BEHIND THE SCENES

A Bago Province has come of age
ALFRED DIZON

The creation of a Bago province is now being pushed by officials of several interior towns of Ilocos Sur, La union and Abra saying this was needed to spur development in their municipalities and preserve the identity of the Bago “tribe” to which they belong.

In a recent meeting with Baguio City Rep. Mauricio G. Domogan, who is also a member of the tribe, municipal officials of Cervantes, San Emilio, Quirino, Gregorio del Pilar, Ledledda, and Suyo (all in Ilocos Sur) said the creation of the province would boost development in the towns as vital infrastructure facilities would be built in the areas with additional funding.

The new province would serve as the seat of the Bago tribe, one of the indigenous cultural communities in the country, they said. Whether a Bago Tribe does exist had been the bone of contention of “academicians” – those who perch from their ivory towers and talk with convoluted language from their perch.

A group of these “academicians’ are now pushing for Cordillera autonomy with a P15 million grant from Malacanang. You see, money does pollute even so-called objective minds. Lest we digress, some of these self-appointed authorities on autonomy or matters related to tribes have insisted it indeed exists while others said it was just a creation of politicians.

But whether such tribe does exist or not, I guess, the creation of a separate province for this “tribe” has come of age. The Bago have often been reviled, criticized or made the butt of jokes of their “native pure blood kin.”

From a general point of view, the Bago are considered as those who have mixed Igorot and Ilocano parentage. Now, Bago members are saying their tribe composes even those whose parents married Tagalog, Visayan or Bicolano or Mindanaoan lineage. They are also those with pure Igorot blood whose parents have resided in certain towns in the Ilocos region where the Bago are prevalent.

Now, members of this “tribe” are saying a Bago could be someone who has a Caucasian, Black, Chinese, Japanese or Korean parent. The pundits among them are also saying those with extra-terrestial genes could do.

When a Bago visits his Ilocano relatives, the former often joke: Ni addan jay kabagian tayo nga Igorot (Oh, here comes our Igorot relative.)” When the Bago visits his Igorot relatives, the former taunt: “Aye nay san Ilokaok ay ib-a yo. (Ah, here comes your Ilocano relative.)”

“Ilokaok” is a derogatory term used by these sanctimonious and acrimonious “Igorots” who think by using the term on their kin, they are “above” them. In other words, these types of nincompoops or lower life forms who taunt their kin are showing their brains are inferior to the object of their cruel jokes.

I had been talking with Bago members and they have often related stories of marginalization from their kin on both sides of their parents on account of their being “mestizos.” The elders among them are saying, enough is enough and this is understandable.

They said when they danced like say, the “takik’ ( Kankanaey dance done with gongs during rites such as those for marriage) the “pure” elders would often look condescendingly on them like they were entities from Mars, shrug and wave their heads like the Bago did a blasphemous act suitable for condemnation to hell.

I have heard a lot of horror stories against the Bago done by their “pure” blood kin from their Igorot or Ilocano sides. Some have been reviled, taunted or physically beaten and it is no surprise if the Bago would like now to have a separate province of their own wherein they could start their “roots” and build their heritage.

Domogan, himself a Bago, earlier filed a bill in Congress proposing a Bago Province would be composed of the 14 interior towns of Ilocos Sur, three remote towns of Abra, and one or two towns of La Union.

Initially, the Ilocos Sur towns targeted for inclusion in the new province the towns of Cervantes, San Emilio, Quirino, Gregorio de Pilar, Ledledda, Suyo, Sugpon, Segay, Alilem, Burgos, Banayoyo, Salcedo, Nagbuken,and Galimuyod.

The towns of Tubo, Villaviciosa and Luba, all in Abra, and Sudipen in La Union are also being proposed to become parts of the new province.

Now, board member Alex Bestoyong of Ilocos Sur is saying the proposal to create a Bago Province must first be subjected to consultation with provincial and municipal officials of Ilocos Sur and affected towns.

He added this would make the people affected understand the purpose of establishing the province. At present, members of the Bago are distributed in the remote towns of Ilocos Sur, Abra, and La Union.

Domogan had cited the importance of creating an entirely new province for the Bago saying this would entitle them to have a representative in Congress and a new set of provincial officials as well as a separate internal revenue allotment (IRA) that could be used for the development of the communities composing the Bago Province.

He urged municipal officials of the concerned local government units to pass a resolution expressing their support for the bill creating a Bago Province so that lawmakers would have a basis for the enactment of the appropriate measure.

Cervantes town has already passed a resolution of support for such legislative measure. The other towns are expected to pass soon their resolutions.

Domogan also advised municipal officials of concerned municipalities to consult their provincial officials and ensure the creation of the Bago Province is not aimed at abandoning Ilocos Sur, but to promote the cultural identity of the Bago tribe.

To members of the Igorot Global Organization, you can email us on this matter at: northphiltimes@yahoo.com. I guess this could be a topic for the next IGO conference as Igorots have intermarried with people not only nationwide but with other countries. The next generation of Igorots with mixed parentage (and there are a lot) could be termed as Bago. So where goest thou Igorot in the future?

It certainly looks like the next IGO conference would be exciting with spark plugs like the Bago issue.