Good Omen

After Struggling Early on in Her Career Phoebe Walker Now Likes Her Chances at Stardom.

- John Paulo Aguilera

kutob

ku.tob

The UP Diksyunaryong Filipino has several definitions: It could be a feeling or a belief of what is about to happen or has just transpired; or that guilt pang when your conscience moves you; also the noise one makes when you move around a tight space; it is related to the beat of the heart, and also an upset stomach.

In all its meanings, one can somehow see that this is one of those Pinoy words that doesn’t quite have a true English equivalent. It could be intuition, but kutob carries with it a more palpable feeling; kind of like gut feel, but kutob vibrates deeper. It could be a foreboding or premonition, but these always carry bad news. With kutob you’re not quite sure if it’s good or bad. That kutob is also a verb—kinukutuban ako; kinutuban ako—gives it an even greater sense of immediacy than its English translations. One can even say that a person who always gets that kutob is almost clairvoyant.

Excuse the esoteric nerd in us. It’s just that we got into this strange mix of linguistics and arcana in our conversation with this month’s covergirl, Phoebe Walker, who talked about kutob as she recalled the feeling of winning the Best Suporting Actress award at last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival for her role as the holy but tempting sister Cecilia in Seklusyon.