The Awakening
What a week that was, the week we woke up.
You see, Baguio City almost lost the Athletic Bowl, a 7 hectare property that includes the Pine Trees of the World area, the Monument of Peace Tower, the Php100,000,000.00 swimming pool that was built during the time either Mauricio Domogan or Bernardo Vergara was mayor (I get confused between the terms of the two because they switched positions in 2004), and of course that wide open space with the track oval, tennis courts and a basketball court to the sides, and bleachers almost diagonally across each other.
We were about to lose it for at least 25 years to foreigners, specifically, a Korean named An Hu Yul, whom we did not know at all (except that we later found out that Mr. An was a client of Vice-mayor Danilo Farinas in a labor case).
What you will read is an account of what transpired, how the people of Baguio are so awesome and where we will be taking this fire that was ignited in the people of this city in the clouds.
Here’s a quick summary of the recent events in Baguio City.
05 Jan 2010 – several quarters got handed a copy of the controversial MOA entered into between the Baguio City Mayor and a Korean national An Hu Yul, for the lease of 7 hectares of Burnham Park that we all refer to as the Athletic Bowl for 25 years at Php100,000/month. Along with this was Baguio City Council Resolution 515 (2009) which confirmed by unanimous vote the said MOA, save for two members who were absent.
On the same night, Pigeon Lobien, a journalist created the Facebook group “Save the Athletic Bowl from the Koreans” (now renamed Save Burnham Park Movement). I joined as member No. 12 at 7pm and our numbers grew exponentially as the residents of the city woke up to the news we were in danger of losing the Athletic Bowl.
06 Jan 2010 – The fire spread quickly as the very heart of the city was in danger, plans were made to accost the mayor in the weekly Ugnayan, a citizens forum every Thursday. As the Facebook group grew, journalists in both the local and national scenes were busy gathering data.
This blog went on to publish photos online of the controversial MOA and Resolution 515. I did not want so much to go into the merits of the contract that was so completely disadvantageous to the city of my heart that it was indecent. Indecent also, as we discovered later, was the haste with which the Mayor signed it, had it notarized, and endorsed it to the city council for confirmation. We all noted, based on the documentary evidence, that it took only 11 days from the date the MOA was signed until the city council confirmed it by unanimous vote, with the exception of two councilors: Councilor Balisong (absent with permission) and Councilor Rondez, who was the Burnham Park Committee Chairman.
07 Jan 2010 – The mayor arrived one hour late for the Ugnayan, but the people waited for him anyway, wanting so desperately to hear that it was all not true and Mayor Bautista first said it was all “Internet Chismis” then later “It’s not a done deal” and finally, “The investors were scared away.”
Of course the people were indignant. Efforts to mislead the constituency were noted, especially with three different statements uttered by one man, within minutes of each other in the same forum, that contradicted the previous ones uttered.
The Facebook group was incensed, because these were real people voicing real concerns in a venue that was, albeit modern, still very real, and they were dismissed as rumor-mongerers. The insult was clear. The photos of the documents were posted and discussion threads in the forums started to grow.
08 – 10 Jan 2010 – The people braced and prepared to attend the first city council session for 2010 that had about 70 items in the agenda. Baguio Midland Courier, in its editorial noted:
“Have we not learned anything from our past mistakes? We should learn from Jadewell and Uniwide, among other deals, where the city worked with an outsider to develop its few remaining properties. Nothing good has come from these dealings, and crossing our fingers now will not save us from the disaster that will definitely befall us if we insist on similar deals. Not to sound pessimistic but the city’s track record in giving out its idle assets for development, in exchange for some measly pay, has not necessarily been good.”
11 Jan 2010 – This was the moment we were waiting for — the city council session. We had heard over the weekend that the city councilors were planning to recall the resolution but we did not know what excuse they were going to give for confirming it. It was a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation for most.
If they claimed that they confirmed without understanding the MOA, they would be judged incompetent by the public and their chances for reelection this May would be dashed. If they claimed there was an “understanding” which is why they confirmed it, then they will be liable for graft and corruption charges. Both ways, idiotic or greedy, the councilors were condemned!
