pinoyhistorywithsiyan

[pinoyhistorywithsiyan]

Historical Revisionism of the Marcos Legacy

With Rodrigo Duterte and his influence in government decisions, the Marcos Legacy is now revived. From once a cruel dictator who was known for summary executions, corruption and somehow, infrastructure projects, and a glorified hero that ‘brought the Philippines at it’s best but was unfortunately ruined by the Aquinos’. This is what the narratives say anyway. In the discussion earlier, I did not give enough detail on to why the Marcoses should not be painted as a hero. So this is merely an attempt to reviving that lost opportunity.

First off, Marcos’ intention from the start was the growth of his loyal businessmen. From his famous infrastructure projects to the Cultural Center of the Philippines was for the same intention. The exportation of labor was also prominent at this time with job opportunities available more abroad than in the Philippines. This intention even grew larger when his term was extended, until he had only a few loyal men which was the reason why history turned against him. If there was really ‘development’ in the time of Marcos, it was for the elite businessmen who only benefited in his rule. The ones from below, the farmers, workers and those who are marginalized were repressed. It was even told that the ‘clean and modern Manila’ that Marcos created at the time had a wall that hid marginalized and depressed areas of the city. Hiding the inner disparity of the ones in below. A distinct feature of capitalism at its rotting stage.

This is why insurgencies and rebellions were very rampant at the time, due to the dissatisfaction on the rotting system. He took advantage of these insurgencies to prolong his power by declaring Martial Law. Activists were arrested for voicing out their concern, news channels became a monochromatic screen televising Marcos propaganda, labor unions were disallowed for organizing, and even the depressed Bario Patay in Agdao, Davao City became a slaughter zone for summary killings at the time. While this was happening, the gap between the rich and poor became further and further. It became so thin that even elite businessmen who happen to be political rivals with Marcos also organized against his regime. This time period also resulted to the death of Ninoy Aquino.

The one that gets misunderstood most of the time today, especially with Marcos apologists is that the EDSA People Power Revolution was a ‘yellow agenda’ that painted Marcos a bad image. As we can see here, in what I discussed earlier, there was anger and dissatisfaction brewing already at the time and that even a portion of elite businessmen turned against Marcos. Even during the People Power Revolution, his former military colleagues and former oppressors such as Honasan and Enrile turned against him because they were no longer benefitting from the system.

But in all I’ve discussed so far, what I would really say is, it’s up to the people of the Philippines to decide whether putting Marcos in a positive light is acceptable. But who is exactly ‘the people of the Philippines’? Is it the Ayalas? The Cojuancos? The Chinese businessmen? The laborers? The farmers? The Muslims?  

With my own biased stance on this argument, I’d say militantly that the historical revisionism of the Marcoses, including any other president in Philippine history should not be allowed. Marcos dealt a fatal blow in our economy today and his debts from International Funding agency, resulted in the economic ills we have today. What could not be forgivable is his rampant killings and illegal arrests of student activists, labor unions and those especially involved in the political repressions of the Marcos administration. This gave Philippines a huge scar it will never forget, and those ills continue to exist today even after the reign of Marcos. To me at least, the presidents that came after him were just mini-Marcoses, not until the arrival of Duterte. Thus, I think and I believe that if Historical revisionism would never take place, we can continue to learn from the mistakes from that tragic past and reflect. I even think that we can solve the conflicts and problems in Mindanao as most of the wars that emerged during the Marcos Administration. With this, learning about the atrocities no matter how horrifying they may be, would lead us to a better future from where we are now. Revising it will just bring us back to the past.

#rph #marcos #duterte #fascism #totalitarianism #capitalism

[pinoyhistorywithsiyan]

Philippine-Japan Relations 75 years till now: The JICA Project

My father has been working with the Japanese ever since the termination of his contract, which was a year ago. He worked as a writer in the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which conducts infrastructure projects in the Philippines such as in underdeveloped areas and areas that need economic development. He also lived in Japan for two years, so he does have a grasp on how the Japanese view the Filipinos.

