Pagsalitain Natin si Rizal

Isang nahuling paggunita hindi sa pagkatao ni Jose Rizal kundi sa kung ano ang nais sabihin at iparating ni Jose Rizal

Buong buhay ko, wala kayong ginawa kundi husgahan ako, basahin ako. Kinuha niyo na ang lahat sa akin. Kung anu-anong hiningi ninyo, pero hindi niyo pa rin makita kung sino ako. Marami na akong ibinigay, bakit pati ang buhay ko? Patahimikin niyo na ako, para makita ko ang sarili ko!

- Jose Rizal, sa pagganap ni Cesar Montano

Sa pagkakataong ito, hindi ang aking mga opinyon o ang aking paniniwala, kundi kung ano ang paniniwala ng isang mamamayang itinuring nating propeta na magpasahanggan ngayon ay hindi binibigyang-halaga, ang bibigyan ko ng puwang.

Siguro isa sa mga unang matutuwa sa pagiging napakaligamgam (kundi mas malamig pa sa Snow World ng Star City) na pagtanggap ng ating mga mamamayan sa pag-alala natin sa araw ng kamatayan ni Rizal ay, kakatuwa, SI RIZAL MISMO. Marahil kung nangyari lamang na may sariling buhay ang mga namayapa na at uso ang internet doon, ganito rin ang iniisip ni "Lolo Pepe" ngayon (pasasalamat kay Bb. Pauline Oyco):

At oo nga naman, ano nga ba ang sinabi ni Rizal sa isa sa kanyang mga huling liham bago siya mamatay kahapon ng 7:03 ng umaga:

Ilibing niyo ako sa lupa. Lagyan ninyo ng panandang bato at krus. Ang aking pangalan, araw ng kapanganakan at ng kamatayan. Wala nang iba. Kung pagkatapos ay nais niyong bakuran ang aking puntod, maaari niyong gawin. WALA NANG ANIBERSARYO. Mas mabuti kung sa Paang Bundok. Kaawaan ninyo si Josephine.

- Jose Rizal, Sa aking pamilya, Isang liham na walang petsa.

Samakatuwid, bakit nga ba natin pa pinananatili ang pag-alala kay Rizal? Hindi na yata makatuwiran, kung tutuusin, ang tandisan pa nating suwayin ang habilin ng isang mamamatay kung tunay natin siyang pinahahalagahan. At marahil, siguro nga, iyon ang trahedya ng pagiging pambansang bayani ni Rizal. Sapagka't siya'y nakahabi sa pagbuo ng bansang-estadong Pilipinas, at sa kanyang kataliwas ding mukha bilang subersibo, filibustero sa halos lahat ng nibel, si Rizal ay hindi mangyayaring maging katulad nina Mahatma Gandhi at ni Jesucristo (kahit ito na ang paniniwala ng nauubos nang mga Rizalista). Si Rizal, hindi katulad nina Washington at kung sino pang mga kinikilalang bantayog ng kabayanihan ng ibang bansa, ay hindi tila isang dios, kundi isang taong katulad natin na maaari nating kilatisin, pulaan at, siyang tunay, di pakikinggan.


Unang Emo, Unang Pilipino

Si Rizal mismo ay umaaming marami siyang suliranin at paniniwalang tunay na humahadlang sa kanyang kakayanang kumilos bilang kabahagi ng isang pamayanang Pilipino. Makikita ito sa kanyang liham kay Ferdinand Blumentritt sa kung bakit pinili niyang kumalas na sa Kilusang Propaganda:

You would like me to write an article for Soli, but I must confess to you that my intention is not to work on any further article for that periodical. I could have told you this earlier, but I wanted to hid from you the disagreeable attacks against me. We have been through a lot together. You already write [for it], and I compeltely agree with what you can write. What Blumentritt and Rizal can do , Blumentritt can do on his own. I have suggested many projects, but they carried on a secret war against me; they call me "Idol," says I am a despot, etc., when I wished to get the Filipinos to work. They wrote about all this to Manila, twisting the facts, saying that I want this and that - which was hardly the truth. From various people I have learned that even before my Filibusterismo went to press, they were already saying that it was worthless and far inferior to the Noli. Many secret pettinesses are going on, as though they wished to destroy the little reputation that I have. I am withdrwing in order to forestall a schism: let others take the political lead. They said that Rizal is too difficult a personality; good then, Rizal goes his own way; obstacles ought not to come from me.

- Jose Rizal, Letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt: 4 bis Rue Châteaudun, Paris, October 9, 1891

At marahil ganoon din ang inasahan ni Rizal, na siyang makatwirang paliwanag kung tatanggapin din nating si Rizal ang unang emo. At bakit nga ba hindi mo ito iisipin: tandaang siya mismo ang nagsulat sa mga katagang ito sa pagpapalagay niya kung papaanong hindi naman talaga siya magbubungang malaki nang pagbabago:

Kung ang libingan ko'y limot na ng lahat
at wala ng kurus at batang mabakas,
bayaang linangin ng taong masipag,
lupa'y asarolin at kauyang ikalat.

At mga buto ko ay bago matunaw
mauwi sa wala at kusang maparam,
alabok ng iyong latag ay bayaang
siya ang babalang doo'y makipisan.

Kung magka gayon na'y aalintanahin
na ako sa limot iyong ihabilin
pagka't himpapawid at ang panganorin
mga lansangan mo'y aking lilibutin.

