Humanizing the Curriculum

HUMANIZING THE CURRICULUM THROUGH CULTURE AND THE ARTS

By Dr. Amalia Cullarin Rosales

Delivered at Letran College

February 17, 2006

Dean Villegas, fellow academicians, good morning!

Humanizing the academe through culture and the arts is one subject matter I love to talk about. It is because I have been in the academe for quite a number of years, and I have observed some kind of dehumanization in the very place where individuals are supposed to be exposed to humane environment, i.e., in the way some management people treat their subordinates, teachers treat their students, the kind of values imparted to the young people by, sad to say, some schools. Many schools too, do not give so much importance to the teaching of humanities and culture because of their bias to science and technology.

Thus, every time I am asked to talk about this particular subject matter, I see a little hope that somehow, the humanities will not really be overshadowed by science and technology. That somehow, in the future, in the not so distant future, most of our academic administrators will be able to realize that education, after all, is not only molding the individuals to be economically successful but more important still is, making each young person entering the portal of every school, a total person, one who is not only a thinking person but also a feeling one. That is the kind of person the world, in general, and the Philippines, our country, in particular, needs today.

In going about my presentation, I would like to present the following questions:

1. Why is there a need to humanize the academe?

2. How can culture and the arts be potent tools in humanizing the academe?

3. How does a humanized academe contribute to the well-being of an individual? Of the society?

II. DEFINITION OF TERMS

There are four terms in this subject matter that I would like to define since they are very important terms which are found in the title of the topic you have given me to tackle this morning. These are humanize, culture, art, and academe.

Humanize

· to develop the spirit of community among mankind;

· to cultivate/enrich humanist spirit; to civilize;

to make less harsh; to make more humane.

Culture

· comprises the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, intellectual and emotional

features that characterized a society or social group which includes not only the

arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human

beings, value systems, traditions and beliefs (UNESCO, 1982);

* ang pamana ng ating kagalingan at karangalan (NCCA, 1992);

* the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values and knowledge which constitute

the shared bases of social action, the total range of activities and ideas of a

group of people with shared traditions, which are transmitted and re-enforced

by members of the group; the artistic and social pursuits, expressions and tastes

valued by a society or class, as in the arts, manners, dress, etc., and the

enlightenment or refinement resulting from these pursuits (Collins English

Dictionary, 1979).

Art

· a creative expression of significant human experience;

· it is beauty, truth, immortality, order, harmony which enrich lives and encourage human beings to extend themselves beyond the limits of flesh and blood without which life would be a mean struggle for survival and the value of survival itself would be unclear. (Understanding Art, 1994).

Academe –

* an institutional group established for the training of artists. Most academies date from the Renaissance and after. They were particularly powerful state-run institutions in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. In general academies replaced the guild as the venue where students learned the craft of art and were also provided with a complete education including art theory and artistic rules.

III. THE NEED TO HUMANIZE THE ACADEME

Universities and learning institutions are tasked to mold the students into morally upright individuals. Thus, all academic programs must be geared towards the development of a total individual – a person who has excellent technical know-how and a perfectly delightful character. But has the academe succeeded in this task?

Let us take a look at the world today.

· Wars and violence, injustice, inequalities and double standards haunt the lives of millions of people all over the world.

· In Palestine, children, women, and the elderly are being massacred by the U.S.-backed Israeli Zionists.

· Communal conflict, ethnic conflict and diverse forms of violent conflict which challenge the fundamental values of humanity have become a common occurrence in many countries, such as Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Bosnia, Tajikistan, Chechnya, Kosovo, Indonesia and the southern Philippines.

· Today, Sri Lanka is trying to recover from a twenty-year old violent conflict which brought about major military battles, killings of civilians, severe human rights abuses and destruction of economic infrastructure with a total of approximately one million persons uprooted and displaced internally and with another half million leaving the country.

· Terrorist attacks have become a dreaded action which haunt many countries. Global war against terrorism, therefore, has been waged. And in the name of this war, the United States of America invaded Afghanistan in November 2001 and one-and-a-half later, it invaded Iraq.

· Since the 1980s, market-driven globalization destabilized societies and states. It has created “winners and losers with the big and powerful nations being winners and captors, while the small and the weak, losers and captives (Embong, 2004). This has widened the inequality between rich and poor nations, within nations between the rich and the poor, and the poor and vulnerable groups.

Embong, in his paper delivered before the ASAIHL International Conference stated:

If we look around us, we also have situations in various countries in which there is no war, but neither is there real peace or harmony. Prejudice, mistrust, misunderstanding, ignorance, ancient hatred as well as tension exist between people, often of different ethnic groups, religious groups, classes, tribes, regions, gender, and so on. Religious bigotry, ethnic and national chauvinism, injustices of various sorts, arrogance of power and status and so on have existed since ancient times and are still pervasive today in many societies.

In the Philippines, various economic, social and political problems beset the country. More and more Filipinos cannot cope up with the continuous increase of prices of basic commodities. Foreign debts servicing gets the biggest chunk of the national budget. Oil prices in the world rises to a point where the Philippine Deregulation Law proved to be inutile. Trade markets are going down the drain. More investors, foreign and local, are pulling their investments out for fear of unfavorable returns. Government agencies tasked to address economic problems proved to be inefficient and incompetent. Vital institutions like the PNP, AFP and the COMELEC are beset with controversies of corruption and partisan politicking. Election frauds are common occurrences. Allegations of graft and corruption, from the lowest unit of local government to the highest office of the land have become a daily headlines of newspapers and favorite topics of radio commentators and newspaper columnists. Sexual harassments in work places and learning institutions abound.

Flash floods occur due to denuded forests. Pollution of all sorts endanger the lives of people. Waste products are thrown anywhere. The environment is totally neglected.

With this picture of our world and society today, the need for humanizing the academe has become an important and crucial task which every academic administrator should look into. As the traditional symbol of championing the highest of human virtues and ideals, as a citadel of truth, an epitome of the courage of conviction as well as an institution that nurtures and promotes the culture of peace, of what is beautiful, good and true, pluralist tolerance and acceptance, the academe should not only favor science and technology, but the social science and the humanities must have to be strengthened if it is to successfully play its role in the reconstruction of a more humane society. And to quote Dr. Daisaku Ikeda of Soka Gakkai International, a victory of the spirit would also be a triumph of the logic of humanity over the logic of capital. In this way, injustice, inequality, and greed, fragmentation and dehumanization of life which engulf the minds of people will be lessened since what will triumph will be the heart that truly feels and a soul that truly cares.

IV. CULTURE AND THE ARTS AS POTENT TOOLS OF HUMANIZING THE ACADEME

Archibald Macleish said: Without the arts, how can the University teach the truth? For indeed, if the University is weak on the humanities, what kind of graduates will it produce? If its traditional function of transmitting cultural heritage is neglected, how can its students learn to love their country, their people? If the academe has failed to educate the heart, how can we have graduates who are socially concerned?

In the course of my preparation of this paper, I interviewed a literature professor and this is what she said:

In the four decades of my stay in the academe, I have personally witnessed the birth, growth and lately, the impending demise of culture and the arts in what was once-upon-a-time the center of activities geared towards the development of the human person–the university. Academics lament the almost nil scholarship their young wards display. The library used to be the favorite haunt of young scholars before the copying machine invaded the academe and its environs. Students consulted Socrates, Kant, Descartes for the whys and the wherefores of life. They listened to Bach, Beethoven, Wagner, and Verdi, as they learned the universal language that is music. Isadora Duncan and Margot Fonteyn pirouetted in their dreams.

But these artists are now buried in oblivion and have been replaced by pretenders to their thrones whose names will never make it to the classical list.

Cellphones, internets, chat rooms have usurped the once sacred grounds of the library. Young people in their text messages speak and write in cryptic codes that even the Rosetta stone will decipher to no avail.

The academe like the rest of the world is marching towards progress. In so doing it has to pay the price of moving forward - to give up being humanized and face the consequences of being automatized.

One cannot have his cake and eat it too. We, academics are asked to render an important decision: What would we rather have – Prospero or Harry Potter? The Habanera of Carmen or the “Bulaklak” of the Viva Hot Babes? Quasimodo or Kampanerang Kuba?

Your choice can make or unmake the humanizing process of the young whose minds, hearts and souls are ours to nourish or destroy. (Cañares, 2005).

As an academician, I chose to nourish the minds, the hearts and the souls of my young wards. Therefore, I give importance to culture and the arts in the practice of my profession for I believe in its power to make a difference in the life of a person. They are potent tools for the search for truth, beauty and good.

Art is a powerful tool in replicating reality in the finest detail, tricking the eyes into perceiving the truth in imitation. The ancient Greeks, the Renaissance artist, the contemporary photo-realist painter, pursued truth and attempted to reveal it. Artists have also reached outward to describe truth about humanity and have reached inward to describe truth about themselves. Sometimes, their pursuit has led them to beauty, at other times, to shame and outrage. But nevertheless, they pursued truth. The pursuit of truth is, therefore, an important role which the academe must have to play.

Our lives are made more beautiful by art. Our daily experiences have been enhanced by it. Everyone has been touched by it. When we want to brighten our homes, we turn to art. We need it in enhancing our interior, to beautify our cities, and adorn our places of worship.

Art has the power to make us think intensely and feel deeply. When we confront a work of art, we are, in a way affected by it. When we look at a landscape painting, we perhaps remember a place we spent a vacation past;, a beautiful family photograph evokes family ties and traditions; or a self-portrait that projects a suffering countenance, is almost truly impossible not to affect us. For example, if one is to look at the self-portrait of Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter, one can feel the loneliness and suffering of this woman. Injured at 18 when the bus on which she was riding was slammed by a streetcar, she was left with many serious wounds and chronic pain. Aside from her physical pain, she suffered an emotional pain brought about by the painter Diego Rivera, whom she married. Hers was a life that was full of anguish. In her portraits, she presents herself alone, with her face always painted with extreme realism and set within a compressed space requiring the viewer to confront the true Frida. When asked why she painted herself so often, her reply was because she was always alone. She painted her self-portrait in order to survive, to endure, to conquer death.

Art is a tool to protest injustice and raise social consciousness. Artists like other people have tried to persuade others to join themselves in their causes. The 19^th century Spanish painter Goya is an example of an artist who used his art to satirize and condemn the horrors of war. The French painter Eugene Delacroix painted the Liberty Leading the People to keep the spirit of the French Revolution alive in 1830. In this painting, people of all classes united in rising up against injustice.

Since we live in an era of violence and terrorism, art has a major role to play. It is an antidote to violence; through it, frustrations can be avoided; through it, we can feel the soul of the people; through it, we can become a community.

Prof. Felipe M. De Leon Jr. In his paper, Arts as Unifiers of a Nation (2004) states that a serious impediment to the fullest development of Filipino artistic creativity is the persistence of a Western concept of art that still prevails in our academic institutions and in the minds of the so-called “educated class” that art is a separate human activity or the idea of art for art’s sake. This idea, continued Prof. De Leon reduces art to purely formal relations. According to him, a true work of art is always a delight to behold, with a vital charm that cannot be explained, with a life-enhancing qualities whose source lies deep in the mysteries of creative intuition and the human spirit.

The art plays a central importance in the process of human and cultural development. It is more than entertainment. It gives us fuller access to who we are, to our soul and spirit, thereby allowing us the possibility to be more human. Theater and drama for example, aims towards catharsis, which can transform our souls so that we become more compassionate and more committed to creating a better world (Perlas, 2003.).

Individuals who are exposed to the arts acquire the values of a good life. They play important role in the curriculum by humanizing and affirming the inter-connectedness of all forms of knowing. They are important means to improve general education.

Man’s condition is mirrored through art. Learning is deepened through it. The eyes and the mind, therefore, must be trained how to read it. Because the human spirit is central to the arts, man can confront reality in an artistic piece which was captured by another human being who lived in a particular space and time.

Culture on the other hand is an effective instrument of fostering national and international understanding. It is the best bridge between people and is the language of the soul, the heart and reason. It is the power which makes a man capable of appreciating the life around him and the power of making that life worth appreciating. Thus, a humanized academe will bring the richness of our culture to the world through its students, its faculty members, its administrators.

Culture and the arts can contribute in creating conditions that ensure political and social stability, foster social cohesiveness, mutual trust and adherence to social order. National Artist Virgilio Almario believes that culture and art serve as creative forces for renewal and change. Culture shapes economic and political discourse and practices and explores the concept of cultural power and how it shapes business and government practices (Perlas, 2003).

Since a culture of peace is of paramount importance and is the concern of the world, the academe must be able to give strong emphasis on it. How can this be effected? The answer is through culture and the arts. It is through culture and the arts that awareness of cultural diversity, development of respect for others, open-mindedness and concern for the human race will be developed not only among the teachers but also among the administrators and the students.

V. THE INDIVIDUAL AS A PRODUCT OF A HUMANIZED ACADEME

Let me share with you this story of five graduates from the same University who were already practicing different professions, cited by Dr. Garcia in her paper Humanizing Education through Literature. The five were a criminal lawyer, a surgeon, a judge, a businessman, and a writer.

The brilliant criminal lawyer said that his ambition is to defend a client successfully, whether he be innocent or guilty; the surgeon said that his ambition is to save every patient from death or at least from suffering; the judge said that all that he hoped for is to arrive at a correct verdict in every case; the businessman said that if he could make an honest million, he would be happy. The writer who was silently listening when asked what his ambition was, replied quickly: To become a complete human being.

To a great number of people, such a reply will be received with surprise and skepticism. But what is surprising about such an answer?

Dr. Carolina U. Garcia in the same article wrote that to be human is to master an art, the art of living. She further wrote that of all the art, it is the most demanding, the most challenging but the most rewarding; that to be human is to develop our potential, to create for ourselves, and our families, our neighbors, our nation, an atmosphere of sweetness and light, the sweetness of beauty, the light of truth!

How do we achieve this goal of developing our potentials not only for ourselves but for others? The answer is to begin with ourselves, with our education. According to Garcia, learning gleaned from books, from school, from teachers and fellowmen must have to be supplemented; that we have to exert efforts to raise ourselves above our environment in order to scale the heights of self-progress and advancement.

The acquisition of knowledge and wisdom for ourselves and to bask in the radiance of truth and beauty, however, are not enough to make one human, wrote Garcia further. To be human is to seek what is beautiful, what is good, what is true. It is the ability to illumine and sweeten the lives of others. To develop one’s humanity, one must be aflamed with the desire to spread the beauty and wisdom that he has garnered for himself. And how is this done? Of course, through the education that one gets from the schools, from the teachers, from experiences and from life itself.

Justice C. Vitug in a commencement address entitled The Role of Law is the Way of Peace (2004) advised the law graduates to strive not just to be lawyers but to become great lawyers. He said that to become a good lawyer, one has to be a good person with strength and integrity of character; practices prudence and self-denial and most importantly, moral courage, which will be his torch to light his way amidst darkness. Quoting Dr. Rizal, he said that the Filipino must think national and go beyond self. He added that what is needed are virtues such as selflessness, not avarice; frightfulness, not deceit; dignity, not pride; concern, not indifference; and most of all, a strong regard and love for country and people.

A humanized individual is one who is able to see beyond oneself. This is what the humanities seeks – the broadening of man’s vision and his behavior. The humanities although it prepares man to learn and enjoy the benefits of arts and the aesthetics, of fine and gracious living, also aims to develop an individual who can empathized with his fellowmen.

A humanized academe turns out graduates who yearn for beauty, whose idealism is fully nurtured, whose love for mankind has been strongly stimulated through the emphasis on the arts as opposed to activities geared towards the useful, the practical, the utilitarian. (Janaro and Altshuler, 1984).

An individual who is a product of a humanized academe is an individual who walks with God in his daily life; one who is endowed with the gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These gifts will help create a God-loving community where every one is secured, resources are shared by all, and everyone is empowered to seek to develop himself to be able to live productive lives. (Acuna, 1998).

A humanized academe provide enough time for the teachers to do something creative, trusting that such time will be used productively for them to continually grow, thus, empowering them to lead the students in becoming creative individuals.

A humanized academe produces individuals who are not only technically competent but also morally and ethically excellent; individuals who are not only prepared with the knowledge and skills to practice their professions with proficiency but also individuals who are possessed with moral and ethical frame of mind. (Pobre, 1998). Hence, a civil engineer who graduated with all the honors one can think of can be considered a total individual only if the structure he will build is made not of sub-standard construction materials. Likewise, one who tops the board examination for accountancy can only prove that he is an excellent thinker if he practices his profession with all integrity and honesty. Thus, a good university does not only produce topnotchers in board examinations but cultivate among its students the value of virtues.

As a wellspring of intellectuals, a humanized academe does not only turn out professionals who are capable of dissecting concepts like peace, tolerance, international understanding but it also have within its folds educators who can internalize values, appreciate the foregoing concepts and who can find ways to breathe life into them. (Romero, 2004).

A humanized academe produces individuals who have lively and alert minds, perceptive outlooks, lively imaginations to recognize the novelty, the color and the excitement of ordinary living. These characteristics are developed in the persons through their exposure to culture and the arts.

A humanized academe is capable of stimulating the intellect; it could appeal to the emotions; and it could energize the moral fiber in man. Thus, literary pieces which arouse and sustain delight in the heart and mind would be very powerful media in attaining this goal. Literature as a humanizing tool produces an enriched and refined feeling; it develops in man the tendency to feel the sentiments proper to man as an emotional but at the same time as an intelligent moral being; it makes man aware of feelings that elevate and purify the emotions; it heightened and enriched his personality through the sublimation of his natural feelings; his sympathies with truth and beauty are enlarged and extended with the corresponding growth of tolerance, kindness, goodwill and geniality; he feels in himself the stirring of emotion which are rightly human such as the love for the good, the delicate, the beautiful, the noble; he feels an awareness of and an admiration for the elements of life that enhance his stature as a human being. (Garcia, 1986).

A humanized individual does not exaggerate or distort reality. He is truthful and rational.

VI. CONCLUSION

The inability of the academe to humanize will, therefore, redound to graduating students who are wanting in disciplined minds, insensitive to the problems and needs of society and unconcerned with the lives and welfare of their fellowmen. If the academe is dehumanized, the result will be a caravan of college and university graduates whose education is bereft of the indispensable ingredients of a truly refined education, wanting in the endowment of a disciplined mind, a rational mind and a concerned mind - human beings who are intelligent but unfeeling, heartless and soulless whose only desire is to work for money.

In closing, let me quote Pope John Paul II, an artist himself whose entire life has been spent working for the good of humanity:

Society needs artists, just it needs scientists, technicians, workers, professional people, witnesses of the faith, teachers, fathers, and mothers, who ensure the growth of the person and the development of the community by means of that supreme art form which is the “art of education”.

Within the vast cultural panorama of each nation, artists have their unique place. Obedient to their inspiration in creating works, both worthwhile and beautiful, they not only enrich the cultural heritage of each nation and of humanity, but they also render an exceptional social service in favor of the common good.

When we go back to our respective universities, therefore, let us be instruments in turning the academe into a humanized abode for our students. In this way, we can help produce individuals who feel and who care, thereby creating a peaceful society where everyone will live in harmony with each other.

REFERENCES

Acuña, Jasmin E. "Issues Related to Teacher Empowerment." FUSION os 1 (1998): 24-31.

Cañares, Milagros. Written Interview. 16 September 2005.

De Leon, Felipe M. "The Arts as Unifiers of a Nation." Philippine Association of Teachers of Culture and the Arts. Annual Convention. Aloha Hotel, Manila. 29 Apr. 2004.

Embong, Abdul R. Proceedings of the International General Conference on the "Role of Universities in the Quest for Peace" 25 Nov. 2004, Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning. Manila: ASAIHL, 2005.

Garcia, Carolina U. "Humanizing Education Through Literature." UNITAS 4th ser. 59 (1986): 530-552.

Ikeda, Daisaku. In Pursuit of Peace: A Profile of Daisaku Ikeda. 10th ed. Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 2001.

Janaro, Richard P., and Thelma Altshuler. The Art of Being Human. New York: Harper and Row, 1984.

Morris, Audrey S., comp. One Thousand Inspirational Things. Chicago: People's Book Club, 1948.

Perlas, Nicanor. “Arts and Governance As Situated in the Sustainable Development Framework” 2002.

Pobre, Hermogenes P. "Continuing Education of Professionals." FUSION 1.1 (1998): 113-119.

Rathus, Lois F. Understanding Art. 4th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1994.

Romero, Rene C. Proceedings of the International General Conference on the "Role of Universities in the Quest for Peace" 26 Nov. 2004, Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning. Manila: ASAIHL, 2005.

Moral Leadership and the Economic-Political Realities

Moral Leadership and the

Economic-Political Realities

of Philippine Development:

How to Move Forward

Dr. Amalia Cullarin Rosales[1]

INTRODUCTION

Sir Jose Lina, Supreme Commander, Order of the Knights of Rizal, former Supreme Commander of the OKR and Member of the Council of Elders, Sir Carmelo Gempesaw, Sir Emmanuel Cabusao, Co-Chair of the Rizal Youth Leadership Institute, Sir Esguerra, students, faculty members, other members of the OKR, NRYL facilitators and members of the Secretariat, good evening.

The topic assigned to me is timely but very delicate. It is also broad. To talk of moral leadership at this time in our history as a country is difficult. If I will be asked if we have moral leadership today, the best thing that I can do perhaps, if I do not like to lie is to just look at the one asking the question and give him a mysterious ala-Mona Lisa smile.

But you have chosen me to talk on this topic. For what reason, I do not know. I am puzzled. For sure, the NRYLI Committee members are aware that I am not an economist. I am not also a political science major. As my bio-data reads, I am a major in History BSE graduate and a public administration doctorate degree holder. And so, the members of the Committee have done me an injustice. I have to do an extensive research on the topic and it took so much of my time as a public administrator. Did I cheat the government? I don’t think so. The product of my research is for you, my dear young people, and you are this country’s hope.

And so, let me start by presenting to you, the reflections of one of my students in the Rizal subject when I asked them to give the socio-economic-political situation of the Philippines. Let me read to you what Miss Catherine Javier, a BS Chemistry IV-1 student thinks about our present economic and political situation. She wrote:

Bilang isang mag-aaral ng kolehiyo, damang-dama ko ang kagipitang nararanasan ng ating bansa. Mula sa pang-araw-araw na pahayagan, nakalulunos na basahin at malaman ang katotohanan na ang Pilipinas ay bagsak. Sa pagpasok sa paaralan, sasalubong sa iyo ang kapwa mo mag-aaral na sumisigaw at may hawak na mga karatula na nagsassad ng pagkadismaya sa kalagayan ng bansa at sa pamamahala ng mga namumuno. Pag-uwi mo, pagsakay sa jeep, wala kang ibang maririnig kundi ang usapin tungkol sa nakaaawang kalagayan ng Pilipinas. Hay...pag-uwi ko sa bahay, akala ko ay makapagpapahinga na ako tungkol sa isyu ng ekonomiya at pulitika. Hindi pala. Ang tatay ko, pagbukas ng telebisyon, balita pa rin sa kaguluhang nagyayari sa bayan.

Nakaiinis! Paulit-ulit. Nakakairita! Pero ito ang katotohanan na pilit ko mang ipagwalang bahala ay hindi puwede dahil ako ay isang mamamayan sa Pilipinas. Apektado ako sa anumang kaganapan. Paglubog man, o pag-angat nito. Apektado ako sa maling pamamahala ng mga opisyales ng gobyeno. Apektado ako sa maling sistemang kanilang pinaiiral. Apektado ako sa milyun-milyong pisong naibubulsa at nawawala sa kaban ng bayan. Apektado ako sa imoralidad na umiiral sa pamahalaan. Apektado ako sa magiging tingin ng ibang basa sa aking bansang sinilangan.

Catherine Javier is just one of the millions of youth who are affected by the present realities in our society. She is irritated by the economic as well as political situation we are in at present. When she speaks of the imoralidad na nangyayari sa pamahalaan, how do we feel? How do we react to this? What can we do as adults? What can you do as Rizal’s fair hope of the Fatherland?

Now, let us take a look at the economic and political realities of our country today.

THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMIC REALITIES

The Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development presented the following observations on the Philippine economy:

· has been the region’s under performer for far too long

· has become more vulnerable in recent years

· is headed for tough challenges given current trends and forces

· has inherent potentials waiting to be unleashed

Looking at the past forty five years, the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development made comparison of the economic growth of the Philippines with those of other East Asian countries, i.e.:

· from 1960 to 2000, RP’s GNP grew 11 times but Malaysia grew 39 times, Thailand’s 48 times and Hong Kong’s 172 times;

· output per worker grew 1% annually since 1960, versus 4.4% average for East Asia and 1.4% for all developing countries of the world;

· output per worker grew 50% since 1960, but the rest of Asia grew 450%, which is 9 times faster

· the upper 50% of families took 82.4% of total income in 1961, which remains the same until today

· the gap between the rich and the poor widened

· forest cover has dramatically declined; coastal areas deteriorated, rivers and lakes polluted

· quality of education for the masses has continued to deteriorate

· health and nutrition of children from poor families have been worsening

The economic situation of the Philippines continues to be very serious. The latest survey conducted for the period August 26, 2005 to September 5, 2005 by the Social Weather Station revealed that hunger is rising to 15.5% or an estimated 2.6 million families going hungry, i.e., they experienced hunger without anything to eat at least once, in the past three months which is the second highest national proportion since 1998. The record high was 16.1% in March 2001.

Luzon has the highest record of families going hungry (18%); NCR, 16.7%; Visayas, 13.3%; and Mindanao 12.0%.

Severe hunger is experienced in Metro Manila. Mass starvation and severe malnutrition are emerging phenomena in several areas of the country.

IBON Foundation, Inc. reveals the following:

· Joblessness is increasing; incomes are shrinking; cost of living becoming higher; many look for jobs outside the country; one million Filipinos are expected to leave this year with thousands of our best teachers getting recruited to the US and elsewhere and 6,000 medical doctors now studying nursing in preparation for migration;

· Workers, peasants, odd-jobbers and low paid public and private employees are worse off now (2005) than four-and-a-half years ago;

· Unemployment has been rising. Average annual unemployment rate rose from 11.1% in 2001 to 11.8% in 2004 to 12.7% in April 2005. Unemployment figure is at 4.8 million ; Underemployed is at 8.4 million; It increased to 26.1% in April 2005 from 18.5% last year, which is the highest underemployment rate in two decades;

· Ranks of middle class are thinning and are threatened with shrinking incomes and inflation eating into their fixed salaries as evidenced by dramatic drop in enrollment in private schools and moving to public schools and dramatic drop in enrollment in medical schools with students favoring nursing course;

· Businessmen groan under the impact of globalization and foreign competition;

· Prices of basic commodities, petroleum products, water and power services have been inexorably rising in the last three-and-a-half years;

· Inflation rate has risen to over 8% in the first half of 2005 from a whole year average of 6% in 2004;

· Real spending on social services has been drastically falling with education share falling from 16.6% to 14.9%; health share from 1.5% to 1.4% and housing share from 0.3% to 0.2%;

· Public sector debt is at Php5.3 trillion

· Foreign debt has tripled over the past eight years to $US722B.

· Of the 2006 Php1.03 Trillion budget, 60% goes to debt service and principal payments. Only 40% remains with the government to work on its development programs. It shows that Php 931 Million goes to daily interest payments, Php1.045 million daily principal payments which is equivalent to Php1.97 Billion daily debt service which could reach the P2B mark, enough to spend for the following:

· 2,500 classrooms at Php400,000.00 each

· 1,333,333 armchairs at Php750.00 each

· 20 million textbooks at Php500.00 each

· 666 libraries at Php1.5 million each

· 33,333 computers at Php30,000.00 each

· Can feed 5 million school children with vitamin enriched noodles at Php200.0 per student per year

· Half billion pesos can build an overpass to decongest the worsening traffic in Manila

This is the picture of our economy today. And borrowing the description of another student in my Rizal class: ang ekonomiya ng Pilipinas ay parang lobong may lamang maraming hangin...tama, lobong may hangin, pero may maraming butas! Mabilis ang pagbulusok tungo sa lalo pang kahirapan.

Need I say more?

THE PHILIPPINE POLITICAL REALITIES

The October 28, 2005 issue of THE PHILIPPINE STAR carries this headline: Luisita Slay: Palace tags NPA, left blames military. The other minor news include the following:

· Party-list groups funding anti-gov’t rallies?;

· Don’t blame media for bad news;

· One million signatures for R.I.Ps (Resign Immediately Peke);

· NPC won’t back Pichay in Speakership Bid;

· United Opposition rejects unity gov’t;

· DOJ chief to ‘people court’ convenors: File your case with CPP ‘kangaroo court’;

· Ex-DA usec not a fugitive, says lawyer; and

· Palace neighborhood declared a protected area.

If we analyze the titles of this headline and minor stories, they all point out to one direction – the volatile political situation of our country today brought about by disunity and lack of trust to our leaders.

Again, I will ask the perennial question, Why?

Because we have a weak and corrupt political system as evidenced by:

· a highly politicized COMELEC and other agencies of the government. PGMA handpicked her allies to head the COMELEC. She used the staff and resources of civilian agencies of the government for her campaign such as the PHILHEALT which issued millions of free health cards, the Department of Agriculture which released millions of pesos in fertilizer subsidies to win the support of local officials, the National Food Authority which gave out free rice as part of the efforts to win votes for PGMA, the Department of Public Works and Highways which implemented the road repair programs that oiled the administration’s patronage machine, and PAGCOR which released millions to fund various doleout projects;

· an insecure President who exerts every effort to win the allegiance of the military and the police by buying their loyalty through promotions, perks and special access to her (Shiela Coronel, The Unmaking of a President, I Report);

· corrupt politicians taking cuts from government contracts as well as relatives of top government officials dipping their fingers in the public coffers. In a survey conducted by IBON Foundation, Inc. last September 2005, 82.1% of 1,366 respondents described the corruption in the PGMA government as severe with only 0.51 % responding that there was no corruption. Transparency International’s latest corruption perception poll ranked the Philippines 117^th out of 159 countries surveyed, giving it a score of 2.5 in a scale of 1-10 in which 10 is the cleanest;

· highly centralized, inefficient and ineffective government;

· election fraud as part of the Filipino life;

Just before this semester ended, I asked a simple question to my five classes in history and Rizal subjects composed of two hundred students, paano ninyo ilalarawan ang ating kalagayang pampulitka ngayon?

Most of the answers given are the following:

· magulo

· bastusan

· bangayan ng bangayan

· watak-watak

· mababang moralidad ng mga lider pulitiko

· bulok ang sistema ng pamahalaan

Why are the foregoing happening? Why do our youth entertain a very negative picture of our political situation? Let me give these simple answers:

· Philippine politics is based on opportunism and capitulationism. It is not based on principle;

· Philippine politics is dirty. It is corrupted;

· Philippine politics is not only a national past time but the biggest and the most popular industry in the country. It is an industry that impoverishes the Filipino, denying him of vital resources;

· the Philippines has a weak state which cannot strategically respond to pressing development challenges;

· enforcement of law is weak;

· political parties are weak;

· leadership decisions are compromised by overriding concern for political survival (Cielito Habito, Challenges for the Successor Generation of Filipino Leaders, 2005)

· civil service is undermined by lack of funds and corruption;

· the absence of moral leadership

Looking closely at these nine reasons why our society is in this present mess, then we would say that because these constitute the social cancer and the reign of greed that Rizal mentioned in his novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. And to quote Rev. Agustin Bello, S.J. of the Ateneo de Zamboanga, from the paper he read more than forty years ago,

... the social cancer, the reign of greed that Rizal condemned so severely are still with us, not in the form of haughty gobernadorcillos, not in the form of wicked friars… but in the form of retainers sitting idly in plushy law offices raking in money not thru practice in court but thru the glamour of a name. The social cancer is still with us in the form of Filipinos devoid of conscience subscribing to a double standard of morality. The reign of greed is still with us in the form of soldiers and policemen mulcting people on the highways, of firemen extorting money from fire victims, from fixers of ten-percenters and influence peddlers. The social cancer is still with us in the form of an itch for the last peso, for the irresponsible pleasure, for the short-cut to power; the reign of greed is still with us in the form of ‘filter mentality’, namely, have the fun, have the pleasure, have the profit, but avoid the responsibilities by pushing someone else out of the way, and become the guy who has got everything.

