By: Telly Gonzaga-Ocampo
“Inay Mentong” for 2025?
Ted Ayeng of dyTR concluded his Cuentas Claras program with the phrase, Inay Mentong! I remember that during my early childhood, I also heard my parents and grandparents say Inay Mentong. This phrase, to me, was used to express some for of skepticism. If you were to use this phase today, you would be heard like saying ambot lang.
Nganong naka sulti man si Ted ug Inay Mentong? He articulated the phrase after he mentioned the present challenges the country is facing: inflation, high prices, foreign debts, impeachment, elections, and most of all, the so many ayuda given to the poor kono but actually used by politicians for raking in votes. But come to think of it, all these are taking place because we are allowing such to take place. Nahitabo ni kay ato man nga gipatuyangan ang mga tawo nga atong gitugyanan sa renda sa pangagamhan, sa paghimo niini. Kinsa man ang makaloluoy? The tax paying public, of course. We are, indeed, at the losing end. Ngano man? Inay Mentong!
Nalipay ko kay gibungat ni Ted kining maong mga pulong nga Inay Mentong. Mahinumduman man gud nako sa akong kabatan-on nga pagalitokon usab kining maong mga pulong sa akong mga ginikanan ug katigulangan. Upon hearing Ted mention the phrase, I don’t know why I felt a certain form of nostalgia and ease. Is it because we seldom hear today the words of endearment and reality? I wish to ask Jess Tirol, my “page neighbor” at The Bohol Tribune what Inay Mentong means. Unsa kaha gyud ang sinugdanan ani nga panultihon nga Inay Mentong nga gigamit man kini kaniadto ug mibalik man karon sa mga ngabil ni Ted? Kinsa kaha ni si Mentong?
Why did I feel some form of nostalgia and ease when I heard the phrase again? Is it because the phrase is bringing me back to my past, when things were not as complicated as today? When life was not as difficult? When children were not as advanced in using the gadgets as they are now? When leaders were not as insincere and insensitive as they are at present times?
Talking about phrases in the past, I would like to take my nickname as an example. I used to be called Le, as a shorter version of Telly. And I love to hear Le as my nickname. But I have noticed that nowadays, only a few call me by that nickname. Why? Inay Mentong! Why have they stopped calling me Le at home when that is very soothing to my ears? When that would bring me back to my happy childhood? When that would give me some form of escape from the realities of the present times?
We had the chance of having my cousins Myrna and Sr. Marie Claire at home very recently. And they called me Le. Little did they know that I was happy the way they addressed me as Le. My classmates before called me Telly. There was even a time when it was spelled Thellie to sound “Frenchy”. And for endearment, they called me Estelita. Why have they stopped that practice? Why have they deprived me of the smoothness of life before? The answer is Inay Mentong!
Like what I wrote in my article last week, I said that I lost my doggie, Wewee, on Christmas day. But before the new year came, my grandchild brought me a lovable dog. He is huge and he is a great Dane. He is only 6 months old, yet he is a giant for my two other dogs, Kagid and Mayang. Will Kagid and Mayang be happy with the presence of the great Dane? Will the latter bring good vibes to all of us for the year 2025. Will the great Dane be a bane or boon? Inay Mentong? No. We should make sure that the great Dane in our life should, indeed, be great!
To my Bohol Tribune family, the 10 of us in the writers’ group, I continue to vouch for the energy and the truthfulness of my pen. So help us, God, as we pray for a blessed 2025.