Euro Filipino Journal

Euro Pinoys Part 2

August 26, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">Euro Pinoys Part 2</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By: Dr. Michael Tan</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When one of my graduate students (now a colleague in the faculty) had to attend a conference in Tarragona, Spain, two years ago, she found herself in a bind: Her relatives, who were living in Madrid and Barcelona in Spain and in Rome, Italy, all insisted that she visit them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In last Wednesday’s column I cited statistics from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) reporting that there were some 866,000 Filipinos living in Europe, half of them permanently.  Spain ranks only fifth in the number of Filipino residents, surpassed by Italy, the United Kingdom, Greece, France and Germany.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some of these Filipinos have lived in Europe for many years, with children and even grandchildren and, as my opening report shows, often involve entire clans, if not barangays, who follow the footsteps of an initial pioneer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The migrants are in various professions, sometimes marked by changing demand across time. The fairly large population in Germany goes back to the 1970s when Filipino nurses were in great demand, with another ongoing exodus of nurses and midwives to the United Kingdom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I’ve wondered about our Euro Pinoys leaving an imprint in their host countries. Has the Filipino sweet tooth convinced some Europeans to go for sweet wines or sweet spaghetti sauce, for example?  If we hear occasionally of Filipino-Americans doing well in competitions like “American Idol,” I’ve also heard of Euro Pinoys making it into similar European competitions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Balik Euro Pinoys’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In recent years we’ve been seeing a growing number of “balik Euro Pinoys,” mostly older ones who have come home to retire, living comfortably off their pensions, which are relatively high because of Europe’s social welfare systems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps on a smaller scale, we’re also seeing younger Euro Pinoys coming home, usually children of intermarriages who cash in on their Eurasian features to model, or enter the movies. Then there are the Azkals, the football team, the members of which are the result of growing up in countries that appreciate football (soccer) more than the Americans.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I wonder what they bring home in terms of expectations shaped from their life in Europe. Do they imbibe the liberal social attitudes of western Europe toward sex and sexuality, for example? Do they get exasperated, having benefited from the generous national health services of Europe, in contrast to our own which is left pretty much to free market forces—that is, pay out of your own pocket?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I wonder, too, if the Euro Pinoys are watching how Europe is dealing with tribalism and regionalism.  When European friends, usually academics, cite our regional loyalties—national elections are still marked by the “Ilokano vote,” “Bisaya vote,” or “Bikol vote,” for example—as a cause of underdevelopment, I remind them that Europeans have been even more “tribal” than we are: nations emerging within nations, rising, sometimes expanding aggressively and through warfare, only to disintegrate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It’s not just in Eastern Europe that it’s sometimes hard to keep track of countries; it also happens in Western Europe, where there are threats of secession—the Scots in the United Kingdom, or the Catalonians and the Basques in Spain.  The Italians, although on the surface united with one language, are still marked by a strong regionalism that goes back to the Middle Ages when Italy did not exist and instead there were city-states, maritime republics and papal states.  It was not until the 19th century that one Italian nation-state emerged.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not surprisingly, ultranationalist ideologies have taken off from the tribalism, and thrived. These ideologies have led to so many conflicts, including the two world wars. The European Union was in fact a response to these ideologies, an attempt to bring the “tribes” together, finding common cause in that vague concept called democracy.  I often hear political scientists saying that Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) will have difficulty surviving because its members are so different from one another. But the European Union brings together even more diverse cultures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Insularity</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The United Kingdom’s decision to exit the European Union should not be surprising either. While it was able to bring together England, Scotland, Wales and part of Ireland, its unity has been tense, Scotland being the most restless in recent years.  Look at the map and you will see how geography may have shaped its national mindset. Great Britain is one huge island about double the size of Luzon, and the entire United Kingdom looks so isolated from continental Europe. Geography does contribute to insularity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And insularity includes a fear of outsiders.  Brexit (Britain Exit) was a reaction to the European Union’s policies on the free movement of Europeans, with UK citizens convinced that they were being too generous with other Europeans—for example, Polish workers.  There’s irony here because it has been relatively easy to become a UK citizen (or subject, given it is still a monarchy), so the faces of the British aren’t quite white anymore.  Who would have thought, 50 years ago, that there would be a mayor of London described as coming from a “British Pakistani” family?  Might we see, in the not too distant future, references to “British Filipinos”? There are a growing number of Filipinos who carry UK passports, including some through same-sex civil unions and marriage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My point is that the political systems and governance of European countries, so different from our own copied from Mother America, just might capture the imagination of Euro Pinoys who, if they return to the Philippines, might want to introduce innovations based on European models, whether in more equitable healthcare coverage, or even more radical changes. Italy’s Parliament, for example, includes seats reserved for Italian citizens living overseas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Those, of course, are macro changes. I think change is happening on the individual level: Euro Pinoys come home with new tastes in food and architecture (with real estate companies trying to cash in, offering subdivisions with an Italian touch). Some aspects of culture are more quick to pick up than others: I don’t know if Filipino-Italians have acquired a taste for classical music and opera, for example. (I was at an affair at UP Diliman last night showcasing our athletes and dance groups, and one presentation—ballet—drew audibly mixed reactions.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I also wonder what happens to Filipinos who study in Europe for a few years and come home. Many are in government service, charting policies and implementing important projects. Does their stay in Europe give them new insights?  Or, even more radically, a different way of looking at issues and problems?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Source: http://opinion.inquirer.net/96806/euro-pinoys-2</span></div>
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Euro Pinoys Part 2 By: Dr. Michael Tan When one of my graduate students (now a colleague in the faculty) had to attend a conference...

