GLADYS VERGARA, incumbent Baguio Tourism Council head, has a two-word rallying cry for sustainable development to endure.“Disperse development!” she advocated, recognizing how city life has become defined by a sense of mobility focused in Baguio’s central business district. Fresh from a tourism tour of the city outskirts, she noted that development in the areas visited “are too sparing and feeble” to induce socio-economic growth. “There is too much growth concentrated in the commercial sections of the city, while development in the outskirts seems slow and too laid back,” she noted in shared anguish. “Moving development into the far-flung areas shall induce incentive among their residents, while distributing the seeds of growth there,” she further pointed out. Vergara identified thickly populated barangays like Irisan, Asin and Loakan as worthy enough for development to take firm roots for its benefits to be shared in equitable proportion. “City life is not what happens in the central business area,” she said, but what drives growth in its totality, stressing the need to disperse development into the city’s outskirts. “Growth momentum in these populous areas must be accelerated to spread out the benefits of a strong economy where city folks living away from the core get to experience sustainable development,” she stressed.

BAGUIO CITY — As the ‘ber months approach, the Baguio Tourism Council (BTC) is setting the stage for the holiday season, forming key committees to spearhead activities for the next three months. During its monthly meeting, BTC Chair Gladys Vergara was entrusted once again with leading the planning of the 2024 “An Enchanting Baguio Christmas” (AEBC) program, with Mayor Benjie Magalong serving as co-chair. This year’s AEBC is anticipated to bring the Christmas spirit to life with a series of vibrant events in select locations across the city. “We will soon organize the working committees to ensure that December’s events truly capture the festive spirit and express our gratitude for the year’s blessings,” said  Vergara. She emphasized the importance of fostering responsible tourism: “As we welcome visitors to the city, we must ensure their safety and promote responsible tourism, allowing everyone to fully appreciate what Baguio has to offer.” Vergara added, “Let’s celebrate Christmas with wholesome, family-oriented events that truly embody the spirit of the Season.” The AEBC festivities are scheduled to run from November 28, 2024, to January 6, 2025. In the same meeting, the BTC confirmed several upcoming events, including: August 28: Media Appreciation Night and Press Briefing September 23: BTC General Assembly and Fellowship Night, featuring Service and Excellence Awards for outstanding media practitioners and broadcasters Program Launch: The launch of the Konsulta Program, providing BTC members and employees with free health, laboratory, and diagnostic services. Vergara highlighted that the Konsulta Program, a special initiative by PhilHealth, will be made available to BTC members and their employees through a direct arrangement. “I encourage all BTC members and their employees to take advantage of this health diagnostic program, offered at no cost to them,” she concluded.

  BAGUIO CITY —  To bolster the implementation of traffic laws, the Department of Transportation – Cordillera Administrative Region (DOTr-CAR) conducted a 3-day Land Transportation Office (LTO) Orientation and Deputation Training for the 55 Uniformed Personnel of the Baguio City Police Office at the Function Hall, PEAK Building, Ben Palispis Highway, Baguio City, last August 6-8, 2024. The Orientation and Deputation Training was pioneered by Atty. Joshua Pablito, regional director; Assistant Regional Director Atty.Jose Villacorta; Acting Chief of the Regional Law Enforcement Unit (RLEU), Royce Bites, together with the Subject Matter Experts (SME), Agnes Locano,of the Human Resource Section – Human Resource Development, Atty. Krystel Grace Sanchez,of the Legal Section:Ma Thresa Yatar,of the Operations Section; Engr. Lalaine Sobremonte, Ramon Bocalan,Jr. and King Blas Jervin Pagtailan, of the Regional Drivers Education Center. The BCPO was represented by Lt.Col. Samson Kimayong, deputy city director for Administration, conveyed his prefatory remarks at the start of the program while Atty.Pablito delivered an inspirational message purporting to fortify the convergence strategy between the LTO and PNP’s heightened traffic enforcement. The first and second day underscores the intricacies of the following: Land Transportation and Traffic Code of the Philippine; Joint Administrative Order 2014-01; Guidelines and Procedures on Law Enforcement and Traffic Adjudication; Motor Vehicle Registration; Driver’s Licensing and Salient Features of RA 10930; Field Enforcement Procedures; Law Enforcement Service, Road Safety and Land Transportation Special Laws. On the third day, the BCPO together with the RLEU personnel carried out practical exercises such as roadside inspection, verification, and information dissemination in dispersed areas within the City of Baguio. Concertedly, the training was capped by Chief Bites and Lt.Col. Domingo Gambican, deputy director for Operations. The raison d’être of the training is for the police officers to be effective and efficient in their roles by being knowledgeable about the Land Transportation laws, rules, and regulations. They must also uphold the highest standards of professionalism in their field enforcement operations and inspire drivers to promote road safety by utilizing the law enforcement officers’ appropriate training and expertise.        

By Aileen P. Refuerzo BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Benjamin Magalong sets traffic scheme exempting senior citizens from the number coding scheme will begin its experimental run on August 19, 2024. The traffic experiment which will run for two to three months aims to determine the impact of the exemption as contained in an ordinance approved by the city council recently. The mayor said he was constrained to veto the ordinance but it does not mean that he is abandoning or objecting to the measure. “We just need time to implement a proper traffic impact study like this traffic experiment to gather data to determine its effect on our overall traffic situation,” he said. Ordinance No. 40, series of 2024 which sought to exempt motor vehicles transporting senior citizens who are residents of the city, either as driver or passengers, to and from a medical clinic, hospital or place of work from the city’s number coding scheme was approved by the city council recently. The mayor was constrained to veto the ordinance to avoid technicality as to its implementation. He noted the challenges to be faced if it will be implemented without proper study and data like how many senior citizens possess vehicles and how it will affect the traffic flow especially with the opening of classes. In his veto message transmitted to the City Council, the mayor appreciated the initiative of the city council in incorporating respect and incentives of the senior citizens who are constituents of the city as they deserve the courtesy in light of their many contributions to the society. Under the approved ordinance, in order to be exempted from the provisions of the number coding scheme, the motor vehicle must be used by a senior citizen who is a resident of the city. However, he said that the said provision might be discriminatory to other senior citizens who may not be residents of the city but who traverse through the roads on a daily or regular basis for essential and urgent purposes. Further, he said that the city’s health care facilities cater to patients who are not residents of the city or who live in localities where specialized patient care is not available and that there may also be emergency situation where the nearest adequate health facility is found in the city, Thus, the same is applied to places of work since the city is a business and education hub that employs senior citizens who are residents of neighboring localities. The ordinance provided that the exemptions are applied only when the vehicle is used to transport the senior citizens to and from a medical clinic, hospital or places of work but it is salient on what proof must be presented in order to establish that the senior citizens driving or riding the vehicle is truly en route to a medical appointment or work. For example, a senior citizen may be self-employed and in such cases, the person may not be able to present an employment identification card. Moreover, he pointed out that in other cases, clinics cater to walk-in patients who need not to set an appointment, thus, it would redound to the discretion of the enforcer to determine what can be considered as adequate proof that the senior citizen driver or passenger is travelling for medical purposes. He said that because of the varying situations, the implementation of the ordinance may be prone to confusion or arbitrary application, thus, there would be a necessity for enforcers to make inquiries to ascertain whether the exemption may be applied to an apprehended vehicle. He asserted that the inquiry need not be long but any time spent idle along a busy road will cause additional traffic and may present a safety hazard for the vehicle passengers as well as the enforcers. He urged the body to refer the ordinance to the implementing offices for the conduct of the proper traffic impact study and seek recommendations for its judicious implementation