The series of “previews” (part translation, part summary, part review as noted in the last three column articles) shall end with Bomen Guillermo’s “Kawayan” (2007/2017) and Emiliana Kampilan’s Dead Balagtas: Mga Sayaw ng Lupa at Dagat (2017). Incidentally, the first two previews were fueled by fire and air: text’s terrorism and author’s sentimentalism, flickers that can either be blown by the wind into puffs of smoke blending with the atmosphere or into flames of arson causing alarm; while the last two were weaved by earth and water: peasants’ komiks and scholars’ scripts.

Before putting my feet back on earth allow me to hover a bit. Pardon my indulgence, as the next paragraph serves as my brief entry to the infamous essay-writing contest that shall crowd newsfeeds come the end of the year of the fire rooster:

A rooster may be condemned to damnation if it loses in sabong (cockfight). The fowl, familiar not just to Filipinos but perhaps throughout Southeast Asia, is neither a phoenix that rises from its ashes nor a minokawa that devours suns, so it ends up as fried chicken after going through hellfire. In trying, it tries to escape the grill and build a legacy. Against whom, and for whom, one can only speculate (Maybe, Gerry Alanguilan’s eponymous comic book character, Elmer, knows).

Making sense of the previous year reminds me of gambling, but somehow a calculated one: I somehow took a shot at precarity by shifting to another profession, tried to finish my graduate studies, tiptoed outside of the country for the first time to present a portion of the thesis-in-progress, and started my column with an introduction to the fentanihilism of our father, who art in Malacañang.

Of course, my wagers are minuscule, even less (probably nothing), compared to the celebrated October Revolution of 1917 and the possibilities the Soviets opened. Likewise, the national minorities and the basic sectors, with their allies in the capital, raged against the dying of the light. They ignited the flames of resistance against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. They dare to struggle and dare to win, despite the crisis-stricken state of Philippine society and the consequent lack of resources to defend against the offensives of class enemies.

Pessimism of the mind, optimism of the will. Moral forces and material forces are two key components of achieving a collective goal, as demonstrated by Guillermo in the article “Moral Forces, Philosophy of History, and War in Jose Rizal” (2012) and the novel Makina ni Mang Turing (2013).
Such forces can affect the past and the future. Walter Benjamin’s Thesis IX portrays the “angel of history” looking at the past, as a powerful storm called “progress” pushes him into the future to which his back is turned. Guillermo’s Filipino translation, Hinggil sa Konsepto ng Kasaysayan (2013), notes Bolivar Echeverria’s presumption for consideration: that though Benjamin cites Paul Klee’s painting “Angelus Novus” (1920), the illustration “L’histoire,” from Gravelot & Cochin’s Iconologie (1791), could most probably be the basis of Thesis IX.

Hence, as further studies continue, different forces can change the past, and in effect, alter the perceived future, depending on the presumed truth of decisive forces at the present. Truth is never relative but they may change through time, depending on the subject and his interaction with the objects or materials at hand, as shown in “Bamboo.” Here’s a rough draft of my translation of Guillermo’s poem:

I tightly clenched
a piece of bamboo.
On its skin, I etched scripts
of my home so I would not forget.
This is the past’s wound
here along my path.
I firmly pressed
the sharp bamboo
and in return it etched on my palm
the red scripts of my next stop
so I would not lose track.
This is the future’s wound
here along the path.

First published by Highchair a decade ago and this year by UP press in the book 3 Baybayin Studies, “Kawayan” is a poem with themes that include uncertainties, time-space and forces (moral, material, subjective, objective) that interact to determine the past and the future through the “now.” In the present, the persona functions like the angel of history that keeps the past in its view or memory, while the bamboo, like the storm, guides him into the future. Though scars of scripts that the bamboo left may later serve as gentle reminders unlike the damages from what might be a cosmic disturbance, both natural interventions move the subjects toward certain directions.

Taking risks propels history. Kampilan’s book reads like a tapestry of selves, worlds and universes undergoing changes within and without. All of existence is in a stasis of moving inwards and outwards, with our wills going with and against the flow to create and recreate ourselves through our worlds and our universes. We exist somewhere in the pages as we gaze through the pages. As we read the past right here in the now, we project our visions into the future suggested by the book: one with peace, love, understanding, nourished by the shifting choreographed geography of earth and water.
Of course, the journey is not a walk in the park, as there shall be fissures and frictions. Oftentimes, transformation or transcendence threatens life and existence. Dead Balagtas: Mga Sayaw ng Lupa at Dagat takes the reader out of his physical body and into the universe within and without him, and back into the world where the Philippines remains clutched by oppressive forces from which it must liberate itself. Kampilan’s poignant work captures the complexity of contemporary struggles in the information age further complicated by neoliberalism. At a time when the search for identity is identified with individualist and isolationist solutions, Dead Balagtas reminds us that, whether we like it or not, people throughout time-space are linked together and we shall learn to collectively alter the course of the history that is hostaged by the privileged few.

