The morning after: Malacañang 1986

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion
by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo
ONE OF MY FIRST ASSIGNMENTS AS A STAFF writer of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine (first published in March 1986, right after the Edsa People Power Revolution) was to check out Malacañang Palace and do a morning-after story. I also had to fly to Leyte twice to check out Imelda Marcos’ fabled haunts where she threw opulent parties (Olot) and kept a dazzling art collection (the Sto. Niño Shrine).

If, as they say, journalism is history written in a hurry, then the Inquirer has lots of People Power history in its archives, written not by historians but by journalists in a hurry to meet deadlines.

This week, as we celebrate the 24th anniversary of People Power that ended the Marcos dictatorship, stuff written 24 years ago are being re-read or read for the first time by those who were not yet around. I can imagine more of these coming out next year for the 25th. Along with lots of nostalgia pieces, too.

Yesterday, the Inquirer came out with the nostalgia piece, “The Filipino is worth crying for,” by David Briscoe, Associated Press bureau chief in the 1980s. Last Sunday we had lunch with the Hawaii-based Briscoe couple, David and Noree (our Women in Media colleague), who were here for a visit. We had fun going down memory lane. They later met up with Inquirer founding chair Eggie Apostol and editor in chief Letty J. Magsanoc.

One of the pieces I wrote for the magazine, edited then by Letty, was “Greatest show in town” with a kilometric subtitle about the hoi polloi trooping to Malacañang Palace to gawk at what the Marcoses left behind. The large photos were by AP’s Bullit Marquez and Reuters’ Willy Vicoy. I can’t reprint the entire hurried piece, so here are excerpts:

Teodora Cruz, 65, sidewalk vendor from Port Area, burst into tears after touring Malacañang Palace. “Nakita ko ang mga santo. Yun din ang nagparusa sa kanya. Dapat mangyari sa kanya yun.” (I saw the religious statues. They brought down punishment on Imelda. She deserved it.)

Teodora was one of hundreds on the dry run tour of the famed Palace on Thursday last week. Aghast and shocked by the opulence and the intimations of the scandalous lifestyle that the Marcoses, especially Imelda, led, Teodora says: “Nangingilabot ako. Tingnan mo ang paghihirap namin, ako, ang mga anak ko, ang pagtitiis namin. Yan lahat, utang sa aming mahihirap na walang sapat na ulam at bigas. Sa ngalan ng Diyos, nakapasok din ako.” (I had goose bumps. Look how poor we are, me, my children. All those things, she owes us who don’t have enough to eat. With God’s help, I finally got in.)

Wim Grundeman, officer of a European development agency, exclaims: “They are absolutely sick. I’m a Dutchman. If our queen has about six gowns, that’s about all.”

On grand opening day, Friday, thousands came early by the Palace gates only to find that thousands more came earlier than they did. As first days usually turn out, Friday was pandemonium as uniformed guards, white-clad women volunteers tried to keep the surging crowd at bay. It was bedlam, it was mayhem, as the impatient crowd outside Gate 2 tried to push the gate open, refusing to transfer to where they were supposed to pass. For a while it looked like The Storming of the Palace, Part II.

Tempers rose, perspiration flowed like the Pasig, stomachs grumbled. Women fainted, children lost their mothers, journalists cursed for getting trapped in the human traffic. This was just the gate…

A few meters from the Palace doors the exclamations die down a bit. An elderly man in circa 1970 double-knit pants takes out his pocket comb, tidies his hair and pulls down his shirt in place. Aaah, he says. A woman in rubber slippers wrings her dress dripping with sweat. If only the sun were kinder….

The visitors gawk, gaze, stare. There’s a sudden hush here, a snicker and an outburst there. From the entrance of the chandeliered halls, to Imelda’s and Ferdinand’s bedroom, from the toilet to the mini-Rustan’s that contains Imelda’s wardrobe, the reactions are like a litany of curses, shock, awe and anger. There is humor, too…

A man in shabby attire… suddenly blurts out upon beholding a painting of Marcos as “Malakas” of the Philippine legend: “Baka sisirain ko ang mukha niya!” (I might destroy his face!) A companion takes him away saying, “Relax lang, pare.”

