pop goes the world

POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  1 March 2012, Thursday

Color Me Color-Blind

Men’s magazine FHM-Philippines buckled under a barrage of negative feedback after it posted a photo of its proposed March cover on its Facebook Page that aroused the ire of Netizens.

“Racist!” said one commenter. “Shame on FHM Philippines!” said another.

The controversial image showed light-skinned soap actress and model Bela Padilla, wearing a strappy hot pink bikini, surrounded by three dark-skinned models, and headlined “Bela Padilla: Emerging from the Shadows”.

Image here.

Over three hundred people signed a petition on change.org asking FHM to apologize and yank the cover.

FHM-Philippines’ publisher Summit Media responded by cancelling the cover, promising to have a different one upon release, and issuing this statement: “We apologize and thank those who have raised their points. We apologize to Bela Padilla for any distress this may have caused her.”

Their full statement is posted on the FHM-Philippines website. Nowhere in it is there an apology to the backup models.

Bela took the flak in stride. Much was made of her video and Twitter apology. In the latter she said, “I’m so sorry to everyone who got offended. I hope all of you see the beauty of the cover and appreciate it,” and, “My cover is supposed to be about stepping out of my shadows, inhibitions, fears, etc. And has nothing to do with race.”

She herself is of mixed race, having a Filipina mother and a British father.

In the first place, didn’t she know better to participate in such a shoot in the first place? Did she not even make a comment during the shoot? Ask the pictorial director why this particular concept was employed? Was she even aware of the racism inherent in the concept? Has she gone on record as having made objections before all this?

It seems not. One might chalk that up to her youth – she’s 20 – or her ignorance. Or perhaps for her it was just a job, and who cares about the image concept and any other deeper meanings that may lie behind it.

The chocolate beauties were treated as background, as mere props to the star, like furniture or a backdrop. They are still unnamed in the media. They are the subject now of global attention, yet they remain anonymous, because props do not have names.

It is they who deserve an apology from FHM, not Bela.

Racism exists as a cultural norm in many countries. Certainly prejudice is universal. I don’t think there is any country that does not have any biases based on skin color, ethnicity, religion, or other factor that would set one group apart from another. The collective, the majority, is always afraid of what is different, as it seeks to maintain its dominance through cultural hegemony.

We are guided by a mindset stillborn from 400 years of Spanish rule and 40 years of American occupation. Despite the advances in technology and scholarship since then, we have not been able to shake of the heavy burden of nearly half a millennium of colonial mentality.

In our culture, light-complexioned girls with Caucasian features are extolled as being more beautiful than their warmer-skinned, ethnic-looking counterparts. This notion is heavily reinforced in the media, which has led to the phenomenon of whitening through chemical means, from soap to injectable glutathione.

With migration to other countries, people crossing national borders to live and work, and intermarriage, we thought the world would become a melting-pot, with all the cultures blending together to create a happy coffee-skinned world population.

Instead, as scholars have noted, countries with high multi-cultural populations have become salad bowls – where different cultures mix yet remain distinct, “maintaining their own practices and institutions” (Laura Laubeova). One example of such a country is the United States.

Unlike the US, the Philippines has not been a focal point for mass migration. The majority of its residents are of Malay extraction – one race. So racism is not the entire issue.

Rather, it is also an issue of class, with the dominant, foreign-descended upper class deemed as the ideal and copied slavishly by the masses as an extension of the colonial influence and the bourgeois status quo.

The good thing about this entire FHM-Bela Padilla issue is the discourse that resulted from it and the immediate feedback. It is also heartening to note FHM’s immediate response and their pull-out of their distasteful cover.

With vigilance and continued action we can bring about a cultural revolution in the Philippines, and lay the foundation for a society that is color-blind, tolerant, and inclusive.

We can change this country for the better.   *** 

UPDATE: 10 March 2012, Saturday – I saw this at a gas station convenience store – FHM’s March issue with the revised cover.

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 POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today, 23 February 2012, Thursday

A Culture of Domestic Abuse

Last Valentine’s Day, instead of gabbing about their lovelives over coffee and cake, a group of women gathered to discuss a pressing and urgent matter, one that impacts the lovelives of all Filipinos.

The “Soul Sisters for RH”, a group of legislatrices urging the passing of the Reproductive Health Bill, held an open forum to exchange views on issues concerning women, relationships, and how these relate to the RH bills now pending in Congress.

The group comprises representatives Jaye Lacson-Noel, Kimi Cojuangco, Sandy Ocampo, Bernadette Herrera-Dy, Abigail Ferriol, Sharon S. Garin, and Emmeline Y. Aglipay.

Among the topics discussed, I was most interested in a disturbing fact mentioned by Rep. Aglipay (DIWA partylist) – that violence against women has been increasing.

According to the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey of the National Statistics Office, “One in five women aged 15-49 has experienced physical violence since age 15. More than fourteen percent of married women have experienced physical abuse from their husbands; and more than one-third or thirty seven percent of separated or widowed women have experienced physical violence, implying that domestic violence could be the reason for separation or annulment.”

These are horrendous statistics. Can we, “the only Catholic country in Asia” and all that, supposedly having a strong moral foundation, hold our head high as being morally upright? No. These figures are too high.

