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CHR alarmed by war vs drugs in Davao City
THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is alarmed by Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte’s “war against drugs”, as seven drug users were killed from different barangays in the city over the weekend, just a few hours after his declaration......»»
2 activists kidnapped in Pangasinan
The Commission on Human Rights has called for a search for two environmental rights defenders and church workers who were reportedly kidnapped in Pangasinan last weekend......»»
CHR probes Davao drug war deaths
The Commission on Human Rights yesterday expressed grave concern over Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte’s recent declaration of a war on drugs in the city......»»
Abduction by state agents: An isolated incident or a growing pattern?
By: CMFR StaffPosted on: March 18, 2024, 3:52 pm JEERS TO the media for reporting the abduction in Batangas of Jose Marie Estiller on February 20 as an isolated incident and for not providing the necessary background of past cases of abductions and enforced disappearances by state agents in the country. The lack of context ignores the continuing reality of human rights violations against activists.....»»
Abduction by state agents: An isolated incident or a growing pattern
JEERS TO the media for reporting the abduction in Batangas of Jose Marie Estiller on February 20 as an isolated incident and for not providing the necessary background of past cases of abductions and enforced disappearances by state agents in the country. The lack of context ignores the continuing reality of human rights violations against activists and critics during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.Media.....»»
Katya Angara – The journey of a woman and artist
The promising artist that Katya is today is the latest phase in a lifelong journey that began at an early age when she began drawing characters from cartoon comics. All the while she was growing up in a home that nurtured her interest in the arts, as much as it prepared her for rigorous academic training. She read early in life, in a house filled with books. In this second part of our interview, Katya shares with us how she made a number of choices that would lead to where she is today. But once upon a time, for all that had been given to her on a silver platter, she was in a quandary as to what to do with her life. But when she finally decided on what she wanted, there was no stopping the talented and smart girl who, it turned out, possessed an intellectual prowess not unlike those of her parents, the lawyer, and senator Edgardo Angara, whose affinity for the land had been impressed on his daughter, and the lady educator Gloria Manalang Angara, who opened up her daughter’s eyes and minds to the wonders of world literature and the other arts. And it was in art that the young girl did not only find solace but also healing. Here is the final part of our interview: DT: After high school, did you immediately leave for London? KA: To be honest, and I don’t want filters here, I had mental health issues at that time. I was severely depressed. Before I went to London, I went through a tumultuous period of deciding where to go with my education. So, after Poveda, I went to Woldingham (boarding school). then I did half of my BA Psychology degree at UP Diliman from late 2000 to 2002. I loved my time at Diliman but it was a tumultuous transitional period for me, so I decided to revisit pursuing university in London. Central Saint Martins, to be precise, is one of the most prestigious and distinguished art and design schools in the world DT: Around what time was this? KA: It was in 2002. I was bouncing around like I couldn’t anchor myself to one thing. Like, okay, I’m here in London already. And then, okay I’m going to study Psychology in UP. So, what’s with the leap, the sudden jump, the sudden shift? I couldn’t make up my mind. And I think that frustrated my parents for the longest time. I was also being hard on myself because I ended up causing a lot of frustration for myself. And I think that depressed me. So, you know, I’ve been diagnosed with different things. I’m bipolar. And then, I had the hallmarks of ADHD. Let’s just say that my brain works differently DT: Well, one can never be sure about oneself. KA: No, you can never be sure about yourself. And I was questioning myself. For the longest time, all those years I thought, what’s wrong with me? Why am I making all these strange decisions? Why am I behaving this way? Why do I react to people this way?”. You know, parang I shouldn’t be talking or reacting to people like this in this kind of situation. And I’m not just saying with family or what. But with my classmates in school. What drew me to art was it being a place that has its own language e. It’s a place where I can express myself. Art is also a way of healing your own wounds. It’s also a way of revealing those aspects of yourself that you wouldn’t be able to otherwise. It really was a way of healing for me. And I didn’t even know that I needed it. Because again, I was a very quiet and introverted kid. I don’t know why. I couldn’t rely on people, talk to people the way I thought, or maybe people thought I should. So, you know, I kept to myself. I’d hide away in the library every recess or lunch. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. So, that carried on until my university years. Daily Tribune (DT): What did you finally take up in college? Katya Angara: Well, first I just wanted to do a purely art course. So, my foundation course to get me a degree was an Art and Design course. My first choice for this was Central Saint Martins, which continues to be ranked as one of the best art and design schools in the world. I was over the moon when I made it in. DT: What did you have to show to qualify? KA: I needed to show my work. I had some already since I was drawing a lot in my childhood and teenage years. DT: Your works are not the usual ones that use oil, watercolor, acrylic, and all that. KA: I was drawing mostly. And for some reason, I have always been more of a draftsman eh. I’m always more into drawing. I have more illustrating tendencies. DT: Like pen and paper? KA: Yes, pen and paper. Pencil, charcoal. I’ve always had a thing for dry media and pen and ink. It’s more about the control and the precision. That’s my personality. DT: That’s not easy ah. KA: It’s not easy. But you have an affinity for it. And your hands have to be steady. Which is unlikely for someone with pasmado hands like me. But that’s where I find my control eh. That’s why I like it so much. DT: So, what was it like when you showed your drawings at Central Saint