During the hearing, the councilors dwelt on the Panagbenga 2010 celebrations grilling organizers Anthony de Leon and Federico Alquiroz at length about mundane things like the sale of alcohol during the festival, whether they would allow subletting for merchants, and worse yet, they were asked by Betty Lourdes Tabanda to finance the participation of the Baguio “Sister Cities” from Japan, Korea and China, as if the Philippines was richer than these countries! It seemed to observers like me that the sun was going to set on the Panagbenga questions until, to our surprise, they skipped all the other items and dealt with the most pressing issue of the day next.
There was a motion to recall Resolution 515 (2009) led by Councilor Tabanda, saying that “with the wrong impression created, there is a public outcry against the MOA” when the public was in fact under the right impression that the was confirming an act by the mayor betraying the people’s interests; a separate motion by youth councilor Gloria Ysabel Vergara de Vera who said she consulted her constituents AFTER confirming the MOA and found that they did not want it; and another by Councilor Sembrano.
The Vice-Mayor took a quick vote and the resolution was cancelled post haste.
Then came the highlight of the day, Councilor Rondez’s Privilege Speech which was entitled “Athletic Bowl: Fair Play or Foul Play” which was a fabulous, fluid and fearless explanation of what irregularities transpired that made the whole thing suspicious.
I WILL STOP HERE AS I NEED TO SLEEP, BEEN UP ALL NIGHT ANSWERING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND WRITING EVERYTHING DOWN. JUST REST ASSURED THAT THE ATHLETIC BOWL IS SAFE SO FAR AND COME BACK FOR THE BLOW-BY-BLOW ACCOUNT OF THE JOURNEY TO THE AWAKENING…
We just...
he he he…
the hardest part…blaming each other
thanks Lisa, for really “awakening” most of us!
Hi Lisa!
Thank you for this post. Just a note. The Baguio Chronicle got hold of the copy of the Baguio Athletic Bowl MOA before the others got it on January 5, 2010. That is why we released a banner story on our January 2, 2010 issue with Mr. Adam Borja’s article entitled “Mystery firm to develop Baguio Athletic Bowl” when all the other weekly newspapers did not even mention the project even if they knew about it thinking that as I quote one media person say “It’s a sports development issue and it is good for the city” to which some media people failed to dig deeper into the issue. I personally asked the mayor about the Baguio Athletic Bowl issue while he was at The Mansion during PGMA’s visit last December 27 and he denied it in front of other media. The others kept quiet but we continued our vigilance because when we probed on this we knew there were loopholes in the procedures of the MOA . I have been in the December 14th at 21st Council sessions and I have been a witness to this. That’s why we did not keep quiet. After we released that banner story last January 2, Pigeon made the Facebook page three days later when all the other media became suddenly became interested in the issue of the week. I hope our efforts are not wasted by coming up with the story earlier than the others who as far as I know are under the mayor’s payroll.
JM, serves me right for publishing a post that is a draft — with no photos, no references. I was actually going to dig inside Facebook for all your articles (kasi you have to have a website na) and photos as reference because it was the press, it was the press that spearheaded this campaign talaga and all of us just were supporters.
Will fix this. Kasi I was getting comments on the other article with people worried about the issue and I wanted to assuage their fears. But this has been a loooong week and at 9am I so wanted to sleep na.
Thanks so much and congratulations to everyone in Baguio who raised a hue and cry.
I also feel that everyone who made a blog against this “foul play” should be commended and although our distance across the pacific ocean is significant that makes it impossible to “rally” in front of the city hall, I personally felt that, after 20 years (still counting) of being away from my beloved city, I felt part of it all and I am elated to know that WE actually stopped a shitty mayor from executing his last hurrah before stepping down on May 2010….see you around Pedro, hope you learned your lesson.
Thank you Lisa for being the city’s gatekeeper….you are a good and fateful servant (run for office na kasi).
