Igorots During Edsa Uno

One of our commenters, I think it is Betelnut, rightly noted that our history books reflect very little (or nothing at all) about the Igorot's role in our history as a nation. Her comment encouraged me to make this post about two Igorots (one is an iFontok and another is an Ifugao) who played key roles in the EDSA People Power "revolution". I know this post should have been made in time for last week's EDSA Uno anniversary but I had to make an emergency trip to the boondocks so I didn't have the time to do it. At any rate, it's better late than never. And things like this are timeless, no?

So who are these people who somehow earned their right to be in our history books? One is Catholic Bishop Francisco Claver (who made it to our list of achievers here) and the other is Brig. Gen. Felix Brawner Jr. (who will make it to our List of Achievers in a future installment, aba he graduated Number One in his class, Philippine Military Academy Class '57). The Bishop is known for being a Marcos critic while the General is a "Marcos General" but who eventually placed his more important duty to the nation over and above his personal loyalties.

Bishop Claver, as we noted here, is one of the progressive voices in the Catholic Church. In an article on Jaime Cardinal Sin, we find an interesting reference to Bishop Claver's progressiveness which, I'm pretty sure, didn't endear him to the powers-that-be within and outside his church. Quote: "Political analyst Alex Magno says that part of Sin’s appeal to the Vatican at that time was his being 'one of the boys,' in contrast to the activist stance assumed by Bishops Antonio Fortich and Francisco Claver at the start of martial law." Emphasis supplied. [Source: Newsbreak via cardinalrating.com]

In other words, while some church leaders were still dancing with the dictator, Bishop Claver was criticizing the Marcos regime for its many abuses. But instead of mouthing off his criticisms and then simply sitting down, the Bishop is also a leading advocate of active non-violence as a strategy for effecting change. [Read an article about him and non violent social action here and an article he wrote about active non-violence here.]

His commitment to active non-violence helped shape the Catholic Church's response to Marcos' electoral fraud and its call for peaceful strategies to challenge the dictator. A quote from the Institute of Church and Social Issues (ICSI): "During the 1986 snap election, ICSI played a significant role in orienting the Philippine Bishops. Bishop Francisco Claver, SJ, one of ICSI's founding directors, drafted the Bishop's "Post-Election Statement" which denounced the election as "unparalleled in fraudulence" and called on the people to peacefully compel the government to undo the wrong it had done - something which was accomplished in the popular revolt which drove Pres. Marcos from power."

You can read a copy of the Post-Election Statement here. It is a good read and a very good example of the Church speaking with a prophetic voice. One hopes that the Church at present would be just as prophetic given that the incumbent in Malacañang committed practically the same sin of subverting the people's will but the Church has become wimpy and vacillating these days.

Meanwhile, General Brawner as we stated above is close to Marcos. However, he somehow found it in his heart to not be blinded by his loyalty to the former President when blind obedience would result in bloodshed and violence. A story by retired Col. Romeo Lim (via the Oarhouse blog) tells us how General Brawner made a turnaround. Colonel Lim was the Chief of Staff of General Brawner and in this story he portrays his boss -- then the Chief of Operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as well as the Commander of the First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR) -- as a rational man.

Lim writes: "The group of Enrile and Ramos feared the Scout Rangers the most because it was an elite military unit under the command of Brig. General Brawner who was known to be very loyal to President Marcos and was a trusted ally of then AFP Chief of Staff Fabian Ver." As it turned out, our kailian eventually withdrew his support for the dictator. Colonel Lim gives some details on how this happened:

"When the general arrived, I took him aside. I suggested to him that in view of everything that was happening, it would be better if he instructed the troops to "freeze", that is, not to move in favor of any side. He looked at me and in an indignant tone told me that "freezing" the troops would be an act of cowardice. With that, I requested him to pass by his room where he saw his wife, relatives, and Col. Matabalao. Except for the colonel, everyone started crying. All of them asked him to defect. Meanwhile, I gathered all the officers and told them that if Brig. General Brawner asks who was still willing to fight for President Marcos then no one should raise their hand. Sure enough, the general called for a command conference and asked the question.

No one raised their hands.

Visibly surprised at the outcome of the conference, the general returned to his room. It was already late afternoon of Monday, the 24th of February. He then told his wife, children, close relatives and Col. Matabalao that he was no longer going back to Malacanang." Read the whole story here.

So yes, Virginia, Igorots are also a part of Philippine history. And they ain't just in the periphery but are active actors too.

INFO SOURCES: Institute on Church and Social Issues (ICSI); Newsbreak via Cardinal Rating; The Oarhouse Blog; PHOTO CREDITS: AFP (for General Brawner's photo); Missio-Aachen (for Bishop Claver's photo); and StuartExchange (for the EDSA 86 image).

Tara Lets sa Bangued

Let's move on from those controversial statues of the Barrio Fiesta Restaurant to something lighter and more fun. This is a travel video featuring the town of Bangued, Abra courtesy of our online friend Bangued. Thanks :-)

Bangued is a really nice town. It is a valley with a river running through it. And the surrounding mountains are not that far so you can go up Victoria Peak to have a good view of the town below. I visited the town twice and really enjoyed those visits. It was a bonus that during one of these visits, the province was celebrating its famed Arya Abra festival.


