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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Next: Antarctica By Antonio C. Abaya Written May 21, 2006 For the Standard Today, May 23, 2006 We salute our intrepid mountain climbers � Leo Oracion, Erwin Emata and Romi Garduce, and their support teams � for their success in being the first Filipinos to climb Mount Everest. They have done their country proud. And congratulations should also go to the corporate sponsors who made their success possible. In particular, taipan Lucio Tan and his corporations, as well as to the rival TV networks ABS-CBN and GMA-7, who sponsored competing teams of mountain-climbers. They apparently received no financial support at all from the government. Mr. Tan is said to have exhorted the climbers, when they paid him a pre-climb visit, to do it as matter of national pride. �Let�s do it for the country. I�d like to see the national flag waving at the summit of Mount Everest. Make the Philippines proud.� Someone here, at least, understands the value of symbolical acts, such as the conquest of Mount Everest, in instilling national pride. Sad that neither President Arroyo nor any of her predecessors does and did, since this is really one of the functions of national leaders: to make the people proud of themselves, their country and their nation. Several years ago, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad sent national teams funded by the Malaysian government, not only to climb Mount Everest, but also to trek to the South Pole in Antartica, and to the North Pole in the Arctic. The idea was to instill the �can-do� spirit among Malaysians. And that is not all, as I wrote in my article Emulating Mahathir (Oct. 06 2004). Mahathir also masterminded the building of the Petronas Towers, to become the tallest building in the world at that time. By contrast, when President Ramos proposed in 1995 the building of what was billed as the Centennial Tower in Luneta for the Philippine Centenary in 1998, conceived to be a contender for the �tallest building� title, it was hooted down by the wise men and women in the press. We are doomed by our own media to being a �can�t do anything� country forever. And it was Mahathir�s idea that Malaysia build a national car, the Proton, and a national motorcycle, admittedly with foreign minority partners. Not just by assembling parts manufactured in other countries, but by progressively fabricating more and more of those parts domestically, eventually including their engines. They have since produced more than two million Protons, tens of thousands of which have been exported. That is real industrialization, not mere assembly of imported components. By contrast, the Philippine automotive industry, which started at least 25 years ahead of the Malaysian, never graduated beyond assembling imported components, except for some innocuous parts like wire harnesses and seat upholstery (in which, at any rate, the raw wire and fabric material are still imported). And it saddens me that the world-class victories of Manny Pacquiao in boxing and Bata Reyes and Django Bustamante in billiards have not been utilized by the national leaders to launch talent-search competitions in those two sports among our young people, to develop new pools of talent and, incidentally, instill national pride and give them positive outlets for their youthful energy. That boxing and billiards are two sports that are popular among the masa should have been added incentive for government to promote these sports among them, to instill in them not only national pride, but also the spirit of self-discipline and a striving for excellence among an underclass seduced by drugs, gang violence and mindless TV fare such as Wowoweee and Eat Bulaga.. Not just in sports. Anyone who watches DVDs of the world�s best symphony orchestras � Berlin, Vienna, London, Amsterdam, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Montreal � would notice that there are always several Asians among the orchestra members. But they are invariably Chinese, Japanese and/or Korean. No Filipinos, even though, culturally, we have a closer affinity for Western musical idioms than do northeastern Asians. What this means is that young Filipino (serious) musical artists are not being given the opportunity to hone their skills abroad. Even the superb Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester (Youth Orchestra) under Claudio Abbado, which has members from more than 20 countries, including Cuba and Venezuela, does not have a single Filipino. Whatever one may say about Imelda Marcos and her pretentiousness and vulgar extravagance, she at least was personally responsible for the training to world-class caliber of Cecile Licad in the US and Rowena Arrieta in the Soviet