Baguio-Sagada-Cordillera Travels

Thursday, October 5, 2017

What a Teacher Can do to a Kid?

This is a testimony of one of those pupils who were taught to READ by Miss Deg-awan.

According to this man, it was 1991 when he went to Antadao Elementary School. And Miss Luisa Deg-awan patiently taught him to read. What he could not do for one year under the guidance of her former teacher at the school where he came from, he achieved it in one week at AES. All because a great teacher named Miss Deg-awan motivated him that he could read and challenged him to work harder to learn to read.

That’s simple, right? Wrong!

What makes his testimony interesting for me to listen to and taught of sharing here was before he transferred to Antadao, Sagada to study, he attended primary school here at San Vicente Elementary School, Baguio city(BCNHS- ANNEX).

At the end of school year at San Vicente Elementary School, he couldn’t read at all. Interestingly, their teacher was not lazy, in fact, she was very diligent in trying to teach her pupils to be able to read.

What is the DIFFERENCE?

His former teacher was, according to him, a “TERROR.” The word is how we kids in the past describe a teacher who were uncaring. I don’t know if there is a modernized and more technical term for a terror teacher today,

During times she teach them to read, she bangs their heads in the blackboard and called them “Tabbed” (Dumb) and even told them they were hopeless .

The story came about when we were talking about forgetfulness. During the exchanges, he said his forgetfulness came back. As a kid, he said he could easily forget things that is why their teacher was so angry when he could not remember the words her teacher just read for him to repeat.

He said, the teacher would read the few words she wrote on the blackboard and he will repeat after her. But whenever she would let him repeat reading the words alone, he already forgotten what was it which often prompted the teacher to get angry and all of a sudden hit his head on the blackboard.

However, when he went to Sagada he said his memory became sharp under the guidance of Miss Deg-awan.

But now, at the age of 30+ he sometimes forgets things easily, and he believes, that because he often fall and sometimes hit his head first on the ground. In addition to it, it must have been aggravated by his former teacher’s banging his head on the blackboard.

I joked he go home to Sagada, he might recover his sharp memory again.

Anyway, the point of this story is what a teacher CAN DO to a kid.

There are a lot of teachers there teaching for the sake of having a source of food, and only few are teaching for the passion of teaching.

And I believe, DepEd must make it a requirement for each aspiring teacher to get a supposedly “Dumb” kid and bring out the best of him as requirement for getting a license to teach. True, a teacher can be the topnotch of an examination to become a teacher but it doesn’t mean he or she is passionate about teaching. I know, because whenever we were asked why are you taking this course? Because it is the most employable profession. Remember nursing course in the 80s and 90s?

By the way, who were pupils or students of Miss Deg-awan during her time as teacher. Maybe, unknowingly, you owe her why you could read. It is not because you are intelligent.

Maybe it is high time to say thank you to her. Because if it is not through her talent in teaching you were found to be dumb like what happened to this friend of mine.

Teachers’ day was just celebrated a few days ago, but for great teachers I love to say “Happy Teachers’ day every day.”

May you be blessed with more patience to teach because under your wings this world’s future is determined by the potentials you brought out of the kids you taught. Stories like this made me believe the saying “Teaching is the noblest profession.”

Lastly: I will not divulge the name of the terror teacher. According to my friend she retired long ago and don’t know if she is still alive or not.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Why it’s more fun for kids to grow up in Sagada?

Kids playing the gongs

I believe every kid loves growing up free from the hassles of city life. I wish all kids in the world can enjoy life with freedom like these kids in Namsong, Sagada, Philippines.

I attended a wedding of my wife’s cousin in Namsong, Sagada last July 08, 2017 and I was much amazed by the happiness and pleasure the people celebrated the event.

Kids sitting around waiting for the gong players to beat the gongs.

We arrived in Namsong at around 12 noon, and while we were still half kilometer away, we could hear the beats of the gongs playing – and it seems there was no letups – as soon as one round of music was finished another round was played immediately. We were guessing, they were trying to take advantage of the absence of the rain because anytime rain might be pouring.

Along the way to the place of celebration, we met children and parents carrying foods, either to bring it home or find a good place to eat. Well, it signals lunch was already being distributed.