Martin? KA: So, I showed my drawings because that was required during the interview. And so I went through the ropes. They asked questions like, "why do you want to do this course here?" DT: Your work must have been good to get you accepted. KA: They were fine. I think it was good enough. But there was a lot I had to improve on. I only knew that once I got into the school. Then, you told yourself, Ah, oo nga pala. There was so much I had to learn. That I could be taught. DT: How was your learning experience? KA: From the beginning, as a child, I always copied from cartoons. And they didn’t like that. They didn’t want to see any cartoons or anything like that. They wanted to see me. They wanted to see my work. My drawing from life. DT: So, how did you do that? It must have been challenging KA: So, I gave them the best of my life drawings. But when I showed them my other works, they weren’t happy with them. So, I learned from that. Being young, you got a bit crushed. But then, you realize it’s a different way of thinking. It’s a different way of doing things. Okay, there’s still so much to learn in terms of art. And it’s not the be-all and end of it all. And then, they said, “This is where you should be learning from.” And they showed me art books. They said, “Go to this gallery or this museum.” DT: How was it like living abroad? Back home, you were the daughter of a senator. KA: Which means nothing when you’re abroad. It meant nothing. Which I actually loved. It was something that I was looking for. Because I lived in a bubble back home. To my parents’ credit naman there’s a reason for that. I was very protected. They wanted to keep me safe and secure given my father’s position. So, I’d always lived in a bubble. I’d always have bodyguards and drivers and all that. And it just felt at times a little restrictive. DT: So, it was a welcome thing? KA: It was a welcome thing. Really, I felt different. I felt normal na parang my family name didn’t mean a thing. And that was refreshing. I could be anything I wanted to be. I could experiment and nobody would judge. Because in schools like that and abroad, especially in Europe, they’re so open-minded. They’re so liberal. DT: How were the teachers? KA: Oh, wonderful. Of course, you always have your favorites, right? Very varied. Depending also on what course you were taking up, whether industrial design or sculpture which I was horrible at when I tried it. I didn’t really get close to my tutors until I moved on to my actual degree. Funny enough, instead of ending up in a practical course. Which would have been like Fine Arts, Graphic Design, or even Illustration because I love drawing. You would think that I would end up in a more practical course like Fine Arts, Graphic Design, or even Illustration, I did a complete shift and I did a theoretical course. I did Curation, Art Criticism, and Art History. So, my training is as a curator and an art critic. DT: Wow, that was very intellectual. It’s good that you always read a lot. KA: Yes, I think that helped because you have to read a lot. You have to love reading. You have to like doing the research. And that served me well. Who would have known, right? But if you think about it, as long as you follow what you want to do in life, it just opens up even if you don’t intentionally seek it. Somehow it just finds you It just fell into place for me in that sense. This is not what I initially set out to do. But I think you have to allow yourself to change your mind. Parang whatever happens at the time, you change with it. You adjust to it. And it worked out beautifully for me. DT: So, were the teachers terrors? KA: Mabait naman sila. But they have very different personalities. My course leader was a lovely older lady who was really into Victorian arts and culture. As in, Victoriana lahat. She would tell you everything about English Victorian history. And she was very passionate about it. And you know, it involved a lot of writing and research. But my favorite tutor was someone who was writing about comic books. Comic books and Pop culture. So, for me, that was a revelation because I didn’t think you could take comics books and put them in the academe. You know, academic level like intellectual. Pwede pala e. Because he showed me a way. He took me under his wing and he showed me his work and from there I learned to write. And because I love comic books. I’m actually a huge geek. I’m a nerd, I’m a dork. DT: What was your thesis? [caption id="attachment_165427" align="aligncenter" width="463"] Roger Sabin was Katya's pop culture mentor at Central Saint Martins in London.[/caption] KA: Because I wanted Roger Sabin, my pop culture tutor, as my professor for my thesis, it was about a 1990s Japanese animated film called Ghost in the Shell 101. It was an animated film based on a very heavy graphic novel, a manga or Japanese comics, by Masamune Shirow. And for me, his work is revelatory. It wasn’t just the style of the Ghost in the Shell. And to think just one man could draw like this. I mean it was a very thick graphic novel. He could draw like that. And he wrote the story too. And to think you had the mental stamina to be able to write something like that and to draw. DT: You must enjoy doing comics. KA: Since I was a kid, I’ve made my own comic books. You know, I would sell my own comic books and people would actually buy them. I taught myself to draw in the comic book style. I learned them all. You know, there’s like Stan Lee of Marvel. DT: You really had it in you. KA: I had it in me. My love for comic books started by reading the ones my brother had collected over the years. He had a stash of them, so, I just devoured them. It was all very amazing to me. Kasi the drawings, the stories, these are worlds written by someone else. So, you have Marvel comics, DC comics, Dark Horse comics. [caption id="attachment_165417" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] With brother, Senator Sonny Angara, whose comic books she devoured for their cartoon figures.