Philippine Political Theories, linkage, politics and Facebook

Political ideologies in the Philippines are dominated by two words, leftist or rightist. Depending on how a person was educated, trained and by personal experience, his ideology on how society, community and government differs from one another although at some issues a common ground is established.

In the Philippines, we classify leftists and rightists according to how they will react on a certain issue. Let me give an example, I have been posting articles online for a couple of years now and the reactions I get depend on how the person is affected. If I write something against the construction of a Mall in a province, some will say “keep it up! We do not need too much commercialization” or “construction of a big mall is against the rights of the small businessmen” etc. But some will also say “we welcome development in the province” or “let us not be left  behind, having a mall will encourage business growth” etc. Simply put, ideas and opinions of every person vary and there could be an unending debate on who has the better thought.

Opinions are everybody’s right whether it is pro or anti-government. Taking away the right of one person to express his opinion is tantamount to over all chaos. If a person expresses his opinion on a certain issue, reactions should be based on the issue presented and NOT on the person who presented his opinion. However, in the Philippines, this is not the case. If you present your opinion in an issue, you will receive comments that are personal in nature such as “grow up” , “immature”, or “poor you”. Worst cases would be threats to you and your family.

Rightists control business, economy and government. People in the right wing will do everything to remain in power and control and that means even using the military and police to achieve his interests. On the other hand, Leftists provide alternative suggestions against the control of the Rightists and addresses the issues and concerns involved in the control and implementation of rightist programs. Leftists are considered as pressure groups, branded as anti-government but seriously speaking, without them, there will be no balance at all.

Leftists are oftentimes associated with the communist party of the Philippines and its branches. People see them rallying in the streets shouting their issues and concerns. They may look like the “contrabidas” in a an action movie but their sentiments and voices provide the much needed balance against a totalitarian rule. They have the balls to speak out when others prefer to keep quiet.

But there is another form of ideology, much bigger and wider than what was presented above, and that is “CENTRIST”. This is the common people’s rational thinking. An independent analysis different from left or right thinking.
As defined:
 “CENTRISTS espouse a "middle ground" regarding government control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes support individual freedom of choice. Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind, tend to oppose "political extremes," and emphasize what they describe as "practical" solutions to problems.”
–    an example would be: A centrist may say something such as the following: Abortion should be legal, but only in certain situations such as the woman having conceived during rape or not having the financial ability to pay for the baby, as well as others.

In certain aspects, many individuals are considered a centrist. Open minded to all issues and concerns but do not judge according to a political theory. They try to resolve issues and concerns according to what they believe is right and practical and if needed participate in government control or attend/organize street protests and rallies. It is an action involving the individuals free will and not dictated upon. This evolving theory is fast rising in the Philippines and it is considered as a threat in the bi-theory control in this country.

Again, I consider the “Baguio City case” as a landmark case of “centrists” thinking. The strong opposition for the construction of a Korean project at the Athletic Bowl was started and supported by common people. With the help of technology, open information, participation and awareness, the common people of Baguio city showed support against the City Government’s MOA by participating in an online protest. A group was created at Facebook denouncing the said MOA and in a few weeks the number of members rose to  more than 9,000. These supporters – oppositionists are the “silent voters”. They supported this opposition by free will, expressing their thoughts without fear and looking at no leaders but themselves so that their concerted efforts will bring forward a righteous concern to those who are in control.

As I have been expressing years ago, technology will change the control of information and with such technology comes the fear of losing control especially on the part of  politicians and their organizations because today their slightest moves are now in the publics’ scrutiny. Traditional politics is changing and the new battle ground is done online. Most of the voters in this generation are internet savvy. Information about a politician is traveling faster than the speed of light and even if politicians will use their money to buy votes, I believe the new generation of intelligent voters will decide according to what they think and how they feel and not because of any affiliation or influence.

