Heneral Luna: Reflections

Why look for unity when it's not there...?

My eyes still stung long after Gel, Ruby and I left the movie house.  It's been ages since I last saw one memorable movie; much less one memorable Filipino movie.

Raj texted Friday that we should watch Heneral Luna.  Okay...movies cost a fortune – well, maybe pittance – but it’s hard to part with hard-earned money on scripts and plots that just change titles, producers, locations and actors.  Maybe I could wait for the DVD; and since I abhor many things that occupy space – maybe an e-copy will do.

Ever the loving firstborn who makes things happen without being disagreeable, Raj just lets his movie-bored mom be.

With time on my hands I googled (where else to go but virtual) Heneral Luna.  Why, it's been on FB at the time when Pacquiao and Mayweather were pummeling each other, and I didn't see it?  Shame.  Unfolding in front of me were reviews that led to another; and another; and so on and so forth.  This may be worth my time so Sunday was a date; after church.

*****

The ticket girl told us that religious services are held every Sunday at the same cinema where Heneral Luna was assigned.  I told her to convey to management that their schedules on the internet should be updated so as not to fool patrons.  Who cares if the message got across.  

People were forming a beeline to another cinema dedicated to some movie – again, Filipino (arrgghhh) – about confused relationships.  Why do they love to create problems where there's none, no...? So so first world let's just discuss that later.

We had no choice but take the first screening the next day Monday.  And be there an hour early.

*****

I can make out mostly silvery crowns from the audience; and under low lights I figure that Gel and Ruby were the only young people among dual citizens (Filipino and Senior), Honorary Seniors and oh, quite a number of Caucasians, too.  Heneral Luna was only on its 5th showing day and at least 60% of cinemas nationwide have pulled it out in exchange for run-of-the-mill high-grossing films.  We almost missed it then.

I was too dumbstruck to applaud on how fine a movie it was.  Images kept running in my head even after the closing credits.  No, I wasn't watching a movie – I was watching history.  And when one is part of and in the midst of history, tears are not enough.  A hundred and fifteen years after the assassination, apparently more sweat and blood still did not unite the nation.  Hack and bullet wounds on a general did little to change the country's politics and power struggles to date.  Like movies with boring themes, only the names and faces have changed in present-day Philippine governance.  

So “The only real Filipino General” was a hot-head.  I can almost see fire spewing from his mouth as he squeezed patriotism among peers; and extracted discipline from soldiers.  I can only surmise that the characteristic of the Filipino of “ayaw magpasabi a.k.a. di magpatudlo, di magpasulti” already existed in those days.  What I know is that in my generation even ROTC commanders got shot for giving, er, shouting orders.  Mother Teresa couldn’t have built more than 150 houses of charity had she not given orders, as one author described her, like a drill sergeant.  Nah… she’s from another country.  Back to the Philippines…

Forget tribalism – this trait of aversion for being corrected is common among us.  Bless you if you don’t get slighted when someone comes across as brash, abrasive, dominant, loud-mouthed blah-blah even if you both have the same goals.  Whether ilustrado, bagong-yaman o masa – walang pagkakaiba.  What do you think is the reason people spin off into factions? 

Luna's killers must have been oozing with hatred when they delivered those deadly blows and bullets.  I looked up the English equivalent of the word “dumot” and what came up on google translate was “hatred” which doesn’t quite give the intensity.

In Bisaya, dumot can be described as that kind of nagging need to get even for being wronged, or for feeling threatened.  It can stay suppressed until it sees the opportunity for revenge, usually bloody.  A person can act in a cordial manner towards his offender all this time the opportunity has not yet come.  I still have to come across written or oral accounts on how satisfied one got after executing revenge.  Can he now sleep well?  Will he always be on his toes?  Isn't he scared for his kin?

The Filipino regionalism is attributed to why the dream of one-nationhood is elusive.  This is projected quite clearly in the movie that anyone who wants to conquer the Philippines need not lift a finger that much because Filipinos will bicker among themselves and implode. The same strategy is still being applied now by well-placed Filipinos towards their constituents by dangling millions in the guise of freedom from want (Negosyo o Kalayaan – HL).

Loyalty to one’s family, clan, tribe, party or organization has been said to get in the way to achieve collective good; in the same manner that many crimes have been committed in the name of the family, clan, tribe, party or organization.

                                                                                      

If honesty is such a lonely word, peace is the most abused.  Peace is usually interpreted as something that benefits one’s interests only.  To think that almost everybody has interests! And sometimes one can only see the value of peace if he sees its contrast which is violence.  Appreciation of peace cannot always be pabebe, pa-sweet-sweet, beating around the bush so as not to graze sensibilities, shielding young people from harsh realities with the beautiful, the well-scrubbed and images of perfection.  Why then, have we raised generations of wimps, generations who would rather stay in their comfort zones?  To borrow more words: Pacification by Cappuccino?  (Hindi panlalait ang pagsabi ng katotohanan – HL).

I believe many who watched Heneral Luna transcended the blood, the brutality and the bed scenes.  Come on, children and young people these days are not naive having been exposed to these same B's on digital gaming and computer generated movies.  Gel shared that Heneral Luna was very much like Game of Thrones.  And because Mom doesn’t have an idea what GOT is, she gets a crash course from this highly-wired teen.

