Igorot Beggars: The Skeletons in Our Open Closet

Photo used with permission. Photo © Dennis S. Rito

Even though this blog mostly focuses on our achievements, it is also not blind to our failings as a people. I’m sure you will agree that probably the most visible sign that we have failed somewhere is the presence of Igorot elderly beggars in Manila.

As a Manila-based Igorot blogger, I’ve long wanted to do a post on this issue but kept putting it off mainly because I wanted to really compose my thoughts on the matter. However, after receiving an email from Dennis Rito (you should visit his blog here) about an Igorot beggar, I decided to just go ahead with this post. Maybe it is better if we collectively think about this problem.

First, here’s Dennis’ letter:

I am writing a caption for my photoblog concerning the photo I took of an Igorot beggar recently. I want to give justice to the photo and wish to ask what prompted elderly Igorots to beg in the city? Is this a usual occurrence in Baguio City and in their villages as well? What is the view of their fellow Igorots regarding this phenomenon (mendicancy)?

And this is how I replied (inedit ko ulit hehe):

Good questions. These are questions that we Igorots are asking ourselves. I’m not quite sure whether we found the answer as to why elderly Igorots are begging in Manila. Truth be told, hindi naman talaga sila naghihirap (compared to the Tagalog beggars) so I don’t know why they are doing it. And no, begging is not something that they do in their own villages back home but some are also begging in Baguio.

The view of their fellow Igorots? I can’t say categorically. Some are angry at these beggars for creating a bad image for Igorots. Some would just shrug it off. I’m not quite sure if any Igorot would be sympathetic to the beggars. Okay siguro if they really had to beg dahil walang-wala sila. Pero hindi naman sila walang-wala.

So shall we do an analysis of this begging business? Why do some of our elders beg? Are they doing it because they are poor? Because they are too lazy? Because they have nothing better to do? Because it is lucrative?

How should we deal with this matter? Ignore it? Conduct a shame campaign, i.e., shout at them with our nostrils flaring, “Omibabain ka nga, agawid ka ketdin!”? Round up the mendicants and send them home? Jail them? Baby them? Appeal to their conscience?

What is the cost of this phenomenon to the collective Igorot psyche? Can we afford to ignore this problem? [As Michael Tan noted here, the Igorot stereotype is changing from the fierce warrior to the urban beggar.]

Who should lead in looking for a solution? The local governments? The church? Us? The beggars’ families? Gloria Arroyo? [Maybe Pagano can do a psychoanalysis of the Igorot beggar in the same way that he psychoanalyzed Gloria?]

Many questions, ano. I’m sure you have bright ideas which you’d like to share para mahanap natin ang mga sagot.
Incidentally, most of the beggars come from my hometown (Sagada) so this issue really hits home. [Nope, no one from my own home, i..e, family/clan, is in this begging business.]

RELATED POST: Natives by Michael Tan. PHOTO CREDIT: Dennis Rito/Vignette.

36 thoughts on “Igorot Beggars: The Skeletons in Our Open Closet”

  1. I was also surprised to find out recently that some of these Igorot beggars aren’t really poor. It’s definitely puzzling. Maybe they have low self-esteem and hate themselves. I don’t know. Just brainstorming. 😉

  2. Or lazy. Begging is a lot easier than going to the fields, maybe? Their adult kids should be held responsible.

  3. That’s a possibility, anonymous. But, my understanding is that some of these non-poor beggars are old, so they’re entitled to being lazy. Old people shouldn’t have to work. So I’ll have to disagree with you there, anonymous. We could speculate all day about their motivations, but maybe someone should just interview these non-poor beggars and/or their families. My guess is that their answers may reveal some type of mental illness.

  4. oh, ok, so when we get old, it’s okay to become the society’s liability…not our adult children or relatives? Di ba ang Pinoy known for close-knit family?
    i admire those kids who sell sampaguita, cigarettes (ok, that’s another issue)candies, balut, etc. They know better that life is tough but they start young earning for themselves.

  5. Well, that’s not what I meant. I meant that if they get old, their relatives should take care of them. Just like you said. I wasn’t saying that society should take care of them. I might have misspoke if that’s what it sounded like I was saying. Peace.

