PUP Theory Building Workshop [PDF]

Polytechnic University of the Philippines Office of the Vice President for Research, Extension, Planning & Development

Institute of Cultural Studies

PUP Theory Building Workshop

April 20-June 29, 2013

Voluntary Urbanism: The Agency of the City Michaël Dos Santos Oliveira - Architect

Does an imperative for action exist today in urbanism? The emerging paradigm called "agency" refers to a simple matter of voluntary will. Nonetheless, the actors and subjects of such actions are complex, so that understanding them demands that we consider a variety of concepts. In Western culture, philosophers considered agency (defined by the field of action) as by circumscribing human free will. In ancient Greece and the Middle Ages, thinkers such as Aristotle and Aquinas made important contributions to philosophy centered on voluntary action. Conceptualizing modernity, writers like Giddens and Habermas focused on human action as rational order. Postmodern authors such as Deleuze and Badiou introduced concepts like cause, event, and desire. In today´s altermodernity i, contemporary writers like Žižek, Hardt and Negri emphasize the uncertain human drive based in the power to act - being, loving, trusting, transforming, creating. If modernity and postmodernity claimed freedom of thought and expression, respectively, the current altermodernity claims freedom of action. Thus, in contemporary theory, agency (the voluntary act) finally emerges as an historical actor. Agree that the design of an assemblage is generally complex. Since then the term expresses agency's ability to act in an entity or person in the world, which means "the temporal-relational context of action"ii. But the action tout court is by nature an operative and interventional role: ‚to be able to ‘act other-wise’ means being able to intervene in the world.‛iii Accepting that the agency of the common dominates the present establishes a theological position from which to look forward to the future, what Derrida called l'avenir, which is "to come‛. This is based in the assertion that Difference as an object of postmodern desire is what impels us today to dig into Matters of concerning grounded in the Commons as a terrain for partage. v A key question is

to define the ways in which the commons, the public and the private are articulated and can coexist. In the multicultural world that we live in, it is more interesting to see what brings us together than what divides us. The recent years of financial crisis have raised important questions about the neoliberal ideological systemvi,‚in a world where collective efforts are countered or even replaced by individualism, where politics are uncertain and the swings of unpredicable economies discourage communal investments.‛vii Ideological dogmatists, claiming to be in the vanguard, are obsessed with urban malaise. They characterize the contemporary world and its territory as a situation where injustices and inequalitie have created a urbanism of victims, ‚where the metropolis is presented as a machine that empties the city of reality, a sociological field where the horizon is disappearing and where each moment of stabilization is hypocritical and fleeting; the city as empty spaces, panic, insecurity, screams and rage, infrastructural parasitism, and so on.‛viii But we can also see the informal city’s extreme urbanism, with its slums and favelas, as a demonstration of multiple struggles to achieve equity, ‚the principal task of the XXIth century is to politize – organize and discipline – the ‚destructed masses.‛ix Certainly, inequality and poverty are profound. Globally, the top 20% holds more than 70% of total world wealthx. Inequality threatens economic stability and democratic rights in the city. This requires a new perspective on geo-politics: ‚a poverty that history returns to us as wealth rather than origin, as desire-to-come rather than misery. This is the new use value: the common.‛ xi Because the city belongs to everyone, the urb has a universal value, it is the place where shared common interests will emerge, ‚The character of multiplicity of actions is the essential charm of the city‚xii If cities are to be resilient, equitable and inclusive, their residents must create it through their common wills. These new forms of education and practice can help us to imagine different forms of Voluntary Urbanism. We live in an era in which the social order of nation-states, class and traditional family is in declinexiii. Jean Luc de Nancy called this la crise de la communauté. Today's "exceptions", are poverty, homelessness, permanent unemployment or the ‚death drive‛ as common tragedy. These circumstance demands communal

living and governance. To create such voluntary political arrangements, it will be necessary to move from perverted egotism to rational egoism, from ProletariatLiberalism to Voluntariat, an ethics of virtue which operates through communal and mutual interactions such as generosity and reciprocity, xiv as gift economies, supported by contributions rather than taxes or fees. As Zizek says: ‚Instead of taxing the rich excessively, one should give them the (legal) right to decide voluntarily what part of their wealth they will donate to the common welfare.‛xv Even more important, the donation to the welfare state should be an act rather than a material contribution. Such acts will encourage fuller democracy since everyone will have to do it individually. The agency of Voluntary Urbanism is based on acting in common while remaining in the self, a singularity within the Multitude, with a man or woman seeing themselves both as a human being and as part of a community. Human Agency is the antidote for passivity. It transforms humanity into a multitude capable of democracy, through ‚participating actively in government deciding on all the matters that concern them‛xvi. The agency of the self becomes a common Habitus (Bourdieu) of the ungovernable ‚active minorities‛(Virno). The process of voluntary participation in government constitutes political agency as a new mode of collective activity: the basis for a self-ruled multitude (learn to live and rule without masters). The moment of truth for the urbanist, is finally a ‚selfconstitutive collective action.‛xvii The power of voluntarism resides in the selfagency of the multitude. The intellectual and political courage to imagine egalitarian democracies, new political ‚trajectories of living life in common will lead to the production of the greatest collective oueuvre, the city.‛ xviii The main task in creating this new city is not ideological but practical. Today more than ever, it is important to build alternative worlds. Surprisingly, we can find alternatives already existing inside of current society rather than in some imagined ‚outside‛. One good example of Voluntary Urbanism is the volunteer fireman´s community, a locally based group that provides social and emergency services. As a case for communal urbanism, a fireman’s life demonstrates a permanent and stable alternative community, with a balance between work and health. It is

a alternative mode of life that has existed for centuries, rather than a counterculture invention such as a commune or a faits divers. In addition to housing firefighting services, the fire station provides several (temporary) commmon spaces [Fig. 1;2;3] such as the dining room, dorms, floor watch, toilets, etc. Living life in common means accepting duties and responsibilities, acting respectfully to others, and, most important, trusting your fellow firemen. This alternative set of social practices belongs to volunteers, who engage in civic intervention

with

both

individual

and

collective

consciousness.

Their

participation produces a ‚new civic and urban idea of solidarity.‛xix Being a fireman is a voluntary community service. Their services bring calm to the chaos of urban life. Their passion to help others has creates a range of urban involvement from fighting fires to social services to emergency medicine, all of which provide, enable and sustain their capacity to successfully help and build a strongest city. The fireman, as a civic agent operates in the commonality of urban life and within fields of danger. The main purpose of the job is to save lives, reduce risk, provide humanitarian services and protect the environment in the most competent and effective manner possible. Firemen are called upon to tackle a wide range of emergency situationrems where problem solving skills and initiative will be vital to resolve incidents quickly and calmly. Since they act in emergency situations, as volunteers, they accept risk without reward, ‚The Act occurs in an emergency when one has to take the risk and act without any legitimization‛xx The potential of such uncertain acts challenges the preestablished standards of urban practice and engagement, both through their accepted ways of acting and the act itself: ‚A sense of agency is also to accept a new sense of what it may mean to be an architect, one which the lack of a pedititated future, is seen as an opportunity and not a threat‛xxi Could various types of urbanism become an unsolicited act, like that of the firemen? Voluntary Urbanism is the development of such deliberate efforts, under material conditions which encourage free voluntary action to overcome unwillingness or passivity. In this sense, the urbanist today has to become a true "action man or woman." This urban action approach attempts to go beyond concepts of political consensus and resistance to encourage agencied practices. Voluntary Urbanism supports a new moment of experimentation based on our

ability to create spaces and relationships, then transport them into action as part of a collective will for a common purpose. In short, the meaning of agency in the city is voluntary participation to both defend lost causes and enunciate new possibilities for urbanism. The Voluntary Urbanist in the city (ignoring the structural constraints of privitazation), should act

with public

objectives, communicating

with

institutions in order to contaminate them with positive thoughts, actions and collaborations. Their acts should aim for economic and political visibility, in order to communicate research and actions since there are, "Problems for which there exists no program, no plan, no ‘cellective agency"xxii. These problems call for new groups as yet undefined and which, in the end, might be happily unexpected. Building a real alternative civic project will depend on the capacity of the society and the nature of the city but most of all on the ability of volunteers to intervene, mediate and sustain new relationships, to build the foundations of a shared democratic urbanity.

Michaël Oliveira in graduate from FAUP, Faculty of Architecture University of Porto, visiting Student researcher at UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design, currently volunteer architect at the Columbia University GSAPP´s Global Studio-X Rio exploring the future of cities.

Fig.1 – The Kitchen. Los Angeles Fire Department Historial Archive, Engine Company No.28, Cecil Lynch Collection, Circa 1950.

Fig.2 – The Common Room. Los Angeles Fire Department Historial Archive, Engine Company No.28, Cecil Lynch Collection, Circa 1950.

Fig. 3 - The Rec-Room. Los Angeles Fire Department Historial Archive, Engine Company No.28, Cecil Lynch Collection, Circa 1950.

____________________

i - Modernity: the triad ‚identity-property-sovereignty‛, and Altermodernity: ‚singularity-the common-revolution.‛ Hardt and Negri refer to the possibility of a multitude of alternatives to the classical idea of modernity, in which capitalism will function without domination. See Hard, M., Negri, A., Commonwealth, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England, 2009. ii. Emirbayer, M., Mische, A., What is agency?, in American Journal of Sociology, 103(4), p.970. iii. Ibid. p. 10. iv. See Latour, B., Why Has critique Run out of Steam?: From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern, in Critical Inquiry, Vol. 30, No.2, Winter 2004, p.225.

v. Rancière, J., Communists Without Communism, in Costas Douzinas and Slavoj Žižek, eds., The Idea of Communism, London: Verso Books, 2010, p.167-177. vi. ‚Neoliberalism is a form of political economic organizing that operates under the assumption that human development is best achived when individual entrepreneurial freedom are liberated whithin the institutional frameworks of property rights, free markets, and trade‛ in. Harvey, D., A brief History of Neoliberalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. vii. Maas, W., Towards an Urbanistic Architecture, in The State of Architecture at the beginning of the 21st Century, ed. By Bernard Tschumi and irene Cheng, The Monacelli Press, Columbia Books of Architecture, New York, 2003. p.14. viii. Negri, A., On Rem

Koolhaas,

in

http://www.haraldpeterstrom.com/content/5.pdfs/Antonio%20Negri%20%20On %20Rem%20Koolhaa s.pdf ix Žižek, S., Censorship Today, in Volume No.18, AfterZero, Archis 2008, #4, p.46. x. People Building Better Cities, Traveling exhibition, 6 countries, 12 cities, India, Thailand, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, USA. A Global Studio project in collaboration with The Center for Sustainable Urban Development in the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and partners in exhibition cities. xi. Negri, A., Some thoughts on the concept and practice, in the Idea of Communism, Edited by Costa Douzias and Slavoj Žižek, Verso, p.165.

xii. Mendes da Rocha, P., La cuidad es de todos, Colección la cimbra, núm. 9, trad. Emilia Pérez Mata, ed. Fundación Caja de Arquitectos, Barcelona, 2011, p.16. xiii. The "alternative" is recognized for its inherent sense of urgency for civil society: ‚according to Hegel, the inherent structural dynamic of civil society necessarily gives rise to a class which is excluded from its benefits (work, personal dignity, etc.) - a class deprived of elementary human rights, and therefore also exempt from duties towards society, an element within civil society which negates its universal principle...‛ in Žižek, S., The Plague of Fantasies, Verso, London, 1997. xiv. For the concept of ethics ‚gift-giving‛ see Peter Sloterdijk, Repenser l´impot, Paris: Libell, 2012. See also ‚reciprocity‛ in Marcel Mauss, Reciprocity, The Gift, trad. Ian Cunnison, Glencoe, IL: The Free Press, p. 1-2, 3, 10-12, 69-77. xv Zizek, S., Beyond Envy and Resentment, in The Year of Dreaming Dangerously, Verso, London, 2012, p.114. xvi. Hard, M., Thomas Jefferson, or, the transition of democracy, in Michael Hardt presentes Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence, aditional material by Garnet Kindervater, Verso, New York, 2007, p. xvi. xvii. Étienne de La Boétie, The Politics of Obedience: The Discouse of Voluntary Servitude, trans. Harry J. Kurz, New York: Free Life Editions, 1975, p. 52-53 cit in Hard and Negri, Empire, op.cit. ‚What we need is to create a new social body, which is a project that goes well beyond refusal. Our lines of flight, our exodus must be constituent and create a real alternative. Beyond the simple refusal, or as part of that refusal, we need also to construct a new mode of life and above all a new community. This project leads not toward the naked life of homo tantum

but toward homohomo, humanity squared, enriched by the collective intelligence and love of the community.‛ xviii. Swyngedouw, E., Civic City Cahier 5: Designing the Post-Political City and the Insurgent Polis, Bedford Press, AA Publications, May, London, 2011, p.55. xix. Montaner, J. M., Muxí, Z., Arquitectura Y Politica – Ensayos para mundos alternativos, Gustavo Gil, Barcelona, 2011. p.137. xx. Žižek,S., Welcome to the Desert of the Real!, Verso, New York, 2002, p.153. xxi. Schneider, T., Till, J., Beyond Discourse: Notes on Spatial Agency, in Agency in Architecture: Reframing Criticality in Theory and Practice, Footprint, 2009, p. 98. xxii . Livesky, G., Agency, Assemblages and Ecologies of the Contemporary City, 2010, in Kossack, F., et al, op.cit., p.2.

Image Sources: Fig. 1 - http://www.lafire.com/stations/FS028/photosCecilLynchCollection/CecilLynchCollection.htm

Fig.

2

-

http://www.lafire.com/stations/FS028/photos-

CecilLynchCollection/CecilLynchCollection.htm Fig. 3 - http://www.lafire.com/stations/FS028/photosCecilLynchCollection/CecilLynchCollection.htm

ANG MANILA TIMES VILLAGE SA LOOB NG TATLUMPU’T-LIMANG TAON, 1972-2007

ABSTRAK

Maglalahad ang bahaging ito ng buod, konklusyon at rekomendasyon ng pinag-aralang kasaysayan ng Manila Times Village sa loob ng tatlumpu’t limang taon.

Matatagpuan ang Manila Times Village sa gitnang bahagi ng lungsod ng Las Piñas na bahagi ng kalakhang Maynila. Katabi naman ito ng ospital ng Perpetual Help Medical Center na nasa gawing timog silangan nito.

Ang

Perpetual Help University System-DALTA naman ang nasa bahaging hilaga nito. Ang munisipyo ng lungsod ng Las Piñas ay nasa gawing kanluran ng subdibisyon.

Malapit dito ang mahahalagang institusyon na karaniwan ay

nilalakad lamang.

Ang Manila Times Village ay itinayo ng huling mga taon ng dekada sisenta. Ang debeloper nito ay inialok kay Joaquin ‚Chino‛ Roces, may-ari ng Manila Times para tirahan ng mga nempleyado ng pahayagan. Ang may-ari ng pahayagan na ito ng mga panahong iyun ay si G. Joaquin ‚Chino‛ Roces. Sa tulong nga ni G. Roces ay nakakuha ang ilan sa mga nagtatrabaho sa Manila Times ng bahay sa subdibisyong ito. Isaisang naglipatan ang mga nakabili ng taong 1970.

Halos hindi pa buo ang mga bahay nang lumipat ang karamihan sa kanila.

Unti-unti nilang pinagawa ang pagpapatapos sa bahay habang

nagbabayad sila sa Social Security System ng buwanang bayad na halos isandaang piso kada buwan.

Maliban duon ay iniaawas ng paunti-unti sa

kanilang buwanang kita ang tatlong libong piso na kanilang hiniram kay G. Roces upang ipambayad ng ‚equity‛ sa SSS para maka-utang sila ng bahay at lupa. Hindi naging problema ang pagbabayad ng mga unang taon sapagkat maayos ang kanilang kita, masaya sila sa kanilang kumpanya.

Hanggang dumating ang araw ng Septyembre 22, 1972.

