserve what’s left of Baguio’s charm. That being said, let me say that Baguio is not a hopeless case. Something can still be done. But we all have to realize that it’s the responsibility of all Filipinos to save the character that makes Baguio City uniquely Baguio.

Baguio: Panagbenga 2009 Calendar of Events

Panagbenga 2009 will be extra special this year as Baguio City celebrates its centennial year. So there's more than enough reasons to troop up to Baguio for this year's celebration. Here are some of the major events you should mark in your calendars:

• February 14: - Fluvial Parade featuring Phantom on the Lake and La Divas, Burnham Lake
• February 19-21: Legarda Rocks, Legarda Road
• February 26-28: Abanao Nights, Abanao Street
• February 28 (8a.m.): Grand Street Parade, Session Road to Baguio Athletic Bowl
• March 1 (8 a.m.): Grand Float Parade, Session Road to Baguio Athletic Bowl
• March 2-8: Session Road in Bloom, Session Road

Top Philippine destinations for 2008

The year 2008 was a great travel year for me. As of today, I've stepped foot on 62 out of 81 provinces of the Philippines. Here are some of the highlights for this year. Since 2008 was also heavy on international travel, I'll come up with another entry on that!

1. Mt. Pulag, the rooftop of Luzon
I could not imagine myself 2,922 meters above sea level at the summit of Mount Pulag. But I was there! It took a lot of effort on my part but the view from the top was surreal and most definitely worth it. Is Mt. Apo next?

2. Adopting a sea turtle at the Pawikan Conservation Center
We visited the Pawikan Conservation Center early this year to adopt sea turtles. You can include it as part of any Subic itinerary. And this is a great help to efforts to protect the pawikan.

3. Journey across the Ifugao heartland
I was very lucky to join a rice harvest tour to Mayoyao, Ifugao this year which took me through the very core of Ifugao. It was a very enriching experience and it opened my eyes to the culture of our Ifugao brothers. I look forward to joing their planting rice tour this January. I made five entries about this great trip!

4. Trekking and 4x4 to Mt. Pinatubo
The crater lake of Mount Pinatubo is perfect for a swim especially when it is baby blue! It's easy to organize a visit through the Pinatubo Spa Town and when you get back, a sumptuous lunch and massage awaits.

5. Batanes, undiscovered paradise up north
Batanes is pristine and refreshing. It's a must in any traveler's list of places to visit in the Philippines. I'll be blogging about my trip soon.

6. Intro dive at Dive and Trek in Bauan, Batangas
Even if you don't have a license, you can still experience diving with the help of a dive master through an intro dive. And that's exactly what we did in Bauan, Batangas!

7. Ipo Watershed, Angat Dam and the La Mesa Ecopark
Any advocacy to preserve our cultural and natural heritage is close to my heart. Which is why we made a visit to the Ipo Watershed to support the advocacy of the UP Mountaineers to protect it.

8. Romblon, Romblon is a heritage town
Talk about the road less-traveled! Romblon was indeed a surprise. It was fun exploring the old town of Romblon since its heritage is unbelievably intact. I hope to visit again soon.

9. Anawangin Cove in San Antonio, Zambales
Another unbelievable beach destination so close to Manila, I most definitely enjoyed the surreal landscape of this Zambales beach. So remote it is that you need to hike several hours or take a pump boat to get to it.

10. Tawi-Tawi, overnight in Bongao
In one month, I was able to visit the northernmost and southernmost provinces of the Philippines. Despite my short stay, the fact that I was able to set foot in Tawi-Tawi is worth mentioning. And I'm definitely making another trip to explore more!

Read also Top Philippine destinations for 2009.

Benguet: Mt. Pulag, the rooftop of Luzon

I could not believe it! I was standing on the rooftop of Luzon, 2,922 meters above sea level! Just months ago, I was wondering if I could reach the summit of Mt. Pulag given my physical limitations. But a spur of the moment decision to go to Pulag changed all that. We planned our Pulag trip barely a week before our actual climb. In fact, we bought all our gear at R.O.X. the night we left.

It was a long and tiring drive to Baguio. We got there at 7 a.m. where we had breakfast. We tried to leave Baguio as early as possible so that we could start our trek early. But since we were all first-timers, we didn't know which direction to take, went the wrong way and found ourselves in Halsema Highway. Our GPS had taken us to the shortest route off Halsema Highway which was a really rough road, so we had to turn back, return to Baguio City and find the road via Ambuklao.

