By BIENVENIDA ABAN CRISANTO*
(Speech supposed to have been delivered at a ceremony honoring Dr. Crisanto as a Golden Jubilee and charter member of the Inner Wheel Club of Quezon City, 2010)
Way back in 1960, my husband, Carmelo Crisanto, who was managing a paper mill, was invited to be a charter member of the Rotary Club of Quezon City which was being organized at the time by Ceferino S. Picache, the printer-publisher of Bookman.
A big celebration was held to induct the first set of officers and members, to which my husband was included. As his wife, I was also invited to the induction of officers of the RCQC, and there and then became a charter member of the first Inner Wheel Club of Quezon City. We were honored by the presence of President Carlos P. Garcia and his wife, Leonila during the induction held at the Social Security System Bldg of Quezon City.
From 1960-61 I have been a charter member . Then from 1961-62, I was elected a secretary taking down notes of the minutes of the meetings. Then from 62-63, a director; and then 63-64, the vice-president. Then from 64-65, I was finally put up as the president of the Inner Wheel Club of Quezon City. Later on, they had wanted to reelect me but I told them, “Everyone has a potential to be a president.”
Sisterhood among Rotary Anns
The Rotarians had weekly meetings while we, in the Inner Wheel, also had ours in a separate section in the commercial place, usually the restaurants. Then the women decided to have meetings of our own in the different residences of the Rotary Anns where the homeowner became the host.
We, members, were very close to each other, sharing stories of our families, lovelives, especially the very intimate stories of our relationships with our husbands. We talked about ourselves and our businesses. I received advice from the elder members who were 20 years older than I was. It was very normal way then for the officers of the club to be closely personal with each other.
The more senior members, Amelia Zabarte, Pat Picache, Trining Enriquez, and others, talked about the humble beginnings of their families; later on they shared stories about their husbands. “Ngayon lang sila nagbibinata kasi ngayon lang sila my time – now that their children are grown up and their businesses are successful,” (thereby hinting at their sometimes melancholy life as wives.) I was only 34 then as president, and the others – Picache, were 20 years older. The older members gave me advice "oh you will encounter this… and that…”
“Nagbubuntis na ako noon, I was in the family way, and then all the while, they were giving me advice. Syempre because they were older and more experienced parang anak ako na pinapayuhan. They were already successful in their lines of businesses, having put up their own buildings and enterprises, and with achieving businessmen-husbands to boot while my husband then was still only a manager of a paper mill.
We developed friendship first as the start of our closeness. This was nurtured when after luncheon meetings, we would say to each other, “O pagkatapos ng miting ha, punta tayo sa Divisoria, ” So some of us hied off riding the Mercedes Benz of Mrs. Picache to get to Divisoria just to meander and buy whatever we could, like clothes and shoes. Hubaran ng alahas, pagkatapos, paikut ikot sa Divisoria, naghahanap ng kakaining lumpiang sariwa na gawa ng Intsik..We were well-dressed in the meeting but would dress down, wearing rubber slippers just to go around Divisoria, afraid that our jewels would be snatched or we would get held up. We often looked for that Chinese-cooked lumpiang sariwa. Ang sarap sarap noon, and after eating we would go home filling up the car of Ms. Picache. Puno ang kotse ni Ms. Picache with us – but we did not mind, showing how really close we were to each other. Sisterhood had a real meaning then. Although we were just coasting along as member-wives of our husbands, during my term, we constantly talked with each other remembering our motto, "selflessness in friendship and service to humanity.”
Inner Wheel Nationalization. Initially, the Inner Wheel existed only by district. But in 1967, the Association of the IWC of the Philippines, Inc. was put up to gather all the Inner Wheel Clubs under one organization. Trinidad Legarda, one of the first members of the Inner Wheel club of Manila then became president, and continued her presidency.
Doctor’s = Rotary motto. Actually, before I became a member of the Inner Wheel, I had already my own clinic at San Francisco del Monte in Quezon City, holding medical consultations among the poor patients in the communities around our house and charging only P20 then whereas the going on rate was P80 to P100 per consultation by my colleagues. They would mock me, and say, “Ano ba yang si Beny, ang liit-liit ng bayad?”
But I held up my head high because I knew that I was truly serving the poor who cannot afford to buy medicines, and on top of that, pay for expensive professional fees. I knew I could cure them. After all, even if my practice had been confined to the Philippine patients, I had enough skills to heal patients suffering from tropical diseases. My constant exposure to them eventually made me raise my own professional skills, coupled by exposure to international health discussions.
Medical mission: a roving clinic. When I became president, I conceived and proposed the establishment of a medical clinic because it hewed close to our motto “service to humanity.” What service can I give but the same medical professional skills?
Upon my prodding, I proposed to the Inner Wheel Club of QC during the presidency of Vicky Hechanova, a pharmacist, (67-68) the setting up of a mobile clinic, a parallel undertaking with the other projects of the Rotarians, who had member doctors and dentists to help us. The project was successful as it garnered the support of everyone.
.
Motto: Service to Others. Lacking a permanent venue, our medical mission was mobile. We conducted consultations every Sunday at the covered patios of churches, bringing our trucks of chairs, tables, and other medical supplies to put up a medical clinic.
Our streamers attracted the churchgoers and so we had our hands full. We gave away free medicines some we bought and thers donated by pharmaceutical companies which were eager to promote their products through our medical missions. Later on, when our building was set up, we included dental services not during our missions then. Our member-dentists shared their services and expertise for free. As a pediatrician, I usually attended to the mothers who brought their children with primary complex.
The mission was lively because many Sunday churchgoers became curious and approached us about it. We did not even have to announce anything. Almost everyone wanted to consult us. A great come-on were the many free medicines. Humihingi sila ng multi-vitamins.
For the IWQC staff, we prepared food to make us last the long periods – so long as there were patients, sometimes lasting half a day, we stayed to attend to all the patients. Habang may pasyente, naruruon kami. Usually masses lasted till noon so we had to stay there as well.
There was great camaraderie among us; we felt that we were living our motto: truly a service to others, in a very selfless manner. Vicky Hechanova, married to Ramon, was reelected president of the Inner Wheel Club to continue our highly successful, well-known and popular medical mission. I was the chair of the mission, being a doctor, while she was the president. But we also had member-doctors as well as other volunteer-doctors who were non-members. The other members assisted by dispensing medication, interviewing and arranging the patients to be attended to with dispatch. Rotarian Greg Feliciano, husband of Inner Wheel member Pat Feliciano, head of the Social Welfare Administration or SWA also was there to assist us.
A Home for the Medical Mission. In 1971, Ester Vibal, upon assumption as president, conceived of a building for us to house our clinic more permanently. She proposed to Mayor Norberto Amoranto a place but the latter instead gave us a renewable lease-contract for 25 years the use of a small 200 meter lot in the compound of the Kamuning High School then, now called Quezon City High School. This is adjacent to the Boy Scouts Headquarters inside the QCHS compound along Scout Ybardolaza near corner Kamuning Streets, Quezon City.
The synerygy was tremendous in making the project successful. Donations poured in– from the building materials to the payments for labor. Even an architect-member of Rotary together with other construction engineer-members designed and constructed the building. I was focused on the mission, all the while feeling happy that finally we would have a permanent home for our medical mission. It was an organizational undertaking of the Rotary and the Inner Wheel Clubs of Quezon City, the first in the history of the Rotary Philippines.
When the clinic opened to the public, we offered internal medicine to women patients with children. Humihingi sila ng multi-vitamins for their children. We gave them, actually until now but I add that they need to eat nutritious food and not rely on capsules and tablets to make their bodies strong, healthy and resistant to diseases.
So every Thursday, we had free clinics in the building. Ester being a publisher-printer donated books which we catalogued and shelved in a library and added magazines patronized by students and teachers then.
Other IW Projects
Since the IWP was put up, presidents have had other projects like —tubig sa barrio, Operation Karunungan, and nursery and kindergarten school, Tunay Na Ating Operation Paglingap Sa Elderly, Ako ay Pilipino contest complete with awards of scholarships with financial rewards, such as P10,000 for first, another for second etc. It was our medical missionin 1967 which started this plethora of projects by other Inner Wheel Clubs in the Philippines and now have become implemented nationwide.
Although every IWQC president has her own project, almost all have invariably organized and supported a medical mission yearly. These are beautification, clean and green, coupled with planting trees and plants.
As all Rotarians are owners of companies, banks, businessmen, people who are up there so-called –their wives, Inner Wheel Club members, have enough resources to get involved with the Inner Wheel. During our time, Nenita Evans held a cooking session in a make-shift small kitchenette in our building. Being a nutritionist she saw the need to make the women understand the value of cooking healthy food. The project was not a simple recipe-laden activity but rather one that emphasized preparing inexpensive nutritious foods to help mothers understand the need for healthy servings. Another one was Meding Gutierrez, (74-75) a retired teacher who thought of putting up a daycare and nursery school beside our clinic. This has become a well- earning endeavor, while the clinic is still mainly a non-paying service project. Na overpower kami.
Right now, I have a self-imposed obligation to be in the clinic, previously Thursdays but now Saturdays. I treat families – my TB yung iba. Mostly though, my patients are mothers with their children. With free consultation and free medication, people were attracted to the clinic.
My husband, when still alive, was very supportive – allowing me to be active. He had his own job, but he knew the importance of my practicing my skills among the poor patients and so gave me full support, even helping me with the speeches whenever I was invited to speak at a public gathering. My children, Chuck bring me to the clinic or arranged it, every Saturday while Pixie or Third, my eldest son who has just arrived from New York and is a practicing doctor there, picks me up, to go home to Pasig. My involvement has become a family affair.
Once, we were told by the DOH to ask donations from our patients, because they might sell the medicines. They rationalized that psychologically, the patients would think it a big investment to donate for the medicines. So they would value whatever we had given them. Hence now, we accept payment for medicines.
But our work is very meritorious encouraging others to follow our footsteps. Our building built after ten years of existence of the IWQC has become a permanent place for our meetings, missions, school and other services. This has attracted others to follow suit like the Inner Wheel of Manila which put up their own building in Dao much later than we did.
Service Without Seeking Fame
I want to say this: everybody has been asking me why I have not been included in the national presidency, yet, I have accumulated more than 50 awards. I answer I don’t know. Now people are asking, why I have this red rose of friendship.
I never aspired to be this and that, national president, or national representative because I was thinking that my service as chair of the medical and dental clinic in QC has been enough. Neither did I aspire to be a district chair, which is a qualifying credit to join the higher posts, nationally and internationally. The urgency of attending to the health needs of our people, this Inner Wheel health project, has become my preoccupation, my commitment, my life though sans the trappings of fame and any position can offer.
TB, number one killer
In 1993, a group of Filipino pulmonologists went abroad for a convention They found out the results of a World Health Organization survey that, 70 per cent of world is sick with TB, and 70% of the 70% are in Asia – with China as No. 1, and the Philippines the 5th in the incidence of TB. So these pulmonologists, under the Philippine Coalition against TB which aimed to eradicate TB in the country published in the newspaper that they wanted NGO volunteers in partnership with the government. I volunteered as a member and put up the IWQC to be a member also. Since then, I have been very active in that –attending seminars, lectures, and conventions thinking of myself as a self-appointed Pulmonologist.
Every week, it has been a part of my life to be in the clinic. I feel happy knowing my patients get well, especially when I became a member of this coalition.