- Jose Rizal, Mi Ultimo Adios, sa salin ni Andres Bonifacio

Ganoon katindi ang kaemohan ni Rizal, kung tutuusin, na maski si G. Rolando Tolentino sa kanyang aklat na Sipat Kultura ay hindi napigilang mapa-"Chinkee mae!" sa pagiging desperado nguni't narcisistiko ng mga linyang ito. Sabagay, may kasabihan nga naman pala na halos lahat nga naman pala ng mga pilosopo ay emo, kaya pwedeng given na yun. Pero hindi yun ang punto natin. Natatandaan natin kung papaanong si Jesucristo mismo ay nagsabing hindi kulang sa pagdangal ang isang propeta liban sa kanyang sinilangang bayan (Lucas 4:24) at paanong pwede rin nating sabihin ito ukol sa ating mga bayani.

Nguni't marahil, ang mas matindi dito, ay ang balikuin ang kanyang mga sinasabi. At hindi baga ganito rin ang ginawa sa mga propeta't bayani kahit ganoon sila dinarakila: pinipilipit at inaabuso ang mga salita para gawing palusot sa mga kawalang-katarungang kanila mismong ipinaglaban? Ito mismo ang sanhi kaya hindi na natin maintindihan si Rizal, kung bakit ang pananaw natin kay Rizal ay isang malayong bituing hindi maaabot sapagka't siya mismo ay ginawang imahen ng mapanupil na estadong hindi niya sasang-ayunan. Hindi nga sang-ayon si Rizal sa pagsasarili ng mga Pilipino sapagka't "bakit ang kalayaan kung ang mga alipin ng kasalukuyan ay magiging mang-aalipin kinabukasan?" At hindi nga siya nagkamali. Kung papaanong binaliko ng Rebolusyong Pranses ang kaisipan ni Rousseau (liban na lamang kung naniniwala kang baliko na mag-isip si Rousseau sa simula pa lamang) at kung papaano binaliko ng Partidong Nazi ang pananaw ni Nietzsche, ganoon din nating inabuso si Rizal. At huwag na nating pag-usapan ang pagbaliko ng mga simbahan sa lahat ng mga kautusan ni Jesucristo.


Isang Pagtataksil

Mas masaklap dito marahil na ang gumagawa nito sa kanya ay ang mga mismong institusyong kanyang pinagtiwalaang magdadala sa kanyang paniniwala. Matatandaan sa isang talumpati ni Padre Bienvenido Nebres, S.J., Pangulo ng Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila, nang siya'y gawaran ng Orden ng mga Kawal ni Rizal ng Knight Grand Cross of Rizal noong Disyembre 30, 2006 ay kanyang sambitin kung papaanong:

Sometimes you might think that Dr. Rizal would have been like many of our political leaders today, maraming salita, kaunting gawa. Because he wrote and spoke so well. But in his four years in Dapitan, he was puro gawa, kaunting salita. He provided health care. He provided education. He built water systems. He taught technology in agriculture and fishing. He did many things -- with his own hands -- to create a better life for people...

Dr. Rizal understood that in Dapitan. In Spain and Manila, he wrote and preached against injustices. In Dapitan, he simply worked to create the foundations for a better life for the people. He may well have launched Gawad Kalinga a century ago.

Marahil may katwiran naman sa mga winikang ito, nguni't ang nagiging mensahe ay hindi ang pagbubuo ng komunidad, kundi ang pagtatayo ng isang pamumuhay na walang politika, walang pag-uusap. Sa pagnanais nating kalasan ang pangangailangan sa kultura ng aktibismo at pagiging mapanuri, itinanghal natin ang pangangailangang panlipunan higit sa lahat, na taliwas sa ating pagkilos sa demokratikong pamamaraan. Hindi ito ang sinasabi ni Rizal kahit kailan, at ito ang tinindigan ni G. Lisandro Elias "Leloy" Claudio, balediktoryan ng Ateneo de Manila noong taong 2007 at ngayo'y guro sa Kagawaran ng Pamamahayag sa sulating "Eagles without talons?":

This Rizal may well be the solution to our country’s problems for, as Nebres argues, today “there is so much talk and so little done.” Indeed, although a lot of Gawad Kalinga’s development approaches have been questioned, it is undeniable that it has contributed to the reduction of slums. Ateneo’s education programs in depressed areas likewise contribute to long-term national development.

But what are the implications of de-emphasizing political criticism in favor of immediate concrete action? Historian Floro Quibuyen argues that the image of an apolitical Rizal was used by the American colonial government to encourage Filipinos to cooperate with them even as they subjugated the country. Reminding Filipinos of the anti-colonial and revolutionary Rizal would have been unwise given their mission of pacification.

Similarly, in the context of the Ateneo, this Rizal and the framework of nation-building that it’s associated with has been used to question and erase the university’s long history of social and political activism. ...

This anti-politics atmosphere has made it difficult to forward issues of national concern in the university. I was witness to the lethargy of many students and teachers during the time when mobilizations were being made to protest the NBN-ZTE scandal. I saw how this withdrawal from issues of national concern influenced the moderate stance taken by the Ateneo regarding the issue of whether Arroyo deserved to stay in power. While basketball nemesis La Salle called for resignation, Ateneo called for reflection. An administrator personally rebuked me when I said the university should join the lobby for the Freedom of Information Act since it would allow the public to scrutinize shady deals like the NBN-ZTE. Won’t work, I was told; let’s just lobby for another disaster relief bill. It doesn’t surprise me, then, that in her final State of the Nation Address this country’s most despised president claimed the university and its president as partners in her goal of building a strong republic.

