Patatag reunion concert

I took me 16 years before I finally got to see the original Patatag members perform in a reunion gig at the 70’s Bistro.

For a 90’s activist like me, it was definitely worth the wait.

I had always wondered how the original members of Patatag would sound in a live gig. I joined the student movement in 1992. At that time, there was a different set of Patatag members performing in UP.

I envy the generation of activists who were fortunate enough to experience Patatag at
the height of the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship. Their first album Nagbabagang Lupa was the first cassette tape I bought after being recruited to the League of Filipino Students in ‘92. That cassette and their sophomore release Batang Clark, helped initiate me to progressive and revolutionary music. I was fortunate though to hear bootleg copies of live performances of Patatag, particularly one that took place probably in the Cordillera region. Those were songs that had a deep impact on listeners, both because of their excellent rendition and the correctness of the views.

I had wondered what it was like to see Rody Vera sing Manggagawa live. I imagined how guitarists Dodjie Fernandez and Norman Mendoza would execute their fiery guitar styles with precision. How’d they do the instrumental Signos, I wondered. I also thought of what it was like to hear the perfect harmony of female voices in the chorale.

Once again, revolutionary songs of the workers, peasants, the petit-bourgeoisie and the Filipino people came alive through the assembled voices of a formidable chorale the likes of which we have not seen in a long while.

The venue was packed and people were perspiring. Never mind the heat. They came there to witness a rare occasion in progressive music and to relive the sounds of Patatag. Sen. Kiko Pangilinan didn’t mind standing at the back. There were journalists, lawyers, doctors, activists old and new who came to listen to the songs that defined the mass movement during the 80’s.

Patatag kicked-off their first set with the song Pagbagago (Batang Clark) then transitioned to the YS favorite Awit ng Peti-burges whose original title was May Panahon. People got excited when the first lines of Dapat Bawiin were sung. Dapat Bawiin (originally from Uruguay) was a song from the Nagbabagang Lupa album which summed up the peasant struggle for land. They also did Joey Ayala’s Wala nang Tao sa Sta. Filomena, sounding as powerful as when they first recorded it for Nagbabagang Lupa.

The chorale of probably more than 20 singers was accompanied by three guitarists, with Dodjie Fernandez occasionally playing bass and his two sons playing percussion.

Then Rody Vera and Upeng Fernandez did a duet from a song Amanda and Manuel, an unrecorded piece that seemed to originate from Latin America. This was then followed by the Victor Jara classic Tumindig Ka, again sung with such passion as only Rody can.

At this point, Susan Fernandez, sister of Dodjie, took the stage and sung Ang Paglikas (Masdan, o Yahweh) with Rody. It was a song about internally displaced persons during the Aquino regime. Susan also sang Kung Ibig mo Akong Makilala and Awit ni Canuplin.

When Patatag returned for their second set, they did a medley of what they call their “song hits”, the audience favorites or MRS.

They did Julian Makabayan, the Chilean marching hymn Awit ng Tagumpay and Manggagawa (from Sister Stella L.), and another workers song the title of which I could not remember. They sung the Italian anti-fascist song Bella ciao too.

The crowd got to join in the performance when Patatag did their version of Papuri sa Sosyalismo, with the familiar intro, “Hindi tayo titigil hangga’t di nagwawagi”. The audience provided the 1-2-3 beat for a song that has become such a staple even in today’s rallies.
They also did this post-Edsa 1 song about failed promises. I first heard this song in 1992 at a freshmen concert. It included a parody of the Edsa 1 anthem “Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo”.

I was pleasantly surprised to see my Math 17 professor Fidel Nemenzo, a person who helped me out during my early years into activism, as a member of Patatag. Turns out he was there at the start of Patatag in 1984 but never got to join a concert after being shot in a rally during the Marcos dictatorship. He wore an OUST GMA pin, by the way.

My favorite performance of the night was Patatag’s rendition of Pandaigdigang Kapatiran (Because All Men are Brothers), a song full of beautiful harmonies about international working class solidarity.

