Gina Dizon on iSagadas vs. Tourist

Well, we wouldn’t want this blog to be Sagada-centric but this article by Gina Dizon on the conflict between iSagadas and a tourist might serve as an example to other municipalities as more and more foreigners are settling in the Cordilleras. It would be interesting to see how this problem will be resolved.

Angry Sagada folk want tourist out; declare him persona non grata
By Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province — For inconsiderate behavior and depriving villagers of their water supply, angry folks here declared resident Austrian tourist Ernest Michael Reiseneder persona non grata saying they wanted him out of their village.

In a series of meetings early this year, barangay officials with a number of residents from Sitio Bitin and Barangay Ambasing declared they wanted Reiseneder out of the village as soon as possible and gave him till the end of March to leave.

As of presstime however, Reiseneder still lives in a rented house at Bitin.

Residents said Reiseneder siphoned water from the community water tank and reportedly used the water ‘extravagantly’ on his garden while the people nearby needed water badly for their domestic use.

Reisender’s siphoning water from the community tank started as early as November last year.
With the peak of the summer season, residents suffered immensely from lack of water, Kagawad Bernard Wassit said.

Local folks source their water from the tank located within the compound where Reiseneder lives with his Filipina partner.

Residents here also complained of Reiseneder having allegedly destroyed the public cemented pathway aside from reportedly, other inconsiderate acts which the people didn’t like.

Early last month, Wassit, neighbor of Reiseneder reported to police the latter allegedly burned Ambogawid Watershed on May 5.

A local help, Junifer ‘Coy-o’ Guidalos, said Reiseneder burned dried leaves which spread throughout the watershed.

Residents also forwarded a letter to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources asking for their appropriate action on the alleged cutting of trees by Reiseneder with the help of hired locals.

Their grievances were forwarded to the office of the municipal mayor for the latter’s appropriate action.

Barangay officials said they would file the appropriate cases against Reiseneder.

RELATED POST: Our Town: Sagada, Mt. Province; Those Hanging Sagada Coffins. SOURCE: Northern Philippine Times.

17 thoughts on “Gina Dizon on iSagadas vs. Tourist”

  1. Who is that foreigner who has the nerve to oppress Filipinos right in their territory? He thinks we are lesser mortals. How audacious!

    Could it be that Reiseneder is behaving the way he is because, as experiences of other Filipinos in other part of the country showed, our government allows foreigners to abuse us with impunity? Look at how the Koreans are behaving here in Baguio and elsewhere.

    I do not want to sound racist but hey, Hitler was Austrian. There might be a blood link somewhere.

  2. Hi Chyt,
    Yes this Sagada story is a good example of how our country has allowed foreigners to live unregulated in our communities. It’s good that the Sagada SB have started to act on the matter.

    On a lighter note, baka naman descendant ni Rizal itong si Reiseneder. Kasi si Hitler daw ay anak ni Rizal (if we believe those who claim it to be so). Thanks again.

  3. Isagadans should profusely resists this person’s negative attitude towards Sagada. They should just haul his ass and dump it over Irisan Dumpsite for all I care!
    Having said that, he is still there having been given an ultimatum until last March. He was also aided by some of our Kailians to have performed his moronic posturing. What are the executive branch personnel and PNP waiting for? Was somebody bribed here maybe?
    You can’t just have a foreigner come to your place and do as he pleases. The Spaniards weren’t able to trash the Cordilleras, why would we let this Austrian cockroach get away with this?!!!
    This is not Dachau!!!!!

  4. Trublue,

    Korek ka jan.

    In 2005, a Cebu restaurant owned by a Korean was closed down because it would not allow Filipinos to dine there. The Mayor’s wife (a Mrs. Osmeña), upon receiving the report, went to the resto supposedly to eat with friends. She was barred entry. Hah! That was a good move by the Korean. Mrs. Osmeña pulled all the strings she could until the Korean was deported.

    Foreigners like that Austrian and that Korean have no business staying in this country. We should just kick their butts hard and out of this land we call our home.

    Why can’t that Austrian be half the man William Henry Scott was?

