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Wednesday, July 26, 2006
School kids, mentors, media join tree planting in Busol
By Kelly MC Gurk and Daphnie Bata/UB Interns
DOZENS of pupils and teachers treated the rain as "God’s blessing" as they joined the Baguio media in their annual commemoration activity to plant trees at the Busol watershed in memory of the victims of the 1990 killer temblor and to honor their colleagues who joined the great newsroom in the sky.
Sunday’s tree-planting was more memorable as one of those honoured was Willy Cacdac, one of Baguio?s media icons, who conceptualized the annual event and to make the Busol watershed an open classroom for Baguio kids on care for the environment. Cacdac, 62, reported to the Supreme Editor on July 12.
The media icons, who conceptualized the activity, believe that a tree symbolizes life and unity, owing it to the concerted efforts of people from all walks of life that made Baguio get back on its feet after the July 16, 1990 earthquake.
Each tree was also planted in memory of other media practitioners who passed away recently and to their friends Johnny Muller Jr., Brenda Palispis, Linda Zafra-Hernandez, Lulay Abellera-Hamada and Geralda Macli-ing-Hamada.
Selected pupils from the Rizal, Roxas and San Vicente Elementary Schools shared the accounts of rescuers, who raced against time in trying to save people - dear or alive - from the rubbles of collapsed buildings during the killer quake.
To dispel boredom due to the inclement weather, veteran newsman and Eco-walk coordinator Ramon Dacawi said "it is better to memorialize those who go by the living memories," as he cracked jokes that transpired after the quake.
Dacawi shared how he and Cacdac met Elmer Monroe, a blind sweepstakes ticket vendor, who made the rounds selling tickets like it was business as usual, when the whole city was mourning after the earthquake. When Monroe sold out his tickets, he told Dacawi and Cacdac that he wanted to buy a camera and become a photographer.
"During the earth quake, a wall fell on me and cracked my head so if you want to have a good memory like mine, crack your heads too!" said veteran editor Cecile Afable, who put emphasis on positivism and the value of seeing the beauty in rising up from travesty.
Mayor Braulio Yaranon; rescue leader Rafael Valencia of the Baguio-Benguet Public Information and Civic Action Group; and Dr. Manuel Quirino, head of the Baguio General Hospital Stop Death Program; also shared testimonies for school kids to have a glimpse of the tragedy that made Baguio a strong city.
With each seedling planted that morning, a priceless life that has passed, was eternally memorialized with life in turn.
(July 26, 2006 issue)
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