Autonomous Region of Asin (ARA)

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Roger Sinot

ASIN, Tuba, Benguet - Let me take you down to Asin, a place once neglected and looked abandoned several years back, way back even before the killer earthquake of 1990. In spite of being a tourist destination in the world tourism map, the government stopped maintaining the 16Km road down from the Central Business District (CBD) of Baguio.

The province of Benguet may have realized that the sole benefactor of the Asin road was only the City of Baguio and nothing for the province. Even the Dangwa Tranco was on that route as early as the 60’s had to stop maintaining the road as it used to, although asphalting of the road was easier than maintaining their International Harvester (IH) engines with motor parts ordered from the United States that was too expensive.

It was only in the late 70’s when the Dangwa Company abandoned its route to Asin, giving way to small Ford Fiera jeepneys that ply the route from the city down to Nangalisan towards San Pascual. The Asin road was abandoned, and the asphalt of the road was in total ruin. Then it was later called “Abortion Road.”

Some Government officials together with free newsmen occasionally came down to Asin to have a dip in the hot water here in the place where I now operate. They baptized themselves “Prime Minister” and ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Asin.

The late Toots Catbagan was then Prime Minister, the late PeppotIlagan was Vice-Prime Minister while the late Mang Gerry Evangelista, lawyers BemboAfable and Manuel Cuilan, and newsmen Jimmy Laking, Domci and Mondax were members of the cabinet. This topic turned up over a cup of gin every time they came down.

There, I happened to meet the manager, Mr. Gerry Versosa, who mentioned that he was also a member of the Cabinet (Republic). Don’t get me wrong, I am for Autonomy, just like Dr. Ike Picpican, an anthropologist and curator of the SLU museum who once said, “It is high time for us to give autonomy a chance to show itself. Release this horse to the open so we can see its real color and character.

It may turn out to be a winner after all. Instead of dwelling on pessimism, let’s give the horse a try, believing in the good faith and wisdom of those who drafted the Organic act for autonomy. As the rider, we can harness the horse, rein in its going wayward. If we ride it and it does not run well, then we can condemn it to the slaughter house, but not before we try it.” As an orphaned Ibaloi lad, we welcome this effort and endeavor in the name of progress.

While it is true that this third horse is well trained and ready to carry us to a brighter destination and a greener pasture, a question has failed to reach the panelists in a recent media powwow that was held Nov. 17-18, 2013 at a resort, a walk away from mine.

The failed question was from Alfred Dizon, my publisher. His question probably could have been, if I am right, “how to get to that ranch, coral or pasture land where this horse is waiting.” We should remember that this organic act for the Cordillera Autonomous Region was rejected twice in 1990 and in 1998. To reach that ranch in a hundred or two hundred kilometers from Baguio, one has to hire or put a full tank of gasoline to get there. How much does the government allot for each media man to get every voter to go the ranch and ride the horse of Autonomy?

An old saying goes, “let us decide if we are going to cross the bridge when we reach the bridge”. It incurs expenses and effort to get there. We should be reminded that twice rejection of the plebiscite was due to the lack of information dissemination about the draft organic act.

Although we all know that campaigns like those were budgeted, the stakeholders were never given the chance to tour or given a test ride in that so-called ranch. Actually, most Cordillerans don’t even know where in Baguio is Pacdal, the horseback riding park of Baguio or Asin Hot Springs, where the suspension bridges are. We don’t want that to happen again for the third time.

Through media print or broadcast, campaigners should be well-equipped with good conditioned vehicles to bring us to that ranch and bridge, or else, we might have loose brakes or overheating engines on our way to Autonomy. Even how well our horse would be and how strong our bridges would be if the problem is “how to get there,” it would still be “no way.” History will repeat itself, I tell you! Let us take the horse to the grassroots.

After the killer earthquake, I was given the chance to take over this resort beside the bridge. We, together with few good men in the media, had changed the Asin Autonomous Republic to Autonomous Region of Asin (ARA) which of course, I am the Regional Governor, March is the vice-governor, Joseph Zambrano is the assemblyman for Information and Alfred Dizon is the assemblyman for Dissemination. These characters and terms you can only hear from words of people at the original Hot Spring down Asin.

Good luck to our fellow media travellers, Happy trails towards Autonomy of the Cordillera Region. Happy trails to all stakeholders to this cause. As the song goes, “God must be a Cowboy at heart. He made wide open spaces from the start. He made grass, trees and mountains, a horse to be a friend, and trails to lead all cowboys home again.” I was trained to be self-reliant, maybe this is what autonomy means.