Archive for August 2014
Ecology and life systems in the Cordillera
Summer is here, the birds sing, the flowers bloom and the soggy pathways beckon to the earth lovers and hikers. The sky paints a changing hue and the brown land turns into green, yet the inhabitants of the land hastens the changing of the earth and all that is in it.
In attempting to maintain ecology, there is a continuing clamor for the protection of the trees and the forest, yet every day I drive through Marcos Highway where one third of a portion of the highway is barricaded by Moldex for their construction after cutting all the trees on the slope of the hill. We have complained several times, Mayor Domogan was able to let them remove that barricade twice but such impertinence because the road portion is again overtaken by that barricade for the past two weeks. Also there is a growing protest over some construction going on in Sto. Tomas.
Baguio is the highest city in terms of elevation, in the whole Philippine archipelago and prides herself to be the only city without the fumes from tricycles, but that is no longer true. Tricycles of all sorts now run through the streets of Baguio from Marcos Highway to Kennon road to Trinidad road defying a City Ordinance No 28 s.2012 banning all tricycles in the city territorial limits. The ordinance was passed after a series of public hearings and consultations with bikers, motorcycle owners and riders, the taxi organizations, drivers and operators and the general public and after that the result was to ban the tricycles because of the terrain in the city of Baguio, a 45 degree road is too dangerous for a tricycle to climb because the cars following it are slowed down and once it stalls, the rest of the cars following are being placed in danger because of evading hitting the tricycle.
Ecology in the Cordillera is not something new, the Igorot culture tells us of a web in the environment. Our forefathers have an intense sense of commitment in the preservation of nature. To them the land, the forest, the waters coupled with the social institutions, the rituals and traditions are sacred parts of community life that are preserved and handed down from one generation to another.
Ecological imbalance manifest itself in the form of drought, famine, abnormal changes in temperature, increasing poor health and sanitation, pollution of water, air and soil. Include vanishing forests, dried up rivers and lakes and these all lead to a vanishing tribe. Retrospection tells us that such drastic changes in the environment made changes in the life systems of tribes in the Cordillera. The very tribes of indigenous peoples have been threatened by the source of life which is unnecessarily compromised. Source of life is the God given land, the forest, the rivers and the air. These are free, yet have been commercialized by few and suffered by most. Food production is the traditional life in our villages where rice, fruits, vegetables, cattle, poultry and river life sustains them. The ecological changed has altered that balance. Trees were cut faster than they are grown; forests are bared quicker than they are carpeted. Food source is threatened thus subsistence agriculture is looking at its demise. Free trade threatened the Benguet vegetable industry because of Chinese produce is dumped in the market.
We all blame it to climate change, but climate change aside from decades of natural occurrences, is also brought about by global warming because of human decisions, priorities and greed.
The life systems of the Cordillera changes, faster than we have envisioned it to be, yet when the end will come, we hope to see the Cordilleran standing tall when all have fallen.
BANA-AO SUMMER, ETCHED IN MEMORY
Posted on: August 17, 2014
BANA-AO SUMMER, ETCHED IN MEMORY
After a month long stay in the US, my husband and I are back to Baguio, the City we love and where we grew up. The month was well spent especially because we had chance to bond with friends living with Ed and Minda in San Diego and with Grace, Royce, Alan and Raquel in Arizona. Arizona was spectacular with the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff and Sedona experience that further strengthen faith in the Almighty Creator God and the commitment of people to preserve the present for the next generation.
Now, we are back and the past days have been gloomy and rains come easy, very much different from the summers I remember growing up. As a child, summer usually is no school except the Vacation Bible School, more time to play with friends and relatives. As a kid, I spent a summer in Bana-ao with my grandfather Juan Weygan and another summer in Padang-an with my grandmother Pinggay Cuanguey. In high school and college, summer was a lot of activities that included; summer class in BSBT or in college, attending weddings and other community activities with my mom or friends, climbing mountains and following rivers, raising pigs, planting corn and camote in Quirino Hill, and selling sayote in the market.
