‘We,’ here, means the Igorot community, so if you’re not one, this piece isn’t for you. No we don’t want Paulo to acknowledge that he is an Igorot so he could harvest sympathy votes. He will have you not because of awa but because mapapa-wow ka talaga. That being said, on with the show.

Point one: Voting for Paulo just because he is a kailiyan is sufficient but too shallow a reason.

You’ve heard it before — Igorots aren’t celebrity crazy. So why should you contradict this mantra of yours? No, there is no contradiction. If Paulo is a kailiyan, then you aren’t supporting him because he is a celebrity (an unreachable personality) but because he is your 55th cousin or someone who is at least an am-ammo. Don’t throw away your logic just yet.

But this is a shallow reason. We as a group, have built a comparatively strong online network that can help us promote an agendum. Without this reason, we could then say that we get starstruck, too, and (gasp!) that is the beginning of the end. So what is the vested interest that we are promoting pala?

The inevitable question arises: Why should we want an Igorot celebrity?

Point two: Campaigns led by a politician, a historian, and a journalist have failed to correct the stereotyped perception of lowland Filipinos regarding Igorots.

Politician: Alfredo Lam-en, Sr. (governor of the old Mountain Province) re his response to Carlos P. Romulo’s Igorots are not Filipinos remark. Nobody remembers except the oldies and those at BCF (now UC). You couldn’t erase a misconception if only you, and not your target audience, knew the error.

Historian: William Henry Scott. At least he tried to correct what’s on record, but he himself self expressed that the future of the word ‘Igorot’ rests either on highland pride or lowland prejudice.

Journalist: Jack Dulnuan wrote: “I am an Igorot. Let me be treated as I deserve, but let the word Igorot remain… ” you see, even I forgot about this. Dig the archives of this blog. So my point? Forgotten. That’s the point.

This leads us to point three.

Point three: Paulo not acknowledging his Igorot roots is unforgivable.

This is the continuation of point one. We had to talk about point two first so this third point becomes more understandable. Point three is about the Igorots’ last hope: a celebrity — as in artista. Gasp! I thought we weren’t dealing with these kinds of people?

Proof? Marky Cielo. He was able to do what Lam-en, Scott and Duluan have failed to do, and that is to unite those in the Cordillera to say Igorotak! Igorotak metlang! Thank you Bugz Daigo. Of course he was adored partly because he somehow fit part of the stereotype. Mailalasinan ay Igorot, di ba? But he shattered the other parts of the stereotype. At least, may tinitingala na rin silang Igorot ngayon. Those celebrity-centric lowlanders. At least, some part of the stereotype has been shattered.

Now comes Paulo. It could have been perfect. He looks so different from Marky, but he is still an Igorot. Success na sana, di ba? Mapapaisip na sila. Sinu-sino nga ba ang mga Igorot? Stereotype shattered. On to the next agendum.

But alas. Why no Igorotak!? The first possible answer is backlash. Igorot na naman? Tama na. That would be from the point of view of the lowland viewer. And from the point of view of the TV station, we want to capture a bigger market. Hence this year’s winner should be from somewhere else. So if Paulo de-emphasized the Igorot trump card, then maybe he could up his chances of getting the top spot.

But that reason, no matter how valid, is not acceptable because it negates our agendum. Let me remind you that our agendum is to erase the misconception regarding Igorots by challenging it with alternatives like Marky Cielo and Paulo Avelino. If Paulo is not up for the challenge, sorry, no doughnut for you.

And that, kakailiyan, is the reason why Lorna Tolentino’s question was raised. Here’s the background — An Igorot blogger raised a similar question — Was Paulo one of the Parents ko lang ang Igorot city-bred kids? So if he doesn’t serve the purpose, why support him then?

Here comes the mother to the rescue. It’s her fault kano because she raised him to speak in English. English = better life.

