DEAR PNOY

26 April 2013

HONORABLE PRESIDENT

BENIGNO SIMEON C. AQUINO, III

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

Malacanang, Manila

Dear Honorable President PNoy,

I have written you because of the way our cultural institutions are being administered and controlled by cliques within. There are so many instances of this, whether in the NCCA or the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

For this particular time, I would like to focus on the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Ani Journal which regularly comes out every year has had its budget cut simply because the Artistic Director has decided to just let it come out in 2014. The Journal, belonging to the print medium, is the most democratically administered. The writers who contribute in every issue come from various parts of the country, their works beautifully laid out, and edited with great respect for their style and ideas by the editor, Herminio Beltran. Hence, if you will examine every page since Ani came out 25 years ago, you will find it really a literary pride of our country considering the diversity of ideas, styles of writings that the contributors are capable of. And most of all, the writings are truly Filipino depicting local color, the typical emotional inclinations of Filipino characters among others, and the behavior aptly manifesting who is or are truly us.

In the last launch of the Ani Journal last year, I chanted what I had felt were harassment of my personhood by those who did not share my political ideas. One participant, obviously close to the powers-that-be did not like it and disparaged it in his own performance, very subtly. So then I came to know that the CCP is not a neutral place for every Filipino citizen to express their cultural, literally and artistic talents. A clique runs it which makes it tow the line so that they would maintain their power over the institution and at the same time make it a venue for their “friends and colleagues” use. In other words, CCP is run like a sari-sari store where the owners select the products that they would sell and to whom.

After People Power in 1986, I was one of those who drafted the cultural program for a democratic Philippines after 14 years of extremely elitist thrust of the cultural institutions. Although there was reason for the elitism at the time – that was selecting those who knew the craft and who could excellently deliver or perform their art—yet that regime was faulted for having marginalized many artistic groups especially those who were critical of the regime.

Unfortunately, now, the same thing is happening, an elitism of a clique is happening. And Ani Journal has become a victim of the machinations of this clique. Their action is detrimental to the growth of the literary minds of the people. This is curtailment of the freedom of expression, unconstitutional and should be stopped at all costs.

Hence, I would like to present this as my complaint against the cutting of the budget of the Ani Journal for production and printing, -- which also deprives writers of their meager income. By the way, a poem of mine received only P300 and I complained about this but the administration refused to raise the outdated fee until I just thought of my having donated to an institution that is voraciously miserly in its treatment of writers.

Mr. Raul Sunico is a dear friend, dating back to a visit of mine in New York. I am sure that he has his own ideas on how to run CCP but is being cornered into a weak position by this clique who is more than eager to grab power and control the funds, control who shall enjoy the funds and even control as to who would arise as artists of the country. This is totally fascist in intent, no matter whether the cultural presentations are ideologically radical or not. The method of bringing about a cultural revolution is totally fascist, self-promoting, and anti-democratic.  

In this regard, I would like to propose the following:

1. removal from office of the current Artistic Director and all those responsible for the cutting down of the budget of the literary department’s Ani journal.
2. persons who occupy those positions should only act as facilitators to allow artists from outside CCP to be able to perform at CCP. In other words, no officer or employee should be a recipient of any grant from the institution itself; the CCP should be shielded from the charge of its being a milking cow of the same people charged with administering it; and
3. restoration of the budget for the production and distribution of Ani Journal.

May I request a reply to my complaint at the soonest time as the writers feel very despondent over this bureaucratic exercise that defeats the very purpose of our having conducted that People Power in ‘86.

Very truly yours,

WILHELMINA S. OROZCO

Writer-Contributor to ANI