It was then right after Grade 5 that I spent my summer in Bana-ao. It is an “ili”/community of Besao, Mountain Province sharing boundaries with Tubo, Abra and Ilocos Sur. My parents “paw-it” or send me off with Aunty Bernice (one of our relatives) who was going home to Bana-ao. We took the bus to Besao Central and slept in a relative’s home. At dawn we took the pathway from Kin-iway down to the river and up to Bunga passing the regular foot path that circuitously went through the mountain side underneath the pine trees besides rivers and tall grasses that occasionally wave when the wind passes. I remember we would take short rest to drink water from the brook that runs beside the pathway, look up the fruit trees for snack and take twigs for walking stick. By late afternoon we reached Bana-ao and I was left with my grandfather in his house which is also near the houses of our relatives. It was a new place, new people with a new language. My grandfather’s house was elevated with a wide sala, three bed rooms and a spacious porch with a connective dining room and the kitchen made of wood slabs and GI roof. But I was told that they had cogon roof before it was changed to GI. Underneath is where the chickens and other animals as well as storage were housed. He had a yard, with avocado trees, bamboo and other fruit trees. At the back of the house he had a camote patch lined with camoteng kahoy/cassava plant and soy beans. There was a pipe that brings water comes straight to the kitchen and near the front yard where neighbors also use to come and fetch water.
It was a perfect rustic setting, perfect getaway for a grandchild who was requested for the grandfather to come visit. I do not remember going to the rice fields or the kaingin but I know some of the people go there and sometimes when I wake up in the morning I will see my grandfather coming back home from bringing the carabao and goats to pasture. I remember that I had fun with the kids going to the river, to the church and to different homes. We never lacked food for they grow rice, fruits and vegetables. I can’t remember meat but I remember that fish came from the rivers that we would eat bare fingers (no spoons) and lick our fingers too. Milk came from goats which they add to roasted rice or soya beans for our drink. Coffee was abundant and sometimes I would sneak a sip from grandpa’s cup.
It was also the fiesta/festival of the church and me and my age mates danced to the tune of “Hey Jude” by the Beatles. I cannot remember what we did, but I saw photos in my Aunty Mary’s house which will continue to remind me of that summer in the church. We were in white t-shirts and in maong pants and we danced in front of the church with the community people seated around the yard and in the slopes overlooking the church. During the fiesta we had lots of food – rice, meat, camote, root crops and rice cakes which they said was a tradition in the community and we had visitors from different places who trekked the mountains for the day. The women and men take responsibility in preparing for the activities and the food that everybody enjoyed. Children were carefree and roam the mountains, either for fun or for chores. Then summer was over and I have to come back to Baguio not even able to remember the names of my playmates and their parents.
INDEPENDENCE: FREEDOM TO DO GOOD AND NOT EVIL
“Live as free man, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone; Love the gathering of believers, fear God and honor the king.” (1 Peter 2:16)
Recently we celebrated the Philippine Independence Day recalling our declaration of independence from Spain in June 12, 1898. In simple rites without a street parade, Baguio celebrated it with a program where our speaker was the mayor and our elected officials. But it did not escape the by-stander’s observation that the big tarpaulin showing their faces, placed above the stage was like a movie billboard with the artista billing. Twice the remark was said to me, thus I passed it on to one councilor who retorted “baka kami ma-epal”. Maybe our elected officials will not take the comment seriously..
Independence day has always been a big celebration specially in schools because of the teacher’s requirement for pupils to write an essay on Philippine Independence, it was also the time to bring out those flags and hang it along Session Road and Magsaysay Avenue. Business establishments were asked to hang them in front of their establishments during the month of June, but flying the Philippine flag daily is required of government agencies and schools. Before 1962, June 12 was celebrated as the “Flag Day. It was Republic Act 4166 of August 4, 1964 that declared June 12 as Philippine Independence Day.
It was not always that June 12 that was the celebrated Independence Day of the Philippines, because history also tells us that a similar declaration of Independence from the Japanese was made in September 2, 1945. However, history still records that the first declaration of Independence was done in Biak na Bato in April 12, 1895 when Andres Bonifacio led the Cry of Pugad Lawin ensuing a Philippine revolution that continued until 1898 when Commodore Dewey defeated the Spaniards. And after the American occupation, Independence day was celebrated July 4, 1946 which coincides with the Treaty of Manila and the US Independence Day. Since then we have celebrated Independence Day on July 4 until President Diosdado Macapagal issued Presidential Decree 28 declaring June 12 a public holiday to celebrate the “people’s declaration of their inherent right to be free “. Our forefathers were doing these for the good of the majority of Filipinos.
