Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Andy Roddick was playing fellow legend Roger Federer in a special fan event as a drum-up to the US Open when he looked at the stands and saw Alex Eala sitting there.

‘I saw [you] and I said [to myself], ‘If I had her groundstrokes, I would win this set,” Roddick told Eala during a live recording of his popular podcast, ‘Served.’

Eala, laughing, shot back: ‘If I had your serve, I would win [a lot].’

The exchange between the rising star from the Philippines and the well-loved American legend was a snapshot of how comfortable Eala has grown with her skyrocketing fame-and how expertly she’s been navigating through it despite her relative youth.

‘[E]verything that has been coming my way is continuously uncharted territory for me. So, I’m experiencing a lot of things for the first time,’ Eala told Roddick during the show. ‘And … it’s been a journey to learn my relationship with the fame, … the exposure. I understand the importance of what I represent, who I represent, what values I carry on court [and] the culture I carry on court. But at the same time, it was important for me to understand that it’s the culture that’s important, and it’s what I represent that’s important, and it’s not so much just me as an individual.’

‘I think a reason also why I have such a big following is because people see themselves in me. So, I’m representing those people, and it’s not really just me on the stage.’

Her comfort level and her maturity when it comes to handling that fame will be important as she kicks off her US Open bid on Monday, when she battles Mary Stoiana (11 p.m., Manila time).

Eala has kept herself busy in the days leading to that matchup, playing mixed doubles with Felix Auger-Aliassime and then headlining another US Open fan-favorite event, the Stars of the Open exhibition. All her appearances, even during the Roddick podcast, proved the strength of her drawing power.

And in New York, that power will get amplified. The US Open site in the Flushing Meadows is about a 15- to 20-minute train ride from Woodside, which has a strong Filipino presence. Queens itself is home to a huge number of immigrants from the Philippines, guaranteeing jam-packed arenas for Eala’s matches.

That kind of spotlight heat could make a normal 21-year-old wilt.

But time and again, Eala has proven she is no ordinary 21-year-old.

‘I think I’ve experienced so much growth in the past year and so many milestones in my career,’ the world No. 18 said during the pretournament press conference. ‘I think there are so many lessons in particular in terms of … work ethic, obviously being in this environment a lot more.’

And while people have recognized the things she has done for tennis, not just for the Philippines but for the sport in general with the new audiences she has been drawing in, Eala brushed off the suggestion.

‘[E]very single WTA player and every single ATP player has contributed to the world of tennis and its history just by being here and by putting in the work every single day,’ Eala said. ‘So although there are certain things like the media and the things that you mentioned that make me stand out, I think that I’m a drop in the ocean when it comes to these things. And the more I’m on tour, the more I learn about the history. Of course, this year, having had the pleasure to play doubles twice with Venus, I’ve learned a lot about her mentality on court, but also things about how she championed equal prize money with her sister and things like that.’

‘And maybe the regular player on tour who’s not so exposed [in] the media, what they’ve had to work towards and what they’ve had to work through to get to where they are now is so inspiring in itself. So there are so many stories behind the scenes that you might not even realize. So that really keeps me humble.’

‘It keeps me motivated to work harder and … stay among these incredible people.’

A group of health advocates urges lawmakers to impose a tax of P80 or higher on vape products, saying that current government proposals are insufficient to prevent access and addiction.

In a statement, lead convenor Jaime Galvez Tan of the Health Philippines Alliance (HPA) said: ‘The proliferation of these products has accelerated the early onset of chronic heart and lung diseases among our youth.’

‘Allowing young people to develop chronic health conditions early in life guarantees staggering medical costs for our healthcare system down the line. Hence, taxing these products at P80 or higher is an indispensable preventive health measure,’ said Tan, former health secretary.

Unified tax

The group noted that the Department of Finance and the Department of Health had earlier proposed a unified tax of P72.93 by 2027 for cigarettes, heated tobacco products and vape products.

But it argued this tax rate ‘remains insufficient to curb access and prevent addiction,’ adding that ‘weak tax rates endanger Filipino youth and place a heavy burden on our healthcare system.’

HealthJustice Philippines, a member group of the alliance, also rejected a proposal to lower taxes on vapes to P15 per milliliter, describing it as ‘a veiled attempt of the tobacco and vape industry to introduce more addictive products to our youth and hook them to long-term addiction.’

