Post Script on Gen. Antonio Taguba

Mea culpa. So I relied on my journalist friend's forwarded message (which he got from another person) that Gen. Antonio Taguba has Igorot blood running through his veins. Eh mali pala. Tsk tsk. Trublue was kind enough to point out the error and so I have to write this post script. I did have a female classmate surnamed Taguba from Kalinga but she said her family trace their roots in Mountain Province. But as far as our hero is concerned, he's an Ilocano, period.

I Googled Tomas Taguba, Gen. Taguba's dad, and here's what I found:

After serving in two wars and being captured by the Japanese Imperial Army at Bataan in the Philippines in 1942, Tomas B. Taguba finally has been recognized for his service.

"I don't know what happened," Taguba said after receiving two medals recently from Maj. Gen. James T. Hill, commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division. Taguba's son, Brig. Gen. Antonio Taguba, the U.S. Army's first Filipino-American general officer, observed the ceremony.

"This was a special honor for him and his family," said Gen. Taguba, deputy commander of the 1st Army at Fort Jackson in North Carolina.

Tomas Taguba was 24 when he was inducted into the U.S. Army on Feb. 10, 1942, as a member of the Philippine Scouts.

During the Japanese attack on the Philippines, Taguba was a truck driver assigned to haul ammunition and food supplies to the front lines on Bataan and Corregidor. He was captured by the Japanese when Bataan fell on April 9, 1942.

During the infamous Bataan death march, Taguba escaped, joined the underground movement and avoided being recaptured by the Japanese until U.S. forces returned to the Philippines. He was listed as missing in action for more than three years -- a period spent reporting on Japanese movements in his home province of Isabella, (emphasis mine) he said.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in July 1945, and rose to the rank of sergeant 1st class before he retired in 1962. During his more than 20 years in the Army, Taguba served in South Korea, Germany and Okinawa, spending his last 17 years as a motor-pool sergeant.

After retiring from the Army, Taguba returned to the service to spend another 17 years at Schofield Barracks working as an arms specialist.

He has been married to the former Maria Batulan for more than 52 years. They have seven children and nine grandchildren.

Igorot or not, I continue to admire Gen. Taguba, a shining example of a man of valor and honor.

Gen. Antonio Taguba: An Igorot Hero in These Troubled Times

A journalist friend forwarded this beautiful article regarding the modern-day heroism of General Antonio Taguba, "the highest-ranking US military officer of Filipino descent. He was born and raised in the Philippines before migrating to the US, and is the son of an Igorot Philippine Scout who survived the Bataan Death March."

I couldn't help but be moved by this man's awe-inspiring sense of integrity as he evealed the damning truth about the abuses committed by his fellow American soldiers at Abu Ghraib. Sir, you make me feel honored to be an Igorot.

The eminent journalist Seymour Hersh has just published a story in the New Yorker on the man who told the truth about Abu Ghraib.

The US government investigation of the Abu Ghraib prison atrocities in 2004 was led by General Antonio Taguba, the highest-ranking US military officer of Filipino descent. He was born and raised in the Philippines before migrating to the US, and is the son of an Igorot Philippine Scout who survived the Bataan Death March.

General Taguba's report on the Abu Ghraib atrocities is lucid, damning and fearless, and shows a trail of responsibility leading to the top levels of the most powerful government in the world.

Only a military man of the greatest integrity could have had the courage to file a report so unflinching in its analysis, and so damning of his superiors and of the military system around which his whole career--his life--was built.

I remember watching on C-SPAN as General Taguba entered a crowded meeting room to testify before the US Senate Armed Forces Committee regarding his findings. It took him a while to make his way to his chair, because so many wanted to shake his hand--the hand of a man who was not afraid to tell the truth.

A Filipino friend who lives in Washington, DC, rode a taxi to the hearing. When the taxi driver learned that she was a Filipino, and where she was headed, he refused payment for the ride.

"The world needs more people like General Taguba," he said.
*************************************

>From the article in the New Yorker:

"From the moment a soldier enlists, we inculcate loyalty, duty, honor, integrity, and selfless service," Taguba said. "And yet when we get to the senior-officer level we forget those values. I know that my peers in the Army will be mad at me for speaking out, but the fact is that we violated the laws of land warfare in Abu Ghraib. We violated the tenets of the Geneva Convention. We violated our own principles and we violated the core of our military values. The stress of combat is not an excuse, and I believe, even today, that those civilian and military leaders responsible should be held accountable."