That was more than forty years ago. And yet, those observations of Rev. Bello are still very much true today. They are still in our midst.

MORAL LEADERSHIP

Morality is a crisis that besets the government and society in general. This is the real crisis that lies at the root of graft and corruption. Thus, an urgent need for a moral renewal. Former Senator Francisco S. Tatad on January 22, 1996 made a privilege speech sounding a call for a moral revolution. He said: Everybody believes that the law is an ass, so everybody breaks the law and nobody minds it. This crisis of morality will not be solved by solemn pronouncements, empty exposes, or congressional inquiries but by a return to morality, to the sense of right or wrong, along with the sense of guilt. Today, almost a decade after Senator Tatad made that call, the country is beset with the crisis of moral leadership – a crisis which has brought chaos to our society, and divisiveness among our people.

Leaders are models. They model the way through personal example. As Mahatma Gandhi said, we must be the change we wish to see the world. Thus, leaders must be clear about their guiding principles and values and act in accordance with them. A wise man once said that reputation is what one does in public, character is what one does in private when no one is looking. This wisdom of that wise man and the core of integrity are best illustrated by the movie City Slickers when the lead character who is married was urged by his friends to have a one-night stand during an out-of-town trip which they were all going to have and he refused.. When he was told by his friends that no one would know, he replied that someone would know. He said, I will know.

This is integrity at its highest.

Albert Schweitzer, the gifted theologian and musician turned great humanitarian presented his three principles of bringing up children. These principles are: One, you teach by example, two, by example, and three, by example. Thus, the most effective way of teaching is by example. Our leaders must not only talk about integrity, they must be true to their words; they must model the way.

A leader to be able to practice moral leadership must be able to establish a set of ethical standards; he should clarify his own principles and values, which is not an easy work. But he must! This personal searching is very essential in becoming a moral leader. He must have to wrestle with his soul like what other great leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and our very own Dr. Jose Rizal.

Dr. Anna Miren G. Intal, Vice President for the Loyola Schools of the Ateneo de Manila University, in her paper Leadership Effectiveness: Contemporary Perspectives and a Model for Philippine Organizations cited three important qualities of a leader, i.e., integrity, servant hood and leadership by example. She wrote:

The leader of an organization cannot be truly effective if he or she is perceived as hindi mabuti ang pagkatao. Followers can only be inspired if the leader is someone they can look up to as a model of the kind of person who exemplifies the ideals of leadership: a person with integrity, whose motivation in leading is service and not personal aggrandizement, and who leads by example. People will follow and even sacrifice for leaders whom they perceive as authentic or mabuti ang pagkatao. While they may followa superior who is flawed, the behavior is more the consequence of a coercive power wielded by the leader or the instrumental gains they would obtain by so doing rather than an inspired following of an admired person. (Intal,2001)

What kind of leadership do we have in the country today? Does moral leadership exist?

I am not going to make my personal judgment of the kind of leadership we have in our country today. I believe you are intelligent enough to make your own judgment. However, let me point out the following concerning moral leadership:

Moral leadership enhances ability to attract, motivate and retain human capital which includes good people, commitment, and job satisfaction. It contributes to building a better business environment through community involvement.

Moral leaders possess the following habits:

· passion to do right

· morally proactive;

· consider all stakeholders;

· have strong ethical character

· have an obsession with fairness;

· undertake principled decision-making;

· integrate ethics wisdom with management wisdom

· Moral leaders observe and practices the following ethical principles:

Trustworthiness

Unity

respect and dignity

justice

sustainability

service and humility

· Moral leadership is developing the value of putting the welfare of others above one’s personal vulnerability to enrich. Moral leadership challenges us to resist the vulnerability of taking personal advantage, restraining the truth and losing the right values. Morally upright leaders transcend political allegiance toward working for national development.

MOVING FORWARD

I have presented to you the economic and political realities in our country today. Further, I have given you some ideas on what moral leadership should be. Given our economic and political scenario, do we have a chance of moving forward? How do we start? Where must we start? How strong-willed are we to move forward?

To the question if we have the chance to move forward, my response is YES! Why? Because the Filipino people is GREAT! We have weaknesses, but definitely, our strengths are more than our weaknesses. We are a sturdy race. Political turmoil, economic depression, natural disasters, name it, and the Philippines had experienced it and still, we have not been beaten. We are as pliant as the bamboo and as sturdy as the molave when it comes to our strength of character. This strength of character evoked the following glowing praises from former US Ambassador to the Philippines, Nicholas Platt:

In my four years of stay in the Philippines, I have proven that the character of the Filipinos cannot be weakened by any natural disaster like earthquake, typhoon or volcanic eruption or coup d ‘etat. They can easily adopt and are very flexible.

The story of Mario Jalla who was trapped for several days in the ruins of Hotel Nevada in Baguio City during the 1990 earthquake which hit the country is an example of how strong the Filipino character is. Jalla was found almost lifeless. However, he survived. One of his legs was amputated. After recuperating, he returned to his work and started to live a normal life. Another example is Ernesto “Jay Ar” Jasmin of Bula, Sorsogon whose guts and optimism are remarkable. When Jay Ar was a first year high school student, he lost his arms up to his shoulders due to an accident caused by a crazy truck driver. The loss of his two arms did not prevent him from continuing his studies. He operated a computer through his toes, thus, he was able to finish high school and enrolled in college. If we have Filipinos like them, it would not be impossible for us to move forward.

For this alone, we can and we must recover from our depressing economic and political situation. Fernando Zobel Ayala in his paper Education for Leadership and National Development delivered before the APCAS Conference in 2001 presented the results of the World Competitiveness Report which cited the sources of competitive strengths of the Philippines, as follows:

· availability of skilled labor -1^st of 49 countries surveyed

· availability of senior managers - 3^rd

· availability of qualified IT employees - 4^th

· average working hours/year - 6^th

· flexibility and adaptability- 6^th of labor force

We have been weakened by the economic and political crises we re undergoing at present. But definitely, we are not beaten. We have all the chances to rise, given our strengths and positive traits as a people. We only have to accentuate our positive traits and turn our weaknesses into strengths. How do we do it?

Let me present to you some of the ways to do it:

We have our positive traits and strengths like we are talented, creative, innovative, industrious, patient, religious, caring, hospitable, helpful, understanding, respectful and so many other traits that will be to our advantage. Therefore, given these traits, let us appreciate and accentuate them in all areas of our life. In doing this, let us be guided by what Prof. Felipe De Leon wrote in his monograph entitled Cultural Awareness: Keystone to National Development:

We must foster images that depict our strengths.

We have to stop wallowing in negativity and banking on borrowed assets.

All cultures are equally gifted in one way or another.

We have to discover our own gifts and build the nation upon them.

We cannot erect anything on the shifting sands of weaknesses and limitations.

We are a highly spiritual people. This is one of our strengths which we can use to create a peaceful and caring Philippine society. Let us strengthen and preserve this trait. But let us not think along the line of what faith we believe in. For our country’s sake, let us not think as a Roman Catholic, an Iglesia ni Cristo, a Jehovah’s witness, a Protestant, an El Shaddai, an Islam believer or a Dating Daan follower. Let us think as a Filipino and that whatever God we believe in, He is a God who wants us to be people who are soldiers of peace and love.

The absence of unity has been cited by so many writers, politicians, economists, academicians and even students as one of the weaknesses of the Filipino people, thus, the present situation that we are in. Therefore, let us unite! Let us focus our attention on attaining oneness for the sake of our country. Again, De Leon has this to say on unity:

A nation is bound by the things it loves or identifies with. The essence of nationhood is thinking, feeling and caring for the nation as a whole not only for an elite minority, one’s region or sector but for the vast majority of our people – whether Christian, Muslim, Lumad, peasant, poor women, leftist, or loyalist. Only by thinking of what is good for the nation can we come up with a collective sense of purpose and the political will to carry out.

Granting that we have a problem on moral leadership, that moral leadership is absent in our society today, then let us focus our attention to the millions of young people who will be this country’s leaders tomorrow. Let us give them the best training on leadership. Let us inculcate in their minds the kind of leadership that Rizal exhibited - a leadership that is the exemplar of the highest morality; a leadership that is willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of the country and its people. If these young people who are in front of me this evening can become the moral leaders that this country thirst for, therefore, we can see a better Philippines, some years from now.

It has always been said that we are undisciplined. This is not very nice to hear but if we look around us, if we observe both our old and young people, for sure, we will realize that we are really undisciplined. Just observe the way our drivers violate traffic rules and regulations; the way our school policies are ignored; our wanton disregard for our environment and other manifestations of our disregard for laws, rules and regulations. This is a problem. Therefore, what must be done? The answer, strengthen the teaching of discipline among our young people. The home should start it since it is the foundation of character building. The school, the community and the government must reinforce character building if a disciplined citizenry is desired. This is so expressed under Article XV, Section 8, Sub-section 4 of the Philippine Constitution:

All educational institutions shall aim to inculcate love of country, teach the duties of citizenship, and develop moral character, personal discipline, and scientific and vocational efficiency.

Since the gap between the rich and the poor has widened, the government must be able to formulate clear programs that will benefit all sectors of society and these programs must be efficiently and effectively carried out. The government should avoid grandiose programs that are unattainable but instead present programs that are responsive to the needs of society.

Exposure to role models is very crucial in the life of our young people. Therefore, our leaders today should be able to present the highest example of what is good, truthful and beautiful. They should, therefore, live by a certain rule which will guide them in the conduct of their lives. Diligence, dedication and honesty should be observed by everyone serving the country.

We are a people of good virtues. However, centuries of colonization and exposure to western culture changed everything that was beautiful in us as a people. How do we revive our lost virtues? This is the challenge that Philippine education must address. The government should take the necessary steps to revive the old beautiful traits of honesty, integrity and respect for law and order. Education officials should stress the inclusion in the tertiary curriculum of the teaching of ethics. Schools should re-examine, revise or upgrade existing policies on values education and look into the merit and demerit system not only among students but also among teachers.

The Philippine is a democratic state. In fact, we are considered one of the freest in the world today. However, we are to consider the recent developments we would say without fear that our democratic system is on the verge of being destroyed. This is not a good sign, since people are motivated to work harder and to achieve more for the country if freedom exists. But too much freedom is also dangerous because there is a tendency for it to be abused by those who do not know how to make use of their freedom properly. Thus, activities that undermine the law should not be tolerated. The people should be made aware that civil rights should be exercised responsibly without disturbing peace and order. But the government should not also be too harsh on the people exercising their rights of peaceful assembly, of freedom of expression, of redress of grievances. They should be heard. It is also the duty of the government to listen to them and if necessary and in the name of national interest heed their call… and listen to the voice of the people.

CONCLUSION

Where do we really want to go and how do we go there?

No matter what our political affiliation is, no matter what faith we profess, no matter what our station in life is, we have one goal, one dream for our country. And that is to see it achieved national development.

When we speak of national development, we refer to the expansion of people’s choices towards sustained improvement in the quality of their lives. A development that is sustainable, which means that the needs of the present are addressed without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

And how do we go there?

We start by healing the divisions which permeate our nation today. We have to work toward the achievement of true nationhood; we have to be one nation, a nation which Rizal dreamt of -- compact, vigorous and homogenous (buo, malakas, at magkakauri). The gap between groups divided by ideology, religion or regional loyalties such as the NPA, the Muslim separatists and some tribes who are seeking autonomy must have to be closed.

We have to bring back stability in our political system through a leadership that is founded on good moral values, an ethical leadership that embodies the virtues of honesty, integrity, and fairness. Thus, survival or enrichment in office or the protection of vested social and economic interests should not take precedence over nation-building.

.

We have to work on a sustained and broad-based development with the countryside treated as an equal participant and beneficiary of development.

.

We have to build efficient, productive and competitive enterprises.

We have to produce well-educated, healthy and empowered citizens.

We have to maintain a clean and healthy environment.

In short, the government, the citizens, everybody must have to work for a holistic development – that is, a development which takes care of the social, economic, ecological, political, cultural, and spiritual needs of the people.

If this is achieved, then the dream of a young girl, which she expressed in simple language, will become a reality.

The young girl I am referring to, wrote:

Pangarap ko sa Pilipians ang pagkakaroon ng magandang kinabukasan ng lahat ng mamamayan. Nais kong magkaroon ng reproma na magmumula sa pamahalaan. Sana ay magkaroon na ng peace and order upang ang mga mamumuhunang dayuhan ay maganyak na maglagay ng puhunan.

Kapag ito ay nangyari, makababangon ang bansa, magkakaroon ng maraming trabaho. Maraming mga Pilipino ang magnanais na manatili na lamang sa bansa at maglingkod nang may sigla at kapayapaan sa sariling bayan. Nais ko ring sana’y may isang taong tulad ni Dr. Jose Rizal na makapupukaw ng damdamin ng bawa’t Pilipino upang muling mabuhay ang damdaming makabansa sa bawa’t isa, mabuhay ang pagmamalasakit sa bansa at gawin ang nararapatupang muling maibangon ang Pilipinas. Pangarap ko na sana ay makabangon ang bansa sa kahirapan at makaagapay sa mga mauunlad na bansa sa mundo. Sana mabawi muli ng Pilipinas ang kanyang ningning tulad ng isang bituing nagsasabog ng kagandahan sa dilim ng gabi o kaya’y isang perlas na napakaganda na matatagpuan sapusod ng karagatan na kapag ito ay nakuha ay magpapamalas ng kagandahan sa bawa’t matang titingin sa kanya.

Ang mga bagay na ito ay magaganap lamang kung ang bawa’t isa sa aming mga kabataan ay siyang magsisimula ng magagandang plano.Ang patuloy na paghubog ng aming mga kakayahan at ang pagtuturo sa amin ng mga bagay na makapagpapatatag ng aming nasyonalismo ay siyang magiging puhunan namin upang makagawa ng magagandang bagay para sa bansang Pilipinas.

Umaasa ang batang ito ng isang magandang bukas para sa bansang Pilipinas. Sa kanyang pag-asa, sa kanyang pangangarap, hindi niya nakalimutan na ipaalaala sa mga nakatatanda ang kanilang tungkulin – ang paghubog sa kanilang kakayahan at ang pagtuturo sa kanila ng kung paano patatatagin ang kanilang nasyonalismo.

Tunay na may napakalaki nga tayong tungkulin para sa mga kabataan! Sila nga ang pag-asa ng bayan, subali’t sila naman ay umaasa rin sa ating mga nakatatanda upang maging tunay silang pag-asa ng bayan. Di nila tayo bibiguin subali’t huwag din naman natin silang biguin. Maging tunay tayong ehemplo sa kanila upang magkaroon tayo ng isang moral leadership which will propel us to move forward.

Thank you and good evening!

REFERENCES

IBON News and Features, Majority of Filipinos Say Arroyo Should Leave Office, IBON Foundation, Inc., July 22, 2005.

IBON Features Commentary. Look at Economic Features that Really Matter, IBON Foundation, Inc., August 30,2005.

IBON Survey, Most Filipinos Think Corruption in GMA Gov’t Severe, IBON Foundation, Inc., October 19, 2005.

_______________. The Task of Leadership, APCAS National Convention, October 18, 2001.

Ayala, Fernando Zobel. Education for Leadership and National Development, APCAS National Convention, October 18, 2001, Ateneo de Manila University, Q.C.

Bello, Agustin. (Quoted by Sir Jose T. Enriquez in his Rizal and Leadership Address) June 2, 1969.

Coronel, Shiela S. The Unmaking of a President, I Report, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, July 2005 Issue

Habito, Cielito F. Challenges for the Successor Generation of Filipino Leaders, October 23, 2005, Cebu City.

Intal, Anna Miren G. Leadership Effectiveness: Contemporary Perspectives and a Model for Philippine Organizations, APCAS National Convention, October 18, 2001, Ateneo de Manila University, Q.C.

Perlas, Nicanor. Socio-Political Condition of the Philippines Today: Do Filipinos Deserve Democracy?

Wallace, Peter. Moral Leadership in the Philippines Today: Morality Is’nt Grey

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[1] Dr. Rosales is the Director of the Ninoy Aquino Learning Resource Center of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and President of the Philippine Association of Teachers of History and Rizal (PATHRI) and Association of Philippine Colleges of Arts and Sciences (APCAS)

SI RIZAL AT SIKOLOHIYA

SI RIZAL AT SIKOLOHIYA

Ni Amalia Cullarin Rosales

Papel na binasa sa kumperensitya sa paggunita sa Sentenyal ng Kamatayan ni Dr. Jose Rizal, Disyembre 27-29, 1996 sa Pamantasan ng Pilipinas.

____________________________________________________

I.. PANIMULA

Sa paggunita sa ika-100 taon ng kamatayna ni Dr. Jose Rizal, iba’t-ibang pamamaraan ang isinasagawa ng mga kumikilala, naniniwala at nagtataguyod sa kanya bilang isang dakilang Pilipino. Higit kailanman, nag-ibayo sa panahong ito ang pag-aaral at pagsasaliksik kaugnay ng buhay, mga gawain at kaisipan ng dakilang Malayong ito na ang murang buhay ay walang awang kinitl ng mga dayuhan namuhi sa kanya, sanhi ng mga kaisipang binigyan daan niya sa pamamagitan ng kanyang pluma. Hindi man siya pumalaot sa larangan ng madugong pakikihamok, ang ningas na dala ng kanyang mga sinulat ay nagbigay ng matinding alab sa puso ng bawa’t isang Pilipino na nagmamahal hindi lamang sa kalayaan kundi higit ay sa dignidad o dangal ng kanilang pagkatao.

Si Rizal ay lahat-lahat na. Bilangin at isa-isahin natin ang mga titk ng alpabeto, English man o Pilipino, hindi mauubusan ng larangan o katawagan na maiiugnay kay Dr. Rizal.

Ayon kay dalmacio T. Granada, isang Pilipinong balikbayan noong 1975, si Rizal ay ang mga sumusunod:

1. anthropologist and agriculturist

2. biologist

3. chemist and cartographer

4. doctor and disciplinarian

5. educator and entomologist

6. fiscalizer

7. grammarian

8. historian and humanist

9. internationalist

10. journalist

11. keen intellectual

12. linguist

13. musician

14. novelist

15. orator

16. poet

17. quiescent man during his execution

18. reformist

19. sculptor, scholar, scientist, satirist

20. traveler

21. unifying force among his fellowmen

22. veterinarian

23. wedge that opened the libertarian cause

24. xylographer

25. yeoman

26. zealot

Sa letrang P, sa alpabetong English nais kong idagdag ang pagiging psychologist o sikolohista ni Rizal. Si Rizal, bilang sikolohista ang nais kong bigyan ng pansin sa pagkakataong ito.

II. SI RIZAL BILANG SIKOLOHISTA

Ano ang patunay na si Rizal ay isang sikolohista? Walang iba kundi ang kanyang sanaysay na pinamagatan niyang Ang Katamaran ng mga Pilipino, na nalathala sa La Solidaridad noong HUlyo 15 at Setyembre 15, 1889. Ang sanaysay na ito bni Rizal ay isang malinaw na exposition ng isang teoryang sikolohikal kaugnay ng isang karakter ng mga Pilipino – ang katamaran. Ang sanaysay na ito ay isang malalim na pag-aaral sa pagkakakilala ng mga Kastila sa mga Pilipino bilang mga tamad na tao. Sa sanaysay na ito ay inilatag ni Rizal ang kanyang teorya ng motibasyon.

III ANG SIKOLOHIYA SA PANAHON NI RIZAL

Sa panahon ni Rizal, pinaniniwalaan na ang sikolohiya ay naging bahagi ng pag-aaral noong ika-17 siglio sa Pilipinas sa Pamantasan ng Sto. Tomas at sa San carlos sa lungsod ng Cebu. Sapagka’t bahagi ng tradisyong

pang-akademya sa Europa ang sikolohiyang pilosopikal (philosophical psychology) ito ay dinala sa Pilipinas ng mga paring Kastila.

Nanag maglakbay si Rizal sa Europa noong 1882, ay sikolohiya bilang isang agham ay nagsisimula nang makilala at maging popular na larangan ng pag-aaral sa Leipzig. Sa panahong ito, isa sa maraming aklat na nabili ni Rizal ay ang Los Cuatros Reynos dela Naturaliza, isang aklat sa sikolohiya.

Noong Oktubre 29, 1886, dumating si Rizal sa Berlin. Ito ang panahon na ang mga dakilang sikolohista gaya nina Wertheimer, Koffka at Kohler ay nagtatag ng tinatawag na Gestalt School bilang protesta sa umiiral na scientific approach to analysis na nakahiwalay sa human values na nag-iinterpreta ng penomena bilang organized wholes rather than aggregates of distinct parts. Nagbigay ng maqhalagang ambag ang paaralang ito sa pag-aaral ng memorya, pag-iisip at personalidad ng tao at motibasyon.

III. SI RIZAL AT ANG KATAMARAN NG MGA PILIPINO

Sa kanyang panahon, nasasajktan si Rizal sa tuwing maririnig na ang mga Pilipino ay tinatawag na tamad ng mga dayuhang mananakop. Sapagka’t likas ang pagpapahalaga ni Rizal sa kanyang mga kalahi, hindi maiwasang siya ay mabahala sa kaisipang nakakintal sa isip ng mga Kastila na ang mga Pilipino ay mga tamad na tao. Dalawang katanungan ang bumabagabag kay Rizal. Mga katanungang inihahanap niya ng kasagutan. Sa pag-aanalisa sa kalagayan ng kanyang mga kababayan, makikita ang isang pagiging isang tunay na sikolohista ni Rizal.

Ang dalawang katanungan na inihatag ni Rizal sa kanyang sanaysay ay ang mga sumusunod:

1. Ang mga Pilipino ba ay tunaty na tamad?

2. Kung sila ay mga tamad, ano ang dahilan ng kanilang katamaran?

Bilang tagapagtanggol ng kanyang mga kababayan, ibinigay ni Rizal ang mga sumusunod na dahilan sa sinasabing pagiging tamad ngmga Pilipino:

1. Ang pagiging tamad ng mga Pilipino ay bunga ng kaguluhan at kawalan ng pagsulong ng lipunan;

2. Ang katamaran ay bunga ng klima at kalikasan;

3. Ang katamaran ay hindi minamana o namamana;

4. Ang mababang pagtingin ng mga Kastila sa manual labor ay sanhi ng katamaran ng nmga Pilipino;

5. Matinding epekto ng paniniwala sa himala;

6. Diskriminasyong pangkulay o racial discrimination;

7. Ang pagbebenta sa mga Indio ; at,

8. Sapilitang paggawa.

Ngayon, isa-isahin nating tingnan ang mga katwiran ni Rizal sa sinasabing katamaran ng mga Pilipino.

Sa sinabi ni Rizal na ang pagiging tamad ng mga Pilipino ay bunga ng kaguluhan at kawalan ng pagsulong ng lipunan, ito ay isang katotohanan. Paano sisipagin ang mga mamamayan sa panahon ng mga Kastila kung wala silang katiyakan sa maaaring mangyari sa kanilang mga lugal na tinitirahan sanhi ng pabugso-bugsong pag-alsa at pagsalakay ng mga pirata? Paano sisipagin ang mga mamamyan kung wala silang nakikitang pagsulong sa kanilang lipunan; kung ang umuunlad lamang ay ang mga mananakop at ang mga tunay na may karapatan sa lupaing kinankam ng mga dayuhan ay nananatiling busabos at walang kabuhayan?

Ang katamaran ay bunga ng klima at kalikasan. Likas na mainit ang klima sa Pilipinas sapagka’t ang bansa ay nasa tropical zone. Sapagka’t mainit ang klima, ang mga Pilipino ay namamahinga kapag mataas na ang sikat ng araw at hindi na makayanan ng kanilang mga balat ang tindi nito. Subali’t hindi pa rin sila masasabing mga tamad sapagka’t sila ay maagang nagtutungo sa kanilang mga gawain sa bukid upang maisagawa ang kanuilang trabaho habang hindi pa nakapapaso ang sikat ng araw. Sa kabila ng aping kalgayan ng mga Pilipino, at sa kabila ng alam nila na ang pamahalaan ang makikinabang sa higit na malaking bahagi ng kanilang pinagpaguran ay matiyaga pa rin silang nagtratrabaho. Hindi nila iniisip na sila ay inaapi. Na sa kalagayang panlipunan at pangkabuhayan, sila ay laging naaabuso. Ang sabi pa ni Rizal, sino ba ang tamad? Ang mga Pilipino na maaga pa ay nasa kanila ng mga gawain o ang mga Europeo na tanghali na kung magsipasok sa kanilang mga tanggapan at maaga pa ring umaalis? Sino ang tamad? Ang mga Pilipino na huindi umaasa sa ibang tao o ang mga Europeo na may tagapayong at tagapaypay ?

Sinabi ni Rizal na ang katamaran ay hindi namamana o minamana. Totoo ito. Bagama’t isang chronic malady, ayon kay Rizal ang katamaran, ito naman ay hindi minana. Bago dumating ang mga mananakop, ang mga katutubo ay masipag, may maayos silang pamumuhay. Subali’t sa pagdating ng mga dayuhan at sila ay inilagay sa isang hindi kaaya-ayang kalagayan, nalimutan nila ang kanilang mga hanapbuhay gaya ng pagsasaka, pagmamanukan at paghahayupan at paghahabi ng mga kumot. Ito ay maaasahan lamang na normal na reaksyon ng mga taong naghihimagsik ang kalooban sapagka’t hindi nila pinakikinabangan ng lubusan ang bunga ng kanilang pinagpawisan.

Mababa ang pagtingin ng mga Kastila sa paggawa o manual labor. Para sa kanila, mga may kulay at alipin lamang ang nararapat na gumawa nito. Dahil dito ay natanim sa kaisipan ng mga katutubo na mababa ang gawaing manual kaya ito ay kanilang iniiwasan at kinatatakutan.

Ang paniniwala sa himala ay iminulat ng mga Kastila sa mga katutubo. Dahil dito, naging tamad ang mga Pilipino. Sanhi ng kanilang kamangmangan, napaniwala sila ng mga Kastila na ang lahat nilang nais sa buhay ay makakamit nila sa pamamagitan ng pagdarasal at pakikinig ng misa. Pinaniwala nila ang mga Pilipino na ang mga pananim ay mananagana kahit na walang patubig sapagka’t ang Panginoon ay magbibigay sa kanila ng himala.

Naniniwala si Rizal na ang mga taong naniniwala sa himala ang siyang maituturing na mga tamad. Ang mga Kastila ay lubos ang paniniwala dito kaya masasabing sila ay higit na tamad kaysa mga katutubo na hinila nila sa ganitong paniniwala.

Dahil sa maling turo ng relihiyon, ang mga tao ay umasa sa awa ng Diyos. Sa bawa’t paghihirap na kanilang dinaranas, sila ay nananalig na magkakaroon ng himala. Hindi nila natutunan ang gumawa ng paraan bagkus natuto sila sa pakikipagsapalaran gaya ng sugal. Maraming Pilipino ang nahalina sa ganitong bisyo. Magpahanggang ngayon, ang sugal ay isa sa pinakapopular na gawain ng mga Pilipino sa pag-asang naririto ang kanilang suerte, na ang Diyos ay magbibigay himala sa kanila sa pamamagitan nito.

Sanhi ng diskriminasyon sa kulay, kahit na gaano pa katatalino ang mga Pilipino ay hindi sila binibigyan ng pagkakataon na manungkulan sa matataas na puwesto sa pamahalaan. Ang pinakamababa lamang na mga gawain ang ipinagkakatiwala sa kanila. Brutal din ang uri ng edukasyong ipinagkaloob ng mga Kastila sa mga Pilipino. Sabi nga ni Rizal, ang uri ng edukasyong ibinigay sa mga Pilipino ay hindi lamang brutal kundi nakawawalang gana at hindi makatao. Sanhi nito, napilay ang pagsisikap ng mga Pilipino. Sinabi ni Rizal na sanhi ng uri ng edukasyong ibinigay ng mga Kastila na nakapagpababa sa dignidad ng mga katutubo, namatay ang paggalang nila sa kanilang mga sarili at ganoon din sa kanilang kakayahan.

Kaugnay ng diskriminasyon sa kulay, matindi ang paniniwala ni Rizal na ang respeto at pagtitiwala sa sarili ay kailangan upang ang tao ay magkaroon ng pagmamahal sa paggawa at magkaroon ng inspirasyon na gumawa.

Sapagka’t alipin ang turing ng mga Kastila sa mga Pilipino, sila ay ipinagbibili. Isa ito sa naging sanhi ng kanilang katamaran. Naging napakalupit ng mga Kastila sa mga katutubong itinuturing nilang mga alipin. Ayon sa paglalarawan ni Rizal:

Ang ilan sa mga Indio ay nilalatigo hanggang sa mamatay. Ang mga kababaihan ay inaabuso at ang iba naman ay humahantong sa kamatayan dala ng matinding suliranin. Natutulog sila sa kaparangan kasama ang kanilang mga sanggol; sa mga kadawagang kanilang kinasadlakan ay inaaruga nila ang kanilang mga anak hanggang sa sila ay mamatay sanhi ng kagat ng mga nakalalasong insekto. Marami sa kanila ay pinapatay o kaya ay iniiwanan upang mamatay sanhi ng pagkain ng mga dahong may lason... at ang mga sanggol, sila ay pinapatay ng kanilang mga magulang pagkasilang pa lamang.

Ang kawalan ng motibasyon upang magkaroon ng gana sa paggawa ang mga katutubo ay isa sa naging sanhi ng sinasabing katamaran ng mga Pilipino, ayon kay Rizal. Tunay na sa panahon ng mga Kastila ay demoralisado ang mga Pilipino. Maraming patakaran ang pinaiiral ng pamahalaan na pumapatay sa hangarin ng mga Pilipino na gumawa. Ilan sa naging sanhi nang kanilang demoralisasyon ay ang polo o sapilitang paggawa kung saan sila ay hindi binabayaran. Napakahirap ng gawain sa ilalim ng patakarang ito, kung kaya maraming Pilipino ang ninais pang magbayad na lamang ng falla upang hindi sila maglingkod sa ilalaim ng patakarang polo. Dahil dito, sinabi ng mga Kastila na napakatamad ng mga Pilipino sapagka’t sila ay nagbabayad pa upang huwag lamang magtrabaho. Kaugnay din ng polo, ang mga Pilipinong walang kakayahang magbayad ng falla ay labis na nahihirapan hindi lamang sa uri ng trabaho na kanilang ginagawa kundi sila ay hindi rin [pinakakain ng maayos at hindi binibigyan ng maayos na tirahan.

Ang napakataas na buwis na ipinapataw sa mga Pilipino ay isa rin sa sanhi nangg kawalan nila ng interes na magtrabaho. Dahil sa napakataas na buwis na ipinapataw sa kanila ay halos wala nang natitira sa kanilang kita. Dagdag pa rito ay ang patakaran na ang mga ani ng mga katutubo ay ibebenta sa pamahalaan sa ilalim ng patakarang bandala. Napakamura lamang ng bayad na ibinibigay ng pamahalaan at kadalasan ay inuutang pa. Dahil dito, nawalan na nang ganag magtrabaho sa pataniman ang mga katutubo.

IV. SI RIZAL AT ANG KANYANG TEORIYA NG MOTIBASYON

Bilang isang sikolohista ay tiningnan ni Rizal ang motibasyon sa ganitong anggulo:

Ang tao ay naghahanapbuhay o gumagawa dahil sa may kadahilanan. Alisin mo ang kadahilanang ito, siya ay hindi mo mapagagalaw.

