We are at the point of no return – in the next few weeks, the court will hear the arguments on whether SM Investments Corporation, a.k.a. SM Prime Holdings, a.k.a. SM Supermalls, or more commonly known to the community as SM City Baguio, should be allowed to do as they please with Luneta Hill – the historic promontory at the top of historic Session Road that served as the birthplace of this historic city.
And before the year ends, his decision will determine the direction that the erstwhile Summer Capital, once the City of Pines, in the past considered as one of the most beautiful hill stations in Asia – Baguio City, will take.
One takes us on a path of sustainability, a future Baguio that values the importance of living in harmony with our natural environment, a community that cares not only for its present but also treasures its past and more importantly, unselfishly considers the kind of home it will pass on to its children.
The other takes us all downhill towards a soul-less concrete jungle, a community that sees nature not as a nurturing mother but as an obstacle to more money, a Baguio where greed and selfishness reign, the final nail on the coffin of the city’s pioneers’ vision of a beautiful city.
On one end of the bar is a battery of high profile lawyers from the Solicitor General’s office and two of the most prominent law offices in the land. They are backed by two of the country’s most powerful influences – the government and an unimaginable amount of money courtesy of the country’s richest man.
On the other end are a handful of people’s lawyers, among the few who are still principled enough to be in the profession not to enrich themselves but to fight for what is right, representing a group of people who believe that Baguio’s natural beauty, dignity, history, way of life, its source of life, are all worth fighting for.
Ask yourself, which will really be more beneficial to the people of Baguio – the building of an enormous concrete structure, or the preservation of whatever remains of the city’s natural environment? Will Baguio really suffer and the quality of life in this highland city deteriorate if SM City Baguio is not allowed to go on with its expansion plan? Or is the opposite true?
Will we truly be happier and have a better life, with less trees and a bigger SM City Baguio?
SM does not only plan to build on Luneta Hill, looking at their plan, the expansion will almost completely obliterate it, and all that it stood for, and most of what naturally stood on it, from the face of Baguio.
Are we really ready lose Luneta Hill, forever?
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Taking stock (part 2 of 2)
What do we want and how far do we go to get what we want? The thousands of people who marched, expressed their opposition to the expansion plan, including those who held vigils along Gov. Pack Road and those who stood by the sidelines silently supporting the movement, have different agendas, motivations for doing so. And as sure as we alter the composition of the whole universe with every breath we take, whatever we do, we must think about its impact beyond the 182 trees.
I personally will not go as far as wanting Henry Sy’s empire to crumble for I know how many families depend on the employment opportunities that SM offers to survive at all. And I know how it is to be hungry, I struggle for my family not to be every single day. I do advocate the boycott of SM’s businesses and I know that this will never cause the total downfall of one of the country’s richest corporations, but I do hope that it impacts them substantially enough for them to listen to the sentiments of the communities where they operate.
Others will point out SM’s well-known unfair labor and business practices, contractualization included, as enough reason to bring SM down. I myself am aware of these, and in fact have been a victim somehow, but this is not a reason to want to close down SM. Instead, it is reason enough to fight for the rights of SM’s employees and suppliers.
And I am also not inclined to join the call to oppose any kind of expansion at all. While I do believe that SM should, at some point, be satisfied with cornering a huge part of the local consumer market and the amount of money they are earning because and at the expense of the Baguio community, they can endeavor to enhance their business in Baguio so long as they do not compromise the welfare of the community and the environment.
Porta Vaga has added restaurants on their rooftop, and with the imposing roof they’ve placed over their parking lot, has turned the parking facility into a multi-purpose hall for concerts and other events – these were expansion efforts. The owners of Sunshine Supermarket have built a multi-storey hotel in their property – this was an expansion project. Tiong San Harrison has added floors to their original building – this too was an expansion project, so was the extra floor added to La Azotea for Kidlat Tahimik’s VOCAS project.
There are ways to do their expansion project that would spare the trees, Baguio’s heritage as the City of Pines and indeed without endangering lives and property within their immediate vicinity. If there’s a will, a heart and a conscience, there are so many ways to do this.
