La Trinidad History Conference

An event is truly successful when it inspires a future action. Hence, the 1st La Trinidad History Conference has succeeded in rousing appreciation and interest in La Trinidad’s and whole Benguet’s History and Heritage. The event not only saw renewed passion for local human stories, it also enthused our decision-makers and officials to give their active and positive support on future historical researches / write shops, and programs for the preservation of heritage, including the needed institutional support.

 The activity, which was organized by the Tourism Development Services of the Local Government and in celebration of the National Heritage month, is also a prelude to La Trinidad’s 68^th Foundation Day celebrations on June 16, 2018. While economic programs and regular services nourish the physical aspect of a town, appreciation for arts, culture, and heritage nourishes its soul. A town which does not have a “story to tell” is a lifeless town.

What I learned from our main Speaker, former NCIP-Commissioner chairperson and co-author of the book “A People’s History of Benguet”, Ma’am Zenaida Brigida Hamada-Pawid, is the term “composite history” – where researchers compile the different versions of stories, since all of them are still genuine stories of the past. Hence, Barangay Pico’s origin “Piho” or the native term for the small houses, and the other version, “Piko” for the agricultural tool, can be placed together to co-exist in one story book. Same with Buyagan’s, “Buya-an” (a place for spectators), or the other version’s “Boyagan”, or the name of the hunter which was devoured by a huge snake in that area as narrated by our IPMR, Pendon Thompson. And of course, the origin of the name La Trinidad; some say it was inspired by the “three prominent hills” (overlooking Poblacion where the seat of Cabecera was established), and others maintain the older version that it was a namesake of Donya Trinidad (allegedly the wife of Spanish soldier Guillermo Galvey).

The Conference reminded the participants one important thing, that La Trinidad (even before Baguio City as an American city) was the recognized “Cabecera” – a center that attracted people, and where even animals gathered to drink in its lake’s clear waters (Laguna de Benguet) hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago. It was the capital in administrating a large part of the Cordilleras during the Spanish period, even before its present role as the capital of Benguet Province. It was a prominent town and has been a subject of flattering stories where conquistadors describe as, “a very large town situated in a broad and fertile valley the inhabitants of which were very rich and brave people….” (Espedicion al Valle de Benguet en Enero del año de 1829).

Since the past generally affects the events and courses of action for the future, what does our history tell us? Perhaps, La Trinidad should stop thinking that it is only a second-rate Cordillera town after Baguio City. That its residents should drill in their consciousness to have stake on all issues involving the place as their own home, and contribute to its betterment. That perhaps, La Trinidad should strive to become the best town, not only in the Cordilleras, but the whole country.

The Trinity

By Valred Olsim

The cross-carrying armored conquerors came with ordained swords – purging the pagan relics and substituting them with the Christian religious icons. Then, the paths were named after the Saints, and villages were named after Christian doctrines, events and symbols. The unification of lands at the foot of Montanosa was named “La Union” (The Union), and the valley town where the Cabacera (Capitol) overlooks “three prominent hills” was named “La Trinidad” (The Trinity).

The skeptic may insist that La Trinidad was named after Spanish Soldier Guillermo Galvey’s wife, Donya Trinidad, but Galvey’s military records show no wife, and the name “La Trinidad” was actually recorded to have been given by Galvey’s successor Commandante Manuel Scheidnagel, decades after Galvey’s death. As an imperative, Conquistadors dedicate a subjugated place to their Christian faith, or to the Royal crown…not to their wives or girlfriends.

Before the Trinity of Benguet, there was the island of “Trinidad (and Tobago)” which was encountered by Christopher Columbus in his “third” voyage. It was named similarly to the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity which holds that God is three consubstantial persons or hypostases—the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit— or as "one God in three Divine Persons".

The number three is popular in the context of symbolism and spirituality. It can refer to the harmony of “Mind, Body, and Spirit”, the “3^rd Dimension”, the “three wishes”, the resurrection on the “3^rd day”, the “three stages” of birth, life, and death, the “three timelines” of past, present, and future. Hence, the number “three” is said to mean “completion”.

An i-La Trinidad friend reminded me that for a successful life, one must have the three essentials of friends, family, and faith. A day should be fun, fruitful and fair. And we should always have the three values of love, hope, and joy. Three is indeed, a special number. Just the same, the Trinity (La Trinidad), is a very special place to me.

