All The WOW News in Cordillera

Showing posts with label Benguet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Benguet. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

70-year old Lola from Benguet reunited with relatives after 50 years of separation

Cordillera - Anita Licwasen received the greatest Christmas gift she had ever wished for in her entire life - to be reunited with her family. She will never forget the joy, happiness and the fulfillment of her longings that she had this holiday season of the year.

Anita Licwasen  was reunited with her family in Bakun, Benguet after 50 long years of being separated with her siblings.
From her story,  she left her hometown  at the age of ten to work as a vegetable seller in Hilltop, Baguio City. At the age of 17, she was recruited to work as a household employee in Casa Espanol in Quezon City, Manila. Her kind employer offered her free housing and allowed her to put up a small sari-sari store near the area. She also worked as a baker for the Francie's Food Industry. She was given the name Evelyn Garcia by her recruiter back then. 

During those long years of working in Manila, lola Anita was able to save some of her earnings but lost them all when she suffered a stroke in 2010. Due to her condition, lola Anita was bedridden and can no longer work. Back then, she only relied from the children of her previous employer and good Samaritans in her neighborhood to provide for her basic needs. 

The plight of Lola Anita caught the attention of the netizens on Social Media when her information was posted by Mr. Eloy David and became viral with almost 890 shares. The post later caught the attention of her relatives in Bakun and also the Bakun-MDRRMC. 

Photo Courtesy || Eloy David
According to Bakun-MDRRMC's post, they immediately contacted Mr. David and arranged a plan to go to Quezon City to bring lola Anita home  to her family in Bakun before Christmas Day. 

"When we arrived at her quarters, she immediately opened her door, her brother immediately introduced himself and communicated our purpose to bring her home. Tears immediately fell down her lonely eyes. We asked her whey only now that she informed her relatives that she is alive, she emotionally answered that she doesn't have the courage to face her relatives because of what she have done. She asked for forgiveness to which his brother immediately replied that she doesn't need to ask for forgiveness because her only mistake was her failure to immediately inform them of her whereabouts. What they missed were the opportunities and time the they could have share together. Her brother instead thanked her of her decision to come home, it's never too late to bond with her relatives,"  Bakun-MDRRMC wrote.

Indeed, it was a joyous Christmas and will be a happy New Year for lola Anita and her family!
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Saturday, April 15, 2017

DA Secretary Manny Piñol visits John and Kenny Strawberry farm in Balili Mankayan, Benguet

If you thought that only in La - Trinidad, Benguet is the source of strawberries in the country, think again because there is a farm about a hundred of kilometers north of the Philippines which is gaining popularity for its modern methods of farming strawberries.

During the holy week, Department of Agriculture secretary Manny Piñol visited the John and Kenny strawberry farm located in sitio Cada of Barangay Balili in Mankayan and learned interesting stories about the farm.


Here is an excerpt from DA Sec. Piñol's article found on his FB page.

In the mountainous village of Sitio Cada, Brgy Balili, Mangkayan, Benguet, two young men in their early 30s are running one of the most modern and successful strawberry farms in the country.
In fact, the John Kenny Strawberry Farm owned by young farmer Kenny Ching and his father, Francisco, and managed by Kenny's cousin, Marvin Marcos, was chosen as a Gawad Saka Awardee for Outstanding Agricultural Endeavour in 2012.
The maintenance manager of the farm, Mervin Leonsanda, also in his early 40s, is a Davaoeño who married an Igorot lass and has stayed in Benguet for good.
Unlike other strawberry farms, the John Kenny Strawberries are grown not in the open fields but in elevated plots held by long plastic receptacles supported by metal frames.
Irrigation and fertilisation are done by the Drip System where plastic water tubes with perforations run through the whole elevated plots.
The technique has allowed the young agri-preneurs to grow more strawberries in a small area of only 1.5 hectares which produces about 15 tons of the Festival Variety of strawberry.
The plastic roofing of the greenhouse has also protected the farm from inclement weather and heavy rains which usually devastate strawberry farms in the open fields.
At a per kilo price of P100 at farm gate, the farm makes a gross income of P1.5-million monthly.
"We could not keep up with the demand," said Kenny.
The project is so successful that investors have enticed the young men to partner with them and start a similar strawberry farm in other parts of the country.
The two young men, however, have their hands full in the John Kenny Farm.
When I visited the John Kenny Farm on Good Friday, Kenny said he only had one complaint against government and that is the very slow processing of their papers for the importation of good strawberry seeds.
"Strawberries will only give good yield on its first year. After that, you will notice the deterioration in the quality of its fruits and the volume of production," he said.
The variety that the farm uses, the Festival Variety, comes from Florida in the U.S. and it is their preferred variety because of its longer shelf life of 3 days.
"Other strawberry varieties could not be displayed in the shelf for over one day. The Festival Variety could withstand long hauls and remain fresh for up to 3 days," he said.
In response to his complaint, I assured Kenny that the processing of their import documents by the Bureau of Plant Industry would be fast tracked, just like the other documents now being processed by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
I also informed him that loan funds are available for young farmers like him who would like to start a venture in agriculture.
With John Kenny Farms' success and the increasing profitability of farming in the Philippines, it will not be a surprise if a few years from now, young agriculture and fisheries graduates would rather start their own farms than seek employment.
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Friday, December 16, 2016

Award-winning writer from Benguet awarded by President Duterte as among Outstanding Young Men and Women

Photo Courtesy || vmufcollegeofmedicine

Cordillera - A proud Ibaloi, Dr. Ryan Guinaran was awarded among the 2016 Outstanding Men and Women of the Philippines by President Rodrigo Duterte at the Malacanang Palace on December 12.

Dr. Ryan C. Guinaran, 29-year old is an Ibaloi from Kabayan, Benguet. He was awarded one of the TOYM 2016 by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Philippines for his volunteering work and advocating the welfare of the indigenous people of Cordillera.

He was a consistent academic, community service and leadership awardee during this schooling years and was active Pahinungod volunteer. He pursued his medical degree at the UP College of Medicine and graduated in 2002.

In his volunteering work and countless medical mission, he was exposed to the plight of the Indigenous people of the cordillera. Seeing the great problem in his very own region, he decided to stay and offer his medical expertise in his hometown Kabayan and had declined the attractive job offers abroad.


Dr, Guinaran was also an advocate in the regaining of the Ibaloi culture and identity. He spearheaded the Ibaloi "Cultural Renaisance" which aims revive the Ibaloi culture such as Ibaloi poetry, music, arts and folklore.

Dr, Guinaran deserved this years award and the Ibaloi and Cordilleran people are very proud of him. He is a fine example of a life dedicated to a mission to make a difference in the life of his kababayan in the Cordillera.


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