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05.02.08Scooter Race in Banaue
Here’s a pretty cool scooter race in Banaue. When was the last time you did something as fun as this? Maybe we should all join the race next year, no? What do you think? Thanks, to Art Tibaldo for alerting us on this video.Related story from the Inquirer after the jump.
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04.23.08The Princess of Chico River
UN representative baptized as princess of Bontoc’s Chico River
GMA NetworkBONTOC, Mountain Province - Suneeta Mukherjee, the representative of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) in the Philippines, was baptized as “wagchas” or the “Princess of Chico River” by local government officials in an elaborate ceremony here.
Does that mean that Mukherjee, an Indian national and a strict vegetarian, would be able to partake of pork, the favorite food in Bontoc?
“No,” said Gov. Maximo Dalog. “But this is our way of saying that we are serious in our thrust for population management and development.”
Mountain Province and nearby Ifugao were among the few provinces in Northern Philippines that passed a code for comprehensive reproductive health.
Dalog said that the implementing rules and regulations of the code, as well as the Gender and Development Code were approved recently.
Mukherjee said local government units should not wait for the House and Senate to pass the National Reproductive Health Code.
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OUR TAKE: Hmmm. Princess of Chico River? What a title. Hindi kaya magalit ang mga bading sa Bontoc because that title should be bestowed to one of them not to some “interloper”. Hehe. Joke lang, UNFPA Representative.
Anyways, it’s good that Cordi local government units (LGU) view reproductive health as an important issue. Kudos goes to Ifugao for being the first province in the entire country to pass a reproductive health ordinance. Mt. Province followed and is the second province in the Cordilleras to do so.
Now, after passing their ordinances, the officials of Ifugao and Mt. Province should now buckle down to work to make their ordinance a reality. Let’s hope they won’t back down if the Catholic Bishops threaten them with excommunication, deny them communion, or anything like that.
Ito naman kasing mga obispo sa Pilipinas, biro mo ba namang they equate using condoms or other birth control methods with killing life daw. How very 19th century, ano?
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04.23.08Governor Baguilat Denies Banning “Moma”
From Sunstar: The betel nut chew or more popularly known as “moma” in the local dialect was never barred from being used as the traditional chewing gum in Ifugao.
Ifugao Governor Teddy Baguilat Jr. issued the clarification after some expatriates who attended the recently concluded International Igorot Consultation (IIC), asked why the Provincial Government is banning a tradition known to be practiced not only by Igorots but also by lowlanders.
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04.16.08Cool Ifugao Humor
The humorous side of the Ifugao people
By Delmar Cariño/Philippine Daily InquirerBANAUE, Ifugao – The jokes are still on them, but the Ifugao have managed to keep things in stride. And just like those who have heard the funny stories, the people themselves relish listening to the stories.
The so-called Ifugao jokes have made the natives popular, making others want to know more about them as indigenous peoples, next to the curiosity over their woodcarving skills, world-renowned rice terraces, and years of chewing muma (momma) or betel nut.
Ramon Dacawi of Hungduan town, Baguio City’s public information officer, brought the house down during the Igorot International Consultation (ICC) at Banaue Hotel when he dished out samples that ribbed the delegates to the hilt.
Here are some of them:
An Ifugao flagged down a Dangwa Tranco bus bound for Baguio. When the bus stopped, the conductor asked where he was going. The man answered, “Ket siempre dita oneg a (There, inside),” meaning, he would go inside the bus.
The man had a pig placed in the bus compartment. When the conductor asked him to pay for the cargo, the man said, “Damagen a no adda pagpliti na (Ask the pig if he has money for fare).”
Evolution of jokes
Dacawi’s jokes, narrated with native accent and facial expression, were enough to generate discussion on their evolution.
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04.11.08Video Report on the Dontugan Trial
Here’s a video on the latest development on the Donald Dontugan murder trial. In case you missed our earlier post, click here.
Video Credit: GMANews.TV
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04.10.08Campbell Trial Ends, Verdict Out on June 30
Here’s the latest update on the Campbell tragedy which we started covering last year. According to the this report, the judge is expected to issue her decision about three months from now. Here’s the links to our previous posts on the Campbell tragedy should you want to revisit them: Missing in Ifugao; Video Updates on Julia Campbell; On Juan Dontugan’s Surrender; People vs. Dontugan I; People vs. Dontugan II; Campbell Family to Attend Dontugan Hearing.Campbell slay trial ends; verdict to be out June 30
Melvin Gascon/InquirerBANAUE, Ifugao, Philippines — The trial of the accused in the murder of United States Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell ended here Wednesday, a day after her first death anniversary.
Presiding Judge Ester Piscoso-Flor of the Regional Trial Court Branch 34 gave the prosecution and the defense 30 days to file their memorandum or a summary of the evidence presented in the case.
She set the issuance of the court’s decision for June 30.
“We are glad that we are on schedule. We expect to come out with the verdict before the end of June to enable both parties get over with this trial,” Flor said.
Wednesday’s hearing, which lasted only 10 minutes, capped more than 11 months of trial of one of this mountain town’s most celebrated cases — the murder of a foreigner in a village that draws thousands of foreign and local tourists every year.
Campbell, 40, a former journalist and an English teacher then assigned in Albay, disappeared on April 8, 2007, while walking along the mountain trail leading to remote Batad village. Her decomposing body was found 10 days later, buried in a gorge about 20 meters from the trail.
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04.08.08Coming Up: IIC-8 in Banaue, Ifugao
Good luck to my good friend Philian Weygan and the rest of those organizing and joining the International Igorot Consultation this 12-15 April 2008 in Banaue, Ifugao. Visit Philian’s site for the schedule of activities or program overview as well as a backgrounder on the IIC.
Photo shamelessly stolen from Philian’s site.