Through Kampilan’s work, Adelina Gurrea’s “La leyenda del cama-cama” (Legend of the Cama-cama) comes to mind: the story tells of a girl who tells the story her yaya Juana told her: of how a Bisaya boy-prince, Ino-Dactu, loved a sentient heron, Mahamut, whose children became the cama-cama: mischievous but not malevolent dwarves that are half-human, half-heron. The story tells of the violent forging of nationalism through colonialism, as I have elaborated in “Larawan ng Cama-cama Bilang Filipino: Ang Imahen ng Nacion ni Adelina Gurrea” (Portrait of the Cama-cama as Filipino: Adelina Gurrea’s Image of Nacion). With great wings come great responsibilities, like the fire rooster, the hybrid cama-cama and the angel of history. With new technologies and perspectives come new tactics and strategies for potential radical changes and revolutions: axial or orbital or spiral, where the impetus of the storm leads.

A suggested soundtrack companion to Kampilan’s Earth-and-Water Dance is Tool’s Lateralus. Let me end with the song’s parting words to ponder for the darker days ahead: And following our will and wind / We may just go where no one’s been. / We’ll ride the spiral to the end / And may just go where no ones been. / Spiral out. Keep going… (davaotoday.com)

• The National Democratic Front says none of NPA’s unit is wiped out

MANILA, Philippines – The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in Mindanao said Tuesday, December 26, that it has more guerrilla fighters this year despite intensified attacks from the military.

Joaquin Jacinto, spokesperson of NDFP Mindanao, said “not one single NPA (New People’s Army) unit in Mindanao was wiped out” in 2017.

“Under the absolute leadership of the Communist Party, the NPA is ever more ready to face the full-scale war that will further intensify in 2018 and beyond” said Jacinto.

Jacinto, in a statement, bared this on December 26, the same day the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) marked its 49th founding anniversary.

Military actions of the NPA in Mindanao have also reached nearly a thousand, said Jacinto.

According to Jacinto, among the tactical offensives carried out by the NPAs in Mindanao were:

• More than 300 in Southern Mindanao
• More than 180 in North East Mindanao
• More than 200 in North Central Mindanao
• More than 100 in Far Southern Mindanao
• More or less 80 in Western Mindanao

Jacinto also said that the NPA fighters seized high-powered firearms that could equip a “battalion of Red fighters.”

Jacinto’s statement also came despite the reported surrender of 700 NPA fighters and supporters this year.

The Eastern Mindanao Command gathered the former rebels and supporters who allegedly surrendered from January to December 15 at the covered court of Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao last December 21.

The military added they recovered 265 firearms from the surrenderees.

Jacinto said they also called on the NPA to launch more tactical offensives against government forces.

“The NPA must be determined to bring the people’s war to new heights!” the NDF leader said.

Revolutionary forces, he said, will lead the overthrow of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Jacinto called Duterte a “puppet of US imperialism” who has kowtowed to the dictates of the US President Donald Trump.

The communists criticized the government’s war on drugs which they said has resulted to mass murder.

They said economic policies pursued by the government such as the “Build, Build, Build” and the newly-signed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) will burden the people with more taxes imposed on basic commodities and services and ballooning debt.

“From the start, he was already an avowed implementer of neoliberal policies, ensuring profits for the business interests of big bourgeois compradors and foreign monopoly capitalists,” he said.

The government has finished two rounds of peace negotiations with the communists this year. However, the formal talks were stalled since May after the government refused to talk with the NDFP unless the attacks against government forces stop.

On November 23, despite efforts to bring jumpstart the resumption of formal talks, Duterte signed Proclamation No. 360 to terminate the negotiations. He also declared the CPP and NPA as “terrorists organizations” through Presidential Proclamation No. 374.

Jacinto said tagging the CPP and the NPA as “terrorists” aims to justify the extension of Martial Law in Mindanao for another year.

“With martial law extended and a ‘shoot to kill’ order against all Red fighters, Duterte has virtually disregarded all international protocols and rules of engagement, and directed the AFP to literally go on a bloody killing-spree, even against those whom they only suspect as working with the revolutionary movement, with complete impunity,” he said.

The CPP was founded in Alaminos in Pangasinan on December 26, 1968 by revolutionaries led by Duterte’s former professor, Jose Maria Sison. It has been waging what is touted as one of the longest-running armed insurgencies in Asia. (davaotoday.com)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The fire that tore down a local shopping mall here was totally put out on Sunday, December 24, after nearly 32 hours of firefighting, while a body out of dozens missing was also recovered.

Davao Fire Marshal Honefriz Alagano said the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Davao declared that the fire at NCCC Mall of Davao has been put off at 5:15 pm on Sunday, December 24.

