Promdi is the New Cool

A Promdi Blogger’s take on life in the Philippine countryside.

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24 January 2008

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If you are reading this blog chances are, you are a promdi. The word Promdi was coined in the early 1990s 70s that literally means ‘fom the province‘ (prom di prabins). Anyone given this moniker is presumed to be an ignorant, uneducated provincial person. To be called a Promdi in Metro Manila would be a grave misfortune. Most Promdis who want to fit in with the Manila crowd first try hard to get rid of their tell-tale accent. So they end up speaking Tagalog even when talking with a person from the same province. Worse, some speak Tagalog back in the province even when spending just a few months in Manila. I know quite a number of their likes. I’m not sure if I’d be amused or disgusted.

But really, is being a Promdi anything to be ashamed of? I don’t think so! The truth is, most people in Manila are Promdis while the original Tagalogs are the minority. Most Manila residents would have their roots traced back in the province. The only Philippine president that can be called a true Manileño would be Joseph Estrada. All the rest came from the provinces. Two of which came from the Visayas, Manuel Roxas from Capiz and Carlos Garcia from Bohol. Some of the richest families in the country are from the province. The Lopezes and Aranetas hail from Iloilo and Negros Occidental. Have they ever been called Promdis? I don’t think so.

I don’t see any reason for us to feel inferior just because we hail from the province. I don’t feel insulted when people laugh at the way Promdis speak Tagalog in movies and TV sitcoms. I laugh at those jokes too. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, just because we speak Tagalog with a funny accent doesn’t mean we’re stupid. And by the way, I know a lot of Tagalog speakers who would love to have that Ilonggo accent.

Being a Promdi has it’s own advantages. We grew up with a lot of stories to tell our children. We get to hear stories of aswang, tikbalang, dwende and all sorts of creatures our folks ever thought of cooking up. Don’t you envy just how beautiful our provinces are? Don’t you love to visit Boracay, Bohol, Siquijor, Camiguin, Palawan, and other exotic places from this side of the country? Don’t you want to join our Dinagyang, Ati-Atihan, Masskara, and Sinulog? We see where our foods are grown and we get to eat them fresh. We wake up everyday with fresh air while you in the metropolis would often breathe pollution with your breakfast. The things that money can’t buy, we get for free.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Manileños. I just want them to treat us as their equal, as their fellow Filipinos. I just don’t want to be called a Promdi in a derogatory manner, with the negative connotations associated with it. Isn’t it time for the word Promdi to mean only it’s literal meaning which is ‘from the province?’ I’m calling on all Promdis to join hands, let’s help our fellow Filipinos see the light. They’ve been under the shadow of their ignorance way too long. Let’s unite in educating our Tagalog kababayans. Let’s help them realize that it’s cool to be Promdi.

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24 Comments »

verns said:

I was once “discriminated by a group of girls because I was a newbie in the company. One told me that she reckons it’s because I have an accent and they find it, you know, uncool. I know it was just a girl thing though I was surprised to hear that being a promdi with an accent is a factor especially that we’re talking about professionals here. But I guess shallowness comes in different forms.

I was never ashamed of being an Ilongga. As a matter of fact I’m proud of it. I pity those people who are rude to promdis because they think they’re “higher” than us. Also I think sometimes they’re just envious because men dig Ilonggas hehehe

verns’s last blog post..let’s get philosophical?

# 25 January 2008 at 10:46 am

Junelle said:

Hay mga insecure lang ang nanlala-it!

Junelle’s last blog post..Drug Rehab by Kit

# 25 January 2008 at 11:13 am

jamezu said:

I lived in the urban world since the start of my time hehe… but sometimes i feel like a promdi.. n_n

jamezu’s last blog post..Taiwanese-style Japanese Resto

# 25 January 2008 at 2:04 pm

gladita (author) said:

@Verns. You’re not alone in having been treated that way. I have a friend who applied for a job at Air Phil. The girls treated her differently because she’s a promdi and did not dress like them. They probably think she didn’t stand a chance against them. When the result of the exam came out my friend topped it. Kumbaga, ginlampaso sila.

Yes, it’s true gid. Ilonggas have that effect on men. hehehe…lupig sila!

# 25 January 2008 at 8:59 pm

gladita (author) said:

@Junelle. Korek ka gid da!

# 25 January 2008 at 9:00 pm

gladita (author) said:

@Tikalon. Hehehe…with feelings gid ya? But I think it will still come out malambing to non-Hiligaynon speakers.

# 25 January 2008 at 9:06 pm

gladita (author) said:

@Jamezu. Hmmm…I wonder why you feel that way.

