PINOY BIG BROTHER: AN INSULT TO FILIPINO CULTURE

By Reymundo Salao
Askal Projection

As endlessly hummed by everybody, specifically my officemates, “Pinoy ako, Pinoy tayo… Ipakita sa Mundo…” It’s a nice song. The lyrics are pro-Pinoy. A good song SUPPOSEDLY. But one cannot deny that it is a song directly associated with that reality TV show “Pinoy Big Brother”. The first and foremost fact that it is not an original Filipino show and it is just from a franchised TV show, originally a foreign show (European), is an irony. “Ipakita sa Mundo…” …that Pinoys CANNOT come up with original ideas for shows, so much so that we have to BUY the franchise from a foreign company?

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not just recklessly bashing the show without ever being familiar with it-I HAVE been watching it—and have indeed found it utterly distasteful enough to be labeled by its theme song as something that is “Pinoy”.

With lyrics like “Pinoy ako, Pinoy tayo, Ipakita sa Mundo” (I’m Pinoy, We’re Pinoys, let’s show it to the world) You would think that this is a show that should depict and show real Filipino values and attitude. You would think that the song, being attached to the show, is a sincere attempt to boost or even just plainly depict the Filipino attitude, even improve it. But no. It seems that has only been a good marketing scheme. Every night, it is undeniable that thousands are hooked on this TV show where the “residents” (the yuppies who are in the show) are put into a television “aquarium” where they are expected to be quirky, funny, reckless, and overly pretentious (Heck, if you know that there’s a camera in each and every room on this house, the tendency of your typical hypocritical showbiz-ambitious person is to script out everything he/she has to say and make sure that it is something that will make him/her look good regardless if it were an honest statement or not). These residents were selected from thousands of non-showbiz applicants. The objective of this reality game show is for them so survive 100 days inside this House, and in the duration of that time, they may be voted off either by SMS-txt votes, by their own co-residents, or by the Big Brother himself who acts as the unseen gamemaster of the show. While in their residency in the “Big Brother House”, they are tasked to do certain silly things, the satisfactory execution of such would garner them points. This, along with whatever complicated co-residency relationship they would have with each other, stands as obstacles in their survival in residency.

So far, what I’ve witnessed on this show are a whole lot of back-stabbing, pretentiousness, arrogance, and immorality. Funny thing is, the network overhypes it so much that even when it gets moved to a later-than-primetime timeslot, it still manages to attract youngsters with feeble minds, ready to be molded by an ugly modern TV-influenced culture that will probably lead them to become such jerks in society.

It’s rather interesting that a show that prides itself with taking some married individuals and seemingly intently expect them to get into some kind of affair with other co-residents so that their ratings could soar. Aren’t marital infidelity and the pride in indulging on it a trait that we learned from the Americans? And so they sing “Pinoy Ako, Pinoy Tayo…” Arrogance and backstabbing… those are also traits that city folk get from their being WESTERNIZED. Getting urbanized yuppies as the representatives of this show…those people are NOT very PINOY. Those people are already adulterated by westernized pop culture. Whatever they do, may it be good or bad, are not Pinoy!

In a time when we most need to rebuild our patriotic spirit in order to struggle for a better future, we find that one of the most influential outputs of media is doing the opposite.

Yes. Fine. It’s a funny reality TV show. It can be silly, pointless, and stupid as it can be. Each and everyone has the democratic right to indulge in shallow forms of entertainment anyway. Just don’t call it Pinoy. Because that affects me, it affects you, it affects your grandparents, and it even affects those people in remote areas who never watch the show. This show is degrading what truly is Pinoy. I don’t know about you, but this Big Brother show, I gladly spit on it with contempt and disgust.

HOPING NOT TO HAPPEN

By Reymundo Salao
Askal Projection

It’s a fatal accident waiting to happen. Somebody has got to focus their attention on the children crossing the unfinished overpass bridge along the Gen. Luna-Mabini St. Parts of the bridge has no protective railings yet, there are even pointy iron rods that still stick out of the structure. Yet, the bridge is not guarded by at least enough blockades by the stairs to stop children from going up and across it. God forbid, what would happen if some kid would fall off it? Who’s going to take responsibility? I was shocked to find the other day that even irresponsible adults cross that bridge. At the time that I first noticed this, I was thinking that perhaps they have done it considering the fact that at the time, the road between SPED & Iloilo Central Elementary School is flooded from the recent rainy weather. But as of last time I checked, and that was just a day ago, I could still see some pesky kids going up on it.