Fire broke out in the third level of the mall at 9:30 am on Saturday, December 23. Firefighters dashed into the scene, and eventually sought help from neighboring cities as the fire eventually spewed plumes of dark smoke and flames.

Authorities also recovered a body of among those trapped inside the mall, said Alagano.

On Sunday, December 24, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio told relatives of the rest of the missing employees that “we are expecting 37 casualties.”

Earlier on that day, President Rodrigo Duterte broke out a sad news to the relatives: that there is zero chance of survival to those trapped inside.

Alagano said they are currently demolishing the building to make it easy for rescuers to recover the bodies trapped inside.

The management of NCCC Mall of Davao said they are “deeply affected by the fire that destroyed our mall and caused lives to be lost.”

“We have been in constant coordination with the BFP ever since the incident broke out,” it added. (with reports from Mick Basa / davaotoday.com)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – At least 28 people are feared dead in a tragic fire incident that broke out in a mall here two days before Christmas.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday, December 24, broke a distressing news to the families of people who were reported trapped inside NCCC Mall of Davao on Saturday, December 23.

There is zero chance of survival, the tearful President told the families. He was with Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles, and other religious workers who were seen patting the backs of families who were weeping.
They were inside a restaurant hundreds of meters away from NCCC Mall of Davao which at the time Duterte announced the news, was still under fire.

“We’re helpless, but we have a God,” Valles said in an interview with the media.

Fire broke out around 9:30 am on December 23. It gutted down the mall that would have extended operating hours to customers preparing for Christmas Eve.

Rescue teams brought with them firefighting trucks, as others went on to get inside the building to rescue the trapped victims.

The victims were identified as employees of a business process outsourcing company which held office on the fourth level of the mall.

Survey Sampling International (SSI) Davao, the employer of these victims, reported that 30 of their employees were on lists of missing people.

One out of the 30 was rescued, according to Alagano, who could not give details about the survivor.

The mall blaze on Saturday was the biggest fire incident this month as a “general alarm” siren was toggled on that day.

“It required support resources from nearby provinces in Region 11,” Alagano said in Cebuano.

This is the second time a mall was hit by fire this year, the first being the open mall of Gaisano Capitol in Barangay Mintal in January. (with reports from Mick Basa / davaotoday.com)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) ordered its armed wing to temporarily suspend combat operations, days after the government declared a separate version of their ceasefire.

Effective Saturday night, December 23, the CPP’s Central Committee told the New People’s Army (NPA) to cease from carrying out offensive operations against soldiers, police and paramilitary forces attached to the government.

The ceasefire order, in particular, covers the following periods:

• December 23 (6 pm) to December 26 (6pm)

• December 30 (6pm) to January 2, 2018 (6 pm)

The CPP said the ceasefire order “is being issued in solidarity with the Filipino people’s celebration of traditional holidays.”
However, the CPP clarified that the ceasefire does not cover fighting against government’s “death squads.”

NPA to remain active in defense
It added that while the unilateral ceasefire is in effect, all units of the NPA and their “people’s militia” will remain in active defense position.

“All commands and units of the NPA and the people’s militia shall be in full alert and should be ready to repel offensive combat operations, PDT/COPD operations, surveillance and other hostile acts by the GRP’s regular and paramilitary armed forces. Active self-defense shall be undertaken in the face of clear and imminent danger,” the CPP said.

Jorge Madlos, the NPA’s spokesperson, said government soldiers who have “no serious liabilities other than their membership in their armed units” will not be subjected to arrest or punitive actions.

“They may be allowed individually to enter the territory of the people’s democratic government to make personal visits to relatives and friends,” he said.

Madlos, also known as Ka Oris, said, they will also monitor any hostile action, provocation or movement of the government troops.

“All NPA units shall maintain a high degree of alertness and preparation against any hostile actions or movements by enemy armed forces, similar to what transpired during the six-month unilateral ceasefires last year wherein the AFP occupied and forward deployed troops in at least 500 barrios nationwide, committing numerous human rights violations against civilians and their communities,” he said.

The Party previously declared a unilateral ceasefire in August 2017, which lasted until February 10, 2017.

Malacañang on Friday welcomed this development, as it was expecting the communists to honor their ceasefire declaration.

“Rest assured that the government will remain vigilant in ensuring the safety of our countrymen. May we all stand together in fulfilling our shared desire of achieving lasting peace throughout the nation,” said Harry Roque, Malacañang’s spokesperson.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared a suspension of offensive military operations (SOMO) against the communists on Tuesday, December 19.

The government’s unilateral ceasefire with the NPA will be from 6pm of December 23 to 11:59 pm of December 26 and from 6pm of December 30 until 11:59 pm of January 2.

The CPP is set to commemorate its 49th founding anniversary on December 26.