Baguio is a special place, a city that existed primarily because of its natural beauty . Baguio is Baguio not because of what was built here, but because of what we have left untouched throughout its more than 100-year history.
Dismissing the 182 trees as mere obstacles to progress and economic growth, and allowing SM, and indeed Camp Joh Hay Dev. Corp., Goshen Land, SLU, BSU, et al to earthball, cut or kill their way to build more concrete boxes to earn more money sets a dangerous precedent. It tells all others that our pine trees are mere obstacles, instead of an essential part of our heritage, our life, our being.
And that is why I am here.
I personally will not go as far as wanting Henry Sy’s empire to crumble for I know how many families depend on the employment opportunities that SM offers to survive at all. And I know how it is to be hungry, I struggle for my family not to be every single day. I do advocate the boycott of SM’s businesses and I know that this will never cause the total downfall of one of the country’s richest corporations, but I do hope that it impacts them substantially enough for them to listen to the sentiments of the communities where they operate.
Others will point out SM’s well-known unfair labor and business practices, contractualization included, as enough reason to bring SM down. I myself am aware of these, and in fact have been a victim somehow, but this is not a reason to want to close down SM. Instead, it is reason enough to fight for the rights of SM’s employees and suppliers.
And I am also not inclined to join the call to oppose any kind of expansion at all. While I do believe that SM should, at some point, be satisfied with cornering a huge part of the local consumer market and the amount of money they are earning because and at the expense of the Baguio community, they can endeavor to enhance their business in Baguio so long as they do not compromise the welfare of the community and the environment.
Porta Vaga has added restaurants on their rooftop, and with the imposing roof they’ve placed over their parking lot, has turned the parking facility into a multi-purpose hall for concerts and other events – these were expansion efforts. The owners of Sunshine Supermarket have built a multi-storey hotel in their property – this was an expansion project. Tiong San Harrison has added floors to their original building – this too was an expansion project, so was the extra floor added to La Azotea for Kidlat Tahimik’s VOCAS project.
There are ways to do their expansion project that would spare the trees, Baguio’s heritage as the City of Pines and indeed without endangering lives and property within their immediate vicinity. If there’s a will, a heart and a conscience, there are so many ways to do this.
Baguio is a special place, a city that existed primarily because of its natural beauty . Baguio is Baguio not because of what was built here, but because of what we have left untouched throughout its more than 100-year history.
Dismissing the 182 trees as mere obstacles to progress and economic growth, and allowing SM, and indeed Camp Joh Hay Dev. Corp., Goshen Land, SLU, BSU, et al to earthball, cut or kill their way to build more concrete boxes to earn more money sets a dangerous precedent. It tells all others that our pine trees are mere obstacles, instead of an essential part of our heritage, our life, our being.
And that is why I am here.
*My column in the June 17, 2012 issue of Cordillera Today
Monday, June 11, 2012
Taking stock (Part 1 of 2)
A netizen once commented on my stand to boycott SM everywhere for their wanton disregard for Luneta Hill’s historical significance, the heritage of Baguio and the potential environmental impact of earthballing and with it the probable death of 182 trees – “and if you’re successful and it results in the closure of at least one mall, how do you live with the fact that you caused thousands to lose their livelihood?”
One, even if it becomes 10 times more successful than it is now, I don’t believe it would be enough to close down SM, or at least SM City Baguio. But it would definitely make a dent in their bottomline – and since it’s the only language these corporate entities seem to understand, they might just be able to acquire a bit of conscience and re-think their plan to ravage a whole hill simply to enable them to buy more luxurious cars, bigger yachts and mansions in even better locations.
Am I anti-SM? As far as the trees on Luneta Hill, and what they represent is concerned, yes I am. Do I hate SM? Not exactly, but I am angered by the fact that nearly one-third of the 182 trees have already been given death sentences, if not already dead.