Isang araw

matapos madeklara ang martial law ay isinara ang pahayagang Manila Times. Naging dahilan ang makasaysayang pangyayaring ito upang mabago ang takbo ng mga buhay ng mga tagarito. Lumipas ang halos mahigit labing-apat na taon bago pa ito muling nabuksan. Ang mga empleyado ng pahayagan na nakatira sa Manila Times Village ay nakakuha ng ‚separation pay‛. Subalit ang halagang kanilang natanggap ay hindi sapat para sa karamihan na makakuha ng panibagong pagkakakitaan upang ipagpatuloy ang pagbabayad sa bahay at lupa na kanilang nautang sa SSS.

Karamihan sa mga taga-rito ay ibinenta ang

kanilang mga bahay at lupa. Sa kasalukuyan ay humigit-kumulang sa limampu na lamang ang mga orihinal na residenteng nakatira sa kasalukuyan. Ang mahigit kalahating porsyento ng mga ito ang nakapanayam ng mananaliksik upang makalap ang mga datos na ginamit sa pag-aaral.

Sa aspeto ng heograpiya, masasabing ang pisikal na anyo ng barrio ay nabago sa loob ng tatlumpu’t limang taon 1972-2007. Ang mga panahon ng dekada 70 ay mailalarawan ang berdeng kapaligiran sa barrio. Mga kadamuhan ang mga lupang nakapaligid dito, mabango ang simoy ng hangin, hanggang unti-unting nagbago sa pagsusulputan ng iba’t-ibang barrio gaya ng BFRV at Manuela. Higit na nakabago sa anyo nito ay ang pagtatayo ng paaralan na sinundan ng ospital ng Perpetual Help, taong 1974

Ang pangkabuhayan ng mga taga-rito ay nabago matapos na ipasara ang pahayagan ng Manila Times noong 1972. Sa loob ng mga unang taon matapos maisara ang pahayagan ng Manila Times, ang mga residente na nagdesisyon na huwag ibenta ang kanilang lupa at bahay ay nagsikap na pagdugtungin ang araw at gabi sa iba’t-ibang marangal na paraan. Ang medyo bata pa ay nakalipat ng ibang mapapasukan. Ang iba ay naging mandaragat ng barko na bumabyahe sa ibang bansa. May ilan sa mga maybahay ang naging tanging kumikita at nagtaguyod sa pinansyal na pangangailangan ng pamilya sapagkat ang ilan ay may trabaho gaya ng pagiging guro sa pampublikong paaralan. Ang ibang maybahay ay nagtinda ng pagkain o meryenda, nag-gupit ng buhok o di kaya’y nagtahi ng damit. Ang ilan nama’y tinulungan ng mga kamag-anak na mga nagtatrabaho sa ibang bansa o di kaya’y may anak na nakatapos na ng pag-aaral

at tinaguyod ang pamilya. May ilan na napakinabangan ang separation pay at nakasimula ng negosyo gaya ng taxi at maliit na tindahan.

Sa pagkakatayo ng paaralan at ospital ng Perpetual nagkaroon ng pagkakataon ang mga taga-rito na madagdagan ang kanilang kita.

Una ay

naging suki ng ilan ang mga trabahador nuong itinatayo pa lamang ang mga gusali sa perpetual, sumunod ay ang ilan sa mga empleyado at estudyante rito, ay naging ‚bedspacer‛ ng mga tagarito. Sa kasalukuyan marami pa rin ang kumukita sa pamamagitan ng pagpapaupa ng mga kwarto. Nadagdagan pa ang pagpapaupa sa mga pwesto na ginagamit sa komersyal na dahilan.

Ang halos humigit kumulang na sumunod na sampung taon ay binalot ng kahirapan ang orihinal na residente na taga-rito. Ang mga panahon ng dekada otsenta ay unti-unti na silang nakaka-ahon sa kahirapan dahil ang ilan sa kanila ay nakapagpatapos na ng pag-aaral ng mga anak. Ang lumipas na sampung dekada simula sa kasalukuyan ay halos panahon ng pag-aani. Subalit ang iba ay hirap pa rin dahil sa mga karamdaman dala ng katandaan. Ang konsolasyon nila ay wala na silang iniintinding buwanang bayaran sa SSS kundi ay ang taunang buwis na lamang.

Sa ekolohikal na aspekto, naharap ng mga taga-rito ang problema sa umaapaw na tubig pag tag-ulan, problema sa basura, masikip na daan dahil sa

dami ng mga sasakyan na nakaparada sa kalye at kawalan ng ika nga’y ‚privacy‛. Ang asosasyon ng homeowner’s ay sinisikap na tugunan ang mga problemang nabanggit.

Sa aspekto ng populasyon, nagsimula sa 150 ang residente hanggang sa ito ay halos nasa 50 na lamang ngayon. Karamihan na sa mga nakatira dito ay mga nasa pangalawang henerasyon ng residente o yaong mga nakabili ng lupa at bahay mula sa orihinal na taga-rito. Malaki ang porsyento ng mga estudyante na nakatira na ngayon dito.

Sa aspekto ng seguridad masasabing ang lugar ng Manila Times Village ay tahimik sa pangkalahatang paglalarawan. Maliban na lamang sa mga ilang panaka-nakang problema ukol sa ingay ng mga estudyante, nakawan at awayan ng grupo ng kabataan sa paglipas ng tatlumpu’t limang taon.

Sa pamanang kultural ay tinalakay ang mga nakaugalian ng mga taga-rito sa okasyon ng kasal, binyag at libing. nangingibabaw

ang

pagtutulungan

Sa lahat ng okasyon na nabanggit, ng

mga

magkakaibigan

at

magkakapitbahayan. Ang pagdadamayan sa panahon lalo na ng kamatayan ay laging nakikita sa mga taga-rito.

Ang mga taga-rito ay kuntento sa uri ng pamamalakad ng lokal na pamahalaan. Maayos din silang nakikiayon sa mga bagay na inaasahan din ang kanilang kooperasyon.

Ang karamihan sa mga taga Manila Times ay may relihiyong katoliko. May mangilan-ngilan na hindi hindi katoliko pero bahagi pa rin sila ng ibang sekta ng simbahang kristyano.

Ang mga katoliko ay hindi gaanong regular sa

pagsimba tuwing linggo. Kaunti lamang ang aktibo sa mga gawaing simbahan gaya ng pagsali sa Basic Ecclesial Community, Annual retreat, at iba pa.

Ang buhay para sa ilang mga taga-rito ay tinuturing nila na pagkakataon ng lahat na imulat ang mga bata para maging mabuting tao. Sa pananaw ukol sa kamatayan, ayon sa ilan ito ay isang bagay na siguradong darating sa kaninuman. Sa pananaw ukol sa edukasyon, tinuturing ito ng karamihan na pinakamainam na maiiwan sa mga anak, Ang edukasyon ay nagsisimula sa tahanan. Ang trabaho ay dapat hinaharap natin ng may ibayong sipag, pagiging propesyonal sa pakikitungo sa katrabaho at katapatan sa institusyong pinaglilingkuran. Sa pananaw ukol sa pamahalaan, naibulalas ng ilan sa mga nakapanayam ang kanilang pagkadismaya sa takbo ng maruming pulitika sa bansa. Sa pananaw ukol sa pamilya, matuturing na pinakamagandang regalo mula sa Diyos ang pamilya.

Ayon

sa isa sa mga nakapanayam, ang

pagpapamilya ay dapat wag haluan ng ibang pamilya.

Karamihan ay

mababakas ang ugali ng pagpapahalaga sa relasyon nila sa Diyos at sa kapwa tao. Ang kanilang hirap na pinagdaanan ay naging instrumento sa naging uri ng pakikitungo sa kapwa ng nakararami dito.

Inirerekomenda ng mananaliksik ang sama-samang gawain ng mga nakatira dito upang mapanatili ang kalinisan at kaayusan sa seguridad. Ang mas madalas na pagkakaroon ng mga sibikong proyekto ay mapatupad para sa mas mapalalim ang mga samahan lalo na sa mga kabataan ng kasalukuyang henerasyon.

Mas maging masigasig ang opisyal ng simbahan para mas

mahikayat ang mga taga-rito lalo na ang mga kabataan na maging aktibo sa gawaing naglilinang sa kaluluwa at nagpapalalim sa relasyon sa Diyos. Naway mas lalong mapalakas ang tinatawag na mutwal o ‚symbiotic‛ na relasyon sa pamamagitan ng mga residente at ng mga namamahala sa Perpetual. Sana ay lalong maging masigasig ang mga guro at opisyal sa unibersidad na paalalahanan ang mga mag-aaral ng tamang pagkilos sa loob o labas man ng unibersidad. Ang unibersidad ng Perpetual ay maaaring makipagtulungan sa ilang residente na nagpapaupa ng mga kwarto upang mahikayat ang mga nagtapos dito na maging aktibo sa mga proyekto ng alumni.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Published Books and Articles

AFRICANO, Cornelio T. (2005) Mga Natatanging Anak ng Paete. Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas. Philippines AGONCILLO, Teodoro A. (1990) History of the Filipino People, Garotech Publishing, Quezon City. CALAIRO, Emmanuel Franco (2006) Hand-out in Preparing Syllabi for Social Science). Lecture delivered in UPHSD-GMA, Cavite. HERNANDEZ, Juan B. (1982) For Love of Freedom-Japanese Occupation, National Printing Company, Quezon City, Philippines REMPEL, William C. (1993) Delusions of a Dictator, Little, Brown and Co., Boston, USA

REYES, Agnes (October 2003) The Socio-Cultural Life of the Yogads in Malitao, Echague, Isabela:

Its Implication to Education. RED Journal Research and

Educational Development Journal RUBIN, Ligaya G. Tiamson (2005) ANGONO RIZAL: Kakambal ng Ibang Mga Bayan, UST Publishing House, EspañA, Manila RUBIN, Ligaya G. Tiamson (2005) ANGONO RIZAL: Itanghal Ang Bayan, UST Publishing House, EspañA, Manila VILLACORTA, Wilfrido, V. et. al.(1986) Manila: History, People and Culture. The Proceedings of the Manila Studies Conference, 1986. Isagani R. Medina, The Social, Political and Cultural Life of Manila in the 19th Century.

Masteral Theses and Dissertations CONCEPCION, Hezekiah (1994) Sulu Under The Harrison Administration (1913-1921), Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Ateneo de Manila University ESTERNON, Bernard ( 2002 ) Kabite: Pagbabagong Pang-Ekonomiya, Pangkultura at Pampulitika 1979-1994. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, De La Salle University. FERRER, Jerrick C. (2001) City Growth and Development of Las Piñas. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Asia and the Pacific. GARCIA, Aquino I. (1990) The Town of Dasmariñas: From Its Beginnings in 1866 to 1917. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, De La Salle University. HABANA, Olivia Anne M. (1996) Gold Mining in Benguet, 1990-1941: Modernization and the Decline of the Baknang Class, Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Ateneo de Manila University. REYES, Evelyn M. (1999)

Romblon During The American Regime 1898-1946,

Unpublished Master’s Thesis, De La Salle University. SAULO, Cristina G. (2002) The Oral Narratives and Images of the Batak, Unpublished Thesis, University of the Philippines, Quezon City.

SUMULONG, Sassy (http://www.geocities.com/rocesphils/manilatimes.htm

COMMODIFICATION, TECHNOLOGY, and the MACHINISTIC FUTURE

Today, according to Rodney Brooks, the director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT since 2003, a new age is about to begin and such changes will have a major impact on our lives.1 But what are those ‘Changes’? What are the factors that will make such changes possible? What or who makes such changes possible? In this paper I posited three topics that, I think, are interrelated with each other: (1) Commodification, (2) Technology, and the (3)Machinistic Future. These concepts are essential to this paper and they operate

RodneyBrooks,‚Us and Them‛, in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Nanotechnology. See also, RodneyBrooks, Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us, (New York: pantheon Books, 2002). pp. 197-212. Moreover, in this paper, though Rodney Brooks is speaking here in a different context, emphasizing such a drastic change will serve as an introduction for the framework of this paper. 1

as the backbone of this study. We will attempt to break down these thick concepts as we go on and be surprise to what we will discover soon, but for the time being, let’s make an initial guess as to what this paper will lead us. I. INTRODUCTION History is always a History of Ideologies. These are the words that still echoes in my mind from the first time I heard it, which fortunately, coming from a respectable professor knowledgeable in Marxism. Following such logic, History becomes a symbol, a word that represents a phenomenon which constitutes ideology. Whether a struggle between ideologies is performative in this phenomenon or not, that we don’t know, but one thing is for certain, an ideology prevail thus a society manifested. Accordingly, ideologies were propelled by ‘interest’ in the Marxian language while it is ‘intention’ in the field of phenomenology. Hence, the one million dollar question is: whose ideology; whose interest; whose intention? We are out of context if we says that it is the interest of the otherwise than being which is a non-human. Although, we can open the possibility to grant that assumption, however, in my rather obvious presupposition, we will otherwise sit for a ‘temporal agreement’2 that it is the interest, the ideology of the ‘privilege few.‛ 3 Currently, at this present but now instantaneously becomes past time, I may ask, if history is dominated by the privilege few, granting that they operate with such magical act, what happened to the ‘unprivileged many’4? Are we, the unprivileged many, threatened with the process they are using to progress their interest? What devises or tool they are The concept of ‘Temporal agreement’ here denotes the Gadamerian Hermeneutical character of saying that this agreement is not fix, not rigid, not absolute. Thus, opening the possibility for ‘becoming’, the possibility to be change. For a more broad understanding about this concept of temporal agreement read, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method, (London: Sheed& Ward Ltd, 1979). 2

I just coin the notion of the ‚privilege few‛ here in order to present a rather quasioffensive endearment to those what Marx says the ‚haves‛ in contrast to those who ‚have not‛. It can also animate the idea of a Capitalist, the Bourgeois. However, if the term ‘privilege few’ appeared on some leading philosophers before, my apologies for not citing this concept to them. 3

The contra-position of the privilege few, the ‘have not’s’, or the Proletariats in Marx, the working class. 4

utilizing to advance this ‘privilege interest’? What kind of future is waiting for us, humanity at large? II. THE DRIVING FORCE OF COMMODIFICATION Before we speculate within the deeper level of this concept of commodification, let’s make the ground of discussion by defining what this commodification function in this paper. Commodification is an activity of man, allocating value to objects—-the objectification of things—-in and for a certain purpose: one of this is commercialization. Commodification is not limited to objects, things, like food, metallic utensils, etc. Even human beings, technology, or at some extent, a passport to heaven can be commoditized. Two things are to be noted in the process of commodification: 1) there must be an existing ‘goods’ or ‘service’ that is being valued or have putted some value, 2) that goods or services were being commercialized. It can manifest in any form but the central of this system of commodification is the control of the human. Commodification cannot be without the control of the human subject. While on the technological level where Artificial Intelligence is possible, still, commodification cannot flourish without the contrivance of human intelligence. Thus, the human subject controls the process. The subject is celebrating an anthropocentric character in the field of commodity. Therefore, in reading the intention, the interest that maneuvers the whole process of commodification, we must look directly to the subject—to man per se. What is it that shapes man to enter in the process of commodity, to buy the idea of trading? My thesis in this question is that human beings are longing for something. What is this something? What triggers us to crave for something? Saint Augustine has long been rallying his points in this query. For him, man is a finite being created with infinite wants and needs, thus his concept of God to necessarily exist. 5 That God for Augustine is the only one who can satisfy man, since He is the infinite giver of these infinite wants and needs. Though, Saint Augustine’s projection of the finiteness of man sounds theological, it enables us to grab some hint on the For broader discussion see Eleonore Stump and Norman Kretzmann, The Cambridge Companion to Augustine, (Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006). 5

nature of man, rendering visible the kernel elements of the human interest, even the interest of the privilege few. A. DESIRE AS THE PROPELLER OF COMMODIFICATION Through Augustinian access of the human nature, we will draw out what he meant by ‘longing’ to a more theoretically concrete representation of it— desire. In guising the concept of ‘desire’ here, I postulated it as something active, something that always pointing for something. I think the concept of phenomenological ‘consciousness’—Franz Brentano’s intention6---can help us understand the concept of desire that is controversial in this paper. Accordingly, ‘desire’ is always a desire of something, auto-implicating a sense of ‘content’. Needless to say, desire is not just a transparent-passive concept that doesn’t point to something but on the contrary, when one is speaking of ‘desire’ it is integrated in it a theme, or content, speaking of something other than the plain act of desiring. Now, we can openly ask, what are the content(s) of this desire, of our desire, of the desire of the privilege few?

i.

