The Great Macli-ing Dulag - The Cordilleran hero who fought for his people

The man who fought for his land and his people against a giant who wanted to destroy their way of life. The man who despite not having a formal education was able to unite warring tribes to oppose a dam project that will ultimately wipe out their entire village. The man who was not afraid to die on behalf of his people's right to preserve their culture and tradition.

He is Macli-ing Dulag, a rice farmer and a caminero (road worker) of sitio Bugnay in Tinglayan, Kalinga - the defender of the Kalingas, who strongly and relentlessly voiced out his people's opposition to the Chico Dam project during the early 80s.

His struggle against the Chico River Dam Project of the Marcos regime had led him to his untimely death on the night of April 24th, 1980.

Almost 35 years have passed since the brutal slaying of Dulag, the people of Cordillera will not easily forget his heroism.

Whenever the issue of the construction of the Chico Dam Project comes to the discussions, the Macli-ing Dulag story emerge.

The lesson that great Macli-ing Dulag had left to the Cordilleran generation of today is the courage and defiance of the Igorot people who are not afraid to die in preserving their most valuable culture and land.

In her book titled, Macli-ing Dulag - KALINGA CHIEF DEFENDER OF THE CORDILLERA, author Ceres P. Doyo described Macli-ing as "unflinching in his struggle" against the government plan of constructing a 1,010 megawatts dam project covering the Chico River.

Macli-ing was killed by government forces in an attempt to silence him and push through with the proposed project funded by the World Bank.

Macli-ing despite not having a formal education knew the facts that the project will eventually displace thousands of his people from their ancestral lands and destroy an estimated more than P10 million worth of fruits, vegetables, and grains.

Today, the people of Cordillera mark April 24th "Cordillera Day" to commemorate the death of Macli-ing Dulag and the struggle of the Kalinga people for self-determination and the defense of the right to land.

The newly constructed Museo Kordilyera in the University of the Philippines - Baguio (UPB) compound had a display of Dulag's story and also a piece of wood (lawanit) riddled with bullet holes believed to be a remain of Dulag's house door  shot multiple times by the Philippine army that led to the killing of Dulag.

If one is forgetting the history of Macli-ing Dulag and the Kalinga people, this quote by Dulag himself as penned by MA. Ceres P. Doyo in her book Macli-ing Dulag - KALINGA CHIEF DEFENDER OF THE CORDILLERA is worth remembering.

You ask if we own the land and mock as saying, 'Where is your title?, When we ask the meaning of your words you answer with taunting arrogance, 'Where are the documents to prove that you own the land?' Titles? Documents? Proof of ownership. Such arrogance to speak of owning the land when we instead are woned by it. How can you own that which will outlive you.? Only the race owns the land because the race lives forever. - Macli-ing Dulag. 

Indeed, a hero. Macli-ing will remain in the hearts of the people of Cordillera.

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Luis Hora Hospital in Bauko, Mt. Province first Kidney Dialysis Center now Operational

(Updated) The Dialysis Center of Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital has been operational since last year to cater patients suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

The opening of the Dialysis Center will help those patients in the Cordillera region in the treatment of kidney related problems.

(Previous Post)
With the growing number of patients needing kidney dialysis in the Cordillera region, the Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital formerly Mt. Province General Hospital will soon launch its first kidney dialysis center. 

The kidney dialysis building which was constructed as part of the Php45.802 million fixed assets in the 2016 budget of the hospital will house 10 units of hemodialysis machines. 

The dialysis facility is located on the second floor of the newly constructed building on the right side of the hospital. The new building also houses the outpatient department. 

The new machines will cater the needs of patients with chronic and acute kidney diseases in the locality and nearby CAR provinces including Ilocos Sur province. 

Having this kidney dialysis facility in the province would allow kidney patients to undergo dialysis in the hospital thus not needing to go to Baguio City or in the lowlands to seek for treatments. 

During the groundbreaking ceremony last year, Congressman Maximo Dalog spoke on the importance of the dialysis center.

"Our patients in the province will not have to go to Baguio City and the lowlands to seek treatments but will do so here at the Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital near the confines and comforts of their homes and families without incurring much traveling and incidental expenses", Dalog said. 