There are five major roads leading to Baguio namely Kennon, Marcos, Naguilan, Halsema (via La Trinidad), and Ambuklao. It was my first time to use the Ambuklao Road. And thus with this trip, I've finally passed by all five. Not only that, I also used all five within the week - Kennon Road on Tuesday, Naguilan on Wednesday, Marcos, Halsema and Ambuklao on Saturday and Kennon again yesterday!

The Ambuklao Road is as picturesque as Kennon, especially when you drove past the Ambuklao Dam and Lake. The trip from Baguio to Ambangeg in Bokod, Benguet is roughly three hours. Most of the roads are well-paved except for bumpy parts at Ambuklao Dam and from the Bokod Poblacion to Ambangeg.

First thing you have to do before climbing Mount Pulag is to register at the Visitors Center (DENR Office) in Ambangeg. We paid PHP175 each. Then from there, you need to go up 10 kilometers to the Ranger Station where people start the trek up to the summit.

Only a 4x4 can do that trip so if there are just a few of you, you could hire a habal-habal to get you there (if you hired a jeep from Baguio, that could bring you up as well). You can also opt to hike up, but that is even harder than the trek from the Ranger Station to the summit of Mt. Pulag itself! Since there were not enough motorcycles, my companions Lemuel, Mike and Caloy decided to trek, and they had a lot of "fun" going up! So it's best to find a ride up. Our plan was to pitch a tent at Camp 2 and stay there for the night. But since it was getting dark when the three arrived at the Ranger Station, we decided to sleep there. And boy was it a good decision!

For some weird reason, the temperature dropped suddenly while I was waiting at the Ranger Station. It was quite warm when I took a nap late in the afternoon. And I suddenly woke up shivering from the cold. The locals told us that winds brought in the cold temperature. Imagine if we did stay in a tent at Camp 2, we might have suffered from hypothermia even before the climb! Even inside the Ranger Station we were freezing!

We had some canned goods and bread for dinner before an early lights out at 8 p.m. Since we were behind schedule, we had to leave the Ranger Station at 12:30 a.m. (instead of leaving Camp 2 at 4 a.m.) to reach the summit by sunrise.

It was still cold and we also had to trek all the way in the dark which made it even more difficult. We reached Camp 1 at 1:45 a.m. and Camp 2 at 3:30 a.m. It was an ordeal for me but thanks to the cold temperature, it wasn't as hard as trekking under the sun. I finally made it up to the summit at 5:45 a.m. just in time for the sunrise!

The view at the top was surreal. You could see the entire Cordilleras all around you. From there I could also see Magat Dam, Ambuklao Dam, and the mountains of the Sierra Madre as well. But the winds brought in a shivering cold that hit us right down to the bone. And we had to sit behind small bamboo bushes to shield us from the cold winds.

After about 30 minutes enjoying nature's couch, our guide signaled to us that it was time to go down. He told me if we stayed any longer, we might suffer from hypothermia. Now that the sun was out, we could see the trail. And boy did it shock us since we also saw the deep ravine right beside the trail. You really had to be careful, especially if trekking in the dark.

Going down was easier but it was only then that we realized how far we had trekked. Backtracking, it made me wonder how I managed to climb up all the way to the top! As soon as we entered Camp 2, we were greeted by the forests of Mt. Pulag. The name Pulag in the Kalanguya languange means bald mountain since trees could not grow near the summit due to frost. Anyway, the forests at Camp 2 were also a wonderful sight!

Walking down, it was enriching looking at the different species of trees, plants and flowers. God really knows how to color the world. I finally reached the Ranger Station at 10:30 a.m. after 10 hours of trekking!

After lunch, we left the Ranger Station for Ambangeg. Going down from the Ranger Station to Ambangeg is another ordeal if you take the habal-habal since you'll be holding on for your dear life! They had to bring us down in two trips since there were just two of them. The ride itself is about an hour. So we took a nap at DENR while waiting for the rest. We had dinner at 50s Diner in Baguio City before proceeding back to Manila.

For the detailed Ambangeg itinerary, check out Pinoy Mountaineer.

Benguet: The waterfalls along Kennon Road

Finally, a trip I can really call a vacation! I drove up to Baguio a few hours after I had arrived from Iloilo City. I was rushing up to attend the wedding of my cousin at the Baguio Country Club.

The trip up Kennon Road was very refreshing. The views were so picturesque and it was only now that I noticed there were so many waterfalls. So I stopped several times to take photos of them. Two of them are quite popular namely Bridal Veil Falls and Colorado Falls. In fact, you could actually swim in Colorado Falls as the water is very clear and there are basic facilities in the area.

