Public Hearings

 Readying the popcorn, potato chips, or nilagang mani, if you wish for the healthier option, many may vary on the preference of their snack, but one thing glues everyone nowadays, the public hearings. 

Being an X-er, I remember looking for people to talk to when hearings on the NBN-ZTE would come out on TV.  Those who watched it would patiently wait for the column of Jarius Bondoc to come out, so that we could give each other updates. I recall looking for people to discuss this issue, but it was not easy. I came from an era where current news was given via newspaper. 

But not today...

Today, the Philippines has definitely changed into big supporters of the Internet and social media, which has its upside and down. We know the downside of this: fake news, digital addiction, the one-upmanship game to name a few. Now the upside--Filipinos have never been this vigilant to politics, and it's been a while since my generation was the new one. After us came the old millenials, young, millenials, and finally Gen Z. 

Gen Z, the generation that did not really see much of games done outdoors. Their youth was filled with the rising of bloggers, vloggers called influencers ,and things of this sort. Now, as the Gen Z emerged, so did the strong liking and draw of Filipinos to the Internet. Nobody needs to buy  newspaper to get the latest in the news nowadays. All you need is your mobile phone. Turn it on, and wait for the hearings to begin . 

 Currently, it seems like many Filipinos have temporarily replaced all Netflix, HBO, Disney+, and the like for some bigger drama. These are the public hearings.  Though the Senate has lost its rating to the lower house, it is still a show people watch from time to time. However, I have to say, the Quad Comm of the lower house has been able to bring out quite a number of explosives left and right: an expose' of an undersecretary of the Vice President on bribe money, a revelation of a former warden on  higher positions being in authority over killings of three Chinese men in a prison cell, a blow-by-blow disclosure of a son of a mayor on a coercion of a PNP Chief for him to commit perjury, and finally, a Colonel's confession on the reward system of a former president. 

It did not matter that hearings of the Quad Comm would last 10 to 11 hours, or even more. People wanted to know, because Filipinos always knew, that the killing of many of  our countrymen were unjustly activities, but everyone kept mum. Many chose to say nothing. Fear enveloped the air and stifled voices, since quite a number, not only several, were silenced permanently during the previous administration. 

People find things strange today. There is quite a different scent of fairness happening. We do know that the current administration is no saint, but just like forces coming together to fight an even greater evil, the real opposition and the administration found a common enemy. The country, for its survival, is fighting a common enemy. The enemy that  violated the rights of many. The enemy that stole the voice of many. The enemy that chose not the country, The Philippines, for it to protect. The enemy that tried, or maybe somehow triumphed, selling the country to its enemy.     

 

     

The Second Syllable

 

I've been noticing it for a while, but never gave it much attention until I rode an e-jeep and the conductor started talking to the driver: "Pare, 'matic yan, 'matic," (That's 'matic,bro).  I was trying to figure out what 'matic meant. Until it dawned on me that it was actually the short cut of 'automatic.' I nodded my head. Happy to know that I learned something new that day. Then I went to the bathroom and the women in the ladies' room started shouting at someone outside, "'Chard. Hintayin  mo kami,'Chard. Dyan ka lang," ('Chard. Wait for us, 'Chard. Stay there).

Then it dawned on me... the second syllable.

Though there is 'Richie' or 'Rich' as nicknames in the Philippines, I believe 'Chard for the name Richard has the strongest Filipino influence. So I thought further and wondered why, until I realized... Aaahhh... Lola (Grandma) is called 'La, Lolo (Gandpa) is called 'Lo; so nowadays,  Tita  (Aunt) is called 'Ta and Tito (Uncle) is called 'To. 

Because we have gotten used to calling our elderly by the second syllable of their names, this has influenced shortcuts of other names as well. Christian is 'Tian, Edgar is 'Gar, and  Argie is 'Gie. There is also 'My and 'Dy, which are shortcuts of Mommy and Daddy.

A simple greeting would be 'Musta, which is short for Kumusta (How are you?), and the answer to that is 'Buti naman (I'm fine) and that is short for Mabuti (fine). I now remember, as a teacher, I'm called 'cher.
 

