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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| PAG-ASA is Hope?
By Antonio C. Abaya Written on Oct. 2, 2006 For the Standard Today, October 3 issue Why was the Philippine Atmospheric, Geographical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) insisting that super-typhoon Milenyo was packing winds of between 120 and 140 kph? Up to late Wednesday (Sept. 27) evening, the weather forecasters of CNN and the BBC were tracking and projecting the path of Milenyo (international code-name: Xangsane) as it skirted the Luzon mainland on its way northward to Japan, with winds of up to 240 kph. Even the US Navy meteorological service said the super-typhoon had winds of 237 kph. Sometime between midnight and 8:00 a.m the next day, Sept. 28., while we were asleep, Milenyo apparently veered west-northwestward, barreling between southern Luzon and the northern Visayas islands, through a mix of open sea and small island masses, not enough to have reduced its winds from 240 to 140 kph. Are PAG-ASA�s anemometers perhaps calibrated in mph but someone misread the data in kph? 140 mph, after all, is equivalent to 233 kph. At about 12:30 pm of Sept 28, my son Hochi and I, together with our driver, were caught in the Fort area on our way home. The wind was so strong, we dared not proceed, because we were afraid the car would be overturned if we did. Dozens of motor vehicles had stopped at practically all intersections, blocking passage Near the entrance to Forbes Park, four motorcycles lay sprawled on the street, apparently blown down and away by the wind, their riders not bothering to secure their machines as they ran for dear life somewhere, or were blown away to the Polo Club. We managed to find shelter in the driveway of the Essensa Towers , along with about a dozen other cars, vans and taxis. Even there, the wind was so strong the outside rear-view mirror of our car was blown away. I doubt if a mere 140 kph wind could have done what it did at the Fort, but a 140 mph wind, or something close to it, could have, and did. And speaking of PAG-ASA (which means Hope in Pilipino), isn�t this acronym grossly inappropriate for a supposedly scientific agency concerned with earthquakes, typhoons, volcanoes, sunrises and sunsets, low tide and high tide? PAG-ASA is not a religion, for chrissakes, and is not in the business of dispensing Hope. PAG-ASA would be a more appropriate acronym for an organization like a Philippine Astrology, Geomancy And Serendipity Agency, which would be dealing with parlor games in pursuit of good fortune and would therefore be within the province of Hope . But if anyone were to ask me - and nobody has - PAG-ASA should be more correctly renamed Bureau of Eruptions, Weather, Astronomical Records and Earthquakes, with the more appropriate acronym BEWARE. But I digress. Between 2:00 and 5:00 that Thursday afternoon, safely ensconced in our home, I listened to AM radio, surfing from one station to another, to try and find out what was going on. One station said all flights at the airport had been cancelled. But another station said four flights had arrived from Tagbilaran, Taipeh and Hong Kong , and another four flights were expected to arrive in the next four hours, from Singapore . One station said Manila Mayor Lito Atienza had proclaimed his city under a state of calamity and had suspended all classes the next day at elementary, high school and college levels. Another station said Education Secretary Jessli Lapuz had ordered classes nationwide to resume the next day. But later, he reversed himself. One station interviewed my friend Dr. Alan Ortiz, former president of, now consultant to, Transco, the government-owned power transmission company, who was very optimistic that power would be restored 100% later that day (Sept. 28). On another station, another friend, Elpi Cuna, vice-president of Meralco, was interviewed and he said that 17 of Meralco�s 64(?) sub-stations were ready to receive power but could not be energized because several transmission towers of Transco had been knocked down by the typhoon and could not transmit the electricity anytime soon. (It is now morning of Oct. 02, and our area is still without power, without internet access, without cable TV, without refrigeration, but now with a little water and some cellphone signals.) So, who�s in charge of informing the public during a mega-disaster like this? Obviously, no one. And the spokeswoman of Meralco, who tended to talk too much without saying anything substantial, did not help calm down frayed nerves by being negative. Whenever she was asked when power would be restored, she would go into her mantra about how many trees had been felled, how many billboards had been blown down, how many Meralco posts had been toppled, and therefore how hard it was to restore power over such a wide area. She should have been more upbeat and specific and should have said that power had been restored in areas a, b, c, d, e, f, g, etc, that power would soon be restored in areas h, i, j, k, etc but that repair crews were having difficulties in areas l, m, n , o, p because of reasons 1, 2, 3, and 4. It does not help to be defensive and evasive. I tune in to AM radio only when there is no cable TV, and I am always struck by the many voices chattering away from the 50 or so radio stations in Metro Manila � a Tower of Babel, if you will - but who cannot supply the hard, accurate and up-to-date information that the public needs during an emergency such as this. Instead, there is much inconsequential chatter about nothing, virtually no news about the rest of the world. And, dear God, not a single station among 50 playing classical music, only jungle music from dawn to dawn. Is this the Planet of the Apes or what? It is a microcosm of this country that even in a severe crisis situation, there is no One Voice to tell us what exactly is going on. This is really the job of the government in any self-respecting country, but here the government seems to be mute, inarticulate and as befuddled as everyone else. Or cowed by the American-style liberal bias that government should not be in media at all and must leave the ferreting out and retailing of information entirely to commercial media. If that is so, then we are being more Popish than the Pope, more Americanized than the Americans. My wife, sister and mother were in San Francisco in October 1989 when the Bay Area was hit by a major earthquake. For the next few days, commercial broadcasting on radio