Euro Pinoys

August 24, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">Euro Pinoys</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By: Dr. Michael Tan</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was reading about a meeting of the leaders of Italy, France and Germany—the European Union’s three largest countries—and their optimism that they will continue to move forward even after Brexit (Britain Exit).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That got me thinking about Filipinos in Europe, and of the Philippines and Europe.  We, and the world, think of the Philippines as very Americanized, forgetting that Europe did influence us as well through more than 300 years of Spanish colonialism.  (A three-year British occupation, mainly of Manila, was almost insignificant in terms of cultural or political influence.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We think of the Spanish influence mainly in terms of language. Although Castillan Spanish was spoken only by a minority even during the Spanish colonial period, many words—in areas ranging from food to philosophy—entered our local languages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then there’s religion, Roman Catholicism specifically, even if we practice it mixed with pre-Hispanic beliefs and practices.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What we tend to overlook is the Spanish influence on political thought and governance. Some of our laws go back to the Spanish Civil Code of the 19th century.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The 19th century was a time of ferment in Spain and Europe as liberalism rose and spread. Spain had several liberal governments and their reforms in government reached the Philippines, such as expanding the educational system in our islands. Rizal and fellow reformers were inspired by these liberal ideas, at first seeking not independence but representation in the Cortes, the Spanish Parliament.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The 20th century was marked by American colonialism, and, many will say, neocolonialism, and we seemed to lose our awareness of Europe. But in the last 50 years or so we have seen a resurgence of ties with Europe through our overseas Filipinos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">400,000 Euro Pinoys?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To project how our interactions might shape our future, let’s look at some of the statistics from the 2013 survey of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO). These statistics are important for projecting how the Philippines might develop in the future, not just through remittances but through ideas, world views, lifeways. (The statistics are available online and can be downloaded. Search for Stock Estimate of Overseas Filipinos, Commission on Filipinos Overseas.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let’s get the big picture first. The CFO has figures for overseas Filipinos in every country in the world, broken down to “permanent,” “temporary” and “irregular.” North America still account for the largest percentage of overseas Filipinos, with some 3.5 million Filipinos in the United States and 721,000 in Canada. Together that’s about 40 percent of all overseas Filipinos. More than 90 percent of the Filipinos in the United States and Canada are there permanently.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Europe, which includes Turkey and Russia in the CFO census, is home to about 866,000 Filipinos, or 8 percent of the total population of overseas Filipinos. About half of them are classified as permanent. Many are married to local residents and, needless to say, have “hyphenated” children—Filipino-British, Filipino-Italian, etc. That would mean more than 400,000 “Euro Pinoys,” if we count only the permanent residents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The European countries with the largest numbers of Filipinos are Italy (271,946), the United Kingdom (218,126), Greece (61,716), France (48,018), Germany (47,214), Spain (42,804), the Netherlands (21,789), Switzerland (20,910), Cyprus (19,948) and Norway (18,088).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It seems all of the European countries have Filipinos, the three tiniest Filipino communities being in Bosnia and Herzegovina (10), Moldova (9) and Montenegro (7).  The Vatican has 3,490 Filipinos, all temporary and, presumably, mostly Catholic priests and nuns.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The kind of interactions overseas Filipinos have with host countries depends on their type of residence and work. Permanent residents would, of course, be much more absorbed into the mainstream of their adopted country, to the point where they might not even intend to return to the Philippines.  While retaining a sense of being Filipino—for example through food—the Filipino identity will fade, even disappear as early as the second generation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Temporary” and “irregular” overseas Filipinos do interact as well with their host cultures, some with hopes that they can become permanent residents and citizens.  As with permanent residents, they will pick up new languages quickly, which facilitates interactions with their hosts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Euro politics</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What I hope we can see in the near future is a research on how “Euro Pinoys”—permanent or temporary—perceive governance and politics in Europe, as well as culture, and how this affects their perceptions of and expectations for the Philippines.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The political systems in Europe are very different from ours, which is practically a duplicate of the American presidential system, complete with electoral circuses. European countries use different parliamentary forms. The French has a hybrid  with a president and prime minister (which President Duterte favors). Italy has a complicated system; it also has a president and prime minister, and allows for an “additional member system” (similar to our partylist), which requires 4 percent of the national vote to earn a seat in parliament.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Political parties in Europe are marked by very real differences that run the spectrum of political philosophies from the extreme right to socialist and communist parties;  and if that’s not enough, there are also powerful Green parties with their platforms based mainly on environmental issues.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some of the parties go back in time, but there are also “upstarts” with new programs, like Podemos (We Can!) in Spain, and other parties reacting to—and blaming—traditional politics for their economic crises.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Living in the Netherlands as a graduate student, I often felt Europe, Western Europe in particular, had reached a “post-State” situation, where government is almost incidental. Politicians are not the powerful VIPs we see here, surrounded by bodyguards and assistants.  In the Netherlands even prime ministers are known to bike, and there was one Scandanivan prime minister who would ride taxis so he could interview the drivers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Western Europeans are also generally more liberal than the Americans (I use the term here to refer to the United States), especially on social issues. The Netherlands is usually stereotyped as the extreme in liberalism, with legalized sex work and marijuana.  Same-sex marriages are legal in 13 European countries, and same-sex civil unions in 12.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Considering the large numbers of Filipinos in Europe, will we see European ideas changing our politics and our social views?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I’ll do a second part to this “Euro Pinoys” column on Friday, with a focus on what we might learn from Europe’s vacillation between narrow nationalism and a broader sense of a European Union.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Source: http://opinion.inquirer.net/96751/euro-pinoys#ixzz4IHktbwbb </span></div>
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People Spain Stories Euro Pinoys

Euro Pinoys By: Dr. Michael Tan I was reading about a meeting of the leaders of Italy, France and Germany—the European Union’s thre...

Marco Polo: An Untold Love Story

July 13, 2016 Admin 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">Marco Polo: An Untold Story heralds the arrival in August 2016 of the first major British-Philippine musical theatre production on the London stage. With words and music composed in their entirety by Roger Saldo Chua, the noted Filipino-Belgian singer-actor, the production has evolved and gained momentum since it was first unveiled to a small audience in New York. Chua’s sentimental attachment to a reimagined episode in the life of the legendary 13th century Venetian explorer has grown into a full-blown lyrique musicale; international preview performances in Manila and Paris during the past year have been warmly received. In London, the show is scheduled to run from 5th August to 4th September 2016 at the Shaw Theatre.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">An East-West romance in the purest sense, Marco Polo: An Untold Story is a tale of heroism in the service of true love, one with timeless, cross-cultural and intergenerational appeal. The international cast, hand-picked by Chua comprises some of the finest musical talents working in the theatre today. The show is well paced and compelling, with a beautiful, memorable score. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Attached are additional information (including photographs taken at the recent Reflections of the Lord Mayor Dinner where we promoted the show),  but the production has been announced widely in the theatre press, including:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Theatre News.com - <a href="http://www.theatre-news.com/news/UK/36088/Marco-Polo-An-Untold-Love-Story-to-premiere-in-London">http://www.theatre-news.com/news/UK/36088/Marco-Polo-An-Untold-Love-Story-to-premiere-in-London</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">TNT Magazine - <a href="http://www.tntmagazine.com/london/london-to-host-world-premiere-of-new-musical-marco-polo">http://www.tntmagazine.com/london/london-to-host-world-premiere-of-new-musical-marco-polo</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Time Out - <a href="http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/marco-polo-an-untold-love-story">http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/marco-polo-an-untold-love-story</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Musical Theatre Review - <a href="http://musicaltheatrereview.com/tag/marco-polo-an-untold-love-story/">http://musicaltheatrereview.com/tag/marco-polo-an-untold-love-story/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Gina McAdam </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">External Affairs Director</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Marco Polo: An Untold Love Story</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">07879648930</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Linkedin:  <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pub/gina-mcadam/2/838/7a0">https://www.linkedin.com/pub/gina-mcadam/2/838/7a0</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Gina McAdam is a Freeman of the City of London and the Worshipful Company of Marketors</span>
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Art Articles England Events UK News Marco Polo: An Untold Love Story

Marco Polo: An Untold Story heralds the arrival in August 2016 of the first major British-Philippine musical theatre production on the Lon...