I have taken advantage of the way SM has contributed to redefining life in Baguio in recent years – I may not totally agree with it, but the fact is thousands of us have ditched Baguio’s beautiful open spaces as a primary recreational destination for the family for the concrete box up the hill, and whenever presented with the opportunity to communicate to those thousands, I, together with the artists I collaborate with in our group, Open Space, grabbed that opportunity to tell stories that we believed must be told. A lot of these thousands would otherwise never have given theater the time of day.
A moratorium on logging, which is effectively a total log ban, is currently being enforced preventing the harvesting and transportation of lumber all over the country, according to a friend in the construction business. She added this has resulted in much higher prices for lumber (another friend informed me that the price of ¼” thick plywood that we used to buy at P250 now sells for up to P400), slowing down the construction industry, even causing the cancellation of certain construction projects. It doesn’t take a college degree for anyone to surmise that this will, if it hasn’t had, result in loss of jobs for a lot of construction workers. Never mind the lost business opportunities for rich contractors, they have enough to hedge the effects for quite a while.
This, according to her, was the national government’s response to the Luneta Hill issue so as not to make the Sys feel that their SM is being singled out.
Am I for a total log ban? Not exactly. Can we live without wood products? I don’t think so. From the toothpick at the table to the roll of toilet paper in the bathroom, from the pencil your child uses in school to the door that we close at night to keep the family safe – they’re made of wood. Wood comes from trees.
I am for responsible logging – “prohibit logging operations of any kind in any forest, timber land, forest reserve or watershed” as Senator Loren Legarda proposed in Senate Bill 73. I hope she can add historical and heritage sites to the list. Lumber must be sourced from trees that were specifically planted for this purpose. Responsible logging can even help add to our total tree canopy instead of take away from it for loggers can actually “farm” trees on previously barren lands.
Another comment from a fellow protester also caused me to stop and think: “we are not only for the trees, we are anti-expansion altogether – even if SM decides to re-design the expansion to allow the trees to live and stay where they are, we shouldn’t allow it.”
(to be concluded)
One, even if it becomes 10 times more successful than it is now, I don’t believe it would be enough to close down SM, or at least SM City Baguio. But it would definitely make a dent in their bottomline – and since it’s the only language these corporate entities seem to understand, they might just be able to acquire a bit of conscience and re-think their plan to ravage a whole hill simply to enable them to buy more luxurious cars, bigger yachts and mansions in even better locations.
Am I anti-SM? As far as the trees on Luneta Hill, and what they represent is concerned, yes I am. Do I hate SM? Not exactly, but I am angered by the fact that nearly one-third of the 182 trees have already been given death sentences, if not already dead.
I have taken advantage of the way SM has contributed to redefining life in Baguio in recent years – I may not totally agree with it, but the fact is thousands of us have ditched Baguio’s beautiful open spaces as a primary recreational destination for the family for the concrete box up the hill, and whenever presented with the opportunity to communicate to those thousands, I, together with the artists I collaborate with in our group, Open Space, grabbed that opportunity to tell stories that we believed must be told. A lot of these thousands would otherwise never have given theater the time of day.
A moratorium on logging, which is effectively a total log ban, is currently being enforced preventing the harvesting and transportation of lumber all over the country, according to a friend in the construction business. She added this has resulted in much higher prices for lumber (another friend informed me that the price of ¼” thick plywood that we used to buy at P250 now sells for up to P400), slowing down the construction industry, even causing the cancellation of certain construction projects. It doesn’t take a college degree for anyone to surmise that this will, if it hasn’t had, result in loss of jobs for a lot of construction workers. Never mind the lost business opportunities for rich contractors, they have enough to hedge the effects for quite a while.
This, according to her, was the national government’s response to the Luneta Hill issue so as not to make the Sys feel that their SM is being singled out.
Am I for a total log ban? Not exactly. Can we live without wood products? I don’t think so. From the toothpick at the table to the roll of toilet paper in the bathroom, from the pencil your child uses in school to the door that we close at night to keep the family safe – they’re made of wood. Wood comes from trees.