and TV were subsumed to public service broadcasting by the government to advise the public of what was going on, what to do and where to go for the services they needed. But I agree with the public outrage that the billboard situation has gone from bad to worse, underlined by the number of billboard structures that collapsed in last week�s storm and, in some cases, killed people on the ground. I wrote an article titled Billboard Jungle ( April 27, 2005 ) urging government, business and the advertising industry to sit down and draw up the rules to limit the proliferation of billboards.. I agree with Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago that these billboards have made Metro Manila the ugliest capital city in the Asia . Certainly you do not find this jungle in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur or Jakarta or Taipeh or Ho Chi Minh City or New Delhi.or Bangkok It must be the fabled exuberance of our national character. Or the Lechon Manok Syndrome in which everyone rushes to something that looks like a winner. Or the inability of the government and business to draw the line between success and excess, between urban aesthetics and unbridled commercialism It is time to put a stop to this runaway uglification of the metro. ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles since 2001 in www.tapatt.org OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
| Reactions to �PAG-ASA is Hope?�
Dear Tony, I am a British woman living in Manila and I enjoy your column very much. You always have something perceptive to say, and it's good to find out how intelligent Filipinos are thinking. I couldn't start my day without a cup of tea and the sounds of Mozart or Beethoven pouring from DZFE, 98.7 FM. It's a Christian values station too, so you will hear homilies on Christian thoughts as well as a regular newscast from Deutsche Welle. The station also gives news of forthcoming concerts all over the city. We lived on the cyclone-prone island of Mauritius in the Indian ocean for three years and always admired their handling of the constant threat from cyclones. The main T.V station broadcasts regular updates on the trajectory and speed of the cyclone, and one could phone a two digit number for a clear update of the stage and force of the incoming 'howler'. Every government building and post office had a clearly illustrated poster on how to prepare for a cyclone as well. After stage three all insurance claims will not be entertained if the owner is on the road. This keeps the roads clear, and avoids the calamities that one sees here. At the last stage all the electricity is switched off so that people don't die from electrocution. People whose houses are at risk from the winds can check into a schoolhouse for protection, although sometimes the authorities find it hard to get rid of them afterwards ! When the storm is over, the Army moves into action, clearing fallen trees and buildings. Mauritius prides itself on being the Singapore of the southern Indian Ocean, and is a beautiful little island of 1.4 million people. We lived on a west-facing coral beach, on a long coral reef which is protected by the State as a national reserve. I cried all the way to the airport and beyond when we left, but I enjoy living in The Philippines too. So may I wish you strength to your arm, and may you have a peaceful Christmas season. Best wishes, Liz Davies (Mrs), [email protected], Oct. 03, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony! This is my reaction to your article. I guess in some ways we are fatalistic. If someone tells us that a typhoon will strike at 11:00 a.m. we push our luck and do some shopping or go out at 9:00 a.m. thinking that we will be safe. Unfortunately even before the typhoon strikes there are strong winds, which we do not take into account. Our thick skin says we can go out when we should not. A typhoon is a typhoon whether it be a regular typhoon or a super typhoon. That means, take precautions and stay indoors with all the contingencies necessary to keep out of harm�s way - food, water, and all the necessities needed to ride out the typhoon for however long it takes. I noticed one of the tenants in our building (Pasay City) decided that she had an important appointment in Makati and had to get a taxi while the typhoon was still going on and our street was flooded. My reaction was that the woman was crazy to be going out in weather like this and a taxi would be crazy to take her to Makati, knowing how bad the road conditions were across the country. Billboards for advertisement were here in Manila for many years. Why should it take a disaster and deaths to get rid of a known eye sore. Money talks! Those things are making the interested parties rich and people don't realize the dangers. Are we really going to be rid of billboards or is it just talk? Nina Gomez, [email protected], Oct. 04, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, Someone should set the record straight. Was it 140 kph or 230 kph? I saw the two different forecasts myself and believed the Pagasa one. Having been caught out in the street during Yoling typhoon many decades ago, I was safely at home and cannot not tell. Lilit Cuisia, [email protected], Oct. 04, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww You are really a critic! A word that says all! Genny Ferrer, [email protected], Oct 04, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony: I like your BEWARE acronym. From June 1 to November30, the hurricane season is on. Those coming from the east usually starts from Africa. We also have a few that come from the Gulf of Mexico. There is a daily report that tells the direction and, of course, if Florida is on it's path, a Navy plane is sent up to track the hurricane and also check the eye or center of the hurricane. I really have to give credit for the guts of the pilot and crew who get up and sit right on the hurricane but that's their job and whatever they find is reported to meteorologists who may inform us of its condition and that serves as a warning to put up the window shutters if the hurricane is within 36 hours of arrival. We really got hit bad by Hurricane Katrina which did beaucoup damage to New Orleans and Mississippi. Wilma on the other hand decided to pass thru southern Florida. The first half of the hurricane lasted from 6 to 9 am. Then some quiet moments and that's when the eye of the hurricane is just above. Half an hour later, the second half came and that's the one that uprooted many trees including