Filipinos Respected in Spain

July 13, 2016 Admin 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">Spain as a country is very much intertwined with the history and culture of the Philippines, having been its colonial master for almost 4 centuries, until the Philippine Revolution of 1898.  It remains an important destination for Filipinos who may want to see places and monuments associated with the country’s national heroes.  Nowadays a vibrant and active Filipino community lives, works and carries on as new Spanish-Filipinos.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ipinagmamalaki ni Consul General Cookie Feria ng Embajada de Filipinas ang Filipino community sa Espanya.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Bukod kasi sa kanilang sipag at tiyaga sa trabaho, marami na rin sa kanila ang unti-unting nag-iisip ng negosyo upang umangat ang katatayuan.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Malakas din ang impact nila sa mga Kastila na mataas ang tingin sa kanila at humahanga sa kanilang dalang kultura sa bansang ito.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Maging ang matataas na opisyal sa pamahalaan ng Espanya ay mga Pinoy din ang hanap na empleyado kung mga pamilya nila ang pag-uusapan.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Dagdag niya, “Their employers also are the movers and shakers here, diba? The mga government officials here in Madrid, their employees are Filipinos… when the (city) President’s nurse stepped down, I got a phone call from the secretary of the President asking me to find a Pinay to take care of her parents. Doesn’t that say something great about us, how Spanish think of FIlipinos…”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tinatayang may mahigit mga 45,000 Pinoy sa buong Espanya at bagama’t marami sa kanila ang nagtatrabaho sa mga bahay-bahay, marami rin ang nagpapatakbo ng mga establishments dito na nagbibigay sa kanila ng idea at experience sa business.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ayon kay Ms Feria – “It is a good indication of Filipinos trying to branch out from being employees to being employers and entrepreneurs, little by little they are growing, it’s a learning experience. You see that the establishments are basically one man operations you know and basically they are actually still catering to the Fil community; it would be nice to see them cater to the local community, the Spanish community, maybe by way of opening up restaurants, maybe other services for instance… A lot of Filipinos here we are the waiters in the restaurants or the cooks — why can’t they be the owners, they are the ones who practically run business… That would be the logical step.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ayon kay Congen Feria ang importante lang dito ay marunong ka ng wikang Kastila upang makapag-business ka at makapag-take advantage sa mga suportang ibinibigay ng Spanish government sa mga migrante.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ang wikang Kastila ay hindi mahirap para sa mga Pinoy dahil sa ating kasaysayan, at dahil mula high school hanggang kolehiyo ay pinag-aaralan natin ito sa Pilipinas.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Sa totoo lang nakatutuwang marinig na maging ang mga kabataang naglalaro ng basketball sa Madrid, pati ang mga manonood, ay Kastila ang usapan.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ang Madrid ay puno rin ng mga bagay-bagay na Pinoy na mabibili halimbawa sa mga antique markets o shops tulad ng paintings, carvings, mga mapa atbp na dala ng mga Kastilang nanggaling sa atin noong unang panahonm nang ang Pilipinas ay nasasakop pa ng Espanya.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Mayroon din ditong mga permanent exhibits sa mga museo tungkol sa Pilipinas at ang mayaman nitong kultura.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Hindi rin mahirap ma-inspire ang mga Pinoy dito dahil magpunta lang sila sa Avenida de Filipinas, sa metro Islas Filipinas, ay makikita nila doon ang rebulto ni Dr Jose Rizal na replika ng nasa Luneta, at mababasa pa ang kabuuan ng kanyang tulang Mi Ultimo Adios sa Kastila at Filipino, nakaukit sa plakeng bronze.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kinumpirma naman ni Ambassador Joseph Bernardo ang magandang katatayuan ng mga Pinoy sa Espanya.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ayon kay Ambassador Bernardo, “Napakagaling ng community natin dito. Wala tayong problema at iginagalang sila ng mga Kastila at mahal na mahal sila para silang miyembro ng mga pamilya.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Umaasa rin siya na lalong darami ang mga Filipino entrepreneurs sa Espanya pagdating ng araw.</span>
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Articles Contributors Gene Alcantara Heroes History People Philippines Spain Filipinos Respected in Spain

Spain as a country is very much intertwined with the history and culture of the Philippines, having been its colonial master for almost 4 ...