A woman from the Visayas: “Baw, ginoo, lilintian, ang kuwarto ni Imelda.” (Goddamn, look at Imelda’s room.)

Aling Coring, laundrywoman: “Parang sa panaginip. Nangutang ng nangutang, diyan lang pala napunta.” (It’s like a dream. They borrowed heavily and this is where the money went.)

Tony Fajardo, 49, taxi driver: “Nalunasan na ang paghihirap ko ng kaligayahan nang makita ko ang loob.” (The difficulty I had in coming here has been compensated when I saw what’s inside.)

Never again, should this happen, never again, should anybody live like this, they say. And so Malacañang will never be the same again, and hopefully, too, the lives of those who came and saw.

More next year. A glorious 24th People Power Anniversary!

My blog. Today being an auspicious day, I’d like to say that I now have a blog, “Human Face by Ceres” (www.ceresdoyo.com) where I post my weekly columns, features, special reports, photos and other stuff. The template still needs tweaking and so much more have to be uploaded. Thanks to my Canada-based friend Mila Alvarez-Magno who tutored me every step of the way by e-mail, helped me post hundreds of my articles even while watching the Winter Olympics on TV. I hope the blog will serve some purpose. Tell me what you think.

Presidential candidates have spent P1 billion on pol ads

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo

EVEN BEFORE THE OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN PERIOD began on Feb. 9, six of the 10 presidential candidates have already spent some P1 billion on political ads. But the real advertising value of all those ads could actually amount to about P2.1 billion.

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) released Wednesday its latest report, “War on the air waves: 6 top bets spend P1-B on pol ads,” by senior researcher-writer Che de los Reyes. This is part of PCIJ’s series of reports for the project “Pera at Politika (PAP) 2010.”

PCIJ’s two-part report reveals that in the last three months before the election campaign period began, 6 of the 10 candidates for president had already “racked up advertising values on television, radio and print media worth a whopping P2.1 billion.”

But minus the discounts and commissions that, according to media networks executives and PRs, reach about 50 percent, the real spending of the six candidates would be about P991 million from Nov. 1, 2009 to Jan. 30, 2010. Or close to P1 billion. These so-called “negotiated rates” are still a staggering amount. The spending on political ads after Feb. 9 is another story.

Even more interesting, PCIJ points out, is that five of the six candidates have “by now exceeded the limit on TV airtime minutes, if these pre-campaign ads were measured against the Fair Election Practices Act or Republic Act No. 9006.” Will these candidates who have defied the law and overspent be penalized?

Well, they could get away with their overspending by saying that those ads fall under “advocacy ads” or whatever. Think of all those pre-campaign period “advocacy ads” that made some of the candidates for president, and candidates for other positions as well, look like they were God’s special gift to this world.

For her report, De los Reyes reviewed the AGB Nielsen Media Research ad spending data base. According to PCIJ executive director Malou Mangahas, PCIJ manages the subscription to the data base on behalf of its PAP 2010 partner organizations, namely, Lawyers’ League for Liberty, Center for Electoral Reforms and the Association of Schools of Public Administration in the Philippines.

Let’s go back to the P2.1 billion figure (advertising value). About half of this, the PCIJ report says, represents the ad buys of Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar. PCIJ points out that a presidential candidate’s maximum campaign spending limit is only P500 million or P10 per voter. PCIJ adds that Villar’s party may however spend another P5 per voter or P250 million.

PCIJ tells us that “Villar’s TV ads also logged a total airtime of 758.5 minutes on GMA channel 7, and 696 minutes on ABS-CBN Channel 2 during those three months before the campaign period. Four other presidential candidates racked up formidable totals for their respective TV ads on the two stations as well, most of them posting total airtime for the placements at both GMA and ABS-CBN in the three digits.”

