The Philippine Studies Group

ellobofilipino: The election season is in full swing in the...

ellobofilipino — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 04:27:25 +0800

The election season is in full swing in the Philippines. And several among the candidates come from the same families which have been in Philippine politics since the American colonial period.

Here’s a quick look from UP sa Halalan 2013 on how these dynasties have flourished through the years and how much influence they have over the country.

Imagine that… Just 250 families dominating national and local politics in a country of about 100 million people.

Plagiarism: The Unpunished Form of Theft in the Philippines

logophilicanarchy — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 06:34:43 +0800

Plagiarism: The Unpunished Form of Theft in the Philippines

Diario de Filipinas: Aguinaldo - de Rivera ink peace deal

ellobofilipino — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 17:57:00 +0800

Diario de Filipinas: Aguinaldo - de Rivera ink peace deal:

diariodefilipinas:

Manila, Philippines (December 14, 1897) - And peace has been restored at last. Filipino revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo signed a peace agreement with Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera on Friday at Biak-na-Bato, San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan.

Under the agreement, the Filipino…

The Diario is back! And it is reporting on the peace agreement signed between Aguinaldo and Primo de Rivera. Of course, in our history books, this is known as the Pact of Biak-na-Bato.

Join the Diario in covering what might be the end of hostilities between the Filipino revolutionaries and Spanish forces (or not).

If you’re not yet following the Diario de Filipinas, we suggest you do and if you’re on Twitter, you can follow the @diariofilipinas there too.

ellobofilipino: President Benigno S. Aquino III (right)...

ellobofilipino — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:24:02 +0800

ellobofilipino:

President Benigno S. Aquino III (right) receives the Gong of Peace from Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim (center) at the Palace Music Room. With the MILF Chairman was MILF Peace Panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal.

MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim met with President Aquino before the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro this afternoon, a landmark in the peace process between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. (Photo by Malacañang Photo Bureau)

Learn more about the Framework Agreement here: http://www.gov.ph/the-2012-framework-agreement-on-the-bangsamoro/

“Assalamu alaikum wahrahmatullahi wa barakatu.” The peace, blessings, and mercy of the Almighty be unto you - a phrase I often hear then from radio anchors on early morning shows in Mindanao. And a phrase which captures the essence of the historic moment in Malacanang.

May the Framework Agreement usher in a just and enduring peace in Mindanao.

Kalinaw Mindanao.

Our Constitution provides genuine Muslim autonomy but Congress restricted it

ellobofilipino — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 11:26:14 +0800

Our Constitution provides genuine Muslim autonomy but Congress restricted it:

ellobofilipino:

By Raïssa Robles

The Constitution has long been used as a reason for not granting Muslims widespread powers. During the administration of Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos, government peace negotiators told Muslim rebels that the charter would have to be amended for their wishes to be granted. And then they would add that it was next to impossible to amend it.

I used to think the 1987 Constitution had to be amended in order to let our brother and sister Muslims exercise autonomy and their right to self-determination.

Not anymore.

I realized one day, while reading the Constitution, that the problem is with Congress, not with the charter.

The Organic Act for the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is the way it is because our lawmakers chose to drastically limit the Muslim autonomy laid out in the 1987 Constitution: First on August 1, 1989 through the enactment of Republic Act No. 6734 or the Organic Act; then it further watered this down in 2001 by enacting RA 9054 or the amended Organic Act.

The 1987 Constitution in fact provides genuine autonomy.

Read in full

Another insightful read by veteran journalist Raissa Robles.

Coming from Mindanao, I do think that enough blood has been spilled over the centuries. And history has shown that despite the use of arms, the conflict remains unresolved.

It is evident that use of violence to preserve the integrity of the country or to advance the rights of a discriminated people, does not resolve the differences of two people separated by a colonial past in tradition and religion.

It is high time that peace built on just terms be made.

Kalinaw Mindanao.

