JUP for Congressman

Happy Gagayam festival, Sabangan

Sabangan with its Gagayam festival coincides with the annual fiesta in honor of the town’s patron Saint Joseph the Worker. Gagayam as the word connotes refers to a coming together of friends, of neighbors, of clans, of families, of the members of the community to enjoy the camaraderie and belonging to each other. So the festival theme “Sinang -adum ay dinatngan, wanden ta sumyaan” is much emphasized in the Gagayam festival come March 27-30 this year that the people of Sabangan with neighbors and friends come together to celebrate the event and a culture that cements each other for progress, sustainable livelihood  and unity.  For one, Sabangan abounds with coffee Arabica and bananas. From its natural form need processing and packaging when these come in large volumes. Further technical and capital aid to support peoples’ initiatives and effort is needed to market quality products. A support that people, community-based organizations, institutions, and government can collaboratively give.  

Greetings on Sabangan's Gagayam Festival

Bauko's Begnas Fest urge more support on agri-industry

The Begnas Festival of Bauko is celebrated every 2nd week of March. This year, the Begnas Festival shall be held from March 14-16, 2019 with its theme,” “Bauko: home of talents and opportunities” participated in by its 22 barangays and guests.

Bauko is the vegetable basket of Mountain Province located near the vegetable growing town of Buguias, Benguet that supplies 70% of veggies in other places of the country especially the national capital region. Bauko produces carrots, cabbage, sweet peas and other highland vegetables in big volumes. When the demand is high, vegetable prices drop low leading to the non-compensation of the cost of production and effort of the farmer. Some farmers would even throw their produce because it would incur more cost in bringing these to market. Agricultural productivity remains a big challenge with the persistence of organic farming to bring back the fertility of the soil and investment returns of the farmer.  

Processing equipment is equally much needed. Equipment to make carrots and potatoes into chips remains a continuing need. Much still remains to be done so as to make more vegetable chips and other by products of vegetables. Must be that the guest speakers of the event- the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) regional director Nancy Bantog and the Department of Agriculture Regional Director Dr Cameron Odsey- shall give attention to Bauko’s agri-industrial needs.

Begnas is a community celebration of thanksgiving or community ritual to call for prolific production of crops, health and longevity.

Congratulations Bauko!

Preventing forest fires through barangay-based systems

Aguid, Sagada

March is National Fire Prevention Month.  Must be that March is a time when mountain fires are at their alarming occurrence that its fire prevention month. March is also now a time when El Nino with its dry spell is at its most threatening. Water is getting scarcer. And with these twin disasters going on, prevention is a need.     

Weather is hot and pine needles are crackling much ready to get burned at the slightest threat of a match stick or a smoking cigarette.

In Mountain Province, hectares and hectares of mountain sites were already burned in Sagada, Bauko, Tadian and Bontoc to add to fires in Itogon.

More than 140,000 hectares of forest in different locations in the Cordillera have been burned the past three months.

Trees got burned, Plants scorched. And so with insects and animals not fast enough to run, they died. Water tubes got burned. Water source is threatened. People died too as noted in mountain fires at Itogon and Tadian.  Houses located in mountainous areas are threatened of getting burned. Biodiversity is threatened. Mountains look brown, scorched black and dead.

In 2016 only, the Bureau of Fire Protection-Cordillera region recorded 178 forest fire incidents that damaged some 6,100 hectares of forest reservations. This meant the destruction of bio diversity and the loss of water. What more in the present.

Watersheds cradle the very source of water. Mountains are sources of livelihood, of fuel, of food. Mountains fan fresh breeze to a community. Mountains make life bearable.  

Mountains hold water and slowly emit these for drinking water, for domestic water. Mountains hold the springs, the location of water falls.

Mountains are sources of livelihood. Mountains are the very site for trekking and tourism. Forests are sources of rattan and trees for furniture and cottage industries. Mountains are sourced for timber for fuel for housing and rituals.Coffee trees too are found in mountains.

There is a need to prevent the occurrence of mountain fires through the establishment of barangay-based anti-fire brigades.  

Barangay-based systems are necessary with the support of local government and government agencies which have the resources. Backed with the involvement of people with their individual participation, sectoral based organizations and the local government in the community it’s very possible to prevent mountain fires,

Forest fires can be prevented in the making of fire breaks, clearing of mountains some months before February hits the year. And to include advocacy through education in formal and informal venues. It is also very necessary that municipalities and barangays most especially have their own ordinances in the prevention of forest fires and the nurture of the mountains.       

Involved people, availability of resources, advocacy, and a system is necessary.

Resources means availability of digging and cleaning tools to make fire breaks, Bantay Gubat rangers are employed. Anti-fire gears are available including fire trucks.  To include resources in the conduct of advocacy on the protection and nurture of mountains  in schools, sectoral organizations, churches, government institutions,barangays with the support of the media. 

Where the cultural practice of people in going out to put out forest fires is not present anymore due to already complicated reasons, the attitude to nurture mountains needs to be regained in each and every person in the community.