ours. It was a mahogany tree so you can imagine how strong the roots were and it was crawling underneath our driveway. So when it fell, section by section it was sawed and taken to the main street for the grand pick-up of all trash. Many places were without power. Our loss lasted two days only. Others didn't have power supply for three weeks. Generators were all sold out and much food got spoiled due to downed refrigeration. It was hard to drive thru the streets due to downed trees. Gas stations had gas but could not sell as they had no power to run the dispensers. With so much damage to roofs and homes, insurance rates have gone up too. Previous years damage claims have not yet been fully settled and last year's drained much of the insurance reserve to pay for damages. We are just hoping that we would be spared of any major hurricanes and there are three more expected to come before the season ends on November 30. If the west coast have earthquakes and forest fires, we have the hurricanes to contend with. Meanwhile, the inner part of the United States also have to contend with twisters, tornadoes, etc. So no matter where you live in America, mother nature can make life tough when disasters occur. Cheers ! Fred Vidal, [email protected], Plantation, Florida, Oct. 05, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Darn right. In 1970 (?) "Yoling" hit Metro Manila without warning of any kind from Pag-asa. On that day people went about their routines without any inkling of what lay in store. I experienced "Yoling" in the open, from beginning (I was in Greenhills) to end (sheltered by the canopy of Rizal Theatre). In between, I was stuck in a traffic jam at Edsa where I saw flying rooftops, falling neon signs, fallen trees, etc. The eye passed overhead when I reached Guadalupe Bridge , then caught the backspin as I was clearing the crest after the seminary. It was said later that the winds were in excess of 200 kph. The scene of destruction and the flooding were awesome. I also experienced "Dading" "Wiliming" and �Rosing" among others but saw none of the kind that "Yoling" wrought....until "Milenyo" came along. It crossed my mind that the winds were not 130+kph as reported by Pag-asa,. which also explained why many people were caught out there doing their routines thinking it was just a 130+kph typhoon. Just before noon I received a text message that the US . Navy weather center was clocking "Milenyo" at 230+kph, or 100kph more than Pag-asa's estimate. Then, it made sense especially at between 1-2pm . So, right you are. In the aftermath, Broadway New Manila where I live was the scene out of a Hollywood blockbuster disaster movie. The debris are still there one week after, although the roads have been cleared of felled trees. I noted that the first responders were the local residents, followed by a motley group of government personnel. The most visible was Meralco wherever I went, followed by PLDT and SkyCable. Of the government agencies, MMDA was most active. Forget the NDCC. It is a disaster in itself and needs help. Except for a photo-op by Marines clearing trees in Makati with bolos (pathetic in itself when they should have been provided with power saws instead), no other effort was reported. If there were, it must have been missed by media. Well said, Tony, but who's listening in those corridors when their eyes and ears are peeled elsewhere away from the realm of public service. Which is why truth, justice, democracy and development are myths in this country. Raffy Alunan, [email protected], Oct.05, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Greetings Tony, I was reading your "Pag-asa is Hope?" article this morning, sitting comfortably in a car and using my mobile to check the emails. Have to say that you really made my day, once again. Could it be, that people who were born, lived or visited a country like Finland see all these things you covered in such a similar way :) Perhaps I have no right to criticize these issues, just being a guest in this beautiful country. Or is it so, that actually this gives me an obligation ? I would not be surprised at all if Pag-asa has mixed the mph and kph; it is so confusing when the non-metric measurement units are still used mixed with metric system in our daily life. And I thought Philippines belongs officially to the metric world, but well, never mind...Whatever, the wind was definitely more than the official 120 -140 kph, you don't need any anemometers to show it. Your mirror damage is one good example. Even though some of the ancient, rusted billboard structures probably would have collapsed even with this modest wind, for sure the damage would not have been as bad as it was now. Which reminds me about another thing. Few days after the typhoon, there were comments on newspapers that less than 40 (!) billboards were effected in Metro Manila. Hmmm�On Friday afternoon, we found more than 20 of them along SLEX between Sucat and Bicutan, only a few kilometers. So I guess the rest of MM did not really have any damage�Or perhaps this "less than 40" is as reliable information as what I saw yesterday about the power restoration; according to that for instance we in Hillsborough are still without power. Well, on Saturday morning at 11am we got the power and it has been on ever since with only very few short breaks. But of course there are too many areas still without the power/water, that is sad. Just that somehow even Meralco does not seem to internally get the correct information from the field, how could they then inform the public? And the radio stations. Fully agreed. In practice I listen to only one FM station at home in the morning and weekends, also while commuting in the car. Main reason is the music they play, it is mostly to my taste (except missing completely the classical part). And they do not talk too much; the station is RJ, 100.3 here in Metro Manila. But even they fail really bad in providing any news, local or international. The local "business news" at about. 