Baguio Insider

As I boarded the 2am airconditioned bus to Manila last June 1, I was shocked to be charged Php450.00 for the Baguio-Manila trip. Had I ridden two hours earlier, I would have paid the usual Php385.00 for Cubao and (Php390.00 for Pasay). But I had not been feeling well, hence the procrastination.

So here it is folks, rates for Baguio-Cubao Php450, while Baguio Pasay-460, thanks to Nick (Watson) who took the Baguio-Pasay bus last weekend. Up from the previous rates of Php385/Php390.

I have been in Manila for the past 2 weeks, and when I called them for my return trip this weekend (yup, that’s why I have been quiet — still melting in Manila), I discovered that the Special Deluxe bus now costs Php700.00 one way (it used to be Php600.00 two weeks ago).

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Never again! All Filipinos, especially Baguio residents, should never allow anyone, for the sake of ‘development’ to tear down beautiful structures like the Camp John Hay Main Club. The same goes for decades-old pine trees. Almost 1000 are in danger — GSIS lot (500 trees), Moog Controls Corporation expansion (234 trees), Ayala development plus new call center in Camp John Hay (100s more).

The rains have come — not just the regular April showers, but a typhoon (they say two hit us simultaneously) that hit Baguio hard over a weekend in May. The lights went off for more than 24 hours, pine tree branches were falling all over, water (which is usually 24/7 in my area) was gone too because the BWD pumping stations run on electricity (they don’t have generators?), an huge national table tennis tournament at the convention center saw a few folks stranded (as ‘refugees’), while those who attempted to rush down to Manila were blocked in La Union by a fallen tree and floods in Pangasinan.

But there was this one large family from Manila who braved the rains and the lowland floods to come up to Baguio as scheduled because, as they told me, they LOVED Baguio and nothing would put a damper on their plans!

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Resty Refuerzo called our attention in his comment in Should We Allow These Trees to Disappear saying:

Some Baguio folk claim that the mayor is young (”Bata pa kasi”) whenever they want to forgive him or make excuses for his words and actions. But honestly, at 38 or 39, the Mayor can no longer be called “young.” Many people have ruled empires at that age.

What you could call him instead is IMMATURE, and PETULANT, especially as far his recent comments on this issue of allowing Henry Sy and SM take over the GSIS lot beside the Baguio Convention Center (filled with hundreds of pine trees) is concerned. By blaming the citizenry instead opposing any sort of ‘development’ that will actually deprive the Baguio residents and visitors of clean air, natural beauty and a very valuable spot of green.

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More than a decade ago, my OIC at Halfway House in Camp John Hay was replacing his counterpart, a beautiful morena Filipina, who had caught the eye of a very nice young man at the Camp John Hay front office.

Upon alighting from the bus and getting into a Baguio taxi, he was asked, “Where to?” and he said, “Camp John Hay.”

“Where there?” asked the cabbie, and he replied “I work at Halfway House.”

Much to his surprise, the taxi driver says. “Di ba doon yung nililigawan ng cahero ng John Hay yung manager ninyo?” (”Isn’t your manager there being courted by the cashier at Camp John Hay?”)

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