Sa mga sumusunod na pangungusap ay binigyan diin ni Rizal ang kanyang teoriya ng motibasyon:

Ipagkait mo sa tao ang kanyang dignidad at hindi mo lamang siya pinagkaitan ng kanyang lakas na moral kung hindi ginawa mo pa rin siyang walang silbi kahit pa sa mga taong may paghahangad na pakinabangan siya. Lahat ng nilalang ay may kanyang sigla, pinagkukunan ng lakas; ang lakas ng tao ay ang kanyang respeto sa kanyang sarili. Alisin mo ang repeto na ito sa kanya at magiging para siyang isang bangkay; ang sino mang naghahangad na kahit na ano sa isang bangkay ay walang makikita kundi mga uod lamang. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit ang mga Pilipino ngayon ay di na tulad nang unang dumating dito ang mga Kastila; mapapisikal man o mapamoral.

Contributions to PUP

AMALIA CULLARIN ROSALES
Dean, College of Arts
Polytechnic University of the Philippines


WHAT HAVE I CONTRIBUTED TO THE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES?

My day starts with PUP and ends with PUP. Wherever I go, I proudly carry the name of PUP; whatever I do, I do it for PUP, for the country and for the betterment of the youth

It is now my 27th year with the PUP. The most fruitful years of my life have been spent here. I am not yet tired serving the University. There are still so many things that I would like to do… to contribute to my Alma Mater. But for now, let me mention some of the things I have done for the school which gave me incomparable happiness and a sense of fulfillment. These are:

As Dean of the College of Arts, I had five programs of the College passed the AACCUP Level III Accreditation. I was able to inspire the faculty members to produce more researches, monographs and modules, as well as published books, thus, enriching the University’s intellectual production. Through my persistence, eleven faculty members finished their graduate degrees, which, improved the faculty profile of the University in terms of academic qualifications. Four new publications were added to the existing College’s publications, namely, CA Monitor, Sindiwa, Umalahocan, and Daluyan. These publications serve as fertile grounds for the students and the faculty members to hone their journalistic capabilities, which also benefited the University since its list of publications are getting longer, a mark of a truly publication-oriented school. Through my initiative, the facilities and equipment of the College were expanded and improved. Of course, I could not do this, without the cooperation of the faculty members of my College, who helped me raised funds in order to buy the needed equipment for the College. The students are likewise commendable in their effort to help me realize our dream for the College with little or no expense from the government. Through my representation, together with my Chairpersons, our linkages with embassies, NGOs and GOs have been strengthened.

A new degree program, AB Theater Arts, was opened through my persistence, and of course, through the assistance of my faculty members. This program paved the way for the University to prove its capability in offering not only science and technology courses but also degree programs in the humanities. I have also enriched the collection of the CA Mini-Learning Centre through book donations from our teachers and students.

The 6th floor where the College of Arts is located is a clean area with no unsightly posters and writings on the walls because I inject strong sense of discipline among the students. My ability to make my students observe rules and regulations, I believe is one of the best contributions that I have for the University. Through this, the University is spared of additional expense for the painting of its walls due to vandalism of students. At the same time, the CA students are highly-praised by the different offices where they have their practicum/on-the-job training for their good work ethics and knowledge of their job. This is a tangible contribution which anybody could be proud of.

Also, through my production of Calamba:1888, the College was able to contribute the amount of PhP113,500.00 to the coffers of the University. Likewise, my production of Dalagang Bukid in cooperation with the PUP Centennial Executive Committee and the PUP University Center for Culture and the Arts, also earned the amount needed for the construction of the PUP Centennial Pillars.

Likewise, at the time there was some sorts of chaos in the University, I spearheaded the holding of a Campaign for Peace with the theme Unity, Peace and Prosperity for the World (PUP-World) last February 24, 2003, as a way of touching the hearts of students, faculty members, administrators and administrative personnel in order for them to unite and work only for the good of everybody and to give peace a chance. It was a well-attended activity, which I believed was able to achieve its objective of cultivating a culture of peace in the University; (program is in this clear book)
As Member of the University Textbook Evaluation Committee, I, together with Dr. Mely Padilla and Dean Avelina Bucao, evaluated more than twenty books for the use of the students. Through this, it is expected that only quality books will be used in the University.

As a cultural worker and an ardent lover of arts and culture, I have made culture and arts very much alive in the University through the following monumental productions, without expense from the University:
3.1 TAO - a big production I did in 1992 with no less than then very popular actress Rina Reyes and versatile TV-stage and movie actress Suzette Ranillo. This play provided very good moral lessons to the faculty and students. It was highly-praised by the students and art critics who have seen it. Out of the modest proceeds it generated, some improvements in the CA museum were done;
3.2 HIBLANG ABO - a play which brought to tears many students and faculty members since it deals with the lives of old men who have no home to spend the remaining years of their lives. It contributed to the development of the values of respect and caring for the old people, which is in a way responsive to PUP;s philosophy of humanistic education;
3.3 WEDDING DANCE – it made the students aware of the traditions among our brothers in the Moutanin Province. This is the same play which I brought to the United States of America which earned the appreciation of the American audience;
3.4 CALAMBA: 1888- Much has been said about this play which anybody who has seen it could say that truly indeed, PUP could be the home of high caliber productions which could compete with theater groups of other schools;
3.5 LABI - another beautifully-produced play which touched the hearts and souls of our students and faculty members. It opened the eyes of the viewers to the hard realities confronting people who live in poverty, thus, in a way, students are taught to be more sympathetic with the poor, which is what the PUP is espousing as a University of the masses;
3.6 TATLONG DAGA - a twin bill of LABI which was equally admired by the students and faculty members for the fine performance of the actors and the lessons it provided the viewers that greed and unfaithfulness could lead to one’s destruction;
3.7 DALAGANG BUKID – a monumental production in cooperation with the Centennial Executive Committee and the UCCA which earned the amount needed for the construction of the Centennial Pillars;
3.8 PARADA NG MGA BULAKLAK - this has been institutionalized by the College of Arts and for the last three years, the University and the neighboring barangays witness a parade of floats decked with beautiful flowers. To date, the University is the only University in Metro manila which has a parade of this nature. This has been recognized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts that in February of this year, a grant of PhP 100,000.00 was given to the PUP for this parade;
3.9 PALARONG PILIPINO - the revival of indigenous games is PUP’s contribution to the preservation of our culture and this is being done through my initiative. Every February, the students and other constituents of the University witness the fun of playing our indigenous games;
3.10 PARADA NG PAROL - the University is able to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ with much happiness for the students and the other members of the community through this activity which gives the participants the chance to win big prizes through the beautiful lanterns which they make. Without spending a single centavo, the University can make so many people happy through the prizes they win because of the initiative of the College of Arts of which I lead as its Dean.
3.11 MUSIKA NG LAHI – the beauty of Filipino music is brought to the listening pleasure of our students in the University through this program which was funded by the NCCA, thus, sparing the University of any expense;
3.12LITERAY PRODUCTIONS such ISANG HAPON NG LITERATURANG PILIPINO, LITERATURE AS A LIVING THEATER and AN AFTERNOON OF WORLD LITERATURE , which developed in the students and the faculty members love for literature .
4.. As a Member of the Committee which formulated the Rules and Guidelines in Hiring Faculty, I contributed to the formulation of policies for the recruitment of qualified faculty members , thus, ensuring that those who will be hired by the University meet the criteria set forth to ensure the best recruits.

5.. As Chairperson of the Committee which formulated the Guidelines For Shiftees. The guidelines we have formulated insure proper control, coordination and monitoring of student development and records, thus, helping the University in its smooth operation;

6.. As Member of the Committee which formulated the Guidelines for Educational Field Trip. The guidelines formulated by the Committee resulted to carefully planned and implemented field trips which bridge the gap between theory and reality and maximize the participant’s learning experiences;

7.. As Chairperson of the Department of History, I initiated the opening of the degree program AB History aimed at developing strong sense of nationalism among our students. I also spearheaded the putting up of a mini-museum in the College of Arts and Sciences in order that the past can be appreciated by our students and other faculty members. This museum was put up through the collective effort of the faculty and students of History and the Humanities, without a single centavo being spent by the government.
8.. As President of the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Club for two terms, I can boost of the following contributions which redound to efficient, effective and economical operation of the College:
8..1 Formulation of the Vision, Mission and Goals and Objectives of the College of Arts and Sciences. The CAS VMGO aimed at the professional, cultural, and civic development of the individual , thus, an effective and efficient faculty existed which resulted to quality and excellent delivery of service to the students and other clienteles of the College in particular and the University in general;
8.2 Initiated the recognition of faculty members rated Outstanding by their students, which gave the faculty members very high morale since their performance has been recognized. This served as inspiration for other faculty members to also perform well, thus, students received the best service from their professors;
8.3 Holding of monthly spiritual sharing by the faculty members of the College of Arts and
Sciences, which led to the development of a strong belief among the members of the CAS Faculty that there is no creed but Christ and no law but love, thus, a loving and caring relationship existed in the College;
8.4 Publication of the CAS Journal SINAG, which was a first in the University and with no expense coming from the coffers of the government, but from the faculty members themselves who contributed small amount for its printing. It served as an inspiration for other Colleges to follow, thus, now, almost all Colleges in the University are having their own journal. The journal is a very effective medium for the faculty members to hone their talent in research and writing.

9. As President of the PUP Administrative Employees Association, Inc. I brought the administrative employees closer to the administration, thus, a very good and harmonious relationship existed between the administrative personnel and the administration of the University. Thus, conflicts were settled peacefully and the operation of the University was carried out with lesser problems. Likewise, I exerted efforts to have the administrative employees given importance and recognition in the University, for them not only to serve as audience in University undertaking but partners in planning and execution of activities/programs. In order to help the low-income employees in their financial need, I sourced funds from then Manila Mayor Ramon Bagatsing to serve as employee’s emergency funds so that they will not resort to borrowing from usurers who charged them with very high interest. I also started the publication of the administrative employees’ official newsletter, ANG TINIG, which served as an avenue for them to show their talent in writing as well a venue where they can ventilate some of their concerns;
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10. As a faculty member, my being rated Outstanding both in the undergraduate and Graduate levels, is a contribution to the University since, through my effective and efficient classroom performance, I can inspire the students to study and to believe that the PUP indeed is a fertile ground for effective and efficient faculty members.


B. ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT BROUGHT HONOR TO AND DISTINCTION FOR THE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

My accomplishments as a cultural worker, as a leader, as an administrator, as a faculty member, as a stage performer, as a writer, as a researcher, as a lecturer, would not go a long way if not for the PUP, for as I stated earlier, wherever I go, whatever I do, I carry the name of the PUP. I could proudly claim that these achievements have brought honor and distinction to my Alma Mater. These are as follows:

1. Founding of the theater group, Filipino Free Artists and its subsequent travel to the United States of America to promote Filipino culture in a show entitled a Glimpse of Filipino Culture. Seven Filipino artists, two of whom are US-based and five coming from the Philippines performed before an all-American audience in Muskegon, Michigan. Prior to its performance, the group were invited as guests in a morning talk show in Lakeshore, Michigan, USA and for one hour, we were interviewed by talk show host Ms. Peggy White. It was a shining moment not only for the PUP but for the entire nation because the show was viewed by thousands of viewers in the United States of America.. Questions about the Philippines including the PUP were raised by Ms. White. She was mesmerized with the beauty of our culture as we explained to her our Filipino music and dramas. She was also shocked upon learning that the PUP has a total of almost forty thousand students (at that time, 1997).The video tape of this interview is with me and every time I view it, I feel proud that I was instrumental in bringing to the attention of a foreign country about the PUP, a state university in the Philippines known for academic excellence and quality instruction;

2. My nomination and subsequent selection as one of the two Philippine delegates to the UNESCO Conference on The Future of Education and Culture. This conference which was held in Tokyo, Japan in July 2003 was attended by scholars and cultural workers from Asia and the Pacific. I carried the name of PUP as my university and the NCCA as the cultural arm which nominated me. In all the discussions and in the plenary of which I was chosen to speak for my group, I was always introduced as Dean of the College of Arts of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. The same was true during my attendance to the First International Conference on Rizal held in Kuala, Lumpur, Malaysia in 1995, where I actively participated in the human rights discussion. It was then a great opportunity for me and the PUP to be chosen as one of the delegates to be included in the party of former President Fidel Ramos;

3. Production of Calamba: 1888. This is an adaptation by me of National Artist Severino Montano’ Parting at Calamba, wherein I infused with femininity Montano’s masculine approach to the play. The play was seen by known personalities in culture, the arts and education and earned their admiration. Some of those who have seen and praised the play were Chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Jaime C. Laya; well-known radio personality Tiya Dely Magpayo; award winning and veteran stage, TV and movie actor Jonee Gamboa; National Artists, Virgilio Almario, Eddie Romero, and Lucrecia Kasilag; UNESCO Commissioner Carmen Padilla; Mrs. Montano, the widow of the National Artist and playwright, Severino Montano; the descendants of Dr. Jose Rizal, who donated a modest amount for the play to be staged in other venues; and many other personalities, the list of which is too long to mention.

A proof of the impact the play generated is the write-up of culture and arts critic, Jess Cruz, in his column, Moonlighter at the Philippine Star, copy of which is in this clear book for ready reference. In this write-up, PUP is very much projected.

This play has been staged several times in venues like the Leandro Locsin Theater in Intramuros, (two times);Far Eastern University Theater (eight times); PUP, (fifty times). The same play was tapped by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts as its offering during the opening of the NCCA Exhibits on the National Artists for Literature;

4. My position as Head of the National Committee on Cultural Education and Vice-Head of the Sub-Commission on Cultural Dissemination of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. As Head and Vice-Head of the NCCEd and SCD respectively, I went around the country promoting Filipino culture and arts and advocating the preservation of our cultural heritage. Of course, I have always been introduced as Dean of the College of Arts of the PUP making PUP known to everybody;.

5. My inclusion in the 15-Man Task Force to Draft the Philippine Cultural Education Plan (PCEP) which again brought to prominence the PUP as the University I am connected with. This PCEP was submitted to the Office of the President of the Philippines for implementation by the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education;

6. My position as President of the Philippine Association of Teachers of Culture and the Arts (PATCA). Again, the PUP was the only state university, the Dean of which headed this national organization. As President of PATCA, I organized and implemented giant projects (aside from the regular annual conventions and mid-year conferences which the organization holds) like the staging of Lapu-lapu ng Mactan, a play by Igmidio Alvarez Enriquez, which I translated into Filipino and staged at the University of the East Theatre; the Five-Year Continuing Education Program for Teachers of Culture and the Arts, of which more that two hundred teachers from all over the Philippines were trained; lecture-demo on Filipino music; and, Pistang Sining. In all these, I carried the name of the PUP;

7. My position as President of the twenty-eight year old Association of Philippine Colleges of Arts and Sciences (APCAS). This is the first time in the history of APCAS that a Dean of a state university sits as its President, since it is composed of elite schools like Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and University of Sto. Tomas, Centro Escolar University, St. Scholastica’s College, San Beda College, College of the Holy Spirit and others. Again, I represent the PUP and this is an honor for the school;

8.. As the Founding President of the Philippine Association of Teachers of History and Rizal (PATHRI), I brought honor to the PUP because I have proven that some faculty members of the PUP are capable organizers, who could stir a national organization to heights of achievements. Through the PATHRI, a Memorandum of Agreement between the Order of the Knights of Rizal and PATHRI for the propagation of the teachings of Rizal all over the Philippines was signed. Likewise, conferences on the teachings of history have been undertaken which projected PUP since the association’s President is a PUPian;

9. As a cultural worker and a lecturer, I carried the name of PUP. I have been tapped as lecturer by the Carlos P. Romulo Institute of Diplomacy of the Department of Foreign Affairs for its foreign service personnel who will be based in Europe (Philippine Society, Culture and Education); Department of Tourism for its staff and officials (Philippine Festivals and Fiestas); Order of the Knights of Rizal during its 9th International Assembly (The Filipino Spirit in Rizal), and during its National Rizal Youth Leadership Institute (Who Is a Filipino? and The Relevance of Rizal’s Teachings Today); Rotary International’s General Assembly in the Philippines (100 Years of Filipino Heritage); Kapisanan ng mga Kolehiyo at Unibersidad na Pang-estado sa Pilipinas (Contrbutions of PATCA to General Education); Kapisanan ng mga Gurong Nagmamahal kay Rizal during its International Conference (The Nationalism of Rizal and Gandhi: A Comparative Analysis); SANGFIL (Ang Wikang Filipino sa Akademya); University of the Philippines (Rizal at Sikolohiya); Universiy of Southern Philippines in Cebu City (The Impact of RA 1425 in the Development of Moral Values ); University of Rizal System as its Commencement Speaker (The URS: Responding to the Challenge of Time); and many others;

10. As a researcher, I was tapped by the Order of the Knights of Rizal to research on WHO IS A FILIPINO. I did the research carrying the name of the University, thus the PUP made a remarkable contributions in the field of research on Filipino traits through this ;

11. My nomination and election as the Presiding Officer of the National AdvisoryBoard of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts during one of its quarterly meeting. This is an honor for PUP since not everybody is given the chance to be elected to preside over such meeting of well-known cultural workers and government officials, with no less than former Senator Leticia Shahani as one of the members;

12. As author of two books, Rizal: Walang Hanggang Landas and Pilipinas: Heograpiya, Kasaysayan at Pamamahala, honor and distinction are given to the PUP because these books are used not only in the PUP but also in other schools like the University of Sto. Tomas, Saint Louis University of Baguio and Southeastern College.

The first book, Rizal, Walang Hanggang Landas, was launched by the Order of the Knights of Rizal during the commemoration of the death anniversary of Dr. Rizal on December 30, 2002, with government officials, members of the Order of the Knights of Rizal from different countries, students from several schools in the Philippines who are winners of Rizal’s Model Students Search, and members of the Kababaihang Rizalista International. This did not give prominence to PUP in the Philippines only but also to other countries since there are foreign guests who attended. Filipino members of the Order of the Knights of Rizal who are based abroad brought their copies of the book back to their homes in the United States, Japan, Germany, and in other countries where they are based.

13. As Member of the Executive Committee of the National Rizal Youth Leadership Institute (NRYLI), I carry the name of PUP. For the last ten years I have been included as a member of this Executive Committee taking charge of the faculty. My contributions to the planning and the execution of the Institute are recognized by the Order of the Knights of Rizal, for which I have been awarded with several medals of commendation, (these medals are in my office in the 6th floor). Again, PUP is very much projected since I always see to it that my school will be always attached to my name whenever I am introduced. Last year, December 2003, when the NRYLI had me as one of its speakers, I was given a standing ovation by eight hundred students and faculty members from all over the Philippines for the lecture that I delivered . Prof. Cecilia Ortanez who was with me at that time together with Prof. Armand Torres proudly told the students and the faculty members they talked to during that occasion that “they are very proud of me as their Dean”. I consider this accomplishment an honor for the PUP;

14. Likewise, the National Rizal Youth Leadership Institute tapped me to prepare a course outline on “Motivating Faculty Members to Become Effective Tools of Change and Development” for the use of the Institute in the training of faculty members who are attending the NRYLI. I consider this an accomplishment which brought honor and distinction for the PUP since there are many faculty members who could be tapped by the Institute but they have chosen one faculty member from the PUP to prepare the course outline;

15. As a stage and TV performer, the name of the PUP has always been emphasized every time my performance is needed.. I have performed in several plays in different venues and in all my write-ups, the PUP is always mentioned.

16. The publication of my article, The Realities of Philippine Politics in the
MANILA BULLETIN last May 30, 2004, Educator’s Speak Column which disseminated information about the state of politics in the Philippines captivated the attention of the readers making PUP distinct and different from other universities and colleges.. The article occupied almost a page of the MANILA BULLETIN;

17. The Samahan ng mga Edukador at Tagapagtaguyod ng Kulturang Pilipino sa Mindanao (SETKUPMIN) which I organized made the PUP known even to far-flung areas like Mindanao and Sulu helps in the propagation and preservation of traditional Culture and arts;

18. One of my most significant accomplishments which I believe brought honor and distinction to the PUP was when I was chosen as one of the Speakers during the 1997 Order of the Knights of Rizal Conference on the theme Rizalism: The Foundation of the Filipino Spirit. I was the only woman speaker and my picture with the title Dean of the College of Arts of the PUP, appeared in the souvenir program together with prominent names and personalities such as the late Justice Marcelo H. Fernan, Vice-President Salvador Laurel, Congressman Edcel Lagman, Senator Mar Roxas II, former Labor Secretary Ruben Torres, Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, and Education Secretary Ricardo Gloria. Being lined-up with these personalities, I believe is a great honor and a distinction not only for myself but also for the University;

19. During the 155th Foundation Anniversary of the Municipality of Aliaga,
Nueva Ecija, I was invited as the Guest Speaker by the Mayor of the town. I was again able to project the PUP to the government officials and residents of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija;

20. Last April 1, 2004, the University of Rizal System-Angono Campus had
m as the University’s Commencement Speaker. I believe this is an honor and a distinction for the PUP since to be considered as a Commencement Speaker of a state university is already an achievement. I was chosen because of my contributions to culture and the arts and my leadership in the field of education and culture;

21. When the Department of Education subjected their MAKABAYAN
curriculum to the critiquing of experts, I was tapped as one of the critics. This is again not only an achievement for myself but for the University since the PUP was among the few state universities, a faculty member of which was tapped as a curriculum critique. Of course, another PUP faculty member who was also recognized was Dean Avelina Bucao;

22. During the International Conference on Rizal held at the University of the
Philippines in September 1992, I was tapped to deliver a paper on The Nationalism of Rizal and Gandhi before scholars and academicians from different countries. This was a great honor for the PUP since I was with respected scholars and academicians;

23. My having been featured in the “Achievers”, website also projected the PUP not only in the Philippines but also abroad since the web has a broad reach;

24. The write-ups and newspaper articles on my being speaker/organizer of conferences/election to position of organizations, etc. carry the name of PUP, and these I believe contribute distinction and honor for the PUP.

The foregoing are some if the things I have done for my Alma Mater. There were little things I did which may not be noticed like standing up to defend my beloved University from the criticisms of other people who do not understand why activism is alive in the University; reaching out to students to make them feel that the faculty members in the PUP are not only their professors but their friends and parents too; providing a little amount to students who could not come to school because their allowance did not arrive on time or their parents are too hard-up that they could no longer provide them with their everyday expenses; talking to faculty members and encouraging them to serve and give their best to the University and many other little things which I believe are also being done by everybody in the University who truly care for our Sintang Paaralan.

I believe that in my twenty seven years with the PUP, I have done my best to give honor to it. I may not have the material wealth but I am rich in the number of lives I have touched as a cultural worker, a teacher, an administrator, a public servant.

INTERVIEW: The Deanship of Amalia Rosales

ISANG INTERBYU KAY DR. AMALIA CULLARIN ROSALES


1. Ano ang naging katungkulan ninyo bago kayo namuno sa Kolehiyo ng Sining?

Tagapamuno ng Kagawaran ng Kasaysayan. Bago dito ay naging Executive Assistant to the PUP President mula 1982- April 1986. Ito ay sa ilalim ng administrasyon ni Dr. Pablo T. Mateo Jr. Noong Abril 1992 hanggang Hulyo 1992 at naging Technical Assistant sa ilalim ng administrasyon ni Dr. Jaime Gellor. . Mula naman noong Hulyo 1977 hanggang 1981 ay nanungkulan na Executive Secretary ni Dr. Pablo T. Mateo Jr.

2. Ano ang unang naging impresyon sa Kolehiyo ng Sining?

Isang maayos, malaya at makulay na Kolehiyo kung saan ay naririto ang maraming mga intelektual at mapagmahal sa sining at kultura.

3. May mga ginawang pag-aangkop ba sa unang taon ng pamumuno sa Kolehiyo?

Bago ako naging Dekana ay tagapamuno na ako ng Kagawaran ng Kasaysayan. More or less ay alam ko na ang direksyong tinatahak ng Kolehiyo batay na rin sa misyon at pilosopiya ng Pamantasan at ng Kolehiyo kung kaya kung may pagbabago man ay hindi naman masasabing drastic. Unang-una, ako ay katulong sa pagbuo ng mga plano para sa Kolehiyo noon ang Dekano ay si Dr. Juan Birion sapagka’t ako nga ay isa sa kanyang mga tauhan bilang Tagapamuno ng Kagawaran ng Kasaysayan. May mga plano siya na aking ipinagpatuloy at mayroon din akong idinagdag ayon na rin sa pangangailangan ng Kolehiyo at ng panahon.

May mga pagbabago akong isinagawa upang lalo pang maging dinamiko ang Kolehiyo. May mga plano akong isinumite sa administrasyon na ang karamihan ay akin naming naipatupad.

Kung ang nais ipakahulugan ng salitang “pag-aangkop” ay adjustment, hindi ko kinakailangang mag-adjust sapagka’t ako ay tunay na bahagi ng Kolehiyo simula pa noong 1979 kaya alam ko na ang ugali, mga mithiin at kakayahan ng aking mga kasama. Hindi naging mahirap sa akin ang pagsisimula bilang Dekana sapagka’t para ko lamang ipinagpapatuloy ang aking mga gustong gawin noong ako ay Pangulo ng Samahan ng mga Guro ng Kolehiyong ito sa loob ng dalawang termino kung saan ay napakaraming mga proyekto akong naisagawa sa tulong ng aking mga kaguro at noong ako ay maging Tagapangulo ng Kagawaran ng Kasaysayan.

Tulad ng mga nauna sa akin bilang pinuno ng Kolehiyo, hangarin ko ang pagkakaroon ng excellence through quality education.

4. Paano ang sistema ng pamumuno sa Kolehiyo?

Ginagamit ko ang pamamaraang participative-transparent leadership. Ang mga tauhan ko ay bahagi ng pagplaplano, kasama sa pagsasagawa ng plano at ang lahat ay ibinabahagi sa kanila upang maiwasan ang di-pagkakaunawaan. Ako ay matapat din at prangka sa kanila . Kung ako ay galit, iyon ay ipinakikita ko lalo na kung may mga bagay na hindi tama na kanilang nagawa. Hindi ako ipokrita sa kanila. Kung nagagampanan nila ng maayos ang kanilang mga gawain, sila ay binibigyan ko ng papuri at pinasasalamatan sa mga ambag nila sa Kolehiyo. Isang pamilya ang turing ko sa kanila.

5. Naging epektibo ba ng ginawang hakbang sa pamamalakad?

Para sa akin ay masasabi kong epektibo. Marami kaming mga nagawa para sa Kolehiyo. Sa lahat ng larangang pang-akademya ay naging matagumpay naman ang Kolehiyo. Maraming nakapagsaliksik, gumawa ng mga extension services, nag-aral at nakapagtapos ng master at doctorate degrees, nakapagbukas ng bagong programang pang-akademiko, napaacredit ang lahat ng kurso hanggang Level III, maganda ang samahan ng mga guro bagama’t nagaganap din ang paminsan-minsan ay di pagkakaunawaan subali’t madali naming nalulunasan at higit sa lahat, tumagal ako g halos pitong taon ng Dekana ng walang malaking problema akong kinaharap mula sa mga guro. Hangga ngayon ay nirerespeto nila ako at sila naman ay nirerespeto ko.

6. Paano ang relasyo sa mga propesor at mag-aaral ng Kolehiyo?

Maayos. Sila ay mga kapatid ang aking turing at ako ay kanila naming sinusunod at iginagalang. Transparent ako sa aking damdamin sa kanila. Kung sila ay nagkakamali, ang karampatang polisiya ay aking ipinaiiral. Hindi ko pinaiiral ang personal na damdamin sa aking pakikitungong opisyal sa kanila. Kung sila ay may kamalian, kahit na sila ay aking mga kaibigan ay nakatatanggap sila ng kaukulang kaparusahan.

Madali naman nila akong nalalapitan. Tulad ng isang pamilya, kami ay may panahon para sa mga pag-uugnayang personal at sosyalisasyon.

Sa mga mag-aaral, nais ko silang madisiplina upang paglabas nila sa PUP ay hindi lamang sila may mga dalang karunungang pangkaisipan kundi mayroon din silang magandang disiplina. Ang kabutihang-asal ay isa sa mga bagay na ipinamumulat ko sa kanila upang tunay silang maging tao. Bagama’t mayroong mga natatakot sa akin sa pag-aakalang ako ay matapang, ay mayroon din naming nakauunawa na ang hangad ko lamang ay ang kabutihan at magandang katutunan ng mga mag-aaral. Talaga naming matapang ako sa mga matitigas ang ulo at walang disiplinang mag-aaral lalo na iyong mga hindi nagmamahal sa kanilang kapaligiran. So far, I believe that maganda naman ang aking relasyon sa mga estudyante. Natutuwa nga ako dahil sa aking mga pagdidisiplina sa kanila, kapag ako ay nakikita nila na lumalabas ng elevator ay agad na silang titingin sa kanilang kapaligiran at kung may mga dumi, ay kanilang dadamputin ang mga iyon. Umaalis din sila sa pagkakaupo nila sa mga railings ng 6h floor sa may South Wing Bridge sapagka’t iyon ay ipinagbabawal ko rin sa kanila. Sa College of Arts din, sa ilalim ng aking pamumuno ay pantay ang tingin ko sa lahat – kahit na sila at bakla, tomboy o tunay na lalaki at babae. Walang diskriminasyon sa akin bilang pinuno ng Kolehiyo. Kaya nga yong mga bakla, masaya sila sa College of Arts.

7. Maliban sa regulasyon ng pamantasan, may mga idinagdag bang regulasyon sa mga propesor ng Kolehiyo bilang kanilang pamantayan? Ano naman ang sa mga mag-aaral?

Lahat ng regulasyon ay nakabatay sa kung ano ang pinaiiral ng pamantasan. Binigyan diin ko lamang ang pagbabawal sa paninigarilyo sa 6th floor. Ganoon din, ang pagbebenta ng kung anu-ano sa mga mag-aaral, ang pagsasagawa ng field trips ng walang kapahintulutan at pagsasagawa ng Community Organizing sa napakalayong mga lalawigan.

Sa mga mag-aaral, mahigpit kong ipinagbabawal ang pagkakabit ng kung anu-anong poster sa mga dingding ng Kolehiyo. Ganoon din ang pag-iingay sa mga corridor at mga classroom kung wala silang mga klase.

8. Mahirap ba ang tungkulin ng isang Dekana?

Mahirap kung hindi mo alam ang iyong gawain at kung hindi mo mahal ang mga taong pinaglilingkuran mo ganoon din kung hindi mo gusto ang iyong ginagawa. Pero dahil gusto ko ang gawain ko, hindi ko nararamdaman ang hirap. Mas challenging, mas gusto ko.

9. Ano ang naging pangunahin ninyong layunin sa pagpapatakbbo ng Kolehiyo?

Ang makapaglingkod ng matapat; higit pang mapaganda ang kalagayan ng Kolehiyo at ng mga nasa ilalim nito; makilala ang Kolehiyo hindi lamang sa Pilipinas kundi sa iba pang panig ng mundo sa pamamagitan ng mga guro at mag-aaral na unti-unti ay naisasagawa na. May isa na tayong mag-aaral, si Crystel Villacamora na napili na magobserve sa mga aklatan ng Alexandria, Ehipto. Ilang mga-aaral natin ang napili ng Ayala Young Leaders na sanayin sa pagiging servant leaders. Marami na tayong mag-aaral ang nanalo ng mga paligsahang pangnasyonal. Sa panig ng mga guro, ang kanilang mga talento at kakayahan ay napapansin din hindi lamang sa loob ng paaralan at sa loob ng bansa kund ganoon din sa ibang bansa. Nang ako ay ipadala ng Pilipinas bilang kinatawan sa isang pulong na pangkultura sa Tokyo, Hapon ay malinaw kong naipakilala sa kanila ang College of Arts ng PUP ganoon din ang bansang Pilipinas sa pamamagitan ng aktibong pakikilahok sa mga talakayan. Si Prop. Elmer de Jose ay naipakilala din ang PUP, College of Arts sa Australia, ng siya ay mabigyan ng scholarship doon sa loob ng dalawang taon. Si Prop, Emmanuel de Guzman ay naibandila din ang Kolehiyo ng Sining at ang PUP ng mapili siya na iskolar ng Ford Foundation sa England kung saan ay tinatapos niya ang kanyang doctorate degree. Ganoon din, si Prop. Alice Rosero ay naipadala at nakapagtapos ng kanyang master sa Netherlands. Ako naman ay patuloy na ibinabandila ang Kolehiyo ng Sining sa pamamagitan ng aking malalim na involvement sa kultura at sining bilang tagapangulo ng National Committee on Cultural Education ng National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Kamakailan lamang ay nahalal akong Pangulo ng Association of Phillippine Colleges of Arts and Sciences.