7:30am are very thin, just one individual topic at a time, and usually something that has no wider meaning except perhaps for a small, limited interest group. And then the international part earlier at around 6am; some relayed Voice of America news which have mostly nothing to do with any real international issues, I would rather listen during that 1-2 minutes some music than this. If you do not know the station, please try it one morning, between 6 - 8am; you will then know what I mean. But during Saturday - Sunday, nice background music from the 50's, 60's, 70's etc� How about the TV "talk shows" then ? It might be of course that I just can't get it as my Taglish is still quite poor, but as much as I can follow the "discussion" where the host interrupts all the time the interviewed persons in the middle of the sentence and try to put words in their mouth, there is no substance whatsoever. Just going around and around and around the same issue during the whole program. Without any visible result. Is this really what the viewers want ? These valuable broadcasting hours could be used differently, indeed. Like watching Discovery or National Geography channels on cable. One could say that there are the actual news broadcasts for the "real" local news. True, but even without commenting the actual editorial part, the technical production quality is often questionable, to say the least. And I wonder whose bright idea it has been to always put some loud background music in the news to guarantee that you really can't understand what is being talked about. Does the music somehow increase the value of the content or is it meant to distract? OK, enough this time ;) Keep on writing your excellent column and making my days! BR Simo Hoikka, [email protected], Oct. o5, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Pagasa is hopeLESS! Tony Oposa, [email protected], Oct. 05, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Sir Tony, I sympathize and agree with you that we have become a billboard jungle not only posing hazards during normal weather but even worse with unpredictable typhoons such as this. Legislation need to be passed to ban this. Most developed cities do not allow such humongous billboards. It's really an eyesore and definitely hazardous for everybody, motorists and pedestrians, including residents living around such vicinity. Teodoro Tagle Jr., [email protected], Oct. 05, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony: This was reportedly the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines in 11 years! It is quite possible that PAGASA erred somehow; the wind must really have hit at 140 mph. Mar Patalinjug, [email protected], Yonkers, New York, Oct. 05, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Finally somebody of the media who hits the nail on the head. How come there was no proper government warning for Metro Manila for what might happen on Thursday. Also the newspapers are to be blamed. Few papers paid much attention to the storm on Thursday am. Only schools were closed, not the government offices, nor the advice to the general public to stay home as winds of over 200kmph were expected. Many casualties caused by falling debris could have been prevented. Why isn't there a regulation that obliges the billboard owners to take down the billboards in case of forecasts of winds stronger than 100kph. And why all these conflicting statements by government agencies. In other countries officials would be sacked; in the Philippines. nobody seems to care. Why not one radio station used for announcements only, like there is one emergency telephone number in case of an emergency. When the telephone lines are down, a transistor radio is the only way of communication. People should be told what to do or not to do. What to do with power lines on the pavement etc. Thank God my cell phone worked so I got the message from the US weather station forwarded when I was at the office and could send all staff home in time. I think it was a storm nobody was adequately prepared for. Theo Arnold, [email protected], Oct. 05, 2006 Executive Director, Asia Society wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, On the subject of air pollution, within Greater Manila along major traffic highways, billboards act as a buffer preventing the normal circulation of air in raising the heavier poisonous gasses and metal molecules from being carried into the upper atmosphere and dispersed. You will notice that billboards proliferate in the more critical areas to distract vehicle operators. This extent of billboard abuse is not tolerated in more developed countries. I am sending this from Athens , Georgia and am greatly sorrowed by the destruction of the typhoon back home. Jack Sherman, [email protected], Oct. 08, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (The following article was emailed to us) Brief Note: Jose P. Rizal was born in 1861 when the Philippines was a colony of Spain. He studied at the Ateneo de Manila and University of Santo Tomas. Due to his desire to further his education and the apprehension of his relatives that he would go to jail if he remained in the Philippines, he left for Europe and studied in Spain at the Universidad Central de Madrid. He spent some time in Germany (Heidelberg and Berlin), England, and France. He wrote 2 gothic novels -- Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo -- which were considered subversive by the Spanish authorities. He was also a doctor, a poet, painter, musician, a polyglot (he spoke or understood about 24 languages, including Greek, French, German, Latin and English), essayist, and martial artist. Because of his novels, he was banished to Dapitan in Southern Philippines. When the Philippine Revolution exploded in 1896, he was subsequently tried unjustly by a biased tribunal and died a martyr's death by musketry in Bagumbayan (now the Luneta). Before he died, he wrote his immortal valedictory poem which is now a classic in Spanish literature. He is one of the national heroes of the Philippines. Rizal: Zen Life, Zen Death By Rene J. Navarro, Dipl. Ac. (NCCAOM) "My hands are shaking because I have just had a fencing bout; you know I want to be a swordsman." Jose Rizal, age 18, to Enrique Lete, 27 November 1879. EMERGING FROM THE DOJO where he had been studying jujitsu, Jose Rizal found the crisp air scented with flowers. It was the Spring of 1888 in Meiji era Japan. The landscape had suddenly been transformed from dead winter to a lively panorama of flowers everywhere. Beyond was Mount Fuji, snow-capped and majestic. He wandered all over Tokyo, seeing Kabuki and Noh plays, journeying past a Ginza starting to burgeon with emporiums and bazaars, past squat houses "walls made of paper," to the temples and shrines of Kyoto and Nara and the Daibutsu at Kamakura, hiking through parks and gardens, listening to street bands, visiting museums and libraries, sometimes alone and sometimes with his dear friend, O-Sei-San, and always, his heart was agitated when he saw something new and exotic, and in