Sighs could only take us so far.

A body of lies and untold stories are waiting to be found inside the dark crevices of Philippine history. One should not only be open to the stark reality that much of what is written in the pages of history is not what it seems to be. The recording of events can easily be manipulated to better serve the whims and prejudices of its writer. Seeing events as the separate recording of what seems to be the most significant disturbances in the space-time continuum can be misleading and, not to mention, blinding to anyone who views the past as such. Proper caution and unnerving dedication to the truth must therefore be practice if one wishes to uncover the truth to any historical account. As such, the recording of history should never be left to the hands of historians. Professor Fernandez’s commentary on the untold side of history is, unsurprisingly, controversial, refreshing, and truth be told, very telling. Let me share some of her most compelling accounts.

Even at the start of the semester, Professor Fernandez’s fascination and outright admiration for the late President Marcos became more and more apparent. I cannot blame her for I also share the same belief with that of hers. Marcos is, indeed, a brilliant statesman who was deeply conscious of the intricacies of history and the politics of the time. Though he may have committed a number of human rights abuses, his successes in his economic reforms could not be left unmentioned. His achievements in history cannot be left out because in doing so, a great injustice will be, yet again, be committed against this greatly misunderstood man. He was the only Philippine president to have dared open diplomatic relations with the socialist bloc with the likes of the USSR and China. It was during his administration that the country started to veer away from its abusive capitalist allies-led by the United States. Similar to our Asian neighbors, he was also hell-bent for the industrialization of the country. He saw that the country’s current ally would never allow the Philippines’ to avail of its national sovereignty and develop its current factors of production. It took a lot of courage for Marcos to cross over the current hostilities that typically surrounded communist countries and, in the process, he equipped the country with the necessary trading partners that would enable the country to advance in its bid for industrialization.

The case of China’s unprecedented economic achievements as well as other non-democratic neighbouring countries reveals that economic progress does not need democracy for its fruition. As the 25^th of February draws nearer, I could only wonder if what would have become of the Philippines if democracy was not restored. Could the country be better equipped for the challenges of tomorrow? Or more importantly, could the Philippines attain its true sovereignty in the process? These are questions that can only be left for time to decide. It is a shame that Marcos can only be remembered by the human right abuses during his time and not his ambitious dream of a prosperous and sovereign Philippines. (01/20/2011)

Reflections on the Veneration Without Understanding

Rizal should not be the national hero of the Philippines. This was Renato Constantino’s thesis in his 1969 work. He reasons out that though Rizal’s greatness is unquestionable, but his nationalistic interests are doubtful. According to Constantino, Rizal’s repudiation of the revolution has been glossed over in the history books and should therefore constitute as unnationationalist behaviour by the national hero. He further points out that Rizal’s elevation to a national hero was a product of the American intervention. During the American Philippine Commission of the 1900’s, the Commission was in search of a Philippine personality who abhors the idea of revolution and instead, someone who embraces governmental reforms in the form of peaceful means. Rizal fits perfectly this description of passiveness and was elevated to his status of prestige and reverence. This measure assured the American colonizers an unmitigated colonization of the archipelago since the Filipinos would emulate Rizal’s passiveness and be focused on bringing down the Spanish colonizers. Aside from being called an American-sponsored hero, Constantino also labelled Rizal a limited hero. He reasons out that Rizal’s elitist and upper class upbringing has inevitably shaped his ideology and limited his grasp of the social reality that the lower classes face. According to Constantino, it was because of this limitation that consequently fashioned Rizal’s aspiration for the Philippines to formally be recognized as a Spanish province rather than a colony. He treated this as another repudiation of the separatist movement that fuelled that Katipunan revolt.

Constantino’s arguments, at the time and even in the present, are controversial and radical. I very much appreciated the coherency of the flow of today’s discussion for it clarified much of my questions and objections I had on this article. Historians, in their writing of history, should be scrutinized, first, for their agenda in writing and, second, on their sociological background prevalent during their time. By doing so, readers can be critical of a text’s context and really see from what standpoint the arguments of a written piece are coming from. Such was the context of Constantino’s article that one would have to examine his historical backdrop as well as his intention in writing this article. It was written during the first term of President Marcos where political turmoil present in the country was starting to build up. As Professor Fernandez decisively pointed out, it was at this era that American political meddling was at its most active inside the halls of the government.

