DENR’s schizophrenia: It’s right hand says, “My God the mountains are balding. We should protect them.” But its left hand says, “Come foreign mining companies. Come to the Cordilleras and rape our mountains.” Heck! The DENR is as confused (sick?) as Gollum.
Okay, this is an attempt to evaluate the websites of the Cordillera provinces and Baguio City. First off, I would like to say that I have no idea how to design a website. If I knew how, I wouldn’t be using this blogger template. Nonetheless, just because I am ignorant of the how-tos doesn’t mean that I can’t tell the difference between a good website from one that needs improvement. A movie critic need not know how to direct a movie. A coach need not be an athlete. And you don’t have to be a president to say something about President Arroyo’s (mal)administration of the country’s affairs. Now that you get my drift, let’s look at the criteria that we will be using in making our judgment:
First, overall website design, (40%): This refers to how the website looks or its visual impact.
Benguet is Number One. Well, that’s according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in its ranking of the country’s provinces using the Human Development Index (HDI). Instead of focusing on income alone, HDI also measures other development indicators such as life expectancy, school enrolment, and literacy. In 2005, Benguet emerged as the top-ranked province with a score of 0.738. Other provinces in the top ten are: Batanes, Rizal, Cavite, Nueva Vizcaya, Pampanga, Bataan, Bulacan, and Ilocos Norte.
Meanwhile, Ifugao improved its performance and is recognized among the “top gainers”. It also graduates from the bottom ten provinces — it was ranked 72nd among 77 provinces in the 2000 HDI. More here.
Kalinga farmers are preparing a third shipment of Unoy rice to the United States after demand for said rice variety increased. American consumers are said to prefer hand pounded rice because of its nutritional content; research has reportedly shown that hand pounding preserves the iron content of the rice. The bad news is that the growing demand for Unoy rice might encourage people to resort to a slash and burn farming system to expand their planting areas. Full report here. Maybe we should continue with this “reverse cultural invasion” by sending dog meat to the Americans. It’s supposedly good for the skin, according to Koreans anyway. More here.
A news and information blog on the Igorots/iCordilleras