‘We cannot allow lower tax rates that enable more addictive substances, like nicotine salt vapes, to proliferate in the market,’ said lawyer Benedict Nisperos, legal consultant of HealthJustice Philippines.

He said eight countries of the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations have already imposed a total ban on vape products, while the Philippines ‘continues to allow the sale of these addicting and health harming products.’

‘Predatory marketing’

‘Slashing tax rates further, paired with an already lenient Vape Regulation Law [or Republic Act No. 11900], effectively invites more predatory marketing aimed straight at young Filipinos,’ Nisperos said.

In an earlier statement, the House committee on ways and means said it is studying proposals to adopt a unified excise tax rate for salt nicotine and freebase nicotine products, with the goal of addressing disparities that may influence consumer behavior and cause market distortions.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez had proposed a unified excise tax of P15 per milliliter during a hearing on Aug. 25.

He noted the importance of setting a rate that raises revenue without driving consumers toward illicit products

Tom Cruise stood up from his chair in front of 40 race-car drivers, jumped over a row of potted plants and directly onto a stage.

It was his first of many stunts to come at Daytona International Speedway.

The 64-year-old Cruise announced Saturday he will reprise his role as NASCAR driver Cole Trickle in a follow-up to ‘Days of Thunder.’ He waved the green flag on it hours before the Cup Series’ regular-season finale at Daytona and then showed up for the pre-race drivers’ meeting.

‘It’s not just about racing,’ Cruise told the packed room that included NASCAR executives, fans, corporate sponsors and military personnel. ‘It’s about the community and the people here. There’s something very special about racers and the whole community. It’s a culture, and I was very proud to be able to reflect that in the first ‘Days of Thunder,’ and I am honored to share it with the world.’

‘That’s basically what we’re going to really go for with this one. Give the audience that opportunity to understand what it is as a team, as a community, what it is for NASCAR, and the speed, the excitement and all that danger and stuff.’

Anne Hathaway will co-star as a team owner and engineer in the film scheduled to be released by Paramount Pictures on June 2, 2028.

Cruise will serve as a producer alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper. Jonathan Levine is set to direct the script written by Will Staples. Bruckheimer, Harper and Staples joined Cruise at the drivers’ meeting.

Cruise posed for pictures with anyone who asked and shook hands with military members before getting whisked away in a black SUV. He was expected to spend some time during the race on pit road – about as close to the action as possible without being behind the wheel.

The Hollywood Reporter reported in November 2024 that Cruise had talked to Paramount about a follow-up to his 1990 NASCAR racing film. The original was a critically panned summer blockbuster that was largely lampooned throughout the NASCAR industry for its exaggeration and overindulgence.

It has since become a cult favorite in NASCAR circles and is still quoted by race fans to this day.

‘Rubbin’, son, is racin” – the immortal line from crew chief Harry Hogge, played by Robert Duvall – still lives on today.

Riding high from his ‘Top Gun’ fame and having grown up racing cars on the ‘back streets of Kentucky,’ Cruise had an idea for a movie based on fast cars and the characters who raced them. And so began the making of ‘Days of Thunder.’

Cole Trickle was loosely based on the late NASCAR driver Tim Richmond. Four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, now vice chairman at Hendrick Motorsports, openly lobbied for Cruise to bring a ‘Days of Thunder’ sequel to life.

Gordon and Cruise have become friends over the years – Cruise showed up at a 2015 NASCAR banquet to honor the retiring Gordon – which could boost the prospect of Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports’ involvement in a sequel.

The movie introduced NASCAR to a wider audience that had very limited exposure to stock-car racing before that summer. There had been racing movies before – think ‘Thunder Road,’ ‘Grand Prix,’ ‘Stroker Ace,’ or even ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ – but none that had depicted NASCAR in such a mainstream style.

NASCAR has seen more swings and misses than checkered flags when it comes to its portrayal on the big or small screen since ‘Days of Thunder.’ For every ‘Talladega Nights,’ there are 10 more bombs such as comedian Kevin James’ ill-fated Netflix’s comedy series, ‘ The Crew.’

Cruise is a safe bet to deliver a hit – and to handle many of his own stunts. He did when in the original and still recalled a memorable one at Daytona.

‘Last time I was at this track, actually, I was on the backstraight and I was shooting with two very heavy cameras traveling – I don’t know, 180 miles an hour – and suddenly the hood was off of the car,’ Cruise said. ‘The sun is setting and I’m trying to get all my lines out before we lost the light.

