I’m not crying, you’re crying.
On Monday, soap brand Safeguard posted a video dramatizing the life of Norman King, the first Aeta to graduate from the prestigious University of the Philippines (UP).
King, who hails from the province of Pampanga, first hogged headlines last year when he attended his graduation wearing the traditional loincloth worn by his tribe.
Titled Pabaon sa Buhay (Protection for Life), the video has gone viral and has been shared more than 36,000 times as of this article’s posting.
Subtitled in English, it asks this question: “Who is worthy of admiration? One who has led an easy life? Or one who has overcome extreme hardship?”
Watch the video below. Prepare to grab some tissues.
The video has garnered mostly positive reactions, though some felt ambivalent about it.
Referring to scenes where other students were surprised to see King wearing a loincloth, David Sta. Maria wrote: “The ad is effective, methinks, but it is putting the UP community in a bad light.”
Supporters of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte often launch online attacks on graduates and students of UP. The UP community, in general, have been critical of the president, and some students have been wary of any negative presentation of the community in the media.
One user said Safeguard should contribute more to the Aeta community. Said Jojo Marababol: “I hope in a way that the company can give back to the Aeta community after having used Norman King in their product commercial.”
Yet it was a good display of the Filipino spirit, said one commenter.
Wrote Anand P. Shah: “I have always believed in the strengths of [the] Filipino people, creativity, harmony, hardworking, and so on. This advertisement shows to believe in your heritage and strengths and not get intimidated or sidestep out of humility to outsiders (sic); especially the people from one particular bully power. (sic)”
And some people just cried. Admitted Judy Write: “I cried! So proud too of Mr. Norman!”
The video was also retweeted by Alden Richards, a popular actor and also a Safeguard endorser. His tweet of the video was retweeted more than 1,900 times.
The life lessons like perseverance and humility that my parents and even grandparents taught me when I was young have helped guide and protect me all throughout life. Watch this newest video from #Safeguard and share your #PabaonSaBuhay stories with me.https://t.co/hTuaDV6yPW
— Alden Richards (@aldenrichards02) June 19, 2018
The Aetas are an indigenous group of people who reside mainly in the northern part of Luzon island and some parts of Visayas island. Many have to live without basic services and some are disconnected from society. Those who decide to “join” the general population often resort to panhandling due to lack of skills and education.
King could be considered one of the Aetas’ more successful members, so it’s understandable that the commercial has made such an impact.
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