VIDEO CREDIT: Bangued, Your Ultimate Online Guide.

Let's Have More Fun

Is the statue of the peeing Igorot man offensive? You decide in this online poll.

Get Free Opinion Polls

Some updates: Our newest sibling in the blogosphere, Bugan (Mountain Breeze) has a more detailed description of the statues at the Barrio Fiesta Restaurant. In her comment here, she also stated that the Association of Young Igorot Professionals (AYIP) has filed a complaint about the statue. Someone also told me that Cheryl Daytec-Yangot, the lawyer we earlier blogged about [here] for her and her companions’ courageous stand on the nursing scandal, will also look into this. But maybe Cheryl is a part of AYIP.

Sandati has two posts on this matter (here and here). If you have been reading the comments section, he has a different take on this one, i.e., that the statues are not offensive but are fun. And that they are caricatures and not slapstick and he so graciously explained the difference between the two words here.

I'd like to be clear that I have never said in this blog that only Igorots who are upstanding, cute, beautiful, handsome, intelligent, law-abiding, etc. are the only ones who are to be called Igorots. Heck, Igorots are human beings and we have as many faults, defects, sins, etc. etc. as other human beings or other ethnolinguistic groups.

No one in this blog is also saying that peeing in public is okay. What we are saying is that one can send the message that public urination is not okay by using a different, non-ethnic statue. But they used an Igorot to illustrate the point. This may be acceptable in a world where there are no negative stereotypes about Igorots. But, unfortunately, there are deeply held negative stereotypes about us and this statue reinforces them.

It is misleading to equate this peeing Igorot man with the pictures of old Igorot men (Lakay Kabayo and Lakay Pecdasen) who are smoking their pipes. Why? Smoking may be unhealthy but in general, people have pretty much accepted a smoker's right to smoke. Also, because of the effect of advertising, a picture of a smoking man is not associated with negativity but with hipness and coolness. I still have to see an ad which presents public urination in a positive light.

More updates: I was about to contact the Barrio Fiesta people last week but decided not to primarily because I still haven’t heard from the officers of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to whom we sent our love letters. I believe that this is their responsibility. If the officials ignore our love letter then we will have to contact Barrio Fiesta. Again, don’t forget to cast your vote in the poll above.

RELATED POSTS: Man Oh Man; Let's Have Fun; More on That Peeing Igorot Man.

The Week. 02.18-24.07

THOU SHALT NOT KILL: The above poster courtesy of Abrenian.com expresses the sentiments of Abrenios who long for a province where political killings are a thing of the past. An accompanying article asks: "Will killings be stopped as a means of silencing rival politicians? The reality is that the people of Abra are already fed up. But will they translate this to intelligent votes this May 2007 election?" [Source: Abrenian.com]

MT. PROVINCE TO NESTLE: "DON'T MAKE PROFITS OUT OF BABIES!" A mother who gives birth in Mt. Province hospitals is normally advised to breast-feed her baby within one hour after birth. For a baby born through caesarian, he or she is endorsed for wet nursing (lang-ay) while the mother is still under the effect of anesthesia. This means the baby would be brought to a nursing mother or health worker for breastfeeding. The hospitals prohibit the entry of any milk formula. [Source: Mother/Child Dyad Blog]

IF BAGUIO FOLKS ARE LUCKY, THEIR FLYOVER WILL BE BUILT BY 2099. Well, actually it should be built by 2010 but don't be surprised if its still not finished by then because of higher cement prices (which is the ridiculous excuse why its not yet finished; they budgeted daw kasi for 2000-01 prices). It seems like suspended Baguio Mayor Braulio Yaranon, who objected to the flyover, will be having the last laugh. Wil Reyes has a post and some pictures of this cursed flyover project. [Source: PDI via Asian Journal]

NOW, IFUGAO HAS THE BEST WEBSITE. The province of Ifugao might not have fared well in an NSCB official's ranking of the best managed provinces but it can certainly boast that it now has the best website among Cordillera's local government units (LGUs). You might want to read our original review of the LGU websites here.

Now, an update: Ifugao, as mentioned, now has the best website in the region. It is full of useful and interesting information and is quite easy to navigate. Baguio City has a very promising beta version of a new and improved website. Apayao also redesigned its website and thank God it no longer has that forum section where all you read are spam messages promoting Viagra. Mt. Province remains the same but you can download their monthly newspaper here. Kalinga still has that cute but culturally inappropriate Linux penguin in its main page. Benguet's website remains the same but for some reason, it now doesn't look good when viewed with a Firefox browser. Abra [abra.gov.ph] still has a photo of the spouses Valera prominently displayed but, apparently, there's an alternative provincial government website for Abra [abra.ph].

