Pugad Baboy is always likened to Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury, what with Pol Medina Jr's satirical yet humorous quips on Philippine everyday life. In its short existence, the characters have skyrocketed to fame, making the comic strip the most popular home-grown one ever.
by Cecilia Quiambao
Originally appeared in Preferences Magazine : June 1993
The world stands on its head in a village called Pugad Baboy: the family dog doles out words of wisdom and practical advice to the love-lorn letter writers. He quaffs beer, trades acerbic barbs, and talks politics with his master - a mammoth, tub of lard of a chef whose favourite dish is dog stew.
In the four short years of its existence, the mostly plump characters that populate the bottom section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper's cartoons page skyrocketed to fame and have made the comic strip the most popular home-grown one ever.
Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos, a notably funny race, make it a point to begin their day with a peek at the latest riotous escapades of the strip's characters, whom many consider as trenchant sketches of the national character.
There is the chef Adagulfo Sungcal, he with the arid pate and leviathan gut obscenely spilling over boxing shorts as he presides over the affairs of his household. He calls his wife Honey-cured, for really, she looks like one whole piece of ham.
The teenage daughter weighs 250 pounds, but is heroically named Tiny. Her suitor is called Bab, a refugee from the Woodstock Era with his bell-bottoms, open vest and peace medallion.
Then there is Brosia, Dagul's wisecracking maid whose day never seems to be complete if she doesn't get under somebody's skin -- preferably Dagul's.
Ideas percolate as Dagul toasts the spirits with Tomas Sabaybunot, a tough-talking, straight-shooting air force sargeant who is henpecked by a dominating wife. Like many Filipinos, they buy their drink on credit at the Chinese corner store. When the place was hit by a fire, they puposely delayed calling the firemen until after the blaze had razed their IOU sheets.
Then there is Polgas himself, the mongrel in many guises who transcends his canine existence by behaving like a human, and sometimes as a superman (superdog?) character.
The humour is gritty and fresh, and speaks the language of the streets. It's part satire, poking fun at politicians and policemen, and draws canny sketches of the common Filipino foibles and misadventures. Its popularity is attributed to its enduring capacity to capture the Filipino psyche.
The comic strip sets down a "lively sense of the ridiculous oddball type of lunacy that tears down all the pretensions, stupidities, and illusions of the powers that be, and with a warm sense of humanity that restores some semblance of sanity" to the beleaguered country, said Hilarion Henares Jr, a satirist who recently quits his job to become President Fidel Ramos' adviser on national affairs.
But who is the wacky cartoonist who is tickling our funnybone?
If it hadn't been for the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's "human waves" across the desert and Saddam Hussein's Scud missles, Pol medina Jr wouldn't have taken his current course, and the world would have had one good cartoonist less. Strange but true, but the comic strip traced its origins to the Iran-Iraq War.
PM Jr, as the strip is signed, was an architect down on his luck, having spent or misspent practically all his earnings from a two-year stint as an overseas contract worker in northern Iraq, when in 1988 he pulled out from among his files a sheaf of line drawing and doodles executed during the long and lonely nights and other periods of his exile and decided, what the heck, to try out his luck on the Manila Bulletin cartoon page.
By a quirky chance of luck, he got lost in the maze called Intramuros, the walled confines of the old manila and when he tried to ask for directions, a bystander gave him the wrong one. He ended up on the portals of the rival Philippine Daily Inquirer, whose chief artist took one look at the drawings and couldn't let go of them. The rest is history.
"Fat runs through our family," says Medina, explaining why most of his characters are in the pink of health. "Polgas, my dog is fat. It so happened that my neighbors are fat." Most of the strip's heroes are in fact, caricatures of true-to-life persons, or are composites of two or more individuals.
Tiny is a spoof of his sister Irene, a woman of substance in the advertising field who does not mind the jokes aimed at her. "If you are as fat as Irene, you shouldn't be onion-skinned," Medina adds.
It used to be that artist had second thoughts about caricaturing his neighbours, but now, it is they who tell him: "Look, Pol, I am fatter now, will this land me a role in your strip?"
Pugad Baboy (literally, Nest of Pigs), is a real village in Bulacan province north of Manila. It is notorious for its foul-smelling piggeries.
Dagl portrays the serious side of Medina, a rare stance for his man-sized child of 33 who still goes around in Johnson's baby diapers - which he uses to wipe the copious sweat that dribbles on his brow.
Most of the time hie is Utoy, Dagul's playful, adventuruous tyke in the comic strip, a bundle of energy with endless tricks and jokes up his sleeve. Boyet Espino, who manages the business side of the cartoon, remembers the first time he worked in an office with Medina. "He booby-trapped the entire place," Espino recalls. "Everytime you opened a drawer, a firecracker would go off."
Polgas, which literally means dog tick, represents Medina's boundless imagination and childhood fantasies, which frequently takes on the guise of a "superdog," rescuing the entire Sungcal family from vampires, kidnappers and various other villains.
