Cordillera Day 2007

Our friends from the left will be celebrating Cordillera Day in Baguio City on 23-24 April. As you may already know, Cordillera Day was used to be called Macli-ing Dulag Day because it was initially held to commemorate the death of the man who led the people’s opposition to the Chico River Dam. [You may want to read our brief posts about Dulag here and here.]

The Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance, the main organizer of this annual event, then changed the name to Cordillera Day to recognize the other martyrs from the Cordilleras who died fighting (or who were simply killed) for what they believed in . [Some of them are listed here and the latest one is here.]

Though we do not entirely agree with our friends from the left, we believe that they do have a valid analysis of what’s wrong with our society. For instance, they are correct in asserting that the scandalous poverty situation in our country is mostly because of the oligarch’s stranglehold on our country’s resources. And they are also correct in saying that the government appears to be more interested in protecting the interest of the privileged few than in serving the many who are poor.

And the facts do back them up. Indeed, if the government is really interested in serving the poor, then it should have implemented a genuine agrarian reform program (this is an undying issue precisely because the government failed to solve the problem of land inequity), it should have stopped paying the personal loans of Jose de Venecia and other Marcos cronies (using our taxes to pay said loans), and it should have passed a law that effectively banned political dynasties. At marami pang iba. Etcetera. Etcetera.

On the other hand, it is also good to remember that our leftist friends are not angels either. We disagree with their brand of justice like this one and we also disagree with their use of violence (at least those who decided to use violence as their means of expressing dissent against the current system).

Anyway, we wish our friends a Happy Cordillera Day! And we hope that Palparan and his ilk will not be showing their ugly heads in Baguio.

PHOTO CREDIT: Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance.

5 thoughts on “Cordillera Day 2007”

  1. Da en pee hey is da niggest praybeyt armey in da pilipins.

    I don’t like the leftists, partylists or NPA. But I’m not a rightist either. I believe that these poeple do not really want things for the better but they just want to have power…not different from the politicians.

    The problem that I see with the anti-government people is that they want the pipol to be ispoiled.

    I mean, they’re the number one people who go against the dispersal of illegal vendors..who reason that crimes are poverty driven..who go against when demolition of squatters is being performed…. come on they’re not really helping the less fortunate..they are making them too dependent on the government.

    The Chinese who came dirt poor to the Philippines and were targeted by extremely heavy tax and once discriminated upon are nor the pioneers of our economy.

    it’s the people who have problem..not the government..because it is us who run the government. We vote for Local and National officials.

    It’s not that I’m pro-Gloria but its unfair that lahat ng kamalasan ng Pilipinas naibabaling sa kanya. I mean, corruption has long been in existence before she sat down as the president. Then the people elected the Congressmen and Senators who are pro-Gloria.

    Bottom: It’s our fault.

    When will these people understand that Baguio is only for 25,000 people yet they want “housing” for the squatters here. To think of it that even before the world war two, Baguio has already reached its maximum capacity. That’s why when more squatters were tolerated, their numbers grew even more because “deforestation” in favor of “free lands” were very favorable to them. Not only that these squatters too are depriving the indigenous people of Baguio their right to ancestral lands… it’s not just the government and the capitalists, these squatters have their share too..especially those who came from other Cordi places. May lupa naman sila dun, bakit nakikisiksik sila dito? Why don’t they just CREATE opportunities for them? Cebu is a good example of a province that rose on their own..without help from Imperial Manila or even the National Government.

    It’s internal immigration that destroyed Baguio. You see,during the times when Bagui was dominated by Baguio people(Ibalois and pre war immigrants) life was simple, peaceful and comfortable..when the immigrants came.. everything went haywire.

    The once discriminated people are now one of the most progressive in the country. In fact half of the tourists go to the Visayas, Cebu in particular.

    That is why I hate Yaranon. He gave the ambulant vendors tolernace permit to sell in the sidewalks. Hello, may stalls naman ang Baguio for the ukay ukay. Why don[‘t these people settle there. Pilipino nga naman..nagrereklamo sa corruption eh sila rin ang corrupt. I mean, unfair naman yung sila binigyan ng tolerance permit tapos yung mga legal stalls ay ang bigat ng bayad sa tax. That’s why I sympathize with the LEGAL meat vendors in the city market. The problem with the lower class naman is that they’re using “poverty” as a front to escape their social responsibilties. Kung ganyan, talgang magiging pooor sila forever kasi they will never know the “art of management”. It’s not that I am against helping the less fortunate..but this is not the right approach. Spoiling them is not the way.

    I’m quite mbivalent with the Cordillera Day… parang dalawa ..yung isang Cordillera day was when the CAR was concepted.

    Honestly, I’m quite doubtful about the CARP campaign. It will deprive other people fo their lands for the “spoilange” the people who don’t really own land.

  2. Here’s an honest thought.

    I hate ow baguio is growing multi cultural nowadays. Just lookm on how the real Baguio people are being disregarded in favor of the outsiders. Yes multiculturalism is an asset but we must be careful on really being multi-cultural. The pre war Baguio was a true multicultual society…The Japanese, Cantonese, and Ilocano Immigrants along with the native Ibalois and American colonists created and contributed to the Baguio culture that came about which is now being disregarded by the new immigrants and the city government, whom mostly are immgrants to the city and fake “Baguio people”.

    I worry about BLIST. I’m scared that what happened to Baguio would happen to these areas. baguio once had farmlands but because the local government was so permissive of squaating and “development”, the farmlands are gone. Di malayong mangayari ito sa Benguet, especially La Trinidad.

    Tolerance destroyed Baguio. The city gave it too much to the demands of the outsiders even if its at the expense of the city and its people. Kami ang nagbabayad ng tax, bakit kami pa ang napepeste at di naseserbisyohan lagi nalang inuuna yung outsiders..poor or rich. We didn’t like the mall, we didn’t like that flyover…

    I firmly beleve that the Urban Poor should be relocated to where they came from. Kung lagi silang magpupunta dito, talagang walang mangyayari sa Ili nila kasi di nila tinutulungan ito.

    Here’s an interesting essay from a Baguio boy

    http://subsite.icu.ac.jp/sao/f.norris

  3. I will be disappointed with that incoming cordillera day if it is more on t political aspect…Remember that cordillera day is to commemorate the death of those who fight the chico dam construction..Sa poster pa lang or sa picture na posted my nakita na me na “OUST GMA” lols…they should not use that day as tools for their propagandas and agenda..

  4. Hi Betelnut,
    You raised a lot of substantial points that also need a substantial answer. I think that both your post and my answers deserve a place in the main page. What I plan to do in the future is to upload your comments in the main page and give my answers there. Thanks much.

    Hi Nats,
    Ay ammum met-a dagiti kakadwa tayo ket they politicize everything 🙂

  5. ..it’s so happen that i was in town during the eve of the said ‘Cordillera Day’…and i go…really?…i thought CD is somewhere in 3rd or 4th quarter…then i saw their banners…so sad…

    FBI

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