TRI Media is a thing of the past. Today, the fourth medium is bigger, faster and more people oriented because the internet provides a venue for people participation from all ages around the world. This new medium provides a free for all discussion. Recently, I came across a video clip in Facebook, it was discussing the CPP-NPA-NDF entering into the mainstream of Philippine politics by legal means. I knew at the first instance that it was a bad publicity campaign against those who are running in the party list system. I wanted to see how people will react on the video so I used the “share” button, after which I copied in toto the message of the original poster also emphasizing that it is a re-post. I was amazed when a good friend who is a lawyer instantly belittled me for posting the “anti-leftist” video telling me to grow up and calling me as immature. His reaction didn’t surprise me at all. However, a new comment was added praising the video as informative and should be shared. There was a clear difference in opinion but I decided to click on the “remove” post button to avoid an unending debate just like what happened months ago when I posted a Youtube video with the title “muslim demographics”. At first, there was a good discussion of opinions but later on turned into a bad personal debate between two persons. I had to delete the post. 

Clash of ideologies is now in the internet and unlike before, you can now say whatever you like online without the fear of being punched in the face or lambasted in a proceeding. This new found freedom is somewhat absolute since there is no government agency that can control the internet and the rich exchange of information found within. This freedom is now available to the employees working 8hours inside the office, students, laborers, teachers, ofws, etc who can now  participate anytime in issues and concerns. This was the clear case in the “protect the Burnham park movement”.

Today, I remain to be a centrist. I react against the lapses of government and its leaders if needed and I will not hesitate to voice out concerns against those who are claiming to be progressive. At the end of the day, my opinion remains to be my opinion and I am entitled to it without fear or favor.

With the upcoming elections, social networking sites like Facebook will be flooded with political groups and organizations. Instead of shrugging them off, why not participate, learn and comment? You are free to say anything you want as long as you maintain a certain level of “professionalism”. You have no right to go personal only because the issue presented is against your thinking. Just avoid the “fan pages” since you cannot interact directly. Better join the “groups”, it is interactive.
 
Pahabol: I read a very long article about the new and unfamiliar trend of Facebook. It is now the largest social organization around the world and it is changing technology faster than we can cope up. According to the article, Google is leading in the world of online advertisements but this will soon be a thing of the past since more and more advertisers prefer Facebook advertising because of their direct target approach. This is why you keep seeing those unending political ads of candidates in your Facebook account and I’m sure those ads will double or triple in the coming months nearing the election date. Facebook will become a venue for Philippine political circus.
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Specific Poll Survey for 2010 Baguio City Candidates

Online Poll survey for Baguio City from Congressman down to the City Councilors is now open. Show your support by voting at www.baguiocitypolitics.blogspot.com.

The recently concluded poll survey showed a participation of more than 6000 online votes. However, some sectors wanted a Baguio alone poll survey where a particular niche for onliners from baguio can be established thus the result will be more accurate for a political "preference".

This poll survey is open fron February 05 - March 25, 2010 only and this time the calendar will be followed strictly since it is already a niche poll survey.

Also, poll survey for online voters for Benguet, Ifugao, Mt.Province is already running with the same period of coverage as shown above.

And as always, let me reiterate that the result of this online poll survey will only show "preference" and is not accurate as to the final result of the 2010 elections.

Show your participation, go to www.watwatworld.com or www.baguiocitypolitics.blogspot.com to vote.
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BAGUIO ONLINE POLL SURVEY FINAL RESULT: Farinas, Molintas, Yangot leads.

CATEGORY: BAGUIO POLITICS BLOG

The recently concluded survey polls conducted by watwatworld. com shows that the citizens of Baguio City are silently participating. The online votes from November 2009 to January 30, 2010 counts to almost 6400 making it a highly participated survey.

As I have been saying since the very start of the survey, the result is not conclusive so as to say that it is already the election outcome. However, this result will show the possible preference of the “silent” voters especially those whom I call as new generation of intelligent and online voters.

I have been making posts and articles about online participation of the “new generation of intelligent voters” since 2007. Three years ago, I participated in online forums and posts supporting the candidacy of Senator Trillanes who as we all know lacks campaign funds. Bloggers were posting stories silently supporting him. At the end of the day, the “pushing” of ideas to vote for Trillanes was carried over by the readers to their homes, shared it to their family members and unexpectedly, to the loud cries of the rich and powerful candidates, Senator Trillanes was born. It seems that the voting public supports the underdog and not necessarily the opposition.

Today, majority of the voters are most likely to be influenced not by popularity of the candidate but by common thought which was influenced but what they believe, see and hear. Regardless of the billions spent on commercial, print and TV ads by politicians, the voters will still vote according to their conscience.

