At a recent forum on globalisation in Manila, three Igorots in traditional G-strings were told to get out for inappropriate dressing.

They were first asked to leave by a US Secret Service agent protecting former US president Bill Clinton who was speaking at the forum.

Pretty par for the course, I guess. Being foreigners, they probably thought headhunting was still the in-thing in the mountains of Northern Luzon.

Things got a bit sad, though, when the forum organisers intervened. Cayabas, a Cordilleran from the Mountain Province was with two other students, Dacneg, and Aparri who both stood their ground and never left the hall if only to prove they were there without any malice but rather, “to learn”.

Subsequently, a Filipina usher approached them after the American agent and also said, “Pwede ba palabasin natin kasama mo? (Could we ask your companions to leave?)”

The girl also apparently insisted that the young Igorot student wear a T-shirt. But Cayabas kept explaining to her, “It is taboo for us to use a shirt over our G-string.”

Angry for the treatment they were getting, Cayabas reportedly insisted, “You are discriminating against us”, citing that they too paid P2,000 each to attend the forum.

Cayabas then demanded, “Show me [the] guideline that disallows such [an] attire.”

The Igorots prevailed, but another Filipino secret agent tailed them around until the forum ended.

The theme of the forum on globalisation was “Embracing Our Common Humanity”.

 

 

Igorots learn to globalise.

 

This post was originally published on Indolent Indio in November 2010.