A determined athlete, young Yulo at 24 years old, has proven to the world that a Pilipino standing 4’11” in height is not a hindrance to achieving one’s goals.

Guided, mentored and supported by no less than lady PH Gymnastic President Cynthia Carreon, he trained in Japan under the tutelage of a Japanese Olympic coach in his early formative years.

After winning the two gold medals, he came home to the warm welcome of a jubilant and proud nation. He was accompanied by his Pilipina – Australian girlfriend Chloe San Jose. In his preparation for the Paris Olympic games, she stood firmly in discipline for an athlete preparing to showcase mastery moves in gymnastics.

Despite second-thought acceptance of her relations from Carlos’ mother, Chloe San Jose lovingly and silently held on behind him in support to his mental and emotional physical preparation for the 2024 world sports stage.

Despite the negative motherly agitation and perturbation on financial misunderstanding in social media, Carlos lost his hard earned money yet survived and won two gold medals for himself and country.

Like most families of RP Olympians, not one of Carlos’ family accompanied him to Paris for reasons on their own. Or perhaps due to financial constraints and the stress of securing travel visa to France and Europe. Ms. San Jose along with few others was there.

This brought to fore the emergence of Pilipino uneducated talents in family relations counseling in social media (sic).

Daily, thousands painted Carlos as a bad son to his mother who seems to have stolen the center stage and public attention by accepting interviews in press conferences to reveal family dirty linens.

Other so-called experts in family reconciliation surfaced to degrade the kind of person Carlos is in their own views. They continue to insist and tell the Olympic champ on how to mend his relations with the estranged mother. Some bravely scold and bashed him with threats of karma in his future life.

As an athlete, can he withstand the negative audience coming from his own countrymen? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

As a budding young man, can he survive negative signals coming from his own blood, once connected in umbilical cord? Que sera sera.

However, as a disciplined athlete he came out in face book extending a warm message sincerely revealing his forgiving mind and heart towards his mother.

Nonetheless, there are sound suggestions from fellow citizens for mother and son to settle their disagreements privately within the confines of the family and seek oneness.

Whomsoever is right or in the wrong, the better counsel I read is to keep dirty linens from public scrutiny. There are thousands of “Marites”, near and far, lurking around and salivating to feast on anyone.

In our world, there are prodigal sons as well as prodigal mothers. The best message so far come from our Beloved Mama Mary relayed in the holy mountains of Lourdes in France. Simply stated:

“The family that prays together stays together.”

The post Two-gold Olympic medalist appeared first on North Luzon Monitor.

I had my doubts this would ever happen.  But thanks, and kudos to the determination and energetic thrust of these Benguet farmers. They have erased such doubts, and I can now be delisted from the company of “Doubting Thomas”.

More than half a century ago in La Trinidad, the defunct Mountain Province Development Authority (MPDA) introduced the idea of producing silk as an added source of income for Benguet farmers.

With such an ambitious project study, MPDA agricultural technicians planted tubers of mulberry trees in an elevated farmland, converted into a nursery, in sitio Tabangaen, Bgy. Balili in La Trinidad.

The location was the former site of an experiment station for silkworm farming by Japanese farmers during their occupation in the World War 2 years.

However, the MPDA was abolished and disgustingly failed to produce the end project of silk.

Silkworm farming is tedious and needs care and extra attention. But Kapangan farmers has taken the challenge with the encouragement of open markets in Japan and South Korea.

They started the project by planting mulberry trees in the 1990s at the initiative of Mayor Leon. Its success was featured in 2004 with the display of silk products during a special occasion in La Trinidad.

It is sad to note that there are no financially established local markets to support the farmers. It is simply due to its extra fine and high quality, the Benguet silk, which is unbroken at kilometric length commands prices beyond the reach of local business establishments and traders.

Nonetheless, a handful of haberdashers in town with artistic designs have come up with Igorot fabric using looms and needles.

Perhaps fashion shows of elegant gowns and men’s outfits can help open wider markets for Benguet silk.