****

With newfound vigor, I’m back to the job of telling good stories about the Trinity (La Trinidad). Despite the mounting number of meetings and paper works, we made sure that we will have a year-ender event which is related to tourism. Hence, we have organized the 2^nd La Trinidad Tourism Conference on December 20, 2017 at the beautiful Mt. Kalugong Eco-park. We imagine it to be a meeting of tourism stakeholders and tourism-interested members of the community, and at the same time an avenue to appreciate the gems of our town (since the yearly conferences will be held on the different tourist spots of La Trinidad). We will also have an afternoon music jam to further add value to the event experience while offering coffee and wine to the attendees! Due to the limited capacity of the mountain park and the unique condition of the access road, we only produced 200 tickets to effectively manage the activity. Interested persons may visit the Mayor’s Office for the registration forms and tickets! Asen taha shiman da! Men-iila tako isdi! Kitakits!

BACK TO WORK

Aside from absorbing some mounting collections of letters and codes, the six month sabbatical I had also re-educated me about life’s lessons that I sometimes overlook. Indeed we are all eternal students of this life.

I am back for work, and I thank my workmates for holding my designated fort. Salamat talaga kakadwa! Even though the La Trinidad-LGU is naturally modest, the 2017 year just as the past years, is their year of awards and rewards. La Trinidad is again a recipient of the “Seal of Good Local Governance Award” which proves that the LGU has a passing mark in financial administration, disaster preparedness, social protection, and peace and order, and also in the essential areas of business friendliness, tourism, culture and the arts, and environmental protection. La Trinidad was also awarded with the best Cooperative Office in the country, the Red Orchid award for No Smoking implementation, the National Gawad Kalasag for our Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and various awards and citation on the Regional and Provincial levels for Solid Waste Management, Agriculture, and many other areas. It is good to be back to our service-oriented agency.

Despite the challenges of our everyday, we are still the lucky ones who live to work (not work to live) –this entails the presence of “purpose” which is the very core of a meaningful existence. This also means that we will spend more than half of our lives with work and workmates more than our personal interests and loved ones. Hence, our 8-5 or 40 hours of weekly work (not including regular overtimes) compared to only 30 hours weekly awake time for family, should be at least comforting and meaningful. Lest we want to live the tragedy of being immersed with 8 hours of conflict and negativity every day, we have to try our best to encourage a healthy and supportive working environment for all of us lowly workers.

As a laborer for the past ten years in different institutions, I hope to humbly share three tips on how to effectively work with workmates: 1. Speak kindly, 2.) Be Organized and, 3.) Smile, always.

As they say “it is not what you say, but how you say it”. Workers do not mind doing extra work if they are tasked respectfully and considering the basic human dignity. I am not really a judgmental person, but I do judge people according to how they treat the smaller people; the janitor, the security guard, or the lowly salary–grade 1 to 5 employees. The power-trippers, or the people who only respect power but treat the rank and file like disposable slaves, unfortunately arouses gossips, politicking, and needless stress and contempt in the work place. As a reminder for the lucky junior and senior officers (even the heads), kind words uplift the lower rank employees and build an environment of trust and positivity.

When I was younger (and as an artist and rock & roller), I worked with chaos and recklessness. Despite surviving for some time, there were couple of times that such care-free outlook cost me important ventures. Some workmates advised me to learn the skill of management and organization. This will prevent blame-games and confusion at work because all the levels of tasking and specialized delegations will be covered for efficiency. I am still learning those skills.

Smile. Energy, as they say is contagious. When you enter work with the look of depression, your co-workers and even clients will have the tendency to spend the day with the same drive and perspective. Smiling is the most inexpensive and the simplest way to encourage a lively and healthier working environment. As doctors remind us; Smiling contributes to the success of our work, our health, well-being, and happiness! Smile at work everyone!

Valle de Benguet

“I have heard some Igorot say that beyond the great mountain called “Tonglo” which overlooks Santo Tomas and Agoo, and is one of the noteworthy mountains of Luzon, there was a very large town situated in a broad and fertile valley the inhabitants of which were very rich and brave people and made war upon the pagans of the foothills.” (Espedicion al Valle de Benguet en Enero del año de 1829)

The expedition diary of Lt. Col. Guilermo de Galvey in 1829 is a fourteen-day account of his voyage to “Valle de Benguet” (present day ‘La Trinidad Valley’). Galvey is without a doubt, “the greatest despoiler of the Igorots Spain ever sent to the Cordilleras”.