When we arrived at the place, dancing was going on, and we could see the delight in the people’s faces enjoying their food while watching the performers.

Rice, meat, pansit(Rice noodles), was the main menu. And what makes it extra unique is that the foods were placed in the bark of cut banana trunks. It reminded me of my childhood days when banana trunks were used as plates. It was the “king of plates” during weddings and all kinds of celebrations where people were invited to eat.

I can't remember when was the last time I ate in a bark of banana trunk as plate - I was about 10 yrs old I guess.

And as I was watching, I noticed how the kids were part of the celebration. No wonder the gongs don’t stop singing because every time the adults put down the gong the kids(ages 7-12 years old) immediately pick it up and start beating it – and they play very good, too, like the adults.

I can’t help but say, “Wow, it’s really fun being a kid growing up in Sagada!” In the background of those playing the gongs, small children are enjoying the music: some were trying to dance and some were just running around freely without being restrained, and the others just watching with curiosity. And this went on till late at night. I left around 11pm at night to get my rest and the kids are still around enjoying themselves. According to my mother-in-law, the children were the major gong players until past midnight before the young men took over.


The elders sit near the couple. Listening to anyone who would like to say a story of which everyone, specially, the couple can get lessons or wisdom.

The young people watching the players and dancers and try to be part of the group once in a while

I thought to myself, how much I had missed as a kid!

I grew up in the province, but I haven’t gone to wedding celebrations like this one where you can learn the gongs and traditional dance of the Igorot.

It is this kind of experience that made the people of Sagada vocal in sharing their Ideas and always active during traditional weddings. They start as kids.

In the city of Baguio, it is seldom to see very lively wedding celebrations. The lively ones are those with the gongs being played. Without it, or once it’s stopped, expect the celebration to be dry or just like as if there is no wedding going. I told one of my friends, if there is no traditional gong music and dances, it is much better to just do it in front of a mayor and eat at the restaurant.

Anyway, to see what I am talking about watch the video, below:

Saturday, July 22, 2017

So, What's Up In Sagada?

For almost eight months now, I have been in and out of Sagada. From these trips, I am amazed to see how much the place have changed, and still fast changing. In fact, a month you don’t visit will make you wonder if you’re visiting the same place you visited the last time.

Last March, the road widening at the entrance to the poblacion was just finished. Also, a road from Ambasing to “Alab”( I am not sure of the name of the place) is now in its last stages to complete. Before these roads, the farm to market road were also constructed from Atey to Demang near the Episcopalian Church. But the fastest that’s changing the makeup of the place are the residential houses cropping up like giant mushrooms. Anywhere you look, beginning at the entrance to Sagada, once you passed by Tetep-an, you will notice houses being constructed in almost every corner.

Well, Sagada is now booming because of its flourishing tourism. Unlike decades ago, when mostly foreigners are the clients to guide, local tourists quadrupled or increased 1000% according to the local guides I know. That’s very good for the tourist guides because their earnings also increased, and it’s very good for the businessmen because they can price their products higher which they call “Tourists’ price” and believe me it is even higher than the price found in the City of Baguio. And – whether you’re from Sagada or not – you pay the “Tourist price.”

The Problem of booming tourism

While tourism is giving instant jobs to the locals, the farmers are losing due to lack of manpower to help them in their farms.

(Note: when I say farm, I mean lands planted with vegetables, not planted with rice like in the lowlands. Although, there are few farm lands specially designated form rice.)

One of the gardeners I spoke with complained that it is very disappointing to plant vegetables nowadays because you can’t find young able men to help carry the harvest to the road accessible for loading. All the men young and some middle age men choose to work as guides because they get a better pay without working hard. In fact, my brother - in-law who used to cultivate vegetables left his garden to work as guide. Now his garden is covered with thick different kind of grasses.

Another problem, is you can’t find enough carpenters if you want to build a home or building.

So, the people of Sagada are forced hire people from the lowlands: carpenters, masons, including house helpers, and farmland helpers.

When I learned many people being hired as helpers are coming from the lowlands, I exclaimed "Wo, Sagada is the next destination for OFWs!"