What should scare us parents to shielding children from historical accounts executed on screen?  Paint them a rosy world?  Maybe the only possible reason that we will prevent our children and young people to watch it is when we can't provide them with backgrounders and answers to their why's.

I have long given up on Philippine movies that I don’t even bother reading reviews. In the same manner, I have long given up on hearing about and witnessing Philippine politics that no personality-centered news catches my attention anymore.  I have let others do the looking so that my mantra has become, “Wake me up when something is happening.” It better be really good for me to be convinced; and if someone has to convince me, it has to be someone credible.  It took my son to wake me up with Heneral Luna and spark some hope – at least on Philippine Movies.

One final note: It is striking to note that an actor was willing to play a relative who is written down in history as a traitor.  Will the rest of us have that magnanimity to be cognizant of past mistakes?  How far can we go not to take it against a contrite descendant the sins of his forefathers?  The word is contrite.  As Saladin told Balian in the movie Kingdom of Heaven, “I am not one of those men.”

For public outcry to compel the movie to be back in theaters is something.  Could it be that the Filipino audience had to settle for mediocrity on film (throw in TV and politics) is because only more of the same is offered?  Why do lousy productions get more promotion than substantial ones?  Will the Heneral Luna experience push producers to crowd-source promotions for better quality films? 

It won’t be long -- knowing our national penchant for euphoria – that the Lunacy that held a precarious spell on national consciousness will face the danger of being set aside for the next trending topic.

Unless we shed our misplaced loyalties to family, clan, tribe, party or organization, I’m afraid The Fiery General would still be shouting --

“Punyeta!”

* * * * * 

Puerto Princesa City

21 September 2015

Aveen Acuña-Gulo posts herself on Facebook as a Monumental Operations Manager (MOM) and is now vacationing in Palawan not as a tourist.  She is a Bukidnon-born Cebuano mother of three (3) Maguindanao-Ilonggo-Cotabateño children; who will always be a child at heart even if she is a hundred years old.

She wrote a column “The Voice” for the Mindanao Cross from 1991-2006. 

She likes to challenge stereotypes.  “Don’t worry about my opinions.  It won’t make a dent to the conventional,” she says.  "But don't you think, too, that I should now remove those tribal identifications?"

Fathers & Sons

(The following article first appeared on the June 14, 2003 issue of the Mindanao Cross).

* * * * * * *

Fathers and Sons

There is this story of a Manobo family starting its day before daybreak.  The family stove is at the center of the cogon-roofed house.  As the mother goes about preparing breakfast of root crops and a few fish, the children gather around the fire for some warmth.

The father gets his bolo, maybe a spear or a bow and arrow, and joins the children.  He tells stories about how he gathered food the day before; assigns the eldest son for some tasks so that he will be a good food gatherer by the time he grows up.  The rest of the children are assigned tasks that are fit for their respective ages -- who will feed the chickens, etc.  They talk about how they want to see the day ahead.

Ah, some corporate meeting in a different setting.  The challenge for the present-day father has never changed -- no, it has changed.  The challenge has grown bigger.  Blessed is the family whose fathers can gather his children and discuss matters that directly affect them.  It is a rarity these days where fathers run corporate or organizational meetings and meet the family for the same purposes.  

The third Sunday of June is celebrated as Father's Day.  The call of the times is for fathers to save their families from disintegrating.  There are just too many temptations around that threaten the family.  The father should now go back to being in charge -- and raise sons who will also be in turn good fathers when their time will come.  

According to Dr Philip J Mango, President of St Michael's Institute for Psychological Sciences (www.stmichael.net):  "There is a masculinity crisis in society today.  Men are not doing what they are supposed to do, because we are not training boys to be the men they are supposed to be.  Men have to be heroes, persons who transcend their egos, fears and selfishness, and make sacrifices of themselves as a gift for those they have been called to protect." (Why We Need Heroes, Faith & Family Magazine, Spring 2003).  

Thank God, many fathers will be spending Father's Day with their sons doing what men are supposed to do: go to church, have brisk physical exertion like basketball, swimming, horseback riding, hiking, helping Mom around the house with some carpentry work, do some gardening, do some volunteer work, etc.  Much better than a seemingly more feminine pastime of hanging out in the mall or shopping.  (Ah, look what advertising has done to males).

To all the Fathers in the world revive the masculine tradition. God Bless You!


* * * * * *

Angels In My Travels

Maybe age is catching up with me in terms of catching buses while moving from one place to another because I now get muscle pains like I never did before.  While I keep a wary eye on dispatchers (barkers, some say) who assure you the bus is arriving soon (karong taud-taud); or porters who always say they don’t have change so you end up giving a whole bill, it’s never long when an angel comes along.

The aircon Rural Bus from Tacurong was just pulling off the ramp in Kabacan when I got out of the van from Cotabato City this particular Tuesday morning.  The conductor told me there were no more seats available but I am never a complainer for standing in a crowded bus.  Like many Filipino commuters, I am just grateful enough there’s a way to get from one point to the next.

