Cariño: Induction of market to home officers and other things

LAST Wednesday at 2 to 4 p.m., officers of the newly organized Market to Home Delivery and Market Day Association held a press conference and, likewise, inducted their elected officers at the Grand Sierra Pines Hotel on Outlook Drive.

The association is an offshoot of the Market to Home endeavor under the leadership of Councilor Philian Weygan-Allan, first initiated and launched in March of this year to address the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) restrictions that were put in place on March 16 in Baguio. The project literally brought the market to the barangays and proved to be highly successful, so much so that barangays and market vendors both requested that it continue even after ECQ was lifted in May.

Thus, the formation of the above-named association and also to be able to officially register with City Hall and ease the market-to-home delivery service they render to the barangays. On a related vein, there is an ordinance under deliberation by the city council to institutionalize the service.

The officers were inducted by Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan and are as follows: President: Malou Sambrana, Vice President: Angie Gayados, Secretary: Arlene Emmon, Treasurer: Dyan Bayongasan, Auditor: Arlene Fernandez, Sergeant at Arms: Moana Eckwey and Edwin Liclican, and Press Relations Officer: Brenda Sudaypan.

Last June, this column first detailed this most admirable of projects and we repeat a section of that previous piece here. Big picture: the market-to-home system benefits not only the buyers from various barangays it services, but it also benefits the city by easing traffic and crowding in town, and by helping the social distancing protocol that has become necessary in this time of Covid-19. Also, the success of the endeavor brings to the fore the city governmentís current thrust for well-stocked, real satellite markets to be constructed in each barangay, or for a cluster of them.

We are confident that the association will proceed as they have always done so: with effective and efficient management that speaks of a well-disciplined city.

Speaking now of Youtube, that user-friendly video streaming site that contains a large number of the most interesting documentaries. There is so much biblical documentation on that site. I wandered into one via a link sent by my youngest sister Annette that had to do with Noah's ark. Which led to another about the Ark of the Covenant. Which led to another about Egyptian plagues. Hmmm.

Which led to one about the use of cocaine and nicotine in Ancient Egypt. I know, right? We think those are modern drugs (call a drug a drug already). It turns out that the research works of prominent scientists, mainly Svetla Balabanova, Ph.D. and Michelle Lascot, Ph.D., indicate that those drugs were already used in Ancient Egypt. Check out the documentary on Youtube. Itís called The Mystery of the Cocaine Mummies.

Reminds us all that we only delude ourselves into thinking that this is the best or worst that the world has been. Keep safe one and all!