A Baguio Lover’s Lament

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I share with you an essay written by Mary Ann R. Raya and relayed by Joe Lansang, entitled “Where Have All the Pine Trees Gone,” a lament by a Baguio lover that many of us share regarding the way the pine trees are disappearing from Baguio City.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE PINE TREES GONE?

Filipinos arise!

Rekindle pride in our Highlands and its treasures!

Bring back Igorot pride to our treasured Benguet mountains.

Bring back national pride to the cherished city of Baguio! Restore the proud, stately mountain pines and their aroma to what is now the ugly, scarred terrain of these once-beautiful mountains, to the hills and surroundings of the so-called “Eternal Spring City” of our nation.

Spring City, really? Where? When? Indeed, no longer can we smell and breathe in the erstwhile invigorating pine-scented mountain spring air of Baguio, save perhaps within the few remaining enclaves the U.S. Forces had zealously protected until they turned over their bases to our national and local governments; pristine enclaves that evidently had subsequently fallen to corruption, abuse, and the personal gain of the new stewards.

Even more sadly, such abuse and neglect prejudices their own children’s enjoyment, who will most likely behold instead the hideous, angular structures, the concrete facades, the slums, garbage, squalor and denudation; who will most likely gag instead at the stench of dank, polluted air no different from the smog of the lowlands.

The well-being, it seems, of future Igorots, Kankaneys, Benguet citizens and Cordillera folk—nay, entire Filipino generations – is forfeit. Unless…

Unless we act, and act soon enough.

Unless the pine trees are replanted.

Unless Baguio’s forests are replenished.

Unless the mountains are rejuvenated.

Where have all the tree lovers, and all Baguio lovers, gone?

Could not every man, woman, child, highlander, make it their duty to plant those precious pine trees in their own yards till there’s no more room?

Could not every homeowner / resident plant trees beside his home, townhouse, “barong-barong”, or condominium?

Could not every business owner dig out a small patch of pavement and plant a tree on the frontage of his establishment?

Could not citizens / residents nurture and steward young trees – even those planted “publicly”– well into full bloom and maturity?

Could not vacationers, visitors, tourists be asked to contribute to a reforestation fund by way of fees or surcharges? Or have them plant trees themselves should they want to?

Could not the old, surviving stately pines be catalogued, inventoried, and preserved jointly by government and private groups?

Could not city government offer incentives –say, rebates from taxes & fees on realty, business, etc.—to everyone who plants and stewards?

Could we all not appreciate that these same trees will save us from pollution and erosion, both current and future?

Could we all not agree that these trees will save the city, the mountains, and even the region from blight and destruction?

Certainly the city and the mountain environments — let’s all start with the pine trees, for heaven’s sake – are worth investing in, saving, and keeping, because they do contribute to the quality of life of every Igorot, ethnic, resident, visitor, all Filipinos alike, present and future.

Our cherished Baguio City and the entire Cordilleras indeed, are NATIONAL and NATURAL TREASURES worth rejuvenating not with pavement facelift, but rather with the verdant cover of living, breathing pine trees! Oh, please let’s bring back those pine forests to our hallowed mountains!

God bless us all.

(By Mary Ann R. Raya on Facebook – 11/11/2009)

Lisa’s Commentary

Many, many, many of us feel this way — both those who live within and without the City of Pines. But we find ourselves helpless to act, bombarded by the politicians who impose their will on the populace through our apathy.

But it is not just the politicians. Most businessmen and residents are all guilty of the uglification of Baguio City.

As I wrote to Joe Lansang, many current residents of Baguio City “did not see Baguio in all its grandeur but for them is is already by far more beautiful than where they came from.”

These are tens of thousands of students who have stayed behind to live here and avail for free education for their children, migrants from the lowlands seeking income opportunities (hordes of Muslims selling pirated DVDs have decided to relocate here from as far as Mindanao because it is a lucrative trade, which though illegal is permitted by the government), teachers from everywhere bringing whole families with them to work in the universities whose population growth does not match their infrastructure or their ability to provide more than average education, thousands of illegal vendors and transportation operators coddled by politicians and the policemen.

The uglification is not by chance — in my opinion, it is deliberate. The masterminds of this crime are the leaders of the city who, for selfish reasons, aim to perpetuate themselves in power while raping the city of all its God-given resources to put their evil mark on the city (like that awful Domogan flyover and Bautista’s planned satellite markets) when we all should be treading lightly so that we leave the earth pristine for future generations.

And by being unthinking, apathetic, selfish citizens concerned only on “well-having” instead of well-being we are accomplices in the rape of Baguio City. For Baguio and the Philippines, it has come to the point where “if you are not part of the solution, you are a part of the problem.”

Like Mary Ann, my cries will probably fall on many, many deaf ears, and I can only do my little bit for my corner of the world trying so hard to be an honest, conscientious resident of the city I love.

For those folks who left Baguio City and the Philippines to seek their fortunes elsewhere in the world, and are planning to come back to spend their remaining years here, I am sorry to inform you that when you left the city, you also gave up control over what the city would turn into.

But the good news is, if you come back sooner, you will have the opportunity to help rebuild it. It’s true that you cannot have your cake and eat it, too. That’s just the way life works.

But I believe in the inherent goodness and intelligence of the people who truly love the city and who will rise up, make their voices heard, spur people toward positive action, become vigilant neighbors and citizens and exercise their duty and responsibility as Filipinos to make this country a great one.

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