RELIVING DIANA, IMAGE, SELF-IDENTITY, AND HUMANITY

By Wilhelmina S. Orozco

The riots in London brought to memory the image of Diana whose death 14 years ago had shocked and created grief all over the world. Even now, in Britain, a survey ranks her first among the most well-loved members of the royalty, the current wife of Prince Charles landing in the bottom of it all. This just goes to show that the hearts and minds of the British people who answered the survey are in the right places.

Why do I reminisce about Prince Di? Well, she was not exactly the typical royalty who was served hand and foot by slaves or those in lower rank. Rather she was and became more strongly a critical royalty who looked into her inner life and the workings of the world. First she denounced through a divorce, her marriage to Prince Charles after she had discovered that her marriage was too “crowded,” a term she had used herself. Secondly, she became critical of the issues in her society – and the world, the most significant act of her was to be photographed with a landmine. That photo was later on used to denounce the rebels who use landmines to advance their causes, because it kills even innocent people. So where is the sanity and rationality of a political cause if it pushes for a total disregard of human lives, whosoever they could be found?

In my article, published in my book, Serimbar, Feminist Reflections and which originally came out in the Chronicle in 1997, right after her “accidental” death, I wrote: “Diana was an uncommon princess in many ways and words, performing her maternal functions while serving as political ambassador of goodwill internationally. She epitomized the woman who was conscious of her royal identity, and yet knew how to use that to make this world a humane place to live in.”

Diana’s life is also relevant to our country now. Her divorcing Prince Charles despite the prospect of actually losing her title (which the people still bestowed on her as she had rather be called, “princess of hearts”) was a very big step for her to take and worthwhile emulating for many Filipino women. She could have been the queen of England, had Charles ascended the throne. Yet, living with a man who has lost love for one she must have found rather masochistic and depriving her of a fuller life that she could possibly still have in this world. After all, God has given talents to everyone regardless of status in life. It all depends not only on society but also on the individual to cultivate those talents. Hence, Diana was a great model of a strong, courageous woman from the upper classes, worthy of being idolized by every woman.

Now, the bills on divorce and the reproductive health are proofs of a dysfunctional society we have and the non-governmental organizations pushing for them, must start researching on current models that can provide a positive push for the bill. In our midst, there could be women of Diana qualities who would not be afraid to stand for these issues. (How about Sharon Cuneta who had her daughter by Gabby Concepcion yet sought a separation from him? Or Miriam Quiambao, the former beauty queen?)

What was apparent in Diana’s divorcing Prince Charles was her adherence to that time-honored principle: monogamy. Yet, she refused that possibility in exchange for leading an authentic life. “For her, it was a non-negotiable issue which many a women with low self-esteem could easily junk in exchange for the glory attending royal status…

“Diana had many qualities putting her on equal terms with Charles. She was also of royal lineage; as well as had her own inheritance from her clan large enough to make her live an independent life. More than all these, she grew up in society that has produced a long line of thinking women as Mary Wollstonecraft who wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Cecily Hamilton – Marriage as a Trade ;; and Sheila Rowbotham – Woman’s Consciousness:Man’s World.”

Besides many women’s groups exist in Britain raising the consciousness of women and making them act on their lives – through workshops, exhibition of their talents, demonstrating for causes like that campaign against nuclear disarmament, lobbying for bills favorable to women that they want to be enacted. There was no way at all that Diana would stay in a stale marriage especially as it was being reported almost daily that Charles was secretly meeting or phoning his mistress.

Hence, after 14 years of her passing away, royalty as a fixture in society is still being discussed. What is the basis of royalty? “By making royalty a permanent fixture, Britain, in effect is creating elitist images in the minds of rulers in Third World countries such as the Philippines. The havoc that image could create is for the latter to aspire for similar ruling in perpetuity, thereby suppressing the rights of other people, women and men, to share in political administration.” (At the time of writing this article, a hot issue in our country was the Charter Change.)

Until now, certain questions persist whether Diana died because of the accident or that accident was pre-planned by certain sectors who refused to have the British royalty “tainted” by the blood of a non-British, the lover of Diana.

No matter the results of the investigations, one thing is sure – Diana has truly lived in the hearts of the people and her life will be long remembered as exemplary of genuine commitments to her own personal values and to international peace.

NO FEAR, NO HELPLESSNESS IN WARKA'S HANDS

By Wilhelmina S. Orozco

Why do we get sick? Most western medicine educated doctors would have an explanation right away – something connected with the physiological state of our bodies causes that ill feeling – the fever, and all kinds of illnesses of the body, mind and heart. So, the doctors would use all kinds of devices to examine our bodies; also they would prescribe all kinds of laboratory tests to be conducted on our blood, urine, feces, sputum, and heartbeat and what have you. To those who can afford that total medical check up, they have to cough up thousands if not hundreds of thousands of pesos. Others would even go abroad to make sure that only European or American doctors would attend to their health needs.

