BAGUIO CITY, Philippines –The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) reported more than P40 million worth of damage to public infrastructure from July 17 to July 31, due to heavy rains and strong winds brought by typhoons Crising, Dante and Emong, along with incessant southwest monsoon rains in Baguio City. The CDRRMC also reported that one person died, two were injured, one is missing and 378 families consisting of 1,593 individuals were affected by flooding and landslides in various parts of the city. In the Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (RDANA) data as of July 31. there were 98 soil erosion, landslide and rockfall incidents including one possible sinkhole subject for further validation by the Environment Management Bureau (EMB). A total of 91 fallen and leaning trees were removed in various locations in the city. A total of 34 families consisting of 138 individuals continue to seek shelter in various barangay evacuation areas while 128 families consisting of 370 individuals are temporarily staying with their neighbors or relatives due to damaged houses. Engr. Charles Bryan Carame, head of the CDRRMO, said most of the damaged properties were due to landslides and fallen trees. There were nine houses that were totally damaged and 57 partially damaged houses while one vehicle was completely destroyed due to falling rocks. The Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) also recorded P7.2 million in damage to their power lines as of July 31, 2025.

By Gaby B. Keith   BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — In strengthening climate and disaster resilience, the city government joined the Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative, a global United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)-led program, and committed to achieving resilient city status by 2026. Through Executive Order number 94 series of 2024 issued by Mayor Benjamin Magalong, a technical working group was created  to start the transition according to City Mayor’s Office chief-of-staff Samantha Jean Hamada in her State of Local Governance Report presentation at the Executive-Legislative meeting, July 14, City Hall, aimed at briefing newly-elected local officials. She said a major advancement in the city’s flood preparedness is the Flood Early Warning System (FEWS), launched in partnership with Asian Development Bank, Ramboll, and Practical Action. Operational since 2023, the system uses real-time hydrological sensors across key river basins and feeds data into the Baguio Smart City Command Center, enabling the city to issue flood alerts with up to 20 minutes of lead time, Hamada added. In addition to FEWS, she said the city implemented a Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) in Barangay Dontogan developed by the CALAMI-T Project of the University of the Cordilleras in partnership with DOST-Philippine Council. “LEWS uses sensors to track soil movement, soil moisture, rainfall, and temperature, providing essential data to mitigate landslide risks,” Hamada explained. She said Baguio was recognized as “Beyond Compliant” in both the 2023 and 2024 Gawad KALASAG Awards and was commended by the National Resilience Council in 2023 for its leadership in sustainable urban resilience.                  

