Category Archives: Benguet

Princess Urduja: The Mother of Ibalois?

Have you ever heard of Princess Urduja? If your elementary teacher was like ours, she would have told you about the warrior princess who is believed to have ruled the Kingdom of Tawalisi way before Magellan begged the Queen of Spain to give him those danged ships to, in the words of George W, circumcise the globe. [Note: The painting above right is a visualization of Urduja by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo.]

Princess Urduja and her kingdom [queendom?] was first mentioned in the travel accounts of Muslim explorer Ibn Battuta. Our national hero Jose Rizal then speculated, based on the time and distance it took Battuta to travel from said kingdom to China, that Talawisi was in Luzon. Subsequent scholars placed the kingdom in Pangasinan and its neighboring areas.

Anyway, there is an ongoing debate whether Urduja ever existed and whether the Kingdom of Tawalisi really is modern day Pangasinan. Incidentally, the province of Pangasinan honors the memory of Urduja by naming its capitol the Urduja Palace and by putting up a statue in her honor.

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Boon Award: La Trinidad Mayor Artemio Galwan

So here’s our first awardee for the Boon Award: Mayor Artemio Galwan of La Trinidad Benguet. Why does he deserve this award? Because he rejected the plan of barangay captains to operate bingo in the municipality. [If you are wondering why we are suddenly giving out awards, read this one.]

From a report by Jane Cadalig in Sunstar:
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Igorot Achiever: Kiko Calado, Journalist of the Year (Radio)

Our kailiyan Francis “Kiko” Calado of Baguio and Sablan, Benguet was named recently as the Broadcast Journalist of the Year (for Radio) by the Rotary Club of Manila. Kiko is with the DZRH ratio station in Manila.

The award was given to our kailiyan “for his reporting style which is a breath of fresh air in the often frenzied world of radio news broadcasting since his coverage of news and current affairs is driven by facts, not controversy and which have remained true to the principles of responsible journalism”. [Source: Rotary]

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Let’s Go Swim!

Adda kastoy yo? If you think the Cordilleras is only about mountains, valleys, some flat lands, and mountains again, aba, you are mistaken. We also have bodies of water. Topmost photo: Ambuklao Dam in Bokod, Benguet. Bottom photo: Bulalacao Lake in Kabayan, Benguet.

PHOTO CREDIT: Benguet.gov.ph