Union. By contrast, in spite of their more pedigreed upbringing, neither President Aquino nor President Arroyo - forget the culturally ignorant Estrada and Ramos - did or has done anything to promote music and the arts. And not just in sports and music, and their potentials for nation-building, are our national leaders clueless and uninterested; they are more so in science and technology. Sometime in December 1989, I suggested in private to a highly placed individual that the Aquino government negotiate with the US and Soviet governments for the inclusion of qualified Filipino military officers in their astronaut-cosmonaut training programs. I never heard any feedback to that suggestion, but since 1989 astronauts-cosmonauts from Japan, China, Korea, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Israel, etc have flown into space orbit Imagine what a boost to national pride it would have been if the Philippines had been the first Third World country to have an astronaut-cosmonaut orbiting in space. In addition, such a symbolical act would have endeared the military to the government and discouraged coup-plotting by malcontents. It would or could have been used to boost young people�s interest in science and technology, as it certainly did in the US in the late 1950s, when the US strove to overcome the lead of the Soviet sputniks. Most of all, it would have given media and the entire population some new authentic heroes to look up to, instead of the usual tiresome glib-talking politicians and brainless showbiz fornicators that Philippine media love to shower their attention.on. On to Antarctica!. ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles since 2001 in www.tapatt.org. Current articles also in tonyabaya.multiply.com and the [email protected] OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
| Reactions to �Next: Antarctica� Perhaps Mr. Tan would like to pay his back taxes which will not only symbolize but will make real to us, lowly taxpayers, that the law applies to all. Jaime Garchitorena, [email protected] May 23, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww President Cory Aquino at President Gloria Arroyo, Ano po ang say niyo? Peace and Joy Every Conscious Moment! Tom and Ruth de Guzman, [email protected] May 24, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Good work Tony! Bang their heads harder. It is regrettable that our leaders have lost their capacity for vision . Just keep on banging their heads. Something good might still come out of it. Jun Apolonio, [email protected] Singapore, May 24, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, May I clarify some issues you raised in discussing the proposed Ramos tower in the Luneta? It was not that I was against constructing a tower per se. I felt that the site - between the Legislative Bldg and the Senate in the Agrifina Circle - was all wrong. For one, the tower would have dwarfed everything in site including Rizal's statue. I believed that the site was also too small for its bulk. Visually it was out of proportion to its surroundings. More importantly, it would have been constructed on marshland. As you know that area is a delta and a river runs under it. Some 500 years ago, sampans used to enter to Intramuros through a tributary of the Pasig. It's still there going all the way to Bagomgbayan. I didn't think that was such a good idea. Further, I suggested he construct in Fort Bonifacio where there was all that land that's adobe and a great vantage point for a building. Do you really think that was such a bad idea? Personally, I think they probably didn't do it because it probably wasn't financially viable. Be that as it may. Speaking of pride, if the government did have that kind of money I wish they'd just finish the National. Museum Complex since the two other buildings are in the same state as our economy- dilapidated. Bambi Harper, [email protected] Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 24, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya: As again, my heart is always stirred every time I read your articles. You are the voice of our hearts and minds. You are able to express with passion, and no fear attitude, and truthfully laying out issues of our struggling and very-close-to- rot country. I love the Philippines (sorry but I denounced it years ago when I opted to become a US Citizen) and its people. We have so many blessings yet we take them for granted, we have bountiful resources yet we squander it and we have gifted and talented and optimistic, hard working people, yet we ignore them, or trample them. You are right, the media for one, focuses their energy on brainless shows and happenings and most specifically on brainless "talents"?? who basically the talents that I know are nothing but having as