Yet in our country, we need not even go far for healing. We could be healed, that is if we would only believe in him, that our health would be restored to its normal level. Who is he? That is none other than Warka A. Adala, the Tausug Muslim healer from Zamboanga.

My Mother’s Ordeal
I remember the very crooked way a hospital dealt with my mother’s illness. She was already on the throes of death, after the doctors had prescribed insanely for three days a laxative which then lowered her blood pressure. An x-ray technician came to say that he had been told to subject my mother to x-ray. “What for?” I asked. He just replied that he was ordered to do so. What would an x-ray do for a dying person? Apparently, the doctors and the hospital itself were cashing in on her illness and had thought that because of our anxieties we would not be able to see through their evil machinations. The technican retreated after that. And so after two weeks, my relatives had to pay the hospital more than P200,000.00, after killing my mother. Her doctor was nowhere around when more than ten intern doctors had surrounded her to put a tube in her throat in order to so-called help her breathe. I had been told to leave the room as I was aghast at their procedure. Unfortunately, my mother expired before they could even start the procedure.

When I returned, I tried reviving my mother by rubbing her with herbal juices all over her body and talking to her that “Inay, Inay, kaya natin ito. Gagaling kayo.” When I used the stethoscope on her chest, I heard a faint beat and so I shouted on top of my voice, “Nurse, nurse, doctor, please come, my mother is still alive.” Like that death icon, a skeleton with a hooded robe and a scythe, a hospital messenger(?) came to the room and told me, “Misis patay na ang Nanay nyo.” I wanted to sock him right there and then, but then my instinct was still to revive my mother. Unfortunately, I did not get the proper support that I needed at that time.

Had I met Warka Adala, the Tausug Muslim healer, then, I would have called on him and brought her to him instead of that idiotic hospital which is run by an Asian foreigner.

Who have benefited from Warka? Lots of people from high and low of our society and from abroad. He heals a lot of illnesses, from hypertension, to allergies, and even cancer. One patient of his he said had a kidney problem, a Zamboangueno mystical teacher of Islam. He was already undergoing dialysis, a process by which the urine is tested. Others told him that he would never be able to extricate himself from dialysis once he starts it. Remarkably, after 3 sessions with Warka, starting on July 6,he was cured by August 5 going by the results of a laboratory test of his urine. His doctor was amazed and so told him he could already stop undergoing dialysis.

Other illnesses of patients of Warka whom he had healed include asthma, back pain breast cancer, stage three; blurring vision, chest pain, constipation, depression, diabetes, frozen shoulder, headache, hearing difficulty, hemorrhoids, herpes, gall stones, goiter, hernia, hypertension, migraine, scoliosis, sinusitis, sore throat, stomach disorders, and ulcers, among others.

Mr. Jaime T. Licauco, the parapsychology scholar par excellence wrote that the healing energy of Warka “could penetrate through the marrow of the bones and dissolve cysts and lumps with one touch. It could shrink goiter or enlarged thyroid gland. It could melt excess fat in overweight men and women…remove the most severe physical pain of arthritic patients, even those with angina or chest pains. It could clear up the eyes of cataract sufferers, or those with very poor vision….”

Warka measures his success rate at 95 % and attributes the remaining 5% to karmic situation, meaning the patient has not reconciled the present with the past. To overcome that, the patient has to undergo purification or else the illness will never go away, said Warka.

Secret powers of Warka: Bio-energy
So many people have written about Warka whose fame now extends internationally as he is sought after by scholars and patients alike. But Mr. Licauco is the very first person who has written about him after testing his powers at psychic and healing festival way back in December 2002. Mr. Licauco first learned about him through a woman, Elizabeth L. Palcat of General Santos City who had sought his help in finding out the healing gifts of Warka.

In the beginning, in 2003, when he first wrote about him, Mr. Licauco did not think that Warka’s healing powers are similar to pranic energy or bio-energy “which works through the etheric and energy bodies of the person.” However, this year, on June 21, 2011 (PDI), Mr. Licauco states with finality that “the remarkable healing done by …. Warka… would fall under “Pranic or Bio-energy, which “utilizes the innate subtle energy of the healer to affect the healing… through laying of hands, magnetic passes and similar practices.” After many successful instances of people getting healed, truly, Warka is a miracle in our midst where pill-popping and injections are more the norm when seeking treatment for the least minor illness like a headache. On hindsight, too, perhaps if the people around the British composer-singer Amy Winehouse were more attuned to alternative healing, they could have helped her overcome all her feelings of depression and dependence on drugs.
Also, fortunately, some Philippine doctors are now treading the twin paths of western and traditional and alternative healing approaches and our own Philippine General Hospital, through the initiative of Dr. Jimmy Galvez Tan, former health secretary, has a section or is it a department, already dealing with the latter.

How he began it
Before Warka started to be a healer, he was a government employee with 8 children to feed. One day, he found himself feeling depressed over some political conflicts in his place. Bingo P. Dejaresco wrote (Philippine Star, March 9, 2004) that Warka had felt something strange after suffering from a “severe, exploding headache.” Then a goiter patient approached him and asked him to lay his hand on her. Instantaneously, she got healed. “His healing prowess fame spread in Mindanao, especially after he also cured the bleeding organ of a ward of a powerful political leader in Mindanao.”

I myself went to Warka to have my asthma cured. After the first session, I felt a great relief. Unfortunately I did not return the following week as I had felt too de-energized by the housing and financial stresses in my life. Then today, I went to him again and he laid his hand over my chest again, and after about 15 minutes, he began sweeping motions over my chest. Now I feel such greater relief than the first time. I will go to him again by the second week of September.

Hope and faith in life
The most remarkable thing about Warka though is that he does not even charge a single centavo for his gift. He makes the patient decide if they want to be generous by donating to him something or not at all. One thing is sure, he does not ask for any fee.

But what really makes our Muslim brother Warka wonderful is because, beyond curing our illnesses, he gives us that feeling of being a new person, of having a new lease on life, a new beginning as our body now is restored to its normal functioning level. He restores that faith and hope in life, extremely radiates that positive feeling that everything will go well after the healing session, and feeds our mind that suffering from an illness need not be the end of everything. By the way, Warka also told me to text him should I still feel asthmatic again and he would conduct distance healing for me. This instance shows his mindset: to him, there is still life beyond the physical discomforts that we suffer from.

In that sense, Warka appeals greatly to our spiritual life– how we view and perceive our past, present and future -- which makes all that great difference in dealing with ill health, between the highly technological medical approaches and natural healing.

May God continue to shower Warka with blessings for a healthy life and may his tribe increase.

FEEDBACK FROM TONY VILLAN

Dear Ms Orozco,

Beautiful and very inspiring blog. Indeed Opera music and presentation has very limited audience and appreciation to compare with cinema or movie. Even our Zarzuela taken from Spanish origin, also with limited audience.

I am so immersed with the explanation of the costume, but I think the wardrobe director did what was called for, but I can see that the effect of that could have been the intriguing used of lighting, as the Lighting director could have enhanced the projection of the relevance of the wardrobes to the concept of time. There is now the attempt to use electrified cloth to clothing. With the use of light the costume can turn into another era of time( limited fashion) and yet enhance the Art of imagination.

I am in Italy. The use of Lighting and the modern equipments and objects of lights totally awesome that could be the real advantage like, On Live Stage Presentation.

Sincerely,
Tony Villan

ERRATA IN "KULO" A BROADSIDE BY VIC ALCAZAR

FOLKS, I WOULD LIKE TO CORRECT THIS ARTICLE. FIRST IT WAS RIZAL WHO SPOKE TO THE GRAND OLD MAN AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. THE OTHER CORRECTIONS CONCERN SPELLINGS ONLY. SO SORRY FOR THE MISTAKES, WILHELMINA

A BROADSIDE
by Vic Alcazar
(Spanish and English Writer, of Filipino-Spanish descent. His great grandfather's eyes were treated by Dr. Jose P. Rizal in Zamboanga after travelling all the way from Dumaguete. Rizal told the grand old man, "If all the Spaniards have been like you, we need not go into a revolution at all." Rizal apparently found him a gentleman of the highest order. By the way, Rizal was able to cure his blurry eyesight.)

Instead of being appreciative and thankful that the Kulo exhibit would suffer less artistic derisions of the pitifully dismal artwork of Cruz by its closure, the mindless clamor of the "vanguards" of the Cruz deludes himself by appropriating the nomenclature, "artist" -- but judging by his works he only shows himself to be an impostor. There is nothing original about what he has shown as his artistry, and many before him have attempted to propose and propound these acts of apostasy by his blaphemous renditions -- crude, childish and immature -- of his Creator and Savior.

Why can't Cruz be original? Limited imagination, or lack of it. Such works he has produced won't probably be even admitted in CEO Central of Comedy but perhaps he may apply to the Fordham University (Jesuit) which has allowed such "works" of art (always anti-climatic with themes of sodomy), and of course in the CCP. But what does the CCP know about art? Cruz only discredits himself and his "artistc" efforts.

