The Tersena as an Ilokano Version of the Public Sphere

I explore the potential of a tersena to be a public sphere where discourses happen and yield fruitful interlocution of reason in relation to social and political issues. I use Habermas’ conception of the public sphere as a framework in discovering the potentiality of the tersena. At the same time, I use the Ilokano Nakem philosophy to root the tersena in its cultural setting. I interviewed a very limited number of customers and vendors who are Ilokano by birth, and in the context of the tersena. I tried to answer the following questions: 1) What are the common topics that are discussed in the tersena? 2) How would the tersena be considered as a public sphere? and 3) How does an Ilokano perceive the discourse in a tersena?