I announced to the community that we should adopt communities and we did. These ten marginalized communities are Payatas A and B, Pansol, Kaingin 1 and 2, Pinagbuhatan, and Scout Torillos, among others. In these communities, we conduct our mission, bringing with us, x-rays rented from Quezon Institute, and using them to find out the state of health of our patients. Many patients come over, attracted by free x-rays as well as by medicines. I would also urge them to come again and again till they were well to insure that their health had returned.
The need to help, stemming partly from that Rotarian motto: “service to humanity” is so ingrained in my psyche that I encourage people I meet, even lowly workers like that taxi driver to come over to the clinic to be examined and prescribed medicines, once I notice something wrong with them physically.
Today, I feel very much fulfilled as a doctor. I am sure that if my husband were here, he would relish the same satisfaction I feel – first, of being able to practice my profession outside (initially in the 60’s) and within the Inner Wheel Club; second, of being thanked by my patients who were healed in our clinic, third, of being recognized, and fourth, being awarded for my work by our organization, the Inner Wheel Club of Quezon City. My practice, my commitment have been deepened immeasurably by the constant exposure to the health needs of our kababayan.
However, I rue the dwindling if not lack of funds to sustain our medical operations, compared to what the IWQC has exposed to Gawad Kalinga of P1M.
My wish is that you would raise the level of your financial support as our clinic is naghihikahos. We can hardly pay for Luz, our secretary who is in great need of a home. She is a battered woman living with a jobless husband in their relatives’ house in Bulacan. Our other kababayan are in great need of health sustenance and care until now. I have been spending out of my own finances for the many items to maintain the clinic. If we can grant Gawad Kalinga P1M then I would like to have the same amount if not more for the clinic. After all this clinic has been in existence for 43 years, almost the same length of service of 50 years that I have been involved and it has provided recognition to the Inner Wheel Club of Quezon City through all of 43 years.
My honor is yours too, our honor as self-sacrificing members of the Inner Wheel Club of Quezon City. To the Rotary Club of Quezon City and the Philippines, may our tribe increase. To the Rotary International, let us use our organizations to hold more health and peace missions all over the world.
Let us make everyone live healthily and happily on earth. So be it.
as told to Wilhelmina S. Orozco
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
BARANGAY SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN, QUO VADIS?
Shakespeare said: "Youth's a stuff will not endure," meaning that it is ephemeral. Lilipas din yan. But youth's passing means maturity, a stepping into adulthood, and so we need to enjoy our youthful days and at the same welcome our becoming adults.
But in our country youth is idolized; it is perpetuated as the best stage of life as you can see how the parade of movie and TV stars in our milieu consist of a majority who could not even deliver a straight sentence, most of all a meaningful one for the audience, except how to tease them into maintaining their patronage of themselves.
Hence we need to look into the problems of the Sanggunian Kabataan as it is the breeding ground for serious youth in politics and culture. However, there is now a question on whether to retain SK or not.
But the brouhaha over it is not rising in crescendo although all the negative results from its creation have not been debated upon as fiercely as possible. Actually, it is a very grave issue of morality – that of using the youth for political ends. For what is the SK serving in but a political unit that is not shielded from being manipulated, misused and objectified for the purposes of national and other local officials, especially in terms of perpetuating a powerful political dynasty.
We have actually turned a blind eye on this matter because our thinking is that it is better for the youth to be busy with politics than with drugs. This is very much farfetched. On the contrary, politics is not the best way for any youth to engage in without any mentor who is politically correct and moral. Youth, being immature, with plenty of time to develop their values, shape their behavior, and cultivate their emotions, need guidance and mentors who could help them know what is being responsible politically, economically, socially and culturally.
Has the SK brought in a new healthy culture in the barangay? Has it brought in a more caring and sensitive perspective in looking at the youth? Has it shaped the youth to be more respectful of the elderly or even of those younger? Has it shaped young leaders ready to assume bigger adult roles not only in politics?
All these can be answered by nay. In reality, the SK experience has not brought about a good society for us. Instead, it has been used to milk the people’s coffers, has been a conduit for the youth learning how to manipulate politics, and “learn the ropes” so to speak for staying in the limelight. Just count how many barangays are steeped in tong-its, drugs, and violent competitions for power, economic survival, and cultural access. The SK experience has been a lesson in shaping insensitive and gangster-like youth ready to bow down to a dictator – as it was created to serve the purposes of Marcos during the martial law days. Marcos’ daughter served as the head of the SK to unite the youth for he was thinking of perpetuating himself in power down the family line.
Now why should we perpetuate the same family or families in political power? Are they the only ones bestowed with ruling qualities? And by what right could these leaders claim to lead the people permanently? It would be good if the relatives are morally upright and intellectually prepared to assume leadership roles, but more often than not, they step into the picture without any sterling credentials to back them up save as "relatives of this and that official."
What about democratic rights, especially the right of everyone to participate politically? Are we to be pawns or fencesitters? Supposing some natural event happens to them, God forbid, then who will take over to rule and unite the people to carry on the torch of change?
Actually, we need not abolish the SK, but it should be led morally and intelligently by those in the know. We can do this by creating and maintaining stronger ties between the academe and political units.
In this particular case, I am for making the leaders of the SK come from the senior student councils of the nearest school to the barangay office. The student councils are always advised by academicians who could make them tow the line because they would also grade their performance in school. Hence if a student leader becomes corrupt in the barangay, then he or she could be a candidate for expulsion or dismissal from the school as well. This double check on the youth: the way they conduct themselves in office and at school is the best way to keep them on that stage – that they are still learning how to BELONG to our society, in the most cultured, politically wholesome way.
In fact, given that set-up, whereby the SK leaders or council members would be chosen to lead, the youth might even be able to help the elderly in the barangay in many ways like in the staffing of the library, in training younger members, in research on the best way to tackle the environmental problems as schools are replete with knowledge on these.
Recruitment
Now how should recruitment of leaders be done? No, we need not have elections anymore for leaders. Say, if there are 10 schools near the barangay, give the mandate for all the presidents of the senior high school councils to get involved in the barangay activities. Let them rally all their classmates and the youth in the area to the wholesome activities that they could think of, under the guidance of the principal, the student counsellors and the school advisers for student affairs.
Now the budget for the SK should be disbursed according to the projects that would be conceptualized and implemented by the youth, to be approved and evaluated in coordination by the school and barangay officials concerned.
I think this would be a good set-up because it would also make the link of the academe with community affairs solid, and meaningful instead of their being considered purely an object for intellectual exercise. Everyone would feel safe in their barangays under this set-up because then we would have a totally new social set-up with healthy linkages. While making the school maintain real ties with the barangay, it would also shape the minds of the public into that kind of thinking that “learning” level is not confined only in the academe but also outside of it.
Here is where we would be able to breed real leaders from the youth– steeped in the thought that learning the political principles processes is a serious undertaking, and that moral guidance is important from the very beginning of their stepping into public activities. At the same time, the academes shall be made to seriously study also political science so that they can lead the youth along the proper principles for political involvement.
At the same time, teachers and school officials shall no longer feel inferior to barangay officials just because they operate on a bigger budget on they, but that they have a moral role to play as well in shaping community affairs. They could also make the youth emphasize what are important issues to tackle like maintaining that respect for the elderly, the need to gather other youths away from nefarious activities, and at the same time train them on what is real political governance – theoretically – which they could the youth could then reflect upon and apply as they become active in the barangay.
Along the same vein, the barangay shall be a wholesome hub of community affairs when this happens as the officials there would know that there are higher standards for judging their performance now – not the way they can bring in the votes for the higher officials who court them during election periods – but how they have shaped the youth to be ready to assume leadership after them.
The community would then benefit a lot from this set-up which is the major objective anyway as to why the Local Government Code was written in the first place.
But in our country youth is idolized; it is perpetuated as the best stage of life as you can see how the parade of movie and TV stars in our milieu consist of a majority who could not even deliver a straight sentence, most of all a meaningful one for the audience, except how to tease them into maintaining their patronage of themselves.
Hence we need to look into the problems of the Sanggunian Kabataan as it is the breeding ground for serious youth in politics and culture. However, there is now a question on whether to retain SK or not.
But the brouhaha over it is not rising in crescendo although all the negative results from its creation have not been debated upon as fiercely as possible. Actually, it is a very grave issue of morality – that of using the youth for political ends. For what is the SK serving in but a political unit that is not shielded from being manipulated, misused and objectified for the purposes of national and other local officials, especially in terms of perpetuating a powerful political dynasty.
We have actually turned a blind eye on this matter because our thinking is that it is better for the youth to be busy with politics than with drugs. This is very much farfetched. On the contrary, politics is not the best way for any youth to engage in without any mentor who is politically correct and moral. Youth, being immature, with plenty of time to develop their values, shape their behavior, and cultivate their emotions, need guidance and mentors who could help them know what is being responsible politically, economically, socially and culturally.
Has the SK brought in a new healthy culture in the barangay? Has it brought in a more caring and sensitive perspective in looking at the youth? Has it shaped the youth to be more respectful of the elderly or even of those younger? Has it shaped young leaders ready to assume bigger adult roles not only in politics?
All these can be answered by nay. In reality, the SK experience has not brought about a good society for us. Instead, it has been used to milk the people’s coffers, has been a conduit for the youth learning how to manipulate politics, and “learn the ropes” so to speak for staying in the limelight. Just count how many barangays are steeped in tong-its, drugs, and violent competitions for power, economic survival, and cultural access. The SK experience has been a lesson in shaping insensitive and gangster-like youth ready to bow down to a dictator – as it was created to serve the purposes of Marcos during the martial law days. Marcos’ daughter served as the head of the SK to unite the youth for he was thinking of perpetuating himself in power down the family line.
Now why should we perpetuate the same family or families in political power? Are they the only ones bestowed with ruling qualities? And by what right could these leaders claim to lead the people permanently? It would be good if the relatives are morally upright and intellectually prepared to assume leadership roles, but more often than not, they step into the picture without any sterling credentials to back them up save as "relatives of this and that official."
What about democratic rights, especially the right of everyone to participate politically? Are we to be pawns or fencesitters? Supposing some natural event happens to them, God forbid, then who will take over to rule and unite the people to carry on the torch of change?
Actually, we need not abolish the SK, but it should be led morally and intelligently by those in the know. We can do this by creating and maintaining stronger ties between the academe and political units.
In this particular case, I am for making the leaders of the SK come from the senior student councils of the nearest school to the barangay office. The student councils are always advised by academicians who could make them tow the line because they would also grade their performance in school. Hence if a student leader becomes corrupt in the barangay, then he or she could be a candidate for expulsion or dismissal from the school as well. This double check on the youth: the way they conduct themselves in office and at school is the best way to keep them on that stage – that they are still learning how to BELONG to our society, in the most cultured, politically wholesome way.
In fact, given that set-up, whereby the SK leaders or council members would be chosen to lead, the youth might even be able to help the elderly in the barangay in many ways like in the staffing of the library, in training younger members, in research on the best way to tackle the environmental problems as schools are replete with knowledge on these.
Recruitment
Now how should recruitment of leaders be done? No, we need not have elections anymore for leaders. Say, if there are 10 schools near the barangay, give the mandate for all the presidents of the senior high school councils to get involved in the barangay activities. Let them rally all their classmates and the youth in the area to the wholesome activities that they could think of, under the guidance of the principal, the student counsellors and the school advisers for student affairs.