Springtime, Japan was a tourist's haven, with its rituals out of ancient lore. The cherry blossoms had burst into white and pink amid the bright colors of Spring. As the storks keened overhead, the blooms touched with raindrops radiated with limpid softness in the sun. Immortalized in painting, music and poetry, brooded over by samurai and zen monks, who saw in the flower the symbol of life's fragility, the sakura dominated the Spring festivals. To the mountain village, this spring eve, I come and listen to the monastery bell, Watching the cherries in bloom, And petals softly falling. --Noin (10th century) Rizal felt his body stirring as he walked the strange streets. He had read the haiku and waka, in original Japanese, had admired the sumiye paintings (those spontaneous, unplanned and thoroughly intuitive sketches), heard the strains of the koto and samisen lamenting the fate of the sakura, and in the jujitsu academy he had heard of the meaning of the Spring rites. Like the sakura, the warrior's death must be as glorious as his life. The samurai must live every moment intensely because death hovers perpetually over his head. Death and life both must be faced with stoic indifference. It was the age of the shogunate, when the country was a bushi's turf. Rizal sketched scenery and flowers and common folk in the zen way of sumiye, which he had started to learn from O-Sei-San. With his background, Rizal must have reminded O-Sei-San of the ideal of bunburyudo, the combination of artistic and martial virtues a samurai aspired to, as exemplified by Miyamoto Musashi, famous swordsman, painter and poet of feudal Japan, and author of the military classic, The Book of Five Rings. Indeed Rizal had the characteristics of a true warrior: he had a lifetime commitment to martial arts, an obsession with death, a contemplative mind, an intense involvement with life and nature, a spartan character and a great sense of loyalty and justice. Icarus by Oillight He had a difficult birth. His mother vowed to take him on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Safe Voyage in Antipolo as a gesture of gratitude. It was thought by the family that Rizal would die. Death was to haunt him all his life. From childhood he had anxious premonitions and dreams of disaster. He recalled the story of the moth: "I looked toward the light and fixed my gaze on the moths which were circling it.... The flame rolled its golden tongue to one side and a moth which this movement singed fell into the oil, fluttered for a time and then became silent.... All my attention was fixed on the fate of the insect. I watched it with my whole soul.... It had died a martyr to its illusions." In Madrid, Spain, he wrote a passage which prefigured his end. "Night. I don't know what vague melancholy, an indefinable loneliness, smothers my soul.... Two nights ago, that is 30 December, I had a frightful nightmare when I almost died. I dreamed that, imitating an actor dying on the stage, I felt vividly that my breath was failing and I was rapidly losing my strength. Then my vision became dim and dense darkness enveloped me -- they were pangs of death." Separation, celebrations, ruins, even the landscape evoked death. Again from Madrid: "The trees are shedding their pompous dresses and converted into dry skeletons, complete the sadness of foggy days. A fine rain, an even finer wind, horrible, freezing, comes from the Guaderrama... a thick mist that wraps all objects with its whitish veil giving them a particular aspect and expression are the tones and lines of this penultimate month of the year, the simple notes of its funeral song intoned to the death of nature." Lifetime of Discipline Like Yukio Mishima, Rizal was born a frail, sickly child. To compensate for his small size, he devoted himself to a regimen of exercise and body-building. He had a private pastime he called "higante" (giant), in which he would stand on tiptoe and stretch his body, legs and arms. He studied arnis de mano (stickfighting), dumog (wrestling), suntukan (boxing) and fencing (foil and rapier), which became lifelong disciplines to him. Even in Europe, he pursued his martial arts interests with almost fanatical zeal, despite illness and near-starvation. In Spain he continued his study of fencing at the famous school of Sala de Armas y Carbonell. He spent afternoons fencing with Nelly Boustead, Juan Luna and Valentin Ventura. Believe it or not, Rizal also pumped iron a la Arnold Swazenegger. Dr. Maximo Viola remembered Rizal had boasted to the members of a gym in Berlin, Germany, that he would beat their strongest man within two weeks. At this time he had been forced to turn vegetarian due to persistent lack of funds. Said Dr. Viola: "to triumph in his desire he tried lifting great weights under an unaccustomed diet." Although the smallest in the gym, Rizal did succeed in vindicating himself. A contemporary in Madrid described Rizal: "He was then in his thirty-first year. The first impression one had of him was of wholesome vigor and physical well-being. He was rather slender of build, but all muscle and sinew, compact, for he never remitted in his exercise." De Cadena There is no record of the style of arnis Rizal studied. However, from his uncle he may have learned the prevailing system of stickfighting in the Tagalog region called pananandata or escrima. Arnis de mano figured prominently in his college life, when he was called upon to use it against Spaniards who called his countrymen "chonggo" or monkey (Filipinos paid in kind by calling the Spaniards "bangus" or milkfish). Indeed there were frequent encounters between the two groups. Rizal became something of a street lord of a campus gang, ready to face a whole pack, one at a time. Unfortunately, at one such encounter, he was deserted by the members of his gang called "Companerisimo" (Comradeship) and was pounced upon by a contingent of about twelve and was left bleeding and nearly unconscious in the street. Taken home, his wounds -- and pride -- were nursed by his beloved Leonor Rivera. Needless to say, he must have had some mushy entries in his diary that day. The whole scene could have been a page from West Side Story, with the Jets on one side and the Sharks on the other, and a radiant Maria nervously waiting to minister to her favorite warrior. Rizal was, however, not a hot-headed ringleader whose temper exceeded his prowess but a real expert. On one occasion, he and the best escrimador in Calamba, Laguna, his hometown, had a bout. Rizal was hit on the forehead. Requesting