by Argee Guevarra - Pogi Master
Some seven years ago in Ateneo de Manila University, pogi points came into being through a group popularly known as ASSOC or the Anti-Sosyal Club. Pogi points must have evolved in the course of the members' profoundly licentious discussions on the philosophy of scoring well with women. Many, if not all of us, were infected and, perhaps, united by the understandable antipathy towards the Admi kids - the undisputed sosyals on campus and their hybrid wannabes - who spent most of the time waiting for their chauffeurs in front of the Administration building in Ateneo.
We disliked those guys maybe because we thought that they were all gelo-spined pussies who talked like silly colegialas yet walked with the macho-strut of the newly circumcised. Needless to say, they wore the most expensive jeans, drove the fanciest cars and received the most number of invitations to parties. Siyempre, they got the girls - and that fact, quite naturally, got our goat. We were always dumbfounded by their tsiksability that we kept asking questions of how and why?
Like, how could those shmucks have harvested all the hotsy-patutsies and the drop dead gorgeous babes when we were the ones who're kalog, cool and colorful even without the coño talk and the car? Our egos pricked, we naturally disassembled the total package of your average "sossy" (for sosyal ) biped whose arrival (as in, dating) rubbed the women we loved the right way. Thus, for every quality - other than the God-given good looks - that made these guys so appealing to the eyes of the women we loved. We awarded them a fixed number of points which we preferred calling pogi points. From then on, the Pogi Points countdown went on and on and on.
THE PEDIGREE - If the family name is associated with politics, add 10 pogi points. If it is a Marcos or any crony-sounding name, subtract 50 pogi points. If the lineage could be traced to a Spanish friar, add another 10 pogi points (tisoy muy bien!). If it's a taipan sounding name as in Sy or Gokongwei, add 20 pogi points.
THE ADDRESS - A Makati address gets an automatic 5 pogi points while an Alabang address gets an automatic 10 pogi points. If in Makati, Dasma, Magallanes, Urdancta and Forbes, plus 20; San Lorenzo Village plus 10, Bel Air, plus 5 pp.
THE HIGH SCHOOL - A high school diploma in the States or U.K., 20 pogi points. If an alumnus of La Salle Greenhills or Ateneo de Manila, automatic 15 pogi points. If a graduate of a satellite school (La Salle-Zobel or Atenco de Davao), 10 pogi points. If from Xavier School, South Ridge, San Beda. Lourdes School, Don Bosco Makati or Colegio de San Agustin, plus 10 pogi points. Basta nagtapos ng high school, plus 5 pogi points.
THE SPORT - If the guy is into soccer, plus 10 pogi points. Any racket sport (except pingpong or pelota), plus 15 pogi points. If engaged in not so popular sports like rowing, fencing, sepak takraw, arnis, eskrima, sikaran (indigenous sports are "in") and archery, plus 20 pogi points. For the golf enthusiast, plus 50 pogi points. Polo, as in the favourite sport of my friend Prince Charles, plus 100 pogi points.
THE SYOTA - If the current squeeze (girlfriend, wife or mistress) or the former flame is a beauty titlist, an Absolut Girl, Rustan's VIP model or one of Manila's Loveliest (or is it, Loveleast?), automatic 50 pogi points. A campus celebrity or a showbiz denizen, 40 pogi points. If the typical pretty head-turning colegiala, 30 pogi points. Any girl basta walang tigpi-pisong peklat sa hita, plus 5 pogi points.
Because whether we admit it or not, a man's worth, in this day and age, is usually measured by factors which have something more to do with his resources than his substance. Ika nga ng mga egoy, "Mo' money, Mo' honey."
True. The 90s woman has become alarmingly particular about being practical. Not even the agitprop of feminists can help reinvent and redefine a woman's postmodem concept of the New Age Adam.
That is why we are compelled to deconstruct our numerous experiences with them to arrive at answers as to why women feel that a man's whole is often just equal to, and rarely greater than, the sum of his parts.
Thus, for every tangible and non-tangible attribute and accessory that enhances the stature and natural good looks, if any, of some men, we reward them with a corresponding value computed in terms of pogi points.
