IGOROTak (Igorot Ako / I'm an Igorot) Shirts

I'm running behind on my blogging; and will be attempting to catch up. What better way to do that than to blog about our IGOROTAK shirts. My cousin, a store manager of her older sister's NADUMA shop in SM Baguio, was searching the Internet for IGOROTAK shirts when she came across my blog post from August of last year when we attended an Igorot party here in Chicago and saw many fellow Igorots wearing the shirts. She felt bad that we didn't have our own so she sent 10 shirts through the mail - two for each of us. These shirts are just way cool! We immediately wore it to a party and had a friend begging to have one of them. My wife replied in jest - "Bakit, Igorot ka ba?" (Why, are you an Igorot?) It was just a testament of the shirts' uber-coolness. I wore my IGOROTAK shirt proudly to work during casual Friday and it was a conversation starter. I was asked multiple times what it meant, and of course, I willingly explained. Sharing more photos -

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Sagada / Igorot Gatherings over the Holidays

During our Maryland vacation, there were several Sagada / Igorot gatherings that we attended.

The first was a visit to my aunt near our company headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia. After picking up my brother-in-law at the Dulles International airport on the afternoon of Dec 24, we dropped by my aunt’s house. She was just recently widowed and we weren’t able to visit during the wake and funeral of her husband, a jolly good Igorot who I will always remember as being very upbeat and optimistic. 2 of her sisters, very nice ladies who we’ve known since we were young were with her when we dropped by. Her eldest sister, Auntie J, was a very close friend of my dad who passed away when I was 8. Auntie J is in her 70s and as she looked at my 3 young boys prancing around, she said aloud, “Ag-set mo dakan ud aped matey ay masapa. Ilam et sak-en nan mang-ila isnan ap-om”. She was actually talking to my dad in an endearing Igorot way. Loosely translated, she meant “It’s your fault – why did you die early? See, I’m the one who is looking at your grandchildren.” Sweet!

We spent Christmas Eve at the house of my sister. There were at least 9 Sagada / Igorot households represented in their house that evening. To combat the blatant gift giving, my sister requested if I could prepare a devotion for the kids so they could hear a Christmas message. I gave a small presentation on “The Perfect Gift” focusing on a gift that was so precious that it can never be taken away, it is never wrong, and it will never be broken nor wear out. It was done on the family room, with the Christmas tree lighted and the room literally overflowing with gifts. We ended with two prayers and a hymn – thanking God for His most precious and Perfect Gift – His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

After the prayers and the singing, the children were surprised and amused to see a figure in red, wearing a red Igorot shawl, red pants, and a pasted on beard and sunglasses come bouncing down the stairs to the sound of HO-HO-HO. It would have been best if his coming was announced by a gong. The sight of the “Igorot Santa” made the teenagers and the adults in the room double over in laughter. He was so funny! I would have posted a picture but I don’t want my brother-in-law to strangle me.

On Christmas Day, we made the nice 1 hour drive to Annapolis, Maryland for the blessing of the house of a neighbor from Sagada. Mng. G is a few years older than I and is a batch mate and close friend of one of my sisters. We also met in 2000 back in Singapore. She and her husband and their 2 children moved to Maryland in the past year after stints in Canada and in Arkansas. They bought a newly built 2 storey house in the state capital that was near the bay. It was a very nice place with lots of room and which overlooked a park. We had a good time enjoying the wonderfully cooked meals the hosts prepared themselves and chatting with old friends and new acquaintances. There were visitors from New Jersey and a couple of Mng. G’s sisters made the 18hour ride from Arkansas. It was while thinking of writing this post that I realized one thing – majority of the visitors that day came from just 3 families who lived near each other in Nangonogan, Sagada. Too near that if stories I heard were true, sibling spats in one household could be heard in another. Would their elders ever have given it a thought? Here were their descendants, celebrating a new home on Christmas Day, thousands of miles away from Sagada.

On New Year’s Eve, one of my cousins got married to a Caucasian American in Washington D.C. We received their wedding invite in August but we had to decline because we weren’t sure if we would make the drive to Maryland by then. It was a good thing since we babysat the children of a sister while the parents attended the church service and reception. The wedding was attended by relatives from different states, with some relatives travelling all the way from Australia and Canada. It’s obvious but I’ll state it – Igorots and their offspring are all over the world.