What makes Sagada attractive to the lowlanders is that the salary is higher than the national standard. From what I heard, here are the salaries of people working in the different field of work: In the construction area, the salary for helpers is ranging from Php300 to Php400. Rough Carpenters Php500. Skilled Carpenters and mason Php700.

And mind you, this is with free lunch and free supper. And sometimes even breakfast is free. Not only that, expect free alcohol in the afternoon after work.

And, unless you are an engineer, a lawyer, or well high educated, one will not worry about the next job because there are lots of menial jobs where help is needed.

The road entrance in Atey just after Lemon Pie House

Atey road going to Demang. Turn to the left because the right is only about 50 meters long and it's a dead end - unless you want to see the present vice Governor. According to the people, the fund used to this road was from the "Farm to market road" project of former President GMA

Middle Continuation of the road

A little further to the left is the end of the road. Anglican Church at the background

Other source of income
Aside from tourism, Sagada is also booming in their weaving of different kinds of export quality bags, and other kinds of weaved products such as coin purse, wall decors, etc.

At the nearby places, like Namsong, Balugang(Bugang),
Suyo, and the others are still cultivating gardens, planting sugar cane, and coffee trees.

Of course, since the booming of visitors, hotels have been going up, but even home residences are being rented to tourists the hotels cannot accommodate. This is one of the ingenuity of the Igorot people, they always make sure that they have more rooms to be used for visiting friends and relatives rather than having a spacious living room with no room for visitors. Now, those extra rooms are a source of extra income.

And, an Igorot is not complete without Pigs. Although, again, these days people tending pigs are becoming scarce. If parents have works, they sometimes don’t have time to have extra work at home like feeding domesticated animals. The kids, mm, when a person finished college and the course taken was not in the field of agriculture, don’t expect that person to takeover dirty chores.

Monday, July 10, 2017

Baguio City: Remembering July 16, 1990 Earthquake

Figure 1 Damaged structures with the Baguio Cathedral at the background. Image taken from http://www.cityofpines.com/baguioquake/quake.html.

It’s just a few days and July 16 is here. Why this date is very important? Because it’s the day when a killer earthquake devastated our place Baguio city. I was still in college at that time. The memory of it is coming back to my mind each time the month of July is near until this date is finished. I had no intention to write down about the day, but when yesterday a 6.6 quake happened in Leyte, some of the pictures in the television are just like the pictures I saw in the TVs in 1990.

However, it was not the destroyed buildings that’s always coming back into my memory but the fearful sound that accompanied the quake and the different reactions of people I saw during the disaster stuck in my mind.

1) It rained then the ground shook. I was at Dangwa Bus station when the first quake happened. I went there to see if I could find a friend but there was none. It was sunny but it rained for maybe about 10-15 minutes. When the rain stopped, and, since I didn’t find even one familiar face, I started to walk to go home when felt as if I was losing my balance. I stood still and knew it was earthquake. The world was really swaying. I thought and guessed the magnitude must be around number 8 comparing it to previous quakes I experienced which was at magnitude 4.2 – 5 in the Richter scale.

2) The Hilltop Hotel collapsed. I casually walked to the Rabbit Bus Station along Magsaysay avenue where the jeepneys traveling to La Trinidad were parking. I was sitting at the front and waiting for other passengers to fill up the backside of the jeep when one young lady came in and sat next to me. As soon as she settled she started talking and telling about her recent experience and what she saw happened when the quake struck – I sensed worry and fear in her voice.

Figure 2 Baguio Public Market with collapsed Hilltop Hotel at the background. Image taken from http://www.cityofpines.com/baguioquake/quake.html.

She said she saw the Hilltop Hotel collapsed downwards and said people might have died. I said we will know it by the following day or in the evening news. She was telling me about she was buying a tray of egg in front of the New Tiongsan Grocery when it suddenly shook. She was saying “I, I, I, …. was holding the tray of egg when it quaked. I panicked so I dropped the tray of egg and when I looked at the direction of the Public Market I saw the Hilltop Hotel suddenly collapsed. OH, my… I think some people may have crushed beneath and died…” she had not yet finished talking when all of a sudden the jeepney started rocking. The lady nervously jump out of the jeep and I saw her ran away. The driver who was sitting next to me also jumped out, and all the other passengers behind us hurriedly went out. I was not supposed to get out but the quake seemed to don’t stop and what made me anxious was the sound of rolling stones. So, I also hurriedly step out of the jeep. I was afraid the earth might just open up! Whew!