This increase in the incidence of abuse has occurred despite the passage of Republic Act 9262, the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 (VAWC), which “granted the government the right to intervene in case of household violence or abuse against women and children. (Association for Progressive Communications).”

National Anti-Poverty Commission assistant secretary Lila Ramos Shahani notes that “The implementation gap in this country continues to remain particularly glaring…Violence against women and trafficking are overt manifestations of gender inequality in the Philippines and its prevalence in our patriarchal culture.”

Domestic abuse is a stark reality of life in the Philippines, no matter how much some people will try pretend it doesn’t exist. I remember attending a Bible study at a ritzy international church in Makati some years ago. The other members were older ladies from the ultra-wealthy set, coming to Bible class with Louis Vuitton handbags slung over their arm. One day we were discussing what sort of ministry to provide to womens’ correctional inmates; I suggested some sort of therapy workshop for abused women. One of women shuddered. “I can’t believe there is such a thing!” she exclaimed. “How can men hurt the women in their family? My father and husband love me and spoil me so much!”

I told her I myself was the victim of terrible physical abuse from my ex-husband. I proceeded to tell her a few stories from that dark period. Her eyes wide, she edged away from me, shaking her head, clutching her Epi leather LV closer to her chest. I left that church soon after.

Men are also likely to downplay the abuse that occurs. After a particular severe beating (I was gagged with duct tape and tied with leather straps), I went to the police precinct in our area to report the incident. The policeman on duty took down my statement in the blotter, but refused to take any other action. “Away mag-asawa yan,” he said. “That’s none of our business.”

Last week, a woman who lives a few doors away from ours was telling neighbors that the week before, she caught her seaman husband and another woman together in a motel. Her husband dragged her home and beat her savagely.  Having been caught being unfaithful, siya pa galit. The wife sported a black eye and bruises after that. The entire neighborhood saw.

According to the author of a version of the RH Bill, Rep. Edcel C. Lagman (Albay), the proposed law “is not anti-life. It is pro quality life.” Among other benefits, it provides for the “elimination of violence against women.”

It is doubtful whether the bill can be passed before the Congress recess on March 13, given the focus of lawmakers now on the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

What’s important is to ensure that the attention on the RH Bill does not wane. “Out of sight, out of mind.” Delaying this important matter does our country a great disservice, and continues to keep us locked in the shackles of fear and ignorance created by the dark side of culture and law.

As a citizen of this Republic, I urge – no, I demand – the passage of the RH Bill, and other legislation that will adequately protect women and children from pain and hurt inflicted by those obligated and sworn to protect and cherish them, not only at home, but in the societal milieu.  *** 

Stop VAW poster here. Lila Shahani image here. Edcel Lagman here.

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  16 February 2012, Thursday

No Such Thing as Mixed Signals

Ah, Valentine’s Day. For couples in a relationship, it’s a happy romantic time, roses and chocolates blah blah.

But for some singles, it’s bleak – feeling alone even when in the company of friends, wondering when the Universe will get its act together and drop your soulmate in your lap.

It’s downright painful for other singles, especially women, who are waiting on a beloved to say, “Yes, you’re the one I love. I can’t imagine life without you. Marry me.” And are still waiting. And waiting…

The man will often have an excuse – I have to take care of personal issues first, I don’t make enough money yet for us to set up together, istrik ang ferents ko. The woman will wait, hoping things would get better.

This happened to me, not too long ago. I’d been clinging, hoping for a change, rationalizing to myself that the mixed signals he was sending stemmed from his personal challenges. That it was just a matter of me being patient and giving him the space to work things out then hey, maybe, our time would come.

An older gentleman at work – a lawyer, rational and logical – hearing my story, said with extreme kindness, “He’s not sending mixed signals. He’s being very clear. He won’t commit. Now can you bear that? If yes, then let it go on the way it has been. Otherwise, the next step is up to you. It’s not up to him, because he’s already told you where he stands – and it’s not in your corner.”

I’d fallen into the trap most women do. We hang on hoping he’ll come to his senses. That he’ll wake up, as if from a dream, and transform into kind of the man you’ve always wanted to have by your side. That he’ll realize we’re the love of his life and he can’t bear spending the rest of his life without us.

But for men, it is often quite clear. They’re not the ones sending the mixed signals – it’s the women in their lives who won’t accept what they trying to say – “I won’t commit to you”.

Comedian and now relationship guru Steve Harvey says in his book “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man” that a man doesn’t show his love the way a woman does. Women will sacrifice and endure all for the sake of love. Their love is boundless, unconditional, and encompassing.

A man’s love, says Harvey, is no less powerful but expressed differently, in three ways – profess, provide, protect. First, profess. He’ll tell everyone you’re his lady, his woman, the love of his life. “In other words, “ says Harvey, “you will have a title – an official one that far extends beyond ‘this is my friend’ or ‘ this is (insert your name here).” A man who professes you as his own claims you as his, that “he has plans for you. He sees himself in a long-term, committed relationship with you.”

Next, provide. It’s ingrained in a man’s DNA, says Harvey, that “a man who loves you will bring that money home to make sure that you and the kids have what you all need. That is our role – our purpose…[that] the people we love need want for nothing.”