How is silk produced?

Silkworm eggs hatched in mulberry trees, after which, the larvae voraciously nibble on its leaves. As fattened adults, they secrete fine silk filaments around themselves into protective cocoons.

These cocoons which are hardened with a certain amount of gummy protein called sericin are then harvested on a certain number of days.

They are soaked in hot water to loosen the filaments for easy unwinding and wound into reels. It is said that for better quality, the filaments are further washed and dried at specific temperatures.

Processing the Kapangan, Benguet silk is done in La Trinidad. Hopefully in time, Kapangan will earn the title as producer of the finest silk fabric in the Philippines.

The post Kapangan Silk On Export appeared first on North Luzon Monitor.

We are not experts in the areas of foreign affairs nor military strategies to give a fair commentary on the hot daily news involving Chinese coast guards and Pilipino fishermen, and the harassment of supply ships enroute to that tiny island claimed by us.

Offhand, let us first delve on who are Filipinos today. We read someplace that a good percentage of Chinese blood runs in the veins of every citizen of our country.

Even indigenous peoples today have warm Chinese blood because of inter-marriages. We have the called “Chimoys”, the offsprings of Chinese residents married to lowland Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Moslems, Visayans and others.

We also must accept the fact that a great number of businesses that propels the Pilipino economy are owned by Chinese Filipino citizens. These enterprises pay substantial amounts in local permits and fees to local government units, and revenues and taxes to the national government.

And these businesses generate employment opportunities for millions.

We also have Chinese Filipino citizens occupying government positions: either appointive or elected by the people. We see them in town halls, provinces, Congress and other branches of government. And most are diligently performing well in those positions.

However, sometimes the question to which country do they pledge, or direct loyalties is something else.

Recall or find time to have conversations with a Chinese Pilipino and find out that, for them, there is nothing good about the Pilipino character trait nor daily practices in life. Anything Chinese is the best in the world.

Let us recall the observation of a national sportswriter who witnessed a basketball game between a visiting Chinese team playing the national RP five.  The coliseum was full of Chimoys and locals with the former cheering loudly whenever the visiting team scored a goal!

How about a Chinese blogger who claims that her country has invaded and conquered most cities around the world. She mentioned of “China Towns” and restaurants that are well patronized by citizens of host countries. We need not mention of “Dollar Stores” in first world countries and sidewalk vendor tents that sell cheap China products.

Let us look back to history. Philippine leaders today assert our claim to the Spratly islands can be traced to centuries even before Magellan said he discovered the Philippine Islands. China, on the other hand, makes the same claim that dynasties of centuries back has mapped the vast space of what is now called “China Sea” in world maps.

It was the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who issued Martial Law Presidential Decree No. 1596 that included several islands in the Spratlys as part of Philippine territory.

He named the biggest island “Pag-asa” and populated it with 200 civilians and a battalion of members of the Armed Forces. A 1.3-kilometer runway and a seaport were also constructed. With these developments, Marcos’s knowledge on international law of the seas made the claim valid on the theory of “occupation is ownership”.

It all started in 1956 when a certain Tomas Coloma from Batangas who was in the fishing business wondered to the west with some 40 of his fishermen looking for good fishing waters.

In stormy weather, they found shelter on one of the bigger islands, and Coloma decided to proclaim and declare to the world his find as: “The Free Territory of Freedomland”.

The island is some 380 kilometers from the shores of Palawan Island. It is not safely accessible during the monsoon season.

In 1974, Coloma who also wrote for the Manila Bulletin and better known as “Admiral” by his drinking buddies at the National Press Club was a brag on owning an island.

For “Usurpation of Authority” he was imprisoned in Camp Crame. The “Admiral” was released several months later after he executed a “Deed of Assignment and Waiver of Rights” to the Philippine government.

Be that as it may, Filipinos are fearful war may break out with mighty China. The Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States is a comforting deed but as feared, US military forces may respond in aid too late.

