09/12/2024
Three years ago, Maylene Bascon felt like the 'queen' of B'laan people while wearing the tribe's cultural dress
KORONADAL CITY [via Ramil H. Bajo | WIDNEWS] — Former beauty queen Maylene Bascon, who once served this city as councilor, is a full-blooded 'Ilongga,' but when she wore the B'laan's cultural dress, she felt like a 'queen' of Indigenous People (IP).
Bascon, popularly known as 'Inday Maylene' and married to Mark De Guzman, a businessman from Davao City, once served the city as an elected councilor from 2019-2022.
She ran for mayor in 2022 but lost to Mayor Eliordo Ogena.
Inday Maylene, the cousin of reelectionist South Cotabato 2nd District Rep. Dr. Peter Miguel, reportedly filed her certificate of candidacy for councilor for the 2025 midterm elections.
Three years ago, during her term, she visited a tribal village in the remote part of the city to attend a cultural festivity of the B'laan tribe there.
During the tribal celebration, Inday Maylene wore a B'laan dress, decorated with embroidery, buttons, beads and brass belts with numerous tiny bells, to show her solidarity with the tribe’s culture and traditions.
Her presence, wearing the said B'laan cultural dress, reportedly made her the 'center of attraction,' showcasing her charm, beauty and elegance in an indigenous way.
"Wearing this kind of couture feels like a queen,”Inday Maylene, who was crowned as 'Lakambini ng Koronadal,' the city's prestigious beauty pageant, told Diyaryo Milenyo, a website news provider that covered her visit there several years ago.
That time, Inday Maylene was known for helping the members of the indigenous communities, showing her 'big heart' by providing help to them in her own little way.
For a B'laan woman, Inday Maylene deserved to be called herself as their 'queen' because she embodies the qualities of a queen.
The Blaan are neighbors of the Tboli and live in the municipalities of Lake Sebu and Tboli in South Cotabato, Sarangani, General Santos City, the southeastern part of Davao and around Lake Buluan in North Cotabato.
They are famous for their brassworks, beadwork, and tabih weave. The people of these tribes wear colorful embroidered native costumes and beadwork accessories.
The women of these tribes, particularly, wear heavy brass belts with brass “tassels” ending in tiny brass bells that herald their approach even when they are a long way off. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaan_people)
Their language is said to be the source of the name for Koronadal City, from two Blaan words – kalon meaning cogon grass and nadal or datal meaning plain, which aptly described the place for the natives. On the other hand, Marbel, which is another name for the poblacion, is a Blaan term malb-el which means “murky waters” referring to a river, now called Marbel River. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaan_people).
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