Desire for Survival

The first content of desire that I’ve postulated is the desire for survival. I think no one will disagree to this assumption unless he/she is advocating some sort of suicidal philosophy since even Albert Camus, an Existentialist-Absurdist philosopher that sees ‘human that expect’ and a ‘world that disappoints human expectation’ still advocates living in a most possible fulfilling way.7 Moreover,

Edmund Husserl (1859–1938) in his Logical Investigations (1900).according to Husserl, consciousness is always consciousness of something, then thinking is always thinking of something. See also Karl Simms, Paul Ricouer, (Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London and New York) p. 35. This logical framework is what I follow in this concept of ‘desire’, that desire is always a desire of something.The idea is first initiated by Franz Brentano in his concept of ‘intentionality’, see http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/brentano/ 6

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/camus/

7

when we observe nature and species in it, the manifestation of this desire for survival is everywhere. Creatures have this innate survival instinct that they used when caught in a crucial situation. Squid excretes black inks for defense mechanism, skunk discharges bad odor, dog bites, and even human beings use force in order to be safe. Thus, this is undeniably evident. But one thing is still important in the concept of the desire for survival. It is what I called here, the struggle for maintaining and gaining the basic structure of life. Initially, it is not complex at all for it only pertains to what species do, especially us, humans to acquire our life support, such as our basic needs, security, health and the like. Hence, this point opens wide technical or practical answers of sustaining human life, but again the central idea of all this is that we desire to survive and it is fundamental to all of us, thus, even to the privilege few. ii.

Luxurious Desire

Another kind of desire is a rather non-organic desire, the desire for luxury, enjoyment, comfort, and the like that is not basic to human survival. However, I will not argue that it is artificial to man to have this desire, this luxurious desire, since even in the ancient times, man already dreamed of having huge and elegant houses, or something that will comfort and satisfy their cravings for ideally great things. This is why I manage to drag the Augustinian concept of ‘finite and infinite’ and his notion of infinite wants and needs. Humans were created in this condition, and for Augustine it is for theological purposes, a sense of satisfaction in the true beatitude—God. But to avoid confusion and some sort of theological conceptions, we will bound this luxurious desire as the ground why ‘excessiveness, ‘surplus’, inequity, accumulation of wealth, tyranny, monopoly, manipulation, and so as what we call the privilege few come into the picture. The vision to maintain the basic human needs in reference to the future creates ‚greed‛, competition, oppression, exploitation, and other forms of it. They are afraid of the future that they will be deprived of such human needs, and so they wanted to have more of those. This kind of desire injects man the stimulus to, willfully or unconsciously, enter in the system of commodification. The privilege to say and be recognized

that ‚I have‛, ‚I own this‛, ‚I am the master‛, is what this luxurious desire tends to do. Although, we can see another version of the luxurious desire as a programed being conditioned to others, atleast, the originator of this desire is authentic in having such impressions. The lure of the idea that one can put value to objects around us and even to human itself and use it to become a means for trading, celebrates at the heart of those who feared to become a ‘have not‛. iii.

The manifestation of Desire as ‘Ideology’

Concretely, desire is put into action when it becomes the ideology of someone, or a group maybe. The privilege few may not have a specific and identical desire but their desire has one common denominator, that is, the luxurious desire which is manifested in the ideology they advocate. The luxurious desire now becomes their way of living. SlavojZizek describes ideology as ‚you do not know it but you are still doing it‛.8 It is a symptom one is not aware of why he continues doing it but enjoys to do it. Therefore, the privilege few, the ‚haves‛, the capitalist desire, the luxurious desire they were addicted to and becomes their ideology is a form of madness.9 Warranting that they didn’t know it cannot excuse the fact that they desire for an excess, they desire for the fulfillment of themselves. I think, in them, the ubermench, the superman of Nietzsche will and can possibly emerge. At this point, it seems inevitable to think and be excited as to what this ideology is all about. I myself wanted to know more about this ideology, and in this paper we cannot but offer only an understanding of this ideology from the standpoint of the outside, from another horizon (horizont) in the language of Gadamer. That is, this ideology wishes to fulfill first/only the interest of the privilege few, and if granted, the interest of the unprivileged many, later. And all that we can see is

SlavojZizek, The Sublime Object of Ideology, (New York/London: Verso, 2009), 16. I wanted to license here the idea that there is a great possibility that the subjects involve in an ideology are not even aware and conscious of the ideology they are involved with. 8

9

paper.

I think Nietzsche must be the basis of this idea of madness that I am rejoicing in this

this kind of ideology creates hundred folds of oppression, exploitation, alienation and the like. On the other hand, this event or a phenomenon of luxurious desire within the sphere of the privilege few is aggravated by the substantial tools they have such as capital—wealth; technology—system; power—politics; etcetera. And these tools are now the binding force, the backbone of the society. These tools are the major factors which influences the development and degradation of the state in different level, in the economic level for instance. Thus, whether or not this privilege few are united in one grandeur vision, the fact that they function as the life-support network of the state seems to already denote their dominion, and power, and so alienation and oppression. This is what we call the capitalist ideology, the ideology of the privilege few. The ideology that is centralized in the commodification of goods, services, and so as humans, and is peppered with tools, such as technology, for the smooth sailing of their privilege interest. III. THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY AND ITS COUNTER EFFECT A. Technology Defined and Its Role As The Apparatus Of The Privilege Few There are ample of ways to define technology, and these definitions are not weak, ineffective, and implausible at all. Some of the leading thinkers of our time define technology as hardware10, rules11, system12, and even applied science. See Lewis Mumford (1895-1990), in the article What is technology? Defining or Characterizing Technology. Mumford claims that the earliest ‚machine‛ in human history was the organization of large numbers of people for manual labor in moving earth for dams or irrigation projects in the earliest civilizations, such as Egypt, an acient Sumer in Iraq, or ancient China, he calls it the ‚megamachines‛ (Mumford 1966). 10

Look for Jacques Ellul’s concept of ‚technique‛, he treats technology as a rule rather than a tool. 11

The economist John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2004) defined technology as ‚the systematic application of scientific or other knowledge to practical task‛(Galbraite, 1967). 12

To make our definition of technology meet in this paper, I will attempt to offer my definition of technology, in order to know my standpoint. Technology is a mode that systematized human activities and ease human effort. Thus, this definition includes systems that put-in-order human actions, for instance government laws. It also includes the machines that contribute in the development of industrialization. But how come that I reach the thesis that technology is the apparatus of the privilege few? One will argue that technology is for everyone, no one can put a name in it stating that ‘technology is mine’. But the means of producing such technologies are owned and can be owned by some. It is not as free as the term technology imbibes. In Marxism, this is unequivocal, the forces and relations of production is now owned and monopolized by the bourgeois, by the capitalist. Therefore, technology is owned by the ‘few’—the strong and powerful few. They invest huge capital for the advancement in technology that common people experience. Millions of money was founded or backup even single research for a cure of disease. And these ‘few’ are not priest but businessmen, so they expected profit with their investment. Let’s imagine how much money Microsoft earned every year, that is partially equivalent to the money third world countries losses every year. Therefore, the logic is clear, in order to gain and control huge amount of power, whether it is through political, economical, and security, or, just for comfort and pleasure, the privilege few have to invest their money and make larger profit out of it. And technological investments are one of the trending investments in the sphere of the capitalist now a day. All of these arguments boiled out to one conclusion: they use technology as a means to advance their interest, to make it more concrete, and attainable. And technology is not the isolated being that were used as a means of the privilege few, but also the unprivileged many, abusing the very logic of their predication, the ‘have nots’, the ‘unprivileged’.

Moreover, it is define as ‚any systematized practical knowledge, based on experimentation and/or scientific theory, which is embodied in productive skills, organization and machinery‛ (Gendron, 1977). Further, it is ‚ the application of scientific or other knowledge to practical task by ordered systems that involve people and organizations, productive skills, living things, and machines‛ (Pacey, 1983).

Because the unprivileged possess nothing, but life and force, such as labor force and multiplicity, the privilege offer them a deceitful offer, bargaining what was left for the unworthy things such as money, that first and foremost, originally without value but a piece of metal. How do they do it? Again, they do it, in and through the enticement and trickery via technological products, e.g. technological artifacts and technological programs. It is a wide raging conditioning that slowly happens but penetrates not only within the surface of the physical but most importantly within the mental level, within the very being of man itself. What a terrible alienation isn’t it?

B. Technological Attack And Its Quasi-Self-Independency This technological advancements and development also influences the culture and different aspects of society, therefore I will call it here the technological phenomenon. Consequently, if it is a technological phenomenon, whereas the above discussion made such questions clear, it will also imply that the new phenomenon society is living is the phenomenon governed by the privilege few. And in this phenomenon, alienation is tolerable; exploitation is acceptable and backup by law. Through technological advancements, the capitalist power spread like air particles. New systems and technology opens a much easier way to hamper human freedom. One example of this is the cyber law that is controversial in the Philippine virtual reality. It explicitly shows the oppression of freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of information in particular. Developments in machines reduces human labor, and man power, and as a result, ‘unemployment’, ’surplus’ of goods, and under-wage. Here, unemployment, surplus and underwage create new opportunity for the privilege few to make abuses even more acceptable. It served as a pre-wired working system that goes in favor of the capitalist. There are other forms of alienation and oppression cause by technological advancements, such as the ‘invasion of privacy’. The technology of surveillance system magnifies the treat on privacy. 13

See J. Stanley and B. Steinhardt, Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains: The Growth of an American Surveillance Society. (American Civil Liberties; Union Technology and Liberty Program. 13

Moreover, technological advancements in human genetics, robotics, and nanotechnology even leads to the ‘alteration’ of the natural structures of man— physical, psychological, social and so on.14 If one argue that privacy is a rather fabricated concept because there is no such thing as private, and then let us hear some of the thinkers arguing the contrary. James Fitzjames Stephen (1873) says, ‚there is a sphere, nonetheless real because it is impossible to define its limits, within which law and public opinion are intruders likely to do more harm than good.‛ Here, the ‘intruders’ that Stephen pertains, I will utilized in this paper, is the capitalist conditioning and alienation which seems invisible but actually happening in the technological level of enticement. If the unprivileged many will be deprived even of their right to privacy, which I think is the greatest alienation and oppression of all times, then life within this technological phenomenon it is not the life I dreamed of. Privacy is worthy of safeguarding, these approaches argue, because intimacy is important; privacy is worth protecting because we value the sanctity of a personal realm.15 However, on top of all of this, a greater reality waits to be revealed. The truth that technology slowly acquires a quasi-human character, an identity that eludes human predication, is another controversial point here. Heidegger already envisions a technology that, poetically speaking, lives on its own. It became autonomous. In our rather naïve conception of technology, according to Heidegger, technology is just a complex of objects and techniques, that seems passive in itself; indeed, we conceive of it as activated only by us, but the essence of technology reveals it as something far from neutral or merely an instrument of human control; it is an autonomous organizing activity within which humans January2005) . It is well exposed in it the danger brought by the technological advancement such as surveillance security program in reference to our privacy. Michael J. Sandel, ‚The Case Against Perfection‛ (The Atlantic Monthly, April 2004), 51-62. Further, try reading Bill Joy, Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us,(Wired Magazine: August 4, 2000). 14

Helen Nissenbaum, ‚Toward an Approach to privacy in Public: Challenges of Information Technology‛in Ethics and Behavior, (Laurence Erlbaum Associates Inc. 1997), 207-219. 15

themselves are organized.16 Here the point is clear, technology becomes the master of itself, and as far as the capitalist or the privilege few sees they are the one controlling technology in order to manipulate the unprivileged many, on the contrary, even them, they were controlled by the technology. How can such an assumption even possible? As we see, the capitalist invest on technology for technological advancements, thus converting mountains to plain fields for the plantation of plants that will produce sources of energy. Then seeing the progress of technology as simple as that, but the thing is, they now become the ‘workers’ that maintains the technology they created. They become the slave of technology, in one reason, because for them, for the capitalist, technology is their means to attain their luxurious vision, to attain the realization of their ideology. Therefore, in the end, through the autonomous character of technology, the unprivileged many are not the only one being exploited and oppress here, but unconsciously, even the privileges few. They are now victims of technology as well. But, considering the fact that technology is not human, and in the human subject only interest resides, and ideology and intention is possible, we cannot overthrow the idea that the privilege few is still in the privilege position which gives them the power to oppress the weak, and claim to be the master. IV. THE MACHINISTC FUTURE In the course of our discussions, we establish that there is an existing and prevailing ‘desire’, ‘Human interest’, ‘Ideology’ in the society which is actually the interest of the privilege few. Now, let’s see the effects of these technological conditioning guided by the Capitalist ideology on other elements of society such as Religion, Education, and Culture. But first, it must be noted that through technological forces penetrating the Social Systems, Laws, Politics, extending it to the virtual reality where social networking sites are populated by the ideologies of those who ‚have‛; and the technological researches in nanotechnology, genetic engineering, robotics, etc., consume large part on the field of medicine, Aesthetic standards, reproduction, recreational activities, and the like; what is the response and effect of this in the elements of society? Tad Beckman, Martin Heidegger and Environmental Ethics, (Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711. 2000). 16

A. The Response of Religion The before peaceful areas of religion is now breaking its silence as an inevitable response to the changing environment it is situated. Some religious sect manages to become more radical as to the point of welcoming the influences of technology. They were allowing their members to alter the natural structure of their bodies and the like. One good example of the changes and effect of technology in religion is the dichotomy of stands they were advocating in response to the issue of Reproductive Health Bill. Some of them are pro and some are cons. This is really a great manifestation that the technological advancements penetrate the sacredness of religion. In other words, the capitalist ideology as it is tantamount to technological influence is slowly corrupting the once been sacredness in the religious sphere, making them more mechanically entice and will not hesitate to follow the deceitful offers of the capitalist. B. Education As The Cradle Of Slave Mentality And The Forerunner In The Production Of Future Machines Education is one of the vital elements of the society. Wherein, the molders of the uncountable generation of productive citizens are necessary. These are the teachers, professors, directors, and president. But what if, these groups of noble people were being conditioned by the capitalist ideology through technological advancements, do you picture out what kind of citizens will live in the future? Initially, because of the technological growth in different level, universities cannot deny the external influences they encounter everyday when it comes to formulating their curriculums and the goal of the university. Let’s try to break it down in a more simple way. The capitalist having in possession of the technological forces that dictates the economy for example, is logically the dictator of the ‚demand‛ and ‚supply‛ regarding employment, jobs, wage, industries, factories, and the like. Thus, by controlling the demands on the level of employment and what specific job is demanded, the universities, on the other hand, will response to the call. They will formulate curriculums that will best fit to the demand of the capitalist. Of course, it is also for the benefits of their

students in order for them to have a job as soon as they graduated. But on top of all of this, in the standpoint of the capitalist, the university is just a cradle of the slave, the workers that they will soon utilized for the progress of their businesses, for the advancements of their capitalistic interest. Thus, the university only produces workers specialize on areas demanded by the privilege few but not professionals professing the alienating phenomenon the students are situated. Further, what is even more trembling here is the fact that universities didn’t even know what they were actually doing. They didn’t know that the knowledge they imparted to the students are the knowledge provided by the capitalist and is in accordance to the promotion of the ideology of the privilege few. The university is not aware that they were molding the great slave machines in human history, it is in and through, the impregnation of the slave mentality to their students. The slave mentality that working under the capitalist is good because it is the only way to live, and that the capitalist benefits such as bonus, incentives and the like are enjoyable. Therefore universities becomes a tool, an institution, hand in hand with technology,

that

served

as

a

means

for

human

exploitation,

and

commodification, all for the advancement of capitalistic ideology and the interest of the privilege few. C. The Culture of the people without Identity And what can we speak of the culture in this kind of setting—a setting where the capitalist ideology is penetrating even inside the close plastic of ‘boybawang’? The culture as being the reference of the identity of the people will easily be corrupted, which for the most part, what is happening right now. Why did I say so? If we look at the Philippine context where people, specially the youth, are easily been entice to other culture, we will see that the allegiance and loyalty to their own culture is not an important factor anymore of living. But, in a deeper sense, it reflects a rather greater truth: the people of today thus lost their identity that is why they even try to copy or borrow the identity, culture, styles and the like of other country. The most celebrated example of this is the emergence of POP Culture, the popular culture which implies that alienation, an