I did not conduct an interview, as I already heard his stories myself, a dozen times at least from my father whenever he was talking about his work. The way the Japanese view the war, was kind of regretful. He said they regretted the war and did not even like talking about it that much. Today, Japan-Philippine relationship is created through mutual trust and prosperity, and Japan seeks to help Philippines on sustainable development and breaking through its vulnerability. Which is the very mission of the JICA project itself. There are many projects in the Philippines that are done by this Japanese agency. One of which you may have encountered, I will point them out right away.

One was in our provincial home and copra farm in Magsaysay, Davao Del Sur. My grandparents, including myself on summertime, used to carry water from the dam which was about two kilometers away to our house. This lack of infrastructure in water supply made it hard for us to carry water everyday. I could remember my grandfather carrying two buckets full of water from the dam, far from where we were. That was until the JICA Project arrived which eventually benefitted us and the community we were in. Our community was given water tanks, just a kilometer away. The water was distributed throughout the village through faucets, put on top a cemented slab. I don’t know what it was called. One of those faucets were placed just outside our house, our neighbors and us get water from there since then. Anyways, that benefitted our village and we did not need to go to the dam to get water again. Yehey!

Another project I saw myself was in our former apartment in Nova Tierra Village, which they had a garbage segregation project. There was a certain day on throwing our waste, it was a very organized way of throwing garbage. Everyday we used to segregate our garbage properly because the village officials were strict in implementing this policy. They were so strict that even our malata garbage eventually became rotten and brewed maggots. I still remember how maggots invaded my toys. Yuck! Anyway, I did pass by through their project once, they did actually use it for a greenhouse facility where the garbage was being taken.

Surprisingly, even the recent build-build-build projects of the present president was supported by JICA. If I remember, it was Manila Subway project as well something involving the modernization of the LRT.

How I view it might be different. Although it has helped communities, it only gave itsy-bitsy assistance. But it might be a good start. I am also concerned of how humanitiarian aid comes with assistance with ‘strings attached’. The beneficiaries of this project is also of my concern, if it is really the marginalized sector or the middle classes, or those who already own land. The projects in our village and even the projects that I heard did not involve giving capital. So yes, I still have suspicion on whether these humanitarian projects are actually development projects or subtle imperialism in favor for foreign investment. Either way, it is useful to stay suspicious. These are questions that might also cause dispute during an interview. Concluding this, the JICA Project is one of the many perspectives of Philippine-Japan relations. Other may have involve business ventures, which is most likely. The Philippines and Japan have been partners even before the war, and Davao City was known to be the Little Tokyo of the Philippines. An abundance of Japanese businesses already existed in Davao, before the war began. Thus this proves that Philippine-Japan relations have existed and will continue even after that terrifying war.

#philippines #japan #philippine history #humanitarian #capitalism #government #politics

[pinoyhistorywithsiyan]

“Is Freedom the Greatest Legacy of Uncle Sam to FIlipinos?"

My answer is a big NO.

Before diving in, I would also like to treat this fairly by stating that there are a lot of good legacies that the United States brought to the Philippines. One of which, that might be contrary to my radical standpoint would be, culture, and its influence in entertainment. The Americanization of the Philippines brought us a standing in the realm of global influence, which gave platforms for Philippine representation.

So why ‘no’? First of all, the Philippine Independence was declared even before the American colonization. So the American notion of ‘freedom and democracy’ was already at hand on the Malolos Constitution of the Philippine Revolutionary Government, headed by Emilio Aguinaldo with Apolinario Mabini on his back. The Malolos Constitution also had the same system of governance already with the Americans by adopting Republicanism, which states clearly that it ‘resides exclusively in the people’. It already had three distinct powers, namely the ‘legislative, the executive and the judicial’. Heck, I even think this kind of democracy is already a sham today, considering it’s lack of representation from workers and other marginalized sectors of society. Even so, the American notion of ‘freedom and democracy’ was already applied to the Philippines beforehand, thus this disproves that freedom is the greatest legacy of Uncle Sam to Filipinos. We could have grown by ourselves.