The new battleground of political candidates is not on the streets or in TV or Radio stations because in this generation, majority of the voters prefer to use their time surfing the internet than listening to the commercial ads of the politicians. One example would be the newly registered voters counting to millions. This generation of voters spend their time researching, chatting, watching, reading, playing or watching porn online rather than watching TV. Facebook alone can confirm this trend.

Some readers of my posts argue that political influence online is only a small portion of the voting public. They say that not all areas have internet access and many provinces and cultures still practice the traditional money making politics. I have to disagree. Even if the internet access is not available in some areas, still the voters nowadays are more involved and thinking independently from the usual practice. This came about because most of the “elders” whose words are laws are now slowly fading away. Simply put, everybody wants change.

Going back to the online poll survey result for Baguio City, again I emphasize that the result is NOT conclusive for a win but a mere preference of those who voted. The May 2010 election will still determine the winners.

The result are as follows: Online Poll Survey from November 2009 to January 30, 2010

FOR MAYOR
Total votes: 2290

1. Barcelo, Ruben Liwanag – (55 votes) 2%
2. Busacay-Lazo, Erlinda Adan – (64 votes) 2%
3. Domogan, Mauricio Gambao – (922 votes) 40%
4. Go, Marquez Ocampo – “Mark” – (238 votes) 10%
5. Hernandez, Guillermo – (77 votes) 3%
6. Labo, Ramon Lozano – (98 votes) 4%
7. Mandapat, Julius Javier –92 votes) 4%
8. Molintas, Jose Mencio – (1526 votes) 66%
9. Puzon, Peter Dulay – (62 votes) 2%
10. Sembrano, Elaine Dominguez – (109 votes) 4%


FOR VICE MAYOR
Total votes: 1213

1. Domalsin, Carol Rosado – (105 votes) 8%
2. Farinas, Danilo Tesaluna – (613 votes) 50%
3. Olowan, Faustino Atiwag – (514 votes) 42%


FOR CONGRESSMAN
Total votes: 6377

1. Avila, Edgar Mendoza – (31 votes) 0%
2. Balisong, Rocky Thomas Aseilan – (706 votes) 11%
3. Bautista, Reinaldo Jr. Asperin – (200 votes) 3%
4. Bello III, Dwight Nicolas Advincula – (17 votes) 0%
5. Quilala, Rabindranath Pablo – (16 votes) 0%
6. Ramos, Felipe Tribonaldo – (75 votes) 1%
7. Vergara, Bernardo Mangacang – (2148 votes) 33%
8. Yangot, Leandro Jr. Bagto – (3761 votes) 58%
9. Yaranon, Baraulio Dacanay- (39 votes) 0%

Please visit the website www.cordillerapolitics.blogspot.com until February 14, 2010 to see actual results. A new poll survey for Baguio City will starts on February 05, 2010 – March 25, 2010 from the congressional candidates down to the city councilors.

Read the earlier posts to see the previous results.
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Baguio Flower Festival WISH LIST

CATEGORY: BLOG, BAGUIO CITY ISSUES AND POLITICS

by: humarri, www.watwatworld.com

I wish that there will be more flowers than tarpaulins, leaflets and flyers of political candidates.

I wish that the festival will not be polluted by senseless violence .

I wish that the contestants and participants who lovingly prepared for the parade will be appreciated more than the showbiz personalities and politicians accompanying them.

I wish that the garbage problem will be controlled.

I wish that the parks will maintain their cleanliness.

I wish that children will not be exploited in the programs to facilitate a hidden agenda.

I wish that flowers will really bloom around the city.

I wish that traffic will be controlled all over the city.

I wish that thieves, robbers and criminals will be caught.

I wish that the Session Road in bloom will not turn into a free for all products for sale.

I wish that Burnham park, Athletic Bowl and Rose garden will not be filled with tents and campers.

I wish that selling of liquor to minors will be stopped.

I wish that sex, pot, and rock and rolling in Session road will not happen.

I wish that the so called religious people unite instead of throwing biblical punches against each other.

I wish that candies will be given for free to the kids.

I wish that the entire city will become a wifi zone.

I wish that all concerned citizens of Baguio city will wear a Red shirt on the day of the street festival parade to
show that they are aware of what is happening in Baguio city and to show that the Panagbenga festival is for the people and not the politicians.

I wish that there will be a free hugs clinic.