As I eyed each row to be occupied, I reached the last row of seats at the back (The Balcony).  I just did not get an empty seat, the person beside it was Ray John! He video documented our climb to Kansad Gadung, a Teduray Sacred Place in 2013.  RJ’s current assignment was with the Dulangan Manobo of Kulaman, Sultan Kudarat.  Needless to say there was a lot of catching up more than a year hence while enjoying the moving landscape. 

* * * * *

Wednesday morning the Rural Bus to Tacurong was De Luxe, meaning non-aircon.  No problem.  The same thing, I am just one of the many Filipino commuters that are grateful for any means that can get us from Point A to Point B in one piece, non-aircon notwithstanding.  Others pushed me to go to the balcony; which was also full.  I can stand in the middle, no problem, so they squeezed ahead.  Securing my backpack in the overhead loft, I get settled – standing up.  

When the bus was already plying the highway, a young man stood up from his seat and said, “Aglayan lang ko, Maam”.  Meaning, I can have his seat because Aglayan was just a few minutes away; and Kabacan was 5-6 hours ahead for me.  “God bless you,” I tell him and he smiles.

* * * * * *

The Weena Bus in Kabacan was aircon, alright; but a handful of passengers standing in the front aisle would not budge even if there was plenty of space in the middle.  I squeezed myself; and got settled – yes, standing up.  Two young ladies called my attention and told me the three of us can sit in two seats designed for two.  Hmm – half of my butt did; but not long enough, a young man some three rows behind said he’s going down and I can take his seat.  I said my thanks to the young man, the two young ladies, they smiled and I moved.  I felt sorry for those who did not budge.

* * * * *

The tricycle driver from the Magallanes Terminal did not have change for my ten-peso coin.  No problem, keep it.  His face showed a sign of relief. 

* * * * *

Four rather-full multicabs in Mabini did not want to go to where I asked them.  I tried to wait for one more and if there’s none I can probably walk back the next block where passengers are just coming in.  Then a motorcycle pulled up in front of me and offered me a ride.  My brain processed for some milliseconds and I realized it’s a neighbour whom I haven’t seen in ages.  He happened just to pick up some vegetables for supper on the way home.

We had a happy exchange, saying he kept tab on Facebook though he does not interact much.  When I reached the corner to the house, I alighted and tapped him on the shoulder in gratitude and told him, “You’re an angel.”  He smiled.

* * * * *

Long hours of travel on public transportation have always been a given in this country, especially in the countryside.  While nothing much has changed over the years except for the models of the buses and the cemented roads, people’s lives remain the same: passengers in terminals scamper each time a bus arrives to see where it’s headed to; barkers shout the destination of incoming buses instead of putting up arrival and departure schedules; conductors negotiating with some passengers that if inspectors come in they say they already have tickets; and so on and so forth. 

Why government at all levels have not achieved systematizing public transportation is beyond me still.  Meantime, I took note of the passengers who are headed the same destination as mine – so that if they scamper and return to their seats, it’s not our bus yet.   No need to be stressed out.  So much human activity is happening there’s no time to get bored.

Indeed, if government cannot establish systems, people cope.

Cotabato City

30 April 2015

* * * * * *

Aveen Acuña-Gulo posts herself on Facebook as a Monumental Operations Manager (MOM).  She is a Bukidnon-born Cebuano mother of three (3) Maguindanao-Ilonggo-Cotabateño children; who will always be a child at heart even if she is a hundred years old.

She wrote a column “The Voice” for the Mindanao Cross from 1991-2006. 

She likes to challenge stereotypes.  “Don’t worry about my opinions,” she says.  “It won’t make a dent to the conventional.”

FBolution

One day I will get bored with Facebook.  Although it seems that THAT day is not yet today.

Some get bored with my posts, the way I also get bored with some posts.  Some unfriend me and I rarely unfriend some.  But these cannot be reasons for me not to enjoy Facebook all together.

Seven-eight years into FB'ing, this type of communication has evolved into many facets; and so far I still appreciate FB for what it is:

1.  FB is for everybody.  Especially for those who want to see their own pictures that earlier were called vanity shots.  Now more popular as selfie, this love of self is so determined to be exposed so that it could easily be confused with self-determination.  After all, a selfie is a mirror frozen in time.  Could one be really determined enough to be bored with looking at oneself in the mirror?

2.  FB is for everybody.  Very much like real life, FB groups start out with one topic and then becomes so garbled with everyone talking in different frequencies (aka splatter) masked as freedoms of expression. Soon they quarrel with each other or somebody posts something for sale then everyone else starts leaving.

3.  FB is for everybody.  Those who are very outspoken on FB sometimes can be demure in real life. Is it not rare to see FBzens who can be profound on spirituality one moment and still be candid about nudity and raunchiness tomorrow?   Then there are those who smother pity on emaciated children today and parties with one politician tomorrow or some celebrity the next in the name of some kind of fancy advocacy.

4.  FB is for everybody.  Initially there was this scare that exposing your whereabouts in real time could put you in a grave security risk.  But through time there was just millions telling each other where they were that nobody really bothered whether you're slurping goop or skinny-dipping in a war zone.