  6. we were caught in a traffic jam along Shaw Blvd. sometime ago. I was with some foreigner friends and suddenly a woman garbed in the traditional Igorot stripes with matching ‘Sagada Weaving’ backpack knocked on the driver’s window begging for some change. It so happened that one of the foreigner’s wife was an Ilocana from Baguio and she said, “Nagpintas dayta pustisom, tapos adda kad toy nga agpalpalimos! Ibabain yo ti pada yo nga Igorot!”
    The old woman said, “No mangted ka, mangted ka! No haan, itatalnam! @!&#%^*#” Then the traffic moved.

    I was really shocked! When everyone’s attention came to rest on me (I am the only Igorot in the car), asking me questions very much like the ones asked in this blog entry, “I just said, “I don’t know, I am a Kalanguya Igorot.” (I felt bad after I said that cuz it felt like I am being unfaithful and disloyal to my Igorotness.)

    I admit na isa ako dun sa mga napapahiya pag nakakita ako ng beggar na mukhang Igorot. I agree with Wil na dapat their adult children should be taking care of their elderly at wag hayaang magBeg. Pero sabagay, nasa mga tao naman kung magbibigay sila, kaya lang, ika nga sa Ella Enchanted “Image is everything.” mejo kakasira ng image…blah blah blah… Some would say, aanhin mo ang image kung kumakalam ang sikmura mo? Kaya lang most of the Igorot beggars I saw ay hindi naman mukhang malnourished.

    Ganda

  7. i call them fake beggars, the real beggars are in session road and bonifacio st. and most of them are indeed mentally unwell.

    so ano pinagkaiba? i can make fun and share a laugh with igorot beggars in manila.. try it with those in session or bonifacio to see the difference hehe..

    One beggar in his 60s told me how he was allegedly duped by some “NGO” group in mt. province. He was told they will attend some kind of cultural show in manila and should bring native attires or materials. a private bus took them to manila… then kanya kanya na daw sila pagdating sa manila.. interesting story.. He told me he will meet his companions in QC later that day.. i dont think he’s con-man..

  8. Igorot begging can be traced to Doctor Laway (droll) where his main territory was the Dangwa Bus Station in Baguio. There were no beggars in Baguio in the 60’s other than him. Some of our kakailians who have noticed his act as a “gold mine” without having to work but just beg for a living caught like wildfire. I’ve seen them in big cities like Metro-Manila, Olongapo, and of course Baguio. It was a word of mouth just like the migration of people to Manila and Baguio. These, however, are diseases which can be controlled thru tough legislation and strictly enforced when it becomes a law.
    Then again, even the great Satan (America, as some people call it, don’t know why) have beggars.
    To Anonymous 6:29, agree with your admiration to those kids but don’t be fooled, they only earn meager amounts regardless of how much they make coz they’re under the surveillance of syndicates controlled by no other than renegade cops and thugs. A credible Manila Blogger is my source.
    To Ganda: Da Ilocana from Baguio should always remember the saying that “if you have nothing good to say, don’t open da mouth”. My honest take on her was “showing off plain and simple” in the presence of foreigners in an unsettling premise. And the beggar had all the rights to respond as she wished. And you shouldn’t fee bad, Ganda. I wished you stopped one more time for the “Ilocana from Baguio” to confront da Tagalog beggars and tell them “nakakahiya kayong mga tagalog, nahihiya ang mga tagalog sa inyo”. That would be fair isn’t it??
    Anyway, this subject is a sore thumb sticking out, it’s a dead horse being beat up. Btw, I made up the first three sentences with Doctor Laway as my only credible reference point, was just trying to make sense of this beggar stuff….don’t laugh, can be true.
    Cheers by the way to all…

  9. hhmmm.. nice issue to comment on! we all share the same reaction, “Umibabain da!”
    I remember a cousin once told me na she said something like this to a beggar or “tax-collector” as i term it..
    “alapo,sumaa ka ketdi ta enka liw-aten nan ap-om, si alapok ya et xa nan ikana..”