I am for responsible logging – “prohibit logging operations of any kind in any forest, timber land, forest reserve or watershed” as Senator Loren Legarda proposed in Senate Bill 73. I hope she can add historical and heritage sites to the list. Lumber must be sourced from trees that were specifically planted for this purpose. Responsible logging can even help add to our total tree canopy instead of take away from it for loggers can actually “farm” trees on previously barren lands.
Another comment from a fellow protester also caused me to stop and think: “we are not only for the trees, we are anti-expansion altogether – even if SM decides to re-design the expansion to allow the trees to live and stay where they are, we shouldn’t allow it.”
(to be concluded)
*My column in the June 11 issue of Cordillera Today
Saturday, June 2, 2012
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…
My column in the June 3, 2012 issue of Cordillera Today
…in Baguio. For me, at least. The beginning of the rainy season. The downpours won’t be as harsh as they would be later this year – in August or September or October when our dates on stage or planned morning walks get postponed or canceled due to typhoons.
At this time, days usually begin with a calming sunrise. It’s cool that you want to stay a little bit longer under the covers, yet the soft warmth of the sun makes you want to seize the day. I usually do, with a steaming mug of Benguet brew. If only I didn’t smoke cigarettes, everything would be almost perfect.
By midday the light segues into a muted grey as fog slowly crawls in from the surrounding mountains gently blanketing a tired city. If you’re outside, walking, you feel the gentle mist on your face. That never fails to bring a smile on my face.
From indoors, you would catch yourself looking out the window, at first consciously watching, marveling at the magnificent sight of the skies coming down to kiss the earth. Then you get lost in the haze, you get lost in daydreams, in images of the past, in promises that tomorrow’s sunrise holds. And when the fog makes its exit, you are reminded of the present – where you are, right here right now.
…in Baguio. For me, at least. The beginning of the rainy season. The downpours won’t be as harsh as they would be later this year – in August or September or October when our dates on stage or planned morning walks get postponed or canceled due to typhoons.
At this time, days usually begin with a calming sunrise. It’s cool that you want to stay a little bit longer under the covers, yet the soft warmth of the sun makes you want to seize the day. I usually do, with a steaming mug of Benguet brew. If only I didn’t smoke cigarettes, everything would be almost perfect.
By midday the light segues into a muted grey as fog slowly crawls in from the surrounding mountains gently blanketing a tired city. If you’re outside, walking, you feel the gentle mist on your face. That never fails to bring a smile on my face.
From indoors, you would catch yourself looking out the window, at first consciously watching, marveling at the magnificent sight of the skies coming down to kiss the earth. Then you get lost in the haze, you get lost in daydreams, in images of the past, in promises that tomorrow’s sunrise holds. And when the fog makes its exit, you are reminded of the present – where you are, right here right now.
And then the rains make their entrance, at times too gentle to even notice, at times too intense to ignore. The trees soak it up, a little wind and they begin to dance. You can almost feel the flowers make a face as they meet the shower with open petals.
Water flows down the hillsides, down the streets, giving the city a much needed cleansing ritual. The rains will do that for the next half of the year, to clear away as much of the debris of the past six months as possible.
At this time of the year, Baguio is reclaimed by its people from its visitors, lovers, returning sons and daughters and friends. The sidewalks, as crowded as they have been lately, is not as suffocating. There’s enough elbow room to wave hello and nod a smile to an acquaintance you’re sure to encounter wherever you may be.
At this time of the year, Baguio is the perfect venue to open an art exhibit; a play; an intimate musical performance, an open mic – all good enough reasons to get together with kindred souls, think up ideas for a new painting, story, song or poem, or for a few bottles of tapeuy or a seemingly never-ending jam with djembes and gongs.
At times the rain goes on until long after the sun has set. Other times it stops sooner, soon enough for the fog to make another entrance. And however harsh the world has been to you, in Baguio, during the rainy season, you know everything’s going to be ok.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and I heave a sigh of relief that I’m spending it not anywhere else but here in Baguio - home.