DON'T EVER EVER SIT ON A KORAN. That's our message to our kailians in the Middle East (or anywhere for that matter). Okay, this is old news but the message remains very relevant. Serafina Toyan, a kailian from Kibungan, Benguet spent a month in an Abu Dhabi jail for accidentaly sitting on a Koran. She was also wrongly accused of eating a chocolate bar kept in her employer's refrigerator. [Source: Delmar Carino]

I LIVE MY LIFE THROUGH REX PE'S BLOG. I've always wanted to go to Tibet and meet a Buddhist monk who will tell me really insightful things like, "Brother the fate of the bird is in your hands" but I think my dream will be realized only in another lifetime. In the meantime, let's just imagine that we are in Tibet by looking at the blog of our kailian Rex Pe who recently uploaded excellent pictures of Shangri La. [Reflections Unlimited]

ANY READER FROM MACAU? Two Bontoc kids are looking for their mother, Florinda Fangkingan Dupilpil who left for Macau two years ago. She has not contacted her family since then. In case you've met her or you know anything about her whereabouts, please contact her father Antonio Fangkingan at: Cell phone 0063–(0)9168380414 or Email: afangkingan@yahoo.com. [Source: mtprovince.net]

More on that Barrio Fiesta Peeing Igorot Man

Thanks to Sandati for informing me about this Google video which provides a greater context from which one can view the peeing Igorot man. After viewing the video I would agree that there seems to be no intent on the part of Barrio Fiesta restaurant to demean the Igorot image. But does it then mean that the statue of the peeing man is totally harmless? Was I totally off-base in pointing out that the picture depicts us in a bad light and that it reinforces negative stereotypes of Igorots? Definitely not.

So can a harmful image come out of something that its creators originally thought is harmless. Yes, this case illustrates that it does. Viewed with the other statues, one can see the humor of that peeing man. Taken separately, that peeing Igorot man really is bad. The problem here is that not a lot of people can go to that restaurant and have a proper appreciation of what the owners intended to depict.

The other problem is that the owners have no control over what people can photograph or videotape to ensure that their intent in presenting Baguio City's "rich cultural heritage" is what comes out of these pictures/videos. Nope. People see a peeing Igorot man, they find it interesting, they then photograph or videotape it then upload them in the web. And these are the things that people who visit the web see -- an unflattering depiction of an Igorot who is peeing in public being pursued by a security guard. Context be damned.

Do I blame the photographers and the videographers for doing it? Of course not. Do I blame Barrio Fiesta? Not anymore, after I watched the video that Sandati pointed out. But do we have a problem? Yes that statue of the Igorot peeing man, viewed separately, presents us in a bad light. It adds to the collective negative image that other people have of Igorots. (See: greedy Igorots, Igorots and their freaky culture, Igorots as objects of fun, an Igorot who only eats sardines -- the blogger then changed Igorot to tagabundok when someone called him out on his ethnic slur, a drunken Igorot video, and many more to list.)

So if that statue reinforces a negative Igorot image even without the owner's intent, what then do we do? For me the only logical thing to do is to ask them to remove it. Between the thousands of people who may go to Barrio Fiesta and who may come out of the restaurant having a positive image of Igorots ("Wow. That Igorot man, he has big muscles and well defined abs, no?") and the millions of people who go to the internet and who may see an Igorot man peeing in public ("Yuck! These people are uncivilized talaga.") there wouldn't be a hard choice.

But why can't we simply request the people who uploaded the video and the picture to remove them? Because its their right. And more importantly, because other people can go to Barrio Fiesta and take similar photos and videos and upload them in the web. The cycle goes on unless the source, no matter how innocuous its intent, is not plugged.

RELATED POSTS: Man Oh Man; Let's Have Fun. VIDEO CREDIT: Google Video.

Let's Have Fun!

Thanks to Wil and Nats for identifying that restaurant which has the statue of this peeing Igorot man. It is the Barrio Fiesta Restaurant. According to Nats you pass by it when you go to Teacher's Camp. Kayni will go take out the statue when she visits Baguio this year so she has a mission cut out for her. Advance welcome back to the Philippines, Kayni.

In the meantime, let's have fun. I have no delusions that blogs and bloggers will somehow have any effect on anything. I think the effect of our blogging is that we feel good because we are able to express ourselves and communicate with like-minded people. So this exercise may be an exercise in futility. But heck, what harm does it do us if we do it, no? If nothing comes out of this then let's call it "The Silence of the Lambs" and Kayni will really have to go to Baguio to remove that offensive statue.

Anyways, I've written a letter to two government officials expressing my concern about the Igorot peeing man. Initially, this letter was sent to officials of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) which is the proper agency for concerns such as this. I would also like to send the letter to Baguio Congressman Mauricio Domogan and city officials of Baguio but I don't have their email addresses. I may have to call up the Congressman's office here in Manila if I can't find his email. In the meantime I sent a copy of the letter below to the webmaster@baguio.gov.ph. I'm still trying to get the contact addresses for Barrio Fiesta Restaurant. Hope I can somehow get in touch with them.

Feel free to copy the letter below and forward it to said government officials if you agree that we are raising valid concerns. Or you might want to write a letter of your own.

Dear Sir,
Warm greetings. I am a blogger and I would like to raise my concern about a restaurant in Baguio, the Barrio Fiesta restaurant which has a statue of an Igorot man peeing in public. I came across a picture of this statue while I was surfing the internet. As an Igorot I am insulted by this statue and I am wondering whether your good office can do something about it.

I am attaching a picture of said Igorot peeing man and a blog post which I wrote expressing concern about this statue.

Thanks.
Bill Bilig
An Igorot Blogger
From the Boondocks

P.S.
By the way, I am also posting a copy of this letter in my blog.