 I find it fascinating to know that we use the second syllable for nicknames. So,when in the Philippines, remember, no matter how big the Gutierrez twins are, they will never be Rich and Ray. Here in my country, they will always be 'Chard and 'Mond.

Organize Yourself

It was an outrage, a fire that burned in her and grew into a bigger flame after she read a post of her friend, Itos Rapadas, in facebook. She then took it upon herself to spearhead something for all of us, Filipinos. This is what we now know as the ‘Million People March’.

Calls on divulging names of the organizers for this protest began to stir into big ripples. The pressure was on: “Who are they?” “We need to know.” “May karapatan kaming malaman kung sino nag umpisa nito. Ba’t nyo ba tinatago?” The comments continued. She was a big secret. People insisted, until finally it was told. She put a post on the page for the march and revealed herself. Peachy Rallonza-Bretana was her name. 

Peachy, just like many of us, was disheartened, disappointed, and frustrated with the behavior of many of our public officials. Just like many of us, felt wounded and betrayed by lawmakers who did not serve us but made us serve them using our tax money. It was then that, I believe, she created her cry to all of us: a simple heed, a simple plea; and we responded. But now knowing that she was someone just like us, a regular citizen who bleeds for the country, we changed the mechanics of this gathering: “Organize yourself.”

The day was fast approaching. Facebook announcements and reroutes were given. A lot of Filipinos helped fellow Filipinos in information on what to do, where to pass, and what to wear. Since we were all organizers, we were all moving to make this gathering a success: A post on a call for artists, poets, musicians to volunteer their talent; another one reminding people to bring their water and food; other posts on making sure that we go and be heard. It was a flood of different concerns for this one day. And so we all went.

August 26, 2013: the day of the march. It started at 9:00am, but there were those who came earlier. I was with my mother and sister, met a friend or two, and stayed with family members. I then walked around to see how things were, how things worked. It was a different kind of rally. People worked in patches. In one corner was a group from Baguio with their ethnic instruments. There was another with their walis tingting shouting, “Walisin ang korupsyon! Linisin ang bayan!” There were the bikers. There were the nuns, indigenous people, and school faculty. There were students with their drums and tambourine that made people dance as they crowded around them. There were the reds shouting their messages. And there were people like me, who walked around to get the feel of the whole event.

Everyone was free to do their own thing. The religious people prayed, while others made sure they brought food and banig for the picnic. Somewhat like the main stage, a little corner at the Luneta park was where we did our ‘oink’ sound. It was where Cardinal Tagle made us sing Pananagutan, a song with a very strong message, and it was where we applauded ourselves for being Filipino. We were all one with the fight to abolish pork. We were all one with the call for transparency and accountability.

As I continued to walk around, I realized that we have created again a new definition of protest. Just like the term peaceful, in many minds of people, could have never become an adjective for revolution, yet we defied that idea and showed the whole world that it could be done. This time, we recreated the definition of a protest one more time. We showed each other that we can be individuals, we can be different, but then stand as one. We went to gather with fellow Filipinos and express our woes in the way we wanted to express them, and yet we stood as one. We had different approaches, different ideas, maybe different colors—anti PNoy, Pro PNoy, abstain-the-stand on PNoy—we came from various understandings on what is happening to our country; and yet…we stood as one. We were all organizers to this event. Therefore we were free to do what we wanted to do in this event, but we chose to stand as one people, one country with one cause. We were willing to set aside the differences and work together as one. And as organizers, we even left Luneta park clean. We became responsible for our own trash.

And with this realization I say, let us continue to be organizers of this country, the way we expressed it on this historical day. Let us be vigilant on the activities of our government officials. Let us continue to monitor them and make our voices heard—may it be through social networking, or in the next gathering if need be. This will not be the end of this, for this is just the beginning.

Peachy, as I see it, represented all of us. This gathering was not done by a group of any sort. It was started by one. So this was the power of one voice that snowballed. And because we knew she was one, we had to take responsibility.

So as I finish this, I would like to say: It is time. Organize yourself. 

Our beloved Philippines is our responsibility.

Mabuhay tayong lahat. Mabuhay ang Pilipino. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas.