Labis na rin ang naginmg pagkilala sa Kolehiyo ng Sining ng iba’t-ibang tanggapan, paaralan, pribado man at pangpubliko sa larangan ng pagtatanghal pangtanghalan (stage plays). Ang Calamba:1888 na aking adaptasyon ng likhang sining ng Pambansang Artista sa Entablado na si Severino Montano, ang Parting at Calamba ay naging isang napakalaking tagumpay sa larangan ng sining. Ito ay napili ng NCCA, FEU at ng PLDT na bigyan ng pondo upang maitanghal. Labis ang naging paghanga ng mga nakakakilala ng tunay na sining sa Calamba:1888 at ang mga artistang naging bahagi nito, mula sa Direktor ng palabas na si Dodi Dizon, ang mga nasa likod nito tulad ni Pacelli Eugenio sa musika, Kriztine Viray, sa pamumunong pangtanghalan, ako, bilang prodyuser at artista, si Mila Canares bilang artista at ang iba pang mga guro na naging bahagi ng tagummpay nito ay para-parang nag-ambag upang makilala ang Kolehiyo ng Sining ng PUP sa labas ng ating pamantasan. Ang pagkakataon na ibinigay ng NCCA sa Calamba: 1888 na maitanghal ng tatlong ulit, na ang huli ay sa harap ng mga National Artists ay hindi mapasusubalian na isang malaking tagumpay para sa Kolehiyo at sa PUP sa larangan ng sining. Ganoon din, ang pagkilala na ibinigay dito nina Dr. Jaime C. Laya, dating Chairman ng NCCA, ng batikang artistang si Jonee Gamboa, ng manunulat na si Jesse Cruz, at ng mga apo ng ating bayaning si Jose Rizal.

Marami pang ibang mga karangalan na natamo ang Kolehiyo ng Sining sa ilalim ng aking pamumuno. Marami pang mga guro ang patuloy na nagbibigay ningning sa Kolehiyo ng Sining upang maisakatuparan ang aking mithiin para sa Kolehiyo. Kung wala ang mga taong ito - ang mga guro ng Kolehiyo ng Sining, hindi rin magaganap ang tagumpay ng aking mga pangarap para sa Kolehiyo.

10. Nagkaroon ba ng problema sa Kolehiyo noong kayo ay nanungkulan?

Ang problema ay lagi nang bahagi ng anumang administrasyon. Sa Kolehiyo ng Sining, maipagmamalaki ko na kung may mga suliranin mang naganap sa aking panunungkulan, ang mga iyon ay hindi naman malalaki . Madaling nabibigyan ng solusyon. Marahil nga ay sapagka’t pamilya ang turing ko sa aking mga nasasakupan.
May respeto ako sa kanila, may respeto din sila sa akin. Kaya wala kaming malaking problema na kinaharap. Kapag may mga nagsasabi ng hindi mabuti sa aking mga guro sa mga pagpupulong, ako ay lagi ng kanilang tagapagtanggol. Mali man sila o tama, hindi ko hinahayaan na sila ay malalapastangan ng iba sa mga pulong. Naniniwala ako na tungkulin ko na \ipagtanggol sila sa harap ng iba. Marahil, isa ito sa mga dahilan kung bakit kahit na kung minsan ay masakit akong magsalita sa mga gurong lumilihis ng landas, nirerespeto pa rin nila ako.

11. Anu-ano ang natamong tagumpay ng Kolehiyo ng kayo ay manungkulan?

Napakadami. Una, ang lahat ng degree program ng Kolehiyo ay accredited na. maliban sa Psychology na muling bibisitahin para sa akreditasyon nito sa Level III, ang iba pang mga degree programs ay Level III ng lahat. Nakapagdagdag pa ng bagong degree program, ang AB Theater Arts. Maraming mga aklat ang naisulat. Nagkaroon ng mga magtagumpay na pagtatanghal pantanghalan tulad ng Calamba: 1888, Tatlong Daga, Labi at Dalagang Bukid, May Isang Sundalo at Literature as a Living Theater. Ang mga gradweyt ng Libarary and Information Science ay pumapasa sa Board Exam at ang PUP ay lagi ng isa sa sampung paaralan sa may 197 paaralan na nangunguna sa laki ng percentage ng mga nakapasa; ang mga gradweyt ng AB History ay halos 100% din ang nakakapasa sa Licensure Board Examination for Teachers. Dalawang mag-aaral ng AB History ang tinanghal na Champion sa National Rizal Quiz. Sila ay sina Maricris Roco at Joanna Marie Aboga.

Apatnapung researches ang natapos ng mga guro. Nakapaglabas ng mahigit na dalawampung monographs ang Kolehiyo. Ang extension program ng Kolehiyo ay naging napakayaman at kinilala sa iba’t-ibang dako, mapasabansa man o mapasaibang bansa sapagka’t si Prop. Siegrefdo Calabig at ang kanyang anak na si Rossini na parehong guro ng Kolehiyo ay nagdadala ng napakalaking karangalan sa bansa. Sina Flora Arellano at Enrique Torres ay nagbigay dingal sa PUP sa kanilang mga pakikipanayam sa iba’t-ibang bansa bilang mga pinuno ng mga samahan ng kaguruan, kababaihan at karapatang pangtao. Si Joey Pinalas ay nakapaglakbay sa Canada at sa Palau bilang kinatawan ng Pilipinas sa pulong ng mga guro. Si Dr. Corazon P. Coloma ay nakapaglakbay naman sa Europa at nagbigay ng kanyang expertise sa mga narses na Pilipinong nasa London ng ang mga ito ay magtayo ng kanilang samahan kung saan siya ay ginawang consultant at tagapayo. Ako ay napiling isa sa labinlimang katao na gumawa ng Philippine Cultural Education Plan for 2004-2007 at ng limang miyembro ng Task Force na nagbalangkas ng Philippine Cultural Index Program. Si Dr. Custodiosa Sanchez ay napili na Outstanding Book Writer ng Rex Publications at ang kanyang aklat na General Psychology ay nabigyan ng parangal bilang best seller. Sina Milagros Canares, Tomas Masaganda at Roxel Apruebo ay nakapagtapos ng kanilang doctorate degrees. Sina Jose Abat, Nicolas Mallari, Emmanuel de Guzman, Edwin Monares, Iandro Ibanez , Jaime Gutierrez, at Alice Rosero ay nagtapos naman ng kanilang master degrees. Nabigyan ng iskolarship sa ibang bansa sina Alice Rosero (Netherlands), Emmanuel De Guzman (England) Flora Arellano (Pakistan), Joey Pinalas (Kuala Lumpur) at Elmer de Jose (Australia).

Nabuksan ang linkages ng Kolehiyo ng Sining sa mga embahada tulad ng Iran, Israel, Hapon at Turkey. Ang tatlong unang bansa ay sa pamamagitan ng initiatibo ng History Society sa pangunguna ng mag-aaral na si Jonathan Balsamo, samantalang ang sa Turkey naman ay sa pamamagitan din ng mga mag-aaral ng kasaysayan. Ang mga organisasyon ng mga mag-aaral tulad ng Peer Counselors at Sociological Society ay kinilala sa kanilang kahusayan sa larangan ng adolescent development at community organizing. Ang Peer Counselors ay nabigyan ng citation ng Foundation for Adolescent Development. Nanalo din sa mga pambansang paligsahan ang mga mag-aaral ng Library and Information Science tulad nina Romeo Yasay at Edeliza Gallo na na nakuha ang Grand Championship sa National Battle of the Brains for Librarians.. Nabigyan ng parangal ng Philippine Association of Psychology Junior Affiliate ang thesis nina Odessa Pascual, (1999) at Amor Guevarra (2001) mag-aaral ng sikolohiya bilang best thesis. Sa panig naman ng mga guro, ang thesis ni Emmanuel De Guzman ay nabigyan din ng parangal bilang best thesis ng Ateneo de Manila University.

Ang mga mag-aaral at ang mga guro ng Kolehiyo ay nagniningning din sa labas ng pamantasan. Kinukuha ang kanilang mga serbisyo bilang mga tagapagsalita, coordinator, project director, resource person, at facilitators ng iba’t-ibang samahan at tanggapan. Noong 2001 ay sampung mag-aaral ng sikolohiya ang kinuha upang maging facilitator sa Asia-Pacific Conference on Reproductive Health. Ako ay project director ng Pistang Sining ng NCCA, at ng apat na phases ng Continuing Education Program for Teachers of Humanites, Culture and the Arts (music and dance, theater, film, literature) na itinaguyod ng Philippine Association of Teachers of Culture and the Arts, ganoon din ng 40th National Rizal Youth Leadership Institute.

Naging resource speaker at facilitator din ako ng mga pandaigdigan at pambansang panayam tulad ng International Conference on Myths and Legends ng International Organization of Folk Arts; 9th International Assembly of the Order of the Knights of Rizal; National Conference on the Centennial of the Filipino-American War;
41st National Rizale Youth leadership Institute at marami pang iba. Si Dr. Juan Birion ay nakilala din sa kanyang galing sa research at naging tagapagsalita sa maraming mga pagpupulong.

Nadagdagan din ang mga samahan ng mga mag-aaral sa Kolehiyo. Naitatag ang Poets’ Society and Forensic Guild sa ilalim ng pamamatnubay ni Prop. Reylan Viray at nakapagpalabas ng isang newsletter, ang Daluyan. Ang Book Lovers’ Society sa ilalim ni Prop. Aaron Baygan ay naitatag. Ganoon din, nabuo ang Samahan ng mga Manunulat sa Kasaysayan (SAMAKA) at Molave Theater Guild.

Nagkaroon ang Kolehiyo ng iba’t-ibang newsletter tulad ng Baliktanaw para sa PUP Students Historical Society; LISSO News ng Library and Information Science Students Society; Abot Kamay ng Extension Centre; CA Monitor ng College of Arts; at Psyche News ng PUP Students Psychological Society.



Naisaayos ang museo ng Kolehiyo. Salamat sa mga guro at mag-aaral ng Kasaysayan na siyang nanguna sa pag-aayos nito. Naisaayos din ang CA Learning Center ng mga mag-aaral ng Library and Information Science.

Napakarami pa na hindi ko na maalaalang lahat. Marahil ay tingnan na lamang ninyo ang mga sipi ng aking Accomplishment Reports mula noong 1997 hanggang 2003.
Nandoon lahat iyon.

12. Ano ang pinakamasaya at pinakamemorableng karanasan na hindi ninyo makalilimutan?

Kung sa mga memorable at masayang karanasan ay napakarami rin, Ang aming pagsasama-sama sa Kolehiyo kapag may okasyon. Sa faculty room ay nagkakasayahan kami at ito ang panahon na nagkakaroon kami ng bonding. Ang pagtungo naming nina Prop. Wagan sa Ilocos hanggang sa may Pagudpud. Tatlong araw iyon na naglibot kami at naghanap ng mga lugal na mapagdadalhan sa mga guro at iba pang taga Kolehiyo ng hindi masyadong malaki ang gastos.

Memorable sa akin ang isang umaga ng Disyembre 2001 na ng dumating ako sa upisina ay may nakita akong bulaklak na rosas na puti mula sa isang guro, kay Corazon Constantino. Memorable kasi, iyon ang panahon na humihingi ako ng sign sa Panginoon kung tutuloy ako sa Baguio City dahil parang hindi maganda ang kalagayan ng aking kalusugan pero ako naman ay siyang assigned sa Faculty Seminar ng Order of the Knights of Rizal, kaya hindi ako makapagdesisyon. Sabi ko sana ay magkaroon ako ng sign na puting bulaklak na magpapakahulugan na hindi na lang ako pupunta sa Baguio. Isang umaga nga ay nakita ko na lamang sa mesa ko ang puting rosas na iyon. Kaya lagi ko itong naaalaala. Hindi na ako tumuloy sa Baguio. Naunawaan naman ako ng mga kasama ko dahil nga talagang parang physically weak ako noon.

Si Corazon Constantino din ang nagbigay ng isa pang memorableng karanasan sa akin. Kasi, isang araw, parang Valentine’s day yata noon, nang dumating na naman ako sa upisina ko ay may red rose naman sa mesa ko na may maikling message. Ang sabi sa message ay “sana po ang bulaklak na ito ay makatulong kahit kaunti sa paglutas ng mga suliranin ninyo”. Natouched ako noon. Kasi, ang dami-daming guro sa Kolehiyo pero si Cora lang ang nakaalala sa akin ng araw na iyon at higit akong natouched sa kanyang mensahe kasama ng rose. Alam ko kasi pati na financially hard-up ang buhay noon ni Cora pero kahit papaano ay ibinili niya ako ng rose. It was a gesture I will always remember. Kaya yong piece of paper containing that message, inilagay ko iyon sa album ko, kasama ng iba pang mga mumunting cards na bigay sa akin.


Ang isa pa na naaalaala ko ay ang halos buong pagkakaisang suporta na ibinigay sa akin ng mga guro sa Kolehiyo noong nagkaroon ako ng hindi pagkakaunawaan sa isa ring administrador ng PUP. Noon ko nadama ang pagmamahal ng mga katrabaho ko. Ito rin ang panahon na nakagawa ako ng isang mahabang sulat na ang sabi ng mga kaibigan ko sa labas at loob ng Kolehiyo ay maituturing na isang classic in literature.

Memorable rin sa akin ang pagpunta sa tanggapan ko ng mga ilang batang magtatapos na buong sinserong nagpapasalamat sa kung ano man siguro kaliit na bagay na nagawa ko para sa kanila. Ang pasasalamat ng isang mag-aaral na napagtapos ko bilang aking iskolar na personal dahil naawa ako sa kanya kasi gusto niyang mag-aral pero wala naman siyang kakayahan, ay nagbibigay din sa akin ng labis na kasiyahan.. Nagyon, tapos na siya at lagi na ay tinatawagan niya ako at sinasabi na namimiss niya ako. Nagtratrabaho na siya at sana maging maganda na ang buhay niya.

Memorable sa akin ang tagumpay na tinamo ng Calamba:1888. Isa ko itong produksyon at masasabi ko na isa ito sa nagbigay ng dingal sa Kolehiyo ng Sining.

Memorable sa akin ang pagsasama-sama namin nina Dodi Dizon, si Pacelli Eugenio, si Johnny Birion, si Cora Coloma, si Jojo Divinagracia, si Rudy Divino . Sina Dodi at Pacelli, kasama ko sila sa tanghalan at marahil higit kanino man sila ang mas nakakikilala sa akin bilang Amalia – kung paano ko mahalin ang trabaho ko at kung gaano ang dedikasyon ko sa bawa’t proyekto na aking ginagawa. Kung gaano kahalaga sa akin ang sining at kultura. Si Cora,, kaibigan ko siya at alam niya kung ano talaga ang ugali ko. Alam niya kung paano ako maninindigan. Malimit nga ay pinapayuhan niya ako na alalahanin ko rin ang sarili kong kapakanan at huwag ang sa iba lamang. Si Johnny, kahit hindi na kami masyadong nagkakasama ngayon, nandoon pa rin ang malaki naming respeto sa isa’t-isa. Marami rin akong natutunan sa kanya sa pagtitimpi. Kasi ako, kung ano ang nasa isip ko, sasabihin ko, kaya lagi na ay pinaaalalahanan ako ni Johhny. Si Robert, para ko na siyang kapatid. Malimit na napagagalitan ko siya, pero, mahal pa rin niya ako. Si Rudy, hindi pa ako Dean, Chairperson pa lang ako ng History, malapit na siya sa akin. Pag umuuwi siya sa Bacolod, pagbalik niya lagi siyang may pasalubong sa akin. Nang maging Dean ako, lagi niyang sinusuportahan ang mga projects ko kahit minsan ay kailangan niyang magsakrispisyo sa sarili niyang activity sa labas ng paaralan. Si Jojo, kahit na magkaiba kami ng paniniwala pagdating sa student activism, hindi niya ako iniiwanan bilang kaibigan at siguro parang ate na rin ang turing niya sa akin. Pag may ginawa siyang hindi tama at masyado akong nagalit, hindi siya nagtatanim ng sama ng loob sa akin. Nagsosorry siya. Matiyaga rin siya na samahan ako sa paglalagi ko sa upisina ng overnight. Masaya ako sa kanila kasi, mga totoo silang kaibigan. May mga pagkakataon na nagkakasamaan din kami ng loob, pero hindi nagiging dahilan iyon para hindi na kami magkaunawaan. Ang pagkakaroon ng mga kaibigang kagaya nila ay isang malaking kaligayahan para sa akin.

Memorable at nagbibigay ligaya din sa akin ang mga pagtulong na ibinibigay sa akin ng mga bago at batang guro. Sina Elmer de Jose, Joey Abat, Raul Sebastian, Narciso Cabanilla, Jane Mendoza, Ellen Lim, Nicolas Mallari, Reylan Viray, Baby Ballesteros, Dado Franco, Joey Pinalas, Armand Torres, Macdonald Pascual, Ivy Ferrer, Nelson Baun, Jay Jamandre, Doris Agustin, at Anna Rose Fueconcillo. Ang mga batang guro na ito ay nakatutuwa sapagka’t napakasisipag nila. Kahit anong oras mo sila hingan ng tulong para sa Kolehiyo ay tiyak na gagawin nila ang lahat para makatulong sa ikatutupad ng maayos ng mga proyekto. Sina Buhay Hernandez, Josie Parentela, Beth Carlos, Miriam Padolina, Zeny Santos, Glo Pastor, Cecille Ortanez at Esther Bagsic ay ilan pa rin sa mga guro na hindi nagkakait ng kanilang tulong sa mga panahon ng pangangailangan ko para sa Kolehiyo.

Ganoon din, malaking ligaya ang dulot sa akin ng mga tagapamuno ng iba’t-ibang departamento na ginagawa ang kanilang mga tungkulin at hindi nagbibigay ng lubhang problema sa akin. Si Pol Duque, maaasahan parati; si Jimmy Gutierrez, bago pa lamang pero kay laking ginhawa na ng aking panunungkulan mula ng siya ay maging Chairperson. Masipag siya at alam niya ang kanyang ginagawa. Si Miriam Padolina, masipag din at maasikaso sa gawain. Ang pagkakaroon ng mga tauhang katulad nila ang siyang nagbibigay ng kaligayahan sa isang pinuno na kagaya ko at nagiging dahilan upang bawa’t araw sa aking tungkulin ay maging memorable.

13. Ano ang inyong pagkakaabalahan pagkatapos ng inyong pamumuno?

Marami akong pagtutuunan ng pansin. Una, ipagpapatuloy ko ang aking gawain bilang cultural worker. Isang malaking obsesyon para sa akin na makatulong sa pagpapalaganap ng ating kultura at mga katutubong sining. Gusto kong magtungo sa mga lugal ng ating mga kapatid na minority groups upang pag-aralan ang kanilang kalinangan at ibando ang mga ito sa buong mundo sa aking sariling pamamaraan. Magtatayo din ako ng isang grupong kultural na magpapalabas ng mga dramang kapupulutan ng aral at magpapakita ng ating sariling kultura. Marami rin akong nakahandang mga manuskrito ng mga aklat na nais kong sulatin. Gusto ko ring magtayo ng isang aklatan-museo kung saan ay bubuksan ko ito para sa mga kabataan na mahilig sa kultura at pagsasaliksik. At siempre, patuloy pa rin akong magtuturo at magsasalita sa mga panayam.

14. Sinu-sino ang mga taong nakatrabaho ninyo sa Kolehiyo ng Sining na nag-iwan ng impresyon sa inyo?

Kasama na ng sagot sa katanungan No. 13, ang sagot ko sa tanong na ito. Basahin na lang ninyo ulit. Ang nais ko lamang na idagdag ay iyong mga mag-aaral na nag-iwan ng impresyon sa akin. Nariyn si Jonathan Balsamo na bagama’t napakabata pa ay kahanga-hanga ang kakayahan sa larangan ng pakikipag-ugnayan sa mga kilalang historyador ng bansa ganoon din sa mga matataas na pinuno ng mga iba’t-ibang embahada. Kahanga-hanga rin ang kanyang sipag sa pananaliksik at pagbabasa. Ang isa pa ay si Christian Ramos na napakagaling din sa larangan ng pananaliksik. Matanong siya at talagang interesadong matuto sa kasaysayan at iba pang sangay ng karunungan. Mabait siyang bata at hindi ko malilimutan ang kanyang ginawa ng minsan ay marining niya na nangangailangan ako ng mga aklat tungkol sa politics. Dumating siya sa akin isang araw na may dalang isang bag ng mga libro galing sa UP na hiniram niya para sa akin kahit hindi naman ako nagrerequest sa kanya. Pambihira ang ganitong aktuasyon mula sa isang bata na dating isa sa aking mga mag-aaral. Si Arnold Antiporda ay isa rin sa mga natatanging mag-aaral na nag-iwan sa akin ng impresyon. Maganda rin ang kanyang hangrain para sa Kolehiyo. Tumutulong siya para magkaroon ng mga gamit sa upisina tulad ng paghingi ng mga donasyon na para sa akin ay isang pambihirang i.nitiatibo mula sa isang mag-aaral.

15. Ano ang Kolehiyo ng Sining para sa inyo?

Ito ang puso at kaluluwa ng Unibersidad. Naririto ang mga totoong tao na ang talino ay hindi lamang nakapaloob sa kanilang mga isip kundi nasa kanila ring mga puso at kaluluwa. Para sa akin, ang Kolehiyo ng Sining ang siyang pinakakadluan ng lahat kong pangarap na naisakatuparan.. . ang aking mga mithiin para sa kabataan, sa bayan, at para sa aking kapwa. Ito ang pinakadinamiko at makataong Kolehiyo para sa akin.

16. Ano naman ang PUP para sa inyo?

Ang PUP para sa akin ang siyang buhay ko. Kung ano mayroon ako ngayon, kung ano man ang pagkilala na natanggap ko, kung ano ang mga anak ko ngayon, ang pamilya ko, dahil lahat ito sa PUP. Sa loob ng dalawampu’t pitong taon ang PUP ang aking tahanan. Ito ang naging sentro ng aking buhay. Mula umaga hanggang gabi, kalimitan, lampas na ng alas dies ng gabi ay naririto pa rin ako at nagtratrabaho. Kahit noong maliliit pa ang mga anak ko, kapag Linggo at piyesta opisyal, dala-dala ko sila rito para patuloy kong magawa ang mga gawain na nakaatang sa aking mga balikat bilang isang may katungkulan. I cannot imagine my life without working for the University. Siguro, isa sa mga gagawin ko pagdating ng araw ay magsulat ng aking mga karanasan bilang isang PUPian. PUP to me really is my “sintang paaralan”.

17. Ano ang pamanang iiwanan ko sa College of Arts pagkatapos ng aking pamumuno?

Ang nais kong iwanan sa Kolehiyo ng Sining bilang Dekana kug tapos na ang aking panunungkulan ay isang lideratong maprinsipyo, matatag, may matinding dedikasyon at komitment. Nais kong maitatak sa mga susunod na lider ng Kolehiyo ang pakikipaglaban para sa kanyang mga nasasakupan at sa mga karapatan ng Kolehiyo. Magagaling ang mga guro at mag-aaral ng Kolehiyo, kaya sila ay nararapat na malinang sa lahat ng larangan na siya kong isinasagawa. Sana kung tapos na ang aking pamumuno, ang susunod sa akin ay magkakaroon din ng mga programang huhubog hindi lamang sa kaisipan ng mga kabataan kundi ganoon din sa kanilang mga puso, kaya napakahalaga ng pagbibigay pansin sa sining at kultura. Marahil, ang mga larangang ito ay talagang siya kong napagtuunan ng matinding pansin at isang pamana na nararapat lamang maipagpatuloy ng susunod na pamunuuan. Dapat lamang na maging malakas sa larangang ito ang Kolehiyo ng Sining.

Educating the Youth in Response to the Challenges of Time

THE UNIVERSITY OF RIZAL SYSTEM: EDUCATING THE YOUTH IN RESPONSE TO THE CHALLENGES OF TIME


A speech delivered by Dr. Amalia Cullarin Rosales,
Dean, College of Arts, Polytechnic University of the Philippines,
and Head, National Committee on Cultural Education, National
Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) during the Third
Commencement of the University of Rizal System Held at Club
Manila East Function Room on April 1, 2004.


_____________________________________________________________________


President Olivia F. De Leon, Vice-Presidents, Director Rowena Dr. Laroza, faculty members, students and parents, good afternoon.
I feel honored and I am heartened beyond measure by the honor you have conferred upon me this afternoon as your Commencement Speaker. When I was informed over the telephone of the intention of the University of Rizal System Angono Campus to invite me as your Commencement Speaker, I asked the one who called me up, these questions: Bakit ako? Hindi naman ako kilalang tao? Lalung-lalo na, hindi naman ako pulitiko? .
I asked those questions because I am very much aware of the fact that most schools prefer to invite Commencement speakers who are well-known personalities like Congressmen, Senators, Members of the Cabinet and other big names in our society. And I am not any one of these personalities. At this period when we are preparing for our national election, politicians are very much in demand to be speakers in commencement exercises like this. Your school, indeed , is different. You have chosen an unknown woman like me to address your graduating class. And for this recognition you have bestowed on me, I really feel very much honored and privileged.
In the invitation letter President De Leon sent me, she wrote and I quote, Your expertise and commitment to quality higher education in the Philippines could inspire the graduates to serve the country in various fields. I hope that this afternoon, I will be able to inspire you.
I learned from the data given to me that the University of Rizal System started its operation in 1959 as Rizal National Agricultural School; its name was changed to Rizal College of Agriculture and Technology in 1983; then to Rizal State College in 1995; and, finally, to Rizal University System in 2001. Your Campus, the URS Angono Campus opened in 1997.In this Campus alone, you have thirty five regular faculty members and seventeen faculty members with part-time status, who serve 1,157 students enrolled in three Institutes, the Institute of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Education and Home Technology and the Institute of Tourism and Hotel and Restaurant Management. The bulk of your enrollment in this Campus is in the Arts and Sciences, which is the heart and soul of any University.
Born in 1959, the University of Rizal System is only forty-five years old. Still young. But I believe that despite its being a very young institution, it has already contributed a lot to national development. I am very sure that it has already produced graduates who have served and are continuously serving the country well. And I am very confident that whatever laurels the University of Rizal System achieved in the past, its faculty members, its administrators and its administrative personnel are not resting on those laurels but are more determined to continuously provide the students with quality education that will make them prepared to response to the challenges of the time.
Today, we are living in a society that is beset with so many challenges. How do we face the challenges is a more difficult challenge which confronts us. An academe, like the University of Rizal System, has a responsibility to prepare the youth to be ready to face the challenges, if it is to live up to Section 2, Article XIV of the Philippine Constitution, which states that, the State shall establish, maintain and support a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society.