Last, protect. “When a man truly loves you, anybody who says, does, suggests, or even thinks about doing something offensive to you stands the risk of being obliterated. Your man will destroy anything and everything in his path to make sure that whoever disrespected you pays for it.”

So, ladies, wake up. If he doesn’t call you his lady, if he’s not by your side right now, if he didn’t put a ring on your finger, then he’s not the one. Accept that, thank him for the good times, and move on.

You deserve much better. You deserve the title, the bacon, the protection. You deserve to spend the next Valentine’s Day in someone’s warm embrace, the kind of hug that won’t let you go.

* * * * *

Poets Joel Toledo, Karen Kunawicz, and others will read poetry at the Freelance Writers’ Guild of the Philippines’ OpenBook event tomorrow night, Friday, February 17, at Chef’s Bistro, 94 Sct. Gandia, Quezon City. Entrance-plus-drink is P200. A portion of the proceeds will help fund projects for Typhoon Sendong victims.

FWGP founder Ime Morales convinced me to read a couple of poems. I don’t fancy myself a poet. But all I can do is try my best. Feel free to bring eggs and tomatoes to hurl at the stage. I can always make an omelette. ***  

Carabineers here. Steve Harvey book image here. FWGP logo here.

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  9 February 2012, Thursday

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

There must be something to this “feng shui” business after all.

Astrologers using this Chinese version of geomancy predicted that this year of the Black Water Dragon will be, like the legendary animal, unpredictable and unstable.

A water dragon year occurs once every 60 years. The Water Dragon connotes creativity. Image here.

What can be more unstable than an earthquake rattling the usually calm islands of the Visayas?

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s report of 12:30 AM of February 7, about 13 hours after the quake, detailed the situation and initial responses to the disaster.

The main 6.9 magnitude earthquake of tectonic origin was felt the strongest in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental (Intensity VII) all the way to Pagadian City (Intensity I). Various areas in Negros Occidental and Cebu experienced the main shock at Intensity II to VI. There were 157 aftershocks recorded in the same areas.

Quake map. Image here.

A Level 2 tsunami alert was raised and cancelled after a couple hours, although coastal areas experienced inundation which had residents scrambling for higher ground, among them Comendador Beach in La Libertad, where five seaside cottages were wiped out.

La Libertad, at this time, is isolated, with bridges and roads leading to the area having suffered extensive damage. The regional office of the Department of Public Works and Highways estimates up to five days to find an alternate route, and two weeks to build it.

The power went out in Cebu and Iloilo, among other areas; classes and work were suspended. Evacuation operations were initiated in several barangays in the municipalities of Moalboal (southwest of Cebu) and Bindoy.

People in Negros and Cebu reported, via Twitter and Facebook, the strong shaking of shelves and other furniture and cracks appearing in the walls of homes and commercials buildings. Bridges, roads, and other infrastructure were damaged, to the tune of P265 million and counting.

NDRRMC, within hours of the disaster, activated their emergency operations center, disseminated alerts and information to other concerned government agencies, and coordinated closely with PHILVOLCS and the Office of Civil Defense, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Coast Guard.

The mobilization of the police and military resulted in the dispatch of search-and-rescue teams to scour for victims in distress.

Local authorities requested drinking water, medicines, and medical supplies from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office as among the priority needs. Yesterday, PCSO approved the disbursement of P100,000 via its Cebu branch for the purchase of the items.

By yesterday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development had already provided over P12.426 million in relief in the form of cash-for-work and food items to affected LGUs and families. The Department of Health provided P200,000.

DPWH sent structural engineers to perform damage assessment of bridges and roads, and to determine which commercial buildings may safely reopen so that economic activity may resume as soon as possible.

Road damage in Negros Oriental. Image here.

President Benigno Aquino, celebrated his birthday yesterday by inspecting for himself the damage, receiving assessment reports, and instructing public officials and agency heads to step up their rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts.

After the other unsettling natural events of recent months – typhoon Sendong last December 17, the Compostela Valley landslide last January 5 – it’s good to see public agencies become more responsive as they improve their systems and procedures for dealing with natural disasters.

They’ve come a long way from the Ondoy debacle in 2009, when government unpreparedness was dismally apparent, from the lack of rubber boats that would have been of much use, to the glacial slowness of information dissemination and relief/rescue response.

Practice makes perfect, after all, although this kind of “practice” we don’t need. Let us hope we are spared the further depredations of nature. And should it be our burden to bear more of the same, may we be even more prepared in the future.

From a culture of bahala na and puede na ‘yan, we are gradually shifting to a proactive, responsible attitude where we learn from our mistakes and do better the next time.

In this case, what matters is for both public and concerned private organizations to create the systems and procedures for disaster response, have the will to quickly implement and follow-through on those, and maintain the appropriate personnel and equipment for the tasks. Let’s make this not a ningas-kugon nor a pakitang-gilas thing, but a permanent positive change.

The Black Water Dragon may continue to rampage this year. We can choose to roll with the tides of fortune, but I would rather we chart the course of our own destiny.   *** 

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  2 February 2012, Thursday

Open Sesame

The impeachment trial of Supreme Court chief justice Renato Corona is a can opener.