oppression on the level of cultural struggle takes place, and there is an existing oppressor and oppress. Thus, advancing and supporting our claim that people becomes mechanistically animated by the dictate of a larger than being influences, that is, the capitalist ideology, the interest of the Privilege few. People of today are not interested at all in retrieving the lost culture, their lost identity, because on the first place they were being conditioned that they didn’t actually possess such identity, and culture. D. The Picture of the Future Out of these fragments of ideas that become visible to us, in relation to the exposition of the privilege-few vision (capitalist ideology), and also as a prophetic act of envisioning the future, let us assemble the pieces of ideas like chips of the puzzle. And in the process, do you know what I see? I foresee a future where people, things, and animals vanish—only commodity exists. I see a picture of a rather unimaginable present-future in the hands of the privilege few. I see machines, but these machines are not made out of metals and run by fuels. These machines are first class.They were called the ‘human machines’—the cyborgs of the future. The future manufactures different types such as doctors, teachers, lawyers, president, etc. Though these machines have various titles and functions,one thing is common to them, they were all slave machines programmed for the advancement of the interest of the few. The authenticity, freedom, love, and all the abstract things that fashionedhuman beings into its humanity reduces to a simple concept—value. And all the activity of man, his potentialities that can be actualize, this future has a term on that, labor force. It is a world much more cruel and fearful than what Aldous Huxley envisions in his book Brave New World:since in this world of future machines the only thing that exists is the manifestation of the Capitalist interest.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beckman,Tad.Martin Heidegger and Environmental Ethics.Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711. 2000. Brooks, Rodney. ‚Us and Them‛ in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Nanotechnology. ________. Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us, (New York: pantheon Books, 2002). pp. 197-212. Gadamer, Hans-Georg.Truth and Method.London: Sheed& Ward Ltd, 1979. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2006. Joy, Bill. Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us. Wired Magazine: August 4, 2000. Nissenbaum, Helen. ‚Toward an Approach to privacy in Public: Challenges of Information Technology‛ in Ethics and Behavior. Laurence Erlbaum Associates Inc. 1997, 207-219. Sandel,MichaelJ..The Case Against Perfection. The Atlantic Monthly, April 2004, 51-62. Simms, Karl.Paul Ricouer. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. p. 35 Stanley, J. and B. Steinhardt.Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains: The Growth of an American Surveillance Society. American Civil Liberties; Union Technology and Liberty Program. January2005. Stump, Eleonore and Norman Kretzmann.The Cambridge Companion to Augustine.Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006. Zizek, Slavoj.The Sublime Object of Ideology.New York/London: Verso, 2009, 16. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/brentano/ [accessed on October 11, 2012] http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/camus/ [accessed on October 11, 2012]

THE IMAGES OF THE FIRST FAMILIES AND THEIR POLITICAL DYNASTIES IN THE PHILIPPINE PRINT MEDIA

ABSTRACT

The first families are very influential in the Philippines. They represent the Filipino families in the country and around the world. Since the Philippines is a country with people who are family-oriented, the first family is always seen as a cultural and political icon. Because of their great power to build the nation, it is significant to study their images in the media which serve as one of the most influential social institution in the country. Since political dynasty is a perennial issue in the Philippine government, it is being asked to every individual who

wants to run the politics and to those who are already in the position. Even the first families are not exempted to be in hot seat to answer the said issue. Political dynasty is being prohibited by the 1987 Constitution yet there are still no law which will support that provision. Though the term political dynasty is yet to define, the existence of politicians coming from the same descendants is becoming a trend in the Philippine politics. It is also clear that most of the past presidents including their first families rooted from either a close relative or a political dynasty. Because of this, the first families and their obedience to the Constitution is being subjected to inquiry. Several news items were written about the first families and their political dynasties in the leading newspapers. These news items together with the perception of people from different sectors form the images of first families and their political dynasties. The study is a qualitative in nature with case study as a design. The researcher will use content analysis and focus group discussion as methods in drawing the image of the variables in the study. The study hopes to give a descriptive analysis of the family and political culture as portrayed by the first families in the Philippines.

INTRODUCTION When a political icon became a president, it was not only his own life that would change but also the lives of his family members. As he officially became the leader of the executive branch of the government, his family would be labelled as the first family gifted with instant celebrity status and public praise. In the country with people who value family the most, the culture within family became a part of a larger political culture.

The political ambition of the first family actually expands to a political dynasty which is forbidden by the constitution. It is clearly prohibited in the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: Article 2– Declaration of Principles and State Policies Section 26 the existence of political dynasties in the country which rule out the equal access to public service. This provision in the body of rules of the government needs full respect primarily by the highest officials of the republic. The family culture of Filipinos within homes continues to overrun in the public offices until they monopolize the power in the local and national government. The living proofs of this infringement are the first families whose members over the past years had dominated the local and national elections. Why does this kind of abuse to the provision of constitution been a practice? It is because there is still no approved law that will explain such statement in the constitution. Law-makers could not agree with the definition of political dynasty. The first families of the past would also point their fingers to other political dynasties. The Philippine mass media have dual roles in the uninterrupted increasing number of political dynasties. While journalists question the political dynasties, advertisements allow politicians to project themselves as role models. Therefore, there is a balanced projection of image of the first families and their dynasties. However, what is being projected more by media may not be equated

to what the public will think about them. The image of the first families and their dynasties are significant symbols of the family and political culture in the Philippines as they are seen as the representation of what Filipino family is among other families in the world.

OBJECTIVES This paper aims to know the images of the first families and their political dynasties in the Philippine print media during their years of reign. Specifically, it aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. To identify the first families of the Republic of the Philippines and their political dynasties considering their backgrounds, geographical scope of power, and positions held in the government; 2. To analyze the content of the leading newspapers considering the news, editorials, and features which were related to the first families and their political dynasties: 

Topic / theme



Treatment to the issue (positive or negative)



Emphasis to the issue (space consumed in the media)



Exposure of the issue (frequency)

3. To know the perception of the people from different sectors toward the first families and their political dynasties’ portrayal in print media; and 4. To draw the images of the first families and their political dynasties based on the content and perception analysis.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

In drawing the image of the first families and their political dynasties, political science and communication theories will be utilized.

Italian Scientist Vilfredo Pareto in his major work The Mind and Society sets out to identify a minority of highly talented individuals at the top levels of society who possess superior personal qualities and wield great social and political power (Berberoglu, 2005, p. 29). This particular group of people are called elites.

Pareto also divides the elite into two (political and social) segments: A governing elite, comprising individuals who directly or indirectly play some considerable part in government, and non-governing elite, comprising the rest (Berberoglu, 2005, p. 30). The first families and their political dynasties are considered governing elite considering their grand power in the political arena. But not all members of the first families are governing elites, although most of

them are public officials in the executive and legislative branch of government, other family members are influential in other fields or career. The rise and fall of the elites can be described by the Circulation of Elite Theory which emphasizes the change in regime. This happens not when the rulers are overthrown from below but when one elite replaces another. The first families who are considered elites transfer their title to another family not through a legal action but through a change of regime. Pareto asserts that people are assigned elite positions by virtue of being so labelled (Coser, 1970). First family is the label given to the family of the chief executive of the Philippines.

The first families continues to survive by expanding its prominence to its extended family which further evolve into political dynasties because of the same ambition inherited to its family members.

Figure 1. Theoretical Model of Circulation of Elite

Another theory to be used in the study is the Semiotics. It will be the way of understanding how language works particularly in the print media. Semiotics is the science of studying produced meanings. Its ultimate goal is to unravel the meanings that are built into all kinds of human products, from words to symbols, narratives, symphonies, paintings, and comic books to scientific theories and mathematical theorems (Danesi, 2007, p. 3). The study will take into consideration the communication and linguistic aspect of the theory by understanding the print media content about the first families and their political dynasties.

Linguist Ferdinand de Saussure designed a model of what constitutes a Figure 2. Theoretical Model of Semiotics

sign. He offered a dyadic or two-part model of the sign. According to him, sign is composed of a signifier (the form which the sign takes) and a signified (the concept it represents). The relationship between the signifier and the signified is referred to as signification (Chandler, 2007, p. 14).

The newspaper content about the first families and their political dynasties is the signifier while the perception of people from different sectors is the signified. While the signifier holds the main linguistics and communication variable, the signified serves as the interpretations. The association of these two is the image formed of the first families and their political dynasties. And since there is always a change of first family who are considered political and social elite, the images also vary.

Figure 3. Conceptual Model of the Study

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES

The First Family of the Philippines: A Model

The first family is a title given to family of the head of government of a country. It is a family considered to rank first in social prestige in a particular place. A first family usually consists of: chief executive of the state, the first lady or first gentleman, and any children of the couple. The Philippines whose people are family-oriented look up to first family as a representation of all Filipino families in some aspects of living.

The Filipino family is closely knit and characteristically an extended family. A typical Filipino household consists of the father, mother, children, and additional members composed of grandparents, uncles, aunts, or other relatives of close affinity (Ongsotto & Ongsotto, 2002, p. 20). Because the members of the family respect collectivism and take care their other relatives, their powers as families are also extended. The most apparent confirmation to this is the existence of political dynasties.

Guillermo (2012) in his book entitled Historical Dictionary of the Philippines defined political dynasties as established clans of elite families in various regions in the Philippines and wield a great deal of political clout in most aspects of government, business, and society (p. 339). Political dynasties, exemplify a particular form of elite persistence in which a single or few family groups monopolize political power (Querubin, 2011, p. 2). First families of the

Philippines are not safe for being disobidient to the Constitution. The Laurels of Batangas, Osmeñas of Cebu, Roxas of Capiz, Macapagals of Pampanga, Marcoses of Ilocos Norte, and Estradas of San Juan City are some of the first families whose members of nuclear and extended family have entered politics in the national and local levels. If these families who at some point of the history had become an icon family with much respect and praise from public, become representations of unhealthy democracy, no wonder that local government offices also become nests of political power with family interest.

First families and their political dynasties are political elites referring to power holders of a body politic and includes the leadership and social transformations from which leaders typically come (Simbulan, 2005, p. 6). Not only does Filipino culture articulate strong beliefs about the family in the abstract but individuals, as both leaders and followers, are influenced by kinship concerns in making political decisions (McCoy, 2009, p. 8). Because of this kinship concerns, though it makes the family culture of the country broader, it affects some decisions in the governance of the leaders.

The social status of a family defined by their economic status is also a symbol of power. As what the society today dictates, the socio-economic and power of people were seen as related. Those who had luxury goods specifically

those from foreigners was quated to social prestige and political power (Junker, 2000, p. 3). The relation of politics and economy is now one of the strategies used by people to occupy the political arena.

According to Rafael Vicente’s Contracting Colonialism: Translation and Christian Conversion, it can also be traced in the history that during the Spanish occupation in the Philippines, Spaniards favored the ruling elites by putting them in the colonial hierarchy. As Phelan notes from Pigafetta’s account: the Spanish colonizers did not seek for Filipino rulers rather they created it (Woods, 2008, p. 35).

The First Families in the Philippines

Over the past years, the history has named fifteen (15) presidents of the Republic of the Philippines with each having a family considered as first family. Current President Benigno Simeon Aquino III is the only chief executive elected without a spouse. The table below shows the first family from the first republic to the present. It also includes the descendants who ventured into politics. Elpidio Quirino was the only president with no family members or close family members who are politicians according to the literature gathered. His descendants are well-known in the field of pageant, health, and media. Other

presidents also have descendants who are celebrities in other fields such as media and arts.

Philippine Presidents Emilio F. Aguinaldo 1898-1901

Manuel Quezon 1935-1944

L.

Jose P. Laurel 1943-1945

Place of Origin Cavite

Aurora

Batangas

First Lady/ Children Gentelman Hilaria Del 1. Carmen Rosario Aguinaldo (first wife and 2. Melencio considered 3. Emilio the first lady) Aguinaldo, Jr. 4. Maria Aguinaldo Maria Poblete Agoncillo 5. Cristina (second wife) Aguinaldo 6. Suntay Miguel Aguinaldo Aurora 1. Maria Aurora Aragon Quezon Quezon 2. María Zeneida QuezonAvancena 3. Luisa Corazon Paz Quezon 4. Manuel L. Quezón, Jr. Paciencia 1. José Laurel, Jr., Hidalgo 2. Jose Laurel III, 3. Natividad Laurel 4. Sotero Laurel II 5. Mariano Antonio Laurel 6. Rosenda Pacencia Laurel 7. Potenciana

Descendants in Politics 1. Cesar Virata, A (grandnephew and Prime Minister of the Philippines) 2. Ameurfina Herrera (granddaughter and a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court)

1. Manuel L. Quezon III (grandson and current Undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office) 1. Jose Laurel IV (grandson, representative of the 3rd District of Batangas, son of José B. Laurel Jr.)

8. 9. Sergio Osmeña 1944-1946

Cebu

Estefania Chiong Veloso

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Manuel Roxas 1946-1948

Elpidio

A.

Capiz

Trinidad de Leon

1. 2.

Ilocos Sur

Alicia Syquia

1.

Laurel Yupangco Salvador Laurel Arsenio Laurel Nicasio Veloso1. Sergio Osmeña, Jr. Osmeña (son and former Vicenta VelosoSenator) Osmeña 2. Sergio Osmeña III Edilderto Veloso(grandson and Osmeña incumbent Senator) Milagros Veloso- 3. John Henry Osmeña Osemeña (grandson and former Emilio VelosoCongressman and Osmeña Senator) Maria Paloma 4. Tomas Osmeña Veloso-Osmeña (grandson and former Jesus VelosoMayor of Cebu City; Osmeña, 2nd District Teodoro Velosorepresentative) Osmeña 5. Emilio Mario José VelosoOsmeña, Jr. Osmeña (grandson and former Sergio Osmeña, governor of Cebu) Jr. Ma. Rosario 1. Gerardo M. Roxas Roxas (son, former Gerardo M. congressman) Roxas 2. Dinggoy Roxas (grandson, former congressman) 3. Manuel ‚Mar‛ Roxas (grandson, former congressman, senator, and current department secretary) 4. Felix Roxas y Fernandez (former mayor of Manila) Tomas Quirino

Quirino 1948-1953

Ramon Magsaysay 1953-1957

Carlos Garcia 1957-1961 Diosdado Macapagal 1961-1965

P.

Zambales

Luz Magsaysay

Bohol

Leonila Dimataga

Pampanga

Purita dela Rosa (first wife) Dr. Evangelina Macaraeg (second wife, considered the first lady because the former wife was already

2. Armando Quirino 3. Victoria QuirinoDelgado 4. Fe Angela Quirino 1. Teresita BanzonMagsaysay 2. Milagros BanzonMagsaysay 3. Ramon BanzonMagsaysay, Jr.