  5. Hi Trublue,
    Oy, huwag naman sa Irisan dumpsite. Let’s just kick him in the butt and haul his ass off Sagada. Thanks.

    Hi Chyt,
    Oo nga, the Korean invasion is also bad. They are also exploitative. Yung mga English teachers sa Korean schools are being paid very low wages.

  6. Let’s hold our horses here please. It just happens that I am familiar with most of the parties involved in this ‘Austrian tourist in Sagada’ mess. Too familiar, in fact, to be able to say with certainty that nobody among all those concerned can claim not to have contributed to the creation of the ‘problem’ which they eventually found themselves embroiled in. As in any human relationship, conflicts do often arise, and how we resolve such conflicts is a testament to how mature we have become. We must be discerning enough to appreciate the intricacies of the situations which we face and to learn from them. (In this case I suppose, there should be no need to include the media.) I won’t elaborate on the events which occurred in Ambasing but suffice it for me to say that at present, Ernst Rieseneder has talked with the owner of the house he’s renting and he will extend his stay- for him to continue the repairs which he started, after then he will leave. He has also ceased all operations in his garden, by the way.

    I’m sure the concerns of the bloggers and the many others who have been joining in the discussion are all positive. It is with all due respect to all of them that I made this comment and I hope that the ‘problem’ will now end.

  7. August 3, 2007 just got down from Bitin, Ambasing… over 75 people (from ambasing, bugang,demang, dag-dag, patay) went to see to it that the austrian leave the place.. they packed all their things and left.. its history

    i saw posters saying (“earnest, leave our baranggay”) not exactly the words but thats the idea. hehehehe.. and we had lunch there, ahehehehe…

  8. Da Payatas/Smokey Mountain is where this guy belongs, he can trash da place as he wishes. Cheers to the people of Sagada for their collective effort…

  9. Lesson to learn—
    Reiseneder and Cebu Korean are bad examples of their respective races just like Marcos is of our race so their badness has nothing to do with race…
    Imagine if all people around the world see us as crooks because of the Filipino they know…Actually, it is Imelda and her shoes that seem to get more attention and casting a shadow on our race…

    Let’s check ourselves about racism even if we might be venting or joking only…

  10. Hi Anonymous (10:53)
    Thanks for the update. It’s good to know that the issue is now history.

    Hi Trublue,
    Cheers to them too, didn’t know that the other barangays also got involved na rin 🙂

    Hi Anonymous (2:21),
    Very good points. And from what I heard from some Sagada sources may faults din ang ating mga kailiyans in how they handled the matter.

    And yes the mistakes of one person should not be ascribed to the race s/he belongs to. Thanks.

  11. Hello MARIA LIZA D. FERNANDEZ

    i am from Austria and i heard of your case. I’m very interested in criminal cases like that and i have a group in which we discuss such cases in public.

    i can tell you, in austria there is nothing public about Rieseneder, it was never in media or something. i just found the case on Interpol and i would really like to help you finding him. In Austria, it is important to have such cases in public, otherwise nothing will happen.

    Please contact me: x85301@gmail.com

    greetz

    (please excuse my bad english!)

  12. he’s gone from Interpol? Also Lizas comment disappeared. Did they catch him? Can’t find anything in the internet.

  13. I am still searching for this man for a long time now. I am still hoping to get the justice for what he did to me and to my daughter.
    Help…

    Liza

  14. @Liza Maria Fernandez
    My address is yours, maybe my business phone number will help you 0049 8061 36132
    Simply ridiculous!

  15. Ernst Michael Rieseneder is for me a man of terror. He posses an animal behavior, he has no respect specially for Filipinos because as he told me many times back then, Filipinos are monkey.
    He raped my daughter and beat me to bleed. I was black and blue. He was able to flew out of the Philippines before he was sentenced.
    This man is still harassing me right now by posting on my page old pictures of me doing the things that he obliged me to do at my young age. Taking drugs and having threesome sex with his bestfriend. I was a buttered wife, abused to the extend, my daughter of 3 years old back then has been raped and Ernst Rieseneder, who is responsible for such crimes is living free. Please help me….

    Liza

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