    Anyway, I believe that this ‘begging’ thing can be traced from ‘Christmas caroling’..
    there was a time na uso-uso ang Christmas caroling wherein folks from ‘ili’ comes to
    the city and some provinces in the lowlands to do caroling with matching gongs. Maybe it is from there that they
    realized,they can easily make a living by stretching out there hands that way and knowing fully well that those who
    are generous enough to give wont be losing much anyway. Easier money – thats what we call it, so you are right thats laziness.
    (naligat et iman nan umey menluga-lugam dat mentatangad ay sayote paylng na sibo).

    For some elders, i know they treating this as a pass time. There are those living with their children here in the city at wala silang magawa.
    They dont feel good staying at home doing nothing. (Saan ka pa, kabaliktaran naman).

    I could only think of three possible reasons for this tax-collectors to stop. Una, a change in their convictions. Second, pag wala na talagang magbibigay (this is quite impossible tho..). Thirdly, if the government would impose a law against it.
    In Cebu, wala ka daw makikita nag-be-beg dahil ma-DSWD sila. I was thinking along the silly line of “eh pano kaya kung may permit din itong mga beggars, before sila pwedeng mag-beg, a background check would be done.. hehe.. I know it’s a stupid idea,
    pero im thinking of the prostitutes kasi, di ba ngaun may tinatawag na legal ‘prosti’ – hehe”

  10. I was very, very serious while writing that GMA piece.:-)

    …It’s a tricky situation – this begging thing. We could all scratch our heads and say, “Why ngay?”, and offer all sorts of solutions or rationalizations but I doubt if we can arrive at an answer that won’t only spawn another “Ngem why?”

    Why beg if you could still eke out enough food for your table? Why abandon the fields and leave for the city? Rural life may be hard but certainly, there’s more dignity in working on the fields than ‘working’ on the city streets? Or could part of the answer be found on the city streets themselves? Could these people have been thoroughly bored by their perennial routine of field work, wherein they expect to perform the same laborious task which they carried out last year and the years preceding last? The same work which they expect to do again next year and the years succeeding next?

    I remember a man from Laguna who once worked in a relative’s piggery in Sagada. He once told this, “Maganda dito dahil hindi ka magugutom. Kaya lang walang libangan.” He left after staying for a few years.

    Like you said Bill, it’s hard to gather one’s thoughts regarding this issue. I only added another angle to the discussion to be pondered upon by those who might be able to do something about it.

    Like True Blue says: Cheers and good health to all!

  11. suggestion: don’t give cash to beggars, instead give them food. I remember going out with a friend in Manila, and he ordered a medium sized pizza for takeout – to give to a family beggar we saw near the pizzahouse. From then on, I don’t give cash anymore.

  12. Hi Wil,
    I’m not sure about the mental illness kasi andami nila. They’re just too many for mental illness to be the probable reason. And they respond normally naman when you talk to them.

    I agree that old people should not be working and that their relatives should take care of them. Thanks.

    Hi Anonymous (11:10 and 6:29)
    Tama ka. I think the adult kids, more than anyone else, should be held responsible for what their parents are doing. Thanks.

    Hi Ganda,
    One thing that distinguishes our beggar kailiyans from other beggars is their assertiveness/agressiveness. Talagang they go out of their way to beg unlike, say, the Tagalog beggars who just sit in a corner and make the “paka-awa” effect.

    I used to think that some news reports are discriminatory for focusing too much on Igorot beggars (as opposed to Tagalog beggars and those from other ethnolinguistic groups) but then realized that our kailiyans are also calling attention to themselves and using their Igorotness (by banging “gongs” for instance) to beg. Thanks for sharing your story.

    Hi Edwin,
    Hehe, pareho pala tayo in sharing a laugh with Igorot beggars. What I usually do is to laughingly remind them that they have more money than I do and that they should give me money.

    That NGO story is interesting. If it is true, then that NGO is doing a really bad thing. Thanks.

    Hi Trublue,
    Hehe, akala ko totoo yung si Dr. Laway. I think you’re right that it’s the realization that begging can be a “gold mine” which prompted our kailiyans to do it.

