From top, left to right: NAOGSAN, BATNAG, BACDAYAN, DORNAGON, & FOLAYANG.
Here’s the 8th installment of our List of Igorot Achievers. For the past seven installments, click the Igorot Achievers link on the sidebar. Thanks.
1. The blind poet. Chester Stone Batnag, who uses “The Blind Poet” as his pen name, did not let his blindness prevent him from pursuing his dreams. His achievements so far: graduated cum laude from Easter College with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, selected as one of Cordillera’s ten outstanding students in 2005, and won awards in regional and Luzon-wide poetry competitions. Read more about our poet in this article by Art Allad-iw.
2. First Igorot Mayor of Baguio. Jaime Bugnosen is actually the first Igorot Mayor of Baguio and not Mauricio Domogan as we wrongly stated in Part 1. We apologize to Mr. Bugnosen for the mistake. Bugnosen was the Vice Mayor-elect who succeeded Jun Labo when the latter cannot assume the mayoralty post because of his Australian citizenship. Mr. Domogan is the first Igorot to be elected as mayor (and Congressman) of Baguio City.
3-4. Wushu medalists. Edward Folayang and Rexel Nganhayna have been representing the Philippines in different wushu competitions and both have bagged several medals for the country. So far, Folayang has won two Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medals, an Asian Games bronze medal, and another bronze in the World Wushu Championships. For his part, Nganhayna has an Asian Games silver, a bronze from the World Championships, and one silver and one bronze from the SEA Games. (Note: This list of medals may not be complete, I’m still working on a compilation from more reliable sources.)
6. He made it to Who’s Who. Mandy Dornagon, is an Igorot lawyer in the United States who was profiled in Who’s Who, “the leading biographical reference publisher of the highest achievers from the U.S. and around the world.” As an immigration lawyer, Dornagon represents U.S. employers seeking to sponsor Filipino professionals. Hmmm, I wonder if an employer is looking for a blogger like yours truly. Want more info on Dornagon? Visit his Who’s Who page here or visit his website.
7. Rebel spokesperson. Since we are not privy to the secrets of the Communist Party of the Philippines, we do not know how far Igorots have risen in the rebel hierarchy. But if press reports are reliable then Simon Naogsan, spokesperson of Cordillera rebels, is somewhere near/at the top of the ladder. As spokesman, Naogsan has mastered the art of issuing press releases which, as is often the case with leftist literature, can be quite taxing to read. Need proof? Read an example here. Meanwhile, let’s send a friendly advice to Ka Filiw: Want to preach beyond the converted? Don’t overuse the thesaurus.
8. Distinguished academic. Professor Andrew Bacdayan is a three time awardee (2001, 1996, 1991) of the prestigious McGraw Hill-Irwin Distinguished Paper Award given by the Southwestern Society of Economists. Bacdayan teaches economics at Lamar University in Texas. He is also the director of said university’s College of Business Center for Economic Education. Read more about him here and here.
Nominees to The List:
1. Director Arturo Alit. Heard from someone that Director Alit, the former head of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, is from Natonin, Mt. Province. If the tip is confirmed, we will elevate him to The List. More about Diretor Alit here.
2. Ray Bugnosen. Bugnosen is an Igorot indigenous name but we still have to check whether Ray Bugnosen, former American Dance Rhythm Champion and founder of Ballroom Dance Company, is one of us. You can read more about him here.
3. Jouvilet Chilem. Her name sounds Ifontok to me, but I’m not sure if she is really Ifontok or Igorot for that matter. Anyway, Jouvilet is a Baguio-based boxer who won a gold medal in the 2005 SEA Games.
UPDATE: First Igorot Mayor of Baguio
Oops we did it again. Well, we made another mistake as to who is the first Igorot mayor of Baguio City. After more research, it turns out that the one who deserves the title is Jose “Pepe” Cariño who was appointed mayor from 1946 to 1950. Pepe Cariño belongs to the prominent Cariño clan. (Source here.) Other Cariños who made it to our FTB List are: Mateo Carino who won his land case against the government (in Part 2) and activist-turned-rebel Jennifer Cariño (in Part 5). Well, we hope that this is the last time we will be making a correction on this matter.
1. Director Arturo Alit. Heard from someone that Director Alit, the former head of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, is from Natonin,
Dear Mr. Bilig,
I was surfing the Internet when, by chance, I came upon your weblog, “From the Boondocks.” Congratulations! You’re doing an excellent work on this blog.
