The Ibaloi title

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Roger Sinot

ASIN, Tuba - Asin Hot Springs is located 16 kilometers way down westward from the Central business District of Baguio. It is a sitio of barangay Nangalisan, the rice granary of Tuba Municipality. Ibaloi-speaking people have historically lived here. Ilocano-lowland neighbors have settled in the place after the project of putting up a railway from Aringay, La Union to Baguio by the Manila Rail Road (MRR) - Philippine National Railways (PNR) was abandoned.

The project was stopped due to WW1 (1st World War) that lasted four years-1914 to 1918. When the project was dropped, workers and their families settled in the place that was named “Nangalisan”. The Ilocano term "Nag-alisan" simply means “where people transferred, settled or migrated.”

According to the Ibaloy dictionary, compiled by Lee Ballard, the American colonial projects in the Cordillera began in 1900. The Spanish reports of Benguet gold and the American quest for a mountain resort in their new Philippine colony led the first American exploration of Trinidad and Baguio. The government decisions made on this journey resulted in the building of the railway system connecting lowland La Union to upland Baguio.

Roads for cars were second priority in those times. Campo Filipino was a place along Naguilian road where railroad laborers settled. Many Ibalois, other Igorots, and Ilocanos came in large work gangs from surrounding communities and gained employment in this American construction projects. Aside from the railways were the Asin Mini-hydro Electric Plants that were intended to energize the John Hay Resorts and the mines of Benguet, and the Asin Hot Spring swimming pools.

In this book, the American officials met local Ibaloy leaders and immediately brought them into formal advisory positions in their new colonial government. To name them, Sioco Carino and Clemente Laoyan were appointed "Presidentes" of Baguio and Trinidad. Other Ibaloy headmen were Kustacio Carantes and Tagdi(Tagley) of Loacan, Shungchuan (Sungduan) and WakatSuello of Tuba, Sioco and Mateo Carino of Baguio, DaroanPucay of Guisad where my grandfather Sinot Solano ascends, CuidnoCarantes of Lucban, Tulingan Pinas of Trinidad and Baguio, Molintas of Pakdal, Kalomis of Lucban, to name a few. These men were part of an articulate and wealthy elite that served in various capacities in the Spanish government before the Americans. While these American officials were on their tours of duties into the rural areas, they did not fail to cultivate these leaders and invest them with authority in their communities.

The Ibaloy residents moved their homes and cattle to make way for the building of the city. They returned to the slopes and mountain ranges periodically to ritually summon (mandewit) their ancestors who had been buried here. On the way down Asin road, one can come across the first tunnel called Sipitan. Atop a mountain on the left is the tomb of my mother's father, DalisdisNgamoy.

He is a brother to Camdas and Osio. They have two sisters, Ahodao and Safinay. Dalisdis watched his herd in Sipitan, the lower end of Tadiangan. Ahodao had her house in Asin proper. Camdas had a rice field in Batuan. Osio had his cattle in Coplo and Safinay spent her life in Baguio. I still remember as a lad, we used to climb on our lolo's huge "dangkings", a large cooking vat that can cook a whole cow. Each of these brothers had them just at the side of their houses and we had fun bathing in them like bathtubs. All their houses were located along the river banks. In Sipitan, we used to have fun playing and riding on a "bagon", a wheelbarrow used in the construction of the tunnels.

We read from the American writers the terms "Igorrotes" or Ygolotes" which refers to Ibaloys. Ibaloy-speakers sometimes refer themselves as "Igodots", "Ibaloys", "Ibadoys". Writings in the early 1900s, the scholars Otto Scheerer and Claude R. Moss referred to this group as "Nabalois". According to those who found the Asin Republic, a term was introduced for Asin tribesmen, "Golotoi"- "Golot" came from "IGOLOT" and "OI" came from  "ibalOI" equals "GOLOTOI". We called ourselves Golotois when we know what the Kalding (goat) of Igorot is. We call ourselves Golotois when we know what the haircut of an Igorot must look like. 

People of Nangalisan traditionally depend on wet rice agriculture and a few cultivation of root and vegetable crops because most areas are mountain slopes. In the early days, aside from gold trade, the gradual increase of cattle herds was observed, especially in the Baguio-Tuba areas where the rolling terrains were extensive pasture lands. The dictionary book continues that at the time the Americans arrived, the cattle of Baguio-Tuba numbered about 10,000. Most of the Ibaloi folks had to move out of the city as the American government began building a vacation resort in Baguio.

The Camdases brought some of their herds down to Lubas, Tuba. The Dalisdises had to bring some of their cows to Kayapa, Nueva Viscaya, and the Osios transferred some of their herds from Irisan to Nangalisan.

Going back to the Native Titles, these lands once occupied by the Ibalois are now classified as government reservation, military reservation, forest reservation, mining reservation. As I read the IPRA Law, I come to understand that autonomy or an autonomous government is the “implementing rules and regulation” or “IRR” of the law. I believe that only when the government is sincere enough to recognize and protect the land ownership rights and interests of the Ibalois can we say that we can now talk about Autonomy.

Happy trails to all the stakeholders of the Autonomy and the Cordillera Region.