[/caption] Q: You didn’t idolize anybody? A: Well, I wasn’t particularly huge on the American comics. I think it was until I stumbled upon the Japanese comics or manga. That really piqued my interest to a degree I never felt before. Kasi it wasn’t just the style, which at first for me was very girly. I mean, I love the romantic comics. But I also felt myself leaning toward the darker stuff. DT: What did you like about Ghost in the Shell? KA: It’s a cyberpunk graphic novel. So, ang galing, ang ganda ng style. It was like, wow. You know, the sheer amount of detail that he puts into the drawings. I said I want to draw like this. I want to tell a story like this. But I don’t know if I was capable of telling if I had the stamina to tell something so intricate and complex. DT: When did you graduate? KA: In 2008. The BA in the UK is only three years. That’s why you take a foundation course. There’s a BA in Curation, and Communication, and criticism in Arts and Design. DT: I am told that you graduated at the top of your class. But you’re not telling me. KA: It sounds so funny kasi eh. Anyway, I graduated with first-class honors for my degree. So, basically, I was Suma Cum Laude in my batch in my year. So, that was what sealed the deal for me and my dad. Kasi for the longest time, I was kind of meandering. I was kind of flip-flopping. My mom knows this eh She goes, “You know Katya you have a tendency to be whimsical.” I am an artist eh, what can I do? Besides, I was young and I wasn’t sure. I knew what I wanted to do, which was to be in the arts but not where I wanted to go. I was asking myself if I had the stamina, the commitment, the fortitude to see it through. [caption id="attachment_165415" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Katya and mom Gloria Angara, who first ignited her interest in the arts.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_165419" align="aligncenter" width="854"] Katya with her dad, the late Senate President Edgardo Angara from whom she learned to apply the principles of nature to her art[/caption] DT: College made you really bloom. KA: Yes. It was the environment. it was the people I was with. Because I was able to go into something I really enjoyed. I wasn’t just doing homework because I was told to do homework. I loved what I was doing. I was invested in it. DT: What did you do after you graduated? KA: Apart from community work, I also worked for some small galleries. I did some work for the Victoria and Albert Museum. I tried to have experiences in bigger institutions, bigger museums, and small independent galleries. I thought that experience would hone me and make me well-rounded. With the smaller galleries, I was able to practice my curatorial background. I was able to help a lot of young artists. They don’t know how to talk about their work or they’re not confident enough to do so. So anyhow, apart from helping them put together shows, I help them speak about their work. Or offer them a perspective they have never seen or thought about. And I feel that that was helping them and I think that’s where I have been able to engage with them. It was fulfilling to help them find their voice as an artist. DT: All the while, you were all alone in London? KA: I was married actually. To a Filipino who was born in the UK, in London. He’s an Englishman, for all purposes. It didn’t work out. We have a daughter. I had a beautiful little girl with him. She lives in London with her father. She’s been here. She lived here in her early years. After she was born in 2010, I decided to move back here. Then, after four years, we went back to London because it was what my husband wanted. He and my dad had a falling out. DT: When was your first exhibit? KA: Last year. Earlier, I did a group show at the Lethaby Gallery at Central Saint Martins. So, I did it with other emerging artists. My next group show was at The Crucible. But it was for a book that Sari Ortiga had commissioned me to do. He wanted to do a series of children’s books about Philippine artists. I did mine. Mine was about Anita Magsaysay-Ho. I did the illustration. It wasn’t new to me because I had been making my own books. I would staple them myself. Although up until that point I didn’t know how to really do it professionally. I found out it could be lucrative and fulfilling. This was in 2008 when I didn’t have a daughter yet. DT: Tell me about your forthcoming show. (The current show had yet to be opened). What paintings are you showing? KA: They’re not paintings, they’re not just drawings. They’re an amalgamation. They’re what you call a compendium of everything I’ve ever done as an artist. The book illustration, and then I dabbled a bit in black-and-white photography. I like the look of black and white photography. So, I do it with my phone or a simple camera. It’s also good for taking reference photos for my work. Because if you can’t sit in the park drawing people or objects, or subjects, the next best thing is you take pictures. And you can draw from those pictures. Kaya maganda siya for reference. So, my work is that, actually. DT: So, what about your subjects? KA: Well, I’m a very central person. We live in a very conservative culture. And I have subjects that would make people say ay, you know, you shouldn’t talk about that. So, there’s no filter, it’s very raw, very natural. In London, I was able to talk to people about things like BDSM or Bondage Sado-Masochism. And you know, that can get a bad rap. Because if you do it wrong, it would look strange to anyone who is not familiar with it. Among the Japanese, there is a subculture that does that. DT: Do they consider BDSM an art form? KA: There’s a particular Japanese artist whose work I used to admire. He’s a photographer. And his subject is BDSM. There were pictures of women tied up and then there were flowers and reptiles. So it was very sexual. I found myself drawn to that because there’s the element of the dark side. Carl Jung, the psychoanalyst, talked about how we have to make our unconscious conscious. The darkness in us is unconscious. And if you don’t make your darkness conscious, it’s going to come out in other ways at some point. Meaning to say, you shouldn’t repress those sides of you. I think it is a side that’s intertwined with the creative side of me. I can’t be an artist without being sensual. Without that aspect, all that would be macabre. Which brings me to my mom again. She used to chide me for reading Stephen King when I was a kid. I’m a huge Stephen King fan. She was like, “It’s so macabre, so dark.” And I’m like, “I like it, I like his work.” He’s such a skilled writer. And I like how he could take something so mundane and make it terrifying and frightening on all levels. Stephen King said that he writes two thousand words every morning. I’m not sure if I can do that. I wanted to write na rin eh because the natural partner of my art is my writing. Because as a curator, I didn’t just read. I had to write a lot. And that’s where I honed my skills. Kasi siyempre, it’s a sword that you have to sharpen every now and then. So, for the show. I did a lot of writing. I did my own writing. DT: While we're on the talk of artists, what about the Filipino artists? Who among them do you admire? Do you have any mentors and idols? KA: Among Philippine artists, Junyee is my second father and my first artistic mentor. He is my OG sage and shaman of Philippine art, the Father of Philippine Installation Art. I'm actively