Science Communication & Visualisation - somersault18:24 shared Deep Look • PBS's episode. 11 hrs · The humble pine cone is more than a holiday decoration. It's an ancient form of tree sex. Flowers may be faster and showier, but the largest living things in the world? The oldest? They all reproduce with cones. But in those places -- the cold, the dry, the land with poor soil -- Pause -0:33 Additional Visual SettingsEnter Watch And ScrollClick to enlarge Unmute The Sex Lives of Christmas Trees | Deep Look Latest Episode

Deep Look • PBS added a new episode. December 22, 2017 at 11:16pm · The humble pine cone is more than a holiday decoration. It's an ancient form of tree sex. Flowers may be faster and showier, but the largest living things in the world? The oldest? They all reproduce with cones.

Cut the GREED not the GREENS.

Project Save 182

The Rise of Syndicated Environmental Advocacies

The Rise of Syndicated Environmental Advocacies Tweet Share 7K +1 fighting for a causeNope, this won’t be another 2,000 word entry just about Saving Manila Bay or Saving Baguio Pine Trees, I think people have had enough of that for now. It’s a Saturday morning in the Philippines.  The sky is bright baby blue, the air is cool, birds are chirping in the yard, one of my house help is sweeping the huge front yard, and the other is cooking bacon, eggs, and hotcakes on the iron griddle I bought from a neighbor’s yard sale. I am sitting here behind my desk in my home office wondering about how the words “paid hack” or “paid cyber hack” could in any way be a proper response to the arguments I’ve put forward against the causes or advocacies I’ve encountered lately. Project Save 182 up in Baguio City, protesting the balling of 182 pine trees on Luneta Hill for about a year now, is encumbered by so many inconsistencies which they haven’t answered or responded to appropriately.  Why protest just the balling of trees in Baguio and why protest the growing conversion of entire mountains into vegetable farms (pesticide laden, fertilizer soaked, and GMO laced)?  Why only the balling of Luneta Hill pine trees and not the one of Goshen or St. Louis’ University?  Why make it seem that SM Baguio is entirely responsible for all the environmental damage happening in Baguio City? When I first brought these issues up, I was accused of throwing them a “red herring” and then this progressed to being called a “paid hack”, the second accusation really doesn’t answer the issues raised against their cause but rather ungraciously sidestep them. The only thing I can say about being accused of being a paid hack is that an unpaid hack might be worse and a hack that has to pay to hack is even more pathetic.  Recently, it seems I’ve been promoted and been called a paid “cyber hack” — which I assume to be the same as a “hack”, only more “techie”. Personally, I would prefer to be called a troll. george carline never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groupsGoing back , unlike mining or building construction, vegetable farming is virtually unregulated in Benguet.  I doubt if the Department of Agriculture sends field personnel to check if upland vegetable farms are over-saturating the soil with fertilizers or over-spraying it with insecticides/fungicides.  I doubt if the government still checks whether or not slash and burn practices have really been stopped. The truth is, vegetable farming in Benguet accounts for the loss of hundreds if not thousands of hectares of Benguet Pine forests. Moreover, scientific studies have already pointed out, time and again, that fertilizer/pesticide intensive farming produces more green house gases than mining or building construction.  Never mind, too, that the primary cause of water run off during the rainy season is caused by the decimation of “water sheds”. Funny thing is that it seems SM’s development on Luneta Hill, being just a small portion of the entire Baguio City, is being blamed for a whole gamut of “environmental evils”. Considering these two things, SM possibly killing a few dozen trees in the process of balling them up and thousands of farmers creating tons of green house gases/causing water run off every year, which do you think ought to be stopped first?  Which of the two should cause greater uproar? I’d say it would have to be unsustainable vegetable farming, but that’s just me.  I don’t know if you’ve really thought that the salad or vegetable dish you’re about to eat is actually causes more Climate Change than a mall’s parking lot. camp john hay tree killerOh! And just to just show sincere and well thought out Project Save 182 is as an environmental conservation movement, just consider that Karlo Altomonte (a prime mover for Save 182) actually held another concert at Camp John Hay — a real tree killer corporation, worse than SM Baguio. (I wonder if Karlo is related to former Advertising Big Boss Emily Altomonte Abrera, a key figure at the head of the “Save Manila Bay” movement?) In fact, it was the tree balling in Camp John Hay that Michael Bengwayan, another Save 182 proponent, cited in the court case to prove that balling has a tendency to kill trees. Here’s an excerpt from Sunstar Baguio announcing Karlo Altomonte’s Open Space 2013 event in Camp John Hay: “Open Spaces 2013 – The 3rd Baguio Music Festival” promises to be an exciting showcase of musical talents. And as in the previous festivals, this year’s four-day event will take audiences on a diverse musical journey highlighting the richness of the local music scene in various venues at Camp John Hay. “What are the events lined up this year? Maybe we can jam, just like before,” Abby Clutario of Manila-based group, Fuseboxx asked Open Spaces Executive Director Karlo Marko Altomonte. The group performed during the 2011 launch and is returning again this time as one of the featured bands at the festival’s finale. On February 14, “Open Spaces” 2013 opens with a Valentine’s Day concert at the Bell Amphitheater, Camp John Hay entitled, “Arias,” which features some of the city’s foremost classical and musical theater vocalists. The thing is Camp John Hay that managed by John Hay Management Corp. (JHMC) Operations Group Manager Frank Daytec, the brother of Lawyer Cheryl Daytec Yangot — a prime mover of Save 182.  Daytec-Yangot is the wife of Acting Baguio Vice Mayor/Councilor Leandro Yangot, a JHMC board member and mother of Councilor Karrmin Yangot. It seems that Altomonte, Abrera, and the Yangots are somewhat connected, whether loosely or tightly I have no way of knowing right now.  