The letter was sent to :
1. eainsigne@ncip.gov.ph
Atty. Eugenio A. Insigne
NCIP Commissioner for CAR and Region I

2. cpbuasenjr@ncip.gov.ph
Carlos P. Buasen, Jr.
Director IV
NCIP Office on Education, Culture & Health

3. webmaster@baguio.gov.ph

I'm still looking for contact information for Barrio Fiesta, Congressman Domogan, and Baguio City officials.

As I said, this may turn out to be an exercise in futility but its going to be fun. William Todcor has a post on deaf computers about how his emails to government offices never got any response. Lets see how responsive indigenous officials are to simple concerns such as this. So friends join in the fun, send your letters to our officials and blog about it :-)

RELATED POST: Man Oh Man. IMAGE SOURCE: collectiblefun.com

Man Oh Man

The picture above was reportedly taken in a restaurant in Baguio. I don't know the name of the restaurant but boy am I pissed with the owners for their really bad taste.

Rather than passing inconsequential ordinances like forcing businesses to have English signs, it is things like this that the Baguio City Council should be looking into. My God, this restaurant is in Baguio which used to be the domain of the Ibalois and which still has a very significant number of Igorot residents, and the owners of this restaurant are apparently getting away with this? Are we going to allow this restaurant to piss at us in our own backyard? Maybe we should all go to that restaurant and collectively pee at its doorstep in protest. Here's a video version of the same insulting restaurant statues.



Boy am I really pissed. Yes, Igorot men pee just about anywhere. But all Filipino men of any ethnolinguistic background (whether Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilonggo, etc.) also pee just about anywhere. The owners could just as easily send their message by having a statue of a generic peeing man but they so emphatically decided to make him an Igorot.

Why? Because we are savages? Because we are a dirty, dirty people? Because we are uncivilized? Because we are uneducated and won't be able to read a sign which says, "No Urinating Here/Bawal Ang Umihi Dito/Maiparit ti Umisbo Ditoy". Because Igorots are so poor and won't have the money to go to that restaurant anyway? Essentially, that is what the restaurant owners are saying. Igorots are dirty, uncivilized, uneducated, poor people and only a security guard will be able to stop them from peeing in public. I'm sure the owners are very pleased with themselves whenever their masterpiece is photographed and videoed by its clients and curious tourists.

Talk about reinforcing baseless negative stereotypes. Multiply this with other bad portrayals of Igorots and no wonder we have kids, bombarded with these images, who oh so hesitantly admit the fact that they are Igorots.

Our Lord Kabunian, if ever you read this blog, please send a bolt of lightning to this restaurant. But let's not wait for Kabunyan to do the work, he might have more important things to do like sending a bolt of lightning to those Anglican Primates who think that they are the second incarnation of Christ. Before we totally get distracted, does anyone out there know the name of this restaurant and its contact number? Can you share it with us? If possible, can we contact them and raise our concern? Can we call up Baguio politicians and raise this matter with them? Its election period and maybe they will be receptive to the concerns of the people.

PHOTO CREDIT: Boy Bawang; VIDEO CREDIT: Thrasher2001.

Those Gallant Igorots: A Video Documentary

Here's a video documentary on the Igorot soldiers who fought to defend our freedom during World War II. It is produced by a group called Research Mate and the Outstanding Students of the Cordillera (OSCAR) Alumni Community.

PART 1

Part 1 underscores the importance of this video project. Our kids (pero kasama na rin tayo actually) are really clueless about the past and the 1940s isn't really that long ago. Thank God for the boy in this video who at least knows who the "veterans" are.

PART 2

Part 2 depicts the war so be warned that it has footages of violence. Except for some additional footages, this section actually appears to be the same as the Agi Band's tribute video to the Igorot soldier which we earlier uploaded here. So maybe the band and OSCAR collaborated on this project.

PART 3

Part 3 presents interviews with two people who are part of this initiative. Not to be nitpicky but what's up with Benguet being specially mentioned? I'm sure there's a reason but the video didn't clarify. Did the then sub-province have more soldiers in this particular infantry regiment? Or is the video specifically directed to a Benguet audience? It seemed odd to me.

Don't get me wrong, I admire Benguet a lot (heck it's the best province in the country, no) but if I am going to give special distinction to some place, then I have to be very clear why it deserves the distinction. Hopefully the producers can clarify because, to me, this special mention unnecessarily distracts us from the noble purpose of the project. Its effect on me was this: instead of feeling good about what the soldiers accomplished, I was left wondering about why Benguet was specifically mentioned. Para kasing naging adjunct lang ang the rest of the Cordilleras.

RELATED POSTS: Those Gallant Igorots; It Was Also a Women's War. VIDEO CREDIT: Research Mate and the OSCAR Alumni Community.

Cordillera Governance: Not Doing Bad At All

A study by an official of the government's National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) which ranks the country's 79 provinces in a Good Governance Index shows that our region is not doing bad at all. The Cordillera provinces are actually doing well but some provinces are doing better than others. Note that this study is based from data gathered in 2003. You can read the whole article here.