It has breached a can of worms, dragging into the light that which was hidden in the dark, away from the public, for too long. It has exposed the way some influential and wealthy people in this country conduct their affairs beyond the pale of the law or ethics.

The lengthy, drawn-out testimony on Corona’s SALN was mind-boggling. Clearly the man omitted to declare several different properties, notably expensive condominium units, among his assets.

A unit at McKinley Hills was declared as belonging to his daughter, whose income did not reflect the capability to pay for the property. The receipts also reflected the father’s name, while the deed of sale was made out to Corona and his wife, not the daughter.

The defense sought to explain this away by saying that the daughter was abroad during the time and the father acted as her representative. But why was the deed of sale made out in her parents’ name, rather than hers?

Next was the revelation of a P10 million discount on a unit in the posh Bellagio building given to Corona by developer Megaworld, for the reason the unit was “damaged.” Really? What a sweet deal. Where can I get me one of those? Obviously they’re not available to ordinary folk.

 High living: view from the corridor leading to Corona’s condo unit at the Bellagio. Image here.

These explanations reek of manipulation, of facts being massaged. We have a word for this in Tagalog – palusot.

One might ask, “Can’t a Supreme Court justice avail of property at a discount? Is there a law against that?”

It’s a question of ethics – “Caesar’s wife”, as we have heard several legal analysts quote.

The phrase refers to Julius Caesar’s second wife Pompeia, whom he divorced after her name was linked to the notorious rakehell Publius Clodius. Caesar knew there was no truth to the rumors swirling around the pair, yet he held that as ruler of Rome, his wife must be above all suspicion. “Caesar’s wife” therefore is someone of impeccable morals.

Pompeia, Caesar’s second wife, whom  he married in 67 BC. Image here. 

Public officials are held to higher standards than plain folk, and that is both their delight and their cross.

It is their delight to live a life by the highest moral standards and to be held in respect and esteem by their fellowmen.

It is their cross, because it is a burden to be thus set apart from others.

Yet this is what is asked of public servants – to live a life of sacrifice. Isn’t that so, political adviser Ronald Llamas?

The trial is also an eye-opener.

A lady legal analyst for a major news network said on Ted Failon’s radio show the other day, “Hindi pa gising ang tao.” They should be. With all that we have seen and heard, there is no turning back to the days when we were deaf and blind to the machinations of those in power.

Cheers to the following, who gave good face – Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner Kim Henares, who did not crumble under the onslaught of questions; lawyer Noli Hernandez, who only told his witnesses “Tell the truth”; young legal eagle Joseph Joemer Perez, who has impressed everyone with his brilliance; and the indefatigable and endlessly entertaining Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, whose rapier-like wit and courage cuts through all the bullshit, everytime.

On Day 5 of the trial, tired of the deluge of rhetoric, she said, “…it behooves us to start with this principle: ‘Justice delayed is justice denied.’ Huwag na tayong magpa-epal dito dahil nawawalan ng gana ang nanonood. Tama na ‘yun. “

Much ado has also been made about the blazing intelligence of senator Juan Ponce Enrile (turning 88 on February 14) and retired Supreme Court justice Serafin Cuevas (83). Both evoke an earlier, more genteel era, where gentlemen of the law exchange courtly gestures while exchanging elegantly-crafted arguments based on research and sharp analysis.

Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. Image here.

Enrile, during this grueling process, shows aplomb and stamina. It’s been said that he studies about the case several hours each day, as does Cuevas, who even throws in half-an-hour of jogging before his mental preparation.

These elder statesmen are to be emulated by their younger counterparts, in terms of discipline and work ethics.

Meanwhile, the trial of the year continues, and is expected to drag on for several months. A middle-aged government lawyer, who has witnessed the trial in the Senate several times, sums it up as “a slow-moving political trial that has gone viral through the antics of the show-boating lawyers involved.”

My 13-year-old daughter, who is studying about the trial in their freshman high school social science class, asked, “Mama, CJ Corona was a midnight appointee, in violation of the Constitution. Is that not enough to have him removed from a position he should not be holding in the first place?”

My point, from the start.

* * * * *

Those interested in learning more about the creative process may regularly interact with writers at the monthly Openbook event of the Freelance Writers’ Guild of the Philippines.

The event is held every third Friday of the month, 730pm at Chef’s Bistro, Sct. Gandia, near Tomas Morato. The following authors have been featured: in 2011, novelist Samantha Sotto (September), essayist Bebang Siy (October), and novelist Tweet Sering (November). Screenwriter Ricky Lee kicked off 2012 with a guesting last month.

This month’s Openbook will be held on the 17^th with Bebang Siy as host. Multi-awarded poet Joel Toledo, the night’s featured guest, will read from his Ruins and Reconstructions (Anvil Publishing, 2011).

A poetry reading will follow, with performances by Ramil Gulle, Nonilon Queano, Ceres Abanil, Abet Umil, Haresh Daswani, Veronica Laurel, Brandon Dollente, Rustum Casia, and myself, among others.

The FWGP, founded by Ime Morales in August 2011, is a group of Philippine-based freelance writers, among them journalists, copywriters, bloggers, researchers and documenters, literary writers, SEO experts.

