The last Ibaloy to somehow serve as congressman of Baguio was the late Andres Acop Cosalan, but that was when Baguio was part of the district of Benguet under the old Mountain Province. We have yet to see an Ibaloy hold office as the representative of the lone district of Baguio, and with the entry of Councilor Poppo Cosalan into the congressional race, we might just have gone through the first step towards the historical realization of this dream. Let’s keep our hopes high, fellow Ibaloys. Mansaksahey kito.
The clamor for an Ibaloy congressman in Baguio is not hinged on bigotry and racism. It is heavily rooted in the fact that the indigenous peoples of the city are faced with certain issues involving their ancestral lands, cultural survival, and other ancestral rights. For decades, Ibaloys have felt neglected and ignored even with the advent of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act and the creation of the National Commission of Indigenous Peoples. The revised city charter has also failed to address age-old concerns when it could have been the best way to solve the problems of the past head on.
As I always say, Baguio is and will always be the land of the Ibaloys and I am very vocal in my position that the city was built on colonial ambitions using stealth, coercion, violence, and intimidation — a big no to the erroneous notion that the Ibaloys sold their lands to the Americans to pave the way for the concrete jungle we see now. A disheartening injustice that has never been addressed by the current and past legislative leaders.
It is for this very reason that the Ibaloys of Baguio are yearning for a leader who is able to feel their pain and religiously fight for their aspirations. One from their own who can understand well their cherished traditions and their love for culture. One who truly appreciates the importance of ancestry and the Igorot concept of land ownership. One whose heart beats in synchrony with their gongs.
Unlike in Baguio, Benguet does not face the same ancestral dilemma. Benguet needs progress in the form of farm-to-market roads, rural electrification, provision of essential facilities, and the efficient distribution of social services to the grassroots community. Hence, the idea of “iBenguet for Benguet” does not appeal much to the province’s electorate. The very idea reeks of prejudice and racism, especially if it is promoted by belittling someone’s ancestry through insults and false pretenses.
The coming elections will surely be an event for the books. Lots of dreams depend on it. One can only hope and pray that it will be fought fairly. More focus should be on each candidate’s plan of action.
The key to a better future is, perhaps, to determine the genuine interests of those aspiring for positions, their performance, and past behavior, particularly in their ability to resist the lucrative call of corruption.
