DEMOCRATIZED POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING

Wilhelmina S. Orozco

The spate of election paraphernalia and vast chests of radio and tv ads make methink that politics is just for the moneyed class in our country. In the morning, I listen to the radio and I often hear the name of four or a few more candidates of one political group talking about their qualifications and their future plans once they reach the Senate floor. Then when I roam the streets of Metromanila, I see various posters of candidates hanging on electric posts, pasted on fences, etcetera. One tarpaulin would cost minimum of 100 pesos; and I see more than a dozen already of one candidate in our barangay already. So multiply 100 by 12 and that would be 1,200. Add to that the flyers -- mind you colored, the tee-shirts of their supporters, the gasoline needed to run the jeepney that goes around with a loudspeaker announcing the name of the candidate. You would come up with about, conservatively, P5,000 per day of campaigning.

Who can afford that nowadays?

I think that the Comelec should already assess the political tracks of the candidates and abstract from these how best to stop such candidates who violate election rules and regulations, as well as come up with a democratic way by which all candidates could be made to toe the line of having equal exposure as everybody else as candidates.

I can think of this: all candidates before launching their campaigns must be willing to have a uniform kitty: where not one but always, all the candidates will be featured. No candidate should be made to tower over the rest when media covers them or exposes them -- radio, tv, print. In other words, those media that can expose candidates to millions of viewers should be reserved for equal exposure of all.

Now those other gadgets like celphones, telephones, and technology formats like emails, facebook accounts, should be a free-for-all use. In other words, candidates may expose themselves a million times in those as much as they want.

Also, there should be a Comelec hour, whereby the Comelec shall showcase the candidates, one by one on radio, tv, and print. Say a newspaper wants to feature a certain candidate, it should also feature the photos of the other candidates at the end of the same article with brief captions so that the readers shall have a broad glimpse of who are vying for the post. At communities, the Comelec should have one bulletin board for all candidates to use.

 In this way, we are truly democratizing election campaigning and not allowingany individual or group to dominate the political scene.

By the way, I would like to invite the Comelec to visit Barangay Dona Imelda to see who are abiding by or violating Comelec rules and regulations in campaigning.

ASSETS OR LIABILITIES?

by Wilhelmina S. Orozco 

Who are the best killers of votes in a winning political group? I had a few chances of attending a street meeting and an in-door meeting and watching a tv program where some people were endorsing candidates.

1. At one meeting, a candidate said that after the elections, he would be buying motorcycles for all the barangays in his district since his colleague had done the same. (what is this? He falls for the band wagon, no mind of his own? I can't blame him. His number one credential is having the same family name as a very prominent official in Congress.)

2. At another meeting, an endorser of an RH candidate spoke after she did and had gone. The endorser, instead of focussing on her alone, mentioned other names that are to be voted upon. Now if that happens, the person she is endorsing could fall below the list because the others she mentioned are already in the high list of favorites in national surveys. Also, when given a suggestion, she brushed this aside, as if to say, "we have thought of that already." And with another suggestion to have a huge turnout of supporters on May 7th in front of the Supreme Court, whose decision with regard to RH has already given a blackeye to the supporters, this endorser said, "walang pera," as if people will support a massive political participation only if there is money. What is this again? A case of "Kami na lang ang bahala. Huwag ka ng mag-suggest. Alam namin ang ginagawa namin." This is a mentality of "know-it-all" and elitism, that they are the political elite who know what is best for the country.

3. In a news program, I saw the relative talk of her endorsing some members of Team Pinoy, not all. This is a blatant slap on the leader of Team Pino, who is no other than the president. What she was really saying was, "although I am a relative, I have my own mind and I don't care who he endorses. I will endorse my friends, no matter what." This is where I believe that a code of ethics should be developed for relatives of officials. The least they could do is be silent with regard to going contrary to the decisions of their relatives. That is what I would call "delicadeza." A person who rides roughshod on their official-relatives position is trying to grab the limelight, to be more popular, ksp in our Pilipino lingo, or kulang sa pansin. HELP! Please help her discern the truth, that in politics, the best position is to be known as one having the heart for the poor and disadvantaged, and not acting like a moviestar all the time. The occasion calls for restraint and political etiquette.

And so friends, let us be wary not only of how officials appear to us, but also the people surrounding them. Are they assets or liabilities?

BEST GIFT FOR CONTRACTUAL WORKERS

by Wilhelmina S. Orozco


Whenever I vist the malls I get to talk to those women who watch over the entries to cinema houses, the sellers who stand up for 12 to 15 hours on their post because they are not allowed to sit down except probably for a few minutes to eat or snack, as well as those janitresses. Always, they tell me they are contractuals: after 6 months they take a vacation and then wait for a newcontract.

They never get to earn credits for working so hard. They are just honored for the day/s that they are there. This is so unlike those tenured and regular employees who earn credits -- vacation leaves, sick leaves, maternity benefits, child benefits, etc.

The business of contractualization was started because the employers complained about the high salaries they have to pay, apart from the benefits they have to take care of. The compromise with the government was to allow contractualization, just so more people would have jobs, no matter if there are no other benefits save the daily wages.

But this is rather unfair because those who hire them are still in business, going strong and even opening up more branches nationwide and abroad. And so the labor of the contractuals have contributed a the continuation of their business, apart from their expansion.

Hence, this is my suggestion: a company that continues to exist and has an income that is super -- running into millions should be required to hire the employees that they have contractually hired after two years.

Secondly, businesses that used contractual employees should reserve 25% of their net income to pay for the benefits of the contractuals. In other words, although the contractuals' appointment ends after 6 months, they can look forward to having an income once the company registers its income statement to the BIR.

I think that contractuals deserve a better humane treatment especially at this time that more and more women especially are being drawn to separate themselves from their families in order to go abroad and seek greener pastures. By allowing this contractualization to happen, the government is being drawn into a circuitous economic set up that is breaking up families, rearing morally lost children and spouses that turn against their marital vows. This is not creating a healthy society at all.

Now is the time really to look at contractualization in the eye and tell the employers: we have had enough of this circumventing what should be respect for the dignity of labor.

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 

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 

FOLKS, I FEEL VERY SAD. MY BLOG YESTERDAY WAS CLIPPED. I WROTE TWO PARAGRAPHS ABOUT MY LOST CELLFONES AND THEY ARE NOT THERE IN THE DOLDRUMS PIECE. PLEASE WRITE TO P NOY TO ASK THE PNP INTEL GROUP TO STOP THEIR NEFARIOUS ACTS. HELP! HELP! HELP!

WHEN LIFE BECOMES A DOLDRUM

Wilhelmina S. Orozco 


Light rains came last night. What a relief. But not enough. We need more water to wash away the pollution that is taking a toll on the people's health. Everywhere I go, I see people blowing their noise, coughing like a horse,  teary-eyed and having a resigned look as to how the cities are being  administered -- full of traffic, garbage trucks moving about in the daytime without covers, diesel-fed jeepneys and other smoke belching vehicles running hither and dither, disregarding all kinds of ordinances and laws against environmental pollution. What kind of life we have -- a series of doldrum days!

What should be done -- catch all those smoke belchers, set a time for their short entry to the cities unless they are able to clean up their exhaust pipes, give a big chunk of funds for lending to transportation owners to shift to using e-jeeps, teach children and overgrown children to segregate their waste and not to just thrown away anything in the streets? 

So many ways that I think the Dept of Environment and Natural Resources has already done, is doing and implementing. But my solution right now is simple, apart from my endorsing the above actions:

 PLACE HUGE ELECTRIC FANS ON THE ROAD TO BLOW AWAY THE SOOT THAT STAYS ON THE GROUND AS THOSE POLLUTING VEHICLES PASS BY. ALSO PLACE EXHAUST FANS ABOVE MAJOR ROADS, INTERSECTIONS AND HIGHWAYS SO THAT THE AIR WOULD BE MADE CLEANER. 

PLACE MORE WATER FOUNTAINS THAT WILL KEEP THE WEATHER LESS HOT AND TOLERABLE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE TO WORK IN ORDER TO EAT. 

GOD PLEASE MAKE THE ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICIALS MORE SENSITIVE TO THE PEOPLE'S PLIGHT AND HELP THEM OPEN THEIR EYES TO THE NEED TO SERVE EVERY MINUTE AND SECOND OF THEIR LIVES. 

AMEN. 

WHITE SLAVERY MOVEMENT

When women are sold to slavery as sex objects, that act is called white slavery. In recent times, the phrase has turned into trafficking of warm bodies. Always, the element of objectification is there.

Now comes a catholic movement purporting to provide a truthful assessment of who the leaders of our government should be. It calls itself white movement. Isn't that funny?

How come Pope Francis did not get any Filipino cardinal to sit in that group that will study how to update the Roman curiae, how to make Catholicism more relevant to the needs of the people? That could probably be because the Filipino Catholic priests are more Vatican than Vatican. Whereas in Italy divorce and contraceptives are acceptable, the priesthood here hammer on medieval thinking and practices. They want to curtail the freedom of the sexes to protect themselves.

Look what happens as this movement campaigns against the Reproductive Health Law. It wants to make women turn away from protecting themselves against rapists-husbands, AIDS- customers in the case of prostitutes, and violence-prone sex partners. It encourages unbridled pregnancies and claims that they are being religious in that manner. But what is being religious? Does it mean not thinking of the future of the flock? Does it mean driving them to unprotected sex?

And what about the unwanted children borne of such liaisons? Our population is reaching 100 million already. How will the Church contribute to feeding, clothing, educating them? Are they ready to reserve 80% of their alms every mass to the feeding of these children? I doubt it very much.


And by what fiat do they base their opinion that reproductive health is their territory only?


I am really aghast at the holier-than-thou attitude of some Catholic priests and laypeople following them in our country. Despite the many books they have read about liberation theology they persist in living in the dark ages.

Then, look at how the Catholic Church turn a blind eye to the very scenes that will cause people to sin. They are ready to pounce on people who do not go to Church but look at the women who go there -- wearing short shorts and making the men feel the sex urge. Does the Church bother about female students in Catholic universities wearing the same? Nada, not a squeak. The image of Mother Mary is looked upon as outdated. The Filipino women have gone overboard in copying the fashion that makes exposing the thighs the high point of their being "fuckshion" icons. Sure some priests have called attention on this but in general, the view is to keep mum and let them do "their thing.|" Need we wonder at all that no Philippine university can be found in the first 50 rankings of world class universities? Our educational system has really gone very low and women are just very cheap to look at. Does the Church care? Not at all.


What about the TV programs during lunchtime? Women in bikinis "bumibisaklat" on stage to show how they can split their legs without experiencing any injury. This vaudeville act is the normal show in the girlie-girlie bars frequented for the very bare, skimpy attires by men out for "sexual entertainment," besides the after shows. Now the bar shows have invade the tv stations, beamed to millions of viewers including children who future regard for women definitely will include their sex objectification.

And so what are the effects of these happenings to our women? Of course, women get the end of the bargain -- low salaries, less if nil promotion, dismissal outright, least preference for employment (unless they can prove that they can offer "something palatable." Just the other night I was at an American restaurant, and the male manager hit the behind of the sales girl who cried out, " Sir, ha." when I pointed out this thing to the female manager, right away the guy followed up and said that he was not aware of it at all. What?? He was insensitive? )



I think now is the time for everyone to take stock of the Catholic religion. Let us believe in Christ, in the Trinity, but let us reserve our real lives for ourselves -- the proper existence where we may still enjoy life and tap our talents and potentials for ourselves and the good of humanity.

And so the white slavery movement, as well as those that campaign against all RH law advocates, what do you say to the above? Stop presenting yourselves as pure and "white" but deep inside you, have you really discussed the most serious questions besetting our women, our country? May first will be coming soon. Let us be more courageous in delving to such issues mentioned above so that our women workers will still find it worthwhile working here in our country, instead of abroad. Home is where the heart is, we say, but given some Catholic moralists with questionable agenda, I must say it the disheartened heart, the callous heart, that could be lurking at the corner.

 Ms. LLITA LOGARTA was my first editor who gave me the freedom to think and write about feminist. I rue her passing away. She never cut down any ideas of mine that I presented to her. She was very liberal and accepting of all the things that I had written for that small space in the PDI way back between 1989 and 1992. And when the editor-in-chief wanted to remove me, she was there behind my back and offering a quiet support, although she knew that the problem was deeper than what was presented in reality -- that my writings had stepped on the toes of one official hit by my article on "Cheating in the Elections." God rest her beautiful soul please. 

ON THE DIVIDED KOREA

Korea is in the stage of starting a war among themselves. A country that has two kinds of cultures, one communist and the other democratic albeit traditional in some aspects. I wonder why until now it has not united? Germany used to be divided into east and west. Now it is just one country. Vietnam also used to be North and South Vietnam but now has one name.

The United Nations should not allow the entry of countries with the same names, I think. It becomes very confusing to the kids why they have to be divided. Imagine, they have the same roots, race and history, but only due to some kind of freakish wars were they divided.

The new millenium should usher in a new definition of nationhood. No longer should we allow competitive politics to rule the world, but rather one which allows all living beings to exist and co-exist without the other always on toes on whether his or her neighbor will be pouncing on them.

I think children have a nicer view of human relations. They forget easily why they had fought a playmate and just get on with the next game that they can play. Adults tend to harbor ill feelings, unearthing millennial old, or shall we say, in the case of Korea, decades only angst and stresses in order to maintain a status quo that puts the whole world in a state of suspense and fear.

I know this sounds like a kindergarten view of world politics, but then isn't child's perspective healthier when it comes to talking about the growth of a country? Who wants wars to happen where only blood and gore will prevail and probably pour on the land? I think that we should declare war as obsolete and find ways and means to make all those who conduct them think a hundred times whether they are worth it or not.

To deal with recalcitrants like the Abu Sayyaf and the Al Quaida, I think that their relatives should be rounded up and let's see if they would ever get near them. I think that is a valid tactic because not just the area where they operate but all over the world, the people can no longer enjoy the simple things in life.

Going back to Korea, I think that we should gather all the intellectuals -- the teachers, writers, students --  of Korea, from North and South and ask them what moves can be made to soften the stance of their leaders. We should communicate with them as ordinary folks and urge them to take the path of dialogue into solving the problems that disunite them.

I hope that we could do this as soon as possible to pre-empt  any untoward move from whichever party.

SO BE IT.

LES MISERABLES: LOVE IN THE TIME OF THE REVOLUTION

LES MISERABLES: LOVE IN THE TIME OF THE REVOLUTION

Wilhelmina S. Orozco

Did Victor Hugo change the idea of love in his book, Les Miserables? When you watch the film you will find various meanings of love, based on Christian tenets of “Love your neighbor as yourself.” I watched the film more than four times, the first, only half of it. I had to repeat watching it because of its musicality. I could not feel the time passing while viewing scene by scene revolutionary singers, singing in tune and hearing their with meaningful lyrics. Yes, I would recommend the film as must-watch especially for Christians who are at a loss as to what Christian love means.

Mother’s love

Fantine (Anna Hathaway) exemplifies the adoring, devoted mother who sacrifices her life and honor just to be able to give sustenance to her daughter, Cosette taken care of by debauched innkeepers (played by Sacha Baron and Helena Bonham Carter). After being disemployed and thrown out of the factory of rosary beads owned by La Mere (played by Hugh Jackman), she enters prostitution, but after selling her daughter’s locket, her hair and then her teeth, for ten, twenty francs? So cheap at that time. She catches illness and just as she was getting worse, Mr. La Mere springs up to save her from the clutches of a brusque customer and the police, headed by Javert.

Fantine lyrics: “To love another person is to see the face of God.”

- “Take my hand and lead me to salvation.”

Love of work

Javert, the police who hunts down Jean Valjean, the prisoner sent on parole and then who escapes, not reporting anymore as he has been ordered to do, is a prime example of the rightist – the individual who upholds the law no matter the costs. He likens those who flaunt the law like Lucifer who must descend to hell. For Javert, the law is like the commandments of God, and so he seeks God’s intercession so that he can catch Jean Valjean. Here we see that Victor Hugo has placed the idea of God as one who looks after the good and bad guys in the world, as Javert belongs to the latter in the story.

Javert’s lyrics: ‘Can this man’s sins be forgiven, Is he from heaven or hell?”

Romantic love

The love of Eponine, daughter of corrupted couple-innkeepers, for Marius is typically unrequited love She romantically hankers for him but his sights after all are for Cosette. And so Eponine sings, “On my own” with lyrics that say that “I love him but only on my own.” Eponine we might say belongs to the poor class while Marius, the bourgeoisie in French society. And so her love maybe characterized as slavish. When Marius requests her to seek the address of Cosette, Eponine agrees to do so. When Marius was about to be attacked by the soldiers, she brought herself between them and got killed in the process. Her song with Marius speaks only of his being with her and not loving her, whereas Marius offers words of love to make her live.

A child’s love of country

However, Javert has a redeeming grace. He is set free by Jean as he was about to executed by the rebels who had found him acting as an impostor-rebel but giving the wrong information about the time of attack of the King’s soldiers. It was the little child who exposes him as the head of the police. As the child himself dies in the film, upon seeing his corpse, Javert pins his own medal of honor on him.

Why did the child die? At that time when the people had deserted the rebels, knowing the heavy equipment that the State could use against them, the rebel leaders were wavering whether to continue or not. But a child’s love of country knows no bounds. It is just pure and simple love without any idea of death at all. And so he sang the rebels song, “Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry (ones). It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again.” As the child sang that, the adult rebels take heart and sing with him. Unfortunately, a King’s soldier shoots him down.

Rebels’ love of country

The way the rebels taunted Marius for his romantic love for Cosette shows that this is really a universal phenomenon. The rebels told him that to be patriotic is a higher cause than falling in love with one person, and that Marius cannot possibly succumb to his vulnerable emotions but should rather use reason.

Thus in the song about red and black, lyrics go this way, contrapuntally:

MARIUS: Red the color of desire

Black the color of despair

REBELS: Red, the blood of angry men

Black: the night that leads to dawn

Red: the world about to dawbn

Black, the dark that ends at last.

During the seventies here in our country, this dilemma of whether to serve the aims of the revolution against Marcos or remain dedicated to domestic concerns was very much felt. Many people became afraid to confront the dictatorship, but not until the 80’s when Ninoy had died and Cory led the movement to restore democracy in our country.

Thus, I recommend that every NGO (non-government organization) member learn the lyrics and sing the song. It helps to know that in the time of the revolution, even personal desires could rankle anyone.

Love of a surrogate father

Jean Valjean takes over as the father and mother of Cosette. His love for her is fraught with danger as Javert hounds him at every corner. But his will to live, to be free cannot be broken. Towards the end, when he feels that his age is catching up with him, he stumbles upon Marius courting Cosette secretly. But Marius belongs to the rebel groups.

Jean Valjean’s love for Cosette makes him sacrifice himself – going to the ranks of the rebels just so he could find out who this Marius is and make him be with Cosette. Marius is hurt and lost consciousness during the massacre and confrontation between the rebels and the State police. Valjean carries him away from the scene so that he will live and be with Cosette.

Valjean’s lyrics: “I can die in peace for my life is blessed.

”

n  “Take this children Lord in thy embrace and give them grace.”

Cupid-style

Love at first sight sparked between Marius and Cosette, to the despair of Eponine. This might have been a compromise of Hugo to the general notion that Cupid could play tricks to anyone at anytime. The love between the two is blessed by Valjean who was feeling his age catching up on him. However, with regard to his true background as a prisoner-parole escapee, Valjean keeps from Cosette, for fear that she will be disgraced.

Valjean’s lyrics: “Truth is given by God in our time, in our term.”

Debauched Love 

The love between the Thenardiers, the innkeepers is one of "You use me, I use you" type. The man uses the woman to run the inn and at the same time freely liaises with others he may fancy, while the woman, pretends to like a customer but steals money from him. One of her customers is that soldier who heads the group that attacks the rebels at the barricade. Actually the life at the inn is like hell -- where you have sex, violence, lying, stealing, child abuse, and all kinds of  Luciferic activities committed by people from all walks of life including the clergy. 

Love of life

Not only did Valjean save the lives of a worker pinned down by a pillar, Cosette, of and Marius, he also saves the life of Javert. In the process of executing Javert, the rebels meet Valjean who because of his alert reaction killed a traitorous pro-royalty standing atop one of the towers. In exchange for his valiant act, the rebels asked him what he wanted, and he asked for the life of Javert. However, instead of killing him, Jean Valjean sets him free. True to form, Javert did not consider it an act worthwhile for he warned Valjean that he would still hunt him down later on. Valjean gave him his address where he could be found.

In this instance, friends’ and enemies’ lives are both important to Valjean as he himself has been the recipient of the unconditional love of that priest in the convent who gave him shelter.

By the way, after his release from prison, Jean Valjean could not find work, was ostracized by society, which denied him a room at the inn. (Here Hugo seems to liken Valjean’s search for an inn to the travels of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, in search of a place to stay.) Finally he settles down in a space by a convent where the priest finds him and opens the doors of charity to him – food, shelter, a warm bed and peace of mind.

So that priest’s belief in his capacity to change, transformed Valjean himself into a new man and became a very rich businessman owning a rosary factory.

The priest’s Christian love – undiscriminating – became a model for Valjean to become a good citizen even to the point of setting free his nemesis, Javert.

French belief in Christianity

I am completely surprised by the very Christian outlook of Hugo here, and which was given justice by the filmmakers, maybe by director Tom Hooper or maybe as ideated by Cameron Mackintosh, the producer. In the dialogue, there is frequent mention of Jesus, of God. Fantine says: “if God knew me now, he would let me die instead.” Javert prays to God to be able to catch Valjean. Valjean prays to God to let him bring home Marius to Cosette. In that scene where Fantine is hallucinating over Cosette, she sees the image of her child approaching her through a gauzy curtain but with the cross to her right.

The cross

Actually the cross is very visible all throughout the film. From the factory where the rosary is being strung, the rosary which Jean Valjean gives to Javert who visits him in his office, the room of Jean Valjean at the end of the film where a cross hangs by the wall.

God as savior and friend

But God is not some kind of an entity that is too high and omnipotent to be reached. Valjean and the other characters speak, mention or even talk to God as a friend just standing by or sitting down with them everyday. Even the rebels reveal their theistic upbringing.

I think that the film is very good material for the youth of our country, supposedly the only Catholic country in Asia, so that they may understand the real meaning of having faith.

The film shows us that amid poverty and struggles for transformation, we do not lose our faith in God and in fact it inspires us to live and be humane to fellow human beings.

 As a last note, I scanned the pages of Les Miserables the book and found some scenes of which the filmmakers have taken liberty, meaning they had changed some of the actions. For example when Valjean gets Cosette, in the book, he stays overnight at the inn and gets her in the morning. But in the film, the deed is done right away, perhaps to show that urgency of the situation, whereby Javert could surface at any time and catch Valjean. 

In the book also, Fantine dies because she hits her head on something, but in the film she just loses consciousness. That scene is very moving and dramatic and perhaps there is reason to change the writings of Hugo. Then,  there is an extensive portrayal of Marius as the son of the nobility in the book whereas in the film, the treatment of him centers on being a suitor to Cosette and a hesitant comrade to the rebels. 

I think that the film should have been titled "The Miserables" with a caption, based on Hugo's book. When great liberties are taken of the contents of a book, then that film because an entity of its own, albeit adapted from the original. Most of all, the film is musical, which the book did not have, and hence the filmmakers -- director, composer, lyricist, scriptwriter, and everybody elses, have produced a semi-original film. By having a title of its own, then the people involved  credited  for  their visually and aurally satisfying portrayal of the plot in the book. 

May there be more of this film, historical, touching and musical.