When the second jolt was taking place, I believed everyone’s heart beat faster than usual because of the scary sounds of rolling stones beneath the ground. One wondered if “Is it the end of the world?”

3) Shouting lady from one of the disco pubs. When the second jolt happened, everyone went out in the street. I saw confusion, fear, worries in the faces of the people as the shaking seemed to have no end. As I was standing at the side of the street of Magsaysay avenue facing P. Burgos street I noticed a woman running and shouting out from the one of the disco pubs wearing a unbuttoned long-sleeve shirt and just an underwear/panty. When she was out hysterically, about three men followed her outside. And as the woman reach the side of P. Burgos street she collapsed but before she completely fell on the ground one of the men was able to catch her body. The other two men then helped to hold her on the legs and at the lumbar while the first man held the woman on her shoulder side. The three men then carried the unconscious woman hurriedly inside the building.

4) Old lady arranging back her vegetables in place for sale. After the strong jolt, a series of still strong aftershocks followed immediately. I remembered my cousin and a close friend who were tending dry-goods at Hilltop or known as Baguio Public Market. So, I decided to go and see if they need help. The streets were full of people walking back and forth, some shouting and calling names – it was a real chaos. When I was going up to Hilltop from Magsaysay avenue I saw an old lady(probably 60-65 years old) sitting calmly at the roadside selling cucumbers. She attracted my attention because while everyone was running or nervous of the continuous aftershock, she was there sitting like all things are okay. I slowed down my steps and fixed my eyes on her, then I stopped to watch her. Because every time the earth shook some of her cucumbers roll down to the pavement of the road but she immediately pick them up, sit down on her low stool and carefully put the cucumbers she picked up on top of the other cucumbers which were neatly arranged on top of each other being displayed for sale. After carefully placing her cucumbers on top of each other she rests her left elbow on her knees while her left palm carries her chin. While on that position she looks down on the cucumber quietly. Then about a minute or 2 the earth shook again and as if trying its best to let the cucumbers roll down to the street. However, the lady was quick enough to pick the any cucumber that rolled down from there arrangement and the process was repeated again. The incident must have happened three more times then I hurriedly walked again.

Now I am always thinking what happened to the lady and her cucumber. She was so optimistic things get to normal soon. Probably thinking that earthquakes before did not last longer than one tremor, only, that time was a different story.

5) Six kilometers walk from Baguio City to Km. 6 La Trinidad. When I went to Hilltop, only my friend who was still busy putting away her goods. After helping her we started to walk home as there were no passenger jeepney available. The ones running were overloaded and people like us who were not lucky had no choice but walk.

As we were walking down Magsaysay Avenue we saw a woman who was probably in her mid-30s running up and down calling the name of her child who must have lost from the throng of people walking up the street and going down.

And further down, as we were approaching Baguio Central High School, we saw a heap of slippers and shoes placed in the middle of the street. I was wondering if somebody made it a purpose to collect the slippers and piled it there. I guessed there were thousand single pares of slippers left by people who got shocked and didn’t mind running without one of their slippers or shoes.

And when we reach the middle of Km3 in La Trinidad(where the houses are painted by a group of artists and being visited by tourists these days) we saw in the side of the street a car with a boulder on top wrecking it. We don’t know if the passenger or passengers were safe as there was some traces of blood.

6) A stronger quake coming. When we reached home, I decided to go to the ground of BSU(Benguet Estate University) to see people I know if they’re alright. When I saw them, I saw fear they were scared. I tried to calm them down by telling stories about what transpired about me during the first and second major quake. Then they told me that some people heard from the radio that a stronger one is coming. “What?” I said. I calmed them down by saying or assuring them the world has no way or has no technology to foretell exactly when a quake is going to occur.