Good to know that local media is not an “old boys club,” otherwise I’d think them to be ‘medias nga na angot.’ Until councilor Rondez’s privilege speech, that was my impression of the city council. When the skating rink was walled up, councilor Rondez was never censured for allowing that. Neither was councilor Aliping when he interfered with the demolition in Busol watershed.
kudos to the people of baguio!!! thanks for updating! we are not in baguio now but our families are and we always go back there every year and we are always surprised to see more concrete than trees growing…
It seems that no public official is immune to Corruption. I was hoping that Mayor Bautista will be different from Domogan and Vergara. Now he is in the same basket of rotten tomatoes. I applaud all of you who are vigilant in letting people know about these anomalous transactions, thank you for loving Baguio. As long as there are people who are brave enough to stand up and say that “This is not right!!”, then these corrupt public officials will have no chance to work on their own “special” interests. If the Mayor thinks he can fool people, he should think again. There are many people who care and who will dare to make a difference.
Mayor, I prescribe this for your penance … plant a tree for every peso that you got from the deal. That would help Baguio more. Plant them with your bare hands until you realize your mistake.
Mga kabayan ko sa Baguio, ngayon alam na ninyo kung sino and mga tiwali, hwag silang tularan at burahin na ninyo sila sa inyong listahan pagdating ng botohan. Mabuhay ang Baguio!!!
MOST if not ALL these councilors need to be voted out this coming elections. Bagbagen, Aliping, Sembrano, Rondez, and all the others who previously signed the Atletic Bowl deal. It’s shameful since most of these councilors are not even Baguio Born, but it’s more shameful that co-Baguio Boy Peter Ray was in the forefront of this shady transaction.
What are they gonna sell next? Oh uh…let’s try the Baguio Cathedral (was baptized there!)
Let’s just install the former Senator Lakay Juan as our Mayor!!
Hi TuuBlue,
I sat in the council meeting last Monday and none of them get my vote, including the Vice-Mayor who has the Korean as a client in a labor case (his admission certainly answered a lot of questions about who An Hu Yul is).
I am watching Rondez quite closely now, too, as she is supposedly going against everyone as far as the Skating Rink and the fencing of Burnham Park is concerned.
We cannot abandon democratic processes, though, and just install whomever we want. There are many choices for all positions, but what’s most important is the residents start demanding a clean, consultative, transparent government so that whoever sits in official positions will behave they way we want them to, as public servants who will act according to the will of the people.
We all want the same things — clean air, clean surroundings, a prosperous city filled with productive citizens, zero crime — and they all are within our grasp, but we must do our part by being vigilant, by determining our vision for a city, supporting programs that are aligned with our vision and opposing those that are not.
Let’s be thankful for this opportunity, and start dialoguing amongst ourselves and get organized into watchdog groups that demand nothing for ourselves except to live in a virtual heaven on earth for all.
I am so serious about this.
We’ve ALREADY lost the Athletic Bowl. Many years ago.
What used to be a nice place for morning jogs, pick-up basketball games, and the odd game of football is just a decrepit pit of mud. It even has a badly made swimming pool kuno.
The good thing to come out of this debacle is that people have noticed we have 7 hectares of open space that needs sprucing up so it gets used by the community again.
Maybe we really need to bid it out to investors in a transparent with terms beneficial to Baguio. (Not like Camp John Hay which has been appropriated as an exclusive housing area for the rich. Baguio natives hardly go to John Hay anymore.)
Hello The Nashman,
By agreeing to privatization, Baguio is admitting that we do not have the vision, creativity, will and resources to undertake the development ourselves. Our local government is so lacking in vision it cannot undertake projects without outside help. Why not see what UC has planned for Burnham Park before giving up, and giving up so easily at that?
Hello,
Yes, I’ve surrendered long ago that Baguio does not have the vision, especially with recycled councilors. Can you imagine, some councilors signed then tried to withdraw after the public outcry? Mangibabain dagita, obvious haan da agbasbasa pirma lang mga pirma.