1. Ramon Magsaysay, Jr. (son and former Congressman and Senator) 2. Genaro Magsaysay (brother; former Senator 3. Vicente Magsaysay (uncle and former congressman and former Governor of Zambales 4. Joseph Benedict Aquino Magsaysay (grandnephew and barangay captain) 1. Linda Garcia- 1. Policronio Garcia Ocampos (father and former municipal mayor in Bohol) On first wife 1. Cielo Macapagal1. Arturo Salgado (daughter and Macapagal former provincial vice 2. Cielo Macapagalgovernor), Salgado 2. Gloria MacapagalOn second wife Arroyo 3. Gloria (daughter and former MacapagalPresident of the Arroyo Philippines) 4. Diosdado 3. Juan Miguel Macapagal Jr. Macapagal Arroyo (grandson and current congressman, 2nd

dead during the presidency of Macapagal) Ferdinand E. Marcos 1965-1986)

Ilocos Norte

Imelda RomualdezMarcos

1. Maria Imelda Marcos 2. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. 3. Irene Marcos

Corazon Cojuanco Aquino 1986-1992

Tarlac

Benigno S. Aquino, Jr.,

1. Maria Elena Aquino 2. Aurora Corazon Aquino 3. Benigno Simeon Aquino III 4. Victoria Elisa Aquino 5. Kristina Bernadette Aquino

district of Pampanga 4. Diosdado Macapagal Arroyo (grandson and current congressman, Camarines Sur) 1. Maria Imelda "Imee" Marcos (daughter and Governor of Ilocos Norte) 2. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. (son and current Senator of the Philippines 1. Servillano Aquino (former Representative of Samar to the Malolos Congress in 1898) 2. Benigno Aquino, Sr. (former Representative of the 2nd District of Tarlac from the 4th Philippine Legislature to the 7th Philippine Legislature and Senator) 3. Benigno Aquino, Jr. (husband, a former Vice-Governor and Senator of the Philippines (19681972) who was assassinated during the Marcos regime) 4. Agapito Aquino (brother-in-law and a

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Fidel Ramos 1992-1998

V. Pangasinan

Amelita Martinez

1. Angelita Ramos- 1. Jones 2. Josephine RamosSamartino 3. Carolina Ramos- 2. Sembrano 4. Cristina RamosJalasco

former Senator and Congressman) Teresita AquinoOreta (sister-in-law, and a former Senator of the Philippines) Herminio Aquino son of Servillano Aquino, he is a former Congressman (19921998) and ViceGovernor (1998-2001); Jesli Aquino Lapus (brother-in-law and a former Congressman and secretary of Department of Education) Benigno Aquino III (son, former Congressman, Senator, and currently the President of the Philippines) Paolo Benigno Aguirre Aquino IV (nephew and former Commissioner of National Youth Commission) Sen. Leticia RamosShahani (nephew and former Senator) Ranjit Shahani (Former Congressman)

5. Gloria Ramos Joseph Ejercito Estrada 1998-2001

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo 2001-2010

Manila

Dr. Luísa Pimentel (considered First lady because she was with the president during its term)

Pampanga

Jose Miguel Arroyo

On Dr. Luisa Pimintel 1. Jose Ejercito, Jr. 2. Jackie Ejercito 3. Jude Ejercito

1. Dr. Luisa Pimintel (wife and former Senator) 2. Guia Gomez 3. (former wife, currently the Mayor of San Juan On Guia Gomez City) 4. Jospeh Victor 4. Jose Ejercito, Jr, Ejercito (son, former Mayor of San Juan and currently On Joy Rowena a Senator) 5. Jojo Ejercito 5. Joseph Victor Ejercito (son, former mayor On Laarni Enriquez and congressman of 6. Jerika Ejercito San Juan City) 7. Jake Ejercito, 6. Emilio Ramon Pelayo 8. Jacob Ejercito Ejercito (former Mayor and currently the Governor of Laguna) 7. Gary Pelayo Ejercito (nephew, and Board Member of Quezon province) 1. Juan Miguel 1. Jose Ma. Arroyo 2. Evangelina (grandfather of Jose Lourdes Miguel Arroyo and 3. Diosdado Ignacio former Senator) Jose María 2. Juan Miguel Macapagal Arroyo (son and congressman from 2nd district of Pampanga) 3. Diosdado Macapagal Arroyo (son and congressman from Camarines Sur)

4. Ignacio Arroyo, Jr. (brother-in-law and congressman from 5th district of Negros Occidental) 5. Maria Lourdes Arroyo (sister-in-law and Party-list Representative) and other Macapagals as mentioned above Benigno Simeon Aquino III 2010-present

Manila

Unmarried

The president’s sisters: 1. Maria Elena Aquino 2. Aurora Corazon Aquino 3. Victoria Elisa Aquino 4. Kristina Bernadette Aquino Source: Presidential Museum and Library, malacanang.gov.ph

same as mentioned to former President Corazon Aquino

The Family and Political Culture

Political dynasties are common in many contemporary such as Argentina, India, Japan, Mexico, and the Philippines. The Philippines is a notable example of a dynastic democracy. More than half of the elected congressmen and governors have a relative who has held elected office previously (Querubin, 2011, p. 2). According to UP sa Halalan 2013, a project of the University of the

Philippines in cooperation with the Commission of Election and ABS-CBN (Political Dynasties, 2013), 94% or 73 out of 80 of the provinces have political dynasties. Almost 250 political families have dominated Philippine politics at the national and local level. Of the political dynasties, 56% come from old political elites while the 44% emerged after EDSA I in 1986. Six presidents will most likely have relatives serving in the next Senate namely Osmeña, Magsaysay, Marcos, C. Aquino, Estrada, and B. Aquino III. There are 15 out of 23 Senators in the 15 th Congress have relatives serving in elective positions; 11 out of 15 have relatives in the House of the Representatives. This phenomenon can be described by our family and political culture.

The Philippine society is characterized by diversity, complexity, and ambiguity. Despite this diversity, there are important cultural norms and values that are common to most Filipinos (Timberman, 1991, p. 15). Some of these cultural factors influences on politics and economic affairs in the Philippines.

Lucian Pye has written that culture is unquestionably significant in some undetermined degree, in shaping the aspirations and fears, the preferences and prejudices, the priorities and expectations of a people as they confront the challenges of social and political change. Political culture as an important aspect in understanding the Philippine politics is defined as the pattern of individual

attitudes and orientations toward politics among the members of a political system (p. 15). The subjectivity of this culture underlies and gives meaning to individual political actions. It is also the reason why it is difficult to identify a nation’s political culture supplementary to the problematic political behaviour of leaders.

Any description of Philippine society must begin with an explanation of the central role of the family. The extended family is the most important social and economic unit in the Philippines. The primacy of the family is reinforced by custom, embedded in Catholic teachings, and proclaimed in the 1987 Constitution (p. 16). Another evidence of state recognition to the primacy of the family is the Artcle 216 of the Philippine Civil Code which says that ‚The family is the basic social institution which public policy cherishes and protects‛ (McCoy, 2009, p. 8). Such institutions motivated more the Filipinos to set their families as their priorities, if not one of their priorities in life from childhood to adult stage. This may explain why politicians encourage their young family members and relatives to run politics because they wanted not only to continue the hold to the power but also to reward or to transfer their wealth and fame.

In addition to the extended families which are connected by blood is the frequent use of compradazgo or ritual kinship which bonds unrelated families of

equal socio-economic status together (Timberman, 1991, p. 16). Political careers of unfamiliar people actually emerge because of this connection. Even first families use this to maintain their powers even after their title has been erased on them.

Because of the influence of elite families, social, political, and economic interactions are shaped. Interfamily relations can determine the personal friendships and enemies, marriages, political, and economic alliances and rivalries. The advent of media reveals the personal life of the first family as well as their issues and controversies with their friends who turned to be their political rivalry after some years.

The truest essence of value for family can really be seen in the conduct of politics and government. Local politics traditionally have been dominated by two or three land-owning families. These families’ landholdings give them the wealth and political base. Pakikisama has also been blamed for contributing to a brand of politics that values style more than substance. Philippine politics has been known for its ‚showbiz‛ quality, its reliance on political rituals and the indulgence of politicians in palabas or ostentatious show (p. 16). These political cultures describe the first families and their political dynasties and how these

two invade even the media industry to promote and expose their social and personal agenda.

Roles of the Elite Class

A family name is a valuable set in Philippine politics. Along with their land and capital, elite families as Jeremy Beckett argues, are often thought to transmit their character and characteristics to younger generations (McCoy, 2009, p. 8). Every election, it cannot be denied that politicians with ‚good name‛ emerge and most of the times they win over those without prestige in their names. Their exposures to media which either mold or damage their image are part of their strategy to enter each household in the country. It is no doubt that a Laurel in Batangas, an Osmeña in Cebu, a Conjuanco in Tarlac, or a Lopez in Iloilo stands a good chance of polling strongly.

Once entrenched, influential politicians are often bequeath power and position to their children, in effect seeking to transform the public office that they have won into a private legacy of their family (McCoy, 2009, p. 24).

The Philippine historical experience shaped to varying degrees, its contemporary social, economic, and political structures. Equally important,

history influences people’s values, beliefs, and attitudes about themselves, their nation, and the world around them (Timberman, 1991, p. 6). The roles and interests of elite class are defined by the history and changes in the country.

Economic changes in the nineteenth century, such as the opening of the islands to foreign trade and capital investment, led to the rise of prosperous class of mestizos and native elites or principales (Ileto, 1997, p. 3). The opportunity that came allowed the elite class to send their sons to universities in Manila and Europe. Educated Filipinos called ilustrados or the enlightened promoted radical changes in the country. It goes to show that the elites at that point of the past aimed to be treated equal with Spaniards to fight for the national freedom.

The patriotic roles of the elite class transformed from the rulers of freedom into rulers of the lower class as they are being seen as landlords in the economic arena. From elite heroes they became big bureaucrats mainly because of the societal changes that the Philippines were no longer striving for independence although Filipinos are not yet really free.

The big bureaucrats are characteristically big compradors and big landlords themselves (Guerrero, 1970, p. 69). They treat their offices as private entities and served as assistants of big bourgeoisie and landlord class to pursue their self interest over the public.

They are also the helping mechanism to the liberal lie that a ‚poor boy can become a president,‛ no one has ever reached the rank of even a congressman without representing the exploiting class and without in the process of joining them. By the time that someone has become president in the present system, he shall have become not only the chief of political representative of the exploiters but also one of the biggest among them (p. 69). The democracy is then ruled out because an aspiring politician needs not only the charisma to the people but also the power to control them when he won the election.

Because the bureaucracy is nothing but an instrument for facilitating the exploitation of the broad masses of the people by the foreign and feudal interests (Guerrero, 1970, p. 70), its people are coated with many controversies. The very prominent which mushroom every election is the issue on the exchange interest when imperialists, compreador, and lanlord masters support a political party or an individual candidate, they in return become bound to the class interests of their supporters.

Bureaucrat capitalists are also prone to get bribe money on the adoption of laws, executive orders, and court decisions. Their pockets also benefit from the enormous funds appropriated for public works (Guerrero, 1970, p. 70). From the local to the national government offices, bureaucrat capitalists find ways to

directly support their interests in the most silent manner. One of the examples of corruption was that of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration involvement on the fertilizer deal in 2003 and NBN-ZTE in 2007 issue to name a few.

The elite class also venture directly into the most starkly illegitimate activities. They are involved in smuggling, usury, plain extortion, gambling, cattle-rustling, and prostitution. Bureaucrat capitalists enjoyed and developed standard tricks for keeping their loot. They keep ‚petty cash‛ (in millions of pesos) in their house vaults for immediate use, deposits under numbered accounts in Swiss banks, strings of palatial houses and buildings, jewelry and all kinds of luxuries, securities in profitable corporations, and land titles (Guerrero, 1970, p. 71). The former president Estrada faced the storm of gambling issues and became the main ground for the second people power in EDSA which brought the new administration in the scene.

The Marcos’ declaration of war against the Communist Party of the Philippines, patriotic mass organizations, and the people in general gave more confidence to the bureaucrat capitalists cliques and dynasties all over the country to kill, burn, and loot (Guerrero, 1970, p. 74). The power of the first family most especially the president is adomino effect to lower government units. Therefore, the political actions of those at the top must always be in lline with the public

interest and social progress to achieve a national development through social, political, and economic changes.

The Elites and The Other Class

It is through studying the discourse of historical power comes the understanding of the mechanisms for social order and power structure in the society (Gealogo, 1994, p. 33). In the Philippines, it turned out that the power of elites, although known for masses especially those active in social education and activism are still being equated to a weak nation-state. McCoy (2009) stated that the country has a long history of strong families assuring social survival when the nation-state is weak (p. 7).

Gealogo (1994) explains that it is important to look at the struggles as a reflection of several dimensions of people’s perspectives in achieving social order (p. 31). The contradicting class in the state, the elite and the revolutionary have different views and principles in creating organizations for struggle. Ordinary people belonging not in these groups also possess different standpoints about the existing struggle. These three dimensions perpetuate a dynamic relationship among catalysts of history.

Ang magkasalungat na layunin ng elite at ng kalaban nitong ‚rebolusyonaryo‛ ay kapwa nakasalalay sa mga simulain (at kontradiksyon sa loob) ng sibilisasyong Kanluranin. Samakatuwid, kapwa ang mga nakaupo sa kapangyarihan at yaong gustong magpatalsik sa kanila ay nakasanddal sa mga kategoryang hiram o produkto ng kanilang pagiging xerox copy ng banyaga. Walang orihinal na kaisipan ang dalawang direksyong ito ng tunggaliang sosyopulitikal. Sa katunayan, ang dalawang magkatunggaling puwersa lamang ang siyang nagkakaintindihan sa labanang ideolohikal na ito, sapagkat sa wika at sa mga kategoryang banyaga lamang isinasagawa ang pingkian ng mga ideya (Salazar, 1997, p.105; Guillermo R., 2009, p. 1).

The socio-economic backgrounds of the conflicting classes are totally dissimilar and therefore their ideology differs too.

It is believed that the mentality of the elites is shaped by the foreign culture and the reason for them to leave behind their own culture. The masses, on the other hand symbolize the rest of the people who are living with the national and original culture (Guillermo R., 2009, p. 15).

Added to the westernized culture that they have, elites primarily the state officials, first families, and political dynasties have simply not gained the right and ability to make rules they would like. Families and clans have the power to

change the order of the society to what they think best for the country and its people.

Families and clans may seek to marry off children at ages quite different from the minimum age of marriage set by the state law. Landlords and shopkeepers may seek interest rates for loans at variance with those legislated by the state. The major struggles in a society like Philippines, are over who has the right and ability to make the countless rules that guide people’s social behaviour (Migdal, 1988, pp. 30-31).

The rich people remained assisted by the colonizers during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines. Novelists Lazaro Francisco added that many of the elite families were related to the very government officials who were cooperating with the Japanese. The elite families also benefited from being a friend of the government authorities no matter what the government was. Furthermore, the Japanese government gave elites no cause for alarm or opposition. It made no threats against their property (Kerkvliet, 1977, pp. 65-66). The influence of rich people to the government undeniably happened in the past and continues to happen in the present from the local government to the national government. Both the rich people and the government keep their relationship by maintaining their loyalty and mutual benefits.

METHODOLOGY

The research to be undertaken will be qualitative in nature. The case study as design will be utilized to capture the images of the Filipino first families and their political dynasties in the Philippine print media. Two research methods will be undertaken: content analysis for determining the news about the first families and their political dynasties considering the topic, treatment, emphasis, and exposure; and focus group discussion with different people from different sectors regarding the image of first families and their political dynasties. The study will be a good source of historical images of first families if it will cover all the regimes but not all administrations have established political dynasties. The primary consideration for the sample to be analyzed in the study will be those first families with at least four (4) relatives who also took politics and governance as their endeavours. All first families which will fall on such criteria will be part of the study. Primarily, the content analysis will be the first method to be done by analyzing the leading broadsheet newspapers in the Philippines. A follow-up research method will be done, the focus group discussions with representatives from the academe, business, civil society, church, media, government, women, and youth.

The data gathered through the two research methods will be consolidated and analyzed to determine the different images of first families and their political dynasties in the print media.

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS Family and media are two of the most important recipe of Filipino culture. Filipino people are not Filipino people without great family culture within them. While Filipinos always relate themselves to others, the media industry propagates this Filipino trait resulting to a nation that is whole. In any form of media, family stories really appeal to Filipinos, from drama, comedy, horror, advertisement, and even in news. First family represents what kind of family the Philippines has. It may project an image to the international community and serve as an agent of opportunity for tourism, economic, and cultural development. But how do Filipino people especially those in print media help in shaping the image of the first family? How do Filipino people especially the masses react on such media material? And how such image change as regime changes.

Case 1. The Marcos Family

The educational and political track of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos impressed the nation and gave a good reputation to the Marcoses. The president’s phenomenal memory was aspired by all the types of people from the top executives of businesses, academe, and even by the masses. Marcos family became an icon during their stay at Malacañang. Imelda Marcos, the first lady was widely covered by the local and international media. She became a special envoy of his husband allowing her to travel to different parts of the world such as China, the Soviet Union satellite states, the Middle East and even the non-Soviet dominated communist state such as Yugoslavia and Cuba. The public also witnessed her passion for arts and architecture as she pushed the construction of many institutions in the country such as Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, Kidney Institute of the Philippines, Nayong Pilipino, Philippine International Convention Center, Folk Arts Theater, Coconut Palace, and the Manila Film Center. Ferdinand and Imelda’s children, Maria Imelda Josefa Romualdez Marcos and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. became excellent in their respective education. Imee happened to hooked on business and arts while Bongbong took the path of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. The Marcos family showed what an ideal Filipino family must possess.