Water flows down the hillsides, down the streets, giving the city a much needed cleansing ritual. The rains will do that for the next half of the year, to clear away as much of the debris of the past six months as possible.
At this time of the year, Baguio is reclaimed by its people from its visitors, lovers, returning sons and daughters and friends. The sidewalks, as crowded as they have been lately, is not as suffocating. There’s enough elbow room to wave hello and nod a smile to an acquaintance you’re sure to encounter wherever you may be.
At this time of the year, Baguio is the perfect venue to open an art exhibit; a play; an intimate musical performance, an open mic – all good enough reasons to get together with kindred souls, think up ideas for a new painting, story, song or poem, or for a few bottles of tapeuy or a seemingly never-ending jam with djembes and gongs.
At times the rain goes on until long after the sun has set. Other times it stops sooner, soon enough for the fog to make another entrance. And however harsh the world has been to you, in Baguio, during the rainy season, you know everything’s going to be ok.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and I heave a sigh of relief that I’m spending it not anywhere else but here in Baguio - home.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
People on foot do not pollute: revisiting an old new concept
My column in the May 27, 2012 issue of Cordillera Today
These days, bring up the idea of pedestrianization and your get violent reactions from various sectors – mostly revolving around revenues that could be lost or unfairly gained by others. The closed, or at least narrow-minded business people along Session Road oppose they believe it would result in significant revenue cuts for them. Other concerned citizens, particularly those who are protesting SM’s expansion plan believe that closing Session Road to vehicular traffic would direct people more to the monstrosity up the hill, and that traffic jams that the Central Business District’s closure might even help justify the mall’s plan to build a parking lot at the expense of 182 trees.
First, let us be reminded that pedestrianization doesn’t necessarily mean the complete closure of the road to motorists. There are so many things we can do to make Session Road more pedestrian-friendly without totally banning cars from passing the road. Our leaders must realize that roads are not only for wheeled contraptions – they are also there to accommodate people on foot.
In the last months, Baguio saw millions and millions being spent for road repairs all over the city for the benefit of motorists. While there nothing wrong with this, except of course when the repairs are done not to improve roads that are in good condition but to feed the pockets of corrupt politicians and contractors, but we hardly see any effort coming from our public works officials to improve the conditions of our sidewalks for the benefit of the walking public. In fact, in Baguio, the government policies when it comes to public roads seem to always benefit those who already have more in life.
Take the closure of the two major pedestrian lanes along Session Road – for whose benefit was this done? The motorists – private motorists mainly as jeeps are banned from using Session Road. This was done to the disadvantage of pedestrians who now have to walk the extra hundreds of meters to get to the other side of the road. The whole bottom part of the road, from Mabini down to People’s Park, is now without a pedestrian lane. The huge crowds that gather at the Mabini intersection to cross the road have made it a convenient excuse for the adventurous to jaywalk, while criminal elements such as pickpockets and snatchers have been given the perfect situation to perpetuate their crimes.
Meanwhile, hardly anything’s done to clear the sidewalks of obstructions, further endangering the public who are at times forced to walk on the road.
And if we do completely ban motor vehicles along Session Road, I don’t really believe that this will result in significant loses for the businesses located there. Turning the road into a beautiful, wide landscaped promenade would encourage people to linger in the area, and it’s people who patronize their businesses, not cars.
And a beautiful, healthful Session Road, if turned into some kind of a public park would make it a top tourist and local community attraction, so I don’t think it will drive people to the mall on Luneta Hill. On the contrary, it might even drive them out of it as this would make Session Road a community of home-grown businesses (with a sprinkling of a few franchises) that would complement each other’s operation instead of what it is now – individual establishments competing against, let’s face it - the convenience that a mall offers.
I’m sure there are even more brilliant ideas out there on how to go about re-inventing Session Road, and we hope that our the businesses along the famed thoroughfare would at least be open-minded about it and explore the possibility before immediately closing the doors on something that could be beneficial not just to them, but to the whole Baguio community.
