Category Archives: Mt. Province

Laylaya, Besao: A Volunteer Speaks From the Boondocks

There’s more to the Cordilleras than Baguio City, Banaue, Sagada, and the capital towns. Sadly, most media reports on the region are about these places. That’s why its nice to read (and to republish) articles about other parts of the Cordilleras.This report by Mariel Conel Bayangos on her experiences in Laylaya, Besao is one such article.

Mariel Conel Bayangos: My teaching assignment was at the Panabungen School of Arts, Trades and Home Industries in Laylaya, Besao, Mt. Province. The area is the farthest barangay in Besao, in the tri-boundary of Ilocos Sur, Abra and Mt. Province.

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What? Sagada is Not Unique?

Hey you Sagada people who think that your town is unique, here’s a message for you: Sagada is not unique. Yes, you can brag about your caves, rocks, hanging coffins, underground rivers (with no water sometimes), sinking rice terraces, Balugan tomatoes, Antadao persimmons, and Pidlisan coffee but, I repeat, Sagada is not unique.

Before people from Kalinga, Bontoc, and Tabuk gloat and look down on poor Sagada for not being unique, here’s also a message for you: Your place is also not unique. Of course, no one in his or her right mind would ever say that Mountain Province, Cordillera, and Abra are unique. For the record, La-Trinidad is also not unique.

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FtB List: Commandant Arthur Gosingan

This picture of Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Arthur Gosingan (right), shaking the hands of a Chinese official was originally posted in The List: Part 5 but Blogger kept messing it up (or maybe it was my fault he he) so I decided to make a separate post on him. The Commandant, who hails from Bontoc, Mt. Province, has been in the news lately since he is leading the Coast Guard in cleaning up the mess caused by an oil tanker which sank off the coast of Guimaras Island.

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