We spent our New Year’s eve at the same house we spent our Christmas Eve. We interrupted the kids’ Wii playing sessions to countdown the New Year. As the wedding was over by that time, visitors were coming in and out of the house to greet and munch at the food my sister and her husband prepared. Karaoke singing went non-stop until the early hours of the year. Unlike Christmas Eve when there was at least the Igorot Santa, there was nothing uniquely Igorot in the celebrations except for the Igorot participants. The celebration was classic Filipino – spent with family, plenty of shared stories, karaoke-singing, and food.

The last gathering I attended was at my Auntie J’s despidida. It was held at the house of her son, who happened to be a neighbor of my sister. My mother and I dropped by to say goodbye. It was supposed to be a short stay since it was late in the evening, but as with any group of elder ladies, stories take time to be exchanged. It was at this gathering where I learned that one of our family friends is a regular reader of this blog. Surprise, surprise! This post is long enough so I’ll reserve that story for another post.

Our 2-week holiday was filled with a lot of gatherings amongst Igorots from Sagada. The gatherings were always heartwarming and sentimental. Though far from where our roots are, relationships that were cultivated in Sagada have gone across the globe and continue to flourish. It’s always a joy to be a part of these gatherings – my family and I look forward to joining some more this year.

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Igorot Artifact at the Louvre

It was in April 2003, on my 5th visit to France that I was able to fully explore the Musée du Louvre (the Louvre Museum), reputed to be the world's most visited art museum. I went there early Saturday morning and marveled at the amount and beauty of the exhibits. I wouldn't consider myself an art enthusiast, but even an ordinary Joe like me appreciate beautiful creations. Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo were amongst the most popular exhibits with plenty of excited visitors taking photographs of these.

Egyptian antiques dominate one section - I read somewhere that most of Egypt's ancient treasures are either in France or in England. The oldest item I saw was a wall painting that was 4000+ years old, though there could be older artifacts which I was not able to view.

A lot of the artworks were done by artists from France, Italy and Spain and I spent most of the morning and afternoon going over them. The afternoon was almost ending as I drew to a small section of the museum featuring American, Asian and Oceanian antiques. My heart was pounding in anticipation as I wondered if there was an exhibit from the Philippines. I saw just one representing our country of 80+ million people. Enclosed in a glass box was a carved wooden figurine holding a bowl. It was a type of bulul, and an engraved note indicated that it was previously owned by the anthropologist William Beyer.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia.org

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An IGOROTAK Moment

IGOROTAK - Kankana-ey for "I am an Igorot", an acknowledgment of one's Igorot identity

My boys, who were all born in Quezon City, have spent majority of their young years in Manila and in the US. They've spent at most - a couple of months total in the Cordilleras and these were during vacations in Baguio / Sagada / Tadian. When I asked them if they were Igorots, I got a range of answers from being uncertain ("Are we?") to an outright denial ("No.") I guess I can't blame them. It's not a daily discussion for us. While my wife and I converse in Kankana-ey, they don't see the connection.

So, when there was an opportunity for us to join a gathering of Cordillera people last August, I didn't let it pass. (See previous blog posts on BIBBAK.) It was a chance for them to see fellow Igorots, and see Igorot dances being performed. Before going to the gathering, I prepped them to answer correctly when asked if they are Igorots. ("Yes, we are.") If asked what made them Igorots, they should respond with, "because our parents are Igorots".

At the gathering, there was an opportunity for group dancing. When I joined during a dance, I asked my second child to join as well. He didn't want to. But when I joined, he called his older brother so they could watch me. After the dance, I joined them and told them that they should have joined since it was a lot of fun. My second child said that he just didn't want to. At that, a young teenage girl who had her back on us turned around and said, "You shouldn't be. When I was younger, I also didn't feel like it. But its good to know about your roots." She then stood up and showed the shirt she was wearing. It read "Igorotak!". She asked my son to read it and then turned around, since at the back of the shirt, the phrase was explained - something like "an assertion of one's Igorot identity".

My son blurted out, "Yes, yes, I know I am an Igorot" and the older girl exchanged high fives with him. Like my son, the girl is part of a generation where though both parents are Igorot, they were raised in other places where that identity is not as strongly asserted as it would have been if they grew up in the Cordillera region. In this case, the parents bear the primary responsibility of letting their children know about their origins. Involving them in such gatherings is just one part of it. The chance conversation with the girl was a brief yet memorable moment for my son. He wasn't alone. I just hope that there would be more of these Igorotak moments for him and his brothers.