5.  FB is for everybody.  For ones who did not undergo rigid training on research and documentation, FB Photo Albums can actually be a virtual stack of index cards, arranged systematically to contain exchanges that express people's thoughts in their most unguarded, thus spontaneous and natural, moments.  Which somehow makes them more human and real, don't it?

6.  FB is for everybody.  Veterans spot newbies easily.  They are the ones who thinks that all posts and comments are directed at him/her.  Or that each and every single post by others have a direct concern on him/her.  S/he feels compelled to greet every celebrant Happy Birthday or post what everybody else are posting.  If one still does any of these even with years of FB'ing s/he remains a newbie.

7.  FB is for everybody.  One's villain is another one's hero.  Nuff sed.


* * * * * *

Puerto Princesa
27 March 2015

Aveen Acuña-Gulo posts herself on Facebook as a Monumental Operations Manager (MOM) who is now vacationing in Palawan not as a tourist.  She is a Bukidnon-born Cebuano mother of three (3) Maguindanao-Ilonggo-Cotabateño children; who will always be a child at heart even if she is a hundred years old.

She wrote a column “The Voice” for the Mindanao Cross from 1991-2006. 

She likes to challenge stereotypes.  “Don’t worry about my opinions,” she says.  “It won’t make a dent to the conventional.”

Papal Visit: A Showcase of Discipline and Excellence

We deserve a pat in the back.  The five-day visit of Pope Francis was a showcase of many things we almost forgot we had: discipline and excellence.

A lot will be written about Yolanda survivors being the purpose of his visit.  A lot more are just probably waiting for the Pope to take off and the arsenal of criticisms would be released.  I would like to focus this article on how the event was organized and managed based on what I saw.

Oh, before I proceed: Kindly forgive my use of Papa Paco and Lolo Kiko in my earlier posts on Twitter and Facebook.  I personally feel that since he is the person whose rise to a high position did not correspondingly increase the size of his head, he'd be happy being called anything that endears him to his people.  He even just signed "Francis" on the Malacanang Guest Book.  But, taking the cue from the wisdom that "Familiarity breeds contempt", I will refrain from using those terms of endearment.

Pope Francis came here both as Head of State and Head of the Catholic Church.  That way, two big institutions were making sure that everything was done in excellence.

Aside from being a spiritual journey, this Papal visit was also a cultural treat.  We saw choirs, orchestras, singers and dancers that are not your conventional fare.  Such talent.  That level of perfection we saw must have entailed discipline that anybody made of lesser stuff would have succumbed to.  Once again it affirmed my belief that it is really unfair to confine children and young people to just pop culture when there's so much to explore.

Like most of the nation, I just viewed the events from cable TV, internet; and at some point, radio.  There was no let-up from Day 1.  Much as I also want to be physically present too, there was already joy in my heart knowing that millions of others had the wonderful privilege of a lifetime.  I share their joy.

So by no means this assessment of mine is in-depth.  Here are my observations:

The itinerary moved like clockwork.  In other words, on time.  Give or take a few minutes of delay or some hours of cutting the itinerary early due to bad weather.  Because the organizers made time their friend, there were allowances for surprises: things that were not part of the original plan.  Maybe they were prepared in any event the schedule would allow; and would easily understand if it won't.

Pope Francis is a magnetic crowd drawer.  He is Manny Pacquiao-Beatles-State Leaders-Beauty Queens combined with how the crowds turned up in Metro Manila and Leyte.  We're not talking of a one-day-only event here.  Truly he is not just a Rock Star; but a Rock.  Isn't it a happy coincidence that he is the most recent in an unbroken line of successors since St. Peter, whom Jesus called the Rock on which He will build His Church?

Crowds were orderly. Save for a few scuffles to gain entrance to the Luneta, the crowds got what they wanted -- a glimpse, or even just a fleeting camera shot of Pope Francis.  Of course, crowd control is now a science I'm sure the Vatican checklist has it somewhere its Philippine counterpart had to step up.  (When the word quadrant was brought up, I thought it sounded familiar: indeed horse stables are called cuadras).  While others felt such structures made them feel being herded up, quadrants are actually buffer zones in any event a stampede would occur thus minimizing injuries and even deaths.

Crowds also did not bring umbrellas even if it rained.  By not bringing umbrellas every one was being considerate that others will also have a chance to see Pope Francis.  Garbage bins were put up; but I still have to come across accounts on how all those litter was handled.

Cellphone Signals were jammed within a certain vicinity wherever the Pope is present.  Since this was a state visit, nothing in the itinerary would ever skip, again, the checklist of the Vatican Police or the Swiss Guard.  Whatever howls of protest were dissipated into whines upon the realization of any bombing attempt triggered through cellphone signals.  Nothing is left to chance.  As it is said, we'd rather err on the side of caution.

Police Officers who were interviewed sort of had this soothing, assuring voices that sounded like they were in full control of the situation.  It was a good sign that no military officer was interviewed on civilian security matters.  That must also be in the organizer's guidelines on who should be interviewed.

Police lining the routes were also not talking selfies.  They looked alert.  One selfie and probably they'd say goodbye to their jobs.

