LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – If government demographers assigned in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) shake their heads wondering at their findings of the number of unmarried males on the uptick, well, let’s give room to Herald Express readers who, too, lend their humorous ideas to the intriguing demographic phenomenon occurring in in the region.
For starters, Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA-CAR) previously revealed in their study last year there were 343,843 single males in CAR at the age bracket of 20-50 years old. That’s nearing half a million unmarried men.
Benguet posted the highest number of unmarried males with over 95,000 individuals; Baguio City, 65,468 persons; Abra, 44,461 single males and Apayao; 22,178 persons.
Contrasting that number during that time the study was done, there were 281, 971 single CAR females. La Trinidad had the highest number of singles, followed by Itogon, according to the PSA-CAR study released 2020.
Here, the number of single males were higher by 22 per cent than that of the single females. The single males comprised 25 per cent of the household population, which meant that there was at least one single male in every four household members in CAR.
Of the total 625,814 singles for both sexes, PSA-CAR indicated more than half or 55 per cent were males. The statistics truly tells single males outnumber the single females.
PSA-CAR Chief Statistical Specialist Aldrin Bahit Jr., noted one among the reasons of increase of single men in CAR is of more and more women getting educated. Seven out of ten college graduates in CAR are women.
Bahit explained CAR bachelors could either get shy or insecure courting a woman with high educational attainment than him, reason a bachelor defers courting first and stabilizing his financial status before wooing a girl.
“Kasla ngay nga nu makitkita gamin, when we talk about settling down, to have a family, adda gamin ti ego dagiti lallaki nga they are supposed to be the ones taking care of the family,” Bahit said.
Bahit also explained that the often reserved and undemonstrative personalities that come natural among Cordillera men are also social factors contributing to statistical increase of bachelors in CAR.
Having closely gone over the PSA-CAR study, anyone can easily discern that, indeed, there is no large deficit in the supply of potential CAR male spouses; there are exists enough attractive CAR males to meet the domestic demands of unmarried CAR females.
In looking for more answers to this CAR demographic phenomenon, this column interviewed men and women in different parts of CAR regarding the matter. Eighty per cent of the randomly interviewed persons admitted that while men with stable jobs or good income are good prospects for marriage, love is also a very good reason to get married.
Steve Dupilan, 39, himself a bachelor or “ba-ak”, a successful truck operator and staying at La Trinidad, gave a tantalizing depiction of the situation of single men outnumbering the females when he said during interview for this article that, “Could it be perhaps, that there is less love among La Trinidad unmarried ladies going the rounds?”
On the other hand, Cheria R. Palpilan, a single lady residing at Baguio City, when informed about the unmarried males in CAR, clapped her hands in expectation and merrily said, “Free, am I to mingle readily; now, where are the half a million single men hiding?”
Another young CAR female, Leticha Amtikan, heartily commented: “Ay, ushang na! Addu da met gayam, ngem apay awan pulos madalapus ko?” (Cripes! They (the bachelors) are that many but why can’t I grab one?”
Aldrin Bugat, a male resident in Benguet, said of the bachelors: “Mabuteng da (nga mangasawa) ta kasapulan kanu ti nuwang nu mangasawa ka ti balasang nga Igorot.” (They are afraid to get married because the marriage occasion needs carabaos to be butchered if you are to marry an Igorot lass).
Yolanda Sebong, a single female from La Trinidad, said about the unmarried highland men, “Because those single men are waiting for me!” And then she laughed uproariously she fell of the stool she was sitting on when she was interviewed.
Ben Albinos, from La Trinidad, related how one day, “Adda baro nga taga-Benguet nga nabartek ta saana kaya ibaga ti rikna na iti kursunada na a babae. Napan naggulo isuna iti ayan dagiti lalakay (elders).”
Elders asked the drunk: “Anya problemam? Kwarta? Trabaho?” The young man answered negatively. When the elders asked if it was a woman his problem, the drunk sobbed even more, saying, “Hu-hu-hu! Ammoyo met gayam.”
To cut short the story of Albinos, the elders decided to help the young Benguet boy by going to the house of the young lady of his dreams only for them to discover that the boy and the young lady were cousins.
