Trip to Baguio.

On our way, we got caught in traffic because of this. I hope the driver is alright but my dad said it is unlikely.


AG wanted to see some old churches that we are known for. I thought that it would be good to show him Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan.

My dad wanted to go back to because he remembers it to be beautiful.

I was shocked, disappointed and ashamed.

It was chaotic and commercialized that I imagine Jesus Christ would be very angry with how it has become. Vendors, beggars, jeepneys and "parking attendants" were everywhere. New structures are being built left and right. The gardens are smaller now because of new buildings.

The crowd was crazy! The church was overflowing with people...but people who were texting, taking photos of themselves, feeding their kids, buying balloons and snacks.

We went in, said our prayers and fought our way back out.




Our Lady of Manaoag has many devotees but I think that the parish should have maintained it's gardens and stayed away from the unsightly picnic sheds and parking spaces for jeepneys.



The beauty of the church is no longer there. This photo was how my dad remembers it to be. I just hope that miracles are still coming true despite how commercial it has become.


So on we go up to Baguio but before we get there, we needed to cross Rosario Bridge of La Union. But it was closed.




At this point, I felt so very ashamed of how progress is taking it's sweet time here in the Philippines. We were told that this bridge was destroyed by typhoon FRANK 2008. I mean, seriously?? 2008? One bridge? I may not know about construction but my Dad surely does. He said he can have this fixed in maximum 3 months with the right machinery and workers. We didn't even see a single person working on it. (Shout out to Noynoy, can you just hire my dad please? He's retired but I will force him to take it just so we don't have to cross a dried up, rocky river and destroy our tires.)

What if heavy rains start falling? And that is super soon already! Will the cars still have to cross this river?? I am scared.


I said...NO MORE STOPS!!! Go straight up to Baguio where we can relax.

I was wrong. More on this in my next blog.