The Security Escorts radiated the aura that they meant business even if their guns did not show.  Their movements were snappy and they wore poker faces.  They did not even have to wear shades to make themselves invisible.  (I just thought that probably the best way to blend oneself in a crowd is not to smile too much -- or better yet, not smile at all).  Kitang Pinoy mahilig man mag tingsi pirmi ta maalaan nga wa nagtrabaho (We Filipinos love to grin which could sometimes be mistaken for not working).

Venues were decorated in dignified simplicity, the most striking of all was the amakan walling of the Tacloban structure where Mass was held.  Nothing fancy.  Plain and simple.  Still beautiful.  Still awesome.

Green Fences.  So Roxas Boulevard and all the routes were suddenly clean.  Vendors and street people disappeared from sight.  Hmm...isn't it very Filipino that we usually tidy up only when we know visitors are coming...?  Should one take it against the Catholic Church to be able to encourage government to put things in order?  Okay there were volunteers; but imagine how it could have been if it was just left as it was just to show the Pope how unkempt we are.  Virtual tongues would still rattle; and whether the Pope sees the clutter or not, I'm sure he already has an idea of the unseen along with the seen.    

Pope Mobile.  No not the white ones but that little blue one.  Fortuner? No. Innova? No.  MonteroSport? No.  Volkswagen Touran.  Hmm.  Never heard of Touran but Volkswagen, yes.  People's Car.  Befitting of a People's Pope.  According to Yahoo, the more expensive, diesel-fed model was used because it "has this air of understated elegance and stature, not flashy. Unlike cheaper ones that look flashy with its too many bells and whistles."  So -- I hope it means that price does not necessarily have a direct relationship to being rich or being poor.  That should be comforting to the clergy who are being exhorted not to live expensive lifestyles and brandish fancy gadgets.

Tarpaulins.  Oh, those nasty tarpaulins.  They were visibly NOT there!  Having only the flags of the Philippines and the Vatican lining up the route gave a boost to the nationalistic spirit.  To think that it took a Vatican Head of State to let the Philippine Government reclaim public space.  Having seen comparisons of surroundings that are maaliwalas (no English word could get what I want to illustrate), would government be conscientious enough now to let it stay that way?  Finally get rid of tarpaulin invasions?

Translator / Interpreter: I conversed rudimentary Spanish with my maternal grandmother as a child and lost much of it in college while joining the herd behavior to have it abolished. Then many UN posts preferred proficiency in another UN official language aside from English; and Spanish is one.  Realizing how beautifully Pope Francis crafted his words with the way the translator interpreted it, I regretted not having mastered the language.  Nonetheless, purists wanted it translated to the dialect -- but the language of love needs no translation.

Souvenir items: Reminds me of how Jesus got mad at vendors for making the temple the venue for making money.  Complaints of slow sales of souvenir items abound. But then again, sinabihan ba sila ng organizers na mag benta? (Did the organizers tell them to cash in on the event?)  Even a big TV network was not spared from being admonished that it was sending the wrong message on its souvenir shirts it had to be pulled out from the market just in time.

How was all it possible?

1.  Rules make life easy for every one.  One does not have to think much so that thought processes would be reserved from more productive endeavors and still be in order.  Specific and transparent instructions should state desired results.  Instructions that are just mere instructions are intimidating, thus making it hard to follow.

For example: "Do not bring umbrellas because it will obstruct the view of others".  Compare that with  just "Do Not Bring Umbrellas".

Or "Use Route A so that Route B will not congest" with just "Use Route A".

Or "Flush the Toilet so that it will not smell" with just "Flush the Toilet."

Something like that.

From the day it was announced that Pope Francis will visit in January 2015, television had public service announcements telling people what to do: schedules, itineraries, routes, quadrants, portalets, health stations, what to bring, what will be inspected.  Not to mention other forms of mainstream media and social media aside from TV.

In other words, How To's are what the Filipino Nation so desperately needs in these disastrous times.  As Pope Francis himself said, "Reality is Superior to Ideas".  How To's are reality.  Development jargon likes technicalese like mechanisms. Duh.  Or in the language of disaster response, "Don't debate: Evacuate!"  Oh, how we love to assert our ideas even if floodwaters are already up to our necks so to speak. Or discuss the best education curriculum no end and before long children with barren minds have already reached adulthood who will take their turn in making decisions. Or whether education is ever the priority, if at all.

2.  Organization/Network/Prayer.  The structure of the Catholic Church goes down to the smallest unit called the Basic Eclessial Community (BECs) thus information dissemination is assured.  A prayer for the Pope's visit was recited before the final blessing of each mass.  Imagine how many positive thoughts radiate all throughout the country every time a prayer is said all this time.

Conclusion:

This Papal Visit is the benchmark of how events should be organized.

It should apply to Philippine Government affairs too.

Tarpaulins, epals, politicians, showbiz personalities, mantener (sloppy work) -- one day magsawa din tayo lahat nyan (we'd just have enough of it).  With five days of opportunity to do good and be excellent,  kaya naman pala (it's in fact doable).  If you don't like it, feel free to either apply what's applicable or start from scratch.