    It’s true too that this is a sore thumb (which is why I hesitated whether to blog about it) and a dead horse being beaten to death. I used to think that the practice will die when the old people who are doing it die pero mukhang it is spreading to places other than Sagada and that new generations of old people are taking up the practice. Nakakatakot if this is accepted as a normal thing for old people to do. Thanks.

    Hi Diklawan,
    Here in Manila the DSWD once started a campaign encouraging people not to give to beggars kaya lang it wasn’t effective because I think Filipinos are “giving” by nature.

    In the other choices you suggested, mas maganda yata yung changing the beggar’s conviction. Siguro medyo mahirap gawin pero mas lasting ang effect. Medyo scary naman ang implementing a law against beggars because we all know the tendency of some of our law enforcers to be abusive. Thanks.

    Hi Pagano,
    I think you are right in also pointing out the “allures” of the city for beggars. Parang sa migration theory na may “push” factors at “pull” factors di ba.

    For people who lived most of their lives in the boondocks, exciting at adventure nga naman ang pumunta sa siyudad. Kaya lang they create a bad image for all of us. Eh sabi nga ni Ganda, image matters especially for us who have an image problem hehehe. Thanks.

    Hi Anonymous,
    Totoo yan. That’s what I do, I rather give them food than money. Thanks.

  13. Tapos na ba?
    What I hate most, too, are the Christian group beggars, asking for donations daw. If they’re really true to their calling, they should go labor for a whole day and donate all their wages, di ba? And some of them can be aggressive, too.

  14. We couldn’t deny the fact that this is one reason why other cordilleran’s do not want to be called Igorot..sad but true..

  15. I am Ifugao. Awan ag-beggar nga Ifugao ta nalaka kami nga agbain nu mipanggep ditoy nga banag. Uray gattuk/kamote lang kanen mi, haan kami ag-beggar.

    But I heard this story before and maybe Bill can go back to Sagada and ask —

    Begging by the folks allegedly started as a “solicitation” campaign exhorted by the local upstart christian community to raise funds to build a church. The folks went far and wide.

    Eventually, even after the church was built, they still continued their newly acquired “trade” or “expertise”, so there goes … Sorry for the lack of a better term.

    Uray tatta, adda pay able-bodied men, probably stronger than you and me, nga ag-sol-solicit ditoy Manila, Cavite, Rizal, etc., lalo na nu piyesta. Mind you, not all of them are oldies. And they multiply during the Christmas Season.

    It makes me upset when they even say taga-Kiangan da kanu Grrrrr

    This is true, but no offense. For academic discussion only. Basta haan nga taga-Ipugaw dagita.

    Naimbag nga aldaw yu apo.

    Maysa nga taga-banbantay.

  16. Hi Anonymous (8:04)
    Ha ha, oo nga ano. Akala mo they are only out to preach the Word but it seems like they are more interested in the “love gift”.

    Isa pang modus operandi ay yung mga nagpapanggap that they are workers kuno who fighting for their rights, yada, yada. Maybe some are legit but maybe some are not. Thanks.

    Hi Nats,
    Oo nga, sad but true. And I think its a valid reason. Thanks.

    Hi Anonymous (2:10)
    That’s the first time I hear of that story, i.e., upstart Christian community soliciting and starting this trend. Kawawa naman ang diyos parating ginagamit.

    But I also heard of able-bodied young men going around with “letters” daw from officials sa ili
    about a certain calamity, etc., etc. and asking readers to support the letter bearer. I didn’t believe it at first but the one who told me is a close friend who is reliable.

    You’re right too that the beggars claim to be from towns other than where they actually come from so I think there is a realization on their part that what they are doing is wrong because they try not to put their hometown in a bad light.

    Ang kawawa ay yung ibang Cordi towns which are being unfairly mentioned. Kaya understandable siyempre kung magagalit ang taga Kiangan or those from other towns that are being misrepresented. Thanks.