Silence! You're being watched (On Cybercrime Prevention Act)

panchodelaluna — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:08:00 +0800

Precarious consequences emerge as the pernicious new law, Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 takes place in a country where freedom of expression (including the rights contained within it) is treated with little respect and almost always with political violence (one only has to read and reflect on our history and the fate of our brave journalists, peasant organizers and activists).

In the face of overwhelming evidence of the political nature of this new law the authorities who voted for it pose a different perspective: “to address legitimate concerns,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda voiced out. Concerns like cybersex, online child trafficking, pornography, hacking, spamming, identity theft, the most problematic among these- libel, and other cyber offenses. Legitimate concerns indeed. But if one looks for consistency one realizes that bigger and more serious concerns are left out. The criminal behavior of foreign mining corporations in indigenous lands, the centuries-old crisis in agrarian reform, the ailing educational system which desperately needs a total reformation, the neglected issue of child-labour and rural poverty, the RH Bill, the catastrophic neoliberal economic policies of the current government are just a few of the more serious issues that affects the lives of what the great singer-songwriter, Joey Ayala calls, “karaniwang tao” (ordinary people). If there were only consistent governmental efforts to remedy these bigger concerns perhaps we could mitigate, not totally eradicate, the illegal activities going on in the cyberworld.

For a decent, open society to thrive a culture of criticism must be cultivated. Alongside corruption, plagiarism and unoriginality (of which the consummate embodiment today is senator Tito Sotto who became famous for his profound roles in movies like Iskul Bukol) have become shamefully institutional. Social networking and blogging sites have become effective tools for social protest and critique against those who abuse their power and authority. It is this effectiveness which the government is now trying to stifle in a so-called legal manner. Whatever “legitimate concerns” or good intentions of the government political interests and motivations are dominating the situation. To silence criticism. Censorship under cover of preventing cybercrime.

The censorship of online criticism, of voicing out opinions- intelligent or banal, eventually turns into a form of network authoritarianism. One can expect without a molecule of doubt that from online censorship will expand to actual literary, journal and artistic censorship. Thus the return to the terrifying days of colonialism and Martial Law. Thus the direct violation of constitutional rights of everyday people. “It violates Filipinos’ rights to free expression and it is wholly incompatible with the Philippine government’s obligation under international law,” said Brad Adams of the US-based Human Rights Watch. The wish of any government of fascistic disposition to turn the culture of criticism into a culture of dark silence and obedience.

Censorship is the offspring of surveillance. With the enactment of this new law perverse powers of control and surveillance are expanded practically to what George Orwell calls, “priests of power”: The Department of Justice and its formidable arms, the PNP (Philippine National Police), the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Greater power is given to these institutions to spy on all the network, disclose private accounts like emails and shut down unwanted or libelous websites without judicial oversight; in other words, the militarization of cyberspace.

This entails dramatic international implications for the very nature of the Internet of which our policymakers are seemingly unaware, since the Internet is made up of interconnected networks states can easily conspire to monitor, track, and spy on people through massive surveillance and interstate policing. The dissolution of privacy.

While there is public outcry and dismay, the business process outsourcing companies are cheering alongside the “priests of power”. The president and chief executive of BPAP (Business Processing Association of the Philippines), Benedict Hernandez expressed his satisfaction of the law’s implementation saying that “The Cybercrime Prevention Act will help sustain and enhance investor confidence. (The Manila Times, 22-09-2012)” So for example, the law will boost the confidence of foreign mining corporations to continue their criminal activities in indigenous lands.

“MAPASU Organization is an organization composed of Manobo indigenous communities in the municipalities of Lianga, San Agustin, Marihatag and Tago in Surigao del Sur. This organization is well-known in the province for its strong stance against the intrusion of mining companies in their communities within the coal, copper and gold-rich Andap Valley Complex. They are also very vocal in exposing human rights violations committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in their military operations. They have submitted complaints of human rights violations with Philippine government agencies and international human rights bodies against elements of the different units of the Philippine Army that were assigned to their communities since 2005. In almost a decade of MAPASU’s efforts to build stable communities and schools, in 2005, 19 communities under MAPASU evacuated after intensified combat operations resulted in grave human rights violations such as the killing of Jessie Bacasmas and the enforced disappearance of the four Lumad farmers that were last seen in the hands of soldiers from the 58th Infantry Batallion, Philippine Army (IBPA).” - Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources, 27-09-2012

The very ambivalence within the new law, its provisions and realities- how lascivious or libelous should be defined- already exhibits the political motivation behind the legislation. It’s always about control and the so-called legal manner of silencing criticism. Welcome to 1984!