Indeed, there are a number of challenges that must have to be addressed. The country is poor. What are we going to do to help alleviate the country from poverty? You would say, that is the problem of the government! But government alone cannot do a tremendous task like this one. It needs the assistance and cooperation of the citizens. It needs the talents of young people like you. It needs your idealism, your creativity, your resourcefulness. You should be active participants in the building of the nation.
How successful is your school in training you to be concerned with the needs of our country, how deep your understanding of this social problem and how strongly developed is your heart to have a social conscience that will enable you to think in terms of the other, will be proven by the kind of attitude that you have along this line.
Every graduation season, thousands of graduates are turned out by the numerous universities and colleges in our country. What happened to them after receiving their diplomas? Where do they end up? How big is their chance of being absorbed as members of the workforce? How good is the training provided to them by the school they graduated from to make them highly competitive with other schools? Of the more than two hundred graduates that the University of Rizal-Angono Campus is having today, how many will immediately find employment? How many will, for a time be members of CPA, i.e., those that count posts around because they keep on looking for jobs and they could not land into any because their training is not what is needed by the employment world?
I am very sure that the more than 200 graduates that we have this afternoon will not become members of the CPA because I am confident that the University of Rizal System has provided you with the preparation, the training that is in demand in the employment world. Aside from this, you need not all be employees but you should be employers too. Put up your own business, if your training is along this line. Be entrepreneurs. This is what we need in our country today; this is how we can help solve the problem of unemployment which is one of the causes of our country’s poverty. Again, I am very confident that the University of Rizal System has prepared you not only to be employees but to be employers too.
The holistic development of the individual when he goes out of the University to face the world is another challenge which every University must have to address. The University must not have only prepared the students academically but spiritually, culturally, emotionally and physically. They must be provided with skills which will be useful to them when the go out to face the challenges of the world outside the academe. Naniniwala ako na gaano man kagaling ang paghahandang pang-akademiko na ibinigay sa inyo ng inyong paaralan, kung hindi naman nito napagtuunan ng pansin ang paghubog sa inyo bilang mga tunay na tao, ang kagalingang pang-akademiko ay hindi rin lubusang magiging makabuluhan para sa inyo at para sa bayan. Ano man ang uri ng inyong pananampalataya, sino man ang Bathalang inyong sinasamba at pianiniwalaan, ang mahalaga ay paano kayo nahubog upang matanim sa inyong mga puso ang kabutihan, upang ang mga gagawain ninyo para sa inyong mga sarili at para sa inyong kapwa ay iyong mga bagay na makabubuti at makatutulong lamang, at hindi ang makasasama at makapagpapa-hamak sa inyo at sa kanila. I have no doubt that the University of Rizal System has not neglected to develop you as a total person – that your development under the roof of this University has been that of a person, who, with his/her head, heart and hand, will think, feel and do what is good not only for himself or herself but also for others, for the good of the country and the world.
Part of the holistic development of the Filipino students is the development of their “Filipinohood”. How strong is the sense of “Filipinohood” of our people today, especially the youth? If their sense of “Filipinohood” is shallow, who is to be blame for this? At this point, let me quote to you some manifestations of the shallowness of our “Filipinohood” through these statements of an authority on Filipino culture, Professor Felipe M. De Leon Jr.:
We view ourselves from the Western eyes, thus, what we held sacred suddenly became worthless, our virtues turned into vices, our strengths turned into weaknesses, and our triumphs into failures. We could no longer be proud of anything truly our own and began to regard anything native as primitive and undeveloped. Anything indigenous suddenly became a source of embarrassment and uneasiness. We would rather hide whatever is native-sounding or native-looking or native in origin.
Paano tayo magkakaroon ng pambansang pagkakaisa kung wala tayong pagmamalaki sa ating pagiging Filipino? Kung ang isang Filipino ay hindi naniniwala sa kanyang pagiging Filipino, paano natin siya maaasahan na magmahal at tumulong para sa ikabubuti ng ating bayan? Paano natin siya maaasahan kung ang kanyang iniisip bago pa man siya magtapos ng pag-aaral ay ang makaalis ng Pilipinas at ang maglingkod sa alinmang bansa kung saan sa akala niya ay may higit na mas magandang bukas na naghihintay sa kanya at kung saan ay isasaisantabi niya ang kanyang pagiging Filipino at pipiliting magkaroon ng tinatawag na “foreign identity” sa pamamagitan ng pagyakap sa “citizenship” ng ibang bansa? How can he or she be of help to the country when at the slightest sign of political instability, he or she will stash away his savings in a foreign bank? How can he or she help our economy when he or she worships and patronizes almost everything imported? Paano sila makatutulong sa bayan kung wala silang pagpapahalaga sa mga batas at mga panuntunang pinaiiral dito? Kung wala silang pagpapahalaga sa kanilang sariling kababayan; kung sila mismo ang sumisira sa kanilang kapwa; kung wala silang paggalang sa karapatan ng bawa’t isang mamamayan; kung hindi nila pinahahalagahan ang kasaysayan at mga bayani ng ating bansa; kung hindi nila alam ang kanilang mga tungkulin bilang mga mamamayan; kung kulang sila sa kagandahang asal at disiplina; kung napakahina ng kanilang karakter bilang mga tao na nagiging dahilan ng kawalan nila ng paninindigan; kung kulang sila sa malikhain at kritikal na kaisipan; kung napakakitid ng kanilang kaalamang siyentipiko at teknolohikal?
How does the University of Rizal System train its students along this line? Without an iota of doubt, I believe that as a state university, the University of Rizal System, has not been negligent of its responsibility in inculcating in its students a strong sense of patriotism and nationalism. I believe that the curricular programs of this school are responsive to this Constitutional provision not only on nationalism and patriotism but also on fostering of love for humanity, respect for human rights, appreciating the role of national heroes in the historical development of the country, teaching the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthening ethical and spiritual values, developing moral character and personal discipline, encouraging creative and critical thinking, broadening scientific and technological knowledge and promoting vocational efficiency.
You have now been conferred your respective degrees by your University President. A few hours from now, you will be considered alumni of this University. And since, graduation is also an occasion for reflection – that is, looking back and looking ahead – let me now invite you to look back and remember the pleasant as well as the unpleasant memories that you have as students of this University, and to look ahead for you to have a sense of expectation, of hope, of longing for something better and more meaningful than what the past may have made possible for you.
Looking back, you are reminded of the people who have contributed in a variety of ways to the learning experiences which have combined to make you what you are today. To these people, you owe a deep and profound sense of gratitude, for their willingness to share of themselves, and for doing their best to bring you to where you are today. You should be thankful to your teachers, the kind ones who helped and understood you . You should be equally grateful to the terror teachers you had, for they, too, helped mold you into a stronger persons that you are now. You should be grateful also to the members of the University administration, for they too, have touched your lives, indirectly, though it may be. You have your friends to be grateful for also. These are the people, who perhaps, have extended their help to you in times of difficulty or have pushed you on with inspiring words of encouragement.
Your parents, of course, should never be forgotten. They are the sacrificing souls who did everything for you to finish your education. Today, they are as excited as you are. Some of you could look back to the time when you would see your parents pawned the last piece of a treasured jewelry just to enable you to pay for your tuition or to provide you with the amount needed for your project. Now, they will see you come up the stage and get your diploma. They can now heave a sigh of relief. At last, you are graduating. Always remember their sacrifices and make them happier by not tarnishing their names when you go out in the world to find your own place under the sun. Bagama’t tungkulin nga ng mgamagulang ang pag-aralin ang kanilang mga anak, tungkulin din naman ng mga anak ang bigyang ligaya ang mga magulang sa pamamagitan ng paglilingkod sa kanila pagkatapos na sila ay makagradweyt. Huwag naming pagkatapos ninyo ay sasabihin naninyio agad sa mga magulang ninyo na kayo ay mag-aasawa na. Alam ninyo, wala ng pinakamaligaya pang sandali sa buhay ng isang magulang, ang kahit na gaano man kaliit na halaga ay iaabot sa kanya ng kanyang anak ang kanyang unang suweldo. Maaaring hidi ito kukunin ng inyong mga magulang, lalo na kung sila naman ay may hanapbuhay, pero, ang tuwang sasapuso nila ay labis-labis kung ang anak na itinaguyod niya ay siya ang pag-aalayan ng kanyang unang sahod.
As you step out of your dear Alma Mater, you look forward to an entirely new and different set of circumstances and challenges that will make you rise or fall, defending on how you handle them. Remember that you are the captain of your soul, and the master of your fate. You become successful to the degree that you bring into play your creative energies in whatever you do. Kayo ang gagawa ng inyong bukas. Sa paggawa ng inyong bukas, sandata ninyo ang mga bagay na ipinagkaloob sa inyo ng inyong mga magulang, ng inyong mga guro, ng inyong paaralan.
The people in this University have become part of your lives through the things and the lessons in life you have learned from them. As you, therefore, go out to the world in search of your proper places in it, please keep in mind that as a graduate of the URS, you have a responsibility to carry the good name of your school wherever you go, and wherever you will be. People will look at you not only in terms of your own personality, but also in terms of the institution which has helped you prepare for the role you are to play in the society to which you belong. You now carry the name of your University. For the rest of your life, you will be known as URS graduates. If you make good, people will tend to look at your Alma Mater as a good institution. If you do not succeed, it will be the other way around. Whenever a graduate of a University makes a name for herself or himself, he or she also makes a name for his or her Alma Mater.
But graduation is more than all these. It is more than making a name for yourself and your school. You are among the few who have acquired the qualities that should distinguished you for the skills that you can use and the nobility of values that you can bring into play in your work as much as in your association with others. Your role in society is primarily to help make it better than it was before. You are to apply the intellectual powers you have acquired to help enhance the quality of life which must necessarily include your own. There are not many people who are privileged to do this. Those who have been ahead of you have set examples to emulate. You will now set yourselves as examples for those who are to come after you.
In whatever professional line of endeavor you will find yourselves, you are to be above all exemplary Filipino citizens sincerely zealous in the exercise of your responsibility of dignifying our nationhood as well as the invaluable cultural heritage which our forebears handed down to us. It should become your primary obsession to keep always in the forefront of all considerations your role as responsible citizens – Filipinos who are proud of their country of birth, young men and women who are imbued with the lofty aspiration to transform Philippine society, so that it will be characterized not only by modernity and progress, but also by the highest measures of justice, equity and peace. These are what your University has taught you.
As you graduate today, you are charged not to tarnish your name and the name of your school. You are charged to do that which will continually enhance the sense of respect and admiration that others should have of you and of your Alma Mater. Pangalagaan ninyo ang inyong pangalan, pangalagaan ninyo ang inyong pagiging Filipino, pangalagaan ninyo ang pangalan ng inyong mahal na paaralan sa pamamagitan ng paggawa ng tama at magaganda para sa bayan, sa kapwa at sa inyong sarili.
Sa inyong lahat, maligayang bati sa inyong pagtatapos!

The Realities of Philippine Politics

THE REALITIES OF
PHILIPPINE POLITICS

by

Dr. Amalia Cullarin Rosales
Dean, College of Arts
Polytechnic University of the Philippines




I. Introduction:

One morning, while I was riding on a taxi on my way to school, I asked the driver who among the presidential candidates he would vote for. He laughed heartily and threw back the question to me. He never revealed his candidate to me and I did the same. However, in the course of our conversation, he mentioned something about the local candidates in his place somewhere in Quezon City. He said with a big grin, that in his place, the residents were no longer buying pandesal because every morning when they open their doors, they would see in front of the doors of their houses either a plastic of pandesal or champorado, courtesy of this and that candidate in that particular district in Quezon City. I thought he was kidding, but he became serious and reiterated that what he told me is true and that this pandesal and champorado campaign strategy is being done every election time in his district and it starts eight days before election day. He added: Alam ninyo Ma’am, minsan, nakakalimang supot kami ng pandesal. Hindi na nga naming alam kung paano uubusin eh. (You know Ma’am, there are times when we will have as many as five rations of pandesal. We do not know anymore how to consume them).

I laughed at what had been revealed to me by that taxi driver. I could only utter, kawawa naman talaga ang mga botante . Ang baba ng tingin sa atin ng mga pulitiko. Pati ba naman pandesal at champorado ay gagamiting pansuhol para sa election. (Pity the electorate. How lowly are we in the eyes of these politicians that even pandesal and champorado are being used as bribes so that they could get our votes). I laughed but deep in me I was angry. I was asking myself how political gimmicks of this kind be stopped. For me, this kind of political gimmick does not speak well of the kind of politics we have in this country. This is an insult to our people.
But can political gimmicks which smack of insult to the electorate be stopped? Isn’t this is one of the realities of Philippine politics which we have tolerated?

II. Some Observations and Studies on Politics

A number of observations and studies on politics, both local and foreign, have been done. How true these observations and studies are in our political system and practices are worth looking into. Some of these observations and studies revealed the problems, the weaknesses as well as the strengths of our political practices which our politicians as well as our electorates can consider for more effective and efficient governance.

Let us take a look at these observations and studies:

One of the realities of politics is the dominant role played by political parties in the choice of nominees who will be fielded as candidates in the elections. Feliciano Maragay, in his American Democracy: Reality or Myth?, wrote that without party support, no person, no matter how impressive his credential is, can even reach the first base in nominations since political party wields the power as to who will win or lose in the elections. Another authority on politics, Gaudioso Sosmena believes that the local government system is highly personalized, paternalistic and expensive and that political parties have no real meaning and most are wanting in their political philosophies that will encourage genuine electoral participation and the growth of true democratic local institutions. Walter Karp’s observations on politics in the United States fit that of Philippine politics also. He said: A typical American congressman, governor or mayor is the unwitting tool of dominant economic forces working behind the façade of politics. Karp believes that political oligarchy can survive in the republic only if it could bring into its camp a substantial portion of the wealth and social influence existing in a society-at-large.

The observations of Maragay, Sosmena and Karp are realities in Philippine politics. In the Philippines, especially nowadays, a candidate’s credentials do not play very strong factor in considering him as the party’s candidate. Since the main objective of the party is to win the election, the popularity of the candidate is of paramount importance. But the party cannot be blamed for this solely because the qualifications of a candidate for an elective position is so spelled out in the Philippine Constitution as well as in the Local Government Code, for national and local elective officials respectively. For example, a candidate for the presidency of the country, the highest position in the land, has only to be a natural born citizen, a registered voter, must be able to read and write, at least forty five years of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding an election where he is running as a candidate. Thus, how can one who is so popular and is believed by the party to be a sure winner be ignored? Manuel L. Quezon’s famous lines my loyalty to my party ends, where my loyalty to my country begins, will not work here. Indeed, for a candidate to be chosen as the candidate of the party and to be assured of election to office, he must be in the grace of the political party where he belongs.

Despite the strong desire of the party members, however, to have their candidates win the election, loyalty to the political parties in the Philippines, is not given so much importance by the politicians who switched from one party to another to protect their political interests. Political parties are considered by these political butterflies as convenient vehicles only for elections. And, just like in the United States, the powerful rich is also behind every election in the Philippines. They extend support to the candidates they have chosen, who, after winning the election, are expected by this powerful rich to return the favor they have given them.

Except during the early periods of Philippine politics, personalities dominated the elections in the Philippines. Philippine elections today have been turn into popularity contests with the list of candidates containing the names of popular and even the not-so-popular movie, TV and radio personalities. They may be ignorant in the functions of the positions they are running for, but their popularity is an important factor which made them included in the list of party candidates. The presence alone of these personalities in political rallies will surely make such rallies well attended. Of course, people would go to their rallies not to hear their program of government, but to see them and other movie and TV stars who are lending their support to the candidates in return for high talent fees. These TV, movie and radio personalities running for elective positions can dance and sing and the people are entertained. Thus, political rallies graced by these personalities are sure box office hits.

The case of Claro M. Recto, who ran for President as the standard bearer of the Lapiang Makabansa in 1957, can be cited as an example. Ignacio P. Lacsina, in his book, The Lapiang Makabansa Reminiscences wrote that when Recto ran for presidency in 1957 he was espousing nationalism, thus he urged the people to cast off the old colonial chains that bound them to poverty and subservience by embracing the cause of nationalism which could bring them the blessings of freedom and dignity and of political and economic emancipation. Recto was lacking in material resources. He was rich, however, in his message of nationalism. Encouraged by this, he and his group braved the popular antipathy of the people. In one of their campaign sorties in Baguio City, Recto urged the people to rally for the cause of nationalism. A polite applause was given to him by a small crowd of 5,000. While they were on their way back to Manila, they passed by a big traffic jam in Rosales, Pangasinan due to a big political rally with an estimated crowd of more than 30,000. Curious to find out whose meeting was that, one of Recto’s sympathizers alighted from the vehicle he was riding on and checked. He saw a famous television and stage personality who was belting out a current hit. He went back to the car and told Recto of what he discovered. Recto uttered: Oh, well people prefer entertainment than enlightenment. Recto lost in the election of 1957. He was intelligent, knowledgeable, very nationalistic and well-experienced in running the affairs of the government. But he lacked the charisma of his opponent and he did not subscribe to the entertainment political strategy of his rival.

The Filipino electorates today, particularly the masa still prefer entertainment to enlightenment.

Interference in the running of local governments is another reality in Philippine politics. In 1989, a group of city mayors forged a common stand calling on the congressmen not to interfere in the running of local governments. This action was an aftermath of the failure of Congress to give them a meaningful role in the management of police units under the then proposed National Police Bill, which according to the mayors, ignored the critical role they play in the peace and order campaign of the government. The Bill, according to them, failed to give them a meaningful role in running the police forces of their respective cities since local executives will exercise only operational supervision and control over the PNP and not the power to appoint, promote, discharge, dismiss, separate or transfer any policeman.

The same group of mayors assailed the interference of lawmakers in running local government units. They said that too much politics has stunted the development of their communities, citing as example the implementation of infrastructure projects where supposed priority areas for development are being relegated to give way to programs of certain congressmen. They accused the city engineers of serving as pawns of congressmen who appointed them to the position and do not follow the priority programs of the local chief executives.

Maceda, in his article, Political Development in the Military, writes that electorates entertain reasonable expectations in choosing their officials. He further explained:

A common expectation is for everyone to be
able to live safely because the primary duty of the govern-
ment is to protect the people. For those in the poverty line
or below, they want a government that could deliver
basic services, or provide employment opportunities. For
those who are self-sufficient, they just want peace to
pursue their own livelihood. And for those who are
working in the government, they expect the government
to pass social legislation which provides a living wage
and the benefits which they deserve.

Indeed, the electorates expect too much from the people they elect to office. They expect them to deliver the basic services they need, like the maintenance of peace and order, health, employment, educational services, good roads, electricity, water supply, food, housing and other services they need. The politicians are aware of these needs. Thus, during campaign periods, they promise to provide the citizens with these basic services in order to win their votes. After the election, what? How many will keep their promises?

Some years ago, Mrs. Aquino formed the KABISIG. She made known her intention that such an organization was a means in which she would have something to support her whatever stand she would take.. The KABISIG arouse the ire of the traditional politicians who saw it as a threat to the power they enjoy, which is their customary role as political brokers. They are afraid to lose such power, since as trapos, they have been used to being the link of the government to the people.

Who are the trapos? Nemenzo in his article, KABISIG and the Trapos, Stand to Reason (1990) described the trapos as:

Being a trapo has nothing to do with age or the length of one’s involvement in the electoral game. A trapo is a practitioner in the old style of mindless, unprincipled, opportunistic, corrupt, violent and theatrical politics. To advance his personal ambition, the trapo distributes patronage, flashes plastic smile, shakes hands, and entertains the electorate with loud, bombastic promises. He promises anything and mouths and clichés that in his low estimate of the people’s intelligence, could win him votes. If these gimmicks fail, he does not hesitate to commit fraud and acts of violence in a single-minded drive for public office.

How many of our local politicians play the game of traditional politicians? How effective are they in playing these games? How do our electorate look at them? Are they supported by them? The answers to these questions can be seen in the results of every election, national or local that we hold.


IV. The Performance of Local Elective Officials

What kind of performance do our local elective officials give to their constituents? Are they able to deliver the basic services needed by them? What hamper their performance as elective officials?

Most local governments are delivering sub-standard services to their constituents. This is a sad reality that many local elective officials will not easily accept. This sub-standard performance can be attributed to the local elective executives’ inability to deliver the basic services which they promised the electorates as well as their inadequate capabilities to perform the duties called for by their positions. Another reason for their sub-standard performance is their non-internalization of the notion of public accountability. Once they are elected to the position they ran for, they treat the office as their own, thus, they would do everything to put themselves and their supporters to advantage. The notion of public interest is forgotten and personal interest takes over.

The lack of adequate financial resources has always been a problem in running local governments. Thus, many local government executives in the country take this an excuse for their inability to provide the services to their constituents. For example, many towns in the country do not even have a fire truck. This is a necessity but because of inadequate financial resources, the purchase of a fire truck is not considered a priority by some local government executives. Thus, if ever there will be a fire in the municipality, much damage to properties and lives cannot be avoided. One municipality in the province of Quezon which does not have a fire truck experienced fire breaking in the municipal building not only once but twice already, but until now, the municipality has not acquired a fire truck.. What had been done by the many local elective executives who have occupied the position from the time the town was founded to the present to solve this problem? If the financial resources of the municipality is inadequate, the local elective executive must have to be very resourceful to augment it in order to solve an existing problem due to financial constraint. But how many of those elected as local executives possess this important leadership trait of resourcefulness? The sad reality again is that during the campaign period, the local politicians are very good in fund sourcing but they became ineffective in this area once they are already in office. If ever some of them gets the opportunity to source funds, much of it will not really go into a worthwhile community project but will be diverted to some “priorities” as perceived by the local executives.


V. Some Findings on Local Politics

Based on observations and studies, this writer presents some findings on local politics as follows:

1. A number of local officials were elected because they came from wealthy families in the locality and more often, they do not really stay in the municipality but live elsewhere in the city. A mayor in a town in one of the Southern Tagalog provinces was elected in 2001. After the elections, he stayed in the town only once in a while and spent most of his time either abroad or in Manila. The administration of the town was left to his Municipal Administrator. A few months before the 2004 elections, he was seen more often in the municipio. Now he is again running for mayor and he is spending so much money to beat his opponent;

2. Delicadeza is not in the vocabulary of our politicians, both local and national. For instance, in Quezon City, one politician running for councilor had the bridges of the city within his district painted. He placed the following in very small letters: Pagandahin natin ang Quezon City. Very good! He is concerned with his environment. However, in big and bold letters, he had his name written in the bridges. His name occupies the entire length of the bridges. Another indication of the absence of delicadeza among our politicians is their fondness in placing their names in the billboards of projects constructed from the people’s money. Their propaganda runs from “Alay sa inyo ni……..(whoever that politician is); A project of ……; mula sa akin, para sa inyo, and so many other enticing propaganda intended to fool poor Juan de la Cruz so that when election time comes, Juan de la Cruz would remember him/her. These politicians do not spare even the vehicles purchased from the people’s money. Their names are written in bold letters on both sides of a Ford Fierra or an ambulance;

3. Some years ago, sons of successful politicians are acknowledged to have hereditary right to follow in their father’s footsteps. Today, it is not only the sons who have the right but also the wives. Thus, the same family names are seen in the propaganda materials hanging in the streets of a town or city. What is worse today, a family can have almost all members of his family run for an elective office, from mayor, vice-mayor, councilor, governor, congressman to senator. Thus, it is not surprising that a father is running as vice-mayor, a son is fielded as a congressional candidate, and other members of the family bearing the same surname are running for lower positions in two or three districts in a particular city in Metro Manila;

4. Most of the powers of the political leaders are derived from kinship and the working of hiya and utang na loob. In the Philippines, if you have a big family, you have so many inaanaks, and you have extended a favor no matter how small it is to a number of people in your locality, then you have enough reason to run for an elective office. For sure, these people will be extending their support to you. Never mind if you do not know the intricacies of the office you are seeking to be elected to. What is important is that you have built a power base. Learning the job will come later;

5. Campaign strategy is a factor to election to office. In the Philippines, campaigning, especially for local positions, is highly personalized and based on alliance system. The neglect the candidate committed during his term is remedied by rushing of projects like re-pavement of roads, repainting of municipal buildings, installation of electric posts and other rush projects to appease and win back the electorates. The completion of projects is done with notable publicity by displaying prominent signs informing the populace of whose generosity the deed is being accomplished. House-to-house invitation is also being done either by the candidates or the liders. They instruct the functionally literate voters how to write the names of all or some of their candidates. Door-to-door campaigning is also done;

6. Winning of votes in the Philippines is accomplished through personal network, privately giving or promising of concrete favors to those influential enough to deliver the votes. Thus, well-known and big organizations, including the religious sector, is courted by the candidates to get their precious endorsement.


VI. Conclusion

These are some of the realities in Philippine politics, whether local or national. If our electorates will remain to be personality-promise-and-personal interest driven, we cannot expect to attain significant changes in our national and local leadership.

On Monday, May 10, 2004, the electorates will again go to the polls to choose the leaders who will run the affairs of national and local governments in our country. It is hoped that the electorates will not make the mistake of choosing the wrong candidates. The best candidates, those whose main consideration is the welfare and interest of the people, should be entrusted with the sacred and precious votes of the electorates. The candidates they should vote for should not be those who resort to mere rhetorics, promises and dirty tricks just to win the votes but those who can really lead with competence, efficiency, integrity, and selflessness. Candidates whose main consideration is service rather than personal gain; candidates who is decisive, firm and courageous to make changes for the good of the people. The electorates have a sacred duty to God and to the country – that is - to choose the men and women whose guiding philosophy should be maglingkod sa bayan ng buong katapatan, at walang pag-iimbot. Isang tunay na Pilipino sa isip, sa salita at sa gawa.

PATCA AND ITS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE TEACHING OF HUMANITIES

PATCA and its Contributions to
the Teaching of Humanities
and Culture*


Dr. Amalia Cullarin Rosales**



Introduction

Allow me to start my presentation this morning with a story which I love to narrate to my students. This is a story of two old men who were confined in a hospital in the same room. The first old man was in the bed near the door while the second old man was in a bed by the window. The first old man was a bitter person. He was always complaining and shouting at the nurses. From the time he was admitted to the hospital, the nurses and the doctors attending to him had not seen him smile.

The second old man, on the other hand, was a pleasant man. Despite his illness, he was always smiling. He talked to the nurses very politely and gently. He was most of the time uneasy because of his coughing but nevertheless, the nurses never heard him complained. When he was feeling well, he would try to start a conversation with the first old man but the latter always ignore him and would just throw him a dagger look. He was mean to the nurses too.

It had been the habit of the second old man to look outside the window. He would have his bed raised and would fix his glance outside, sometimes smiling, sometimes shaking his head. One day, in between coughing, he talked to himself with so much happiness in his voice. He said: What a beautiful sight! From here, I can see the park… there are little children running. They have balloons in their hands. The flowers are beautiful. How I envy those young men and women walking together holding each other’s hands. How I wish I could be in that park. Hearing what the second old man said, the first old man felt envious. He felt an urge to see what had been described by the second old.

Two nights after the gentle old man expressed his longing to be in the park he described, he had a severe attack. He coughed unceasingly. The first old man was irritated and he showed it in his facial expression. Not long after, there was a commotion in the room. Nurses and doctors were hurrying back and forth to the gentle old man. Then the coughing stopped! The mean old man heard the doctor say nothing could be done anymore because the gentle old man was already dead.

When the body of the gentle old man was taken out of the room, the bitter old man told the nurse that he wanted his bed transferred by the window. He wanted to see what was described by the gentle old man. He wanted to see the park… the children… the beautiful flowers… the balloons… and the lovers holding hands. The next morning he was transferred as he requested. He immediately looked out of the window. And to his dismay, there was no park, no garden, no children, no lovers holding each other’s hands. What he saw was the white wall of a tall building.

My friends, I believed that the second old man was a humanities-oriented person. The powers of the humanities have taken a very strong and firm hold on him that it enriched his life. Thus, to him, even the wall was a thing of beauty that drove him to imagine and to see beauty where others see none; to be refine in his speech and manners despite the discomfort he feels because of his illness; to be understanding of the other sick man despite the latter’s meanness; to suffer with grace and to leave the world with a smile on his face. How many of us could be like that gentle old man?


Understanding the Humanities

The study of the humanities makes one learn how to be human since it refers to that body of knowledge which aims to make man a full man: one who is cultured, refined and well-rounded. The humanities includes the arts, namely literature, music, architecture, sculpture, dance and the theater, which according to Zulueta, are the areas in which human subjectivity is emphasized and individual expressiveness is dramatized. Dudley and Faricy on the other hand, refer to the term humanities as to mean art, literature, music, and the theater – areas in which human values and individual expressiveness are celebrated.
Since it is the study of the different cultural aspects of man and his frailties in life and how they can be improved, the importance of the human being and his feelings, therefore, is the main concern of the humanities. It aims to uplift the dignity and values of man and his tendencies and to understand man and his affairs.

The humanities are the records of man’s experiences, his values, his sentiments, his ideals and his goals. They are the ultimate expressions of man’s feelings and thoughts which provide him enjoyment and stimulation, particularly when he tries to understand and appreciate him. (Zulueta, 1994). That is what happened to the gentle old man. His feelings and thoughts were stimulated and out of that white wall, he imagined the park, the children, the balloons, the flowers and the lovers.


The Humanities

The aim of education is not just the accumulation of knowledge and skills that leads to a person’s self-actualization, but his maturity, his assertion of his individuality. These aims of education are reflected in the humanities where culture and the arts are blended, committed to giving the students a training which prepares them not only to earn a living but to live a full life. (Encarnacion, 1997).

Humanities as a discipline deals with the study of philosophy, literature, the arts and its related fields. It is a field of study dedicated to the pursuit of discovering and understanding the nature o human beings through thinking, choosing, reasoning, dreaming, creating and trying to discover ways and means to make life not only livable but meaningful for himself as well as for others. As such, it is, therefore, an important discipline in any program of education.

The influx of science and technology in all aspects of living in the 21st century demands the strengthening of the teaching of humanities and culture in order to provide an education that is intended for the development, to quote Dr. Kate C. Botengan, not only of a whole person but of a total individual – one who can appreciate the past, strives to participate in the present, and project a better life in the future.

Dr. Anacleta Encarnacion in her paper, Enhancing the Competence of Teachers of Culture and the Arts, put emphasis to the teaching of culture and the arts as a means of making students better Filipinos as well as better citizens of the world; human beings who are freed from conflicts that delimit their humanity; men and women who would eventually find themselves as they face life’s difficulties; who would be concerned with the development of national consciousness and global awareness in the service of the people; and students fashioned into individuals who are to actualize their potentials and achieve their selfhood through learning, discovery, and social responsibility.


The Teachers of Humanities, and Culture

Considered as liberating courses, humanities and culture need teachers who can inspire, move, excite, stimulate, stir, incite and provoke students. In order to be an effective teacher of humanities and culture one must have to be intelligent and knowledgeable of the various disciplines under humanities. He/she must have a good command of the language he/she uses as his/her medium of communicating to the students. Since teaching is an art, he/she should be an artist whose commanding presence can turn the dull classroom into a stage where creativity and ideas flow like water from a fall.

Encarnacion wrote of what a teacher of humanities and culture should be:

To enliven the class, to inspire even the most obtuse, to arrest student attention, the teacher must be the first one inspired, brimming with visions, vibrant with life.

She should nurture her creative impulse and grow professionally. She should view her surrounding with the curiosity of the young and broaden her horizon. She should avoid being encapsulized. Otherwise, if she does not come out with new ideas, she falls out of step with the frenzied times. For how can a teacher ignite young minds, pummel them to thinking, lead them to the awakening of their own ideas if she herself is as dry as a driftwood and as aimless as a barnacle? When the teacher of arts and culture radiate with inner glow, her teaching gain another dimension and take on a different perspective. Joy is experienced by the learners as the enchantment of culture and the arts unfoldsbefore them, through the depth of poetry, the immediacy of the drama, the complex web of a story, the haunting strains of a kundiman, the beckoning attraction of a Philippine mural or an old dome of a countryside church.


I believe that when a teacher of humanities, culture and the arts radiates with “inner glow” she becomes an artist and her teaching an art. Appreciation of what is good, the truth, and the beautiful, therefore, will be easily taught to the learners and effectively absorbed by them, thus, they become more humane. This is the concern of the humanities.

However, there is much that should be taught the teachers of the humanities and culture in order that the students would really experience delight in the subjects under this discipline and for them to be more appreciative of their environment, of their culture, of their values, of life itself. The sad reality is that many of our teachers of humanities and culture seem not to be humane enough in dealing with their students, neither are they very knowledgeable about our culture and heritage as a people. They are wanting in appreciation of our own traditional arts. Thus, many students are not able to appreciate the humanities and culture subjects and enroll in them only because they are required subjects. This being the case, there is a felt need for teachers of humanities and culture to be given more trainings along these areas of discipline.


The Birth of PATCA

Founded on March 24, 1994, the organization of the Philippine Association of Teachers of Culture and the Arts was spearheaded by forty-eight (48) faculty members/administrators representing thirty (30) educational institutions in Metropolitan Manila. Dr. Corazon O. Castro, a vibrant woman oozing with so much energy and life, who was at that time the Chair of the Department of the Humanities of the Centro Escolar University, took the initiative of gathering these forty-eight faculty members and administrators at CEU. PATCA was born. It was a timely birth for it could help provide new directions and strategies in the teaching of humanities and culture as well as provide the needed training to the teachers of these disciplines.

Elected officers of PATCA on March 24, 1994 are: Dr. Corazon O. Castro, (CEU) President; Prof. Pacelli S. Eugenio (PUP) Vice President; Prof. Amalia Cullarin Rosales (PUP) Secretary; Prof. Melecia C. Ramos (AUF), Treasurer; Prof. Lourdes V. Corpuz (UST) Auditor; Prof. Jokee Botor-Reyes (TCQC), PRO; Prof. Henry Alvir, (UE), Business Manager; Dr. Rocelle N. Jimenez (PNU); and. Ms.Evangeline S. Panganiban, (DLSU-Greenhills), Directors.


Vision, Mission and Objectives of PATCA

An academic organization catering to the needs and interests of teachers of culture and the arts is PATCA’s vision. It has for its mission the making of the subject in culture and the arts integral and indispensable part of the Philippine educational mission. Its objectives are: to unify teachers of culture and the arts; to exchange relevant information about the latest trends in facilitating learning about culture and the arts; to arrive at a commonality in the content and manner of imparting knowledge in culture and the arts; to make a stand regarding current national issues that concern the teaching of culture and the arts in the Philippines; to promote professionalism, camaraderie, coordination, and cooperation among members and affiliates of PATCA to mobilize all resources, human and material, national and international, public and private, to carry out the ideals of the Philippine educational system in general, and of PATCA in particular, thus, laying a firm foundation for building a strong and democratic nation.


Members of PATCA

Who can be PATCA’s members? Membership to PATCA is open to all teachers of culture and the arts, Philippine History, Art Appreciation, Humanities, Philippine Arts and Culture, Social Arts, Social Graces, Social Formation, Dance, Music, Sculpture, Architecture, Literature, Theater, and Cinema and those who think and feel that they are teachers of culture and the arts.

Accomplishments of PATCA

Has PATCA lived up to its vision and mission? Has it carried out its objectives?

Looking at the accomplishments of PATCA for the last ten years since its founding in 1994 to date, we can say without fear and with pride that PATCA has lived up to its vision and mission and has successfully carried out its objectives. The following are the activities that PATCA has undertaken which all redound to the realization of the vision, mission and objectives of PATCA.

1. Visualized as an academic organization which will cater to the needs of teachers of humanities and culture, one of PATCA’s mission is to make the subjects in culture and the arts integral and indispensable part of the Philippine educational system. Thus, PATCA submitted to the Commission on Higher Education Board Resolution No. 3, dated January 20, 1996, entitled Humanities Course as a Required Three-Unit Subject in the Tertiary Level of All Schools, Public or Private, in the Philippine Educational System. The submission of this resolution was prompted by the observation that the three-unit subject Humanities was not being offered or included in the tertiary curricula of most schools and universities. This resolution was one of those considered by CHED in the issuance of the Memorandum on General Education Curriculum in September 1996 which stipulates the requirement of six units of Humanities, three each for Literature and Art Appreciation.