lobbying for him to become National Artist soon, as no one deserves it more than he does, with his magnificent oeuvre. I'll always remember how, in a fleeing moment of impostor syndrome, he consoled me by saying that making art for myself always comes first. Love the process and the rest follows. The maverick attitude is very Junyee! And yet, he lives a modest life in the forest-like setting of his home in Los Banos, echoing the nature-loving ethos of our favorite Japanese animator, Hayao Miyazaki, creator of Toroto, Nausicaa, Spirited Away, among many other magical films. Since I was a child, Junyee saw my potential and continued to push me to have my own gallery shows, as did his longtime friend and one of my other mentors, Sari Ortiga. Sari's daughter Yasmin is a good friend and batchmate of mine from Poveda. Sari owns and runs the distinguished Crucible Gallery, and he hired me to illustrate one of the children's books for his series "Growing up with Philippine art" in 2009. It's thanks to Sari that I pushed myself to evolve as an artist, to grow outside of my comfort zone. The acclaimed visual artist and sculptor Jinggoy Buensuceso is something of a bad boy du jour of the Philippine art scene, and his dissident attitude is something I can identify with. I love the unorthodox, the sensual, the macabre, the dark stuff that delves deep into the psyche. I'm so bored of the "covers" or "riffs" of the countless Amorsolo, Basquiat, Picasso, or Rothko-type artworks that I see so much of in the local art scene. As wtih Junyee and Sari, Jinggoy has taught me how to navigate the perilous seas of art and life, echoing Junyee's advice to remain myself, in a world that often pushes us to be someone else. My three mentors, by example, taught me how to be original. DT: How many are you exhibiting? How many works? KA: Now, I have 9 complete pieces. I’d like to add another one. Honestly, medyo cramming ito because I only had two months to do the show. Normally for this kind of work - especially with the big piece I am doing - it’s a seven-foot piece. I would need, preferably to be comfortable, at least four to six months to do all this work. Kasi, there is so much nicer when you give it time to compost. To come together, to become fertile. DT: Is there enough time for one more work? A: Yes. I have one more work that I want. Because I feel that it rounds it up eh. If I do ten, I love the work that I’ve already done. Again, it’s not a painting, it’s a collage. So, I’d call it a photographic collage with paper cuttings on canvas. I wanted to treat canvas in a way that is not painting DT: Shouldn’t someone curate for you? KA: For now, I’m happy to have to do it myself. Because I feel that I’m the only one who can portray myself in a way that I feel I should be portrayed. Kasi it’s art eh. You’re trying not so much to explain yourself as you’re trying to convey who you are to somebody without being obvious. That’s art. DT: Where does Stephen, your partner, come in? [caption id="attachment_165418" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] With her partner and anchor, Stephen Lu.[/caption] KA: Stephen is somewhat of an anchor for me. So, I feel comfortable, I feel more confident when he’s around. But I guess I’m okay. DT: Now, as we wind up, let’s talk about how you are like your parents and not like them. You said that your interest in the arts came from the exposure that you received from your mother, and of course, the presence of books at home. Tell me more about your father’s role in your becoming the person that you are. KA: One of my fondest memories of my father was his love of nature, gardening, and farming, which I learned from him. He was at his best and calmest when he was at his farm in Nasugbu and Baler. Whilst my father was a “man of the soil”, I learned to be an “artist of the soil”, a gardener who applies the principles of nature to my art. Hence the overlying themes of nature in my oeuvre of artwork. And the most resonant themes of philosophy (which my father also studied and applied in his life) are the themes relating to lessons learned from nature: patience, fortitude, temperance. From this I’ve become more acutely aware of life’s transience, making our time all the more precious, being grateful for small and simple pleasures, and the opportunities that come my way. The naïveté of my younger years meant that I didn’t have a complete grasp of the opportunities presented to me by my father, I took much for granted. Now I see why he did what he did, he gave me the tools to be able to achieve my full potential. Only now that I’m embracing that fire and heading in a direction that makes the most of my talents. I had impostor syndrome for the longest time. Always questioning and doubting myself. Now I can fully embrace who I am and it is cathartic. DT: In what way are you like them? KA: I have the different strengths of my parents. I’ve inherited their academic minds and cultured tastes, with an eye for detail and beauty. I have many mannerisms and behavious in common with my mum, in terms of poise and self-possession. But, she is like Audrey Hepburn and I am infinitely more of a Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn was also a very private person and something of a poet and writer. I guess it’s no surprise that I am drawn to art and writing; I am highly introspective, painfully self-aware and attuned to my moods and to the moods of others; like my Dad, I’m intuitive and know how to read people. DT: My last question is, how has art influenced you in your direction in life? And where are you going from here? KA: Being an introvert, I don’t always translate into easy social interactions with most people. So I channel it all into my art. It’s a language that best expresses my psyche, thoughts, and emotions. Working with my hands is healing and consolation for the isolation, depression, and anxiety attacks that grip me on bad days. That’s why as an artist of the soil, gardening and art go hand in hand. In the future, I can see myself tending to the land and becoming a farmer as my father was. It’s like coming home. The post Katya Angara – The journey of a woman and artist appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Philippines announces decisive measures amid tensions with China
Manila [Philippines], March 28 (ANI): Amid the escalating tensions in the South China Sea, Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr has announced decisive measures to protect his country's sovereignty and maritime rights while ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Marcos, known as Bongbong, said that the measures, aimed at addressing what he said is the "open, unabating, and illegal" actions by China's Coast.....»»