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BIBBAK Illinois: An Afternoon with Fellow Igorots

My three boys and I arrived at the Bunker Hill picnic grove at the Labaugh Woods in Chicago around half past 12. It was not a difficult task to identify which area we were going to. A huge BIBBAK banner hangs over a group of tables where fellow Filipinos were enjoying lunch. I took some water and cupcakes that my wife baked and my boys and I approached the group. We were met by a smiling man who turned out to be one of the 2 adults we knew in that group. I didn’t even recognize Marlon and I had to ask for his name. Marlon and Marissa is a couple from Benguet who we met at a common friend’s house blessing last January. They were the ones who invited us to the BIBBAK gathering.

While I was making sure that my boys had lunch, I was approached by an elderly woman – I knew she looked very familiar. I don’t know how to explain it but women from Sagada and the Cordilleras have a sort of generic look – warm, friendly, nice, with distinct facial features. She pointed to my boys and asked in our dialect if they were all mine. I smiled and said yes. She then asked me if I was “Kamulo”. For a moment, I was surprised but she quickly explained who she was and we embraced. It was a pleasantly unexpected meeting. She happened to be my aunt and a good friend of my mother. Her husband is my mother’s cousin, and she herself is the 1st cousin of my wife’s grandmother. My mother has spoken previously that she was in the United States, but I knew that she was nowhere near Chicago. I haven’t seen her in more than 10 years.

Kids had a fun afternoon

After lunch, the boys weren’t in such a friendly mood and the youngest complained that he wanted to go home. I urged them to play with the other kids to no avail. I watched helplessly as they sat down with the adults in checking if our raffle tickets would win a prize. They waited patiently and I almost pitied them each time a winning number is announced and it was just off the numbers we had. After most of the prizes have been awarded and our chances of winning looked bleak, one of our numbers were called. My oldest eagerly received an envelope with cash. That apparently changed their mood and soon, they were off with other kids, joining the parlor games, playing volleyball and even getting themselves splashed with mud. One of their new found friends gave them a bag of candies that they would munch on the ride home. It turned out to be a fun afternoon for them.

BIBBAK Illinois Activities – Election of Officers and Future Events

As it was my first time with the BIBBAK Illinois group, I watched from the sidelines and had some quick conversation with folks that went my way. This year’s gathering apparently was more than in previous years. There were few folks from Mountain Province, but plenty from Benguet and Baguio. I filled and submitted a membership application. That afternoon, I saw a young group of officers get elected for positions in the next two years – that group included Marlon and Marissa.

The next major activity for the group is the December gathering / Christmas party. They’re planning on a cultural presentation. I was asked twice if I knew how to “men-gang-sa” (play the gong). I don’t. I participated in gong-playing before during weddings back home and in school presentations and these were amongst the more uncomfortable moments in my life. It takes a lot of coordination which doesn’t come naturally to me. You have to beat the gong in rhythm with the others, while moving your hips and feet at the same time. Making these all come together in smooth “suave” way is beyond my grasp. Last time I played the gong was in a BIBAK gathering in Texas, and a fellow i-Sagada was looking at me like “What the hell are you doing?” Ha-ha-ha-ha! So there – I’m hopeless in this area. I’d very much like my kids to learn though that I might consider playing to generate their interest.

A website in the Making?

BIBBAK Illinois is not as well known as their counterparts in the east and west coasts. I was asked if I can help create a web presence, and I most happily obliged. Part of the group’s mission and vision is to reach out with scholarships to students from the Cordillera region. There’s also a general thought that attendance and membership to BIBBAK Illinois could be improved by reaching out to the younger group of Cordillera folks within the state of Illinois. I think that a web presence could definitely help the group in a lot of ways – from letting the world know of its existence, to sharing multi-media, to announcing events, etc... It is definitely something to look forward to.

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Passing on the IGOROT Heritage through Dance

Young American Igorots in full costume
Photo from the Igorot Gallery at sagada.com.

