Tag: September 14, 2011

A YEAR before the nation marks the 40th anniversary of the declaration of martial law on September 21, 1971, the Philippines has the enviable record of being both a wild democracy and a police state. As a democracy, it has become more and more a vacuous one; as a police state, the reality has become even more pronounced. Ferdinand Marcos may be gone and his generals have all been retired or buried, but their legacy has proved lasting. The Philippines is a national security state.

MAKING it to the final cut of the Miss Universe pageant for another year was indeed an achievement, but the failure of Shamcey Supsup to win the crown was blamed by some in the way she answered the final question about marriage and religion.

Asked by Hollywood actress Vivica A. Fox whether she would change religious beliefs to marry the person she loves, the 25-year-old General Santos City native answered: “If I had to change my religious beliefs, I would not marry the person that I love because the first person that I love is God, who created me. And I have my faith, my principles, and this is what makes me who I am. And if that person loves me, he should love my God, too.”

Shamcey only placed third runner-up in the competition.

IT IS worrisome for a 400-year-old University, considered the oldest in Asia and the only Pontifical University, to dwindle in global rankings,given that it annually produces the most number of top professionals in all fields.

Recently, all Philippine universities dropped in the Quacquarelli-Symonds (QS) World Rankings. The University plunged to 601 – 700 bracket from 551 – 600 bracket last year.

The QS rankings say more than just numbers;it reflects the quality of education in the country, a quality that diminishes instead of improving through time.

THE LACK of inspiration has always been an excuse of indolent writers to justify their inability to create great pieces of writing. I won’t wash my hands like Pilate because I myself am guilty of once or twice repeating the same proclamation with deep regret—writer’s block, we call it.

Of course the most difficult part of doing anything in particular is to start. As how American novelist Donald Barthelme would put it, “Endings are elusive, middles are nowhere to be found, but worst of all is to begin, to begin, to begin.”

Having taken some time to mull things over, I reckoned that it is the lack of reinforcement which is the bigger issue here and not the lack of inspiration, which is just an excuse to lack of productivity.

TO HER friends and colleagues, she was Roz. Her family called her Inday. But the name Rosalinda Galang was etched more significantly among the thousands of journalists who fought for press freedom during Martial Law.

Through her writings and membership in underground publications, Galang was able to make the Filipino people see the sordid realities of the late president Ferdinand Marcos’s dictatorial regime amid threats of physical harm, if not death.

Even if 13 years have already passed since Galang succumbed to breast cancer at the age of 49, people still commemorate her and her colleagues as heroes who risked their lives to restore peace and freedom in the country.

Subversive identity

FERDINAND Marcos’ iron-fist rule did not come unopposed by Filipinos, who condemned the variety of human rights violations perpetrated under his watch.

Even Thomasians, raised in a traditionally conservative environment, took to the streets and risk life and limb as part of a national effort to gain the Filipino’s freedom back.

Going by UST’s participation in protest actions in recent years, apathy appeared to have gradually crept back among its students since those exciting years of the anti-Marcos movement. No longer, it seems, do they appear to be as involved and committed in issues confronting Philippine society in general.

But is it really a case of political apathy? Or do Thomasians simply prefer to choose their battles?

THE FLAME of student activism did not burn out even in a conservative environment of UST during the dark days of the Marcos dictatorship.

Students like Reynaldo Lopez, Eduardo Buenaflor, and Ronald Llamas made sure that Thomasians did not stay in the sidelines, but were heavily involved in the struggle for freedom.

“The University was neither critical nor outspoken. Even school officials were not militant,” recalled Lopez, who would later become a professor at the Faculty of Arts and Letters where he and his two fellow students graduate from.

Lopez said the passiveness of the University influenced its students and made them silent amid the political and social issues that confronted the country.

ART BEYOND aesthetics, indeed.

A group of Thomasians used their prowess in visual arts in raising public awareness on societal and political issues hounding the country.

Known for their radical and cause-driven artworks, the Ugnayan at Galihan ng mga Artistang Tanod ng Lahi (UgatLahi), a Thomasian-rooted cultural movement of artists, has been making its presence felt since 1992.

For Advertising alumnus Raul “Iggy” Rodriguez, a member of UgatLahi since 1993, culture is tantamount to expression.

“[Culture] reflects the ideas of people so it is important that they, especially the youth, see the realities of the society,” said Rodriguez.

Advertising alumnus Max Santiago linked art to promoting social awareness.

ONCE, we we’re an obedient, disciplined, wealthy-looking nation. There were no slums in sight when you drive by the boulevards, we didn’t carry guns around, we hurry for home and clear the streets by twelve o’ clock, and seldom do we hear complaints about our government—if there were, it was, in a way, short-lived.

It was a quiet time in the Philippines, the people who lived through Ferdinand Marcos’ regime says. But not the comfortable silence you have when you’re at peace. It’s a stillness you strive to make when you want caution; a brand of silence generated by fear.

THE VATICAN has released a new catechism to answer young people’s questions about life and the faith.

The new book “YouCat,” or the Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, is a “personal gift from the Holy Father” given to participants in the recent World Youth Day celebrations in Madrid.

YouCat has received both praise and criticism, but promises to be a valuable resource in forming young Catholics.

It retains the traditional question-and-answer format of the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church of 2005.

The 304-page book sheds light on 527 questions about the Bible, Catholicism, moral issues, and how to live the Christian life.