kultura

for Dr. Margie Holmes, an apology

Dear Tita Marge,

This is in light of what has turned out to be bigger than the kind reprimand that you gave me re the Rhian and Mo piece. I apologize that my response was such, but I had taken my cue from you as you kept saying it was a minor thing, both in the private message you sent me and the one on your Facebook wall.

This edit was sent to my editor right after I read your reprimand.

As it is a weekend, I’m sure the edit will happen tomorrow.

I believe there has been a misinterpretation of that section of the piece.

Dr. Margie Holmes asks on Facebook: why weren’t they careful? We are after all living in a time when there seems to be no excuse for accidental pregnancies, a time when information might easily be had about birth control. But that is not tru

All I had wrongly attributed to you, as I say “asks” is that question. The statement after it, as this was not a question, I did not mean to attribute to you in any way. If this was not clear, then I apologize for that as well.

Certainly there was no malice in any of this as I was writing this piece, nor was there intent to “sully your reputation” or put your credibility into question.

This formal apology would have been written earlier were I not put under the impression that you were scolding me about a “slight tampo” and that I could respond with the same kind of familiarity that I reserve for very few people who go way back with Angela. If that was my own fault at interpreting the situation, then I apologize for that as well.

Katrina.

komentaryo

when pop pervades

which is not to say that nothing else is happening in nation, as it is to say that sometimes what happens in popular culture is what pervades our everyday, a measure of how TV and social media bombardment sometimes takes over, and we can barely even catch up, or prepare for it.

the piolo predicament hit a record number of shares for gmanewsonline, but they’ve lost the numbers and it started from scratch again. it hit 90k shares before they lost it, a crazy number really. to even think of that many people reading it and thinking to share it, i don’t even care if they agreed. happy enough that people are reading.

the unravelling of rhian and mo‘s being read too, which is interesting and heartening: in my dream of a world this is the kind of thing we can talk about seriously, without judgments or someone invoking moral high ground, but ah, maybe that remains a dream.

of course the pieces on the Manila Intl Lit Fest 2011, and the Towns and Cities heritage conference were written at around the same time as the two above, and have gotten a low number of shares if we are comparing them at all. but the lit fest one hit over a thousand before the numbers got messed up again, and well, the heritage conference has been at just 200. as my Kuya says: so sad.

and then you know, no one comments on a blog entry on cultural worker and activist Ericson Acosta’s hunger strike.

the breadth and scope of the crisis in arts and culture right here.

komentaryo

why free Ericson Acosta

Ninoy Aquino and Ericson Acosta might seem light years away from each other, and yet i’d like to think that more than what makes them different, what carries weight here is what makes them the same.

illegal detention, trumped up charges, a military blinded by getting some “big fish” and not getting enough of the red scare, being forced to face your accusers everyday, being removed from and having limited access to the outside world, being treated like some dangerous criminal, in the process making you feel less and less like yourself.

look at the timeline of Ninoy’s detention here and here, and the timeline of Ericson’s detention here.

now the hunger strike.

in April 1975, Ninoy went on a hunger strike, and in a letter addressed to Cory, his mother, his children, his sisters and supporters, explained why. Ninoy’s said:

<…> “when the Military Commission suddenly made a complete turn-about and forced me, against my will, to be present in proceedings which are not only clearly illegal but unjust, I said I shall have no other alternative but to go on a hunger strike in protest against a procedure that is intended to humiliate and dehumanize me, considering that all they wanted was for me to be identified as a common criminal, and not only for myself but on behalf of the many other victims of today’s oppression and injustices.”

on December 3 2011, Ericson began his hunger strike. detained artist since February 13 2011, Ericson was arrested without a warrant by the military in San Jorge Samar, at 10AM. he has been kept in the Calbayog Jail since then, on the false charge of illegal possession of explosive – a hand grenade which was planted on him and which the military says he attempted to take out of his pocket (in broad daylight?!?) during his arrest.

