Ifugao Nation: Robredo did not wear 'funerary' skirt at Rizal Day event

A group promoting products made by the indigenous peoples of Ifugao has issued a statement to counter claims that Vice President Leni Robredo wore a skirt with funerary symbols for the Rizal Day wreath-laying in December 2018.

Ifugao Nation, which manufactures and promotes indigenous Philippine textiles, clarified that the skirt was made using the traditional "ikat" technique with a contemporary lizard pattern as its design.

"[The pattern] represents kinadangyan (Cordilleran word for "rich"), wealth and progress and is NEVER used as a symbol in Ifugao funerary textiles," they explained in a Facebook post.

Ifugao Nation further stated that many weavers are beneficiaries of Robredo's Angat-Buhay program.

The statement was issued in response to online allegations that Robredo committed cultural appropriation and that the pattern is reminiscent of a Cordilleran death blanket. —Aya Tantiangco/JST, GMA News