Pentagon chief reaffirms support after latest China aggression in WPS
Austin emphasized US support for the Philippines in defending its sovereign rights and jurisdiction in a phone call with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro on Wednesday. .....»»
Let’s not forget about sexual reproductive health and rights
I once read that in the ’80s, NASA wanted to send astronaut Sally Ride – the first American woman in space – on a space mission with 100 tampons. Her trip was six days. They could have spared that embarrassment by simply talking about it......»»
PAWS files animal cruelty raps vs killer of golden retriever Killua
Non-government organization for animal rights Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) on Monday filed criminal complaint against the individual who struck the golden retriever Killua which resulted to its demise......»»
Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel may kakaibang adventure sa upcoming movie
IKA nga nila, “dreams come true.” Kaya naman, samahan natin sa kakaibang adventure ang Hollywood stars na sina Zachary Levi at Zooey Deschanel sa upcoming movie na pinamagatang “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” Ang pelikula ay ang kauna-unahang film adaptation ng 1995 children’s classic book na may kaparehong titulo na isinulat ng American cartoonist na.....»»
After Ayungin harassment, China tells PH: Prepare ‘to bear all potential consequences’
The Philippines, meanwhile, says it 'will not be deterred – by veiled threats or hostility – from exercising our legal rights'.....»»
Asian Study Reveals Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals Found in Personal Care Products from the Philippines
In a press briefing in time for the observance of World Consumer Rights Month, BAN Toxics, a chemical and waste management NGO, discloses the findings of recent laboratory testing indicating the presence of parabens, triclosan, and triclocarban, classified as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), in personal care products sold in the country. The result underscores potential health risks for.....»»
Spirits of Christmas
“Estrellita, the little wishing star,” a Carlos Palanca award-winning children’s book, tells of how the paths of Estrellita, one of the millions of stars in the sky who dreamed to make someone happy, and Noel, a sick orphan boy who wished to see his mother he had never seen, had crossed......»»
PHLPost marks National Children’s Month via stamps
The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) announced that it has launched new stamps featuring artworks and illustrations dedicated in the observance of National Children’s Month (NSCM). Postmaster -General Luis Carlos said the stamps were unveiled by National Authority for Child Care (NACC) Undersecretary Janella Ejercito Estrada,. Beth Parrocha, book illustrator and author, SM Supermalls Senior Vice […].....»»
‘Palestinian children should be killed’
No, that heartless advice did not come from a mentally deranged man or an ordinary man on the street. It came from a top Filipino diplomat who has worn many hats in government. He is in fact a lawyer, journalist, former Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador to the United Nations, Press Secretary, Congressman, and presently Philippine Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s (United Kingdom) and concurrently Special Envoy to China for special concerns. In my book, those bona fides could easily qualify him as a revered Filipino statesman — but for his indiscretion, uncouth words, and disrespect for the feelings of others. I refer, dear readers, to Teodoro Lopez Locsin Jr. I have to emphasize the descriptive word “Jr.” because, from accounts I have read, he is far different from his namesake, Teodoro Locsin Sr., who fought the Japanese and the dictatorial regime of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., a fearless publisher of the news magazine Philippines Free Press for which he was imprisoned during the Marcos martial law regime. Did the “apple fall far from the tree?” In his Twitter account, Locsin Jr. said: “That’s why Palestinian children should be killed: they might grow up to become as gullible as innocent Palestinians letting Hamas launch rockets at Israel ...They are Muslims...” In the diplomatic community, we call that a faux pas. Perhaps realizing the callousness of his gaffe, he immediately deleted the tweet with the following lame expression of mea culpa: “I immediately deleted my sarcastic response to a tweet as I realized it could be misconstrued ...My apologies to those who did misconstrue my sentiments and did, in fact, get triggered...” That statement did not wash away the disastrous effect of his slip. If one reads between the lines, they were subtle words to camouflage the booboo, not a real entreaty for clemency. His admission of his mistake, though, may work to mitigate the imprudence. Remarkably, the Department of Foreign Affairs, anticipating its far-reaching negative effect, disassociated itself from the statement, saying it was made in Locsin’s “personal capacity.” I wanted to distance this column from the ensuing uproar. But being the de facto medium for Filipino Muslims’ concerns and sentiments on political and social issues, it cannot default from its moral responsibility. I was afraid that repeating the obnoxious remark might gain traction — and psychologists warn about the “repetition-induced truth effect.” I did not want to dignify it. After all, he had shown remorse and apologized for the impropriety of his words, and, as a sage says, “There is no need to beat a dead horse.” But the storm of controversy has spread like wildfire in Morolandia that I have to add my voice of indignation. Silence amid the din of protest is a sin. I have not seen in a long time such a display of revulsion and rage from the Moros, reminiscent of the time foreign invaders came to their shores and, for 300 years, the Moros dug in, resisted, and repelled the hegemonistic colonization campaign. Muslim netizens promptly denounced the statement as xenophobic, insensitive, and unbecoming of a diplomat. Their protest and outcry reverberated from the halls of the Houses of Congress, the Regional Parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to the cramped temporary shanties of the Marawi war evacuees and the shores of the Sulu seas. For a single moment in their lives, the tribes of Morolandia set aside their tribal identities. They spoke in one thunderous voice, calling for a sanction for what they perceived was the misconduct of a diplomat who, to preserve his honor, must perform a Japanese seppuku or self-sacrifice by resigning from his post. Articulating the collective position of the Deputies of the BARMM interim Regional Parliament, Speaker Pangalian Balindong issued a public statement rich in a poignant message condemning the “insensitive and irresponsible social media post ...for its Islamophobic, racist, and anti-Semitic undertones.” (To be continued) amb_mac_lanto@yahoo.com The post ‘Palestinian children should be killed’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Barrio boy Pedro Penduko becomes an urban warrior