First, the study looks at Economic Governance which it measures with the following indicators: financial resources generated, tax and non-tax revenue, per capita bank deposits, expenditure on social services, unemployment and underemployment rates, poverty incidence, and poverty gap. It then ranks the country's top thirty best performing provinces. Four of the six Cordillera provinces are in the top 30:

• Benguet -- 6th
• Kalinga -- 13th
• Apayao -- 15th
• Mt. Province -- 25th

Then the study looks at Administrative Governance measured by the following indicators: total health personnel per thousand population, percentage of live births weighing less than 250 grams, proportion of households with access to safe water, teacher to pupil ratio for elementary schools, number of elementary schools per thousand population, enrolment in government elementary schools per thousand population, cohort survival rate in elementary education, percentage of housing made of strong roofs, percentage of housing made of strong walls, length of national and local roads per thousand population, proportion of energized barangays, and telephone density. Three Cordillera provinces are in the top 30 best performing provinces. They rank as follows:

• Abra -- 4th
• Apayao -- 11th
• Mt. Province -- 29th

Lastly, the study then combines both Economic Governance and Administrative Governance to come up with what it calls the Good Governance Index. Five of the six Cordillera provinces made it to the top 30:

• Benguet -- 7th
• Apayao -- 9th
• Abra -- 15th
• Kalinga -- 19th
• Mt. Province -- 22nd

So, as I said, we are not doing bad at all. But what the heck happened to Ifugao? Akala ko pa naman it's one of the better managed Cordillera provinces. Surprisingly, Apayao, the region's newest province is outperforming its much older siblings. Meanwhile, you might want to check out Pagano's take on another NSCB study which supposedly ranks Mt. Province among the counry's poorest provinces.

Note to Ferri: Magaling din province mo. Nueva Vizcaya ranks 11th in Economic Governance, it's not in the top 30 in Administrative Governance but it ranks 12th in the combined Good Governance Index.

INFO SOURCE: NSCB. IMAGE SOURCE: UIUC Library.

The Week. 02.11-17.07

MAYBE HOLLYWOOD ACTOR ADAM
BEACH IS OUR LONG LOST COUSIN?

CHANGING STEREOTYPES. Native Canadian (Ojibwa) actor Adam Beach on changing misconceptions about Native Canadians/Americans: "I want to change those stereotypes because they're wrong. There's a lot of ignorance out there in many ways. I don't drink, I don't take drugs, I don't smoke cigarettes - I'm out to change the way people think about natives." Adam co-starred in films such as the Windtalkers and Flag of Our Fathers. [Source: The Vancouver Sun via The Native Blog]

In an interview with Time Magazine, he states: "I want Native children to have success within their hopes and dreams. The history of Native American people is tragedy. I want to show that we as Native people are successful. We do have things to offer to the world."

Are we asking for too much if we wish that someday Marky Cielo, Paulo Avelino, and other Igorots in the movie/tv industry will also say these things? In fairness, Marky did change stereotypes when he proudly acknowledged his origins.

RE-INFORCING STUPID STEREOTYPES. Splasher has a scathing review of GMA-7's Asian Treasures. Read it here. Aba, this GMA people talaga. Meron pa silang undocumented Cordillera tribes with a princess daw. In the early days of this blog we ranted about a woman labeled as an Igorot princess here and here. [Source: Splasher]

FANTASIES IN A G-STRING. This woman has sexual fantasies about Igorots in a g-string. Okay, maybe I am being nasty but if she is going to commoditize or fetishize the Igorot image then she should not complain if we make fun of her. If she finds her Igorot-style model, I'm sure she will say, "Spank me, Igorot lover boy, spank me . Oooh, let me smell your g-string." Sandati has the details on how you can model (and maybe more) for this woman. [Source: Sandati]

CITY MAYORS DON'T WANT TABUK TO BECOME A CITY. Well, I was kind of neutral about this Tabuk cityhood thing because I am not from Tabuk, but I'm now all for approving it just to spite this group of whining entitled city mayors who do not want Tabuk to become a city. Why are they against Tabuk cityhood? It's all about the money, baby! They want to keep the revenue allotment to themselves. [Source: Manila Times]

BAGUIO TEACHER WINS MOST INNOVATIVE AWARD. And he goes to Cambodia to attend a conference. Warren Ambat of the Baguio City National High School won the "Most Innovative Teacher" award along with two others. The award is given by Microsoft to "public high school teachers who have successfully integrated Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into their classroom teaching and learning". Ambat and his co-winners will fly to Cambodia on February 28 to represent the country in the annual Asian Regional Innovative Teachers' Conference. [Source: Sunstar]

ABRA'S BLOOD POLITICS: The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has a sobering story on Abra's dangerous political climate written by someone who belongs to a political warlord clan so she obviously knows what she is talking about. Choice quote: "A typical day in Abra comprises heavy doses of gossip, intrigue, dog-eat-dog stories, politicking — and a 70-percent possibility of hearing about another killing, usually that of someone in politics. Many have called Abra the 'murder capital of the north,' and I agree; since 2001, there have been at least 30 political figures, major and minor, killed in the province." Read the whole story here. [Source: PCIJ]

OUR LONG LOST TWIN. Although we can't really say whether Adam Beach is our long lost cousin, (The ancestors of Native Americans/Canadians reportedly walked from Asia to the Americas which were then connected by ice.) I am pretty sure that this woman is my long lost twin. Hi sister, Fair Lady! Thanks to Splasher for the clue.