7) Our home was safe. Many people if not most were so afraid to sleep inside their homes because of the almost every 15-30 minutes gap of aftershocks. Every time the earth shake people hurrying to run outside their homes. And while they do that, I stayed calm the best I could because I know that the house of my aunt where I was staying was very safe. It was a little home with three rooms and is made up of wood. My aunt and my cousins were worried the two houses going to collapse. My aunt even was suggesting we also go to the school ground of BSU to be safe. I assured them we are safe.

Well, listening at the feet of the elders really is true. Because the things they said about what to do during disasters is now helping. So, I told my “family” about what I heard from my father and old people that homes made up of wood is safe during an earthquake. Well, unless of course if you have things put above your head that can fall to hit you. And be careful when cooking because fire might happen when a sudden quake happens. So, I made sure all things inside our home are not potential danger.

8) I was saved from possible death. This memory sometimes makes me shudder to my bone. That day was supposed to be a school day but students of the Saint Louis University planned to stage a demonstration in the afternoon, but the school was smart to suspend classes in the afternoon. At one pm in the afternoon, when I passed by the main gate of the school only the handful protesting student sitting in front of the gate. Since there was no classes, I decided to go watch a movie to let the afternoon passed by. Luckily, there was no movie that enticed me to get into the Aurora Theater found in Mabini street. Instead, I went to the city library found at Burnham Park(Located near UC – Cordillera College formerly known as BCF or Baguio Colleges Foundation). Then at 3:30PM I decided to go home.

Friday, January 1, 2016

Mini Igorot Dictionary

Mini Igorot Dictionary: Sagada Dialect (Kankanaey)

This mini Igorot dictionary primarily focuses on the Sagada people’s dialect, Kankanaey. While the words listed here are rooted in the Sagada variant of Kankanaey, they can also be understood in other areas. However, it is important to note that this dialect is distinct from those spoken in neighboring places like Bontok, Kalinga, Ifugao, and Ibaloi.

The Sagada dialect, Kankanaey, is also spoken in Kapangan, Buguias, and among the Bago tribes of the Ilocos region, though there are differences in intonation and the meanings of some words. Despite these variations, it remains sufficient for basic communication with speakers in these regions.

Many Sagada words have been borrowed from Ilokano, a language of the lowlands, making them relatively easy to understand for those familiar with Ilokano. The goal of this dictionary is twofold:

To enrich your visit to Sagada by encouraging the use of the local dialect.
To contribute to the preservation of Kankanaey, which faces the threat of extinction due to the increasing influence of foreign languages and dialects.

This dictionary will be updated periodically as more words are added.

Guide to Pronunciation:

Ay – Similar to the "I" or "uy" in buy.
A – Similar to the "a" in guava or "uy" in buy.
E – Similar to the "e" in mother/father
I – Similar to the "i" in bit or kit, or the "ee" in feet.
O – Similar to the "oo" in boot.
U – Similar to the "oo" in noodle or boot.

Letters in the Kankanaey Alphabet:

A B C D E G H I K L M N O P (R) S T U W Y

The Letter R:
The letter R was incorporated into the Kankanaey alphabet in the latter part of the 20th century, following the influence of Ilocano and English. Originally, words with an "R" sound were pronounced using the letter L.
For example:
Garden was pronounced as Galdin.
Over time, the pronunciation shifted to Gardin due to Ilocano influence.
Even today, many elders continue to use "L" instead of "R."

Pronunciation Notes:

Only the vowels A, E, I, O, U differ in pronunciation from English.
All other letters are pronounced the same as in English.

This guide serves as a resource to help you appreciate and engage with the Sagada dialect while preserving its unique cultural heritage.

Igorot Children Should Know Their Forefathers have Tails

We attended a wedding of a cousin’s child who married “outside the house.” It means the child married a child of another “tribe.” It is not Igorot, thus she has another belief, tradition and culture.

For us it is perfectly right because we also want to know others’ culture.

Few decades ago, marrying outside the tribe was not that easy and usually parents dictate what their child should marry. Almost everything parents and elders say were treated like it’s the law.

However, today is a different story, I believed characters and attitudes of people changed very fast that almost no one had even noticed the big change.

Back to the marriage topic, it is amazing to see and know others’ culture and tradition in celebrating their weddings. Their dances and kinds of programs are completely different from our own Igorot tradition and culture.

