February 2008
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02.11.08Our Town: Kapangan, Benguet
This video shows the inauguration of the Kapangan Municipal Hall (probably the best-looking town hall in the Cordilleras) and the unveiling of the statue of former Benguet Governor Bado Dangwa.
Cheers to whoever thought of putting up the statue of the Governor. We need more statues of Cordillera leaders like that. [Question: Is it me or would the statue look better if the Guv’s pose was designed to be less stiff looking?]
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02.10.08GMA News Update on Rep. Victor Dominguez
According to this GMA report, a necrological service for the late Mt. Province Congressman is scheduled at the House of Representatives this coming Tuesday, February 12.
UPDATE: Those of you who have a wikipedia account might want to contribute to the wikipedia entry on Congressman Dominguez here.
UPDATE 2: From Jeff Dominguez via the comments section: The remains of the Hon. Rep. Victor Dominguez will lie in state at his residence in Military Cut-off, Baguio City from the evening of 12 Feb until 15 Feb ‘08. Funeral and Interment Services will be conducted on 16 Feb ‘08 at the same place. His remains will not be buried at Sabangan as previous reports narrated.
UPDATE 3: Here’s a link to Rep. Dominguez’s congressional page which lists his committee memberships as well as the bills he filed in Congress.
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02.10.08Igorot Warriors, Pambato ng ‘Pinas
Kudos to these guys who have been carrying the Cordillera banner in national and international competitions.
Congratulations and best wishes too to those who qualified to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Wushu Tournament which, according to wikipedia is not part of the Olympic Games but is a tournament to be held in Beijing during the Olympics. Apparently, the IOC didn’t recognize wushu as either an official Olympic event or a demonstration sport.
So jumping up and down a trampoline is accepted as an official medal event while a combat sport like wushu is not? How biased is that, IOC?
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02.09.08Gambling and Prostitution in the Boondocks
Once upon a time, people in Bontoc do not gamble. This is according to Albert Ernest Jenks in his book, The Bontoc Igorot:
No man or set of men habitually spoils another’s accumulations by exacting from him a tax or “rake off.” There is no form of gambling or winning another’s earnings.
We, of course, shouldn’t take a statement made by an outside observer as 100% accurate but Jenks, who visited Bontoc in 1903, gets more specific here:
Cockfighting is the Philippine sport. Almost everywhere the natives of the Archipelago have cockfights and horse races on holidays and Sundays. They are also greatly addicted to the sport of gambling. The Bontoc Igorot has none of the common pastimes or games of chance. This fact is remarkable, because the modern Malayan is such a gamester.
Well, I’m not sure if “modern Malayans” back then were such gamblers as Jenks portrays them but if the writer visits Bontoc now he will see that its residents have caught up with their lowland siblings in the gambling front. He will, no doubt, notice the center of Bontoc’s gambling universe, the Acofo Building which is located right smack in the middle of town.
He will also likely hear the story of a frustrated husband who reportedly axed the door of the gambling den because his wife was spending her time gambling her (their?) money away. Finally, Jenks might wonder about the inability of the Bontoc and Mt. Province police and the local government units to implement the law on illegal gambling.
Bakit nga kaya? Why is the police not doing anything about this? We’re sure it’s not for lack of information. They’re certainly not blind or deaf. Maybe they don’t have balls? Shall we call them Mt. Province Police “No Balls” Division?
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02.09.08How Wet Are You?
If you were in Sagada during the months of November 2007 and January 2008, you would be wetter than if you were in Baguio. You need proof? Aba, meron tayong graphs to prove our point. Here’s the one for Sagada:
And here’s the one for Baguio:
The graphs are from Project Rain Gauge, a joint project of Smart Communications, the Manila Observatory, and some participating schools.Because the project is only on its fifth month, we still don’t know who is wetter during an entire year — would it be Padma in Baguio or Pagano in Sagada.
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02.08.08Rep. Victor Dominguez, 2008
Our condolences to the family of Mt. Province Congressman Victor Dominguez (leftmost in above photo) who succumbed to cardiac arrest this afternoon. Here’s an Inquirer report by Frank Cimatu:
Representative Victor S. Dominguez of the lone district of Mountain Province succumbed Friday to cardiac arrest and complications from diabetes at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City. He was 72.
Mountain Province Governor Maximo Dalog said Dominguez had been sick for sometime. “The province is deeply mourning his death and his provincemates would like to pay their last respects,” said Dalog.
Dominguez served as Mountain Province representative from 1987 to 1998 and from 2004 to present. He was replaced by his wife, Josephine, in 1998.
He ran but lost to Roy Pilando in the 1998 elections. Pilando died before finishing his term.
Dominguez belonged to an influential family in the Cordillera. His father, Alejandro, was a former mayor of Sabangan, the family hometown, while his older brother, Honorio, served as mayor of Tadian town.
A civil engineering graduate of Saint Louis University here, Dominguez started as a gravel-and-sand dealer and contractor.
Meanwhile, we learn from bibaknets that the Congressman will be at the Batasan on Tuesday, February 12. The following day, February 13, he will be transported to Baguio for interment.
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02.08.08Very Interesting Reads
Miriam Coronel Ferrer has an article on Igorotness which you might find interesting. You can read it here. But here’s a quote:
… those who proudly self-identify as Igorots are generating more and more “Igorot” cultural resources to reproduce, enrich and somehow transform Igorot identity. Jimmy Fong’s presentation featured photos of children wearing t-shirts emblazoned with “Igorotak” (”I am Igorot”) followed by a dictionary-like entry that goes “n.Bibakese* – a statement asserting ethnic identity.” Fong also sampled exchanges in blogs among Igorots about Igorots. A hot topic were pop stars Paolo of Starstruck and Marky Cielo, both of Igorot descent, and their “Igorotness.” Or, in the case of Paolo, his shameful disowning of his identity ala the infamous quip, “My parents are Igorot but I am not.”
I’m not quite sure whether Paolo really did disown his identity. He was hesitant to reveal that he is part Igorot but there have been no reports of him expressly stating “na parents lang niya ang Igorot”. Maybe he did, maybe not. Pero may mga PaKoLI (parents ko lang Igorots) sa Quezon City (sa may E. Rod hehe). Hah, we coined PaKoLI ha. You read it here first.
Anyway, let’s go back to Coronel’s piece.
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