- Pancho Dela Luna

Silence! You're being watched. (On Cybercrime Prevention Act)

panchodelaluna — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:02:43 +0800

Silence! You're being watched. (On Cybercrime Prevention Act)

The Philippines Passes a Cybercrime Prevention Act that Makes SOPA Look Reasonable

ellobofilipino — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 23:41:16 +0800

The Philippines Passes a Cybercrime Prevention Act that Makes SOPA Look Reasonable:

ellobofilipino:

The dark days of SOPA and PIPA are behind the US, at least temporarily as copyright tycoons reground and restrategize, attempting to come up with measures that don’t cause the entire internet to shut down in protest.

But one country has already moved ahead with similar legislation. The government of the Philippines has passed the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which on the surface, as usual, sounds perfectly well-intentioned. But when you read the actual contents of what’s been deemed “cybercrime,” SOPA’s proposed censorship sounds downright lax by comparison.

Yes, there’s the usual hacking, cracking, identity theft and spamming, which most of us can agree should be illegal. But there’s also cybersex, pornography, file-sharing (SOPA’s main target) and the most controversial provision, online libel.

Now, as someone who has been the target of many a vicious attack from commenters or forum posters, I can understand frustration with the nature of online anonymous criticism. But to actually try to make such a thing illegal? You wade into dangerous waters that anything resembling freedom of speech will likely drown in. And that’s overlooking the free speech implications trampled by banning pornography and file-sharing as well, two provisions getting less attention due to the severity of the libel section.

Read in full

Over the past few weeks, Filipinos online have been trying to raise awareness over the potentially dangerous provisions of the Cybercrime Prevention Law of 2012.

Under the guise of campaigning against cybersex, hacking, identity theft and other online crimes, the Philippine Congress passed a law, approved by President Aquino, which contains provisions which go counter to basic human freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and even the Philippine Constitution.

And it would seem that the campaign have fallen to deaf ears as the Supreme Court earlier today refused to issue a restraining order against the implementation of the law (which takes effect just an hour from now). The high court has yet to render its judgment on seven petitions against the law filed by various lawyers, journalists, bloggers and human rights activists.

I do hope that just like what happened during the protests against SOPA, where everyone on the net regardless of country and region, voiced out objections against the repressive measure, social media users from different parts of the world would also express sympathy against the passage of the Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Law. Then again, that might also be too much to ask for.

Martial Law statistics ba kamo?

ellobofilipino — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:10:53 +0800

ellobofilipino:

Click through for the Spot.ph article.

Thanks for the link @skidoodle!

ellobofilipino: From a Spy’s Notebook. 1973. On the Proper...

ellobofilipino — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:08:04 +0800

ellobofilipino:

From a Spy’s Notebook. 1973. On the Proper Disposition of Detainees Under Martial Law. (posted by Romeo Candazo on Facebook)

Saw this circulating on Facebook and thought I should share it here. Note that the instructions were based on the recommendations of an “American adviser.” And the recommendations were “based on their experience in Central America and Vietnam.”

ellobofilipino: Bagong Lipunan For those born after the Marcos...

ellobofilipino — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:06:59 +0800

ellobofilipino:

Bagong Lipunan

For those born after the Marcos years, this song would sound inspiring and patriotic but it was an anthem which cloaked the actual events behind the facade of Martial Law.

When Marcos proclaimed Presidential Decree 1081 on September 21, 1972, he justified it as a necessity in saving the Republic and re-engineering Philippine society.