I wish that the so called gangs be controlled by the Police if they can… if they can.

I wish that the shawarma sauce will be delicious suited for a shawarma and not just water and garlic powder.

I wish that there will be a free brewed coffee station provided by the city government since they claim that Baguio city provides the best coffee in the world.

I wish that there will be no express MOA and midnight deals on the part of the city officials while the people are enjoying the festival.

I wish that the cemented tree in Session road be replaced with a true pine tree seedling that everyone would like to see as it grows through the years.

I wish that it will not rain and if it will, only the politicians with hidden agenda will get wet.

I wish to see Manny Villar, Gibo Teodoro, Noynoy Aquino, Dick Gordon, Erap Estrada and Eddie Villanueva wearing ONLY a BAHAG and nothing more on the street parade and whoever has the balls to do it will get a great future in Baguio and Cordillera .

I wish that no child below three feet regardless of age be a part of the street parade.

I wish that the budget for the fireworks display be divided into three and 1/3 of it be used as subsidiary fund for the indigenous who need immediate hospital care.

I wish to see no drunk policeman.

I wish to see more women police officers.

I wish that you join our Facebook group watwatworld forum.

I wish that the kubrador of jueteng will not be hard to find to ask for the result.

I wish that Globe, Smart and Suncell will provide a one day free load stations all over the city.

I wish that firetrucks will be deployed near the market and around the parks.

I wish that Burnham park will be properly lighted and guarded at night.

I wish that this 2010 Panagbenga festival will be the best festival ever.

I wish that visitors will go home with a big smile on their faces.

I wish that Bombo Radio will share this wish on air.

I wish that Facebookers will share this wish together with their wishes to all their friends who are lovers of

Baguio city and the Panagbenga Flower Festival.

I wish you will add your wish below….
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"MANDU IN BAGUIO - The Rise Of Crimes"

As an employee, every cent of our salary is important and every "investment" coming from that salary gives us a feeling of achievement no matter how small that investment is. In my case, I bought a digital camera early last year which I used almost everyday. We used it during the Christmas season, New year, reunions, gatherings, meetings etc. It contained almost a thousand pictures and videos. A collection that can never be replaced because my hard earned digital camera got lost inside an SLU bound Aurora Hill jeepney, last Friday.

On that day, I cannot believe how stupid I am not to notice that my digicam is being stolen. I partly blame the 5 boxes of yema I was delivering to my brother since both my hands were holding the boxes in front of my lap. For what I can remember, the person sitting beside me is thin and tall wearing a jacket with red color and has a big backpack bag in his lap. He is my primary suspect because he kept moving near me every time a passenger enters. My gulay! If you see me in person I am a big, fat man with long beard... a typical kontrabida in a movie but this did not scare the criminal.. alas!

My frustration reached my family and friends and they all have their own story to tell about the rising events of theft and robbery. I became aware that the Aurorahill, Trancoville and La Trinidad jeepneys are the favorite hang-outs of these criminals. They prey on unsuspecting students, elders and those with too much to carry. Accordingly, the criminals are already well known in the market area so they switched to running jeepneys. At a sari-sari store, my friend jokingly said "aga, anusam ta ubla da iman di" but I was quick to counter and said it is hard to point fingers because Baguio city, as I see it now, is populated more by lowlanders.

With the upcoming Baguio City Flower Festival, all residents, students, tourists etc should be warned and be on alert. This is a bountiful event for criminals.

Hint: ALLEGEDLY there is a mall located near the public market where stolen cellphones and tech gadgets are being sold directly by the criminals to passersby.
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January 15 Poll Survey: Yangot, Molintas, Olowan leading

After almost a month of vacation, watwatworld is back! Let me start my blog with the latest result of the online poll survey we are conducting. I have spoken to some politicians, lawyers, followers and supporters about the poll survey of watwatworld.com and just like in most cases, their opinions vary depending on how they are affected by the survey. Let me put it this way... if you gather 100 bright and intelligent lawyers in one room and ask their opinion on a certain legal issue, you will get 100 different opinions unless it is favorable to some. It is simply hard to please everybody.