From February 13 to February 16, Ericson was not allowed to contact his family or his lawyers, and in those four days, he was not only illegally detained, he was also moved from military detachment to PNP headquarters to the hospital to the Calbayog Hall of Justice. for four days no one knew what was going on with Ericson.

for the past 10 months he’s been in jail. Ericson says:

<…> “it is utterly baseless to undergo a full-blown trial for this trumped-up charge <…> instead, i should have the right to charge the state elements responsible for violating my human rights.”

his hunger strike is also a demand for the

<…> “pull out of the highly irregular if not illegal presence of a squad of military men near Ericson’s place of detention. A platoon of soldiers from the 87th IB were first deployed in the nearby barrio in July on the pretext of military operations, but it has become apparent that the soldiers are there to “guard” Acosta.”

it goes without saying that Ericson’s hunger strike is also his demand for immediate release.

and lest you think I am dreaming here, what PNoy said last year resonates for Ericson’s case:

“We recognize that their right to due process was denied them. As a government that is committed to the rule of law and the rights of man, this cannot stand. Therefore, I have ordered the DOJ to withdraw the informations filed before the court.”

his then Executive Secretary Paquito “Jojo” Ochoa Jr. also said “questions raised on the legality of their arrest justify their release.”

PNoy was talking about the Morong 43. also illegally detained, also with trumped up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, also denied due process. last year, PNoy ordered all of them released in time for Christmas. he also said:

“Let this be a concrete example of how our administration is working in the broad light of day to build a country where the law protects us equally. The culture of silence, injustice and impunity that once reigned is now a thing of the past.”

and lest this isn’t enough to justify the release of Ericson, the voice of Ninoy might help. he was after all also political detainee, turned gaunt and sick by a hunger strike that was not just a demand for his release, but the release of so many others like him, as it was about shining a light on the system of warrantless arrests and impunity.

“But peace and order without freedom is nothing more than slavery. Discipline without justice is merely another name for oppression. I believe we can have lasting peace and prosperity only if we build a social order based on freedom and justice.” – Ninoy’s letter to the military commission, August 1975, in Ninoy Letters.

“I believe that freedom of the individual is all-important and ranks above everything else.” – Ninoy, “A Christian Democratic Vision” in Testament from a Prison Cell.

i cannot claim to be friends with Ericson, but i can claim to be a fan: in my undergrad years in U.P., his was a voice that was always loud and clear, but also very human and grounded, intelligent and creative. i never thought about his freedom because i presumed he would always have it. when he lost it, i found that his illegal detention meant a palpable silence to me, no matter that he’s been blogging and singing (here and here), no matter that i had lost touch anyway with the work he was doing after U.P.

now on his hunger strike, Ericson’s struggle as cultural worker turned political prisoner shines a light on the fact that all this time, since his detention, what was always on the line was not just his life. it’s also always been our freedoms — as writers and journalists, as cultural worker of any kind.

it seems to me really, that we owe it to freedom to demand for Ericson’s release.

komentaryo

reputation, credibility, disclaimer

if you look at the comments section of the bad vibes for NAIA 1 rehab piece, it’s easy to see how pouncing on the Cobonpue-Layug-Pineda team became the order of the day. especially after the Professional Regulatory Board of Architecture (PRBoA) released a statement questioning the three’s reputation and credibility vis a vis their “right” to even be working on the NAIA 1 project.

yesterday, the PRBoA issued this disclaimer:

PRBoA disclaimer
PRBoA disclaimer

it’s bad enough that we totally missed the point when we decided to pounce on the team that was doing work pro bono, with government, and the MIAA 1 officials — everything transparent and above ground. but to have used a statement from the PRBoA, one that has now been recalled? what happens now to those words mean and nasty and ultimately unfair and unjust?

and given the disclaimer, one can’t help but wonder: what — or whose — invisible hand is at work here?

komentaryo

Dear Teddy Boy Locsin

I believe you were trying to be funny and witty, your followers will say ah, it was satire. But truth to tell there was nothing here that could be taken as constructive criticism really, and therefore there was no reason, there is no justification, for the kind of homophobia, the kind of discrimination, that was in that piece you call the NAIA Mess. And since those words you used couldn’t function as satire, in the end it’s all just literal, it’s all just you and what you think. Ah and what a revelation that is.

For one thing, you reveal yourself as someone who didn’t do your research yes? Bloggers weren’t the only ones complaining about the NAIA 1 airport, we all were. And in fact the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) planned that renovation of NAIA 1 before those international surveys pointed to what we’ve known all along: it is the worst airport ever.