I visited a gathering of several BIBBAK groups in Texas while I was there on a project during the fall of 2004. (BIBBAK stands for Bontoc, Ifugao, Benguet, Baguio, Apayao / Abra, Kalinga) I noticed that there was a lady who was in charge of meeting with the children and talking to them about the Igorot culture. Majority of the children were born in the US, and most likely never set foot in the place where the Igorots come from – and that’s in the Cordillera Mountains of Northern Philippines. Still, as most people of every culture has done in history, the parents of these children would like them to learn about who they are. So it is very common amongst migrating Igorots to meet together, and pass on the Igorot heritage to the younger generation.

Teaching children how to play the gong and participate in Igorot dances are effective and fun ways to keep the practice alive. For someone like me who is a very awkward dancer / gong player, it is difficult to teach something I could not even be decent at. (I blushed and huffed my way through an Igorot dance during my wedding day – a terrible memory, really.) But my inabilities shouldn’t pose a problem. There will always be groups of Igorots wherever you are, and most of them will likely be good dancers.

There is a family picnic for BIBBAK – ILLINOIS on Saturday, Aug 23, 2008 at Des Plaines. I’ll be bringing the boys over and we’ll be looking forward to the Cultural Presentation and Native Dance Rehearsal in the afternoon. I will also be posting some pictures in this blog after the event.

My youngest, at 2, playing with a gong in Maryland.

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Geneology Tale: Romeo and Juliet + The Crow

The parents of my maternal grandmother were known as Kudat and Lingayo. Before my grandparents married, there was an altercation between Kudat and Pednga-en (my grandfather’s father). One morning, they met together at a particular place while going on their respective business. Later that same day, they again crossed each other’s paths at exactly the same place. Kudat who must have been a jolly fellow made a funny comment to Pednga-en about this meeting at the same place in one day. Pednga-en, who were amongst Sagada’s leaders didn’t find the same comment funny and proceeded to bring the matter to court against Kudat. (I’ve never met such a guy!) I don’t know what happened next, but because of this dispute, when their children eventually married each other, Kudat and Pednga-en had to perform a ritual that indicated there is no remaining ill will between the two despite a prior dispute.

Moral of the story? Don’t fight against anyone. Your child may end up marrying that person’s child.

The children of Kudat and Lingayo were Conyap Ag-a, Madungit Gayagay, Carmen Nadnaden (my grandmother), and Eduardo Toyoken who settled in Tabuk, Kalinga. There is an interesting story where one of their grandchildren, an orphaned boy, was about to be brought to a Sagada orphanage because of poverty. While the surviving parent was on the way to the orphanage with the little boy, a crow hovered continuosly on their path seemingly trying to prevent the boy from being brought to the orphanage. The parent took this as an omen, and decided to raise the little boy instead. The boy grew up and eventually taught at the Saint Mary’s School in Sagada. His son, my 2nd cousin, was a batchmate during my elementary years, and a ka-barkada during my college years.

Moral of the story? If you’re contemplating a major decision and a crow seemingly stops your decided course of action, listen to it.

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Geneology Tale: Multiple Families

Listening to my mother talk about my ancestry is like reading a book such as The Hundred Years of Solitude. I thought our family tree would be uncomplicated, but I now know it isn’t. Quite common is a male relative with multiple families. An uncle left Mindanao ahead and left a wife and 2 children. When he relocated, the wife and children did not follow immediately; so my uncle married another woman and had several children. (Now it wasn’t that simple but I cant talk about things I don’t know about.) I know all the children of the second family, but I never met any one from the first family. I reckon that they must be in their early forties by now. They’re the only 1st cousins from both mother and father’s side that I haven't met.

A brother of my maternal grandfather had at least 3 known wives. One of his children became a student of my mother when she was teaching at an elementary school in Lepanto, Benguet. She has apparently married an American and is now settled in the US. I googled her name and was surprised to find a high school class photo that included her. (See picture below) She would be my 2nd cousin. It would be nice to find her number one day and be able to call her. I imagine the conversation will start with – "Hi, you’ve never met me but we are cousins… "



The same brother had another son who in turn had 2 families. These two families retained 2 different family names – Pednga-en and Moting. My mother’s family used Nadnaden, and as is the practice in the Philippines, this also became my middle name.

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Tracing my Igorot Ancestry - Mother's Side

Above: Grandma Rose and grandkids with Lake Michigan and the Chicago Skyline in the background.
Below: 3 generations of Sagada Igorots at the SkyDeck entrance, Sears Towers.