Session Road is choking to death, it's time to let her breathe - and people on foot do not pollute, unlike carbon spewing cars. Unless they litter (as one netizen commented when I posted the thought on Facebook)... but that's for another column.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Stop the killings
Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto wants the funding for the country’s tourism ads in CNN pulled out because of a feature the news network aired that portrayed the practice of “pagpag,” or scavenged left-over chicken that are washed, re-cooked and resold. His argument sounded too familiar: since the country poured in a good amount of precious dollars for the airing of “it’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign, CNN should have returned the favor by featuring only flattering stories about the country.
Sotto doesn’t even realize it, but his position on the issue has put to the fore the corruption that prevails even in what a lot of us still consider as the last frontier in the country’s struggle to finally start walking the “daang matuwid” talk of PNoy. He must have forgotten that media has the responsibility to tell stories worth telling, and to tell it the way it is, advertising clients notwithstanding.
I’d like to see how the Philippine media would treat this issue, for I can’t help but be reminded of how not a few of them kept the protest movement to save the 182 trees on Luneta Hill out of prime time and the front pages for some time and the most logical reason for the apparent news blackout was SM’s advertising money. Which begs the question, is it justified when a media outlet kills a story to protect its bottomline?
This is very dangerous, for the message that Sotto is sending to the people is this - public trust be damned, as long as the money keeps rolling in. All the Sys, the Sm’s, Cojuancos, the Luisitas, the Coronas, and yes, even the Ampatuans need to do is pour some money in the form of advertising contracts into the industry to keep their personas untarnished in the public eye. In the meantime, we, the people, will be kept in the dark, or at best shown only a part of a whole picture, and we end up with an uninformed citizenry.
Democracy? Nah. That’s a conjugal dictatorship of the elite and the supposed Fourth Estate.
While on the subject of murder, the recent Luneta Hill related features in several national papers, particularly in the country’s acknowledged leading broadsheet, seem to be an attempt to shift the focus away from the real issue, which is plain as day: is the killing of 182 trees for the benefit of a single corporate entity that’s already enjoying a lion’s share of the consumer market justified? There was Ramon Tulfo, who cast a doubt on Bishop Carlito Cenzon’s intentions, by postulating that the bishop’s opposition to SM’s expansion plan is all about money for the local diocese owns a mall just a stone’s throw away from SM. What’s this, they’ve given up debating the issue on its merits and have resorted to character assassination. Then there’s Conrado Banal, who headlined his column thus: “Store Wars: Attack of the Clowns,” effectively dismissing the whole protest movement as nothing but an orchestrated attack perpetrated by SM’s business competitors.
As far as I know, Michael Bengwayan, the initiator of the protest movement; nor Attorneys Cheryl Daytec and Chris Donaal, lead counsels of the protesters; nor local artists Bubut Olarte, Bumbo Villanueva and Ethan Andrew Ventura; nor the youthful Richard Dean Basa and Karminn Yangot do not own a mall, nor any other business ventures that’s in direct competition with SM.
I know for sure that I don’t. Pray tell, Mr. Banal, how do I explain to my own children, who have had to sacrifice a lot because of lost opportunities in our collective struggle (yes, they are actually complainants in the case filed against SM, DENR and DPWH) to save those 182 trees that you have called them, and all the rest of us who are protesting against SM City Baguio's expansion plan as clowns with malicious intentions? My children, who can sit in front of you and defend their principled stand, and tell you about what’s wrong about killing those precious trees for more money, and educate you about the importance of respecting and protecting the environment, how wrong it is to be greedy, and how we, as human beings, must live our life in harmony with our natural environment and not against it.
While you, who have no real knowledge of the culture, history and heritage of this city and these mountain people you so viciously dismissed as clowns; you, who have never experienced having your home buried in mud and garbage in a landslide; you, who do not live your life with the pine trees, the mountains and rolling hills, the healthful climate, the cool, invigorating air of Baguio, have the audacity to judge the citizens of this city, as few as a lot of your kind claim we are, who found it in their hearts to go against a very powerful corporate monster to defend their environment, heritage, history... dignity... their life? You have no idea.