Not that it really matters at all, even if you factor in that a common personality involved in Save 182 and Save Manila Bay is Jim Libiran. Rounding up the gang of people involved in the “Save” brand of movements on the internet are Lory Tan (CEO of WWF), Paulo Alcazaren (Columnist, Architect), Bobby Capco (former Arroyo Undersecretary now PR guy), Sylvia Mayuga, Ninotcha Rosca, and others of the somewhat “social set”. If at all something links them as a common denominator, it may be something that George Carlin touched on in his often quoted “Save The Earth” spiel. “We’re so self-important. Everybody’s going to save something now. “Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails.” And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. Save the planet, we don’t even know how to take care of ourselves yet. I’m tired of this shit. I’m tired of f-ing Earth Day. “I’m tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is that there aren’t enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don’t give a shit about the planet. Not in the abstract they don’t. You know what they’re interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They’re worried that some day in the future they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn’t impress me. Which probably why Jim Libiran’s tweet the other day on why he opposes a reclamation project on Manila Bay seems to underscore what Carlin said a few years ago. jim libiran Now, if you are asking why I am taking issue with these “causes” and their big name “proponents”, it is basically because I am a blogger and not a journalist.  Perhaps someone who explained best the blogger’s role in the universe of media and critical discussion is Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic. …before the blogosphere, reporters and columnists were largely shielded from this kind of direct hazing. Yes, letters to the editor would arrive in due course and subscriptions would be canceled. But reporters and columnists tended to operate in a relative sanctuary, answerable mainly to their editors, not readers. For a long time, columns were essentially monologues published to applause, muffled murmurs, silence, or a distant heckle…. …Unlike newspapers, which would eventually publish corrections in a box of printed spinach far from the original error, bloggers had to walk the walk of self-correction in the same space and in the same format as the original screwup. The form was more accountable, not less, because there is nothing more conducive to professionalism than being publicly humiliated for sloppiness. …In an era when the traditional media found itself beset by scandals as disparate as Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, and Dan Rather, bloggers survived the first assault on their worth. In time, in fact, the high standards expected of well-trafficked bloggers spilled over into greater accountability, transparency, and punctiliousness among the media powers that were. Even New York Times columnists were forced to admit when they had been wrong.” Nowhere else is this kind of journalistic accountability more pronounced than in Get Real Philippines — as even its webmaster’s views is subjected to an acid bath of criticism.  This is perhaps why its readership base has expanded to 10,000 and why its community of more than 3,000 people on Facebook is so divergent, taking the phrase “Beg To Differ” quite seriously. SAVE BRAND OF ENVIRONMENTALISM It takes a lot of guts and brains to write for this blog, especially if you consider that the webmaster is one of the most popular political and social blogging critics since before the blogosphere. If at all there is anything false, misleading or illogical in any of the writings on this blog, it will get found out and it will get bashed to bits. We don’t rely on credibility based on our last names, degrees, or titles. We rely merely on our ability to dissect issues and present it without the hype or appeals to emotion. print About Paul Farol Try not to take me too seriously. Pia Ranada’s Article on Andanar’s Foreign Trips Exemplifies Rappler’s Brand of Lazy Journalism - January 15, 2018 Your Tito’s Car: The Ford Ecosport - December 12, 2017 Preview of Part Three of “The Real Enemies and Traitors of the Fourth Estate” - December 4, 2017 On The Real Enemies and Traitors Of The Fourth Estate (Part Two: Syndicates) - December 1, 2017 On The Real Enemies and Traitors of the Fourth Estate - November 30, 2017 Spread it! More Related One Year On: Why I Believe both SM and Save 182 have Failed Baguio City in 2012 One Year On: Why I Believe both SM and Save 182 have Failed Baguio City in 2012 January 15, 2013 In "Civics" Save Our Sunset (SOS) Save Manila Bay... Do You Mean Save Our Sunset (SOS) Save Manila Bay... Do You Mean "Keep It Polluted" ? January 21, 2013 In "Environment" Court Dismisses Save 182's Case Against SM Baguio Court Dismisses Save 182's Case Against SM Baguio December 14, 2012 In "Environment" Categories: Development, Economy, Environment / 22 Responses / by Paul Farol Leave a Reply 22 Comments on "The Rise of Syndicated Environmental Advocacies" Notify of Email › avatar Join the discussion Sort by: newest | oldest | most voted Trosp Guest Trosp @Farol A well researched post. Kudos! 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago Paul Farol Guest Paul Farol Thanks man. 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago FallenAngel Member FallenAngel Amen, Paul. 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago ChinoF Member ChinoF Based on the associations made here, I can only suspect that “environmental causes” are actually PR tools for two purposes here. One, to build up popularity for someone running in the elections. Two, as a probable tool to destroy a competitor (I suspect competitors are trying to ruin SM’s reputation, idea brought up by the presence of a well-known advertising personality in the Baguio movement). 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago RF Garcia Guest RF Garcia You are right about Benguet farmers over-spraying the soil with pesticides.These chemicals kill not only the pests but also the beneficial organisms in the soil as well as the humans who eat the vegetables. But do not include the fertilizers in the category of harmful chemicals which you say are ‘over-saturating’ the soil. Fertilizers contain nutrients that nourish and sustain plant life. There is no such thing as over-saturating the soil with nutrients. Farmers may appear to apply too much but vegetables have naturally high demand for fertilizers. 