2. Fully aware of the need for more competent teachers of humanities, culture and the arts in the tertiary level, the PATCA Board passed Resolution No. 6 on May 20, 1998, approving the holding of a five-year continuing education program for teachers of humanities, culture and the arts. The objectives of the program were:

2.1. help harness the competence of teachers of humanities, culture and the arts in handling the subject;

2.2. motivate teachers of humanities, culture and the arts to pursue continuing education program relevant to their field; and,

2.3. support the drive to strengthen the Humanities with emphasis on Philippine arts and culture in the Philippine educational system.

This program was composed of five components: visual arts, music and dance; theater; cinema; and, literature. It was started in October 1998 during the presidency of this author with Dr. Corazon Castro as Project Director. The project was in coordination with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Philippine Women’s University. Focused on the visual arts, it brought together one hundred fifty teachers from the different regions of the country who attended the first phase of the CEP. For five days, these teachers worked together at the Philippine Women’s University with big name artists as resource persons, such as the National Artist Napoleon Abueva, the well-known glass sculptor Ramon Orlina, one of the country’s few successful woman architects, Yolanda Reyes, the well-known sculptor-painter, Abdulmari Imao, artist-educator Brenda Fajardo, UP College of Architecture Dean, Honrado R. Fernandez, multi-awarded architect, Augusto F. Villalon, the youthful artist-educator, Patrick D. Flores, editorial cartoonist, Leonilo O. Doloricon, and painter-essayist, Cid F. Reyes.

The five-year CEP culminated on October 25, 2002 at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Eight teachers were able to complete the five phases of the program. PATCA through the CEP was able to train 500 teachers.

3. Highly committed to the task of helping meet the needs and interests of the teachers of humanities, and other art and culture subjects, PATCA from time to time would focus on a particular area in culture and the arts. For the last ten years, its conference/convention themes varied from the challenges of teaching culture and the arts to thrusts in teaching culture and the arts, commitment to culture and the arts in the academe, visions and actions for the centennial, evaluation of the Filipino culture and the arts consciousness, information technology in the humanities, to culture and the arts as catalysts of change, peace and development.

Two (2) conferences and nine (9) conventions brought to Manila hundreds of faculty members to hone their teaching skills and knowledge in humanities, culture and the arts and to have the chance of meeting and inter-acting with experts.


PATCA’s Seminar-Workshops

As its first activity, PATCA held a seminar-workshop in 1994 on Challenges of Teaching Culture and the Arts Towards the 21st Century. It was held at the Centro Escolar University with film expert, Nic Tiongson, and veteran actress-educator, Rustica Carpio. Th two enriched the teachers’ appreciation and knowledge of humanities, culture and the arts.

Mr. Tiongson’s lectured on Culture, Arts and Nation. In this lecture, he emphasized, the need for a Filipino national culture which will be the soul and strength of a nation. He pointed to the following as the problems of developing a national culture: cultural fragmentation;, impairment of racial memory; culture inchoate; and the Filipino being negotiable. He stressed that there is a need to re-engineer Filipino culture through a national cultural consciousness and encouragement of Filipino works. He believed that the Filipino national arts will be created and are being created by artists who deeply understand their ethnicities but who are able to enrich the ethnicities with relevant artistic influences from the West and the East in order to create art works that grapple with contemporary realities within the perspective of a common welfare.

Dr. Carpio in her paper, Can Culture Be Taught stressed that culture can be taught but the process involved in teaching it may be long and painstaking and that impatience has no place for those who are dedicated and concerned for human undertakings. She emphasized that patience is a requisite in the cultivation of habits, customs and traditions that mark the man and make him far superior to animals.

On November 14-15, 1997, PATCA held its second seminar-workshop on The Teaching of the Humanities, Culture and the Arts in the Era of Globalization at the Philippine Normal University with the following objectives:

empower the teachers of humanities, culture and the arts through reinforced teaching and approaches, methods and strategies;

enhanced critical thinking among the teachers of humanities, culture and the arts; and,

strengthen the interest of the students in art appreciation.

Eight lectures were presented during this seminar. They were: The Teaching of the Appreciation of Painting by Prof. Enrique Alvir, Chair of the Department of Philosophy of the University of the East; The Teaching of the Appreciation of Architecture by Architect Augusto Villalon, Vice-Head of the Sub-Commission on Cultural Heritage, NCCA; The Teaching of the Appreciation of Sculpture by Mr. Eduardo Castrillo; The Teaching of the Appreciation of Folk and Ethnic Dances by Dr. Larry Gabao, Head of the Physical Education Department of the Philippine Normal University; The Teaching of the Appreciation of Social and Modern Dances by Ms. Ida Beltran-Lucila, Vice-Head, NCCA Sub-Commission on Dance; The Teaching of the Appreciation of the Cinema by Prof. Dante Arganoza, University Professor of Humanities and Communication Arts; The Teaching of the Appreciation of Theater by Dr. Corazon O. Castro, PWU Director of Research; The Teaching of the Appreciation of Folk and Ethnic Music by Dr. Rocelle N. Jimenez, Head of the PNU Music and Arts department; and The Teaching of the Appreciation of Classical Music and Opera by Prof. Pacelli S. Eugenio, Director of the PUP University Center for Culture and the Arts


PATCA Conventions

1. First National Convention

On April 21-23, 1995, during its 1st National Convention held at the Centro Escolar University four experts lectured on four important and timely topics. They were Dr. Anacleta M. Encarnacion, a professor of literature (Enhancing the Competence of Teachers of Culture and the Arts); Dr. Rolando De la Goza, CHED Commissioner (Culture and the Arts: A New Delivery System); Prof. Ramon Obusan, an authority on folk dances (Research in Dance); and, Dr. Juan C. Birion, Dean, PUP College of Arts (Towards More Effective Syllabi in Specific Subjects in Culture and the Arts).

The convention had for its theme Relevant Thrusts and Directions in Teaching Culture and the Arts Towards an Empowered Nation-Building.

The objectives of this 1st National Convention were:

1. to identify varied but interesting methods, approaches, strategies, and techniques in the teaching of culture and the arts; and,

2. to interact and exchange opinions, experiences, and visions in integrating culture and the arts in the total development of the learners.

In her paper, Dr. Encarnacion urged teachers of humanities, culture and the arts to spice their teaching with a touch of humor and with a dash of showmanship. She said that classes which were unpunctuated by laughter become a drudgery and a punishment. She believes that the magic of a fine sense of humor should not be alien to liberated teachers who experiment on all manners and styles of teaching to achieve effective results. She concluded her lecture by stating that the effectiveness of the course depends a great deal on the teacher behind the lectern.

Dr. De la Goza stressed that an empowered nation produces the best arts and culture. He offered a high tech or modern way of teaching culture and the arts in order to achieve the following: to greatly facilitate the teaching and communication of Filipino arts and culture and the unification of the Filipino people; to help in empowering the nation; to urge and excite the young people to put more time in arts and culture; and, to help promote national pride because of ease of success. He concluded his paper by stating that teachers of culture and the arts should see to it that Filipino culture and arts should neither be left behind nor forgotten, and lost in the waves of high tech medium and delivery systems. He stressed the need for teachers of culture and arts to be the guardians and apostles of Filipino arts and culture in order for our rich Filipino culture not to be lost in the global culture.

Dr. Birion emphasized the following in his paper:

1. roles of the general education program, i.e., the provision of a broad general/liberal education in the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences to enable the student to develop critical thinking and the development of his own ideas, attitudes and habits desirable for his improvement as a human being, and the development of competence of the individual in his chosen field of specialization either in the humanities or the social/natural sciences necessary for his immediate and gainful employment or as his foundation for further training beyond the baccalaureate degree;

2. objectives in the courses offered in the Arts and Sciences like the development of the ability to think critically, to investigate and analyze questions and problems carefully and to present ideas clearly on the basis of solid data and study, appreciation for human values and cultural heritage, and development of the student’s own ideals, attitudes, and habits desirable for his improvement as a human being;

3. ability to attain the objectives as the gauge of the effectiveness or strength of the syllabus;

4. teacher as the main determinant of the effectiveness of the syllabus;

5. success of the curriculum can be assessed in terms of the syllabi;

6. principles governing the art of effective syllabi preparation, i.e. unity and quality;

7. approaches to be considered by syllabus formulator: systemic; collegial or participatory; developmental; relevant;

8. features/components of a syllabus: objective; content; learning experiences and resources; evaluation;

9. functions of the culture and arts teacher: to inform, (instruction); and to reform and to transform (character formation);

10. eight Ms of teaching: milieu (the learning environment); matter (the subject content; method (consists of purposeful, planned activities and tasks undertaken by the teacher and the students in the classroom to attain the objectives); materials (resources available); media (communication);motivation (arousing and sustaining interest); mastery (the Be-All and End-All of learning); and, measurement (getting evidence of learning).

Prof. Obusan aired his fear of the total destruction of our tradition if the pace by which they are being destroyed and neglected would continue. He said that traditions can be saved through research but logistics should be generously provided to those who are researching on our traditions. He specifically pointed to dance traditions as a showcase of geography/topography; wars, conquests and subjugations; abundance or want; local and foreign contacts; importance put on material wealth/status; color/material references; flora and fauna; historical activities; and religion. He stressed the need to continue researching on traditions in order to preserve what is still left of dance and its form; not to lose the final link with the dancers of old; and, to understand why the dance tradition has been continually performed by a particular group with its function kept intact in the community;

2. Second National Convention

In the 1996 convention which was held at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines on April 25-27, with the theme Philippine Centennial: Continuity, Changes and Commitment to Culture and the Arts in the Academe, the following shared their expertise and thoughts to the participants: Mrs. Carmen Padilla, NCCA Executive Director as keynote speaker; Dr. Felicidad C. Robles, Dean, MCU Graduate School (The Teacher and Cultural Literacy Toward Nationalism); Mr. Nick Deocampo, (Commitment to Philippine Culture and the Arts); Prof. Felipe M. de Leon Jr, Head of the Sub-Commission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts, NCCA (The Hidden Filipino: Cultural Genius in World Civilization); and Mr. Quintin B. Pastrana, an official of the National Centennial Commission (Nationalism and Rizal’s Martyrdom).

The objectives of the convention were to:

1. re-affirm the role of teachers of culture and the arts in inculcating nationalism in support of the Philippine Centennial;

2. draw a general plan of action on culture and the arts to foster nationalism focusing on the idealism of the national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, flexible to the needs and design of a particular school;

3. reinforce teaching approaches, methods and strategies in handling classes in culture and the arts; and,

4. strengthen the Filipino student’s pride and confidence in his native legacy and become instrumental in the national drive for excellence.

Dr. Robles in her paper asked how many teachers engaged in teaching Philippine culture and the arts developed cultural nationalism in their students as well as cultivate it in themselves. She believed that through the appreciation of the three aims of cultural nationalism given by Locsin, the teachers of culture and the arts can develop their cultural nationalism. She cited these three aims as: 1 ) the liberation of our nation particularly from notions that have been inimical to its progress such as colonial mentality and all that it implies like low regard for our culture, lack of appreciation for our history, and the misguided notion that western culture is essentially superior to our own; 2) the promotion of cultural justice which includes recognition of the right of every citizen to the benefits of culture (education, enjoyment of the arts, ability to develop one’s talents); respect for the culture of the minorities and the recognition of their contributions to the richness of the national heritage (respect for their beliefs, customs, traditions, and aspirations of every community and their right to their environment and property); and, 3) the promotion of unity through respect for the various cultures and through the commitment to preserve diversity.

Dr. Robles stressed the significance of the role of educational leaders like the teachers in providing the directions towards cultural literacy and the ideal cultural nationalism because our national survival, as pointed by Eddie Romero, according to her, is a crisis of culture. She pointed to the need for students in Philippine schools to sharpen their critical thinking power to be able to distinguish among the known socio-cultural values those that must be discarded and those that must be cherished and put them to use in the service of national survival and stability, which task, according to her, can be better accomplished with the help of the teachers.

Prof. De Leon presented the following ideas in his paper: Filipinos could not be proud of anything truly their own and would regard anything native as primitive the moment they began to view themselves through Western eyes; colonial mentality is the greatest single cause of our national disunity and of the factionalism dismembering the country; no national unity without a sense of pride in being a Filipino; the basis of collective self-respect and respect for each other is always a sense of one’s worth as a Filipino, a firm belief in one’s own strengths and creativity; a firm sense of identity and projecting what is authentically ours is clearly a way to national salvation; being unique, distinct or indigenous is not only the basis of international worth but also the foundation of economic success; the image a people create of themselves is the psycho-cultural basis of their strengths and weaknesses, triumphs and failures; the Filipinos should create and work for the most exalted and exalting images of themselves that can heal their wounds such as : images that evolve from a Filipino perspective; foster images that depict the Filipino strengths; and focus on the Filipino oneness as a people.

Mr. Deocampo in his lecture, stated that Philippine culture and the arts can best be studied in the film art since cinema in the Philippines speaks so much of the beliefs, customs, and traditions of the Filipinos. He warned, however, that Philippine culture and art scholar should not stick to the traditional style in film making, otherwise, the national progress might be negatively affected. He cited as an example the practice of depicting the Filipino woman as a martyr all the time and the Filipino man as an all-time macho as detrimental to economic development because womenfolk in the Philippines are, and can always be instrumental in the uplift of the national economy. He said that film makers should not be afraid to experiment, not only in style but also in approaches. However, he advised that the culture and innate artistic tendencies of the Filipino should never be forgotten and should always be reflected in the Philippine cinema.

Mr. Pastrana extolled the sacrifices of Rizal for the motherland. He challenged the participants to live the Rizal way and to also make sacrifices for the country. He talked on nationalism and Philippine development. He also talked about the Philippine Centennial Commission and the Centennial Committee. He also presented video presentation on the Philippine national shrines. He also talked about the origin of the Philippine flag.



3. Third National Convention

The 1997 PATCA convention on April 11-12, was again held at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines with the theme Culture and the Arts in the Academe in Celebration of the Philippine Centennial: Visions and Actions with NCCA Chairman of the Board, Dr. Jaime C. Laya keynoting the convention. Five experts dwelt on topics which were very timely and useful to the participants. The experts were: Dr. Kate Botengan, CHED Commissioner, (Relevant and Significant Academic Approaches to Teach Culture and the Arts); Dr. Venancio L. Mendiola,, Dean, PNU College of Arts (Enrichment of Lesson Plans and Syllabi in Social Studies and the Humanities); Prof. Ma. Victoria Maple Gaverza, Special Assistant in the Department of Foreign Affairs, (Culture and the Arts in the Academe in the Era of Globalization); Prof. Napoleon Abueva, National Artist for Architecture, (The Teaching of the Humanities); Dr. Eugenia Moraleda, Officer-in-Charge, Bureau of Secondary Education, (1977 as the Year of the Filipino Spirit).

Only Dr. Botengan, and Prof. Abueva, however, were the only ones who submitted their papers to PATCA. The other speakers did not provide PATCA with copies of their lectures. Dr. Botengan presented the scenario of higher education as the background of her paper. She presented through statistics the higher education scenario as follows: 1,448 higher educational institutions which includes: 375 public higher education institutions inclusive of satellite campuses broken down into: 219 chartered state universities and colleges inclusive of satellite campuses; 100 non-chartered CHED-supervised institutions; 38 local universities and colleges; 13 other government schools; 5 specialized institutions; 1,113 private higher education institutions, broken down into: 825 non-sectarian higher education institutions; and, 288 sectarian higher educational institutions.

Dr. Botengan informed the convention participants that the higher educational needs of the citizens are more than adequately met. She also emphasized that the survival and eminence of Humanities, Culture and the Arts in the curricular programs of educational fields available in the educational institutions may be put to test if the massive turn-over of ideas and knowledge which students and teachers will have to contend with is not considered. She said that one reality in the teaching-learning environment imposed by the end-users in industry, the professions and services, is the concept of globalization. Dr. Botengan asked the following questions to teachers of humanities, culture and the arts:

1. Where would you as a teacher of Humanities, Culture and the Arts, locate yourself in the total requirements of formal education within the higher education system in the country?

2. What should be the scope and content of planned lessons in the areas of Humanities, Culture and the Arts considering the inroads of science and technology not only in the academe but in the requirements of end-users in industry, the professions and services?

3. How should you craft your approaches to teaching Humanities, Culture and the Arts as the attention of the students inevitably would compete with the glamour, excitement and challenges of the new course on the block computers and all its related subjects?

4. How prepared are you to teach lessons of mankind from the past, within the teaching-learning environment of the present, towards a perceived more desirable future?

5. To what extent would you be prepared to re-define, if need be, the scope, content and depth of subject offerings in Humanities, Culture and the Arts as well as the methodology of teaching and learning in the context of the requirements of the present Information Age and increasing globalization with its own demands?

Prof. Abueva urged the participants to personally get involved and try to practice some of the art forms since they were already familiar with the nature and mechanics of culture and their intimate knowledge in the creation or production of the various art forms or disciplines.


4. Fourth National Convention

PATCA’s fourth national convention in 1998 was held at the University of the East on April 24-25 with the theme The Philippine Centennial and the Academe: Evaluating the Filipino Consciousness in Culture and the Arts to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century. Keynoting the convention was Ms. Carmen Padilla. The fourth convention was anchored on the following objectives:

1. raise the level of the Filipino consciousness on the significance of the Philippine Centennial to national development;

2. involve the students and the teachers of culture and the arts in the meaningful celebration of the centennial; and,

3. enhance the teaching and learning of culture and the arts towards deeper appreciation of Filipino heritage.

The resource persons and the topics for this convention were: Dr. Elena Mirano, Professor of Music at the University of the Philippines, (Significance of Philippine Ethno-Music); Dr.. Jesus Peralta, former Assistant Director of the National Museum, (Preservation of Culture); Dr. Corazon O. Castro, Director of Research, Philippine Women’s University and Founding President of PATCA, ( Legislating the Philippine Centennial through the Teaching of Culture and the Arts); Dr. Amalia Cullarin Rosales, Dean College of Arts, PUP, (One Hundred Years of Filipino Heritage).

Dr. Castro presented the mandate, logo, slogan, rationale, meaning and vision, five-year plan of the centennial, guidelines in communicating the centennial, Filipino values which can be renewed as inspired by the Philippine Centennial and the scenario of the Philippine Independence Day celebration to commemorate the 100 years of our freedom. She also pointed to the crucial role which the teachers of culture and arts should play in the celebration of the Centennial. She said that the essence and the celebration of the Philippine Centennial could be coursed best through the classrooms with the teachers at the helm of the activities. She cited some ways of integrating the Philippine Centennial Education in the teaching of culture and the arts subjects, i.e., through the syllabus; in the action plan for the school year; during History Week celebrations; through the Centennial Freedom Trail; through a study corner on Philippine History and Culture; through the organization of history clubs and contests; in school and classroom activities; and, in community outreach programs.

Dr. Rosales delved on the Filipino traits both positive and negative which she considered as products of our 100 years of existence. She said that the Filipino personality is a blending of the East and the West. She pointed to the following as some of the character traits of the Filipino: ability to survive trials and disasters; humorous; pragmatic; materialistic; has the ability to blend western pragmatism with eastern sentimentalism; hospitable; respectful; godly; industrious; helpful; and persistent. She also cited the following traits as reasons for the problems besetting the country today: extreme personalism; lack of discipline; passivity; colonial mentality; kanya-kanya syndrome; and, lack of self-analysis and self-reflection. She also urged the participants to help in the preservation of the beautiful traits of the Filipinos. She expressed the hope that the Filipinos would be united as a people with one history, language, culture and government; and, that the Filipinos would be able to set aside their personal interest for the sake of the national interest in order to achieve national progress.

Dr. Mirano’s talk on ethno-music centered on the traditional music of old Batangas. She said that in the towns and barrios of old Batangas life had rhythmn. She cited the role played by music in the life of old Batangas which according to her dominated the different occasions in the province. She stressed the fact that there was a particular music identified with a particular episode in the life of a locality or even a person. She cited the huluna as an example of ethno-music, which was a music hummed by a mother in putting her child to sleep and was not sung in public because this was considered a mother’s personal way of communing with her innocent child .


5. Fifth National Convention

In April 1999, the Philippine Normal University became the venue for PATCA’s 5th National Convention whoch was held on April 23-24 with the theme Humanities and Science: An Aesthetic Co-Existence. Mrs. Gloria Angara, then Chairperson of the Cultural Center of the Philippines was the keynote speaker. It had the following objectives:

1. impress upon the teachers of culture and the arts that science and the humanities are mutually reinforcing fields for the teaching of general education subjects;

2. define the scientific-humanistic approach in the teaching of culture and the arts in general education subjects;

3. devise ways/methods/approaches/strategies and techniques in the teaching of general education subjects using scientific-humanistic approach.

The speakers and the topics were: Dr. Ofelia Morabe-Carague, PUP President, (The Role of Information Technology in the Humanities); Dr. Emmanuel T. Santos, President of the International Academy of Management, (Science and the Aesthetic Experience); Dr. Pablo T. Mateo Jr., former President of PUP, (The Intelligent or the Feeling Being); and Fr. Norberto Castillo, O.P., former Rector of the University of Sto. Tomas, (Humanizing the Scientific Being).


6. Sixth National Convention

PATCA returned to PUP in April 2000 for its 6th National Convention with the theme Information Technology and the Teacher of Humanities, Culture and the Arts. Dr. Ofelia M. Carague keynoted the convention. The objectives of this convention were:

1. equip the teacher with the basic knowledge in Information Technology;

2 utilize the teacher’s skills in designing Computer-Assisted Instructional materials;.

3. utilize the significance of the use of IT in teaching.

In her keynote address, Dr. Carague mentioned the following: institutions of higher learning must never sacrifice the wholeness of mind and heart to the demands of narrow specialization; the liberal arts, the social sciences are equally vital in the age of exploding knowledge or information and globalization of the market; the need for teachers, students and school administrators to re-tool themselves if culture and the arts are to remain relevant and survive; helping students to develop critical and analytical thinking is no longer adequate; various departments in the College of Arts must work with other information technology-related departments; students must be taught to think global; and the 3rd millennium needs people who are equally developed culturally, spiritually with strong humanitarian values that would arm them for wise decision-making and for them not to be afraid to rely on their own capabilities to be providers of employment not mere applicants for employment.

The resource persons for the 6th convention of PATCA were: Prof. Giovanna V. Fontanilla, Consultant of the Educational Technology Center of the University of Sto. Tomas, (Information Technology as a Tool in Classroom Instruction); Engr. Ma. Mercedes F. Garcia, Managing Director of the BAYAN MAP Corporation, (Designing Computer-Assisted Instructional Materials; Prof. Joyce L. Arriola, Editor of the Ed-Tech Journal of UST, (Utilization of Computer-Assisted Instructional Materials in Teaching Humanities, Culture and the Arts).

7. Seventh National Convention

PATCA’s 7th National Convention was held at the Trinity College of Quezon City with Dr. Jaime C. Laya, Chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts as keynote speaker. The theme was Culture and the Arts: Catalyst of Change.

The resource persons during this convention were: Mr. Jack Pilar of PETA, (The Aesthetic Dimension of Culture and the Arts); Dr. Nicanor Tiongson, (The Moral Dimension of Culture and the Arts); Cong. Dante V. Liban, (The Political Dimension of Culture and the Arts); and Atty. Rene Saguisag, (The Constitutional Dimension of Culture and the Arts).

8. Eight national Convention

PATCA’s 8th National Convention was held at the Leandro Locsin Theater of the NCCA in Intramuros, Manila with the theme Culture and the Arts: Catalyst for Peace and Development with Dr. Esther Garcia, Chair of the Commission on Higher Education as Keynote Speaker.

9. Ninth National Convention

The 9th National Convention was again held at the ICAM Training Room of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts on April 25, 2003. Its theme was World Peace through Culture and the Arts and had for its Keynote Speaker Ms. Evelyn Pantig, Undersecretary of the Department of Tourism and Chair the NCCA Board. Mr. Nestor O. Jardin, President of the Cultural Center of the Philippines gave a lecture on the Philippine Cultural Education Plan.

X. OTHER ACTIVITIES OF PATCA

PATCA did not confine itself to the holding of conventions, conferences and training programs only. It also undertook other activities all geared to the development of teachers of humanities, culture and the arts, to reach out to more faculty members as well as students and culture enthusiasts and to recognize talents and contributions to culture and the arts. The following were the other activities undertaken by PATCA:

1. Presentation of Bayaning Huwad during the 1st National Convention with this author, Prof. Dodi Dizon, and Mr. Noel Carpio performing;

2. Museum tour during the 2nd National Convention to afford the participants to see the different museums and sites in Metro Manila;

3. Holding of a Lecture-Demo Concert on Philippine Music on November 18, 1995 at the PUP with the well-known Filipino composer, Prof. Alfredo S. Buenaventura as lecturer. Featured artists were the CEU Chorale, Prof. Pacelli Sario Eugenio, a baritone, and Farah Jimenez, a soprano culatura;

4. Holding of a demonstration teaching entitled Creative Dramatics in Teaching Philippine History at the NCCA’s Leandro Locsin Theater on August 17, 1996. This was a joint project with the NCCA as part of its Pistang Sining program. Dr. Castro served as the Project Director. Two hundred students and faculty members attended this demonstration;

5. Presentation of the 1st PATCA Award to an Outstanding Performer in Film. Ms. Nora Aunor was the recipient of this award for her moving performance in the movie Flor Contemplacion;

6. Staging of the play Lapulapu ng Mactan, an adaptation by this author of Igmidio Alvarez Enriquez’s Lapu of Mactan, at the UE Theater from November 22-24, 1997. This play was the initial presentation of Dulaang PATCA, a theater group organized by PATCA as its arm in reaching out to a greater number of audience and to bring to the fore the beauty of the country’s dramas.

7. Holding of a lecture-presentation on bugtungan, pasaringan and salawikain entitled Baliktanaw sa Aliw ng Dulaang Pilipino with the famous performing group AMBON of FEU on February 22, 1997. Prof. Leopoldo C. Gonzalez served as lecturer and Dr. Rosales, the Project Director. It was in cooperation with the NCCA.

8. Calamba: 188, an adaptation by Dr. Rosales of Severino Montano’s Parting at Calamba at the Leandro Locsin Theater on September 12, 1998;

9. Dramatic Reading of Huling Paalam in Three Languages by Dr. Amalia C. Rosales, Prof. Segundo Dizon and Pro. Corazon Castro;

10. Presentation of an excerpt from the play LAMAT with Dr. Rosales, Prof. Milagros Canares, and Prof. Avelina Bucao

11. Presentation of An Afternoon of World Literature and Ethnic Arts during the 5th National Convention at the Philippine Normal University;

12. Ethnic Music-Instrument Lecture-Demo with the PNU Chorale at PNU in April 2003.

13. Publication of the PATCA Newsletter and the PATCA Journal;

14. Establishment of linkages with Metrobank, NCCA, PATHRI, AMBON, Benguet State University Dance Troupe; PUP Bagong Himig; Ramon Obusan Dance Group; PUP Banda Kawayan; and Filipino Free Artists;

XI. CONCLUDING STATEMENTS:

We need to develop teachers with genuine love and concern for our national heritage. Teachers who will help us in the blossoming of our culture. As PATCA celebrates its tenth year, it resolves to be more determined in the pursuit of its dream for the country – to help bring the Filipino people to a common destination, so that they will become prouder of their race, radiant and splendid in their accomplishments and optimistic of their future.


*A paper presented during the 10th Convention of the Philippine Association of Teachers of Culture and the Arts (PATCA) held at the Aloha Hotel, Roxas Boulevard, Manila on April 29-30, 2004.

Relevance of Culture and the Arts in Attaining Global Peace and Development

Relevance of Culture and the Arts in Attaining Global Peace and Development*

By Dr. Amalia Cullarin Rosales**

ac

I. Introduction

Good morning!

I am happy to be with you this afternoon to talk on a topic which is close to my heart – culture and the arts.

The topic assigned to me is the Relevance of Culture and the Arts in Attaining Global Peace and Progress. Your theme Searching Asian Identities through the Arts is a very timely topic and your inclusion of the topic assigned to me is also a very welcome idea considering that global peace is, as of today, a very elusive thing. The series of bombings which happened and are still happening not only in the Philippines but also in other parts of the world, attests to the great need to think of a solution to this worldwide problem. For how can progress be achieved if there is no peace?

For indeed, the world today is beset with so much turmoil that peace has really become an elusive dream. As we face the 21st century, we are faced with the uncertainty of life. We cannot help but ask ourselves whether the next generation will be afforded the chance to live in a peaceful world; whether they will be able to enjoy prosperity; whether universal unity will be a reality.

But we continue to hope… we continue to struggle to achieve peace, unity and prosperity for the world. In the heart of each one of us, hope springs eternal. And so, this morning, you have thought of doing your share in achieving global peace and progress through this activity. And what is the best and most effective way of doing it ? Personally, I believe and I would say without hesitation that culture and the arts are powerful weapons of achieving peace and development.

II. Culture, the Arts, and Development

Two important components of the country’s efforts for development are culture and the arts. UNESCO defines culture as that which comprises the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterize a society or social group. It includes not only the arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions, and beliefs. (1982).[1]

Fernando N. Zialcita referred to culture as a group’s repertoire of beliefs and practices that is acquired, not through genetic inheritance, but through the use of symbolic systems, the most common of which is language in its various forms, i.e. spoken, body, and written. Zialcita also believes that culture is not race. Thus, expressions like Malay race or lahing Pilipino, although seemingly neutral, are dangerous, according to him. Further, Zialcita believes that culture should be viewed dialectically rather than in a reductionist manner for culture grows and that what was once foreign can be assimilated and given new form and content.

Culture has three components. They are: what people think, what they do; and the material objects they produce Thus, mental processes and rules that guide behavior, beliefs, knowledge and values are all part of culture. Culture is shared; learned; symbolic; transmitted across generations; adaptive; integrated; and ever changing. We understand ourselves as individuals and as members of various groups through the study of culture.

On the other hand, the arts is the significant expressions of human experiences. It is a journey to bridge the visible to the invisible. It allows us to bridge cognitive and affective experiences, to bridge left and right brain activities. The arts in its humanizing influence move man to his greater wholeness, to great heights of sensitivity.

Despite the importance of culture and the arts in development, however, researches revealed that in the Philippines alone, support for artistic and cultural development and promotion, both from among government leaders and the general populace, has been found insufficient, wavering and even absent.[2]

Proofs of this reality concerning the lack of support to culture and the arts are the results of the consultative meetings conducted by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in preparation for the formulation of the Philippine Cultural Education Plan. During these meetings the following were revealed:

· Cultural education is intrinsically not part of the country’s formal education system;

· Basic education does not identify and define the basic socio-cultural concepts that need to be taught to students. Neither are these defined in the textbooks or instructional materials for the teachers and students;

· Arts subjects are getting less time in the school curriculum;

· There are very few qualified teachers of arts and culture in the elementary and secondary levels. Even fewer are the textbooks and instructional materials on arts and culture;

· The country’s leaders and decision-makers do not give importance to culture as a vital component in national development;

· As such, support for cultural development, heritage preservation, promotion and cultural education has been generally neglected;

· Among Filipinos in general, there is a lack of understanding and appreciation of Philippine culture and its importance to their lives and to the nation;

· Many artistic and cultural organizations, both government and non-government, have cultural education programs but these programs are not designed and implemented in line with a national effort that will achieve greater impact;

· The use of the media as a potent tool in cultural education has not been fully explored and maximized.