Independence was made for a purpose and a reason but not an excuse for doing evil. The headlines this days highlight he atrocities that several government officials, locally and nationally, have abused their powers and taken evil steps portraying greed and corruption. Our freedom is an inherent right as creatures of the Creator, when free will was given as a privilege. We are no longer bonded nor bounded to restrictions of a master but given free will and a matter of choice. It is unfortunate, that moral decay has overtaken a spirituality that rest on the Creator Being and that disobedience became the norm of the days. It is unfortunate, that even in our city and our tribes the present generation has celebrated non-conformity instead of “community cohesion in the ili/tribe/barangay.” In the modern state, it started in the 1960s when global culture has been celebrated as a breakaway form conservative to punk, hippy and non-conformist. Since then our youth has been taught of the great value of individualism and non-conformity as a show of independence or freedom. The more deviant, the better, but is it really better? Or has it created more social problems than good. That the deviant behavior has created more social and moral issues that needs new solutions and innovative legislations.
The communities of the Cordillera have struggled in the 1960s and will continue to do so because of the continuing erosion of community cohesion. But some of our elders have seen and recognized this that in the turn of the century, the Igorot Global Organization (IG0) was born. The Association of Young Igorot Professionals (AYIP) made a stand during the debate of the name to carry – is it Igorot or Cordillera?- where the ideals of AYIP a declaration of freedom to be called Igorots with the proper reference to all its meaning. AYIP will celebrate its 25th Silver Anniversary this July 20 where family reunion is being planned. Similarly, IGO will hold its 10th Igorot International Consultation in Vienna, Austria by August 7 to 10, 2014. The Galeled International Clan reunion is in Las Vegas this December, 2014. The Grand Canao in San Diego is scheduled on July 18-20, 2014 and in these gathering it is the homecoming of the Diaspora. The Igorots have travelled and found homes anywhere in the Philippines and overseas. Family reunions and culture passed on to the next generations are already done through the international consultation and canao. Our leaders are doing these for the good of our present and future generations.
As long as there are Igorots who still believe in their identity and traditions, the people will remain to be proud of their heritage of believing in goodness for the community. It is important that the younger generations will know their historical bearings, and it is the responsibility of this present leaders to do that and offer it to the Creator for at the end of time, all tribes, all nations, all language will stand in front of God praising Him. Let it be that the Igorots remain proud until the end of time.
Gambling in Baguio (June 2014)
Posted on: August 17, 2014
Bingo vs. Jueteng – same face that impoverish the people
“Gambling has again become rampant in the city of Baguio after a short break” this is what gamblers say and they know what they are talking about. Ten years ago, the Bantay Baguio and anti-gambling team have been closing down illegal gambling dens. Then the churches, moralist and character city groups that vigorously advocated for clean living without gambling. But accordingly, the complacency of the city residents and officials has made gambling a prosperous undertaking again in the city of pines. This happens also in other places like Buguias and Mankayan.
The bingo sa barangay which is a nightly undertaking in hilltop, Tabora Park and Sto. Nino Barangay and elsewhere are allowed within the law because the barangays rotate on a 15 to 30 day limit. Meaning after one barangay A has hosted the “bingo sa Barangay” for thirty days then the next barangay B will be hosting the next bingo season. Who are they fooling? It is an institutionalized “Bingo” which according to some is not bingo alone but other sorts of gambling. I have not yet been there, but that’s what those participating are saying. I visited one but they said the gates are closed before I could get in.
Jueteng is another story, the kubrador are out in the open. For a time it went underground but these days, right in the doorsteps of some elected officials, the kubradors are out with the small notebooks and are collecting bets. I pass by and they smile at me, for what? I would not know and I will ask next time. But one kubrador I met in the dumpsite I told him “that for every ten pesos he gets from a child, woman , man and a senior citizen he is making that person poorer and adds to the moral decay of society. Why not go plant pechay and mustasa and sell that every day and live a peaceful life” That Jueteng is pervasive in all sectors of society, monitored by the organizers, who are sometimes linked to elected officials and ex-policemen. If half of the 300,000 population of Baguio gives 10 pesos bet every day that would make a few people richer by 3,000,000 a day and the rest poorer by 3 Million. And they say “Anya nga once a day – twice met ah no mamingsan three times a day” so if twice a day then it makes a few people richer by 6 Million and the rest poorer by 6 million. That is the magnitude of the effect of Jueteng. So exponentially Jueteng rolls in at least 25 million a month exchange of money from the poor to the coffers of those who are becoming richer and at times more corrupt.
