BAGANI

Last March 2, 2018, A former representative of the Indigenous People (IP) Sector during the 10th Congress and Commissioner, Ronald Adamat sent a formal letter regarding the most recent and ongoing fantaserye, “Bagani” starring Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil. The letter was addressed to the president of ABS-CBN, Mr. Karlo Katigbak. The reason behind the commissioner of sending a letter was the concern he had pertaining to the usage of the term “Bagani” as the title of the series. In which, the content of the letter is mainly about demanding for an explanation of accepting a series that is according to him, “devoid of real meaning and substance”. He also stated in the letter that, "It is not enough for writers and producers of movies and teleseryes to come up with concepts, titles, and characters that would sell and create blockbusters yet carry with them half-truths and lies that destroy and negate the real essence of an IP terminology, as in the case of Bagani, and instead bring injustice to the 14 million Filipino IPs. Although he did not say anything about what the term actually means, here is the definition for Bagani: * It is used by Manobos to call tribal heroes who defend the tribe from outside threats. * According to the book Jamestown Exposition: American Imperialism on Parade, the title of Bagani is given to a warrior who has killed more than one enemy. The term is endemic only to the Indigenous Peoples. The commissioner closed the letter by requesting the president to make “Bagani” a historically-accurate and culturally-correct series as a sign of respect for the Indigenous People.