Influential Pinoys Who Never Lived
His picture sleeping under a guava tree with mouth agape made its way towards modern children’s books and Filipino pop culture. Today, he is used as a metaphor for procrastination and complacency. And although these characteristics aren’t entirely “Pinoy,”
Juan Tamad
Meaning: An urban slang term used to describe a cool, somewhat smart but easy-going young man.
Origin: Popular during the 1970’s, the term was brought into the mainstream by rock singer Mike Hanopol via the song “Laki sa Layaw.” It is actually the reversed form of the word “project.” When it was first used in the 1960’s, it was synonymous to young people who came from the housing projects of the government.
Jeproks
Meaning: Refers to a time so long ago, that nobody remembers anymore.
Origin: By the 1950s, the decade of the 1900s was considered a long time ago. When people wanted to refer to an event in the forgotten past, they reckoned that it happened sometime in the 1900s, hence...
“Nineteen kopong-kopong.”
Related to the mañana habit, which is known to be minutes or hours behind the standard time. In other words, we tend not to observe punctuality at all. This behavior usually drives time-observant foreigners crazy. While we Filipinos with our easy-going ways have somewhat become used to Filipino time, it still is a bad habit that needs to be dropped.
Filipino Time
Known as the “King of Philippine Cinema” or simply “Da King,” FPJ jolted the Philippine political landscape when he announced in late 2003 that he is running for president, challenging incumbent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Fernando Poe Jr
He first appeared in comics in the 1970s. Created by Carlo J. Caparas, it is about the heroic story of Flavio who would turn into a powerful warrior once in possession of a magical sword.
Ang Panday
Meaning: Paranoid; haywire.
Origin: The exact origin of this urban slang term hasn’t been determined yet. However, some say it came from the drug subculture. It was first used to describe someone who is “hallucinating” or “under the influence of drugs” during the same era when lasing became the slang term for “drunk.”
Praning became even more popular in the 90’s after Filipino rapper Francis Magalona released his second album in 1992. Entitled Rap is FrancisM, it features the hit song “Mga Praning” which is about people whose lives are destroyed by drug addiction.
Praning
Meaning: A prostitute.
Origin: This popular euphemism for a “prostitute” has its beginnings in the backroom alley of Tondo, where existed a red-light district called “Palomar”— Spanish for a dovecot or a pigeon shed—existed with “palomas” proffering various leisure services. During the American period, these women from Palomar would expand their trade to Sampaloc, along Gardenia St. (now Licerio Geronimo St.), where they were derisively labeled as low-flying, low-class birds—palomas de bajo vuelo.
“Kalapating mababa ang lipad.”
Simply put, this refers to the behavior of preventing someone from achieving something due to jealousy or envy. Instead of praising or rendering assistance, someone with crab mentality would think “if I can’t have it, then you can’t as well” and will purposely try to bring his/her victim down.
Crab Mentality
Dubbed as the “Great Plebian,” he is the founder of the Katipunan and the main mover of the Philippine revolution against the Spanish colonial rule.
Andres Bonifacio
An original Mars Ravelo creation - He and his weaker alter-ego Tengteng rose to fame after they first appeared in Pinoy Komiks Magasin in 1963. It’s a story of an underdog who suddenly gained supernatural strength after lifting up a magical golden barbell.
Captain Barbell
Meaning: Teenager; opposite of “forgets” which is a term for the oldies.
Origin: The word came from the 1984 Filipino youth-oriented comedy movie of the same name. In an interview with The Philippine Star, actor William Martinez, one of the film’s lead stars, revealed that the word was coined by Alona Alegre. The latter derived it from the slang term bagito which means new or inexperienced (greenhorn).
Meaning: To leave in a mad rush.
Origin: In Lawton, at the foot of the Quezon Bridge, once stood the imposing Insular Ice Plant with its 10-floor chimney. It was equipped with a loud siren that was sounded off three times in a day to indicate the start of work at 7 a.m, lunch break at 12 noon, and dismissal of workers at 4 p.m.
“Mabilis pa sa alas kwatro.”
One reason why we sometimes exert half-hearted effort in our undertakings is due to this attitude. Translated to “burning cogon grass” in English, this idiom is meant to illustrate how Filipinos initially exhibit great enthusiasm at the beginning of a project. Our eagerness however, fades away just as quickly as the fire is extinguished, leaving our work either half-baked or unfinished.
Ningas-Kugon
Perhaps the foremost political thinker in Philippine history, Recto served the government in various capacities in his over four decades in public service. He became a district representative from his native Batangas and briefly a Supreme Court Associate Justice before getting a seat in the Senate. He was a senator for 13 non-consecutive years between 1931 and 1960.
He is best known for his passionate nationalism, especially as regards to the country’s economic and foreign affairs.
Claro M. Recto
Readers of Noli Me Tangere know her as the troubled, sweet lady who turned out to be Crisostomo Ibarra’s lost love. It is through this character that Jose Rizal was able to magnify the cruelties of friars during his time. Her death remains one of the most tragic moments in Philippine literature.
Maria Clara
Meaning: 1980’s–the term was used to refer to young women, mostly Filipinas, who came to Japan to work as entertainers or cultural dancers. Since the early 90’s however, the word has earned a negative connotation: It now refers to Filipinas who came to Japan to work as entertainers but ended up working as prostitutes.
Origin: Since the mid-nineteenth century, Japanese peasant girls had been trafficked from Japan to other Southeast Asian countries–including the Philippines–for the sole purpose of prostitution. Most of these Japanese girls arrived in China, hence they were called “karayuki-san” or “Ms. Gone to China.”
By the mid-twentieth century, Japan started to take a turn for the better. At that point, they’re no longer a “sending country”; women from other countries are now coming to Japan to work as prostitutes.
Japayuki
Meaning: Summary execution of a person who has committed an offense or crime without the benefit of a trial. Slang: to ‘salvage.’
Origin: A way of disposing of the bodies of people killed by summary execution is to hide it under a dense growth of kangkong (swamp cabbage). The semi-aquatic plant grows in profusion on swampy fields and on bodies of water like the Pasig River, where such victims’ cadavers are regularly fished out. Philippine media has popularized this expression in their reportage of “salvaging” cases.
“Pupulutin sa kangkungan.”
We Filipinos are famous for being onion-skinned or easily slighted at perceived insults. While it’s perfectly normal for us to taunt and criticize others, we can’t handle the same when it’s being hurled back at us. Incidents showcasing our extra-sensitivity to insults usually involve a foreigner making either a bonafide racist remark or a humorous jab at us Filipinos. True to form, our reactions would range from righteous indignation to excessive grandstanding. While it is alright to feel incensed, throwing a fit in front of the world would inevitably do us no good at all.
Balat-Sibuyas
A former Catholic priest, Aglipay became the first leader of the Philippine Independent Church, which is sometimes referred to as the Aglipayan Church.
He ran for the presidency of the newly established Commonwealth government in 1935. However, he finished a poor third behind eventual winner, Manuel Quezon, and General Aguinaldo.
Gregorio Aglipay
Pugad Baboy is now the country’s longest-running comic strip, thanks to ____ and ____ who never lost their social relevance. Their popularity has spawned several books, a TV show, and various merchandise.
Polgas and Dagul
Meaning: A slang word for non-branded gin made from low-quality ingredients; opposite of the popular brand of gin with “marka demonyo.”
Origin: The term refers to a gin of unknown sources that–as some people believe–may make one go blind, hence the name. The word gin, on the other hand, came from “genver,” the Dutch word for juniper which is the plant whose berries give the drink its unique taste.
Meaning: Euphemism for hard liquor.
Origin: Medicinal waters sold by boticas and pharmacists in the ‘20’s and ‘30’s still carried Spanish brand names. For example, Botica Boie listed in its stock water-based remedies like Agua Fenicada (phenol water) Agua de Botot ( a mouth rinse), Agua Boricada (boric acid solution for the eyes) and Agua de Carabaña (mineral water).
A drinking man’s bottle was disguised as medicine too — liquor strong enough to addle his brains and put him in a confused stupor—or “taranta.”
“Agua de Pataranta.”
Defined as a preference for all things foreign over our own, a negative trait we acquired from our days under the Spanish and the Americans. As a result, we Filipinos have been indoctrinated with the misconception that our culture is inferior to that of our past colonizers.
Colonial Mentality
He was elected mayor of his home town at 22, Tarlac’s vice governor at 27, and governor at 29. In 1967, he went on to become the youngest person to be elected Senator at age 34.
Benigno Aquino Jr.