Pugad Baboy

A blog can never be complete without my all-time favorite Pugad Baboy (translation: Pig's Nest). Pugad Baboy is drawn by Pol Medina, Jr.

Pugad Baboy is published daily in the Philippine Daily Inquirer as a comic strip. Almost each year, a collected edition of the strips is published. I always make it a point to get one because they're quite hot specially for those who follow the strips religiously.

Just a brief background on how I came to know about Pugad Baboy. My cousin had a collection of the first collected editions. Everytime I'd get to visit their place, I always had a marathon reading of the books. When I was able to start buying my own books, I made it a point to start a collection on the Pugad Baboy collected editions.

I'm positive that my love for Pugad Baboy is appreciated only by my fellow Filipinos. To sum up the comic strip, it's a comic strip that discusses a wide range of topics: politics, current trends, movies, etc.

Here's a rundown of the main characters and how they represent the Filipino society:

Sungcal family:

Adagulfo Sungcal or Dagul (for short) represents the hardworking Filipino. He is the typical Filipino who is very loving and caring for his children (wakes up in the morning to prepare the children's food). Aside from that, Dagul is a procastinator. Who wouldn't be?

Dagul's wife is Debbie. She's the typical housewife who loves to shop whenever there's a sale going on. And also a typical woman who needs a lot of time to choose a particular item.

The eldest child is Hercules or Kules. He represents the typical Filipino who has to work abroad.

Tiny is the only daughter. She represents the collegiate Filipino.

Utoy is the youngest child. He (together with his boyhood friends) represents the young Filipinos. Techy and playful.

Of course, no Filipino household is complete without the housekeeper. Brosia is the Sungcal's housekeeper and a constant thorn to Dagul.

Sabaybunot family:

Tomas is the supposed head of the family. My take on his wife explains the reason for being just the supposed head. Tomas represents the Filipino soldier. He's a chauvinistic pig who spends a lot of time drinking and being with GROs.

Barbie is Tomas' feminist wife. The feminist group Gabriela always comes to mind whenever I read about Barbie. She is just that, pure feminist.

Paltik is the only child of the Sabaybunot family.

Lamoun family:

Bab is the head male as his father died at an early age. Bab is the typical no-job, lazy, and slightly addicted Filipino. All the bad Filipino traits are probably in Bab.

Meanwhile, Jolen is the opposite of Bab.

The rest of Pugad Baboy:

Ka Noli represents the Filipino rebel. He's a member of the New People's Army and unusually best friends with Tomas.

Mao represents the Chinese immigrants who opens up a business in the Philippines. Mao is thrifty and always wary of kidnappers. Though not exactly a Filipino, he is still part of the Filipino daily life. (Show me a place where there aren't any Chinese immigrant, and I'll stop blogging)

Pao is the son/daughter of Mao. Pao represents the homosexual Filipino.

Miss Nobatos is the kids' teacher. She represents the always sad plight of Filipino teachers in the country.

Senator Cabalfin is a Philippine Senator who resides in Pugad Baboy. He ultimately represents the politicians. How corrupt the Philippine government is, that's how corrupt Senator Cabalfin is too.

Patrolman Durugas represents an even more menacing problem hounding the Philippines: the unrepenting distrust towards the police. In the comic strip, policemen are more likely to commit the crime rather than stopping it. Of course, several crimefighters are loyal enough to their job to see to it that crime does not pay.

And have I forgotten a character? One of the most important characters in the strip is Polgas, the talking dog. Well, since talking dogs are definitely out of line in our society, Polgas represents the fantasy that Pol Medina wants to live in. Polgas is adventurous and is a secret agent for OCB (which stands for Organized Canine Bureau).

To sum everything up, Pugad Baboy is always enjoyable because it is truly Filipino. Highly impossible that a Filipino cannot relate to the comic strip without knowing about what's happening to his environment and society.