Second, I argue is the greatest legacy that Uncle Sam gave to Filipinos. Which are the scars of Imperialism and Neo-Colonialism. And with this I must take back my first argument about ‘culture and representation’. The Philippines could have been an independent state such as the likes of Thailand and Japan, which today, have thrived to represent their identity and culture in the realms of capitalist entertainment. I strongly argue that American Imperialism shattered the Filipino identity the most, compared to other colonizers. The very installment of the U.S public school educational system, which requires us to speak in English fluently, is the very nature of colonialism at its finest. English is now seen as something to look up to, a measure of intelligence, and native languages such as Tagalog (especially Bisaya) is looked down upon. Living in the United States and other Western countries is seen desirable, known as the ‘American Dream’. The American Dream, I argue, is the biggest advertisement on the exportation of cheap labor to the United States, and other types of exploitations. Representations of art and entertainment have seen otherwise, such as the preferred white skin in television shows and animation. Although, one could also argue that this phenomenon is global and is not unique to the Philippines, I argue that it is not the case.

Lastly, is the demonization of certain sectors, especially the Moro people. The events today such as the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan signify how the War on Terror, is a product of U.S Imperialism, and is not different to the events that happened during the American occupation of the Philippines. It even signifies me that there were even suicide attacks even during the American occupation, known as the Juramentado. These attacks often terrorized the Americans, which led to first cases of the demonization of the Islam people. We were the first cases of U.S Imperialism, and we have a lot to tell the world considering their repeated cases of invading countries in the name of profit such as Vietnam, Korea, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and many more. The perception of popular Filipinos alike, the view that the Islam people are untrustworthy terrorists, is an ignorant misconception of one’s roots, and is a long-lasting scar of U.S Imperialism. There are a lot more to mention about the influences of U.S Imperialism in the Philippines, such as the repression of labor unions and communism in response to the protection of capitalism and the U.S bases which caused us destruction in World War 2, but I think that would take a long while.

Nevertheless, the world have a lot to learn from Filipinos, and Filipinos have a lot to learn about themselves. What I advocate in this essay is the liberation and decolonization of the Filipino mind. There is no harm in appreciating American culture, even anime which is a Japanese product, is not immune to the influences of American culture to Japanese society and is often seen in their works. But I think what is important, is to remember one’s roots. Represent Filipino culture in the arts, and use the Filipino language as much as you can in school. Of course, we have to use English in order to survive in a globalist economy of competition. But we must continue to arouse our nationalist consciousness even to this day, represent Filipino culture in entertainment and the arts and more. With this, we can continue to become like the propagandists of the 19th Century and rediscover our national identity devoid from toxic colonial influences.

#colonialism #neo-colonialism #imperialism #america #philippines #war on terror #terrorism

[pinoyhistorywithsiyan]

To Reform or To Revolt, That is the Question (This is serious)

The answer might seem obvious from the answers I had back then, but in this essay, I would like to treat both arguments fairly, as both contributed to the birth of the Philippine nation. Before discussing the answers to this question, I would like to give an overview of what were talking about in the first place, which is the Spanish colonial era.

The Spanish colonization of the Philippines left an ever-lasting scar in Philippine history. The 333 years of occupation was driven with forced-labor, different forms of exploitation, and terror upon the Filipino natives. Cultural practices from the pre-colonial era were prohibited and created the preference for Christianity. The 333 years was also the years of attempted revolts, in which all the bodies of revolutionaries were used as props for terrorism against the masses. There was a great extent of corruption from the Spanish elite who ruled the lands, and Filipinos were treated like slaves. That is, until the 18th and 19th Century, when Filipinos began to participate in enterprises and ventures. Filipinos were already given representation due to wealth and privilege, that is until certain students and scholars developed a sense of national consciousness. This national consciousness became the greatest weapon for independence in the Philippines, as it gave an abstract birth to the notion of a nation itself. Various propagandists such as the members of La Liga Filipina, began to write works criticizing the Spanish government, particularly the friars who were given most control in the 18th-19th Centuries. They also proposed reform; for Indios to be given the same rights as the Spaniards, and to have Filipino representatives at the Konsehos. This was met with outrage from the Spaniards (especially from the friars), thus gave them the decision to disallow Filipino representatives in the Spanish councils. The absurd deaths of the “Gomburza” priests stirred up the masses to participate in revolutionary movements to overthrow the colonial government. The propagandist Jose Rizal’s arrest also incited revolution among the KKK (Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan), to conduct attacks and offensives on the Spanish haciendas and forts. Liberate the lands from the oppressive friars and Guardia Civil, who were the causes of economic and political exploitation and abuses among the masses.