War in the Philippines 1898

July 13, 2016 Admin 0

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Battle of Alapan</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Diary of Lieut X.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Reviewed by Jun Terra</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Spontaneous</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He tried to see the events through the eyes of others, one of them, the pilot of one of the Spanish ships that sank. He interviewed participants as well as observers like the Frenchman, known as the Commander, who lived between Cavite and Manila, a long-time resident of the Philippines. More importantly he went on fact-finding missions. One of these occasions was when he and a party of nine went on board one of the American ships to survey the aftermath of the naval battle: “Each brought his own equipment for expedition, binoculars, cameras, pencils, note pads, etc. I am determined to scrutinize every detail..” he said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">On May 30, he wrote:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">“We visited the markets of Binondo and San Miguel. There is an enormous crowd of Tagals and Chinese. Baskets full of fish and delicious fruits are everywhere…there is an abundance of lively colours and movements…people discussing among themselves…and yet fighting began this morning. very early, at Las Pinas, at the very threshold of Manila..”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">On June 7, our intrepid diarist observes: “Martial law is declared…there are a few speedy executions without trial…the atmosphere in the city is tense. The Tagals are not threatening the merchants, bankers and businessmen who are all foreigners…Aguinaldo could have benefitted from this bold coup de force if Admiral Dewey had not officially prevented him from doing so…Manila is no longer recognizable as the city it used to be. Escolta is sad almost desolate. The Chinese have fled, the shops are closed, there are no more strollers, no more buyers, no more coquettish ladies…and the off-key piercing voices of the Tagals, the mandolins the guitars.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Philippines’ central role in the Pacific</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Manglapus could not be more mistaken when he says that Lieut X “could not be expected to perceive through the mote in the eye of the Frenchman.” Far from it, throughout the diary, Ernest Motsch shows very sharp powers of analysis and strong sense of geopolitics. He looked at events beyond narrow French interests in the Philippines and the region. He saw the impotence of France to influence events in the Philippines with sadness, even as he noted the strategic importance of the country:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">“An incomparable situation now exists. Manila is the key to the Far East, being the geometric center from which all places radiate where colonies are of utmost importance to the powers with interests in the Pacific. With Manila at the center, having a radius equal to five days at sea, one can establish a circumference consisting of all the important commercial routes and all the trade between the north of Asia and the South of Europe, the Far East, Australia and the United States…The strategic importance of the Philippines in the Pacific is superior to that of the Azores in the European context. Besides this, the Philippines has a bigger surface area, a larger population and countless natural resources. These islands and Cuba are Spain’s most beautiful colonies…these fertile lands feed some 10 million and can sustain easily some three or four times that number.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And he analysed events in the Philippines within the wider context of the emergence of the vast Pacific Basin as one of the most important areas in the future history of the world. In another prophetic observation Lieut X could well have been speaking of today’s Pacific Basin where the whole of the world is once again rushing to control or at least be a significant participant in the enormous tradeopportunities in the area and partake of its riches, when he wrote:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">“Today, we are witnessing the creation of a new sphere of commerce in the Pacific. The immense basin which lies between the Russian part of Asia, China and Australia, on one side, ad the two Americas, on the other, is destined to be an area of immense wealth. From now on, the future is assured for those who settle in these areas, and power is assured to those who will rule over them. Europe in its blindness, does not realise that if England and the United States agree to dominate both the west and the western pacific, there will soon be no place left for other countries.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Does this not echo Seward’s panegyric, sans the rhetoric on America’s manifest destiny to rule the area, quoted earlier?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">His analysis of foreign contention over the Philippines uncannily confirms Mabini’s view that the Americans, the Spaniards and the Europeans coveted the Philippines. It is as though they read each other’s mind. Lieut X writes: “the struggle for the possession of the islands (July 26) has assumed such proportions that the United States would not know how to accept the loss of the spoils of war.” In the meantime, the various interests were waiting in the wings, ready to pounce should there be any mistake on the side of one of the principal protagonists: “the unstable situation is responsible for the feverish activities and nervousness of the Germans. This is also the reason for the friendship, colored with envy, shown by the British towards the Americans from whom they are still awaiting compensation for their services. Then there are the contrite and watchful Japanese. The appetites of all are whetted by the prey. Each one wants to take his bite and remove his piece but dares not, since each is fearful of the other.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He did not look at events only from one point of view , from that of the French, but from all the contending forces, giving a particularly sympathetic attention to the point of view of the Filipinos or Tagals as he calls them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ameican Duplicity</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">More pointedly, he saw that the Americans did not really come to help the natives but to replace the Spaniards:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">“I have been observing these Filipinos for almost a year. Once again they find themselves being oppressed, a state from which they thought they had been freed…they had not conquered the Spaniards but rather they found themselves once again beneath the yoke, except that this time their chains were riveted by the Americans…the Americans, desirous of becoming masters of the Philippines, are beginning to behave as the Spaniards did. They too are convinced that there is barely any difference between the natives and monkeys..”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Anticipating Dewey’s testimony to the US Congress, Motsch says: “the Filipinos are only a pretext for securing a stronger position in the country. There certainly has never been a question of returning the islands to them.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In fact, from early on in his diary, he voiced out his doubts several times about American sincerity and intention, almost shadowing Mabini’s prophesies. On the other hand he also rebukes the Spaniards who “prefer vengeance to the most noble of interests.” “Spain,” he continued,”would rather deliver the Filipinos to the United States than recognize them as a nation born of her colonization. In spite of high-sounding words, the narrow-mindedness of the Spaniard is evident.” Each event, as it developed, convinced him of American hegemonic intent and European impotence before the advancing American juggernaut.