This announcement from the local government of Laguna is trending for all the wrong reasons

Christmas brings out the best in people. It is indeed the season of giving, making everyone a tad bit more generous than usual. One particular local government unit did its best to make sure that every kid within its jurisdiction gets a merry Christmas. The local government of Laguna, like they always do, decided to hold a gift-giving and feeding program for malnourished children on December 18. As is the way with local government units, the Laguna government had a tarpaulin made to announce the charity event. To everyone’s delight, the announcement immediately went trending on social media, but not for the well-meaning reasons behind it.

Take a look at their hilariously-worded tarpaulin below!

According to a report by GMA News Online, the network reached out to Governor Ramil Hernandez whose name appears on the tarp to ask about the announcement. However, it was his social media manager who replied to the network, explaining the intended meaning of the hilarious word that made the tarp trending. “Ang ibig sabihin ng cum dito ay ‘comes with’,” his manager explained.

The news website was then referred to Ms. Arlet Estrosa, the Laguna government’s head of its Gender and Development Program.

In the same report, the sweet 44 year-old lady was said to have quickly clarified what they meant when they had the word printed on the tarp: “Together with’ ang ibig sabihin namin duon sa ‘cum’.” She also shared that their government has been using that particular word for their previous programs too, but this is the first time that an announcement from them went trending because of it.

She explained:

“Wala talagang malisya, kasi ‘together with’ naman talaga ang ibig [sabihin] ng salita. Talagang nagulat na lang kami – hindi pa ako nakakapag-check ng Facebook, may tumawag na lang sa akin.”

The word ‘cum’ is actually a preposition which has roots from the Latin language. Its use gained popularity in the 19th century. In Latin, it literally means ‘with’ or ‘together with’. This explains why the word is often used in giving out academic honors such as ‘cum laude’ – which means ‘with praise’ or ‘with honor’.

A variant of the meaning of the word became more popular than its original, and for good reason. The word ‘cum’ as a noun that means ‘semen or other product of orgasm’ officially went on record in the 1920s. Nowadays, it has become a slang term for when men ejaculate during sexual intercourse.

When Estrosa was asked if she knew the sexual meaning of the word, she vehemently denied it, saying, “Hindi po talaga. Hindi po talaga. Wala po talaga sa amin ang may alam.” In fact, she even asked the news website who reached out to her for help with their local government unit to clarify the meaning of the word for everyone!