However, U.S. imperialism, facism, and dictatorship under Marcos regime became the highlights of the history. The irony of Marcos life and the ordinary Filipino family life resulted into a national revolution led by different sectors of the society. The challenge for the study is the conduct of content analysis considering the effect of the Martial law.

Case 2. The Aquino Family Three of the Aquinos became political icons: Benigno Aquino Jr., Corazon Aquino, and the current president Benigno Aquino III. They projected the image of a good governance, nationalism, and democracy. They became heroes for the most because after his assassination, he instantly became an idol of democracy. Her wife, Cory continued his legacy as she decided to run for presidency against the dictator Marcos. Their son, Noynoy ran the presidency after her mother died, the same moment when people clamour for a new leadership to change the integrity and sincerity of the highest office in the Philippines due to the controversies of the precedent administration. On the other hand, the Aquino family from the time Cory seated as the chief of the state to her son’s administration, mass organization who aimed for social justice on the issue of Hacienda Luisita which Cory together with her siblings inherited from her father Jose Cojaunco. Although the Aquinos were

positive change makers to most Filipinos, the family themselves can be questioned on how they define political dynasties because they are obviously a family of politicians. In spite of the contribution of the Aquino family to the recovery of the democracy in the country, and their role in gaining the attention of the international community to admire the Filipinos, the media and the people like in any other regime, saw the rooms for improvement and faults that militant groups spotted and served as their alias to overthrow the leadership. The dynamic reactions of people toward the Aquino family, their leadership, and their monopoly power are important ingredient of the study to be undertaken. It is significant to understand what image has been instilled in the minds of the Filipino people.

Case 3. The Ejercito Family President Joseph Ejercito Estrada made a history for being the first president to be jailed because of graft and corruption. This misfortune overshadowed the president’s effort to promote economic development and agrarian reform in the country. The Estrada administration allowed controversies to hit them each year. Political issues on Subic Bay leadership dispute, Textbook Scam intervention,

The Philippine Daily Inquirer ads pullout, The Manila Times controversy, BW Resources scandal, Philippine-Taiwan Air Agreement controversy, PCSO Funding controversy, Midnight cabinet, Hot cars scandal, Building law violation, Dacer-Corbito double murder case, Second envelop suppression, and even personal issue on Estrada’s mistresses. The corruption charges to the President made a bad impression in the Filipino and non-Filipino communities all over the world. It is very interesting to know what image/s were being portrayed by the print media about Estrada family considering the excellent leadership record of the President himself and the admirable political will of his family members in politics namely Loi Pimentel-Ejercito, Jose Pimentel Ejercito, and Joseph Victor Ejercito. Aside from their political careers, the Ejercito family became an image of the masses as Loi became dubbed as the First Lady ng Masa and Doktora ng Masa, while the halfbrothers Jinggoy and JV became influential in movie industry. To note, these three Ejercitos were elected in the national and local elections

after

the

presidency

of

Joseph.

Although

Filipinos

know

generalizations, the victories of the Ejercitos are very exceptional. Remember that even in the last presidential election, if not President Benigno Aquino III won, it would be the former president. This made the Estrada family a very interesting one to study.

Case 4. The Arroyo Family One of the most controversial first families in the history of the Philippines is the Arroyo family. When former President Gloria MacapagalArroyo became the rising leader brought by the second people power in EDSA, controversies on corruption and anomalies never left her and the rest of the Arroyo family members. The public and media recognized more the loopholes and mistakes of the administration rather than its contribution to the nation. Gloria MacapagalArroyo was involved in the political controversy Fertilizer Fund Scam where P728 million fertilizer fund was diverted to 2004 election campaign fund of the same president. The Hello Garci scandal damaged the credibility of the administration as the president wanted to continue her presidency by manipulating millions of votes. The Philippine National Broadband Network (NBN) controversy was an issue of corruption involving COMELEC Chairman Benjamin Abalos, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, and the president herself. It was regarding the proposed government-managed NBN for the Philippines and the awarding of its construction to the Chinese firm Zhong Xing Telecommunication Equipment Company Limited (ZTE), a telecommunication and networking

equipment provider. These issues affect the image of the Arroyos not only as a political icon but a cultural icon as a family. Although the general public’s perspectives toward the first family was not pleasant, the first family and their political dynasties still get sympathies from their political partners, relatives, and even to some mass organizations. It is also interesting to look at the motivation of the president to continue her and family’s political career. The media industry including the print has supported the termination of the Arroyo administration. In spite of the massive effort of the public and media, the regime continued and was never overthrown from the palace. This made the administration an important and interesting sample of the study.

SYNTHESIS AND CONCLUSION

Filipinos’ value for family is extensive up to the politics. The leadership and governance of the Philippines reflects the type of family culture of its people. Media, as the ‚fourth estate of the government‛ continue to look over all the aspects of government to further influence people outlook. What news and features media people creates about politics and what people think about it are the composition of the image of the Philippine political system.

The first families of the Philippines have vital roles in shaping the nation and in showing to the world the good qualities of a Filipino family. But like an ordinary family, the first families underwent trials and disappointments which may be the reason behind the anomalies and corruption during their stay at the Malacañang Palace. It may also be a result not of challenges but of their behaviour and way of thinking or worldview which were moulded by institutions such as church, school, community, or home. It goes back again to the home and family culture. Therefore, it can be said that to understand politics is also to understand the different aspects of life of the leaders. Decisions and actions of politicians are not made overnight. It may be a result of the way he behave and think even before he entered politics. The media only reports the facts and its opinions are made in behalf of the public. First families’ actions are very sensitive to the eyes of the press. It is because they were treated like celebrities whose stories are interesting for the public. Their political dynasties are part of their perspectives on power and control. This paper analyzed four (4) first families namely the Marcos family, Aquino family, Ejercito family, and Arroyo family. These families consist of people with the same orientation and career, the politics. Within the presidents’

families are younger generations of politicians. It is no ordinary because even some of the presidents are the product of older generations of political icons in the history. Political dynasties are also running through their bloods. It is very ironic because as leaders of the country, they should follow the order of the Constitution. No president in the Philippine history pushed to define the term political dynasty in the Constitution mainly because majority of them are considered the main violators. They are always raising the argument of their right to equal chances to be elected and be in the position. Newspapers especially those circulated nationwide allotted spaces for the prominent families even after their reigns. That describes the extent of their influence. Stories covered their political and personal actions and decisions. But more spaces in the newspapers are allotted for negative issues such as graft, corruption, and rivalries. These are the hottest issues which are also given importance in the other parts of the newspaper such as the opinion and feature. What balances this unpleasant news are the aspiration and determination of their administration to fulfil its duty to perform for social, economic, cultural, and other aspects of development. The voices of the different sectors are also significant in drawing the image of the first families and their dynasties. People from the academe, business, civil society, church, media, government, women, and youth also have

their views and reactions on the content of the newspapers. It cannot be denied that media also has the power to set agenda for the people. What is important is the reflection of the ordinary and unheard people about the issues of the first families. What remains in their minds and the lessons that it may contribute to the history will constitute the image of the first families. By understanding and processing the content of the media and perspectives of the people, this paper can draw the image of each first family and political dynasty. Various approaches and methods of Philippine studies are very functional to the progress of this study. The use of multidisciplinary fields such as culture, politics, sociology, media, and communication are needed to describe the phenomena of this study. Family culture and background are the basis of all the thoughts and actions of individuals. Politics and its system may also affect a politician’s characteristics. The field of sociology can be used to guide this study on the responsive action of people toward the government that they are either admired or detested. The media analysis will be a useful mechanism in understanding the role of media in projecting the first families and their political dynasties. Communication patterns and concepts help the study in defining what image is and its components. This study will contribute to the disciplines stated above primarily on political science, culture, and media. The intensive methods to be carried out in

the study and the theories, concepts, and literatures will suffice the whole study particularly the presentation and analysis of the complete samples. The same guide will be used to look into the neighbouring countries’ image of first families or royal families and their political dynasties. Print media are also recommended to be the form to be studied because of its nature of consistency, reliability, and availability. To this end, the researcher hopes for public awareness of what constitute an image and how to look at it using the allied fields.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Berberoglu, B. (2005). An Introduction to Classical and Contemporary Social Theory: A Critical Perspective 3rd Edition. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. . Chandler, D. (2007). Semiotics: The Basics, Second Edition. New York: Taylor &

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of the Philippines Press.

On the Philosophy of Labor: Marx’s

Concept of labor on the post-industrialist society Introduction

The basic premise that could be ascribed with such assumptions to the reason why people are working would be the proposition of survival; the necessity to eat, to have shelter, clothing and to reproduce so as to repeat the needed cycle of such. This assumption is clearly identified with Marx notion of the basic premise of all humans; Living, Conscious, Human individual. This premise points out that man must first serve his animal functions before achieving his human functions which is to think and to rationalize, an influence from a Hegelian point of view. Since man has been exploited into working not for human functions but for survival, man is reduced on his animal functions; that the work that he does is not the extension of him but an object separated from him. Most modern thinkers argue that such notion is applicable only on material labor in the industrial age, not in the present post – industrial society. One point is the argument that Marx’s philosophy on labor has been obsolete, that such concept of productivist labor is applicable only on a given industrial society of the past century. And since it is assumed that the modern society has expanded labor into other forms aside from the crafts and the arts, Marx’s ideas needed a reboot and expansion. This paper shall attempt, if possible, a discussion

on the post-Marxist movement and a counter argument on the assumption of Marx’s ‚obsolete‛ philosophy with the new post-Marx philosophers, namely Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt and to view the necessity of revising Marx’s Concept of labour.

The Material Labor and Immaterial Labor

From the writings of Marx from the Economic and Political Manuscripts of 1844, clearly it is pointed out that Marx was referring to the objections of productions; that men produce materials as extensions of them, as a material object in its formative stage with form. Most interpretation tend to reduce Marx’s concept into a limited notion of labor; being only to point out material labor and formative aspects of it. Since the idea was postulated in the last century, most ideas of Marx are considered obsolete and needed revisions and expansion. Although it is clear that such assumption on the theory is not conflicting to the idea of Marx’s dialectical materialist system of knowledge, the idea should not be considered as obsolete since the theory of Marx is considered the foundation of all post Marx movement in society.

Say for example, the theory of Paulo Freire’s Liberation Pedagogy as a formation of new thought with regards to utilizing Marx’s idea as the base. It is

clear that power struggle in the schools are discussed in a way that class struggle in the whole society is elaborated. Education is seen as both a liberative force and could also be tool for oppression, and it is in the student – teacher relation that liberation be possible; that in order to be liberated, the teacher must also be a student and a teacher. In this case Marx’s idea was merged with existential notions and some radical philosophies yet still seeing Marx’s idea as a necessary point to consider since his philosophy discusses oppression and liberation comprehensively.

Society has changed drastically from the past centuries in terms of political, economical and cultural aspects. The change also brought up development in the economic sphere, wherein most industries in the present are not just secluded in manufacturing and craftsmanship. What arose in the industry is the birth of new kinds of profession that does not produce material objects, and these are what Negri and Hardt assume as ‚Immaterial Labor‛

According to Hardt and Negri's book Empire, there is a regulating system in society, which they called Biopower.

Biopower is a form of power that

regulates social life from its interior, following it, interpreting it, absorbing it— every individual embraces and reactivates this power of his or her own accord. Its primary task is to administer life. Biopower thus refers to a situation in which

what is directly at stake in power is the production and reproduction of life itself. All human labor is social and necessarily involves a communicative element; and at the same time all human social relations are rooted in material labor.

In this assumption, the process wherein we take part in Biopower is the participation of men into labor may it be material or immaterial labor. Immaterial labor is a new form of labor that does not have formative characteristics and does not produce objects materially, these are what Negri and Hardt identified as separated into three:

1."Informaticized" industrial labor that has become a service to the market 2. Analytical and symbolic labor—knowledge work both creative and routine 3. Production and manipulation of affect labor. Involves human contact, and includes bodily labor These three contain services, communication, networking and actions which does not produce any product at all; the individual itself is the commodity, not the product of his skills. Since these kind of immaterial labor does not have any form, the Marxist concept of labor now becomes obsolete, although is should be understood that what Marx pointed out in his writing is also a coverage of such labor. ‚All those things which labor merely separates from immediate connection with their environment, are subjects [i.e., objects] of labor spontaneously provided by nature, Such are fish which we catch and take

from their element, water, timber which we fell in the virgin forest and ores which we extract from their veins‛ (Marx, 1961, 178).

It is also in such development that manufacturing and all around workers has withered through the development of industry, the relation of worker to product becomes increasingly mediated and distanced. The labor process ceases to involve the direct transformation of the object on the part of the worker. The craft element is almost entirely removed from the work activity itself. In the production process, machines act on their own, nature acts upon itself. Human purposes are realized through the use of science and technology and the application of knowledge. (Sayers, 2007)

In these aspects, labor has been identified differently from what is described by Marx, but it does not mean that the Marxist concept did not achieve to identify such forms of labor, and, in addition, labor in those forms does not seem immaterial although it offers services, communication and networking, it is basically a mediation towards the individual and the subject. It does not follow that if machines were built to build other machines, external forces for such act are still present, which are the workers. Workers now serves multitude of task and processes, and also such labor that covers the Immaterial aspect still has the

form which they follow; these form are the very processes they do to a specific service, the uniform acts and the protocol of services. Such would be the second type of immaterial labor that serves codes, symbols and analytical aspects of the industry. Although considered immaterial, labor of this kind has form and takes shapes in numbers and figures.

It should also be considered that the very reason men go into labor is survival and extension of him to the process of objectification; with such objectification, man can obtain social relation, which is the form of labor we have in the post-industrialist society. Marx had pointed out such assumptions; the detail-worker of to-day, crippled by one and the same trivial operation, and thus reduced to the mere fragment of a man, [will be replaced] by the fully developed individual, fit for a variety of labors . . . to whom the different social functions he performs, are but so many modes of giving free scope to his own natural and acquired powers. (Marx, 1961) References:

Althusser, Louis, LENIN AND PHILOSOPHY AND OTHER ESSAYS, Monthly ReviewPress, New York and London, 1971 Blackburn, Simon, Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Oxford University Press, New York, 2005

Bottomore, T. B., Karl Marx Early Writings, McGraw – Hill Book Company, New York, 1964 Freire, Paulo, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Continuum Publishing, New York, 1984 Fromm, Erich, Sane Society, Fawcett publications, inc., Greenwich Conn. 1955 Hardt, Michael and Antonio Negri, (2000), Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Mandel, Ernest and Novak, George, The Marxist Theory of Alienation, Pathfinder Press, New York, 1970 Martel, Harry and Selsam, Howard, Reader in Marxist Philosophy, New York, International publisher, 1903 – 1970 Marx, Karl, and Hegel, Friederich, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1932 Meszaros, Istvan, The Marxist Theory of Alienation, Merlin Press, London, 1970 Reitz, Charles, Art, Alienation and the Humanities: a Critical Engagement with Herbert Marcuse, New York Press, Albany, USA, 2000 Sayers, Sean, The Concept of Labor: Marx and His Critics, Science & Society, Vol. 71, No. 4, October 2007, 431-454

Modern Humanism in Education

HUMANIZATION OF EDUCATION Critics are saying that the school –or at least most schools are not fit places for human beings. “Many are not even decent places for the children. They damage, they stifle children’s natural capacity to learn and grow healthy. (Charles Silberman) Their hidden function is all too often “The destruction of the human spirit”. (George Leonard) They destroy the minds and hearts of children. The schools are inhumane, they do not treat children as person. (Jonathan Kozol, the Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools.) The schools are under the attack. They have been for more than a decade. There have been two major focuses of this attack. The first criticizes the school

for lack of success in fostering high levels of academic achievement. The second, more recent, says the schools are inhuman in their treatment of children, so they are in many cases not fit for places for children to be. Because of these critics, a new approach to education was proposed. Critics said there should be a restriction of public education to development of the intellect. Instead of preparation of ‚making a living‛, it should be ‚preparation for living‛ Interest in the individual’s physical and mental condition as it influence by academic performance was replaced by interest in the social and emotional development to be upon preparing the student as a person. The focus as emphasis, however tended to have upon preparing the student for responsible citizenship, rather than the student’s development as an individual or a person. Educators are more concerned about the development of the student as a person, his growth and development as a free individual. This approach emphasizes respect for the student as a person, with the rights of a person. Patterson points out that ‚our most pressing educational problem involves learning how to create and maintain a humane environment in our schools‛ All of these are characterized by humanistic approach to education. It is concerned with psychological or emotional atmosphere of the classroom. It conceives of teaching as essentially a good human relationship, but it goes beyond this in not restricting its concern to cognitive learning’s as a goal of education. It includes as goals the development of good attitudes and feelings –is it the education of the emotions, the fostering of adequate emotional development as a legitimate and desirable goal of education. It has been called by some affective education, meaning the education of affect, involving more than the concern with affective techniques in education.

Humanism is a school of thought that believes human beings are different from other species and possess capacities not found in human. Humanists therefore, give to the study of human needs and interests. A central assumption is that human beings behave out of intentionality and values. . This is a contrast of operant conditioning theorists who believe that all behavior is the result of the application of consequences or to the beliefs of cognitive psychologists who hold that the discovery of concepts of processing of information is a primary factor in human learning. Humanists also believe that it is necessary to study the person as a whole, especially as an individual grows and develops over the lifespan. The study of self motivation and goal setting are also areas of special interest. It is to counteract the dehumanizing effect of technology. According to the old report titled No Need To Be of UNESCO. This is actually chaired by Former Minister of Education of France who chaired the International Commission on Education for UNESCO. The report produced in 1972 and the central idea of the report is that due to technical progress, there has been a kind of risk. The young generation of students and also the public are being animated or dehumanized in the process of material progress (Zhou Nanzhou, 2006). So a major proposal was made that the fundamental end of education shall not only be the cognitive or intuitive development but the fulfillment of a complete process in all dimensions of the richness of the personality. The Fourth R-Human Relation A child learns because he or she is inwardly driven, and derives his or her reward from the sense of achievement that having learned something affords. This would differ from the behaviorist view that would expect extrinsic rewards to be more effective. Extrinsic rewards are rewards from the outside world, e.g.

praise, money, gold stars, etc. Intrinsic rewards are rewards from within oneself, rather like a satisfaction of a need. These accords with the humanistic approach, where education is really about creating a need within the child, or instilling within the child self-motivation. Behaviorism is about rewards from others. Humanism is about rewarding yourself! An important aspect of personal development or self actualization in interpersonal relationship. One can’t be self-actualizing in vacuum. Therefore education, must as must all of society, become concerned with the development of men not just as citizens, but as persons, as members of the community and as members of the human race, ‚Where the actions of one can drastically affect the lives of others from the distant, it will be crucially important that each person master the skill of feeling what others feel. This skill more than new laws or new politics is soon become crucial to survival of the race. The emphasis of the education in this philosophy is upon human relations. As Asheley Montagu has said: Our educational institution should be train us in the ability of love, not the three R’s at the college level. Rather than having the concern about human relations will be the focus of the curriculum.

The Aim of Education: ‚In the world which is already upon us, the aim of education must be develop individuals who are open to change‛ Carl Rogers, Freedom to learn

The modern humanities revolution in education involves change in the goal of education. The problems of individual, of the nation, society of civilization will not be solved by the development of intellect one. Of the many problems facing man today, four major ones are: I feel, poverty, pollution, population and personal (or interpersonal) relations. The first three are essentially technical problems, but the fourth clearly requires more than intelligence and technical know how. We need not only men who can think, but men who can feel and who can act, not only on the basis of intellect but of feeling as well, we need men who can understand other men, who can accept and respect others, as well as themselves and who are responsible. The goal of education then is to produce human, or humane, beings, whole beings not automatons or intellects, but thinking feeling, living or actingperson, person who can love, feel deeply, expand their innerselves, create and who continue the process of education. Another aim of education is to foster the development of persons who can live together as fully functioning human beings, It is not sufficient simply that society be preserved under conditions which prevent the personal development of individuals. If society is to change it can only be through changing individuals. This is the function of education. What kind of person, specifically necessary to form such a society? What is the nature of a fully functioning person? Writers in the field of counseling or psychotherapy have studied questions because of their concern about desirable outcome or goal of counseling or psychotherapy. The work of psychologists or psychotherapist seems to be converging on a definition or description of the fully

functioning person, a term introduces by Carl Rogers or other used to refer to the same concept of: self-enhancement, self-realization, and self-actualization. Perhaps the most common used terms is the ‚self-actualization‛ It becomes the aim of education or more accurately, the purpose of education is to develop self actualizing persons. In adopting this aims, education is not at odds with other institutions in society. The production of self-actualizing person is-or should be-goal of all our social institutions- the family, the church, political institutions, the economic system and other social institutions and organizations. This goal is inherent in the human organism and in this respect is not only a goal of the society, but the goal of the individual, the purpose of life. It is single, basic, common, motivation of the individual. An objection has been made to the concept to the concept of self actualization on the grounds that it leads to selfish and self centered behavior; this is a misunderstanding of its nature. Every individual lives in a society composed of other individuals. He can only actualize himself. Interaction with others. Selfish and self centered behavior would not lead to experiences which would be self actualizing by nature. As Rogers states it, the self actualizing person ‚will live with others in the maximum possible, harmony because of the rewarding character of reciprocal positive regard. We don’t need to ask who will socialize him, for one of his own deepest needs is for affiliation and communication with other. As he becomes more fully himself, he more fully himself, he will become more realistically socialized. He is more mature, more socialized in terms ‚of the goal of social evolution‛ Tough he may not be conventional or socially adjusted in confronting sense.

The Self-Actualizing Person A major criticism of a broad, general goal such as self-actualization is that it is too general and vague to be useful. The behaviorists ask for a specific, objective or operational definition. The measurement of self actualization is in principle possible. Here are some of the discussions of self actualization will help us to understand its nature. According to Snygg and Combs human beings are motivated by one basic striving, the maintenance and enhancement of the self. Man seeks to develop an adequate self. The adequate person perceives himself in positive ways: he has a positive self concept, he accepts himself. The adequate person also accepts others. He is also spontaneous and creative since being secure, he can take chances, experiment and explore. Since the adequate person is secure and accepting himself, he is capable of functioning independently; he finds that his own feelings, beliefs and attitudes are adequate guides to behavior. Finally the adequate person, according to them, being less defensive, he can relate closely with others with concern rather than hostility or fear. Carl Rogers describes three major characteristics of such fully a functioning person (1) such a person to open to his experience, to all the external and internal stimuli; he has no need for defensiveness or distortion. He aware of himself and environment; he experiences both negative and positive feelings. (2) He lives existentially. Each moment is new. Life is fluid not rigid. The person is changing in process flexible and adaptable. (3) This person would find his organism a trustworthy means of arriving at the most satisfying behavior in each existential behavior.

Early Kelley describes the fully functioning person in terms similar to Coms and Rogers. Such a person thinks well of himself, feeling able or competent. Through being aware of his limitations. He also thinks well of others and sees their importance to him as opportunities for self-development. He sees himself as changing and developing. He recognizes the value of mistakes, since in the process of changing and growing he can’t be right all the time. He sees mistakes as a source of learning and profits from them. Abraham Maslow has perhaps studied the nature of self-actualization to a greater extent than anyone else. His description of the self-actualizing person draws together the characteristics considered above, with others resulting from his work, into a comprehensive picture of the highly self actualizing person. Maslow defines self-actualization as ‚the full use and exploitation of talents, capacities, potentialities. Such people seem to be fulfilling themselves and to be doing the best that they are capable of doing. They are people who have developed or are developing the full stature of which they are capable. “ Humanism would concentrate upon the development of the child's selfconcept. If the child feels good about him or herself then that is a positive start. Feeling good about oneself would involve an understanding of one’s' strengths and weaknesses, and a belief in one's ability to improve. Learning is not an end in itself; It is the means to progress towards the pinnacle of self-development, which Maslow terms 'Self-actualization'.

Curriculum: Humanists believe that the function of the curriculum is to provide each learner with intrinsically rewarding experiences that contribute to personal liberation and development. To humanists, the goals of education are related to the ideals of personal growth, integrity, and autonomy. Healthier attitudes toward self, peers, and learning are among their expectations. The ideal of selfactualization is at the heart of the humanistic curriculum. A person who exhibits this quality is not only coolly cognitive but also developed in aesthetic and moral ways, that is, a person who does good works and has good character. The humanist views actualization growth as a basic need. Each learner has a self that must be uncovered, built up, taught.

DIRECTIONS IN HUMANISTIC CURRICULUM There has been prevalent form of humanistic curriculum, confluent. Confluent education generally supports the existing subject matter curriculum. Some applications, such as ‚a curriculum of concern,‛ take learners to be the subject matter and their emotions, feelings, and thoughts are the basis for inquiry and learning. Aspects of humanistic curriculum have been preempted by those working with other curricular orientations. Both academic and social reconstructionist orientations are introducing humanistic factors. Academicians are beginning to realize that the emotional qualities of the humanistic curricula, such as flow, are necessary for improving complex achievement. Social reconstructionists who want to take advantage of the humanists’ success in increasing student personal power and sensitivity to feelings (consciousness of self) are building on self-awareness to develop critical awareness of patterns in the society.

Rationale for Confluence: The essence of confluent education is the integration of an affective domain (emotions, attitudes, values) with the cognitive domain (intellectual knowledge and abilities). It is an add-on curriculum, whereby emotional dimensions are added to conventional subject matter so that there is personal meaning to what is learned. The confluent teacher of English, for example, links affective exercises to paragraphing, organization, and argumentative and other discursive forms of writing. By beginning with the student’s personal, imaginative, and emotional responses and working out from these, the confluentist helps learners both to acquire language skills and to discover themselves.

Their goal is to provide students with more alternatives to choose from in terms of their own lives, to take responsibility for appreciating the choices available, and to realize that they, the learners, can indeed make choices. A confluent curriculum includes the following elements:

1. Participation. There is consent, power sharing, negotiation, and joint responsibility by co participants. It is essentially no authoritarian and not unilateral. 2. Integration. There is interaction, interpenetration, and integration of thinking, feelings, and action. 3. Relevance. The subject matter is closely related to the basic needs and lives of the participants and is significant to them, both emotionally and intellectually. 4. Self. The self is a legitimate object of learning. 5. Goal. The social goal or purpose is to develop the whole person within a human society.

Methods: 1. Co-operative Learning - Students are often in competition with each other or have to work individually towards achieving their personal goals. Co-operative Learning not only combines cognitive and affective aspects of learning, as well as emphasizing participation and active engagement, But also stresses academic achievement and clearly defined curricular goals. Reasons for co-operative learning

      

Decreases dependence on teachers Decreases divisiveness and prejudice. Improves academic performance (Johnson et al, 1984) Eradicates feelings of alienation, isolation, purposelessness and social unease amongst students (Johnson et al, 1984). Promotes positive attitudes to schools (Snow and Swanson, 1992) Students prefer co-operative approaches (Huber et al, 1992). Teaches personal skills and life skills.

Johnson et al (1984) outlines 4 components of co-operative learning: 1. Positive interdependence - students work towards a common goal and share materials. 2. Individual accountability - every student must contribute to the final outcome 3. Interpersonal and small-group skill development - The goal has an inbuilt social skill component. 4. Face to face interactions - an essential part of this leaning strategy. 2 Student Teams - Achievement Division (STAD)- New material presented in class in tradition manner. Following this group given material to study and worksheets to complete. Encouraged to help each other. At the end that week’s material, student answer quizzes individually. Team scores are calculated. Team that has improved the most is given the most recognition. Slavin (1983) ‚students see learning activities as social instead of isolated, fun instead of boring, under their own control instead of the teachers. Help each other more; do not make fun of those with learning difficulties. Jigsaw - Each member gets separate parts of the whole. Must teach what they have learned to other members of the group. Group Investigation - Students select topic - then divided into sub-topics, based on student's interests. Groups are formed to investigate each sub-topic. Each group formulates a plan and assigns responsibilities. Members can work

individually or with others. At end group members meet to share information. They then decide how to present this information to the rest of the class. Teachers help with academic and social skills.

Reciprocal Teaching- Students taught specific procedures in questioning, clarifying, summarizing and predicting. They then have to teach some of the material to their teacher. (Palinsar and Brown, 1984) Role of the Teacher The teacher provides warmth and nurtures emotions while continuing to function as a resource and facilitator. He or she should present materials imaginatively and create challenging situations. Humanistic teachers motivate their students through mutual trust. They encourage a positive student–teacher relationship by teaching out of their own interests and commitments while holding to the belief that each child can learn. Those who assume a leadership role in affective approaches to learning get in touch with themselves and students. Albert Einstein’s comment, ‚The supreme act of the teacher is to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge,‛ belies a humanistic orientation. The humanist teacher is a facilitator, not a disseminator, of knowledge. Participatory and discovery methods would be favored instead of traditional didacticism (i.e. learn parrot-fashion everything the teacher says). As well as the child's academic needs the humanistic teacher is concerned with the child's

affective (or emotional) needs. Feeling and thinking are very much interlinked. Feeling positive about oneself facilitates learning. One of the models included in the humanistic teaching was facilitative teaching developed by Carl Rogers (1975). Teachers who were highly facilitative tented to provide more: o response to student feeling o use of student ideas in going instructional interactions o Discussion with students (dialogue) o Praise of students o Smiling with students Three essentials for the humanistic teacher as seen by students are the following: • Listens comprehensively to the student’s view of reality. (‚She cares about my feelings and understands what I wish to say when I have difficulty in expressing it.‛) • Respects the student. (‚He used my idea in studying the problem.‛) • Is natural and authentic, not putting on appearances. (‚She lets us know what she feels and thinks and is not afraid to reveal her own doubts and insecurities.‛)

Education Principle:

Lifelong Learning According to Learning the Treasure Within (1996):

‚-it is the process of an aware, personal construction of the individual through learning and education but also through existential experience to which thought has been given, conditioned by multiple, interpersonal, social relationships. Simple learning or the teaching-learning relationship, is no more than the cognitive dimension on which the acquisition of explicit, practical, learning is based, essential pillars for the development of the thought, reasoning, logic, analysis, synthesis and questioning- all the cognitive skills that help the individual to know how to learn, with the support of whoever is assisting or alone.

Four Pillars of Education The Report of the Commission in 1996 identifies the four pillars as constituting the foundations of education, to provide a framework for how societies might move towards learning throughout life- which was a focus of commission and a ‚necessary utopia‛ in which all people’s talents (treasures that lies buried within them) are realized.

1. Learning to Know Broad general education with possible in depth study of selected subjects, to provide a ‚passport‛ to lifelong education by laying educational foundations and giving people a taste for lifelong learning.

2. Learning to do: Learning to do a job of work and acquiring competence to deal with a variety of situations and to work in terms, this can be sometimes best be acquired by involving pupils and students in work experience and social schemes.

3. Learning to Live Together: Learning to understand others and their history, traditions and spiritual values, the aim being to encourage people to implement common projects and to manage conflicts intelligently and peacefully; a necessary Utopia, wrote Delors, if we are to escape a currently dangerous cycle sustained by cynicism and resignation.

4. Learning To Be: At its very first meeting, the commission firmly restated the fundamental principle that education must contribute to the all-round development of each individual- mind and body, intelligence, sensitivity, aesthetic sense, personal responsibility and spiritual values. All human beings must be enabled to develop independent, critical thinking and form their own judgment, in order to determine for themselves what they believe they should do in the different circumstance of life.

Conclusion Listening, self-evaluation, creativity, openness to new experiences, and goal setting are important curriculum goal areas. Learners have a real concern about the meaning of life, and curriculum developers should be responsive to that concern. Putting feelings and facts together makes good sense. It is alarming that studies of classroom interaction show that only 1% of instructional time assesses student feelings about what they are learning. We should also help learners acquire different ways of knowing. Still, few persons would want the humanistic curriculum to be the only one available or to be mandated for all.

We have much to learn before we can develop curricula that will help students become self-directed. Our best thinking today suggests that selfdirection may follow from a climate of trust, student participation in decisions about what and how to learn (typically students report 95% of instruction on the what and only 5% on the how to learn), and efforts to foster confidence and selfesteem. The obstacles to be overcome are a desire by some institutions and persons to maintain power over others, a distrust of human nature, and a lack of student experience in taking responsibility for their own learning.