Seventy years after the punitive expedition of Tonglo by Pangasinan Governor Arza, Galvey marched to the mountains with his Igorot friend, Pingue, about a dozen officers and a troop of  fifty,  and some 200 ‘Polistas’ (Filipinos forced into labor). They crossed wild rivers and climbed steep rocks. For days they shielded themselves from the traps of ‘pagans’ and heavy rains, until the eight day where they finally ‘came upon the pine trees’.

 

At 4 am that day, they finally arrived at the valley where Galvey wrote: “…we discovered from the heights the beautiful valley of Benguet, the lovely sight of which surprised us all, so that even the soldiers gave vent to their admiration by joyous shouts”.

Galvey’s troops were advancing when two drunk Igorots with spears planted themselves and confronted them furiously. They were later bound after a brief scuffle and another group of Igorots were brought to Galvey for interrogation. He set them free and told them to go back and tell the headmen to see him the following day and assured them that no harm would be done to them, but that if they attacked, he would burn their village.

That afternoon he described Valle de Benguet as: “…a valley of a league and a half or more in circumference; it is surrounded with springs and forms a basin. The soil was very well cultivated, with immense fields of sweet potatoes, gabe and sugar cane, but no paddy in this tract of land. All was irrigated and fenced in by dividing lines of earth after the manner of Spain, and provided with wells. The houses which had numbered some 500, were of broad pine boards and very dirty. He finally decided that it is in the valley that he will establish the capital of the district.

At 8 pm however, their camp was attacked by Igorots, and Galvey, in response, killed a number of natives and captured twelve Igorots – all of whom were drunk and were shouting savagely.

On the next day, Galvey found himself surrounded by more natives who were angrier than the night before. It is at this tipping point that Galvey decided to “give them a lesson”. He and his troops stormed the village firing at the natives and burning down some 180 houses.

After that unforgettable violence, Galvey and his troops went southwest with twenty-eight Igorot prisoners. They continually descended towards the west for days until they arrived at Aringay in the fourteenth day.

As a final reflection, Galvey wrote: “…the expedition, though short , served well for those I made later, as the Igorot of Benguet shortly afterwards asked me for peace and have since been my friends. On different expeditions I have passed eight or ten times through their valley, and far from attacking me, they have treated me with kindness, providing me with rice, cows, and other food. Still, as a consequence of this expedition and of smallpox, this town has been reduced to about a hundred houses. I am, however, doing everything to make it flourish again, and my highroad reaches there”.

Ten years later after the expedition, Don Guillermo de Galvey died in 1839. Despite popular tradition that La Trinidad was named after his supposed wife Dona Trinidad de Galvey, his military records in Madrid revealed that he is in fact unmarried (soltero).

In 1875, one of Galvey’s successors, Commandante Manuel Scheidnagel renamed “Valle de Benguet” to La Trinidad.

***

In my ridiculous moments, I wonder why our Igorot ancestors had to get drunk before they took any action against the foreigners (or just about anything). Maybe it has something to do with the “shy mangu” and “agbainbain, ngem nu nabartek ket mang-ibabain” stereotype. Just maybe. But then, we have a history of even defending our “right to get drunk”, just read the case of People vs. Cayat.

La Trinidad at a glimpse

La Trinidad at a glimpse 

(Valred Olsim Eternal Student Column for SunstarBaguio June 13, 2017)

At 4 in the afternoon, we discovered from the heights the beautiful valley of Benguet, the lovely sight of which surprised us all, so that even the soldiers gave vent to their admiration by joyous shouts – Lt.Col. Guillermo Galvey,1829

During the Spanish era, the valley of La Trinidad was originally called “Valle de Benguet” from the local term “Benget,” which means the stench emitted by the mud-covered swamp area.  Its original settlers were Ibalois, who grew rice, kamoteng kahoy, sweet potatoes, gabi, and sugar cane on hillside gardens and terraces along the mountain slopes. Power and wealth were measured by one’s ownership of land and livestock. These were shared by holding the prestigious feast called “Peshit”.

For centuries, the whole Gran Cordillera went undiscovered, not until the Spaniards heard about the gold-rich Igorots trading with the lowlanders. Earliest Spanish visits by Captain Garcia de Aldana and Don Alonso M. Quirante were recorded as early as the 1620s.

Although the District of Benguet was established in La Trinidad by 1846, it was only in April 21, 1874, under Commandant Manuel Scheidnagel, that “Valle de Benguet” was renamed “Valle de La Trinidad” (La Trinidad Valley). Despite popular acceptance that it was named as “a fitting tribute to Galvey’s wife - Doña Trinidad de Galvey” – recent research has revealed that credit should have probably gone to Scheidnagel, having been inspired by the three prominent adjacent hills (in effect, forming a Trinity: a religious icon of the Christian campaign) overlooking the Poblacion church, where the seat of government, the Cabecera, was established.

