Any excuse is good enough to drop everything and climb up to Baguio City, where the mountains are kissed by clouds and pine trees shoot up to the sky.

And last weekend provided the best reason: the 25th memorial commemorating the passing of Potenciano “Nanoy” Ilusorio on June 28. Twenty-five years it has been since he left us for greener pastures? How time flies! At the memorial mass, his daughter, my friend Lin I. Bildner, described me as “one of the many girlfriends of my dad.” Guilty as charged, though that was because we just happened to be joyful partners in crime. For example, we drove to Bulacan or Tarlac just because So-and-So had recommended this and that restaurant.

Lin’s guest of honor at the wreath-laying ceremonies and luncheon at the Country Club was Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who shared news that construction of a housing project in Tuba will begin next year, the structures to consist of five-story buildings for Baguio citizens earning less than ₱13,000 a month.

I’ve been to the mayor’s war room, where a video screen as prominent as a wall captures live pictures of pedestrians and citizens going about their business. Watching them like Big Brother, Mayor Magalong said crime has gone down in his city of 370,000 (nighttime population: 380,000). No, he’s not yet thinking about 2028, when he will no longer be eligible for another run as mayor, but there’s always a higher position waiting in the national polls for a qualified, desirable candidate.

When I turned to look at Mrs. Magalong for her reaction, she immediately shook her head, as if to say, “Don’t look at me.”

Mayor Magalong was, for a brief period, special adviser of the ICI — Independent Commission for Infrastructure — which sat on top of probers looking into the flood control scandal. When he quit shortly after his appointment, he refused to answer reporters asking, “Why?” A one-word question that did not fetch a reply, one that could’ve said a paragraphful.

Meanwhile, Baguio awaits folks from the lowlands, who won’t be needing their sweaters and jackets if the present weather and ground temperature hold. I don’t know if that explains why July weekend reservations at Baguio Country Club stood at 90 percent as early as three weeks ago.