A new light of Marcos made itself clearer to me. Perhaps Professor Fernandez is right in saying that Marcos had, indeed, all the right reasons to declare martial law during that time. In declaring martial law, it was evident to Marcos that the Philippines should free itself from the clutches of its American colonizers. The country’s national sovereignty was at risk if no precautionary measures were to be undertaken by the present administration. It is because of this epiphany of still an influential American dictates to the Philippine government that Renato Constantino wanted to expose in his writing. He wanted to promote the Filipino consciousness to this truth that we are still under American rule despite our sovereignty as an independent country. However, his exposition came at a costly price and was directed to an undeserving hero, Rizal. In the end, I applaud his intention to raise the Filipino consciousness to the prevailing American colonization, but, like Professor Fernandez, I cannot stand idly by and blindly accept Constantino’s desecration of the country’s rightful national hero. (01/18/2011)

Over the Fence: The Other Side of History

Bias is inherent in any attempt to write history. History is laced with much prejudice that trying to decipher its intricacies will inevitably lead one to the endless labyrinth that is history. Such was the case in today’s lecture. A number of relevant Philippine historians were discussed in class. Namely, they were Antonio Pigaffeta, Antonio de Morga, Dean Worcester, Gregorio Zaide, Teodoro Agoncillo, Renato Constantino, Reynaldo Elato, and Albina Vecson Fernandez. All of the mentioned historians had their own biases, biases that consequently shape how these writers would record their personal interpretation of history. Antonio Pigaffeta’s account of Magellan’s voyage is a good example of how biases can distort such recording of history. At the battle of Mactan, amid the losing battle of the Spanish conquistadors to the native Filipinos, Pigafetta focused on the boldness and bravery of Magellan and his men instead of recording the event as it was a victory of the natives over the first invasion of the Spaniards. Rizal’s annotation of Antonio de Morga’s revealed that even before the Spanish colonization Filipinos had their own culture and history. As Rizal included his annotations to de Morga’s Sucesos delas Islas Filipinas, he tried to show that the archipelago possessed a rich past which was subsequently distorted and erased as the years went by. Zaide tried to justify and even validate the Spanish colonization. Agoncillo emphasized the critical part of the ruling class, which in most cases is the elitist class. According to Agoncillo, events in space and time are interpreted according to an elitist point of view, thus marginalizing the masses which have an entirely different perspective than of the elitists. Likewise, Renato Constantino focused on the collectively anonymous masses of the Philippines. Constantino reasons out that in order for history to be reusable and be more pragmatic to the public, it should be viewed as an account of events as seen and experienced by the greater masses in the country.

The common thread that binds all the historians mentioned was their inclination of writing history with a gender-blind handicap. Moreover, most of recorded history takes off from the perspective of a conventional upper-class white male. The recording of history is literally taken from the perspective of a man. History, as defined by a stereotypical man, is derived from any monumental event that showcases heroism and valour of selected men. In effect, recorded history becomes the history of the victors and the story of the oppressed are forever left in the dusty vestiges of time. Such is the fate of the losers of history that they are relegated to a lower significance and are long forgotten. Losers are not the only ones who are marginalized. All women across time have been victims of this prejudice. If one looks closely, one would see the inequities faced by women especially on how they are portrayed in history, marginalized and taken for granted. Women who are fortunate enough to be remembered in time are those remembered because of their relationship or association with a prominent male hero. Gregoria de Jesus was the wife of Bonifacio and Saturnina Rizal was the sister of Jose Rizal. As I have not yet read any of Professor Fernandez’s work, let me react on what she said in class. She was very particular in laying out the foundation in rewriting history but now more focused on her side of the story. This rewriting should in effect have the perspective of an under-classed non-white woman instead of history’s stereotypical upper-class Western male. In the past and even nowadays, it is still hard for women to be recognized without skipping over their acquaintances with prominent men of history. (01/13/2011)

Reflections on the Ideological State Apparatuses

Today’s lecture summed up and integrated all the ideological state apparatuses (ISA) previously discussed. The family, Church, education, arts & literature, and government were all used by the Spanish colonizers to hinder the proper education of scientific and secular ideas and promulgated false consciousness among the Filipino natives. By doing so, Spain hoped to supress the advancement of the factors of production thereby, retarding the Philippine society from developing further its decrepit feudal state. Indeed, the effects of these ISA have not only shaped the Philippines during its Spanish occupation, but it also had lasting effects on the modern Filipino mentality. Among the ISA’s, the Church was clearly the most influential and was in the best position to use its political clout to manipulate and distort all facets of living during the three hundred thirty years of occupation.