There's no denying that it's only a matter of time that we will be back to our merry ways of taking pleasure in defying law and order.  I just hope that time would be longer than sooner.  When that time comes maybe we would need another visit from the Pope to rekindle our collective spirit.  And feel peaceful again.

There is peace in order.

* * * * *
Cotabato City
19 January 2015

Aveen Acuña-Gulo posts herself on Facebook as a Monumental Operations Manager (MOM).  She is a Bukidnon-born Cebuano mother of three (3) Maguindanao-Ilonggo-Cotabateño children; who will always be a child at heart even if she is a hundred years old.

She wrote a column “The Voice” for the Mindanao Cross from 1991-2006. 

She likes to challenge stereotypes.  “Don’t worry about my opinions,” she says.  “It won’t make a dent to the conventional.”

A Quiet Cotabato City

While it's hard to imagine a quiet Cotabato City, I honestly think that when duty holders manifest political will, it is not difficult for citizens to abide.  

When the Cotabato City Government put its foot down last November and said that firecrackers are banned, it was not difficult for Cotabatenos to follow. People knew the disadvantages all along -- they just waited to be told not just by anybody, but by the Mayor of the City.

New Year is just a few hours away; and according to what I heard on the radio this morning, no firecracker injuries have been reported yet. That's a happy outcome of Executive Order 130. I hope the midnight revelry to meet 2015 would not break the zero-casualty target.

December 2014 is remarkable for a significant handful of things: the firecracker ban meant relative quiet -- though a few hard-heads continue to exist.

I also noticed that driving around the downtown area on December 24 and 25 was also breeze it seemed Pacquiao had a fight. No traffic? On 24 & 25?

From where we live, the quiet that the firecracker ban provided was ironically shattered by nine days of unregulated volume from the outdoor speaker system of the Rosary Heights Church for Misa de Gallo. I wonder if my ranting on social media had any effect since the dawn rosary after Christmas Day has now seemingly toned down.

For all the noise that Cotabatenos have either been subjected through or induced upon themselves, I hope the firecracker ban is a good sign that things are being put in order in the city.

Now if open-pipe midnight drag racers will also be arrested, we can also say that the city is in order.

There is peace in order.

# # #

Cotabato City

29 December 2014

Aveen Acuña-Gulo wrote a column “The Voice” for the Mindanao Cross from 1991-2006. 

She likes to challenge stereotypes.  “Don’t worry about my opinions,” she says.  “It won’t make a dent to the conventional.”  

Who Are Protecting the IP Children and Youth in the ARMM?

Presented to the Ako Para Sa Bata International Conference

SMX Convention Center, Manila

December 5, 2014

Aveen Acuña-Gulo

Project Manager, IPDEV

Fiyo Teresang! In the Teduray language, it roughly means Good Energies.

My presentation is about the Indigenous Peoples in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.  We have heard questions like, “How can there be IPs in a Muslim Region?”

So basically that’s the problem: the IPs are the “unseen”, the “invisible” members of the area where we are.

Where there are Indigenous Peoples, there are men, women, elderly, children and youth.  Let me begin with saying that what the IPs are going through, the children and the youth are also going through as well.

Who are the IP children and youth?  They are either Teduray, Lambangian, Dulangan Manobo or Higaonon.  They live in 309,720 hectares of ancestral domain claim which include coastal waters.  They generally come from small families: 52% with having four or less family members; and only around 40% having 5-8 family members.  They generally have reached elementary level; but only 11% graduate from the grades, 4% graduate from high school, and 1% finish college.

There are factors affecting children and youth among the Indigenous peoples.  Just like many other children and youth around the world, they are facing tremendous challenges in the context of globalization rapid development.  Let’s try to look at some factors.  I have 27 slides so let me try to compress it in 20 minutes.

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Birth, rites of passage, arranged marriages, parent-child relationship, spirituality, health, nutrition, unregistered births, gender perspectives, discrimination, cyclical conflict, rape-slays, peer support, pop culture, information technology, literacy, mismatched government interventions, NGO-CSO-FBO-Academe-Business interventions, general lack of government presence at all levels.

These set of factors are by any means not comprehensive and in no particular order; this is only a glimpse of how much work needs to be done for the IPs so that they can catch up after years of marginalization without losing their identity.

Let us try to see how these factors are being practiced, and what are its implications.

Birth.  When a child is born, the father hangs the umbilical cord to a tree that is solely for the newly-born.  The father says a prayer for the child to be as strong as the tree, and firmly rooted to the land.  He also prays that the newly-born child will also bear the values and good characteristics of his/her forebears.

Implication: With the rate that forests are being ravaged, in a way the child – who may now be a grown person – is severed from his connectedness to the land.

[At this point ladies and gentlemen I’d like also to introduce to you someone who is a treasure trove of indigenous knowledge – an IP Woman Leader.  Her name is Conchita Quinlat.  She’s right there.  She is from the Lambangian and Teduray tribe and she wears many hats in her community: she is a day care worker, a teacher, a mother – and her recent engagement is being a member of the IP Communications Group.  The context of the IPComm Group is that if people are not listening to the IPs, then maybe the IPs can listen to what the world outside them is saying and communicate it back to the communities where they come from].