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Aguinaldo dithers</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">His analysis of Aguinaldo’s actuations during this period and the direction which the events were taking should be another confirmation to scholars and historians of the need to re-examine more closely Aguinaldo’s role in the ultimate defeat of the revolution in the hands of the US, the new coloniser:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">“June 2, Aguinaldo has not lost time. Within a few days he has established a revolutionary government in Cavite…The American squadron is in no position to attack Manila. It has exhausted its ammunition and is waiting for new supplies…Asiatic cunning is not evident in Aguinaldo. He appears to have implicit faith in the ability of the Americans to bring independence to his country which shows a limited knowledge of history. One must hold to what one has, and if this is not done from the start, one eventually loses one’s rights to his possessions. As long as the American soldiers have not landed, Aguinaldo remains master of ths situation. With the arrival of each American regiment from San Francisco the threats to the young republic increase…the provinces around Manila are all in a state of rebellion… If Aguinaldo has or pretends to have, such confidence in the Americans, this is not shared by the Tagals. Actually they are neither for the United States nor the Spaniards, they hope to use one against the other.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In an earlier entry dated May 29 long before the American reinforcements arrived Lieut X underlined the revolutionary forces’ dominant position: “Essentially, the insurgents are at the moment the masters of the situation. It is their word that prevails on land.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Aguinaldo’s failure to analyse the situation properly and push on for the capture of Manila and the surrender of the Spanish authorities – when American reinforcements had not yet arrived, while they were short of ammunition, and while the enthusiasm of the revolutionary forces was at its peak, flushed by victories in the provinces and at the gates of Manila is an area that historians ought to study in detail.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Why did he trust the Americans so much, despite being rebuffed by Dewey on several occasions? Why was he so obedient to Dewey ( “He was most obedient, he did what I told him to do,” said Dewey)? Did he enter into some secret deal, or was he just naive? Why did he not listen to the wise counsel of Mabini, and the demands of his own fighters who were in control of the situation and were ready to enter Manila? Had the revolutionary forces captured Manila and demanded surrender from the Spanish authorities, they would have been in a stronger negotiating position vis-a-vis the Americans and the international community. Why did Aguinaldo allow himself to be dictated by Dewey not to enter the city at this point when the revolutionaries had the upper hand? Capturing the city could have prevented the Spanish authorities from surrendering to the Americans and giving them the rights of a victor to occupy the city, and gain a foothold in the country.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Lieut X admiringly observes the loftiness of spirit that propelled the Philippine revolution and how well the Filipinos understood it:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">“In their manifestos and their proclamations, as well as their gatherings, it is remarkable that the Filipino leaders are haunted by the French revolution. Added to this is a religious undertone which recalls the American independence. Whether one likes it or not, these Indians are talking of a republic, of liberty, equality, fraternity, of a natural law reminiscent of western concepts. All revolutions resemble one another, based on the vindication of an ideal and of human dignity. It says a great deal for the Filipinos that this sublime symbol is recognised.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">“Prelude to the Fil-American War”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In anticipation of things to come Lieut X observes the behaviour of the Yanks when they landed:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">“A considerable number of American troops seen at close range show no sign of order or discipline. It is obvious why the Germans look down disdainfully on them. They look like an army organised for manhunts…The American soldiers are hefty and tall but appear narrow in the chest in relation to their height….. It seems their Achilles heel is tuberculosis. These men who exude self-confidence are more comfortable wearing cowboy outfits than military uniform…they all wear gaiters and belts of cartridges. During the day they are in their best behaviour and pay for all their purchases. At night they rid themselves of their inhibitions, drink excessively and, when quite drunk on whisky, become unbearable savages, killing at the slightest provocation. They do not unleash their brutish behaviour on each other but on the natives. As soon as they see one, the manhunt begins. This sport enjoyed by these who champion humanity was inherited from their forefathers, who pursued the redskins and the negroes. This war has certainly given Americans the opportunity for magnificent manhunts in the Philippines and Cuba at very little cost.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In contrast he notes how in the areas controlled by the Filipino revolutionaries:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">“Order reigns in most areas in spite of the war and that a high level of discipline is observed. Some excesses, naturally, have been committed, but which war has ever been exempt from them? In any event, there have been no massacres or shedding of blood.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Retaliations have been limited to certain forms of vengeance directed mainly towards the monks…A certain method is evident in this revolution. Their troops are not very different from the regular troops, and they handle their arms rather well…Neither does the discipline of the Tagals suffer by comparison with the mediocre standards of the Americans.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In another entry Lieutenant Aime Motsch notes that the Filipinos would not easily accept subjugation, since they were aware, after all, that they defeated the Spaniard forces in actual combat. He writes sagely:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">“The real wealth of a country lies in the people themselves. They represent the work force, the land, the culture, the enterprises all of which cannot be sustained without them…A Filipino rebellion is not simply a political movement, it has the capacity to stop life itself. This is why exploiting the Filipinos could be a grave error on the part of the Americans. If it is their intention to make the Philippines their private fiefdom, they will have to eliminate the Filipinos or reduce them to slaves.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">With the Americans gaining the Philippines through duplicity and not wanting to relinquish this prize; given Spain’s unbending pride dictating it to cede the Philippines to the US at the Treaty of Paris, rather than recognise defeat in the hands of its former colony; and given furthermore that the Filipinos would not allow themselves to be enslaved once more so soon after they had freed themselves at great sacrifice, the stage was set for the Filipino-American war.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In his last entry dated August 31, 1898, Lieut X prophetically writes: “If the Filipinos deserve freedom, all they need to do is to have a mass uprising.” The following year, war between the Filipinos and the Americans would erupt.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This war that would determine the shape and direction of Philippine history in the 20th century broke out in February 1899. Towards the end of the first decade of the century when the war petered out, more than 250,000 Filipinos had died in a terrible war defending their revolution and brief independence. The Americans, on the other hand, gained the piece they needed for their grand design on the Pacific, and a rich colony whose economy, politics and culture they still largely dominate with the help of their native collaborators long after they have relinquished direct political control.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Diary of a French Officer on the War in the Philippines, 1898 by Lieutenant X, Translated from the original French by Marietta Enriquez de la Haye Jousselin, Published by the National Historical Institute, T.M. Kalaw St., Ermita, Manila, Philippines, 1994</span>
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Articles Contributors History Jun Terra Philippines War in the Philippines 1898

