Glenn Gaerlan

18/03/2026

is this really necessary ?

CODE OF CONDUCT, CULTURAL ORIENTATION FOR PERFORMERS IN BAGUIO EYED

The Baguio City Council is considering two proposed ordinances seeking to promote professionalism, cultural sensitivity, and responsible conduct among artists, performers, and visiting public personalities participating in events in Baguio City.

One measure, authored by Councilor Edison Bilog, proposes the establishment of a Baguio City Performers and Artists Code of Conduct which sets standards of professional behavior, public decency, environmental responsibility, and respect for the city’s cultural heritage. The proposed policy will cover local and visiting performers, cultural groups, entertainers in public and private events, street performers, and buskers operating in designated areas.

Under the proposal, performers are expected to honor contracts, follow scheduled performance times, refrain from intoxication or substance abuse, and treat organizers, fellow performers, staff, and audiences with courtesy. Performances must also avoid obscene, discriminatory, defamatory, or hate-inciting content. Costumes and stage acts should be appropriate to the nature of the event and audience.

The ordinance likewise requires artists to respect Indigenous traditions in the Cordillera including avoiding the misuse or misrepresentation of sacred symbols, rituals, and traditional attire.

Environmental responsibility is also emphasized, with performers expected to properly dispose of waste and avoid causing damage to public spaces, heritage sites, and natural resources.

Compliance with permit requirements, noise and curfew regulations, and safety protocols is mandatory. Street performers may only operate in designated areas, must not obstruct pedestrian traffic, and may accept voluntary donations provided there is no aggressive solicitation.

Prohibited acts include performing under the influence of illegal drugs, public nudity or explicit sexual acts, inciting violence or panic, damaging property, unauthorized political campaigning, and violating child protection laws.

Penalties under the measure range from written warnings and mandatory compliance seminars for first-time violations to fines, permit suspension, or revocation for repeat offenses. In serious or repeated cases, the City Council may declare a performer persona non grata, disqualifying them from participating in city-sanctioned events for a specified period following due process.

Complementing this proposal is another ordinance authored by Councilor Joel Alangsab, Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President John Rhey Mananeng, and Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative Maximo Edwin Jr. which seeks to require handlers, managers, or authorized representatives of entertainers, celebrities, guest speakers, and other VIP personalities invited to public events in the city to undergo a mandatory cultural and community orientation prior to permit issuance.

The proposed Cultural Respect in Public Events Ordinance aims to promote awareness of local customs and traditions and prevent misunderstandings involving visiting personalities unfamiliar with the Cordillera’s cultural context.

The orientation will cover topics such as the history and heritage of the city, indigenous customs and sacred practices, community standards on public conduct, environmental stewardship, and relevant city regulations governing events.

The City Tourism Office, in coordination with the Creative Baguio City Council and regulatory offices, will administer the orientation, maintain an official registry of covered personalities and events, and issue certificates of compliance.

Organizers who fail to comply may face fines ranging from P2,000.00 to P5,000.00, and repeat violations could result in the disqualification of the concerned personality from participating in public events within the city.

Both proposed measures have been approved on first reading. The first one has been referred to the Committee on Education, Creativity, ICT, and Non-IP Culture and Historical Research for review, while the second one has been referred to the Committee on Tourism, Special Events, Parks, and Playgrounds, also for review . -Jordan G. Habbiling

18/03/2026

A BIG NO…

let’s defend our watershed areas in Baguio City… these are not just patches of land… these are life sources for our people… for our future…

not a single tree should be sacrificed… just to build another road…

development should never come at the cost of our water… our environment… our survival…

if we lose our watersheds… we lose everything…

protect what sustains us…

There’s something deeply wrong with how “development” is being imposed on cities like Baguio.

A planned road project by the Department of Public Works and Highways cutting through a watershed has now alarmed the Baguio City Council. And rightfully so. Because at this point, how many times do we need to repeat this lesson before it sinks in?

Let’s be clear: Baguio is already in a water crisis.

Every dry season, residents deal with shortages, rationing, and unreliable supply. Entire communities wake up at odd hours just to store water. Businesses adjust operations around it. Families live with it. This is not hypothetical. This is daily life.

And yet the very ecosystems that help sustain water supply are the ones being put at risk.