Another, Gladys Estagon, when bluntly asked why nearly half a million Cordilleran males were still single, she laughing intimated, “Ay-ay! Nag-torpe da met nga lalakin aya. Ayan da ta isurwak ida!”
Claudine Biskote, a CAR female and Baguio resident, informed there are nearly half million Cordilleran bachelors, exclaimed uproariously with fervent hope: “Ay, addu da pay lang met gayam! Adda pay laeng pag-asa ken namnama.”
Selina Aklibo, a female salesgirl in Baguio, laughed and responding, “Ay inayan dagita nga lallaki! Alla, sweldu-an nak ta isurwak dakayu nga agarem ti chiks!”
Jerry Real Jr., who happened to be from Negros Oriental, when informed of the plight of the Cordillera bachelors, said, “Papuntahin natin sila sa Negros para pagpestahan sila doon. Marami doon sabik sa lalaki!”
A lady by the name of Diane (she wants her surname hidden) and nearing her thirties, when told about the bachelors dilemmna, laughingly retorted, “Sige, uray ag mo-moma, basta single!”
Sammy Lachica, a lowlander residing in Baguio City commented: “Mahirap magpakasal dito sa Cordillera, kasi sampo o kinse na baboy ang kelangan.”
Victor Saguid, a Benguet vaquero (cowboy), peacefully said, “I am enjoying my ba-ak life,” while Ramil Tomilas, also of Benguet, heartily said, “I am proud to be one of those half a million bachelors.”
While Nhovy Astudillos, a pretty unmarried lady replied,” Ayan na ngay isuda? (the bachelors) Napananda ngay. Why can’t I even find one? Hayss, apo met!”
George Gabisong, a bachelor from Benguet complained: “How can we not be single when others have 5 girlfriends each. So, no wonder we can’t find one even one single mother because nothing is left.”
Douglas Lambitan from Baguio and a half-Ibaloy and half Kankana-ey said, “Kasanu met gamin agbalin kami a single ta ti Igorot nga babae nu sakbay kasar ket agbirok da ti Elf truck asantu duwa nga baka ken addu nga baboy a maparte. Isunga dagiti daduma nga highlander males agbirok dan ti lowlander female nga asawaen ta medyo low price ti kasar.”
Jenalyn Malta, a pretty lady from Manila, who lately visited Benguet and chanced upon on the street during the interview and having learned of the bachelors merrily intoned, “I need to stay in Benguet for a while until I can snatch a Cordilleran for a husband.”
Geline Lipaen, a lady from Baguio, seriously said, “One thing I observed, pina prioritize kasi nila (the bachelors) ang studies and work muna. Yon ang observation ko and that is a good thing.”
In the primitive ages of the world, everything was done in the plainest and simple manner. In marriage for example during those primitive ages, a man appropriates a spot of ground or cave as his own, sets up a stone as his personal marker, took unto himself a wife, er, literally carried a woman as his wife into his cave-home to have her bring up the children they might have together.
This seemed to have been the mode in which marriages were contracted during the patriarchal ages.
As the number of humans increased, this simple mode of appropriating a woman by carrying her home (or pulling her by the hair and dragging her along as depicted in cartoons) was found insufficient hence a method of a more public and solemn nature was contrived into a covenant, establishing a securing of property – and that was how marriage was born. Where every marriage is a mutual agreement between the contracting parties to be faithful to each other, which agreement is always made in the presence of witnesses.
In the Cordillera highlands, there is a word for unmarried person and it is called ‘ba-ak.” In the past, the word was associated negatively to describe someone as unsuccessful particularly in marriage.
However, the word ba-ak has evolved over time. Nowadays, the word is used to describe someone who is contented to stay single, prefers not to get married and have children. In such a stand, the word is used to express singularity for someone who chose a different path in life.
Does it mean that highlander males have been affected by the decreasing marriages infestation that has also been hitting parts of the country since 2023 where there were only 414,000 registered marriages, a decrease from the previous year?
If so, the Cordilleran bachelors could be lucky or unlucky to be part of a Philippine phenomenon called “not getting married gang.”