Baguio: Save Burnham Park from more development!

Just received some horrible news from Baguio City! They are planning to build a bus terminal and multi-level vending station in Burnham Park. Some Baguio City officials really do not know how to preserve the city's heritage and the little charm it has left. The proponent is Councilor Perlita Rondez, chair of the tourism committee of the Baguio City Council. I hope this project is stopped. Let's keep what's left of Burnham Park an open space!

At least Councilor Elaine Sembrano, chair of market, trade and commerce committee, said that “vending in parks must not be encouraged.” For more details, read Burnham Park market, parking area mulled.

Related article
Here are some excerpts from Remember Teachers Camp?:
"The distinct Baguio identity of mountainous terrain with green-and-white architecture nestled under pine trees is fast vanishing. The single largest remaining ensemble of that identity survives in Teachers Camp. Although no other city in Asia or in the Philippines has an identity like Baguio's, the identity today is vanishing rapidly.

"Unregulated development has caused Baguio to lose its luster as the Philippines' most popular mountain retreat. Nondescript concrete buildings and residences have replaced the traditional green-and-white architecture. Informal settlers' shanties now cover urban mountain vistas, once open green spaces, in sheets of rusted tin roofing.

"Pine trees, once a familiar sight of Baguio landscape, have practically disappeared. Heritage, whether urban, architectural, or landscape, neither protected by legislation or by zoning, does not appear to be within the sphere of interest of most city authorities and residents, therefore urban and architectural heritage is going fast, and vanishing rapidly also is its landmark umbrella of pines and multicolored flowers.

"Present-day Baguio is homogenizing into the generic, typical look of 21st-century Philippine cities. Only its mountainous terrain now reminds us that once this was the glorious Summer Capital of our Land and the only American Hill Station in Asia.

"Since Baguio mystique and tradition are practically gone today, it is necessary to maintain whatever is left of its urban, architectural, and environmental traditions for the future."

Baguio, Benguet & Tarlac: Back to Metro Manila

Today was the last day of our road trip. We got up just in time for the complimentary breakfast at Villa Cordillera. Eating at the hotel restaurant Le Terrace is always a great experience since the panoramic view of the pine tree-covered hill behind the hotel is very relaxing to the senses. After paying our hotel bill, we were off to La Trinidad's strawberry fields.

Right beside the boundary arch between Baguio City and La Trinidad is the entrance of one of Baguio's hidden secrets, a Chinese temple called Bell Church. Not many people know about it since it's quite far from all the other city attractions. And today, it is easily obscured by all the urban chaos that sadly accumulated along the way to La Trinidad. We decided to stopover for a few minutes to check it out.

It's my second time to visit the strawberry fields in two weeks. Picking strawberries was a bit cheaper this time around at PHP150 a kilo. The price of those sold by the vendors was the same too and I got several kilos of strawberries for PHP70 each. We had lunch at Kalei's. The place and ambiance is much better that where Jolly Yan is located. And the food, just as affordable with its "meat plus meat" at PHP50. But I still think the home-cooked meals of Jolly Yan are worth the visit.

After lunch, we left Doc Ryan in La Trinidad and began our trip back to Metro Manila via Kennon Road. For most people, since the trip back to Manila is relatively long and tiring, they just keep on driving as fast as they could down Kennon Road. And as a result, we rarely notice the scenery along the route. I'm sure we've all seen the waterfalls along the route. But have you ever stopped to check them out up close?

Bridal Veil Falls actually caught our fancy since there was a pedestrian suspension bridge that connected it to Kennon Road. So we parked the car in front of a store and crossed the makeshift bridge. Below us was a mountain stream that emptied into a vast riverbed further down the road. I guess the falls got its name from the fact that it resembled a bridal veil as the water cascaded down the smoothened rock into a small pool.

I really think that the entire length of Kennon Road should be declared a protected cultural landscape because most of the scenic route - the picturesque view of the mountains, lush vegetation and pine trees - is still intact. There is a need to regulate the construction of new structures in order to protect the historical fabric of our country's oldest mountain road which was completed in 1905. I hope the National Historical Institute or the National Museum act fast before it's too late.