Medina's work is most frequently compared with Doonesbury, Garry Trudeau's satirical strip on contemporary American life and politics. "I am flattered, but popularity-wise, I have yet to achieve his popularity. We do have a similarity in that we both dish out biting satire," he says.
Medina admits that the night chill of the Iraqi desert and the boredom of Moslem religious holidays brought out the humourist in him. "I went crazy there," he quips.
A fresh architecture graduate of the Dominican-run University of Santo Tomas, he had just been hired by a prestigious construction firm here when he volunteered for an oil refinery project near a holy city in northern Iraq and came into contact with the strange culture of the mother of all bad guys, Saddam Hussein.
"All the refineries were the colour of the earth," he said. "It was all in camouflage." Saddam was then at war with the Ayatollah, but he does not remember if among the buildings he designed were bomb shelters or nuclear sites.
His fondest memories of the place was his frequent sorties into Baghdad, which he describes as an open city. "Nothing is banned there, we even got to eat pork," he said.
The place, however, is a cultural desert, he and his girlfriend, a fruit sorter, would spend their dates atop refrigerated fruit crates, whispering sweet nothings into each other's ear. It was just as well, because the girl is a Thai and spoke no other language. They eventually split up, because the Thai language was Greek to Medina's ears.
Returning home in 1987, the thick wad of dollars that lined his pockets inspired him to enter into all sorts of ill-advised business ventures. he set up his own architectural practice, got one cliend but no one afterwards, so it folded up. He set up a pig farm in Cavite province south of here, but a big typhoon carried off its roof somewhere - perhaps to Iraq, who knows?
He had to haul the swine one by one to a rented space in Paranaque district. "I used by pickup, which I had not even loaded with feeds because it's strictly for dates with my girl," he fondly remembers.
Medina says he picks up story ideas everywhere. It may be from a television commercial, a half-brained government project, the sights and sound of the palce he chooses for a vacation, or from tall tales of friends, recounted while the entire gang are strangling bottles of San Miguel Beer.
A person's looks or way of walking may inspire hime while he is pigging out at the nearby pizza joint. Here the interview is interrupted as the artist trained his laser eyes on a handsome woman who entered the restaurant where he was being interviewed. But he quickly lost interest when the lady went straight to a nearby table to her date.
It takes him about htree hours to finish one episode. One of the things readers like about the strip is the attention to detail Medina puts on his drawings. He ususally works late into the night. "I'm not a morning person. I took after the habits of my car, which refuses to start in the morning."
He claims he is a centrist and is unlikely to take a stand on issues. but Pugad Baboy has gained praise from student radicals from the way he sets politicians and policemen to ridicule.
"All our politicians have Senator Cabalfin in their blood," he said, refering to a bumbling, theiving character who is a mainstay in the strip. "They say they are in the profession of public service, but thier first priority is still their self interest."
Pol Medina really hates the police. "I've been flagged down by cops so many times, but up to now I still do not know what traffic violations I committed. If I could just meet one good cop, maybe my opinion of them will change."
The policeman-crook appears in the strip as Patrolman Durugas (literally, highwayman), who helps Dagul push his stalled car on the side of the road - toward a No Parking Zone so he could then extort money from him under threat of giving him a citation ticket.
The comic strip excels in the unsavoury Filipino trait of one-upmanship, a characterfew ould openly admit but which they see in black and white in Medina's street-wise humor.
The artist recieves thousands of fan mail, but he has had his share of hate mail as well. Not one to shirk green or sexist jokes, he once caught the ire of a feminist group on the theoretical issue of rape. He has since made peace with that group.
The unexpected popularity of the strip has inspired Medina to explore the commercial angle and the possibility of transplanting the characters into another medium.
Three volumes of compilations have sold out through several reprints, and t-shirts with prints of the cartoon characters are in high demand despite the fact that they have not been distributed through department stores or boutiques.
At the time of the interview, one entrepreneur is seeking perimission to use the PUgad Baboy logoa and characters to a chain of "lugawans" (fast-food shops selling porridge).
Medina has left the marketing side totally in the hands of an equally imaginative manager, woho is currently conceptualising a Pugad Baboy animated television sitcom and a PUgad Baboy movie. A Polgas stuffed toy is now in the works.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Pol Medina Jr. : It's A Swine's World
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
CYRiLL, you should pick your Funny Friend
But even if they are telling a joke at your expense, you know you can count on them to keep you young at heart, laid-back, and fun-loving. When it comes down to it, would you want it to be any other way? No way!
Friday, June 6, 2008
CYRiLL, You're More Sinful Than The Average Person.
AM I REALLY A SINFUL PERSON?
And it's affecting your life in ways you might not realize. Admiring people
can be one way of appreciating their success or driving you to do more. But if you aren't careful, your obsession with the others' good fortune may ultimately be your downfall. Beware of focusing too much on what others have accomplished and how they are viewed. Such obsessions can overshadow your own life and compromise your ability to attain your own dreams.
