MORE NEWS, BAGUIO CITY

Baguio mayor bans motorcades; cops ordered: Don’t issue permits
By Ramon Dacawi

BAGUIO CITY -- Except for the triumphant homecoming of world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, this is no season for motorcades in the struggling Third World – at least here in Baguio.

“Well, Manny should rather walk to keep fit,” Baguio mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. said Wednesday, just after he ordered a ban on convoys of wailing and head-light flashing vehicles up here in the country’s summer capital.

Taking cue from a provision of the Civil Code against extravagance during a period of “acute public want or emergency,” Bautista suspended the issuance of permits for motorcades along Baguio’s roller-coaster roads.

In an administrative order, Bautista directed the Baguio police to deny outright applications for motorcades in the face of the rising costs of petroleum products and basic commodities such as rice.

He cited Article 25 of the Civil Code (Republic Act 386) that bars “thoughtless extravagance in expenses for pleasure or display during a period of acute public want or emergency”.

With the escalating costs of basic consumer items, the mayor said, there exists “acute public want”, thereby “making expenses for promotion of business and/or special activities through the holding of motorcades fall in the category of ‘thoughtless extravagance in expenses for pleasure’”.

The mayor’s order came a day after representatives of various government offices aboard about 20 vehicles with their flashers and sirens on in a sweep around the city’s central business to launch activities marking the 22nd founding of the Cordillera Administrative Region.

The CAR, composed of Baguio and the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mt. Province was established on July 15, 1986 through Administrative Order 220 signed by then President Corazon Aquino.

Two days after the mayor’s order, surviving Filipino veterans of the second world war, of foreign wars and of the United States Navy walked with city officials, boy and girl scouts last Friday to wreath-laying ceremonies in some of the city’s historical landmarks in observance of Philippine-American Friendship Day.

Banning motorcades, the mayor said, will avert a possible court order abating the same pursuant to the cited provision of the Civil Code.

It will also “encourage a healthier, cost efficient, and environmental-friendly way of promoting businesses and events by walking”, Bautista added.

He also anchored his order on the general welfare provision of the Local Government Code.

Last June 2, the mayor led city officials, government employees and sector representatives of the city in launching “Walk, Baguio, Walk”, a program to encourage people leave their cars at home and to walk or ride public transport to and from their places of work.

A brainchild of the Baguio Regreening Movement headed by city councilor Erdolfo Balajadia, the program is designed towards reduction of smog from vehicle emissions, lightening up traffic and clearing sidewalks of obstructions.

The next “Walk” rally on June 14 will be spearheaded by the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center headed by Dr. Manuel Factora, with focus on the health benefits derived from walking as a form of exercise.

In the spirit of the observance of the CAR anniversary, it will be dubbed “Walk, Cordillera, Walk”, with the organizers hoping the other localities in the Cordillera will adopt similar programs.

Aside from the ban on motorcades, the mayor directed city officials and employees to strictly comply with the city’s “number coding” ordinance banning cars from entering
the busy central business district at least once a week.

Bautista ordered the city hall security and the police to prevent cars covered by the number coding from being parked within the city hall compound before the 7:00 a.m. effectivity of the ban.

City administrator Peter Fianza, who recommended the move, noted the practice of some car owners in parking their vehicles until the ban is lifted at 7 p.m. depriving others parking space when they go to city hall to pay taxes or transact business.

At the city council, vice-mayor Daniel Farinas pushed for the city’s formal adoption of “Walk,Baguio,Walk” as a regular city program so its emerging features can be funded by the local government.


AIM survey outs Baguio from list of top RP cities
By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY — Efforts of local officials to attract more investors to this mountain resort continues to run into setbacks with Baguio out from the list of “competitive” cities nationwide.

Based on a 2007 survey conducted by the prestigious Asian Institute of Management, the city was not again included in the list of top performing local government units particularly mid-sized cities.

The cities which used to lag behind Baguio were among the top-performing cities in AIM’s latest survey.

The top-performing cities in the list include the cities of Cabanatuan, General Santos, Lucena, Olongapo, San Pablo, Tagum and Tarlac.

The survey covered 90 cities, and it was related to "competitive drivers" such as dynamism of local economy, cost of doing business, infrastructure, human resources and training, responsiveness of the local government to business needs, and quality of life.

Over the past four years, Baguio dramatically slipped in competitiveness ranking because of the expensive cost of doing business and bureaucratic red tape encountered in various offices in securing documents to operate a business here.

At the same time, businessmen in the city blamed poor performance of the city on the city government’s lack of responsiveness to calls for efforts to improve and attract businesses, particularly in terms of benefits and privileges of investors who want to locate their businesses in the city.

Furthermore, poor accessibility, caused by the absence of a good airport, and low percentage of potential business investments were primary reasons behind the dismal competitive rating of the city.

The city government cannot offer other business opportunities, aside from tourism due to its limited and expensive land area.

Earlier, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry removed Baguio from the list of cyber zones because of alleged lack of enough service providers which could serve as alternative communication facilities if the system bogs down.

However, some city officials and businessmen were confident that for this year, the city could redeem itself and get back to the list of top-performing cities nationwide with the passage of the city’s Investments and Incentives Code, improvement of infrastructure facilities and simplification of issuance of licenses.


Search for junior ambassador in Bright Child campaign on
BAGUIO CITY -- The Regional Council for the Welfare of Children- Cordillera is spearheading the conduct of the Regional Search for local Junior Ambassador for the Bright Child Campaign.

Open to children aged 6-10 preferably recommended by community leaders, teachers, parents of church groups, the Search aims to increase awareness of and support the Bright Child Campaign down to the barangay levels.

