ON INTELLECTUAL COPYRIGHT

By Wilhelmina S. Orozco

Folks, sometime in 2007, our organization, Diwata Society of Women in Philosophy and Education put up a seminar-workshop for inventors, containing topics about tapping their creativity, ideas about marketing and distributing as well as promoting their products. It was very successful as it was funded by the TAPI of the Department of Science and Technology.

This year, I was asked by one of the participants to repeat that seminar-workshop and so I proposed the same project to TAPI. After evaluation, the committee wrote me to say that they have a similar program. Where did they get that except from our own project?

Now I am wondering if the Intellectual Property Office should step in and say that this is a case of intellectual piracy. Who will protect us from the government when it appropriates ideas of the NGOs, allowing the staff to use the same ideas and methods of imparting knowledge.

This is a ticklish issue but I am bringing it up because it seems that as we in the non-government movement think of new ideas, suddenly, the government is appropriating them and then leaving us in the cold to look for funds abroad.

My goodness! Lawyers help!!!

Generosity During Christmas, (edited)

(Folks sorry for the mistakes below. I have edited them, though. Thanks for your patience.)
by Wilhelmina S. Orozco

Christmas is a very important event in the lives of the Filipino people. It's a time for gathering all relatives, related directly and indirectly; a time for children to enjoy being hugged and kissed like the baby Jesus in the manger. No where else do we get our sense of family ties than in the idea of Christmas.

The humble beginnings of Christ make us look towards Christmas as a time for caring for those who have less in life. We find ways to bring them gifts, no matter how cheap just so they could feel special. Although some poor people would dare ask, "Nasaan ang regalo ko?" rather brazenly, we always take it in stride. It is a given, an obligation on the part of those who have been lucky to have been born with parents who looked after their future, to to those who are conscientized to show their generosity, no matter what the costs.

Of course, as the years have passed, our idea of Christmas has become rather commercial, which I really rue very much. I do think that we should have more concerts at shopping malls, and Santa Clauses greeting children without necessarily asking them what you want for Christmas. Santas should ask children, "How will you spend Christmas? Would you like to give something to the poor children? Do you have poor friends? How will you make them happy?"

I do think that inculcating nurturing feelings start at home and in our surroundings. Children must be taught not only to take and take during Christmas but also give and give, not really to the point of hurting.

This morning, I heard over the radio that there is a flux of arrivals at the airport -- our OFWs, mga kababayan who will spend Christmas here. I am trying to stop my tears from falling because I know how difficult it is for them to be separated from their families. I spent Christmas in London, twice, in LA once and in New York once and I felt the pangs of loneliness, except when I went with friends to hear mass at some Catholic Churches. Otherwise, it is quite lonely because Christmas does not seem to be popular in the west, except Thanksgiving. Greeting someone "Merry Christmas!" sounds very perfunctory there and I can feel that Christianity -- although friends are very generous -- is not really a key word. Generosity is practiced but to attribute it to Christ does not seem to be followed at all.

Anyway, let us make this Christmas the happiest for all our kababayan coming home. Every home window let us decorate with welcome home banners to signify to them that we miss them a lot, and wish this administration could make the return of all OFWs to our homecountry be realized within its term -- providing them decent jobs with salaries that could equal if not approximate what they are now earning abroad.

I also heard over the radio that government employees will be receiving their Christmas bonuses, 13th month pay, amounting to P10,000 ++. That is a lot of money for buying food to be eaten on Christmas day. Maybe the government could suspend the imposition of the VAT and EVAT this December so that all prices of goods, especially food and travel, would go down and allow our kababayan to enjoy Christmas gastronomically.

But to really make the Christmas season meaningful, I do think that PNoy could really touch the hearts of the people if he gives us a reprieve from the skyrocketing prices of utilities, oil and basic necessities. We deserve that don't we? After all we have been singing Hallelujiah to the administration ever since it assumed power. We have been very peaceful and caring of each other, except some recalcitrants in Mindanao.

We must realize heaven on earth, not just by looking at the pictures and exhibits of the Nativity everywhere. everyone to enjoy the season.

So help us God.

WHEN WRITINGS BECOME OPPRESSIVE

Wilhelmina S. Orozco

NEWS ORGANIZATIONS had a heyday when Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was photographed by the police as a record of her arrest for Philippine electoral sabotage in 2007. What particularly caught my attention though was the mentioning of former President Estrada’s incarceration, a parallel narration of his past record, and complete with a mugshot in one newspaper, side by side with GMA's case. A TV news broadcaster reported the same topic heavily.