Some traditional politicians and supporters dismiss online surveys as irrelevant and useless but they are dead wrong. There is a NEW sector of voters clustered on the freedom of technology. They are not as loudmouth as politicians or their supporters but they actively participate in the end results. One good example is the issue against the alleged MOA selling the Baguio Athletic Bowl to the Koreans. When journalist Pigeon Lobien made a post (article online) discussing the Athletic Bowl issue in Facebook, in less than a week, thousands of Baguio "onliners" commented and actively participated in forwarding the information to the Filipino people all over the world. And so with too much "online" pressure, the Baguio politicians who had something to do with the issue are now washing their hands. This "silent" online sector even helped in making a Senator in the last 2007 elections by the person of Sen. Trillanes.


However, relevant as it may be, this poll survey does not determine the end results. It will surely vary and differ on the day of the election. To give chance to the other candidates who are running behind the survey, watwatworld will end this current survey at by January 30 and a new poll survey will be created for February until March.


Watwatworld will also entertain political candidates who would like to be featured in the blog. Here, you can present your programs, ideas, and achievements. This will create your online presence faster and wider. Watwatworld has established its niche particularly Baguio City and the Cordillera Region with almost a thousand blog visitors per day. You can present yourself to a targeted audience. First come, first serve.


Below is the latest poll survey result as of January 15, 2010.





FOR MAYOR

1. Barcelo, Ruben Liwanag – “Ben” – INDEPENDENT
2. Busacay-Lazo, Erlinda Adan – “Erlinda Weir” – INDEPENDENT
3. Domogan, Mauricio Gambao – “Morris” – LAKAS-KAMPI CMD - 38%
4. Go, Marquez Ocampo – “Mark” – PWERSA NG MASANG PILIPINO (PMP) - 3%
5. Hernandez, Guillermo – “Willie” – INDEPENDENT
6. Labo, Ramon Lozano – “Jun” – INDEPENDENT - 1%
7. Mandapat, Julius Javier – “Butch” – INDEPENDENT
8. Molintas, Jose Mencio – “Joe” – LIBERAL PARTY (LP) - 56%
9. Puzon, Peter Dulay – “Terminator” – INDEPENDENT
10. Sembrano, Elaine Dominguez – “Kabsat” = INDEPENDENT - 1%

FOR VICE MAYOR

1. Domalsin, Carol Rosado – ” ” – LABAN NG DEMOKRATIKONG PILIPINO (LDP) - 16%
2. Farinas, Danilo Tesaluna – “Danny” – NACIONALISTA PARTY (NP) - 36%
3. Olowan, Faustino Atiwag – “Ulo” – LP & PHILIPPINE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST PARTY (PDSP) - 50%

FOR CONGRESSMAN

1. Avila, Edgar Mendoza – “Ed” – PMP - 1%
2. Balisong, Rocky Thomas Aseilan = “Rocky” – NP - 28%
3. Bautista, Reinaldo Jr. Asperin – “Peter Rey” – INDEPENDENT - 3%
4. Bello III, Dwight Nicolas Advincula – “Ike-Kimat” – INDEPENDENT
5. Quilala, Rabindranath Pablo – “Kabagis Abet” – PDP-LABAN
6. Ramos, Felipe Tribonaldo – “Felipe” – INDEPENDENT
7. Vergara, Bernardo Mangacang – “Bernie” – LAKAS-KAMPI - 9%
8. Yangot, Leandro Jr. Bagto – ” ” – LP - 57%
9. Yaranon, Baraulio Dacanay – “Raul” – LDP - 2%
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Yangot, Molintas, Olowan leads Baguio Poll Survey.

With more than a hundred respondents from the online generation and after 10 days of having this online poll survey. Here are the initial results as of December 20, 2009.



For President:

Noynoy Aquino: 42%

JC Delos Reyes: 1%

Erap Estrada: 10%

Nicanor Perlas: 1%

Gibo Teodoro: 39%

Eddie Villanueva: 4%

Manny Villar: 6%

Jamby Madrigal: 0%

Richard Gordon: 5%

In Baguio City, the election fever is felt as much as the Christmas season. Having hundreds of online readers and followers, WatWatWorld came with this initial poll survey result for Baguio City:

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Baguio City Poll Survey ( I )

Since the poll survey started four days ago, the survey is picking up and the votes are coming. Again, let me emphasize that this poll survey conducted by watwatworld is not conclusive to say that it is the end result of the Baguio 2010 local elections. The main idea is to see the preference of the "new generation of online voters" by simply clicking on their desired politician. This will also show that there are a lot of politically active and aware internet users.