Battle of Alapan The Diary of Lieut X. Reviewed by Jun Terra Spontaneous He tried to see the events through the eyes of others, ...

2nd Global Summit, Manila, 25-27 Feb 2013

July 13, 2016 Admin 0

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbk9yC-ChEKUcmmBywM0GD_sINRCnKyPshb5aBLjK8hIkkHt4J5m-ie7JatHHEr5cDEaUm_tf0cxpnFEd5TEJJ9OEDRD-FQ2QIugy1C_D2CdGGLrqwRikhBiKFyy8OCmeRwphaK355vxKI/s1600/PressCon1.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbk9yC-ChEKUcmmBywM0GD_sINRCnKyPshb5aBLjK8hIkkHt4J5m-ie7JatHHEr5cDEaUm_tf0cxpnFEd5TEJJ9OEDRD-FQ2QIugy1C_D2CdGGLrqwRikhBiKFyy8OCmeRwphaK355vxKI/s320/PressCon1.1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CFO Officials, (from left): Secretary Imelda M. Nicolas and<br />Undersecretary Mary Grace Ampil-Tirona.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Commission on Filipinos Overseas schedules</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Second Global Summit on February 2013</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Secretary Imelda M. Nicolas, CFO Chairperson, personally made the official announcement in front of a select group of news editors and reporters recently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Following the successful first summit in September 2011 in Manila, we expect the February 2013 event to be even bigger; with leaders of the various global Philippine associations in attendance,” said Sec. Nicolas. “Preparations are underway as we speak.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For the second summit, the CFO has adopted the theme ‘Two Years Thereafter: The Best of the Philippine Diaspora’ in line with its charge to track the progress of the different groups’ diaspora projects since the first summit and in order to identify areas of synergies to enhance these groups’ contributions to Philippine development.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A diaspora refers to the movement or migration of people away from their countries of origin, heritage or interest, while maintaining links with their homeland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Through its flagship program, Diaspora to Development (D2D) the Commission intends to institutionalize and maximize Overseas Filipino involvement in the socio-cultural and economic development of the Philippines through 10 major areas of interventions including skills and technology transfer, arts and culture exchange, educational exchange, business linkaging, diaspora investments, global legal assistance, advocacy, diaspora philanthropy, medical mission coordination, tourismin itiatives, and return and reintegration.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">With the impetus of the D2D coming from the hundreds of Overseas Filipinos expected to attend the 2013 Global Summit , the rallying cry “BALIKBAYANIHAN!” has been fittingly chosen by the event organizers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The summit also aims to promote networking among Overseas Filipinos in the different regions of the world and accelerate participation of second and third generation Overseas Filipinos in the country’s development. The CFO is the government agency mandated to promote and uphold the interests of overseas Filipinos and to preserve and strengthen ties with Filipino communities overseas.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Convenors and sponsors for the upcoming 2nd Global Summit pose for a souvenir photograph at a press launch held at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City. From left: CFO Secretary Imelda M. Nicolas & Undersecretary Mary Grace Ampil-Tirona; Tricia Reyes & Anne de la Cruz (The Medical City); Timmy Jayme & Gil Chua (DDB Group Philippines), Abby Bauca (SMART Communications, Inc.); Ver Cuizon (Global Council) & Jonathan Huertas (SMART Communications, Inc).</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Convenors and sponsors for the upcoming 2nd Global Summit pose for a souvenir photograph at a press launch held at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City. From left: CFO Secretary Imelda M. Nicolas & Undersecretary Mary Grace Ampil-Tirona; Tricia Reyes & Anne de la Cruz (The Medical City); Timmy Jayme & Gil Chua (DDB Group Philippines), Abby Bauca (SMART Communications, Inc.); Ver Cuizon (Global Council) & Jonathan Huertas (SMART Communications, Inc).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Among the major sponsors in the upcoming Diaspora to Development summit are the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA), Dusit Thani Manila, The Medical City, Vibal Printing, ActivAsia, and DDB Philippines. DDB, one of the largest companies in the Philippine advertising industry, has also been appointed as the official communications partner and marketing arm for the global summit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For more information, please contact CFO through:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ms. Ma. Nicole Pangilinan</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Tel. No. 552-4764</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Fax No. 561-8332</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Email: npangilinan@cfo.gov.ph</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ms. Honeyleen Novilla</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Tel. No. 552-4708</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Email: hnovilla@cfo.gov.ph</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">or visit our website at www.cfo.gov.ph</span>
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Articles Philippines Reports 2nd Global Summit, Manila, 25-27 Feb 2013