Now, going back to the question; reform or revolt? What is exactly reform and revolt?

Reform (verb) – to make changes in something, typically in political, economic or social practices in order to improve it.

Revolt (verb) – an illegal and often violent attempt by a group of people to change their country’s political system.

Given the social, political and economic climates of the Philippines, we can rather say that there are situations where we are asked to revolt and asked to reform. Why is this so? Let us look at the Philippines in our present context.  

The Philippines today did not move-on from the atrocities of the past, particularly from the underprivileged. (Although, I might also say that it was better than before since Filipinos get to participate in the market and government offices, devoid of racism). Atrocities and exploitation in the countryside are usually permitted by the centralized government in order to give way to the establishment of multinational corporations and other enterprises. Workers in industrialized areas owned by foreign investors and the Filipino elite are being paid with minimum wage and sometimes work in harsh conditions with little to no rewards. The Philippine economy is driven mostly by imports, industries that exist in this country are usually processing firms for products that the Filipino masses couldn’t buy. Meanwhile, Indigenous peoples are driven out of their land to give way for foreign companies to exploit the country’s natural resources. Tenant-landlord relations still exist in the basakan, and prices have become unfair for the peasant economy in favor for wealthier investors. Some are drowning in debt, a lot are starving and overworked with little to no rewards.

Reforms have already been in the table for years, even after the 1946 Independence, yet this has been left undone by those who are in power. An example is the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988, which seek to distribute lands to farmers and also somehow remove the hacienda system which still lasted even after the Spanish occupation. But where are we now? Did we really change even after the years of occupation? Protests and labor unions express these frustrations, and are often met with denial, red-tagging, and worse, confrontation. These confrontations result to deaths (such as what happened to Hacienda Luisita), and some even result to the formation and recruitment of organized rebellion, such as the New People’s Army (NPA).  

If that makes sense at all, what I’m trying to say is. There are times when we can do reform, and there are times where we are supposed to revolt. Reform is usually done if the centralized government is willing to listen to the concerns of the masses. Reform needs a political leader who uses his/her political will to lift the masses and places the interests of the masses first, contrary to him/herself. (e.g someone who cannot be swayed by the sweet words of capitalists.) Or maybe from a liberal perspective, someone who is willing to talk in peace, without any false promises. Revolt is usually done when the state forces themselves are committing atrocities, such as what is happening now in Mindanao. Using the famous Duterte supporter ‘nanlaban’ analogy, ‘If a group of military personnel go to your barrio and start shooting your hens, force you to eat feces, or worse, start killing your family members and leaving firearms on their corpses. What would you do?’ Now, as peaceful resistance against the government is often left with suspicion and repression. As the UP-DND accord, a treaty denying the entry of state forces in a university that is known for its student’s critical assessment on the current administration, is being torn down. These students are our current Rizals and Mabinis, pushing for reform and respecting our current democratic processes. But these were also the same struggles that the reformists in the colonial era experienced, and was left with no choice but to revolt. It was a ‘fight or die’ game in the end. The killings and arrests of peasants and activists are becoming widespread, especially after the signing of the Anti-Terror Law. Now is probably the time to ask the question. To reform or to revolt?

