Banaue: A Case of Wasted Treasure

"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs; If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and tear them into pieces."--Matthew 7:6 (NIV)

Not a few days ago, I remember reading an article by a balikbayan describing his last visit to Subic (SBMA). The article was a boring litany of what Subic has been as a booming free-port to what it has become become--a seemingly wretched place. Like the author, I am reminded of the the passage above every time I think of my own travel. In my case it is Banaue  and its once renown Rice Terraces, in the province of Ifugao. 

When in Sagada, I was occupied with much curiousity when people would tend to dissuade us from visiting Banaue by saying that it is no longer the place as it used to be. Skipping Banaue from the itinerary would have saved us a lot of time considering that travel time from Banaue to Baguio would take at least eight hours. If we would go back to Baguio directly from Sagada that would give us plenty of time to rest.  Nonetheless, we braved another two hours or so of travel to Banaue. 

Then lo and behold! The once verdant stairways to the skys were lost and what remained are ugly ruins. Housing structures are now slowly cropping up on the hillside. The town proper is littered with what seemed like decrepit buildings and run-down structures. We were all disappointed beyond belief. 

This is not exactly the kind of place we want our visitors to see; but here it is smacked right in the middle of the town.

They say that there is another area where the terraces are still in its original form--that is in Batad. But, that is a long long way from here. The first thing that visitors would see is Banaue and it does not create so much of a good impression. I never knew Batad when I was in grade school studying Philippine geography. What I learned was that the 8th Wonder of the World was in Banaue.

Banaue is supposed to be the show-window of what rice terraces are like. The problem is that there are people amongst us who do not appreciate the gift of beauty that are entrusted to us.

This engineering feat was something comparable to the pyramids in Egypt. This is something that could never be found in our place in Negros probably because the older generations of Ifugaos are more ingenious than my ancestor. The point is that this is a gift to the people of Ifugao so that they would have something to take care and to be proud of.

I just hope that steps are now in place to protect the rest of the Ifugao Rice Terraces. To date, the Ifugao Rice is still part of the UN World Heritage Sites. I hope so too that this will serve as a wake up call for the people of Banaue to stop on their tracks, turn around and start picking the pieces of treasures that they have so far thrown to the pigs.