‘And, suddenly, the whole car was in flames. It turned from a barbecue to a bonfire on the backstraight. Couldn’t even get the crew to come in and help me just because radio (communications) didn’t work in the backstraight. I hear that’s still possible, correct? You guys didn’t fix that. Well, that’s good.’

The Supreme Court should ‘police the judiciary’ and look into cases of individuals convicted of graft who have been able to post bail at the discretion of lower courts, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Saturday.

Remulla made the statement on the same day the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) announced the opening for the position of Chief Justice.

The former justice secretary was frustrated with how the Sandiganbayan and regional trial courts (RTCs) have been handling graft and corruption cases that could drag on for years, even decades.

‘The problem is courts are too forgiving that they do not imprison those that should be imprisoned,’ Remulla stressed in his weekly radio show, ‘Executive Session,’ on dzRH. ‘If you have been convicted by a lower court, convicted by the Sandiganbayan, convicted by the RTC for graft, you should already be in prison.’

‘Hopefully the Supreme Court, of course they are our friends, should police the judiciary properly. They should really monitor [the cases] and set deadlines,’ he added.

Under the Rules of Court, being admitted to bail even after conviction of graft or violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act that are not punishable by reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment is subject to the trial court’s discretion.

Remulla stressed that courts are too lenient when it comes to such cases even when those found guilty already lost ‘presumption of innocence’ and their right to bail.

Search for new chief justice

He said if they push through with the rules on allowing bail, the grant should be steep and should be set at the cost of damage committed by the convicted person.

Remulla noted that his office is already working on an inventory showing the status of individuals sentenced to prison upon conviction of graft-whether they indeed went to prison or they were able to escape serving time because they were granted bail.

But he said that it is still up to the courts, especially the Supreme Court, on how to properly implement bail rules and how to expedite resolution of cases.

The JBC said it would be accepting until Oct. 13 this year applications and recommendations for the new top magistrate who will succeed Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who is set to retire on Nov. 6.

Gesmundo became the 27th chief justice of the Supreme Court in April 2021, a little over a year before President Rodrigo Duterte finished his term. He was a Sandiganbayan justice before Duterte appointed him to the high tribunal as associate justice in 2017.

Next to him by seniority is Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010 by then President Benigno Aquino III.

Of the current 15 high court justices, including Gesmundo, only Leonen and Justice Alfredo Caguioa were appointees of Aquino; and only Justice Raul Villanueva was appointed by President Marcos.

The rest were appointed by Duterte, including Justice Filomena Singh, who was appointed at the eleventh hour, just a month before the ex-President stepped down in June 2022.

The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) urged residents living along the shores of Laguna de Bay to remain vigilant after the lake’s water level rose above its critical high-water mark on Saturday afternoon amid persistent rains brought by the enhanced southwest monsoon, or ‘habagat.’

‘Due to persistent torrential rains brought by the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) and a Low Pressure Area (LPA), the water level of Laguna de Bay has exceeded its critical high mark of 12.50 meters, reaching 12.58 meters,’ the LLDA said in an advisory issued shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29.

The agency said the 12.58-meter water level was recorded at 3 p.m. The LLDA considers 10.50 meters the lake’s critical low-water level and 12.50 meters its critical high-water level.

‘Residents living along the shores of Laguna de Bay are strongly advised to remain vigilant and closely monitor official public announcements,’ the agency said.

It also advised lakeshore residents to prepare for possible flooding and strictly follow local evacuation protocols if heavy rainfall persists.

The state weather bureau had earlier raised a red rainfall warning over Metro Manila and eight areas in Luzon due to heavy rains associated with the southwest monsoon.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) warned of potentially dangerous flooding in areas under the red warning.

According to the LLDA, Laguna de Bay had reached its critical high-water level of 12.50 meters in the past week before rising further to 12.58 meters on Saturday.

The agency noted that Laguna de Bay serves as a natural catch basin for water from watersheds in Laguna and Rizal provinces, as well as parts of Metro Manila. Rising lake levels therefore increase the risk of flooding in low-lying communities along its shores.

The LLDA urged local government units (LGUs) and residents in vulnerable areas to remain prepared and closely monitor developments.

Authorities were also advised to keep drainage systems and tributary rivers leading to the lake clear of obstructions to help minimize flood risks.