We can’t even collect our PEZA share and CJH rental because we have weaklings in government and a lax attitude towards getting what is rightfully the city’s. They should give Fil-Estate final notice and kick them out.
Until we have the funds, we cannot finance the ‘vision’ or the creativity’.
@liza: we just want to mention here that prior to the cancellation of the MOA we’ve been tapping students from UP and SLU to head for the streets… i know the students are still up for it if the need arises
@trueblue: they can’t sell the cathedral, it’s CICM property, the corrupt officials would have to deal with almighty Rome
@everyone: since CICM is mentioned, let’s talk about another CICM property… SLU…its College of Accountancy and Commerce (population 8,000++) which will be renamed as School of Business and Management will move to the fancy Mary Heights Campus in Bakakeng in June 2010 http://slu-centennial.blogspot.com/2010/01/mary-heights-campus-to-house-school-of.html.
The academic building is ready for occupancy but when the construction of the rest of the campus is complete it will feature an athletic oval, heated pools, a coliseum and a lot more. Bakakeng residents, brace yourselves.
N.B. Apparently, special tennis courts will be constructed too, the LaSallista/Louisian President loves to play lawn. Oh, rumor has it that it cost them PhP 5 B to build the fancy new campus.
Thank you Baguio Insider for letting the people know what is going on regarding “inside deals”. Congratulations to Baguio citizens and to all those who became aware and took a stand for what is correct. Thanks also to the blind politicians who listened. I hope they make good use of their senses next time.
dyusip
Hi Lisa,
i stumbled upon your blog. I’m sorry but my comment is not related with the topic above– i was trying to look around your web as how to contact you but to no avail. anyway, i’d like to ask if you know of any hotels in La Trinidad preferably one with a function room. I’ve been searching the web, no success at it.
hope to hear from you.
Sincerely,
PJ
@The Nashman, we have funds. Baguio just passed another 1B budget for 2010.
@Orly, great to know that. The issue is not dead as the Vice-Mayor was quoted in the news saying the privatization will push through, this time with a Filipino investor.
@Dyusip, the politicians recalled their confirmation because of the public outcry, to save their political butts. But if the public did not notice this, they would have pushed through with the insidious plans.
@PJ, google Hotel Supreme as it fits your requirements.
Thank you for the post Lisa. It was informative and (once again) eye-opening. That’s why I enjoy reading your blog.
This cancerous incident, of course, is just a symptom of a much larger issue. An issue that can be solved fairly EASILY. (Oh yes, Virginia, there IS a solution to corruption). But it has to be solved in a larger context than this incident.
I love Baguio. I love it enough that it hurts to hear of such goings-on.
I’ve always hoped and dreamt of a Baguio that is well-run, forward-looking, visionary, and true to it’s image as the “city in the clouds”. Where the citizenry can be proud to say that they lead the nation economically and ethically. Where the standard of living is higher and better than other comparable cities.
But dreams require vision and implementation. And they require astute political will–in extremis (within multiple-dimensions, no less). However, address the common problematic and central issue (there is a common thread) and you could place the city on a good track for change and make it into a power-house. AND, guess what, all this can be attained respecting peaceful democratic tenets. All it needs is the willingness, organizational skills, funding, and marketing-savvy to make it happen.
One of this days, when you’re not so busy (and find yourself in front of the proverbial fireplace or veranda), fire me an email. I certainly do not mean to be presumptuous, but I would enjoy the opportunity to discuss the matter with an intelligent and erudite person as you obviously are.
Peace.
– R
P1B for 200,000 people per year is NOT enough. It barely covers basic services kaya all that arty-arty sporty sporty (much needed in cities) endeavours are low priority.
They should start taxing the Church since it’s now operating a mall (with exhorbitant lease), parking lot, and toilets. These are the commerce of man and not god and should be taxed. Para may pandagdag pambayad sahod ng mga hardworking street sweepers.