  17. I believe that these igorot beggars in Manila are a group/syndicate, or worse controlled by a syndicate. One morning (around 4-5am), while alighting from a bus from the province along EDSA(q-Mart overpass)i passed by the group counting the previous day’s earnings and others maybe getting ready for the day ahead. After two days, I passed this particular area and again I saw this group. I think they made this spot their camp or base. Try passing along this area especially during the Christmas season kung saan bumababa lahat ng beggars sa Manila.

  18. Hi Anonymous,
    Yup, I’ve seen them too. That area is full of beggar kailiyans because of the Baguio bound buses na may stations dito. Thanks.

  19. To you guys who were talking about our co-Igorot beggars… ang haba ng discussion about beggars ah.

    Why was begging among the Igorots not so much a practice until they became visible in Manila. Bakit nga ba? Has the mentality of our co-Igorots “globalized”?:)

    It is sad but yea, it is true. We go to church on Sunday. Married to a foreigner, I told her that the old woman we usually pass by when we get off MRT Ortigas is an Igorot who seems to be not Kalangoya. Anyway, this practice has been centuries old but may still be addressed as some of you suggested ways to do:)

  20. where are the kids of these beggars? it troubles me to think that maybe the family values of the igorots are changing for the worse. kids can now abandon their parents and let them beg. don’t they look for them and bring them home? inayan pay di adi manganap is inana.kababain di mangbaybayan si inana ay umey menpalimos.

  21. Hi Abella,
    Thanks for dropping by and adding your take on the matter. By any chance, is the woman you pass by the MRT station the woman in this picture? Yup, we hope the Mt. Province authorities will really do something about this.

    Hi Anonymous,
    Yup, something in our values have been twisted somewhere. I think the main reason why kids are allowing their parents to do this thing is because they also benefit from it. Thanks.

  22. Nats said >>this is one reason why other cordillerans do not want to be called igorots..sad but true..

    There’s no sadness to that statement, in fact it’s true. It’s been said before, whether written and verbal by two groups: the Ifugaos and Kalingas.
    That your groups should not be called Igorots because you have your own identities. One of the commenters went further in attacking the physical features of the Igorots because the Ifugaos and the Kalingas are different kano.

    Please make your intentions to the proper forum and talk to your elective officials to change the Republic Act which Ms Cory Aquino signed when she was president. Let’s divide CAR in two, non-igorots (Abra, Kalinga/Apayao, Ifugao) and Benguet/Mt Province as the only igorot provinces (unless some Benguets decide to vocalize also their identities as Ivadoys).
    If that’s the case, Mt Province na lang natira. My parents came from Mt Province, so I say let’s do it!

    Making these igorot beggars an issue simply to say “it’s shameful and cause for some groups not to be called igorots is absurd”. You are just causing griefs and using the igorot beggar as a smoke screen.
    What’s more worst: Igorot beggar or Murderer? Igorot beggar or Holdupper that kills? Igorot beggar or thief? I’ll take the beggars anytime for they are harmless, they can be docile.
    We know what provinces these notorious thugs are from and if you think that’s not more shameful,
    what is!

    Anonymous 2:10 – hope your matter-of-fact-statement is credible.

    I made these similar comments before to Bill thru email after I’ve read those outrageous remarks
    of da Ifugaos and Kalingas, pretty much jumping out of the Cordillera’s Bandwagon. Goodluck to the cordillera’s non-igorots..
    Cheers as always…

  23. I totally agree with True Blue: Its absurd to distance yourselves from the Igorots because ‘they are beggars’. I also think that the practice of begging as a livelihood by some of our ‘kailians’ is somewhat shameful. But is it not more shamefull to forcefully get other people’s belongings, and resort even to murder as done by some of the cordillera people ( ‘non-igorot’)????
    In a better Cordillera Spirit, we should not dwell more on our differences, rather, we should strengthen our similarities. . . . (peace)
    I happen to talk to a kailian begging along the Araneta Center. She said that begging is more lucrative than a hard day’s work back home. At least, she said, that their money are willingly given. . . . Though it is my personal opinion that something shouldbe done so that these “beggars” will not be the face of the igorots in the metro polis.