WowCordillera.com visited the facility last month and had a chance to glimpse on the newly hemodialysis machines inside the building that are ready to be used. 

However, representative of the hospital said the dialysis will open as soon as the nurses and personnel tasked to operate the machines have successfully completed their training.  

The said facility will be added to the more that ten dialysis centers in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)

Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital (LHMRH) is located at Abatan, Bauko Mt. Province, Tagudin - Cervantes Road. 

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Cordilleran MMA fighter Eduard Folayang ready to defend his title tonight.

Cordillera - The Igorot mix-martial arts champion Eduard "The Landslide" Folayang is well prepared and ready to defend his prestigious lightweight title against Ev Ting of Malaysia at the Mall of Asia Arena tonight, 22nd April. 

The boxing word and the millions of MMA fans are anticipating tonight's clash between two artists as they will be given the chance to showcase the result of their intense training in the main event of the ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY. 

According to Mark Siargao, head coach of Eduard, the legendary Igorot is 101 % ready to face the most challenging fight in his career. 

Folayang will be facing the 27-year-old Malaysian-Kiwi challenger Ev Ting (13-3-0) who had admitted Eduard will be tough to beat due to his improved takedown defense and he said he had prepared all the possibilities of defeating him. 

Ting has a record of defeating Eduard's fellow Team Lakay fighter Honorio Banario and some known Filipino fighters in the past. 

Aside from Folayang, there are 4 more Igorot MMA finest fighters who will be fighting tonight such as Danny Kingad, Kevin Belingon, Honorio Banario and the lone female fighter Gina Iniong.

Want to watch the action live? Go to www.onefc.com for more information.

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LTFRB sends a letter to Solid North Transit asking them to explain alleged discrimination towards Igorot passenger

Cordillera - The Land Transportation, Franchising & Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has sent a letter to the management of Solid North Transit Inc. about an alleged discrimination act of their driver and conductor towards a passenger wearing tribal attire that has gone viral on social media.

Dated April 20, 2017, the letter was addressed to Solid North Transit Inc main office in Quezon City.

In the letter, LTFRB is asking the management to come out and tell their side about the alleged refusal of their bus driver and conductor why they disallowed an Igorot man wearing traditional attire to board their bus.

Recently, a post has gone viral on social media about an Igorot man who was refused to board the bus because he was wearing "bahag" an Igorot traditional attire.

Many netizens have lambasted the bus driver for their action and wanted their license taken and the bus company's franchise to be canceled.

However, some netizens who have witnessed the incident have commented that the Igorot man was boarding the wrong bus, so he was declined and was told to look for the right bus.

The management of the bus company has yet to give their statement regarding the matter which according to LTFRB such incident is a franchise violation of "Refusal to Convey/ Discrimination towards passenger".

According to LTFRB, if the alleged discrimination is proven true, the driver and the conductor will be penalized based on Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-001 in relation to Circular No. 2011-004,(2011 Terms and Conditions of CPC and Providing Penalties for Violation Thereof).

Read the complete letter from LTFRB Citizen Enforcer Facebook Page.

Image credits: LTFRB Citizen Enforcer

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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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Farmers in Paoay Atok, Benguet granted Php100 million road project - Piñol

DA Sec Manny Piñol takes a photo shoot in front of a vegetable plantation in Atok, Benguet.
Image credits: Manny Piñol's FB account

Farmers and villagers of Atok, Benguet has received a big blessing  on Good Friday as the Department of Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol revealed that the village will be granted P100 million for a road project.

Thanks to the Low Pressure Area in the East Philippine Sea that halted his scheduled expedition to the Benham Rise this week, the DA Sec instead went to a village in Atok, Benguet.

"The people of Paoay will have to thank God for the Low Pressure Area east of Luzon which resulted in the postponement of the Benham Rise expedition and led me to their village." DA Sec. Piñol wrote on his FB account.

According to Piñol, he was informed by Barangay Chairman Leo Cawaing of Paoay the need of the village for a 10 kilometer concrete Farm to Market Road so that farmers can transport their produce to the market.