It is a program that espouses the child who is provided with basic health, nutrition, psychosocial, education, and social protection services from conception to adolescence, and continues practicing positive attitudes and behavior towards becoming a healthy, responsible and self-reliant citizen.

To qualify, the child should have been breastfed, fully immunized based on record and enrolled in school.

The child must possess the following qualities / characteristics: healthy and active; alert and articulate; manifests positive attitudes; lives a healthy lifestyle; talented; aware of good nutrition and eats nutritious food.

The search is composed of a talent portion and question and answer portion. Only one regional winner will be declared based on the following criteria: stage presence and appearance (20), behavior and practice (35), intelligence/ smartness (35), and audience appeal (10).

Members of the RCWC-Cordillera have farmed out guidelines and entry forms to provincial and municipal social welfare and development offices, and are encouraging the conduct of a local search in their respective levels.

The regional search is slated sometime in September, while the recognition of winner will be in October, in time for the Children’s Month Celebration.

The regional winner will serve as advocate and spokesperson for the Bright Child Campaign.

The search also aims to identify a role model for children to emulate, and provide a mechanism to educate parents on the advantages and importance of health and nutrition, basic education, and especially providing a nurturing environment for their children.

Entry forms are available at the local social welfare and development offices or the regional office, #40 North drive St., Baguio City.

Submission of entries has commenced and will end on August 29.


Ambassador Kenney leads tribute to US Thomasites
By Mike Guimbatan Jr.

BAGUIO CITY -- US Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney led the groundbreaking ceremony for the Thomasites’ Park here morning of July 5 at the Baguio Teacher’s Camp in honor of some 150 American military teachers known as Thomasites who set camp in a pine covered grove here starting a tradition for annual teacher convergence.

Kenney cited the century old partnership in education between the Philippines and the United States.

Baguio remains the only city in the country that still maintains its American cultural heritage manifested by American named streets, wooden structured houses, country music and the common use of the English language.

In the early 20th century, American soldiers set foot in Philippine soil followed by soldiers with government administration skills.

The third batch was teacher-soldiers who rode in the US army transport vessel
“Thomas” and “Galelic.” The teacher-soldiers were then called Thomasites who were spread all over the Philippines to introduce the English language and American culture.

It was at Teacher’s camp where the first national Teachers Vacation Assembly of Thomasites was held in April 6, 1908.

Kenny and her party witnessed a re-enactment of the first Thomasite campers.
They were also guided to the Baguio teacher’s Camp Museaum that housed Memorablia and photographs of the early Thomasites.

The US Ambassador donated three historic pictures of the Thomasites from the collection of the US Embassy. In return she received a commemorative car plate of the Baguio Teachers Camp Centennial.

Kenney celebrated the Filipino-American friendship day on a two-day official function by visiting the Philippine Military Academy established by early American soldiers, the University of the Cordilleras where a peace corps was assigned to teach computer science and the Saint Louis University where another American heritage museum was opened.

Kenney cited the contribution of the early American teachers to the Philippine’s first formal public education system.

The park will be a symbol of Philippine and American friendship over the century through educational development.

The unveiling of the park design is part of a series of events commemorating the centennial of the Teachers’ Camp in Baguio City.

The re-enactment reminded that exactly 100 years ago Thomasites set camp in a
pine covered grove here starting a tradition for annual teacher convergence.

Succeeding American and Filipino teachers who come here for seminars, trainings, conferences or simple vacation transformed the area into what is now known as Baguio Teacher’s Camp.

A year later in 1909, Baguio has become a chartered city designed for 25,000
residents. Since then Teacher’s Camp played host to several state functions with wooden cottages under towering pine trees.

Most of the cottages, and buildings were rustic and painted brown to hide its hundred years of battle with weather. Camp authorities under the care of the Department of Education rushed to allocate P100-million makeover project for the preservation and renovation works of the century-old Teachers Camp back to its old grandeur.

During the groundbreaking of the Thomasite memorial, Joselito Aceniero, President of the over 1,000 members of Thomasite descendants recalled how their ancestors taught English and other skills and forms of knowledge. “They provided the foundation for public education, in arts and crafts, and shared to young men and women at the threshold of a new century,” he said.


CSC exams set July 27
BAGUIO CITY – The Civil Service Commission will be conducting the second career service professional and sub-professional written examinations on July 27.

Qualified applicants will be notified of their places of examination through a notice of admission or examination permit, said Lorenzo Danipog, director of the CSC.

“If the notice or permit is not received one week before the examination date, the applicants must personally verify the place of examination from the CSC Regional Office Field Office where they filed their application or may visit the CSC website, www.csc.gov.ph., Danipog said.

The examinations will cover the following subject areas: Career service professional – In English and Filipino; vocabulary, grammar and correct usage, paragraph organization, reading comprehension, analogy logic and numerical reasoning.
Career service subprofessional – In English and Filipino; vocabulary, grammar and correct usage, paragraph organization, reading comprehension, spelling, clerical operations, and numerical reasoning.

Both professional and subprofessional levels of the examinations will have general information on the following areas: Philippine constitution, code of conduct and ethical standards for public officials and employees (Republic Act 6713), peace and human rights issues and concepts and environment management and protection.

“To pass the test, the examinees should get a grade of at least 80 percent,” Danipog said.

Meanwhile, the list of passers of the professional and sub-professional written examinations conducted last March 9 is now posted at the CSC website www.csc.gov.ph.

The career service professional and sub-professional examinations would result in the grant of either civil service professional eligibility or sub-professional eligibility needed for appointment to corresponding positions in the government.

Eligibility is just one of the qualification standards for permanent appointment in the government.

Apart from eligibility, a prospective appointee must meet the other QS on education, experience, and training.