  24. trueblue,
    ifugaos don’t subscibe to the name igorot simply because, although they are mountain people, too, they are ifugaos, and not igorots. do you want to consider the ilongots as igorots, too?

    we have our own identities. it’s not because some, repeat, some igorots beg for a living…

    if you read the history of the cordilleras, ifugaos never called themselves igorots. as somebody who grew up in kiangan, nobody ever called me igorot until i went to baguio for college.

    the creation of CAR only means we belong to the mountain tribes of northern luzon, sharing a common history of not having been subdued in the 300+ years of spanish rule.

    in fact Ifugao, alone, wanted to be autonomous but it was turned down by the supreme court. but think there is no need to divide CAR. we just need to respect each other’s opinions and not impose a label for everybody, especially in the face of vehement oppositon.

    peace … be true

  25. To anonymous 5:02 – Please don’t include the Ilongos in our discussion as they’re not part of CAR.

    Some Ilongos think I’m one of them coz my last name has few towns named after it in Iloilo, but I’m true blue Igorot.

    Guv Ted B’s house is just behind my close relatives house in Kiangan
    and they grew up all together. My brod went to school there, my late dad lived and went to school there during his teens. So, I consider myself well-informed about the Ifugaos. With more
    meaningful problems confronting us collectively as cordillerans which we need to focus on, this issue should be water under the bridge. But then again, more power to you, da Ifugaos. Hope you didn’t take it personally that you were called Igorot while studying in Baguio.

    Your comment though regarding no beggars from Ifugao is audacious at best, but maybe you’re right.

    Off topic: can’t remember any Ifugao’s who came in this blog (From da Boondocks) to defend Juan Dontugan. In fact, he was vilified in Ifugao and some even went to the extent of saying “he’s not Ifugao”. But I’m proud that an Igorot like me was always there for him regardless of his guilt or innocence. Read my comments in this blog.

    The irony of these discussions makes me wonder if Mr. Bill Bilig has thoughts of making changes to the “Category: Igorot Achievers” since CAR people are obviously incompatible about their own identities. But it was good of him to post “Igorot Beggars”. Some skeletons in our closets started jumping out.

    I’m just numb on what to call my countless half-half Besao/Ivadoy and Sagada/Ivadoy relatives when these Ibenguet seek also their own identities. Igodoy or Ivarot?? It’s not amusing….
    We haven’t found a name yet for Wil being half Caviteno and Igorot.

    As Sak-en mentioned, we just need to strengthen our similarities and as always continue to be civilized and agree to disagree. I’ll just leave it at that. Cheers and goodhealth to all.

  26. Hi Everyone,
    My apologies for not joining the recent discussion here. I’ve actually written a very long comment. It kept getting longer so I just decided to make it a full blog post which I will be uploading at the main page in the coming days.

    Considering that we have different opinions on the matter, this is an issue where we have to agree to disagree as we usually do here.

    Hi Trublue, I think Anonymous (5:02) was referring to the Ilongots also called the Bugkalots of Nueva Vizcaya and not the Ilonggos of Iloilo. Regarding the Igorot Achievers category, the name of the category will remain as such but if you noticed in some title of specific posts I use List of Achievers for those who, I think, would not be comfortable being called Igorots. More of this in my coming post.

    Off topic: Although Duntugan is a Kankanaey surname, Juan Duntugan is more of an Ifugao than a Kankanaey according to my source. Parang 75/25 yata. Pero kung ano man ang ratio, he is still our kailiyan who unfortunately did something wrong and who would have to face the consequences of his act. We hope of course that he has the best lawyers to ensure that his rights are protected in the same way that we hope that those who will prosecute him will also ensure that the interests of the victim Julia are also protected.

    Peace and cheers everyone. And thanks for your inputs. Oops I still wrote a very long comment 🙂

  27. Hi Trueblue,
    I am also from Ifugao and I agree with anonymous 5:02. In fairness to the post, there was no mention of ilongos (what you may have meant as “ilonggos”). But it mentions of ilongots, or bugkalots, as Bill says.

