Pamintuan, in a letter to SM Investments Corp. Vice Chairman Teresita Sy-Coson dated November 24, said “I write on behalf of the people of Pampanga, including its indigenous population, and as Presidential Adviser for External Affairs (whose mandate includes relationship building among peoples and communities, including indigenous peoples) to express disappointment over the actuation of the management of the SM Mall in Clark, Angeles City in trying to bar a scheduled cultural performance of the Pines City National High School in the mall last week.”
Outrageous
“The reason that the student performers wearing the traditional costume of our indigenous peoples would ‘scandalize’ the children at your mall is simply outrageous. It betrays the total insensitivity and ignorance, if not downright contempt, of your mall management over our history and culture. I hope you do not consider as more decent the skimpily-clad showbiz types performing in your malls, than our indigenous brothers and sisters – the original Filipinos – wearing their traditional garments,” added Pamintuan in the letter obtained by Punto yesterday.Roselle Sarmiento, SM Mall public relations officer, said yesterday that SM top executive Annie Garcia had personally apologized to Region III Tourism Director Ronnie Tiotuico for the incident during the 3rd North Luzon Travelers and Tourism event at SM Clark on Nov. 15.
Sarmiento said she would ask the SM Mall top management in Manila for their reaction to the letter of Pamintuan.
“If the manager of your mall has forgotten her elementary “araling panlipunan,” or may have been raised in the United States or elsewhere, she should be reminded that even the American indigenous peoples also wore loin cloth and animal hide,” Pamintuan said.
“Our congressmen and officials from the Cordilleras proudly wore their g-strings when they attended the President’s state-of-the-nation address (SONA), and they were not driven out by the security of our head of state,” he added.
Prudish
“America has already elected an African – American as President. But it seems your prudish mall manager at Clark has been left in the area where the natives are barred from mixing up with the whites, and are chased away when they do so,” said Pamintuan who attended the inauguration of the Mabalacat extension office in Clark yesterday.
“Your host province, Pampanga, by the way, has a large population of indigenous peoples wearing g-strings skimpier than our indigenous peoples of the Cordilleras. If you are so embarrassed about such people entering your mall that even students just portraying them in a cultural performance are shooed away, perhaps you should consider pulling out your malls in a huff in Clark, Baguio City and other areas where these native types may astray in like dogs,” Pamintuan said.
He added that “I apologize for the tone of this letter but I am simply disappointed.”
“I hope that next time, your managers can be a little bit sensitive to the way of life of the people where your malls are situated. In fact, malls like the SM chain can very well help promote our indigenous cultures,” said Pamintuan.