Located between Laguna province to the south and Rizal province to the north, Laguna de Bay is the Philippines’ largest lake and one of Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lakes by surface area, covering approximately 911 to 949 square kilometers.

For one day, doing business at Security Bank Corp. meant more than ringing up sales.

Employees behind small businesses sold their products at the Frederick Dy-led bank’s annual People’s Fair Marketplace, knowing that every booth also carried a chance to help someone stay in school.

The marketplace formed part of Security Bank’s 75th anniversary celebration, turning employee entrepreneurship into support for the Security Bank Foundation’s ‘Regalo Mo, Kinabukasan Ko (RMKK) Scholarship Program.’

Held at the SMX Convention Center Manila, the fair gathered businesses run by Security Bank employees.

Participation fees paid by exhibitors were donated to the foundation to help fund the education of deserving but underprivileged students.

For the employees who joined, it gave an ordinary marketplace a different purpose.

Kimberly Malka Soner, a relationship manager from the corporate banking group, says learning where the booth fees will go made participating even more worthwhile.

‘It’s a great opportunity to sell while giving back,’ Soner says.

That support goes to a scholarship program that is now running in its 16th year.

RMKK provides educational assistance to Security Bank’s agency-hired personnel, including janitors, security guards, messengers, drivers and other support staff, as well as their children.

For the academic year 2026 to 2027, the program is supporting 87 scholars, extending educational opportunities to families with limited financial means.

For Jan Jethro Puzon, another relationship manager from the corporate banking group, the fair also brought something personal to the table.

‘I have always believed in giving back-whether through my personal life, our church, or simply helping others when I can,’ says Puzon. ‘Joining the People’s Fair was a chance to support a cause I care about while also cheering on my wife’s baking business.’

That combination-employees becoming entrepreneurs while helping students-has made the annual marketplace an expression of generosity within the bank’s community.

Along with the Security Bank Foundation’s ‘Adopt a Scholar’ campaign, proceeds from the initiative help finance scholarships.

‘The People’s Fair gave us the chance to showcase our products, connect with the Security Bank community, and at the same time support initiatives that help students achieve their educational goals,’ shares Jose Gil Puey IV, an information technology officer.

For the scholars themselves, business banking segment officer Tristan Joseph Legaspi had a simple message: remain persistent, keep pursuing education and trust that the determination to finish their studies will eventually pay off.

‘Keep your persistence and drive for continuous education, and remain hopeful that your determination to finish your studies will eventually be rewarded,’ Legaspi enthuses.

The public can also contribute to RMKK through the foundation’s Adopt a Scholar campaign.

Established in 1951, Security Bank is marking its 75th anniversary this year. The universal bank operates across retail, corporate, commercial and business banking, among other financial services.

But at its anniversary marketplace, the currency was not limited to money changing hands.

For employees, every booth fee became something that could last beyond the fair itself-a little more help toward keeping a student in school and, perhaps, opening the door to a brighter future.

The Oriental Mindoro power grid had a 29.34-megawatt (MW) power reserve as of 6 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, according to the latest dispatch report from the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo)-Mindoro Control Center.

The grid had a total dependable capacity of 71.41 MW against the province’s electricity demand of 42.07 MW, leaving a reserve margin of 29.34 MW.

An additional 3.04 MW of spinning and regulating reserve was available to help maintain grid balance and stability.

The total contracted capacity from new power providers (NPPs) in Oriental Mindoro was listed at 100.50 MW, indicating sufficient contracted supply to meet the province’s long-term requirements.

Power plants with active generation included DPC at 8.31 MW, DPC Lot 1 at 5 MW, IMHPP at 10 MW and OPI at 7.43 MW, among others.

Several facilities, however, recorded low or zero output during the monitoring period, including Topteam Calapan, SPC Socorro, TPI Calapan and Regulus Puerto Galera.

The POC CDPP plant reported no generation due to fuel supply constraints, while some generating units were being used for voltage support and to prevent overloading of the transformer at the Socorro Substation.

TransCo’s dispatch report showed that the Oriental Mindoro grid had sufficient reserve capacity to meet current demand, with no immediate indication of a need for rotational brownouts due to a supply shortfall.

Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (Ormeco) General Manager Engr. Humphrey Dolor attributed the available reserve partly to lower electricity demand among member-consumers and increased generation from hydroelectric plants.

‘The low production of some IPPs (independent power producers) is due to the delay in the release of the UCME (Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification) from the National Power Corp. (NPC), which is allocated for fuel purchases,’ Dolor said in a message Sunday.

