Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Ating Wika at ang Pantayong Pananaw

Bakit ba kailangang ipasok ang ating wika dito sa Facebook at iba pang lugar kung saan nagtitipon-tipon tayo? Siyempre pa, dahil kailangang isinasabuhay ang pagmamahal sa ating sariling wika. Ang isa pang dahilan ay upang maitaguyod ang pananaw na Pilipino/Taga-Ilog para naman sa IKABUBUO ng ating pagkakakilanlan.

Apart from the obvious "love-your-own," 'live (speak) your patriotism' rant, one other reason why we should speak and write in the Filipino language is because our nation needs to foster the Filipino/Taga-Ilog perspective in the ultimate aim of BUILDING our own identity.

To those who haven't noticed, the Filipino perspective--if there is one that's identifiable--as it stands today is only partly indigenous and is more of a colonial mix. More or less. The reason is that we have a damaged history and culture: damaged by very successful periods of colonialism and neo.colonialism.

Sa mga hindi pa nakakapansin diyan, ang Pilipinong pananaw--kung may mapagkakakilanlan ngang ganoon--ay maliit lamang ang katutubo sangkap at, bagkus, ay mas malakas ang pagiging kolonyal. Mahigit kumulang. Ang dahilan ay ang pagkakaroon natin ng napinsalang kasaysayan at kultura: napinsala ng napakamatagumpay na mga panahon ng pananakop at neokolonyalismo.




Sa pagsasalita at pagsusulat sa ating sariling wika, maitataguyod natin ang Pantayong Pananaw (PP) na siya namang makakatulong sa pagbuo ng ating tunay na pagkabansa. By speaking and writing in our own language, we can foster the Pantayong Pananaw (PP) or FOR-US Perspective/'FROM-US-TO-US
Perspective,' which should then help in the building of our genuine nationhood.


PANTAYONG PANANAW

Ang Pantayong Pananaw ay isang teoryang ginagamit sa kasaysayan na nagpapanukala na ang ugat at kalagayan ng Pilipinas at mga Filipino ay dapat pag-aralan alinsunod sa punto de bista o pananaw ng Filipino at sa sariling diskursong taglay nito. The PP, according to Portia Reyes, is valuable both to the Filipino historian and the discipline of Philippine history. "For the historian, this is a metaphorical return to himself and to his people. For the discipline, this is the operational Filipino written historical discourse´s start". Ayon kay Dr. Zeus A. Salazar na pangunahing nagtatag ng Pantayong Pananaw:

"...ang lipunan at kultura natin ay may “pantayong pananaw” lang kung tayong lahat ay gumagamit ng mga konsepto at ugali na alam natin lahat ang kahulugan, pati ang relasyon ng mga kahulugan, pati ang relasyon ng mga kahulugang ito sa isa’t isa. Ito ay nangyayari lamang kung iisa ang “code” -- ibig sabihin, may isang pangkabuuang pag-uugnay at pagkakaugnay ng mga kahulugan, kaisipan at ugali. Mahalaga (at pundamental pa nga) rito ang iisang wika."

The PP has been a tool of Salazar, et al. in trying to redress the imbalance of our people's self-representation and discourse in Philippine historiography that has most unfortunately been "framed in Western language and ideology." Worth pointing out is how such a bias has rather ridiculously gone on for generations of Filipino historians. A fundamental tenet of the PP ('FROM-US-TO-US) Perspective is the use of the Filipino language in writing Philippine history because our language acts as the backbone and root of the Filipino experience. Put it in another way, just about only the Filipino language can do historiographical justice to our history, society, and culture in terms of best capturing the local ideas, definitions, feelings, and message of the Filipino psyche.

For societies with undamaged or strong society and culture [Read: dominant Western societies], that equivalent PP (FROM-US-TO-US perspective) hardly needs to be emphasized. Sabi nga ni Salazar:

"...ang pantayong pananaw kadalasan ay hindi hayag sa mga tao kung buo ang lipunan at kalinangan, pagka’t iyon na ang kinagisnan nila at wala nang iba pang kulturang natututunan, maliban sa mga elementong nakakapasok sa (at inaangkin ng) kanilang batayang kalinangan. Nakikita ito sa kanilang mga ugali, kilos at gawain na nakasalalay sa iisang wika. Para silang mga isda sa tubig. At kung mapapalabas sila sa kanilang kultura at lipunan, kailangan pang maipaliwanag sa kanila ang mga gawain at ugali sa ibang kultura at lipunan. Kailangan nilang ibahagi ito sa kanilang kakultura sa pamamagitan ng kanilang sariling wika. Sa pagpapaliwanag na ito, ang pananaw ay masasabing “pansila” -- ibig sabihin, patukoy sa iba at hindi sa kapwa: “ganito sila,” “ganito ang ugali nila,” “ganito ang mga tagalabas banyaga.”

Ang mahalagang papel na ginagampanan ng wika sa kultura, pananaw at pag-iisip ng mga tao ay nakikita na sa mga makabagaong pag-aaral:

"“You can’t actually separate language, thought and perception,” said Debi Roberson, a psychologist at the University of Essex in the U.K. ...“All of these processes are going on, not just in parallel, but interactively.”"

The world through language: What language can tell us about how we think
http://scienceline.org/2011/01/the-world-through-language/

Sa madaling salita, ang ating wika ay hindi lamang kasangkapan sa pagpapahayag ng ating kasaysayan at kultura. Ang mismong paggamit ng ating wika ay tumutulong magpalakas at magtataguyod ng ating pagkatao o pagkalahi, kalinangan, at pagkakakilanlan bilang isang bansa.

Ating wika para sa Pantayong Filipino/Taga-Ilog na Pananaw.

Otherwise, let's stop calling our country a nation but, rather, just a protractedly colonized territory pretending to be some nation.

________


Mga Sanggunian:


Groeger, Lina. "The world through language." Scienceline.org. 7 Jan. 2011. http://scienceline.org/2011/01/the-world-through-language/

Pantayong Pananaw. Wikipilipinas. http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Pantayong_Pananaw

Reyes, Portia. "Pantayong Pananaw and Bagong Kasaysayan in the new Filipino Historiography. A History of Filipino Historiography as an History of Ideas. Abstract. Bremen, Univ., Diss., 2002.

Salazar, Zeus A. "Pantayong Pananaw: Isang Paliwanag*." http://images.balanghay.multiply.multiplycontent.com/attachment/0/SWQbyAoKCEcAAG-PUjA1/Zeus%20Salazar%20-%20Pantayong%20Pananaw%20Isang%20Paliwanag.pdf?key=balanghay%3Ajournal%3A28&nmid=162480837

"Zeus Salazar." Wikipilipinas. http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Zeus_Salazar


Karagdagang Pagbabasa ukol sa PP:

Guillermo, Ramon. "Exposition, Critique and New Directions for Pantayong Pananaw." March 2003. http://kyotoreview.cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp/issue/issue2/article_247.html

S. LILY MENDOZA: Theoretical Advances in the Discourse of Indigenization (A Summary of Pantayong Pananaw). 22 Oct. 2007. http://bagongkasaysayan.multiply.com/journal/item/15

Salazar, Zeus A. "Ang Pantayong Pananaw Bilang Diskursong Pangkabihasnan." 24 Setiembre 2007. http://bagongkasaysayan.multiply.com/journal/item/11

Dito sa Facebook:

Roland Abinal Macawili Notes. http://www.facebook.com/ang.mangingibig.ni?sk=notes

Wensley Reyes. http://www.facebook.com/wensley.reyes?sk=wall

Photo art:

Jesusa Bernardo
.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Toxic American Wastes at Subic and Clark

NARINIG n'yo na ba ang tungkol sa TOXIC WASTE sa dating mga base ng Kano sa SUBIC/CLARK???? Alam n'yo rin ba na mahigit ISANGDAAN ang namatay dahil sa nakakalasong basurang iyon, at ang kalusugan ng ilang mga bata ay naapektuhan ng labis?



When the U.S. military closed down its bases in the Philippines in 1992, they left behind toxic contamination that is now seeping into the environment, threatening the lives of thousands of people in surrounding communities. Today, more than one hundred people have died from illnesses believed to be linked to the toxic waste. Despite calls by community and environmental groups for U.S. accountability, the United States refuses to take responsibility for this environmental tragedy.

http://facessolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=3&limitstart=3


In 1992, the U.S. General Accounting Office reported contaminated sites in Clark and Subic but claimed "no responsibility for environmental damage." The report, however, triggered investigation by other concerned agencies. Among them are:

World Health Organization (WHO) Mission Report, which identified the pollutants present in the former bases;
Department of Health (DOH) Review, which found oil and grease in water samples taken from water wells in Clark;
Health for All Study" by Canadian Epidemiologist Rosalie Bertell, which noted "startingly high" levels of kidney diseases;
Woodward Clyde Environmental Baseline Survey and Environmental Quality Survey of Subic;
Weston International Environmental Baseline Study and Soil & Water Baseline Study at Clark;
The investigation conducted by the Commission on Human Rights, which confirmed all other earlier studies.

All the above studies revealed that heavy metals and contaminants ranging from oil and petroleum lubricants, pesticides such as aldrin, dieldrin and DDT to PCBs, lead, mercury, arsenic and others were found in various levels exceeding Philippine National Standards.

http://www.yonip.com/index/-Toxic.html


The 1991 base closing agreement gave the Philippines billions of dollars in military infrastructure and real estate at the bases and in return cleared the United States of any responsibility for the pollution. The Department of Defense told Stars and Stripes it has no authority to undertake or pay for environmental cleanup at the closed bases.