I’m humbled in being included in your list of Igorot Achievers.
For your info, I’m the author of a recently released book by the GIC Enterprises, a Manila-based Publisher. The book is titled “A Guide to U.S. Visas for Filipino Professionals.”
Again, Congratulations and thank you.
Mandy M. Dornagon, Esq.
Attorney at Law
http://www.attydornagon.com
Dear Mr. Bilig,
I was surfing the Internet when, by chance, I came upon your weblog, “From the Boondocks.” Congratulations! You’re doing an excellent work on this blog.
I’m humbled in being included in your list of Igorot Achievers.
For your info, I’m the author of a recently released book by the GIC Enterprises, a Manila-based Publisher. The book is titled “A Guide to U.S. Visas for Filipino Professionals.”
Again, congratulations and thank you.
Mandy M. Dornagon, Esq.
Attorney at Law
http://www.attydornagon.com
Hi Attorney,
Welcome to our blog. We are, in turn, humbled by the fact that you visited us and took the time to leave a comment. Thanks also for the information regarding your book. We plan to buy a copy when we go to the bookstore. Hope its not out of print, alam ko andami ksaing gustong mag-migrate eh 🙂
Dear Mr. Bilig,
Thanks for acknowledging my comments on your Blog.
I hope there are still available copies of the book.
True, as you pointed out, many want to immigrate. Humihirap talaga ang buhay sa atin!
Again, thanks Bill.
Mandy M. Dornagon, Esq.
Attorney at Law
http://www.attydornagon.com
Dear Mr.Bilig,
Ray Bugnosen, the former American Dance Champion is a bona fide Igorot. He was born and still resides in Maryland. His mother is an Ilocana, but his dad is Mauricio Bugnosen a brother to former Benguet Governor Andres Bugnosen and former Baguio mayor Jaime Bugnosen–Kankanaey sons of Mankayan, Benguet. BTW, Atty Floro Bugnosen(now residing in Loakan, Baguio City) is the youngest brother of Jaime, Andres, and Mauricio Bugnosen. He was a bar topnotcher from the BCF law school in the 60’s.
Excerpts from Jack Cariño’s biography:
Mateo Cariño and his wife Bayosa’s son, Dr. Jose, Sr., became the first Igorot mayor of Baguio. JACK’s father, Atty Jose, Jr., became the first Igorot student of Ateneo de Manila, while his eldest sister, Jingjing, who died in the nationalist struggle in the ’70s, became the first coed of the exclusive-for-boys-school Ateneo (with her male colleagues in awe of her for being a Physics major).
JACK’s another sister, Joji, who is based in London, became the first indigenous woman ever to have addressed the United Nations General Assembly.
Another of JACK’s sisters, Jessica, was the dean of the UP-Baguio, while his twin sister, Jill, became a nominee of the GABRIELA Party-list. His only brother, Jose III, is a honcho at Laguna Lake Development Authority, while the youngest, Judy, founder and leader of the singing group Salidumay, is famous for retrieving the indigenous musical traditions of the highlands Cordillera.
P.S.
It was Jingjing who became a rebel, not Dean Jessica of U.P.
On the other hand, Jack’s aunt, Cecile Afable (daughter Of Josefa Cariño who is a sister of Dr. Jose) was the first Igorot student of UP Diliman.
Thanks.
Hi Mandy,
You’re welcome and belated thanks 🙂 I can’t believe I missed the comments in this post 🙂
Hi Anonymous (3/3/07)
Thanks for the info and my apologies for this late response. I guess it’s time to come up with another list to add Ray and Atty. Floro. Thanks again 🙂
Hi Anonymous (11:40)
Thanks for all the info. I changed the post re Jessica/Jennifer. Can’t believe I mixed them up. My mistake and thanks for pointing it out 🙂 As I said above, we will soon come up with another update on Igorot achievers to include other achievers. Thanks again.
I seem not to locate this. Who were the brothers and sisters of Mateo as well as his children?
hi bill bilig,
I had been searching for those Igorots who had made a remarkable success on their career when I came across with your site.
I had read that there were no confirmation yet as to what is the ethnicity of Ret. Dir. Arturo W. Alit.
Indeed that the Retired Director is a pure Igorot from the small village of Maducayan, Natonin, Mountain Province. He is the eldest son of a world war 2 Veteran Pedro Alit sr. and Emeliana Wanason- Alit.
Thank you and more power!
anonymous