NCIP wants ABS-CBN to rectify "Bagani" issue
9 Mar – The issue concerning the use of the term "Bagani" in ABS-CBN's new fantasy drama has yet to subside, as the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) recently released its own statement about the misuse of the term.
As reported on Rappler, the statement signed by the NCIP chairperson Leonor Oralde-Quintayo, stated that "Bagani" is real and not fictional, as the network would like to portray, and that it is exclusively indigenous term that refers to the peacekeeping force of the Manobo Indigenous Cultural Communities and other indigenous groups.
"It is a sensitive position and class not lightly ascribed to just any person and never to those outside the ICCs/IPs," the statement read.
It further added that "...by portraying Bagani as merely fictional or mythological, and without reference to the historical and cultural significance, the TV fantasy show distorts, misleads, and confuses rather than educates the Filipino TV viewers on the indigenous concept and term 'Bagani.' It is not surprising that members of the Manobo and other ICC's/IPs took deep offense on the appropriation of the term Bagani on the show,"
Thus, the NCIP calls for ABS-CBN to rectify the situation and prevent further confusion to the general public by giving them false information about the concept.
"Otherwise, the NCIP, together with the concerned ICCs/IPs will be constrained to take all necessary remedies to protest and fulfill the rights of the indigenous peoples to their cultural integrity as guaranteed by the Constitution and by law," the statement added.
The issue regarding the term used by the network as a title for the new Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil drama sparked recently, after Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Commissioner Ronald Adamat slammed the network for misusing the word.
(Photo Source: Liza Soberano Instagram)