Then we have the gambling dens which are sometime private and some made public since they are in public places. According to the gamblers they bring in ten thousand into the gambling tables and slot machines and they end up poorer by ten thousand or more at the end of the day or in the wee morning hours. So the gamblers become poorer and the owners richer. Now talk to a gambler, he would say “if I make a winning, it does not mean anything it is easy to give away, it is easy to gamble it away. I do not buy a car or a house or even invest it to make me richer, the winnings are gone!” I talked to one and he said “It was hard earned money when I got in, even have to tighten my belt when it comes to my daily expenses but when I went to the casino, ayeh it feels like water draining away.” So they get to become poorer and the owners of the gambling dens become richer together with those who share with them for protection.
Take that of our communities, they are eroded because of gambling. The Benguet farmers are famous for that, they even chattel their elf and trucks when they exhaust the sale of their produce and they still hope to regain it, but of course they do not regain their loses. It is a disease, it is an open drain, and it is an erosion of the moral and ethical values of our people.
That is the reason why our churches, moralist, character builders and educators have been trying to fight gambling and corruption for this two combination saps out the life and the future of families and drains the economy that could be directed to more productive and sustainable life. In all areas, it must be a battle to win and master the enemy. There is no way that those who combat these ills become complacent but become vigorous advocates so that we can save our children, women, men and senior citizens towards a better future.
Quest of Life – Igorots in Vancouver
“The thirst for identity has always been a clear point in the quest of life. The Igorots, a group of people who have defined and will continue to define themselves in the course of time, have been consistently triumphant in asserting not only their individual identity but more significantly, the dignity of their ethnicity as a cornerstone of national development. This is being passed on from generation to generation. Each generation strives to make a difference and to keep the flaming identity of being an Igorot burning!” IGO-IIC9.
I just arrived from Vancouver, British Columbia after attending the Soroptimist International of the Americas 43rd Biennial Convention. This would be another story to tell as we held at Vancouver Convention Center at Downtown Waterfront, considered Canada’s largest convention center with a space area of 466,500 feet . After the convention, I extended for four days where I meet some of the Igorots in the area. My cousin Fanny Balaki got me from the hotel at 7 pm and we drove for thirty minutes to a park in Surrey where we joined those who went blue berry picking and a barbeque birthday party. There, I met Gloria who was an old student of mine, some relatives and other Igorots. It was when we were going home at 9 pm that the sky darkened, which is pretty much the summer that they have.
The next day we went for service at St Michaels Multicultural Anglican Church where the priest in charge was Rev. Wilmer Toyoken from the Cordilleras. That day the fellowship of men were in charge of the readings, homily and prayers in the service as well as welcoming guest and in preparing for the lunch after the service. I was told this is also where BIBAK meets regularly. It was really a multi culture church in attendance, majority of which were Filipinos. British Columbia 2002 demography reflect that 37% do not have any religious affiliation, 31% Protestants, 17% Roman Catholics and the rest come from other religions and Christian sects.
In the midst of the fellowship and lunch I was picked up by Brainard de Guzman and we went to their house in Surrey where we met with UB Science High classmates Cherry and Sammy Ancheta. We had a great time eating and swapping stories of the past and of our present. After which they brought us to the barge and we crossed the island before going the Peace Arch where Sammy and Allison have to go back home to Seattle. I was then brought to the house of Gloria Apacway in North Vancouver where I spent the night. I found out that she is a relative of my husband and was my student. She is married to Elmer Apacway whose elder brother is married to my cousin. She has been in Vancouver for more than 20 years and works in the hospital near their home.
The next morning we were picked up by Ceasar Castro, a fellow Galeled and we drove all over the place from the Salmon Hatchery, the Cleveland Dam, the Cypress Olympic Mountain, Port Moody and ended up in the house of Bart Alatan in Surrey for dinner, where we met more Filipinos. My cousin Fanny really made sure I would be able to meet some of the Igorots in the area. Ceasar and wife Elisa are both retired nurses who have been instrumental in bringing in Igorot Diaspora philanthropy to the different hospitals, churches and schools in the Cordillera. Bart and Agnes Alatan have established themselves in Vancouver and have a nursing home. Based the 2006 census the people of British Columbia come from 40 ethnic groups, most came from the English speaking countries where 29 % are English, 20% Scottish and down the line 6th place are Chinese of 10.6% and 18th place is the Filipino with 2.3% of the population. Of the 40 languages spoken 71% consider English is their language followed by 8.5% Chinese, the Filipino is on the 6th place with 1.3% of the total population.