The ceasefire, however, does not lift the declaration of the CPP and NPA as terrorist organizations under Presidential Proclamation No. 374, Roque added. (davaotoday.com)

Author’s note: From now, until the end of the year, I shall write in English about articles originally written in Filipino, share thoughts regarding their respective contexts, and discuss related themes. Part translation, part summary, part review, I hope these previews pique the curiosity of the readers about the essays and their ongoing conversations with other texts that challenge national narratives and preconceived notions on Philippine literature, art and culture.

Last week, I was haunted by the spectre of the paper “Propaganda at Pedagohiya kontra Pyudalismo: Ilang Tala sa Piling Komiks mula Kanayunan” (Propaganda and Pedagogy against Feudalism: Notes on Selected Komiks from the Countryside) that was initially presented during the Lenin Conference held earlier this year by the Congress of Teachers and Educators for Nationalism and Democracy (CONTEND-UP). After being invited for the Better Living Through Xeroxography (BLTX) forum on food security, land conflict, and agrarian reform, titled “Root Cause,” I unearthed my draft that I am supposed to revise into a full-length paper, among other works-in progress, this “vacation.”

***

“Root Cause” concluded the two-day event “BLTX Mazinehawa St. Features Your Ever Reliable Malcontents” at 154 Maginhawa, Diliman, Quezon City, last December 15-16. At the forum, Faye Cura of Gantala Press started with an overview of Mindanao’s land and history, followed by Nash Tysmans & Ica Fernandez on Maranao food, culture, Marawi and the Siege. I discussed two komiks titles, one serialized, “Ang Buhay ni Pedro Ortilano,” and the other one-shot, “Mga Anak ng Rebolusyon.” For this article, I shall only pertain to the former. Angie Ipong of Sama-samang Artista para sa Kilusang Agraryo (SAKA) elaborated on land sovereignty and agro-ecology. Interestingly, I am the only “other” in the panel, as the only male resource person who would not talk about his own creative work. Cura, Tysmans/Fernandez, and Ipong helped produce, respectively, the books Laoanen, Mga Tutul a Palapa, and Bungkalan; they talk about their work in conversation with the forum’s theme.

***

Through the aesthetic scanning of the physical features of Pedro Ortilano’s visual narrative, I tried to hypothesize how the original komiks were printed and where could it have been distributed. I flipped and read through two anthologies, tangible half-page-sized books that I borrowed titled Inang Larangan. So far, there have been twelve (12) issues. The number of pages of each issue is divisible by two. Hence, 2-pagers could have been back to back pamphlets, while 4-pagers could have been an A4 or letter-size paper, folded into two. Its contents imply that it could have been disseminated for free, as it was not meant to entertain. Its illustrator, writer, letterer, layout artist, and other members of the creative team seem to have had no formal training; but we should take caution in imposing the standards we have learned in institutions. Anyhow, it gets its message across: the irony that food producers like tillers themselves starve, because of feudalism. The series dared show that there are a number of options to resist the oppression of the landlords, which does not exclude taking up arms, if necessary. Some issues of the komiks addressed issues on irrigation, dams, and machines, and the farmers’ organizations often collectively decide on how to deal with these “developments.”

***

During a chitchat the night before the forum proper, Cura said that she found digital copies of the Ortilano komiks online. You may see for yourself, but, if like me, you are an outsider who have not gathered enough data or well thought out insights, try to refrain from judging the actions of peasants in the narrative. Don’t be like me. For instance, I initially found the act of destruction or arson of the mechanical harvester a bit harsh, unproductive and reminiscent of the Luddites. But over dinner, someone shared an informed guess: if the land does not belong to the farmers, taking and utilizing the harvester would not be ideal, since it is difficult to store and the landlord might seize it later anyway through varying forms of violence. Unlike weapons that guerrillas take from the army or the police during raids, the harvester is perhaps too bulky to be kept in a territory that does not belong to the deprived? In a latter issue, however, they kept the harvester, which implies that, at that moment, they could have taken the power and the land back, therefore they somehow own the means of production in the area.

***

I shall end this brief article with how I began my BLTX talk: addressing the “root cause,” as the concise title of the forum goes, shall be more conducive if there exists no culture of fear, demonization, red-baiting against concerned individuals who consider the class war in the countryside legitimate enough to have space in public discourse. The government shall, at least, foster an environment that “let[s] a hundred flowers bloom” by dropping the “terrorist” tag against communists and suspected sympathizers and refraining from overdosing from literal and metaphorical fentanyl. But, after a couple of years under this regime, we could have known better. The peasants reached by the small press that operates outside the center and the capital have been educated to be skeptical and critical of the topmost representative of the ruling classes.

***

The phenomenon of zinesters and independent presses may have reached further and farther than the five or six simultaneous BLTX last December 15. In the countryside, it helps consolidate political power meant to eventually overturn the modes of production into something far more progressive.