There is one major flaw in the university’s anti-politics framework: the claim that activism with its attendant criticism of national politics does not work. It does. In the 1970s, the “talk” of student activists (many of them Ateneans like Edgard Jopson) conscienticized an entire generation, exposing them to the ills of authoritarianism. It was a slow process - educating and opening people’s eyes takes time – but it worked. When the crowd in EDSA overthrew the dictator, it was a victory for those who fomented dissent. It was the legacy of the makibaka activism that is currently derided in the Ateneo. And lest we think that nothing was gained from EDSA, one should consider that we currently have a free press, participate in regular elections, and have a growing civil society. Political scientist Nathan Quimpo, for instance, claims that grassroots NGOs who engage in legal activities like aiding farmers in land reform cases were few and far between before EDSA. It was the revolution that opened this democratic space. Our system isn’t perfect, but it’s significantly better.

Ano talaga ang sinasabi ni Rizal sa atin? Ano siya talaga bilang ating pambansang bayani. Minsang sinabi ni Howie Severino sa kanyang dokumentaryo ukol sa buhay ni Rizal sa Europa na "Little Bad Boy": kung tunay ngang si Rizal ang ating pamantayan sa pagiging mamamayan, disin sana'y malaon nang maunlad ang Pilipinas. Magaling tayong mga Pilipino sa pagyayabang ukol sa ating mga bayani, nguni't ang isabuhay ang kanilang nais na layunin ay lagi tayong kapos. Hindi baga lalo tayong kahiya-hiya sa ating mga karatig bansang gaya ng Singapore, Malaysia (kung saan ang demokratikong dating diputadong punong ministrong si Anwar Ibrahim ay tagahanga ni Rizal at mag-aaral sa ilalim ng iskolar ukol kay Rizal na si Cesar Adib Majul) at Indonesia at maging ang Hapon at Alemanya, na ating tinutuya sa ating pangangayupapa sa Amerika, na kinilala si Rizal bilang mabuting halimbawa ng Ubermensch ni Nietzsche kahit hindi sila nagkita kahit kailan?

Hamon ng Pagbabalik-Tanaw

Muli't muli, nanatiling isang anino si Rizal sapagka't hindi tayo ipinapakilala sa kung sino talaga siya. Siguro, sa ating "nilinis" na paglalahad ng kasaysayan, hindi natin siya makikilalang kahit kailan liban na lamang kung tayo mismo ang kakalas sa ating mga muhon, at walang-sawang magkakalas sa mga karaniwan nang pinaniniwalaan. Minsang sinabi ni Michel Foucault na sa mga gawaang tagahubog (disciplinary structures) kumikilos ang tao at siyang nagbibigay sa kanya ng kakayanan, nguni't magiging tunay lamang siyang malaya kung kaya niya itong lusutan ang pasikut-sikot at siya mismo ang humawak sa kanyang pagsuong sa buhay, nguni't di nakakalimot sa gabay ng mga nauna sa kanya.

Si Rizal, bilang ating "Lolo Pepe" ay naglatag na ng daan sa ating harapan. Nasa atin ang hamon na balikan ang kanyang pinanggalingan, pag-aralan ang kanyang mga tagumpay at pagkakamali, at ituloy ang kanyang pagbubuo ng isang pamayanan. Nakakilos siya sa Dapitan sapagka't doo'y nagkakaisa at nagnanais ng pagbabago ang mamamayan. Sa isang panahong tayo'y pinipilit na isipin lamang ang sarili at ang pagpapanatili sa mga ito, walang magiging bunga kundi ang pagkawasak ng isang bansang ating ninanais buuin. Ang lahat ng ito'y ating pinagbabayaran sa katangahan ng ating mga magulang at ang atin ding kahinaan.

MARAPAT NATING SABIHIN, KUNG TUTUUSIN, BILANG SINUWAY NI RIZAL ANG KAUTUSAN NI DONYA TEODORA ALONZO BATAY SA KUWENTO NG GAMU-GAMO, NA TANGING ANG MGA BATANG PASAWAY LAMANG ANG MAAARING MAGDALA NG PAGBABAGO SA ATING BAYAN. ANG LUBOS NA PAGDAKILA SA PAMILYA ANG SANHI KUNG BAKIT TAYO HAWAK SA LEEG NG ESPANYA NOON. GANOON DIN NGAYON: SA SOBRANG PAGNANASANG PANATILIHIN ANG ATING MGA MAG-ANAK, NAWALA NA ANG ATING TUNGKULING PAGLINGKURAN ANG BAYAN. Hindi na nga bago, kung tutuusin, ang tula galing sa Ang Propeta ni Khalil Gibran na ginamit ni Lualhati Bautista para sa kanyang Dekada '70 (at siyang tula ng mga pasaway na batang aktibistang gaya ko):

Ang inyong anak ay hindi n'yo anak,
Sila'y mga anak na lalaki't babae ng buhay!
Nagdaan sila sa inyo ngunit hindi inyo,
At bagama't pinalaki n'yo, sila'y walang pananagutan sa inyo…

Tumigil na tayo sa pagsunod sa modernong panahon: winawasak lamang tayo nito. Panahon na upang balikan ang nakaraan, hanapin ang sagot sa mga katanungang nakalibing sa gitna ng mga alikabuki't nadudurog nang mga pahina, at muling kilalanin kung sino at ano si Jose Rizal: isang taong mahina, isang taong marunong magsalita't kumilos nguni't hindi marunong sa negosasyon, at ating sikaping higitan pa ito. May lakas ang Pilipino, may kakayanan at, katulad ni Andres Bonifacio na disipulo ni Rizal, MAYPAGASA.

At sa ganitong paraan lamang natin maiiwan ang isang ritwal ng pag-alalang hindi naman makatwiran at lalo lamang naglalayo sa atin sa kanyang diwa.

