Globalization greets barefoot, loinclothed Sagada man

Meet Moshe Dacmeg, an indigenous Sagada man from the Mountain Province highlands. Although he wears Western-style clothes most of the time, on choice formal occasions he also wears colorful wanes or bahag (traditional loincloth), sports a feathered headdress, and goes barefoot. Now meet William Jefferson “Bill" Clinton, former US president. He is giving a much-anticipated lecture entitled “Embracing our Common Humanity" at the Manila Hotel this Wednesday. Meanwhile, his American security men are on the lookout for any suspicious-looking person or any untoward movement. Mr. Globalization and Mr. Indigenous, however, were not meant to embrace their common humanity, at least for now.

Dacmeg, currently based in Baguio City and a staff member of the vocational school National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), was having his photo taken with other members of the audience in his colorful attire when he was noticed by a US security agent. The US agent instructed hotel security to bring Dacmeg to him. The agent then told Dacmeg that if he didn’t dress more appropriately, he would be asked to leave the premises. “We wanted to have a cultural presence," said Vladimir Cayabas, one of two other natives of the highland Cordillera region who accompanied Dacmeg to the Clinton event. Cayabas, Dacmeg, and another colleague from the NIIT attended the Manila Hotel lecture in different types of indigenous clothing. All three are members of Bibak Community, Inc., an association of cultural groups from various indigenous Cordillera tribes in northern Philippines. “We attended this with high spirits [but] it seems that some of the people here, especially those in charge, are not aware of the privileges and rights given to all participants," Cayabas said. Indigenous people should be allowed the same rights granted to others in the mainstream society, he explained. “Ang gusto namin, respeto kung kanino man," he said. (What we want is respect for everyone.) A representative from the Manila Hotel told GMANews.TV, however, that the attire for the event was strictly semi-formal or business. When Dacmeg first arrived, he wasn’t wearing his loincloth, said Sam Dominguez, public relations officer of the Manila Hotel. “Tapos biglang nakita namin siya, [naka-bahag na]. Definitely, kung naka-ganun siya, hindi siya pinapasok," she said. (Then suddenly, we saw that he had changed into a loincloth. Definitely, if he was dressed like that when he arrived, he wouldn't have been allowed to enter.) Witnesses said Dacmeg changed clothes right where he was seated, after he entered the venue. “The target market for this event was business managers," Dominguez said. While the Manila Hotel represents all Filipino cultures, they had to comply with the requirements of Clinton’s staff regarding the formal attire requirement for the event, she added. "Of course we respect the culture of the indigenous people. But we also hope they can respect the wishes of the office of President Clinton. It was not Manila Hotel at all but the office of President Clinton that asked the guest to strictly follow a dress code of semi-formal and business attire," said Nian Liwanag-Rigor, Manila Hotel's Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Manila Hotel. "We hope this incident will not overshadow the key message of President Clinton's visit and the public-private partnerships that came about as a result," Rigor added. Dacmeg’s apparently risqué but proudly indigenous display is reminiscent of two lawmakers from the Cordillera who flaunted their wanes fashions and bare muscled posteriors during official occasions, such as the opening of Congress. One is the late Igorot congressman Alfredo Lam-en, also from Mountain Province. The other is former congressman and now city mayor Mauricio Domogan of Baguio City. There is no record that either Lam-en or Domogan was ever ordered to leave the premises because of his indigenous attire. But Dacmeg is no congressman, and Manila Hotel management had to enforce the dress code for Clinton’s lecture on globalization. Eventually, Dacmeg went back to his seat, escorted by hotel security, and consented to put on a shirt and a pair of pants.—Pia Faustino with Larissa Mae Suarez/JV, GMANews.TV