‘Tao po ako, hindi po ako Igorot’

It was in 1999 when actress Lucy Torres- Gomez said to a character in an ABS-CBN show, “Ang pangit mo naman, Igorot siguro parents mo” (You’re so ugly, maybe your parents are Igorots).

While Lucy Torres’ comment then was not as popularly criticized as what happened to Candy Pangilinan very recently, Lucy Torres was summoned to Congress to give an explanation to her remark, following public reaction from some outraged Igorots. ABS CBN also apologized saying there was no intent to demean.

They also ensured that it will not happen again in future shows, Blog of the Sagada Igorot reports. But the incident happened again. And worse, the relatively same racial slur happened in Baguio City, homeland of a number of Igorot –Ibalois, Igorot – Kankanaeys, Igorot –Kalingas, Igorot-Ifugaos, Igorot- Apayaos and Igorot- Tingguians.

Actress-comedian Candy Pangilinan uttered twice, “Tao po ako. Hindi po ako Igorot” ( I am a human being. I am not an Igorot) during a May 9 show at SM Baguio City. Once, when she walked down the run-way after greeting the audience, and the second time when she appeared on stage. Surely. Pangilinan’s statement was a manifestation of racism where she strongly implied that Igorots are not human beings and she is human.

Similarly, in Torres’ remark, she obviously said that Igorots as a people are ugly- looking, thus implying that non-Igorots are good looking. The attitude of superiority is very evident over a tribe which is made inferior. Espousing racial slurs breeds hostile and/or uncomfortable environment where one is made to feel inferior while the other is superior.

And with this, such would not be a healthy community to live in as it eats away the sense and the right of equality among humans. That was clearly proven in the two artists’racial slurs when Igorots all over the world were outraged and rammed angry remarks to both Torres and Pangilinan.

Like corruption which has ingrained in Philippine society and has alarmingly spread in the whole stretch of its hierarchy and seemingly got unstoppable , racial slurs go in the same thread. And while this continues, propagated by some artists in Philippine cinema, ethnic bias will alarmingly disrupt good community relationships regardless of tribe, color, or race.

It may happen again. Yet artists or anybody else with a racist mind gets away with it, without being made accountable to his/her actions and getting penalized. As we can see, apologies can happen. And it can happen over and over again. Explanations in Congress can also happen and it can happen over and over again. Heaviersanctions are needed much as it erodes the self- esteem of a people, posesthreat to healthy communities from developing, poses dangerous relationship of ill feelings and distrust to another, and violates equality rights. In furtherance of public welfare, ethnic slurs need to be regulated if not, prevented from happening.

It has to stop somewhere while we recognize one major cause of ethnic bias.

Jerry P8 Abeya, moderator of a Kankanaey tribe Kotim-ya- Eta Yahoo forum says Candy Pangilinan’s remark “is basically a symptom of the mis-education of the mainstream Filipinos about their own brother and sister- Igorots. That she represented at one instance the mis-educated Filipinos who continue to be discriminatory; and that hopefully the apology of Candy for realizing to respect the dignity of any tribe, would be a lesson to learn from.”

I wonder what the Katipunan ng mga Artistang Pilipino Sa Pelikula at Telebisyon
(KAPPT) is doing to discipline their own members. I also wonder what special sanctions are there for TV stations and the entertainment industry have for artists and managers who commit ethnic slurs in their own TV stations and productions.

While people forgive and let live, a special law is needed to control and sanction
racism which is eating healthy relationships from growing. What you say Baguio Congressman Mauricio Domogan and the other Batasan representatives from the Cordillera?

Reprinted from Northern Philippine Times

Candy Pic from Cordillera Virtual Newseum