History of Philippine Journalism
Journalists in our country have a long history dating back to the Spanish era when the revolutionaries were printing their own newspaper questioning the colonial policies in the country. Then during the American period, the journalism field flourished especially in the English writing sector. Many columnists and writers learned the craft easily as their were printed liberally by English newspapers. It was only during martial law that the journalistic field in our country found itself in a quandary: whether to accept or reject the administration. Accepting it was allowing itself to be told, and/or be paid handsomely, by the powers-that-be. Rejecting it was facing the consequences of censorship by the newspaper owners, or arrest and incarceration by the military under Marcos orders.

As some media practitioners pondered over their fate, others, however, were showing their bravery, writing for the underground press or putting out papers that were highly critical of that administration, never mind if they were just mimeographed. Malaya newspaper under Jose Burgos was a prime example of brave journalism at that time. Later on when Cory came into the picture, the mosquito press came about like the Mr. and Ms. which gave the true picture of the country fearlessly. However, when Cory defeated Marcos who then had fled and was flown to Hawaii by the Americans, Philippine newspaper history changed altogether – the mosquito press which flourished during the anti-dictatorship campaigns were able to strengthen their foothold in our shores while those who catered to the previous administration became more open about printing the various sides of issues. The latter was able to exist during martial law and afterwards, showing the business acumen of their publishers. "Know when to ride with the tide."

By the way, the role of media during martial law was particularly acute -- I myself had to postpone my academic pursuits in Masters in Communication in Ateneo at that time. I had asked myself then -- what is more important, studying to get a diploma or practicing communication truthfully?

Today, we are faced again with questions about the role of media in history, in society. Will media continue to be brave in reporting issues? What are the boundaries of being brave? Should being sensationalist in the treatment of issues be part of that principle to make courageous writings?

Victim Questions: Does a person who has served his/her sentence and released already have any right to protection of his/her reputation, that is his/her record no longer being mentioned at all? Does such a person have any right to question this enumeration or renarration ad nauseam again of his/her past record, including the printing of his/her police photo appearing as if he/she were a criminal who has just been arrested?

Media Questions: Are media objectives to uphold the truth, accuracy and objectivity boundless? When is a news report biased against the subject instead of being principled?

I think that there is a world of difference in treating the case of GMA and that of Pres. Estrada. The case of GMA is ongoing, and therefore the readers are entitled to know fresh events happening. However, to run that parallel to a narration of the past, does not look objective anymore. Using parallelism is a reporter's and/or editor's bias.

That parallelism is meant to lump the cases of the two as both criminals. The first is still being tried, while the other has already served his sentence, been pardoned and released, and is leading a private life.
Question: Doesn’t anyone who has served sentence no longer deserve respect in the media? Is it necessary to harp on Pres. Estrada’s past record despite the fact that he served already his sentence?

Knowledge and bias
A newspaper report can produce two things: knowledge and bias. Knowledge is that which a reader gets – the who, what, why, where, how and why of issues and events. Bias is that attitude produced from a write-up which is slanted, lacking in facts or shortcutting of facts. A biased attitude can result in distorted opinions, and for the public to hold such is to make them a fertile ground for dictatorship again, in this case, media dictatorship.

The Society of Professional Journalists has a Preamble to its Code of Ethics which states:
...public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility.

I am really wondering where fairness and honesty exist in the case above-mentioned. Putting a parallelism between the case of GMA and that of Pres. Estrada is definitely a reporter’s bias. In fact, it is highly questionable why the need to reiterate the charges against him, or why reprint his police photo.

Anyway, is there room for biased reporting in media? None of course. GMA committed a political misbehavior, a negative political practice which robbed the people of votes and that great chance to choose our own leaders. Pres. Estrada’s was economic in nature, and the funds involved were not even public money. GMA is about to serve her sentence, if ever she will be sentenced, whereas Pres. Estrada is already through with that.

Corollary to the above questions: Can an ex-prisoner not become an ordinary person upon release, possessing his/her human rights without being reminded, and the public being told of his past again and again?

Where lies compassion in our society?

Where lies media objectivity now? I do think that if Philippine journalism has to prosper, it must adhere sensitively to media principles, constantly conduct self-introspection, and be always alert to not using media for self-aggrandizement, nor for subtly oppressing people , but rather to use media for educating the readers to ethical political directions and considerations, thus empowering them as human rights literate activists.

ON SHADOW GOVERNMENTS

by Wilhelmina S. Orozco


What is the purpose of a government? A GOVERNMENT EXISTS TO PROTECT
THE PEOPLE, THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS, AND EXISTING SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT.

The run of political events in our country shows that there are
several groups attempting to create their own worlds of power to run
their own principles for existence,.

The worst are the underground governments wanting to co-exist with the
existing administration of PNoy. They even have military power
challenging the capacity of the state to protect itself from sabotage
and political destabilization.

The Philippines is entering a new era after more than a decade of
manipulation of elite groups out to make an economic killing out of
being in positions of political power.