Here is the ad duration in minutes of the other candidates (from Nov. 1 2009-Jan. 31, 2010): Benigno Aquino III (218.77 ABS-CBN, 136.75 GMA), Joseph Estrada (96 ABS-CBN, 44.5 GMA), Richard Gordon (248 ABS-CBN, 127.5 GMA), Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (291.75 ABS-CBN, 257.75 GMA), Eddie Villanueva (24.5 ABS-CBN, 161.75 GMA), and Manuel Villar Jr. (696 ABS-CBN, 758.5 GMA). PCIJ adds that Villanueva who has equity interest in QTV 11, a joint venture of his Zoe Broadcasting Network with GMA, recorded an additional 221.5 minutes of ad buys on QTV 11.

It is obvious that candidates took the opportunity to splurge to campaign during the pre-campaign period in order for them to avoid the spending limits of the campaign period. PCIJ says, these candidates took advantage of the amended Election Modernization Act that says, one is considered a candidate only “at the start of the campaign period for which he filed his certificate of candidacy.”

They could also invoke the Supreme Court’s Nov. 2009 ruling that says that a candidate’s political acts become unlawful only when the campaign period starts.

Here are the ad values that PCIJ took from AGB Nielsen data and computed based on rate cards. TV ad values were reduced by 50 percent to arrive at the indicative real ad cost.

The ad war is more intense than the ground war, PCIJ tells us. The moneyed Villar is ahead of the pack when it comes to total ad value. (See table in http://www.pcij.org)

There is more to the PCIJ report than the figures (See PCIJ website.) Media and ad executives who crunch numbers also tell us what all these mean and amount to. By understanding all these, voters can discern better and will not be overwhelmed and bulldozed by these ads that don’t really tell us the whole truth.

Take them as entertainment. Or just reach for that remote.

Tips for Lent: Save rice, plant seeds, be creative

Philippine Daily Inquirer/News/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo

SET ASIDE and save up for the hungry poor isang dakot na bigas (a handful of rice) every time you cook. Plant seeds and make them grow into seedlings. Volunteer your services to worthy but hard-up candidates. Give up something for someone in need. 

These are some alternative ways in observing Lent suggested by some church persons especially for those who eschew public self-flagellation, crucifixion and other traditional Filipino pietistic practices that are personal in nature. Fasting and penance as a form of personal piety only are not enough.

 This year, Lent is right smack in the campaign season that leads to the May 10 national elections. The Inquirer spoke to some religious leaders who admonished Christians to be creative and do something different as a form of sacrifice. But there were also reminders, for candidates especially, of Jesus’ admonition to not trumpet to the world what they do for the poor.
Today, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the observance of the 40-day season of Lent when Christendom commemorates the passion and death of Jesus and which culminates in the feast of the Resurrection or Easter Sunday.

Isang dakot na bigas 
Sr. Emelina Villegas ICM who lives and works among the poor in Camarin, Novaliches in Quezon City says even the poor have something to offer those who are poorer than they are. “During the Advent season members of the pamayanan (basic ecclesial community or BEC) in our parish decided to set aside isang dakot na bigas every time they cooked rice,” Villegas said. By Christmas time, families in the pamayanan had set aside enough rice savings that were pooled together and shared with the poorest of the poor. “This season of Lent, they decided to again set aside isang dakot na bigas.”

“Fasting is not only fasting from food,” Villegas added. “Abstaining from meat is not really a form of penance for the poor as they can’t afford that. But there are certain practices they said they could abstain from or attitudes they could change. Like tsismisan (gossip), being balat sibuyas (being over-sensitive), pagtatanim (harboring ill-feelings) and mahirap magpatawad (being unforgiving).”