    I think its presumptous of you to say that you are well-informed about the ifugaos just because your relatives lived in Kiangan. Adda aya ti kasta? For your info, Guv Ted B, has no house. He is living in the house of his grandparents, which is not behind anybody’s house but directly facing a road.

    I stumbled upon this informative site only recently and I am not aware of your defense of Dontugan. But for your information, an Ifugao lawyer is staunchly defending him in the court of law.

    As to your confusion on how the people of CAR can be called … maybe, “Cordilleran” or simply “Ipugao” (meaning, tao) can do. As an Ifugao but not Igorot like 5:02, this would be fine with me.

    Peace met kabsat, padak nga taga banbantay — siyak ni Pedlo Sikangay, in short, Imakaiw 🙂

  28. Anonymous 2:22 – My mistake on the Ilongot/Ilongo, but there was no need for 5:02 to reference the Ilongot’s in the discussion.
    On Guv TB, I should have said “the house he is currently living” and “close neighbor to my relatives” as it’s a walking distance.
    Also, it’s not presumptuous of me when I said “well-informed”, I didn’t say I was an expert in your culture. Let me also say my kins only not JUST lived there as you indicated, they were born and raised in Kiangan with Ifugao/Igorot in their bloodlines.
    Calling yourselves Ifugaos as your identity, has little importance to me, and as I said previously, more power to you all. Cheers….

  29. In my college days in the 80's, I used to see old Igorots begging along Magsaysay Ave. One beggar I saw was a hunchedback old lady begging from a white tourist couple. After walking fast a distance away, she became upright! When she saw another white person, she became hunchedback again!

  30. It's impossible to imitate Quasimodo.

    This illustrates you need not have a PhD to be so smart. People's hidden talents comes out from hibernation when it comes to evil things, big and small.

    Cheers to all and belated Happy Father's day and you too Bill.

  31. Gentle people reading all your positive and negatve comments about the igorots i conclude that all of you does not posses the quality of a proud and true igorot,igorots have proven their class of people during the spanish Govnment,its doesnot mean murderer,beggar,ifugao,ifontoc,iballoy,kankanaey,aplai,etc i am proud igorot simple because i know the strength,goodness and wisdom of old people who were proud to be igorots,if you dont want to be igorot well fine thats your choice but remember never take advantage of the strength and goodness of the igorots in any place.For me if i see cordillerans with inappropriate attitudes i conclude that they are not real igorots.I will continue to preserve and defend the untainted,unblemish,unconquered,united true igorots.I suggest you read more about the meaning of igorots your ignorance might cause a bad dream,i must inform you that igorots nowadays are tag as most industrious,high morals,secured,friendly loving people,buyers of land upto mindanao,many'even mestizos want to be called igorot but they cant be real,if we envy the real igorots lets not bismirk them.

  32. "i conclude that all of you does not posses the quality of a proud and true igorot" – TOPC

    Just what make you think YOU are the REAl Igorot? Let me know your requisites?

  33. ni Mr. Aliping idtuy New zealand ket madi na nga awagan nga Igorot ti grupo da.Apay ngay ket taga Bauko,Mt.Prov. samet nisuna?

  34. Anonymous 4:32am – Stay away from those kinds of chameleons, they're the worthless types of people.

  35. My friends,with due respect and humbleness I suggest that u open TOCP Awardee or http://www.Philjaycees.com(TOCP Awardee),i’ve tried to do my best in my field i hope i will do more for the sake of igorot people and the people of the cordillera who preferd to be called igorot,Respect anyway is not ask its earned,now,if you see my name you can always contact me i will serve the Sacred Etag even kinuday with Pinicpican to prove my sincerity as GI.My CP # for 7years 09208502438.side comment po.. for those igorots who are not real in there way please stop!!!.. dont prejudice the true igorots..inayan ken Kubunyan kababain sa!!!!!

  36. FYI, the Tingguians of Abra do not beg, Ifugaos do not beg, the Ibenguets do not beg. Please be specific, not all Igorots are beggars. It is so sad that these people tolerate to beg that cause misrepresentation of our ethnic origin. I guess this is the reason why almost all of the Cordillerans refused to be called Igorots.

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