This Holy Week, Baguio braced for the annual tourist invasion—130,000 strong, armed with selfie sticks and strawberry taho cravings. The city prepared for gridlocks, snaking queues, and the great SM Mall stampede. But alas, Baguio waited… and waited. Streets were so empty, even the pine trees looked confused. Famous eateries had no lines—waiters stared out windows like forlorn lovers. PUJ drivers wept gently into their steering wheels, their jeeps echoing with emptiness.

Meanwhile, somewhere in La Union Zambales and Batangas, chaos reigned: sunburned tourists crammed into resorts like sardines with Instagram filters. It seems everyone tried to avoid a crowded Baguio by going anywhere but Baguio—only to crowd the same beach. Irony called, and it’s wearing flip-flops and holding a cooler. Perhaps Baguio finally achieved peace… by being too predictably chaotic to actually visit.

Maybe next year, we’ll expect nobody and end up with a hundred thousand again. Reverse psychology is powerful.