Songs sung in the Million People March

Kawatan by Jograd de la Torre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WNcy1FDmXo

Pananagutan 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcM1TcixP-M

Bayan Ko

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200829067462871&set=vb.1049282059&type=2&theater

Exploring the Filipino Psyche Entry 30: “The Letter ‘s’ ”

 

It’s been a while since I wrote an entry in this blog. I used to classify the topics as days since at first I thought I would be able to regularly put something in and share this with all of you. However, things gained speed and directions changed for now. Anyway, never mind about that. Let us go to the next observation, which suddenly entered my thoughts the other day and the wonder never left me—the letter ‘s’.

I was going through TV channels when the ‘s’ dawned on me because Max Alvarado was mentioned somewhere. Where? I cannot recall at the moment, but his name popped up. Then I remembered scenes from Filipino movies and a usual line for a villain if the leading lady was a hostage, or if the leading lady talked to the leading man and the best friend would ask this question: “Pare, chicks mo?”  I was alone when I remembered this line, then I wondered… “Ba’t kaya may ‘s’ (I wonder why there’s an ‘s’)?” The ‘s’ is used not to pluralize a word, but it just happens to stick around. I made a rundown in my head and realized I never really researched on why it was there. But to come across this letter from time to time in different words is a fascination. Another word is fans. A line of a person who admires or idolizes a celebrity: “Fans mo ako.”  Fans pertains to  one person, and the definition is the same as its singular form. Then there is sports. “Okay lang. Sports lang dapat.”  Sports in this sentence means being a good sport. Then in jeepney signs: “Thanks God!” Okay, maybe they just forgot the comma. Then there is colds: “May colds ako ngayon  (I have a cold today).”  Cold is an acronym, which is chronic obstructive lung disease. But it does not matter, we understand what it means when someone says colds, there’s just an ‘s’ in the end.  And one other word  is cokes. "Pabili nga ng cokes," one would say when buying in a sari-sari store to buy a Coke.

 Then I wondered again, when we do not  need an ‘s’ we add it on the word, but when we need it, we remove it. For example, I went to a children’s party the other day and the lovely host said to the child who won the game, “Congratulation!” ‘Uy, nawala yung ‘s,’’ I thought to myself.  In the older days there was also the word betamak. "Nuod tayong betamak mamaya!" with excitement a friend would suggest.

It is pretty interesting, why we put an ‘s’ where it is not needed. Then remove it when it is necessary. I do wonder how this began and when it started, though. I have done my interviews and research on the wandering apostrophe, where this little mark all of a sudden pops up in signs such as ‘Thanks’ for coming…” or “For Costumers’ Only”  (spelling is another cute amusement). What I have discovered is the reason behind this is that those who made these signs have seen this little mark in different places. Therefore, they thought that when there is an ‘s’, the apostrophe should be there, too. Now about the ‘s’  in words we use…  Hmmm…with that one, well, ‘di ko pa gets. Pero oks lang. :-) 

A Reflection... The Entry of 2012

It’s been a while since my last entry.  It is still the first month of 2012 and I feel like reflecting. Thus, before I continue my exploration on the Filipino Psyche, I have decided to do a little flashback in my head and see what I can gather, try to discover what may be hidden, and what may be shared.

The year that passed, well, actually it takes more than a year to sort of filter what works for one. I don’t really know where this entry  is going, I’m at a ‘wait and see’ state right now. Because ‘they’ say, ‘they’ may be anyone, to know things does not take a journey with a price of a cruise or flight, all it takes is a choice. We may travel to the farthest end of the seas and still know nothing, and yet we may stay still in one place and be awakened by something. It is a journey, yes, but it is a journey that is drawn by a choice to know more; not with the favour of intelligence alone, but this with the taste of wisdom.

This reflection is not an outcome of what I simply have seen and observed in my country, but  it is also what I have seen and observed outside of it: the desperate cling on power Gadhafi displayed, the famine in South Africa, the protest rallies in different countries; then there is the abuse of nature: the cutting of trees, the effect of over industrialization, the over killing of animals in our seas and land. But a shift has happened, ‘they’ say, 2012 perceived as the end of the world just actually means the beginning of something better for us. Things we have embraced as valuable like power in its greed form and wealth in its selfish disguise shall be, finally, perceived as a stupid definition on what is truly important.  I apologize for the strong label, but to reform a distorted perception may need a little shaking by now, to the extent of offending the stance; for power, which comes with the taste of greed and wealth attained with the interest of selfishness, has drawn many to suffer and hunger, including Mother Earth.