Patatag capped their performance with Joey Ayala and Al Santos’ “Salubungin ang Bagong Araw”, a powerful song that seemed to usher a new period in Patatag’s history. It now appears that this would not be the first and last reunion gig. Another one is set on May 1, international Labor Day. A new recording is also in the works. We can expect more from the members of Patatag, though I heard a few members say that their age has somehow affected their stamina during concerts.

Many of Patatag’s members are in different fields and careers right now. Still, Patatag’s greatest contribution was in enriching revolutionary art and culture and in providing the voice and music for a struggling people during the 80’s and 90’s. Their songs embodied the temper of their times yet are timeless pieces by themselves. Their performances uplifted the spirits of the struggling people wherever they went.

Theirs was not just agitation-propaganda. These are songs that served to advance the mass movement and became part of the rich musical tradition of the Left. These are songs that continue to have relevance even today– songs that deserve to heard again and again so long as injustice remains.

We hope that the present generation of activists will have the opportunity to listen and appreciate the works of Patatag, and to be inspired as well to make their own contributions to enriching progressive and revolutionary music.

As for me, I’d definitely go to the next gig on May 1.

P.S. – I really wish they did Mon Ayco’s Tano. That would have brought the house down for sure. I also secretly hoped they would sing their version of the Russian revolutionary anthem “Bukid, Bundok”. Oh yeah, and I really hope next time they perform Pangamba, one of my all-time Patatag favorites. Their new song on corruption has yet to grow on me though.

Report to the UN CESCR: Philippine government still in a state of denial on human rights issues

News Release
November 12, 2008

(GENEVA) The Philippine government remains in a state of denial on important issues of human rights. This was the observation made by the umbrella organization Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and the human rights group Karapatan during the Philippine report to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
It was the first time since 1995 that the Phililppine government submitted a report, a fact pointed out by the Committee.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) by its States parties. The Committee was established under ECOSOC Resolution 1985/17 of 28 May 1985 to carry out the monitoring functions assigned to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in Part IV of the Covenant.

All States parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights are being implemented. States must report initially within two years of accepting the Covenant and thereafter every five years. The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of “concluding observations”.

The Philippine delegation was led by Erlinda Basilio and was joined by Undersecretary Severo Catura of the Presidential Human Rights Committee, Assistant Secretary Evan Garcia of the DFA, Ricardo Gloria of the Department of Labor and Employment as well as representatives from the Department of Justice and the National Economic Development Authority.

When asked on the measures taken by the Philippine government to address issues of extrajudicial killings and abductions, Mr. Denis Lepatan, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Philippine Mission to the UN, said that many of the figures cited by human rights group Karapatan were fictitious, and that some victims were even non-existent. He said that only 14% of the figures cited by Karapatan were “probable” cases of extrajudicial killings.

When asked if there was a connection between agrarian issues and extrajudicial killings, Lepatan said there were no estabilshed links, but did not elaborate.

“On the quesiton of extrajudicial killings, the standard government reponse is to deny the gravity of the problem and attack the credibility of the human rights organizations and victims. This is being repeated here in Geneva during the ESCR review. The Philippine government is still denying the well-established fact that extrajducial killings are a serious and continuing problem in the country,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

“There have been recent cases of extrajudicial killings, many involving peasant leaders. In fact, 60% of the activists who were killed belong to the peasant movement. It is sheer dishonesty to say that there is no established links between agrarian issues and the killings. It is no coincidence that the farmers fighting for land are being labeled as communist sympathizers and then killed,” said Karapatan secretary general Maria Hilao-Enriquez added.

Committee member Mr. Andrzej Rzeplinski asked what the government was doing to address the murderers of trade union leaders, saying that a major effort is needed to track down perpetrators and prevent crimes. The DOJ representative could only cite the arrest of of the alleged killer of Central Azucarera de Tarlac union leader Ricardo Ramos. This appeared to be the only case that made progress among the many deaths of trade union leaders and union activists.