many boyfriends/girlfriends.... and looking pretty with high pitched annoying voices.... (notice all these girls on TV- like Wowowee, they all have the same nose jobs and flat straightened hair!!) Anyway...It is time for us to bring ourselves as Filipinos up into a higher level of standard! Let us be proud and let us help one another develop each others real talents and utilize them to save our country from its ruins. I for one, am willing to pitch in to make this effort into fruition. Let's put together a committee where we can come together in unity and move forward with or without the help of our corrupt government. Let's make it a slap on their mean faces that with the power they have in their hands they have not done anything for the good of our country and our people.... nothing, except fill their bellies! Let's do it! Claire Felicen-Flores, [email protected] Owner, RGF Entertainment (USA) RGF Music World (Phil) Los Angeles, CA USA Tel: 33-257-1450 www.poeticsparks.com wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, Yes, you are right , I agree with everything you wrote. Most of the time, Philippine media is so boring. I wish some of them can be as well rounded as you are, so reading can be interesting. Thanks. I will send your e-mail to my son Vince, who is still in Nepal. God Bless. Mary Ann O�Connor, [email protected] May 24, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Great ideas ! I hope more will endeavor and succeed, even without government support. Pachelo Lao, [email protected] May 24, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I agree with you about Imelda Marcos. She was supposed to be tacky and kitchy, but at least she had a more cosmopolitan outlook with regards to the Arts, as against the two pedigreed- women president. What was the ambience in Leyte then versus the convent schools in Makati ? Could you offer some explanation? And also, for all Imelda's follies, I think we should credit her with the Metro Aide concept. Manila was cleaner then. Auggie Surtida, [email protected] Tigbauan, Iloilo, May 24, 2006 MY REPLY. Perhaps Imelda was over-compensating for her relatively impoverished background. Perhaps she had better advisers than Cory and Gloria. Perhaps she had genuine concern for the arts and artists. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Now, I am glad you touched on this "weak" corner of our Pinoy psyche. Start with all those inventors (Flores, Bert Del Rosario's minus one evovling into Karaoke, etc.) who have not been supported nor even endorsed by our leaders. Let us all take this lesson from Lucio Tan in supporting, encouraging, and showcasing our talents! We Filipinos have latent creative talents...number one in TEXTING in the world...number one in FIXING things including precious documents like passports, etc. I have, in my own little way, written our movie people about our classic Pinoy films dating back to Avellana, Poe, Brocka to be put into re-mastered DVD's with features that include SUBTITLES IN MAJOR LANGUAGES...INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR OR COMMENTARY FROM FILM GURU, ETC. Indian, Iranian, Chinese and Vietnamese and Korean films compete for viewers in California since they all have these features and on DVD. This is one way we can promote tourism, enhance our country's image and counteract the bad news international media enjoys reporting about our country. Bravo Everest and other kinds of climbers! Bravo Abaya...a formidable voice in the wilderness. Tony, [email protected] May 24, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony- Great column as usual. However, you said. culturally ignorant Estrada and Ramos.? I'm not sure about Estrada but re FVR, I noted these websites: http://www.ops.gov.ph/philinfo/phlegcul.htm http://www.pia.gov.ph/philinfo/default.asp?fi=culture&i=lawsramos <http://www.pia.gov.ph/philinfo/default.asp?fi=culture&i=lawsramos> The last part in the list of issuances in the second website covers the maritime museum. I was then (1990-93) Coast Guard Commandant and he supported strongly the establishment of a maritime museum and asked then (in 1992 or 1993) National Museum Director Fr Casal to get together with us in the maritime community, and had a series of meetings with many agencies on the matter. Accordingly, from http://members.tripod.com/philmuseum/history.htm "On 26 January 1996, President Fidel V. Ramos signed Administrative Order No. 246 that created a Presidential Committee to oversee the rehabilitation of the National Museum complex. Earlier in October 1994, the President instructed the Secretaries of Finance and Tourism to prepare for the eventual turnover of the Finance and Tourism buildings to the National Museum." When in 1988-89 we organized an AFP cultural group (I was AFP