The majority of these avantgarde artists go beyond the limits of artistic expression, disregarding the fact that there is no such thing as absolute freedom. It may exist in societies which tolerate such expression, but in respectable societies there is always a restriction and is invariably circumscribed, as in some parts in the Philippines where decency, culture and devotion are still the norm, although the eroding of values has already began more pronouncedly there is hardly anymore left of the traditional Catholic character and ethos. Some of these may still be gleaned in the homespun and the humble, but among the rest, they have become secular humanists.

If the realization that absolute freedom does not exist, these secularists flee to the more acceptable principle known as "artistic license," likened to poetic license or, even cinematic license, where everything and anything is possible. But as in everything else, there are limits to these licenses. It is the "right" presumed by the artist to change the norm of his calling to make it comply with what he supposedly imagines to be art.

As a general rule, a painting has to have a "controlled structure." The artist may feel to have the freedom to distort this structure (and thus invoke artistic license). However, it remains totally and entirely a subject of aesthetics, and whether sensibilities are offended or the work is acclaimed and complimented. In the case where the artist ventures into subject matters that offend the values, beliefs and and mindset of decency, he must himself not be offended if severe criticism is the "accolade" given his work, though in the infirmity of his distorted mind he expects praise, acclaim and commendation.

And in the case of Cruz, his work turns simply not only into disappointment but complete rejection.

That the works of Cruz have found accceptance in such institutions as the Ateneo and the Univeristy of the Philippines, and elsewhere, when no one noticed the aberration until the present time only goes to show that there is a pitiful lack of the traditional critical mind among Filipinos. I only was made aware of this when attention was brought to me by a banner
headline in a daily periodical, which goes to show that I am yet not acclimated fully to the Filipino Christian culture to which I have only recently returned after four decades living abroad. And upon my return only did I begin to notice that the Catholic Philippines has been slowly eroding in its faith. In all respects, the Philippines is hardly a Catholic country any longer, although it may still enjoy the distiction of being one of two countries in the world that western style divorce is not permitted. The other country is the Vatican.

A mad dash is being spearheaded to restore all things lost in Christ. The Gospel of Christ has been perverted as seen in the numerous (by the thousands) proliferation of "churches" and "beliefs." Where it was taught that there is only One Christ, the same yesterday, the same today and the same tomorrow, but many have arrogated for themselves "other" Christs.

Why is Christ and holy things the object of derision, mockery and ridicule? Because of the pacific nature of His teaching.

Would Cruz have had the temerity to depict Mohammed and Allah as he did to Christ? Why, of course, NOT! "Off with his head!" as the Red Queen in Alice's Wonderland would exclaim. Thus Cruz is nothing but a coward and a impostor.

As a footnote to the impasse, there is a need for the submission of the intellect and will in all things as taught by the Gospel. It is the only cure for the infirmity of the Christian mind. It means to give religious assent to the intellect and will, and not provoke what is profane to the decent Christian principles and values, but esteem what is righteous and virtuous, "avoiding the profane novelties of words, and oppositions of knowledge falsely so called." (l. Tim. vi. 20.).

Then perhaps, Cruz will transcend and become the true artist he aspires to be.

MY MENTOR, MY SLAVE

On the fifth day of her birthday in August 2011Fides Cuyugan Asension shows that age spanning decades is not a barrier to being artistically productive. A testament to that is Applause, a wealth of excerpts from her operas.

Who does not know Fides, the opera singer, stage actress, tv host, producer, and mentor to a number of well-known singing stars now? She is the moving spirit behind big productions that have been shown here and abroad, those that showcase Philippine talents at their best, whether on or backstage. Recently she appeared in Nino, the independent DVD movie directed by Loy Arcenas and which won the International Jury’s Choice Award under the Cinemalaya Filmfest. Fides rendered a moving portrayal of a singing character that has undergone a series of debacles in her life – the loss of her husband to another woman, business loss, and the impending sale of her ancestral home which she shares with her brother. Her emotions could run from pain to grief, to anger confronting her niece who wants to sell the house, to joy and elation as she sang operatic songs with her other co-singers in the end. In 2009, she appeared as a flighty sexy spy who has died and is seeking entry to heaven in the play, When God Dispenses Justice, an oral reading at Merk’s Bar in Makati. Fides brought the house down with her tongue-in-cheek turning serious in talking with God, justifying her political harassment using all kinds of dirty tricks, of those subjects that could make the state teeter and lose ground. The play garnered two minutes of standing ovation afterwards.

Applause, presented at the UP Abelardo Hall recently, includes her librettos of Larawan ng Kababaihan: Mukha at Maskara, music by Dr. Lucrecia Kasilag and direction by Behn Cervantes; Mayo:Bisperas ng Liwanag/Rey Paguio, music, direction by Nazer D. Salcedo; Song of Joseph/Jeannelle and Raymond Roldan, music and direction by Noel Cabazor; Why Flowers Bloom in May/Kasilag, music, direction by Victor Henry Tejero; La Loba Negra/Francisco Feliciano, music, direction by Alegria Ferrer; and Spoliarium:Juan Luna/Ryan Cayabyab, music and direction by Alexander Cortez.