# 25 January 2008 at 9:32 pm

jessie said:

gladits,

you forgot to mention my province, Ilocos Norte. the beaches here are great and the people are very friendly. and oh, i’m so proud to be a PROMDI. i love it, really.
jessie’s last blog post..The Chinese Lunar Calendar: Chart and Guide

# 26 January 2008 at 9:21 am

gladita (author) said:

@Jessie. So sorry my friend, medyo lumabas yung pagka bias ko sa Visayas. I would love to visit Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte and Batanes up north.

# 26 January 2008 at 9:51 am

Belle said:

it used to bother me to be called promdi, but not anymore. in fact, if there is a route to the province that bypass Manila, i don’t mind taking that path.

Belle’s last blog post..Red Tail Hawk

# 26 January 2008 at 11:59 am

gladita (author) said:

@Belle. Me too. But I thought if we think of ourselves as inferior because we’re from the province then they will go on thinking that way too.

# 27 January 2008 at 3:06 am

Maria said:

I hailed from Bulacan. Proud promdi but where I lived it was so close to Manila you almost feel like you live in the city!

I actually used to envy those who came from the “province”, hours and hours away from the metro, you have such nice places and less chaotic life!

I can understand your frustration about people starting to speak Tagalog even when home. I’ve been away just a few years and I sometimes find it hard to speak straight Tagalog [nobody to converse with in our dialect eh].

Kuddos to Promdi, you have quite a nice site going here.

Maria’s last blog post..Robbery and A Coyote at My Door

# 27 January 2008 at 4:15 am

lazarus said:

I have a similar “From the Province post, which I wrote last year.

lazarus’s last blog post..The Art of Self Defense

# 28 January 2008 at 2:56 pm

gladita (author) said:

Thanks Maria, I’m glad you liked my site here. If you’ve been away for years that’s understandable. But if you’ve only been away for months then you forgot the language you knew since you were a kid? That’s OA already. hehehe…

# 28 January 2008 at 6:06 pm

noemi said:

Promdi has been around since the late 70’s . I remember it so well because when I met my boyfriend (he’s from Manila) he said he liked me because I was promdi. I didn’t take offense to it. It meant that I had old fashioned values. Yeah, my cute ex-boyfriend thought I was cool because I was promdi.

noemi’s last blog post..Links for 2008-01-27 [del.icio.us]

# 28 January 2008 at 6:51 pm

gladita (author) said:

@Larazur. Read your post and yes, regional pride is sometimes the reason why we Filipinos quarrel among ourselves.

# 28 January 2008 at 9:02 pm

gladita (author) said:

@Noemi. Sorry, your comment was flagged as spam by Akismet. Anyway, thanks for the correction. My fault, forgot to research. Hehehe…It was widely popularized by Regine Velasquez thru her sng Promdi in the early 90s eh.

# 28 January 2008 at 9:25 pm

kaith said:

i never had any problems with being a promdi, and an ilongga at that. i’ve always been proud of my roots, never mind if the accent sometimes insists its way out of my conversations. hahaha. when i am in manila or cebu and i am with ilonggo friends, i still speak ilonggo. people stare (some even rudely) and i just let them. hello, if i know, mas mayo pa ko mag english kesa sa ila tanan. hahaha.

kaith’s last blog post..Rafael For Sale

# 29 January 2008 at 4:38 pm

gladita (author) said:

Hahaha! Ako man, when in Manila and with Ilonggo friends, Ilonggo man eh. At least we know several languages. hehehe..English, Ilonggo, Cebuano and Tagalog. O ha, multi-lingual!

# 29 January 2008 at 8:49 pm

Lilian Garcia said:

Hi there…Thanks for the nice read, keep up the interesting posts..what a nice Tuesday . Lilian Garcia

# 20 February 2008 at 7:20 am

gladita (author) said:

@Lilian - Thanks for dropping by! I do hope I can come up with good posts.

# 20 February 2008 at 5:37 pm

askani said:

Promdi for me its not good to hear,when u go to manila they always say ( i taga probinsya ka pala ) im a true blooded ilonggo it hurts when they tease us like that.What is promdi bec. we live on the other side of our country and far away to the capital of our country thats why promdi? or bec. we dont have this and you dont have that ahhh!!! for me there is no such thing as promdi. U are right buddy the most famous people in our country came on visayas Hehehe.The prob. is that all the improvement of our country is always on the capital that’s why the other part that called province where they called promdi live is behind on improvement. Long live!!! promdi we are the best lolz mapinalanga-on ta ya nga mga ilonggo…. amo na gina hambal nila nga akig nato? daw lambing ba… lolz amo na ya ang tatak sng ilonggo…

# 19 April 2008 at 12:34 pm

pearl said:

i love your entries! i’m proud to be from antique. i can understand ilonggo and kinaray-a and have no qualms about telling people where my family hails from.

# 24 April 2008 at 8:33 am

gladita (author) said:

@Pearl - Thanks! You made my day. Did you know that Kinaray-a was the mother language of Hiligaynon ang Akeanon? That’s something to be proud of.

# 24 April 2008 at 11:12 am