cultural studies

You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere.

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. - Buddha

Photo taken at Namaste, Baguio City, Dec 2011.

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This is perhaps the best Christmas gift ever – my eldest daughter Alexandra Ma. Alcasid gets published for the first time on 26 December 2011!

Her piece, “Ponies and Bronies”, appeared in the “Everyman” column of the English-language daily broadsheet Manila Standard-Today. It’s on page 4, part of the Opinion spread.

Alex’s piece explores the “brony” phenomenon – why adolescent and young men adult men have become the unexpected fanbase of the remake of the ’80s “My Little Pony” cartoon series.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Philippine Bronies group on Facebook is very active, with around 277 members and still growing. Asking around, I learned of quite a few reasons why the male members were attracted to such a colorful cartoon aimed at little girls.

At the core of it are the characters. The show’s first season starts with Twilight Sparkle, an introverted unicorn who has trouble making friends. She is sent to Ponyville in an attempt to make friends. While there, she meets the pegasi Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, the unicorn Rarity, and the Earth ponies Applejack and Pinkie Pie. These six ponies are the center of the show and it is through their antics and adventures that Twilight Sparkle, and the viewer, learns a valuable lesson about friendship.

Mis hijas: Erika and Alexandra Alcasid, 24 Apr 2011, Makati City.

Alex is a gamer, K-pop fan, and fiction writer – watch for her forthcoming YA novel, The Agency. Here’s a taste. In this scene, Vash introduces the protagonist, Lilah, to the members of the band “Hell’s Garden”:

“This is Pride.” Vash gestured to the girl, who smiled pleasantly back at him and Lilah. “She’s the leader of the group, and coincidentally the shortest. She may look carefree, but she’s the most responsible. Also, Pride is the lead singer. Makes sense seeing as how the lead singer is always the center of attention in a music group. Next is Wrath.”

Wrath was the most oddly dressed of the group, wearing a long sleeve white jacket that covered the neck, and it had short belts strapped along the arms and the whole thing was reminiscent of a strait jacket. Wrath also wore black cargo pants and high top sneakers, and a biker mask that covered the nose and mouth. Wrath glared at the opposite wall so intensely, Lilah thought it might catch fire.

“Wrath is the drummer of the group. Her jacket and mask are symbolic of rage held at bay to the raw emotion that is released to the beat of the drums.” Vash explained.

“Wait wait…’Her’? Wrath is a girl?” Lilah looked to Vash, then back to Wrath, and was taken aback as her eyes met Wrath’s. Her eyes were cold and her expression was of pure anger. Lilah shrank back but Pride just put a hand on Wrath’s shoulder. “Your eyes. Softer…Softer…” she said, and Wrath shifted her expression. “Okay, that’s good.” Pride let go and tapped Wrath on the top of her head. Wrath now wore a blank expression which was, to Lilah, much better.

I’m a proud mom – can you tell?

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  15 December 2011, Thursday

The Corona-vela

The past two weeks we were talking about KC breaking up with Papa Piolo, in tears on television, and Mo spilling the beans about himself and Rhian, in tears on Youtube.

All this seems the stuff of telenovela – so dramatic and exaggerated. But a new narrative now bursts upon the Filipino consciousness – the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona by 188 members of Congress last December 12.

The 63-year-old Corona was appointed by former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the Supreme Court on 9 April 2002. On 12 May 2010, two days after the 2010 elections and only one month before the expiry of Arroyo’s term in office, she appointed him Chief Justice of the SC.

The Constitution of the Philippines bans appointments by a president two months before a presidential election and until the term expires on June 30.

Father Joaquin Bernas, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, in a January 2010 newspaper interview opined that it would be the next president after Arroyo who should appoint the next chief justice. Even with the constitutional provision requiring the President to appoint a new chief justice within 90 days after a vacancy, he said the new president would still have 45 days to decide after taking office on June 30.

Corona has recently come under fire for siding with Arroyo in various ways and frustrating the ends of justice in the cases the government has filed against her. Therefore his impeachment by 188 lawmakers, when only 95 would have sufficed.

The vast majority of Filipinos, like myself, are not lawyers. We do not know nor understand the ramifications of the law on this issue. So we require the guidance of those who are learned in the matter, scholars and practitioners of the law. But they, like the ordinary folk, differ in their interpretations.

Most public opinion goes either of two ways: one, that the government is morphing into a dictatorship, that they are undermining one of the three branches of government, that checks and balances are being eroded, that the Constitution itself is being threatened.

The other view is that no one is above the law, not even the judiciary. For it is illogical to maintain, as many of them do, that because they are judges they hold the final interpretation of the law, and can therefore do no wrong. No one is above the law, not even the law.