A watershed is not idle land. It is not “extra space.” It is the city’s natural reservoir, its filtration system, its flood control, and its protection against landslides all in one. You destroy or disrupt that, and you don’t just lose trees. You weaken the entire life-support system of Baguio.

This is what makes the proposal so alarming.

Because in a city already struggling with water insecurity, why would you even consider compromising a watershed? What kind of planning ignores the most basic environmental realities on the ground?

And then there’s the process.

Why does it always feel like these projects move forward first, and consultation comes later as an afterthought? Why are local officials forced to react instead of being part of the decision-making from the beginning?

This is the recurring problem with centralized infrastructure planning. The same template gets applied everywhere, regardless of whether it actually fits. Roads, access, expansion, growth. But in a place like Baguio, that mindset is not just outdated. It’s dangerous.

And let’s not pretend this exists in a vacuum.

The Department of Public Works and Highways has long been hounded by corruption issues, controversies, and questions on transparency. Whether fair or not, that reputation exists. And because of that, every major project they push, especially in sensitive areas, will always be met with skepticism.

So the question is simple: why push a project this controversial, in a place this fragile, knowing the level of public distrust already surrounding your institution?

If anything, this should have been the moment to exercise restraint, to prioritize transparency, and to work closely with local stakeholders. Instead, it feels like another case of forcing a project through and dealing with the backlash later.

At some point, we need to confront an uncomfortable truth. Not all development is progress. And not all infrastructure is worth building.

Baguio is not lacking in roads. What it is lacking is sustainable planning, respect for ecological limits, and governance that actually listens.

If Baguio is serious about protecting what little remains of its natural systems, then this is where the line should be drawn.

Some places must be left alone.

Because once a watershed is gone, no amount of infrastructure, no matter how well-funded, can bring it back.

And by then, the cost will no longer be political.

It will be irreversible.

18/03/2026

“I stand with the writer… Baguio’s creative scene isn’t built on rules… it’s built on freedom… grit… community… Punishing everyone for the mistakes of a few isn’t protection… it’s control… Let artists hold each other accountable… not a council with a clipboard.”

I took the time to actually talk to people who live and breathe Baguio’s creative scene, musicians, performers, artist-entrepreneurs, not just read the sanitized version of what’s being proposed. And the overwhelming sentiment is this: the proposed Code of Conduct and Cultural Orientation for Performers in Baguio feels less like protection and more like control.

Let’s be clear about what’s on the table.

The Baguio City Council is pushing two measures. One, authored by Edison Bilog, creates a sweeping Code of Conduct for performers. The other, backed by Joel Alangsab, John Rhey Mananeng, and Maximo Edwin Jr., mandates cultural orientation seminars before artists and public figures can even participate in events.

On paper, it all sounds reasonable: professionalism, respect for indigenous culture, environmental responsibility, compliance with permits. Who would argue against that?

But here’s the problem. This isn’t just about professionalism. This is about power. And more dangerously, it risks turning Baguio’s creative identity into something regulated, filtered, and sanitized.

When I spoke to artists, many felt outright insulted. Imagine being part of the very community that helped build Baguio’s reputation as a creative city, only to be told you now need to be oriented on how to behave, as if you are the problem.

That said, there’s another side to this story that people are not talking about enough.

Some of my musician friends shared experiences that the City Council might actually be reacting to. Stories of certain performers, particularly those not originally from Baguio, coming in with a sense of entitlement, harassing organizers, disrespecting agreements, and acting like the city owes them a stage.

One case even escalated into a criminal complaint after a public outburst during an event, although it did not prosper.

There are also accounts of event organizers ignoring local regulations altogether, blatantly violating the city’s noise ordinances, running events until 2 or 3 in the morning, and disrupting entire neighborhoods. That is not creative freedom. That is irresponsibility.

It is also worth asking whether this entire push was triggered, at least in part, by recent controversies such as the vulgar performance of Romeo Oggong during a m Ibaloi Day event in Baguio. If that is the case, then we are looking at policy being shaped by reaction, not by careful, inclusive consultation.

So yes, there is a real problem. But here is where the ordinance gets it wrong.

It punishes everyone for the behavior of a few.

Instead of being targeted, precise, and enforceable, it becomes a blanket policy that treats all artists, local, homegrown, and respectful, as potential violators. That is not governance. That is overreach.

And we need to address the uncomfortable tension here, the friction between locals and newcomers.