Now the budget for the SK should be disbursed according to the projects that would be conceptualized and implemented by the youth, to be approved and evaluated in coordination by the school and barangay officials concerned.
I think this would be a good set-up because it would also make the link of the academe with community affairs solid, and meaningful instead of their being considered purely an object for intellectual exercise. Everyone would feel safe in their barangays under this set-up because then we would have a totally new social set-up with healthy linkages. While making the school maintain real ties with the barangay, it would also shape the minds of the public into that kind of thinking that “learning” level is not confined only in the academe but also outside of it.
Here is where we would be able to breed real leaders from the youth– steeped in the thought that learning the political principles processes is a serious undertaking, and that moral guidance is important from the very beginning of their stepping into public activities. At the same time, the academes shall be made to seriously study also political science so that they can lead the youth along the proper principles for political involvement.
At the same time, teachers and school officials shall no longer feel inferior to barangay officials just because they operate on a bigger budget on they, but that they have a moral role to play as well in shaping community affairs. They could also make the youth emphasize what are important issues to tackle like maintaining that respect for the elderly, the need to gather other youths away from nefarious activities, and at the same time train them on what is real political governance – theoretically – which they could the youth could then reflect upon and apply as they become active in the barangay.
Along the same vein, the barangay shall be a wholesome hub of community affairs when this happens as the officials there would know that there are higher standards for judging their performance now – not the way they can bring in the votes for the higher officials who court them during election periods – but how they have shaped the youth to be ready to assume leadership after them.
The community would then benefit a lot from this set-up which is the major objective anyway as to why the Local Government Code was written in the first place.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
ART, MUSIC AND MOVIES
Sundays I used to spend going to listen to an African bishop delivering his impassioned sermon on the passages in the Bible as these relate to life. Then I just completely stopped although I wish i could still listen to him, for reasons that are difficult to express but they have to do with the interpretation of the Bible by one of his bishops.
Actually long before I went to his ministry, I used to go to the Rizal Park Open Air Auditorium to watch the Concert at the Park and watch live cultural presentations. Last Sunday, 15th of August, was not a disappointment at all. I saw a parade of ethnic dances of the De La Salle Dasmarinas Filipiniana dance troupe. They exhibited their knowledge and great skills of ethnic dancing from the north to the southern Philippines, complete with highly colorful costumes and ethnic instruments -- drums, kulintang, and bandurria among others. I was told that the dancers are actually just students of De La Salle University who probably are given scholarships to study the dances and perform them during special occasions like that one last Sunday.I could glean that the directors did a good research on the steps to make them as authentic as possible.
I truly enjoyed the dances because they looked very, very different from the crotch-grabbing dances on tv performed over and over without the dancers knowing(?) that this gesture is Michael Jackson's brand of dancing. Or is it Madonna's?
The dancers gaily performed their dances -- a team imitating animals; singkil which is a very regal dance of the Muslims depicting the courtship of a princess by a datu; maglalatik which everybody knows is tapping coconut shells tied to the bodies of male dancers; bangkuhan -- whereby a couple dance with the man lifting a girl from one bench to the other in different levels while the fiesta folks clap on the sides; Pandanggo sa Ilaw with the women putting the glasses on their heads and then lying on the floor with their heads up trying to balance them so that they would not fall; a group of Igorot boys in G-strings, imitating a headhunting trip; and many more.
All these show that in the academe, there is still hope that our cultural heritage would still be protected, preserved, studied and presented with greater pride.
After that, I went to Phil-Am Theatre and found the Coro Cantabile performing their religious songs with great spirituality. The sopranos had angelic voices and the tenors blended well with them. In the last song, the conductor, Ms. Abesamis sat down on the piano bench and let the choir sing alone -- and they did in harmony and in proper timing, without the conductor!
In the beginning of their performance, a video showed that the Coro also trains people to be choir conductors so that choral singing would grow in every ministry, a very uplifting view of music. It is music not for music alone but for worship, a reaching out to other souls and God. I wonder if the choirs of UP have the same objectives. By the way, Ms. Abesamis was a former Madrigal singer for four years. In contrast, she said that the aim of the Coro is not to win in competitions but to spread the word of God through music.
These presentations made me rethink about our movies. How many great actors have we produced? I remember that our bests are already in their senior years -- Christopher de Leon, Vilma Santos, Lolita Rodriguez, Eddie Garcia, Dolphy and others.
How long can we sustain the breeding of new actors who are truly great in acting? I think that we cannot do that at present. The advertising world is too attractive to the actors because of the large pay given them at the end of a very short shooting period compared to what they would be getting in a movie that lasts for months and months to produce.
And many of our actors have jumped over to that world. Michael V. who is a natural comic does one advert after another so much so that in his TV show he had to dress up like an ermitanyo to hide his face that is seen in many ads shown on TV. Dolphy, our iconic comic was misused in his movie -- Nobody but Juan -- praising Willie Revillame and his TV show, as an ageing fan in a home for the aged, thus bringing his level lower than the latter. KC Concepcion who has the genes of his sensitive actor-father, Gabby Concepcion and his singing mother, Sharon Cuneta, an actress paired with FPJ in the past, is also bitten by the advertising bug to appear in products selling shampoo. Judy Ann Santos, an actress capable of appearing in drama ande comedy has been pulled to promote many products from shades to fitness juisces and simcards.
What can we say about all these? The advertising shorts cannot be a vehicle to honing one's skills in acting, because acting is a discipline. To deepen one's skills is to immerse oneself in a role, in a certain period, in a certain interaction with different characters, etcetera and with the whole gamut of emotions running high or low in every scene. Now this is not possible in an advertising medium.
And so, I hope that the movie producers should take it upon themselves to protect, honor and respect the acting craft -- providing all the necessary support so that their actors do not become mere commodities in the hands of advertisers not fall into accepting model roles in advertising simply because their movie pay is not enough to make them even live for a year.
Even the presentation of products within the movies I find to be in bad taste. I think that a movie should stand on its own -- given all the necessary props necessary to bring out the message of the script. To put a scene whereby John Lloyds gives a pill (and every member of the audience knows that he is the pusher of Biogesic in the advertising movie, jingle and TV advert), is rather inappropriate. I think that is using the actor for an object instead of raising his dignity and his role as a significant part of the movie.
Hence this is the problem of our movie industry I believe: the lack of proper recognition of the movie as an artistic product. There is too much fear of losing investments during production and so a surrender to commercial interests is made to help insure the profitability of the product.
The proliferation now of independent movies is the answer of the present crop of filmmakers against the studio-type and highly commercial movies that make up what is called the movie industry. We have a wide array of different kinds of themes being tackled by the filmmakers and this is good. It shows that everyone has something unique to say filmically. It also gives a good competition to the other media - radio-tv- and print -- as a tool for self-expression.
And so under the administration of P. Noy I hope that we would see a full flowering of the movies as art, especially that his sister, Kris, is into media. I think that this is where he can make her develop the industry and help raise the discipline of acting to a level that could earn us a good position in the movieworld. Especially with the proper connections of Kris, she could very well be the ambassador for all the good movies that would be produced under this administration -- by the way not propaganda films, ha?
I am thinking of a huge investment of the government for movie productions, without strings attached, except a return of investment. Movie producers -- not the likes of Mother Lily but filmmakers with something unique to say should be given all the incentives, provided grants to produce their ideas on film and let the products be our document of how in this particular historical period, we have been able to survive, overcome all trials and then live peacefully, humanely and happily.
Actually long before I went to his ministry, I used to go to the Rizal Park Open Air Auditorium to watch the Concert at the Park and watch live cultural presentations. Last Sunday, 15th of August, was not a disappointment at all. I saw a parade of ethnic dances of the De La Salle Dasmarinas Filipiniana dance troupe. They exhibited their knowledge and great skills of ethnic dancing from the north to the southern Philippines, complete with highly colorful costumes and ethnic instruments -- drums, kulintang, and bandurria among others. I was told that the dancers are actually just students of De La Salle University who probably are given scholarships to study the dances and perform them during special occasions like that one last Sunday.I could glean that the directors did a good research on the steps to make them as authentic as possible.
I truly enjoyed the dances because they looked very, very different from the crotch-grabbing dances on tv performed over and over without the dancers knowing(?) that this gesture is Michael Jackson's brand of dancing. Or is it Madonna's?
The dancers gaily performed their dances -- a team imitating animals; singkil which is a very regal dance of the Muslims depicting the courtship of a princess by a datu; maglalatik which everybody knows is tapping coconut shells tied to the bodies of male dancers; bangkuhan -- whereby a couple dance with the man lifting a girl from one bench to the other in different levels while the fiesta folks clap on the sides; Pandanggo sa Ilaw with the women putting the glasses on their heads and then lying on the floor with their heads up trying to balance them so that they would not fall; a group of Igorot boys in G-strings, imitating a headhunting trip; and many more.
All these show that in the academe, there is still hope that our cultural heritage would still be protected, preserved, studied and presented with greater pride.
After that, I went to Phil-Am Theatre and found the Coro Cantabile performing their religious songs with great spirituality. The sopranos had angelic voices and the tenors blended well with them. In the last song, the conductor, Ms. Abesamis sat down on the piano bench and let the choir sing alone -- and they did in harmony and in proper timing, without the conductor!
In the beginning of their performance, a video showed that the Coro also trains people to be choir conductors so that choral singing would grow in every ministry, a very uplifting view of music. It is music not for music alone but for worship, a reaching out to other souls and God. I wonder if the choirs of UP have the same objectives. By the way, Ms. Abesamis was a former Madrigal singer for four years. In contrast, she said that the aim of the Coro is not to win in competitions but to spread the word of God through music.
These presentations made me rethink about our movies. How many great actors have we produced? I remember that our bests are already in their senior years -- Christopher de Leon, Vilma Santos, Lolita Rodriguez, Eddie Garcia, Dolphy and others.
How long can we sustain the breeding of new actors who are truly great in acting? I think that we cannot do that at present. The advertising world is too attractive to the actors because of the large pay given them at the end of a very short shooting period compared to what they would be getting in a movie that lasts for months and months to produce.
And many of our actors have jumped over to that world. Michael V. who is a natural comic does one advert after another so much so that in his TV show he had to dress up like an ermitanyo to hide his face that is seen in many ads shown on TV. Dolphy, our iconic comic was misused in his movie -- Nobody but Juan -- praising Willie Revillame and his TV show, as an ageing fan in a home for the aged, thus bringing his level lower than the latter. KC Concepcion who has the genes of his sensitive actor-father, Gabby Concepcion and his singing mother, Sharon Cuneta, an actress paired with FPJ in the past, is also bitten by the advertising bug to appear in products selling shampoo. Judy Ann Santos, an actress capable of appearing in drama ande comedy has been pulled to promote many products from shades to fitness juisces and simcards.
What can we say about all these? The advertising shorts cannot be a vehicle to honing one's skills in acting, because acting is a discipline. To deepen one's skills is to immerse oneself in a role, in a certain period, in a certain interaction with different characters, etcetera and with the whole gamut of emotions running high or low in every scene. Now this is not possible in an advertising medium.
And so, I hope that the movie producers should take it upon themselves to protect, honor and respect the acting craft -- providing all the necessary support so that their actors do not become mere commodities in the hands of advertisers not fall into accepting model roles in advertising simply because their movie pay is not enough to make them even live for a year.