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago OnesimusUnbound Guest OnesimusUnbound for quite off topic, when I was in high school, my teacher asked us how would I know if the vegetable has no pesticide applied on. Answer: If I see caterpillar crawling on it, it’s guaranteed to be pesticide-free. 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago Trident Guest Trident I totally agree with you regarding fertilizer use. I have a corn farm in Batangas and I personally conduct soil testing for NPK and various micro nutrients regularly to check soil quality and condition. Scientifically speaking all the applied “synthetic” fertilizers gets consumed by plants including the salt residues from the fertilizer compound, it doesn’t get washed or seeps into water deposits like most would say (exaggeration). The applied fertilizer is mostly retained on the first 4″ of soil where the plants/trees would readily consume it. People need to learn simple chemistry to know how this things work and stop… Read more » 0 REPLY3 years 7 months ago vince Guest vince one possibility is that its more exciting and more newsworthy to challenge a mall tycoon for a small environmental benefit versus challenging a poor farmer for large environmental benefit. No one wants to be seen as oppressing the poor while every one loves a david vs goliath story there’s really no need to bring up conspiracies. These things happen naturally, just like viral videos I believe in the judge dredd solution versus the solomonic solution. Judge dredd would shoot them both. i.e. solve both problems. Stop both the poor farmers and SM from destroying the environment 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago Paul Farol Guest Paul Farol It’s not a conspiracy but a concerted effort among a small group of like minded people. 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago Perry Guest Perry People should be held accountable for what they say. The people mentioned in the article seem like self-serving, loathable types and the picture of the one woman seems about right to put her up there with the loathsome bunch (imagine waking up next to that, WHOA!). But most of the authors here on GRP are anonymous, so how do they get held accountable? Someone, somewhere, somehow knows who Benigno is or who Ilda is or who Gogs is and I hope no one finds out who the Virtual Vigilante is ( I really like that guy!) BUT besides bashing the… Read more » 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago MidwayHaven Guest MidwayHaven In my last GRP article I included my real name in the final sentence. It’s a risk, but a risk I’m willing to take to say what I believe needs to be said. In a reversal of who’s what in Baguio, it seems that Save 182 has been doing activities left and right which only seek to drum up environmental awareness–that’s it. As for environmental activities themselves, there’s pretty much nothing. Meanwhile, SM City Baguio is aiming true on their promise of planting 50,000 pine trees by the end of this year (an article in the Baguio Midland Courier dated… Read more » 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago ChinoF Member ChinoF I like to be known for my views. I am who I am, I don’t pretend to be somebody else. 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago Perry Guest Perry Is your statement a reply to my comment about anonymity? If it is then your given name, the one on your gov’t. issued I.D., is ‘ChinoF’? Not that I want to know, because I do not, but that name seems like it would be difficult to pronounce. 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago ChinoF Member ChinoF My handle here is my nickname and my surname’s first letter. I share the same surname with MidwayHaven even if we’re not related. Not that I believe everybody with a false name actually pretends to be somebody else. I know some pseudonyms are very much themselves. The other GRP bloggers, for instance. 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago Trosp Guest Trosp @ChinoF I don’t care if somebody is expressing his/her point of view without disclosing his/her identity. However, there are times when views require one to reveal his/her identity. One can’t just make a claim that can be verifiable only through his/her true identity. In my case, I used the handle Trosp because it might result to conflict of interest with the company I was working with if it’ll be known I’m their employee. When I left my employer, I’ve made it a point that my identity is known to every comment readers here. For accountability. 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago coolass Guest coolass very well 🙂 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago Perry Guest Perry I have done some accidental research and it seems that GRP is getting quite the bit of attention from the people who run the country. EXAMPLE: one of Ms.Santiago’s staff has been replying/defending her boss rather vigorously lately, Mary Grace Sanchez Plena, whew that is a long one, is screaming at people here about her boss’s merits, HA!!! What a load of rubbish. Stinking as the day is long BIOYA, Sanchez!!! I do not blame anyone here for not disclosing their real names. I actually wondered if anyone in the gov’t. would actually care what anyone says here, WELL they… Read more » 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago Paul Farol Guest Paul Farol Not only Miriam but Dick Gordon and Koko Pimentel. But apart from politicians, members of the establishment press also read GRP. 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago Hyden Toro Guest Hyden Toro Vegetable farming, benefits many people.While SM is owned by Sy, a business monopoly. Destroying the environment to make the rich , more rich is absurd…SM employs people, at low pays…Hacienda Luisita Plantation economics… 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago Paul Farol Guest Paul Farol Hyden, the wage for an agricultural laborer is lower than the wage for an SM clerk. An agricultural laborer gets exposed to fertilizers and pesticides while working under the sun. Moreover, the farmer/capitalist uses up more land than SM while producing more green house gases as well as uses up more water. 0 REPLY4 years 11 months ago trackback Why Baguio Is Dying | Get Real Post […] my widely read post, “The Rise of Syndicated Environmentalist Causes”, I noted that Project Save 182 mover Karlo Altomonte’s Open Spaces was holding a […] 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago monk Guest monk Carlin actually had a misanthropic and fatalistic view concerning life, the environment, and many other things, including consumer spending and capitalists. 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago

Why Baguio Is Dying

Why Baguio Is Dying Tweet Share 7K +1 1 mukhang peraThe truth is: SM Baguio is just a scapegoat of Pseudo Environmentalists, because they’re politicians who can’t go against the REAL CAUSES of ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION in Benguet and Baguio City: MINING CORPORATIONS who advertise in newspapers and give PR money to columnists, VEGETABLE FARMERS who fund political campaigns, and informal settlers who vote for them. In my widely read post, “The Rise of Syndicated Environmentalist Causes”, I noted that Project Save 182 mover Karlo Altomonte’s Open Spaces was holding a Valentine’s Day performance at Camp John Hay — an organization which Dr. Michael Bengwayan accused of killing trees a few years ago. I also pointed out that Former John Hay Management Corp. (JHMC) Operations Group Manager Frank Daytec is the brother of Lawyer Cheryl Daytec Yangot” another prime mover of Save 182. Daytec-Yangot is the wife of Acting Baguio Vice Mayor/Councilor Leandro Yangot, a JHMC board member and mother of Councilor Karrmin Yangot. The mention of how all these movers are somewhat connected to Camp John Hay and Baguio City Politics is somewhat indicative of why the group seems to be targeting one business in particular rather than going after the larger cause of environmental degradation in Benguet — poorly regulated agriculture that displaced hundreds of hectares of pine tree forests. Politicians like Daytec and Yangot can’t afford to go head to head against farmers, some of whom may actually be political campaign financiers. Another group of people that Daytecs and Yangots can’t afford to get angry are the residents and “informal settlers” of Baguio City itself. I pointed out in one of my first posts in Pinoy Buzz on the Save 182 Movement way back in April 2012 that the unplanned conversion of surrounding forests into residential areas was the bigger reason for all the environmental ills experienced in Baguio City: From the top of the steps leading to the Baguio Cathedral, one could see thousands of pine trees surrounding the city and that was what really justified the city’s other moniker which is “the City of Pines”. Perhaps the value of the pines that are inside the city itself is perhaps more ornamental or aesthetic than ecologically functional. It filled up the open spaces which were in the design made by Daniel Burnham for the city and somewhat made the city feel more like a part of its surrounding wooded areas. Now, over the decades, the wooded areas surrounding Baguio City gave way to the sprawl of houses and buildings. This happened in such an unplanned way that it destroyed the vistas that once made Baguio City really remarkable. Recently, I found a Baguio Resident’s publicly posted pictures on Facebook of the hill of houses surrounding Baguio and it underscores my point that it is not really SM that is killing Baguio City — IT IS THE RESIDENTS THEMSELVES. 31936_10151376375594585_1760859311_n As a preface to JB Baylon’s album, he wrote: The city of Baguio began as a mining town…and in the days of my youth was a great place to head to when summer came…cool breeze, the scent of pine, a perfect getaway. Today it is dying. And mining is not the culprit…unplanned urban expansion is. When Baguio’s hills are deforested to give way to houses, houses that are wantonly built, allegedly by informal settlers who someone get permits from – or are tolerated by – the authorities – then I fear we have not only an environmental or ecological disaster but also a natural calamity-induced disaster-in-the-making! It might be best to ask geologists, but it seems to me that Baguio’s hills are not solid as rock but more like clay soil in nature…so I have been asking myself through the years as I notice how the hillsides get slowly covered by houses: will the hillsides hold? Okay, girls and boys, can you say Cherry Hills landslide? What has Acting Vice Mayor/Slash Councilor Yangot done to ensure these houses will not slide off the hills? print About Paul Farol Try not to take me too seriously. Pia Ranada’s Article on Andanar’s Foreign Trips Exemplifies Rappler’s Brand of Lazy Journalism - January 15, 2018 Your Tito’s Car: The Ford Ecosport - December 12, 2017 Preview of Part Three of “The Real Enemies and Traitors of the Fourth Estate” - December 4, 2017 On The Real Enemies and Traitors Of The Fourth Estate (Part Two: Syndicates) - December 1, 2017 On The Real Enemies and Traitors of the Fourth Estate - November 30, 2017 Spread it! More Related The Rise of Syndicated Environmental Advocacies The Rise of Syndicated Environmental Advocacies February 16, 2013 In "Development" File Under Oddities: Project Save 182 Misleads Sting into Changing Concert Venue File Under Oddities: Project Save 182 Misleads Sting into Changing Concert Venue October 20, 2012 In "Environment" Project Save 182 Adrift in Ennui After SM Baguio Revises Its Expansion Plan The most recent word about SM Baguio City is that has revised its expansion plans and this will result in a lower number of pine trees affected. Apparently, just like the way they harked to Olivier Ochanine's petition to save the Philamlife Theatre, SM seems to be showing that it… September 19, 2013 In "Development" Categories: Development, Environment / 46 Responses / by Paul Farol Leave a Reply 46 Comments on "Why Baguio Is Dying" Notify of Email › avatar Join the discussion Sort by: newest | oldest | most voted grace bandoy Guest grace bandoy Leandro Yangot is not with the local government anymore. He used to be the ABC (Association of Barangay Councils) President automatically making him a councilor of this city. last 2010 elections he ran for congressman but lost. he is again running for councilor this 2013…. it is true that it is all these one million people here that’s killing baguio i personally blame the universities here and the call centers for attracting all these gazillions of people to come here and reside why dont all these universities and call centers build their institutions in pangasinan, la union, tarlac or ilocos?