Philippines, trapped in 'political gray zone'

Published in Mindanao Times 8/12/08

The Philippines is the first republic in Asia. It has also repeatedly claimed to have taught the world a great lesson in democracy when it toppled the dictatorial government of Ferdinand Marcos through “People Power.” The term was a neologism then, precisely coined to embody that peaceful uprising in February 1986 along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) that eventually led to the ouster of Marcos.

That pivotal moment would serve as a springboard for the Philippines’ re-democratization. Yet 22 years had elapsed, the Philippines is still hard put to correct the maladies that Marcos’ rule had wreaked on this country. Complete with essential elements of democracy—popular accountability of the government, alternation of power, political equality, popular representation, right of dissent and disobedience, free press—the Philippines can always claim it’s democratic. But this claim becomes untenable in the light of the events after 2004, the year Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA), in Susan Roces’s words, stole the presidency.

If the Philippines is not yet on its way towards genuine democracy notwithstanding its repudiation of the dictatorial government of Marcos, where does it stand today?

State of (Another) Nation Address

Published in Mindanao Times 8/23/08

Robert Bly, an American poet, made a disturbing remark that holds true today: "The health of any nation's soul depends on the capacity of adults to face the harsh facts of the time. But the covering up of painful emotions inside us and the blocking out of fearful images coming from outside have become in our country the national and private style. We have established, with awesome verve, the animal of denial as the guiding beast of the nation's life.”

No (in)famous event has forcefully demonstrated the truth of Robert Bly’s remark than Gloria-Macapagal-Arroyo’s recently delivered State of the Nation Address (Sona).

The pursuit of nostalgic goals

Published in Mindanao Times 8/31/08

“The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact, a return to the idealized past.” —Robertson Davies, A Voice from the Attic

Casual or not, talks in our family seldom happened. Not that we are all reticent or mute, it maybe just one of the few consequences when most members in the family work or study. You come home, they’re already asleep; they wake up, you’re still asleep.

But when talks do happen, they often drifted to my parents’ good old days. They would recount, enthusiastically, those times when their few centavos could already buy Nutri Bun (a bread triple the size of our pan de sal today), when prices of rice and other basic commodities were way below than today, etc.

Then these recollections would end up in a rather strange desire to revive those times. “Unta ibalik katong mga panahon nga barato pa ang mga palaliton, dili unta magkalisod ang mga tao karon,” my mother would sometimes yearn.

Politicians also have the same nostalgia for the things of the past. They are profoundly conditioned by social nostalgia in solving present problems. To solve the present problems, they’ll say, past programs/solutions, which were proved to be successful, should be revived.

Hon. Rodrigo R. Duterte

Published in Mindanao Times 9/23/08

Watching last September 21, 2008 episode of Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa—a program aired at ABS-CBN “by, for, and of,” the government of Davao City—led me to a conclusion that, in contrast to most local and national politicians, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is one conscientious public official.

What did exactly the mayor do?

If Rico J. Puno is the answer...

Then what is the question. The question is, "Who is the present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines?"

Yesterday, I had my demonstration teaching at a public high school. Towards the end of my demo teaching, I had a 10-item quiz. On the ninth question, I asked: "Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines?"

It's obvious in their faces. My students hadn't had the slighest idea who. So I gave them a clue. "His first name starts with letter "R"," I said. On the board, I wrote the letter R, and beside it I drew a tree.

I thought they would get it right. But as it turned out, it just adds to their confusion. Instead of answering Reynato Puno, they answered Rico J. Puno. It made sense, huh?

But before the quiz was a Battle of the Brains---an equally funny experience. It was boys vs. girls. When I asked who is the present Secretary of Department of Education, both teams answered what? Yes, they answered John Lapus instead of Jesli Lapus.

It made me cringe. But I took comfort in the fact that they could now enumerate the basic requirements provided by the Constitution in order to vote. And more importantly, they know what does "no substantive requirements" mean.

Moral lesson: Don't give clues anymore. And look at the positive side.