My mother came for a short 5-night, 4-day visit at our place here in the northern suburbs of Chicago. On her last evening before flying back to Maryland, I sat down with her to note some of our ancestors' names from her side. It's important to keep these things written. While there are some existing written Igorot genealogies, it is not common. It is up to individual families to document their family trees. I am doing this as my children, as young as they are, are very interested to learn about their family backgrounds.

I am a direct descendant of Pelayan Tarnate Nadnaden, the first mayor of Sagada. His son, Balay-owan, also served as a counselor of Sagada. During his term, Balay-owan, along with other Sagada counselors were invited to a meeting in the mountain of Canip-ao. The meeting turned out to be an ambush set-up by headhunters - the unsuspecting counselors ended up beheaded, no one escaped. Balay-owan's younger brother, Yam-es, identified his body on the basis of one unique feature - one of his foot thumbs overlapped a nearby toe.

Balay-owan had a son named Pednga-en who, like his father and grandfather, became one of Sagada's leaders. His son, Justo, was my maternal grandfather. I remember visiting my grandparents' place when we were young. Their house was in Bang-owaw in Demang, one of Sagada's 4 central barangays. He used to tell me stories during our visits - a particular story series I really liked was that of a mouse named Otot-otot.

My grandfather died when I was in college. My sisters and I came home on the day of his burial. A cousin drove us as his funeral procession was making its way to the church. My sisters and I were amongst those who carried his wooden coffin out of the church. There are no funeral cars in Sagada, so I with a group of male relatives carried his remains to the Sagada town cemetery where he was laid to rest alongside his wife, my grandmother. Her story would be another blog entry though.

We are very blessed to have my mom, a retired schoolteacher, visit her grandchildren here in the US. While my children never got to meet my maternal grandfather, they do know his stories. Like me, they too like the series on Otot-otot.

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FBI, Full Blooded IGOROT

Picture above is an Igorot Gentleman ca early-mid 20th century.

Masferre photograph taken from AENET.org.

"I am an Igorot. Let me be treated as I deserve - with respect if I am good, with contempt if I am no good, irrespective of the name I carry. Let the term, Igorot, remain, and the world will use it with the correct meaning attached to it." - Jose Dulnuan

I wish I can really claim that I'm an FBI, a Full-Blooded Igorot, but I'm not. No wishful thinking there. Then again, it's not that bad. It is who I am. My paternal grandfather was half Ilocano. But, I have very little Ilocano blood left since my paternal grandmother and my mother are full-blooded Igorots. My cousins on my father's side are a different story. They have less than a fourth of that precious Igorot blooded-ness. But it doesn't matter. They claim to be as FBI as I am. And they are.

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Of the word IGOROT...

Here's an article I wrote more than 10 years back. It was on our website but wasn't linked from anywhere when I did my last update. Quite a lengthy read:

My Igorot name, Kamulo was given to me when my navel fell off, just as all my predecessors were given theirs. I got my paternal grandfather's Igorot name, and it was incorporated in my Christian name. I grew up fully aware of my Igorot ancestry and I took pride in that. I even remember composing an exagerrated oratorical piece and delivering it with utmost bravado when I was in sixth grade. That piece was entitled, "I am an Igorot".

'Twas therefore a strange thing when I came down to study in Manila and the word that I considered a sense of identity and pride was a cause of snickering and eyebrow raising among my peers. I didn't know how to react when, an acquaintance, having known of my Igorot identity suddenly perked up and said, "Talaga?! E bakit maputi ka?" (Really?! How come you're light- complexioned?) I can't say that I have not been warned of lowlanders' somewhat narrow perception of the word Igorot but nobody prepared me for reactions such as this one. I didn't know what to say, in fact, I never even considered myself as light complexioned.