personnel chief or J-1) and he saw its premier presentation together with the famed GHQ band at the CCP, he encouraged us, and even suggested that we help defuse the tension in Cagayan during the Aguinaldo siege at Gattaran in February 1990 by providing a series of shows around Tuguegarao. This resulted in us being beleaguered and "hostaged" by Aguinaldo, whose target was then DLG Secretary Luigi Santos, at the Delfino Hotel and the subsequent death of BG Oscar Florendo in the firefight. But that is another story. As part of his desire to highlight our history and independence, FVR really went out of his way (See http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_cultarts/cultlaws/pnh.php), echoing Philippines 2000, although many bureaucrats went to great heights to, as an American writer once said, "reinvent Philippine history" by connecting many institutions (the army and navy did it earlier but many of us were aghast to hear that PMA was allegedly started by Gen Emilio Aguinaldo - although that was an Estrada Executive Order already) to the 1898 government. Glad to hear that UP did not follow suit. On Mt Everest, I am witness to his great support and boost to the team, and he encouraged his distant nephew, former DOTC USEC Arturo Valdez in the effort. I attended the launching of that project at the Rockwell Center organized by FVR (I think either 22 or 23 March, 2004) and I happened to have taken this shot with my Nokia 9500 and I knew we had a winner, based on the apparent air of confidence and work plan that I saw: Thanks you for your attention. I did note your fleeting "disappearance" from the scene and wondered just like some of your fans whether you were all right, and I'm delighted you're back in fighting shape. Chuck, Carlos Agustin, [email protected] President, National Defense College of the Philippines, May 25, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Forwarded by Maryann R. O�Connor, whose son Vince Rodriguez was one of the Filipino mountaineers on Mount Everest) Namaste from Nepal! Kamusta na ang Pilipinas? The Everest Team, with Leo and Pastor flew from Lukla to Kathmandu yesterday morning. Medyo pagod galing sa biyahe, pero konting pahinga lang tapos on-the-go na naman. At noontime, a representative from the office of Everest Historian Elizabeth Hawley visited the team's hotel (Sherpa Guest House). The representative interviewed the two climbers for almost two hours, asking Leo and Pastor for dates of their ascent to the summit, who they were with and checking their summit pictures. The representative also said he would interview another Filipino, Dale Abenojar, after talking to Leo and Pasor. After the interview, the team had a quick lunch, did some shopping, and then got dressed to go to the house of the Honorary Philippine Consul of Nepal - who's Nepalese by the way. The Consul lives in a huuuuge house on the hills above Kathmandu Valley. We all came in our fleece and jackets, trekking pants and hiking shoes since we had just arrived in the city and hadn't done our laundry yet. When we entered through the Consul's huge gates, we were surprised to see so many (expensive) vehicles and security guards. We then found out that the Consul had invited the whole diplomatic corps of Nepal! So puro saucy people yung nandoon, tapos kami, mga dugyot na Pinoy ang itsura. Pero ok lang, impressed na impressed yung mga tao kay Leo at Pastor, syempre 1st Filipinos to reach Everest eh. We also met at the party a group of Filipino doctors working at a mission hospital in Nepal. Syempre pag Pinoy ang nagsama-sama, maingay at masaya! Expedition Doctor Ted Esguerra even played some songs on the piano so the Pinoys could sing. It was an early night though (siguro nasanay na sila sa curfew) and we were back at the hotel before 10 p.m. This morning is sort of a free day. I am here at an internet cafe with Doc Ted and Leo and it's our first time in about a month to open our e-mail. The two are surfing the www.philippine-everest.com website reading all the messages, while I'm hoping this dispatch for the Studio 23 website will suffice (Trina, please edit!) Abner and I weren't able to file reports for TV during the trek down from Everest Base Camp as the equipment were all packed and the porters would arrive at the village too late for us to be able to set up the satellite. Also, some of the villages didn't have enough electricity (solar lang) to power up the computers. We do hope to file reports by satellite phone this afternoon to update you on the Filipino climbers and the team. That's about it for now. The Team is arriving in Manila via Philippine Airlines Tuesday night. I'm not certain about the details yet, but from the airport, the team will supposedly go to ABS-CBN where they will make a courtesy call on