The Church was so effective as an ISA that this institution disabled all individuals from fully knowing the world he lives in. An uneducated and oppressed people were created because of this ISA. The Church’s distorted values and teachings also had profound consequences on the reverence and respect given by the natives to the frailocracy. Filipinos, as Professor Fernandez clearly points out, have never been anti-cleric. In fact, because of the Filipino’s misplaced reverence and fear of these hooded religious figures, they never questioned the integration of the Church’s ecclesiastical power with its political clout. There was no such thing as the separation of Church and Staten during that period. The supremacy of the Church among all the existing social institutions reigned unchecked and unbalanced. Possessing knowledge during that time was considered dangerous, and, not to mention, merited for heresy. Such was the discrimination for an educated man that disdain and being branded as a fool was the penalty for anyone expressing any secular thought in public. This was the fate met by Pilosopo Tasyo. His brilliance was seen as madness, his unmatched intellect with insanity. In fact, being called a Pilosopo is considered as an insult rather than a complement. During the reign of the Church as the prevailing ISA in the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, knowledge is shunned and is considered as the work of the devil.

Looking at these ISAs, one would expect that the Filipino would evolve and learn to overcome these hindrances after centuries of deception and oppression. It is truly disturbing to see that after the Philippines’ liberation from the grip of the Spanish and American colonizers that the country is far from being liberated from these ISAs. Their façade may have changed over time, but their effects remained at work in the background. Media, for instance, is now the strongest ISA operating in today’s society. It is now the main purveyor of false consciousness to the unknowing public who, it seems, have lost any sense of critical thinking and filtering. Because of this ineptitude, Filipinos always fall victim to the grip of consumerism. Despite the growing issues and problems in society and in the government, the media veers away from reporting the most pressing and crucial news segments and, instead, focuses on the peripherals and the non-essentials. As a result, non-trivial news such as the latest showbiz gossips as well as the ever-changing acquaintances of the president is reported over the television. The colonizers may have been long gone from the archipelago, but their ideological state apparatuses still remains. When will the Filipino people be free? (01/11/2011)

Ideological State Apparatus: Government

The Philippines had their own kind of government long before the Spaniards colonized the archipelago. Decentralization of power that was expressed in the powerful barangays was the central theme of the pre-Spanish governance found in the Philippines. The datu or rajah served as the chief executive and judge. In effect, the executive and judiciary branch were both entrusted to a common individual. Moreover, there were already articles prescribing the proper rules of conduct and laws inside a barangay. Some of them were the Maragtas code and the Kalantiao code. The judiciary process is considered primitive and superstitious in nature. As the Spanish colonizers entered the archipelago, they introduced a new government system which gave highlight to the sword and the cross.

Looking at the hierarchy of power existing during those times, one would observe a somewhat clear structure of power in the Spanish executive government. But like in any contract, one should look closer for the fine print. Though the executive branch of the Spanish government controlled on paper the everyday activities inside the Philippines, it was the frailocracy that really called the shots in governance and matters of the state. There were no clear separation of the Church and State; as a result, the ecclesiastical power emanating from the supposed reverence of the Church officials took over the legitimate executive government. The supremacy of the Church extended, not only on matters pertaining to being the sole arbiter of knowledge, but also on matters concerning the government and the State. The term under-the-saya was supposedly coined to depict the submission of the government’s authority to rule over to the friars and their orders.

Under the Malolos constitution of 1899, a clear separation of Church and state was created. American forces entered the country and introduced their own governmental system after a few years. A century after the inception of the Malolos constitution, the State is still somehow intertwined with the Church though the Church has considerably lost much of its political clout. In the wake of an important legal and economic milestone in the form of the passage of the RH bill, the Church is again flexing its influence over its millions of followers. In this regard, I strongly oppose the Church’s vocal stance against the passing of the RH bill. It is still in my firm belief in the Bible gospel passage of giving to Caesar what is of Caesar’s. The Church officials are not experts of the law. Their speaking against a bill that will supposedly corrupt the Filipino people is entirely uncalled for and inappropriate. Give to Caesar what is of Caesar’s and do not meddle with politics. (01/06/2011)

Ideological State Apparatus: Art & Literature

Art is said to have three functions, namely physical, socio-cultural, and personal. Arts’ physical function states that is created to perform some service. On the other hand, its socio-cultural function depicts relevant political and social conditions present in a community. Lastly, the personal function of art simply seeks for an artist’s self-expression and simulates an aesthetic experience to its audience. Literature also possesses three functions; they are socio-cultural function which aims to represent or to influence, cultural function and ideological function which can be used either as an ideological instrument or as a place where ideologies are exposed. In order for both art and literature to be considered as such, and not a simple craft, it is important for sense and sensibilities to be inherent in them.