It seems to me that the latter perspective is the more logical and fair, as expressed in the statement of the University of the Philippines Law Student Government 2011-2012 (the whole text was posted on Facebook yesterday): “From the point-of-view of the Honorable Chief Justice, the efforts of the current administration, allegedly in concert with its allies in Congress, threaten the independence of the judiciary, and ultimately threaten our country’s democracy itself.

“We submit that it was the former President Arroyo who was in fact the greatest threat to the Judiciary’s independence in the past decade. It was the former President who was responsible for politicizing the High Court in the first place by her many appointments, his elevation to the Chief Justiceship being the most questionable.

“The fact also remains that there is a steady stream of recent decisions by the High Court has continuously blocked major attempts by the current government to pursue its platform of holding the past administration to account for its sins against the Filipino people.”

Yesterday, Corona hogged public attention with a speech, attended by court employees and officials who declared a court holiday to rally behind him. It’s a cultural trait, the drama and the hyperbole, the carefully studied move or action executed in public, accompanied by exaggerated emotion (to elicit pity) or a lack of it (to show grace under pressure).

Corona said, “Ako raw po ay isang midnight appointee. Dapat raw po, hindi ko tinanggap ang paghirang sa akin. Bakit po ba, para si Ginoong Aquino ang makapagtalaga ng kanyang sariling chief justice na hawak niya sa leeg? Mapapa-iling ka talaga.”

“Iling” is to shake one’s head in disbelief, or incredulity. Opo, CJ Corona, napapa-iling ako talaga. Because according to the Constitution, you are a midnight appointee – of Gloria Arroyo, who has a tight grip upon your neck, and who wanted her very own Chief Justice in the highest court in the land.

I am not a lawyer. I do not know Corona personally. So I look at his pictures to gain some sense of the man. His eyes are like raisins pushed into his doughy, well-fed face as he hogs public attention with his grandstanding speeches. I try to muster empathy and benefit-of-the-doubt. But it’s hard. If this were a telenovela and he was cast as the hero, di ito bebenta. Give me more KC, Mo, and Rhian.

So I focus on the facts. The situation is complex for all its legal and political implications. But it seems simple to me. His appointment was made improperly and in contravention of the highest law of the land. For that alone, Corona does not deserve to hold office. *** 

Image of CJ Corona here. Fr. Bernas here. UP LSG logo from their public Facebook Page.

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  8 December 2011, Thursday

Mo and Rhian – Should We Care?

With the populace still reeling from the revelations of actress/model KC Concepcion about her breakup from actor Piolo Pascual, now comes another teary scandal, this time from disc jockey Mo Twister.

A video of a crying Mo (his real name is Mohan Gumatay) was recently uploaded to Youtube. In it he alleges that his then-girlfriend, actress Rhian Ramos, had their child aborted last July 2010 in Singapore.

An image of Mo Twister from the video, here.

From his @djmotwister account, he Tweeted, “I have a question about abortion. Should the girl ask the guy what his thoughts are and should he have a chance to stand up for the baby?”

Image here.

He followed this with other, more controversial Tweets: “Because no amount of inconvenience could ever justify treating the supreme creation of God with murderous contempt.” “…even the dictionary defines it, in its 2^nd explanation, as monstrosity.” “Young child, don’t ever think you were never good enough. You just had no choice in the matter.”

Finally, Mo posted a photo of what presumably was his own shoulder, tattooed with the words “to the wounds that will never heal, 08/07/10.” The skin was still reddened; the ink looked fresh. (Check out www.spot.ph.)

Mo’s shoulder, presumably. Image here.

Rhian Ramos has filed a harrassment case against Mo. She claims that his insinuation that she had an abortion violates Republic Act 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act). She has also asked for a temporary protection order to prevent Mo from making any more such statements.

We are merely spectators in all this and have no idea, at this point, what the truth is. Did she or didn’t she? Because he certainly did.

In any case, as I’ve said before, other people’s personal lives are none of our business. But since Mo (like KC) has made a private matter public, it is now fodder for all sorts of speculation and gossip.

Is Mo’s revelation vengeance, narcissism, or simply a man in pain lashing out like a wounded tiger, regardless of whom he hurts in his turmoil?

Can any good come out of this kind of exposure of private pain?

Rather than schadenfreudenly feeding off the suffering and misery inherent in the drama, let us deconstruct the concepts that arise and allow it to flow into the river of societal discourse: in this case, the topic of abortion.

Mo raises a good question – does the father of the child have a say in an abortion? The woman usually makes the decision to have an abortion, although it also happens often that it is instigated by the man. There are many reasons why the woman would have an abortion – youth, career, lack of finances, fear of disapproval and anger of parents and family, an unwillingness or unreadiness to be a parent, and the knowledge (or assumption) that the man will not be a good father and she’ll be raising the child on her own are just some of them.