Benpres' Oscar Lopez and ABS-CBN's Gabby Lopez, the team's patrons. They will then sleep at Century Park Sheraton and have breakfast the next day with Mr. Lucio Tan, another patron of the team. In the afternoon, there will be a motorcade passing through Roxas Boulevard, the Philippine Coast Guard Headquarters - where Leo and Pastor are enlisted personnel (petty officers) - then on to Makati for a ticker tape parade. Hope you guys can join the parade. Kaya ng Pinoy! Vince Rodriguez, [email protected] Kathmandu, Nepal, May 27, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Right you are, Tony. Take chess. Mark Paragua, our newest and youngest grandmaster, has had to literally beg from office to office for funds to travel abroad. He's tired of the routine. Government support has been niggardly. When he was only 14 yrs old, and I was in government, I would scrounge to fund his plane ticket, sometimes calling friends to chip in. GMA's Mike hopped in only when he was already sure to bag the grandmaster norm. The sad part is, an American state, Maryland, I think, is offering to get him. The young man is weighing the offer. Lito Banayo, [email protected] May 29, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reaction to �Ignoring Da Vinci� (May 16, 2006) Dear Mr. Abaya, In your article "Ignoring "Da Vinci'" you wrote: "In the matter of The Da Vinci Code or, more correctly, Holy Blood, Holy Grail, their central hypothesis � that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a child with her whose bloodline has continued to the present � is not backed by any credible historical records that can stand up in any court of law." This would apply as well to another "literary" work wherein it is claimed that Jesus was born of a woman who had not been impregnated with the human male "seed" -- a biological precondition for conception. And further, that he was the son of the authors' supreme diety (what could a son do that an "almighty" being couldn't do? We wonder!). At least, up front, Brown admits his work is fiction; the latter work's "publishers" on the other hand, claim theirs to be deserving of unquestioning belief/faith because it definitely is true and historical. Their claims could neither stand up in any court of law... nor in any forum where reason and "god-given" common sense prevail. This is probably why they are soooo threatened by popular books/movies like Brown's. Nabibisto sila -- especially to the flock who meekly allow themselves to be fleeced to death in this lifetime for the promise of a better, worry-free life in the next! Enjoyed your article. Mario C. Hernandez, [email protected] RPN Creative Services Manager May 24, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reactions to "Wishy-Washy Presidency" (May 07, 2006) Dear Mr. Abaya, My good friend in Hong Kong, journalist Isabel Escoda gave me your name and email address and also forwarded several of your recent blogs. I have read them and found them to be excellent commentary on the Philippines political state of affairs. Currently, working on a paper relating to democratic development in the Philippines, I found your blog on the wishy washy presidency very interesting indeed. I note your comments on the likes of Mahathir and Lee Kwan Yew. As you no doubt have read, Lee has on several occasions commented about the state of political stagnation in the Philippines and has argues that Asians in particular require an authoritarian leader who would be able to instill discipline in the country, etc. While I agree with your arguments regarding the Philippines infatuation with American liberalism and permissiveness, I question the need for or wisdom regarding a return to authoritarian rule in the Philippines. As I'm sure you recall, the recent experience of authoritarianism have done nothing to advance either the economy or civil society. Instead authoritarian rule has managed to plunder and terrorize the country. I would hasten to draw a distinction as between liberalism on the one hand and permissiveness on the other. While the benefits of liberty are manifest, those of permissiveness are not. I am very interested in further examining this concept and on getting your own insights on the subject. As such, I am beginning to explore a possible answer to the kinds of problems that have long beset the Philippines in terms of what thinkers such as Michael Sandel and Philip Pettit have called "republicanism". I would be very happy to meet with you in Manila possibly next week. I will be there from the 29th along with my wife. We both recently bought a flat there and eventually plan to relocate there. James Rice, [email protected] Assistant Professor, Philosophy Dept. Lingnan University, Hong Kong, May 26, 2006 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |