Tambuling Batangas Publication June 05-11, 2019 Issue | Page 4

OPINYON June 05-11, 2019 Lingguhang Pahayagan ng Lalawigan ng Batangas na inilalathala tuwing Miyerkules / PRINTING PLANT: Sinag Publishing & Printing Services, National Highway, Brgy. Parian, Calamba City, Laguna. Tel nos. [phone] & [phone] / Subscription fee: One year P360.00 Six Months: P180.00 / Commercial Advertising rate: P160 per column cm / MEMBER: Publisher’s Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PAPI) / Raia Jennifer E. Dela Peña Managing Editor / P.L. Villa, RC Asa Contributing Editors / Shara Jane Falceso, Rachelle Joy Aquino, Jacquilou Lirio, Maria Carlyn Ureta staff writers / Ruel T. Landicho Lay-out Artist/ Ms. Corazon D.P. Marcial, Amber D.C Vitto Legal Consultant. email add: [email protected] & [email protected] Clenched fist They say a picture paints a thousand words. That photo of the winning senatorial bets during their proclamation last week says it all. Except for reelectionist Senators Grace Poe and Nancy Binay, the rest of the newly-proclaimed winners did the signature Duterte raised fist salute as they posed for a photo at the Philippine International Convention Center. Majority of those who won seats in the Philippine Senate are regarded as allies of President Rodrigo Duterte, prompting many to say that the last midterm elections was a fresh mandate for the sitting President going into the last three years of his term. Instead of raising fists, Poe instead placed her right hand on her chest, while Binay formed a number one sign with her left hand symbolizing her political party, the United Nationalist Alliance. Out of the 12 elected senators, only Poe, Binay and actor Lito Lapid were not supported by the administration. Poe is an independent candidate, Binay is with UNA and Lapid was backed by the Nationalist People’s Coalition. Some say Poe and Binay stuck out like sore thumbs in the photo although a few netizens commended them for standing up to their independence. It’s a statement, they say. I s this a portent of things to come in the Senate? Many are of the opinion it is. Poe has been known to be independent minded, a trait that has supposedly endeared her to a lot of Pinoys. Binay, although criticized early on in her Senate stint, has acquitted herself rather well on various issues. But what’s in a raised fist really? The signature Duterte salute has been flashed not only by officials allied to the Chief Executive. It has even been tolerated by world leaders whenever they have photo-ops with the President. It’s just a way of accommodating one as a symbol of solidarity and support. The raised fist is not a Duterte original. It has been used in the past to express unity, strength, defiance or resistance, the latter more prominently demonstrated by the leftist groups in the country. The clenched fist syndrome has not been fully explained yet in major psychiatric textbooks. The phenomenon, instead has been illuminated mainly in journals and textbooks on hand surgery. There is a need, they say, to examine, describe and understand this syndrome from a psychiatric perspective. The raised fist was frequently used in propaganda posters produced during the May 1968 revolt in France. The symbol has been picked up and incorporated around the world by various oppressed groups. In 2015, it has emerged in the southeast area of Ukraine among the separatists battling the Ukraine Kiev government forces. The raised fist salute consists of raising one arm in the air with a clenched fist. The meaning, however, can vary based on context. Different movements sometimes use different terms to describe the raised fist salute: among communists and socialists, it is sometimes called the red salute, whereas among some African-American activists, especially in the United States, it has been called the Black Power salute. During the Spanish Civil War, it was sometimes known as the anti-fascist salute. Nelson Mandela also used the clenched fist salute upon his release from Victor Verster Prison in 1990.The raised fist is used by officials in Mainland China when being sworn into office. The fact that it has been made an issue with that proclamation photo- op is not one that should boggle the mind. While their peers demonstrated their openness to working with the administration, Poe and Binay must have thought they should not be coerced into doing the same. As psychologist Oliver James has suggested, the appeal of the salute is that it allows the individual to indicate that they “intend to meet malevolent, massive institutional force with a force of (their) own,” and that they are bound in struggle with others against common oppression. With only four true-blue opposition senators left, Poe and Binay as well as some other similarly minded colleagues could still make deliberations in the Senate exciting, with or without clenched fists. Ni Teo S. Marasigan Tato on My Mind Part 1 NITONG Marso 10 ang ika-100 kaarawan ni Renato Constantino — progresibo at makabayang historyador at kritikong panlipunan, at awtor ng maraming mahalagang sanaysay at libro. Bilang paggunita, maraming aktibista ang nag-post, kalakhan sa Facebook, tungkol sa kanyang mga sulatin at sa papel ng mga ito sa kanilang pagkamulat at paninindigan. Kapag sinabing kaisipang makabayan at anti-imperyalista sa Pilipinas, lalo na matapos ang World War II, isa ang pangalan ni Constantino sa mga laging mababanggit — kasama ang senador na si Claro M. Recto, ang historyador at manunulat na si Teodoro A. Agoncillo, at ang lider- Komunista na si Jose Maria Sison. Guro siya, sila, ng ilang henerasyon ng mga makabayan at aktibista at ng kilusan ng mga ito. Isa sa pinakahuling nagbanggit ang manunuring pampulitikang si Temario C. Rivera, sa kanyang presentasyong “The FQS (1970) in Philippine History: Impact on Politics” na pinost ng Arkibong Bayan sa Facebook. Mahalaga aniya ang kaisipan ng apat sa pag-alab ng nasyunalismo at kilusang masa noong dekada 60 — na nag-ambag naman sa mga dambuhalang protesta na binungkos sa tawag na First Quarter Storm ng 1970. Maraming nailathalang sulatin sa kanyang mahaba at produktibong buhay si Constantino. Ang mahahabang sanaysay pa lang niya, panandang-bato na sa iba’t ibang usapin, may mga titulong malakas ang dating: “Veneration Without Understanding” (1969) tungkol sa pagiging pambansang bayani ni Jose Rizal, “The Miseducation of the Filipino” (1959), tungkol sa kolonyal na edukasyon sa bansa, “Parents and Activists” (1971) tungkol sa ugnayan ng mga aktibista at kanilang magulang. Ngayon, mas kilala siya sa dalawang-tomong kasaysayan ng Pilipinas, co-author ang asawa at kapwa-makabayan niyang si Letizia R. Constantino: ang A Past Revisited (1975), saklaw ang pananakop ng Espanya hanggang bago ang World War II at The Continuing Past (1978), saklaw naman ang World War II hanggang bago ang diktadurang US-Marcos. Marami rin siyang librong koleksyon ng sanaysay. Matatandaan ang Dissent and Counter-consciousness (1970), na ang titulo’y nagpapahaging ng paniniwalang madalas sabihin ni Constantino, tinatanganan niya, at pinapatunayan mismo ng mga sulatin niya: mahalaga, kung hindi man susi, ang kamalayan sa pagbago o pagpapanatili ng sistemang panlipunan. Noong dekada 90, pinapabasa na sa klase — ng mga propesor na naging aktibista, saglit o matagalan — ang A Past Revisited at The Continuing Past. Puno ng highlight, salungguhit, bilog, at magugulong sulat ng mga nag-aaway na mambabasa ang mga kopya nito na pinapa-Xerox nang walang humpay. Ang mas masipag na estudyante, magbabasa ng iba pang sulatin ni Constantino — mas payapa ang mga pahina, pero magulo pa rin. Sa panahong iyun, may mga estante sa National Book Store na puno ng iba’t ibang akda ng mag-asawa, kasama ang maninipis na libro at mga booklet na tila laan talaga sa mga guro at estudyante. May kolum din si Constantino noon sa diyaryong Manila Bulletin — kung saan pinagsusulat ang mga iginagalang ng lipunan pero hindi naman binabasa. Mahusay na introduksyon sa makabayang kasaysayan, at makabayang kaisipan sa kabuuan, si Constantino. Maipagpapalagay na karaniwang Pilipinong mambabasa ng Ingles ang gusto niyang paliwanagan. Hakbang- hakbang siyang maglatag ng datos at argumento bago tumumbok sa kongklusyon. Nagsisimula siya sa kung nasaan ang mga mambabasa, hindi sa kung saan niya gustong dalhin sila. Tinitimpi ang isip sa pag-aaral dahil mula rito lumalabas ang suklam sa dulo kadalasan, at ang kagustuhang kumilos. Pero higit sa lahat, nakakayanig ng isipan ang laman ng mga sulatin niya. Ang mga hiwa-hiwalay na pangyayari, naipapaloob sa kabuuan ng isang naratibo. Ang mga bida, nagiging kontra-bida; at ang kontra-bida, nagiging bida. Ang karaniwan, biglang nagiging makabuluhan; ang banal, nasasadlak sa imburnal. Ang sambayanan, na laging binabanggit sa kasaysayan sa elementarya at hayskul pero hindi naikukwento, sinikap buuin ang kwento. Kapag nabasa mo si Constantino, hindi ka magdadalawang-isip na sabihing Marxista siya. Pero hindi siya iyung maya’t maya ang pagsipi sa mga akda nina Marx. Kapag may prinsipyong Marxista siyang kailangan — halimbawa, ang pagkaugat ng mga pangyayari sa moda ng produksyon, o ang papel ng mga lider at bayani kumpara sa papel ng masa sa kasaysayan — matiyaga niya itong ipinapaliwanag sa simpleng wika. Sapul niya ang esensya, at makakatindig ito, hindi kailangan ng pangalan o sipi. Sa mga estudyanteng papasok sa mga unibersidad na kilala sa mga protesta, laging may nagsasabing “Huwag kang mag- aaktibista ah.” Sa mga akda ni Constantino, makikita ang dahilan, ang mga batayan para maging aktibista. Napakalakas naman pala! Hindi iilan ang nagbaba ng libro niya at ngitngit na nagtanong tungkol sa iba’t ibang inhustisya: Bakit ngayon ko lang ito nalaman? Bakit hindi ito alam ng karamihan? Kung babasahin ang mga libro sa kasaysayan ni Constantino, madaling makitang hindi karaniwan, istandard, akademiko o “obhetibo” na kasaysayan ang isinusulat niya. Malinaw siya sa gusto niyang gawin: mag-ambag sa pagbubuo ng “kasaysayan ng sambayanan” o “people’s history,” partikular iyung naghahanap, nagpapatampok at nagsusuri sa pagkilos at paglaban ng masa. 12 Mayo 2019 Itutuloy