The original Pedro Penduko was a comic book character created by the posthumously awarded National Artist for Literature Francisco V. Coching. Serialized in Liwayway, the Filipino magazine of choice in the mid-‘50s to ‘70s, Coching’s Penduko is an ordinary young man from the barrio who is bumbling and cowardly but also resourceful, quick-witted and pure-hearted. Lamentably, no prints are known to exist of the first Pedro Penduko film made by the great Gerry de Leon, National Artist for Film, who directed from a screenplay by Coching himself. Efren Reyes Sr. was the original actor who played Penduko on the silver screen. The second motion picture incarnation of Coching’s comic book character happened in the late ’70s, with the Philippines’ Bruce Lee counterpart Ramon Zamora as lead under Celso Ad Castillo’s direction. More recent incarnations include remakes that starred Janno Gibbs, plus the successful ABS-CBN series that catapulted Matt Evans to teen stardom. Pedro Penduko will once again be reborn this December with the Metro Manila Film Festival entry Penduko, starring Matteo Guidicelli as the iconic character and Jason Paul Laxamana writing and directing the film. Laxamana said he has uprooted Pedro Penduko from the barrio and made him an urban daily survivor. Guidicelli’s Penduko is now an everyday Juan in the city struggling to make ends meet because he does not want to follow the footsteps of his arbularyo father, Apo Tisot (John Arcilla), offering a millennial story of the main character journeying to find one’s self and the hero within. “Majority of people now have seen so many superheroes from Marvel, DC, Disney and the like. So, in this Penduko, we have expanded his story. The common threads in all the Penduko movies and TV show are its folklore and mythical elements. That is what we maintained in this film, but we added a fuller story to strengthen the folklore and magical elements.” Guidicelli, who said he was “overwhelmed and grateful” to be doing the role, trained hard to be physically fit, undergoing extensive arnis, eskrima and kali sessions with a Philippine martial arts master. He also worked closely with his acting coach Ruby Ruiz to get the character right, especially his feelings and sense of truth. “When I was presented the screenplay by direk Jason Paul, I was blown away,” recalled Guidicelli. “Anything and everything about Penduko, how he envisioned him to be and the world we are presenting in the movie, was in the script. And it was written in the old style, almost lyrical Tagalog. Nakaka-intimidate! As an actor, pag ganun ka-kumpleto na ‘yung ibinigay sa iyo (if you were given something that complete), you really need to bring your A-game.” Guidicelli is bullish about thebox-office prospects of his film. “It has been quite some time for an action-fantasy movie to be part of the annual MMFF. Aside from that, we have a gripping and relatable narrative. There are twists to the folklore and mythical creatures. Its sensibilities, passion and heart are truly Filipino.” Penduko is the first MMFF venture of Epik Studios and Sari-Sari Network Inc., in collaboration with Viva Films. It opens in cinemas this 25 December as an official MMFF entry. The post Barrio boy Pedro Penduko becomes an urban warrior appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Message of PM Anwar Ibrahim
Crisis brings out the best and the worst in man. It reveals his true persona behind the façade of photo-shopped and public relations-created images. Amidst the Israel-Hamas war, former president Rodrigo Duterte outrageously advised Israel President Benjamin Netanyahu to make “Gaza the world’s biggest cemetery.” And just recently, our ambassador to the United Kingdom twitted on social media (taken down later) that “Palestinian children should be killed . . .” These comments went viral among Moro netizens who unleashed a barrage of angry libelous words against the source. Now, juxtapose this with the public statements by regional leaders about the crisis. And from the gallery of regional statesmen, I pick Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’Seri Anwar Ibrahim whose poignant messages earned the praise of not a few, including non-Muslims. The reaction of these leaders betrays the dichotomy of opinions along religious lines. The Muslim countries, true to their affiliation with the Muslim Palestinians, as members of the World Brotherhood of Muslims or “Ummah Islamiyyah” stood should-to-shoulder with the Palestinians. On the flip side are the non-Muslims led by the United States which condemned the 7 October surprise attack by Hamas on Israel. The world is now on edge because of the strong words of revenge of rightist President Benjamin Netanyahu using the world media stage for his threats of annihilation and cutting off of basic supplies of food, medicines, water, electricity, and fuel to the Palestinians of the Muslim City of Gaza. According to jurists, these are crimes against International Humanitarian Law and other UN covenants and Geneva Conventions. And they claim that while Israel has the right to defend itself, that is not a license to commit genocide. Prime Minister Ibrahim stood tall among Muslim leaders in expressing the sentiment of his government. He had been vocal at every turn of the crisis. He must have had a premonition of the impending catastrophe. His