Preventing relevant stories to be told. Character assassinations. The death of a free press not by censorship but by corruption. The mass murder of 182 trees.
Stop the killings!
Sotto doesn’t even realize it, but his position on the issue has put to the fore the corruption that prevails even in what a lot of us still consider as the last frontier in the country’s struggle to finally start walking the “daang matuwid” talk of PNoy. He must have forgotten that media has the responsibility to tell stories worth telling, and to tell it the way it is, advertising clients notwithstanding.
I’d like to see how the Philippine media would treat this issue, for I can’t help but be reminded of how not a few of them kept the protest movement to save the 182 trees on Luneta Hill out of prime time and the front pages for some time and the most logical reason for the apparent news blackout was SM’s advertising money. Which begs the question, is it justified when a media outlet kills a story to protect its bottomline?
This is very dangerous, for the message that Sotto is sending to the people is this - public trust be damned, as long as the money keeps rolling in. All the Sys, the Sm’s, Cojuancos, the Luisitas, the Coronas, and yes, even the Ampatuans need to do is pour some money in the form of advertising contracts into the industry to keep their personas untarnished in the public eye. In the meantime, we, the people, will be kept in the dark, or at best shown only a part of a whole picture, and we end up with an uninformed citizenry.
Democracy? Nah. That’s a conjugal dictatorship of the elite and the supposed Fourth Estate.
~~~
While on the subject of murder, the recent Luneta Hill related features in several national papers, particularly in the country’s acknowledged leading broadsheet, seem to be an attempt to shift the focus away from the real issue, which is plain as day: is the killing of 182 trees for the benefit of a single corporate entity that’s already enjoying a lion’s share of the consumer market justified? There was Ramon Tulfo, who cast a doubt on Bishop Carlito Cenzon’s intentions, by postulating that the bishop’s opposition to SM’s expansion plan is all about money for the local diocese owns a mall just a stone’s throw away from SM. What’s this, they’ve given up debating the issue on its merits and have resorted to character assassination. Then there’s Conrado Banal, who headlined his column thus: “Store Wars: Attack of the Clowns,” effectively dismissing the whole protest movement as nothing but an orchestrated attack perpetrated by SM’s business competitors.
As far as I know, Michael Bengwayan, the initiator of the protest movement; nor Attorneys Cheryl Daytec and Chris Donaal, lead counsels of the protesters; nor local artists Bubut Olarte, Bumbo Villanueva and Ethan Andrew Ventura; nor the youthful Richard Dean Basa and Karminn Yangot do not own a mall, nor any other business ventures that’s in direct competition with SM.
I know for sure that I don’t. Pray tell, Mr. Banal, how do I explain to my own children, who have had to sacrifice a lot because of lost opportunities in our collective struggle (yes, they are actually complainants in the case filed against SM, DENR and DPWH) to save those 182 trees that you have called them, and all the rest of us who are protesting against SM City Baguio's expansion plan as clowns with malicious intentions? My children, who can sit in front of you and defend their principled stand, and tell you about what’s wrong about killing those precious trees for more money, and educate you about the importance of respecting and protecting the environment, how wrong it is to be greedy, and how we, as human beings, must live our life in harmony with our natural environment and not against it.
While you, who have no real knowledge of the culture, history and heritage of this city and these mountain people you so viciously dismissed as clowns; you, who have never experienced having your home buried in mud and garbage in a landslide; you, who do not live your life with the pine trees, the mountains and rolling hills, the healthful climate, the cool, invigorating air of Baguio, have the audacity to judge the citizens of this city, as few as a lot of your kind claim we are, who found it in their hearts to go against a very powerful corporate monster to defend their environment, heritage, history... dignity... their life? You have no idea.
Preventing relevant stories to be told. Character assassinations. The death of a free press not by censorship but by corruption. The mass murder of 182 trees.
Stop the killings!
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