Suffice to say that online activity is part of today's political area of battle. As you have seen, organizations, political groups, associations and volunteers groups are sprouting like beans in social networking sites such as Facebook, Friendster and Twitter. With this simple poll survey, we will see how many users are active in online voting.

The results below came from www.cordillerapolitics.blogspot.com - a secondary blog of www.watwatworld.com, it maybe early to release this initial result but we have to start somewhere. So here it goes:


For Baguio City Congressman:

Edgar Avila -18%

Rocky Balisong - 25%

Reinaldo Bautista - 14%

Bernardo Vergara - 7%

Leandro Yangot - 33%

For Baguio City Mayor:

Mauricio Domogan - 52%

Ramon Labo - 5%

Jose Molintas - 47%

For Baguio City Vice Mayor
Carol Domalsin - 1%

Danilo Farinas - 41%

Faustino Olowan - 58%

One thing that politicians should always remember, the old days of campaign strategies are slowly fading and sad to say only one practice will always remain and that is vote buying in any manner.

From the very first day I started blogging, I always addressed the voters as "the new generation of active and intelligent voters" and "the new generation of online voters". We can see this happening and we can give thanks to the advancement of technology where information, ideas, news etc is shared faster and wider than the regular newspaper. There are two major events where I could equate the my quotes above. First is the unexpected winning of Senator Trillanes. He had no money to campaign, no machinery to use, he was in a detention cell but the people voted or him. The are thinking intelligently for him and and acted on it and so he won. In fact, in the present Senate, I can say that Senator Trillanes is the only candidate who really won because of the people. Second is the ouster of former President Erap Estrada. It is admitted that the online generation made an impact by texting, blogging, posting in social networks etc. There was "meeting of the minds" online and soon it was spilled over to the streets. This is reality ladies and gentlemen. The old days and old ways are changing.


And so I say... watwatworld! watwatworld! watwatworld!
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The Baguio Garbage Problem ( political garbage )

Recently, I posted this question: Can we still consider Baguio City as the Summer Capital Of the Philippines despite the current garbage crisis? The post received a lot of replies and some of them are shown below. Indeed, the garbage problem skyrocketed and the city government is having a hard time fixing this problem. Also, the city mayor is having a hard time convincing the city councilors over a proposed solution and the latter having no definite alternative. People in our beloved city are suffering because of these politicians. Their undecisiveness costs our city its pride and glory as the country's foremost summer capital. Here are some of the comments:

"in terms of its cool climate, yes. but in terms of as the cleanest summer capital... no." - dzu

"Yes!But not that clean" - bernard

"yes,but if there are other places to choose from or more deserving and better thn baguio's conditon ryt now it's a no.." - emanon

"Baguio was declared as summer capital of the Philippines because of its colorful flowers, beautiful parks, mountain breeze, cleanliness (way back), etc. one can no longer feel the essence of residing on the “summer capital of the Philippines” if our place pictures wastes along the side roads and canals. We see trash bins everywhere; we just have to discipline ourselves." - arnz

"the new summer capital is Nueva vizcaya.. that's the billboard you see when you enter the province via the Bokod-Vizcaya road... Green trees, cool air... TOTOONG PINE TREE.. HINDI cemento.. aNYWAY, PATAPOS NA TERM NI bOYSCOUT MAYOR bAUTISTA, Bakit wala siyang will power to remove that Cement Pine tree up session road?" -paul elle

"i'm afraid to say this but i think we're at risk of losing that title..there's this one tv show i watch b4 and it was mention there that baguio is no longer considred as th summer capital to some..a survey was condcted and all the participant was askd where they want to spend ther vacation or would like to go, most of them answered boracay..only ... few answered baguio..and basing on the no. of tourist who visit the place, boracay's tourist is greater than baguio..so as the black eyed peas say, wat we gonna do with all that junk?" -emanon

"Garbage capital of the Philippines maybe. Lolz" - ble

"Nope Baguio don't seem to be the summer capital already due to over population and garbage....its hot there during summer also... I guess the next Summer capital would be the Town near my Hometown which is Barlig a lot of Pine trees and cool weather and fresh water...hehehehehe" -lance