Baguio has always been a sanctuary for art. But as more outsiders relocate and integrate into the scene, cracks are showing. Some locals feel displaced, not just physically, but culturally. There is a growing perception that certain newcomers ride on Baguio’s name and creative capital without understanding or respecting the community they stepped into.

That resentment is real. I heard it directly.

But codifying that frustration into policy is dangerous territory.

Because once you start deciding who belongs and who does not, you are no longer protecting culture. You are gatekeeping it. And that contradicts the very spirit that made Baguio a creative hub in the first place.

This is exactly why, instead of rushing into a restrictive Code of Conduct, the city should be strengthening spaces for dialogue, starting with a Creative Council that is truly grounded in the community.

If such a council is to have legitimacy, it must be composed primarily of artists and cultural workers who are indigenous or genuinely rooted in Baguio. Not parachuted stakeholders. Not performative representatives. But people who have lived, contributed to, and protected the city’s creative ecosystem long before it became trendy.

A Creative Council like this can serve as a real forum, not a token body, where artists can debate standards, air grievances, call out bad behavior, and even discipline their own. Accountability hits differently when it comes from within the community, not imposed from above.

It also creates nuance, something this ordinance severely lacks. Not every violation is the same. Not every conflict needs a penalty. Some need mediation. Some need context. Some need community correction, not government punishment.

And importantly, it gives locals a rightful voice in shaping the cultural direction of their own city without reducing that power into exclusionary policy.

Because here is the balance that needs to be struck. Protect Baguio’s cultural identity without turning it into a closed gate. Welcome new creatives without allowing entitlement to take root.

Right now, this ordinance fails at both.

Let us not romanticize the past either. The idea that there were no problems before outsiders arrived is convenient, but not entirely true. What has changed is scale, visibility, and stakes. The scene is bigger now, more commercialized, more contested.

So yes, discipline is needed. Accountability is needed. But a sweeping Code of Conduct with vague standards like appropriate expression and cultural sensitivity opens the door to selective enforcement and worse, censorship.

Who decides what is appropriate
Who defines what is offensive
Who draws the line between art and violation

Because history has shown us that once government starts defining those boundaries, creativity is always the first casualty.

If the goal is to fix bad behavior, then fix bad actors. Enforce existing laws. Penalize concrete violations such as contract breaches, public disturbance, and harassment.

But do not suffocate an entire creative ecosystem just to address a handful of entitled individuals.

Empower the community. Build a Creative Council that actually represents Baguio. Let artists hold each other accountable before the state steps in.

Baguio’s identity as a creative city was not built through compliance seminars and conduct codes. It was built through freedom, messy, loud, sometimes imperfect, but always alive.

And that is exactly what this ordinance risks killing.

04/02/2026

it was such a pleasure to be part of the ILOCOS SUR FESTIVAL. Vigan and Candon has always been very good to me. with me on the pictures are Governor Jerry Singson, Vice Gov. Ryan Singson, J**s Samson, Marlon Flavier Tagorda and my brother Dave Gaerlan

singing the doxology was a beautiful experience

26/01/2026

𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑

The MDS Candon City Choral Festival (MDSCCCF), in partnership with the MDS Heritage Music Foundation, and with the support of City Mayor Eric Singson and Deputy Speaker Kristine Singson-Meehan, invites choir enthusiasts, friends, and families to a night of exceptional music featuring the 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐱 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 of the MDSCCCF, culminating in a special concert by the country’s premier choral group, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬, with special performances by the Candon City Chorale, Orchestra, and Children’s Choir—all happening during the Closing Ceremony.

Join us on February 22, 2026, at the Candon City Arena.

Admission is free and open to the public.

21/01/2026

we are getting closer to the main event .

Come witness MDS Candon City Choral Festival in the heart of Ilocandia

𝐆𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐃𝐒 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 🎶✨

The countdown is on—just one month to go before one of the most anticipated choral festivals up north! Are you ready to witness the power, passion, and world-class caliber of the choirs joining us? Brace yourselves for soaring harmonies, breathtaking performances, and a celebration of music like no other.

13/01/2026

all the best at the MDS Candon City Choral Festival BCNHS YOUNG MINSTRELS

10/01/2026

see you in Candon February 20,21 and 22, 2026

31/12/2025

PROUD TO BE AN APACHE

31/12/2025

the 86th Baguio Apace Nation annual Bonfire