Anyway, we finally crossed the Benguet-La Union boundary and just a few kilometers away, the boundary of Pangasinan. I had to pass by Rosales for a while to talk with the mayor. I was pleasantly surprised that the restoration of the old municipal hall was finally complete. Unlike other towns such as Moncada, Tarlac which bastardized their elegant colonial-era town halls, Rosales chose to preserve theirs. In fact, even the pre-war statues of a farmer on a carabao with his wife were rehabilitated and repainted, bringing out the vivid colors that were very chic during the pre-war days.

Our last stop for the day was the Isdaan Resaurant in Gerona. This one is an attraction in itself. I congratulate the owners for such a great concept. If you've heard of the Tacsiyapo Wall (tacsiyapo is a Kapampangan expletive), you can find it here. From cups at PHP15, to clocks and working television sets, customers can purchase these items to hurl at a wall to release their anger. On the wall, several target words are painted such as 5/6, ex-wife, professors and classmates; sugal, alak and babae; boss, managers, and supervisors; and many others.

The food is a bit pricey though and expect to spend at least PHP200 per head. But you go here for the experience. And the food is great too. We ordered Innapoy rice rolls for our appetizer which was suman with longganiza, bakang maanghang and chicken curry in it. It's something new and I really liked it. For dinner, we had binalot rice meals. Anyway, after this dinner stopover, we continued our trip back to Manila.

I have class tomorrow and a report at that so I guess I'll just be home preparing for it.

Benguet: The strawberry fields of La Trinidad

After an exhausting day the other day, and since I was on vacation, I decided to wake up late yesterday. Ching was up early since she had errands to do and meet some friends too. At 10 a.m., I passed by for her and Joyce at the Baguio Cathedral and from there, we drove to La Trinidad, Benguet to check out the strawberry fields of the Benguet State University.

We easily found the place. You simply made a left in front of the last gate of BSU where a large sign pointed you towards the strawberry fields. We had planned to pick strawberries but since a lot of people had visited the day before, all the ripe strawberries had been harvested already. If you picked your own strawberries, the price at that time was PHP200 per kilo. Anyway, we just walked around the fields and took photos.

Of course, the strawberries there were relatively cheap since they were in season and you were buying them at the source. One kilo of small strawberries was just PHP60. I got the larger strawberries for PHP80 a kilo. There were really large choice strawberries at PHP100 a kilo. I regret not buying more to take back to the lowlands.

The day before, while waiting for the parade, we had strawberry flavored taho on the street. Taho vendors added strawberry bits and syrup to it. In the BSU area, the sorbetero naturally had strawberry ice cream with strawberry bits. Yummy! I also bought a serving of fresh pinipig (or duman to us Kapampangans) which I had been munching on since this morning.

From the strawberry fields, we went the Benguet Provincial Capitol to meet up with Ryan. Before lunch, he brought us to the store of the Entrepreneurial Project of BSU to buy some local treats.

Aside from the staple peanut brittle, strawberry jam and ube jam (their ube jam is quite popular), you had pure arabica mountain coffee (PHP50 for 250g); honey products such as creamed honey, raw beepollen and propolis, and honey wine with herbs; yacon and bignay wine; yacon and lemon grass herbal tea, powdered roasted soybean drink; chayote champoy, santol candy and pineapple-papaya jam among others.

We then walked across the street to this hole-in-the-wall type of place for lunch at the Strawberry Fields Arcade at Gladiola Center in front of BSU. Jolly Yan Meals is hidden in one corner but people flock to it since meals are cheap but tasty. The “meat plus meat” package (two meat dishes or your choice) served with mountain rice and soup was just PHP45. Another option was “meat plus veggie” just for PHP35.

Anyway, I had to rush back to Pampanga to do some work. So after our trip to the store, we drove down via Kennon Road since we wanted to check out the scenery. Kennon Road is actually a heritage road and its stunning natural scenery should be protected from unsightly urbanization and vandalism.

And sadly, election graffiti was all over the place. Shame on ANC party for painting their initials on every single rock along the road! Same goes to candidates Defensor, Osmena and Pimentel whose names are also painted all over. Mike Defensor even has his non-biodegradable paraphernalia nailed to trees! I hope the Comelec acts on this immediately and issues an ultimatum to candidates and parties to remove the paint before other candidates follow suit as a result of their inaction. Let’s spare Kennon Road and the environment around it from all this election trash!

More photos in Multiply.

Baguio: Restoring Baguio's old charm

Just got back from Baguio where the Heritage Conservation Society attended the turnover of the restored Baguio Central School Building. In our group was HCS President Gemma Cruz-Araneta, Arch. Jojo Mata, Arch. Melvin Patawaran and Carmen Prieto of the Dagupan City Heritage Commission.

