By Gemma Cruz Araneta
WHEN Baguio was still a pristine Hill Station, one could see the South China Sea from the Santo Tomas mountains. Mirador Hill, Dominican Hill and Quezon Hill had velvety mantles of pine trees that exuded an inebriating fragrance of pine and fresh moss. Among the other hill stations in Asia — Darjeeling in North India, Simla in Sri Lanka, Bandung in Indonesia and the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia — Baguio was probably the prettiest. Established as a vacation spot for American colonizers, the "City of Pines" was one of the country’s natural gardens. Shamefully, the Baguio of today is a mere caricature of what it used to be.
Bald, unsightly, dilapidated and deteriorated hillsides, pollution that impedes visibility, scarcity of water, fresh air and vital space — can Baguio be salvaged? Session Road is no longer pedestrian-friendly as sidewalks have been invaded by ambulant vendors. The charming old stone market has long been replaced by a hideous structure. "The private preserve of my high school days have metamorphosed into ukay-ukay depots.." lamented a nostalgic resident "It’s crowded like Cubao…" said a dismayed Fr. Rene Javellana,SJ, conservationist and historian. American city planner, Daniel Burnham, must be turning in his grave. Who should be punished for the overpopulation, chaotic commercialization, wanton deforestation, over construction of this precious hill station? What makes us destroy the things we should cherish?
Baguio could be saved if it were declared a "Special Cultural and Environmental Zone" which, I think, is the objective of a petition that has been circulating for the past three years. Finally, there is some encouraging news, from Mr. Dion Fernandez point person of this movement. A Baguio Heritage Ordinance, presented to the local council in May 2005, was finally passed on second reading last May. It was patterned after the heritage ordinance of San Fernando city (Pampanga) which passed the scrutiny of stakeholders. The "template" was drafted by the Heritage Conservation Society’s Pampanga chapter. For more information, visit www. petitiononline.com/baguio. Let us join hands and save what we can; all is not lost. (gemma601@yahoo.com)
|