Philippine government efforts never gained traction. Philippine President Joseph Estrada formed a task force in 2000 to take on the issue, but it fell dormant and unfunded after he left office a year later. Efforts by private groups and environmentalists to force a cleanup have largely fizzled.

http://www.dmzhawaii.org/?tag=clark-air-force-base


The Bald Eagle nation has a Superfund law or CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) dealing with the cleanup of contamination by hazardous waste contamination. Supposedly, anyone affected by the contaminants may petition Washington to conduct a "Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection" of a site suspected to be affected. In 2000, residents around Subic and Clark did submit petitions to U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy to identify the toxic "hot spots" at the former U.S. bases there for the determination of the extent of toxic waste contamination so as to permit affected communities and entities to carry out appropriate public health and environmental protection measures. Unfortunately, the North American military rejected the petitions WITHOUT STUDY.

http://www.webofcreation.org/LENS/cfcdavislecture.html


In Dec. 2002, 36 Filipinos, Arc Ecology & FACES filed a lawsuit asking the US Department of Defense to carry out a Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection at the former U.S. bases sites at Clark & Subic under CERCLA/Superfund provisions.

On December 8, 2003, the lawsuit was dismissed by a San Jose federal judge, saying that laws argued in the petition is based are not applicable to former American bases in the Philippines. That same month an appeal was filed at the U.S. Ninth District Court of Appeals, with Attorney Scott Allen citing case law and DERP (Defense Environmental Restoration Program) statute provisions to show that the Superfund Law applies to former overseas military bases, Clark & Subic having been “owned by, leased to, or otherwise possessed by the United States” during the period of the toxic waste contamination. The ruling denying the appeal re the assessment came out in July 2005, with the Ninth Circuit judged ruling that the CERCLA is not applicable on grounds that the filing of the claim was made only after the bases have been closed.

(Appeal Case Decision here: http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/411/411.F3d.1092.04-15031.html)



It is unconscionable that the US, with full knowledge of the danger of military contamination and while willing to protect those in developed countries, is unwilling to help the Philippines, a country with few financial and technical resources to conduct a comprehensive cleanup. This US refusal to protect health violates international law.

http://facessolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=3&limitstart=3


Meron nga palang dalawang class suit na isinampa laban sa imperyalistang pamahalaan ng Estados Unidos at sa pamahalaan ng Pilipinas ukol sa nakakalasong basura na naiwan sa dating Subic Base at Clark Air Base noong bandang 2001. Hindi ko alam kung may nangyari.

_____


References:

Case No. 04-15031. U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted January 11, 2005. http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/411/411.F3d.1092.04-15031.html

Environmental Oppression. http://www.webofcreation.org/LENS/cfcdavislecture.html

Filipino American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity. Bases Clean Up. http://facessolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=3&limitstart=3

Travis J. Tritten. Decades later, U.S. military pollution in Philippines linked to deaths. 2 Feb. 2010. http://www.dmzhawaii.org/?tag=clark-air-force-base

U.S. TOXIC WASTE IN THE PHILIPPINES. http://www.yonip.com/index/-Toxic.html


Photo credits:

http://www.yonip.com/index/-Toxic.html

http://reference.findtarget.com/search/U.S.%20Naval%20Base%20Subic%20Bay/

http://reference.findtarget.com/search/List%20of%20military%20units%20of%20Clark%20Air%20Base/


Resources:

Statistical data of victims of toxic waste contamination in Clark, as of August 31, 2002 classified by type of ailment (Partial). http://www.yonip.com/archives/PTFBC/PTFBC-000016.html

Admiral Eugene Carroll (ret.). US MILITARY BASES AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A TIME FOR RESPONSIBILITY. eynote Speech before the 1997 First International Conference on "US Military Toxics and Bases Clean-up, Nov. 23-26, 1997, Asian Social Institute, Manila, Philippines. http://www.yonip.com/archives/PTFBC/PTFBC-000001.html

Dangerous Ground, Leftover bombs, Chemicals Wreak Havoc at Former U.S. Bases in Philippines. http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Bombs-Chemicals-US-Leftovers.htm

ZELDA DT SORIANO. America’s Toxic Waste Legacy in the Philippines. http://attyzelda.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/america_s-toxic-waste-legacy-in-the-philippines.pdf.

PHILIPPINE TOXIC WASTE VICTIMS GET U.S. SUPPORT. http://www.ban.org/ban_news/philippine.html

Class Action Suits against the U.S. and the Philippine Governments re former U.S. Subic Base. http://www.yonip.com/archives/toxic/toxic-000001.html

Class Action Suits against the U.S. and the Philippine Governments re former U.S. Clark Air Base. http://www.yonip.com/archives/toxic/toxic-000002.html

People's Task Force for Bases Clean-up (PTFBC) Photo Gallery. http://www.yonip.com/archives/PTFBC/PTFBC-Gallery-01.html

Case Title: Toxic Waste and a U.S. Base at Subic, Philippines. http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/subic.htm