Villegas, former Provincial Superior of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart and who had spent many years serving workers, said Lent involves panalangin (prayer), pagbabagong buhay (renewing one’s life) and pagkakawanggawa (serving others). Today, she said, Ash Wednesday, 21 wooden crosses are going to be blessed and taken to the 21 pamayanan of Camarin. These crosses will be used when the people do the Stations of the Cross.

Toward God and neighbor 
Fr. Aris Sison, spokesman of the Diocese of Cubao and parish priest of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary parish (known as Pres. Cory Aquino’s parish) in West Triangle, QC said Christians are often bogged down by external religious practices. “Lent is really a time of conversion and penance,” he said, “and this means turning away from sin and toward God and our neighbor,” Sison said.

“The gospel during Ash Wednesday warns that we make sure that what we do—prayer, fasting and helping others—not be done for show but out love for God and neighbor,” he reminded.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says, “When you give something to the poor, do not have it trumpeted before you…If you give something to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing…When you pray, do not be like those who want to be seen…When you fast, do not put on a miserable face…” (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18)

As to the politicians who invoke the name of the poor and advertise their deeds for the poor, Sison said, “We have to check the intention of the heart. Are they doing it for the love of God and the poor or to just get votes? (Their claims) may be valid but I hope they continue after they have gotten the votes. As authentic Christians, were they already doing these in the past?”

Sison said that in his former parish, families saved up for the poor every day by giving up something. “That was during the Jubilee Year 2000. The youngest in the family was tasked to collect the day’s savings . The families were able to save and offer enough to construct two Jubilee homes for the poor. So you see, sacrifice should not be just for the sake of sacrifice.”

Volunteerism 
Auxiliary bishop of Manila Broderick Pabillo also stressed prayer, penance and kawanggawa during Lent. These help open people’s hearts to God and to their neighbor. “When they watch less TV it should be in order to prayer more,” he said. “When they give up a movie, it should be to help others.”

Pabillo who heads the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ Commission on Social Action Justice and Peace, added: “Self-denial is not para makilala (to become popular) or advance our selves.” He also suggested a concrete and timely form of Lenten sacrifice during the election campaign period. “Volunteerism, is one way. Volunteer your services to candidates who are worthy but have no money.”

But he warned: “People should be discerning of candidates. Politicians should not use the poor and the poor should not use the politicians. Politicians should show good example by following the laws.” Pabillo was referring to candidates who defied Comelec rules on campaign posters.

Pabillo offered other alternative ways of observing Lent. “Feed hungry children. Serve the community by helping clean up the surroundings.”

Mother Nature 
Fr. Jose Dizon whose ministry is among workers in Cavite, said that in one of the parishes he had served, the people gathered seeds and planted them on Ash Wednesday. “They made the seeds grow and by Easter the seeds had turned into seedlings. We had so many. These were later planted on barren places.”

With global warming and climate change causing devastation on planet Earth, Dizon said serving others also includes taking care of Mother Nature.

The vote of the poor

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo
IT'S THEIR SEASON once again. The poor of this nation rule. Elections have a way of smoking them out of the woodwork, the cracks and crevices they inhabit. They are wooed, romanced if you like, as if candidates discovered them and fell in love with them for the first time. Suddenly the poor are on center stage, in the limelight.

That is how it appears if you go by the political ads of many candidates in the coming May elections. Images and voices of the poor provide the backdrop for campaign ads that cost millions of pesos to produce, air and print.

How do the truly poor feel when they see the likes of them being glorified in those multi-million TV ads? I am inclined to use the word obscene to describe this obsession to appear pro-poor, to be indentified with the poor, to be counted among the poor—in order to gain votes. Obscene is the word when candidates use the poor to speak for them and to make the poor personify their ambitions.

Well, yesterday’s Inquirer hbanner eadline said: “It’s carnival time again.”