Our people have grown politically mature by the strong and fierce
debates on many issues which have a bearing on our ability to choose
our own leaders electorally, on the women’s right to decide on when to
get pregnant, on when to allow the elctions to occur in Mindanao ARMM,
and even minor issues like texting taxes and increase of toll fees in
super highways.

The existing administration cannot ignore the people’s demand now to
hear the call for the clearing of the real issues on what happened in
the 2004 and 2007 ewlections. It is saddled with the responsibility to
look after the past, the present and the future of the country. It is
not true that it should only concern itself with creating jobs,
increasing the taxes collected, and making the peso rise in purchasing
power. It has that larger role to show to the people that past errors
and manipulation to capture electoral powers are unpardonable crimes
that have to be rectified. This is the only way for the country to
move forward.

However, we need to be vigilant against shadow governments that seek
to return to or maintain the power of ill elements in our society.
They are out to destabilize the present administration and eventually
install or reinstall their corrupt leaders.

OF DREAMS AND DESTINIES

OF DREAMS AND DESTINIES
By Wilhelmina S. Orozco

Why do we suffer from the same problems all the time: poverty, violence, and apathy to what is going on around us?

I think that these problems stem from our lack of will power or inherent weakness of our will power to solve our problems now. By now I mean with greater resolve to solve them today and everyday.

Now why do we lack that will power? Actually so many factors are impinging on our minds, affecting our hearts and behavior, which weaken, slow down, and even deaden our minds all the time. These are brought about by institutional, environmental and violent forces in our country.

As we know, will power is that capacity to volunteer, to act on our life, the realities around us with great decisiveness. But we are not given the opportunity to that all the time. Instead we are made to kowtow, to use other people, to depend on others in order to get what we want, to get the necessary changes that we need in our lives.

There is so much power-wielding in our society that the people lose that inertia, to initiate changes themselves. Power-wielders either have political or economic clout.

What are the examples of these?

Hence the so-called people power is being weakened by these power-wielders and thus has become a relic of our past.

Thus the minds of our people are slowly being attuned to the idea that initiating changes, making moves to rise above the current realities is a losing proposition, “suntok sa buwan” or a product of the imagination not worthy of being pursued at all. People begin to think that corrupt or evil ways are “normal” occurrences and that they form part of life.

People who occupy high places in society, although crooked in their ways, are called “maabilidad,” or “wa-is,” or “pana-panahon lang yan,” meaning each one, whether good or evil will have their own chance in being victorious in whatever manner. In other words, the people have gotten so used to corrupt ways that they now view them as part of living in our society.

So much losses have occurred already in our society – lives, our natural resources, and our greatest resource – the intellectual products put out by inventors, authors, and all creative people.

Lives have been lost due to gangsterism, literally and figuratively. Gang violence is rampant causing the loss of human lives. Political gangsterism has made installing “fake officials” official. Drug taking has created a toll on the minds of the young people, making them lose their directions in life.

Our natural resources are being depleted with nary any benefit to our people. We are losing our trees as a consequence of which floods occur that cause in turn loss of lives and properties. Our air is polluted causing illnesses which our people cannot even afford to cure by themselves. Our seas, which are great sources of marine life, are not well-taken care of. Other nations are even entering our archipelagic boundaries depleting our marine resources for their own gains.

On the other hand, the creative outputs of our people – literary, artistic, philosophical, technological-- are not being given immediate and strong attention. What about the intellectual writings? We seem to lack philosophical writings that will address our status as a people, writings that will point to us the way to living a fulfilled life. Instead we have pragmatic discourses, all devoted to analyzing and proffering solutions to problems which occur and recur all the time. How many Filipino inventions have been sold abroad thus benefiting other people instead of ours? Can’t we have the minds of Steve Jobs and bring about technological innovations ourselves? Our literary output are read by writers themselves, not by the ordinary folks. (I have been thinking, the Ani Journal should be put out, after being produced as a journal, as segregated sections printed in newsprint to make them accessible to the people at a cheap price. The CCP has to make its output available at popular prices and not be a counterpart of the MOMA in NYCor the Louvre Museum in Paris, France the products of which are affordable to the rich tourists.)

Actually, we need philosophy in life; we need to philosophize in order to make us abstract lessons from what is occurring in our daily lives. We should not even be afraid to philosophize, to look at our lives from a distance.

Right now, many religious and spiritual beliefs are competing for the attention of the people. Many use the various books to give an explanation to what is occurring in our midst. Actually all these beliefs give the people hope. Not one is teaching how to be a nihilist or someone destructive of one’s own life. (Unfortunately, those committing suicides have not heard or refuse to listen to them, which is a sad thing, really.) Instead they promise everlasting life, an enlightened life, nirvana or problem-free life, and many more. The most important thought in learning these beliefs is how to connect them to our realities and give justification for us to seek our dreams and destinies.

