EDITORIAL - Hubagang ate uy

There is no doubt that among the more famous Cebuano songs nowadays is Hubagang Ate Uy. Who wouldn't know of the song when radio stations play it over and over day in and day out? While we believe that the song was intended to be entertaining and funny, the message it brings across, especially to women, is not at all entertaining and funny.

Hubagang Ate Uy by the Brownian Method, a group who, according to a website, is "Cebu's finest R & B rap group," falls under the category of novelty songs. These songs are usually about anything under the sun and are supposed to be funny. Novelty songs have become the "in" thing lately because there are a lot of singing groups in Manila who have popularized such songs. The sad thing though is that most novelty songs that have become popular in the country have double meaning and could injure the sensitivities of some people.

The song in question sounds very harmless. It talks about a guy who saw a sexy woman and describes her being sexy as hubag. In Cebuano, hubag means swollen, as in swollen gums, swollen feet. What on earth does hubagang ate mean? This is where the double meaning comes in and it is so sad that a woman is the subject of what most people call bugal-bugal or mockery. A proof that the song is offensive to women is the fact that there have been incidents reported to the police of women slapping guys who called them hubag!

Aside from being an insult to women, the song is also an insult to Cebuano music, which is very much respected in the country. After all, Cebu is known for good singers and good songs. In fact, popular Cebuano songs like Matud Nila, Usahay, Butchiki and even the more recent Dice and K9's Itsumo have a following not only in Cebu but nationally. What does Hubagang Ate and other songs of the like that hide under the guise of novelty make of Cebu music? Is this what Cebuano music has come to? What is novel about mocking women?

We have nothing against the singers and composers of the song. We just don't find it amusing that women are subjected to such mockery. It is not even amusing that little children, who hear the song everyday over the radio, know the lyrics by heart and sing it without knowing what the song really means.

The music industry should do something about this before the airwaves get crammed with similar songs. Just like how we screen movies before they are approved for public viewing, songs too should also be screened.