Anong gagawin mo kapag malaman mong sa lahat ng mga naisulat mo, kapag ika'y namatay na, ay wala ni isang makaalala?

Para mo na rin akong sinintensyahan ng kamatayan.

- Kathang-isip na pag-uusap ni Jose Rizal at ni Tenyente Luis Taviel de Andrade,
Jose Rizal, GMA Films

Pagsalitain Natin si Rizal by Hansley A. Juliano is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Philippines License.
Based on a work at kalisnglawin.blogspot.com.

We Worship in the Whispers: Why Prepare for Advent

In omnibus amare
In omnibus servire
In omnibus amare et servire Domino
In everything, love and serve the Lord

These words, sung by the Bukas Palad Music Ministry in their current album To Love and Serve (and which may also be found in the emblem of Ateneo de Iloilo), recalls in a sense the very manner of life by which we, as the people of God in this dispensation, should follow. Having been called through vocare, we are expected to be not only mindless followers of doctrines and manners of living that our beloved Mother Church has set for us, but also a life that has been well thought out and consulted with not only our spiritual guides, but also those we love and those around us. It is, in a sense, what differentiates the Christian religion amongst others: it is a religion based on immersing oneself in the world and speaking to instigate change, not mere meditation away from the world or a violent negation of the world (not that I disparage them, mind you).

It must be in this light that we see our duty as Catholics in a world that has, in Nietzsche's words, "killed God" by assuming His position, to disastrous effects. In modernity's understanding of life as mere supply which should be sustained but could be disposed of carelessly when the necessity arises, masking it with the honor and glory of the secular world but are as vain as the empires and temples of antiquity, we as members of the community of Christ should seek to engage those among us to rethink life as we know it and rediscover that which is age-old, but ever new.

For the past years, I for one have been struck by that jadedness that comes with our hyper-commercialize d, somewhat spiritually- devoid Christmases of years past. Despite the warming feelings of having friends be with me when attending simbang gabi, that feeling dissipates, ironically, when I come home to our ancestral home in the province. The ennui of the environment, the inanity of the situations by which I find myself in there, as well as the ill-behavior of some of our family members (even elders) somewhat intensified my antipathy to celebrating Christmas in the province, preferring to remain at home and live out Christmas Day like any vacation day, without fanfare and devoting it to my more pressing responsibilities like papers and the like, to the consternation of my parents. No matter how I try to psych up myself to behave like a good family member and join in the traditional family gatherings, I just felt out of place and view things as senseless.

I was only reminded of how wrong was this when I remember that homily of Fr. Vic de Jesus last December 16's Simbang Gabi mass, which once mentioned how our God is a God which takes his time, which chooses to speak one on one to those who are in need. Our God is a God who will not deny His time to those who need His Help, those who would be willing to stop and talk a while and get to know each other. (Yeah, I had to put it in.)

But probably that is exactly what we need. We've had enough of the parties, we've had enough of the wastage, we've had enough of all the fluff and the noise. It's about time we stop, talk to those who need someone to talk to, and then sort out the loose strings on our relations to each other. It's not my fault, likely, but it might be that my absence is why some of my cousins are suffering indifferences with each other. It might probably why my younger cousin is already a mother at the age of 17. All because I was not there to talk to. That over-quoted statement of Edmund Burke remains true: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Fr. RB Hizon, Principal of the Ateneo de Manila High School, once mentioned in a homily last October 6 in the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy:

Mother Teresa, I am told, once asked to address the American Senate as she and her sisters were looking for assistance to feed and clothe the big numbers of homeless in Washington , D.C. One high government official (who was not particularly impressed by her nor convinced that what she was doing was particularly good or helpful) wanted to embarrass Mother Theresa and asked her: “So sister, would you mind please telling us how it is you intend to feed the thousands who are hungry and homeless in DC?

Mother Theresa looked at him and said simply, “One by one.”

One by one. That is perhaps the best way we can respond right now…one by one…one student, one staff, one teacher, one neighbor…one community…one by one.

It's probably that reason why, despite all the academic work that has been thrown upon myshoulders by "challenging" professors (the term "inconsiderate" would be inappropriate I would presume), I shall still strive to attend to my duties to my relatives and friends. In that way, I would probably be able to deserve that name of Catholic that I carry. The best gift I would give to my family is that which is what I am best at: what I know and what I feel. After all, we also have for a God one who is not in the rumblings, but is in the silence or the faintest whisper:

And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him (1 Kings 19:11-13).

A merry Christmas to all.

A La Siete Serafinas

Because all of your perfections distract me from understanding God and His commandments to me, and because it can only be placated in a way my mentor devised.

The inevitability never denied it, me, and life in unanimous attractive tension: we're better off this way.

Callous heaven enacted, grant amends, rather couple incumbent anxieties: why do I still hope despite such vanity?

Just emit night's natal yearning, don't even linger aimlessly, 'cause rapture underlies zenith; you're still playing with my heartstrings unwittingly.

May angels ravage and judge our effervescent, tarrying apolitical reminiscing right at your offering; do you still share our struggle after all these years?

Such helplessnesses are caused of lingering love and demolished orations; I dream a lot about you every second.

Or yet abolish, mangle and negate zirconium aspirations, never open; simply because you do not deserve a fleeting dreamer like me.

And never grant eternity last, drastically, even at such inexplicable situations; let me call you the seraphim of St. Francis who swept me.

