CCP CHANGED FACE TAKE TWO

Folks this is the second time I am wrting this article. The first which I had just edited was deleted in toto by the hacker here at my residence located in one of the units on this 5th floor of this building. They belong to the PNP intel group.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines assumed a different face last Monday, September 9, when the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation Awardees were feted. We listened and watched to the many speeches revolving around the advocacies of the advocacies and I greatly wondered how the atmosphere had suddenly turned very progressive at CCP which was considered Imelda Marcos' ostentatious turf during their reign in the seventies and eighties.VP Leni Robredo, whose husband died suspiciously in a helicopter crash gave the awards together with other RM Board of Trustees.

Awardees included our very own National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab, who prefaced his statement greeting the invited guests and a past president as "the former  ___(name of the president)___ president of our country, the Philippines. Everybody laughed at the mistake which had a grain of cynicism in it. 

Another was Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit, former Human Rights Commissioner of Thailand who has to face a lot of violence  ( her husband was assassinated for being an activist); Ko Swe Win, who faces the military in his land, Myanmar through committed journalism;  Kim Jong-Ki, a former businessman threw all his financial cares and resolutely campaigned for legislation against bullying in schools;  and Ravish Kumar of India who features the powerless in his country, India through TV broadcasting.

By the way, I was once a member of the Andres Bonifacio Concert Choir where we presented on the same stage in the 90's the musical play of Prof. Jerry Dadap. The music of the play is singable and all the members of the group enjoyed singing the songs with our hearts burning for love of country. Jerry gave us vocalisation lessons before each rehearsal and so there was no one out of tune in that presentation.  Despite meager resources, the director Jerry was able to give us decent costumes and a little honoraria for attendance. Unfortunately, one philosopher criticised our presentation which was rather uncalled for. His line of philosophy was not aesthetics at all and out of touch in terms of the linking of history with music as Jerry had done in the play. Anyway, we did not really take him seriously as more presentations were made later on by the group. May good God bless his soul, though. 

Folks here are some memorable statements of the awardees which should be relayed to our youngsters so that they would grow up embracing not only specialization in their chosen fields but also commitment to social responsibilities. 

ANGKHANA NEELAPAIJIT:. Thailand

While leading a civil society organization, I had the opportunity to work with many vulnerable groups especially the vulnerable of the vulnerable such as victims of human rights violations in Southern Thailand, most of whom are women, refugees and asylum seekers or grievous women who are victims of gender-based violence. (v)iolent extremism, poverty, refugee crisis, absence or lack of freedom of expression (faced by Thailand and other Asian countries) -- are only the tip of the iceberg. (O)rdinary heroes in their courage, determination adn commitment...serve as evidence that every one of us can make a difference to stand for what is right and just...."

KO SWE WIN, Myanmar
The predominance of the military's role, combined with the continued armed clashes in a number of ethnic minorities and the rise of nationalism, is the major challenge facing the independent media in Myanmar. This situation constantly instills a sense of thread into civil life and the news media circle...we have a firm belief that we are not on the right path towards democracy and liberty as long as the supremacy of civilian rule has not come into fruitiion....In this context, journalism pla goalsys a crucial role....


KIM JONG-KI, South Korea 

...I have never looked back. (I have) led a nationwide campaign to gather signatures, garnering support from 470,000 citizens urging the ...passage of the "Special Act on Preventing and Handling of School Violence," which was made into law in 2004.

I have gone through extreme hardships but poured out my passion, money and personal connections to fulfill my goals.Management skoills that I obtained from my previous work also helped. To be honest, there were many times I wanted to give up, but this work was my promise to my son, (who committed suicide after being bullied).

RAVISH KUMAR, India
Our news channels do not have a journalistic tone; they adopt, instead, the language of the authoritarian military commanders. Anchors speak as if issuing orders and vilify dissenters by labeling them traitors. Ground reporting is almost non-existent; studio shouting-matches are ubiquitous. A nation's health is endagered when its news media renounces humility and authenticity. 

My hope is that we can restore the sanctity of reporting the news. I hope audiences will value truthfulness in reporting, and diversity of voices and platforms. A democracy can thrive only as long as its news is truthful. 


RAYMUNDO CAYABYAB

A professional musician once asked me, 'Aren't you afraid that by teaching everything you know you are actually divulging trade secrets?' Because of this it become clearer to me why I wanted to teach. There really are no trade secrets; but even if there were, I would divulge them anyway...

(our) original music is not only a form of entertainment but a living tradition. It is the binding 'glue' that forms, strengthens and positively moves the Filipino ...(cortriibuting) to the vibrant music movement happening in the entire Asian region...