a return match two weeks later, he underwent a thorough preparation and won. To reach that stage where he could defeat the town's master practitioner, Rizal must have had tremendous speed, technique and calculation. He must have learned to link his techniques fluidly, without interruption, so that they became in the jargon of the art, de cadena, an unbroken concatenation of attacks, parries, feints and defenses, which left the opponent no breathing space. Mister Cool Rizal became master of the foil, saber and duelling sword, and acquired a legendary reputation for grace and technique. He also became an expert marksman. Witnesses from the period say that Rizal could shoot through the mouth of a bottle and put a hole through the bottom without breaking the bottle itself. From twenty-five yards, "he could pick the circles ('oros') of a gambling card." Like many of today's martial artists, Rizal could not resist showing off. He mailed a target board full of holes to Valentin Ventura, himself an expert shooter and fencer, who predictably wrote that he was impressed. Writing to Antonio Luna, Rizal said, "I am sending you a target containing ten bullet holes, it was seven and a half meters from me." Then, he added in mock humility it seems to me, "I shoot slowly, but with perseverance I shall become a fair shot." Caveat: Rizal presented no witnesses to these feats. Ironically, sometime later, the tipsy Luna made some reportedly unsavory remarks about Nelly Boustead. Something like "baka ang Noli mo maging Nelly." It was a cutting pun and Rizal took umbrage and challenged Luna to a duel. Nothing came of it though because Luna, now sober, apologized. I wonder if he was somehow intimidated by the reputation of Rizal. Biographer Pedro A. Gagelonia surmised," had the duel prospered, Rizal's fate would have been jeopardized. It was a fact that he was probably better in the use of pistols than Luna but the latter was a better swordsman. In duels, the challenged party had the option of weapons, hence, Luna, logically, would have chosen the sword." This was the consensus of the Filipino exiles in Europe, too, but Rizal had a different view: "Luna is a nervous and impulsive temperament. I am cool and composed. The chances are he would not have hit me, while I could have hit him at will, but certainly would not have killed him." Here, Rizal pointed a finger at three bushido (samurai) principles. First, know your enemy and exploit his weaknesses (Sun-Tzu). Second, avoid unneccesary killing. And three, strive for serenity. Rizal's suggestion was, swordplay demands not just technical proficiency but also psychological balance. He used the words "cool and composed" which in martial arts mean a mind in repose. Like Sekiun and Takuan, Japanese masters of swordsmanship, Rizal emphasized the psychological against the merely technical. Rizal: Warrior Rizal's martial qualities have understandably been eclipsed by his other accomplishments. Yet when he died, he had behind him at least 25 years of experience in the native regimen of arnis de mano, suntukan and dumog; 20 years in fencing and weightlifting; about 15 years in marksmanship. A layman may find it hard to understand the kind of physical, mental and emotional peak a martial artist like Rizal achieves. When an escrima master goes through a pattern, his whole being is behind every movement, every stroke. Totally centered, he focuses all his faculties -- power, breath, muscles, body, mind and spirit -- into that single strike. A master marksman reaches the same intensity. He blots out everything, including himself and his ego, and becomes one with the target. Fighting with a master is a different plateau altogether. How to respond to an attack, which may be real or feigned, demands tremendous coordination of eye and body. When a stick is whipped, it travels a maximum of 150 miles per hour. At close range, this acceleration takes only a split second from inception to impact. A defender has to react instantaneously to avoid, divert or stop the blow. There isn't much time to decide what specific technique the defender must employ -- only his instinct, sharpened by training, can help him with a precise and, hopefully, appropriate answer -- or else. Within that almost infinitesimal span of time, the martial artist determines different coordinates -- the distance, position, direction not only of his body, legs and arms but also his opponent's, and moves accordingly. How much more complicated it becomes when one considers that the forces constantly shift. And then again, what does one do in the face of synchronized multiple attacks? The expert acquires a skill so spontaneous it's like second-nature. S/he moves without hesitation. Neither fear of death or injury nor extraneous thought must intrude into his mind. He becomes, after years of discipline, a person who's centered, one who has broken through the dualism of nature and the contradiction of body and mind. It is not an easy passage to that level of expertise often described as mystical. A student has to endure pain and loneliness until body, mind and reflexes respond mechanically, until the weapon becomes a mere extension of the hand, until finally the discipline becomes "artless art." Back to Bothoan Rizal lamented the loss of the ancient martial heritage. Said Rizal: "The ancient Filipinos had army and navy with artillery and other implements of warfare. Their prized krises and kampilans for their magnificent temper are worthy of admiration and some of them are richly damascened. Their coats of mail and helmets, of which there are specimens in various European museums, attest to their great achievement in this industry." The ancient barangays had a martial arts culture. With the coming of the Spaniards and Roman Catholicism, it was slowly decimated. When weaponry was banned by the Spaniards, the Filipinos gradually forgot their ancient martial prowess and discipline. They began to adopt the new culture and religion of the foreigners. By the time of Rizal, Filipinos in the colonized areas had been reduced to using sticks instead of the deadly kali weapons and the schools sometimes called bothoan, where the art of war, the techniques of weaponry, herbal medicine and assorted expertise were taught, had become a mere footnote in Morga's Sucesos. As if to remedy the situation, Rizal organized martial arts groups for Filipinos. Rizal's public gym in Calamba (circa 1887) combined classes in wrestling, weightlifting, fencing, marksmanship and arnis de mano. It was probably