PHOTO CREDIT: Time Magazine.

Kalinga Day 2007, Part Two

Nats took really good pictures of the Kalinga Day celebrations so I decided to "steal" two more pictures from his site :-) Visit the Kalinga Tambayan for more of Nats' photos. He also has pictures of his paintings here. [Dude, you are such a multimedia artist. Magaling ng magkodak, magaling mag web design, at napakagaling mag paint. Congrats!]

Some fast facts about the Kalinga people courtesy of John Dongui-is via Kalinga Blog: "There are 31 subtribes of the Kalinga ethnolinguistic group distributed over the eight municipalities of the province. Each of these subtribes can be identified, principally from their dialect which has dissimilarities in diction, pronounciation and most especially in the phonetic letters and the fricative and voiceless expression of their speech... The beauty in the multilingual, ethnolinguistic groups of Kalinga is that while they speak in different tongues, they understand each other." I don't want to "steal" the whole article so you should visit the Kalinga Blog here.

RELATED POST: Kalinga Day 2007, Part 1. PHOTO CREDITS: Nats Dalanao of Kalinga Tambayan; INFO SOURCE: Kalinga Blog [John Dongui-is Article].

Kalinga Day 2007, Part One

Our kailians in Kalinga just celebrated their founding anniversary in Tabuk these past three days, Feb 14-16. These pictures were taken by Nathaniel Dalanao who has graciously allowed us to post it here. (Thanks Nats.) You can view more pictures at the Kalinga Tambayan Forum.

Here's a short background on Kalinga's creation as a province, from kalinga.gov.ph: "On August 18,1908, during the American period, the Philippine Legislature through Act No. 1876 of, created the old Mountain Province from several mountain districts, including Kalinga. On June 18, 1966, this province was divided into four new provinces one of which was Kalinga-Apayao which comprised the subprovinces of Apayao and Kalinga.

On February 14, 1995, through Republic Act No. 7878, the two sub-provinces of Apayao and Kalinga were separated. Kalinga became a distinct province retaining its capital at Tabuk."

PHOTO CREDITS: Nats Dalanao of Kalinga Tambayan; INFO SOURCE: kalinga.gov.ph

Candon City's Igorot Roots

While we are on the subject of Igorots in Candon, here's a story about the three Igorot chieftains who once ruled the village. Incidentally, Candon is named after the kandong tree which once stood in the village's center. (I can't find a picture of a kandong tree but the one at right is a quandong tree which may or may not belong to the same family of trees as this legendary kandong tree.)

This village, so the legend runs, was ruled by the three local chieftains: Abay-a, Madalang, and Kalinio. Madalang chose as his abode the shade of this gargantuan tree together with his only daughter, the beautiful Ineng.

Abay-a and Kalinio for their part lived with their tribes in caves somewhere in Kadanglaan and Kauplasan respectively.

“I am growing old fast, Ineng”, Madalang said to his daughter. “One day I wish to see you married before Kabunyan calls me to the great beyond. But my child, I would only want a son-in-law who could defeat me in “Gabbu” (wrestling). What do you say Ineng?” And Ineng could only answer sobbing, “I submit to your wishes, dear father”.

And so one day, after the “Kaniaw” was over, the sound of gongs, cymbals and gangza intermingled and reverberated far and wide. Subsequently, the elders issued the announcement regarding the wrestling competition. It was Abay-a who first took the challenge. At the sound of the cymbal, the protagonists fought savagely. By some freak stroke of fate, Abay-a in his unguarded moment unfortunately stumbled over a root of the Kandong tree and lost his balanace.

Madalang savagely took advantage of the situation and mercilessly sent Abay-a reeling to the ground with several broken ribs. That was the end of the bout. Three weeks passed, and this time, Kalinio who is reputed to possess the same human power took up the challenge. Just then, a crow going for its mate carelessly flew overhead as if to augur the impending disaster that would follow. Moments later, the fight began and both protagonists stood their ground and each manifested signs of being victorious.

Madalang who is reputed to be the strongest, tried his old ruse to send Kalinio off balance but was outwitted by his elusive foe. Fate didn’t destine Madalang to defeat Kalinio, so Ineng was married to the victorious Kalinio.

Just as the celebration was going on, the Spanish conquistadors, who were on their way to colonize Northern Luzon, passed by and attacked the merrymakers. Some offered futile resistance, others fled in confusion and fear and those who were taken by surprise yielded to the invading forces.

Subsequently, the friars assigned in this village ordered the cutting of the Kandong Tree and its place was planted the first cross of evangelization. The timbers taken from the tree was used in the construction of the first Roman Catholic Church in the 6th century.

Beliefs and traditions have it that when the colonizers set foot upon this place and inquired as to its name, the natives answered, “Kandong”, referring to the tree. Since that time on, the place came to be called Candon. [Source: candoncity.gov.ph]

I'm in the mood to name the bad and good characters in the story so here they are:

BAD: (1) Those Spanish friars for cutting the Kandong tree. If they were in Sagada idedemanda sila ng illegal logging ng isang tao doon, but this time may merit ang kaso. (2) Those Spanish conquistadors who attacked the merrymakers. Hey conquistadors, when someone is having a party, just join in the fun. Siguro nakainom itong mga merrymakers ng tapuey kaya sila natalo.

MAYBE GOOD OR BAD: Madalang is good for being concerned about his daughter's future but maybe he is bad for marrying off his daughter like that. If he is alive today, I'm sure Lynn Madalang of the Ebgan Women's Foundation would give him an earful. Aktibista pa naman si Lynn at sabi niya patriarchal daw ang mga Igorots. I don't know if Lynn and the man in our story are related.

GOOD: Kalinio is good for winning both the wrestling bout and the hand of the beautiful woman, Ineng. [Question by Ferricardia: Why are women in legends always described as beautiful?] Kalinio, may or may not be related to the Cariño clan in Baguio who produced at least two of our Igorot Achievers (Jessica and Mateo) but whose most famous member may be Robin Padilla, the son of Eva Cariño Padilla who, according to my friend, is a close relative of Joanna Cariño of the Cordillera People's Alliance which celebrates Cordillera Day every April to commemorate the death of Macliing Dulag, who also made it to our List.

Oooops naging parang Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Sorry, he he. Pero relevant pa naman sa topic ng ating blog. By the way, do the powerful Abaya political clan trace their roots from Abay-a? Just wondering.

RELATED POST: Igorots in Candon City; INFO SOURCE: candoncity.gov.ph; PHOTO CREDIT: Australian Aridlands Garden.

Igorots in Candon City (Ilocos Sur)

Whenever I hear old people talk about the times that they traveled by foot to Candon, I always thought that Candon is somewhere near the Cordillera mountains. You know, like the boundary towns of Cervantes in Ilocos Sur and Bagulin in La Union, so it won't be a big deal if one goes there. It turns out that Candon, which is now a city, is way out west in the Ilocos coast. So our ancestors who walked all the way to Candon to trade their goods for a bag of salt must have really walked long and hard to get there. Mapapahiya ang mga bata ngayon na konti lang ang nilakad ay pagod na pagod na daw.

Anyway, Candon City has a significant number of Bago Igorots who, like Igorots just about anywhere, continue to celebrate their cultural roots. They have an annual tribal festival "aimed at enriching indigenous customs and traditions of the nine indigenous cultural communities of the Bago tribe ."

Danny Antalan has an interesting report on last year's festival held in December: "Kas paset ti agmalmalem a tribal festival, naangay ti salip dagiti nagkauna nga ay-ayam kas iti sanggol, gabbo, torsi ken tug of war ken dadduma pay a paay-ayam dagiti Bago ken dadduma pay a tribu, salip iti dallot ken panagaramidan iti tapey, arak manipud iti diket a bagas." (Message to Paulo Avelino: This is why you should at least learn to speak Ilokano. He he, biglang naiba ang topic. Don't worry we will still vote for you.)

For non-Ilokano speakers, Danny's report states that the festival showcased traditional competitive games (like tug o’ war, “torsi” and “sangol”), a dallot singing contest, and rice-wine making. Caveat: This may not be the exact translation, after all I'm not a native Ilokano speaker. And I don't even know what "salip" means.

RELATED POST: Igorots in Bukidnon. INFO SOURCE:Candon City Website, Danny Antalan [Tawid News]. PHOTO CREDIT: Candon City Website.

Paulo Avelino Raps (And Identifying Identities)

This is an enjoyable performance of both Paulo Avelino and another Starstruck contestant singing the Black Eyed Peas' rap song, Bebot. Pareho silang magaling although mukhang mas bigay na bigay yung isang kumanta kaysa kay Paulo :-)



The Bebot song, by the way, has reportedly become a hit among Filipino Americans. A story in the La Times explains why:

The Filipino American community is famous for putting its cultural identity behind assimilation. Though they're the second-largest Asian group in California behind the Chinese, they have never established set "Filipino" neighborhoods — the equivalent of Monterey Park for Chinese Americans or Little Saigon for Vietnamese Americans. There is a historic Filipinotown west of downtown L.A., but the U.S. census found that less than 15% of its residents are actually Filipino.

Many Filipinos arrive in the United States speaking English, immediately making assimilation easier.

"Part of the problem is we blend in so well," said Winston Emano, an executive at an L.A.-based public relations firm and a community activist. "We have a rapid rate of assimilation. Put a Filipino in Antarctica, and in one month they'll be one with the penguins."

For Emano and others, "Bebot" is a vibrant reminder of their cultural past, an easy-to-digest history of their shared experience.

UPDATE: Proof that Igorots are not celebrity-obsessed is the fact that, so far, the discussion about this post in the comments section focused more on "Filipino identity" (which was touched upon by the LA Times article) rather than on Paulo. I guess its our collective way of saying: "Yeah yeah yeah, Paulo you are a celebrity, you are in Starstruck, we will vote for you because you have the potential of helping change Igorot stereotypes but we have more interesting things to talk about."

So join us in the comments if you are interested about cultural identity, national identity, regional identity, history, and a concept called post-modernism. Of course, for those so inclined, comments about Paulo's rapping abilities, the probability that he will win, his love team, his hair and make-up, etc. etc. are still welcome. This update is added just so the comments won't look out of place :-)

RELATED POSTS: Akala Ko Di Tayo Mahilig Sa Artista; Will Igorots Be Starstruck with Paulo Avelino?. VIDEO CREDIT: Starmometer. INFO SOURCE: LA Times.