Isang Limot na Panata

Natatandaan ko pa ang ating kabataan na tayo'y tinuturuang panghawakan ang isang panatang makabayan, salitain ito bilang ritwal ng pagsasabuhay ng ating pagiging bahagi ng isang pangarap na pamayanan ng isang bansa. Nguni't sa isang panahon na ang ating salinlahi'y mahilig lumimot at takot harapin ang mga multo ng pagkakamali ng ating mga nakatatanda at ang ating sariling mga pagkukulang, ano pa ang silbi ng mga salita at pangako sa pagbabanyuhay ng isang bayang lugmok sa pagkakawatak-watak at kahirapang itaguyod maski sarili nilang mumunting purok?

Marahil panahon na ating balikan ang isang panata ng mapait, nagluluksa nguni't malinaw na layunin.

(Salin mula sa "Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage" ni Jose F. Lacaba, pahina 146):

Itinatangis ko ang huwad na kalayaang tangan ko.
Ang kalayaang pautang sa akin ni Uncle Sam
Ay tinik sa aking lalamunan,
Sapot sa aking isipan,
Busal sa aking bibig,
Tanikala saking mga binti at kamay.
Nagluluksa ako sa pamanang dapat sana'y lipos kayamanan
Bunga ng pawis at dugo ng aking mga ninuno
Nguni't dinumihan ng mga maruruming kamay-piyudal
At ginahasa ng isang duhapang na panginoong mananakop -
Gintong pinaging tanso ng kapangyarihang dayo.
Lumuluha akong nagmamalaki sa bandilang sagisag ng kalayaang darating pa lamang;
Ginigising ang pinakamunting hibla ng aking katutubong dangal
na makipagbaka para sa pambansang demokrasya at tunay na kalayaan.
Naniniwala ako:
Na bawa't karapatang pinapangarap ko'y may kaakibat na tungkuling gagampanan.
Na bawa't pag-asang pinahahalagahan ko'y hinahaluan ng mga hamong dapat makamit.
Upang ang bayang ito'y maging tunay na nakapangyayari sa lupang ito,
Nagkakaisa, niyayakap ang isang buhay na nasasapat,
Ipinapangako ko sa alaala ng mga bayaning nagbuwis ng buhay noong 1896
Na ituloy ang himagsikang naiwan nila't di pa tapos!
Ginagabayan ng mga adhikaing tungo sa pambansang demokrasya ng taumbayan,
Pagtatagumpayan kong muli ang kalayaang inagaw sa akin ng imperyalismong Amerikano,
Wawasaking walang-awa lahat ng tanggulang piyudal,
At hindi titigil hangga't di ko maibagsak lahat ng kampilang imperyalista.
Sarili kong dugo'y aking ititigis, sariling buhay ko'y aking ipamimigay!

Kislap

Alay kay R.D. at ipinapautang ko rin kay Patrick Manalo para kay R.R.

Kayo pa rin ang hinahanap-hanap kong sibulan ng tanglaw
Kahit napalilibutan na ako ng mga de-kuryenteng dagitab
Kahit hindi nawawala ang mga sinag kahit sa kadiliman ng gabi...

Sapagka't kayo'y malayo't hindi naaabot ng aming mga kamay
Sapagka't kayo'y hindi nanununog ng mga kapitbahay
Sapagka't kayo'y nagpapaligaya sa napapanglaw na paslit
Sapagka't kayo'y nagbabantay sa mga kawawang yagit
Sapagka't kayo'y mga tuldok ng apoy na sakdal init
Na iginuhit ang larawan ng aking mahal sa langit.

Dahil kayo ang sibulan at tungo ng pangarap
Ng mga mundong papasibol at magbibigay-buhay
Dahil kayo ang hantungan at huling hinagap
Ng mga daigdig na patapos na ang panahon at alay

Kayong mga bituing walang magagawa
Kundi ang magningning at bigyan kami ng gabay na tala
Kayong mga bituing siyang nagtatakda
Ng tadhana ng wala, kundi ng alaala;
Sana'y ang isa sa inyo'y lumiit
At dumalaw dito sa aming daigdig
At hayaan akong siya'y isilid sa isang lamparang di mababasag
Upang ihandog sa musang aking nililiyag.

IN THE NAME OF PATRIA: Nationalism and Modernity as Haunted Romance

We agree that modernity, in its basic structurization of its understanding of history, is predisposed to deny the propensity of man to revert to an understanding of time as somewhat without bounds, determined by the seasons, without predictability and therefore should be viewed with caution and preparation whenever possible. Modernity, in seeking to make history its pet, has sought to fetter it with countless chains (reminiscent of Rousseau’s fatally misguided description of what supposedly the state of man is) to make it more understandable, more easy supposedly to understand, and to put it to its logical extremes, deploy it as a means of controlling warm bodies for the purposes of fevered brains. And it is in these fevered brains that are born the notion of a community beyond the local, what the national is deemed to be. Benedict Anderson opens the second chapter of his seminal Imagined Communities thusly (2006, 9):

Why this harkening back to the images of the spectre? Why, one might ask, should we characterize the discourse of nationalism (or nation-building, for that matter) in terms of its ability to inspire feelings of hallowedness or haunted-ness? Perhaps we can take the argument of Rolando Tolentino, in his essay Pitong Welgista ang Napatay, which puts into question the sensitivity of love and hatred as being conflated already, the intensity of such emotions so equal in its capacity to imbalance and violate the normal, natural existence of the lover and the beloved that its ambiguity inspires simultaneously, though unconsciously, tremendum et fascinosum which cannot be identified whether it be because of orgasmic pleasure or of horrifying terror. And it is in this light, we shall see, that the spectre that haunts national imagining is that same phenomenon of conflation that presupposes and blurs the dichotomy of love and hatred, this time confusing creation with destruction and how it consists the struggle of the post-colonial being in striving to claim one’s own space in the world.

Using spectres as a metaphor or a conduit of human desire for expression when communication seems impossible is among the characteristics of subversive and emancipatory movements. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels opened the Manifesto of the Communist Party with a foreboding that seems to have been only imagined, conceived and given life in the depths of the hell where the proletariat has been kept bound, “the spectre that haunts Europe, the spectre of communism.” Even our own prime Filipino patriot, Jose Rizal y Mercado, in illustrating the anguish that is experienced by the Creole displaced in mainland Spain and even in the Philippine colony, has chosen to show Ibarra as haunted by the spirit of his wronged father at the throes of mortality, and then later being torn giving the presumed primacy of Madre Patria between Spain and what he feels is his true homeland, the Philippines.

The mirage that is projected through the spectre reeks of something unwelcome, something that has been forcibly eliminated yet is now governed by its own will to return, to manifest oneself once more, and therefore seek to actualize its presence despite its limitations, its non-corporeality. The spectre is there not to simply communicate a message, but seeks to bend the will of those who see it to its bidding, as might be gleaned from the evolution of Hamlet to an incomprehensible, therefore un-“decodable”, and therefore invincible being after conversing with the presumed ghost of his father. As a somewhat perverse embodiment of the Spirit that G. W. F. Hegel has defined as Phenomenon, the person that embodies the blurring of distinction between the world of ideas and the concrete world, the spectre seeks to actualize where it came from, what it is now, and how it shall be in the future in the futility of no longer existing in time but is now one with time. Its desire for communion can no longer be adequately satisfied by finite means, being in a sense going towards the infinite already.

Nationalism as sought to be achieved by former colonies, as a product of modernity, is a rejection of traditions past, traditions which they claim to have been determined for them by their colonial masters. They are operating under the presumption that they, progressing towards an inevitable flow of history, were interrupted in their potential evolution by the meddling of colonial masters. Thus, select emancipatory movements would seek to restore the pre-colonial being that their people have supposedly been in, the pure native condition (again, harkening back to Rousseauvian hallucinations). Yet as Nick Joaquin in Culture and History would argue, the act of intervention, that moment of contact is already an irreversible phenomenon, history being a sequential abstraction in flow with time, which moves forward towards eternity. To claim and attempt to restore the pre-colonial is as presumptuous as Lucifer’s ambition to displace the Creator: the finite attempting to conquer that which is beyond their capacity to even comprehend. Nationalism, therefore, is also haunted by the desire for articulation of an identity, one which, like innocence, once lost, can never be reclaimed in its purest form. One could only seek to renegotiate the relationship between those nationalities that have been “tainted” by the domination of other nationalities, mutually reinforcing their evolution without the certainty of their paths diverging. In a somewhat mundane insight, one could pick out the scalding verses of performer Stefani Germanotta (better known as “Lady Gaga”) as illustrative of a society’s haunted desire to reclaim itself from those who have crossed their way:

I want your ugly, I want your disease
I want your everything as long as it’s free…

I want your horror, I want your design
‘Cuz you’re a criminal as long as you’re mine…

I want your love and I want your revenge
You and me could write a bad romance
I want your love and All your lover’s revenge
You and me could write a bad romance…

In seeking to recognize itself through consciousness, the nation as a corporeal, imagined body is therefore assaulted as well of the inherent trappings of imagined bodies. Despite seeking to establish itself as the patria grande, one can only do so with the grudging tolerance of the patria chicas, the local hometowns. This fiction has been established through the romanticization of natality and even the romanticization of the tomb, and thus can only borrow its hallowedness from the fiction of tombs.

AHAS GALING SA BAUL... NGA BA?

(o kung papaano natin dapat tanawin ang balita ng deklarasyon ng pamahalaang Arroyo ng Batas Militar sa Maguindanao)
ni Hansley A. Juliano

Hindi nilikha ang sulating ito upang magbigay ng kasagutan, kundi upang ilatag ang mga tanong na dapat nating bantayan ang sagot.

Una, sinasabi sa ngayon ng GMA7 News na hindi raw totoo ang balitang ito batay sa pahayag ni Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, nguni't marahil dapat pa rin nating isulat para alam natin kung paano ba talaga marapat tanawin ang paggamit sa Batas Militar sa ating panahon. Iminumungkahi kong kung tinatamad kayo magbasa, laktawan ang mga block quote.

Nabalita lamang ito kamakailan, sa pamamagitan ng ABS-CBN News, na nilagdaan ni Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo nitong gabi ng Disyembre 2 ang kautusang naglalagay sa lalawigan ng Maguindanao sa ilalim ng Batas Militar. Maaari nating sabihing ang trigger sa sitwasyong ito ay ang mga balitang sumambulat kaninang umaga, na ibinabahagi ng Philippine Star:

Amid reports that martial law will be imposed today in Maguindanao, government forces raided several homes of the Ampatuan clan, seizing weapons and ammunition that police said were enough to arm an entire battalion.

On Thursday, military and police teams raided the mansion of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., principal suspect in the Nov. 23 massacre in Maguindanao, seizing several high-powered guns and stockpiles of ammunition hidden in a compartment under a concrete stairway of the house.

...

The searches went on until yesterday when the raiding teams uncovered more than 260 boxes of ammunition of assorted calibers, 22 assault rifles, customized sniper rifles, handguns and various gun accessories that were buried in a vacant lot adjacent to the houses of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan and his father, former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Jesus Verzosa said the number of firearms seized was enough to arm 1,000 troops, or a battalion of soldiers or policemen.