Hence, for those who are into advocacies, we need to rethink how to alter the minds of the people, how to make them conquer such thoughts, how to make them hold themselves up as a people whose destinies and dreams must be respected and allowed to be fulfilled. How do we do that?

First of all, the people must erase in their minds that other people should think for them. It is good to refer, confer, and seek advice from other people but ultimately it is they who should make the decisions. This means removing patriarchal mindsets that uphold power for power’s sake.

Secondly, the existence of certain institutions that foster obeisance or strengthen images of authoritarians must be challenged. Who are these authorities, by what right do they wield power – is it legitimate or il? Who held them up as authorities – by tradition, or by democratic choice? Are their powers directed to the good life of the people, or their own, and their families and relatives?

Thirdly, what are the methods, the ways by which we ourselves can influence the people so that they will take up the cudgels for their own destinies, make decisions major and minor as to where their lives will be leading to?

The mind of the people must be attuned to their own dreams and destinies. We must take care of their minds because otherwise they would be slaves forever to the forces who seek a hold on them and maintain their dominant positions forever, for good or ill.

Dreams and destinies are inherent in and are the rights of every individual. Those who deny others of these are being cruel; in fact those who kill people have already killed their right to take hold of their own lives.

Dreams contain our wishes of what we want to become, what we want to be in life. They provide us that impetus to go on living so that we may attain them. Once a person stops dreaming then he or she is a slave to the material life already. But so long as everyone dreams – wishing for attaining something that will fulfill their talents and skills and be of service in turn to the majority of the people – then they are living healthy lives.

Now destiny is that point where the individual has already done everything to be what he or she is, meaning to say, that is the summum bonum or that peak in one’s life whereby one can already say “I have attained it.”

Jose Rizal, our national hero attained the peak of his life, his dream of awakening the people through his writings, the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo. It was his destiny to reveal to the world how the Filipino people lived under that period and so directed our history as a people to a life of independence. In the same way, when Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quijote de la Mancha, he also was saying something about the Spanish period in the 16th century. He was asking the readers to question the aristocracy and knighthood for their rational contributions to society. So also did Dostoyevsky write his novels, Crime and Punishment in Russia, in order to expose his society. Harriet Tubbman in the 18th century also wrote about slavery in the United States in order to expose it as inhuman and to make the government ban it forever.

Each of the authors above rose above their plain lives in order to create a dent on then hearts and minds of the people. They fulfilled their destinies maybe even without their meaning to, and so look at those societies and ours now.

Ninoy and Cory Cojuangco Aquino have already written their lives. Ninoy’s destiny was ended abruptly and thus was not able to see the obliteration of dictatorship in our country. Cory had the same vision of Ninoy and so was able to carry it out to fruition. However, side by side with her vision were the various collectives of people who had also a vision of where to go and how to attain it – by action together in unison to remove all vestiges of one-man military rule.

Unfortunately, our destiny to recover from that nightmarish period was cut short by the series of administrations which deflected the minds of the people from their own destinies. Here we see how certain individuals can do harm to the attainment of the people’s destiny.

So under PNoy, we need to be vigilant and see what he can do – as he said in his earliest speeches – “Puwede na tayong mangarap muli.” Six years is his term. And let us see what he can do to help shape the people’s destiny.

ON PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

Sometimes earning a diploma is not enough for us to know how to negotiate our way through society. My own degree, AB Speech and Drama was not enough for me to know how to work my way through life -- like how to face interviews at work, how to run a drama club and make it earn so that you could have funds for the next production, how to reach out to the public so that they would buy the tickets to the show, and most of all, how to psychologize the actors and actresses so that they would stick to the production till its final presentation, among other things. Instead, I learned this along the way -- when I had been producing shows myself,.

To negotiate should be an important part of knowledge in college, and possibly high school. Sometimes the young people could be misguided and think that to achieve they have to trade off something -- money, chastity -- or perhaps use "konek" in order to get by. Actually this happens only when the rules of acceptance in a job are not clear at all and the applicant is highly desperate to find a job.

Actually learning to negotiate is very important whether inside the family or the larger society, especially in the latter. Being in government most of all, requires knowing how to negotiate -- not just within the office, but also outside, when there are tasks to be done, like pacifying groups of people who want to get answers to their needs rather quickly.

Neither can one learn how to negotiate in the office, unless the "boss" initiates the employees to it.

But negotiating with the armed groups in our country requires greatest tact and diplomacy, i surmise. Tact is important so as not to hurt the feelings of the people one is facing to negotiate with. On the other hand, "diplomacy is the employment of tact to gain strategic advantage or to find mutually acceptable solutions to a common challenge, one set of tools being the phrasing of statements in a non-confrontational, or polite manner."