The entry of rebirth—this, ‘they’ say, is the true meaning of what has been known and popularized as ‘the end of the world’.  It was not to be understood in its literal sense, but in its figurative sense that it will be, hopefully, the end of our old ways, and now comes the new. What exactly is the new? It is us being kinder, being more concerned for one another, respecting the Earth, and finally, the will to fight those who abuse our rights. The evidence in the new slowly creeping in is the uprise in different countries and the collapse of those who oppressed the  uproars that slowly began to be heard again. People shouting their cries of ‘No more!’, and this setting a current of change. Protesters, activists and revolutionaries came out with the same frustrations, ‘enough is enough’ they say. Thus, TIME Magazine hailed the Protester as ‘Person of the Year’ for 2011. It was well earned.

Power was never unkind, and wealth is not the enemy. It was only the perception of the two that made things change not for the better, but turned out for the worst—a sad turn, a disappointing choice. But it is very nice to know, as I walked the streets that brought me to nowhere but just a path that made me encounter many, there are the every day heroes who emit such greatness in their innovation and creativity, and most especially in their care for others. So this made me think, as I read and watched on TV and the internet of those who chose and perceived power in a different light with a different meaning--a definition more calm,  humbler and simpler--that this is the direction to genuine strength, genuine power: the silence of Mahatma Gandhi, the compassion of Mother Theresa, the gentle style of Nelson Mandela, and the love of the Christ. Real power is not when we hate, it is only when we care that it truly shines. It is when we become considerate of everything around us. It is when we respect life in every shape and form. It may not be easy, but life is not about one.  It is not about ‘me’.  It is about ‘us’.

“There are two kinds of power,” I said to myself as I sat and reflected,  “the external power that comes from the ego, and the internal power that comes from the greatness of the spirit.”  And this, ‘they’ say, is the shift, the rebirth, the end of the old way, and the entry of new…

Welcome, 2012, we're ready.









 

TIME Magazine 'Person of the Year' 
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101745_2102132,00.html

Pictures of Protesters
http://lightbox.time.com/2011/12/14/person-of-the-year-2011-protesters-2/#4

A Chant that, according to my Spiritual Gurus, may bring high vibration for healing...and peace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG_lNuNUVd4&feature=email 

Mother Earth, She's Alive...
http://www.youtube.com/embed/nGeXdv-uPaw

Exploring The Filipino Psyche Day 24: “Code Shifting"

              

             Two  friends see each other at the lobby of the building where they were to have a meeting:

                  Friend 1: “Uy, pare! Kumusta na?”

                  Friend 2: “Okay naman. Ikaw?”

                  Friend 1: “Okay rin. Kumusta ang misis?”

                  Friend 1: “Okay naman. Pare, dalaw ka minsan sa bahay. Bisitahin mo naman inaanak mo."                          

                  Friend 2: “Sige. Minsan punta kami ni Amelia. Sige. Kita tayo sa luob.”

                  Friend 1: “Sige, pare.”           

The same two friends see each other again inside the conference room where they were to have a formal meeting.

And the meeting begins...

Friend 1: “The slow moving merchandise will be phased out by the end of this week. But we’ll be launching the new product three months from now.”

               Friend 2: “So how shall we market this new product?”

Friend 1: “We ‘re coming up with a whole plan for this. We’ll present this to the board by next month.”         
   

                  This is called code shifting—a common practice in the Philippines—the ability to change the medium for communication depending on circumstance and environment. As I have mentioned in my last entry, the Philippines has 170 languages and several dialects. And the national language is Filipino, a simplified version of Tagalog. Filipino is much easier than Tagalog, and in casual conversations among Pinoys, it is usually the preferred medium, unless they are kababayans— people who come from the same region or area—for example two people from Pampanga may choose to speak in Kapampangan, or two people from Ilokos would rather speak in Ilokano (Pampanga and Ilokos are two provinces in the Philippines). But those who grew up in Manila will only know Filipino and English, unless their parents taught them another language. These two languages are the usual mainstays in many households. If both are not practiced at home, at least they are both understood and used outside of the home.