Dolor said the reserve situation should be viewed alongside the operating conditions of individual power producers, particularly those affected by fuel availability.

The low-pressure area (LPA) inside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) has a ‘high chance’ of developing into a tropical depression on Sunday, state meteorologists said.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the LPA was last spotted 1,340 kilometers (km) east of extreme northern Luzon, as of 3 a.m.

‘Based on our latest data, this low-pressure area is likely to become a tropical cyclone within the day and we will call it Pilandok,’ Pagasa weather specialist Obet Badrina said.

Badrina then warned that as the LPA moves westward toward the landmass, it is likely to strengthen the southwest monsoon.

Apart from the LPA, Pagasa is monitoring two other weather systems inside the PAR.

Among them is the southwest monsoon, which has been affecting most of Luzon over the past few weeks.

Tropical Depression Saudel is also being observed within the PAR, but has no direct effect on the country, Pagasa noted.

Saudel, formerly Obet, was last spotted 1,105 kilometers west-northwest of extreme northern Luzon, moving southwestward at 25 km per hour (kph).

Pagasa said Saudel has maximum sustained winds of 45 kph and gusts of up to 75 kph.

Four retired military generals who once steered the Army’s 10th Infantry Division (10ID) returned to their former headquarters on Friday, Aug. 28, in a rare homecoming tribute honoring the leaders who shaped the unit’s operational legacy.

Held at Camp General Manuel T. Yan Sr. in Barangay Tuboran, Mawab, Davao de Oro, the ‘Agila Tribute’ was organized by Maj. Gen. Alvin Luzon, 10ID commander, to recognize retired Gen. Noel Clement, retired Gen. Jose Faustino Jr., retired Lt. Gen. Ernesto Torres Jr., and retired Maj. Gen. Reuben Basiao.

Clement and Faustino both rose to become the 52nd and 56th chiefs of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, respectively. Torres later headed the Northern Luzon Command and served as executive director of the NTF-ELCAC National Secretariat.

During the gathering, the honorees reflected on their leadership journeys at the helm of the division and expressed gratitude to Luzon for the opportunity to reconnect with former colleagues and personnel.

‘Your names are part of our history. Your accomplishments are part of our institutional memory. Your lessons continue to influence the way we lead and serve,’ Luzon told the former commanders.

Luzon also challenged the current roster of troops to protect and advance the gains of their predecessors as the division transitions from sustaining an insurgency-free jurisdiction to posturing for external security operations.

‘To the current leaders and personnel of the Agila Division, this homecoming should remind us of our responsibility. We have inherited a legacy, something we must strengthen,’ Luzon said.

The event featured a ceremonial toast and the presentation of ‘The Eagle’ paintings to each honoree.

Also in attendance were retired Assistant Division Commanders Brig. Gen. Mario Lacurom and Brig. Gen. Maning Tawantawan, alongside other former senior officers of the 10ID.

The summer capital has been at the center of a budding metropolis for two years now, although this may not yet be common knowledge.

Working behind the scenes is the fledgling Metropolitan Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay Development Authority, more commonly known by the acronym BLISTT.

Much like the older Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the BLISTT metropolis has been quietly examining cross-border problems shared by Baguio and its five closest Benguet neighbors-the provincial capital and vegetable trading center La Trinidad; vegetable-producing towns Tuba, Tublay and Sablan; and Itogon, home to some of the Philippines’ oldest operating mines.

Lawyer Liberato Ramos Jr., one of the authority’s top managers, emphasized that BLISTT would not intervene in the policy directions of individual local governments. Instead, it would serve as a bridge toward joint solutions.

Ramos made the clarification when he introduced the BLISTT Metropolitan Authority for the first time to the Baguio City Council on Aug. 24.

Every local government would have complementary roles in the BLISTT metropolis, according to Marygail Antonette Killa, senior manager for planning and forester Marcial Aloda.

‘Baguio City is governance, healthcare, innovation, education, commerce, tourism,’ Aloda told the council.

He added: ‘La Trinidad is focused on agritechnology, education, trade and services. Itogon focuses on ecotourism, watershed, energy and mining.’

‘Tuba is a gateway and industrial hub. Sablan is focusing on agri-ecology, rural development, and community and Tublay would (center on) highland agriculture, organic farming, and agro-ecotourism,’ Aloda noted.

