Synopsis
Kules, home on vacation from his job in Saudi Arabia, takes Bab, Tomas, Ka Noli, Joboy, Pao and Polgas on a trip to Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines. They take in the sights at Camp John Hay, Mines View, and Trinidad Valley. They also visit an Igorot village, where Polgas purchases a shrunken head as a souvenir.
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is a sovereign state in Western Asia constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula. With a land area of approximately 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), Saudi Arabia is geographically the largest sovereign state in the Middle East, the second-largest in the Arab world, the fifth-largest in Asia, and the 12th-largest in the world. Saudi Arabia is bordered by Jordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast and Yemen to the south; it is separated from Israel and Egypt by the Gulf of Aqaba. It is the only nation with both a Red Sea coast and a Persian Gulf coast, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland and mountains. As of October 2018, the Saudi economy was the largest in the Middle East and the 18th largest in the world. Saudi Arabia also has one of the world's youngest populations; 50 percent of its 33.4 million people are under 25 years old.
Baguio, officially the City of Baguio and popularly referred to as Baguio City, is a mountain resort city located in Northern Luzon, Philippines. It is known as the Summer Capital of the Philippines, owing to its cool climate since the city is located approximately 4,810 feet above mean sea level, often cited as 1,540 meters in the Luzon tropical pine forests ecoregion, which also makes it conducive for the growth of mossy plants, orchids and pine trees, to which it attributes its other moniker as the "City of Pines".
Camp John Hay is a mixed-used development which serves as a tourist destination and forest watershed reservation in Baguio, Philippines which was formerly a military base of the United States Armed Forces.
The action begins when the gang stop by an ube jam store on the Hilltop Market. The proprietor slams the store window close to their faces, and pickpockets steal their wallets and Tomas and Ka Noli's guns. Polgas, in the guise of Wisedog later returns to the scene of the crime and begins an investigation. He takes two jars of the R.D. Ube Jam as evidence.
Back in their pad, Bab sees Wisedog putting the jars in the cupboard. He samples it and gets an unexpected "high." Wisedog takes the jam to the Thunderdog and has its on-board computer analyze the concoction's chemical content. It turns out the jam is spiked with cannabis sativa. The makers of R.D. Ube Jam are actually pushing marijuana. To gain some intel or flush out the suspects, Wisedog decides to push the two bottles of jam. An elderly gentleman recognizes the jars and the gang takes him in for interrogation. Tomas makes the poor guy watch video-taped episodes of daytime drama soaps, The 700 Club and That's Entertainment until he couldn't bear it anymore and became a stool pigeon. He reveals that a lab is hidden behind the ube jam store, that the marijuana plantation is located in Mt. Pulog and that Igorot tribesmen are protecting the plantation.
The 700 Club is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing each weekday in syndication throughout the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, contemporary music, testimonies, and Christian ministry. Celebrities and other guests are often interviewed, and Christian lifestyle issues are presented. The program additionally features major world news stories plus in-depth investigative reporting by the CBN News team.
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants (CI). It can also refer pejoratively to someone who supplies information without the consent of the involved parties. The term is commonly used in politics, industry, entertainment and academia.
Wisedog goes undercover as an "asong-Baguio", a native Baguio dog, knowing that the Igorots' favorite dish is dog meat. A fake Igorot tranquilizes him using a blow gun dart laced with Trankaso, a super-potent liquid comparable in effect to the sweat under the arms of an Iraqi soldier, but before he loses consciousness, he manages to signal the Thunderdog, which is bark-activated. The Porsche 959 discreetly follows Wisedog to the pushers' hideout and marked down the coordinates of the plantation. It then races back to Baguio in order to alert the Pugad Baboy gang.
Interviewing his fellow captive dogs, Wisedog confirms that this indeed was the marijuana plantation and that the plants grown there were not ordinary strains of maryjane but a cross-breed of the marijuana plant and the sweet-potato vine, called the "Kamote-Jane" (kamote is Filipino for sweet potato). Besides disguising the plant as a harmless-looking sweet potato vine, the cannabis yield is more potent; a single Kamote-Jane flower is equal in potency to five grams of hashish. Wisedog decides to move immediately and neutralize the enemy. He escapes from his cage and releases the other captured dogs. They take on the fake Igorots and just as Wisedog's "garapata gun" runs out of ammo, the Thunderdog arrives with the Pugad Baboy gang.
Filipino is the national language of the Philippines. Filipino is also designated, along with English, as an official language of the country. It is a standardized variety of the Tagalog language, an Austronesian regional language that is widely spoken in the Philippines. As of 2007, Tagalog is the first language of 28 million people, or about one-third of the Philippine population, while 45 million speak Tagalog as their second language. Tagalog is among the 185 languages of the Philippines identified in the Ethnologue. Officially, Filipino is defined by the Commission on the Filipino Language as "the native dialect, spoken and written, in Metro Manila, the National Capital Region, and in other urban centers of the archipelago."
Hashish, or hash, is a drug made from the resin of the cannabis plant. It is consumed by smoking a small piece, typically in a pipe, bong, vaporizer or joint, or via oral ingestion. As pure hashish will not burn if rolled alone in a joint, it is typically mixed with herbal cannabis, tobacco or another type of herb for this method of consumption. Depending on region or country, multiple synonyms and alternative names exist.
