iBOONDOCK

Wow. You got to be impressed with these girls. Can you imagine yourself grappling a bull to the ground and tying it up? Our Benguet State University coeds were able to do that during a rodeo contest in Masbate. They made the Inquirer as a result. Congratulations, cowgirls.

Coeds turn cowgirls in Masbate rodeo
By Jaymee T. Gamil / Inquirer

MASBATE CITY – At this time of the year, most “colegialas” can be found on the beach, flaunting the latest swimwear and perfecting their tans. Janice Mino and Juanita Palileng of Benguet State University (BSU), however, choose to spend the summer in Masbate’s dusty corrals, wearing denims and wrestling bulls.

For three years, Janice and Juanita have been roughing it, along with teammates from the BSU Highland Cowboys and Cowgirls, at the cattle sports events during the Rodeo Masbateño festival in Masbate City. The rodeo is a yearly event to celebrate the island-province’s “cattle country” culture.
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The BIBAK group in Switzerland perform during the Philippine Independence day. Video courtesy of igorotland.

I got tired just watching this. Kasla ka met lang nag-exercise no buya-em gamin. Does the guy resemble Jimmy Smits?

Video credit: Igorot27.

Here’s a story written by a kailiyan which pretty much reflects the experience of thousands of Igorots/iCordilleras and millions of Filipinos who, despite their misgivings, end up working abroad. Our best wishes, Rolly.

Originally published in the Inquirer’s Youngblood section:

Patriotic doubts
By Rolly Allan Matinek

Little did I know that one day I would join the ranks of Filipinos dispersed around the world, who now make up more than 10 percent of the Philippine population. While it is no secret that most Filipinos harbor the desire to get out of the country in the hope of improving themselves and upgrading their socio-economic status and living standards (as well as that of their families), it was not really my “cup of tea”—as they say here in England—to work abroad.

On board an international flight with a one-way ticket, my priced laptop and my passport stamped with a foreign visa, I still could not believe that I had turned my back on my idealism. I love my country, especially my little town of Sagada in northern Philippines; and I consider myself a patriot. If I try giving this as a reason for not leaving the country to someone I meet on the street, I’d be met with rolling eyes and be called crazy. Every time a colleague or a friend left Philippine shores for the same job but with a much better compensation abroad, I wished him all the best, yet at the same time felt not a pang of envy, only sadness for the loss of one more talent.
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From the Calgary Herald:

A fund set up by former co-workers to help homicide victim Arcelie Laoagan’s family has raised more than $100,000.

The money will be used to set up a monthly income for family in the Philippines left without support after she was killed in Calgary on Jan. 18.

Laoagan left behind five children, from elementary-school age to young adults, and husband Gregorio Laoagan.

“We’re just overwhelmed and so appreciative of all the donations,” said Jane Mugford, the vice-president of technology at West Canadian, a graphics company where Laoagan worked. “We’ve had people walk in off the street and donate.”

Donations have come from all over Calgary, across Canada and even Australia, she said.
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Is she by any chance a kailiyan? Kasla met taga Cordi ti style ken features na. What do you think?

Note: This is actually my unsubtle way of expressing support for Obama :-)

Trivia: Who were the first Igorots to vote in a U.S. presidential election? The St. Louis Public Library gives us the answer:

The Fair’s Philippine Reservation included villages for the three Igorot groups, the Bontocs, Suyocs, and Tingguianes. In the Philippines, the Igorots were farmers and miners.

Several Igorots showed an interest in the presidential election of 1904 and asked to be able to cast their ballots.

In response, two polling places were established in the Igorot village. Photographs of the two candidates Theodore Roosevelt and Alton B. Parker were placed over Igorot gongs; beans serving as ballots. Roosevelt carried the election, 83 to 2.