The photo above is a recent event where farmer’s houses were burnt by suspected paid goons of Ayala and Yulo in Hacienda Yulo. The farmers described that they were ‘forced to watch their houses burn’ (Photo Source: Defend Yulo Farmers | January 23, 2021 | https://twitter.com/DefendHYFarmers/status/1352907170229018624)

#philippines #reform #revolution #spanish #colonization #conteporary #issues #politics #readings in philippine history

[pinoyhistorywithsiyan]

"Things I did not know about the Philippines before Spain." MAINSTREAM PRE-COLONIAL HISTORY DEBUNKED

There are various misconceptions about the Philippines that we, during our High school and elementary education, taught us. Although, I already had a deep appreciation more on the pre-colonial Philippines, most of whom I know say that they ‘thank’ Magellan for bringing Christianity to the Philippines. Otherwise, we would have been ‘savages’ according to them. This frustration of mine persists, as me, an admirer for Buddhist and other Asian traditions dreams of a place where the Philippines could be if we weren’t colonized by Spain. A Philippines without the colonial mentality engraved in our heads, as we see foreigners in the streets and admire them for their whiteness and more ‘civilized’ manner. The Philippines without the mindset that Filipinos are ‘cancer’ and are ‘lazy’ people compared with other nationalities.

This misconception even existed not only among the common folk, but among the illustrado academics as well such as Jose Rizal. Although, at this time, knowledge has not reached a point yet where academics get to realize their ethnocentric position, as well as to detect colonial mindsets. This misconception was that there were various migration waves of races that arrived in the Philippines. Some were ‘more civilized’ and some ‘less civilized’. Indeed, even the academic circle of the elite viewed the world this way, thus could influence the ones from below. Later studies of geneticists concluded that there was no wave of civilized and uncivilized races, but there was rather an interbreeding of genetics. Some also suggest that not only biological features were merged, but also cultural features such as language and practices.

Another misconception was said with the first voyagers in the Philippines such as Legazpi alike that the pre-colonial Filipinos needed to be colonized in order to be ‘civilized’. In this part, we will discuss pre-colonial through an ethnographic study of Visayas and Luzon, gathered from the scholar Antonio Pigafetta of the 16th Century. This way we can sit down and imagine what it feels like to live, in a pre-colonial Philippines.

The barangay is considered to be the smallest political unit in Tagalog Society. Settlements were usually in coasts of lakes and streams. The ruling class of these settlements were usually Datus which control the political and social decisions of the lands. The strength of this power usually depended on wealth, slaves and reputation. The Timawa, known as the ‘freemen’ are descendants of Datu’s wives, are considered to be the middle class in our own modern context. The Oripun or Alipin, derived from the Visayan root word udip “to let live”, are war captives paying someone for debt that exceeds the value of their life. These people are considered as slaves in our own context, although some scholars would claim that this is not the same enslavement compared to Westernized standards, such as the handcuffed people in popular culture. Tagalog slaves are just simply servants paying a lifetime debt of service to the elite. There also existed a variety of cultural practices and beliefs such as tattoing, cockfighting and more. An organized religion and belief system, paganism also existed within these lands. As well as the most technological advancement a civilization could have, which is written language (Scott, 1994). The existence of language, a religious system, and a complex socio-political system are common criterions of civilizations, devoid of any ethnocentric biases. Thus, the belief that pre-colonial Philippines was barbaric and uncivilized is false.

The last misconception about the history of pre-colonial Philippines is that the Katipuneros only fought against the Spanish regime. I think this is the part where it hurts the most, as Mindanao always appears to be last in the history books. Mindanao is usually considered to be “the land of promise” and is abundant in natural resources. But is also abundant in wars and conflict. Here also exists an abundance of the exploitation of multinational companies, displacement of Indigenous tribes and land grabbing. These issues could be traced way back in history, when the Indigenous tribes and Muslims once lived in peace and harmony. Until the arrival of Uyanguren and other Spanish invaders in the span of 333 years, attempting conquest in Mindanao that was never conquered even after the Spanish left. This is now seen in our present day context, as Moro-Islamic groups fight for the same independence that was fought before. Displacement and cultural degradation are also experienced by Indigenous peoples in Mindanao. Foreign and Domestic capitalist interests of its natural resources drive the bombing and strafing of communities force these displacements to happen.The lack of knowledge about this history in our mainstream textbooks in schools devalue the conflicts that happen in Mindanao. Scary to say this but, this shallow perception of knowledge puts too much faith on the established national government, despite it’s same interests that the Spanish had 120 years ago.