Since culture and the arts are important in development, there is a strong need for the people to be culturally educated. In order that unity will be achieved, a better understanding and appreciation of the diversity of the Filipino culture as well as its rich manifestations are needed. If this is done and realized, a national cultural consciousness that will define our identity as a people and inspire us to work toward attaining common goals for the good of our society will evolve. Helping towards this end, the NCCA has been doing the following:

· undertake projects that encourage the continuing and balanced development of pluralistic culture by the people themselves;

· conserve and promote the nation’s historical and cultural heritage;

· ensure the widest dissemination of artistic and cultural products among the greatest number across the country and overseas, for their appreciation and enjoyment;

· preserve and integrate traditional culture and its various creative expressions as a dynamic part of the national cultural mainstream and ensure that standards of excellence are pursued in programs and activities geared toward the development of culture and the arts.

III. Culture and Arts as Instruments of Peace and Progress: Some Stories

1. Philippines
In his paper, Creative Pathways to Peace, Nestor Horfilla wrote that most cultural workers in Mindanao create art works that are linked to building a just and lasting peace as well as the concern for sustainable development. To ensure the success of the cultural workers’ noble goal of using the arts as instrument of peace and progress, they seek the partnership of various sectors – government, civil society, educational institutions, private sector and the general public - in carrying out their two programs, the Arts-for-Peace and the Theater-in-Development. Out of these programs, several stories emerged – stories which can be good materials for tele novelas.

One of the stories narrated by Horfilla concerns their experiences in a refugee camp in Mindanao, where they worked with children caught in armed conflict. The story goes:

In August 2000, the MILF territory in Camp Abubakar was taken over by government forces. It was an extremely difficult period as the “all-out-war” policy of the government was implemented. It led to the massive displacement of communities and the proliferation of refugee camps – the so-called “tent cities” – where five or six municipal mayors hold offices in the same site.

In that year, we conducted several psycho-social debriefing activities for children and caregiver utilizing the arts. The Office of Civil Relations of the Department of National Defense sponsored one of the projects that we facilitated. That project in Matanog was conceived by a private foundation based in Manila in collaboration with some volunteer students from the Graduate School of the University of the Philippines.

That engagement was special because it was our first time to work on a project organized by a government agency. We designed a process of five-day creative interactions for the more than 100 children evacuees aged 6 to 17 and their caregivers, most of whom came from the areas surrounding Camp Abubakhar.

At that time, the sponsors wanted to showcase images of the military giving gifts to children. However, we suggested that the project must focus on “preparing the victims” to face the perceived “aggressors”.

Prior to the actual project implementation, there were several consultative meetings with the community, the families of children, core of caregivers from the various line agencies and the representatives of the LGUs.

The children participants came from various ethnicities, the majority are Iranun, Maranao, Maguindanon, and a few Bisaya- Ilongo and Bol-anon. Vivid images of war were captured in the drawings of children: helicopter, gun-ships, bombs, dead carabaos, destroyed houses, abandoned crop fields, closed school buildings and many more. Likewise, the children in chorus signified that the military must pullout from the area immediately.

It was a very strong sentiment that was very difficult to rebut at that moment.

We converted a dilapidated gymnasium in Parang as an improvised “art center” where the creative outputs of children were exhibited and the performance showcases were presented to the community and to the more than 1,000 men-in-uniform headed by then Secretary Orlando Mercado together with a core of AFP Generals. The showcase included among others:

– Exhibit of children’s visual artworks, some of which were turned into “Peace Greeting cards”
– A variety of children’s games and song compositions by children;
– One hour interactive theater performance showcase; and,
– Several children’s letters sent to the Armed Groups to both the military and the rebels

During the creative encounter, energy and enthusiasm among the children were so high and signs of hope were painted on their faces. On the last day, when the military almost out- numbered the children participants, there were no expressions of fear or aggressive behavior. After the performance, the children were celebrating a sense of victory, albeit, symbolic.

At the end of the one week cultural journey, while we waited for the vehicle that would bring us to Cotabato City, Nasser, one of the most aggressive children came to us slowly. He burst into tears, Hindi na rin kayo babalik! We felt a sense of deep guilt.

Before the project began, we had proposed that the activity not end in evacuation camps, that it be institutionalized as “Children’s Arts-for-Peace”. We have yet to follow-up the response of other stakeholders.[3]

The other is about the story of the Kaliwat Theater Collective which was formally established in 1988 as a cultural organization in Mindanao. It is a theater which actively engages in popular theater for empowering the culturally “silenced majority”. Over the years, Kaliwat directed its efforts at enhancing the creative capabilities of the grassroots through a creative process and a liberating methodology. Using various art forms, it encourages the articulation of social issues within the community. Theater is utilized as a socially binding device and as a tool for community dialogue.

Kaliwat has produced several plays which deal with the issues of peace and un-peace. The plays are products of the myriad forms of interactions between Kaliwat members and the sources of the stories – grassroots communities. Utilizing art and theater-making processes, cultural action, methodologies, community dialogue, and cultural research, a collaborative play is produced based on real-life situations. The play is then performed to various other communities and to the general public for advocacy.

Kaliwat has produced six plays as follows:

· ASIN SA KATAWHAN

Drawn from experiences of members and leaders of basic Christian communities and demonstrates the mounting contradictions in a peasant society;

· BAKWIT

A piece filled with black humor about the situation of a permanent internal refugees named Kardo and Berto. They talked about their desire to go home, their situation in evacuation centers and the rules of life governed by war, poverty and displacement in a hilarious exchange of wit and wile.

· PAGBATI

Portrays the role of women in mythical and contemporary realities and was written, directed and performed by women. It paints varied pictures of violence faced by women from birth to giving birth

· SIAK SA DUHA KA DAMGO

A musical comedy about two families in search of wealth. One a family of fisher folk and the other, a family of entrepreneurs As they raced towards the pot of gold, they found themselves trapped in their own elusive dreams. The play weaves the issues of debt and ecological destruction and utilizes audience participation in defining the play’s conclusion.

· OYA ARAKAN!

A concert play about the story of a couple – a Manobo warrior and Christian settler. They were gifted on their wedding day with a gunso, a Manobo tribe’s ancient sacred jar, which is the vessel of the Manobo’s heritage and wisdom. The Manobo groom was given the task of guarding the gunso but it was grabbed by the migrant settlers in order to unearth its secrets and to gain power over the tribe. War ensues and the two people – the Manobo and the Bisaya who were once united parted ways.


· MINDASILANG

Within the backdrop of a raging war, three friends of various cultural origins - Talaandig, Cebuano and Maranao prepare to mount a play on the issue of peace with a school theater group. As the war seethes on, their efforts towards this common project are being derailed, compelling them to journey through their past in order to understand why there is war, to appreciate their differences and to rediscover their commonalities.

According to Horfilla, all the six productions are creative components of broader interventions for people’s development. The process involves design and implementation of cultural action to pursue a common agenda. The promotion of peace and protection of natural resources are two of the examples of these agenda.

How did these artistic productions help the natives? During the conception of Siak sa Duha ka Damgo, KALIWAT and the fisher folk of Bago Aplaya in Davao City worked together on finding solutions to the pollution problem in the community caused by a queue of food factories in the surrounding areas. While OYA ARAKAN!, on the other hand was being envisioned, KALIWAT and its community partners, conducted an ethnographic research on the Manobo of Arakan Valley, facilitated various fora, consultations and conferences with relevant government agencies to push for the Manobo’s ancestral domain claims. Almost three years after the start of the Arakan project, and after more than 20 years of pangayao (tribal war) against cattle ranches and logging companies, majority of the Manobo’s ancestral domain claims were granted.

Another example of how culture and the arts have been utilized to serve as instruments of peace and progress is the story of KASIBULAN or Kababaihan sa Sining at Bagong Sibol ng Kamalayan. This group was established in 1988 by Filipino women artist par excellence composed of Brenda Fajardo, Ida Bugayong, Imelda cajipe-Endaya, Anna Fer and Julie Lluch. It started as a small group of ten which after fifteen years grew into a hundred. The group, a sisterhood of Filipino women practitioners in various fields of arts, such as visual arts, literature, music and the theater, espouses as one of its goals the enhancement of social, economic, political and cultural consciousness of women artists and Filipino women in general.

This group also underscores the role of women in the peace process, in the (re) telling of history and in the preservation of traditional and indigenous crafts. It also consciously works for the development of distinct women’s expressions in language symbols, imagery, values, and beliefs. One of the members of the group, Dr. Thelma Arambulo, wrote in her essay, Babae, Kasarian at Sining: Ilang Kuru-Kuro: Hindi lumalayo ang babaing artista sa paghahanap ng inspirasyon. Para sa babaing artista, may kayamanang mamimina sa mgs ordinaryong gamit sa bahay at sa mga pangkaraniwang bagay-bagay at parte ng kanyang kapaligiran.[4]

Nangangahulugan lamang na kung pagyayamanin at titingin tayo sa ating kapaligiran, hindi malalayo ang pag-unlad sapagka’t sa mga bagay na nasa ating paligid, ang isang alagad ng sining ay maaring makalikha ng mga obra maestra na hindi lamang magbibigay ng kabuhayan o dagdag ng kita sa pamilya kundi magbibigay din ng dangal at pakiramdam ng pagmamalaki sapagka’t mula sa mga ordinaryong bagay ay nagawa nila ang lumikha ng isang bagay na hindi lamang magbibigay kabuhayan kundi maaaring maging instrumento ng kapayapaan.



2. Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, a war-torn country which is recovering from a twenty year old violent conflict, Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne a cultural worker-educator, revealed that the development of her country focuses not only on social, economic and political aspects but also on spiritual, cultural and moral aspects. She said that in considering the future of their culture, preservation and respect for cultural diversity are paramount since their heritage, culture and traditional knowledge have also been eroded by the ideology of consumerism. Her country’s program, according to her, is placing particular emphasis on peace education through their heritage, culture and traditional knowledge. In a community education which a movement named Sarvodaya Shramadana, started in the poor villages of Sri Lanka, an integrated program of development with all ethnic, cultural and religious communities is facilitated through bringing about an “enlightenment literacy” amongst the people. Its education is geared toward peace, reconciliation and development.

For the Sarvodaya Movement, to create a peaceful society, the following elements are necessary: consciousness (how we think about ourselves, our inner being, our spiritual lives, our interactions with other); power ( how human beings govern each other’s behavior for the good of all ) good governance; and, economics ( how we maintain our physical existence and obtain our basic needs).

The Sarvodaya Movement believes that men have to work on all three spheres to have a healthy, balanced and peaceful society. The consciousness element includes the way of thinking, culture and interrelationships. Lasting peace cannot be achieved in the absence of a deeper understanding and nourishment of these components of the collective consciousness. In the consciousness building process, community education and culture play a critical role. To affect the consciousness, some of the activities carried out by the Sarvodaya Movement are:[5]

· Meditation;
· children’s peace camps;
· inter-religious peace dialogues;
· conflict resolution skills;
· play, music and drama; and,
· publications

Also from Sri Lanka is the story of Sister Therese Ranee,[6] principal of St. Mary’s College in the picturesque town of Trinkomalee, a multi-racial, multi-religious, and multi-lingual community of 10,000 inhabitants in Sri Lanka. She told of how she builds up broken relationships of pupils from different ethnic groups, who, in the aftermath of violent outbreaks between Tamils and Muslim, tend to avoid each other, with the Sinhalese (Sri Lanka) thinking that all Tamils are “terrorists”. She said that aside from organizing friendly netball tournaments and encouraging her Tamil students to learn the Sinhalese language, she also encourages them to learn the traditional Sinhalese dances. The Tamil children perform on Parents day in costumes borrowed from a Sinhalese school. This is her way of making the Tamil students and their parents appreciate the value of other cultures and then eventually live in peace with the Sinhalese.




3. Afghanistan

Benazir Hotaki, a member of the Information and Culture Office in Afghanistan, in an appeal to the government of Japan narrated the need of her war-torn country. In her appeal, culture and the arts are prominently mentioned. In a war-torn country like Afghanistan, it is surprising to hear a citizen concentrate her appeal not on economic needs but more so on culture and the arts. This only proves how important culture and the arts are in the lives of the people. Benazir’s appeal is consists of:

· assistance to the public library in Kabul like books and other reading materials for the children;
· funds to purchase materials for their national archive, which was snatched of its holdings;
· funds for the Kabul museum to purchase materials, the precious and historical items of which have been taken leaving the museum with nothing;
· reconstruction of the theater in their Ministry of Information;
· experts to visit their Bamiyan caves. These caves can provide a clear picture of the peoples’ situation in that country;[7]

At the end of her appeal, Benazir thanked the Japanese government for its optimism and willingness to help the Afghan people and its government in restoring their destroyed repositories of culture and the arts, a proof of the importance of culture and the arts in the development of a nation.




IV. Conclusion

Progress is not possible without peace. Peace is not sustainable without progress. Peace is a pre-requisite to development, whether this be in the arts or in any other field Peace is what will break the cycle of insurgency, underdevelopment and poverty not only in our country but also in other parts of the world where problems of this nature exist.6

A culture of peace must exist in the world if progress is to be attained. In attaining it, the people must be educated. Through education, enlightenment is achieved. When one is enlightened, violence is rejected; conflict is prevented; problems are solved through dialogue and negotiation. To ensure the existence of a culture of peace, however, values that make people free, those which promote their dignified existence, those which empower them, must be emphasized. Through these values, people would embrace peaceful means in their daily lives; they will become peaceful and caring people.


As citizens not only of the Philippines but of Asia and of the world, we have to learn and develop different and peaceful means of living together. We should be able to understand and appreciate the culture of other nationalities without, however, forgetting and being ashamed of what we have. We might be culturally diverse as a people but despite this cultural diversity, we should always think as a nation, forgetting our religious beliefs and political differences. If we think in this manner, then, for sure, we will be able to use our cultural identity in promoting peace and harmony. If we have peace and harmony, then we can achieve prosperity. It is about time that we stop thinking as a Muslim, as a Lumad, as a Bisaya, as a Tagalog, as a Bicolano, etc. We should think as a Filipino – a citizen of this country; and we should appreciate our being Asian. And as such , we should flaunt to the whole world our Asian identity – through our culture and the arts. Let us not hesitate to promote our heritage as a people of Asia, our values, our beautiful customs and traditions, our indigenous arts and culture.

Bambi Harper in an interview in connection with the celebration of Heritage Month in 2004 stated that the Filipino is not a Filipino without an acceptance of his past and without coming to terms with the past. We should remember that a “nation’s heritage is the birthright of its people”. Our beliefs, practices, and values which are handed down from generation to generation must be as much as possible followed, remembered and not forgotten and be ashamed of. Our tangible heritage must be preserved and protected for them not to be exploited and destroyed.


The main goal of any nation is the conquest of poverty. For this goal to be realized, a nation must enjoy peace. In the quest for peace, culture and the arts are important, thus, they must not be taken for granted. In the paper Culture and the Arts and the Promotion of Peace, General Manuel Yan stated that the Filipinos must come to terms with their cultural diversity if they wish to attain their full potential as a nation. He said that they should overcome their ethnical and religious differences in order to accelerate the development of the nation.[8]

In closing, let me share with you this song, which I will recite since I do not know how to sing. Let this song be a challenge to you as well as a way of committing yourselves to the noble endeavor of using culture and the arts to achieve peace and progress.



I’ll give my hand to those who cannot see the sunlight
or the falling rain
I’ll sing my song to cheer the weary alone
For I may never pass this way again.

I’ll share my faith with every troubled heart
For I shall not have lived in vain.

I’ll give my hand,
I’ll sing my song’
I’ll share my faith
because I know
That the time has come to fulfill its vow
For I may never pass this way again.

We will pass this world only once, let us not waste the chance of using that opportunity given to us to leave something behind and be contributors to the attainment of peace and progress. As Filipinos, as Asians, let us take every opportunity, no matter how small, no matter how insignificant to promote peace through our cultural heritage. And in doing so, to work for their preservation, to do every possible way to make the young generation appreciate them and eventually become our partners in preserving them. Such cultural heritage is our identity as a people. Let us not allow such identity to be overshadowed by western culture. Let us not allow it to perish.

Muli, magandang araw sa inyong lahat.


* A paper delivered on February 17, 2005 at 9:00a.m.. at the 2nd National Conference on Asia, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Sta. Mesa, Manila.


[1] UNESCO definition.

[2] Philippine Cultural Education Plan, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 2000.
[3] Nestor Horfilla, “Creative Pathways to Peace”, paper presented during the Culture and Arts Convention of the NCCA on June 12, 2003.

[4] Nina Somera and Pamela Peters – Baun, “Forces of Change,” Agung, 2003 – 2004 issue.
[5] Vinya Ariyaratne, “A Grassroots Perspective from the Sarvodaya Sharamadana Movement of Shri Lanka”, a paper presented during the Future of Education and Culture Forum, Tokyo, Japan, July 28-31, 2003.

[6] M. Therese Ranee, Lessons in Love: The Quiet Peacemakers, UNESCO
[7] Benazir Hotaki, An appeal to the Japanese Government, presented during the The Future of Education and Culture Forum, Tokyo, Japan, July 28-31, 2003.
[8] Manuel T. Yan, “Culture, Arts and the Promotion of Peace,” a paper presented during the Culture and Arts Conference on June 13, 2002 at Pearl Manila Hotel.

MORAL LEADERSHIP AND THE ECONOMIC-POLITICAL REALITIES

MORAL LEADERSHIP AND THE ECONOMIC-POLITICAL REALITIES
OF PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT: HOW TO MOVE FORWARD

DR. AMALIA CULLARIN ROSALES
Director, Ninoy Aquino Learning Resource Center
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
President, Philippine Association of Teachers of History and Rizal (PATHRI)
President, Association of Philippine Colleges of Arts and Sciences (APCAS)




I. INTRODUCTION

Sir Jose Lina, Supreme Commander, Order of the Knights of Rizal, former Supreme Commander of the OKR and Member of the Council of Elders, Sir Carmelo Gempesaw, Sir Emmanuel Cabusao, Co-Chair of the Rizal Youth Leadership Institute, Sir Esguerra, students, faculty members, other members of the OKR, NRYL facilitators and members of the Secretariat, good evening.
The topic assigned to me is timely but very delicate. It is also broad. To talk of moral leadership at this time in our history as a country is difficult. If I will be asked if we have moral leadership today, the best thing that I can do perhaps, if I do not like to lie is to just look at the one asking the question and give him a mysterious ala-Mona Lisa smile.
But you have chosen me to talk on this topic. For what reason, I do not know. I am puzzled. For sure, the NRYLI Committee members are aware that I am not an economist. I am not also a political science major. As my bio-data reads, I am a major in History BSE graduate and a public administration doctorate degree holder. And so, the members of the Committee have done me an injustice. I have to do an extensive research on the topic and it took so much of my time as a public administrator. Did I cheat the government? I don’t think so. The product of my research is for you, my dear young people, and you are this country’s hope.
And so, let me start by presenting to you, the reflections of one of my students in the Rizal subject when I asked them to give the socio-economic-political situation of the Philippines. Let me read to you what Miss Catherine Javier, a BS Chemistry IV-1 student thinks about our present economic and political situation. She wrote:

Bilang isang mag-aaral ng kolehiyo, damang-dama ko ang kagipitang nararanasan ng ating bansa. Mula sa pang-araw-araw na pahayagan, nakalulunos na basahin at malaman ang katotohanan na ang Pilipinas ay bagsak. Sa pagpasok sa paaralan, sasalubong sa iyo ang kapwa mo mag-aaral na sumisigaw at may hawak na mga karatula na nagsassad ng pagkadismaya sa kalagayan ng bansa at sa pamamahala ng mga namumuno. Pag-uwi mo, pagsakay sa jeep, wala kang ibang maririnig kundi ang usapin tungkol sa nakaaawang kalagayan ng Pilipinas. Hay...pag-uwi ko sa bahay, akala ko ay makapagpapahinga na ako tungkol sa isyu ng ekonomiya at pulitika. Hindi pala. Ang tatay ko, pagbukas ng telebisyon, balita pa rin sa kaguluhang nagyayari sa bayan.
Nakaiinis! Paulit-ulit. Nakakairita! Pero ito ang katotohanan na pilit ko mang ipagwalang bahala ay hindi puwede dahil ako ay isang mamamayan sa Pilipinas. Apektado ako sa anumang kaganapan. Paglubog man, o pag-angat nito. Apektado ako sa maling pamamahala ng mga opisyales ng gobyeno. Apektado ako sa maling sistemang kanilang pinaiiral. Apektado ako sa milyun-milyong pisong naibubulsa at nawawala sa kaban ng bayan. Apektado ako sa imoralidad na umiiral sa pamahalaan. Apektado ako sa magiging tingin ng ibang basa sa aking bansang sinilangan.
Catherine Javier is just one of the millions of youth who are affected by the present realities in our society. She is irritated by the economic as well as political situation we are in at present. When she speaks of the imoralidad na nangyayari sa pamahalaan, how do we feel? How do we react to this? What can we do as adults? What can you do as Rizal’s fair hope of the Fatherland?
Now, let us take a look at the economic and political realities of our country today.

II. THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMIC REALITIES

The Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development presented the following observations on the Philippine economy:
has been the region’s under performer for far too long
has become more vulnerable in recent years
is headed for tough challenges given current trends and forces
has inherent potentials waiting to be unleashed

Looking at the past forty five years, the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development made comparison of the economic growth of the Philippines with those of other East Asian countries, i.e.: (CLICK)
from 1960 to 2000, RP’s GNP grew 11 times but Malaysia grew 39 times, Thailand’s 48 times and Hong Kong’s 172 times;
output per worker grew 1% annually since 1960, versus 4.4% average for East Asia and 1.4% for all developing countries of the world;
output per worker grew 50% since 1960, but the rest of Asia grew 450%, which is 9 times faster
the upper 50% of families took 82.4% of total income in 1961, which remains the same until today
the gap between the rich and the poor widened
forest cover has dramatically declined; coastal areas deteriorated, rivers and lakes polluted
quality of education for the masses has continued to deteriorate
health and nutrition of children from poor families have been worsening

The economic situation of the Philippines continues to be very serious. The latest survey conducted for the period August 26, 2005 to September 5, 2005 by the Social Weather Station revealed that hunger is rising to 15.5% or an estimated 2.6 million families going hungry, i.e., they experienced hunger without anything to eat at least once, in the past three months which is the second highest national proportion since 1998. The record high was 16.1% in March 2001. (CLICK)
Luzon has the highest record of families going hungry (18%); NCR, 16.7%; Visayas, 13.3%; and Mindanao 12.0%.
Severe hunger is experienced in Metro Manila. Mass starvation and severe malnutrition are emerging phenomena in several areas of the country.
IBON Foundation, Inc. reveals the following:
Joblessness is increasing; incomes are shrinking; cost of living becoming higher; many look for jobs outside the country; one million Filipinos are expected to leave this year with thousands of our best teachers getting recruited to the US and elsewhere and 6,000 medical doctors now studying nursing in preparation for migration;
Workers, peasants, odd-jobbers and low paid public and private employees are worse off now (2005) than four-and-a-half years ago;
Unemployment has been rising. Average annual unemployment rate rose from 11.1% in 2001 to 11.8% in 2004 to 12.7% in April 2005. Unemployment figure is at 4.8 million ; Underemployed is at 8.4 million; It increased to 26.1% in April 2005 from 18.5% last year, which is the highest underemployment rate in two decades;
Ranks of middle class are thinning and are threatened with shrinking incomes and inflation eating into their fixed salaries as evidenced by dramatic drop in enrollment in private schools and moving to public schools and dramatic drop in enrollment in medical schools with students favoring nursing course;
Businessmen groan under the impact of globalization and foreign competition;
Prices of basic commodities, petroleum products, water and power services have been inexorably rising in the last three-and-a-half years;
Inflation rate has risen to over 8% in the first half of 2005 from a whole year average of 6% in 2004;
Real spending on social services has been drastically falling with education share falling from 16.6% to 14.9%; health share from 1.5% to 1.4% and housing share from 0.3% to 0.2%;
Public sector debt is at Php5.3 trillion
Foreign debt has tripled over the past eight years to $US722B.
Of the 2006 Php1.03 Trillion budget, 60% goes to debt service and principal payments. Only 40% remains with the government to work on its development programs. It shows that Php 931 Million goes to daily interest payments, Php1.045 million daily principal payments which is equivalent to Php1.97 Billion daily debt service which could reach the P2B mark, enough to spend for the following:

2,500 classrooms at Php400,000.00 each
1,333,333 armchairs at Php750.00 each
20 million textbooks at Php500.00 each
666 libraries at Php1.5 million each
33,333 computers at Php30,000.00 each
Can feed 5 million school children with vitamin enriched noodles at Php200.0 per student per year
Half billion pesos can build an overpass to decongest the worsening traffic in Manila

This is the picture of our economy today. And borrowing the description of another student in my Rizal class: ang ekonomiya ng Pilipinas ay parang lobong may lamang maraming hangin...tama, lobong may hangin, pero may maraming butas! Mabilis ang pagbulusok tungo sa lalo pang kahirapan.
Need I say more?
III. THE PHILIPPINE POLITICAL REALITIES
The October 28, 2005 issue of THE PHILIPPINE STAR carries this headline: Luisita Slay: Palace tags NPA, left blames military. The other minor news include the following:

Party-list groups funding anti-gov’t rallies?;
Don’t blame media for bad news;
One million signatures for R.I.Ps (Resign Immediately Peke);
NPC won’t back Pichay in Speakership Bid;
United Opposition rejects unity gov’t;
DOJ chief to ‘people court’ convenors: File your case with CPP ‘kangaroo court’;
Ex-DA usec not a fugitive, says lawyer; and
Palace neighborhood declared a protected area.

If we analyze the titles of this headline and minor stories, they all point out to one direction – the volatile political situation of our country today brought about by disunity and lack of trust to our leaders.
Again, I will ask the perennial question, Why?
Because we have a weak and corrupt political system as evidenced by:
a highly politicized COMELEC and other agencies of the government. PGMA handpicked her allies to head the COMELEC. She used the staff and resources of civilian agencies of the government for her campaign such as the PHILHEALT which issued millions of free health cards, the Department of Agriculture which released millions of pesos in fertilizer subsidies to win the support of local officials, the National Food Authority which gave out free rice as part of the efforts to win votes for PGMA, the Department of Public Works and Highways which implemented the road repair programs that oiled the administration’s patronage machine, and PAGCOR which released millions to fund various doleout projects;

an insecure President who exerts every effort to win the allegiance of the military and the police by buying their loyalty through promotions, perks and special access to her (Shiela Coronel, The Unmaking of a President, I Report);

corrupt politicians taking cuts from government contracts as well as relatives of top government officials dipping their fingers in the public coffers. In a survey conducted by IBON Foundation, Inc. last September 2005, 82.1% of 1,366 respondents described the corruption in the PGMA government as severe with only 0.51 % responding that there was no corruption. Transparency International’s latest corruption perception poll ranked the Philippines 117th out of 159 countries surveyed, giving it a score of 2.5 in a scale of 1-10 in which 10 is the cleanest;

highly centralized, inefficient and ineffective government;

election fraud as part of the Filipino life;

Just before this semester ended, I asked a simple question to my five classes in history and Rizal subjects composed of two hundred students, paano ninyo ilalarawan ang ating kalagayang pampulitka ngayon?
Most of the answers given are the following:
magulo
bastusan
bangayan ng bangayan
watak-watak
mababang moralidad ng mga lider pulitiko
bulok ang sistema ng pamahalaan

Why are the foregoing happening? Why do our youth entertain a very negative picture of our political situation? Let me give these simple answers:
Philippine politics is based on opportunism and capitulationism. It is not based on principle;
Philippine politics is dirty. It is corrupted;
Philippine politics is not only a national past time but the biggest and the most popular industry in the country. It is an industry that impoverishes the Filipino, denying him of vital resources;
the Philippines has a weak state which cannot strategically respond to pressing development challenges;
enforcement of law is weak;
political parties are weak;
leadership decisions are compromised by overriding concern for political survival (Cielito Habito, Challenges for the Successor Generation of Filipino Leaders, 2005)
civil service is undermined by lack of funds and corruption;
the absence of moral leadership

Looking closely at these nine reasons why our society is in this present mess, then we would say that because these constitute the social cancer and the reign of greed that Rizal mentioned in his novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. And to quote Rev. Agustin Bello, S.J. of the Ateneo de Zamboanga, from the paper he read more than forty years ago, (CLICK)

... the social cancer, the reign of greed that Rizal condemned so severely are still with us, not in the form of haughty gobernadorcillos, not in the form of wicked friars… but in the form of retainers sitting idly in plushy law offices raking in money not thru practice in court but thru the glamour of a name. The social cancer is still with us in the form of Filipinos devoid of conscience subscribing to a double standard of morality. The reign of greed is still with us in the form of soldiers and policemen mulcting people on the highways, of firemen extorting money from fire victims, from fixers of ten-percenters and influence peddlers. The social cancer is still with us in the form of an itch for the last peso, for the irresponsible pleasure, for the short-cut to power; the reign of greed is still with us in the form of ‘filter mentality’, namely, have the fun, have the pleasure, have the profit, but avoid the responsibilities by pushing someone else out of the way, and become the guy who has got everything.

That was more than forty years ago. And yet, those observations of Rev. Bello are still very much true today. They are still in our midst.


IV. MORAL LEADERSHIP

Morality is a crisis that besets the government and society in general. This is the real crisis that lies at the root of graft and corruption. Thus, an urgent need for a moral renewal. Former Senator Francisco S. Tatad on January 22, 1996 made a privilege speech sounding a call for a moral revolution. He said: Everybody believes that the law is an ass, so everybody breaks the law and nobody minds it. This crisis of morality will not be solved by solemn pronouncements, empty exposes, or congressional inquiries but by a return to morality, to the sense of right or wrong, along with the sense of guilt. Today, almost a decade after Senator Tatad made that call, the country is beset with the crisis of moral leadership – a crisis which has brought chaos to our society, and divisiveness among our people.

Leaders are models. They model the way through personal example. As Mahatma Gandhi said, we must be the change we wish to see the world. Thus, leaders must be clear about their guiding principles and values and act in accordance with them. A wise man once said that reputation is what one does in public, character is what one does in private when no one is looking. This wisdom of that wise man and the core of integrity are best illustrated by the movie City Slickers when the lead character who is married was urged by his friends to have a one-night stand during an out-of-town trip which they were all going to have and he refused.. When he was told by his friends that no one would know, he replied that someone would know. He said, I will know.

This is integrity at its highest.

Albert Schweitzer, the gifted theologian and musician turned great humanitarian presented his three principles of bringing up children. These principles are: One, you teach by example, two, by example, and three, by example. Thus, the most effective way of teaching is by example. Our leaders must not only talk about integrity, they must be true to their words; they must model the way.

A leader to be able to practice moral leadership must be able to establish a set of ethical standards; he should clarify his own principles and values, which is not an easy work. But he must! This personal searching is very essential in becoming a moral leader. He must have to wrestle with his soul like what other great leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and our very own Dr. Jose Rizal.

Dr. Anna Miren G. Intal, Vice President for the Loyola Schools of the Ateneo de Manila University, in her paper Leadership Effectiveness: Contemporary Perspectives and a Model for Philippine Organizations cited three important qualities of a leader, i.e., integrity, servant hood and leadership by example. She wrote:

The leader of an organization cannot be truly effective if he or she is perceived as hindi mabuti ang pagkatao. Followers can only be inspired if the leader is someone they can look up to as a model of the kind of person who exemplifies the ideals of leadership: a person with integrity, whose motivation in leading is service and not personal aggrandizement, and who leads by example. People will follow and even sacrifice for leaders whom they perceive as authentic or mabuti ang pagkatao. While they may followa superior who is flawed, the behavior is more the consequence of a coercive power wielded by the leader or the instrumental gains they would obtain by so doing rather than an inspired following of an admired person. (Intal,2001)

What kind of leadership do we have in the country today? Does moral leadership exist?
I am not going to make my personal judgment of the kind of leadership we have in our country today. I believe you are intelligent enough to make your own judgment. However, let me point out the following concerning moral leadership:
Moral leadership enhances ability to attract, motivate and retain human capital which includes good people, commitment, and job satisfaction. It contributes to building a better business environment through community involvement.
Moral leaders possess the following habits:
passion to do right
morally proactive;
consider all stakeholders;
have strong ethical character
have an obsession with fairness;
undertake principled decision-making;
integrate ethics wisdom with management wisdom

Moral leaders observe and practices the following ethical principles:
Trustworthiness
Unity
respect and dignity
justice
sustainability
service and humility

Moral leadership is developing the value of putting the welfare of others above one’s personal vulnerability to enrich. Moral leadership challenges us to resist the vulnerability of taking personal advantage, restraining the truth and losing the right values. Morally upright leaders transcend political allegiance toward working for national development.