After the Revolutionary period in 1900, La Trinidad grew vegetables via the Trinidad Farm School (now Benguet State University). Along with socio-economic changes, the concepts of freedom of religion, titling of lands, formal education and the democratic election of leaders were introduced. Paid labor and money became an important feature in the economic lives of the people. Such time of plenty is fondly recalled by old folks as that “time of blissful peace.”

In contrast, the Japanese occupation and World War II were turbulent times. Residents were imprisoned without formal charges and pitilessly tortured. This prompted able-bodied men to join the guerrilla movement, while their families fled for safety to the mountains.

 

After liberation, on June 16, 1950, La Trinidad became a regular municipality by virtue of RA No. 531.  To get back on its feet, La Trinidad went on a massive production of vegetables. For this, the municipality soon came to be widely-known as the Salad Bowl of the Philippines. And with the establishment of the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post, the valley solidified its status as Benguet’s marketing hub of highland vegetables.

Owing to the need to diversify and with the introduction of new varieties, strawberries soon became the town’s main product by 1980s. Growing acclaim for these red and luscious strawberries earned La Trinidad for itself the title “Strawberry Capital of the Philippines.”

Farmers likewise ventured into cutflower production, and by the 1990s, many barangays in La Trinidad were soon growing chrysanthemums, roses and a variety of flowers. Barangay Bahong, a major flower farming community, was named “The Rose Capital of the Philippines”.

By the turn of the century, migration and urbanization paved their way in, bringing with them a colourful tapestry of peoples not only from the nearby Cordillera and Ilocandia regions, but from all islands of the archipelago.

***

La Trinidad will be celebrating its 67th foundation day this Friday (June 16, 2017) at the Municipal Gym. There are many things we hope and pray for La Trinidad, our home; we passionately hope and pray for the cooperation of the community in many programs of the town, as well as dedication and wisdom for our officials to work for the common good of the community. We hope that we will all love and take care of our home, La Trinidad, for the very simple reason that…it is our home.

La Trinidad Tourism: "Where are we now, and where are we going"

The future is colorful for La Trinidad tourism J. After so many years, the municipality will finally adopt a tourism plan for 2015-2019 that will guide our legislators and implementers in making La Trinidad a distinct and exciting destination in the country (as an Agri-eco-cultural destination). Great credit goes to the DOT-CAR’s assistance, the participation of all the members of the Tourism Council from various sectors, and of course, the present administration’s relentless passion towards tourism investment and development.

What made us more proud, as one of those who participated in the tourism planning months ago, is the adoption of our group’s brand slogan which features our tourism brand essence for La Trinidad: “Valley of Colors” The slogan, initially drawn from our distinct tourism products of strawberries, cut flowers, coffee, and vegetables, finally serves as both inspiration, and challenge, not just to the town’s officials, but also to every soul in our community – how can we sustain such claim? How can we really make a “colorful” La Trinidad for our tourists? Can our town keep up with such kind of tourism promotion and marketing? Are our existing  infrastructures and accommodations ready for it?

If these thoughts cross you, then that is cheerfully the first step towards cultivating a tourism conscious community. Tourism consciousness is a culture treasured by communities who see tourism as a valuable opportunity for economic growth. Palawan and Sagada, for instance, have this culture; residents regulate themselves and maintain cleanliness and orderliness because they have a decent and holistic view of the tourism systems. “If I throw my waste here, our tourist spot will become dirty and no tourist will come anymore…it means my parents won’t have customers and they won’t be able to pay taxes that our government will use for projects that will help us” a 7 year old-child in Sagada answered when I inquired about their regular cleaning-activities.

For many urbanizing towns, this consciousness may slowly expire: “We don’t have to invest on tourism since we have schools, banks, and other establishments that can sustain our local economy” said a friend in one unforgiving debate, “trumapik lang ti turista”. Although he has a point, such naive outlook is not only backward, but also conceited – it only proves that we lack a tourism conscious culture. Tourism, the activity of travelling and staying in a certain place, is not only an economic phenomenon but also a social and cultural one. It involves most part of communities’ lives – can we imagine our place without a single visitor? What lasting impression do we want our tourists or visitors to have upon their visit to our town? What “experiences” do we want them to have from our place?

