City Hall, ancestral land or ancestral domain?

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Roger Sinot

(Second of a series)

PINSAO, Baguio City - May I take you back to where the word ancestral started. It is an ascending experience way back when the world began, where the word since time immemorial came about, "Idi nakapoottitao", way back when as man recalls.

 Let us say, what a wonderful experience it is, when God grants us a moment in which we don't take anything for granted, but see the world as though it was just invented yesterday. One of the things I would like to happen upon reading this article is that the readers would open their eyes wider to appreciate the IPRA law as to the world around them.

My cousin March Fianza, my neighbor Ibaloi columnist said, "If for nothing more than the sake of a change of view, I shall assume my ancestry to be from the heavens rather than from the caves".

As far as I have read, the Bible is the best reference for ancestry. After God created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, he put them in the garden of Eden, a lovely home, and told them, "be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it"(Genesis 1:28). So it was God's purpose that humans have children, extend the boundaries of that garden home earth wide, and take care of the animals.

God said, "Now we will make humans and we will let them rule the fish, the birds, and the other living creatures"(Genesis 1:26). In Genesis 2:15 - "The Lord God put the man in the garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it", In Mathew 5:5 it says, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth."

We now are all descendants of God's creation. Regardless of race, citizenship, and tribe. Regardless of doctrines, religion, ad faith, we are all the in one if we follow the doctrine of creation according to the bible. We are all stewards and as the population grew throughout centuries, we must take all possible action to ensure humanity and stewardship over nature (land and it's belongings)

As to the garden of Eden, God put the first man and woman. As to Egypt, God put the Egyptians; as to America, God put the American Indians; as to the Philippines, God put the Filipinos. As to the Cordilleras, God put the Igorots; as to the Ilocos, God put the Ilocanos; as to the Benguets, God put the Ibaloys and Kankanaeys; as to Baguio, God put the Ibaloys.

In Psalms 8:6, the Psalmist said, "You let us rule everything your hands have made. And you put all of it under our power. As stewards of the places, where God has bestowed upon us, we shall adhere to the common good of humanity and nature." On the stewardship over the environment, let this article be more than enough to remind us that we have a mission to procreate, pressure and protect God's creation that he has entrusted to us. Procreation is the sustained nurturing, developing and renewing of our environment for the good of humanity now and for the future generations to come.

 In the world book dictionary, meek means - not easily angered, mild, patient, gentle, tamed, yielding, docile,  submissive, humble, courteous, kind, merciful and passionate.

For the next article, find out why Ibalois are meek and who were the original ancestral claimants of Baguio. Happy trails to all IPs in all nations of the world.