… Read more » 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago da cow Guest da cow I think you shouldn’t blame schools for setting up in baguio. SLU is a very old university and it wouldn’t make sense for them to build their annex school far away from the main university. I blame the government and the informal settlers for the condition of baguio right now.SLU is known for being the light of the north and i would want to keep it that way. 0 REPLY3 years 1 month ago Libertas Guest Libertas the truth is that in the 3rd world things inevitably reduce to the lowest common denominator. heritage, style and culture are subservient to short term greed without any conception of long term integrated planning. baguio is not the only victim, now or in the future. irrespective of playing a blame game, the underlying rationale is the community culture, aided and abetted by local politics, which always has a grubby and greedy finger in the pie. a case of the blind leading the blind. a corrupt mayor adding fuel to the fire and somewhere of beauty becoming a cess-pit long live korea 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago MidwayHaven Guest MidwayHaven There are no real environmental groups in Baguio; just groups of people with their own vested interests. It is arrogant for people to destroy Nature, but it is equally as arrogant for people to save Nature. 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago Analyn Guest Analyn I couldn’t agree more. 0 REPLY1 year 11 months ago guy aliping Guest guy aliping baguio did not began as a mining town….it was the americans who planned,designed and created baguio as their R&R with a capacity of a quarter of a million people. baguio is not dying. it is developing like any other beautiful cities in the world. sm came in adding more beauty to baguio. population is the one destroying facade of baguio. blaming the yangot and daytec is a sign of ignorance. 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago OnesimusUnbound Guest OnesimusUnbound The picture of Baguio in the article doesn’t look like a beautiful place. 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago MidwayHaven Guest MidwayHaven On the contrary, SM made Baguio a worse place than it is today. Sure, Baguio was already bad before the Sy’s purchased the land where SM now stands, but SM brought the Pinoy shopping mall culture to a city that quite frankly never needed it. The Yangots and the Daytecs are definitely to blame on a large part. If you’ve been reading previous articles and evidences presented by commenters on GRP, you’d find out that the Daytecs have always supported (and will again support the re-election of) the incumbent Baguio mayor Mauricio Domogan, who welcomed SM with open arms. It… Read more » 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago Alvin Guest Alvin You are in denial. I have been to Baguio almost twice a year as a child in the 90s. It was beautiful then. I went there last 2009, 2010, 2011, big parts of it are just crap now. 0 REPLY4 years 3 months ago sancho alconce Guest sancho alconce Baguio does not have the monopoly of a city dying from its own inhabitants. Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao City, Gensan, Iloilo and Butuan are now showing advanced symptoms. 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago ChinoF Member ChinoF Was is it here or in the Facebook group that someone posted, life has become so hard and expensive in the rural areas that instead of buying LPG, they just chop every tree in sight for firewood. Now think of this situation for the squatters in Baguio. That may explain one big cause of Baguio’s degradation as a tourist site. 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago Paul Farol Guest Paul Farol Chino, using wood as cooking fuel has long been a practice in the provinces. The next fuel of choice is kerosene. People in the provinces are usually the ones who have access to the “bayan” or town — it’s pretty hard to bring LPG from the bayan to a remote rural area. 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago FALCO DINGAL Guest FALCO DINGAL PAUL FAROL- I SUGGEST YOU ALSO INCLUDE IN THIS WRITE UP THE EFFECTS OF THE TITLED ANCESTRAL LAND CLAIMS TO THE DETERIORATION OF BAGUIO.. RECENTLY, MANY PORTIONS OF LAND ARE ANCESTRALLY CLAIMED.. EVEN THE PRESIDENTIAL RESIDENCE HERE IS ANCESTRALLY CLAIMED.. 0 REPLY3 years 11 months ago Analyn Guest Analyn What’s wrong with reclaiming what is meant to be owned? Are you sure that reclaiming ancestral lands leads to deforestation and deterioration of the city? If so, what an accusation you have there against the IPs of Baguio. Do your research first.The Ibalois did not build buildings, condominiums, malls, or mansions in their lands. P.S. Granting a CALT is not as easy as serving you your order in a restaurant.There’s a process involved.There are legit titles and there are questionable ones. 0 REPLY1 year 11 months ago monk Guest monk If residents are the problem, then that doesn’t help mall owners who rely on the same as customers. 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago Myrna Crowther Guest Myrna Crowther I left Baguio City in 1980’s to come to live in the US and the last time I went to visit this beautiful Baguio City, was in 2011. I once thought that Baguio was one of the best places to live, but not anymore. It pains me to realize that it is too crowded, polluted, and God forbid, it could be considered as a dangerous place/ not the safest place to live, in terms of crime rates. I was/ and still am so disappointed and saddened how crowded and polluted the place is now a days. And noticing at how… Read more » 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago benign0 Admin benign0 Pinoys have a reverse-Midas Touch. Everything they touch turns into crap. 0 REPLY4 years 10 months ago Carl Van Hoven Guest Carl Van Hoven I completely agree and I’ve often wondered why.But that’s like opening a big can of worms. 0 REPLY3 years 1 month ago Baltazar Dioquino Guest Baltazar Dioquino How can you have intelligent analysis if ‘the facts’ on which it is based is false? Yangot is not the Vice-Mayor of Baguio City. He was the no.1 Councilor for a time and became acting vice-mayor but is no longer in the City Government. Responsible blogger? Hmmmm…. 