Tomas brings cadets of the Philippine Military Academy, the campus of which is in Baguio; Ka Noli brings his New People's Army pals from the Cordillera Administrative Region and Pao brings his gay friends from St. Louis University. Seeing the gays, the Igorots surrender, in terror of what they call the "loincloth collectors". Unmasking the mastermind, they again discover that it's no other than Renate Domingo, alias Atong Damuho - former dognap king. (See Wisedog.) Exploring the plantation, Wisedog discovers a gallon of PSSI (Pawis sa Singit ng Sundalong Iraqi - Filipino for Sweat from the Groin of an Iraqi Soldier) from which the Trankaso blow gun poison of the fake Igorots is made. He loads the smelly liquid into the Garapeater Cannon mounted on the Thunderdog and shot up the entire plantation. All the Kamote-Jane plants dissolve.
In gratitude, the Mayor of Baguio rewarded Wisedog with the construction of a secret lair under his master Dagul's residence in Pugad Baboy. This came to be known as the Dog Cave (a spoof of the Bat Cave), official residence of OCB agent Polgas, alias Wisedog.
Epilogue
Technically, the story arc ends with Wisedog's arrival in Pugad Baboy. However, there are three extra strips which detail what happened to the Pugad Bad Boys.
Kules, Bab, Tomas, Ka Noli, Joboy and Pao regret the fact that they do not tag along with Polgas in returning to Manila. Worse, because they have their wallets picked, they have no money for gasoline since Kules' car is already out of fuel. Tomas has an idea of one of them dressing up as an Igorot tribesman so tourists will pay them just to take his picture. Everybody's eyes turn on Bab, whose skin color and vest make him a perfect choice to be a tribesman (his hair only needs a trim). Bab doesn't like to go with the plan, but the boys do not let him get off easily. They restrain him and Ka Noli calls in Edward Scissorhands to cut Bab's hair. As a result, Bab (forcibly) dons the Igorot get-up and the Pugad Bad Boys earn money from tourists who want to have a picture with Bab.
The money the Pugad Bad Boys earn is only enough to buy eight liters of gasoline, which may or may not be enough to drive them home to Manila. So to save on gas, Kules decides to freewheel his car downhill all the way to Pangasinan, to the horror of Pao, who has to hang on the top of the car because he obviously won't fit inside.
As for Bab, he keeps the hairstyle for some time (two strips in the next book feature him sporting the same hairstyle), eventually letting his hair grow back to its original length.
Bakasyon is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 15 strips long, the shortest among the major story arcs. In 1991, the story arc was reprinted in The Best of Pugad Baboy, officially, the second book compilation of the comic strip series.
Wisedog is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 17 strips long. In 1992, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy 3, the third book compilation of the comic strip series.
Retraining is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 45 strips long. In 1993, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy 4, the fourth book compilation of the comic strip series.
The Malunggay Conflict is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 30 strips long. In 1992, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy 4, the fourth book compilation of the comic strip series.
Ang Hiwaga ng Dueñas is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The arc lasted for 52 strips and appeared in the first quarter of 1992. In 1993, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy 4, the fourth book compilation of the comic strip series.
2078 is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina, Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer in 1992. This particular story arc lasts 45 strips long. In 1994, the story arc was reprinted in PB5, the fifth book compilation of the comic strip series.
Olympig Games, is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 19 strips long. In 1994, the story arc was reprinted in PB5, the fifth book compilation of the comic strip series.
James Bab is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. This particular story arc lasts 38 strips long and was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer from June to July 1997. In 1998, the story arc was reprinted in the tenth compilation of the comic strip series, named Pugad Baboy X. The title itself is an obvious play on James Bond, with resident hippie Bab as the main character.
Apo Hikers is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 62 strips long. In 1999, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy XI, the eleventh book compilation of the comic strip series.
Aso is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 88 strips long. In 2003, the story arc was reprinted in Kinse!, the fifteenth book compilation of the comic strip series. Aso is one of the three longest Pugad Baboy story arcs, the other being Maidnappers and Green Heroine.
Feminist is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 34 strips long. In 1994, the story arc was reprinted in PB5, the fifth book compilation of the comic strip series.
The Olongapo Caper is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 49 strips long. In 1995, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy 6, the sixth book compilation of the comic strip series.
Matrona is a story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 23 strips long. In 1998, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy X, the tenth book compilation of the comic strip series.
Father Marty is a story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 21 strips long. In 1997, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy 9, the ninth book compilation of the comic strip series.
Ali Manyakis napaka libog ni Ali S. Alawiy of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina, Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 35 strips long. In 1997, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy Eight, the eighth book compilation of the comic strip series. Manyakis is a loanword borrowed from the English word "maniac", and is used to refer to a person with uncontrollable sexual urges.
Maidnappers is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 88 strips. It is one of the three longest Pugad Baboy story arcs, the others being Aso and "The Bourne Ambrosity". In 1994, the story arc was reprinted in PB5, the fifth book compilation of the comic strip series. Maidnapper is a portmanteau of the words "maid" and "kidnapper".
Pirata is a full-color graphic novel written and illustrated by Filipino cartoonist Pol Medina, Jr. and first published in 1995 by Pugad Baboy, Inc. The characters and storyline of Pirata are derived from Medina's comic strip Pugad Baboy, which is published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and is compiled annually in book form.
Benigno Ramos: Bounty Hunter is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina, Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer from July to October 2005. In 2006, the story arc was republished in the Pugad Baboy Sunday Comics compilation. Since the Sunday comic strips included in the compilation were originally in color, in contrast to the black-and-white strips of previous compilations, this story arc has the distinction of being the first to be reprinted in full color. It is also the first story arc to feature Igno as a major character.