the first integrated martial arts club in the country. He also proposed the inclusion of martial arts in school curricula. Of course it is difficult to visualize Rizal, the intellectual giant, the renaissance man, as the resident sensei of a local dojo or even as an oriental guru but he did teach martial arts to Filipinos of his time, and not for divertissement and sublimation it seems. I suspect he also dreamed of resurrecting an ancient tradition -- that of the Filipino as a warrior. War in Miniature No doubt his martial arts training taught Rizal the principles of war. As it is understood by martial arts teachers, sparring -- with fists or weapons -- is actually war in miniature. As on a battlefield, two adversaries size up each other, using spies to study each other's weaknesses, making strategies for victory, considering variables of combat such as speed, strength, size, technique, terrain, distance and timing. Like it or not, a practitioner who goes through the routine daily, as Rizal must have done, would develop certain reflexes and as important, an awareness of principles of combat which negate mere size. The popular belief that a martial artist rushes into battle, without thought or preparation, certainly has no foundation in fact. An escrima student learns how and when to attack, to ascertain and exploit the vulnerabilities of his opponent, to create a beat ("kumpas") by which he hypnotizes his foe, to distance himself through footwork and body weaving ("indayog ng katawan"), to create illusions of speed and height, to set traps and ambushes, to wait for his adversary to make a mistake and to initiate the action. He is taught not to be foolhardy or impulsive or temperamental. He must consider all elements, including his own resources and his opponent's strategy, to win. Requisites of Revolution Like Sun-Tzu before him, Rizal believed that, "prudence and not valor is the first necessary quality of a general." Preparation, allies, timing, discipline -- these were, to him , the prerequisites of a successful revolution. It bothered him no end that the Filipinos had inadequate weapons. He considered how long the logistics would last. Making contact with a Japanese minister who offered three merchant ships to ferry arms and ammunitions, he tried to borrow money for the venture but was rejected by a prominent Filipino. Not the least of his concerns was, who would lead the rebels on the battlefield? He had met but did not know Andres Bonifacio. He dreamed that the noble Elias would lead the Revolution. He settled for Antonio Luna -- yes, the hot-headed Luna -- to "direct the campaigns in case hostilities broke out." Rizal himself had sketched plans for fortifications in his travels; in fact he had written notes on military parapets with diagrams. It is interesting to speculate what would have happened if a man like Rizal, trained in weaponry, a martial artist par excellence, had led the Revolution of 1896. He had rightly perceived the configuration of Asia, with Japan as the ascendant power and America lurking in the wings; had understood the weakened position of Spain in the face of the Cuban revolution and had correctly analyzed the role of the rich and the military in the struggle. Moreover, he appreciated the role of the masses, of materiel and of strategy in revolution, not to mention the need for unity and discipline. A tantalizing speculation it is to cast Rizal into the role of a field marshal. However. Strategy of Revolution In his famous dialogue with Dr. Pio Valenzuela, Andres Bonifacio's personal emissary from the Katipunan, the revolutionary society of the 1890s, Rizal expressed his desire to secure more weapons for the Filipinos before the Spaniards got wind of the revolutionary underground, was willing to lead the revolution and, apparently to augment his military knowledge, was intending to go to Cuba to observe military tactics, "to study war in a practical way, to go through the Cuban soldiery if I find something that would help remedy the bad situation in our country." Said Rizal,"I will never lead a disorderly revolution and one which has no probability of success because I do not want to burden my conscience with an imprudent and useless spilling of blood; but whoever leads a revolution in the Philippines will have me at his side." In short, Rizal wanted a strategic approach, a revolution by maneuver and tactic, a position that is consistent with his lifetime training as a martial artist. Teodoro Agoncillo�s �The Revolt of the Masses.� Zen Death There are many explanations for why Rizal died cool and composed. It is said he had a clear conscience, he was at peace with God, or he was a patriot who was eager to die for his people. I agree, but I like to believe also that it was his lifelong practice of the martial arts that gave him that feral nerve. Wielding a sword against an adversary or aiming a pistol at a target, he had to steel himself, empty his mind, achieve egolessness and surmount the merely physical aspect of survival. He had spent years to attain what the Japanese call mushin no shin ("mind of no-mind"), that pinpoint concentration where intuition and reflex both responded instantly, without hesitation, where body and mind and spirit became one in the sword or the gun. While the world tumbled about him, the gentle warrior went about his business of writing notes, saying goodbye, leaving legacies to his heirs, putting his affairs in order, as if nothing affected him. Even his request that he be shot in front or his incredible gesture of twisting around so that he would fall facing the Philippine sky evoked the grandeur or that idee fixe which, perhaps, only the warriors and samurai could have mustered. Rizal wrote his immortal poem just before he died. Perhaps it's no coincidence that before their death, the samurai of Japan wrote poetry, jisei, a kind of "parting-with-life-verse" in the words of D.T. Suzuki characterized by what is known as furyu, an appreciation of nature amid tragedy and annihilation. It was perhaps no coincidence either that Rizal died the eternal stoic, pulse normal, eyes alive to the beauty of the dawn, mind lucid and rational. It was a beautiful death, an exit without regrets, a samurai would have been proud of it. Here was a man. A genius who, at 35, had accomplished bunburyudo, the martial artist's ideal exemplified by Musashi Miyamoto. Now, he faced martyrdom, the unconditional endorsement through death of his beliefs. As shots rent the morning at Bagumbayan on December 30, 1896, he