I dug into my files (under “Elections”) and I found the results of the study conducted by Ateneo University’s Institute of Philippine Culture (IPC) titled “The Vote of the Poor: The Values and Pragmatics of Elections” released during the presidential campaign period in 2004. I had written two columns about the research findings at that time. The 2004 findings are still relevant given the fact that this country is still in this smelly rut that it was in then.

Do the poor produce a “dumb masa” vote? How do they make their choices? How much influence do the media exert on them? What to them are the traits of a true leader?

“The Vote of the Poor” was the result of a research using focused group discussions (FGD) as a tool to get to the raw sentiments and perceptions of the subjects. Unlike surveys that use statistical methods, the FGD type elicits qualitative responses and scrutinizes the meaning and quality of these responses.

The study showed that the most important sources of influence in the choice of candidates were: media, family, church, political parties, one’s own (sarili lang/walang nakakaimpluwensiya) and surveys.

The mass media appeared to play a crucial bridge between the poor’s leadership ideals and the process of choosing candidates.

To arrive at an informed choice, IPC said, the participants recognized the media as playing a most crucial role. Only among rural participants did the media not figure as the most important source of influence. The family and the church were on top of their list.

While the research participants mainly got information from newspapers, radio and TV, the youth also relied on text messages and the Internet. Across all groups, tsismis (gossip or small talk) figured as a source of information. Discussions (pakikisalamuha) with other people were also deemed important. Urbanites also looked to ads, leaflets, campaign streamers to get to know the candidates.

But body language was important too. And here the electronic media had an edge over print. The poor analyzed the images projected by candidates via radio or TV to gauge character (ugali). How did the candidates speak and comport themselves?

Rural women looked at the candidates’ manner of speaking. Did they “speak with respect”? Males also observed the speaking style and the face, how the candidates stood, walked and dealt with people. Nothing beats a face to face encounter. Urbanites observed the candidates’ personal appearance.

Here are some quotes from the FGDs. Sa pananalita malalaman mo kung mabait o magaling. Sa reaksyon niya sa mga tao habang nangangampanya. Physical appearance is a good source for determining behavior.

The youth said they could tell a person’s character by the manner of speaking and responding to questions during a debate. They also studied the temper of the candidate. As one young FGD participant said: “They say liars have unstable eye movements.”

Despite media’s high ranking, participants still considered the information from the media inadequate, particularly in the case of those running for national positions. TV ads were considered unreliable as there was no way to check out the claims.

Election time is a time of confusion, nakakalito. Too many candidates, too many positions to fill. And the information about candidates were not to be trusted. Maraming paninira ang lumalabas sa mga kandidato, hindi mo alam kung ano ang totoo.As to vote buying and selling, there was a sense that the public ultimately would lose if this practice went on. Hindi tama na mamigay, kasi kapag nanalo, babawiin din ito, baka mas malaki pa. Dai, magkakaigwa nin korapto. Mali, kasi parang binibili ang pagkatao mo.


While a handful said they would never accept money, most participants said they would accept but still vote for those they like as long as their votes could not be checked.

IPC concluded that, as suggested by the opinions expressed by the research participants, the poor possessed a dignified, defensible and rational idea about good leadership. However, the study said, there appeared to be a mismatch between the ideals of leadership on one hand, and elections as the mechanism for choosing elected leaders, on the other.

Here is an important lesson that needs to be recognized. If the electoral process is fair and the broader political system is reformed, the poor, despite their poverty—can make good choices. But, they way it was, the IPC study pointed out, they could only make good choices based on a flawed system. For our political problems, the voting poor (much used and abused) are not to blame.

The poor are smarter than you think.

Senior citizens ask for so little

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo

LET ME REPEAT what I had written in this space many months ago (“Pension now for poor older people” 3/19/2009) in relation to poor Filipino senior citizens (SC): The Philippines is the only country in Asia that has no social pension for poor, older people. I am referring to the ones not formally employed when they were younger and therefore did not have social security or insurance that they could draw from in their older years.

Countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Vietnam have some kind of social pension for the elderly poor, says Ed Gerlock, advocacy officer of the Coalition of Services of the Elderly (COSE), a non-government organization that focuses mainly on the elderly poor.

Now comes the much-awaited expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2009 (SBN 3561) which was passed by the House of Representatives and by the Senate on third reading on Jan. 27, 2010. It is titled “An act granting additional benefits and privileges to senior citizens, further amending RA 7432”.

Only the signature of Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo is being awaited.

If passed, The Senior Citizens Act would grant SC their entire 20 percent discount and exempt them from the 12 percent value-added tax (VAT) provided under the National Internal Revenue Code on the sale of goods and services from all establishments. It is one of the major significant provisions of the Act. SC have been complaining that they have not fully enjoyed the 20 percent discount because of the VAT.

Under the proposed Act, SC shall be entitled to a 20 percent discount and exemption from value added tax on the following:

1. On the purchase of medicines, including the purchase of influenza

and pneumococcal vaccines, and such other essential medical supplies,

accessories and equipment to be determined by the Department of Health

(DOH).

2. On the professional fees of attending physicians in all private

hospitals, medical facilities, outpatient clinics and home health care

services.

3. On the professional fees of licensed professional workers

providing home health care services as endorsed by private hospitals

or employed through home health care employment agencies.

4. On medical and dental services, diagnostic and laboratory fees in

all private hospitals, medical facilities, outpatient clinic and home

health care services.

Aside from the VAT exemption, there would be exemption from payment of individual income taxes for SC considered minimum wage earners. There would be death benefit assistance of a minimum of P2,000 for the bereaved families, monthly stipends of P500 for indigents, and building senior citizens’ wards in government hospitals.

Other benefits for poor SC are free medical and dental services, no diagnostic and laboratory feeds in government facilities, full PhilHealth insurance coverage, free anti-flu and anti-pneumonia vaccines and five percent discount on water and electric bills. These benefits would also ease the burden on poor families who love and care for their elders but who cannot provide for their basic needs.

The estimated P54.4-million in foregone revenues is really a pittance and should not be considered a loss to the government. Think of society's gains from improved health care and increased purchasing power that the elderly would have. The foregone revenues should not be a compelling reason to deprive our elders of the quality of life they deserve.

Last Monday, hundreds of SC braved the heat and marched from Morayta to Mendiola to ask the President to not dilly-dally and to sign the expanded Senior Citizens Act. (Two fainted but recovered.) When told that the President will sign the bill on or before Valentine’s Day, COSE’s executive director, Francis Cupang, said the SC should not be made to wait. “We Filipinos pride ourselves as loving and caring of our elderly,” Cupang said. “Our national policies should reflect this Filipino value. Senior citizens’ interest is of national interest.”

He was worried that interest groups might sway the President to do otherwise. Last week, Malacanang was said to have shown signs of hesitation because exemption from the 12 percent VAT would mean P54.4 in foregone revenues during the first year of the bill’s implementation. How easily they computed and came up with the figure.

Citing national Economic Development Authority figures, Cupang pointed out that of the seven million Filipinos who are over 60 years old, three million live in poverty and 900,000 are “desperately poor.” These SC should not be considered a burden. As COSE has proven through their programs and projects, these poor elderly they have served for 20 years still have much to give by way of services to their communities.

Note that COSE means Coalition of Services of the Elderly, with emphasis on “of the elderly” not “for the elderly.” I have visited some communities where COSE-initiated community programs of the elderly operate. COSE started home care services in some Metro Manila communities but these services need to be replicated and institutionalized by local governments.

The poor older people have a lot to give to their peers and the younger generation. In COSE areas, the strong work as home care assistants, community gerontologists and peer counselors. Others are fund raisers, organizers and mentors for the young. Many who found themselves alone in the sunset of their lives live together, take care of one another and do something for their neighborhood.

Why does the President need to wait for Valentine’s Day to sign The Senior Citizens Act of 2009?