The next day, Fanny brought me to Richmond for shopping and later in the evening had dinner with another cousin Davis Magantino who is married to a Chinese and they have two daughters, one born in China and one in Canada. Richmond is where most of the Chinese converge after they left Hong Kong. While in the area we passed many Asian restaurants, name it you have it kind of thing. Davis and I drove to Burnaby where it is considered the most progressive city of Vancouver where they also had the big mall Metropole. Davis is in the IT business.
The highlight of my last day was meeting Judith Carling for sushi and visiting the St Elizabeth Park. It was an impressive park where we could see the mountains in the sea, flowers and trees abound in such a nice place. Fanny was our driver, Judith is a nurse, Elsie is a self- employed mother with daughter Gayle who just finished her culinary arts course and getting ready for college. She works nights at a restaurant and she cooks our dinner.
With those I met in Vancouver, their ethnic identity remains to be the bonding glue that brings them together in church, social gathering and in their professional life. As Canadian Igorots or Ilocanos, their children are now living in more than one culture. Sammy’s children speak Ilokano and eat Filipino food, Davis wife speaks Chinese and occasionally goes back to China, the Igorots I met in Vancouver, I also meet here in the Philippines, yet we speak in our native language even when some of their children are married into a different race and culture. For at the end we will all gather and worship one God. “Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love. Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth, your right hand is filled with righteousness….walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. For this is our God forever and ever, he will be our guide even to the end.” (Psalms 48)
The second San Diego Grand Canao will be held on July 18 to 20, 2014 hosted by BIBAK San Diego. There is going to be a welcome party at the St. Matthews Episcopal Church on the evening of the first day, followed the canao at the Golden Pacific Ballroom of the Town and Country Hotel and Resort. The farewell party will be at the ROHR park at Sweetwater, which was where the dance practices and rehearsals were usually held.
The First San Diego Grand Canao was held in 2008 “the beat goes on” where they were able to gather more than 700 Igorots coming from the different states of the United States, the other continents and from the Philippines in a celebration at the Sheraton Hotel and Marina, at the park and several homes, including that of then SD Bibak President Robby Mina of Baguio City.
Similarly, another expected gathering will be in 10th Igorot International Consultation (IIC) at Vienna, Austria on August 7 to 10, 2014 coordinated by Alan and Margie Akistoy. In the Philippines one major contact is Virginia Tamiing Doligas of Easter Weaving Room. At this time we extend our condolences to her and the family as her husband was one of those who died in the recent vehicular accident in Aguinaldo, Ifugao and laid to rest last Saturday, July 5.
Going back to IIC, the Philippines first hosted it in 2000 in Green Valley, followed by the 7th IIC in Banaue and the 9th IIC in Baguio Country Club where it was agreed that the IIC will be held every after a biennium. Other IICs were held first in Los Angeles then in Arlington Virginia for the 2nd , the 4rth in London, 6th in Melbourne, 8th in Vancouver. These consultations always have dancing, talks on care and posterity of Igorots as a people. It has always been a complete regard for preservation of culture, traditions and environment.
The only exception for bringing the consultation to the Philippines after London was to coincide with the Centennial of the World Fair which included the Igorot Exposition the 5th IIC was held in St Louis, Missouri. Lifted from the website of Igorot Global Organization, that momentous affair was described by Martha Clevenger of the Missouri Historical Society described the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri in a book, “Diaries and Letters From The 1904 World’s Fair,” which she edited. “Indescribably Grand” is also a fitting description of the 5th Igorot International Consultation in St. Louis, Missouri on July 1 – 4, 2004. One hundred years ago, a group of indigenous tribes from North Central Philippines called Igorots, were on display at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. One hundred years later, descendants of these Igorots return to St. Louis to participate in the centennial celebration of the 1904 World’s Fair and to attend the 5th Igorot International Consultation. This is an historic event. In attendance will be people from all over the globe and from all walks of life. They will come to participate and experience an Igorot cultural and education extravaganza – workshops, seminars, exhibits, trade booths, an ecumenical memorial service, a grand reunion; a showcase of Igorot pride, intelligence, simplicity, and vision for the future.”