My cousin, the Benguet cowboy in La Trinidad, points out China ruling communist party does not care of Chinese blood running in Pilipino veins. It simply wants to expand its territory beyond her borders with: Russia, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines and other ASEAN countries.

The Benguet cowboy adds: China needs the West Philippine Sea to access merchant and military navigation.

The post Philippines – China rift appeared first on North Luzon Monitor.

It is where aborigines of most parts of the Cordillera mountainous region point to as the roots of their ancestors. Ibaloi, Kankanai, Kalanguya, Tuali, Ayangan and other mountain tribes all plot their respective lineage to this tiny village.

Ahin still exists where a few families survive in simple living. Ilocanos would pronounce the place as “Asin” but there is no source of salt in those parts.

The amenities of modern society are in limited imagination. Yet Tinoc, the town proper, was opened to vehicular traffic some two and a half decades back via Buguias in Benguet; and until recently, from the ancient town of Kiangan connecting her to the lowlands of Nueva Vizcaya in the Cagayan valley.

Ask the elderly tribesmen of Benguet and they all point to Tinoc as their roots. So, with the Ifugaos on the eastern side of the town.

It is said that the initial migrants into Benguet hiked across the 9,000-foot mountain of Pulag and down to the village of Amlimay in Buguias.  From here some went south to Kabayan and spread in central and southern Benguet. Others took to the north in the vicinity of Mount Data.

Curious of the route of migration, this writer in 1968 walked to Amlimay from Buguias población where old folks confirmed the movements of their ancestors from Ahin, Tinoc. The Second visit was in 1970 when the road connecting Buguias and Kabayan was constructed at the initiative of then Rep. Andres Cosalan and Governor Ben Palispis. The third was with Governor Nestor Fongwan in 2019 where wide farmlands were noticeable and planted with vegetables.

It is ironic that while Ahin in Tinoc exists, there is never an instance where descendants take pilgrimage to the place, not even out of curiosity how this tiny village has populated far flung communities.

Nonetheless, Ahin in Tinoc is forever mentioned during family and clan reunions among Benguet tribes. Thanks to Alex Haley who in 1976 came out with his novel “Roots” that has inspired clans to hold reunions and trace their own genealogical roots.

     ( “Roots: The Saga of an American Family”. The book caught the attention of millions of readers worldwide as he narrated the story of an African sold into slavery and brought to North America.

     (Novelist Haley wrote of the horrors of slavery which is universally known today.  In the hellish lives of slavery, a mother traced her roots to a village in west Africa. She repeatedly mentioned the names of her grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters to her descendants on the slave farm in Virginia. She demanded of her offsprings and their descendants to memorize the names of ancestors and do the same to theirs. As a result, surviving family lineage in the later part of the past century, from then on, can trace their roots to that village called Gambia in West Africa.)

In the Cordillera mountain ranges, the saga of black slavery as detailed by Haley is brushed aside as the tribal practice of a form of slavery was abandoned and forgotten.  His book, however, has magnanimously influenced families to seek near and distant blood relatives into clan reunions.

The post Tracing Tribal Roots appeared first on North Luzon Monitor.

The Hollywood movie “Lilies of the Field” in 1963 would have won a Famas award for picturesque scenery if it was filmed in the cool mountainsides and valleys of Benguet province.

Its leading actor, Sidney Poitier, would have done the  best of his best  in the field of Benguet lilies. Although, his performance in the company of religious nuns (lilies) captivated him to the circle of stardom.

Flowers, such as lilies, brighten atmospheres in garden farms and in every household. They bring forth delight in the lives of everyone.

Enter a house and the beautiful sight and aroma of flowers would welcome one and all to a home. Give it to the feminine hands of the lady of the house who by nature can arrange beauty in a bouquet of flowers with a Benguet Lily at the center towering among them.

The Benguet Lily is a standout as it is getting rare and is on its way to extinction.

Almost a century ago when the “Mountain Trail” was short of improvements as to what  Halsema Highway is today, those mountains were decorated with thousand dots of Benguet Lilies shooting up in various colors.

As development comes into play, the beauty of the omnipotent’s creations  see destruction slowly but surely in the hands of humanity.

In 1969 two years after Benguet was separated as a province in the Cordillera, her officials in the Provincial Board debated over which flower to adopt that would symbolize her people. Two ornaments top various suggestions from inhabitants in the 13 towns. These are: the Benguet Lily and Everlasting.

Those elder officials were not horticulturists but were wisened and educated, in their own rights, with keen observation of human nature. They overwhelmingly voted “Everlasting” as the official flower of the province to amplify the Benguet Lily.

Perhaps in their minds, the Benguet Lily will be gone someday with development for convenience being inevitable to satisfy human needs and pleasure.

“Everlasting” flower it is then.

This ornamental of golden yellow petals typifies the symbol of the Benguet Lily being  the everlasting character of the Ibaloi and Kankanai tribes of the province. Fair in complexion, humble, shy, meek, curious, peaceful, sturdy farmers of rice and veggies, and in recent decades flowers. Add their untiring industry as miners of precious metals foremost gold for its everlasting yellow.

The Benguet Lily is not propagated like Calla Lilies that thrives well in the vegetable water canals of La Trinidad valley. They grow well in undisturbed and lusty forests in the cool temperature of Benguet mountains.

In the native tongue, it can be named as “us-usdong”, “pasoysoy”, luplupak” or “kanyon” of the spanish-based cannon-tube in the Ilocano dialect.

They come in various colors: white as symbol of purity, innocence, tranquility and humility; red for love, ardor and affection; pink representing wealth, youth, vigor and joy; and orange stranding for happiness and warmth.

With the diminishing covers of Benguet virgin forests, the Benguet Lily as a flower will surely become extinct in the future. Unless, efforts are initiated to protect its existence.

Same is true with Benguet indigenous tribes whose indigenous culture and traditions are slowly being adulterated by the influence of migration into their lands.Unlike the Benguet Lily, her community leaders and the young generations are awakened to save their own and survive.

The post The Benguet Lily & People appeared first on North Luzon Monitor.

It started years ago with a not so spacious hut built with materials purchased or generously donated by native residents in the suburbs and from the neighboring Benguet towns. Yet it was comfortable enough as a venue for discussion and planning sessions.

Initial gatherings in attendance were the elderly great grandsons and granddaughters of past generations. They continue to look after its interest in decisions that are unquestionable by the young.
Allocated by the city government, it stands as a monument to the original peaceful indigenous native settlers who preserved these mountains in their pristine natural God-given beauty. They are the Ibalois.

The compound today holds bigger huts and buildings with a concrete stage for use during festivals and events.

Presently under construction is a modern structure that would provide conference rooms, library that would showcase the tribes’ history, culture and traditions. It will include available pictures of the land, lifestyles of past to the present generations, and a listing of ancestral tribal chieftains.

There are interesting whispers hoping that it should accommodate academic thesis and manuscripts on anthropology and genealogy written by younger generations. This would add credit or pose challenges on documents cataloged by foreign colonizers and religious missionaries in the past centuries.

The month of February was chosen as Ibaloi month where exclusive native festivals are daily / monthly scheduled. It starts with a parade along the main thoroughfare Session Road winding down to the Burnham Park grounds. The sounds of Benguet solibaos and gongs reverberate in the air as various towns present their unique Ibaloi sub-tribe performances.

The thousands in attendance brighten the festivities in colorful Benguet costumes.

Women dressed in either multi-colored bright colors or striped dirty whites, depending on their hierarchical status in Benguet society.

A good number of men come in traditional G-strings with cowboy boots and tall stetson hats. They cover their upper torsos in sports coats sent by relatives from abroad or purchased in wag-wag stores. Although sports coats of Cordillera woven cloth have become a fad and worn in local functions.