0 REPLY4 years 8 months ago roly Guest roly quote: “On the contrary, SM made Baguio a worse place than it is today. Sure, Baguio was already bad before the Sy’s purchased the land where SM now stands, but SM brought the Pinoy shopping mall culture to a city that quite frankly never needed it.” seriously? why sm only?? center mall and cooyeesan were here first. think back…what have you done for baguio?? anyway i do agree with what you have posted earlier….”just groups of people with their own vested interests” 0 REPLY4 years 7 months ago MidwayHaven Guest MidwayHaven SM, Center Mall, and Coo Yee San have ALL destroyed Baguio. Add to that the vegetable farmers, so-called “ancestral land” claimants, and also ALL of the residents who choose to have individual houses all over the City. All these people destroyed Baguio. Worse, even the hypocritical pseudo-environmentalists like Save 182 are contributing to its destruction by claiming to have a monopoly on “environmental awareness” and “green activism.” And why should I mention what I have done to save Baguio? I promise you I have done my part in making the City a better place, but I would rather not brag… Read more » 0 REPLY4 years 7 months ago abner Guest abner last time i was in baguio was in 2005 and even then the urban planning and pollution in the city proper made me not want to come back ever 0 REPLY4 years 6 months ago Violet Bolwer Guest Violet Bolwer The last time my family went there was in December 2010. Expecting Baguio to be like what they were when they were still small, my children all grown up, and me and my husband, were all disappointed. Pollution and traffic is terrible in the central city. Good thing we’re booked at Hotel Elizabeth which is a little far from the central so less pollution and no traffic. What happened to Baguio? It even stinks. Long time ago when you go to Baguio you will really smell the fresh air and the scent of the pine trees. Now? It’s replaced by… Read more » 0 REPLY4 years 6 months ago Ron Guest Ron Sad ending to a beautiful article. Sad for the environment, but more sad for the author for failing to maintain focus on the main issue. The main issue of the article, and more importantly Baguio City, and the Philippines in large is not land-slide! The main issue here is deforestation, extinction, destruction first-hand, not second-hand! Land-slide is the lesser of the two evils! This article was supposed to focus on the destruction of nature, but suddenly half way through it turns its back on the real problem and starts getting populistic by suddenly crying out the cause of the deforesters,… Read more » 0 REPLY3 years 11 months ago MidwayHaven Guest MidwayHaven Um, if you read closely, the article only mentions landslides in passing, and as an effect of ecological collapse. The focus on the article is still focused on Baguio’s decay. 0 REPLY3 years 11 months ago Alex A Guest Alex A It is not only the local politicians who can not go against the real causes of environmental degradation in Baguio and Benguet, but there are also government bureaucrats who have tremendous responsibilities in keeping our environment good. Both do nothing effective except some press releases to deodorize their image. 0 REPLY3 years 8 months ago Alex A Guest Alex A The failure of the local government is evident in its inability to implement a land use plan. If anyone can construct a house in any place, then you can always have a unsightly and unsafe hill as shown in this article. But who cares about unsightly and unsafe dwellings? what is important is that they (squatters, miners, vegetable growers, LGUs) benefit from it. So this will likely grow and continue, until nature acts and stops it all, in a grand fashion, a disaster that can kill many. Well, history repeats itself…until we learn our lesson. 0 REPLY3 years 8 months ago allan Guest allan Corruption- that’s what makes baguio today. 0 REPLY3 years 8 months ago Ronaldo Guest Ronaldo I Love Baguio very much, but I saw Baguio’s transformation from “Good to Worse” condition. When you get to the proper city it says “The Cleanest and Peaceful City in the Philippines, but to my dismay due to the facts that everywhere you go now there’s garbage’s all over not to mention the “Graffiti” on Street Signs and Government walls etc., a clear act of Vandalism that nobody knows if the Mayor of Baguio is getting its attention or just keeping a eye blinder. Then there’s the uncontrollable muslim vendors who doesn’t respect the culture and cleanliness of the Local… Read more » 0 REPLY3 years 7 months ago MidwayHaven Guest MidwayHaven I’d like to think that too much love killed Baguio. 0 REPLY3 years 7 months ago purplejacket Guest purplejacket Di po lokal ng baguio ang mga Ifugaos. The Ibalois are. Igorots/Cordillerans are the general term to refer to the original inhabitants of the Cordilleras. Back to the topic, I don’t think that the destruction of Baguio is caused by Muslims or Koreans or lowlanders alone. Not even just by Yangot and Daytec (who, by the way, is a human rights activist). It’s a collaboration of many things, centered on greed. I very much miss my old Baguio too and I am not sure if we will ever get it back. 0 REPLY2 years 1 month ago johnny bangloy Guest johnny bangloy hindi na po maibabalik ang mga bundok na pinatag nila. mga punong kahoy pwede pa..,pero ang mgagandang kabundukan na madalas namin puntahan nuon ay wala na 0 REPLY1 year 11 months ago Aeta Guest Aeta That is the sad fact about Failipinos; they are willing to sacrifice the natural beauty of their country, at a chance to make a profit and to appear “world class” material to the rest of the world. 0 REPLY1 year 11 months ago Ronaldo Guest Ronaldo You can Love with Respect and not Love with Destructive Intent. 0 REPLY3 years 7 months ago marie Guest marie Just when I thought Baguio is sold to Korea. How come that there are so many korean establishments lately? I think the blame should not be put SM alone or to SLU either. Baguio can never be Baguio without SLU because the institution produced one of the finest graduates in the Philippines. And it has been there since Baguio started. The call centers are government projects to increase employment and corruption also. How come the government installed fly over in BGH and La Trinidad? Fly overs are suppose to connect two or more areas that will make the travel time… Read more » 0 REPLY3 years 7 months ago Greg Guest Greg Its too late, we can no longer bring back the trees. Maybe we have to exert more effort in planting more trees rather than bashing SM and the politicians. Its always been a conspiracy. 0 REPLY2 years 11 months ago Load More Comments

I’ve been told by one or two people from Baguio that PS182 does NOT reflect the sentiments of most of the people in Baguio City — their sentiments being far more expansive than the narrow focus on 182 trees, one mall chain, and an obvious agenda.

