The Week That Was

DARN THE COLD WEATHER: It’s been kinda cold here in Manila, so it must be VERY cold in the Cordilleras. Betelnut, a prolific commenter in this blog (thanks Betelnut), notes: “Isn’t it just too cold these days? Kunak nu global warming ken El Nino. Nakalamlammin met. I wonder how is it there in your place? Heard that the Benguet veggies are in bad condition due to the extreme cold weather in parts of the province where the elevation is higher.”

In Mt. Province, Freda Changat reports: “Used clothing (wagwag) retailers are having a heyday selling thick jackets and blankets as residents cope with the weather.. Farmers in Mt. Data claim to have recorded an extreme low temperature of negative 1.2 degrees centigrade. There is no way however to verify the data since the nearest weather station is four hours away in Baguio City [Source: mtprovince.net].

In Benguet, frost destroyed agricultural products. From Nordis: “Atok town registered the most damage as of press time with almost P10 million worth of vegetable already destroyed due to andap (frost), Mayor Concepcion Balao claimed in an interview.”

MESSAGE TO TRUANT STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BAGUIO: Be afraid, be very afraid. Your parents can monitor your grades via the internet. This is bad for you but good for your parents especially Overseas Filipino Workers who would like to know whether their kids are really going to school and not just wasting their time in billiard halls. I’m glad there’s no internet in my college days, at least nakakalusot ako sa aking mga magulang.

LESSON IN HEADLINE WRITING: Someone at the University of the Cordilleras (UC/BCF) website needs to learn how to write a headline :-). Here’s the headline: UC coed beats regional statistics quiz bee. How’s that again? Co-ed in this corner vs. quiz bee in that corner. Ganun ba yon? (We make tons of mistakes in this blog but we are not getting paid to do it, so our mistakes are forgivable he he.)

ANOTHER HEADLINE FAUX PAS?: From the Philippine Information Agency via BaguioCityCom: “Buguias Passes Ordinance Against Bird Flu”. You birds coming from China, Japan, and Siberia who are carrying avian flu, don’t come to Buguias. Birds without avian flu are welcome. Is that how it goes?

NOT A FAN: I’m not sure I’m a fan of UC-BCF’s eLearning thing. Eh papasok ka rin pala eh. Akala ko you can do e-learning at home and earn a UC-BCF degree.

THIS NEWS IS OLD BUT STILL RELEVANT: Besao Cooperative adjudged as the third best Agrarian Reform Beneficiary (ARB) organization in the country. [Philippine Information Agency via BaguioCity.Com]

IGOROT ACHIEVER RE-ELECTED TO THE U.N.: Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, who made it to the first installment of our List of Achievers, was voted anew to represent the Asia region in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples. [Source: Nordis]. We admire Vicky a lot! She has done lots of positive things in advancing the cause of indigenous peoples. But isn’t it time to give way to others, kahit na hindi taga-Pilipinas? Baka naman puro inbreeding of ideas ang mangyayari diyan sa UN indigenous body if its the same people who are there.

ABRA: Haay, mga tao talaga. We only clean our surroundings when we are vying for a prize in a contest. We hope Abra wins in the Magandang OKS contest though. [Source: BaguioCity.Com]

MT. PROVINCE:
Wanna know how you can give money to people and ensure that they will vote for you and not be accused of vote-buying? Make these people your scholars! Meron ka ng alipores during your whole political life. And by the way, the money came from the government, which came from taxes, which came from the people who you are making your scholars. So pera na nila ang ginamit mo, ikaw pa ang bida. [Source: BaguioCity.Com]

ABRA: Governor Vicente Valera denies accusations that he masterminded the murder of Abra Congressman Luis Bersamin. [Source: Nordis] Well, I am the kind of guy who believes in a person’s innocence until he is proven guilty. But governor, can you please stop treating Abra’s provincial website [www.abra.gov.ph] as if it is your personal website. Ang laki-laki ng litrato ninyong mag-asawa doon eh, parang personal website tuloy ang dating.

KALINGA’S UNOY RICE MIGHT GO TO EUROPE: “The ‘unoy’ rice is now getting attention from a European organization which would probably lead to expanding the market in Europe. According to Estanislao Albano Jr., Information Officer of the Municipality of Tabuk, a representative of the Slow Food Foundation for Diversity, an organization dedicated to the preservation of traditional foods based in Italy visited the province and expressed interest in ‘unoy’ rice. The Italian came to know about ‘unoy’ when he visited Corazon Ryan after reading an article about her from the locally published Tabuk Life Magazine.” [Source: BaguioCity.Com]

IFUGAO: Diarrhea delays but won’t stop Ifugao’s provincial athletic meet. From PIA via BaguioCity.Com: “The annual provincial sports fest for elementary and secondary athletes here scheduled from January 28 to February 1 was reset to February 4-8 due to the diarrhea outbreak in Aguinaldo municipality. Aguinaldo was supposed to host provincial meet but due to the diarrhea outbreak that downed 200 residents in seven barangays in the municipality, the sports fest was rescheduled and the venue transferred to the capital town of Lagawe.” Go Aguinaldo!

APAYAO OLD NEWS [JULY 2006]: P300M Bridge in Apayao Awaits Construction [Source PIA via BaguioCity.Com]. We don’t know if the bridge has been constructed or whether iApayaos are still waiting.

BAGUIO CITY: After some intramural misunderstandings (or is “fighting” a better word), Panagbenga was launched last Thursday and will go on until the end of the month. The cold weather and all can’t stop the festivities.

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