twisted his body and fell facing the sky. For the samurai to learn There's one thing only, One last thing -- To face death unflinchingly. -- Tsukara Bokudan (1490-1572) ____________________ Notes: To avoid the clutter of excessive footnotes, I have worked certain explanations into the article itself. After all, this was written for a popular audience, not for academics and scholars. *However, grateful acknowledgment is due the following which provided useful insights and data: D.T. Suzuki, "Zen and Japanese Culture"; Yukio Mishima, "Sun and Steel" and "Hagakure" (Hidden Leaves); Sun-Tzu, "The Art of War"; Yambao and Mirafuente, "Mga Karunungan sa Larong Arnis" (the first book on arnis de mano); Teodoro Agoncillo, "Revolt of the Masses"; Pedro Gagelonia, "Rizal's Life, Works and Writings"; other materials published by the Jose Rizal Centennial Commission. These were the main authorities I consulted when I researched the article in late 1970s in the United States. Many materials have come out since then. Among them: Mark Wiley, "Filipino Martial Culture"and William Henry Scott's work on the ancient barangays/pre-Hispanic Filipino. *His physical training also made his death more poignant and beautiful since he developed a strong and muscular body. It is a traditional belief among warriors that if they are going to die for a cause, they should be young and strong. As Yukio Mishima said, "A powerful, tragic frame and sculpturesque muscles (were) indispensable in a romantically noble death. Any confrontation between weak, flabby flesh and death seemed to me absurdly inappropriate." The cult of the romantic death -- dying for a noble cause at the height of one's powers -- has many followers among the samurai and warriors. It is enshrined as one of the cardinal rules of Bushido or the warrior's code. There is perhaps in certain cases the inarticulate death-wish. Dr. Rizal was also obsessed with Elias, the Noble Hero. I suspect that this obsession had its origin in the Siegfried legend, in Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung. In fact, a close reading of the Noli and Fili would reveal many German influences. But this requires another essay. *This essay was first published by the Philippine News in San Francisco some 20 years ago. When Dr. Alejandro Roces read it at LaMama ETC, NY in 1980, he thought it should be published in the Philippines. (He was giving lectures on Philippine culture and I was teaching arnis and appearing in Cecille Guidote-Alvarez's PETAL productions.) I was told it was published in Malaya magazine but reportedly copies of the magazine that carried it did not reach the readers because the publication's office was raided and closed by the Marcos government for alleged subversive activities. When the author went home for the celebrations of the February Revolution in 1986, Dr. Alejandro Roces read the article again and decided to publish it in the Manila Times Sunday magazine on the anniversary of Jose Rizal's death. This essay was also published in the Rapid Journal edited by Daniel Go of Manila and in the book "Arnis: Reflections on the History and Development of Philippine Martial Arts" edited by Mark Wiley under the Tuttle imprint (2001). Copyright (C) 2001 Rene J. Navarro --------------- RENE J. NAVARRO, Dipl. Ac. (National Commission for Certification in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine) is an acupuncturist (licensed in Hawaii and Massachusetts), herbalist, martial artist, healer, writer and poet. He belongs to that rare breed of healers who are also respected artists and warriors. One of the earliest senior instructors of the Healing Tao and Chi Nei Tsang, he edited the "The Greatest Enlightenment of Kan and Li" and "Sealing of the Five Senses," manuals in the high Taoist spiritual practice of internal alchemy, "Chi Nei Tsang Internal Organs Chi Massage," the master guide on abdominal manipulation, and "Dao-In," the book on meridian activation and muscle stretching . His training in Chinese arts started more than 40 years ago when he studied Tiger and Dragon Kung-Fu with Master Johnny Chiuten and later with Grandmaster Lao Kim of the Philippines and Hongkong. In 1989 he was chosen Healing Tao Instructor of the Year. Rene has been studying the curriculum of Classical Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan, including Solo Form (long), Sabre/Knife (2 sets), Sword (2 sets), Staff-Spear, 2-Man Sparring Set, Chang Chuan/Fast Tai chi form, and Push hands under Masters Gin Soon Chu (second disciple of Grandmaster Yang Sau-Chaung, son the of the legendary Yang Cheng-Fu), Vincent Chu and H. Won Kim ( lineage masters of the system). Among his teachers are: Lao Cang Wen, Wang Ting Jun (qigong), Yao Zhang (Chinese acupuncture) and Kiiko Matsumoto (Japanese acupuncture); Mat Marinas, Guillermo Tinga and Johnny Chiuten (in arnis de mano); Jeffrey Yuen (Traditional Chinese medicine); Mantak Chia (Taoist practices). He graduated from the New England School of Acupuncture where he pioneered a course in chi-kung/qigong including Tai chi, meditation, and Buddha Palm. His poetry has been published in anthologies "Flippin' -- Filipinos on America" edited by Luis Francia and Eric Gamalinda; Asian Pacific American Journal" edited by Eileen Tabios; "NuyorAsian Anthology: Writings about New York City" edited by Bino Realuyo; "ErosPinoy: an anthology of Philippine contemporary erotic art and poetry" edited by Alfred Yuson and Ramon Sunico; "Father Poems" edited by Gimeno Abad and Alfred Yuson; and "Love Gathers All" edited by Alfred Yuson et al. His essay "After the Hsih Hua" is included in the anthology "Pinoy Poetics" edited by Nick Carbo (Meritage Press: California 2004). At present, he is writing a book about healers and a poetry collection (tentatively entitled "Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep and Other Poems"). His chapbook "Du-Fu's Cottage and Other Poems" was published in 1997. He is featured in the book "Masters of Arnis, Kali and Escrima" by Edgar Sulite (Socorro Publications: 1994). Rene holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, a Bachelor of Law, a diploma in acupuncture and a certificate in classical Chinese herbs. In an earlier incarnation, he worked as a lawyer for indigent clients. He has taught in four continents. His e-mail: [email protected] Comments from students: "Rene J. Navarro is an amazingly powerful, gentle and magical being." "Rene's knowledge is difficult to attain in one lifetime." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |