UPON being informed that the main guest speaker at BARP Assembly meeting on January 27 (last Saturday), 2018 was the honorable City Mayor of Baguio, I felt as though I received just an ordinary info. No excited expectancy of what was going to be said by the person invited to speak arose. I thought I had come to know enough of the thoughts, language, delivery in prose or chants of the present Baguio Mayor from hearing him in various forums through the years. Although as mentor in logic class at old Baguio Tech, that is now UB, I then sensed that he showed himself intellectually and attitudinally much different from his classmates, I did not expect to hear something movingly new, much less socially spectacular.
But I was fortunately mistaken. For, after hearing him and observing the reactions of his audience, I came to a strong conclusion. In Iloko, I at that moment would have said to myself, “Kasta latta pay gayam daytoy nga tao, agdomdomog kadagiti kakailiana, ngem isu met ti tañgadenda.” (Such still is this man, his head is bowed to his community mates but they in turn look up to him (for guidance). The lessons that fluently emitted from his mouth captivated his audience composed mainly of elderly BARP members many of whom were teachers in the academe once upon a time. Why? Because of welcome lessons he was imparting that sunk themselves to remembrance in people ravaged by time.
For one of relatively advanced age, the reminder-admonition from his vernacular, here put in English, “You are still active teachers of your youg progenies (“aappo”) starting in your own families, and so behave as such. Example is a strong way of teaching, ... what would it look to your grandchildren if they see their olds coming home consistently tipsy (by overdose of San Miguel),” he was addressing himself more to Cordillera old men. He did not resort to euphemism in verbally whipping people who intentionally permitted or made themselves or others to become “duldog” (senseless humans) by illegal drug. And then leaving the negative and going more positive, he equivalently emphasized that “you might have become physically weakened by age but you in your accumulated wisdom and experience make you still a strong force in creating a strong nation.”
The reminder surely entered like a revitalizing vitamin into the consciousness of adults of past middle age who had to concentrate all attentiveness in order to descend safely down the staircases from the Upper Bokawkan Road level to the BARP auditorium found at the lower portions of the BARP Building.
Incidentally, it is far this reason, hazardous descent senior citizens, that the BFI and the BMPC boards led by President/CEO Balanag are inviting interested parties to partner with BARP to install soonest the designed big elevator. The BARP Center, Balanag pleadingly reminds, is “owned by the BARP Foundation and the BARP Multi-Purpose Cooperative jointly but it is to service all of mankind who are destined to reach their golden years. All BARPians know that, and that they are mandated by their BARP motto “To serve as we had served.”
BARP co-member, for the moment program speaker, Mayor Mauricio “Morris” Domogan, punctuated his encouraging message by announcing and handing some amount for, shall we say “flowing coffee” in coming assembly meetings? Yeah, why not, even for a start of a practice? Do not people come from far and near, many of them at wee hours of the morning before their pots are willingly heated future beneficiaries? Thank you, Apo Domogan, people still look up to you. Confidently at that! God’s blessing be upon us all!