Some of the weapons and crates of ammunition uncovered bore “government arsenal” markings as well as the name of its manufacturer, Arms Corp. of the Philippines (Armscor), with the manufacture date stamped October 2008.

...

Lawmen also unearthed gun replacement parts and several military uniforms at the site about the size of a basketball court.

Verzosa said the search for more weapons is continuing.

ANG SITWASYON: nakatagpo ng lehitimong ebidensya ng mga private army ng mga Ampatuan, na siyang maysala sa naganap na mga pamamaslang sa Maguindanao noong Nobyembre 23. Diumano'y kailangan ng malakas na sangay tagapagpaganap upang madisarmahan ang lahat ng ito. Dulot nito, kailangan maglatag ng Batas Militar sa Maguindanao.

Marahil maraming mga mambabasa, sa pagkarinig sa pariralang "naglalagay... sa ilalim ng Batas Militar," ang posibleng mabigla, magalit, o MAGWALA sa potensyal na ang deklarasyong ito ay kumalat sa iba pang lalawigan, o maski sa buong bansa. Kasabay ng katotohanang tatakbo si Pangulong Arroyo sa pagka-Kinatawan ng Pampanga, marahil mayroon nang naghaharaya na patungo na ito sa posibleng PAX (o mas okey sigurong BELLA) GLORIA. O sa maikli't kolokyal na salita, "ARROYO FOREVER!"

Maski ako ay nabigla at napaisip na pwede na natin sigurong ipapatay ang Pangulong ito. Nguni't baka naman nagiging OA tayo.

Kalikutin natin ang balita mula sa ABS-CBN:

While martial law is in effect, Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, armed forces Eastern Mindanao commander, will take over from Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., one of the suspects in the massacre, as the provincial military governor.

Asked to comment on the report, Presidential Adviser on Mindanao Affairs Jesus Dureza said: "I'll get back to you if there's definite word... Usually, martial law declaration is not announced until action starts on the ground. Otherwise, the purpose and objective is lost..."

Mapupuna mo nang malabung-malabo ang sirkumstansiya o mga pumapalibot na kaganapan sa paglikha nito. Magdududa ka na sa simula pa lang. Hindi na bago ang mga proklamasyong inihayag nang palihim a sa ilalim ng gabi sa rehimeng ito; tandaan ang ilang mga executive order na bigla na lang gumulantang sa ating mga dyaryo pagdating ng umaga. Tandaan ding nagngalit tayo sa paglaban sa Con-Ass na nilakad ng mga Kinatawan nang malapit nang pumalo ang hatinggabi. Marapat ding tandaang MAY STATE OF EMERGENCY SA MAGUINDANAO, SAMAKATUWID HAWAK NA MISMO NG PANGULO ANG PAMAMAHALA DITO. May predisposisyon na tayong paghinalaan at labanan ang anumang sabihin ng pamahalaan dahil napaso na tayo, lagi tayong niloloko, SAWA NA TAYO.

PERO BAKA EMOSYONAL LANG TAYO. Emosyonal dahil nais talaga nating malaman ang buong detalye, dahil pampublikong usapin ito at hindi dapat isinasapribado ang impormasyon.

Batay sa mga probisyon ng Saligang Batas ng 1987:

Section 18. The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion. In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law. Within forty-eight hours from the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, the President shall submit a report in person or in writing to the Congress. The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its Members in regular or special session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President. Upon the initiative of the President, the Congress may, in the same manner, extend such proclamation or suspension for a period to be determined by the Congress, if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.

The Congress, if not in session, shall, within twenty-four hours following such proclamation or suspension, convene in accordance with its rules without need of a call.

The Supreme Court may review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by any citizen, the sufficiency of the factual basis of the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ or the extension thereof, and must its decision thereon within thirty days from its filing.

Kung paiikliin natin ang sinasabi nito, marapat raw na sa loob 48 na oras pagkadeklara ng Batas Militar ay mapagdesisyunan na ng Kongreso kung pahihintulutan o pipigilin ang pag-iral ng Batas Militar. Kung pigili'y hindi ito puwedeng suwayin ng Pangulo, nguni't kung pahintuluta'y nasa pasya ng Kongreso kung patatagalin o paiikliin. Kung babalikan natin ang sinabi ni Tagapagsalita ng Kapulungan Prospero Nograles mula sa balita ng ABS-CBN News:

Nograles said: "Martial law can be impractical at this time as it requires the approval of Congress, which will most likely have difficulty mustering a quorum due to the holidays and the election season. Even if we have a quorum, I don't think our senators and congressmen will favor this because it will certainly cause public uproar which can endanger their reelection bid."

"A limited state of emergency in Maguindanao and nearby provinces is sufficient to address the problem related to the Maguindanao massacre," he added.

Lumalabas, masyadong problematiko kung pagpapasyahan ng Kongreso ito diumano sa panahon ng halalan. Nguni't hindi marahil malayong isipin na nagpapalusot lamang ang mga Kongresistang ito dahil ayaw na nila maabala, at papabayaan na lamang na naman nila ang bayang hindi nila pinaglilingkuran. Subali't tandaang tila wala ring alternatibong chain of command na maaaring sumalo sakaling hindi nga makapagpulong ang Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan. Samakatuwid, MAY PROBLEMA RING KONSTITUSYONAL. Nguni't hintayin natin ang pasya ng mga may kaalaman sa batas konstitusyonal, katulad ni P. Joaquin Bernas, S.J.

