Our IPCAP Debriefing Mission: An Account of Day 1

Let me account our 1st IPCAP Debriefing Mission in Baguio. This would be Day 1 of that unforgettable exposure. We did this because there was an expressed need there for such an exercise. Thanks to Dr. Lilian Gandeza who led the coordinating work for us to start our mission at Saint Louis University that evening of Oct. 29, 2009. And of course for the generous support of some quarters who would like to remain anonymous. I realize that when a good deed is to be done, many would like to take part even if only through means other than their presence. Thanks to our donors talaga. God bless your generosity.

On board a Nissan van, nine of us plus two drivers went with this trip. Mura lang po ang rent: P3,500 per day sans toll fees and gas. So we had to feed the drivers hehe. Dr. Perlie Polestico of FPCAP had Mr. Rene Arcilla, Joy Dee, Techie Viduya, along with Mr. Cesar Cong of PACC, Christine Acosta of St. Jude Catholic School, Mss. Nila Urrea and Nanette Timbol of UE, and yours truly. We had breakfast at the Petron station in NLEX, then passed through SLEX which for many was their first trip along that beautiful highway. Oh, Joy kept throwing up along the way. But we did not complain. It was the beginning of the debriefing, there in our midst hehe.

By noontime we were in Urdaneta where we ate at KFC after hearing about the story regarding the "featherless" chicken featured in one email I received when I was still having cherubim as my email address.

We had to detour as we reached the early part of the town of Sison. It appeared that the officials came late for the rites to open the Abueg bridge, closed temporarily by the destruction the waters made by the typhoon Pepeng. We went back through Manaoag where the group had a prayerful stopover. From there, we speeded through Kennon Road and saw the amazing waterfalls that dotted the Kennon stretch. We didn't bother to stop by the lion's head since we were in a hurry for the 530PM scheduled Debriefing of Debriefers activity scheduled at the SLU.

We arrived about 4PM at the SVD Retreat House in Sunnyside Baguio. As early as this portion of the account, our sincere gratitude to the SVD Fathers and Brothers who hosted our stay there. After putting down our things in the rooms assigned to us, we headed for SLU. Oh, how many times did we lose our way? But we had quite a group waiting for us: 33 in all. We grouped ourselves with every three of the participants for the debriefing. I for one heard how the Pepeng typhoon brought back among the participants their memories of the 1990 earthquake that shook Baguio (I was in taiwan then studying Theology), an experience participants mentioned as never ever been shared in any debriefing exercise before. We realized how much the need there is among the debriefers, mostly Guidance Counselors, licensed and unlicensed all alike. Hence it was really providential that IPCAP responded to this real need.

We ended about 8PM after which we had a sumptuous supper served us at the Ladies Dorm of SLU. Thanks talaga to SLU. We realized the urgent need for a training in debriefing on our last day, Oct. 31. But that's for another blog to cover.

Here are some pics (looks like I'm limited to 5 pics per blog entry, hence more to follow):


That's Dr. Polestico with her group.





Ms. Nila Urrea and her group.








Ms. Nanette Timbol and her group.









The group I joined. Thanks for the wonderful debriefing. God bless you all.








Oh, this was the opening portion when everyone was in expectancy!