The Igorots worldwide are fostering a spirit of care and a vision for posterity and yet sadly we have some of our present city leaders have displayed complete disregard for the care towards posterity and confused and deceived people. Take the Mount Cabuyao “rape of the bowels of the mountains and the forest” presently there are politicians and supposedly environmentalist believing in lies like “bulldozing is going on because they are protecting the road so it will not slide down to the water reservoir, avoid contamination “ in the first place why protect a road when in the first place it should not be there. When tree lovers propose that they will plant trees to cover the road, why do the leaders say planting to rehabilitate the bulldozed road will take years and they are willing to plant trees not on the road but somewhere else.” And yet people believed them, how gullible can the electorate be, why destroy the forest in the first place and they say that “it will take years to rehabilitate” of course it will take ages to do that so why massacre 740 trees and clear the underbrush that sustains the habitation needed for the other living creatures like the birds that fly the sky, the crawling and jumping creatures that traverse through the forest. Are we so deceived we cannot even see realities and perceived and analyze situations and motives. Who has seen the master plan of the Eco tourist center, for all we know there may even be a gambling den. For all we know, it would be a forest too- but who really knows? How unfortunate is this generation and the next.
<pDiaspora is a term originally used for the Jews who were driven away or forced to leave their homeland in multitudes and settling in a foreign land. At the present times, it is used to refer to a people group who left the homeland or country of origin and settled in a different country whether forced to leave or left with their own decision. The Philippine Diaspora can be described as the exodus of men to the US navy, women and men as nurses, engineers, teachers and doctors; and later as overseas workers in different countries in the world. It is called a Filipino Diaspora as it may technically unaccept because they are of different tribes and people groups.
The Cordillera has a socio political uniqueness because of its cultural traditions where indigenous systems have been in place and practiced for generations. There are at least eight major tribes that find the Cordillera their origin and their identity as a tribe and as a people. There are set indigenous systems that guide their environment, political systems, peace and justice systems as well as the existence of the dap-ay, ator, ato structures in some tribes. These structures and systems spell out their tribal territories and their rules of war and peace as laid out in bodong, pechen, vochong, pochon, peden or peace pact systems and structures. The observance of these give harmony in the community.
It is a widely acknowledged fact that the Philippine economy is sustained by the overseas dollars remitted by Philippine Diaspora, hitting 25 Billion US dollars in 2013. This affected Philippine families economically yet it is not clear of its effect in culturally and politically. It has been widely discussed among circles that in the most recent election, the dollars were poured in towards the campaign fund of some local elected officials. An interesting study could be made to find out if this overseas fund raising influences the political decisions and directions after the election. Further suppositions include the influence of the Filipinos who left the Philippines during the Spanish time and the Martial Law days.
Unfortunately, these socio cultural and political traditions have been replaced with national laws and systems that placed the region into the mainstream of government systems. Nevertheless, the Cordillera Diaspora found in countries around the world continues their ties to the region. I made a study of the Igorot Diaspora philanthropy and it revealed that the Diaspora’s connection is based on Cultural and socio economic reasons where family and communities in the hometown ask the assistance of the Diaspora especially in times of disaster, educational needs and medical assistance. As I have just visited Vancouver and met bibak members it was a common sharing the they have supported members of the family and relatives socio economically specially in educational needs. But it would be far out for them to politically influence the hometown. But they speak out against the environmental decay in the guise of development. So it must be, but how great their influence I will discuss it in my following articles as I share the findings of my research.
Numerous studies have been made on the socio economic Diaspora in the recent years because of the influence that those in the Diaspora have both in the homeland in the host country. This is not only in the Philippines but for other countries trying to study the influence of the Diaspora effect or influence in the hometown. We read articles, social media postings and letters to editors of our expats on how they perceive our government systems, environmental campaigns, response to disasters and almost any topic of local situation. This adds pressure to the decision makers as well as the influence of those who are returning overseas workers and immigrants who influence the life in the local communities including the Cordillera region. It is doubtful there is any political Diaspora influence in the region but can still is explored further. Though we have experienced a Political Diaspora in the country during the martial law decades as some of those politically involved left the country it is still premature to say that the Diaspora greatly influences our political life.
Political Diaspora can be considered dangerous as mentioned by David Carment of the Canadian Policy Journal “Diasporas can exert pressure on their home government from abroad, free from political threats and fear of retribution. And they can lobby their host country to put pressure on their home government to endorse policies ranging from human rights and governance reform to favorable international trade policies and security guarantees. Diaspora politics is seductive and populist. And governing parties can ride the wave of new immigrant support for generations.”
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