BAGUIO NOTES

‘Oasis’ provider for Operation Sayote volunteers passes on

Bernardo Dicang, the  Baguio boy who opened his house to Cordillerans needing rest and food  while delivering “sayote” and other relief goods when Mt. Pinatubo was blowing its top in 1991, succumbed last Monday to liver cirrhosis in his home in Dinalupihan, Bataan.

Bernard Tiongco    Dicang  was cremated last Friday, according to his younger brother Swanny, one of the pillars of “Operation Sayote”, the longest-serving relief operation Baguio media organized in response to the disaster spawned by lahar flow from the active volcano. He was 85.

He is survived by wife Efrena (nee Reyes), children Erlinda, Fernando, Gregorio, Alexander,Bernardo,  Celena and Dafrosa and 13 grandchildren.

Prior  to “Operation Sayote”, Bernardo kept an annual tradition of sharing his blessings with children to keep the spirit of Christmas alive. When the Baguio media launched “Operation Sayote”, a relief operation as a way of Baguio’s paying back the support it got from all over in the wake of the July 16, 1990 killer earthquake,  he asked his brother Swanny to use his to his home to recharge and refresh themselves from the lowland heat.

“As a result, he lost his chickens, geese and other domestic animals which were all  turned into food by those who came to rest in his home,” recalled one of the media  volunteer. “What he did – providing an instant home to us who needed refuge in Bataan = is a class act. We sustained “Operation Sayote” for three years because he turned his house into an oasis for  Baguio and Benguet  residents on their way to and from relief operations at the height of the volcanic eruption.”

His sense of community apparently runs in the blood. His eldest son, Alex, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, while working as PMA’s public information officer, drafted out of the blue a letter asking whether Hyundai, the giant motor corporation, could donate one or two buses for the cadets.

“What color?.” came the reply, enabling PMA to acquire a fleet of buses.- Ramon Dacawi.

                                                   

Baguio eyed as ‘model city for best public toilet’ 

BAGUIO CITY – This summer capital is being eyed as model city for the country’s search for best public toilets.
This was revealed by the Department of Tourism Operations Officer Marian Obispo  and Eleonor Santos during talks with Mayor Mauricio Domogan Tuesday here.

The DOT is presently in initial stages of validation and assessment of public toilets around the country as model public toilet for the launching of the Search for the Philippines Best Public Toilet.

The project will be a major component of the celebration of World Toilet Day on November 19.

The country is a member of the World Toilet Day Organization founded on November 19, 2001 and the inaugural World Toilet Summit was held in Singapore to draw attention to the sanitation crisis which is being experienced in all parts of the world.

The Search for the Philippines Best Public Toilet is a pilot project of Senator Bam Aquino aimed at supporting the celebration of World Toilet Day and as a means to massively campaign for hygiene and sanitation awareness in the country.

The project is a wake-up call for the country to uplift the sanitation standards of millions of people who still lack access to improved sanitation.

Domogan said, “the city has struggled also with the upkeep of its public toilets in the past.”

“Mahirap bantayan yung public toilets, mahirap disiplinahin ang mga tao,” he said.

The city then decided to partner with a private concessionaire for the operation of its public toilets for its proper upkeep and maintenance.

Presently, the city’s public toilet operations are bidout to interested private proponents who provide a decent and clean comfort room for tourists, visitors and residents with adequate water supply.

This was also the findings of the DOT during their rounds in the city.

Obispo said, “The city’s public toilets were found to be clean and properly maintained even exceeding standards for public toilets.”

“We only have minor recommendations, there should be signages and ramps for Persons with Disabilities (PWD’s) but     over-all, the city’s public toilets are compliant to standards,” she said.

The chief executive also pleaded for funding from the DOT for the improvement of tourist areas not only in the city but also in the Cordilleras.

“We hope that the DOT can also help us improve our tourist facilities and we are optimistic that funding can also be poured to the city and the rest of the region,” he said.  

The World Toilet Day calls for a collective action to address the global sanitation crisis which is adopted by 122 countries worldwide.  – Paul Rillorta

   

More youth participation in 106th Baguio Charter Day

 BAGUIO CITY  -  The city government here started planning and organizing for colorful and meaningful activities to mark the 106th Baguio Charter Day celebration this year.

In the meeting of the Baguio Charter Day  celebration committee conducted last June 24 at the Sangguniang Panlungsod Session Hall, SP Committee on tourism, special events, parks and playground chair and councilor Elmer Datuin underscored the need to come  up with a more festive and colorful program as well as activities that would cater young people.

Innovations will be infused in the traditional program and parade that will attract the people in this year’s Baguio Day celebration.

The diorama or tableau-style parade will be pursued this year to enliven the traditional procession.   

The committee tasked the Department of Education city schools division to coordinate and involve all schools in the preparations.

This will revive the tableau-style walk that used to be mounted in the past which the late newsman Freddie Mayo annotated prompting then city council to approve a resolution making it a regular Baguio Day undertaking.

The city health services office (HSO) headed by Dr. Rowena Galpo will be conducting a clustered Health Fair where basic health needs of the people like free dental extraction, eye check up, basic medical assistance as well as free medicine kits will be provided to families in need  will be offered on Aug. 29. 

On Sept. 25, the HSO contemplated of having a conference type in educating and tackling teenage pregnancy to young students for them to be more aware and conscious on its effects and consequences.

For sports enthusiasts, major sporting events are lined up to celebrate the Baguio City’s Charter day such as the National Arnis Championship, the annual Mr. Baguio Building contest, and the annual Baguio Day Scrabble Tournament, among others.

Other sporting events will be expected for the month long celebration in order to promote athleticism and at the same promoting sports tourism in the summer capital of the Philippines.

The city will be coordinating with the different academe sector to build up active participation of students in the various activities in the city such as tableau presentation, cultural programs and others.

Activities are expected to make up the calendar with the traditional program and parade and conventional events like the Ms Baguio beauty pageant and the awarding of the outstanding Baguio City citizens.  -- JhoArranz