eloquent speech before the United Nations General Assembly on 22 September, which in my book is in the same league as the “What it means to be a Muslim” speech of King Abdullah of Jordan, has earned praise from many observers. He said, “In the Middle East, the politics of dispossession continues with a vengeance with more illegal settlements being built, stripping Palestinians of land that rightfully belongs to them. This constitutes a gross violation of international law. It also poses an insurmountable obstacle to a two-state solution, not to mention the continued killings. There is also flagrant hypocrisy in dealing with the issue of Palestine. The international community must speak up against the atrocities committed towards the Palestinians even as they so vehemently speak out against human rights violations, injustice, and abusive regimes.” When the war broke out on 7 October, one of the countries that reacted immediately was Malaysia. PM Ibrahim issued a statement expressing his country’s solidarity with the struggles of the Palestinians and reiterated his indictment of the international community for its “one-sided actions regarding . . . cruelty and oppression against the Palestinians. The confiscation of land and property belonging to the Palestinian people . . . done relentlessly by the Zionists.” After the bombing of the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, which killed more than 500 innocent civilians, PM Ibrahim described it as being “on an insane and inhumane level. What is most regrettable is that Western countries, which speak about human rights, seem to differentiate between peoples, with some considered first-class and others as subordinates.” PM Ibrahim knows how geopolitics works. There will be consequences for standing up against the position of the world powers, the US and Europe, which had expressed total support for Israel. There might be a price to pay. Economic, trade, and political relationships might be put in jeopardy. But the Islam in him outweighed other interests. And for that, Muslims salute him. We are proud to belong to the Malay race. amb_mac_lanto@yahoo.com The post Message of PM Anwar Ibrahim appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Toxic? Britney tells of troubles in new memoir
Britney Spears, the dewy-eyed child star who became a global pop phenomenon and then melted down in full view of the world, tells her story Tuesday with the release of her already bestselling memoir. "The Woman In Me" is the pop princess in her own, unvarnished words, shot through with the anguish of a family she believes has failed her at every step of the way, in an industry that mercilessly devours its talent. From sharing daiquiris with her mother as a young teenager -- two years after she became a regular on "The Mickey Mouse Club" -- to the 13 years she spent as an adult in a conservatorship, the memoir details how she struggled to escape the influence of her controlling father. Until two years ago, when she got out from under the conservatorship legal relationship that she says dictated everything from her birth control choices to the set list at lucrative Las Vegas gigs. In the intervening months, Spears has married a former dancer, announced then lost a pregnancy, and is now on the road to her third divorce. The book, whose pre-orders catapulted it to the top of the Amazon best-seller list, was produced too early to include that coda with husband Sam Asghari. But readers will still have plenty to chew on. 'Harlot' Tidbits that have leaked ahead of publication include news of an abortion Spears says fellow Mickey Mouse Club alum Justin Timberlake urged her to have after she became pregnant while the couple was together. When the pair split, and his hit "Cry Me A River" appeared to be about the way he felt she had betrayed him, Spears was painted as the "harlot who'd broken the heart of America's golden boy," she writes. In reality, he was "happily running around Hollywood" while she was "comatose in Louisiana." Readers have also learned of a brief but intense affair with Irish actor and Oscar nominee Colin Farrell, what she calls "a two-week brawl." "Brawl is the only word for it -- we were all over each other, grappling so passionately it was like we were in a street fight." The noughties brought fame and notoriety to Spears in equal measure, with a passionate fan base eager for every last scrap of news about her. That collided with an aggressive paparazzi culture that delighted in capturing her partying alongside hell-raisers like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. Spears insists there were never hard drugs and that she did not have a drinking problem, but admits that she was taking Adderall, the ADHD medication. A publicly played-out bust-up with second husband Kevin Federline, and an ensuing custody fight over their two children, presaged the emotional low watermark: shaving her head and attacking a photographer's car. "Flailing those weeks without my children, I lost it, over and over again," she writes. "I didn't even really know how to take care of myself. "I'd begin to think in some ways like a child." A year later, the courts appointed her father Jamie Spears to control her money and her personal life. Over the next 13 years, she was told who she could see, and how much she could spend, and even ordered not to have more children. Yet under Jamie Spears, she would still perform as a pop icon. "Too sick to choose my own boyfriend and yet somehow healthy enough to appear on sitcoms and morning shows, and to perform for thousands of people in a different part of the world every week." "From that point on, I began to think that (my father) saw me as put on the earth for no other reason than to help their cash flow." Jamie Spears has always insisted that he had the best interests of his daughter at heart and was seeking to protect her from exploitation. The conservatorship was dissolved in 2021, but -- aside from collaborations with Elton John and will.i.am -- it has not heralded a return to creativity for Spears. "Pushing forward in my music career is not my focus at the moment," the now-41-year-old Britney writes. "It's time for me not to be someone who other people want; it's time to actually find myself.".....»»