V. MOVING FORWARD

I have presented to you the economic and political realities in our country today. Further, I have given you some ideas on what moral leadership should be. Given our economic and political scenario, do we have a chance of moving forward? How do we start? Where must we start? How strong-willed are we to move forward?

To the question if we have the chance to move forward, my response is YES! Why? Because the Filipino people is GREAT! We have weaknesses, but definitely, our strengths are more than our weaknesses. We are a sturdy race. Political turmoil, economic depression, natural disasters, name it, and the Philippines had experienced it and still, we have not been beaten. We are as pliant as the bamboo and as sturdy as the molave when it comes to our strength of character. This strength of character evoked the following glowing praises from former US Ambassador to the Philippines, Nicholas Platt:

In my four years of stay in the Philippines, I have proven that the character of the Filipinos cannot be weakened by any natural disaster like earthquake, typhoon or volcanic eruption or coup d ‘etat. They can easily adopt and are very flexible.

The story of Mario Jalla who was trapped for several days in the ruins of Hotel Nevada in Baguio City during the 1990 earthquake which hit the country is an example of how strong the Filipino character is. Jalla was found almost lifeless. However, he survived. One of his legs was amputated. After recuperating, he returned to his work and started to live a normal life. Another example is Ernesto “Jay Ar” Jasmin of Bula, Sorsogon whose guts and optimism are remarkable. When Jay Ar was a first year high school student, he lost his arms up to his shoulders due to an accident caused by a crazy truck driver. The loss of his two arms did not prevent him from continuing his studies. He operated a computer through his toes, thus, he was able to finish high school and enrolled in college. If we have Filipinos like them, it would not be impossible for us to move forward.
For this alone, we can and we must recover from our depressing economic and political situation. Fernando Zobel Ayala in his paper Education for Leadership and National Development delivered before the APCAS Conference in 2001 presented the results of the World Competitiveness Report which cited the sources of competitive strengths of the Philippines, as follows:
availability of skilled labor - 1st of 49 countries surveyed
availability of senior managers - 3rd
availability of qualified IT 4th employees
average working hours/year - 6th
flexibility and adaptability - 6th of labor force

We have been weakened by the economic and political crises we re undergoing at present. But definitely, we are not beaten. We have all the chances to rise, given our strengths and positive traits as a people. We only have to accentuate our positive traits and turn our weaknesses into strengths. How do we do it?
Let me present to you some of the ways to do it:
We have our positive traits and strengths like we are talented, creative, innovative, industrious, patient, religious, caring, hospitable, helpful, understanding, respectful and so many other traits that will be to our advantage. Therefore, given these traits, let us appreciate and accentuate them in all areas of our life. In doing this, let us be guided by what Prof. Felipe De Leon wrote in his monograph entitled Cultural Awareness: Keystone to National Development:
We must foster images that depict our strengths.
We have to stop wallowing in negativity and banking on borrowed assets.
All cultures are equally gifted in one way or another.
We have to discover our own gifts and build the nation upon them.
We cannot erect anything on the shifting sands of weaknesses and limitations.

We are a highly spiritual people. This is one of our strengths which we can use to create a peaceful and caring Philippine society. Let us strengthen and preserve this trait. But let us not think along the line of what faith we believe in. For our country’s sake, let us not think as a Roman Catholic, an Iglesia ni Cristo, a Jehovah’s witness, a Protestant, an El Shaddai, an Islam believer or a Dating Daan follower. Let us think as a Filipino and that whatever God we believe in, He is a God who wants us to be people who are soldiers of peace and love.
The absence of unity has been cited by so many writers, politicians, economists, academicians and even students as one of the weaknesses of the Filipino people, thus, the present situation that we are in. Therefore, let us unite! Let us focus our attention on attaining oneness for the sake of our country. Again, De Leon has this to say on unity:

A nation is bound by the things it loves or identifies with. The essence of nationhood is thinking, feeling and caring for the nation as a whole not only for an elite minority, one’s region or sector but for the vast majority of our people – whether Christian, Muslim, Lumad, peasant, poor women, leftist, or loyalist. Only by thinking of what is good for the nation can we come up with a collective sense of purpose and the political will to carry out.

Granting that we have a problem on moral leadership, that moral leadership is absent in our society today, then let us focus our attention to the millions of young people who will be this country’s leaders tomorrow. Let us give them the best training on leadership. Let us inculcate in their minds the kind of leadership that Rizal exhibited - a leadership that is the exemplar of the highest morality; a leadership that is willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of the country and its people. If these young people who are in front of me this evening can become the moral leaders that this country thirst for, therefore, we can see a better Philippines, some years from now.
It has always been said that we are undisciplined. This is not very nice to hear but if we look around us, if we observe both our old and young people, for sure, we will realize that we are really undisciplined. Just observe the way our drivers violate traffic rules and regulations; the way our school policies are ignored; our wanton disregard for our environment and other manifestations of our disregard for laws, rules and regulations. This is a problem. Therefore, what must be done? The answer, strengthen the teaching of discipline among our young people. The home should start it since it is the foundation of character building. The school, the community and the government must reinforce character building if a disciplined citizenry is desired. This is so expressed under Article XV, Section 8, Sub-section 4 of the Philippine Constitution:
All educational institutions shall aim to inculcate love of country, teach the duties of citizenship, and develop moral character, personal discipline, and scientific and vocational efficiency.

Since the gap between the rich and the poor has widened, the government must be able to formulate clear programs that will benefit all sectors of society and these programs must be efficiently and effectively carried out. The government should avoid grandiose programs that are unattainable but instead present programs that are responsive to the needs of society.
Exposure to role models is very crucial in the life of our young people. Therefore, our leaders today should be able to present the highest example of what is good, truthful and beautiful. They should, therefore, live by a certain rule which will guide them in the conduct of their lives. Diligence, dedication and honesty should be observed by everyone serving the country.
We are a people of good virtues. However, centuries of colonization and exposure to western culture changed everything that was beautiful in us as a people. How do we revive our lost virtues? This is the challenge that Philippine education must address. The government should take the necessary steps to revive the old beautiful traits of honesty, integrity and respect for law and order. Education officials should stress the inclusion in the tertiary curriculum of the teaching of ethics. Schools should re-examine, revise or upgrade existing policies on values education and look into the merit and demerit system not only among students but also among teachers.
The Philippine is a democratic state. In fact, we are considered one of the freest in the world today. However, we are to consider the recent developments we would say without fear that our democratic system is on the verge of being destroyed. This is not a good sign, since people are motivated to work harder and to achieve more for the country if freedom exists. But too much freedom is also dangerous because there is a tendency for it to be abused by those who do not know how to make use of their freedom properly. Thus, activities that undermine the law should not be tolerated. The people should be made aware that civil rights should be exercised responsibly without disturbing peace and order. But the government should not also be too harsh on the people exercising their rights of peaceful assembly, of freedom of expression, of redress of grievances. They should be heard. It is also the duty of the government to listen to them and if necessary and in the name of national interest heed their call… and listen to the voice of the people.

VI. CONCLUSION

Where do we really want to go and how do we go there?

No matter what our political affiliation is, no matter what faith we profess, no matter what our station in life is, we have one goal, one dream for our country. And that is to see it achieved national development.

When we speak of national development, we refer to the expansion of people’s choices towards sustained improvement in the quality of their lives. A development that is sustainable, which means that the needs of the present are addressed without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

And how do we go there?

We start by healing the divisions which permeate our nation today. We have to work toward the achievement of true nationhood; we have to be one nation, a nation which Rizal dreamt of -- compact, vigorous and homogenous (buo, malakas, at magkakauri). The gap between groups divided by ideology, religion or regional loyalties such as the NPA, the Muslim separatists and some tribes who are seeking autonomy must have to be closed.

We have to bring back stability in our political system through a leadership that is founded on good moral values, an ethical leadership that embodies the virtues of honesty, integrity, and fairness. Thus, survival or enrichment in office or the protection of vested social and economic interests should not take precedence over nation-building.
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We have to work on a sustained and broad-based development with the countryside treated as an equal participant and beneficiary of development.
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We have to build efficient, productive and competitive enterprises.

We have to produce well-educated, healthy and empowered citizens.

We have to maintain a clean and healthy environment.

In short, the government, the citizens, everybody must have to work for a holistic development – that is, a development which takes care of the social, economic, ecological, political, cultural, and spiritual needs of the people.

If this is achieved, then the dream of a young girl, which she expressed in simple language, will become a reality.

The young girl I am referring to, wrote:

Pangarap ko sa Pilipians ang pagkakaroon ng magandang kinabukasan ng lahat ng mamamayan. Nais kong magkaroon ng reproma na magmumula sa pamahalaan. Sana ay magkaroon na ng peace and order upang ang mga mamumuhunang dayuhan ay maganyak na maglagay ng puhunan.
Kapag ito ay nangyari, makababangon ang bansa, magkakaroon ng maraming trabaho. Maraming mga Pilipino ang magnanais na manatili na lamang sa bansa at maglingkod nang may sigla at kapayapaan sa sariling bayan. Nais ko ring sana’y may isang taong tulad ni Dr. Jose Rizal na makapupukaw ng damdamin ng bawa’t Pilipino upang muling mabuhay ang damdaming makabansa sa bawa’t isa, mabuhay ang pagmamalasakit sa bansa at gawin ang nararapatupang muling maibangon ang Pilipinas. Pangarap ko na sana ay makabangon ang bansa sa kahirapan at makaagapay sa mga mauunlad na bansa sa mundo. Sana mabawi muli ng Pilipinas ang kanyang ningning tulad ng isang bituing nagsasabog ng kagandahan sa dilim ng gabi o kaya’y isang perlas na napakaganda na matatagpuan sapusod ng karagatan na kapag ito ay nakuha ay magpapamalas ng kagandahan sa bawa’t matang titingin sa kanya.
Ang mga bagay na ito ay magaganap lamang kung ang bawa’t isa sa aming mga kabataan ay siyang magsisimula ng magagandang plano.Ang patuloy na paghubog ng aming mga kakayahan at ang pagtuturo sa amin ng mga bagay na makapagpapatatag ng aming nasyonalismo ay siyang magiging puhunan namin upang makagawa ng magagandang bagay para sa bansang Pilipinas.

Umaasa ang batang ito ng isang magandang bukas para sa bansang Pilipinas. Sa kanyang pag-asa, sa kanyang pangangarap, hindi niya nakalimutan na ipaalaala sa mga nakatatanda ang kanilang tungkulin – ang paghubog sa kanilang kakayahan at ang pagtuturo sa kanila ng kung paano patatatagin ang kanilang nasyonalismo.

Tunay na may napakalaki nga tayong tungkulin para sa mga kabataan! Sila nga ang pag-asa ng bayan, subali’t sila naman ay umaasa rin sa ating mga nakatatanda upang maging tunay silang pag-asa ng bayan. Di nila tayo bibiguin subali’t huwag din naman natin silang biguin. Maging tunay tayong ehemplo sa kanila upang magkaroon tayo ng isang moral leadership which will propel us to move forward.

Thank you and good evening!
REFERENCES

IBON News and Features, Majority of Filipinos Say Arroyo Should Leave Office, IBON Foundation, Inc., July 22, 2005.
IBON Features Commentary. Look at Economic Features that Really Matter, IBON Foundation, Inc., August 30,2005.
IBON Survey, Most Filipinos Think Corruption in GMA Gov’t Severe, IBON Foundation, Inc., October 19, 2005.
_______________. The Task of Leadership, APCAS National Convention, October 18, 2001.
Ayala, Fernando Zobel. Education for Leadership and National Development, APCAS National Convention, October 18, 2001, Ateneo de Manila University, Q.C.
Bello, Agustin. (Quoted by Sir Jose T. Enriquez in his Rizal and Leadership Address) June 2, 1969.
Coronel, Shiela S. The Unmaking of a President, I Report, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, July 2005 Issue
Habito, Cielito F. Challenges for the Successor Generation of Filipino Leaders, October 23, 2005, Cebu City.
Intal, Anna Miren G. Leadership Effectiveness: Contemporary Perspectives and a Model for Philippine Organizations, APCAS National Convention, October 18, 2001, Ateneo de Manila University, Q.C.
Perlas, Nicanor. Socio-Political Condition of the Philippines Today: Do Filipinos Deserve Democracy?
Wallace, Peter. Moral Leadership in the Philippines Today: Morality Is’nt Grey

Humanizing the Curriculum Through Culture

HUMANIZING THE CURRICULUM THROUGH CULTURE AND THE ARTS
By Dr. Amalia Cullarin Rosales
Delivered at Letran College
February 17, 2006



Dean Villegas, fellow academicians, good morning!

Humanizing the academe through culture and the arts is one subject matter I love to talk about. It is because I have been in the academe for quite a number of years, and I have observed some kind of dehumanization in the very place where individuals are supposed to be exposed to humane environment, i.e., in the way some management people treat their subordinates, teachers treat their students, the kind of values imparted to the young people by, sad to say, some schools. Many schools too, do not give so much importance to the teaching of humanities and culture because of their bias to science and technology.

Thus, every time I am asked to talk about this particular subject matter, I see a little hope that somehow, the humanities will not really be overshadowed by science and technology. That somehow, in the future, in the not so distant future, most of our academic administrators will be able to realize that education, after all, is not only molding the individuals to be economically successful but more important still is, making each young person entering the portal of every school, a total person, one who is not only a thinking person but also a feeling one. That is the kind of person the world, in general, and the Philippines, our country, in particular, needs today.

In going about my presentation, I would like to present the following questions:

1. Why is there a need to humanize the academe?
2. How can culture and the arts be potent tools in humanizing the academe?
3. How does a humanized academe contribute to the well-being of an individual? Of the society?

II. DEFINITION OF TERMS

There are four terms in this subject matter that I would like to define since they are very important terms which are found in the title of the topic you have given me to tackle this morning. These are humanize, culture, art, and academe.





Humanize
· to develop the spirit of community among mankind;
· to cultivate/enrich humanist spirit; to civilize;
to make less harsh; to make more humane.

Culture
· comprises the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, intellectual and emotional
features that characterized a society or social group which includes not only the
arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human
beings, value systems, traditions and beliefs (UNESCO, 1982);
* ang pamana ng ating kagalingan at karangalan (NCCA, 1992);
* the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values and knowledge which constitute
the shared bases of social action, the total range of activities and ideas of a
group of people with shared traditions, which are transmitted and re-enforced
by members of the group; the artistic and social pursuits, expressions and tastes
valued by a society or class, as in the arts, manners, dress, etc., and the
enlightenment or refinement resulting from these pursuits (Collins English
Dictionary, 1979).
Art
· a creative expression of significant human experience;
· it is beauty, truth, immortality, order, harmony which enrich lives and encourage human beings to extend themselves beyond the limits of flesh and blood without which life would be a mean struggle for survival and the value of survival itself would be unclear. (Understanding Art, 1994).
Academe –
* an institutional group established for the training of artists. Most academies date from the Renaissance and after. They were particularly powerful state-run institutions in the 17th and 18th centuries. In general academies replaced the guild as the venue where students learned the craft of art and were also provided with a complete education including art theory and artistic rules.


III. THE NEED TO HUMANIZE THE ACADEME

Universities and learning institutions are tasked to mold the students into morally upright individuals. Thus, all academic programs must be geared towards the development of a total individual – a person who has excellent technical know-how and a perfectly delightful character. But has the academe succeeded in this task?

Let us take a look at the world today.

· Wars and violence, injustice, inequalities and double standards haunt the lives of millions of people all over the world.
· In Palestine, children, women, and the elderly are being massacred by the U.S.-backed Israeli Zionists.
· Communal conflict, ethnic conflict and diverse forms of violent conflict which challenge the fundamental values of humanity have become a common occurrence in many countries, such as Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Bosnia, Tajikistan, Chechnya, Kosovo, Indonesia and the southern Philippines.
· Today, Sri Lanka is trying to recover from a twenty-year old violent conflict which brought about major military battles, killings of civilians, severe human rights abuses and destruction of economic infrastructure with a total of approximately one million persons uprooted and displaced internally and with another half million leaving the country.
· Terrorist attacks have become a dreaded action which haunt many countries. Global war against terrorism, therefore, has been waged. And in the name of this war, the United States of America invaded Afghanistan in November 2001 and one-and-a-half later, it invaded Iraq.
· Since the 1980s, market-driven globalization destabilized societies and states. It has created “winners and losers with the big and powerful nations being winners and captors, while the small and the weak, losers and captives (Embong, 2004). This has widened the inequality between rich and poor nations, within nations between the rich and the poor, and the poor and vulnerable groups.

Embong, in his paper delivered before the ASAIHL International Conference stated:

If we look around us, we also have situations in various countries in which there is no war, but neither is there real peace or harmony. Prejudice, mistrust, misunderstanding, ignorance, ancient hatred as well as tension exist between people, often of different ethnic groups, religious groups, classes, tribes, regions, gender, and so on. Religious bigotry, ethnic and national chauvinism, injustices of various sorts, arrogance of power and status and so on have existed since ancient times and are still pervasive today in many societies.

In the Philippines, various economic, social and political problems beset the country. More and more Filipinos cannot cope up with the continuous increase of prices of basic commodities. Foreign debts servicing gets the biggest chunk of the national budget. Oil prices in the world rises to a point where the Philippine Deregulation Law proved to be inutile. Trade markets are going down the drain. More investors, foreign and local, are pulling their investments out for fear of unfavorable returns. Government agencies tasked to address economic problems proved to be inefficient and incompetent. Vital institutions like the PNP, AFP and the COMELEC are beset with controversies of corruption and partisan politicking. Election frauds are common occurrences. Allegations of graft and corruption, from the lowest unit of local government to the highest office of the land have become a daily headlines of newspapers and favorite topics of radio commentators and newspaper columnists. Sexual harassments in work places and learning institutions abound.

Flash floods occur due to denuded forests. Pollution of all sorts endanger the lives of people. Waste products are thrown anywhere. The environment is totally neglected.

With this picture of our world and society today, the need for humanizing the academe has become an important and crucial task which every academic administrator should look into. As the traditional symbol of championing the highest of human virtues and ideals, as a citadel of truth, an epitome of the courage of conviction as well as an institution that nurtures and promotes the culture of peace, of what is beautiful, good and true, pluralist tolerance and acceptance, the academe should not only favor science and technology, but the social science and the humanities must have to be strengthened if it is to successfully play its role in the reconstruction of a more humane society. And to quote Dr. Daisaku Ikeda of Soka Gakkai International, a victory of the spirit would also be a triumph of the logic of humanity over the logic of capital. In this way, injustice, inequality, and greed, fragmentation and dehumanization of life which engulf the minds of people will be lessened since what will triumph will be the heart that truly feels and a soul that truly cares.



IV. CULTURE AND THE ARTS AS POTENT TOOLS OF HUMANIZING THE ACADEME

Archibald Macleish said: Without the arts, how can the University teach the truth? For indeed, if the University is weak on the humanities, what kind of graduates will it produce? If its traditional function of transmitting cultural heritage is neglected, how can its students learn to love their country, their people? If the academe has failed to educate the heart, how can we have graduates who are socially concerned?

In the course of my preparation of this paper, I interviewed a literature professor and this is what she said:

In the four decades of my stay in the academe, I have personally witnessed the birth, growth and lately, the impending demise of culture and the arts in what was once-upon-a-time the center of activities geared towards the development of the human person–the university. Academics lament the almost nil scholarship their young wards display. The library used to be the favorite haunt of young scholars before the copying machine invaded the academe and its environs. Students consulted Socrates, Kant, Descartes for the whys and the wherefores of life. They listened to Bach, Beethoven, Wagner, and Verdi, as they learned the universal language that is music. Isadora Duncan and Margot Fonteyn pirouetted in their dreams.

But these artists are now buried in oblivion and have been replaced by pretenders to their thrones whose names will never make it to the classical list.

Cellphones, internets, chat rooms have usurped the once sacred grounds of the library. Young people in their text messages speak and write in cryptic codes that even the Rosetta stone will decipher to no avail.

The academe like the rest of the world is marching towards progress. In so doing it has to pay the price of moving forward - to give up being humanized and face the consequences of being automatized.

One cannot have his cake and eat it too. We, academics are asked to render an important decision: What would we rather have – Prospero or Harry Potter? The Habanera of Carmen or the “Bulaklak” of the Viva Hot Babes? Quasimodo or Kampanerang Kuba?

Your choice can make or unmake the humanizing process of the young whose minds, hearts and souls are ours to nourish or destroy. (Cañares, 2005).

As an academician, I chose to nourish the minds, the hearts and the souls of my young wards. Therefore, I give importance to culture and the arts in the practice of my profession for I believe in its power to make a difference in the life of a person. They are potent tools for the search for truth, beauty and good.

Art is a powerful tool in replicating reality in the finest detail, tricking the eyes into perceiving the truth in imitation. The ancient Greeks, the Renaissance artist, the contemporary photo-realist painter, pursued truth and attempted to reveal it. Artists have also reached outward to describe truth about humanity and have reached inward to describe truth about themselves. Sometimes, their pursuit has led them to beauty, at other times, to shame and outrage. But nevertheless, they pursued truth. The pursuit of truth is, therefore, an important role which the academe must have to play.

Our lives are made more beautiful by art. Our daily experiences have been enhanced by it. Everyone has been touched by it. When we want to brighten our homes, we turn to art. We need it in enhancing our interior, to beautify our cities, and adorn our places of worship.

Art has the power to make us think intensely and feel deeply. When we confront a work of art, we are, in a way affected by it. When we look at a landscape painting, we perhaps remember a place we spent a vacation past;, a beautiful family photograph evokes family ties and traditions; or a self-portrait that projects a suffering countenance, is almost truly impossible not to affect us. For example, if one is to look at the self-portrait of Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter, one can feel the loneliness and suffering of this woman. Injured at 18 when the bus on which she was riding was slammed by a streetcar, she was left with many serious wounds and chronic pain. Aside from her physical pain, she suffered an emotional pain brought about by the painter Diego Rivera, whom she married. Hers was a life that was full of anguish. In her portraits, she presents herself alone, with her face always painted with extreme realism and set within a compressed space requiring the viewer to confront the true Frida. When asked why she painted herself so often, her reply was because she was always alone. She painted her self-portrait in order to survive, to endure, to conquer death.

Art is a tool to protest injustice and raise social consciousness. Artists like other people have tried to persuade others to join themselves in their causes. The 19th century Spanish painter Goya is an example of an artist who used his art to satirize and condemn the horrors of war. The French painter Eugene Delacroix painted the Liberty Leading the People to keep the spirit of the French Revolution alive in 1830. In this painting, people of all classes united in rising up against injustice.

Since we live in an era of violence and terrorism, art has a major role to play. It is an antidote to violence; through it, frustrations can be avoided; through it, we can feel the soul of the people; through it, we can become a community.

Prof. Felipe M. De Leon Jr. In his paper, Arts as Unifiers of a Nation (2004) states that a serious impediment to the fullest development of Filipino artistic creativity is the persistence of a Western concept of art that still prevails in our academic institutions and in the minds of the so-called “educated class” that art is a separate human activity or the idea of art for art’s sake. This idea, continued Prof. De Leon reduces art to purely formal relations. According to him, a true work of art is always a delight to behold, with a vital charm that cannot be explained, with a life-enhancing qualities whose source lies deep in the mysteries of creative intuition and the human spirit.

The art plays a central importance in the process of human and cultural development. It is more than entertainment. It gives us fuller access to who we are, to our soul and spirit, thereby allowing us the possibility to be more human. Theater and drama for example, aims towards catharsis, which can transform our souls so that we become more compassionate and more committed to creating a better world (Perlas, 2003.).

Individuals who are exposed to the arts acquire the values of a good life. They play important role in the curriculum by humanizing and affirming the inter-connectedness of all forms of knowing. They are important means to improve general education.

Man’s condition is mirrored through art. Learning is deepened through it. The eyes and the mind, therefore, must be trained how to read it. Because the human spirit is central to the arts, man can confront reality in an artistic piece which was captured by another human being who lived in a particular space and time.

Culture on the other hand is an effective instrument of fostering national and international understanding. It is the best bridge between people and is the language of the soul, the heart and reason. It is the power which makes a man capable of appreciating the life around him and the power of making that life worth appreciating. Thus, a humanized academe will bring the richness of our culture to the world through its students, its faculty members, its administrators.

Culture and the arts can contribute in creating conditions that ensure political and social stability, foster social cohesiveness, mutual trust and adherence to social order. National Artist Virgilio Almario believes that culture and art serve as creative forces for renewal and change. Culture shapes economic and political discourse and practices and explores the concept of cultural power and how it shapes business and government practices (Perlas, 2003).

Since a culture of peace is of paramount importance and is the concern of the world, the academe must be able to give strong emphasis on it. How can this be effected? The answer is through culture and the arts. It is through culture and the arts that awareness of cultural diversity, development of respect for others, open-mindedness and concern for the human race will be developed not only among the teachers but also among the administrators and the students.


V. THE INDIVIDUAL AS A PRODUCT OF A HUMANIZED ACADEME

Let me share with you this story of five graduates from the same University who were already practicing different professions, cited by Dr. Garcia in her paper Humanizing Education through Literature. The five were a criminal lawyer, a surgeon, a judge, a businessman, and a writer.

The brilliant criminal lawyer said that his ambition is to defend a client successfully, whether he be innocent or guilty; the surgeon said that his ambition is to save every patient from death or at least from suffering; the judge said that all that he hoped for is to arrive at a correct verdict in every case; the businessman said that if he could make an honest million, he would be happy. The writer who was silently listening when asked what his ambition was, replied quickly: To become a complete human being.

To a great number of people, such a reply will be received with surprise and skepticism. But what is surprising about such an answer?

Dr. Carolina U. Garcia in the same article wrote that to be human is to master an art, the art of living. She further wrote that of all the art, it is the most demanding, the most challenging but the most rewarding; that to be human is to develop our potential, to create for ourselves, and our families, our neighbors, our nation, an atmosphere of sweetness and light, the sweetness of beauty, the light of truth!

How do we achieve this goal of developing our potentials not only for ourselves but for others? The answer is to begin with ourselves, with our education. According to Garcia, learning gleaned from books, from school, from teachers and fellowmen must have to be supplemented; that we have to exert efforts to raise ourselves above our environment in order to scale the heights of self-progress and advancement.

The acquisition of knowledge and wisdom for ourselves and to bask in the radiance of truth and beauty, however, are not enough to make one human, wrote Garcia further. To be human is to seek what is beautiful, what is good, what is true. It is the ability to illumine and sweeten the lives of others. To develop one’s humanity, one must be aflamed with the desire to spread the beauty and wisdom that he has garnered for himself. And how is this done? Of course, through the education that one gets from the schools, from the teachers, from experiences and from life itself.

Justice C. Vitug in a commencement address entitled The Role of Law is the Way of Peace (2004) advised the law graduates to strive not just to be lawyers but to become great lawyers. He said that to become a good lawyer, one has to be a good person with strength and integrity of character; practices prudence and self-denial and most importantly, moral courage, which will be his torch to light his way amidst darkness. Quoting Dr. Rizal, he said that the Filipino must think national and go beyond self. He added that what is needed are virtues such as selflessness, not avarice; frightfulness, not deceit; dignity, not pride; concern, not indifference; and most of all, a strong regard and love for country and people.

A humanized individual is one who is able to see beyond oneself. This is what the humanities seeks – the broadening of man’s vision and his behavior. The humanities although it prepares man to learn and enjoy the benefits of arts and the aesthetics, of fine and gracious living, also aims to develop an individual who can empathized with his fellowmen.

A humanized academe turns out graduates who yearn for beauty, whose idealism is fully nurtured, whose love for mankind has been strongly stimulated through the emphasis on the arts as opposed to activities geared towards the useful, the practical, the utilitarian. (Janaro and Altshuler, 1984).

An individual who is a product of a humanized academe is an individual who walks with God in his daily life; one who is endowed with the gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These gifts will help create a God-loving community where every one is secured, resources are shared by all, and everyone is empowered to seek to develop himself to be able to live productive lives. (Acuna, 1998).

A humanized academe provide enough time for the teachers to do something creative, trusting that such time will be used productively for them to continually grow, thus, empowering them to lead the students in becoming creative individuals.

A humanized academe produces individuals who are not only technically competent but also morally and ethically excellent; individuals who are not only prepared with the knowledge and skills to practice their professions with proficiency but also individuals who are possessed with moral and ethical frame of mind. (Pobre, 1998). Hence, a civil engineer who graduated with all the honors one can think of can be considered a total individual only if the structure he will build is made not of sub-standard construction materials. Likewise, one who tops the board examination for accountancy can only prove that he is an excellent thinker if he practices his profession with all integrity and honesty. Thus, a good university does not only produce topnotchers in board examinations but cultivate among its students the value of virtues.

As a wellspring of intellectuals, a humanized academe does not only turn out professionals who are capable of dissecting concepts like peace, tolerance, international understanding but it also have within its folds educators who can internalize values, appreciate the foregoing concepts and who can find ways to breathe life into them. (Romero, 2004).

A humanized academe produces individuals who have lively and alert minds, perceptive outlooks, lively imaginations to recognize the novelty, the color and the excitement of ordinary living. These characteristics are developed in the persons through their exposure to culture and the arts.

A humanized academe is capable of stimulating the intellect; it could appeal to the emotions; and it could energize the moral fiber in man. Thus, literary pieces which arouse and sustain delight in the heart and mind would be very powerful media in attaining this goal. Literature as a humanizing tool produces an enriched and refined feeling; it develops in man the tendency to feel the sentiments proper to man as an emotional but at the same time as an intelligent moral being; it makes man aware of feelings that elevate and purify the emotions; it heightened and enriched his personality through the sublimation of his natural feelings; his sympathies with truth and beauty are enlarged and extended with the corresponding growth of tolerance, kindness, goodwill and geniality; he feels in himself the stirring of emotion which are rightly human such as the love for the good, the delicate, the beautiful, the noble; he feels an awareness of and an admiration for the elements of life that enhance his stature as a human being. (Garcia, 1986).

A humanized individual does not exaggerate or distort reality. He is truthful and rational.

VI. CONCLUSION

The inability of the academe to humanize will, therefore, redound to graduating students who are wanting in disciplined minds, insensitive to the problems and needs of society and unconcerned with the lives and welfare of their fellowmen. If the academe is dehumanized, the result will be a caravan of college and university graduates whose education is bereft of the indispensable ingredients of a truly refined education, wanting in the endowment of a disciplined mind, a rational mind and a concerned mind - human beings who are intelligent but unfeeling, heartless and soulless whose only desire is to work for money.

In closing, let me quote Pope John Paul II, an artist himself whose entire life has been spent working for the good of humanity:

Society needs artists, just it needs scientists, technicians, workers, professional people, witnesses of the faith, teachers, fathers, and mothers, who ensure the growth of the person and the development of the community by means of that supreme art form which is the “art of education”.

Within the vast cultural panorama of each nation, artists have their unique place. Obedient to their inspiration in creating works, both worthwhile and beautiful, they not only enrich the cultural heritage of each nation and of humanity, but they also render an exceptional social service in favor of the common good.

When we go back to our respective universities, therefore, let us be instruments in turning the academe into a humanized abode for our students. In this way, we can help produce individuals who feel and who care, thereby creating a peaceful society where everyone will live in harmony with each other.






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Morris, Audrey S., comp. One Thousand Inspirational Things. Chicago: People's Book Club, 1948.
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