By their titles alone, the operas indicate varied themes ranging from concepts about womanhood, the supernatural, the Biblical story of Mary and Joseph, ecology and the assassination of Governor Bustamante during the Spanish period and the passionate love between Juan Luna and his wife whom he accidentally shoots to death, To tackle these themes is to pour into hundreds of books and find theatrical significance in them. Fides, the librettist thus has given significance to those themes, using that high form of theatrical art, the opera, in order to bring them to the focus of our Philippine audience. Those themes are not at all commercially viable according to many producers, yet Fides’ productions, through the able management of Jocelyn R. Rago, the executive producer of Musical Theatre Foundation.

Each opera in Applause is memorable, although these were just excerpts from the full length operas. Larawan projects several women wearing Spanish era costumes and holding masks as they portray Rizal’s characters – Sisa, Maria Clara, Donya Victorina – while a Babaylan (Emilyn Olfindo) in white, sang serving as the “conscience” of the group.

The Spanish setting and music of Larawan is similar to Mayo which is based on Nick Joaquin’s May Day Eve where a young woman (Lorna Llames) is counseled by an older woman (Camille Lopez) that she would see her future husband if she lit a candle by a mirror on the eve of May but should be careful lest she sees the devil instead.

Excerpts from Song of Joseph include the calling of Mary (Lena McKanzie) to be the mother of the messiah through the holy spirit, the denunciation of Mary’s parents (Emilyn Olfindo, Marvin Gayramon and G. de Leon) to give honor to the birth of Christ, and finally the family of Mary, Joseph (Raymond Roldan) and Jesus (Miguel Aguila) in the finale.

Why Flowers… is a take on the environmental movement with a mythical basis. The Earth caretaker Maiden Maieia (Jeannelle Bihag), meets Sun King Rayo (Dondi Ong) fall in love. He takes her to the Moon (Nicole Asensio) as it is cooler there. Later on she returns to the earth in May when flowers bloom to care for the flowers again as they had dried up during her absence. May is the combined names of King Rayo and Maieia. Marvin Gayramon is memorable as the Ecology Queen who raps up his song in sync with the young people’s penchant for the genre. His costume won the finalist in Extreme costume PQ’11 Prague Czechoslovakia. However, the costumes of the Sun King and of the Moon goddess were spectacular as they looked very out of this world. The former was wrapped in gold, while the latter wore an all silver dress, with a headdress of white straw with a beaded headband and a beaded mask with silver eyes as well.

La Loba features a chorus and two wolves or La Loba – played by Alegria Ferrer and Kitchy Molina. Alegria moves with the stealth of a wolf and her costume in black with a silver pendant on her neck truly evokes the image of a wolf.

Spoliarium raises fear and terror over the temper of Juan Luna (Robert Sena) in his treatment of his wife, Paz (Ana Feleo) The excerpts show his fear of losing his artistic powers, his jealousy and anger over the loss of their child and the impulsive act of using a gun. In reality, Luna was jealous and suspicious that his wife was carrying on a relationship with another man.

Historical bit
However, history will tell that Luna’s shooting Paz was accidental. Luna was trying to enter through the door of their house where Paz, her mother and their son were, but they would not open it. So Luna shoots the door not knowing that the two women were behind it, thus killing them in the process. In terms of music, Sena sings with great clarity of words and appropriate “macho” emotions so that we could fathom why Luna’s act in the end comes about. Even the child of Luna, Luling (Jhiz Deocariza) sang with discipline onstage.

What is great about Applause is that all the singers are of high caliber – they sing in pitch. No one is off synch or out of rhythm and all excerpts are well-rehearsed. The technique of putting two askewed rectangular screens on the left and right of the stage is also well-conceived as projections of the titles of each excerpt are done here.

Contexts of scenes
However, it would have been better had the screens carried brief summaries of the scenes before the staging of each excerpt to give their proper contexts.. In this manner, the audience would have understood what is going onstage while appreciating the visuals and sounds. Also, for dark costumes, the best background must be of light color to project the actors better instead of black dresses against black backdrop. Moreover, for a sun king, King Rayo wrapped around with golden rays in weblike design, could have made more fiery moves to show that he is really the king so that his capture of Maieia to make her fall in love with him would have been justified. It must be said however, that some of the memorable screen projections were the moving clouds

Eclectic music
The music in Applause is eclectic as it changes from modern to ethnic and back. It just seems that because of the highly imaginative writing of Fides, the composers had come up with pieces that were not only musical but also challenging to the vocal cords of the tenors, sopranos, mezzo sopranos, altos, baritones and basses. Tenors Raymond Roldan, Dondi Ong and Robert Sena easily get recognized for their high notes sang effortlessly. Sopranos Alegria, Camille and Jeannelle who easily switched roles are particularly attractive for their high pitched voices and dramatic acting. I must say though that the music of Cayabyab and Paguio particularly enhanced the scenes depicted, while Kasilag’s music in When Flowers Bloom… was apropos to the setting of the opera. May I also request though that better microphones be provided the singers so that the words of every song can be heard well and for better understanding the opera. There is nothing like hearing the music and the lyrics sang well to make our minds and hearts flow with the librettist’s motives for writing the opera.

However, it is noted here that all the directors of the various segments are male except for
Alegria Ferrer. That is one out of six directors meaning to say 16% only of the total number whereas the ideal should have been forty to fifty per cent to make women equal to men in the larger society. Now why is it necessary to have more women directors in the cultural field? Not only is it to implement the Constitutional guarantee that women are equal to men but that women’s perspectives and approaches to art, drama, music and film, among all other forms, could be unique compared to men. Some male directors would shun scenes that depict emotional entanglements (although many commercial filmmakers exploit that for gain of audience). In Spoliarium, where Luna is shown with his dying or dead wife, the child Luling comes and then holds the shoulders of the former. Yet the immediate response of a child could have been to go up to his mother, talk to her to wake her up, and should he find her dead, then that would have been the only time when he would sidle up to his father.

Am I speaking as a director myself? Maybe but I also speak as a member of the audience, sharing the grief and empathizing with the child over the loss of his mother.

Anyway, our country definitely has a lot of musical talents that we can depend on to bring realization to works like those of Fides. We must commend her and the Musical Theatre Foundation administered by Joy Rago for their continuing dedication to making opera a flourishing cultural endeavor in the country.

Let us remember Fides’ guiding motto: “Opera my mentor, my slave.”


Fly Bird, painting by Emma Orozco dedicated to her Mother, Esperanza, 2006

Painting: "My Dearies" by Emma Orozco

STUDENT WOES: RAINY DAYS

Every time schooling start in June, the dreary days of rains and floods come with great strength and the students and their parents become mere obedient watchers as to whether the government agencies would declare a cessation of classes or not.

What are the sufferings of elementary student parents suffer from-- physical, mental and emotional (add to that, spiritual) since they bring the kids to school; worry whether their children could tackle the subjects with great agility considering the wacky weather; and get afraid of putting their children in great stress and physical hardship in school despite the lousy weather.

Before I used to welcome the rains. I even composed a song, "Ulan Luha ni Bathala," celebrating how it waters the plants, the trees; cleanses the air, and washes the soul of impurities. That piece won an award at the Green Peace Forum way back in the nineties. But right now, I think I will just compose a piece about "baha," instead of celebrating the rains.

As a student, I did not suffer much then in going to school during the rainy days because my mother was able to raise us under easy circumstances -- we had a driver who would drive us to school and fetch us later as well as, had cars that we could drive to school in college. The streets then did not suffer so much from floods. But nowadays, it is no longer wise to have a car considering the costs of gasoline and oil, as well as the terrible traffic chaos, and the floods that could destroy the engine at any time.

Hence I pity very much the parents of schooling children who have to wake up early to bring them to school despite the rains. I know Chuck's family has to wake up at 4am just to find out if there are classes and off they go to school right away to avoid the traffic. His children are so highly motivated to go to school that they are willing to go through the inconvenience of waking up that early to be able to learn much from their Ateneo school.

But here at barangay schools in Tondo and Sampaloc districts, I have seen parents who have to bring their children, umbrellas and their heavy bags as well, just so that their children would not miss their classes. Then come fetching time, they have to line up by the gate under the heat or the rains and wait for their children to come out, thereby getting soaked to their toes just so they could get them back home again. Some children do not even have parents to fetch them and just carry their heavy loads on their backs despite their heights, and then walk home with or without an umbrella. A few manage to get a tricycle which then is filled up to the top with bags. Sometimes 6 children and two adults squeeze in that vehicle which the driver happily accepts as no other transport is available to them.

I will not mention anymore the trials and travails of teachers and school officials who have to wait until the last child is off the school before they themselves could go home under that inclement or no inclement weather.

I have a formula: why don't school officials prepare a daily school activities on paper, say from June, July, August lst to 31st. Then they can teach the parents how to share this with the kids. Hence, August will not be schooling month now (until such time that schooling is moved from September onwards). Instead, parents and kids will be working together on their assignments at home andfor he nitty gritty of subjects, the parents could just call up the teachers for info or clarification.

