ORAGONX: THE NEW BIKOL REPUBLIK

(AND WHAT IS MAPAGPAKUMBABA)

This is my delayed reaction to the post in Ugat on streamers hanging just about anywhere in the city proper, which the insightful blogger rightly sees as posing dangers to the life and limbs of motorists. I just hope our elected city council representatives know blogging themselves so they can see the correctness of the view of the ugat blogger. His is the kind of people’s participation that we sorely need in the city, one which observes and constructively comment on his observation by offering solutions and alternatives. Criticism, done constructively, is after all healthy. His post started from a question of a friend, who asked upon observing the predominance of these eyesores, mostly within the vicinity of the city park as well as the main thoroughfares at the centro - do we lack self-esteem as a people as manifested by these streamers? The friend’s concern is also expressed in his observation that even a school’s 30% passing record in certain examinations are bandied about through these streamers? Indeed, that is in fact below par. Our blogger, however, ever the devil’s advocate, argued that it may also be our people’s putting a higher premium or value on education for which parents even sell their carabaos or long-kept heirloom just to send their children to college. Besides, our blogger said, it is also promotion or advertisement for the school.

It was a good and well-reasoned out exchange and indeed, it is time that the members of the city council heed his recommendation. Allocate only certain areas for these streamers and billboards. They are not only vehicular hazards (which is the reason the DPWH has banned them), they are also contributing to urban blight. Current trends in urban planning now consider the city as a breathing organism, free of these vestiges of commercialism (and even politicking, remember those streamers greeting the observance of the anniversary of this church or birthday of its founder), by liberally incorporating natural elements in planning and zoning, to come up with so-called green cities. Perhaps, Iriga can start going in this direction. One possible place for these streamers and billboards perhaps is at the city terminal, which can give it additional source of revenues. And perhaps too, we should now get rid of billboards on projects of this and that politician. It’s politically incorrect, considering that it is the people’s money which are being spent on these projects and so credit should first and foremost go to the taxpayers and not the politician. In movie parlance, that’s nagnananakaw ng credit. But we know the reason why, its free advertisement for the next election.

But back to the streamer. I don’t agree with the blogger’s friend’s assessment that the streamers are indicative of our people’s low self-esteem. If there is a Bikolnon to whom the word oragon is so apt, it is the Irigueno. We give it in fact a new stress with our quaint schwa sound to the o in the word. And where did the words malang-patak and maablada come from? Nabuenos also call us malang usbog. This is not to say that other Bikolnon are not themselves oragon. We just give the word a louder meaning. Just observe when we Iriguenos gather among ourselves. We sound like Paul Williams singing “You and Me Against The World.”

What I think though of these streamers is that they are manifestations of our own distorted and misguided sense of excellence and honor. This is actually what I have in mind when I wrote Ciudad sa Parada in my first poetry collection, Ragang Rinaranga (Naga City: Agnus Press, 2006). Having sat in the Sumagang Selection Committee for several years, I have seen how these distortions manifested themselves, although for the peace of mind of those who may be guilty (you know who you are); I will not cite specifics here. Suffice to say that some think that excellence is being able to pull one over the other; or that honor is something that has to be announced with a brass band. Excellence for me is less of outdoing others but more of outdoing and overcoming one’s limitation. As for honor, the honorable man does not delight in being called honorable. It is for me the Biblical guest who sits at the end of the table, but eventually is called by the host to sit instead at what we call the presidential table. In short, being honorable is also being mapagpakumbaba or humble, one of the main character we are promoting in our City Character Program. To go down or bumaba means leveling with one another so one can understand and communicate, to be in the same ground. Nakatungtong sa raga. So, as we are wont to ask while waiting at the elevator lobby, “bababa ba?” Are we ready to go down and level off with our own people? This simply means not looking at the ordinary Irigueno as a mendicant case, that is only awaiting for one’s generosity. Pagpapakumbaba is first of all, recognizing one’s common humanity and bond with other people and respecting their own human dignity. In other words, if you are a government employee you do not let a taxpayer wait for you till you finish your make up or your coffee. Or if you are a candidate for an elective post, you do not buy their votes because you recognize their right to choose their representative. Pagpapakumbaba is learning the lesson from our staple food - rice, which when unripe is upright; but when full and golden, it bows to the earth from whence it grew, in a gesture of gratitude and remembrance. Most often, when people get to be somebody, they start talking, “suway sa awak”. They become a manananggal. I’m sure this is not the reason why for sometime Iriguenos had been called aswang.