To refresh your memory, the first list of pogi points appeared in this column last July 3, 1995. The list hereunder will merely serve as an addendum to the original pogi points list.
THE HOUSE - As in all phallic symbols, a man takes pride at his erection - of his dwelling place, that is. So call it his Edifice Complex. As for women, since there's a growing number of them who're vertically challenge many look up to these physical structures as a success gauge to find out if the guys they're eyeing or dating are making it or already made it to the top. Thus, a penthouse pad in a Makati high-rise, say, the Ritz Towers, endows the owner with 100 pogi points. Any condo unit which costs more than P1.5 million, plus 50 pogi points. A townhouse in the Greenhills and New Manila area, plus 40 pogi points. And 20 pogi points for those building a 3-bedroom house in their own lot. Zero, as in itlog, pogi points for unit owners or lessors of Camella and Palmera Homes. Those who're shacking in tondominiums in the U-belt area, minus 10 pogi points because nobody shoulders a rifle in defense of a boarding house.
THE PLASTIC - In the age of automated commercial transactions, you can never leave home without a credit card or an ATM card. For some women, they serve as keys that could open hearts and, almost certainly, credit lines and bank accounts. American Express, Citibank Visa & Mastercard and Diner's, plus 10 pogi points each. Bankard, Unicard, PNB Card, Far East Card, BPI Card, plus 5 pogi points each. Zero pogi points for Megalink, Express Teller and Bancnet ATM cardholders although plus 10 pogi points if you're a dude with a City Bank or City Trust ATM card. Minus 10 pogi points for Wheeler's, Moneysaver's and Victoria Court/Anito discount cards or coupons.
CLUB MEMBERSHIP - Made men cool their hams by sipping tall glasses of iced tea, sweat it out by swinging golf clubs or tennis rackets, and close deals by mixing business with pleasure in exclusive clubs. Thus, 100 pogi points for members of Manila Polo club, Manila Golf Club, Baguio Country Club, Southwoods and Wack Wack Country Club; 20 pogi points for Valle Verde, Club Filipino, Q.C. SportsClub, Columbian Sports and Celebrity Sports Club.
THE WATCH - Time is gold, literally, if the value of your timepiece is good enough to stand in for ransom money. For a genuine Rolex, Baum & Mercier, Piaget, Cartier, Omega and the like, precious products all of timeless watchmakers from Switzerland and France, plus 50 pogi points. Watches whose prices range from P7,000 to P15,000 like Tag Heuer, Charles Jourdan, Swiss Army Watch and Seiko, plus 20 pogi points. Minus 10 pogi points for those who sport Alba, Timex, Casio, Adec and bangketa generic watches (tinatanggihan ang mga 'yan ng mga holdupper).
THE BORLOLOYS - Being part of the information highway has spawned many high-tech electronic gadgets that fascinate females. A cellular phone and beeper discreetly tucked inside one's pocket, plus 20 pogi points. If shamelessly flaunted, minus 10 pogi points because you'd look like a vacuum cleaner salesman. A power notebook, plus 30 pogi points. Viper auto-alarm keys, plus 5 pogi points. Playing Game Boy and Brick Game, minus 50 pogi points,
THE TITLE - Inasmuch as we live in a title-conscious society where even a barangay captain is often addressed as "Honourable So and So," we recognise a title's immense effect on impressionable women. An appellation of "Dr." is automatic 50 pogi points. "Congressman" as in Mike Defensor, Hemani Braganza, Ranjit Shahani and Mar Roxas is plus 50 pogi points. An appendage of MBA, MA or PhD to one's name, plus 30 pogi points. Zero pogi points for "Atty." because that's how ballroom dancing instructors are called (pasensiya na lang ang lahat ng kaibigan kong abogado. Sayang ang 4 to 5 years in law school ninyo dahil mas malaki pa ang kita sa inyo ng mga Atty. sa dance floor).
Note: Witli the Expanded Value Added Pogi Points (E-VAPP) the Pogi Index has now been adjusted,
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