True colors

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO
By March L. Fianza

Mayor Morris Domogan has finally broken his silence over the “killing” of close to 200 Pine and Alnus trees on Luneta Hill to give way to the proposed expansion of SM. I heard his recorded statement and position in the social network. Nothing is new now. Domogan has indeed evolved into a compleat politician as compared to the time when he was a practicing lawyer for poor litigants in the 70s. I do not blame him for that. He has changed as a person and change is the one thing that we cannot stop in this world.

There are some things between me and Manong Morris that I treasure that I hope he treasures too. I used to drop by my late uncle Ben L. Fernando’s law office after my high school classes. I used to see him there, so with their faithful office secretary, Judith Bilag, a close relative from Pinsao. Uncle Ben is the first cousin of my mom. Also, Manang Becky, the mayor’s wife is the best friend and classmate of my sister.

Mayor Morris is the nephew of my late Aunt Basilia, the wife of Uncle David Jr. of Lucban. We all stayed there in my Lola Emily’s house but I was then a boy who was always out in the neighborhood. Manong Morris also stayed in that house for a time while finishing college and later his Bachelor of Laws. Uncle Junior and Aunt Basilia then transferred to Pico where their family grew and stayed. At the time of their deaths, again I saw Manong Morris and their relatives from Besao.

What I am saying is that Mayor Morris is not new in Baguio. Apart from his early Patchakan beginnings, he is a Baguio boy as a longer part of his grown up life and relations were spent in Baguio. What I am saying is that Mayor Domogan feels the sentiments of Baguio and Benguet folks who know the importance of maintaining the trees in the city as he has always announced. This is regardless of whether the planned tree-cutting and balling of trees are lawful and do not violate any laws.

True, we are a country of laws and not of men. But laws suffer from the differing interpretations of men, and in many instances, laws have given way to the more moral, considering that what is legal is not necessarily moral. Cutting or transferring the trees will not do any good to an already threatened ecosystem of the city. Definitely, it will be good for SM and the mall’s protectors, because they are not from Baguio and their objectives do not include protecting the existing SM green environment.

Mayor Morris said, we (or did he mean “he” …?) cannot do anything against the threatened and defenseless trees are inside a private area. But truth is the lot is in a controversial tussle involving ownership. In fact, a case is ongoing in court. SM does not own the lot. Not yet. The lot is part of OCT No. 01 that has no metes and bounds, hence it is floating. It cannot even be officially on the map, the reason why three DENR employees were suspended without pay.

Despite that, a deed of sale was executed. I thought, I heard many say that we are a country of laws and not of men… Of course, after the deed of sale, everything fell into place – the tree-cutting permits, the building permits, the ECC minus the public hearing, and the silence of our public officials.

Saying that the tree lot is a private property and therefore they can cut the trees is laying down a precedent. Soon, all private land owners and private subdivision developers will say “inbagani mayor mabalin ti agputed ti kayew nu private property.” Soon we will have a city of malls and houses and subdivisions and NO trees. Protecting what remains of the environment and stopping the killing of trees is a fight for all, whether one lives inside or outside of Baguio; whether you have a friend who works for SM; whether you go to shop at SM; whether you have a stall in SM which to me should further urge you to fight against the expansion of SM because if that will push through then you will have more business competitors.

I just hope that as one who truly loves Baguio, Manong Morris will protect the sentiments of Baguio folks and all people who have known Baguio for what it truly is – a City of Pines and not of malls. Otherwise, he has truly shed his true colors.
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Last week, some residents from Barangay Nangalisan in Tuba approached me and related their concerns about how the Cash for Work (CFW) program was implemented in their community. The CFW program of the DSWD is similar to the Food for Work program that became popular in the early 90s, particularly as a labor intensive scheme and immediate answer to the repair and rehabilitation needs of communities heavily damaged by the killer earthquake of 1990.

The Nangalisan residents who were in the company of a former barangay official said, the CFW fund was disbursed for things that were not in any way related to the purpose for which it was given. I was told that most, if not all Tuba barangays were recipients of the CFW funds.

Nangalisan Barangay headed by PB Pedro Guzman received some P192,000 while neighboring Tadiangan Barangay under PB Manuel Fernando received P195,000.00. What we do not know is if the CFW funds in the other barangays in Tuba and the whole province of Benguet were disbursed properly.

The residents said part of the CFW money was used to buy tickets for the centennial foundation celebration of Tuba worth P13,800; used to purchase and transport cement worth P26,000 for irrigation projects; pay for the community tax certificates or cedula receipts of workers worth P1,300; fund the supplemental feeding program; and pay gasul and cooking expenses in the amount of P4,500.00. These projects are good but are not in any way directly related to the CFW program.

The residents said that rumors about how the government money was spent has been going around since September of last year after its “implementation” last August but it was only on January 17, 2012 that a dialogue among the residents was called. They further said there were 70 names listed as beneficiaries of the CFW program but only three persons appeared. Also, another list produced by the council listed around 384 names of workers, which according to the concerned residents, later became 413.

The municipal social worker of Tuba does not want to show them the list of workers because according to them, there were names of persons that were listed and who received CFW money but did not physically work. Some Nangalisan residents were also listed under the care of names of other residents while some did not even know why they were being given money, the residents said.

With this, I wish to call the attention of my friend, Councilor Peter Bengwasan to schedule a dialogue in the municipal council in order that the concerned barangay officials can explain themselves and make things clearer for their residents. –marchfianza777@yahoo.com