Our Town: Bucay, Abra

Bucay is the first capital town of Abra. It was chosen by Spanish authorities as the capital because of its then strategic location. The map above was drawn by Abra's first governor, Don Ramón Tajonera. This was what the town was supposed to look like. But then the best laid schemes of mice and men often go astray. So Bucay never developed into what Tajonera wanted it to become.

According to researcher Jose Perdigon (visit his website here), only the welcome arch remains of Bucay's colonial heritage. Sad? Yes. Surprising? No. We live in a country that does not have a sense of its past. It's good that we have dedicated people like Jose Perdigon who are doing something about our heritage.

Today, Bucay is a 5th class municipality with 21 barangays and about 15, 000 residents. More information about Bucay here.

RELATED POST: Preserving Our Colonial Heritage. SOURCES: Jose Perdigon (photos and info) and bucay.gov.ph

Aaaargh!

So I was trying to add a hack (courtesy of BeautifulBeta) to the html template which was supposed to add another sidebar to the blog's layout but this is how it turned out. Now, whenever I want to revert to the original layout, Blogger just keeps coming up with an error message. So, apparently this blog is going to be stuck with this look for now. It doesn't look too bad naman. In fact, it is better than the old layout in some aspects. I still need that second sidebar though. So I might play around with the template in the near future. He he. Di na natuto.

UPDATE: We're back to the original lay-out he he.

IMAGE CREDIT: ThirdMan at Rottentomatoes.com

The Week. 02.4-10.07

SO DID THE DAVIDS WIN OVER GOLIATH? Community folks stopped Benguet Corporation from resuming its mining operation in Barangay Virac, Itogon (photo above, courtesy of Nordis Blog). Former miner and resident Mariano Lango: “The only ore body left here are the mine pillars. We know this because we worked the mines for the company before the 1990 earthquake forced it to close and allow us to live and make a living on the surface. Mining the pillars, this close to the surface will make the ground collapse. We cannot allow that to happen.” We hope that the victory is not just a temporary one.[Nordis Blog]

SHRIMP ANYONE? Yes you can raise shrimps in the mountains. Ifugao is apparently leading the way. But then again, Lamut is in the lowland part of Ifugao so maybe raising shrimps in the Cordillera mountains has not yet been tried. [PIA]

ELECTION FEVER. Who's your gubernatorial bet? Our friends who come from Kalinga might want to join the online poll and discussion here. Incumbent Governor Dominador Belac is currently leading the poll. [Kalinga Tambayan]

ELECTION FEVER TOO. All of a sudden she-who-must-not-be-named is allotting money for Cordillera autonomy? Well, she'll do just about anything to smell good in our noses and to look good in our eyes, eh? [Sunstar]

A NEW BAND RISES. And they have a very interesting name, Pe'Tune (pronounced like pechen or peace pact among iFontoks). Will they rise up to Pagano's challenge of producing indigenous-based music that captures a mainstream audience? We hope they do! [Freda Changat]

"MATAGOAN" CITY. The bicameral committee of Congress endorsed the bill which seeks to convert Tabuk, Kalinga's capital town, into a city. Now it's up to the President to sign the bill and to the Tabuk voters to vote for cityhood in a plebiscite. If things push through as wished by those advocating for cityhood, Tabuk is going to be called a "Zone of Life" or "Matagoan" City. Are you listening, Pedro Ramos? You can't brandish your guns in Tabuk no more! [Sunstar]

DUH, ITS NOT LIKE WE ARE IN QUEBEC. Wala bang ibang problema sa Baguio at signboards na lang ang inaatupag ng mga kagalang-galang na miyembro ng konseho? What next, a language police? If businesses don't like to put up their signs in English then its their loss. Now if you are going to require them to put up their signs in Ibaloi, in honor of Baguio's roots, then we will gladly jump on board. [baguiocity.gov.ph]


RELATED POST: The Week That Was. PHOTO CREDIT: Nordis Blog.

Sport Tayo

This is a video of Louie Mateo during a YawYan fighting challenge which he won. I do not know if Louie is Igorot but he wears an Igorot G-string in this fight. If he is not an Igorot, is it okay if he wears a G-string? If he is an Igorot, is it okay if he wears a G-string in events such as this? After all, he does increase our visibility which we, in an earlier post, said is very important.

And isn't the best way of making us visible is to wear our traditional dress? If former Mt. Province Representative Josephine Dominguez can wear an Igorot dress to Congress (even though she kind of sticks out), then surely Louie can very well wear a G-string in the boxing ring? But if wearing a G-string in settings like this is not okay -- whether one is Igorot or not -- is Louie, if he is indeed an Igorot, forgiven because he won in this challenge?

Most importantly, isn't a G-string a disadvantage in a kickboxing bout? Does it not get in the way of one's ability to kick? Honestly, I don't know the answer to any of these questions. What is your take?

VIDEO CREDIT: rjrb21. RELATED POST: Daniel "Mumbaki" Foronda. SOMEWHAT RELATED POSTS: The List Part 3, Rey Tam, Igorots in the Asian Games.