But while BLISTT intends to concentrate on the urbanizing towns surrounding Baguio, the city remains its ‘metropolitan core,’ Aloda acknowledged.

Problems once shouldered by Baguio alone-overpopulation, excessive waste, dwindling water supplies, traffic gridlock and overconstruction-are now emerging as crises for its Benguet neighbors. Some of these problems have already spilled over from the city.

These issues had been foreseen by the first incarnation of BLISTT as far back as 1990, after the Luzon earthquake once again devastated Baguio.

Conceived and popularized by the late city architect Joseph Alabanza, BLIST-then without Tublay-was envisioned as a blueprint for how Baguio could share or redirect investments and resources to adjoining municipalities to ease the pressure of extreme urbanization.

Affects everyone

Vincent Cabreza/Contributed photo

Tuba, for instance, could attract investments to develop its rolling hills into suburbs for families working in Baguio, Alabanza said in 1990, when he warned of what he saw as the city’s inevitable societal implosion if it continued along the same path.

More importantly, Alabanza argued that every stage of progress-and the benefits or problems it generates-ultimately affects the rest of BLISTT. Those problems are now here.

When a new comprehensive land use plan was presented to the City Council on Aug. 26, architect Donna Tabangin, Baguio’s planning, development and sustainability officer, said the city built 117 years ago under the American colonial government was closer than ever to the irreversible urban decay projected to occur by 2043.

To slow this grim trajectory, Baguio needs new analytical approaches to problems unique to a mountain city that was designed in 1905 by famed Chicago architect Daniel Burnham as a hill station intended to accommodate no more than 25,000 people.

For instance, Tabangin said the city is now planning around what she calls an ‘effective population’-not just its residents, but also tourists, students and people from BLISTT and other parts of Luzon who come to Baguio for business.

In 2023, Baguio received 1.3 million tourists. It also had 6,469 nonresident high school students and 22,054 nonresident college students, while 351,833 people came into the city daily for business transactions, according to city data presented by Tabangin.

Baguio’s nighttime population in 2023 was 380,354, but its effective population doubled to 760,708 during the daytime, when consumption of resources is higher.

Baguio now has a clearer picture of how much it needs to conserve after a 2019 urban carrying-capacity study found that key resources and infrastructure, including public roads, forest cover, water and wastewater treatment, were no longer sufficient for its population.

The carrying capacity of Baguio’s roads, based on a standard of 15 square meters per person, was already 218 percent beyond capacity when measured against the resident population, Tabangin said.

‘But if you measure the road against an effective population, it really gets worse because we are now 437 percent beyond the capacity,’ she added, helping explain the city’s worsening traffic congestion.

‘We need a city that’s more compact in such a way that we cannot spread out and encroach more on our open spaces and green spaces because we need that for sustainability. We need to align development with the resource that’s available,’ Tabangin said.

Water constraints

Vincent Cabreza/Contributed photo

Water, Tabangin said, will be the ‘binding constraint’ for all of Baguio’s future programs, business incentives and public service initiatives.

‘We are in severe deficit based on computations and it’s rapidly worsening. So development cannot happen if the water supply cannot support the intensity of development there,’ she said.

Baguio’s current water deficit stands at 13,900 cubic meters per day, she said, with the city having exceeded its water carrying capacity by 158 percent.

The city’s other life-support systems are similarly under pressure.

Baguio’s forest cover is approaching a ‘near ecological threshold’ and is already 113 percent beyond its carrying capacity, while its green cover, or total vegetation, has a ‘large capacity deficit,’ at 104 percent beyond capacity.

The city’s new land use plan aims to make all 128 barangays more livable, Tabangin said, but doing so requires an audit of Baguio’s living conditions.

Preserving open spaces will be crucial. About 36 percent of Baguio’s 57.5-square-kilometer territory is covered by proclaimed civil and military reservations, equivalent to 2,083.4 hectares (ha), while 3,865 ha are designated as environmental protected areas.

Baguio’s notoriously high land prices are partly a result of these constraints.

Around 2,930 ha are titled properties, while about 658 ha are certified ancestral lands owned by Baguio Ibaloys, including their only ancestral domain.

Tabangin said the new land use plan also seeks to harness Baguio’s demographic dividend, with 70 percent of its working-age population being young and potentially capable of accelerating economic growth.

It has been the city’s youth, she noted, who have often stirred change-from volunteering to clean and repaint school walls to taking up activist causes in the city’s streets.