So my point four is this:

Our elders worry about annihilation of Igorot cultures if those in power submerge our communities by building dams, but in their very homes they kill a facet of the culture/s they want to preserve by not teaching their kids at least ten Kankanaey/Ibaloi/etc sentences?

Well, Paulo did not have to say, yes I am an Igorot. Let’s digest this. Excuse number one: There was no opportunity for it. I can’t just blurt it out. On the contrary, you didn’t have to say ‘I am an Igorot’ exactly, you could have talked in Kankanaey when you introduced yourself, but oh yeah, you don’t know how to speak it. Marky Cielo turned a presumably Cordillera-woven (knitted?) muffler into a headdress. No words had to be said. And by the way, other contenders said these to answer the prompt Tell us something we don’t know about you: If I get eliminated, I’m bound for Japan; I’m a hosto in Makati; I’m a lesbian. Saying I am an Igorot would have been comparatively tame, but that would have meant a lot to Igorots.

Paulo did say on TV Igorot po ako because he was asked the question while distributing leaflets in Baguio. But by the time the sound bite was aired on TV, I had already written my previous article.

Would Marky Cielo have said I’m proud to be an Igorot had Splasher not raised it in his blog first? If you do not understand what pop culture advocacy is all about, that one is one. So if he raised a similar issue about Paulo Avelino and Lorna Tolentino became the spokesperson (wow, they read the blogs!), dapat mag-rejoice kayong mga Igorot. It’s not too late for Paulo to appreciate what his mother denied him — an appreciation of his Igorot background.

And that is point four: Building up an Igorot celebrity helps us promote our Igorot culture for the sake of multiculturalism and for the sake of the young Igorot population who are beginning to think that it ain’t that cool to be one. And yeah, for all the mothers and fathers na in the end sila pala ang nahihiya sa pagiging Igorot nila.

So be StarStruck. It’s part of being proud to be an Igorot. Start by voting for Paulo Avelino. Show some Igorot love.

Paulo Avelino from Baguio is this year’s lone Igorot contender for the annual StarStruck artista search. Through TXT, some learned that his mother is from Bangaan,Sagada/Bagnen, Bauko/Bontoc all in Mountain Province. But when Paulo was given the chance to introduce himself during the New Year’s eve elimination, he spoke in English (or was it Tagalog). The other contestants spoke in Kapampangan/ Cebuano/ Ilonggo/ etc. Some (Igorot) viewers got disappointed. Now comes the question: Ikinakahiya ba niya na Igorot siya?

Here’s one point of view:

I knew Paulo before he was circumcised. He was such a handsome boy. I still have pictures of him and his siblings taken in 1994 in Besao. I think this was the time we were entertaining the World Bank resident manager and his wife. I will try to scan some and post them here.

I have not been watching Starstruck but if Paulo did sound coño, what is essential is invisible to the eye. I think the boy attended SPED as my nephews and nieces did. In fairness to Mng Jenni, I do not think she ever raised her boy as a coño kid. Most of the SPED kids really do speak almost impeccable English. My daughter is also a SPED kid. While my nephews, nieces and daughter use English (their first language), they also speak our native tongue. It is understandable that Paulo does not because Mng Robert, his dad, is not an Igorot. I suppose she and Mng Jenni do not use Kankanaey to speak to each other. Sadly, Paulo was denied the opportunity to be acquainted with his mother’s native tongue. What is important though is that he acknowledges his ethnic origin.

Mng Robert is a simple guy. He is not the stereotyped Spaniard (the haughty one who uses the words tonto y tonta at every turn). Soft-spoken and always smiling. Guapo pay. Bagay da ken Mng Jenni. I remember that he used to drive a jeep -the vehicle for the family as well as the one for the delivery of his wares to his customers. I do not know if he is still in sales. I do know however that he mingled with Igorots. In fact, for a time, they were renting a place in Puliwes or San Vicente, where the language spoken is Kankanaey. [source: bibaknets]

Did he ever acknowledge on TV that he is an Igorot?