A day before the scheduled Philippine report, a Bayan Muna coordinator and labor leader in a banana plantation in Davao del Norte was assassinated by unidenfited gunmen. Rolando Antohilao, 39 sustained seven gun-shot wounds.

The Philippine panel also failed to explain why poverty has increased despite claims of annual growth in the Gross Domestic Product. Government data showed a 36% poverty incidence despite a yearly average growth of 5% in the GDP. This phenomenon led Mr. Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, a committee member, to remark that it may appear that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

When asked why the Philippine government has not signed the Convention (No. 169) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, the DFA’s Lepatan said that they found no need to because the Philippines’ Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act is already “superior to Convention 169”. This remark puzzled committee member Mr. Jaime Marchan Romero who thought that the Philippines should all the more sign the convention since it had a domestic law on indigenous peoples.

The session on the Philippines continues on November 12. Bayan and Karapatan were among the Philippine-based organizations present at the Philippine session. They were also able to meet with Committee members to brief them on the NGO reports. ###

After the polls, mass movement needed more than ever

well that sure was an awesome smackdown of the republican party, george bush and john mccain.

i understand fully why people cried when obama was declared winner.

for the african americans and other people of color, the symbolism of the obama win dates back to the struggle against slavery up to the civil rights movement.

for most people, the victory signals the end of the bush regime. an end to eight years marked by two wars….economic mismanagement…abuse of power. people are grateful that one of the worst regimes in US history is now coming to an end. (i remember how people cried as well when george bush got a first then second term, those were tears of despair.with obama, those were genuine tears of jubilation).

the end of the bush regime signals a possibility for a new beginning, a break with military unilateralism, a departure from the tax breaks for the wealthy, a departure from the arrogance of power, gunboat diplomacy, and all around bullying. there are possibilities.

with his election, the expectations on obama are now greater than ever. people expect him to fulfill his promise to end the war in iraq in 16 months. people expect him to deliver on his pledge to give tax breaks to the american middle class. the high hopes and expectations are shared by the rest of the globe, people who are affected by US foreign and economic policies.

malacanang hopes it will be business as usual in washington. maybe. but you can’t help us think and expect that there should be some changes in the ways the US deals with the Philippines. if the US pulls out troops in Iraq, in the same spirit, it should pull out troops in mindanao.

yes, there should be no illusions as there will be stumbling blocks and failed expectations. the people’s vigilance is important. the mass movement is still the key. it’s the mass movement that can make leaders accountable. as the great punk rocker patty smith once cried, “the people have the power….to redeem the work of fools…the power to dream, to rule, to wrestle the world from fools”.

in the philippines, where the sitting president is as despised by the population as bush is in the US, we wonder if a GMA endorsement would have a bush-mccain effect too. will an arroyo endorsement of a candidate be viewed as six more years of GMA?

by 2010, arroyo would have been in office longer than the two terms of george bush. that’s an awfully loooong time.

we surely could use some CHANGE that we all can believe in, and fight for.

The return of IISA PA LAMANG’s MOTHER-DAUGHTER TANDEM

IISA PA LAMANG characters have a way of making light what should be an otherwise dramatic and emotional situation.

Take for example the conversation between the “back from the dead” Isadora and her daughter Sophia who just recently discovered her mom was alive.

Sophia: I’m glad you’re ok.
Isadora: Di ako naniniwala sa iyo. Pina-plastic mo lang ako…
Sophia: Ma, na-depress ako nung nawala ka.
Isadora: Totoo ba yan? Umiyak ka ba talaga nung nalunod ako sa kumunoy?

Ayos di ba?

Excited na talaga ako sa ending nito. Ito ang second highly anticipated event ko for the week, next only to the US presidential elections. hehe. At least sa US elections, may idea na tayo kung paano ang ending. Sa IPL, no idea pa rin kung paano matetepok si Isadora.