What was left out though (and it seems to be missing from most of the youth of today) is that Marcos’ concept of social change involved the harassment, arrest, incarceration and even summary execution of the political opposition, critical press and even ordinary farmers, students, workers, priests, nuns and the indigenous. If you guys have time, you might want to browse through InterAksyon’s stories from Martial Law victims.

Incidentally, the man behind this song also composed the collaborationist anthem during the Japanese occupation. Also, I suggest you watch the video til the end and you’d see what the uploader on Youtube thinks about the anthem.

galeriaderojo: galeriaderojo: TALK | SHOW is Met Museum’s...

galeriaderojo — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 21:43:59 +0800

galeriaderojo:

galeriaderojo:

TALK | SHOW is Met Museum’s dialogic educational series. The exhibition Liberal Streaks in Upper Galleries of the Met is co-presented by the Lopez Museum and the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines. The exhibition culminates through TALK | SHOW featuring political scientist George Asiniero, PhD and the performance collective Sipat Lawin Ensemble.

Talks to be held at 10:30am (From Cadiz to La Liga) and 12:00pm (Liberal Strikes) on Saturday, August 11, 2012 at the White Cube and Exhibition Spaces, respectively.

To reserve slots, kindly call 708-7829 or text 0922-8769534. Admission fee is PhP100.00, PhP80.00 for senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

To those who haven’t visited the Met yet, this is your last chance to view Liberal Streaks! Check out Google Maps in case you don’t know where it is.

It’s this Saturday! Are you in Manila this weekend? Spend your Saturday morning with us and share your thoughts on art, history, and politics! For more information you can email me at phindilore@gmail.com, or use the feedback ticker to your right (of my blog, not dashboard). :D

See you then!

galeriaderojo: Can’t go out of the house but want to help? Grab...

galeriaderojo — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:47:38 +0800

galeriaderojo:

Can’t go out of the house but want to help? Grab your phone and text RED50 and send to 2899 for GLOBE subscribers and 4143 for SMART subscribers.

Info from Philippine Red Cross on Facebook!

US journalist in the Spanish-American war cites Filipinos’ strong sense of justice

ellobofilipino — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:08:00 +0800

US journalist in the Spanish-American war cites Filipinos’ strong sense of justice:

ellobofilipino:

Francis D. Millet came with the US colonizers in 1898 as a journalist embedded in the American army and wrote about what he saw in the strange country seemingly with the air of white-man superiority typical of the era. Fourteen years later, he would be among the passengers riding first-class who drowned in the sinking of the RMS Titanic that killed 1,500 people.

A visual artist-turned-journalist, Millet was in the Philippines from June to September 1898 as a war correspondent for Harper’s Weekly and London Times. He wrote of his experiences in his little-known work, “The Expedition to the Philippines,” published in 1899 and recently digitized by the US Library of Congress.

Millet’s 275-page chronicle provides glimpses of the Spanish-American War in the Philippines, the Philippine Revolution under Emilio Aguinaldo, the fledgling First Republic and the uncertainties brought about by the growing American military presence in Manila.

Read in full

A report from Jerome Aning on the observations of an American journalist who was embedded with US troops in the Philippines in 1898. My favorite part was the last few paragraphs, of which were quotes from Millet’s observation of Filipinos. Some of which remain true characteristics of Filipinos up to now.

They are extremely sensitive and nervous and have a strong sense of justice which, if once outraged, breeds in their minds a spirit of vindictiveness, which almost amounts to a madness.

Yeah, the Filipino is very sensitive about comments on his race, his country, his language(s) or even his appearance. He may make fun of these things himself when he is in the company of friends. But when a foreigner makes a comment on these things, he gets angry easily. Tama ba Pinoy?

ellobofilipino: Philippines moves to save dying languages The...

ellobofilipino — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 21:03:17 +0800

ellobofilipino:

Philippines moves to save dying languages

The Philippines has started a new programme to try to save its dying languages. The archipelago is home to more than 170 dialects, but some of them have only a few speakers left and there’s concern many of the indigenous languages could be lost forever. Al Jazeera’s Jamela Alindogan reports on what’s being done to keep them alive.

