HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE SAGADA?

“Was this the face that launch’d a thousand ships / And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
– The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (1604), Christopher Marlowe

As the day breaks, the valley is still sleepy, a blanket of fog is slowly being raised while the rays of the sun brush its lips, like a mother kissing a child in deep slumber. As time goes by, more of that sunlight permeates through our windows, blue skies can be seen up above, and the pine trees start to make that familiar sound of an approaching rain.

It is November and once again Sagada becomes a flight path of migratory birds. It is the time of the year when our mornings are filled with a cacophony of sounds from all different kinds of birds that fly around our house and the persimmon tree outside that looks as though it caught a lot falling stars from a night’s meteor shower as it is now teeming with fruits of red and orange hues.

Words escape me in describing this divine beauty.

Dubbed as the “Shangri-la of the North”, Sagada is blessed in so many ways including its bewitching beauty that has been captivating visitors. But what was once a quaint town now has turned into a bustling hub of tourism in the Mt.Province. The network of roads has made traveling to this once remote place in the middle of a mountain accessible. As tourism continues to boom, little did Sagada know that amidst the progress or development it has gone through the years, it has made itself even more vulnerable to the various adverse impacts tourism has brought in.

THE LESSON OF THE FALL OF TROY

Men of Troy, trust not the horse. Whatever it be, I fear the Greeks, even when bringing gifts.’ –Aeneid by Virgil

A year ago, Sagada faced one of its most divisive issues to date and what people thought would be the last of it. But the dodgy circus up in the clouds does not seem to want to end. Talks about an upcoming cultural “festival” have surfaced recently that caught the community by surprise.

And for the second time around, an activity was proposed by an outsider while partnering with some local groups or organizations, but bereft of a community assembly.  Sounds familiar and are we back again to square one and what lessons if there are any, have we learned after all.

Be that as it may, the use of the word “festival” faced criticism as the event can be hardly called a festival for several reasons. Primarily, a festival is an activity created by a community that is centered around the aspects of that community like its religion and culture. I attended the initial deliberation conducted by the Sanguniang Bayan on this and it remained one of the areas of contention. It was then decided that the use of the word “festival” be changed into “friendship day”.

But the use of the word “festival” is the least of our worries. One might ask, “What is wrong with “friendship” or making friends anyway?” Over the years, Sagada may have seemed lax in opening its doors to visitors especially to moneyed outsiders who would like to partake a piece of a pie that is Sagada, because promises of economic opportunities among others could be blinding.

Having been blessed with a small town but with a lot to offer to visitors,  it is but wise to be cautious of any move of this kind and be proactive with our decisions especially in tying ourselves up into any kind of agreement with outsiders. May we remember how it all started in Boracay, Pampanga, and Baguio among others.  This is a satire but we know where it is coming from… BAGUIO CITY IN THE PHILIPPINES TO BE RENAMED KOREA CITY

I have somehow this impression of what some had to say about this, that the locals should be thankful that they are going to be blessed with a medical mission and be given an assortment of food, snacks, medicines, beauty products, and what-not.

And what’s with these 200+ visitors from another country? Heard through the grapevine that they will be flown in the day before the scheduled cultural festival and will leave the following day. I am not then sure what they mean about forging business “friendship” with Sagada when it is more like a hit-and-run or, to put it bluntly, “Wham, bam … thank you, ma’am!”  Reminds me of an open house wherein prospective clients can check out a house or an apartment in just an hour or two.

This issue has never left my mind since I stepped out of that hall. I have been discussing it with my husband even before falling asleep. I think what adds more to the weight of me taking this with a grain of salt despite the come-ons is the question of how deep outsiders have already found its way into the community in all aspects especially in business.

I have been ruminating if there is any diplomatic way to say NO to such proposal because by saying yes we are opening a huge can of worms here, a Pandora’s box. I have been asking myself if it is really possible to say NO. I told my husband, it is difficult but I think one can say or SHOULD SAY NO.

Yes, easier said than done but in moments like this we have to understand that we are making a very crucial decision with consequences that would affect or even change the lives of the people, and not just a few people but the entire community, and that any undesirable outcome could be difficult to undo in the future. So why wait for something tragic to happen and frantically reef our sails in the heaving seas?

So maybe we could have just told the group at the onset that the community will deliberate on this and whatever decision the community will come up with has to be respected. But then again, what happened to community consultations?

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. In a nutshell, it goes like this, someone from the outside comes, offers a moussaka of benefits or economic opportunities, topped with a cheesy sauce of jiggery-pokery since the objectives are not discussed, it is devoid of written proposals or plans and a community consultation, proponents do not appear, sends local counterparts instead, and despite all these the approval is always given.

We are aware that some places in the Philippines have transformed in a way that that the locals have lost control over their community all for the love of “progress” that is measured by the amount of money or wealth one has. Sagada is a paradise but most importantly it is a home to its people, and it is ought to be PRICELESS. A home that one should not give up in exchange for a quick buck.

Really, how do you solve a problem like Sagada?