For a long time, La Trinidad, although it had successfully penetrated the market of tourism products, has yet to substantially invest in projects that will improve its destination-based tourism aspect. “It’s all in the pipe…the tourism plan is the start...” our Mayor Tabanda assured me. I sincerely believe her.

Partnerships, unity and cooperation are the keys. We need a united and collective consciousness that puts the community first before any other interests. Nothing can go wrong when everyone dreams the same thing, when we all want to go in the same direction…when we all want to be living in a Valley of colors - alive with peaceful and loving diversity, thriving in vibrant cultures, and imbued with dynamism and environmental consciousness.

Others, perhaps, are initiative and volunteerism. In most developed countries, most events-based tourism (and even destination-based) are initiated and developed by the private sector( like Macy’s parade of New York by the privately owned store-chain). Or even as practiced locally, the private sector (like the academe, business people etc.) support for the tourism industry of Baguio City; UC, for instance, donated millions-worth Burnham master plan as a gift to the city and the people of Baguio, and SLU initiates the city’s Lantern Parade, something that boosts the city tourism’s year of events, business people organized themselves (like the HRAB) for better tourism services. Even in my visits to other provinces with successful tourism values, it is the private sector which develops (even donates) parks and attractions for the community's and tourists' enjoyable experience.

In La Trinidad? Hmmmm. We have a lot of work to do. Perhaps all sectors must finally set aside pretexts in community development (including its tourism aspect), to really propel our town to better heights. As i-La Trinidad people who have stake in our own town’s tourism industry, the ball is now in our hands in a dying second to make a goal. With everyone's support, I really believe that we can score on this one. J

(The Tourism Plan Presentation will be posted soon. Happy New Year to all :)

****

In my past work, I have learned to become abreast with the legislative developments of our town just in case I ever need to be professionally prepared. Hence, I have known of the 2011 Municipal Tourism Officer Ordinance years ago even before its posting last year. In preparation for it, I have been acquiring significant trainings and eligibilities which include Diploma in Tourism Studies, and NC-II Tour Guiding Services, among others, although the ordinance specifically includes Bachelor of Laws, and Communication courses among the qualifying degrees (which is already in my line).

Contrary to some opinions, my decision came, not from a spur of a moment, but of months and nights of mental anguish in decision-making. What are the chances? What if the appointing power did not like me? What if the hiring was postponed? What if I have taken the job opportunity abroad? Sometimes, ‘fate’ or destiny (and even accident) is a combination of many things; preparation,insane luck,perfect timing, choice, and guts. Hopefully, this new year, our proposals, planning, and actions will assist our tourism status to greater grounds. (Scary..Wish us luck nyayy!!J)

Tradition sucks sometimes

“A ten-year old was almost raped by a construction worker in Kapangan were it not for the playmate who quickly called a neighbor…” My friend, who just visited her hometown, told me the news as if to consult me.

“They said there was no penetration according to the medical examination that’s why the parents only asked the molester to butcher a pig…” She continued.

“Her parents are ignorant!” I yelled like any thinking individual who finds the case alarming and imagining the supect’s grin when he had found out that a girl’s price is a mere pig, the raping spree will undoubtedly continue.

The shocking surge of rape cases and sexual abuse to children in Benguet Province in the last two or three years may be attributed to many causes from a deteriorating sense of morality, drugs, intoxication from alcohol, and even to a loose and unreliable justice system. In the hundreds of cases reported, most fear that the numbers are just fractions of what is really happening in our place. As put up by a social-worker friend, “a girl is being raped every day in our province…the sad thing is , there is even a fifty percent chance that the rapists are their very own fathers or close relatives.”

There are a lot of cases one may found on the web, if you doubt my numbers, there are; “army officers sexually exploiting village girls, roaming vans kidnapping students and making them sex slaves, incestuous relationship between a father and her 12-year old daughter, a neighbor raping a 6 year old little girl entrusted to him, a drunk father habitually molesting his daughters, drug-addicts beating up young women and raping them (examples are the cases in Abatan, Buguias), child prostitution in karaoke bars, etc…” The sad thing is, these cases were only a tiny representation of what is actually happening in our province, or even the whole region.

The case settled by ‘tradition’ I mentioned above is just an example of an ‘unrecorded case’ which the community has swept under the rug.  Of course some would disagree with me preferring to accept that ‘the case was at least solved and did not clog the dockets of the courts.’ But then, how many girls more would be victimized by a person who was proven to have the sexual tendency to abuse a child while he is roaming our society? Is the cost of the ‘pig’ already a deterrent for a future similar exploit?