"Is it always like this? That we Filipinos are the last to realize that being a Filipino is a..."

galeriaderojo — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 22:18:34 +0800

“Is it always like this? That we Filipinos are the last to realize that being a Filipino is a blessing and that having the Philippines as our home is among the best gifts from God?”

- Tony Meloto, founder of Gawad Kalinga

Speaking in tongues | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online

galeriaderojo — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 08:29:18 +0800

Speaking in tongues | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online:

This school year is historic for Philippine education as the new K-to-12 curriculum rolls out in public schools. Along with this new reform which adds two years in basic education, the use of an innovative approach to learning — the Mother Tongue-based Multilingual Education (MTBMLE) as a medium of instruction (MOI) for all subjects and as a subject area, has also kicked off.

The MTBMLE has long been espoused by linguists and several lawmakers for the tremendous research-backed benefits that it can bring to learners such as minimized drop-out rates and decrease in the swelling illiteracy rate problem. Based on the 2003 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), 5.24 million Filipinos could not read and write while 18.37 million could not read, write, compute, and comprehend.

After generating much discourse, authorities have finally seen the need for such a policy. The Department of Education, in July, 2009, finally shifted from the old bilingual education policy (using two second languages or L2) to the MTBMLE. And now, it is being used from Kindergarten to Grade 3.

However, staunch advocates of the policy led by University of the Philippines Department of Linguistics associate professor Dr. Ricardo Ma Duran Nolasco are not happy at all about what is happening. In fact, he is saying that the DepEd seems to be doing it the wrong way.

Good read from MB. I quite agree with Dr. Nolasco with regard to how DepEd is approaching this.

"The Agta are undergoing increasingly severe ecological stress, and may be on the verge of..."

ellobofilipino — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 21:58:06 +0800

“The Agta are undergoing increasingly severe ecological stress, and may be on the verge of disappearing as a people.”

- Thomas N. Headland, Agta Negritos of the Philippines (via ellobofilipino)

jacobimages: Agta Man in Traditional Dress.

ellobofilipino — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 21:57:19 +0800

jacobimages:

Agta Man in Traditional Dress.

Better conservation in Pakistan and the Philippines allow Committee to remove two sites from World Heritage List in Danger | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

galeriaderojo — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 22:17:43 +0800

Better conservation in Pakistan and the Philippines allow Committee to remove two sites from World Heritage List in Danger | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization:

The World Heritage Committee on Tuesday morning recognized the success of two countries, Pakistan and the Philippines, in improving the conservation of sites that had been inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger: Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore (Pakistan) and the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras (Philippines).

Successful measures have been taken to remove the threat to the brilliant palaces, mosques and gardens of Lahore, according to the World Heritage Committee which inscribed this outstanding testimony of Mughal civilization on the World Heritage List in 1981. Problems including urban encroachment had warranted the inscription of the site on the World Heritage List in Danger in 2000, at the request of the Pakistani government. Many of the site’s monuments have since been restored. Better drainage and planning have also improved the preservation of the site’s external walls and solved problems of dampness.

The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras (Philippines) was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1995 as an outstanding cultural landscape that evolved over two millennia. It was placed on the Danger List in 2001 because of threats to its essential values which required the development of better management and planning. The Philippines sought danger listing as a way to raise national and international support and cooperation in the preservation of these remote high rice fields maintained thanks to the transmission of traditional knowledge from one generation to the next.

Also during the morning session, the Committee observed a minute of silence in memory of at least six guards reported to have been killed by Simba rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Okapi Wildlife Reserve on 24 June. The Wildlife Reserve was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1996 and has been on the List in Danger since 1997.

The List of World Heritage in Danger is designed to inform the international community of threats to the outstanding universal values for which a property has been inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to encourage corrective action.