And I’m not gay, but it’s just wrong that there are no proper toilets at the airport. And I’m sorry but I’m not rich enough to go straight to the hotel after the airport, and if you’re a backpacker or middle class traveler, you’d know that the airport is a space for staying and waiting around, and not one that we pass through to go to the next five star hotel. And unlike you, I care that all of the airport works, and that includes not being ashamed of it when I ask tourists to come and visit the country. That includes not dreading having to leave the country because I have to pass through and hang around the worst airport in the world.

Ah, but I guess you don’t know about staying in airports sir, because you are the Teddy Boy Locsin. Konyo par excellence! This is what you reveal yourself to be here. Which allows you to not care about the rest of us, which is not surprising as far as konyos are concerned, but goodness gracious you were once a government official, yes? And now you’re on cable TV news? Que horror. What must the world think of us.

What must it think, seeing as the world judged the NAIA 1 airport and found it wanting, and you’ve called all of them homeless gays. And then you say that they do blowjobs in public bathrooms. Wow oh wow. I don’t care that you think this really, and I’m not surprised, but to have used a space that’s supposed to be about credibility and intelligent thinking to actually articulate this? To have even thought to say it out loud and on television? I believe you need a filter, Mr. Locsin. Like seriously.

Because there is nothing here that will justify your homophobia. And in fact there was no reason at all to delve into talking about homosexuality vis a vis the NAIA 1 renovation plan. Ah, but then you reveal yourself with that line, “The 3 designers fingered but did not name Cabinet members with no connection to DOTC or the airport.” Wow, you began with the presumption that the designers were gay eh? And you were on a roll from there? And you just couldn’t get enough of the idea of kabaklaan and so you just pretended you were doing otherwise by hiding behind the cloak of wit and humor?

In the process of course you reveal yourself ill-informed and just plain wrong about the NAIA 1 rehabilitation plan. The team of Cobonpue-Layug-Pineda were working closely in those eight months – EIGHT MONTHS – with the Manila International Airport Authority and the NAIA office itself. In fact this plan was presented to the cabinet and even the President, and it was met with approval. In fact, your beloved DOTC Secretary was out of the loop because he had yet to be appointed to the position. Or maybe he had yet to care. But that doesn’t mean the work that was being done was unsolicited, or was done based on false promises or unofficial negotiations with government.

Ser, alam ko konyo ka, pero magbasa ka naman. Or hire a researcher.

Because if you did you would find that that there was no garden paradise in that proposal of Cobonpue-Layug-Pineda, as there was a fully functional and multi-functional garden, waiting area, reception area, for those waiting to leave and waiting to pick a relative up. That space exists at this point too, it’s just ugly and horribly inconvenient.

Oh, but you wouldn’t know that yes? You’d most probably go to NAIA 1 and pass through some VIP entrance.

This is what you were going to lose really, the distance you and your social class and stature have always kept between yourself and the masses who use the same airport that you do. You were so going to lose this with the Cobonpue-Pineda-Layug design, and you didn’t want that, did you?

Nor does your favorite DOTC Secretary Mar. Oh you celebrate him Mr. Locsin, for being transparent! But of course what you both fail to see is that your transparencies have revealed you both quite arrogant about this issue, and just uncaring and insensitive to the more creative among us. Mar did it by asserting, consistently and unapologetically, that the proposed design was all aesthetic and beautification and did not take into consideration architecture and engineering concerns. Of course he was wrong: the NAIA’s own team of architects and engineers were working with the Cobonpue-Layug-Pineda team the past eight months.

Oh but you agreed with Mar, and that doesn’t just make you wrong, it also revealed how you both belittle the creativity of certain artists not of your choosing, how you look down on the kind of work that Cobonpue-Layug-Pineda do. And pray tell why?

Why say that all that Layug is is a “pioneer in postmodern furniture,” instead of an interior designer and architect, in fact the first Filipino to open a showroom in the US? Why say that Pineda “has his admirers” instead of acknowledging that he is an architect with an impressive international portfolio? Why say that all Cobonpue did is design “Angelina Jolie’s baby’s bassinet” when he has won awards for this country and is celebrated all over the world other than here?

Pray tell Mr. Locsin, what would you call Josie Natori? Fernando Zobel? Jeannie Javelosa? Emily Abrera? Along with Cobonpue Layug and Pineda, these people were invited by, and volunteered with, the NCC, too.

Tell us what you think with all the sarcasm you can muster, Mr. Locsin, and watch us lose all respect. Watch yourself unravel into the macho konyo that you are.

The NAIA mess? No, Mr. Locsin. You’re the mess.