A couple of months prior: after the culmination of the Ibagiw Creative Festival 2020, I heard the name Tim Yap a lot. He gave away masks at the closing ceremony, and several artists would be seen wearing them around town days after the event. They were the good kind, they said, I'm not so sure but I think these were the copper variety. That was really nice, I thought.
A long time ago, an institution in Baguio was expecting guests who wanted to witness a cañao, so gongs were brought out, gong players and dancers were gathered, a native pig was bought, a Mambunong was called who refused to perform the ritual for entertainment purposes. So an "official event" was hastily put together and was made the reason for the cañao: the success of the "opening" of the event.
Fast forward to some days prior: Cultural and tourism institutions in the city were all on their toes doing their share to honor one Tim Yap, and ensure that he had one hell of a birthday celebration. Wherever he planned to set foot in the city, the red carpet was being laid out, sites were being spruced up to make it even more interesting for Mr. Yap and his entourage of a few dozens. The next word that came to mind: sycophancy.
Add vanity, self-importance and social media, that "cesspool of questionable human behavior" (Ducky, NCIS), in the mix and that's what we had: a portrait of hedonistic, apathetic self-important self-indulgence.
The non-apologies added fuel to this bonfire of the vanities. Yap said the party was really about helping Baguio get back on its feet by supporting its local artists and promoting tourism. The Mayor confirmed that when he justified his presence by stating that it was a gesture of gratitude for the things that Yap has done for local artists - he bought several art pieces from the crafts fair during Ibagiw and the much-acclaimed exhibit, Interlinked, according to various social media posts.
I find the suggestion that all the privileges and entitlements accorded him and his posse were justified because they were doing what they did for Baguio lame. Unjustified. Repellent, even. Offensive. Really now, what can Tim Yap do to promote tourism in Baguio that's better than the social media posts of non-celebrity visitors that drive droves to various destinations in the city? Panagbenga never needed a celebrity endorser. Actually, its celebrities who ride on the popularity of Panagbenga. There you go - Baguio does not and never needed a Tim Yap to boost its stock, it's Tim Yap who needed Baguio to boost his.
Really, how much did Tim Yap's birthday party really do for local tourism that our tourism VIPs all but knelt in front of him and kissed his feet? By how much did Tim Yap and his purchases uplift the local art community that his party deserved the presence of the local chief executive at a very inopportune time, personally for the grieving mayor whose father passed recently and in whose memory a mass was scheduled that night, and generally for a city whose own citizenry has been placed under one of the strictest quarantine protocols in the country?
Yap could have had his cake, but vanity, ahh vanity, the devil's favorite sin, to quote pop culture, compelled him to eat it too. He had 30, 40 or so of his friends and loved ones with him, all able to get into Baguio much easier than many of its own citizens stranded outside the city, and they could've enjoyed their wine and 5-star buffet in private. But no. He couldn't be content with having dozens of his close friends with him for a party that mere mortals are forbidden to hold, he had to have his audience for his circus. The all-white number, the Staying Alive pose against a backdrop of an opulent hotel and fireworks in the distance, the cultural performers in indigenous attire dancing to the music of gongs around a bonfire, all of that had to be be flaunted in public. In your face. He craved, needed the likes and hearts and thumbs-up and oohs and aahs - and for those, public health protocols, propriety, commons sense, decency - all of these be damned.
I feel sorry for the Mayor. I have worked with him as a consultant in the first months of his administration during which time I got to have a glimpse of the much celebrated public servant in private along with the workings of his office, I have agreed and disagreed with him on a lot of things still with all due respect, but in this issue, I feel sorry for him. I just cannot imagine the Benjie I got to know, worked with, biked with, chatted with, went against all odds and oddities with to stage a festival dropping almost everything for a Tim Yap party. My first thought was - bad intel. Maybe, maybe not. But then, true to his character, the buck stopped with him. He owned it, took responsibility for it. Paid a high price for it, politically at least. And this is not the first time - he once humbled himself at the city council and apologized for the actions of people around and under him. I find that commendable.
But that does and should not take away from the gravity of the faux pas.
I feel even sorrier for the people who have really done so much for local art, culture and tourism - those who would never be caught dead wearing an all-white number, striking a Staying Alive pose against a backdrop of an opulent hotel and fireworks in the distance but have been working tirelessly and thanklessly to uplift the local art and culture sector, place Baguio on the international map, bring pride to the city, and will continue to do all that because their hearts truly belong to this city and its people - they're not allowed to party at all, hence no chance to be honored with the presence and gratitude of the Mayor on their birthday.
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