A fruitful approach to improving humanistic curriculum has begun. It includes focusing on the physical and emotional needs of learners and attempting to design learning experiences that will help fulfill these needs. The idea that curriculum standards and activities should match emotional issues that are salient at particular times is powerful. Curriculum developers might ask how a particular subject matter could be structured in order to help students with developmental crises. Adolescents, for example, who are experiencing an identity crisis and trying to reconcile conflicts with parents might study history to illuminate the origins of parental attitudes and beliefs, considering the present validity of these origins. Students might use the sciences in meeting their needs for coherence and understanding the world rather than studying isolated subjects. Or, they might use the arts to express their feelings and their natural desire to be themselves. Bibliography:

Clinical Education and the Doctor of Tomorrow. (1994). Humanistic Curriculum New York: New York Academy of Medicine

Delors, Jacques. (1996). Learning the Treasures Within. Paris, France: UNESCO Moss, Donald. (2002).‛ The Roots and Genealogy of Humanistic Psychology. Journal Humanistic Education

Paterson, C.H. (1973). Humanistic Education. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc.

Harnessing Student Movements through Authentic Humanization

‚O Youth, illumined by the arts and letters, Stride forth into the arena, break down the heavy Fetters that bind your genius down, for in These tropic regions were untortured darkness< Hand bestows today a splendid crown Upon the native of this Eastern land.‛ -

Jose Rizal

Importance of Values in Student Movements

Values is broadly defined as a measure of goodness or desirability of an action. From this definition, we can say that values must be a manifested attribute of behavior. It is quite difficult to illustrate values unless it is keenly observed. This rough definition of values poses more contentions than clarifications. Since people could not always single-out which action is desirable or not (and according to whose terms), let us situate this values concept in the language of student movements.

Organizing values (or values employed in student organizations) is referred to as ‘any perceived desirable decision and action taken by a group to advance its cause’. Simply put, organizing values is ‘anything that we hold dear’ in the course of our actions as a member of a student organization. This values in organizing is said to be the ‘culture- side’ or the ‘glue’ that binds members together. Without this glue, the student movement will remain a loosely confederation of individuals having no definite goals and authentic principles. When we speak of organizing values, we are generally dealing with the set of principles and/ or dogmatic beliefs of any student organization. These principles hold its members into a cohesive force, sharing a common ‘frame-of-mind’ and sentiments in the analysis of recurring social problems and dilemmas, and

choosing what, when and where opportunities may arise for student campaigns, meaningful social

and scholastic reforms and /or visibility through photo-ops and interviews, as they judge fit and advantageous for their organization.

Two Contrasting Values System among Student Movements

In the early years of student activism and social movements (1960s?), organizational values is generally in the bastion of the elitist ‘brains of the movement’ (Nemenzo 2000). They are the ones who decide and perpetuate the kind of values they deem necessary for the advancement of the revolution (Nafisi 2004), dismissing any attempt towards a liberalist education (i.e. reading Western literature that they brand as revisionist/ propaganda campaigns of the Imperialist and engaging in what they call as anti- revolutionary actions-- like watching The American Idol, etc...) and conservative traditions and customs (i.e. practicing one’s religious and cultural beliefs). What this movement lacks is the respect for individual dissent and creative imagination. For this movement, values is fixed, unchangeable and encompassing. As Professor Nafisi of Iran describes it:

‚ It is they who fashioned democratic centralism and exerted a strong hold over their members’ lifestyles and social activities (Nafisi 2004).‛

Those days are never gone. Rightly or wrongly, we can no longer survive in a student organization that is hesitant of bureaucratic changes and non- party political and economic scrutiny within and among its ranks (Burgess 1978). This myopic view of collective voice’s supremacy over the individual’s choice is a dismay, if not a shame for those who themselves ‘servants of the people’ and ‘liberators of the oppressed.’ Bertrand Russell, a Logician-Mathematician and Critical Philosopher, gives us a more democratic and less bureaucratic means of establishing relationships among (student) organizations:

1. Do not feel absolutely certain of anything. 2. Never try to discourage thinking. 3. When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your children, endeavor to overcome it by argument, and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory. 4. Do not use power to suppress opinion you think pernicious, for if you do, the opinions will suppress you. 5. Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent than in passive agreement, for if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies deeper agreement than the latter (Russell 1950).

Bertie’s tenets are sound and simple, yet many organizations fall short in its application. Since we all live in a macho culture wherein being strong and being right is everything, while gentleness and uncertainty is failure; we will always find Bertie’s creed struggling in the corner of our minds-- like a homunculus trying to escape from its cell. I agree with Bertie’s tenets, but more than the values of thinking and reflecting, it is urgent for student movements to establish a set of values necessary to establish a breed of disciplined student activists. For this reason, I believe that Authentic Humanization or Tunay na Pagpapakatao (TPP) best fit this purpose.

The next relevant questions would be: What is this Authentic Humanization principle? And how are we supposed to make- use of it in our organization--- as a reform- seeker, democracy- builder and social critic youth organization within our respective universities/ colleges and nation.

Relevance of Authentic Humanization

What I understand about Authentic Humanization is that this values set gives a concrete and unified explanation on how we could possibly execute our daily human activities, following the tenets of humanization. It attempts to explain the process of humanization and answers the basic question of human existence which has found its best translation in the Filipino language: ‘Madaling maging tao, pero paano ba magpakatao?’ Again, it is the process of humanization that is essential in AH. How to become truly human? Perhaps Paulo Freire’s explanation on the contrasting modes of education-- the dehumanization and humanization process, will give us a comprehensible analysis on the assumptions underlying Authentic Humanization.

The Brazilian social critic and pedagogical reformer differentiates the dehumanization from the humanization process in education:

‚Dehumanization is a concrete expression of alienation and domination; humanistic education is a utopian project of the dominated and oppressed. Obviously both imply action by people in a social reality-- the first, in the sense of preserving the status quo, the second in a radical transformation of the oppressor’s world (Freire 1985).‛

He further distinguishes the two:

‚In essence, one of the radical differences between education as a dominating and dehumanizing task and education as a humanistic and liberating task is that the former is pure act of transference of knowledge, whereas the latter is an act of knowledge (Freire 1985).‛

I believe that Freire’s elucidations are enough. What he is actually trying to say is that most people around the world are either educated, with some variations, to become the oppressor or the oppressed and/or the master or the slave. Both, however, are victims of a dehumanizing education (Freire 1985). Thus, the first step towards the humanization process would be the realization that ours is a society of people besieged by the alienating forces of unrestricted capitalism, bloated bureaucracy and massive apathy. The next step is deciding upon actions for the creation of critical and appropriate knowledge in the crucial formation of student movements. The last step, nonetheless the most difficult one, would be the implication of actions in altering the status quo and establishing a system suited for the peaceful co-existence of people, regardless of their race, class, age, gender and cultural beliefs. This is, I think, what is meant by Authentic Humanization. You can

call it Utopian. But in the words of Professor Randolf David, ‚it is far better to construct new Utopias than engage in an endless debunking and degenerated cynicism‛ (David 2004). Recalling his words: ‚ there is less and less room in the modern universities that can inspire and move, that enable us to stand in the awe of something, or to imagine better worlds... for the life of the mind have no choice but to reinvent academe so that it may serve once more as a lively refuge for dreamers and utopia-builders (David 2004).‛ The academe may be one relevant institution for this project, but student and youth movements have their own equal share of social responsibility in utopia-building.

Contextualizing Authentic Humanization in Student Movements

How are we going to make use of AH, as a value set, in our student and youth organizations?

First, we must establish the self’s role in the cosmic cycle of interrelated human relationships. The self is basically the decision- maker and action- taker. S/he embodies the potential critico- prophetic individual who constantly shapes himself/ herself in order to fulfill what Professor Francisco Nemenzo referred as,

‘the role of the intellectual as a social critic’ (Nemenzo 2000). However, the self is much more complicated than it seems. It is not without any problem. One problem is the reality of transience. The individual will sooner or later, face the reality that his/hers is a transient organization. That what s/he has with it is only impermanence. Thus, a lot of student organizations tend to gain and lose members quickly. In the 1970s, the sociologist Alvin Toffler has foreseen this phenomenon in the USA:

‚ Thus, we find the emergence of a new kind of organization man-a man who, despite his many affiliations, remains basically uncommitted to any organization. He is willing to employ his skills and creative energies to solve problems with equipment provided by the organization, and within temporary groups established by it. But he does so only so long as the problems interest him. He is committed to his career, his own self- fulfillment (Toffler 1970).‛ Though originally observed among the corporate organizations, this phenomenon should be better understood as a ‚wake-up-call‛ (pardon me for the cliché) for student movements to recreate and redefine its strategies in dealing with the challenge of transience and the primacy of the individual, rather than take this as an omen towards the death of student organizations.

Second, we must see ourselves as an integral part, like all other parts, of a cosmic whole; wherein the self is constantly relating with the material world, the

physical environment and the Spiritual- Other. In this whole, whatever we do could have a direct or indirect effect (either desirable or not) to other people, including our physical world. This second tenet can be summed- up by the Confucian maxim, ‚Do unto others, as you want others to do unto you.‛ Or by the Christian ethics, ‚Love your neighbor, as you love yourself.‛ The concept of loving and respecting others are not new. In fact, they have been readily available since time immemorial and have been constantly interpreted and employed in various human undertakings. Professor David goes further, not only does he believes in such values, but also he advocates for virtues that can assist people in facing the challenges of the modern, and others would argue-post-modern society (David 2004).

In

1969,

Professor

Nemenzo

dissected

the

student

composition and posed a challenge to modern student organizations:

‚The student movement in the Philippines and elsewhere, is a heterogeneous entity. In terms of social composition, it is very

movements’

difficult to define because the activists are recruited from various social strata. This heterogeneous character of the movement amounts for its lack of ideological coherence< (Nemenzo 2000)‛

What Professor Nemenzo posed as a problem in the late ‘60s vis-à-vis the lack of ideological coherence among student movements has been responded by Professor David’s ‚Ten Virtues for the New World‛ (David 2004) three decades later. The ideological coherence could be reinstated by virtues linking our understanding and appreciation of the conditions underlying our commitment to generate social movements and mass actions. One particular virtue is solidarity. Solidarity is ‘the capacity to feel the pain of others by an imaginative identification with their situation (David 2004).’ With this description, we are reminded of social strata amongst student activists as something that we should not be anxious. For if someone ‘has the readiness to find common cause with those who are struggling against oppression, exploitation and despair (David 2004)’; then be confident for half of the battle is won. However, it does not end there. For an organization to succeed, much work should be put on planning relevant activities, delivering what has been deliberated and reflecting on the outcomes of the activities. Most youth organizations fail to reach the final route. For any undertakings to be truly revolutionary, student movements should never lack the courage to carry-out what is learned and unlearned (Velasco 2005/

Nemenzo 2000). Hence, the first word of this essay --‚harnessing‛, is simply a memento for student activists, like a ‚tap-in-the-shoulder‛, to continue and struggle.

Third, we are to take the environmental issues and the ethical use of our natural resources and material environment, seriously (Al Gore 1992). Economics really is a science of material use and wealth spending. And there lies the problem; we allow environmental atrocities in the guise of economic development. But how can we use economics without sacrificing our environment. That puzzles everyone. However, AH proposes that we should have that conscious effort to consider the effects of our economic and noneconomic activities in our material environment. I have seen several instances where people does not regard environment as something we should also fight for. And who are these culprits? Not the huge manufacturing industries or mining companies, but the participants of mass mobilizations, mostly comprised of social and political activist. With crumpled papers and scraped plastics left on the street after each mobilizations, it is an indication of how ignorant and irresponsible we are. We can fashion ourselves as socialists, nationalists, progressives and revolutionaries-- yet we can never escape the fact that we are, in one way or the other, contributors to the rapid degradation of our natural environment. With Authentic Humanization in mind, treating environment as

though resources are never scarce is perilous; since we are, reiterate, part of that cosmic cycle of interrelated human relationships. For this reason, let us understand our enduring situation by looking back at some economic realities:

1. Economics tells us that resources available in the physical environment are scarce. There is a limited supply for raw materials so people should make use of it efficiently. Nonrenewable resources are not replaced once consumed (e.g. oil, coal, gold, minerals, etc.) 2. Due to unrestricted capitalism and the unpredictable movement of financial assets, derivatives and portfolio investments, markets and governments usually fail in uplifting the living conditions of its people (Bello 2006).

Finally, youth movements have an arduous task in this process of integrating, employing and harnessing AH not only as an organizational values but also as virtues necessary for the development of the ‘self’. There will always be hope and a task to bring about meaningful social changes (Fabros, et al 2006) and youth movements have a significant role in its realization. Toffler reiterates this hope and task:

‚The responsibility for change, therefore, lies with us. We must begin with ourselves not to close our minds prematurely to the novel, the surprising, the seemingly radical< it means fighting for freedom< (and) the right of people to voice their ideas, even if heretical (Toffler 1970).‛

REFERENCES

Bello, Walden. Deglobalization: Ideas for a New World. Ateneo de Manila University Press, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines, 2006. Burgess, Anthony. Bakunin’s Children, pp. 69- 82 (found in 1985. Arrow Books Limited, London, Great Britain, 1978). David, Randolf S. Ten Virtues of a New World, pp. 340- 342 (found in Nation, Self, and Citizenship: An Invitation to Philippine Sociology. Anvil Publishing Inc., Pasig City, Philippines, 2004). Fabros, Aya, et al (eds.). Politics of Place and Identity, pp. 11- 45 (found in Social Movements: Experiences from the Philippines. Raintree Trading and Publishing, Inc., Institute for Popular Democracy, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 2006). Freire, Paulo. Humanistic Education, pp. 111- 120 (found in The Politics of Education: Culture, Power, and Liberation. Bergin & Garvey Publishers, Inc., Massachusetts, USA, 1985). Gore, Al. Eco- nomics: Truth or Consequences, pp. 182- 196 (found in Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit. New York, USA, 1992).

Nafisi, Azar. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. Random House Inc., New York, USA, 2004. Nemenzo, Francisco. The Intellectual as Social Critic, pp. 91- 102 (found in U.P. Into the 21st Century. University of the Philippines Press, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 2000).

_________________. The Student Movement and the Revolutionary Process, pp. 115- 126 (found in U.P. Into the 21st Century. University of the Philippines Press, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 2000). Russell, Bertrand. The Functions of a Teacher, 112- 123 (Unpopular Essays: 12 Adventures in Argument by the Winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize for Literature. Simon & Schuster, New York, USA, 1950). _________________. The Free Thinker’s Creed (undated) Toffler, Alvin. The Concept of Transience, pp. 44- 45 (found in Future Shock. Random House Inc., USA, 1970). _________________. The Collapse of Hierarchy, pp. 137- 142 (found in Future Shock. Random House Inc., USA, 1970). Velasco, Djorina. Rejecting ‚Old Style‛ Politics? Youth Participation in the Philippines, pp. 79- 122 (found in Go! Young Progressives in Southeast Asia. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung , Manila, Philippines, 2005).

FINDING THE PUBLIC IN THE INTELLECTUAL IN PHILIPPINE PHILOSOPHICAL DISCOURSES1

This paper shall examine the state of Philosophy in the Philippines in terms of its demographics, pedagogy and discourses produced from 2006-2012. The author shall argue that for Philosophy programs to provide a significant contribution to national development, it should strive to produce public intellectuals capable of influencing public opinion towards the realization of goals and ideals beneficial for the common good.

This paper intends to be a continuation to Quito’s seminal work, The State of Philosophy in the Philippines (1983). Quito’s work is probably the only work of its kind which attempts to give a comprehensive assessment of the history, practice and policy directions of Philosophy in the Philippines at the time. A more recent work, Gripaldo’s (2004 and 2000) critical bibliographies provides an empirical profile of the philosophical practice in the country in terms of publications produced during the covered period. Studies of these sort provide posterity a perspective of philosophical activities in the distant past and to reflect on the progress and future directions the current generation will take in advancing philosophical discourse and practice in the country. An attempt to evaluate the state of Philosophy in the Philippines reuires that we revisit the objectives as to the reasons for its being. Article 2, section 37 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution stipulates that the State shall give priority to education