And if you don't keep this tendency in check, you just might jeopardize the things that are most important to you.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
AMBURENG
8:50am dumating kame ni MADEL sa office
nakakapagtaka kase wala pa maxadung tao
naabutan namen sila PAPA P, MISS DAINE at MISS GRAXIA sa pantry
nag-uusap sila at nagtatawanan like there's no tomorrow
wahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
pagka login derecho kame agad ni MADEL sa cubicle namen
siguro mga 10mins. after namen mag login dumating na si YEYE
after naman mga 5mins. dumating naman si GELLIE
pero nakakapagtaka pa rin kase wala pa si MAMA K, MAMA M and PAPA J
kaya yun nag friendster at multiply muna ku
wala pa naman kase pinapagawa e
wahahahahahahahahahahaha
sa wakas
dumating na sila MAMA K at MAMA M
absent pala ang loko lokong si PAPA J
nasa BMX Event kase xa ngayun
1:oopm (something)
umalis na naman sila MAMA K, PAPA P, MAMA M, MISS DAINE, MISS GRAXIA at TONIO
after 1hr nakabalik na sa office sila MISS DAINE, MISS GRAXIA at TONIO
nagtaka na naman kame kase di nila kasabay bumalek sila MAMA K, PAPA P at MAMA M
super tagal nila bumalik
nag papanic na nga si KURANAI kase tagal nila bumalik
natapus ku na yung inassign saken na RECENT RELEASES
nakatulog na kame ni GELLIE
(hala patay naabutan daw pala kame ni KURANAI na tulog. hehehe.)
HAIIIII
2:24pm
salamat naman at naisipan na nila bumalik
grabe nakakabagut
walang magawa
tulog muna kaya ulet aku
amp
***paka walang kwenta talaga ng BLOG ku. wahahahahaha.
ISSUES: NUDULS - MIYUSEK - DALDALAN
CAST:
KURANAI
LA FEA
OLIVE OIL
MITCH
DEBID
PPAs (PAPA P's ANGELS)
monday june 2, 2008 3PM (something)
nag conduct si KURANAI ng orchid training sa office
siguro one hour din nag discuss si DEBID (head ng Dev Team)
at wala akung naintidihan sa diniscuss nya
after ng discussion
biglang sumingit tong si LA FEA
kung anu anu na pinagsasabe
sermon sermon pa xa samen
badtrip na badtrip aku
kase kahet di nya sabihin names namen
alam namang kame yung tinutukoy nya
kase samen xa nakatingin
sarap kamu dukutin ng mata nya
POTANGNA NYA!!!
after siguro ng mga 15mins.
pinatawag na naman kame ulet ni KURANAI
KURANAI: guys labas nga kayo may sasabihin lang ako.
kala namen about saan yung sasabihin nya
yun pala sa NOODLES na naman
para kameng papatayin kase pila pila pa kameng nakaharap sa kanya
wahahahahahaha
eto yung sinabe nila KURANAI and LA FEA samen (hinde eto yung mga exact words na sinabe nila, pero parang ganito na din. hehehe.):
ISSUE: NUDULS ETC.
"wag nyu naman sana ubusan ng food yung mga panggabe, kase pag nagugutom na sila wala silang nadadatnan na pagkain sa pantry . . . blaah blaah blaaaah. may mga nag uuwi pa yata ng noodles dito." (tangnang yan pinalalabas pang mga patay gutom kame)
"okey ganito na lang 1 cup of noodles and 1 biscuit per intern / ojt / reg employee para lahat nakakakain. for example di kinain ng isa yung food nya di mu pwede sabihin na ay akin na lang yung sayu di mu nanamn kase kinaen" (anu kame preso me rasyon pa ng food)
"and please wag kayu kakaen sa table nyu baka mamaya ipisin, langgamin at dagain na tayu ditu. pag inutusan ku si Shing Ha na maglagay ng lason sa daga e bigla tumulo sa pagkain nyu mapanu pa kayu dyan." (wuhooo. balak mu pa talaga kame patayin)
"wag din kayu magtitimpla ng kape sa table nyu, may nakikita pa kase kameng mga asu asukal dyan."
ISSUE: DALDALAN
"paki minimize naman yung ingay kase may mga nagtatrabaho at nakakaistorbo kayu. kung about sa trabaho yung pinag uusapan nyu ok lang sana."
ISSUE: MIYUSEK
LA FEA: may sinaway ako dati pero di ako pinakinggan.
KURANAI: ahmm. sino ba yung sinaway mo?
LA FEA: di ko na matandaan pero sa loob e *turo sa cubicle*
(potangna nya pala, e kame lang naman yung interns na nasa cubicle. di pa nya sabihin ng derecho yung mga pangalan namen. lerrr di naman kame yung nagpapatugtog ng malakas kundi si MITCH yun.)
*** DI NAMAN TALAGA KAME SESERMUNAN THAT DAY. KUNG DI LANG TALAGA NAABUTAN NI ANDY SY (ANG LALAKING MAHILIG SA M2M (YUNG GIRL DUO HA)) YUNG MALAKAS NA SOUNDS NG TANGNANG MITCH NAYAN. PATI PA TULOY KAME NADAMAY. HAYUP XA . . . AY SILA PALA. WAHAHAHAHAHA.