Hi Robert,
Game for coffee — as we have seen the politicians as they are behaving these decades are not part of the solution and in fact can create problems for this beautiful little town.
I have always believed in an engaged citizenry to provide the needed check and balance to the government, which is supposed to represent us, after all. And there is very obvious need for the residents to speak with one voice, especially in the light of recent events.
Hi Nashman,
I agree with taxing the Church for commercial activities the way I agree to taxing the schools because these are huge businesses and not really just vocations anymore, and because the city is subsidizing tens of thousands of students who are from out of town.
Basic services are never free, although in an ideal world they should be. At least half of Baguio’s population are not taxpayers, too. The city is servicing the big schools — one of them is owned by a religious order, with 20k+ students and should be taxed. UC with 14k students is not taxed at all. UB with 20k students and about 1 billion in receipt, is this taxed?
Sa dami ng studyante kailangan natin ng karagdagang street sweepers, no?
But before you say 1B is not enough, may I suggest we all look at HOW they are spending the people’s money? Because I find that some offices have budgets that are too huge to be justifiable (based on last year’s breakdown; I don’t have a copy of this year’s but it’s more or less the same daw).
Also, when 200 million or 20% has been spent for garbage hauling alone and not invested in permanent solutions to this man-made problem, we do have to start questioning don’t we?
Lisa–
Game for coffee too–when I get back to Baguio. For now, it will have to be cyber-coffee
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[pursuing the current thread thought...]
SURE. But can additional taxation be done without it being onerous? One issue among many is collection and disbursement of course (and acountability). But, and there is always a BIG BUT.
The common trap, as I alluded to in my OP, is solving these problems piece-meal. While it may SEEM to solve the issue, it will only serve to compound the larger problem–rather than solve them.
Not to defend, attack, nor obfuscate the point earlier made, but merely to illustrate: by taxing the Church for commercial activities, do we then take away from their charitable work? How do we balance that?
By assessing tax measures on educational institutions, do we then become an agent for degrading the quality of education that students get? Or in knowing full well how different organizational work (it’s part of my job to study them), we can say the response is predictable: raise tuition fees, to pass along the cost. Then, we end up taxing students (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). And we’re back to square one.
The same logic is true with garbage collection, water-distribution, waste management, traffic, movement patterns of people throughout the day, and many others in this equation, including–but oh so obviously not limited to–the QUALITY of leadership that the citizenry of Baguio allows into office.
You can appreciate the perniciousness of one-dimensional solutions—you are well-educated, well-informed, and well, intelligent. But for other individuals not so fortunate, hobbled by narrower concerns of just trying to survive the next week’s paycheck, they represent another thing. They’re easy targets. They’re obvious. And immediate.
No. I think for Baguio to meet its potential, lead the National stage, it will take something broader. Something bigger.
Peace
–R
…
My comment on “Lakay Juan installed as a Mayor” was only meant to buzz the inner hearts of all our corrupt local leaders (Trapos nationwide included). That said, unsure how many of your likes still believe democracy thrive in these islands. To those in power, those with money maybe. Democracy will be restored IF I see a poor vendor argue with a cop with civility without being dragged somewhere and get beaten up, until such time these kinds of horrible swift backstreet justice is sweeped under then I will believe such. I’ve equated democracy in this part of the world as; Two wolves and a Deer voting what’s for dinner tonight.
Balisong and Chan-Rondez’s hypocrisies in this Athletic Bowl issue is a wash. Both of them knew this deal all along. All these incumbent councilors should all be voted this coming elections, there is no circumventing these facts. Peter Rey’s higher political aspirations should also come to a halt. Jose Molintas is what Baguio needs as Mayor, don’t know him personally but a CHANGE is needed in our beloved Baguio.
Of the 57 or so individuals scampering to the magic 12 (city councilors), we can start eliminating the obvious corrupt or would-be, by talking to people, check their backgrounds, and SAL’s. Eliminate those who SIGNED THE MOA.
“All these incumbent councilors should all be voted this ” should read: All these incumbent councilors should all be VOTED OUT.