Read "The General's Report: How Antonio Taguba, who investigated the Abu Ghraib scandal, became one of its casualties by Seymour M. Hersh, New Yorker, 25 June 2007 here.

How Baguio's Barangays Got Their Names Part II

As promised, here's part 2 of our list. You could add up to this list if you know how or why a certain place in Cordi was so named. Trublue, Holy Ghost was named after a convent:-) Hmmm...I wonder how Barangay Palpaltogan in Lepanto, Mankayan got its name;-)

Dagsian (Upper Dagsian and Lower Dagsian)- Originally called DAGSI for its springs of pure water. It was later changed to DAGSIAN, meaning plenty of pure water.

Fairview - So named because of its panoramic view of Guisad Valley, Aurora Hill, and Camp Allen.

Gibraltar - Major Jonathan Spith, a German national who married a Filipino and lived and died in this barangay, is said to have named Gibraltar after the Rock of Gibraltar in Europe.

Green Water - Named after greenish water spewed out of its numerous moss-covered springs.

Central Guisad - From the Ibaloi word no i-shoclshad, which literally describes how the mountain top was carried by the strong current into the deepest part of Guisad Valley after a strong typhoon.

Holy Ghost - Named after the Holy Ghost convent atop a plateau to the northeast which overlooks the entire barangay.

Loakan Apugan - Named after the main product of the barangay – apugy. Years back, the place was a quarry for lime and silicon.

Military Cut-off - So named by General William Wagner, as the cut-off point to the former Camp John Hay, one of the military installations of the American forces in Luzon during World War II.

Mines View - So called because of Mines View Park, from which tourists could glimpse Baguio Gold and other mines from the view deck.

How Baguio’s Barangays Got Their Names Part I

How did our different barangays here in Baguio get their names? The Saint Louis University (SLU) Library and Museum staff thought this was worth researching. Last January, during SLU’s foundation day celebration at Melvin Jones, I had a fun time visiting the SLU Library and Museum’s booth which presented several panels listing down the names of Baguio’s barangays and a brief history of their names.

As I was reading over these panels, I recalled three places I know and a few details about their names. For instance, Otucan in Bauko, where I was born, used to be known as "Kiodan." Mainit in Bontoc was called "Chonglian" before some lowlander gave it its current name. Sabangan? Until now this village has plenty of saba (bananas);-)

Well, here’s the first installment of what I got from the SLU Library and Museum (reproduced here in toto).

ABCR – Acronyms for Andres Bonifacio, Caguioa and Rimando

Ambiong – Named after a bee species that is said to have once produced the sweetest honey among all the local bee species, which abounded in the place during the olden times.

Atok Trail – So called since it was the road that led to Atok Gold Mines.

Balsigan – From the Ilocano word pagbalsigan (a place for chopping wood). So called since most of the residents then were engaged in chopping wood, which they sold to the rich people for their fireplaces.

Brookside – So called because it is alongside a winding brook that snakes through the roofing hills from Pacdal and empties at Lucban.

Bakakeng – From the local word baka (cow) or bakaan (pastureland for cows) and mambebkeng (to build dikes for the farm and animals).

Cabinet Hill – Teachers’ Camp Barangay so called because it is the location of the cottages of Cabinet Secretaries and of Teachers’ Camp, originally planned as the “summer camp of public school teachers.”

Camp 8 – The builders of Kennon Road had to set up eight camps on their way up starting from the bottom of Rosario, La Union, to finish the city’s first gravel road artery. The last camp was Camp 8.

City Camp (City Camp Central, City Camp Proper) – This was a camp for City government personnel and workers of the Rock Quarry during the pre-war days. A camp for equipment, dubbed Motorpool, was also constructed as a depot for heavy equipment used in quarrying.

More "Mainit" Photos

Mainit is a must-see destination when you're in Bontoc. You can find Mainit-bound jeepneys at the corner of Chakas Building (sorry I don't know the name of the street) and the main road of Bontoc Central. Travel time is between 30 to 45 minutes.



Enjoy a relaxing dip at the Ben-Vick's Rest House, owned by Mr. Benedict Odsey.



Or try Mrs. Eleanor Geston's swimming pools near the entrance of the village.



Walk around Mainit and you'll find interesting aspects of its people's culture.



Mainit also boasts of its own stone-walled ricefields.

Hot talaga ang Mainit, di ba?:-)