CFO Officials, (from left): Secretary Imelda M. Nicolas and Undersecretary Mary Grace Ampil-Tirona. Commission on Filipinos Overseas sch...

Exploring the Question of Counter Hegemony from or by Filipino TV

July 13, 2016 Admin 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Poetry is what is lost in translation.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Robert Frost</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Poetry is what is gained in translation.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Joseph  Brodsky, Nobel prize-winning poet</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Poetry is what gets transformed.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Octavio Paz, Mexican Nobel prize-winning poet</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Ang pagsasalin  ay isang subersyon.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Translation is an act of subversion)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">BS Medina Filipino fictionist, SEAWRITE awardee</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When the sizzling Mexican telenovela Marimar was translated/dubbed into Filipino (the Philippine’s national language) and ran in 1996 by the lowly government-owned station RPN Channel 9, it zoomed to the top of the ratings chart in the Philippines, stunning the executives of the country’smedia giant ABS CBN network (yearly income: 3 billion pesos) into disbelief.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The ‘Marimar episode’ clearly stimulated certain radical changes in the country’s television programming but, more importantly, it also revealed the counter-hegemonic power of Filipino viewing audiences and their ability to translate and transform the received text and its televisual representations and the contexts from which these issue. In this paper, the researcher will explore this question of counter hegemony from or by the viewers of TV media and messages and how it confronts the most predictive forms of TV marketing or programming designed by the industry’s executives and practitioners.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In media sociology and translation studies all acts of translation are essentially acts of communication. (Hatim & Mason, 1997) Thus, when foreign television programs which are translated into Filipino through dubbing and/or imitating or localizing are considered as acts of communication, the implications of their ubiquity in present-day Philippine television are instructive and enormous for scholars and critics of mass communication in our country, especially as academicians develop translation both as a profession and an object of criticism. However, research on telenovelas and other translated television programs remains nil in the Philippines. Why study the popular telenovelas and other popular foreign programs translated or appropriated into Filipino? Some scholars have asked this question.  Because it is there?  Such an answer may seem flippant but actually it is precise.  As the Filipino critic Isagani Cruz (1997;53) says in an essay published in the Philippine journal Diliman Review:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘The scholar who refuses to deal with popular culture soon finds himself a hyphenated person, an intellectual on campus, an ordinary human being at home. The true scholar must see his experiences [of popular culture and academic culture] as a totality not as fragments.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the first part of this paper, the researcher describes the ‘text’ as the foreign program translated into Filipino through dubbing and localizing, its televisual representations, and the production and consumption contexts within which it assumes life and power.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the second part of the paper, the researcher explores the counter-hegemony of the active television audience/the Filipino receptor of the text as consisting  in their ability  to translate the received text and thereby transform it and their receiving contexts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As an act of communication, translation in contemporary Philippine television can be categorized into two modes: first, the translation of Mexican telenovelas and Japanese animae into Filipino through dubbing and second, the translation or appropriation of the foreign program (Western, Asian and European) into Filipino by recreating or localizing its concept and format.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dubbing as an act of translation refers to a technique used to replace totally the originally recorded audio without modifying the video signal to communicate the message to the target audience; while localizing is an act of translation used to adapt a product to the language, cultural, and other requirements of a specific target environment or local market.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Linguistic, politico-colonial, and socio-political factors have influenced the continued success of Mexican telenovelas and Japanese animae dubbed into Filipino and the localized and/or imitated television programs. These factors are everywhere present in the translated text’s televisual representations. It is clear that the use of Filipino boosted the popularity of Mexican telenovelas and Japanese animae since about 80 percent of local programs are now done in the national language. Reciprocally, the telenovelas and cartoons have also elevated the Filipino language to a commanding level of popular acceptance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Try to imagine a Japanese and/or a Caucasian character speaking in the native tongue, the sight of which, its televisual representation, could have not but only impressed Philippine viewers still famously or notoriously in the thrall of colonial mentality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One analysis often used to explain the phenomenal popularity of Mexican telenovelas is that of the cultural proximity to Mexico – that the Philippines shares with what used to be called Nueva España 300 years of Spanish subjugation and was even ruled by the Mexican Viceroy on behalf of Spain for a considerable period.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Socio-political factors also explain how the televisual representations of the translated Mexican telenovelas have mesmerized Filipino audiences. The poor and oppressed, who constitute the majority of the Filipino viewing public, can obviously relate to the sufferings of Marimar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since, in the Philippines, to be poor is practically a crime, the fact that in the telenovela, the poor protagonist is always being blamed for crimes perpetrated by the rich antagonists might tell us much about the immediate appeal of these melodramas. But Marimar and other well-loved heroines in the telenovela fight back: this symbolic resistance to oppression Filipino viewers have been known to like.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Given this endemic situation of social crises and disappointment, the viewing public could not help but seek consolation and courage in these televisual representations that portray how they can fight back, even if only symbolically.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A second mode of translation that has transformed the landscape of Philippine television programming is the translation or appropriation of foreign programs into Filipino by recreating or localizing the former’s concept and format. Dawson’s Creek is translated into Sa Tabing Ilog (By the Riverbank), Sex in the City into Attagirl, Charmed into Daddy didodu,  7th Heaven into Munting Paraiso (Some Heaven).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One factor that explains this other phenomenon is that since the inception of television in the Philippines, government has never really set quotas on the number of imported programs (Kenny and Pernia, 1998; 79).  But since television has always been more of a local than a global medium, the numbers of foreign programs has actually diminished. (Jacka, Sinclair and Cunningham, 1996). Yet despite the rising popularity of local programs, it cannot be denied that foreign influence, particularly Western, continues to have a significant impact on the country’s television programming. This is manifested in the proliferation of foreign programs’ concepts being translated or appropriated into local versions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Centuries of colonialism, scarcity of new ideas, and the commercial nature of the television networks have also been cited as reasons for the abundance of localized programs. In this second mode of translation, a Filipino version would typically attempt to adapt the light entertainment and melodramatic televisual representations of foreign programs into local tastes and requirements.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Filipino version of soap operas has televisual representations of light entertainment since they put emphasis on glamour, on the use of scenic locations, and the presentation of upcoming and veteran stars. Minsan lang kita mamahalin (Only once will I love you), for instance, makes use of mansions with imposing staircases, uniformed servants, candlesticks on tables, and scenery of vast landed estates. The local actresses of Pangako sa iyo (This, I promise you), Madam Claudia Buenavista and Ms. Amor Powers, assume the same kind of glamorous countenance, with their impeccable make-up and fashionable clothes, which seem businesslike but which verge on extravagance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The melodramatic content of the localized soap operas, on the other hand, can be seen in the plethora of unexplained coincidences and last minute rescue scenes and astonishing revelations in the story and plot. Light entertainment and melodramatic elements are the known ingredients for a commercial hit in the Philippines; hence these are the widely used modes of televisual representation. However, due to the nature of these visual representations as commercial formulae, localized TV programs actually fail to relate their content to the state and needs of the audience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">These translated texts offer the audience a deliberately artificial world. Women are characterized as housewives while statistics reveal that majority of Filipino workers are women. Situation comedy is always about the poor even though being poor is no laughing matter. Rich people are always burdened with love problems when in fact surveys claim that this is one of their least obsessive concerns.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why do these programs proliferate despite the fact that the audiences are unable to associate or identify the visual representations with their local context?  The answer to my mind lies in the power of the Filipino viewing audiences to receive the televisual text, critically translating, producing and reconstructing it to suit their needs and interests.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Theoretical explanations that the audience is an active receptor/translator/transformer of the text can be found within ‘cultural studies’, most apparently within the encoding/decoding model developed by Stuart Hall (1980). Hall believed that the process of television encoding is an expression of linked but separate moments of production, circulation, distribution and reproduction. Each of this process, according to Hall has its specific practice that is necessary to the flow but does not guarantee the next moment. For instance, production of the text does not mean consumption of its meaning as encoders/producers of the message might have intended. Consumption of the text is always from the point of view of the person/audience who understands it. The receptor therefore, plays an active role in the construction of meaning by translating the text based on how she understands it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hall (1980) also claimed that the audience consumption of the text is not ensured not only because of the process but also because the television message is polysemic. The television text is constructed as a sign system with various components. It carries various meanings; hence it can be interpreted in various ways. The text is however, ‘structured in dominance’ leading to a ‘preferred meaning’.  But since the audiences are situated in various social positions, they are able to decode/translate/consume the text in various ways.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Following this, the researcher looks at the Filipino television audience as active translators and creators of the received text who cannot be fixed as objects of TV but rather as subjects acting their own narratives (Bhaba,1994) The researcher relates TV programming to what Bhabha identified as the pedagogical, referring to the national narrative that fixes people as objects with claims to historical origins, and Filipino audience reception to what Bhaba called the ‘processual’, which marks the people as subjects performing their own narratives in the day to day acts of living. These immensely helpful theoretical accounts allows the researcher to assume that Filipino audiences can produce their own meanings of the text depending on the way the text is structured and open-ended and on the particular domestic and cultural contexts involved.