I’ve seen this many times, even in the barangay rape cases where the Brgy. Captain ‘happily facilitated’ the settlement, and never even bothered to suggest that the party file the criminal charges since for him, what is important is that the case is ‘settled’. I cannot imagine how the little girl might have felt to be ‘paid’ with a stinking Fifty thousand pesos. With what I’ve seen so far, how many more is there?

Under R.A. 7610, Sec. 5 (b), the suspect in Kapangan case should’ve been prosecuted with Rape even if there was no penetration when the sexual abuse was done to a child who is less than 12 years old. The elements of sexual abuse under the same law are:

1.    The accused commits the act of sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct.

2.    The said act is performed with a child exploited in prostitution or subjected to sexual abuse.

3.    The child, whether male or female, is below 18 years of age.

 “Lascivious conduct” , as upheld in many cases, means the intentional touching, either directly or through clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks, or the introduction of any object into the genitalia, anus or mouth, of any person, whether of the same or opposite sex, with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person, bestiality, masturbation, lascivious exhibition of the genitals or public area of a person.

The case I mentioned strongly screams for the criminal's jail time.

Amicable Settlements may sometimes work as a double-edged sword which is either beneficial or harmful to the society and the person who was wronged. In rape cases and child abuse cases, I personally think settlements are not advisable. First, the child may get the wrong impression that her/his scars are as cheap as a pig, or maybe bought by anyone who has a few thousand. In many studies, these have proven to have a heavy and long-time psychological burden to the child. Second, the criminal gets to go free with negligible damage (and may victimize your daughters when given the chance). Third, we send a wrong message of justice - one that is 'instant', convenient, and short-termed.

Sometimes, forgiveness must not extinguish responsibility.

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* Update Info: Many would be visiting this article because it was recently featured on the news. As expected, many people ( usually from Kapangan and Buguias) reacted rather negatively. Let me just be clear that this is not against the following municipalities as I can cite the same with La Trinidad or Baguio, or even in any town. The main content of the blog is about (1) sexual abuses in Benguet and (2) traditions that settle cases rendering them 'unrecorded' (as case records are not forwarded to the police or the courts to be included in the statistics). As  confirmed by the Police, there is really a rise of these kinds of cases. Second, there is also the popular news that some cases like these have been settled traditionally wherein the families opted not to file the criminal charges as the tradition 'already' appeased the conflict (I've personally witnessed some).

In the case I mentioned which happened few months ago and was only relayed to me recently, I personally avoided as much details as not to appear singling-out a certain group. Another friend told me about the reactions of our kakailyans in Kapangan to enlighten me about the 'tradition' that I'm talking about. The pig, they say, is called "Pansingpetan" to penalize the person in the traditional process of "i-bonong" so that the victim will not be traumatized or so that everything will go well. Of course the legal recourse is still there but the parents opted not to go through it.

I'm truly thankful for such enlightening information. Such is the same with many cases I've witnessed which in most communities in the Cordillera are generally called "na-tongtong" or have undergone the process of 'Tongtongan". All is well when it ends well. This is really hard to change, especially when the practice had already taken its roots in the community. So I understand if the article may have sounded a bit disrespectful to the age-old ways.

However, as I've said these cases are not mere property rights or some cases arising from negligence. That is why forgive me if it is my opinion that the molester should be imprisoned. 'Multa ken Kulong' nu shak ah. For inquiries just look me up @ Facebook. Thanks! 

The La Trinidad Arts Society

I envy Baguio City with their Art groups and Societies. I heard that there was a time when the Baguio Arts Guild (BAG) had over five hundred members. Most of the BAG's pioneers were able to establish other popular arts societies as, the Tam-awan Village, Artists at Session, and others. BenCab, a former member, is the most successful to have built his very own museum - a feat that only some artist can dream of.

Solar Painter/Sketch Artist, Sultan came to me one Sunday to propose a project in which I gladly obliged to. I was, after all, an art lover, and an Art workshop for the kids is a very noble project. Luckily, we were able to source out funds from our barangay and were able to give the kids a very memorable experience. Nothing beats the shades and the colors. Nothing beats the feeling of creative accomplishment.

And so after the activity, he asked me if we can start 'it'. How about an Arts Society for La Trinidad? I was waiting for him to say that. :) Of course I would love that.

* Conceptualized in 2012, the La Trinidad Arts Society was established by Local Artists; Sultan Mangusan and Valred Olsim from Pico , La Trinidad, Benguet.