                  In school, Filipino students are required to present their reports in English. All subjects, except for the Filipino subject and ‘Sibika’ (Social Studies, which is taught in Filipino in many schools in the country), are taught using the universal language. Therefore, recitation in class is also in English. But outside of the classroom atmosphere, the students converse with friends during recess and lunch breaks in Filipino (although there are schools where the students still speak in English among friends, or at the most, what is called Taglish—a mix of Tagalog and English ). And because of this, as the child gets older, this shifting becomes ingrained in the system of the individual that to shift from Filipino to English, as the mood of the conversation changes, becomes second nature to the person. I would hear fellow Filipinos say ‘nosebleed’ when they hear others speak in English. Nosebleed means ‘a difficult time to keep up with the flow of the conversation due to the constant use of the English language’, but what they are not aware of is that they do the shift, too. It just depends on when and where sometimes.

                  Filipinos like to use the Filipino language when with friends and in casual chit chats, but when in meetings or at work, in front of the bosses to present a report, the shift comes with ease. Suddenly the medium becomes English. And this, I feel, is because of the practice the Filipino adults had as students. The environment of the canteen, having lunch with friends, will call for speaking in the vernacular; but when in front of the teacher for group reports or debate class, which calls for a serious tone, the student is always required to speak in English. And this is why when politics is a topic even among friends, there is also the tendency to shift again to English because of the seriousness of the subject in hand. But when the conversation rolls back to a light mood and jokes are thrown at each other, the shift goes back to Filipino.

                  This may also be true in writing. Pinoys are trained well to write in English. And for some reason, many Filipinos find writing in the native language more difficult than writing in English, especially in expressing thoughts or insights. And I see this as the reason why many statuses in Facebook or in Twitter are expressed, most of the time, in English. But if it is joking time, the shift again goes back to the vernacular.    

                  Nowadays, the shift is even more frequent since casual conversations are slowly being done in English because of the many guests from other countries the nation has. And the serious tone is also spoken in the vernacular because, unlike then when news on TV used purely English, reporters are now using  Filipino, influencing the Pinoys to also speak in the native tongue even when the topic becomes a heated argument about politics.   

                  So there it is, another Filipino behaviour—code shifting. I am quite proud of it since it enables us to speak to people of different races, then go back to the vernacular when needed. Maybe this is where the behavior pakikisama also comes from, but that’s another story.

Next entry?

We’ll see...

                 

Exploring The Filipino Psyche Day 23: “Languages”

            If we go back to the 1^st days of history in the Philippines, well, not far back to the Tabon cave man, but just to that day when the country was discovered by other men of other nationals, we will remember how things began.

            In the beginning, there were only the Aetas, the original dwellers of the country. Then the Malays came. The Malay Datus and the Aetas harmonized their differences with a contract that was done only with the spoken word. The two races agreed not to bother the other. The Aetas, as hunters and nomads by nature, stayed in the highlands, and the Malays stayed in the lowlands. I conclude, though, that up to this day, the Aetas honor this agreement. And if it weren’t for the Pinatubo explosion that happened in the ‘90s, and the excessive cutting of trees in the mountains, they would have continued to keep the pact they had with the Malays centuries ago. As I see it, the only reason the Aetas came down from the mountains is because of survival.

            Time passed and other races came. But unlike the first guests who came to stay and discuss a pact, the Spaniards came to colonize. For centuries they stayed and governed the country. Then the Chinese came to the Philippines as merchants. The Japanese came, too. And because of the open trade, countries such as Indonesia also dabbed its influence to the people. Then by the 19^th century, the Americans entered the country.

            And in the end, the Philippine Islands was left with 170 languages and several dialects, which I need to admit, I do not know how many. And even though there is a variety, one language was chosen to be the official and national language for all—Tagalog. However, problems arose when people from the Visayas area refused to use the language since they felt that there were more Visayans than ‘Tagalog’ people in the country. Thus, many Visayans in the ‘60s refused to speak Tagalog. They opted to use their local Visayan language and English as their second choice.