Chinese sci-fi steps into the spotlight
Once effectively banned, Chinese science fiction has exploded into the mainstream, embraced by the government and public alike –- inviting scrutiny of a genre that has become known for its expanding diversity and relative freedom. Its new status was epitomized by this week's Worldcon, the world's oldest and most influential sci-fi gathering, which closed Sunday after taking place in China for the first time. Held in the gleaming new Chengdu Science Fiction Museum, the event's star was Liu Cixin, author of the international phenomenon "Three-Body" series and inspiration for the domestic blockbuster "Wandering Earth". But the wider science fiction fandom has become a rare space where diverse voices have flourished and a vast array of issues -- social, environmental, even sometimes political -- can be explored. "In its nature, part of sci-fi is talking about the present," award-winning author Chen Qiufan told AFP. "It takes advantage of talking about outer space, or being set in different times, but reflects the human condition right now." Chen's own novel "The Waste Tide" is set in a dystopian future in China, where migrant e-waste workers toil in hazardous conditions, exploited by corrupt conglomerates. He grew up near Guiyu, once one of the largest e-waste dumps in the world. Ecological destruction, urbanization, social inequality, gender, and corruption, to name just a few –- "these issues are intersectional and intertwined with each other", said Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University's Liu Xi. Together, they "allow everyone to understand Chinese writers' exploration of Chinese society", she said. That can be rare to find in today's China, where the space for political and artistic expression has shrunk drastically over the last decade under President Xi Jinping. Spiritual pollution Historically, science fiction has had a turbulent relationship with Chinese authorities -– it effectively disappeared during the Cultural Revolution and then was banned as "spiritual pollution" in the 1980s. Though it returned, it remained relatively obscure. Writer Regina Kanyu Wang said it was only at university that she met other fans -- together they formed one of the smaller clubs on campus. Sci-fi was not taken seriously, and seen as something for children and young adults, Chen said. That had its advantages. "There was a lot of freedom... because nobody was reading science fiction, (authors) could just do whatever they wanted," the University of Zurich's Jessica Imbach told AFP. The global success of the "Three-Body" series changed everything, catapulting its epic themes of technological prowess and the fate of humanity into the public consciousness. "Whether you like science fiction or not, the social reality we are facing is becoming more and more like science fiction," said Yu Xuying from Hong Kong Metropolitan University. "We live in a high-tech era. And then your daily life is completely technological," she said. The pace of digital change in China, already fast, was accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Cash has all but disappeared, and stringent health regulations further enhanced the state's significant surveillance capacity. The international interest spike in Chinese sci-fi is also related to real-world concerns, Chen believes. "I think there are different layers of reasons for the phenomenon," he said. "But a major one is the rising economic and technological power of China on the world stage." A good vehicle China's government has been happy to capitalize on all this. "At a national level, science fiction is a good vehicle for conveying the country's discourse on its science and technology strength," said Yu. It can also help "highlight the relationship between the Chinese dream (a Xi-era aspirational slogan) and science", she said. Authorities have put their money where their mouth is. The nebula-shaped Chengdu Science Fiction Museum, designed by the renowned Zaha Hadid Architects, was built at lightspeed in just a year to coincide with Worldcon. The event, historically fan-led and funded, this year was a "capitalistic initiative, coming top-down from the Chinese government", said Chen. "They want sci-fi to be the name card of the city, showing China's openness and inclusiveness to the world," he said. Government attention comes with potential risk. "The Three-Body Problem" has a different structure in English, with the narrative beginning with a violent Cultural Revolution scene. In the original Chinese, it was buried halfway through the book to make it less conspicuous, the translator Ken Liu was told. Liu told the New York Times in 2019 that increasingly, "it's gotten much harder for me to talk about the work of Chinese authors without... causing them trouble". Some works he has translated into English, deemed too sensitive, have never been published in Chinese at all. "If you're very marginal if you have low print numbers in China, then it's OK, you have more leeway. If you're doing a mega big-budget movie... it's much more complicated," said Imbach. "That's what's now also happening with science fiction," she said. "As it's becoming more mainstream, there is increased scrutiny." The post Chinese sci-fi steps into the spotlight appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»