Baguio Minute 3

Baguio was not as cold this week as predicted. Still, the price of vegetables is on a three-month slump and yet the arrival of cheap vegetables remain unabated. Sellers with disabilities called on the city's demolition team to be more merciful in their operations. Street diggings by the Baguio Water District will again add to the traffic woes as BWD announced they have extended their pipe-laying. Councilor Weygan disapproved the plan to turn Diplomat Hotel (the former seminary atop Dominican Hill) into a mining museum. Weygan also recommended that the P7 million fund to be used for the rehabilitation of the Tuba dumpsite be used instead for the MRF or the Materials Recovery Facility of the city. It is another MRF issue for Benguet as Tuba town wants small-scale miners to pay an MRF or the miners rehabilitation fund before they can operate. The Burnham Ganza park (formerly the parking area for Jadewell) is going to become a "first response center" whatever that means. Boxing champs Donaire and Penalosa are now training in Coyeesan. The drug agency netted P250 million worth of illegal drugs from 63 operations last year. But this week, more than P100 million worth of marijuana was recovered in one operation alone. Baguio internet geeks led by Gideon Omero are organizing a beer bash where the number of beer bottles bought would be equivalent to the number of trees to be planted. More than 400 employees from Texas Instruments were retrenched. The mayor changed his mind about letting all private vehicles exempted from number coding and now said that only cars of tourists are exempted. Baguio declares Burnham Park as its OTOP (One Town One Product). The Panagbenga's grand parade would be on February 28 and March 1.