THIS is what I think Baguio should look like. Take out all the effing buildings, houses, and shanties. I’ve been told by one or two people from Baguio that PS182 does NOT reflect the sentiments of most of the people in Baguio City — their sentiments being far more expansive than the narrow focus on 182 trees, one mall chain, and an obvious agenda. Conversations with residents of Baguio City like Lisa Araneta, Grace Bandoy, and Allison Gundram, as well as conversations with Benguet natives like Louis Pawid, tend to give a more authentic view of the situation and issues in Baguio. Lisa and Grace have been very vocal about the performance of certain Baguio City and Benguet officials. I’ve met Lisa personally once or twice and in our long conversation over Alfredo’s famous hamburger, she gave me a three hour briefing on a vast array of political issues involving  Baguio City and the rest of the Cordillera Autonomous Region .  It gave me more reason to respect Philippine northern cultures and how for the most part, they tend to solve their problems by themselves — I suspect, this is because of a deeply ingrained trait of self-sufficiency.  They’re not like some cultures in the Southern Philippines whose leaders have exploited the use of armed groups and secession as a leverage to ask for government funds which they fail to account for later. Grace has is more vocal about the corruption in Baguio City Hall, pointing out city projects and policy decisions that may have been used by certain officials to make money in the form of kick-backs or unwarranted commissions. Louis Pawid, a colleague and good friend for many years, immersed me in Benguet culture for a number of months in 2011 and it was in my incursions into the heart of his province that I became aware of the extent of his province’s ecological situation.  I have a feeling that Louis may lecture me later when I point out that the unimpeded spread of agriculture in Benguet — where entire mountains are planted with cabbage, broccoli, string beans and sayote — is probably ruining the ecology of the uplands. Next to agriculture, the other avenues for development in Benguet are mining and tourism — both of which have their own challenges as far as sustainability are concerned. So, from Louis’ standpoint, charting the development for Benguet is a tricky problem.  But I wouldn’t worry too much about it, because, as I have said, our northern Philippine cultures have an ingrained trait of self-sufficiency.  I have faith that they’ll sort out their problems. Is Project Save 182 really an environmental group?  Some of the things I’ve seen them doing  and the people who are vocally supporting them online make me a bit suspicious. Sure, “saving the trees” can easily be lumped together with all other environmental causes and look like one, until you get a whiff of what’s really happening over in most of Benguet — where Baguio is just a small part of. I have my doubts about Project Save 182 because instead of connecting the ‘earth balling issue’ as an eye-opener to the bigger issue of entire pine forests being replaced by vegetable farms, rice fields, subdivisions, and squatter colonies, it seems they’ve spun off into an attack on the entire SM brand. Anonymous blogger admits PS182 is just an anti-SM group. Now, some people who support the group are now also ranting about SM’s labor policies.  Contractualization, they say, is another ‘evil’ that SM is doing — in response to which, I would probably point out that joblessness and informal labor arrangements are worse and more prevalent. For sure, people allied with Project Save 182 will make sure other issues will crop up against SM as they wear out or retire their ‘environmentalist’ veneer. In the meantime, well, people will still be going to the mall — if not SM’s mall, then Rustans or Robinsons or what-have-you. In fact, All Souls Day is coming up and I am sure, all the people that PS182 and Boycott SM wants to keep away from the mall chain will definitely turn up in the hundreds of thousands with plastic pumpkin trick or treat pails and cheap costumes. I suppose PS182 will raise a holler and it will be drowned out by the sounds of cash registers beeping and sales girls greeting everyone “mamser”. The Boycott SM Facebook Page or Group doesn’t have to bother with me, I am no fan of SM. I used to like going to the mall, but over the years I began hating going to the mall, any mall.  I don’t like the crowds in it, I don’t like breathing recycled air even if it is cool, I don’t like the garish displays, I don’t like the being constantly prodded to buy stuff I do not need, having been a trained salesman in my early adulthood I hate sales people who don’t know enough about what they are selling, and I don’t like the intense commercialism of these places — as if we aren’t bombarded enough by commercials, it has to come in the form of a poorly paid girl or guy hawking a brochure or begging you to try out free samples. Whenever I want to spend time outside my house, I spend it at the Marikina Sports Plaza with my kid and we have a lot of fun running around the place.  It is far healthier than breathing recycled air while gobbling up what passes for food in food courts or walking around looking at all the cheap stuff Made In China. And before I end this fourth piece on PS182, let me just point out that it’s absolute stupidity for PS182 to crow about Sting’s decision to change concert venues as a victory for their online campaign. For one, as I have mentioned in a previous post, the new venue will be in a place that is TRAFFIC ridden on ordinary days.  Just imagine how it would be like when Sting stages his concert there! OMG!  Is that at all a triumph for Captain Planet? I don’t think so. Concerts aren’t exactly environmentally friendly, U2′s 44 concerts is equal to carbon created by the four band members traveling the (34) million miles from Earth to Mars in a passenger plane. Another is that online campaigning uses the INTERNET, which accounts for 300 million tonnes of CO2 – as much as all the coal, oil and gas burned in Turkey or Poland in one year, or more than half of those burned in the UK.  Moreover, all the gadgets and equipment used by online campaigners come from MINING — which not only involves the destruction of forests but also pollutes the earth and water. print About Paul Farol Try not to take me too seriously. Pia Ranada’s Article on Andanar’s Foreign Trips Exemplifies Rappler’s Brand of Lazy Journalism - January 15, 2018 Your Tito’s Car: The Ford Ecosport - December 12, 2017 Preview of Part Three of “The Real Enemies and Traitors of the Fourth Estate” - December 4, 2017 On The Real Enemies and Traitors Of The Fourth Estate (Part Two: Syndicates) - December 1, 2017 On The Real Enemies and Traitors of the Fourth Estate - November 30, 2017 Spread it! More Related Why Baguio Is Dying Why Baguio Is Dying March 2, 2013 In "Development" Organic Farms and Organic Farms and "Eco-Parks" are Ruining Baguio's Mountainsides June 5, 2014 In "Culture" The Rise of Syndicated Environmental Advocacies The Rise of Syndicated Environmental Advocacies February 16, 2013 In "Development" Categories: Environment, Society / 50 Responses / by Paul Farol Leave a Reply 50 Comments on "Self Righteous, Pseudo Cause Oriented Groups Do More Damage Than ‘Greedy Corporations’"

I’ve been told by one or two people from Baguio that PS182 does NOT reflect the sentiments of most of the people in Baguio City — their sentiments being far more expansive than the narrow focus on 182 trees, one mall chain, and an obvious agenda.