Of all the people I have heard talk about the problem in Mindanao, it was only Sen. Nene Pimentel who called the MILF and all other groups there, "our brothers." A brother is one we are related with by blood. By calling them "brothers," Sen. Pimentel is already considering them as his relatives, not strangers in our land.

I think that is a good way of starting any peace talks with the MILF and all other groups at war with the government. Let us call them "brothers" even if they had killed a number of our soldiers, simply because to call them otherwise is to deepen that schism between us and them.

The problem with negotiating however is that the people you are faced with on the table may not be the right ones who can make the final say on any agreement. And that is where the problem starts. Those behind the scenes could be a lot more radical and unwavering in sticking to their guns. That is where the problem begins. No one can invoke "palabra de honor" from any of those in the negotiating panel; instead there would only be "verbal exchanges," meaningful or not, it will depend on those at the back in the long run.

Say, everyone by the table are honorable and would honor whatever would be said there, what is the next? I think that as a citizen of the country, I would like to know the minutes of such discussions. I would like to know how the government panel is answering or responding to the questions of the Muslim groups. Here is where I think that the media should really get into. We must know how the government panel is facing them and then we would know why the discussions are bogging down all the time.

This much I would grant our Muslim brothers and sisters at this time: media space. All radio stations should have at least one hour daily program devoted solely to their concerns. All newspapers should also have Muslim opinion makers -- women and men -- so that we would know what they want and need. When writers talk of women and children, they must include them as well, including all other indigenous groups.Cultural programs must include the arts of the indigenous groups. Write-ups about food, about fashion, could also include those that would make the Islamic shine side by side with the "Christian" or western ideas of products and designs.

I recall now that in every production that the Kalipunan ng Malalayang Pilipina women in media theatre group, we have always included Prof. Kanapi Kalanduyan, his kulintang ensemble and lately even a dancer. Last January 8, 2011 during the centennial celebration of the creation of the UP Department of Biology, we present the ensemble in the beginning and during the program itself. They provided the kulintant music during the breaks. Then at our show with Paco Park Presents, last March 4, 2011, coordinated by National Parks Development Committee Gie Villasor-Arnold, we presented the dancer while an elderly Muslim woman, wearing a turban, played the agong.

By culturally integrating our Mindanao kababayan, we are giving them due recognition and respect of their culture; as a consequence, we would be erasing the idea that the Philippines is run by imperial Manilenos and Manilenas or metroManilans.

I think we have been able to cleanse many government institutions, especially the executive department, in our country simply because it has been easy for the media to get the right facts and information from them. Hence, scandals, scams and corruption do not go unnoticed. However, in the military scenery, all we get are second hand information -- from spokespersons, from this and that individual who could be indirectly connected only to the actual negotiations.

How else should we integrate them into our society -- as I believe we should not have a separate state for them- ?

Cultural integration is the key to winning their hearts and minds not merely money and never through bullets and bombs.

ON BEING A STATE OFFICIAL

Rising to power in a country is a very difficult challenge especially if the population runs into millions and hundreds of millions. Then once elected, the next phase is how to maintain that power well onto its legal termination, and not by some kind of people power. Of course some leader choose to retain that power without end, just like Marcos and Khaddafy, with the latter reaching his ignominious end in the long run.

Crucial to this run for power are those institutions like the Commission on Elections which has that implicit and explicit role to check and approve who can run and who cannot run. During the time of GMA, many people parties, individuals, and party-list groups had their applications denied without any reason at all. I was told by an operator -- There's no way you can run, no way your application can be approved. So I wondered why he could say that with finality. Then I remembered him asking me, "Can you not raise P300,000?" No I don't have that much money, I said. "Can you not mortgage your house?" he asked further. I was too intimidated to ask him for whom that money was supposed to be; all along I had thought it would be for the printing of flyers, for going around the country to campaign. Then a fellow applicant told me, "he is a Comelec operator," someone who operates outside of the law to get funds to be shared with Comelec officials.

So with the turn of events in our country, I am still amazed that PNoy has won the elections -- what without greasing the palms of those guys? With the current moves to charge those who were responsible for stealing the people's votes in 2004 I now see that PNoy did not bribe any of those officials.

You see, you can know a crooked official by the way he smiles. He has that smirk as if to say, "You don't know me but I can put one over you." I saw that in the face of one of those commissioners who faced me when I was arguing my way to become a senatorial candidate in front of the Comelec en banc way back in 2009. He had that greedy look and kept on shaking his head -- probably he could not fathom why this individual and those individuals could be so naive to think that just by simply presenting pieces of paper, their credentials, no matter how pristine or how involved they had been in advocacies, could readily have their applications approved.

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree that those people should be charged with sabotage of the people's right to suffrage, the people's right to elect our own leaders. Let us feel the wrath of history on them. And they should not be allowed to leave the country at all until they have cleared their names of misdeeds and crimes against the people.

To steal the people's votes is to steal history -- the present and the future of generations of people. No purportedly Christian nation should ever allow that to pass at all without punishment.

Stealing is against the Ten Commandments. Stealing the people's right to choose leaders is an act against Christian principles. And those priests who condoned the stealing should also be punished, for they were wearing two hats then -- that of being the shepherd of God, and another, that of Al Capone.

Why the priests? Those who connived with that administration misused the words of the Bible to misguide the people. Worse yet, they enjoyed manna from it. By penalizing them, we are adhering to the tenets of Christ and strengthening our own value systems so that the next elections will not find any one cheating to get elected anymore.

Let the eyes of the people be opened to the stark realities and for us to look for proper and peaceful solutions without using armed struggle.

OF ROAD LANES, SIDEWALKS AND CITYSCAPES

At long last, a separte lane for motorcycles is being implemented starting today, after hundreds of lives have been lost in road accidents. Isn't that great? Sometime this year, when the bicyclists were crossing my path at Gilmore Avenue on my way to a computer store, I kept shouting at the cyclists, "Ask for separate lane," and the cyclists were just too deaf to what I had been saying. One even sneered at me. A fellow pedestrian told me, "Mababaw ang tingin sa environment issue, ano?"

But did you know friends that along Quiapo Boulevard,on the side of Quiapo Church are rows and rows of motorcycles every Friday? I was told that the cyclists pray there everyday for a safe journey everyday.

Why am I so het up about this separate lane for cyclists? Why because my own sister, Evangeline died in a motorcycle accident way back 1977. She was riding at the back with her husband driving at 3 a.m. when a jeepney owned by a business person sideswiped her. Her body got slammed on the sidewalk and the doctors said that even if she would be revived she would lived a vegetable life.

Since then I have cursed cycling in the streets because there has not been any body protection for them. Hopefully the new road procedure would bring about a safer street for them.

Yet, this is just one of the woes of using the roads in MetroManila. Pedestrians suffer a lot more. I have been commuting and using the sidewalks since this new millennium when the gas prices started skyrocketing. What have I discovered?

1. Along Katipunan, corner Aurora Boulev

ard is a one foot pedestrian sidewalk;

2. Along the streets of MetroManila are many sidewalks unevenly paved;

3. Vehicles are parked along them so that you have to walk through the street opening yourself to accident in order to reach your destination;

4. There are many road projects which are done almost yearly. One road I know used to be paved very well, but every year it is overhauled. First year, the MWSS opens the pipes then cements it. The next year, the DPWH digs the same place and lays down new pipes; the third year, the MM
DA digs some more and widens the street.This is why along Kamuning road in QC, you will find sidewalks that are two feet wide.


5. Along EDSA, at corner Ortigas, when you get off from the EDSA bus, you come into a sidewalk that is barred on left and right and that you cannot go to the other side of Ortigas unless you climb up the steel staircase.

It seems that during the heyday of BFernando, he gloated over seeing steel overpasses all over MetroManila regardless of whether the pedestrians and commuters were inconvenienced or not.

I could cite many more but what does this say of the government's treatment of pedestrians and commuters? We are the last in their priorities.

By the way, I would say, as a pedestrian, I would like to experience shady trees along the way and possibly breathe fresh air. Unfortunately, it is only when passing by the Quezon Institute, along E. Rodriguez that I experience that. You see the QI has a broad expanse of green on its frontage. Its buildings are located about nearly a kilometer away, probably to screen off the breath of the tubercular patients in its hospital.

Lately, the lot was bought by a developer. I wonder if the same fresh air would still waft the atmosphere. I hope so, after all these developments are pushed through.

One development I rue very much is this: I used to look at the skies every 6pm to watch how they change colors as the sun sets. The scenery is always breathtaking Folks especially when the Welcome Rotonda pillars are in silhouette and the skies turn orange,pink, blue and green. But then, one time, while looking back, the other day, I saw that the skies were nowhere to be found. Instead I saw big rectangular blocks and the Welcome Rotonda sign could not be seen anymore; this is from the E. Rodriguez avenue going towards Cubao.

What are these blocks but the SM residences being built very near the Rotonda.Sometime last year, I complained to the staff of Mayor Alfredo Lim that the monument which is the welcoming sign to Quezon City should not be covered by any structure and should be at least 1,000 meters away. Unfortunately, my letter seems to have fallen on deaf ears. The residences are being built without any regard on how the landmark was going to look like afterwards.

What are landmarks? They are structures in our cities and rural sites that make us feel proud of our identity as members of the Filipino race. Built to enhance cityscapes, they give identity to our places in contrast with foreign places. They also remind us that we all belong to one another, that we have a common history, culture, language, and civilization. Rizal, Bonifacio, Ninoy and Gabriela's monuments give us the feeling that they are responsible for the country's independence and redirection to democratic rule. But this does not seem to be the idea behind the constructions going on in our midst.

Maybe the architects and civil engineers of the country should get together and have a thorough discussion, and ask themselves: what is our ultimate goal in our country?

I hope that their answers would be reflective of aesthetic, humane and culturally aware perspectives and considerations.

FEEDBACK: FROM FELICIANO, GABUNA AND VILLAN

ON QUALITY OF LIFE


AMEN! I wholeheartedly agree.

Filipino Feliciano
Valenzuela City
2771620

Emma, hi!

To be upfront about it, I wonder why I cannot engage discussing this controversial RH Bill.

My mind and heart is not into it.

The rest of your piece is a heartwarming read.



-Bob Gabuna

Dear Ms Orozco,

The only thing that MATTERS for my personal understanding of BRINGING THE CHILD HERE ON EARTH IS BEING A RESPONSIBLE PARENT.

I HATE (a) MOTHER THAT ABORT A CHILD! A woman can have PLEASURE OF SEX WITHOUT CREATING ANOTHER HUMAN BEING. THE SAME THING WITH THE MAN. HE CAN HAVE ALL THE MEANS IN THIS WORLD THE PLEASURE OF SEX, " WITHOUT BRINGING A HUMAN BEING HERE ON EARTH".

What is the Real Meaning of Responsible Parenthood? Should I Personally be EDUCATED, BE INFORMED, BE CONCERNED that As Parents the Responsibility start from Parents.

Tony Villan

PAM YAN-SANTOS EXHIBIT: THEY ARE BIRDS IF THEY FLY

By Wilhelmina S. Orozco

What defines a woman’s art? It’s her consciousness. No other reason exists for a woman to paint but to put out into the open what her mind conceives of society, what she feels about the people around her, and what she needs to assert is her view of her own world.

Pamela Yan’s art exhibit, They are Birds if They Fly strikes me as a very well conceived exhibit, showing her view of a domestic life, delimited within the views of her own child, Juno, and of her home. She paints with great realism – the people, every nook and corner of her home, the scenes that she sees through her son’s eyes and her own, She expresses her views in paintings that evoke a quiet surrender, a complacent and comfortable yet meditative existence in the hearth that she has built with her family.

Look for 10 Seconds shows four faucets possibly dripping and which attracts the attention of her child so much that reportedly she has to delimit him into ten seconds. But then those ten seconds could also mean a whole lot of drops dripping that could be very significant to many a waterless homes. So what comes out as a captured attention of her child screams at that defect in society, the lack of water, the need for attention to this problem – the scarcity of water – from the authorities.

Actually, this painting could very well be a very catchy propaganda for the current campaign of Congresswoman Bernardita Herrera-Dy to bring down the price of water services in the country.

Then the series of bird cages are highly conceived implicit potshots at those women liberationists who think the home is confining, restricting of women’s movements. Inside them, Pamela has painted and installed different scenes. Supervised Play has several plastic balls inside the birdcage depicting the toys of a child. Comfort Zone is a declaration of sexual liberation as inside the cage lies a very inviting bed, made of polystyrene foam, and with a pillow. Stuffed Chicken of sewn canvas stuffed with cotton and coconut husk signifies how a home can be a setting for a delicious meal. Sanctuary has a garden with plants – acrylic, felt powder and synthetic fibers on polystyrene foam—implying that having earth even in a small corner, is as important as having a home, a soft commentary on the lack of greenery in most condominium units. Then of course, A Piece of Heaven shows us that – the sky in great azure blue with clouds passing by on canvas. The home is a piece of heaven that we can build anytime.

The More You___ The More You Will Not Go Up is a painting of a staircase from below and looking up to a window in the ceiling showing piece of the sky. Why this title? It is not a command but a hint that when you fill in the blank, then the conclusion will be true. The more you procrastinate, or the more you become overly ambitious, or the more you corrupt the people, and so forth and so on, then the more you will not go up. “Up” could mean heaven; hence the painting hints at the need for spirituality to enter every act of our lives. Pam seems to ask, aren’t we lacking something, a drawing in into our souls? Where are we heading to in this ascent to anything – career or business or love? Will it bring us to heaven?

Rest Room seems like two paintings brought together as one side shows a door painted with light coming from above and then the other, a room with a man seated and watching a small toy house with glass windows. The door is too realistic, highly inviting us to open it and then it could reveal something significant to us. But it is closed. Should we open it or not? If we do, where will it lead us?

But then Pam gives the answer – the door opens to a room where a man seems to be contemplating the house –Who could fit into this house? Will this be a home or just a structure to put a roof over people? Who would inhabit this house? What kind of people are they? Will I build a home or a house?
Yes, the painting looks mundane but it makes us view life together with the man. It makes us ask questions which otherwise probably we would be too busy to ask. No, the room is not a place for resting.

_________ will wear a dress is a painting of women. Only the woman at the center is painted realistically wearinga dress made of colorful patches of cloths while the rest are all in gray. Why is she colorful? I have been told that Pam’s son, Juno, a special child, always says when she is going to stay at home and not leave the house, “Mommy will wear a dress.” And so in the eyes of Juno, mommy’s presence shall lend color to his life, and everything else is dull without her. Mom is everything to the child as he is still too small and vulnerable to protect himself from the outside world.

The piece de resistance of the exhibit is Please Handle With Care, a wooden cabinet with tiers for holding chinaware on its upper half, and many smaller cabinets containing various kitchen items in the lower half. The cabinet is filled with plates, glasses, cups, saucers, silverware, a knife, a pitcher, and many, many more things that we use in the kitchen and the dining room.

What moves us very much is that all of these, in this huge wooden cabinet, 213.35 x 213.35 x 50.8 centimeters, are covered with yellow paper containing words, millions of words, repeated and repeated without end.

This seemingly suggests that the kitchen and the dining room are places for conversations between and among people. The word or words are highly important in the connections that we make with and among our loved ones; they could be repetitious but then what is life without repetition?

We could very well repeat a word, to give emphasis to an idea. We could say a word again to make the other listen to us; we could ask and ask again until we get that needed response to a problem, an idea that confuses us; a feeling that is unresolved, unexpressed; a dream that needs fulfillment.

Or we could also be repeating the words and phrases to ourselves, speaking aloud as to why we are here on earth.

Interesting is the placing of the wooden cabinet, at the back of the gallery, but facing the door. Our eyes get glued on it because it seems to be wrapped diagonally by a yellow plastic ribbon with the word, “fragile” repeated several times. Coming close to it, I found that the ribbon is just painted over the small doors of the little cabinets. Now, the word “fragile” means delicate; so then it should be handled with care. What should be handled with care are not only the items inside the cabinet but the way they are used by people.

Hence, Pam gives us the feeling that the kitchen and the dining rooms are the most important areas in the home. These are the places where – in the kitchen, we prepare the food that will nourish our lives; and in the dining room, we dine and drink to sustain our bodies, and when with other members whether family or friends – where we could converse and talk about what has happened to us during the day and more deeply, what we still want from life.

Pam is telling us another idea: we must take care of those areas in the home where we could speak to one another. No it does not matter if we repeat words and phrases. What is important is for us to keep the conversation running because that is what normal people do – we talk to express our feelings, our desires and our dreams.

The exhibit evokes a lot of questions about existence from inside a home yet these are not commanding, screaming, nor making us feel guilty about harboring certain non-traditional conceptions of what a house, a home should be. Rather, the art pieces make us contemplate, reflect and even meditate on what we have made of our homes.

I have been told that the exhibit was largely influenced by Pam’s interaction with Juno. But then, seeing life through him, Pam could very well be telling us that special children have a big role to play in the larger society as they see things that many of us do not in our haste to live, to enrich ourselves, to acquire status or to reach for power.

Thus, Pam’s eyes as a painter are very keen in perceiving relationships of people, and of people to things around them. She actually renders truth to what Marion Woodman, a psychoanalyst from Canada, in that interview by a Sounds True producer that artists are the shamans of the world.

What are shamans? Shamans, who could be women or men, are spiritual guides who connect us with our inner and outer worlds. They tell or hint at what we are facing at present and then show us the possibilities and probabilities of an event, an idea, a solution, a cause or even just a plain feeling.

Pam is a shaman as she makes us feel that in every part of our existence there is life pulsating and we just need be sensitive – feel and look -- and then we will find the answer or probably, the possible answers to what we are looking and asking for whether in our personal or social lives.

I particularly like the lay-out of the exhibit. From the outside, our eyes are drawn to the wooden cabinet right away. Then as we enter the gallery, to the right are the birdcages, a seeming introduction to what we can have in a home; from there, the series of paintings begins.

The lay-out also allows us to quietly contemplate each artwork regaling us with lessons in looking at our existence.

Pam’s exhibit runs from 23 September to 8 October 2011 at the Tin-Aw Gallery located at upper g/f, Somerset Olympia Makati, Makati Ave. corner Sto. Tomas St. Makati City. Gallery hours are from Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Phone: 632 892 7522. www.tin-aw.com.


PS Juno, some birds are called birds even if they don't fly. What is important is that they have wings for flying if they want to.