The organization, says Morales, is “committed to protecting the welfare of freelance writers, and to elevating the quality of their work output.” To learn more, search for the group on Facebook. ***

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  26 January 2012, Thursday

Have You Hugged Your Kids Today?

Last Saturday was an interesting time for our family as we went to support our youngest in her first cheerdance ever.

Erika is a high school freshman at Colegio de Santa Rosa-Makati, and she’d been waiting for this moment since she was in elementary school. My eldest, Alexandra, who graduated from the same school several years ago, was as intense about the annual experience as her sister.

Apparently it’s a big deal to kids nowadays, this cheerdance thing. It pits year levels (“batches”) against each other in about ten to fifteen minutes of competition, featuring new cheers authored by the batch incorporated into dance routines that blend jazz/funk/modern dance styles with gymnastics. The batch that has dancers and gymnasts has an edge in the competition.

We didn’t have this during our time, so I asked my kids, “It’s an event that brings batches together in unity and camaraderie while honing skills in friendly competition against the students of other years to build school spirit and sisterhood, right?”

They looked at each other and frowned at me. “No, Mama. Cheerdance is war.”

CSR Freshmen do their routine in the 2011 Cheerdance Competition. The dancers are in front, the pep squad in the back. An iPhone 4S image.

At CSR-Makati, elementary students perform simple dance/exercise routines called “field demonstrations”. The children wear costumes and dance to music in line with a theme for that year. Last year, when Ik was in sixth grade, they swung to 70s and 80s music while dressed in bellbottom jeans and platform shoes and let me tell you, the parents were dancing along with their daughters on the CSR field. It was that fun.

But field demos are for babies. Cheerdance is a whole ‘nother level, and it’s only for the high school. Students in each batch join one of three groups, according to skill and inclination – dancers, pep squad, and propsmen.

The “props” take care of physical requirements such as banners, boxes covered with glitter, cardboard motorbikes, and other accessories that the batch requires in its routine.

The pep squad comprises most of the students in a batch and they are backup dancers. The dancers are the stars of the show, and are chosen via auditions held by the choreographer hired for that year.

Yes, these competitions are serious enough to require the services of professional dance and cheerdance choreographers, who are often members of cheerdance squads in universities and colleges.

Each high school batch at CSR comes out on the field dressed in the colors assigned to that year level – freshmen green, sophomores yellow, juniors red, seniors blue. The propsmen and pep squad members wear jogging pants and batch t-shirts specially designed and printed for the occasion, often with the batch name. The dancers wear more elaborate costumes in keeping with the chosen theme or music. The parents and connections come wearing shirts in the colors of their daughters’ year levels.

 Cheerdance Competition 2012 at Colegio de Sta. Rosa-Makati. The batches assemble on the field to await the results of the contest. An iPhone 4S image.

Because it’s a contest, watching a cheerdance is more suspenseful and tense than watching a field demo. Parents crowd to be in the front, or stake out seats on the second floor of the school building and set up camera tripods. There’s play-by-play commentary from bystanders, more often than not school alumni who come to support their younger sisters, who have been preparing for this day through rigorous daily practice over a couple of months, and by watching videos of performances of previous years.

Originality of choreography, cheers, and costume; level of difficulty; energy level; and number of lifts, human pyramids, and tumbling runs are among the criteria used to judge the winners. Because they are older and bigger, first and second place usually go to either the juniors or seniors. This is something accepted by the freshmen and sophomores; they’re content with just not coming in last.

This year’s cheerdance winner at CSR turned out to be the Juniors, who rocked an exotic Bollywood theme with the dancers dressed in “Princess Jasmine”-inspired bodices and sheer headdresses. Their advantage was that they had a former UP Pep Squad member as their coach.

The University of the Philippines Varsity Pep Squad is perhaps the most famous university cheerdance group today. They have won seven UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) Cheerdance Competitions, the most recent in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011. The UP Pep Squad led Team Philippines in the 6^th Cheerleading Worlds held last November 2011 in Hongkong, placing third in the Cheer Mixed category.

UP Pep Squad winning the 2011 UAAP Cheerdance. Image here.

Cheerdance combines the athleticism of gymnastics with the aesthetics of dance, and it’s also an enjoyable exercise for teaching the values of teamwork and harmony. I hope other schools that don’t have this yet will consider it for their students. Government and non-government organizations could look into this for their youth programs. What better way for kids to spend the afternoon than tumbling with each other in the grass, rather than being stuck indoors playing video games?

This entire cheerdance thing also reminds me of a couple of things. The first – a bumper sticker that my former father-in-law, a veterinarian and racehorse trainer, used to have on his old car – “Have you hugged your horse today?”

The second – the way my father showed his affection for my sister and me. When he’d come home in the late afternoon, he’d greet us by planting sniff-kisses on our heads and saying, “Olor del sol!” And off we’d go for our evening baths.

Our children are special. Let them know. Gather them in the circle of your arms right now, kiss them on the top of their heads that smell like our tropical sun, and share the warmth of your love for and pride in them.

* * * * *

The National Youth Commission announced the opening of applications to the 9^th Parliament of Youth Leaders.

The parliament, which was started in 1996, gathers young people from around the country to brainstorm policy recommendations for youth issues. The recommendations are sent to government leaders to be considered as proposed bills and administrative policies.