It comes to no surprise that Jose Rizal was able to capture the reality of a colonial Philippines through his writings considering his passion for the arts & literature. Rizal was a true Renaissance man who was proficient in sculptures, paintings, sketches, writing novels, poetries, and essays. He was not only a medical physician, but he was also a talented artist. Through his extensive background in the arts, Rizal was able to paint in words, in the form of his novels and essays, the stark truth of the Spanish government’s inequity and incompetence as well as the overly influential frailocracy were eloquently portrayed in most of his written works. Rizal’s unique writing style resembled that of a realism style which was uncommon during his time since most of the literatures present and is in circulation only contained the escapism style reflected in the life and works of religious icons. Indeed, Jose Rizal showed extraordinary writing skill and, not to mention, a lot of guts in writing on the unpleasantries observed in the Philippines during the Spanish reign.

The Spanish colonizers effectively used the arts & literature to subject the Filipino people by generally the indigenous arts as only worthy of being called crafts and not as genuine art. The colonizers reasoned that these works does not measure up to the standards present inside the halls of the European Royal Academies for the Arts. Issues were raised on Rizal’s usage of the Spanish language as his medium for his written works. Critics argued that by choosing Spanish, Rizal cannot be considered a true nationalist since his fellow country, who only comprehends Tagalog, Visaya, and other local dialects, cannot possibly read and understand. In this light, it is important to consider the intended readers Rizal had in mind. Rizal wrote his novels to inform and awaken the insular Spaniards of the true state of governance existing in the Philippines during those times. More importantly, he used Spanish for his work with the knowledge that only under a common language can the Filipino unite and free itself from oppression. (01/04/2011)

Ideological State Apparatus: Education

Education is considered as a very powerful ideological state apparatus in any society, more so during the Hispanic period in the Philippine archipelago. The ability to transmit accumulated knowledge and to create a capable manpower is achieved through education. Unfortunately, the Spanish colonizers of Rizal's time used education to subjugate and discipline the Filipino by feeding them a defective educational system that was filled with much religious mysticism and hokum. Indeed, the irony of having a friar teach religious meta-physics instead of Physics during a Physics class was observed in Rizal's second novel. By barring access to actual scientific education, the Filipino people were left scrambling for the truth in the dark and consequently, they were led to believe that the scripture along with the rest of the Catholic doctrine held all the sacred truths they were searching for. This deception had dire repercussions to the advancement of the Filipino society. The deprivation of a proper secular education effectively aided the stagnation of the modes of production towards their advancement. As such, the country was helplessly left at the mercy of few Spanish feudal lords, which, coincidentally, were those who strongly opposed the education of the native Filipinos, the Spanish friars. A retarded society bereft of any substantial academic upbringing whose whims were easily swayed by those in power resulted from this travesty.

It is interesting to note that peace in the Bisaya dialect, kataninungan, is surprisingly close to the Filipino word for knowledge, katalinuhan. In a society where actual learning is replaced with mindless memorizations of prayers and with other needless religious fanaticism, it is expected that any person with a formal education be looked upon with much disdain and be ridiculed with foolishness. This sad truth was exemplified by how Pilosopo Tasyo was treated in the town of San Diego. His open-mindness and apparent intelligence was instead seen as madness. Rizal painted the painful reality of his beloved Mother Land being unable to empower itself with education and as a consequence, lost its sanity in the process. Sisa's fate serves as a good example of how an individual may lose one's sanity if left deprived of a proper education. The foolishness of Tasyo's intellect being perceived as madness and Sisa's unfortunate plight of insanity brought about by her lack of education aptly capture the reality that, indeed, one's peace of mind lies on one's education, as the Bisaya word kataninungan illustrates. (12/16/2010)