Even the presentation of products within the movies I find to be in bad taste. I think that a movie should stand on its own -- given all the necessary props necessary to bring out the message of the script. To put a scene whereby John Lloyds gives a pill (and every member of the audience knows that he is the pusher of Biogesic in the advertising movie, jingle and TV advert), is rather inappropriate. I think that is using the actor for an object instead of raising his dignity and his role as a significant part of the movie.
Hence this is the problem of our movie industry I believe: the lack of proper recognition of the movie as an artistic product. There is too much fear of losing investments during production and so a surrender to commercial interests is made to help insure the profitability of the product.
The proliferation now of independent movies is the answer of the present crop of filmmakers against the studio-type and highly commercial movies that make up what is called the movie industry. We have a wide array of different kinds of themes being tackled by the filmmakers and this is good. It shows that everyone has something unique to say filmically. It also gives a good competition to the other media - radio-tv- and print -- as a tool for self-expression.
And so under the administration of P. Noy I hope that we would see a full flowering of the movies as art, especially that his sister, Kris, is into media. I think that this is where he can make her develop the industry and help raise the discipline of acting to a level that could earn us a good position in the movieworld. Especially with the proper connections of Kris, she could very well be the ambassador for all the good movies that would be produced under this administration -- by the way not propaganda films, ha?
I am thinking of a huge investment of the government for movie productions, without strings attached, except a return of investment. Movie producers -- not the likes of Mother Lily but filmmakers with something unique to say should be given all the incentives, provided grants to produce their ideas on film and let the products be our document of how in this particular historical period, we have been able to survive, overcome all trials and then live peacefully, humanely and happily.
PHILIPPINE MUSLIMS TACKLE TALIBAN?
Today, I read about a couple who were stoned to death in Kabul, Afghanistan. "The Taliban on Sunday ordered their first public executions by stoning since their fall from power nine years ago, killing a young couple who had eloped, according to Afghan officials and a witness." (NYT,Aug. 15
I squirmed in my seat while reading it. I could not imagine how the Taliban leaders, knowing they have the power in their hands to allow anyone to live and breathe could use it to extinguish life as well. Under what authority do they get this power to kill? Who tells them it is all right to kill? If this is from the Koran, I think they are misreading the passages in that book.
Anyway, this incident has made me resolve to read the Koran and truly study its contents. Many people are using the Koran to do their kind of justice in this world and most of the time it is rather disconcerting -- many people are getting killed not out of choice which I think is the only reason for dying.
I was just talking to a Muslim datu at a restaurant and he was smiling all the time, talking about his buy and sell business. I wanted him to sell my painting also but unfortunately,I could not leave it with him for personal reasons. But when I mentioned to him that I would give him copies of my book, he asked me if I had read "Mayor," and another title which is about the history of the Philippines.
Then I deduced that he is nationalistic after all. I had thought they, the Muslims want to separate from our country but then he gave me a different impression which means there is a brighter side to all the peacetalks that would be forthcoming.
I really think the peacetalks should happen but this should be conducted by people not identified with any other religion. I think that this is where the trouble comes in when, say a Catholic official would talk with a Muslim and then begin from an authoritative and messiahnic viewpoint which truly turns off our Muslim brothers and sisters. Or the official would talk in a bureaucratic manner, citing technical matters instead of getting involved in building solidarity, brotherhood and sisterhood with them. A feeling of solidarity should permeate every moment of the peacetalks -- making our Muslim brothers and sisters feel that they are not different from us.
In fact, when I talk to the Muslim vendors, I find they full of humour and humble. They do not exhibit the braggadocio of the Luzonian peoples. They would also allow you to haggle well without feeling angry, unlike those in Batangas and other parts of Luzon. I don't know but really some of the Luzonian vendors I have met have this tendency to identify with their products and so feel too sensitive when the consumers haggle for a lower price. But to the Muslims? You can haggle for hours and hours and they would not lose their patience at all. They see that as part of being in business, and they must think that their products are there to be sold off, and not to be kept as a medal to dignify them.
Hence, once we get our peacetalks going and the Muslims open up, I am sure we would be a leading force in maintaining peace in the world. Our brothers and sisters in the south are not that truly alienated from international politics but they would not embrace the extreme Taliban culture. In fact, we know that they would not even enter into those suicide bombing missions for fear of dying prematurely, as many sectors say also.
Also the men have an egalitarian view of women. How many Muslim women I see in Greenhills shopping malls but more or less than a hundred. They carry their family business with great aplomb, as if it were second nature to them. And this is the kind of image of women that I would like to see in the world -- women respected by their immediate relatives to lead them economically. No Taliban would dare overturn such an image.
Hence, I think that our Muslim leaders have a larger role to play in world not only local politics. We must egg them to extend the peace methods beyond our shores and truly help in attaining a peaceful and equal world. Our Muslim sisters could also help greatly as they have imbibed or they have been influenced by the liberal culture that the American colonizers have instilled in us through education and through interaction in media.
I am sure they could be world leaders in the Muslim world given that chance to serve in the highest echelons of decision-making in the United Nations and all other Islamic gatherings.
Isn't it high time that the leaders of the Muslim world start shedding off their patriarchal stance and look at women as equals. I am sure this would save a lot of lives wasted in wars that seem to have no end.
I squirmed in my seat while reading it. I could not imagine how the Taliban leaders, knowing they have the power in their hands to allow anyone to live and breathe could use it to extinguish life as well. Under what authority do they get this power to kill? Who tells them it is all right to kill? If this is from the Koran, I think they are misreading the passages in that book.
Anyway, this incident has made me resolve to read the Koran and truly study its contents. Many people are using the Koran to do their kind of justice in this world and most of the time it is rather disconcerting -- many people are getting killed not out of choice which I think is the only reason for dying.
I was just talking to a Muslim datu at a restaurant and he was smiling all the time, talking about his buy and sell business. I wanted him to sell my painting also but unfortunately,I could not leave it with him for personal reasons. But when I mentioned to him that I would give him copies of my book, he asked me if I had read "Mayor," and another title which is about the history of the Philippines.
Then I deduced that he is nationalistic after all. I had thought they, the Muslims want to separate from our country but then he gave me a different impression which means there is a brighter side to all the peacetalks that would be forthcoming.
I really think the peacetalks should happen but this should be conducted by people not identified with any other religion. I think that this is where the trouble comes in when, say a Catholic official would talk with a Muslim and then begin from an authoritative and messiahnic viewpoint which truly turns off our Muslim brothers and sisters. Or the official would talk in a bureaucratic manner, citing technical matters instead of getting involved in building solidarity, brotherhood and sisterhood with them. A feeling of solidarity should permeate every moment of the peacetalks -- making our Muslim brothers and sisters feel that they are not different from us.
In fact, when I talk to the Muslim vendors, I find they full of humour and humble. They do not exhibit the braggadocio of the Luzonian peoples. They would also allow you to haggle well without feeling angry, unlike those in Batangas and other parts of Luzon. I don't know but really some of the Luzonian vendors I have met have this tendency to identify with their products and so feel too sensitive when the consumers haggle for a lower price. But to the Muslims? You can haggle for hours and hours and they would not lose their patience at all. They see that as part of being in business, and they must think that their products are there to be sold off, and not to be kept as a medal to dignify them.
Hence, once we get our peacetalks going and the Muslims open up, I am sure we would be a leading force in maintaining peace in the world. Our brothers and sisters in the south are not that truly alienated from international politics but they would not embrace the extreme Taliban culture. In fact, we know that they would not even enter into those suicide bombing missions for fear of dying prematurely, as many sectors say also.
Also the men have an egalitarian view of women. How many Muslim women I see in Greenhills shopping malls but more or less than a hundred. They carry their family business with great aplomb, as if it were second nature to them. And this is the kind of image of women that I would like to see in the world -- women respected by their immediate relatives to lead them economically. No Taliban would dare overturn such an image.
Hence, I think that our Muslim leaders have a larger role to play in world not only local politics. We must egg them to extend the peace methods beyond our shores and truly help in attaining a peaceful and equal world. Our Muslim sisters could also help greatly as they have imbibed or they have been influenced by the liberal culture that the American colonizers have instilled in us through education and through interaction in media.
I am sure they could be world leaders in the Muslim world given that chance to serve in the highest echelons of decision-making in the United Nations and all other Islamic gatherings.
Isn't it high time that the leaders of the Muslim world start shedding off their patriarchal stance and look at women as equals. I am sure this would save a lot of lives wasted in wars that seem to have no end.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
BORDERLESS EARTH AS WE REMEMBER THE 21ST OF SEPTEMBER 1972
By Wilhelmina S. Orozco
When I was in college, it was mod to love our country right or wrong, but it was wrong all the way to love a dictator. This was why when martial law on the 21st of September 1972 was declared, we had known about it already. Why because the law was bandied about as a last resort to quell the group/s that were constantly harping at demonstrations and crying “Ibagsak and Imperialism, Feudalismo at Burukrata Kapitalismo." Unfortunately, no one, not even those in media knew how to counter it when martial law was declared. Marcos arrested people – those in media, his political opponents – those who were potential “destabilizers” of his one man rule. We were shocked by his rule and me, I was just a fencesitter of some sort –looking at the various sceneries unfolding before us.
After a few months, the urban guerrilla forces were created– those who held the pen, and those who hold the guns. People joined secretly the underground movement. I was one of those who had taken time to know what kind of participation I really wanted to take because at that time, I was busy with my two children who were born one after the other in a span of two years. But I valued love of country, of freeing ourselves from the clutches of one-man rule, as I had known then what it was to have lived under a democratic space. And what kind of space was that? A space that allowed us to speak, sing freely and to choose the kind of career we wanted for myself - space in the arts.
Actually, one time, when my friend B___ was about to leave the country for the States, my daughter and I hanged out in her house one Christmas; my usband and son were in Mindanao at that time. To while away the time, I started to play Christmas songs on the piano and later on segued to “Bayan Ko, ” composed by Constancio de Guzman and lyrics by Jose Corazon de Jesus. But then my friend hushed me and said “Shh, huwag masyadong malakas; baka ka marinig ng kapitbahay.” As I never want to leave a musical piece unfinished I played the song again till the end, this time, pianissimo. My friend became quite apprehensive and my daughter she did was innocent of what we were going through. But I knew that beside me, my friend and her sisters were humming the tune, too. The song I was playing was the signature piece at all mass rallies in the country before martial law was declared. Singing it was a recognition of its significance, (it was composed during the American period in the Philippines) to unite the people against the colonial rule of Americans and hence our singing at that time also signified the continuing saga of our people to free ourselves from the all forms of colonial oppression the Spanish, american, British and Japanese, including the dictatorship.
When I left the country in 1981,we were still under martial law. I did not experience any feeling of elation; leaving was like a duty for me – I had to tell the world what was happening to my country. Marcos had been able to hush the whole country, and I had experienced it first hand. In one of my film projects then on the Christian-Muslim reconciliation in Mindanao, which brought us all over the island, from Cotabato (Kiamba and Sarangani) to Davao, and Zamboanga my team and I went through heavily guarded places. But we had a mission to finish: tell the world about what kind of genocidal acts Marcos was doing there, displacing the people from their homes, and wreaking havoc on the lives of the people, most especially the children. The nun, who later on I learned left the convent, and my media group had to send our materials to Manila under deeply secret circumstances. The Super 8mm films, which were in cassette form at the time,and which I had shot, as well as the photo film rolls had to be transported to Manila for editing. But we could not carry them in our bags because of the possible extreme searching that could be done of our luggages at the airport. Hence we left them with our religious companion.
Safely they arrived in Manila and my team and I were able to finish our opus -- a series of photos, together with the audio-visual presentation about the issue which I scripted and edited with visuals. How did the filmrolls arrive? The beautiful nun simply wrapped everything in napkins and put them in a box of sandwiches to hide them from the prying eyes of the military at the airports. She was a very good disguised courier who simply laughed at every minute of deceiving the unwanted authorities at the time.
In May 1981, I was invited to present my films at the First International Conference of Women in Film and Video in Amsterdam courtesy of Cinemien and my friend Annette Forster, a very tall woman, more than 6 ft and who was more beautiful than Grace Kelly. Upon reaching Europe, I felt and knew that my life was changing already. And my love of country surfaced as I was savoring all the new cultures I had encountered.
There and then, I wanted to expand my democratic space as much possible in the continent. I wanted to see how the people lived freely; under what circumstance did they and could they assert their freedoms?
Thus I toured the continent, alone, because I could not find another Filipino or Filipina to come with me. Almost all of them were busy working as domestic helpers or as a seafarer with very few days onshore. But I could not be deterred from traveling and I was not disappointed at all.
The political movements there were in full flowering, from all types of peaceful revolutions enshrining the right not to be homeless, the right to have a choice on one’s sexual partner, the right to speak and to assert to their local and national officials what freedoms (even from want of film production capital) they could have. Even the migrants – from Eastern Europe escaping Russia’s hegemonistic policies, the Latin Americans especially the Chilenos who were anti-Pinochet the butcher-ruler, the Cubanos who were suffering from US embargo, the El Salvadorenos whose liberation music songs were simply invigorating were there. I met South Africans (I found out not all Africans were black; some were white -- migrants from Europe), Argentinians, Egyptians, and almost all nationalities. Not only sectoral but even children’s and women’s rights were recognized so that they could earn allowances from the State should the man abandon them and hitch it off with another partner or leave the country for another in the continent.
It was the eighties and despite the presence of conservative forces, my liberal friends and acquaintances were not afraid to speak out. I remember particularly when I spoke at a gathering of migrant women. I was allowed in for free and I spoke what kind of humiliating childhood I suffered from. In my country, I told the women, and one even asked me to repeat what I had said on the floor in front of a video camera, it was ugly to be brown, and I had to bleach myself in order to look fair, as fair as my sister who took after my mother who was one-fourth Chinese, fair-looking but with features that were a mix of her European grandma heritage and Filipino father. (So now you will know that my features are not really All that ‘Filipino.’”)
And so under those circumstances, love of country was extremely admired, appreciated and nurtured, even in those foreign lands in Europe. Each of us in that setting in Europe – having come from different parts of the globe were united in asserting ourselves to be free of all inquities that could hamper our full exercise of our citizenship.
I took all my experiences in Europe like a religious duty that would finally end in heaven. One time, a Mexican filmmaker was so astonished at my political assertions through the films that I had brought that he held my cheek and then told me, “read the book by this indigenous woman who fought the State for the right of her people to stay in their ancestral land.”
After that meeting, I readily looked for that book and found it at Ujamaa Center, a store put up by alternative groups to sell books from Third World countries those suffering from iniquitous and imbalanced economic ties with the First World countries. I savored the book of the indigenous woman and more books – detailing the struggles against racism, militarism, dictatorship – especially the successful one in Nicaragua, the hottest country at that time, as the Farabundo Marti Liberation Front and the Sandinistas had just overcome the country’s dictator.
Hence, when I returned in Christmas of 1982, I knew already what to do. I had to speak out. And I was amazed at myself at that time as I did not feel weak to confront the dictator and his military machine that was propping him up. I spoke at many gatherings, most especially about women’s liberation, and how different it is from the liberation of women in the west who have already institutionalized their freedoms, while we were still struggling with the right to free speech, assembly, and all other basic human rights. Some of my friends found it odd for me to sound very foreign and so I started writing, writing, writing. I knew that once my thoughts were printed, people would find them worthwhile. Talking was not enough. So i spent my saved 200 dollars to print my first book, Philippine Women in the Third World.
Today, as I look back to my experiences, I feel proud that I underwent them and am willing to go through them all over again with greater vigor.
I believe now that the greatest struggle of all is seeing the people in my country free from all forms of dictatorships, free to speak, sing, communicate, and exercise all other freedoms so necessary for being alive.
Today also, the sense of patriotism I carry is no longer confined to our country, the Philippines. I feel that I must share that passion for loving the country with all other citizens of the world for our kind of love goes beyond boundaries.
We know that the Philippines is the land of our birth and it has nurtured us to be what we are – caring and nurturing -- to the point that the government of Marcos and the succeeding ones exploited it by sending our young, energetic, and robust workers and professionals to work abroad to earn dollars for their families and the country, no matter what kind of iniquitous bilateral agreements were made with the receiving country. (No president has ever dared to stop that and am so glad that PNoy had hinted in his speech when he assumed the presidency that he would stop that disastrous economic solution which uprooted and separated the overseas Filipino workers and professionals from their families and the soil of their birth through that line, “Puwede na tayong mangarap muli (We can dream again.)” and which means everyone can dream of a better life without having to leave this country.
Now the greater concern of mine is more earthbound, no longer confined to our country. The greater question that eggs me to live on is how do we make the earth a peaceful place for everyone? In particular, how do we make the Arab and Muslim men value women as their equals? How do we stop the terrorism that stalks the earth? Does using guns stop all forms of violence or does it only exacerbate the situation? What is the role of superpowers in this political game?
Two days ago, I came across a book on American government written by a man who must have worked with the defense as his work is replete with data that could not readily be accessed by anyone. It said in that book that certain states in the United States have factories that manufacture bullets and other military paraphernalia. Then I suddenly remembered a Filipino inventor who was very proud of his invention: “Ang aking naimbento ay isang bala na kapag tumama sa katawan ng tao ay iikot ito sa loob at mamamatay ang tao. Hindi lalabas sa kabilang bahagi ng katawan ng tao ang bala kundi magpapaikut-ikot ito sa loob ng katawan niya.” I squirmed in my seat when he said that because I had thought then that it was the height of insensitivity to the human body. This is because to me, everyone, terrorist or not has the right to live. If I should change the mind of a terrorist I would do it through education, and not through the bullet nor the bomb.
Hence, that book opened my eyes to the reality that we are living in a world where destruction of human beings appears normal, including the bombing of the earth and these are being committed day in and day out. Under such circumstances, I can only dream of a wonderful world, for my powers rest only on the creative aspects of revealing my thoughts through writing, painting, drama and film. I will not and cannot even try to confront the terrorists for I am very puny compared to the arms that they carry.
Despite all the hardships that we could possibly be experiencing in realizing a world of peace, I still have that glimmer of hope that certain individuals in different continents are doing their share of equalizing the status of peoples on earth, of making the earth a livable place to live in, and a place where children, women, men and everybody else can exist together in harmony. Thus, I think that as we go through such difficulties and bear our dreams of a better world, I foresee our embracing the earth as a borderless planet – where everyone can freely move about without meeting any obstacle.
But then our greater task now is how to change the minds of people so that they would embrace that idea of a borderless earth where everyone could be free to go to that or those places where they could be human, could be treated humanely, and be able to share their lives for the good of everyone, and the earth. And should we find iniquities or obstacles that do not make this worthwhile pursuing, then that would urge us to be assertive and to show that those inquities and obstacles need to be obliterated for they hamper our exercising our humanity.
Now is there still a need for love of country at this point? Our love of country will always stay there in our hearts forever. No one can take that away from us. I think that our country keeps nurturing in us those ideas that make us what we are right now.
The Philippines is a unique country and so are all the others in their own way. Each human being will always know and remember that their roots lie in those countries of their birth, no matter what kind of encounters they experience. And everyday of our life, we will know that we were born in this country and no one can take that knowledge away from us nor should anyone try to.
It is like saying, I was born with this skin, and so I shall love it. Hence, we say, I was born in the Philippines and I love her. And should our experiences of living in this country be more intense than all others, then that should not be taken against us by anyone. Nor should anyone call it jingoism. Why because our experiences would account for all the novel and unique ways of our thoughts, our behaviors, our feelings and for our knowing and understanding the world. I am sure all other peoples of the world would feel the same, or I hope so.
When I was in college, it was mod to love our country right or wrong, but it was wrong all the way to love a dictator. This was why when martial law on the 21st of September 1972 was declared, we had known about it already. Why because the law was bandied about as a last resort to quell the group/s that were constantly harping at demonstrations and crying “Ibagsak and Imperialism, Feudalismo at Burukrata Kapitalismo." Unfortunately, no one, not even those in media knew how to counter it when martial law was declared. Marcos arrested people – those in media, his political opponents – those who were potential “destabilizers” of his one man rule. We were shocked by his rule and me, I was just a fencesitter of some sort –looking at the various sceneries unfolding before us.
After a few months, the urban guerrilla forces were created– those who held the pen, and those who hold the guns. People joined secretly the underground movement. I was one of those who had taken time to know what kind of participation I really wanted to take because at that time, I was busy with my two children who were born one after the other in a span of two years. But I valued love of country, of freeing ourselves from the clutches of one-man rule, as I had known then what it was to have lived under a democratic space. And what kind of space was that? A space that allowed us to speak, sing freely and to choose the kind of career we wanted for myself - space in the arts.
Actually, one time, when my friend B___ was about to leave the country for the States, my daughter and I hanged out in her house one Christmas; my usband and son were in Mindanao at that time. To while away the time, I started to play Christmas songs on the piano and later on segued to “Bayan Ko, ” composed by Constancio de Guzman and lyrics by Jose Corazon de Jesus. But then my friend hushed me and said “Shh, huwag masyadong malakas; baka ka marinig ng kapitbahay.” As I never want to leave a musical piece unfinished I played the song again till the end, this time, pianissimo. My friend became quite apprehensive and my daughter she did was innocent of what we were going through. But I knew that beside me, my friend and her sisters were humming the tune, too. The song I was playing was the signature piece at all mass rallies in the country before martial law was declared. Singing it was a recognition of its significance, (it was composed during the American period in the Philippines) to unite the people against the colonial rule of Americans and hence our singing at that time also signified the continuing saga of our people to free ourselves from the all forms of colonial oppression the Spanish, american, British and Japanese, including the dictatorship.
When I left the country in 1981,we were still under martial law. I did not experience any feeling of elation; leaving was like a duty for me – I had to tell the world what was happening to my country. Marcos had been able to hush the whole country, and I had experienced it first hand. In one of my film projects then on the Christian-Muslim reconciliation in Mindanao, which brought us all over the island, from Cotabato (Kiamba and Sarangani) to Davao, and Zamboanga my team and I went through heavily guarded places. But we had a mission to finish: tell the world about what kind of genocidal acts Marcos was doing there, displacing the people from their homes, and wreaking havoc on the lives of the people, most especially the children. The nun, who later on I learned left the convent, and my media group had to send our materials to Manila under deeply secret circumstances. The Super 8mm films, which were in cassette form at the time,and which I had shot, as well as the photo film rolls had to be transported to Manila for editing. But we could not carry them in our bags because of the possible extreme searching that could be done of our luggages at the airport. Hence we left them with our religious companion.
Safely they arrived in Manila and my team and I were able to finish our opus -- a series of photos, together with the audio-visual presentation about the issue which I scripted and edited with visuals. How did the filmrolls arrive? The beautiful nun simply wrapped everything in napkins and put them in a box of sandwiches to hide them from the prying eyes of the military at the airports. She was a very good disguised courier who simply laughed at every minute of deceiving the unwanted authorities at the time.
In May 1981, I was invited to present my films at the First International Conference of Women in Film and Video in Amsterdam courtesy of Cinemien and my friend Annette Forster, a very tall woman, more than 6 ft and who was more beautiful than Grace Kelly. Upon reaching Europe, I felt and knew that my life was changing already. And my love of country surfaced as I was savoring all the new cultures I had encountered.
There and then, I wanted to expand my democratic space as much possible in the continent. I wanted to see how the people lived freely; under what circumstance did they and could they assert their freedoms?
Thus I toured the continent, alone, because I could not find another Filipino or Filipina to come with me. Almost all of them were busy working as domestic helpers or as a seafarer with very few days onshore. But I could not be deterred from traveling and I was not disappointed at all.
The political movements there were in full flowering, from all types of peaceful revolutions enshrining the right not to be homeless, the right to have a choice on one’s sexual partner, the right to speak and to assert to their local and national officials what freedoms (even from want of film production capital) they could have. Even the migrants – from Eastern Europe escaping Russia’s hegemonistic policies, the Latin Americans especially the Chilenos who were anti-Pinochet the butcher-ruler, the Cubanos who were suffering from US embargo, the El Salvadorenos whose liberation music songs were simply invigorating were there. I met South Africans (I found out not all Africans were black; some were white -- migrants from Europe), Argentinians, Egyptians, and almost all nationalities. Not only sectoral but even children’s and women’s rights were recognized so that they could earn allowances from the State should the man abandon them and hitch it off with another partner or leave the country for another in the continent.
It was the eighties and despite the presence of conservative forces, my liberal friends and acquaintances were not afraid to speak out. I remember particularly when I spoke at a gathering of migrant women. I was allowed in for free and I spoke what kind of humiliating childhood I suffered from. In my country, I told the women, and one even asked me to repeat what I had said on the floor in front of a video camera, it was ugly to be brown, and I had to bleach myself in order to look fair, as fair as my sister who took after my mother who was one-fourth Chinese, fair-looking but with features that were a mix of her European grandma heritage and Filipino father. (So now you will know that my features are not really All that ‘Filipino.’”)
And so under those circumstances, love of country was extremely admired, appreciated and nurtured, even in those foreign lands in Europe. Each of us in that setting in Europe – having come from different parts of the globe were united in asserting ourselves to be free of all inquities that could hamper our full exercise of our citizenship.
I took all my experiences in Europe like a religious duty that would finally end in heaven. One time, a Mexican filmmaker was so astonished at my political assertions through the films that I had brought that he held my cheek and then told me, “read the book by this indigenous woman who fought the State for the right of her people to stay in their ancestral land.”
After that meeting, I readily looked for that book and found it at Ujamaa Center, a store put up by alternative groups to sell books from Third World countries those suffering from iniquitous and imbalanced economic ties with the First World countries. I savored the book of the indigenous woman and more books – detailing the struggles against racism, militarism, dictatorship – especially the successful one in Nicaragua, the hottest country at that time, as the Farabundo Marti Liberation Front and the Sandinistas had just overcome the country’s dictator.
Hence, when I returned in Christmas of 1982, I knew already what to do. I had to speak out. And I was amazed at myself at that time as I did not feel weak to confront the dictator and his military machine that was propping him up. I spoke at many gatherings, most especially about women’s liberation, and how different it is from the liberation of women in the west who have already institutionalized their freedoms, while we were still struggling with the right to free speech, assembly, and all other basic human rights. Some of my friends found it odd for me to sound very foreign and so I started writing, writing, writing. I knew that once my thoughts were printed, people would find them worthwhile. Talking was not enough. So i spent my saved 200 dollars to print my first book, Philippine Women in the Third World.
Today, as I look back to my experiences, I feel proud that I underwent them and am willing to go through them all over again with greater vigor.
I believe now that the greatest struggle of all is seeing the people in my country free from all forms of dictatorships, free to speak, sing, communicate, and exercise all other freedoms so necessary for being alive.
Today also, the sense of patriotism I carry is no longer confined to our country, the Philippines. I feel that I must share that passion for loving the country with all other citizens of the world for our kind of love goes beyond boundaries.
We know that the Philippines is the land of our birth and it has nurtured us to be what we are – caring and nurturing -- to the point that the government of Marcos and the succeeding ones exploited it by sending our young, energetic, and robust workers and professionals to work abroad to earn dollars for their families and the country, no matter what kind of iniquitous bilateral agreements were made with the receiving country. (No president has ever dared to stop that and am so glad that PNoy had hinted in his speech when he assumed the presidency that he would stop that disastrous economic solution which uprooted and separated the overseas Filipino workers and professionals from their families and the soil of their birth through that line, “Puwede na tayong mangarap muli (We can dream again.)” and which means everyone can dream of a better life without having to leave this country.
Now the greater concern of mine is more earthbound, no longer confined to our country. The greater question that eggs me to live on is how do we make the earth a peaceful place for everyone? In particular, how do we make the Arab and Muslim men value women as their equals? How do we stop the terrorism that stalks the earth? Does using guns stop all forms of violence or does it only exacerbate the situation? What is the role of superpowers in this political game?
Two days ago, I came across a book on American government written by a man who must have worked with the defense as his work is replete with data that could not readily be accessed by anyone. It said in that book that certain states in the United States have factories that manufacture bullets and other military paraphernalia. Then I suddenly remembered a Filipino inventor who was very proud of his invention: “Ang aking naimbento ay isang bala na kapag tumama sa katawan ng tao ay iikot ito sa loob at mamamatay ang tao. Hindi lalabas sa kabilang bahagi ng katawan ng tao ang bala kundi magpapaikut-ikot ito sa loob ng katawan niya.” I squirmed in my seat when he said that because I had thought then that it was the height of insensitivity to the human body. This is because to me, everyone, terrorist or not has the right to live. If I should change the mind of a terrorist I would do it through education, and not through the bullet nor the bomb.
Hence, that book opened my eyes to the reality that we are living in a world where destruction of human beings appears normal, including the bombing of the earth and these are being committed day in and day out. Under such circumstances, I can only dream of a wonderful world, for my powers rest only on the creative aspects of revealing my thoughts through writing, painting, drama and film. I will not and cannot even try to confront the terrorists for I am very puny compared to the arms that they carry.
Despite all the hardships that we could possibly be experiencing in realizing a world of peace, I still have that glimmer of hope that certain individuals in different continents are doing their share of equalizing the status of peoples on earth, of making the earth a livable place to live in, and a place where children, women, men and everybody else can exist together in harmony. Thus, I think that as we go through such difficulties and bear our dreams of a better world, I foresee our embracing the earth as a borderless planet – where everyone can freely move about without meeting any obstacle.
But then our greater task now is how to change the minds of people so that they would embrace that idea of a borderless earth where everyone could be free to go to that or those places where they could be human, could be treated humanely, and be able to share their lives for the good of everyone, and the earth. And should we find iniquities or obstacles that do not make this worthwhile pursuing, then that would urge us to be assertive and to show that those inquities and obstacles need to be obliterated for they hamper our exercising our humanity.
Now is there still a need for love of country at this point? Our love of country will always stay there in our hearts forever. No one can take that away from us. I think that our country keeps nurturing in us those ideas that make us what we are right now.
The Philippines is a unique country and so are all the others in their own way. Each human being will always know and remember that their roots lie in those countries of their birth, no matter what kind of encounters they experience. And everyday of our life, we will know that we were born in this country and no one can take that knowledge away from us nor should anyone try to.
It is like saying, I was born with this skin, and so I shall love it. Hence, we say, I was born in the Philippines and I love her. And should our experiences of living in this country be more intense than all others, then that should not be taken against us by anyone. Nor should anyone call it jingoism. Why because our experiences would account for all the novel and unique ways of our thoughts, our behaviors, our feelings and for our knowing and understanding the world. I am sure all other peoples of the world would feel the same, or I hope so.
Friday, August 13, 2010
GOVERNANCE AND POPULARITY
Any governing official of the State is bound to get sunk in a dilemma: to perform a task and earn the ire or favor of the people, or to not perform a task and earn the same either/or.
In a country steeped in grave economic problems, the officials are always drawn into drawing up new taxes or increasing the existing ones. They are faced with the task of keeping the government afloat and dismissing all criticisms of the style or substance of their governance, or of keeping the status quo and then never mind those who desire changes.
On the other hand, in the case of taxation, any move to increase or create new taxes, such as the toll tax, those that would affect vast numbers -- the riding public, the drivers and conductors, and the operators of vehicles -- the move is bound to result in the thinking that the government is anti-people. The move is considered unpopular and hence a reaction, whether tame or vehement, is considered proper.
It is the task of government to put up taxes. However, I think implementation of any form of tax should undergo public hearings first.
so that the people would be part of the process, instead of being mere recipients of onerous or burdensome extra expenses.
It is not proper nor appropriate for a governing group to impose such a tax especially when the people are just recovering from an inept ruler (just after two months) whose style smacked of insensitive orders and actions detrimental to the people's health - emotional, mental, physical; economic condition, and politically stable and humane perspectives.
Taxation will always draw flak from the people, especially from the lower brackets whose food and shelter are drawn from daily eking out a living. It is not Christian to draw more blood from them, nor is it humane at this point. I do think that additional taxation that will affect large numbers of people will only make the people think that this new administration is no different from the past.
The tax officials need to rethink their policies and find out in what other ways they can increase the coffers of the government without creating instability. In fact,they should just pore into the ITRs of all individual and company taxpayers first and find out who and which has been
remiss in paying the correct taxes.
Let those who profited from the past administration bear the brunt of the people's anger and anxieties over our dire economic straits first before we should carry on the burden of making this administration work according to the principles and commitment laid down in day one.
Let enlightened economic governance rule the country -- which means pro-people first -- instead of thrusting us into the pit of being milking cows again.
In a country steeped in grave economic problems, the officials are always drawn into drawing up new taxes or increasing the existing ones. They are faced with the task of keeping the government afloat and dismissing all criticisms of the style or substance of their governance, or of keeping the status quo and then never mind those who desire changes.
On the other hand, in the case of taxation, any move to increase or create new taxes, such as the toll tax, those that would affect vast numbers -- the riding public, the drivers and conductors, and the operators of vehicles -- the move is bound to result in the thinking that the government is anti-people. The move is considered unpopular and hence a reaction, whether tame or vehement, is considered proper.
It is the task of government to put up taxes. However, I think implementation of any form of tax should undergo public hearings first.
so that the people would be part of the process, instead of being mere recipients of onerous or burdensome extra expenses.
It is not proper nor appropriate for a governing group to impose such a tax especially when the people are just recovering from an inept ruler (just after two months) whose style smacked of insensitive orders and actions detrimental to the people's health - emotional, mental, physical; economic condition, and politically stable and humane perspectives.
Taxation will always draw flak from the people, especially from the lower brackets whose food and shelter are drawn from daily eking out a living. It is not Christian to draw more blood from them, nor is it humane at this point. I do think that additional taxation that will affect large numbers of people will only make the people think that this new administration is no different from the past.
The tax officials need to rethink their policies and find out in what other ways they can increase the coffers of the government without creating instability. In fact,they should just pore into the ITRs of all individual and company taxpayers first and find out who and which has been
remiss in paying the correct taxes.
Let those who profited from the past administration bear the brunt of the people's anger and anxieties over our dire economic straits first before we should carry on the burden of making this administration work according to the principles and commitment laid down in day one.
Let enlightened economic governance rule the country -- which means pro-people first -- instead of thrusting us into the pit of being milking cows again.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
ANSWER THESE PLEASE BEFORE YOU ENTER THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY
Have you ever been arrested or convicted for any offense or crime, even though subject of a pardon, amnesty, or other similar action?
Yes No
Have you ever violated, or engaged in a conspiracy to violate, any law relating to controlled substances?
Yes No
Are you coming to the United States to engage in prostitution or unlawful commercialized vice or have you been engaged in prostitution or procuring prostitutes within the past 10 years?
Yes No
Have you ever been involved in, or do you seek to engage in, money laundering?
Yes No
Do you seek to engage in espionage, sabotage, export control violations, or any other illegal activity while in the United States?
Yes No
Do you seek to engage in terrorist activities while in the United States or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities?
Yes No
Have you ever or do you intend to provide financial assistance or other support to terrorists or terrorist organizations?
Yes No
Are you a member or representative of a terrorist organization?
Yes No
Have you ever ordered, incited, committed, assisted, or otherwise participated in genocide?
Yes No
Have you ever committed, ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in torture?
Yes No
Have you committed, ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in extrajudicial killings, political killings, or other acts of violence?
Yes No
Have you, while serving as a government official, been responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom?
Yes No
Have you ever withheld custody of a U.S. citizen child outside the United States from a person granted legal custody by a U.S. court?
Yes No
Have you voted in the United States in violation of any law or regulation?
Yes No
Have you ever renounced United States citizenship for the purpose of avoiding taxation?
Yes No
Have you attended a public elementary school on student (F) status or a public secondary school after November 30, 1996 without reimbursing the school?
Yes No
Yes No
Have you ever violated, or engaged in a conspiracy to violate, any law relating to controlled substances?
Yes No
Are you coming to the United States to engage in prostitution or unlawful commercialized vice or have you been engaged in prostitution or procuring prostitutes within the past 10 years?
Yes No
Have you ever been involved in, or do you seek to engage in, money laundering?
Yes No
Do you seek to engage in espionage, sabotage, export control violations, or any other illegal activity while in the United States?
Yes No
Do you seek to engage in terrorist activities while in the United States or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities?
Yes No
Have you ever or do you intend to provide financial assistance or other support to terrorists or terrorist organizations?
Yes No
Are you a member or representative of a terrorist organization?
Yes No
Have you ever ordered, incited, committed, assisted, or otherwise participated in genocide?
Yes No
Have you ever committed, ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in torture?
Yes No
Have you committed, ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in extrajudicial killings, political killings, or other acts of violence?
Yes No
Have you, while serving as a government official, been responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom?
Yes No
Have you ever withheld custody of a U.S. citizen child outside the United States from a person granted legal custody by a U.S. court?
Yes No
Have you voted in the United States in violation of any law or regulation?
Yes No
Have you ever renounced United States citizenship for the purpose of avoiding taxation?
Yes No
Have you attended a public elementary school on student (F) status or a public secondary school after November 30, 1996 without reimbursing the school?
Yes No
STARTING SPORTS WITH NUTS, CHICKENS AND PIGS
Folks, the announcement on the 2nd International Marathon Race that will be held in Quezon City on December 5, 2010 has encouraged Bob Gabuna, an intellectual-farmer to reveal his childhood secret desire to be a sportsman. His reminiscences allow us a view of our past sports history in the provinces when aspiring athletes hurdled, overcame and even made use of natural obstacles to hone their physical, mental and emotional skills necessary for the discipline. Listen to his story:
E: BOB WHAT IS A 3,000 METER RUN?
BOB: 3 000 meter run – have you experienced running in a 400 meter oval race track? If you could make seven laps that is 3K run. (For) 10 000 meter run - you have to execute 25 rounds.
The above competitive race is not meant for speed; but, endurance.
Di na ako nag attempt ng 10,000K meter run dahil talo ako ng mga matangkad na kalaban. ang isang stride nila, eh, dalawang sikad ko. (I did not attempt the 10,000K run because I knew I would be defeated by tall competitors. One stride of theirs is equivalent to two for me.)
Hindi ako na encouraged ng mother ko to pursue athletics kasi wala raw pera. (I was not encouraged by my mother to pursue athletics because of lack of funds.)
My Aunt, however (maternal side), a sprinter (100 and 200 meter dash), had the same national record of Mona Sulaiman at the time. Sa dahilan na walang pera pag athlete ka, di sia pinayagan to go national. (Again for lack of funds, she was not allowed to compete nationally.)
i developed endurane in long distance race, kasi, in my pre-school age,
sa akin pinapa habol ang kalabaw na nakawala sa kanyang tali. (I developed endurance in long distance race because during my pre-school age, I was asked to run after the carabao that had run loose.)
Also, I (was) sent on errands to buy fish and i (had) to run at the beach
(on loose sands) to beat the other buyers who were ahead.
In high school, i oftentimes spent my weekends in the farm and i had
to run a three-kilometer stretch to catch up with the flag ceremony
at 7am. I grew up in a farm and fishing village, till i went to college.
my training in track and field is "natural".
Hahabulin ang baboy na naka wala sa kulungan, habulin ang
manok na naka wala sa hawla, habulin ang kalabaw paakyat
ng bundok dahil naka kalas sa tali. (I would run after the pig that had gone out of the cage, race after the hen that had flown out of the coop, race up the mountains to capture the carabao whose noose had gone loose.)
Bob joined shot put and discus throw (competitions)where he was good at. He developed his skills here by loading coconuts to the carriage during the copra season. "pag dating ng copra season, i had to throw the nuts to be loaded to the karosa. ang pag tapon ay ala pa discuss throw."
Then Bob joined shot put. "Except for tirador and cane, I had no other weapon but a stone to throw at a dog that would enter the hen's coop."
Bob further said, "Naka sali ako sa athletics dahil ang sabi sa akin, tinatakbo ko nga raw ang 3 KM distance from the farm to school, so,
walang pagka iba sa 3 000 meter run. i (was) not a sprinter,
but i (could) run a distance in a sustained pace---noon.
"Wala pang Nike shoes for runners noon; barefoot lang." (No Nike shoes for runners then yet; just bare feet.)
"(Chuckles....)"
E: BOB WHAT IS A 3,000 METER RUN?
BOB: 3 000 meter run – have you experienced running in a 400 meter oval race track? If you could make seven laps that is 3K run. (For) 10 000 meter run - you have to execute 25 rounds.
The above competitive race is not meant for speed; but, endurance.
Di na ako nag attempt ng 10,000K meter run dahil talo ako ng mga matangkad na kalaban. ang isang stride nila, eh, dalawang sikad ko. (I did not attempt the 10,000K run because I knew I would be defeated by tall competitors. One stride of theirs is equivalent to two for me.)
Hindi ako na encouraged ng mother ko to pursue athletics kasi wala raw pera. (I was not encouraged by my mother to pursue athletics because of lack of funds.)
My Aunt, however (maternal side), a sprinter (100 and 200 meter dash), had the same national record of Mona Sulaiman at the time. Sa dahilan na walang pera pag athlete ka, di sia pinayagan to go national. (Again for lack of funds, she was not allowed to compete nationally.)
i developed endurane in long distance race, kasi, in my pre-school age,
sa akin pinapa habol ang kalabaw na nakawala sa kanyang tali. (I developed endurance in long distance race because during my pre-school age, I was asked to run after the carabao that had run loose.)
Also, I (was) sent on errands to buy fish and i (had) to run at the beach
(on loose sands) to beat the other buyers who were ahead.
In high school, i oftentimes spent my weekends in the farm and i had
to run a three-kilometer stretch to catch up with the flag ceremony
at 7am. I grew up in a farm and fishing village, till i went to college.
my training in track and field is "natural".
Hahabulin ang baboy na naka wala sa kulungan, habulin ang
manok na naka wala sa hawla, habulin ang kalabaw paakyat
ng bundok dahil naka kalas sa tali. (I would run after the pig that had gone out of the cage, race after the hen that had flown out of the coop, race up the mountains to capture the carabao whose noose had gone loose.)
Bob joined shot put and discus throw (competitions)where he was good at. He developed his skills here by loading coconuts to the carriage during the copra season. "pag dating ng copra season, i had to throw the nuts to be loaded to the karosa. ang pag tapon ay ala pa discuss throw."
Then Bob joined shot put. "Except for tirador and cane, I had no other weapon but a stone to throw at a dog that would enter the hen's coop."
Bob further said, "Naka sali ako sa athletics dahil ang sabi sa akin, tinatakbo ko nga raw ang 3 KM distance from the farm to school, so,
walang pagka iba sa 3 000 meter run. i (was) not a sprinter,
but i (could) run a distance in a sustained pace---noon.
"Wala pang Nike shoes for runners noon; barefoot lang." (No Nike shoes for runners then yet; just bare feet.)
"(Chuckles....)"
Thursday, August 5, 2010
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO RUN along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City? Tough you would say because of the hellish drivers -- bus, jeep, cars - who race through as if there's no tomorrow. But on December 5, the avenue will be clear of all vehicles. Why because the 2nd QC International Marathon will be held covering the Quezon Memorial Circle, Kalayaan, UP, La Mesa Dam, and Commonwealth Avenue.
I have never thought of running before, just jogging in place considering my paranoia about leaving all my important belongings in one place and losing them to thieves both at home and outside. But after hearing about this marathon, I am now thinking of how I can keep all of them in one place safely and join, never mind if I belong to the senior citizens' club.
The Marathon, sponsored by the QC City Hall, and the Runnex, will be participated in by foreigners as well. Last year, the winners were Kenyans, who did not look they perspired at all in reaching the finish line.
What makes marathon running a nice sport? Well being with 15000 people all eager to hit the road could be very exhilarating. Not only is the sport a kind of rebellion against gravity and time, it is also a way of hitting the wind with your body. It's a very natural activity, sans any gadgets save your body and your almost bare costume of shorts and shirt. How I wish I had the running in the 60's when I had greater stamina to finish miles and miles.
However, during the 60's I was covering as much Philippine soil as possible, going to Samar, Sagada, Banawe, and as far as Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. Then in the 70's I reached the islands of Mindanao and Iloilo, Leyte, Marinduque, and even Pantabangan where a dam submerged an old Philippine Spanish era town. (You could see the cross of the church above the sea level then.) Unfortunately when 5-day rains came, the town broke loose and even the tombs in the relocated cemetery slid down the dam rivers. Thanks to the National Irrigation Administration then which handled the lousy project.
Then in the 80's I began climbing the mountains of the Cordilleras (Chico River Dam issue), Abra (Cellophil Resources issue) and Lake Sebu to reach out to the indigenous groups whose ancestral lands were being threatened with extinction by government dam projects.
So, Folks, if you plan to join the marathon, read these records: "The world record time for men over the distance is 2 hours 3 minutes and 59 seconds, set in the Berlin Marathon by Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia on September 28, 2008, an improvement of 51 minutes and 19 seconds since Johnny Hayes' gold medal performance at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Gebrselassie's world record represents an average pace of under 2:57 per kilometre (4:44 per mile), average speed of over 20.4 km/h (12.6 mph).[29] The world record for women was set by Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain in the London Marathon on April 13, 2003, in 2 hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds. This time was set using male pacesetters; the fastest time by a woman without using a male pacesetter ("woman-only") was also set by Paula Radcliffe, again during the London Marathon, with a time of 2 hours 17 minutes and 42 seconds, on April 17, 2005."
We need to train hard though before joining the marathon. But what streets here in MetroManila would be safe for walking? I think to date, only UP and some exclusive subdivisions have them, with clean air to boot. UP only has one side of the main avenue free from vehicles; hence runners will still smell the soot from the Ikot jeeps, among others.
The exclusive subdivisions are exclusive, period. I don't really know if the owners would allow outsiders to practice there. Luneta would be a good place, and all other sports complexes like the former Ultra, Rizal now Aquino stadium. But I think what would be a good place for training is Mount Makiling. Running up the mountain could really strengthen the lungs and legs all at the same time.
Well, that's four months to go till December, Folks. Happy training.
I have never thought of running before, just jogging in place considering my paranoia about leaving all my important belongings in one place and losing them to thieves both at home and outside. But after hearing about this marathon, I am now thinking of how I can keep all of them in one place safely and join, never mind if I belong to the senior citizens' club.
The Marathon, sponsored by the QC City Hall, and the Runnex, will be participated in by foreigners as well. Last year, the winners were Kenyans, who did not look they perspired at all in reaching the finish line.
What makes marathon running a nice sport? Well being with 15000 people all eager to hit the road could be very exhilarating. Not only is the sport a kind of rebellion against gravity and time, it is also a way of hitting the wind with your body. It's a very natural activity, sans any gadgets save your body and your almost bare costume of shorts and shirt. How I wish I had the running in the 60's when I had greater stamina to finish miles and miles.
However, during the 60's I was covering as much Philippine soil as possible, going to Samar, Sagada, Banawe, and as far as Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. Then in the 70's I reached the islands of Mindanao and Iloilo, Leyte, Marinduque, and even Pantabangan where a dam submerged an old Philippine Spanish era town. (You could see the cross of the church above the sea level then.) Unfortunately when 5-day rains came, the town broke loose and even the tombs in the relocated cemetery slid down the dam rivers. Thanks to the National Irrigation Administration then which handled the lousy project.
Then in the 80's I began climbing the mountains of the Cordilleras (Chico River Dam issue), Abra (Cellophil Resources issue) and Lake Sebu to reach out to the indigenous groups whose ancestral lands were being threatened with extinction by government dam projects.
So, Folks, if you plan to join the marathon, read these records: "The world record time for men over the distance is 2 hours 3 minutes and 59 seconds, set in the Berlin Marathon by Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia on September 28, 2008, an improvement of 51 minutes and 19 seconds since Johnny Hayes' gold medal performance at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Gebrselassie's world record represents an average pace of under 2:57 per kilometre (4:44 per mile), average speed of over 20.4 km/h (12.6 mph).[29] The world record for women was set by Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain in the London Marathon on April 13, 2003, in 2 hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds. This time was set using male pacesetters; the fastest time by a woman without using a male pacesetter ("woman-only") was also set by Paula Radcliffe, again during the London Marathon, with a time of 2 hours 17 minutes and 42 seconds, on April 17, 2005."
We need to train hard though before joining the marathon. But what streets here in MetroManila would be safe for walking? I think to date, only UP and some exclusive subdivisions have them, with clean air to boot. UP only has one side of the main avenue free from vehicles; hence runners will still smell the soot from the Ikot jeeps, among others.
The exclusive subdivisions are exclusive, period. I don't really know if the owners would allow outsiders to practice there. Luneta would be a good place, and all other sports complexes like the former Ultra, Rizal now Aquino stadium. But I think what would be a good place for training is Mount Makiling. Running up the mountain could really strengthen the lungs and legs all at the same time.
Well, that's four months to go till December, Folks. Happy training.
WHY TURN DEMOCRATIC?
Dear Friends,
Good morning. I would like to raise a discussion issue among all
democratic societies in the world. We have already walked past the
crossroads whether to turn communist or democratic. Today, there are
more gigantic countries opting for a democratic government than
communist, not only in the western hemisphere but in Asia, the Middle
East and Africa. We are no longer afraid to choose of which path to
trod on. We know where we want to go.
Unfortunately, the forces stopping us from influencing other countries
to turn our similar path are so strong that sometimes we tend to think
that a decent turn to democracy, where no lives will be lost cannot
happen in our lifetime. These forces include dogmatism, messiahnism,
and sexism. Unlocking dogmatic thoughts, especially in those countries
where conservative religious beliefs hold sway is like taking the bull
by the horns. We are threatened with annihilation, destruction and
even a hellish descent. Messiahnism on the other hand exists in those
countries whose idea of existence is spreading their influence,
whether through arms selling, through financial blackmail, or even
outright invasion. Sexism is rife, especially in that part of the
world where women are covered from head to toe.
Hence, we, the little people of the world, whose influence could only
be exercised within the cyberspace are in a quandary right now. What
kind of relationships can we form given this set-up? Are we to be meek
citizens of the world, just plodding through from day to day in our
economic struggles and just think through our family's survival? Or
are we going to side with a strong force and "bahala na" let fate
decide if the future will make this force win in the end?
I do think that the citizens of the world, our kababayan abroad are
truly suffering from this dilemma. They cannot turn highly political,
meaning, writing, marching and shouting for their beliefs without
foreseeing the consequences of their actions on their jobs, and
eventually on their families' status in the home country, our
Philippines.
Thus, their drive to sow democratic seeds at every turn is thwarted by
the fears of the consequences, not only on their own lives but their
families' and also the country's I suppose.
I do think that now is the time for us to be much stronger in facing
opposition to the spreading of democratic rule in every country. We
should work for all the freedoms inscribed in the UN Declaration of
Human Rights. We can no longer afford to be fencesitters and allow the
forces of reaction to block our and others' path to these freedoms.
Yesterday, I was translating many of the words of Helen Keller into
Pilipino and what struck me was her love of humanity. She was a gifted
writer, despite her blindness and she saw through that the most
difficult thing to do is to make those who have think of those who
don't have. Yes, her view of the world was broad, encompassing not
only those whose voices she could not hear and whose faces she could
not see, but others whose fate she could have encountered by reading
braille books. Helen was born and raised in the early 1900's and yet
her political understanding was very sharp and her beliefs belonged to
the world as lack, hunger, thirst, were prevalent during her time not
only in America but elsewhere in the world.
In this regard, if Helen, born blind and deaf, could be a staunch
advocate for those whose freedoms have been trampled, how much more
should we exert effort, we who are born with all those features that
allow us to read as many books as we can, and listen to a plethora of
voices and sounds to help those who are in need?
And only a democratic government allows this to happen. It cannot
happen in a fascist nor a country under martial or permanent party
rules. It can only happen under a government run by people whose
beliefs run parallel to what we know as a free society.
Therefore, I believe that at this time, the only thing we must focus
on is how to spread democratic beliefs and strengthen them in the
societies we lives in and in other societies through development of
like-minded inclinations. Let us not mince words whenever our desire
to let others "partake of the cake" or to enjoy life as it is, is
dismissed or derided at every turn. Instead, though painstaking, let
us deepen our resources of intellectual defenses and work for a
peaceful persuasion of others to see the truth, the viability and the
respect accorded each one in our attempt at achieving our aims.
We must now allow the temptation to go with the herd, to allow those
stronger than us to define our lives and principles, but rather have a
peaceful engagement through and through. For it is only in respecting
others' right to exist that we can also live and enjoy the benefits
that we are having now. However, we should also care for others to
receive justice in their lives and be one with them in seeking their
own free and happy space in life.
Good morning. I would like to raise a discussion issue among all
democratic societies in the world. We have already walked past the
crossroads whether to turn communist or democratic. Today, there are
more gigantic countries opting for a democratic government than
communist, not only in the western hemisphere but in Asia, the Middle
East and Africa. We are no longer afraid to choose of which path to
trod on. We know where we want to go.
Unfortunately, the forces stopping us from influencing other countries
to turn our similar path are so strong that sometimes we tend to think
that a decent turn to democracy, where no lives will be lost cannot
happen in our lifetime. These forces include dogmatism, messiahnism,
and sexism. Unlocking dogmatic thoughts, especially in those countries
where conservative religious beliefs hold sway is like taking the bull
by the horns. We are threatened with annihilation, destruction and
even a hellish descent. Messiahnism on the other hand exists in those
countries whose idea of existence is spreading their influence,
whether through arms selling, through financial blackmail, or even
outright invasion. Sexism is rife, especially in that part of the
world where women are covered from head to toe.
Hence, we, the little people of the world, whose influence could only
be exercised within the cyberspace are in a quandary right now. What
kind of relationships can we form given this set-up? Are we to be meek
citizens of the world, just plodding through from day to day in our
economic struggles and just think through our family's survival? Or
are we going to side with a strong force and "bahala na" let fate
decide if the future will make this force win in the end?
I do think that the citizens of the world, our kababayan abroad are
truly suffering from this dilemma. They cannot turn highly political,
meaning, writing, marching and shouting for their beliefs without
foreseeing the consequences of their actions on their jobs, and
eventually on their families' status in the home country, our
Philippines.
Thus, their drive to sow democratic seeds at every turn is thwarted by
the fears of the consequences, not only on their own lives but their
families' and also the country's I suppose.
I do think that now is the time for us to be much stronger in facing
opposition to the spreading of democratic rule in every country. We
should work for all the freedoms inscribed in the UN Declaration of
Human Rights. We can no longer afford to be fencesitters and allow the
forces of reaction to block our and others' path to these freedoms.
Yesterday, I was translating many of the words of Helen Keller into
Pilipino and what struck me was her love of humanity. She was a gifted
writer, despite her blindness and she saw through that the most
difficult thing to do is to make those who have think of those who
don't have. Yes, her view of the world was broad, encompassing not
only those whose voices she could not hear and whose faces she could
not see, but others whose fate she could have encountered by reading
braille books. Helen was born and raised in the early 1900's and yet
her political understanding was very sharp and her beliefs belonged to
the world as lack, hunger, thirst, were prevalent during her time not
only in America but elsewhere in the world.
In this regard, if Helen, born blind and deaf, could be a staunch
advocate for those whose freedoms have been trampled, how much more
should we exert effort, we who are born with all those features that
allow us to read as many books as we can, and listen to a plethora of
voices and sounds to help those who are in need?
And only a democratic government allows this to happen. It cannot
happen in a fascist nor a country under martial or permanent party
rules. It can only happen under a government run by people whose
beliefs run parallel to what we know as a free society.
Therefore, I believe that at this time, the only thing we must focus
on is how to spread democratic beliefs and strengthen them in the
societies we lives in and in other societies through development of
like-minded inclinations. Let us not mince words whenever our desire
to let others "partake of the cake" or to enjoy life as it is, is
dismissed or derided at every turn. Instead, though painstaking, let
us deepen our resources of intellectual defenses and work for a
peaceful persuasion of others to see the truth, the viability and the
respect accorded each one in our attempt at achieving our aims.
We must now allow the temptation to go with the herd, to allow those
stronger than us to define our lives and principles, but rather have a
peaceful engagement through and through. For it is only in respecting
others' right to exist that we can also live and enjoy the benefits
that we are having now. However, we should also care for others to
receive justice in their lives and be one with them in seeking their
own free and happy space in life.
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