Theirs is with bands and singers performing. For good luck and to raise funds for the new couple to start with, the newlywed were asked to dance to a love song while their relatives, sponsors, friends, and visitors pin cash to hang on their dress; in addition, some boxes containing food(lechon manok or grilled chicken) and drinks were sold through bidding. A bidder can get a lady from one of the visitors to dance with and others will try to outbid him until the seller-announcer put a maximum price for the box then end the bidding. There were about ten boxes sold in my opinion and to show our support we bought one. There were also other side shows we didn’t notice because they were done a distance from us, and a slightly hidden from the decorations. The main part of the program everybody likes is for the visitors, especially, youth to spend the night dancing together with the music they like to play using today’s latest technology.

Well, we are normal people so we compared our native practice to theirs and we look at theirs as somewhat “Showy” specially the pinning of money in the dress.

Of course we did not want to be outdone; we also presented our own native music and dance using the gongs as our own music instrument during wedding festivities. Also, we fall in line and gave our own financial contribution to the couple while they are sitting in their chair( We don’t like to be showy so we didn’t pin the bills in their garments). This way we have a chance to know them more and congratulate them and they have the chance to see us face to face, specially, relatives whom they see for the first time.

The celebration went well to their plans, I believed, because all the scheduled programs were done before an hour before midnight, thus, it’s a free for all dancing and drinking for those who wanted to remain through the night.

But there was one thing I observed during the wedding. While our women were wearing their traditional colorful dresses, not even one of us men was using a sign of our own being an Igorot - the G-string. The reason was obvious, our own traditional native outfit is no longer “suitable” in today’s modern kind of culture, because if we use our own G-strings outside our home we might be called as “still barbarians or uncivilized” or any names that will diminish our pride. Really?

And this is what the title is all about. Because of our native attire in the old days the people in the lowlands believed Igorots have tails. I believed someone explained or probably joked to them our G-string attire as “like tails” behind our butts - and either the listeners took it literally or made joke about it until it was believed as true story.

In fact, until now there are still ignorant people who do not know how a genuine Igorot looks like. There are many of them asking people who visited Kaigorotan (specially, Baguio City) if they have seen an Igorot and how do an Igorot looks like. The irony is the person they’re asking the question is a pure blooded Igorot.

Okay, sorry for telling side stories, but what I mean in the title is that, because it is now seldom Igorot men use their traditional custom attires it will not be long and the next Igorot generation will forget one of the important piece of their history is that their forefathers was known to have tails.

For this to not happen, Igorot men should make it a point to always wear their attire on every occasion so that today’s children and the next generation know our forefathers have tails.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Badge of Honor

Figure 1 -
Two horns of carabaos and one horn of a cow. The practice of hanging horns is a way of rich Igorot families showing they have married off a child.

I took the image from a cousin’s display outside their home. Usually these horns of carabaos are displayed next to the door of a home of people who had children got married.

So, the more horns you see the more children got married.

I don’t think this is part of Igorot’s tradition but I guess it serves as a badge to show not only how many children they married off but also their status in life. Usually only the wealthy families can afford to butcher Cows, and carabaos aside from the 11 pigs for the wedding of their children.

Igorot weddings usually lasts for three days where people of the village especially friends even from distant places, and family members go to eat and congratulate the newlywed and their parents.

Well, people not only go there to eat, but most will give a cash or gifts to the married couple.

If you’re just a visitor, no problem, you can always go and fall in line or ask for food during meal time, they’re happy to give you. So, if it happens that one day you visited Sagada or other parts of Kaigorotan Country(Cordillera) don’t hesitate to partake with the wedding feast.

And more importantly, if you happened to passed by a home having horns hanging in front of their home, usually, next to their door, don’t be scared. You’re seeing a badge or badges of honor they already married off a child or more depending on the number of their children.

And, usually, when you see horns there might be pig’s skulls next to it or in other parts of the house. Don’t worry, it’s not a haunted house or home of a witch you are looking at. The skulls of pigs almost represent the same, however, it might be from doing other traditions done before, like, building a house, wedding, or other traditions where a pig is needed.