To continue:

Arranged Marriages.  The union of two people is arranged by the parents from both sides.  Most marriages are dowry-driven; where girls who live near the highway or economic centers get higher dowries than their counterpart in the interiors.  Girls are sometimes have already been married by the time they reach their menarche.  Those who are betrothed usually have low self-esteem; thus may affect their own child-rearing capability. 

Current practices may no longer involve actual costs of dowries but tokens.

Men are said to have unlimited number of wives; but this is only done under compelling circumstances, with the guidance and agreement of elders.  So far with IPDEV experience the most that we know are only three.  Having more than one partner not necessarily for marital unions are said to be just a recent phenomenon. 

Unregistered Births.  IP children usually have one name.  With the entry of settlers, if a child is born in a community with strong Christian influence, s/he is given a Western name.  If s/he is born in a community with strong Muslim influence, s/he is given an Arabic name.  For example if you hear names starting with Mo, that means “Father of”; similar with the Mac or Fitz which means “Son of”.  Thus Mokolina means father of Kolina; Mokudef father of Kudef; and so on and so forth.

Thus if a child/person is given other names, his/her being IP is usually not reflected in school records.  Or s/he can be given fake registration records used in human trafficking; and be subject to multiple registrations during elections. 

Gender Perspectives.  While males who manifest female behaviour is not frowned upon in IP society, the person also has to contend with arranged marriages where it is the norm for him to take a wife.  Asserting one’s rights as an LGBT is a recent phenomenon and there is tolerance in general towards unruly behaviour associated with gay youth.

Females have very strong influence in IP society, especially as arbiters.

Rites of Passage.  Girls experiencing menarche are made to jump three steps from their stairs to maintain the number of menstruation days to three.  But the practice is said to be also diminishing in the sense that even if a girl doesn’t jump, the number of days remain more or less constant.  Circumcision among the men is said to have come only within the last 30-40 years, mostly due to social pressure.

Health. The bliyan or healer takes care of the pregnant woman.  When she is due, the bliyan even stays in the house to monitor the actual moment of childbirth.  The current No-Birthing Policy of the government is seen as an affront to the time-honored skills and handed-down gifts of the bliyan, as the policy seems to treat them as dirty and unhygienic.

The IP is also pressured to produce money to be able to buy the medicines prescribed by health personnel, even if they also have time-honored ways of staying healthy with plants and food that have always been within their immediate surroundings and can be had for free.

Health Care.  Rather than go through the indignity of putting up a fight, the IP would rather not go to a health center if only to be treated harshly by health personnel or worse.

Nutrition.  The IP has sulagad, which is the IP concept of Food Sovereignty has been there long before modern civilization even coined the word.  But feeding programs given to IP children include what is now called Killer Whites: white rice, white flour, white sugar, milk.  This is not the diet of the IP.  The lure of commercially-produced food is robbing children and young people of real nutrients.  One implication of this is that mothers now seem to believe that it is the duty of government to nourish her own children.

Parent-Child Relationship.  In an IP community, the family is not nuclear, but clannish.  Today parents have to juggle their parenting roles with the challenges that they have to face every day, which include the constant threat of encroachment into their ancestral lands.  They have to look after their security inasmuch as those who encroach into their lands are usually armed.

Today’s youth among the IP is also confronted with the fact that their elders are being killed because of land conflict.  Due to lack of legal support, these cases often go unresolved and the calls of young people for justice and protection go unheeded.  This leaves another generation of young people who are trying to figure out the anger and confusion they feel within.

Parents also leave their families to work as OFWs.  Absentee parenting leaves the IP child to ask life questions from his age group who generally doesn’t necessarily know any better. 

Peer Support.  Loyuk, or peer support among the IP has always been present in many of their socio-economic activities: farming, fishing, hunting, learning.  The increasing gap between young people and their parents also limit the guidance a child is supposed to get.

Spirituality.  The IP child is confronted with the concepts and values of two dominant religions: Chistianity and Islam over his own indigenous spirituality.  Christianity is divided futher into Episcopal, Baptist, Catholic and folk Christianity; in the same way that Muslims has its own folk practices that are perceived to be Islamic.

The IP child is also confronted with the fact that his sacred grounds are being logged, deforested, mined, and replaced with plantations.  While places of worship for Christians and Muslims are actual buildings, the places of worship for an IP are mountains, rivers, rocks, trees – which were erected not by humans but by nature.  Implication: If someone occupies or destroys your place of worship, what would you feel?

(Note: The very first slide in my presentation shows the pilgrimage site of the Teduray and Lambangian Tribes.  If Muslims have Mecca and Christians have the Holy Land, Mt Firis is for the IPs.  This sacred mountain was occupied by MILF in 1997 to set up Camp Omar.  The camp has recently been taken back by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the IPs are now gradually returning back to their ancestral land).

Pop Culture.  Alcoholic beverages came with the entry of settlers; choice of partners as an individual choice is a recent influence of mainstream society; drug use is already seen among IP youth; young people become vulnerable to gang wars and rape in hangout places like dances and videoke joints. 

Information Technology.  Relationships that are developed through texting and social media is seen as a strain between parents and young people. 

