Ibanags of today

Why is Ibanag City written in English? The truth? Well, Ibanags of today in Tuguegarao City do not speak Ibanag. It is fading, perhaps even gone. English and Tagalog are the languages mostly used in the city. You hear more Ilocanos speak their native tongue. Why? For the simple reason that Ibanag is a difficult language. Difficult to speak, much more difficult to read and write.

If this generation (the babyboomers) die, the Ibanag language goes with them. Hopefully with this blog, it stays afloat.

Dios ta umma nikamu ngamin. (Good morning to you all.)
Dios ta fugag nikamu ngamin. (Good afternoon to you all.)
Dios ta gabi nikamu ngamin. (Good evening to you all.)
Dios y mabbalo nikamu. (Thank you.) (Direct translation - God will repay you.)

Home of the Southern Ibanags

Verdant plains and distant blue mountains. Clear rushing river emptying into the slow Gran Rio de Cagayan. Laid back barrios with a central business district marked with straight east-west, north-south roads as narrow as those of Vigan and with the alacrity of Metro Manila. This is the home of the Southern Ibanags - Tuguegarao City.

A Nutrition Honor Awardee, Sentrong Sigla Awardee, MDG Resource City, Dream City, CDS City, the Most Child-Friendly Component City (Hall of Fame) Awardee and Gawad Galing Pook Awardee, Tuguegarao relentlessly improves. As more young families come to settle, the city improves its shopping arcades, public markets and subdivisions. As universities, schools and colleges upgrade their facilities and competencies, more children come in search of globally competitive education. The work never ends. Criticism still strikes. But of course, it is easy to destroy but very difficult to build and to restore. The choice is ours - build or destroy?