This year’s theme is “Revolutionizing Youth Development”. The event hopes to expose young people to how political and organizational procedures and mechanisms may be used to effect positive changes in society.

Scheduled for the first week of May 2012, the parliament is expected to have over 200 youth leaders 15-30 years old as participants. Learn about the qualifications and download application forms at www.nyc.gov.ph or email nyp9@nyc.gov.ph. The deadline for applications is February 29.

* * * * *

The Carlos Palanca Foundation is accepting entries to its Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature from February 1 to April 30. Contest rules and forms will soon be released at its website, www.palancaawards.com.ph.  * * *

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  12 January 2012, Thursday

Impeachment as Drama

The ubiquity of communication media makes it possible for an entire nation to follow an impeachment trial that, back in the old days before television and television networks seeking to outdo each other in ratings, could only be viewed by a select few.

Government and court proceedings were filtered by information “middlemen” – journalists, writers, reporters – through the processes of agenda-setting and framing, whether performed unconsciously or not. The audience did not use to receive the entirety of the experience. This was made possible later on with the advent of the Internet, to the vastness of which reams of documents and footage could be uploaded. This could not be done in the limited space of print or regular broadcast channels.

With the rampant commercialization of the media, especially television, and the tougher arena brought about by a free-market environment and the number of competitors, networks playing the ratings game are forced to deliver what the public wants, in order to survive. And if the public wants to see more of this and less of the other, programming is developed to cater to those wishes.

Since today’s audience is politically savvy, a highly significant event such as the Corona impeachment trial is being given extensive coverage by the networks and others news organizations and individuals on the Internet.

Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona before the start of his impeachment trial. Image here.

While this easy access to information makes it possible for the audience to craft their own experience by picking and choosing their sources of news, the constant exposure also has a tendency to desensitize. The Corona trial is eagerly watched, almost as if it were the latest telenovela, as if these aspects of our country’s politics and governance were merely plot elements in a play.

The word drama comes from the Greek “to act” or “to do”. It must have characters who, in the course of their lives, somehow become involved in a conflict situation. The narrative follows their actions and reactions to the conflict, which at the end of the play are resolved.

People following the trial cast the characters in their minds as either “hero” or “villain” depending on their personal beliefs and convictions. And because the Internet, unlike traditional print and broadcast media, allow for instant and nearly unlimited feedback, it can bring out the best in people, who share insightful and meaningful comments, and the worst, through “trolls”, vicious-minded people who have no significant analysis and post only cruel and hurtful insults.

The trial is bringing out the true colors of people.

Apart from being seen as a drama, it is also being pegged in public perception as a sporting event. Facebook and Twitter users, especially the latter, post play-by-plays of the proceedings: “Si Cuevas parang nakikipagkwentuhan lang sa Starbucks.” “Dimaandal looks like he could use a beer.” “Bully, o.” Pass the popcorn.

Does this mean we no longer take important events such as impeachment trials seriously? Filipinos as a people have a dramatic nature – “romantic”, a creative writing professor of mine described it. Filipinos tend to exaggerate, inflate, and yes, dramatize even the most trivial of events.

Putting the impeachment trial on the level of a drama or sporting event underscores the tremendous interest that people are taking in the proceedings, because Filipinos care deeply about such things, and elevate telenovelas and the PBA to cult status. Treating the trial like “Flor de Luna” and Corona as bida or contrabida shows that we care what is happening to our country, that we want to participate in this even vicariously, and that if the only way we can be a part of this milestone event is to watch it, then by golly we will.

And we’ll discuss it, over bottles of beer at an after-office inuman or online, because by being aware of the unfolding of events and sharing our opinions on them we enter the play as actors ourselves, and thereby feel – even to a slight degree, even if it is an illusion – in control of our nation’s destiny.

Whatever the outcome of this impeachment, we will already have gained something valuable – we will have learned something more about ourselves as a people.

* * * * *

Award-winning photographer Dominique James, who is now based in the US, recently announced the launch of Blanc Worldwide, an “international photo collective” composed of six photographer-members: Dominique James (Atlanta) and Lester Callanta (Toronto), co-founders; and Kyo Suayan (San Francisco), Michael Mariano (New York), David Fabros (Manila), and Randy Tamayo (Melbourne), founding members.

Their online gallery at www.blancworldwide.com exhibits a landscape photograph from each member, available for a limited time to the public as fine art photographic prints.

According to Dominique James, “The two main goals of Blanc Worldwide are to provide professional representation of the Filipino photographers in the international arena, and to make their works available and accessible worldwide. The chosen images for Blanc Worldwide’s exhibition and exclusive print sale depicts aspects of the immediate, primary or accessible location from where each of the photographers is geographically based.”

“This is the first tightly-knit, project-oriented photography collective composed of Filipino photographers of its kind in this digital age that we know of,” he added.  *** 

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  12 January 2012, Thursday

A Slogan By Any Other Name

People are having fun with “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”!

But not necessarily the good clean kind, okay. Have you seen the user-generated photo on the Internet of a blonde-bewigged Madame Auring (who must be in her mid-60s at least), stuffed in a leopard-print swimsuit overflowing with her ample breasts, with the text, “Growing old – more fun in the Philippines?”

Fortune teller to the stars and now B-list celeb Madam Auring. Image here.

It’s only one of the many fan-made photos created in the week following the Department of Tourism’s launch of its new campaign, “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”.

Print and online columnists and commenters immediately weighed in with their thoughts. Most of the arguments go like this: let’s be positive rather than negative, let’s be united and show support, the slogans are easy to remember and pronounce, and flexible enough to be used in a variety of ways (for); and it’s boring, vague, unnecessary, and plagiarized (against).

I was monitoring the Internet the day of the launch and saw the onslaught of comments; the initial pattern of public attitudes toward the slogans; and the actual shift to a “majority” stand, all within half a day online. The public perception was later reflected in the evening news and the next day in the newspapers.

Twitter, because of its immediacy, was the first to “cover” the event, and comments both for and against emerged here first. Most people were underwhelmed by the phrases, “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” (international campaign) and “#1For Fun” (domestic).

A lot of what first went around was sarcastic. But then, that’s what happens when the slogans are phrased in such a way as to lend themselves to all kinds of interpretation.

Image here.

As for the accusation that the current DOT slogan was lifted from a 1951 Swiss campaign for suntanning – “It’s more fun in Switzerland!” – I think we can safely say that it was a coincidence. But then, that’s the problem when the phrase is so common and banal! It was a certainty that it had already been used somewhere, sometime, in that context.

DOT Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. has defended the campaign created for them by award-winning advertising agency BBDO by saying that they weren’t looking to be creative, but to tell the truth about the country and simply describe it because it really is “more fun” here.   But given the wealth of creative genius that this country boasts, couldn’t we have come up with something more original and interesting, or at least something less lame?

I liked the old DOT campaign better – “Wow Philippines”. (By the way, it was also created by BBDO, as was the older “More than the usual” campaign). It conveyed interest and excitement in one short word -”wow” – without making unsupportable or subjective claims such as “more”, that open the claim to unmerciless mockery, which the phrase has been subjected to.

Image here.

Perhaps if it were worded “It’s fun in the Philippines”, it would have been less likely to be made fun of.

However, compared to the “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” fiasco of November 2010, this new one is an improvement. The fact that #itsmorefuninthephilippines is trending worldwide shows we are working with this and, yes, having more fun with it.

But is it going to do its job, meaning, is the slogan going to attract more tourists? The DOT should have a survey form for foreigners that they can fill out on the inbound planes – “What influenced you to visit the Philippines?” No fair claiming any increase in tourist arrivals to the slogan without accurate monitoring with a survey instrument constructed with the proper methodology!

What struck me most about the entire phenomenon was that anyone can always come up with pros and cons for any topic. It’s social construction, meaning that many aspects of our daily experience are accepted as a result of agreement among members of society. In this manner social reality is created.

I saw this occur in real time – a people constructing their social reality through computer-media communication via social media. For a communication scholar such as myself, it was intellectually orgasmic. Phd dissertation topic, anyone?

At first, perception toward the new DOT slogan was skewed toward the negative – people were making fun of the slogan. Then, influential Tweeters, bloggers, and celebs chimed in urging support for the campaign.

Later, some of the “pros” went further and berated the “cons” for being too negative and, worse, unpatriotic! Suddenly the tide turned – negative comments are now interpreted as “bashing”, masyadong nega, hindi maka-Pilipino. Even the mockery is more gentle than it was at the start; it’s somehow toned down. It’s as if a sort of bullying took place.

Image here.

Why do some ideas spread so fast and embed so strongly, like a virus? Why are some ideas accepted and others not? Writer and researcher Malcolm Gladwell might have an explanation for this in his book “The Tipping Point” (2000).

There are three types of influential persons who have rare and particular social gifts, he says, upon whose involvement “the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent”: the “connectors” are people who “link us up with the world”, who have social networks of over a hundred people; the “mavens” are “information specialists, people we rely on to connect us with new information;” and “salesmen”, the persuaders who have charisma plus powerful negotiation skills, and who tend to have “an indefinable trait that goes beyong what they say, which makes others want to agree with them.”

Once these people jump on one side of an idea or the other, they bring about the “tipping point”, the “moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.” Then, others who are less influential or undecided tip that way. Then an idea becomes the dominant ideology.

For now, people are having fun with “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”. Let’s hope it brings in the visitors and their much-needed moolah.

But we have to remember that it’s not all about slogans, which are just a bunch of words strung together. The slogans need to be backed up by a genuine product – a safe and tourist-friendly Philippines, where people can truly have more fun. ***

Malcolm Gladwell portrait here.

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POP GOES THE WORLD  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  5 January 2012, Thursday

Learning Lessons

How was your new year celebration? I hope none of you lost any fingers/were burned or injured/choked on firecracker smoke last New Year’s Eve. Despite all the warnings by the Department of Health on firecracker safety, there were still 739 revelry-related injuries listed as of Tuesday, with at least two deaths- a 9-year-old boy in Cabanatuan City and a months-old infant.

Not to mention the diverted/cancelled airplane flights because of the “smog” over the city that reduced visibility. Great, we’re about the only country that can create air pollution from excessive firecracker use. I bet they could see the smog cloud from space. Astronauts: “Hey, I can’t see the Philippines. They must be having a party!”

Firecracker smog over Manila on New Year’s Day 2012. Image here. 

While I see how letting off fireworks and lighting sparklers and Roman candles can be fun – it’s a tradition that goes back decades, and there’s that satisfaction obtained by the pyromaniac in all of us – it’s still a risky activity and expensive as well. Exploding fireworks is like burning money. Might as well have made a bonfire of all those peso bills.

Here’s one deterrent, or at least a warning to play safe – a story my former brother-in-law, a physician, used to tell us every holiday season. Back when he was a medical student at the University of the Philippines and pulled New Year’s Eve duty at the Philippine General Hospital, they never used anesthesia when stitching up wounds and debriding burns. “Para madala sila,” he said. Did it work? He shrugged. “We’d still have a lot of patients each year. No one really learns their lesson.”

Here’s another lesson we haven’t learned – how to take care of the environment. The flash flood in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan was a freak accident caused, in part, by the lack of watersheds. How had their forest cover, which used to spread over 35,000 hectares two decades ago, shrunk to 2,000? Illegal logging played a nasty part in that, among other things.

One of the last significant things I did in 2011 was tag along on a December 28 trip to Iligan and Cagayan de Oro with a team from a government aid agency. There we visited government hospitals and evacuation centers, and saw for ourselves just how much misery and devastation the incident wrought.

A wake for a perished Sendong victim is held at an evacuation center in Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro City. 28 Dec 2011

Despite the rebuilding going on, mud still covered the streets of many residential areas, especially the hardest hit barangays. Entire subdivisions looked like ghost towns – mud had mounded as high as the bottom sills of windows, with what look like seaweed improbably twined around metal window panes. The glass in the panes had, of course, shattered during the height of the storm.

Weeds strangle windows; mud covers floors to knee-height. 28 Dec 2011, Iligan City.

Stories abound. A woman clung to a post for a total of seven hours before the floods subsided. A child drifted by, borne on the water, and grabbed her, a safe harbor. Two hours into their ordeal, continuously buffeted by the elements, the child said, in a voice of infinite weariness, “Pagod na ako. Bibitaw nalang ako.” “Huwag, mamamatay ka!” screamed the woman, and clung tighter to the child. (They both lived.)

Humor is a feature of some stories, a typical coping mechanism of a people often battered by tragedy. People sat on their roofs, “kinakabayo”, a survivor said, clinging on to the V of the roof triangle for their lives. Occasionally other people would drift by and grasp whatever solid structure they could. One such man asked for permission from the homeowners perched on the roof. “Pare, pasensiya na. Pwedeng dito muna ako?” The homeowners laughed through their tears and hauled him up to the safer perch beside them. Another man who owned no cars saw a vehicle washed up in his garage the day after Sendong. “Pare!” he told a neighbor in high excitement. “May kotse na ako!”

An element of the supernatural tinges other narratives. One woman in a home relatively undamaged by the storm was unnerved when, the day after, around twenty children dressed in white pounded on her window begging to be let in. She turned to ask her husband what to do. When she turned back a few seconds later, all the children were gone.

Cagayan de Oro and Iligan will never forget Sendong and the horror and heartache it dealt. Now the residents of those areas are asking, what brought this about? Apart from the illegal logging, there’s also climate change; the typhoon belt is said to have moved from its regular path, affecting Northern Mindanao, a location that used to be untouched by monsoons.

Outside Gregorio Lluch Memorial Hospital in Iligan, a man studies lists of admitted flood victims and posters of missing persons. Most of the missing are children. Posters often list several children, all from one family. 28 Dec 2011.

Other residents claim that Cagayan de Oro’s mayor, a man called “the laziest mayor” by another paper for his frequent absence from city board meetings, is also culpable, his neglect having led to a lack of preparation for emergencies and subsequent poor response.

There are other whispers, of how a thousand or more Maranaws were brought to the area to vote for that politico, and being allowed to reside on the riverbank. Their ramshackle homes resting on an unstable foundation, these were among the first to be swept away when the river flooded its banks.

Youths dig into mud in Iligan, salvaging scrap metal after Sendong. 28 Dec 2011

Someone obviously didn’t learn the lesson about putting personal agenda aside in order to industriously and honorably fulfill duties as an elected public servant. And who are those somebodies who operate as illegal loggers? Those who don’t understand how climate change is already affecting our country in the most drastic ways? Those who still do not believe it is important to care for the environment?

Ten days after Sendong, a residential street in Cagayan is still almost impassable. 28 Dec 2011 

My New Year’s wish is simple – for people to learn their lessons and apply them to their daily lives, at home and work. When we stop living in ignorance and willful disregard of others and the world we live in, only then can we develop our potential.

But while selfishness, intellectual blindness, and sheer hard-headedness prevail in our culture, we’ll remain mired in the mud that Sendong brought down from the hills. And we’ll still have hundreds of people crammed into hospital emergency rooms on January 1.

Happy New Year, by the way.  ***

Phtos 2-6 were taken with an iPhone 4S. In addition, photos 3, 5, and 6 were taken from the window of a moving vehicle.

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