In the end, what happens is that the woman makes the choice because it is her body, and it is her right to decide what to do or not to do with that body.

But why even have an abortion when contraception would have prevented the situation in the first place?

Given that the majority of Filipinos are Roman Catholics, and that the Church wields a strong influence in politics, and that the dominant ideology embedded in this culture is based upon Roman Catholic doctrine (sorry, other kinds of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and those of other, little, or no faith), prevailing attitudes toward abortion and contraception consider them abhorrent and sins against God.

In fact, so inflexible are the attitudes of some sectors of society that back-door influence has been brought heavily to bear against lawmakers passing the proposed Reproductive Health Bill, which in no way condones nor encourages promiscuity, homosexuality, teen – even child – pregnancies, or any of the other “abominations” ascribed to it by the paranoid.

Yet the behavior of teenagers – as opposed to attitudes – tells a different story. As of 2009, based on data from birth certificates, the number of teenage pregnancies in the Philippines was at 195,662, a 70 percent increase from the 114,205 in 1999. Of the 1.75 million live births in 2009, over 11 percent of those babies were born to teenage mothers.

According to the United Nations Population Fund’s 2011 annual report, the teenage pregnancy rate in the Philippines is at 53 births per 1,000 women aged between 15 to 19 – the highest among the six ASEAN countries.

A 2008 news article says the Philippines (where abortion is illegal) has a higher abortion rate than the United States (where abortion is legal), at 25 per 1,000 women compared to the latter’s 23 per 1,000 women. Consider also that the US has a much higher population – around 250 million in 2011; the Philippines has less than half at around 95 million.

The main drivers of the escalating teen pregnancy rate are poverty and ignorance. The RH Bill would try to minimize that, through certain of its measures that would provide sex education in schools.

The discussion of sex is still taboo in many sectors of Philippine society, even if as an activity it is frequently and enthusiastically practiced (see: Philippine population, number of offspring sired by Ramon Revilla Sr.).

But these are pressing issues that people face every day. Birth control, sex, abortion – they need to be discussed, they need to be faced, because people live and die over these matters.

We have a long, long way to go. We don’t even have divorce in this country – the only one left on the planet that refuses to let people start over.

So, should we care? Mo Twister opened up a can of squirmy things living in the dark. We need to drag this all into the light and let clarity, logic, and reason illuminate the important life issues we have long kept on the dark side of our collective soul.   ***

Teen mom image here.

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  1 December 2011, Thursday

KC and Piolo – Should We Care?

So this is what happened – a weepy actress/model KC Concepcion went on a popular showbiz talk show, “The Buzz”, to announce the end of her year-long relationship with actor Piolo Pascual, who is rumored to be homosexual.

My first reaction after hearing about the KC-Piolo flap was, “Why should we care?”

“The Buzz” program host Boy Abunda has a talent for making the most trivial issues seem relevant. Of course, the breakup is important to KC, and she looked heartbroken, but should someone’s personal life be fodder for our entertainment? In a newspaper interview, Abunda said, “She thought about it for a long time. She did it to express her pain, but not to the point of hurting other people…Like all of us, she has the right to express herself.”

KC has a right to express herself, and if she wishes to do so on mass media, who are we to stop her? But what does it say about us when we lap it up and feed on the artificially-cultivated frenzy, on the self-exposed misery of celebrities fighting to stay in the lucrative limelight?

“It’s a case of schadenfreude,” is my 20-year-old daughter Alex’s opinion. “Taking pleasure from the misfortune of others.” Just before the KC-Piolo flap, there was the Ramgen Revilla murder, with his siblings blamed for the crime. There’s also the ongoing medical-political drama starring former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her halo brace, enduring with a stiff upper lip and intimations of persecution her “hospital arrest” in the luxurious suite of an upscale medical establishment. We lap it all up.

So when we see famous and wealthy personalities suffering as we ordinary people do, from heartbreak and illness and sudden tragedy, we think, oh, they’re not so different from us after all. But for accident of birth, or the vicissitudes of life, they could have been us, we them.

Modern celebrity culture is based not so much on merit or accomplishment, but upon constant and aggressive self-promotion. Talent or virtue are not required, just a genius for creating a personal brand and building upon it by fair means or otherwise. The objective is to turn one’s self into a commodity that can be sold.

Think Kim Kardashian and her 72-day marriage, a farce put on to generate millions in revenue from sponsors – or so the cynics say. And I’m a cynic. So KC’s televised pagsusumbong sa bayan seems a promotional gimmick, a devise to attract attention, gain sympathy, exact revenge. Where has delicadeza gone, of keeping one’s troubles one’s own, or shared only with family and close friends?

The talk has segued from the breakup itself to the cause of the breakup, which, cannily, neither KC nor Boy revealed – adding to the feel of the episode being scripted. Rumors are rife that it has to do with Piolo’s sexuality, that he is gay. If so, did it have to take KC an entire year to pick up on something that has been tabloid fodder for the past several years? It makes her seem clueless and unobservant, and I don’t want to be disabused of my notion that KC is in fact an intelligent young woman.

Why should we care whether or not Piolo is gay? Is that not his own business? How is it ours? If he is, and has not come out of the closet yet, how does that impact our own lives?

But then, we the masses have a craving for drama and spectacle, no different from the gladiatorial circuses of ancient Rome. Wasn’t it Chuck Palahniuk who said that a celebrity is our own creation of a god-like figure, to be shamed and destroyed in extreme ways later on? The king of ancient seasons sacrificed to ensure a good harvest is reborn in modern celebrities, immolated on the same gossip shows and tabloids that built them up as idols.

Yet what does it mean when someone goes willingly into the fire, like KC or Kim? Does it show a lack of taste on their part, a narcissistic bent, an eager embrace of the celebrity culture by which they live and die?

Piolo has remained silent on the matter, except to apologize “to the public” – not to KC, as everyone has pointed out. One good thing that has come out of this is that the discourse on LGBT matters continues to bloom – to result, we hope, in a more understanding climate of acceptance for every individual regardless of sexuality.

Whether the information about the personal lives of celebrities is willingly given or obtained through intrusion, there will always be an audience hanging on to every revelation. That is how we have constructed our culture; whether the reason for this is rooted in myths of the past or is a modern phenomenon is now moot, as we struggle to make sense of it all, in the face of information overload.

So, should we care? KC and Piolo broke up. It happens. Life goes on.   ***

Crying KC here. Arroyo with halo vest here. Kris and Kim here. Piolo and KC here.

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  24 November 2011, Thursday

Much Ado About Gloria

Was what was done to former president and current congressperson Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo right or wrong?

The debate continues to smolder, and because of its deep political significance has pushed other no less interesting topics to the side – the murder of Ramgen Revilla, the anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, the controversial victory of boxer-cum-lawmaker Manny Pacquiao over Juan Manuel Marquez, the dismal medal haul of the Philippine team in the SEA Games.

Having listened to and read various opinions on the subject, I’ve noticed that they tend to fall into two categories – “mercy” and “justice”.

The “mercy” side points to how frail and ill the former president looks in recent photographs and that she should have been allowed to leave the country for medical reasons, and that it’s a poor thing to beat someone when she’s down, and that her mugshots should not have been released to the media.

The “justice” side emphasizes the rule of law, that Macapagal-Arroyo should answer for the electoral sabotage committed during her time and that she apologized for. (Her flat, emotionless voice saying “I. Am. Sorry” for the “Hello, Garci” incident, without sounding at all sorry, is a stock sound effect of radio talk shows.)

If Macapagal-Arroyo believes herself innocent of any charges, then let her face her accusers with head held high (a posture she is forced to adopt anyway given the rigidity of her halo vest). If she is truly innocent, she need not leave the country right at the moment, since several specialists have opined that her condition is not life-threatening and that the Philippines has the equipment and expertise to care for her properly at this point.

Instead, the dramatic incident at the airport smacked of an escape try, exactly like Ramona Bautista’s red-veiled night flight. The timing was fishy, it was suspect. It was as if they had received a tip that there would be cases filed against her, thus the desperate attempt.

There is a definite sense of wrongness there – why did Macapagal-Arroyo try to leave the country so hurriedly that way, in that cloak-and-dagger fashion, with the props of the ambulances and the wheelchair?

Why, if she is so sick, was she wearing skinny leather pants and platforms when they tried to flee that night? Do you know how hard it is to get into leather pants, especially the skinny kind, when you’re well and healthy, let alone so ill that you’re wearing a halo vest that drastically limits mobility and your condition ostensibly so bad that you have to go abroad for medical attention? It makes you wonder if her mobility is all that compromised.

All these questions raise red flags. The entire thing seems contrived, and glaringly so to the discerning person. Macapagal-Arroyo and her camp should not be surprised at the lack of public support and sympathy for her, though intellectuals relish the debate on the matter.

That’s just my opinion, and everybody has one. In the end, I believe in the rule of law. Morality that is based on religion will differ among the various faiths with their constructed doctrines and dogmas; likewise, the standards of morality based on culture will differ from country to country. To be fair and just to all its residents, a nation should be founded upon secular law and it is this law that must be used to determine what is right or wrong.

In this case concerning the former president, as in all cases, let the law prevail. Let the judiciary be true to the spirit of their commitment to the people and to the nation and put what is right and fair above personal interest and utang na loob.  Let them bring out the truth in this case, apply the law to the former president as it has been applied to others, and show the world that the Philippines is a nation that hews to the law.

In the words of the prophet Amos, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everlasting stream.”

* * * *

Award-winning writer Dr. Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, director of the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House since 2010, revealed there will be a Christmas sale of their publications, the date and venue to be announced. UST-PH was named Publisher of the Year last November 12 at the 30^th National Book Awards night at the National Museum. The award is given out yearly by the Manila Critics Circle and the National Book Development Board.

Among the eminent writers in their stable are National Artists for Literature Virgilio S. Almario and F. Sionil Jose, columnists and professors Krip Yuson, Dr. Jose Dalisay Jr., and Dr. Michael L.Tan,  and musician/writer Lourd de Veyra.

* * * *

The University of the Philippines Institute of Creative Writing has extended to November 29 the deadline of submission of applications to the 51^st UP National Writers Workshop.

The workshop is for writers in mid-career and will be held in Baguio City in April 2012.

I had the privilege of becoming a workshop fellow last year and it was a transformative experience. The feedback from the panelists and fellows were helpful and inspiring, the workshop activities eye-opening, and the friendships forged during the week-long event heartwarming.

Another reason for the workshop’s continued success is its venue. Baguio City is cool, calm, and pleasant, and its art scene warm and nurturing, a positive atmosphere that encourages the blossoming of the artist in everyone. Baguio is not just the market, Good Shepherd, and Minesview Park. Do visit Mt. Cloud bookshop, Hill Station Café at Casa Vallejo, Namaste, the BenCab museum and its café at the basement, VOCAS, Ayuyang, Café by the Ruins, Choco-Late de Batirol at Camp John Hay, and the other interesting pockets of creative and culinary pleasure that the locals will be happy to show you.  *** 

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo image here. UST-PH logo here. 51st UP-NWW logo here.

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  10 November 2011, Thursday

Crime and Astonishment

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

It is the seventh commandment in the Judaeo-Christian Decalogue. Adultery is also forbidden in Islam and some other religions, and is punishable by law in many countries, with the aim of preserving the family.

Yet it seems that all over the world, it is something that people of both sexes find difficult to obey. Inthe Philippines, the male predilection in particular towards adultery, powered by cultural concepts such as “machismo”, in addition to other factors, is seen in the familiar narratives of broken homes, may pangalawang pamilya, and anak sa labas.

The issue is revisited in the ongoing Revilla family crime saga. While senator Ramon Revilla Sr. did not conceal that he had multiple families, never has it come into clearer focus than now, with the sorry murder of his son Ramgen perhaps by his own sister, and the shocking rumors of fratricide for gain – sibling rivalry taken to its darkest depths.

Ramgen and Ramon Revilla. From Genelyn Magsaysay’s Facebook page.

Senator Bong Revilla’s remarks in the media point to the belief that Ramona Bautista’s suspiciously-timed flight to Turkey indicates guilt; or, at the very least, complicity in the crime.

The behavior of his “sister from another mother” sets off warning bells. Ramona’s ten-minute video explanation led to more questions than answers. Her affect seemed off; she seemed like she was acting out a script rather than being truly distraught over the gruesome murder of her brother that she admitted she witnessed.

Genelyn Magsaysay, Ramon Revilla Sr., and Ramona Bautista. From Genelyn’s public Facebook page.

According to reports and her own testimony, she watched her brother die, and listened to his stricken girlfriend beg her to call an ambulance; after that she walked calmly out the gate with her other brother RJ, now detained in jail for being a “mastermind” of the murder. In a country that values family above all else, fratricide is particularly abhorrent. In the Judeao-Christian mythos, Cain’s murder of Abel is mentioned as being one of the darkest sins. Thus the public’s fascination with the case.

Meanwhile, Ramgen, Ramona, and RJ’s mother, Genelyn Magsaysay, does not hesitate to use social media to further her own agenda. Her Facebook Page still remains public, as of this writing. Her status updates, with their quotations from scripture, are full of pain – pain for being “the other woman”, for not having the full financial benefits that would have been afforded the legal wife, for having to raise nine children under the shadow of the illegitimacy of their and her status, notwithstanding her favored position in the senior Revilla’s harem.

Genelyn and Ramon Revilla. From her FB page.

 It’s a tangled mess they weave, and it’s no surprise that we are riveted. It’s a better plot than anything the Revillas have done for the movies. For this to be visited upon a family prominent in two fields – entertainment and politics – it proves that for all their wealth and prominence, they are not immune to tragedy, and this brings them closer to the ordinary people who watch their films and voted them into power on the strength of their good looks and popularity.

The irony is that all this occurred in “the only Catholic country in Asia”. Along with the antics of another high-profile adulterer, former president Joseph Estrada, the senior Revilla’s siring of 75 children by 16 women doesn’t raise any eyebrows. In Philippine culture, hardly any stigma is attached to such behavior. The astonishment comes from the enormous number of children Revilla had. (Is it a coincidence that both of them are action stars turned politicians?)

Adultery, or infidelity in the marital context, is so prevalent in the Philippines that the majority of broken homes result from this reason, according to Fr. Ted Gonzales, SJ. In his paper “The Filipino Context of Infidelity and Resilience” (2001), he says:

“A common concern emerging from family ministry in the Philippine setting is of a marriage affected by infidelity. Infidelity is the breaking of marital vows. In Philippine culture, infidelities or extramarital relationships range from casual relationships to the keeping of a querida or paramour (Medina 1991).”

Fr. Ted stresses that “The husband’s infidelity is a major concern in Filipino marriages (PCP II, 1992). Carandang (1987) notes that wives rank infidelity as the number one family stressor. Lacar (1993) reports that male infidelity is the most frequent reason for marital separation. Vancio (1980, 1977) cites male infidelity as a major issue for marital break-ups in Metro Manila. In the McCann Metro Manila Male Study (1995), half of the 485 male respondents reported having had extramarital affairs. Relucio (1995) in her in-depth interview with seven separated women, notes that “infidelity was found to be a common problem.” Dayan, et. al. (1995) in their study of 60 petitioners for nullity of marriage, report that adultery was one of the major reasons cited.”

Adultery that leads to separation and a broken home is most difficult for the wife, who generally is the one who keeps some semblance of family together, caring for the children herself, often without support from the husband. Many women who have separated or been abandoned contend with financial problems. The vast majority cannot sue for spousal support because most Filipinos have no recourse to Philippine law because it is expensive.

The senior Revilla at least provided handsomely for his families, if we go by reports that he gave Genelyn a handsome allowance, and their nine children an additional P1 million a month of their own. The money was managed by the eldest, Ramgen, and it seems likely that it was for control of this money and related factors that he was killed.

Here’s something to think about: if the senior Revilla had not committed adultery, he would not have had the children by Genelyn, and this particular tragedy would not have happened.

* * * * *

From the National Book Development Board: The deadline for registration and payment to attend “The Great Philippine Book Café”, the 2^nd Manila International Literary Festival, is today; check out their website for details. Pulitzer Prize winning authors Edward P. Jones and Junot Diaz will be on panel forums and signing books at the Ayala Museum next week. Other speakers are Palanca-prize winning writers Dr. Jose Y. Dalisay Jr., Dr. Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, Prof. Charlson Ong, Ichi Batacan, Yvette Tan, and Prof. Nerisa del Carmen Guevara, among many.

From writers April Yap and Camille de la Rosa: There are still open slots for Gaze’s November 12“Erotic Writing: Blanket Day” workshop led by Nerisa del Carmen Guevara. It’s from 10am to 4pm atGayuma ni Maria, 123 V. Luna Extension (Maginhawa Street), Sikatuna Village, Quezon City. The P2,500 fee includes meals and drinks. Bring a blanket and an object belonging to your beloved. For more details contact Gaze at (0926)725-5280 or ilovegaze@gmail.com.

From novelist and classical guitarist Ichi Batacan: The University of the Philippines Guitar Orchestra will hold its first live recording concert on November 19, 7pm, at the GT-Toyota – Asian Cultural Center, UP Diliman. The performance will feature arrangements by Prof. Lester Demetillo of works by Telemann, Mozart, Villalobos, and Abelardo. Regular tickets at P300, P240 for seniors, P150 for students. Call Neil at (0927)680-8255.  ***

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  3 November 2011, Thursday

Sotto’s Scare Tactics

The most frightening thing I’ve ever seen during a  Halloween season came from  Senator Tito Sotto – and he didn’t even wear a mask or costume.

His statement in the media on the birth of the symbolic 7 billionth baby was disturbing because it was downright irresponsible, negating the ill effects of rapid population growth.

He shrugged off the fears of a population explosion, saying that even if the world population doubled to 14 billion, “all of us could still fit in the state of Texas.” (Texas, according to Wikipedia, is the “second largest US state by area and population,” its oil wells, cattle ranches, and beautiful big-haired women sprawling over 696,241 square kilometers.)

Senator Sotto also said the birth of Danica May, one of the United Nations’ symbolic “7 billionth babies”, at Fabella Memorial Hospital last October 30 “should be a celebration of life and not be used to spread fear about population growth.”

This was most likely in response to Indian health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s statement that the birth of the 7 billionth baby was “not a matter of joy but a great worry…We shouldn’t be celebrating.” Interpreting this as coming from a macro point-of-view, the minister’s point was that hitting that number should spur the development and implementation of solutions on how to slow the population growth rate and improve the standard of living for most, if not all, people on the planet.

United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki Moon echoed this, saying the “terrible contradictions” of “lavish lifestyles for a few, but poverty for too many others” leads to the question “What kind of world has baby 7 billion been born into?”

Sotto’s statement about Texas parallels Pro-Life Philippines Foundation, Inc.’s arguments.  A newspaper report quoted the foundation’s website as stating that “six billion people on the earth today would fit within the state of Texas, with each family having a house with a little yard. So it is not a question of area. The problem is the growing concentration of large numbers of people in certain cities, caused by the deterioration and lack of opportunities in the rural areas…” with the result that “cities are confronting serious problems with basic infrastructure, health services, food supplies, education, transportation, sewage disposal, and housing.”

But Pro-Life and Sotto are looking at the problem upside-down and are arguing against themselves. No one has said it is a question of area or space. It is a question of living space, of arable space, of usable space. Not all areas are safe nor appropriate for habitation. Not all areas are suitable for agriculture or food production.

And not all countries have solved the problems Pro-Life itself has pointed out – infrastructure, sewage, housing, and so on. Billions all over the world live in poverty, fear, and ignorance.

In this country alone, the homeless families sleeping at the center islands of major thoroughfares, with sex their primary diversion because they can afford hardly anything else, not even a roof over their heads, are a compelling reason to pass the reproductive health bill.

The expansion of a country’s population when that country cannot provide a satisfactory standard of living for its people is folly. It is crass irresponsibility. It is downright criminal.

The knee-jerk reaction would be to accuse the senator of lacking critical thinking skills and a capacity for logic and reason. The fair thing to say would be that his thinking and resultant stand stems from religious doctrine and other cultural sentiments that many other Filipinos share – that, as the senator said, artificial birth control methods are “abortifacients”, that those advocating population control measures “shouldn’t be smarter than God…He has a process of life and death and they should not interfere with God’s process.”

But this line of thinking is self-serving. If the senator were consistent, then he should also believe that sick people shouldn’t go to hospitals and seek treatment for their illnesses. No one should drink medicines. Because doing so would “interfere with God’s process,” would it not?

* * * * *

To know more about this and other global issues, we need to do our research and seek out information. For everyone to be able to do this we need to spread literacy by instilling a reading culture. A person who reads – and I don’t mean this in a merely functional sense – is empowered to gain knowledge for himself. It’s like teaching a man to fish for himself instead of giving him fishes on a handout basis, which merely instills a mendicant mental culture, dependent on what the media supplies.

A major drawback to the development of a reading culture in the Filipino milieu is the lack of access to books. Without access to printed materials, how can people be encouraged to read?  We have few community public libraries, and the ones run by the government carry only outdated materials.

For instance, the one nearest my home – the Sta. Ana, Manila, library – though a sunny, well-lit place furnished with antique tables and chairs that I coveted from the time I first visited a decade ago, only has musty old books and no magazines. Over the years I’ve donated three balikbayan boxes full of books to that library, sometimes unceremoniously dumping them on the doorstep after office hours. I haven’t been back to there to see what happened to the books I gave; it was enough for me that those books were out there, benefiting someone, anyone.

A bit of good news related to this is that the Department of Education has declared November as “National Reading Month” to instill in the youth interest in the printed word. Among the DepEd’s planned activities are a Read-a-thon, to discover outstanding readers in class; the DEAR program, which encourages students to read 20 minutes daily; and the shared reading or mentoring program.

But these activities all take place inside schools. We need initiatives that will spread the word, literally, outside that context.

Now here’s an idea. There’s something called World Book Night, held in London for some years now, with the US to follow suit for the first time next year, on 23 April. The event was created to coincide with World Book Day, founded by UNESCO in celebration of books and reading around the world.

On World Book Night, volunteers hand out free books to passersby on sidewalks and street corners. The books are selected and donated by participating publishers.

Strangely, the venture’s effect is an increase in book sales. Sales of three of the books given away in 2010 surged in the triple digits: Nigel Slater’s “Toast” rose 367%, John le Carre’s “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” (a classic thriller) soared 106%, and Seamus Heaney’s “New Selected Poems” climbed by 102%. Given that, perhaps Philippine publishers might consider doing something similar next year.

We don’t even have to give away new books – pre-loved ones are fine. If you have been touched by books, if reading has transformed your life in any way, then help spread the love and the magic. Calling on government agencies, private corporations, and book-loving individuals to join forces in organizing a Philippine World Book Night! ***

Photo of Senator Sotto taken by JennyO. Baby Danica image here. Homeless woman image here. WBN poster here.

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  27 October 2011, Thursday

Those Unimaginative Copycats

 When an actress/politician officially backed the installation of a huge white “Hollywood”-style sign on an iconic Philippine natural landmark, it was only to be expected that reactions would erupt like, well, lava from a volcano.

To promote tourism in her province, Governor Vilma Santos-Recto wanted gigantic letters spelling “Batangas” across Taal Volcano. The news spread, and the majority of public opinion was vehemently against the silly idea.

Artist’s rendering of what the sign might look like, from GMA News Online.

The cybercommunity had a field day. Their collective ire caused the beleaguered Santos-Recto to backtrack and claim that the idea was a mere proposal under review; she asked the public not to “over-react”. But vice-governor Mark Leviste II had already confirmed that the Batangas provincial council passed a resolution on October 5 for a “a hard-to-miss landmark and potential tourism draw”. How could that be a “proposal under review”?

True, a sign that large sprawled across the volcano’s slopes would indeed be “hard to miss”. But would it be a “potential tourism draw”? Yes, for the wrong reasons – for people to jeer at and ridicule and shake their heads over the folly of misguided attempts at marketing and hype and snigger, “Who made money off that monstrosity?”

I wonder who really came up with this horrible idea to copy the “Hollywood” sign. They deserve to be pelted with eggs and rotten tomatoes, the unimaginative copycats. Boo. I’ve seen the real thing. Hollywood has done it already. They were first. It’s theirs. Why should we imitate them? How is this even a good thing?

How much would it have cost to put up such a sign? Wouldn’t that money be better spent on poverty alleviation, education, health care, infrastructure – in fact, a myriad of more pressing social problems and concerns?

Why, as a people, do we have to copy other people’s good ideas to turn them into our own bad projects? Remember the Department of Tourism’s “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” campaign, which looked like it could have been drawn by a six-year-old, and turned out to have been lifted from Poland’s tourism authority?

We Filipinos are a creative people, more than capable of coming up with our own original concepts. Witness the many global awards our advertising people have won for their ad campaigns. Our artists and designers are lauded around the world. Just yesterday, breaking news on the Internet was that international pop star Lady Gaga wore a creation of Filipino designers Leeroy New and Kermit Tesoro on the cover of her new single off her Born This Way album, “Marry the Night”. (For the curious, it was described as a “leather body-armor outfit”. It rocks.)

Which is all the more bewildering why there are proposals and even done deals that cut corners, that reek of laziness and that odious mentality, “pwede na.” No, pwede na is not enough. “Good enough” is not enough. It is a base insult to the creative Filipinos who are guided by quality and excellence and maintain the highest standards in their work.

Case in point: the badly Photoshopped image of three Department of Public Works and Highways officials that appeared on the agency’s website soon after the typhoon Pedring assault. Not only was it in poor taste for such an image to be created in the first place, what added insult to injury was that it was an awful Photoshop job.

That went viral on the Internet too, and those three DPWH officials’ images appeared in all sorts of incongruous locations: behind the winner of the Miss Universe contest, on the ring with Manny Pacquiao, on Taal Volcano beside the proposed “Batangas” sign, but with the letters B, the first A, and S omitted.

Via Facebook’s “Photos of HollywoodPilipinas”

 Another example: the gaudy and tasteless lamp installations in various Manila parks and along the bridges. Bulbous and garish, they hurt the eyes and offend aesthetic sensibilities, not to mention use too much electricity better spent on more important things. Like food for the hungry and shelter for the homeless in those same over-lit parks.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” – this was the credo of Steve Jobs, Apple founder, and he went on to build the world’s biggest and most respected company on that. It is also the cultural design philosophy of the Japanese, and we all know where they are now.

What this incident also makes painfully obvious is that up to now, many politicians and public officials still do not realize the power and influence of the cyber community. To be blind to the impact of current communications technology is stupid and foolish. Have no lessons been learned from the Mai Mislang sucky-wine-and-no-pogis-in-Vietnam Twitter debacle?

The Internet is a force for disseminating information almost instantaneously, and unlike traditional media, the cost of using which precludes access by the masses, the Internet may be used as a communication platform by anyone with a computer and broadband connection, or even just a smartphone and a data plan. Anyone can be a “journalist”, anyone can spread “news”.

So it’s no surprise that Gov Vi’s resolution went viral on the Internet, spawning a host of photos making fun of the “Taal Volcano” sign idea. That’s an indignity that’ll take some time to die down, and it certainly won’t help the tourism industry at all.

* * * * *

For runners/walkers: the 500 Smile Run aims to raise funds for the free surgery of 500 Filipino children and young adults born with cleft palates or lips. The race is set for November 6 at the Quirino Grandstand. Distances are 500m, 3km, 5km, 10km, and 16km. Registration is until November 3. See takbo.ph for details. Since it’s for a worthy cause, quite a few enthusiasts have signed up, among them the newly-formed Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Runners Team.  ***

Polska-Pilipinas image here. Lady Gaga “Marry the Night” cover art here.

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