BCBC TO REVIVE ECO-WALK DURING 52ND YEAR OF INCORPORATION

June 1, 2024 Community Billboard

The Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club, Inc. will celebrate its 52nd anniversary as an incorporated
organization with the revival of the media-led Eco-Walk at the Busol Watershed. BCBC president, Thomas AF. Picaña said this week that there is a need to revive the acclaimed media-led environment-oriented activity that seeks to educate locals, especially the young generation in protecting the environment. “This is timely”, said Picaña, as the BCBC celebrates its 52nd anniversary as an incorporated organization recognized by the Securities Exchange Commission on June 19. The BCBC was incorporated on June 19, 1972.

He said a day-long activity is being eyed near the middle of June, considered as environment month. This is also the right time to activate the Eco-Walk with one of the mediamen who helped organize the activity right after the devastations of the 1990 earthquake in Art Tibaldo. Tibaldo said that, after the 1990 earthquake, Team Baguio was created which eventually led to the creation of the Alay sa Kalinisan and the Baguio Regreening Movement, the latter
under then Baguio-Benguet Vicariate bishop Ernesto Salgado. The BRM in turn teamed up with the BCBC through then Public Information Officer Ramon Dacawi for the creation of a team to initiate an activity to educate the younger generation in protecting the environment.

Thus the Eco-Walk was created in 1993, said Tibaldo. The Eco-Walk from the onset had help from the newly created Timpuyog ti Iit of the Association of Barangay Council led then by its president and now councilor Leandro Yangot, Jr. “He was assisted by fellow barangay chairs in Wilfredo Wong and Raffy Pangan, among others,” Tibaldo recalled.
“We had been wanting to re-activiate the Eco-Walk and in fact did similar activities at Busol Watershed,” Tibaldo, a retired government employee now with the Baguio Arts Creative Council. Picana said that the June 19 activity will also commemorate late BCBC members and mediamen, especially those who died during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This will be the proper time to commemorate those mediamen, who were our colleagues and some who we worked with in the past,” said Picana, referring to former SunStar reporter and former PNP Press Corps president Ernie
Olson, Jr., and Ceasar Reyes. Olson and Picana worked together at the former Vibrations, which would later become SunStar Baguio. Picaña was one of the original reporters when SunStar Baguio was started in June 1995. Olson
joined the paper in 1999, after Picana left the paper with the late former SSB editor Geronimo Evangelista, Sr.
“Of course, we will celebrate the life and contributions of our elders,” Picana added. Aside from the iwik, a tree
planting will be done also during the day-long event at Buyog, added Picaña.

Pigeon Lobien/ABN