THIS is what I think Baguio should look like. Take out all the effing buildings, houses, and shanties. I’ve been told by one or two people from Baguio that PS182 does NOT reflect the sentiments of most of the people in Baguio City — their sentiments being far more expansive than the narrow focus on 182 trees, one mall chain, and an obvious agenda. Conversations with residents of Baguio City like Lisa Araneta, Grace Bandoy, and Allison Gundram, as well as conversations with Benguet natives like Louis Pawid, tend to give a more authentic view of the situation and issues in Baguio. Lisa and Grace have been very vocal about the performance of certain Baguio City and Benguet officials. I’ve met Lisa personally once or twice and in our long conversation over Alfredo’s famous hamburger, she gave me a three hour briefing on a vast array of political issues involving  Baguio City and the rest of the Cordillera Autonomous Region .  It gave me more reason to respect Philippine northern cultures and how for the most part, they tend to solve their problems by themselves — I suspect, this is because of a deeply ingrained trait of self-sufficiency.  They’re not like some cultures in the Southern Philippines whose leaders have exploited the use of armed groups and secession as a leverage to ask for government funds which they fail to account for later. Grace has is more vocal about the corruption in Baguio City Hall, pointing out city projects and policy decisions that may have been used by certain officials to make money in the form of kick-backs or unwarranted commissions. Louis Pawid, a colleague and good friend for many years, immersed me in Benguet culture for a number of months in 2011 and it was in my incursions into the heart of his province that I became aware of the extent of his province’s ecological situation.  I have a feeling that Louis may lecture me later when I point out that the unimpeded spread of agriculture in Benguet — where entire mountains are planted with cabbage, broccoli, string beans and sayote — is probably ruining the ecology of the uplands. Next to agriculture, the other avenues for development in Benguet are mining and tourism — both of which have their own challenges as far as sustainability are concerned. So, from Louis’ standpoint, charting the development for Benguet is a tricky problem.  But I wouldn’t worry too much about it, because, as I have said, our northern Philippine cultures have an ingrained trait of self-sufficiency.  I have faith that they’ll sort out their problems. Is Project Save 182 really an environmental group?  Some of the things I’ve seen them doing  and the people who are vocally supporting them online make me a bit suspicious. Sure, “saving the trees” can easily be lumped together with all other environmental causes and look like one, until you get a whiff of what’s really happening over in most of Benguet — where Baguio is just a small part of. I have my doubts about Project Save 182 because instead of connecting the ‘earth balling issue’ as an eye-opener to the bigger issue of entire pine forests being replaced by vegetable farms, rice fields, subdivisions, and squatter colonies, it seems they’ve spun off into an attack on the entire SM brand. Anonymous blogger admits PS182 is just an anti-SM group. Now, some people who support the group are now also ranting about SM’s labor policies.  Contractualization, they say, is another ‘evil’ that SM is doing — in response to which, I would probably point out that joblessness and informal labor arrangements are worse and more prevalent. For sure, people allied with Project Save 182 will make sure other issues will crop up against SM as they wear out or retire their ‘environmentalist’ veneer. In the meantime, well, people will still be going to the mall — if not SM’s mall, then Rustans or Robinsons or what-have-you. In fact, All Souls Day is coming up and I am sure, all the people that PS182 and Boycott SM wants to keep away from the mall chain will definitely turn up in the hundreds of thousands with plastic pumpkin trick or treat pails and cheap costumes. I suppose PS182 will raise a holler and it will be drowned out by the sounds of cash registers beeping and sales girls greeting everyone “mamser”. The Boycott SM Facebook Page or Group doesn’t have to bother with me, I am no fan of SM. I used to like going to the mall, but over the years I began hating going to the mall, any mall.  I don’t like the crowds in it, I don’t like breathing recycled air even if it is cool, I don’t like the garish displays, I don’t like the being constantly prodded to buy stuff I do not need, having been a trained salesman in my early adulthood I hate sales people who don’t know enough about what they are selling, and I don’t like the intense commercialism of these places — as if we aren’t bombarded enough by commercials, it has to come in the form of a poorly paid girl or guy hawking a brochure or begging you to try out free samples. Whenever I want to spend time outside my house, I spend it at the Marikina Sports Plaza with my kid and we have a lot of fun running around the place.  It is far healthier than breathing recycled air while gobbling up what passes for food in food courts or walking around looking at all the cheap stuff Made In China. And before I end this fourth piece on PS182, let me just point out that it’s absolute stupidity for PS182 to crow about Sting’s decision to change concert venues as a victory for their online campaign. For one, as I have mentioned in a previous post, the new venue will be in a place that is TRAFFIC ridden on ordinary days.  Just imagine how it would be like when Sting stages his concert there! OMG!  Is that at all a triumph for Captain Planet? I don’t think so. Concerts aren’t exactly environmentally friendly, U2′s 44 concerts is equal to carbon created by the four band members traveling the (34) million miles from Earth to Mars in a passenger plane. Another is that online campaigning uses the INTERNET, which accounts for 300 million tonnes of CO2 – as much as all the coal, oil and gas burned in Turkey or Poland in one year, or more than half of those burned in the UK.  Moreover, all the gadgets and equipment used by online campaigners come from MINING — which not only involves the destruction of forests but also pollutes the earth and water. print About Paul Farol Try not to take me too seriously. Pia Ranada’s Article on Andanar’s Foreign Trips Exemplifies Rappler’s Brand of Lazy Journalism - January 15, 2018 Your Tito’s Car: The Ford Ecosport - December 12, 2017 Preview of Part Three of “The Real Enemies and Traitors of the Fourth Estate” - December 4, 2017 On The Real Enemies and Traitors Of The Fourth Estate (Part Two: Syndicates) - December 1, 2017 On The Real Enemies and Traitors of the Fourth Estate - November 30, 2017 Spread it! More Related Why Baguio Is Dying Why Baguio Is Dying March 2, 2013 In "Development" Organic Farms and Organic Farms and "Eco-Parks" are Ruining Baguio's Mountainsides June 5, 2014 In "Culture" The Rise of Syndicated Environmental Advocacies The Rise of Syndicated Environmental Advocacies February 16, 2013 In "Development" Categories: Environment, Society / 50 Responses / by Paul Farol Leave a Reply 50 Comments on "Self Righteous, Pseudo Cause Oriented Groups Do More Damage Than ‘Greedy Corporations’"

Interactive Map of Baguio City

Interactive Baguio Map Features: