Cariño: Baguio Connections 47

LAST WEEK, words of wisdom from The Baguio We Want Forum, courtesy of Mita Dimalanta. This week, the rant we all want to make, so pithily put by writer, artist, activist, and old friend Luchie Maranan. She titles this piece “Sky's the Limit.”

“It seems like the monolith of a mall up there on the hill can get anything done, and get away with it.”

“Like leveling a hill and turning hundreds of trees into memories despite popular protest; drilling and digging and fouling up the streets until the air we breathe is normal stench (!); building an amusement park that annoys more than amuses an increasing number of sectors in the city -- especially schools on the park peripheries – because noise pollution is the least of the mall’s concerns; causing massive traffic, but who cares, they got it all for you; getting the city mayor’s enthusiastic nod and applause in the name of tourism and development; ignoring the clamor for public consultation and hearing and 5,000 signatories to a petition given to the Mayor and City Council for the park’s closure; and the list goes on.”

“It did get away with snubbing a hearing scheduled by the City Council last November 26 to thresh out legal procedures and related concerns about its latest addition to its commercial complex. Citing ‘conflict of schedules,’ the mall’s management is now invoking an Environment Compliance Certificate issued to them almost two decades ago by the Environment and Management Bureau. See, are the concerned agencies just going to scratch their heads when the giant is defying even time and relevance and social acceptability?! When queried why Goliath is immune to all these legal requirements and procedures, Mr. Mayor logically added to his perennial ‘I cannot do anything’ that ‘It is within a private property... and complied with all the requirements...” (Sunstar, October 28, 2018).

“So, yes, we are fuming and furious, ranting and raving, but well, how can they go wrong when the city’s Chief Executive has officially declared that 'we welcome the upcoming completion of SM City Baguio’s Sky Ranch project because it will definitely provide added attraction, especially for the children who enjoys amusement and recreation facilities. We will definitely support the project to the fullest because it will surely do good for our city.’ ” (Baguio Herald Express, July 3, 2018)

“This corporate giant and its unstoppable expansion has gotten the seal of approval of the city’s leading tourist promodizer. The focus of all this ruckus, the Sky Ranch, is just one additional fixture marring our skyline and sensibility. The citizenry lamenting and countering this urban blight blanketing the city are seen as party poopers and whiners, who have no appreciation for a bustling and robust tourism industry. Why can’t we applaud this? ‘...partnership with international and local amusement ride operators ... home to a mix of family, kiddie and thrill rides...set within verdant surroundings in a 5,500 square meter land...’” (Baguio Herald Express, Nov 21, 2018)

“Corporate press releases extol their contribution to local entertainment. And why not? The screams of hundreds of patrons equate to daily profit. Not a few local residents and out-of-towners are dazzled by these come-ons of commercialism and the indiscriminate destruction of the city’s remaining green patches. Rue to us whose voices cannot compete when money talks and local elections loom.”

“If the mayor is definitely and extremely ecstatic about this new spectacle, we will definitely remember that there are city ordinances and sections in the Environmental Code that were violated – as to public consultation, noise pollution affecting schools and residential areas, and cutting of trees. We definitely know that the local government’s priority is high impact tourism, instead of a sustainable one that upholds the wellbeing of the local population. It’s about time to put an end to this kind of leadership, if you call it such. Hope springs eternal for those who envision and unceasingly act for our city’s recovery from wanton degradation by corporate greed. It’s way past time to work with leaders who will be on the side of the people’s true interests and the nurturance of the little that is left of Baguio City’s environment.

"The sky’s not the limit of our patience.”

It’s truly not, and we thank dear Luchie for putting it so eloquently.

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