Baguio tourists unfazed by Habagat rains

Despite the inclement weather brought by the Southwest Monsoon or Habagat, some tourists in Baguio City braved the cold winds and heavy rains to push through with their travel plans.

In a “24 Oras Weekend” report by Marisol Abdurahman on Saturday, a local hotel said it was nearly fully booked, with most guests coming from nearby lowland provinces.

“This weekend, po sir, almost fully booked po tayo. Most of our guests are families na galing po sa mga taga-baba, mga probinsya,” hotel staff member Daisy Savellano said.

(This weekend, sir, we are almost fully booked. Most of our guests are families from the lowlands and nearby provinces.)

Among those who pushed through with their vacation despite the bad weather was the family of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW).

“Sabi ko, ano na lang, God forbid, walang mangyari sa amin. So ganon lang—ang isang OFW, na naghahanap ng kasiyahan din,” the OFW said.

“Four weeks lang kami dito, but nung dumating kami sa ano, since nung touchdown namin umuulan na,” he added.

(I just prayed, God forbid, that nothing bad would happen to us. That's just how it is for an OFW who also wants to enjoy some time off. We're only here for four weeks, but it has been raining since we arrived.)

Another family also decided to push through with their trip to celebrate a child's birthday.

“Birthday po kasi ng anak ko bukas, so kahit umuulan, okay lang, go,” another tourist said.

(It's my child's birthday tomorrow, so even if it's raining, it's fine—we're still going.)

The persistent rains, however, caused flooding and other incidents in Baguio City and nearby areas.

A portion of Naguilian Road in Barangay Irisan was flooded, while a house in the same barangay was reportedly hit by falling bamboo.

In Camp 7, a fallen tree damaged another house. Meanwhile, in Atok, Benguet, video footage showed muddy floodwaters rushing down a highway.

In Mountain Province, large boulders fell onto a section of the Bontoc-Kalinga National Road, prompting authorities to warn motorists to remain vigilant amid the threat of landslides.

In Benguet, the Ambuklao and Binga dams also began releasing water. According to PAGASA's Hydrometeorology Division, both dams were nearing their normal high water levels as of 8 a.m. due to persistent rains. — Lyjah Tiffany Bonzo/MCG, GMA News