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Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Wearing of Bahag in Man of the World 2022: A disrespect to the Igorot culture?

 

Photo credits to DrewFranciscoW

"𝑩𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒈 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓

National Commission on Indigenous Peoples NCIP-CAR Press release on the use of the Bahag (G-string) on the "MAN OF THE WORLD SWIM WEAR "BAHAG" COMPETITION" held in Okada Manila last June 11.



Mag-ingat sa pagsusuot ng mga Filipino Tribal Attires (specially Igorot Cultural Attires). Shown below is a clear disrespect and irresponsible wearing of traditional-cultural attires of Cordillera. Event Organizers should be held liable for this malpractice."

-From Pageantalltheway Facebook post







Photo credits to DrewFranciscoW

It has been in the PTV Cordillera News as well, which features clips from our vlog channel:


I appreciate the credit on their video but next time, I hope people would ask permission first, as it's the right thing to do.

Before I attended this event, I couldn't believe that a male pageant is actually using bahag as an outfit for a swimwear competition but at the same time, kudos to them for making the Igorot culture a highlight of the pageant. Just imagine how they managed to make these candidates wear them and honor the culture.

The show was held at the Grand Ballroom of Okada, it was a very formal event. There were a number of cultural numbers to honor the Igorot culture and as I understood, the organizers are from the Cordilleras as well. So from my point of view, this is not just a cheap excuse of an event to see men in bahag. The contestants may have not worn the bahag as perfect as the natives do but I believe that they have tried their best and that nobody wanted to disrespect the Igorot culture in any way. 

Watch the show here so that you can see for yourself: 



What do you think: Did the Man of the World pageant disrespect the Igorot culture?

The Man of the World Grand Finals will be held at Baguio Convention Center on June 18, 2022.

Special thanks to the Man of the World for inviting us to cover this event.

Who is your bet to win the Man of the World 2022? Let us know in the comments below.