"Let us continue to pray for wisdom be upon our gov't officials from the mayor to the brgy level to unite their minds to come up with a permanent solution concerning our garbage problem.Meanwhile,As citizens of Baguio,i believe we can be a solution to the garbage crisis if we seriously practice proper segregation and recycling or our own garbage.Let's declare and claim that Baguio is still the Summer Capital of the Philippines!..Matagotago tako am-in ay i-Baguio!" - weng

"me thinks, pine trees do not make a 'summer capital'. neither would garbage unmake a summer capital.
The better questions each one should ask him/herself is: Have i done my part planting or preserving the trees and the environment? Do i dispose off my garbage properly or just throw them anywhere? my 2 cents..". -brian

"brian ur definitely ryt, d problem s within us.we lack discipline..however, i disagree with ur statemnt dat grbage would not unmake a summer capital coz it does in my opinion..i thnk the core of the title summer capital is cleanliness which is one thing that we failed to maintain in baguio..hopefully we will gain it back in the near future... i'm hoping also that other places in cordillera or other part of the philippines which is still innocent about the effect of industrialization will not suffer the same consequences..by the way i'm not against industrializtion,jejejeje.." - emanon

"If Baguio is still cleaner than the rest I guess there is no choice, it will remain as summer capital- uray no awan ti danum ken public toilets." - mikhael

"i say,, Yes of course..i LOVE
Baguio...Baguio will never be baguio without garbage.. it has been a
long time issue we seldom talked about it before. also, garbagecomes in
so different ways like car plans,
ma...lversation of public funds, for official use also cars, amamok ni...
mayor, padlik ni councilor, uray ni major boating ken nisarhento, am
amok metlang ni judge, ken ni prosecutor, pulis ak!, dagakdayta naka
patakderan balay u, kuwak amin daggita, ibotos dak manen taagkurakut
ak,and so many more,, oh name it, its all up there.. to be objective? we
have to ask tousists who tour around philippine islands to compare if
baguio really is the summer capital...hehehe... camsur,palawan and
others are catching up. if they only have a cool weather,baguio will be
left behind....garbage i think is a universal fact, garbage management is up to us." - jester

"this is the kind of question we ask when we screw up in choosing our leaders hehehe i guess the voters share the blame.... but yes, it still is as the garbage crisis may still be over shadowed by the climate. Although, its another story if Sagada becomes a city..Baguio, watch out!" - chris

"in my opinion it would be better f baguio and tabuk and other f there r any will be the only city in cordillera..pls. don't push sgada to be a city..kaasi lng ti umili..ngumato lng ti cost of living and only those on the government will hve the advantage coz their salary will increase..and i don' think that we want those beautifl scenery in sagada ...b ruined..look at sm, i'm not sure but i think they r not paying tax to the city of baguio coz its a corporation..they're paying their tax to the main branch which i believe is quezon city.." - emanon

"i'd still like to believe that baguio is the summer capital of the phil. in reality though, the city has lost the charm its once had many years ago.the place is too polluted and overpopulated that most tourists would rather go somewhre else than baguio. it's sad but true." - maridon

These comments came from the citizens of Baguio. Fact is,we cannot deny that Baguio city indeed has a garbage problem. Our city politicians know the problem and yes there are some proposed solutions. The problem arises when vested interest comes in. It is alleged that even the proposed garbage solutions has some sort of "money making scheme" depending on who and how the garbage collection will be carried out.
At the end of the day, the Baguioans suffer.

Photo from Jackcarino.multiply.com

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Baguio City Today

There has been a heated debate in my Facebook post regarding my previous comment on Muslim Demographics in Baguio City. It was rational discussion at first then it became personal. Both parties have their points to ponder, valid arguments, but the the name calling came below the waist. It's good they ended the argument silently. Simply stating, the point on this recent post is simple. If you are a visitor in an old neighborhood, observe the rules, obey the law, respect the elders and originals. Blend in and live simple. Do not use force under the cloak of religious affiliation to get what you want.

On another issue, it seems that the garbage problem of Baguio City is growing to a large scale. A friend who just visited our city came back full of dismay. He said he has seen the worst of Baguio and would rather visit the Ilocos or Pangasinan region for summer. I, in defense of Baguio, tried my best to comfort him and told that by summer, it will be a different Baguio city. Wishful thinking.

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