Baguio City is the only hill station in the Philippines. According to Wikepedia, "a hill station in Southeast Asian and South Asian countries, particularly India and Pakistan, is a high-altitude town used, especially by European colonialists, as a place of refuge from the summer heat. Several hill stations served as summer capitals of Indian provinces, princely states, or, in the case of Simla, of British India itself."

Famous hill stations include Simla and Darjeeling in India, and Cameron Higlands in Malaysia, Bandung and Bogor in Indonesia, Dalat in Vietnam, and May Myo in Myanmar. It looks like the Spanish were not into hill stations since it was the Americans who established the first and only hill station in the country, which became the summer capital, the City of Baguio.

Anyway, we left Manila at about 12 midnight on Friday the 13th of May in order to get to Baguio in time for the lunch inauguration, with a few hours of rest in between. In Baguio, we stayed at the Prieto Compound thanks to our host, Carmen Prieto. We slept for a few hours after arriving and left for Baguio Central School at about 11 a.m.

Officiating the turnover ceremonies was DepEd Secretary Butch Abad and Undersecretary for Finance Mike Luz, and local DepEd officials. Also in attendance were the mayor, vice-mayor and City Council of Baguio, teachers, as well as the alumni of Baguio Central School. Spirits were high and you can see from the teachers and alumni that they were indeed proud of the restored building. I'm excited since Pampanga High School is the next on the list of the buildings that DepEd will restore.

After the ceremonies, we went back to sleep. I guess all of us were just tired. But I woke up a little earlier than everyone since I went around with a SSEAYP friend who was a former City Councilor of Baguio when he was SK President. Aside from catching up, we discussed the possibility of creating a heritage ordinance for Baguio so that we could protect the remaining patches of heritage areas scattered around the city. One of the features of the ordinance would be the requirement of the green and white color that is distinctively Baguio. Looking at Baguio from Kennon Road for example is an eyesore! Imagine if all these houses where white (or at times brown) with green roofs! That would be indeed charming! Like the white and blue houses in the Mediterranean, these unsightly mountain homes would now blend with the environment they altered.

Just to give everyone an idea of the importance of Baguio to our national heritage, here's the petition which went around...

We believe that the City of Baguio is culturally, environmentally and aesthetically unique and different from other cities in the Philippines. We believe that Baguio is the nerve center of four rich and diverse cultures: the Filipino culture in general, the highland Cordilleran culture, the lowland Ilocano culture, and the heritage culture brought about by the Americans during the early 20th Century. We believe that in the past two decades, the City of Baguio has experienced a substantial degradation of its unique culture, environment and art. We believe that the approval of certain politicians with no respect for the aesthetics and the environment of Baguio to put up concrete structures such as malls, overpasses and flyovers only worsens Baguio City's lamentable decay as a "City of Pines." We believe that this overdevelopment and resulting pollution have to stop. We believe that due to its unique history and blend of cultures, Baguio can be to the Philippines as Barcelona is to Spain, Chiang Mai is to Thailand, and San Francisco is to the United States: a main center of arts, culture, philosophy, education, tourism, sustainable development and environmental awareness. We believe, therefore, that the City of Baguio deserves to be declared a "Special Heritage Zone," so that the degradation brought about by overdevelopment can be minimized and gradually controlled. We believe that Baguio City's heritage as a center of culture and environmental awareness is a valuable asset not just to the Philippines, but also to the world. We now respectfully call on the residents of Baguio and the Filipino people to sign this humble petition, and for the local and national governments concerned to implement and declare Special Heritage status on this unique mountain City as soon as possible, preferably before the Baguio Centennial in 2009, so no further destruction on its limited cultural, environmental and aesthetic resources may continue.

If you want to sign it as well, you can visit the Baguio Heritage Petition. One thing the petition forgot to mention was the fact that Baguio was cosntructed by Japanese workers at the turn of the past century. That's why many of Baguio's original residents have Japanese blood!

The next day, we went down to San Fabian, Pangasinan to meet Mayor Libunao who had invited the HCS to take a look at the old municipal hall and suggest plans for its restoration and adaptive reuse. I hope mayors thought this way before they considered demolishing an old building. It reminds me of Lito Atienza's penchant for destroying heritage structures. Does the Sky Lounge ring a bell?

We arrived in Manila at 10:00 p.m. giving me just 5 hours to rest before my next trip. Good thing I wasn't driving so I was able to sleep on the way back.