Sandati

Name: Bernadette Dominguez Sembrano
Birthdate: February 18, 1976

Worked with GMA-7 then moved to ABS-CBN.

Her mom worked in Manila as a PNB employee (check here) so most likely city girl etong si Bernadette.

Bernadette’s mom is currently a city councilor of Baguio. She became part of the council when one of the winning candidates (Bilog) died before the counting of ballots was over. In her campaign materials, she identified herself as from Sabangan, Mountain Province. She confirmed that Bernadette is her daughter during the campaign period.

Updates:

The winner chickened out. But anyway –

Last month a woman who goes by the chat nickname “Igorota” auctioned herself off online for a date. The winning bidder ultimately stood her up, but she made P2,050 for her trouble.

Another woman who calls herself “Jimili” offered her services online as a one-day maid-and drew a bigger amount of P5,000.

The two Baguio-based women continued to hide behind their chat-room names even when the money they earned became part of a donation to finance the operation of 9-year-old Santy John Tuyan, who is afflicted with a heart ailment.

To the wonders of Internet, add fundraiser for sick kids
published April 30, 2006
Philippine Daily Inquirer article by Vincent Cabreza

Read the rest of the article at inquirer.net here.

The term Igorota has been dragged into a scandal involving the First Gentleman.

Maria Celia Virginia Suarez, the woman who claimed to have had an illicit affair with the First Gentleman, revealed that Atty. Mike Arroyo fondly called her “Favorita” and referred to Mrs. Arroyo as “Igorota.” Which was very appropriate since Attorney Arroyo resembles that ‘barrel man’ from Baguio. [Source: The Professional Heckler]

The Philippines Star published an article that goes:

[Suarez] said Mr. Arroyo, in their drinking sprees, would often refer to her as “favorita” and Mrs. Arroyo as “Igorota.”

‘Favorita’ and ‘Figaro’: Another scandal hits FG
The Philippine Star
March 13, 2007
not archived online

The paper got its information from here . All posts in the said blog have been deleted.

Now a number of bloggers are calling Gloria Igorota as if it were the worst name in the world.

‘Di ako Igorot, parents ko lang.

– Manila born Igorot

child of an Igorot who resides at the St. Andrew’s Theological Seminary
(just behind St. Luke’s Medical Center)

Logic: I was born in Manila and grew up in Manila (Quezon City to be exact). Since igorot means from the mountains, and since I am a lowlander since birth, then only my parents are Igorot. I am not.

Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer’s Northern Luzon Bureau got quotes from my naughty Igorot entry. As usual, the article doesn’t have a link back. The article was intended for print and when it was uploaded online, nobody was tasked to ensure that the article linked to its sources. Oh, well.

According to BIBAKNets, the statue is no longer on display. Sayang, it was a clever way of telling patrons “CR this way” jut like a smoker has a “no smoking” sign in his room, pa naman sana. Sarcasm is a brand of humor that finds it hard to fly. (Customer:Sa’n yung CR dito? Guard:Ser, dun sa may bawal umihi, pag nakita nyo po, liko kayo tapos diretso lang…)

And it reminded me of how the statue of Our Lady of EDSA was redone so that its strong Asian facial features became the usual meek Caucasian. Kasi yun ang gusto ng mga churchgoers. And the sculptor’s vision was destroyed.

The never ending quest of Igorots to ban everything that puts them in a bad light.

OMG! These photographs of Igorots should be banned from the web because they promote an unhealthy lifestyle — smoking.

The thumbnail photos of Lakay Kabayo and Lakay Pecdasen where shot by Masferre.

Read also: Remove this statue because it depicts an Igorot man peeing against a wall with a sign that says bawal umihi dito.

If you wish to demolish stereotypes, you should not just be too eager to demolish false or unfair ascriptions; you must also have the balls to accept the truth, even if it puts you, your family, your clan, your community, or your nation in a bad light.

This is not just about the peeing Igorot statue erected along the Igorot Stairs of Barrio Fiesta in Baguio City. But since it is the issue at hand, let’s talk about it.

Do some Igorot men, like some other Filipino men (and some men regardless of ethnicity or nationality or citizenship) urinate on walls? Yes. (Partial list of areas where men urinate outside the toilet: India, Uganda, Philippines, and everywhere else)

Is it bad to urinate against the wall where you can read right before you a notice that says “bawal umihi dito?” Let’s say your answer is yes for now, although we can argue about that later.

A person who happens to be an Igorot does not have to be a saint, hero, the most intelligent, handsome, beautiful, talented, or successful to be recognized as an Igorot. Lineage is the only requisite.

I am not a sculptor, but if say I get lucky and get to finish a book that partly details bad things that Igorot individuals do, would you kill me?

Get a grip of yourself. Take off your rose-colored glasses. You don’t like anyone pissing you off by pissing on walls? Teach them (everyone of them, not just Igorots or Filipinos) not to. How do you teach them? Put up statues just like this everywhere:

Pwede: Uh, OK, mali pala. Di na uulit.
Pwede rin: Anong mali doon?

If you want to do something more complicated, you can suggest Barrio Fiesta to

1. modify the statue so that the peeing man gets to wear pants instead of a g-string.
2. modify the other statue so that the security guard is the one wearing a g-string.
3. commission a sculptor to do a new set of sculptures elsewhere in Baguio where you have Igorots participating in the Death March, or some other event where Igorot individuals eventually die and become unsung heroes. To jumpstart the project let BIBAK everywhere and AYIP solicit from other sponsors to ensure that the project pushes through.
4. do all of the above. Or just leave the statue alone. It does the job better than you could.

Read also: Ban this, ban that, remove this remove that