Mt. Province proclaims July 30 as ‘Timicheg Day’ - a united stand against trafficking

Bontoc, Mt. Province – Mt. Province localized their observance of World Day against Trafficking by naming the commemoration after Timicheg, an Igorot who was one of the victims of human trafficking in the 1913 Ghent International Exposition in Belgium.

‘Timicheg’, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) – CAR Regional Director (RD) Atty. Cheryl Daytec-Yañgot and the researcher on Timicheg, was one of the 60 Igorots from Bontoc trafficked and exhibited at the 1913 Ghent International Exposition to showcase so-called 'primitive' cultures under U.S. colonial rule.

400 Indigenous Filipinos, including 60, were brought to Missouri, United States in 1904 and were displayed at the St. Louis World’s Fair, dubbed as the largest 'human zoo' ever staged in world history. Later in 1909, Igorots were re-exhibited at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle under similar dehumanizing conditions.

Said Igorots were stranded in Ghent after they were abandoned by recruiter Richard Schneidewind, until the U.S. arranged their return to Manila. Unfortunately, Timicheg never made it home, dying in Belgium from cold and despair.

In 2007, a tunnel in Ghent was named after Timicheg and inaugurated in 2011 to honor his legacy.

Meantime, in support of the World Day against Trafficking commemoration, the Provincial Local Government Unit of Mt. Province declared July 30 of every year as "Timicheg Day against Trafficking in Persons" by virtue of Executive Order (EO) No. 28, series of 2025, issued by Governor Bonifacio C. Lacwasan Jr. on July 21, 2025.

Said EO, according to Atty. Yañgot, via the official Facebook page of the Mountain Province government, is the country’s first local effort to recognize the historical injustices against the Igorots within the global anti-trafficking movement.

Moreover, the mandate also urges schools to teach about the 1904 St. Louis, 1909 Seattle, and 1913 Ghent Expositions and include human trafficking awareness in their programs.

Gov. Lacwasan, as cited by Hail Mountain Province, said that the EO aims to acknowledge and rectify historical injustices saying, “….the memory of Timicheg and the other Igorots who were trafficked and exploited during the expositions should not be relegated to silence.”

Meantime, work is underway to find the descendants of Timicheg and others exhibited in Ghent in 1913.