"Good morning, Maestro," a mother who wanted to enroll her ten-year old son in grade five in San Manuel Elementary School greeted the teacher, Aurelio Mercado.It was enrollment day in the largest public school in the town of San Manuel, the northernmost town of Tarlac bordering the barrio of Carmen in the town of Rosales, in the province of Pangasinan.Maestro is the title given to a teacher by the Ilocanos. It means teacher. San Manuel is an Ilocano town. Ilocano is one of the major ethnic groups in the Philippines. The dialect or language Ilocanos speak is also called Ilocano. Ilocanos compose the majority in most of the towns in Tarlac – San Manuel, Moncada, Paniqui, Anao, Pura, Ramos, Victoria, Santa Ignacia, Mayantoc, Camiling, and San Clemente.