By Joel B. Belinan
This week, the Baguio-Benguet Correspondents and Broadcasters Club (BCBC) was able to revive the “Lucky
Summer Visitor/s” program, a more than half-century tradition every Holy Week of the members of the 4th estate or the media. The tradition was set aside when the Pandemic struck in the middle of March 2020. This year’s Lucky Summer Visitor is the 61st since it was started by the pioneer members of the local media in the 50s. It was aimed to help in the promotion of tourism in the city and nearby towns.
In the past, BCBC members and their partner government agencies and those in the private sector went down to Saitan in nearby Rosario, La Union for the selection of the lucky visitor/s.
In Bontoc , Mountain Province, the Lang-ay Festival was also able to bounce back to life after three years of not being held due also to the pandemic. Considered one of the best culture-based festivals in the Cordillera, the Lang-ay Fest often coincided with the province’s foundation celebration. Started by the late Governor and Congressman Maximo Dalog Sr. in 2005, the Lang-ay Fest this year was its 16th iteration, while the province’s foundation anniversary was its 56th.
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Authorities are alarmed by the reported spate of suicides among our local youths. Accordingly, a number of those cases involved students from one school in the city.
Local experts have been urging parents and guardians to listen to their children and give attention to their concerns. A close associate of mine who happened to be in the mental health profession confirms that indeed some local officials have been doing their best to address the issue. Her services as mental health professional have been engaged by some offices of the local government to look into the matter.
And such concerns were not confined to Baguio City as accordingly to this same person, she was also invited by the Benguet State University (BSU) for the same purpose.
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Summer is being felt in the city and nearby areas during the day but it is still cool during midnight and at dawn.
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People are being urged to conserve and recycle water as if residents have not been doing that since time immemorial. Baguio City is known for not having abundant water supply. The bad news is that our weather bureau (PAGASA) forecasted that this year would experience a long El Nino phenomenon or a long dry spell. In short irrigation water will be scarce which will surely bring down grain harvests, ergo the country’s economy as a whole will suffer. Agriculture along with the industry and the services sectors are the main sectors of our economy which will surely suffer again.
Unfortunately, agriculture contributes the smallest value added. The industry sector that includes manufacturing, construction, and exports is the biggest while the services sector that includes tourism, water, and electricity services is the second. While agriculture contributes less than 20% of the economy, almost 70% of our people are dependent on it. Thus, whatever happens to our Agriculture will have a tremendous impact on our economy and the country as a whole.
In Rodriguez, Rizal particularly at the Wawa Dam area, a Philippine army contingent had a firefight with a group of New People’s Army (NPA) just last week. An army man was reportedly wounded while on the NPA side, casualties were not determined. Why am I concerned about such a firefight in a faraway place like Wawa Dam? Because our group, the Ang Katipunan ng mga Samahang Maharlika, general headquarters is right there by the Wawa Dam which we call “Maharlika Paradise”, a part of the Pamitihan Protected Landscape under the DENR. Furthermore, it appears that the NPA is becoming bolder nowadays. It is interesting to note that the said place is just adjacent to
Metro Manila not to mention that a Ranger Company is actually stationed just a couple of kilometers away. From what I know, the Wawa Dam is a part of the project of the government that is currently being undertaken to solve the water problem of the National Capital Region. Unfortunately, the main contractor of the project is a Chinese Firm. Definitely, with a mega project like that, many residents are sure to be affected.
Speaking about the Chinese, the Marcos government seems to have demolished in less than one year whatever good relationship with them the Duterte government had built for six years. The present administration’s agreement with the United States for the provision of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites or what I would call modern-day US bases is for sure creating a massive headache for Duterte’s best friend in China, Pres. Xi Jinping.
The other best friend of Duterte is in Russia, Pres. Vladimir Putin. The question is, will Mr. De La Cruz benefit from those ECA sites or will it only fatten the pockets of a few big names in Malacanang and the Armed Forces of the Philippines? **