Ang pangunahing dapat nating gawin ay hindi ang magwala sa terminong BATAS MILITAR na para bang isang multo, kundi magtanong kung HINDI BA TALAGA SUKAT PA ANG ISANG STATE OF EMERGENCY? Hindi ba maaaring maglatag at mag-organisa na lamang ng Komisyong Tagapamahala ng mga may kakayanan sa public administration na walang kiling partisano, at hindi na gumamit ng puwersa ng armas? Kung sasabihing OA ANG MAMAMAYAN MAG-REACT, HINDI BA MAS OA ANG SOLUSYONG ITO?

At magtataka ka: ang pinaglilinis ng kalat na ito ay ang mismong institusyong maysala dito: ANG SANDATAHANG LAKAS. Kung lumalabas na parehong maysala sa sabwatan ang mga Ampatuan at ang Sandatahang Lakas, bakit hindi sila parehong patawan ng naglilimita ng kapangyarihan?

Nguni't muli, ako'y nagtatanong lamang para sa isang sambayanang nilubog sa kamangmangan sa batas.

Sa isang kalagayan na naglalabo-labo ang mga probisyon ng batas sa ganitong pagkakataon, hindi madaling maglatag ng pasya. Ito lamang ang alam natin: KAILANGAN MAWASAK ANG MGA PRIVATE ARMY. KAILANGAN MAWALA ANG ISANG SISTEMANG SULTANISTIKO. Pero kahina-hinala na isang di-demokratikong solusyon ang sagot sa isang di-demokratikong problema. Ang ating dapat gawin: MAGHINTAY, MAGBANTAY, UMUNAWA.

Sulit

Sulit na ang masigaw-sigawan ng gurong madaling makalimot ng iniisip
Basta alam niyang meron kang natututunan at mukha kang nag-iisip
Sulit na ang magsalita nang hindi ka binibigyan ng dagdag na puntos
Tutal hindi ang markado ang pangmatagalang sukat ng galing.
Sulit na ang magkandalintik-lintik na ang isip ko sa pagbabasa
Lalo't ang babaunin namang pang-unawa'y panghabambuhay
Sulit na ang maubusan ng baong wala sa oras sa pamimili
Pagka't ang paglalaanan naman ay siyang pinakahuli
Sulit na ang magkasalubong at mamasdan ang iyong ngiti...
Dahil oo nga naman pala, kahit hindi ako, pag-ibig mananatili.

Welcoming and Living Through the Season of Advent

As members of the Roman Catholic Church, we are invited to another year of service and living out the commandments of God through his son Jesus Christ. We define Advent, as per Newadvent.org, as the season which begins the Liturgical year. We quote:

During this time the faithful are admonished

• to prepare themselves worthily to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord's coming into the world as the incarnate God of love,
• thus to make their souls fitting abodes for the Redeemer coming in Holy Communion and through grace, and
• thereby to make themselves ready for His final coming as judge, at death and at the end of the world.

In many ways, Advent, if we are going to take to heart the implications and the traditions which are embedded in Catholic faith, is not at all characterized by the highly-materialisti c, highly-consumptive and highly-promiscuous (I will justify the usage of such words) sashaying and bacchanalia of wastage and consumption that almost if not all our media advertisements and shopping malls have led us to believe. Advent, in a sense, is not supposed to be about a feast: it is about trembling, about anxiety, about an urgency to reform one's life in light of being a resident of the world's "valley of tears." The onslaught of Christmas is not about the reindeers, it is not about Saint Nicholas (who by the way was already stricken off the Calendar of Saints), it is not about the mistletoes where all our hormanal imbalances are let loose, it is ESPECIALLY NOT ABOUT GIFTS, but about looking at how destitute our lives, whether we be materially sufficient, overflowing, or lacking, without the grace of God moving us into this Earthly existence.

To observe Advent, in a sense, is not at all to be deluded into memories of childhood innocence nor an excuse to affluence. In fact, we are invited to put away our vanities, our desires, and try looking at what we have done to merit being part of the Holy Catholic Church. The I, as invited to participate in Advent, should not find relaxation in Advent from the cyclical and day-to-day activities. In fact, Advent should be an evaluative and formative period: looking back at how we fared as Christians, what we have accomplished doing, where we have failed or faltered, and what could be done to remedy them and/or to go further what we have accomplished.

It is not surprising, given our concupiscence, that we shall find in most of our actions failures to reach out and live out what Christ really means and asks us to be. But this should not discourage us. We should always strive to improve, labor, work and act (the last three words having a lot of differences as Hannah Arendt, a Jew, in her book The Human Condition has outlined; the first for sustenance, the second for utility, and the third for community-building) . It is a tiring and demanding experience, yes, but then again salvation from our sinful condition was never easy to begin with. St. Augustine was not alien to it and wholly embraced it, as in this paraphrase by Bukas Palad:

Kay tagal bago Kita minahal
Gandang sinauna at sariwa
Akong nilikha Mo, uuwi rin sa 'Yo
Ako'y papayapa lamang sa piling Mo

But I do not, at all, attempt to depress the living daylights out of everyone with what I am saying. We do acknowledge our Lord Jesus's pronouncement himself that our laboring should be done with a smile and joyful praise to God. But the danger of always of thinking about what is joyful in the Catholic life might blind us to the necessary pains and sacrifices it entails, as what most of us who are still very much stunted in the Faith are prone to be. In seeking the joys and pleasures of life, we have traded off the road less traveled but should be for salvation and righteousness. There must be balance, indeed. We must remember, as John 3:16 immortally reminds us that God sent his only begotten son to save us and grant us eternal life. Therefore, in the same way we shall prepare all our gifts to our beloveds, we should also prepare ourselves for the accounting of Christ with regards to our duties as our brothers' and sisters' keepers.