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Indeed, most Filipinos have a negative concept of the word Igorot. Sources have varied explanations as to how this came about. Frank Cimatu, in a July 1998 Philippine Daily Inquirer article tells of the Rancheria de las Igorottes which supposedly turned out as the most famous attraction of the 1887 "Exposition de las Islas Filipinas" in Madrid, Spain. In this exposition, "20 Cordillerans from different tribes built six houses of different architectural features, danced with their gongs or gangsas and slaughtered pigs supplied by the organizers". Such "Exhibition of Human Beings" apparently embarrassed our national hero, Jose Rizal and also, Antonio Luna.
In 1958, then Representative Luis Hora of the third district of the old Mountain Province introduced a bill seeking, among others, to prohibit the use of Igorot in laws books and other printed matter for as he explained in a published letter, the "misnomer Igorot" is but an invention of "ruthless Spaniards in mockery against our tribes which they failed to subjugate or conquer in their unsatiable lust and greed for colonialism... The word, "Igorot", as coined and applied by the Spaniards means a "savage, headhunting and backward tribe" of Luzon... (These people) are further described as of probable Malayan-Negrito stock since they share with the Negritos such features as dark skins, flat noses, thick lips, etc., and such cultural traits as the use of the bow, a non-Malayan weapon. This description, which was invented purposely to degrade our people, has no connection with ethnic classification of our tribes..."

Such stereotyping were not only ingrained in lowlanders minds but have affected how some Igorots have thought of themselves as well. Some years back, a person from a particular province of the CAR wrote in a letter to the Inquirer that they should not be called Igorots anymore but rather, they be called the name of their province. He stressed the point (and he did give his reasons) that only the Bontocs of Mountain Province should be called Igorots. In last year's International Igorot Convention (IIC) held in Maryland, there was a referandum on changing the biennial meet to International Cordillera Convention (ICC). At a discussion of students forming a Cordilleran organization at a state university, a student voiced out that the word Igorot is now considered as "politically incorrect" and should not in anyway be connected to the organization they are forming. Still, a group of youth born in Manila to Cordilleran parents admit to their Igorot identity to some extent --- that is, they are (in)famous of their claim that "Igorots ang parents ko!"; apparently meaning, that they themselves are not. Even the late Carlos P. Romulo (though he is not an Igorot) remarked in a book that Igorots are not Filipinos.

Sentiments such as these are however met by vigilant protestations from Igorots - the Hora bill was defeated amidst a barrage of articles, letters, and editorials; the same reaction was triggered by the letter of the person claiming that only Bontocs should be called Igorots. Romulo's comment ignited protests from Igorot student groups particularly from Baguio. IIC retained its name and as for those claiming that only their parents are Igorots, they're pitied upon by the Igorot community and perhaps, reprimanded by their own parents.

In his paper, "The Word Igorot", the late Philippine historian Dr. William Henry Scott researched extensively on the origin of the word and raised two issues: 1) Who are the Igorots and 2) Do they want to be called Igorots? He cited Doctor Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, Jose Rizal's partner in forming the official Tagalog alphabet. According to de Tavera, the word Igorot comes from the root word "golot" meaning "mountain chain". The prefix i means "people of" or "dwellers in"; thus, the word Igorot would simply mean "people of the mountain" or "mountain dwellers", the same way that Ilocano means "river dwellers" coming from the root word lo-ok(river). Scott summarized that Igorot is an "indigenous Filipino word originally meaning mountaineer" and that it and was historically applied (and still is) to the people of the Cordillera region by themselves and the people around them. As for whether Cordillerans want to be called Igorots, it is perhaps columnist Jose G. Dulnuan who expressed the sentiments of many with his quote above.

As for the word Igorot gaining worldwide acceptance, Mr. Cimatu reports that Funk and Wagnals Co. defines "Igorots" as "primitive inhabitants of the mountainous regions in the Philippines living in North Central Luzon". According to the same article, a group of Igorots from Texas has asked this company to redefine its definition. Mr. Cimatu also wrote that the "Grolier International Encyclopedic Dictionary and some editions of the Webster and Random House dictionaries, do not carry the word "Igorot"." He further notes that in the Microsoft Word Finder, the word "Igorot" is not simply ignored but refers one to "ignore" as the nearest spelling.
Perhaps so, but had he tried highlighting the phrase "I'd rather be an Igorot" and invoking the Thesaurus tool, he would have found out that the latest Microsoft Word version would have displayed "I'll drink to that" as a synonym. Try it!

References:

(1) THE BONTOC IGOROT. A.E. Jenks, Manila, 1905.

(2) THE WORD IGOROT. William Henry Scott, New Day Publishers, Quezon City.

(3) MARGINALIZING FILIPINOS FROM THE WORLD WITH PIGS, DOGS AND MICROSOFT WORD.

Post Script: I tried doing the trick with Microsoft Word and it doesn't work now. I think it was a developer's prank at the time to put "I'll drink to that" to any phrase that started with "I'd rather be..."

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