‘Tangay-tangay ed Pozorrubio'

By Restituto C. Basa

Source:
November 5-11, 2003 issue

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THERE is a phrase in the Pangasinan lingo which says ‘tangay-tangay ed Pozorrubio’.

This may be rendered in English, literally thus: looking upwards in Pozorrubio.

Over the years, the phrase has acquired a new meaning which is a far cry from the literal interpretation.

Its new connotation refers to a person whether he be in Pozorrubio or anywhere else, who goes about aimlessly. One who moves about seemingly without a sense of direction, or without an apparent purpose.

To dig into the origin of the saying, I asked my friend Mel Valenzuela Jovellanos, how the phrase came about.

I consider Mel an authority on the subject. Mel is supposed to be a Dagupeño. His grandfather, a great Dagupeño, was Don Toribio Jovellanos, the first presidente municipal of Dagupan (1900) under American colonial rule.

His father, Don Jose Villamil Jovellanos, was town mayor of Dagupan for two terms (1919-1925). His father, an accomplished writer in Pangasinan language (he was also a good writer in Spanish and English) erected the Rizal monument in the town plaza of Dagupan during his watch as town mayor.

By every sensible reason, Mel should have been born in Dagupan. It was an aberration of history that he was born in Pozorrubio. So now he’s Pozorrubio’s pride to the envy of Dagupan.

To be fair, his mother Leonor Magno Valenzuela, was born in Pozorrubio. And Mel belongs to the elite of both Dagupan and Pozorrubio.

In Dagupan, he belongs to the famous Fercolla clan. In Pozorrubio, he belongs to the ruling Magno clan.

So I asked Mel: How did the phrase ‘tangay-tangay ed Pozorrubio’ come about?

His explanation was this: During the Pacific war years (1941-1945), the United States Armed Forces of the Philippines in the Far East (USAFFE) commandeered all motor vehicles in civilian hands. The new term for commandeered is ‘sequestered’, courtesy of the Corazon C. Aquino rule.

The army commandeered all motor vehicles at the start of the war. These were used to ferry Filipino and American soldiers to Bataan. (Remember the USAFFE took its stand against the Japanese army invaders in Bataan in 1942.)

So the only vehicles that served the transport needs of the civilian populace were in government hands. And there were few of them that were in harness because there were no gasoline supplies to run them.

The buses that were in harness were fuelled by charcoal.

The most common vehicle for transport at the time was caromata, the bull cart and the bicycle.

Pangasinenses, who had to travel to Baguio during the war years, had to go to Pozorrubio. The only ride to Baguio from Pozorrubio was the government-owned Benguet Auto Line (BAL), a sister company of the Manila Railroad Company. Pozorrubio was the main terminal of the BAL bound for Baguio from Pangasinan.

Only a few BAL buses were in harness to serve the Pozorrubio-Baguio line.

So if a traveller bound for Baguio missed the last trip, he would be stranded in Pozorrubio. He would have to spend the night in the town plaza.

The alternative was ‘mantangay-tangay’ to search for homes of relatives, if there be any kinsmen of his who were residents of Pozorrubio.

He would have to look up to the houses in the town, perchance he may have a kinsman who could accommodate him for the night.

That was how the phrase ‘tangay-tangay ed Pozorrubio came about. So my friend Mel V. Jovellanos explained.

In case you don’t know it yet, Mel V. Jovellanos wrote the volume entitled A Pangasinan-English, English-Pangasinan Language Dictionary. It sold like hotcakes. But I did not buy my copy. Mel graciously gave it to me as a gift.