By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
As we are preparing this issue which is our Baguio Day issue, it was continuously raining. Like cats and dogs, the Americans would say. It is of course easy to bad mouth the Americans like what we had been doing for decades and decades. Those with pretensions of making this country a better place are the front liners when it came to this. But for a moment let us take stock of what we have become.
Let us not forget that we have not ben totally subjugated by the Spaniards. Yes, we stood our ground. That changed when Kennon Road was opened in 2005. It was in the making for just about a little more than four years. For emphasis, Just a little more than four years.
After more than a 100 years, where are we? We are a lot of big talkers but we are just minuscule of that when it came to action. )
Kennon Road is almost 50 kilometers carved from mountains; rivers were bridged (there were more than a 100), impossible steep terrain were rip-rapped or terraced with stone walls, bed rocks were blasted with dynamites.
In short, the road was built from scratch, from zero. Yet, in just about four years the road was passable to military vehicles, opening these mountains to the world. And enabling Baguio to be built as a city. Outsiders came and settled in droves.
What can we do in four years? I have seen potholes on the road remaining as such for more than five years.
Look at Kennon Road now. We cannot even maintain it. It is closed to vehicles most of the time.
And look at the other major features of the city. Burnham Park, Wright Park, and Camp Joh Hay. Who built these, or perhaps the more appropriate question is, what did we do with these, and the city itself? We desecrated these instead of improving them.
The city is now an example of how a squatter of a city can be built.
Look at the whole Cordillera, if not the whole country, and please point to us a city more beautiful than Baguio 50 years ago. None. A big NONE!
What is the point?
It is time for us to take stock of ourselves and see how we can improve individually and collectively. Perhaps more on individually.
If we as individuals are just a lot of blabber mouths then we are destined to be this way. Otherwise, we have to change our ways, rather, ourselves.
It should start amongst those with college diplomas. Baguio is the educational center of the north. It has so many colleges and universities churning out thousands and thousands of graduates every semester. Most of these would become employees of government or the private sector.
Why can’t we come up with leaders who can establish their firms or companies. These are the people who can effectively call for or implement change. They are the ones who emit force when they talk, who can move people by their example.
Such people are the ones who should be in positions of leadership. Not those who are just big talkers.
Yes, let us look at ourselves and ask, what have we done or are doing towards this end?
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