BAGUIO CITY – With the theme “Food at Nutrition Security Maging Priority! Sapat na Pagkain Karapatan Natin! of the 51st Nutrition month celebration,  the Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS), Outstanding Barangay in Nutrition and Service Awardees were honored during the culminating program and awarding ceremonies at the Pedro Dumol Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) hall, on August 1. Executive Assistant Leandro Tabilog delivered Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s inspirational message wherein he expressed gratitude to the nutrition workers for alleviating the difficulties of the barangay constituents, even in times of inclement weather. The nutrition workers’ support most especially to the vulnerable: children, elderly and those with limited access to healthy food is well-appreciated, the mayor said. The cooperation, vigilance, and disaster preparedness is a reflection of a deeper spirit of service which spurs us all, to ensure that everyone has access to healthy food and clean water and safety year-round, the mayor ended. Outstanding BNS and their respective barangays are the following: Joana Caslangen of Atok Trail; Jonalyn Cadiay of Lokan Liwanag; Rowena Asperin of Burnham-Legarda; Demetria Padadac of Kias; Cayonila Esteban of Country Club; Merlinda Pulas of Andres Bonifacio; Marilyn Barren of AZCKO; Genaline Henson of Balsigan; Elizabeth Elefante of Upper Gen. Luna; Monalisa Bansan of Green Water Village; Evangeline Sherwin of  Happy Hallow; Agnes Paleyan of Kias; Carla Castaneda of Upper Market Subdivision; Jocelyn Arroy of Pinsao Pilot; Melanie Chadsi-ing of Lower Quirino hill and Jovee Calsiman of Sto. Rosario. The five Outstanding Barangays in Nutrition with their respective Punong Barangays are: Atok Trail, PB Federico Codley; Aurora Hill Proper;PB May Gonzales; AZKCO, PB Jefferson Cheng; Dominican-Mirador, PB Carol Domogan and Victoria Village, PB Roger Balicha. Other awardees or finalist are  Alfonso Tabora, PB Virginia Pugong; Andres Bonifacio, PB Janet Tiamzon; South Central Aurora Hill PB Levy Lloyd Orcales; Camdas PB Janet Floresca; City Camp Proper, PB Jaime Bustarde; Country Club, PB Nestor Almag; Dizon Subdivision, PB William Haight; Holy Ghost Proper, PB Murphy Maspil; Irisan, PB Arthur Carlos; Kayang Extension, PB Nerissa Bayan; Legarda-Burnham PB Teodoro Castro; Loakan-Liwanag, PB Abraham Urmaza; Lourdes Subdivision Proper, PB Rowena Gelisanga; Magsaysay Private road, Debbie Banagui; Outloook Drive, PB Isidro Aquino; Rizal Monument, PB Arnaldo Miranda: Lower Rock Quarry, PB Silvino Comina Jr,; Upper Rock Quarry, PB Joey David; San Antonio Village, PB Nicanor Nialla; SLU-SVP, PB Imelda Tibalao and Upper Quezon Hill, PB Dinah Campos. The outstanding Barangays in Nutrition awardees were evaluated and selected by the City Nutrition Evaluation Team (CNET) City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) Supervising Agriculturist Marceline Tabelin, Department of Education (Dep-Ed) Nurse Cynthia Cadawan, and Dr. Judith Maingpis Tacudog of the Philippine Dental Association (PDA) Baguio Chapter. The Service awardees are; Merlyn Cacay of Irisan; Elizabeth Elefante of Upper General Luna; Christine Godoy of Scout Barrio; Gina Rose Lacatango of Pinget; Noemi Santillan of Sta. Scholastica; Eusebia Calderon of Pinsao Proper; Caria Castaneda of Upper Market; Beatriz Rita Dagul of Balsigan; Natividad Ramos of Asin Road; Mercedes Sito of Leonila Hill; Jovee Calsiman of Santo Rosario Valley and Flordeliza Comising of Central Guisad. The best community gardens were also awarded, as with the nutri-vlog challenge winners. As judged by CVAO Supervising Agriculturist Tabelin, Dep-Ed Nurse Cadawan, PDA officer Dr. Tacudog and City Social Welfare and Development Office Day Care worker Perla Rimaros; the Best Community Vegetable Gardens are from the barangays of Bakakeng Central, Camp 7, Happy Hollow, San Antonio, Atok Trail and Burnham Legarda. The Nutri-Vlog winners are from the districts of Campo Filipino, City Camp, Atab, Lucban and Loakan-Atok Trail. All health district personnel with their respective barangay officials attended, with the presence of Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda, Committee Chair on Social Services, Women and Urban Poor; and Councilor Elmer Datuin, Committee chair on Health and Sanitation, Ecology and Environmental Protection. – jgfianza, with reports from CHSO, Nutrition Division      

By Jordan G. Habbiling   A proposed ordinance aims to transform governance in Baguio City by making it more inclusive, transparent, data-driven, and city-centered through the institutional use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI). Authored by freshly elected Councilor Paolo Raynor Salvosa, the proposed measure seeks to integrate AI into public consultation platforms, allowing the city to collect and analyze large volumes of citizen feedback, identify common concerns and consensus points, and guide evidence-based policy-making. Salvosa cited successful international models like the platforms and systems used by Taiwan, Canada, and Estonia which use AI to process citizen input and shape tech-related policies, interpret public sentiment in urban planning, and enhance service delivery. According to the proposed ordinance, online platforms will be widely used for the conduct of public consultations by the city government. However, AI systems must prioritize feedback from verified residents and voters and include residency verification tools in weighing public input. This prevents tourism-related feedback or outside influence from distorting governance decisions in order to preserve a policy-making mechanism that prioritizes the community. Such AI systems must be inclusive, simple, and feedback-driven. In terms of enhancing the accessibility of public records, the ordinance mandates that official documents such as ordinances, resolutions, and issuances be made available in machine-readable formats and not just scanned PDFs to enable AI-assisted search and filtering. This will also make data-mining more efficient for citizens and decision-makers. Likewise, the ordinance encourages pilot testing of AI tools and competitive partnerships with tech providers. It also encourages youth engagement through hackathons and design consultations. However, Salvosa emphasized that AI must serve the citizens and not the other way around. The ordinance proposes a human-centered design where AI supports and not replaces human decision-making. The ordinance also includes security measures like bot detection, deepfake identification, anomaly tracking, and sentiment analysis to safeguard platforms from manipulation; data privacy compliance, following the Data Privacy Act of 2012; and modern mechanisms to protect users from cyberbullying and digital harassment. The proposed ordinance has been approved on first reading by the Baguio City Council and referred to the Committee on Laws and Governance for review.    

By Aileen P. Refuerzo   BAGUIO CITY — The City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) has been attending to the victims of the successive weather disturbances and the lingering southwest monsoon in the city since July 19, 2025. CSWD Officer Liza Bulayungan said that as of July 29, 2025, they have served a total of 378 families composed of 1,593 individuals who were affected by flooding and landslides in different parts of the city due to incessant rains and winds caused by severe tropical storm “Crising,” tropical storm “Dante,” typhoon “Emong” and the “habagat.” Of this total, 204 families with 870 individuals were displaced while 175 or 753 individuals stayed in place. There were 109 families that stayed in the city’s eight evacuation centers while 94 moved in with relatives. As of July 29, only 17 remained in the centers. As per the report, there were 66 affected houses, nine of which were totally destroyed and 57 were partially damaged. The office also provided assistance to the casualties — one deceased, two injured and one missing person. A total of P607,470 was disbursed as assistance to the victims, P337,787.50 came from the Dept. of Social Welfare and Development Cordillera (DSWD-CAR); P264,682 from the city government and P39,500 from donations. The government assistance came in the form of cash assistance, food assistance and family, hygiene and sleeping kits. Mayor Benjamin Magalong thanked the social workers who worked tirelessly despite the rains and perils posed by the weather disturbances. “They went about their duties — going on the ground assessing calamity victims’ situations, distributing family food packs and hygiene kits, monitoring evacuation centers and providing emotional and all kinds of support — with purpose and heart.” “They all subscribe to their service dictum, ‘In times of crisis, compassion knows no rest.’”      

By Aileen Refuerzo   BAGUIO CITY — Mayor Benjamin Magalong is urging the city council to adopt an ordinance that will regulate the so-called “spaghetti” wires in the city. Magalong said the measure should include stiff penalties for misdeeds like irresponsible laying of utility cables, poor maintenance of these fixtures and failure to comply with the standard height requirements. He said this is the only way to correct this pesky malpractice of some utility companies and finally address the dangling, sagging and tangled wires that has been causing eyesores and public safety and nuisance issues in the city. The mayor expressed frustration that despite aggressive corrective measures done through the dangling wire clearing campaign, no improvement can be seen in the manner and system of wire installation of most telecommunication companies. “Cables remain unkempt, unserviceable or dead wire remain unattended as if we’re not learning. We have no recourse but to impose penalties to compel them to improve their system,” he said. He however said that the ongoing dangling wire correction program will continue in the different parts of the city. The city council said spaghetti wires are among the nuisance covered in City Ordinance No. 36-2024 or the Baguio City Anti-Public Nuisance Administrative Board of 2024. The measure, authored by Councilor Jose Molintas, mandates the creation of the board which is tasked to receive complaints and declare acts as public nuisance and upon approval by the city council “petition the Regional Trial Court for permanent injunction and collect damages incurred in the implementation of the order to abate the nuisance.”

  The Department of Tourism–Cordillera Administrative Region (DOT-CAR) facilitated the distribution of relief assistance to 32 accredited regional and community tour guides based in Baguio City who were affected by Severe Tropical Storm Emong. This effort was carried out in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development–CAR (DSWD-CAR) and the Baguio City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO). The distribution was led by DOT-CAR Regional Director Jovi A. Ganongan and DSWD-CAR Regional Director Maria C. Aplaten at the DOT-CAR Regional Office. This initiative aims to support our tourism frontliners whose livelihoods were disrupted by the storm’s effects, including landslides, suspension of transportation services, and the cancellation of tourism-related activities. DOT-CAR continues to work closely with DSWD-CAR to extend assistance to other affected tourism workers across the region. Together, we stand with our tourism frontliners.  

By Aileen P.Refuerz0 Mayor Benjamin Magalong inspects the rockshed at Millsite, Camp 4 Kennon Road in Tuba, Benguet today, July 27, 2025. The newly built structure is in a precarious condition as parts of the structure’s foothold caved in due to soil scouring at the height of typhoon “Emong.”   Magalong said a third party audit is in order to determine the true status of the project. He said projects of this caliber must have been provided enough funding and “class A” treatment quality-wise. He said there is also a need to determine whether apart from natural factors, human factors like design flaws and construction errors also played a part in the incident. The mayor said despite what happened, the structure was able to serve its purpose having protected the stretch from rock falls. The mayor commended the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for its fast action on the incident. The department was able to deploy its manpower and heavy equipment to the scene and managed the incident at once. Magalong said clearing operations are continuing. The road will remain closed until its structural stability has been established.          

Despite the rains and perils posed by the weather disturbance, the dedicated staff of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) under CSWD Officer Liza Bulayungan and Asst. Cynthia Langagan worked tirelessly to provide immediate assistance to the families affected by howlers “Crising” and “Emong” in Baguio City. They go about their duties — going on the ground assessing the situations, distributing family food packs and hygiene kits, monitoring evacuation centers and providing emotional and all kinds of support. “All these showing once again that in times of crisis, compassion knows no rest.” – Aileen Refuerzo 📸CSWD