Rape-slays.  The customary laws have a way of resolving rape cases in a discreet way where only the immediate families of aggressor and aggrieved are involved.  Rape-slays are a recent phenomenon attributed to drug use and easy access to pornographic material through the digital age.  Indigenous forms of conflict resolution for rape-slay cases already seem to be inapplicable because many of the present-day rape cases already involve killings.

Discrimination.  Recent cases of discrimination involve a Teduray mother and a Teduray high school student.  The mother’s premature baby (7 months old) died after falling off the delivery table in the Cotabato Regional Hospital because she was not given immediate attention in the emergency room.  The high school student was made to stop her dance midway because the teacher thought it has no relation to Linggo ng Wika.

Cyclical armed conflict.  Young people are recruited into the Moro armed fronts.  The latest being the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces.  Shortly before that was the MILF; then earlier back, the MNLF, Tutpik.  They are also recruited by private armed groups and cattle rustlers.  Families of these young people also cannot refuse the invitation for fear of their security.

Low literacy rates.  Projects, usually infrastructure, have reached IP communities.  IPDEV has assessed quite a number; but these are either not fully utilized, neglected, used for some other purpose, or not functioning at all.  This could be attributed to the low absorptive capacity of the community for external inputs; or that the priority of the community is something else.  And since governance has a lot to do with transparency and accountability, transparency can only mean something if people know how what to look for; and accountability can only mean something if people know how to count.  That said, projects can be effective if people know how to read and write and count.

Mismatched interventions.  School buildings instead of schools; clinics/hospitals instead of health care; water systems instead of water source preservation; commercial inputs instead of sustainable--not financing dependent, agriculture.  People are subjected to trainings left and right without necessarily addressing the education part. 

What are the implications? The culture of dependence is innocently promoted with the proliferation of external assistance thus contradicting sustainability.  Bayanihan or communal effort is dismantled because every step of say, agricultural production cycle requires money; even paid manual labor is already hard to come by because people have liquid cash to spend coming from the Conditional Cash Transfers (4Ps).

NGOs CSOs FBOs Academe Business.  That the people do not feel the presence of government is fertile ground for non-government organizations, civil society organizations, faith-based organizations, academe and business to intervene without government as impartial referee.  Thus, each sector comes in with their own set of vision, agenda; their own set of rules and ways of doing things – thus confusing the community further.  Among these sectors, it is usually business that outruns government because it is always profitable to engage with the rest of the other sectors.

Conflicting Government Policies. Policies on sustainable development have a disconnect with the environment.  IPRA, DAR, DENR, Mining Laws.  Ancestral Domain Sustainability and Protection Plans of the Teduray, Lambangian and Dulangan Manobo do not include monocrop plantations and mining. 

Indigenous forms of weather forecasting is now known as ethnometeorology; sulagad is biodynamic farming (it’s a step above organic farming and sustainable agriculture); the use of indigenous plants as medicines is ethnopharmacology – which means, the so-called modern civilization has just come up with names of something that has always been there.

Bangsamoro Basic Law.  IPRA is a peace agreement that was forged by the Philippine Government with its Indigenous Peoples.  RA 8371 was fought without a united armed confrontation with government but in the legal battlegrounds of congress. 

Provisions on IPs, children and youth have already been incorporated into the draft BBL which is now under review by congress.  This is seen to be another duplication of conflicting policies that run the danger of not being implemented properly if at all, including the law that created the ARMM. 

Implication: Government has a lot to prove that it will not make a repeat of neglecting the IPs brought about by previous laws.  Culture cannot be legislated; and no government -- if it has wisdom -- can afford to lose its own cultures.

General lack of government (as duty bearers) to respond to the needs of the IPs in general and their children and youth in particular.  Duty bearers are government – its officials and employees at all levels who are sworn to protect its people.  With government officials and employees who continue to manifest preference over personal/familial interest from common good, the fear that violations on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, their children and youth will continue, is validated.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Education-centered intervention.  Any intervention can only be effective if IP children and youth know how to read and write and count.  Where there is a child who is willing to learn and someone who is willing to teach and learning takes place there is a school.

Results-oriented Research.  Indigenous Skills Systems and Practices have been there since time immemorial.  It’s a race against time to have these documented.  And more importantly, not just research for research’s sake – but for the benefit of the IPs.

Free Prior Informed Consent.  Before any intervention can be done on ancestral land, there should be FPIC.  In short, it is only rightful that we (government or non-government, miners or plantation companies, etc), ask permission from them and tell them our intentions in a language and process they understand.  Not just making them sign documents.

Make duty-bearers accountable.  It is not wise to duplicate what government is supposed to be doing.  Government is duty-bound to protect its people.  The rest of us can only bridge the gap between the duty bearers and the rights holders – and in the context of our conference, the IP Children and Youth.  Let us work to make government – the duty bearers, function.

CONCLUSION:

The Indigenous Peoples have sustained themselves through thousands of years.  The survival of the IPs also means the survival of its men, women, elderly, youth and children.  They have been there since time immemorial; they are meant to continue for generations to come. 

And since an indigenous person is always connected to the land, may our intentions towards them be also connected to the land.

May we all live long.  As they say in the Teduray language: Meuyag!

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