Food is served free at every gathering. Prepared in the traditional manner: chunks of animal meat of pork or beef, boiled plain with salt to taste and chopped into bite size; vegetables, sweet potatoes and rice. Voluntary and generous contributions are made to defray expenses. Unspent funds are forwarded for succeeding events.

Through the years, the “Park” has become more meaningful to everyone with Ibaloi blood running in their veins. It is a sacred place to trace blood relationships through clan reunions. Every now and then, family clans hold reunions that increase in numbers on the succeeding dates.

At this juncture, may I personally acknowledge the academic efforts of a distant niece who spends time researching and putting into writing the genealogy of Benguet clans. I refer to Mareijoe Tiotioen Dulnuan of Pico, La Trinidad. There are other scholars who interact with her with the sole interest in consolidating the indigenous Ibaloi tribe.

Upon her arrangement, I traced my ancestral roots (on my mother’s side) in the AVOCAY clan. At the park in February 2023, I met near and distant relatives with whom I made friends.

The post The Ibaloi Section of Burnham Park appeared first on North Luzon Monitor.

To every Cordilleran, especially those in the elementary grades and high school years, it is an adventure to face and compete with other compatriots from other regions and make friends.

Added is the opportunity to travel to other places in the country, this time via the vast spans of the sea and experience a boat ride. And with luck, the possibility of a sight of adorable friendly dolphins alongside.

As we write this piece, the competitions at the Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Assn. (CARAA) in Apayao province has ended. Baguio City, once more, maintained her victorious dominance by winning the most numbers of medals in gold, silver and bronze.

The superiority of Baguio City pupils and students could be attributed to the availability of sports facilities and equipment. It is given with the higher budget allocated to the school board out of her multi-billion-peso income.

Tabuk, a city within Kalinga province, came poorly in the 7th place beating only Mt. Province which performed the weakest among the eight provinces and cities in the region.

Surprisingly, Apayao came in second as overall champion for the third time edging Benguet in the past years. CARAA games were suspended, by the way, for years 2020, 2021, and 2022 due to the prevalence of the fearful COVID epidemic.

What could be the secret of Apayao, a back-water province in North Luzon, coming in strongly over the other delegations? Local budgets of the province and towns are limited considering. She is classified as third class LGU in terms of economic development with a measly income ranging between P240 to P395 millions. The selection of athletes is also limited to a small figure out of a 124,000 population.

Could it be the determination of local public school officials and coaches to select the train athletic potentials from their school populations? Could it be enriched diets in training and during competition periods? Could it be the support and encouragement of her elective officials?

We have noted pictures on Facebook of the governor, congressman and town officials sending off the enthusiastic young boys and girls to the competition arena. Who knows, perhaps, bonuses in terms of cash allowances were offered as incentives to those who won medals. We have seen no fotos from other delegations.

A retired public-school coach and a friend told us that training with the proper equipment and diet are the key to sports development. By its mandate, the education department must provide these basic needs.

But truth be told, such are wanting. In most instances, coaches are ill prepared to demonstrate correct training methods. Training periods are very limited to an average of two weeks. Personal sports gear is of poor quality. Uniforms and shoes are normally given only as the athletes embark to meet their worthy opponents.

Dear readers may recall years ago of the barefoot girl from Tinoc, Ifugao who runs long distance tracks. She championed the CARAA but did not fare well only to lose the gold a few feet behind in the Palarong Pambansa.

If only she had been provided with the proper running shoes during training and in competition, who knows, our mountain region might have had a national athlete representing the country on the world stage.

The post Aspirations in Sports appeared first on North Luzon Monitor.

City old timers consider the trek as an invasion of their homely lackluster lifestyle. It is a time when traffic is at stand still, prices of commodities including restaurant menus sour high, city services strained and seem wanting, parks get crowded and filtered with garbage by undisciplined local tourists.

To local newsmen and women,  it as an opportune time and source for various news items be it in human interests, crime, accidents, visits of celebrities, etc.