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One may therefore read the prevalence of foreign programs translated into Filipino through dubbing or localizing as a manifestation that active Filipino audiences are able to transcend race and class differences.      One way to speculate the ability of the Filipinos to transcend race and class differences into novel situations is because under conditions of underdevelopment they have been coerced to uproot themselves and be rhizomatic, setting roots in new and often inhospitable environments. About ten million Filipinos live abroad, according to the country’s Labour Department while non-governmental organizations on the other hand put the figure as high as 7.5 million. Most Filipinos work in the Middle East, with the United States the second-most-popular destination, followed by other countries in Asia.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A popular notion among Filipinos themselves is that the Filipinos’ ability to speak English and their Western- tinged outlook after years of Spanish and American colonization give them the capacity to transcend their racial confines. However, it is more than that. Oscar Campomanes (1998; p.2) recently explored the ‘globality’ of the Filipinos in a theoretical essay advocating the adoption of a new paradigm called Filipino Studies instead of the conventional Philippine Studies framework that limits the study of the Philippines as a national and culture area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘The shift from Philippine to Filipino studies is more than semantic; it is, in fact, paradigmatic as I hope to suggest here. It is a position and a project that is premised upon the emergence of Filipinos as distinct constituencies and as articulate voices in the recomposition of American or global polities and socio-economic orders within the last three decades; that is, as Filipinos, in large numbers, now exceed the borders of the Philippines, as well as those of the United States and other countries where they migrate, work, settle, or create new identities, communities, and cultures.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the Philippines, powerful television producers can no longer dictate and/or predict what programs equally powerful audiences prefer. For instance, despite the popular notion that the telenovelas and soap operas’ target audiences are the economically poor majority, the upper middle class are also avid viewers of Latin American telenovelas. Even our former presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos have admitted to being regular watchers of  Marimar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the other hand, those who are categorized as the poor and supposed mentally challenged Filipino audiences are devoted viewers of news and investigative television programs which are originally designed for the country’s middle classes.  As a result of these unpredictable audience preferences, news and investigative television programs are now using Filipino (the lingua franca of the Filipino masses) as the medium of communication; and advertisements which used to cater to the economically upper class such as credit cards and cell phones are now being shown during the timeslots of the telenovela and soap opera.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Filipino audiences are active producers of meaning and not passive consumers of televisual commodities. Since it is difficult to speak with any exactness that the Latin American telenovelas cater only to the poor and oppressed who seek consolation in fairy tales; and that informative programs are only for the intellectuals and the rich, one can deduce that these audiences create their own texts from televisual representations filtered by their own critical consciousness, history, culture, sense and sensibilities and relating these to their particular contexts. For instance, with the localized programs, the visual images which represent the very glamorous life of the rich people might manifestly provide entertainment and amusement to the Filipino audience but this is only the first level of reception, for a translation of these visual texts ensues according to its relevance to them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The very relevance of formulaic scenes in localized soap operas is that, ironically, they allow Filipino audiences to lament these texts as unrealistic narratives – as shown by public commentaries elicited in television talk shows, surveys, restaurants, and street corners. The People Power experience is another indication of the fact that the Filipino audiences are able to translate the text, effectuate transformation, overcome class and ethnicity boundaries and ‘localize’. For the second time in 15 years, the Filipino people rose to overthrow a corrupt leader. In 1986, millions gathered on EDSA, Manila’s main avenue, to demand the resignation of dictator Ferdinand Marcos; on January 20 it was President Joseph Estrada, who was coerced to step down after four continuous days of mass protests.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The immediate trigger for the four-day people’s revolt was the collapse of impeachment proceedings against Estrada, a mock trial witnessed by majority of Filipino television viewers from diverse cultural, political and economic backgrounds. The president had been put on trial before the country’s Senate in December after allegations surfaced that he had accepted more than US$10 million in pay-offs from illegal gaming.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The televised proceeding, dubbed as the ‘telenovela of the year’, was telecast by major television networks. Then, on January 15, the Filipino audience witnessed how Estrada’s backers, who had the numbers in the senate, voted to exclude vital evidence, prompting government prosecutors to walk out in disgust. The pro-Estrada senators jubilantly cheered their victory — in front of a live audience of millions listening to and watching the trials on radio and television.  That night, the Filipino audience as an active receptor, translator and creator of the media message, spilled onto the streets with anti-Estrada banners and flags. All of these happened without the televisual text, for example, or the coverage of the developing political events, directly telling them to revolt. The country is broke and under such circumstances, the backers’ efforts to cover-up the president’s plundering of the country’s remaining</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">wealth was revolting — this is the message that the Filipino audience created on their own. That night, the Filipino audiences transcended class differences and as a result, various cultural, religious, student and labour groups joined forces in an effort to transform their political context and oust a corrupt leader.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">With this experience the Filipino audience became confident. They have brought down the government with ‘people power’ before and they know it could be done again. In this case, the act of viewing was a live meeting between audience and text, between the two active producers/translators of meaning, during which an exchange of ideas between them generated new meanings, new texts and new political possibilities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another indication of the ability of the Filipino audience to translate the text and transform the context is manifested by Filipino artists. A local critic and national artist Bienvenido Lumbera claimed that MTV Rock and Rap which are some of the most invasive forms of western popular culture that electronic media offer, ironically, are being used to provide a critical language by urban artists protesting against nuclear stockpiling by the US in the Philippines. Lumbera (2000;326)  observed that:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Artistic creation in the Philippines is being shaped by the images that leap out of the screen and lodge in some corner of our consciousness until summoned by a related experience that needs expressing.’</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It is this critical Filipino consciousness evident in the viewing practices and their ‘survival’ as well as localizing tactics that contribute to the making of Filipino active receptions/translations of text and the concomitant transformation of receptor contexts in the Philippines. The consciousness is in the Filipino history, for their history is a ceaseless story of struggle – against the Spanish colonization, then the Americans, then the Japanese, and now against abusive and corrupt political leaders.  It is in the Filipino language for they have the word tao, a very active word that does not discriminate, for it can refer to male or female, homosexual or heterosexual, a person or a group of people. It is in their being tao, in their capacity to survive, to struggle despite all the never-ending man-made and natural disasters, because Filipinos believe that they can transform not only the text but also the context in their day – to – day acts of ‘translations.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, television is a powerful medium in the Philippines considering that Filipinos watch about 200 minutes of television daily.  Yes, the prevalent television programs which are translated through dubbing or localizing are irrelevant to the Filipino’s needs, interest and problems. But audiences, the Filipino audience in particular, can translate and transform these ‘irrelevant’ texts, can ‘translate’ across class and ethnicity and make the irrelevant text relevant to their contexts and local conditions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bibliography:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bhabha, Homi K. (1994). The Location of Culture. London: Routledge.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Campomanes, Oscar. (1998). The Vernacular/Local and the Global in Filipino Studies. Institute of Filipino Studies and University of California San Diego.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Cruz, Isagani. (1985). Splitscreen.  Diliman Review.  University of the Philippines Press.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Gadamer, Hans-Georg. (1976). Philosophical Hermeneutics. Berkeley: University of California Press.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hatim, B., & Mason, I.,  (1997) The Translator as Communicator.  London: Routledge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Jacka, Liz. (1996). New Patterns in Global Television, Peripheral Visions, Oxford: Oxford University Press, (edited with John Sinclair and Stuart Cunningham).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Kenny, Jim and Pernia, Elena.  (1998) The Filipino’s Window on the World. Asia Media Information and Communication Centre.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lumbera, Bienvenido. (2000). Writing the Nation/Pag-akda ng Bansa. University of the Philippines Press.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Medina. B.S. (2001)  Sa Ibang Salita, Sampung Sanaysay sa Sining Salin. De La Salle University Press, Inc. Malate Manila.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rosario-Braid. (1987) Concepts for an alternative broadcasting system. Philippine Communication Journal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hall, Stuart. (1981). Notes on deconstructing the popular. In R. Samuel (Ed.), People’s history and socialist history,  London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">About the author:  Janet Hope Tauro-Batuigas completed her Doctor of Arts in Languages and Literature (D.A.L.L.)  at De La Salle University with distinction and outstanding dissertation awards in 2000. She has been teaching since 1991 at De la Salle University.  Dr. Tauro has lectured about translation and television studies at Miami University in USA, University of Leeds in UK and at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Also a journalist for  more than ten years, she has written investigative reports for Philippine Graphics, Starweek Magazine, Reporter Magasin and Village Voice. In 1988 she was sent to London by Star Publications Inc. to investigate on the proliferation of mail-order brides syndicates, the plight of the Filipino workers which were used as reference  for some of the related Congressional bills. In 1990 she wrote and produced segments for major television network ABS CBN’s The Inside Story on the situation of  separated single parents, the  sufferings of the  special children at Elsie Gaches and analysis of the country’s educational system among others.  As the head scriptwriter for Philippine Distance Education Corp., she has written and edited scripts for telecourses in education which were shown in PTV Channel 4. She was chosen as a Writing Fellow for short story by the University of the Philippines PANULAT in 1997 workshop and Writing Fellow for drama by the  National Commission on Culture and Arts in a 1995 workshop.</span>
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