We need to be more flexible of school schedules and in control of how we respond to the weather especially in the education sector. The students are our future leaders -- in politics, business, worship, culture and other endeavors. We need to raise them as not only intelligent, morally strong but also physically able to withstand all form of onslaughts on their existence now and forever.

MGA HAMON KAY PNOY

Palalakasin mo ba ang kilusang pangkooperatiba lalo na sa transport sector, ang pag kokoop ng MRT at LRT sa halip na pribatisasyon? Ang pagtanggal ng mga taxes sa mga sasakyang nagdadala ng pagkain sa Maynila? Ang liberal na pagbibigay ng mga pondong pangnegosyo para sa mga kababaihang nais mamuhunan? Ang pagkakaroon ng hiwalay na women's funds sa Arts and Culture sa lahat ng mga ahensiyang namamahagi ng pondo para sa mga artistic activities?

At libreng pamasahe sa mga estudyanteng pampubliko sa lahat ng sasakyan bus at jeep, at libreng pagkain o lunch, at libreng mga materyales sa mga proyekto?

Magtatayo ka ba ng riles ng tren na magkakabit ng lahat ng mga isla ng Pilipinas?

Patitigilin mo na ba ang PNP Intel group sa pagharass sa akin sa aming subdibisyon?

Maraming marami pang ideyang dapat ilagay subali't ang mga ito ang pinakamahalaga sa akin.

Sana ay mabigyan mo ng pansin ang mga nabanggit na isyu.

Mabuhay ka!

Wilhelmina

IMAGINING A NEW EARTH?

Wilhelmina S. Orozco

As we step on earth, our connections grow deeper making us one with the whole universe.

First of all, as we do this, we must recognize that we are earthlings and citizens second. Our perceptions of the world, the way we behave are colored by the fact that we live on earth. We cannot divorce ourselves from the fact that we are rooted to this planet and nowhere else can we live for years and years except here. Even if another planet is found to be good for human habitation, it would still take ages before anyone could ever go there and live in the same way they have been living here on earth.

Hence this is the primary reason for the environmental movement’s global directions. What is happening in one country cannot be divorced from all occurrences in any other part of the globe. When Mount Pinatubo blew its top in 1991, we were all shattered, shocked at the white pollution it brought on our yards. The great difficulty in breathing caused by its dust after that made us realize that Mother Earth cannot be taken for granted at all.

Our shock went more haywire upon learning that the ashes of Mt. Pinatubo traveled around the world making the chicken crow earlier, as they must have thought that the dull light due to the dust covering the sun meant a new dawn.

And so the value of caring for the earth, the forest, trees, has become embedded in our consciousness now and we decry the neglect, the aggression of mining companies against virgin and fertile lands that bear food crops especially. We despise the iniquitous transformation of agricultural lands to leisure strips that would cater to the affluent and divest the people of their source of agricultural livelihood projects that they have been working on for decades as well as deprive our people of sources of food.

This much Avatar the film works on as it shows the different clashes in society: the greed of corporate pharmaceutical companies versus the need of the natives to preserve, protect and honor their ancestral lands; the aggressiveness of the military versus the gentle people whose needs are so simple and real; the materialism in the developed versus the spiritualism of the aboriginal worlds.

The film is an epic depicting the many facets of problems that beset our planet earth but which center mainly on human greed. Cameron, the writer and director truly has a big mind that can tackle the themes not only intellectually but also audio-visually. It actually takes a different kind of perspective to be able to show those ideas to large groups of audiences, of people and to persuade them to side by that standpoint of preserving Mother Earth against all forms of materialistic incursions.

I just have one comment about the acting. Jake should have been played by an actor who could be strong despite the handicap, but romantic towards the blue Navi lady. (Ewan MacGregor would have been perfect for the role.) Frankly speaking, I did not get goosepimples at all when they were making love. Now you know how I measure a good film: if it makes my hair stand on end, or makes me googoo-eyed over the hero.

Incidentally, I remember having written 3 puppet plays way back in 1994 and presenting them at the Luneta Park on my mother Esperanza’s birthday. I was celebrating her day and also starting a life of being a puppeteer for many years afterwards. The piece de resistance of the presentation was “Si Nadeeya at ang Ibong Adarna.” Nadeeya is the name that stood for the diwata (mountain goddess) who in our legends was Mariang Makiling. She protects the forest and has a companion bird which she rides as she watches over the forest and the surrounding towns.

The story. One day, a group of speculator-developers comes to take the forest, to mine it and conduct logging activities. Nadeeya together with the townspeople prevent them from continuing with their evil plans. She unleashes natural insects and animals to drive away the invaders. In the end, she and the townspeople triumph over the invaders. They resolve never to allow any other incursions into their land.

In a very simple way, the children and adults enjoyed the story which presented something unique at that time – the environmental message through a puppet show. My puppeteers included my children Eugene, Dadai or Nadezhda, and my niece, Patricia, among others.

Actually, I was inspired by the fairytale Thumbelina in creating Nadeeya, and the problem in our lot in Antipolo mountains which was encircled by a land developer to make way for a golf course, the Forest Hills. It was very painful for me to have seen huge tracts of land being bulldozed and mango trees and other plants felled down in that place. The place was agricultural – with a rolling terrain – and was illegally flattened for conversion into a golf course. A Supreme Court decision has declared the conversion illegal and the company has been told to stop its operations. But until now the golf course with foreigners frequenting it continues to cater to their leisure demands.

How far have artists’ imagination affected the directions of the environmental movements? Not much, I should say. Maybe we will reach the third millennium and see planet Earth as it used to be in museums. Meanwhile we would be living in glass houses – with oxygen contained in them for us to breathe in as the outside world has become barren, the trees and plants giving oxygen having grown extinct.

God forbid!

A Tattered Life," painting by Emma S. Orozco hanging at the College of Social Work and Community Development, UP Diliman. Quezon City

CHARGES FOR BEING POOR?

Wilhelmina S. Orozco


The music world has a lot of songs about money. Liza Minelli sang "Money, money makes the world go round," in Cabaret. Shirley Maclaine did her own with "Hey big spender, spend a little sum with me," in Sweet Charity. Meanwhile, here in our country, we don't hear much about money songs but rather lament about being poor. I recall a pop musician singing "Bakit ba ganyan ang buhay ng tao, mayrong mayaman, may api sa mundo..." Or listen to that Cebuano song, Usahay, with the lyrics saying about how a man or a woman is not worthy of the love of an other. Is this because the Filipino people still do not favor talking about money directly in songs? In reverse, Madonna justifies her wanting wealth with that song "I'm a material girl."

Anyway, sometime about five years ago, our women's organization lost our savings in a bank after a turn-over. The bank was taken over by a bigger bank. And so, the balance of our checking account (which means it did not earn interest at all no matter how long it stayed in the passbook) dipped below P10,000, about P7,500.00 It was wiped out completely. Upon learning this, I appealed to the mangement and wrote them to reverse the act as we are a non-profit non-stock organization, but until now I have not heard from them. It was a case where they would inform us but the postman would not deliver the letter to our place, or some wise individuals would get hold of the letter and not inform us about it at all. Or the letter was sent to my co-signatory, I really have not fathomed the reason. But closing an account is a very grave move and banks ought to do all means to contact the depositor.

By the way, the Central Bank closed the Banco Filipino and until now I still am waiting for the notice when I will be able to get the funds.

So many other accounts have been lost in this manner, the balance getting below the minimum. Every month the banks would deduct and deduct until the account becomes zero.

Why is it this way? Money is a solid thing which can be used by the bank to purchase or negotiate a deal that could earn it profits. The depositor gives it to them for safekeeping but instead it gets dissipated, as if it were just a thing that ought to be discarded; dismissing the fact that this was hard-earned money of our kababayan. How much is going to banks when they close accounts? I have myself lost more than P800 pesos covering bank charges in another account.

I also have heard of friends who look for a bank with a minimal deposit but eventually could not open an account because even P500 is very difficult to maintain during these hard times when the basic commodities and services are going up.

We have oil wells but the prices of oil keep going up and a little down, and then up and up again. We have greenfields yet we import rice. We have a huge reservoir of labor, manual, professional, but where are the jobs available for them: abroad. Many would not want to take the opportunity because it would separate them from their loved ones. Others would travel and them return and then eventually leave the country because it would really be a great loss of opportunity if they would not take advantage of it while they are still young. "Anyway, the Philippines is always there for us to retire in. We need to earn so we can buy a good house and lot, have a lot of money till our breathing day," seems to be the raison d'etre for that exodus to other lands, among other reasons.

As we glean the richest of the rich in our country, we know that they also worked hard to earn that rainbow space in the sky.

Now if they are already very, very rich, so much so that you could imagine their having every square millimeter of their skin being worth patsy millions of pesos, and their children, their grandchildren and greatgrandchildren (according to a bank employee) needing no longer lift a finger to work as their future is secured after inheritance, why couldn't they waive those atrocious bank charges when the balance dips? After all, these are just paper transactions; the money is not being withdrawn, and the depositor leaves it there for safekeeping.

So please my dear Kababayan, let me understand why the Central Bank does not make a peep over this. For whom is it working?

Let us now get into depths of all the moves that make our economy awry, skewed against the poor.

"If you make fun of poor people, you insult the God who made them. You will be punished if you take pleasure in someone's misfortune." Prov 17:5

"If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship." Prov 14:31