BAGUIO NOW SMELLS OF DIESEL FUEL Ernesto R. Zárate, FPIA THE CITY OF BAGUIO WAS CARVED OUT of the mountains by the Americans at the turn of the other century. They were smitten by the cold weather and pine scented air of a lowly rancheria nestled on a swampy plateau called Kafagway, 5,000 ft above sea level. It is probably the only place in the whole country where the American colonizers spent millions of dollars to develop, starting with the construction of the scenic access route up the mountains named after its builder, Col Lyman Kennon, up to the implementation of the majestic city plan of famous town planning expert Arch. Daniel Burnham. On June 1, 1903, the Philippine Commission decreed Baguio as the “Summer Capital of the Philippines.” The Americans were determined to make Baguio a showcase—the first American city in Asia that would be at par with or better than other hill stations established by the British like Simla in India, Bogor in Indonesia or the Cameroon Highlands in Malaysia. Many Filipino skeptics at that time envied the Americans’ singular attention on Baguio and charged that America was just interested in the gold and copper found in “them thar hills.” To be sure, several mines near Baguio within Benguet were later developed which were very productive. Business in the city also flourished in the years to come with the establishment of commercial centers and recreational facilities. The city grew with leaps and bounds until the outbreak of World War II. If the Americans are credited for building Baguio, they were also the ones who destroyed it. Sometime towards the end of the War, barely forty years after its establishment, waves upon waves of U.S. heavy bombers dropped thousands of explosives into the city, as part of what was termed as their “carpet bombing” battle tactics which left Baguio in desolate ruin. Slowly but surely, Baguio arose from the ashes and soon regained its title of “Honeymoon Capital of the Philippines” by the fifties and the sixties. Focus and support turned once more to tourism. Schools also started to emerge and grow. Saint Louis which started out as an elementary and high school beside the Baguio Cathedral has now become a full fledged university; Baguio Tech which was just a vocational school along Assumption Road after the war has now grown and transformed into the University of Baguio; Baguio Colleges which used to occupy some rooms inside the Lopez Building along Session Road has metamorphosed to Baguio Colleges Foundation and transferred to a place near Lourdes Subdivision below the Dominican Hill to be called the University of the Cordilleras. UP Baguio has controlled its growth and still admits basically the same number of students as when Diliman decentralized sometime in the 60’s. Now, there are also schools for Koreans to learn English. In fact half of the community clubhouse of the Green Valley Subdivision is now being rented out to the Koreans for this purpose. They’re all over. Today, Baguio is bursting with students. What was originally established as a rest and recreation center for a population of 50,000 now has 300,000 residents, more than half of this number is still studying. To make matters worse, the population doubles during the Holy Week when lowland vacationers trek up to the city for a few days respite from the summer heat. With this great number of people contained in a small area, problems start to become apparent. Garbage, for one; water supply for another; vehicular traffic management; pollution; and so forth, and so forth. Until such time as the world’s scientists can discover something to replace fossil fuel, Baguio will still smell like half-burnt diesel. There are just too many diesel-spewing jeepneys and taxicabs. There would have been an irritating smog problem were it not for the welcome relief brought about by daily afternoon drizzle that cleanses the air during the monsoon season. How to bring back the old Baguio that everyone used to love? Decongest. Require all schools to decentralize and leave the city. They can purchase cheap land around Baguio and plan out big campuses unlike now that there is not even enough decent space for an outside assembly for the students. In fact one university has no campus at all! Factories, if there are any, must relocate some kilometers from the center of the city. Bus terminals must be at the outskirts and ferry goods and passengers in smaller vehicles into the hub. While it is still early, designated routes for buses (or mini-buses or even jeepneys) can be planned out for efficient mass transportation—unlike now where everyone wants to get ahead of the next passenger carrier be it jeepney or taxi. It would be a fulfillment of a dream to have city trams all over Baguio. Wouldn’t it be lovely if no vehicles are allowed in the center of the city? Everybody walks. No pollution. Then smell of the pine trees will waft into the city itself. Can you imagine a cable car regularly plying Session Road? Ang ganda sana, ano? If San Francisco could do it, why can’t Baguio?
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 10:25:02 +0000
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