It is also the time when the “Lucky Summer Visitor” to the city is picked by a select committee of the Baguio Correspondents & Broadcasters Club (BCBC). It is the first activity of the media club after the annual election of new officers a few weeks back.

What is the BCBC and who are its members? It is an organization of working print and broadcast journalists in the city and the Cordillera Region. It was organized sixty years ago as Baguio Correspondents Club (BCC) sans broadcasters, “as an outfit that would support them in the exercise of their profession in the so-called fourth estate”.

The prime mover was Tito Carballo of the defunct Evening News who was also elected president. Organizing members were Vina Masadao, Ben Andaya and Nars Padilla of the Manila Chronicle, Francisco Tanglao and Augustus Saboy of the Philippine News Service, Carballo and Geronimo Evangelista Sr. of the Evening News, Gem Mamuyac of the Manila Times, Atty. Lucio Dixon of the Mountaineer, and Hilarion Pawid of the Baguio Midland Courier. Atty. Gabriel Pawid Keith of the Manila Bulletin and Baguio Midland Courier together with Nick Angel of the Philippines Herald joined the club a year later.

For years, the BCC met Friday nights with special guests in round-table discussions on issues affecting the city and the old Mountain Province, now Cordillera Region. This was held at the Session Café, a popular hub of local and visiting newspapermen, businessmen and politicians all.

The venue was later moved to a radio station along Harrison Road. Vic Agcaoili, the station manager, had the idea of airing live those discussions for the benefit of radio listeners. The one-hour session was then dubbed: “What Now Baguio?”

The weekly program drew crowds from various sectors of the community including government officials who, when time permitted, raised their own questions and opinions. Scheduling guests and discussants became a concern as national officials including cabinet members requesting time to dwell on raging national and local issues.

Fast forward, towards the end of the 1960s, talented young writers increased the roster to a little more than 30. With veteran broadcasters Manny Salenga, manager of a newly opened radio station DZYB, and manager Eddie Ferrer of DZWT, it was time to amend the BCC papers to include broadcasters.

Thus, the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club (BCBC) was baptized. This writer who was then writing for the Philippines Herald became the sixth elected president after Carballo, Tanglao, Andaya, Angel, Evangelista.

In 1971, the declaration of Martial Law spoiled the freedom of journalists to write and express their respective views on issues of concern in the country.

Newspapers, TV and radio stations were shut down. It followed that fresh and independent talents did not find journalism a strong calling in the field of muzzled and suppressed media. Yet in Baguio, a second generation of local newshounds took over the helm of the club holding high traditional work ethics and the towering standards of journalism.

Despite the dark clouds of Martial Law hovering in the country, the crusade for press freedom was silent and hidden in the heart of every true blooded BCBC member.

In 60 years, BCBC members demonstrated their liberal stance in pursuing their profession. Calm and responsible, they have contributed their respective pieces as members of the fourth estate to what the city and now the Cordillera Region is today.

Like any organization, it is not free from weakness which lies around member recruitment. The BCBC is not emancipated from shenanigans with the entry of bogus media practitioners. They are the kind that give a bad name to the noble profession of journalism. Editors and veteran journalists worth their salt could easily detect articles in the ACDC (attack collect defend collect) category.

“It is as it is” as the saying goes.

The post The BCBC History appeared first on North Luzon Monitor.

This opportunity will be published by the newly arranged website dubbed as the Northern Luzon Monitor, hence watch out for her inaugural publication early this July.

I wrote my last article years ago in a Baguio Daily Newspaper which folded during the Covid season. Yet continued to comment on items of general interest to our flock of reader n Facebook.

As a newspaperman by profession, quitting is never an option. We stop punching the keys of our typewriter and computer bards only when we fall off the wagon on the way to the setting sun.

By then surviving the newshounds honor us by writing articles announcing our “30.” It means we have been called for final judgement by no other than the Good Lord Jesus.

So, with this initial piece, we joyfully greet our readers.

Welcome to all

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