The village of Paoay has also been known for its Sakura-like park which was planted with hundreds of cherry blossoms from Japan.

The DA Secretary  told the villagers that "the PRDP has sufficient funds provided the local government of Atok will puts a 10 % equity"

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PNP Chief "Bato" Dela Rosa now an adopted son of Mountain Province with an Igorot name "Muling"

PNP Chief Ronald Dela Rosa, adopted son of Mt. Province. Image Credit: PIA CAR

Cordillera - Philippine National Police Chief Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa is now an adopted son of Mountain Province. He was given the Igorot named "Muling" which means "hard, firm and solid leader" reports PIA-CAR.

Dela Rosa was in Mountain Province this week as a guest of honor during the 50th Mt. Province Foundation Anniversary on April 7th.

In his keynote address, he expressed his gratitude to the local government of Mountain Province for supporting President Duterte's war on drugs.

Recently, Mt. Province was among the five provinces of Cordillera declared as Drug-free provinces. Dela Rosa further called for the province to continue working towards eliminating illegal drugs.

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Cordilleran Pulse: Who do you think will win, Folayang or Mcgregor?

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JOB VACANCY: DepEd Benguet needs 135 teachers

Cordillera - The Department of Education Cordillera (DepEd - CAR), School Division of Benguet will hire 135 teachers for various positions to be deployed to different parts of Benguet. 

In a note published on DepEd Benguet website (http://depedbenguet.com/publication/) vacancy positions to be filled are for Teacher I and Master Teacher II. 


The note also said that "application letter shall be filled at the DepEd CAR, SDO Benguet located in Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet (see map below) through the Records Section before the [specified] deadline". 

Applicants should bring with them the following documents:

– Personal Data Sheet (PDS)
– Service Records
– Transcript of Records
– Performance Ratings for the last three(3) rating periods 
– Certificates of Trainings/Seminars attended
– Certificate of Eligibility
– Other Pertinent Documents

DepEd-CAR

MAP of DepEd-Car School Division Office Benguet

Click HERE to go direct to Google Map

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Philippine big coffee supplier Henry & Sons to buy local coffee from La-Trinidad, Benguet

Cordillera - A well known coffee manufacturing company based in Manila will be buying large quantities of coffee coming from the town of La Trinidad, Benguet. 

Henry & Sons, a coffee manufacturing company, an end product of the combined Collins Coffee and RICMAS Philippines expertise, has said it will be buying more coffee from local coffee farmers in La Trinidad. 

The company plans to manufacture quality coffee products that were locally produced as they target that 90 % of their product will come from local coffee farmers in Benguet, according to ABS CBN TV Patrol Baguio report.

Henry & Sons president and chief executive Michael Harris Lim has committed to improving the coffee industry in the town during the "Bloom Coffee 2017" Crop of the Year Competition held this week.

The premium coffee producers has been working with the Foundation for Sustainable Coffee Excellence (FSCE) to help the farmers improve their farms and to produce more quality coffee. 

Last year, Henry & Sons launched 5 different special coffee brews called Bloom Coffee that aim to support the foundation's programs  and also to promote coffee from La Trinidad. 

For all coffee lovers out there, you can purchase a can of Bloom Coffee from Henry & Sons' mobile app, Robinson's and Rustan's department stores. You can also order by calling FSCE's numbers 746 2693 or 746 2233 for a price of just Php260 per 250 grams. For every Bloom Coffee you bought, Php50 will go to various causes that benefits coffee farmers and their families according to FSCE's FB page.

There are numerous programs FSCE has been actively implementing today to help coffee farmers and their families. Aside from promoting and selling their products, the foundation is engaged in providing farmers with necessary tools, facilities and training so that they can produce quality coffee that will be at par with leading coffee producing countries. It also provides steady income while waiting for their crops to be sold. Medical assistance is also given to their children against common diseases like dengue and chicken pox.

The coffee in Benguet can be at par with world class coffee, according to television director Lino Cayetano who was one of the judges during the Bloom Coffee 2017 Crop of the Year Competition. 

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