Going back to what I said in the last blog entry. Knowledge is power, and if we learn more about the past, devoid from the histories taught to us by the established elite. We can move on from the past scars that inflicted in our country, thus change the world completely.

#Philippines #Colonization #Decolonization #Spanish #Jose Rizal

[pinoyhistorywithsiyan]

Why is it important to study history?

Before answering this question and to better understand the answer to this question. We must answer the question first, “What is history?”. Is history really about the past? It is important to note that history is made by historians, and that historians are people with different life experiences and events. Thus, this gives us a hint that history is a historian’s work. History, according to Keith Jenkin’s (1991) work “Re-thinking history” is a discourse about the past, but different from the past. It is about the world but different about the world, simply to put it, it is the product of the labor of historians.

With this in the way. We shall ask: If history is the product of historians, thus is history purely interpretative? Is history an art more than a science?

It is also important to know that there are power plays in the flow of information, not just history. As Focault points out “Knowledge is relative to the epistemological systems of power”, in other words, knowledge is power. By studying history, we gain power. As so the saying of liberal activists alike “History dooms to repeat itself”, could be prevented through the acquiring knowledge of history. If you have read George Orwell’s novels such as “1984” and “Fahrenheit 451” , it narrates an alternative future in which wars and conflicts created material conditions that reshaped history, in which history is determined by a selective few, the rulers of the planet. History is agreed upon, and the “truth” acts as a censor that prevents social disorder. History is distorted, books about the past are burned and are replaced with heroic deeds or shall I say (lies), of the past.

We must ask these important questions now in relevance to our present social context. Does Marcos really deserve a burial in the Graveyard of Heroes? Did the Americans really ‘save’ us from the events in World War 2? What are the causes of communist insurgencies devoid from generalizations that it is purely “ideological”? What are the causes of Moro-Islamic conflict in Mindanao other than the generalization of being purely “Muslim, or as same with the communists that it is “ideological”? History is a narrative that is agreed upon in the community, that avoids us to be brought to prison, red-tagged, or to be scolded by our Tita’s and Tito’s for saying stuff against the present President. Learning a certain history may distort us from learning different perspectives of what really happened in the past. History, or even the truth itself, is multi-faceted. The truth has many faces, many stories, and can be rotated through different angles like a movie scene.

As to a personal level, or as a student of Anthropology. It is important for me to learn about history, since my course is very involved in history as it is the holistic and systematic study of humanity. Humans, or human culture to be precise, are the creators of history. From the very first cave paintings to the present cultures and traditions we see today. The knowledge of history and its methods may let me see the footprints in our people’s clothes, food, art, and language, and then correlate it to the collective meaning it has acquired through the flow of time. After all, history is a narrative collected by our cultures today. Through the study of history, the study of stories from the past, big and small, may we get to understand our present-day context.

          I’m not trying to be romantic, but I could say is that all of us will become writers of history. From the college student writing his essays late at night, to the ice cream vendor ringing the bell in a Sunday morning, we are all writers of history. Writing or not writing, we will become the writers of history as we collectively shape the world. Not to undermine our hero’s efforts but it is not Jose Rizal alone who fought against the Spanish regime that brought change to the Philippines, it was not Bonifiacio or Aguinaldo alone who liberated (partly) the Philippines from invaders. It was the Filipino masses, the peasants and workers who fought alongside their battles collectively known as the “KKK”. Without them, Bonifacio or Aguinaldo wouldn’t be considered “National Heroes”. What I’m trying to say is, you and I are historians, and by studying history, we practice history. We become aware that we are reshaping the world around us. By knowing history, we realize how we reshape our present environment good or bad, we would know that if our decisions are for the common good, or for the profit of the wealthy elite. Knowledge is indeed, power. Let us reshape of history for the betterment of the collective!

#philippine history #history #readings in philippine history #philosophy #epistemology #anthropology