            Nowadays, the national language is embraced, and the name has been changed from Tagalog to Filipino. Filipino is the simplified version of Tagalog, where we do not speak in a ‘Balagtasan’ manner anymore and the words are more simple and more casual.  English words such as exam and notification are easily translated to Filipino as eksam and notifikasyon. But in Tagalog, these words are pagsusulit and pagpapatalastas.   

            Another invented language in the country is the mix of Tagalog and English. This is called Taglish. My friend and I, I guess for lack of a better thing to do, wondered and pondered on the idea of the ‘Taglish’ language. We debated and discussed on why ‘Taglish’ only chose to use the simple Tagalog words to be mixed with English.

            Examples may be:

            “Oh my! Can I just make you kwento? I saw him kanina  and he’s so guapo talaga, ha. You call me mamaya. Hay naku...I have tsismis.”

            “Oh no! We have an assignment pala! My things are so gulo kasi eh. I forgot tuloy.” 

            Then my friend and I thought, again, maybe for lack of a better thing to do, of trying our hand on doing our own mix in the language, and having our own version of ‘Taglish’. We thought, since Tagalog is pure in nature and the language is not really very casual in style, what if the bigger words were used in the combination?

            So my friend and I tried our own version of ‘Taglish’:

            Me: “Oh my! Don’t we have a pagsusulit  later? Come, let’s go to the silid-aklatan. We also have to do our gawaing-bahay eh. If not, hay naku, our guro will get angry.”

            Friend: "Wait! I have to make you salaysay  what happened when I saw him! I’m really nabibighani with his beauty! I like him bagamat I’m not sure if he likes me eh. I’ll give you the whole kasaysayan."

            I also found out that English is also mixed with the other languages in the country. My sister told me about a high school student she heard in Ilo-ilo speak to her friend and said, ”Gani. Let’s pass here para dasig.”  So I guess, because there are so many languages in the land that a mix of all this is normal. In that sentence alone there was English, Ilonggo and Tagalog.

            And even though the country has numerous languages, there are words that are the same but are different in meaning. For example the word subay means ‘bird’ in Cebu and it means ‘ant’ in Iloilo. So if someone was with a Cebuano and an Ilonggo and that person shouted, “Subay!”  one would look up, while the other would look down. I experienced something similar when I was in Kalibo, Aklan—this is in the Visayas area. I used the statement “saka na”, which means ‘next time’ in Tagalog, and means ‘go up now’ in Ilonggo. One day, my friends and I helped in organizing a talk for Maharaji—an Indian who inspired people to believe more in love and happiness. So there we were, my friends and I, walking around and checking what else was needed and how else we could help; those who attended waited by a bench near the staircase. My friends and I welcomed them and said our ‘hellos’. Then another friend, who was quite far from all of us, opted to talk to me from where he was. So suddenly he said with a loud voice, “ Carla, bayaran ko na ngayon (I’ll pay now)!” And I answered, also in a shouting manner, “Saka na!” I was using the Tagalog meaning as my reply to my friend, but when I looked again at the guests by the staircase, nervously and hurriedly they went up the stairs. “Ay,sorry, po. Hindi, po. Hindi po kayo kausap ko. Siya, po ( Sorry, sorry, I wasn’t talking to you, sir, ma’am. I was talking to him).” They thought I commanded all of them to go up right that instant.

            So this is how my country is, there are numerous languages and dialects. And also because of this fact, the preferred medium still, in dailies, directions, signs, and even in school, is English. Sometimes there will be signs or instructions, written in English, with their share of errors in grammar and construction. Nonetheless, this medium is, if not understood by all, is indeed understood by many Filipinos. It is a plus, in many ways, and sometimes a minus, when people identify too much with the English language to a point where they discriminate our very own.     

              And as a nation, this is our make-up. It may be quite difficult to have so many conversation tools for the people. But maybe this diversity also adds to our color. Maybe it also adds to our spice as a people. Maybe it also adds to our pull as an interesting race.