Should it be the responsibility of the Police or the Traffic Aides to look after this scenario? Well, at least those who are at the same location at the same time should at least hold some responsibility of stopping this said dangerous habit. Personally, I think the schools around it should make it their responsibility as well. I think they should expressly and strictly prohibit their students from crossing the bridge, and that they should expressly enforce this rule because it involves life and death, and even the reputation of the schools around it.

x-x-x

A friend of mine works in a government office, in a government building. And every noontime, whenever he takes his brief noonbreak afternoon nap, he freezes for just about a few seconds in paranoia. What if an earthquake would strike? What if when he wakes up, he finds that he is buried alive? What if he wakes up with a smashing concrete right on his skull that sends him to his instant death? If he were working on a privately owned building, he’d be at least two degrees less paranoid because he knows for sure that owners of private buildings surely make all the necessary security in order to ensure that their buildings are sturdy enough to survive the worst of earthquakes. Private individuals and corporations would surely not invest on something that they would just sacrifice to the slightest calamities. But on this government office where my friend works in, he has every reason to be very afraid.

This building has been around for quite some time now. And he has long heard rumors about how cheap materials were used for the building, and all the other rumors of bad foundations. And even though they were all just rumors, he still couldn’t help but notice the really large cracks on the ground floor of the building, rendered by the mellow earthquakes that have shook it in past years. And that is the factor that makes him believe the rumors. And these rumors complete his paranoia.

What now makes his paranoia fever up is that only months ago, Japan experienced a really strong earthquake. One that was able to inflict a considerable amount of damage. And now, just days ago, areas in Pakistan were massacred by another earthquake. One that is as killingly devastating as last year’s tsunami tragedy. This new one is a tragedy of mass proportions. My friend is indeed not only paranoid; he is just human, perceptive enough to realize that steps must be made to insure that these earthquake tragedies does not happen to us.

I think that earthquake drills must again be observed from time to time. I think that buildings should be re-inspected, most especially government buildings which have been damaged with wide cracks that may be a clear sign that its foundation has weakened. I believe that being prepared and making steps to protect us from earthquake tragedies is a good investment in our own lives and the lives of our family and friends.

NON-MARTIAL LAW

By Reymundo Salao
Askal Projection

The first time I saw the unjust violence of the Martial Law days via footages taken during mass demonstrations during those times was when I was still just a kid. But I was not so concerned about it. Of course, I was then too young to comprehend the degree of serious impact it ever had. Not until when I was in High School when I got to see what already has become a part of history. I was then already old enough to imagine the horror of such an era. Whenever I see those scenes of police brutality, it’s like taking a surreal peek in such a distant past. It’s like taking a peek at the dark ages, in a time when standards were harsh, when injustice and barbarism was rampant. But fast-forward now, on this day and age, when I take a look at the recent mass demonstrations in Manila calling for changes for the betterment of the government, that gap between the now and then has changed. It’s as if the degree of barbarism of the now has become worse than what was back then in the past. No, history has not repeated itself. Because things have jumped from bad to worse.

We have the alleged redirection of agricultural funds, GSIS funds, and other countless complicated issues of corruption. Gloria has bickered on her usual rhetoric of lambasting her critics to stop wasting time on what she considers as destabilization and that they “get back to work” but what they seem to be doing is indeed their WORK; that is, to work for a better nation, and working for a better nation is to probe for the truth, seek out corruption and extinguishing it, in order to safeguard and restore the integrity of this nation. Gloria and her minions, so it seems in the other hand, is working so hard in order cover up the truth. What with the killing of the impeachment process, and recently with the childish tantrums of Bunye in the Congressional inquiry on the budget (where he walked out when Roilo Golez was questioning him about the Garci issue).

And of course, we now have the (CPR) Calibrated Pre-Emptive Response Policy of the PNP against the strengthening mass demonstrations in Manila, which is actually very reminiscent of the Marcos era, as the PNP are given license to be as barbaric as to stop the demonstrators before they could even crowd up a gathering. It’s like picking a fight with the masses before they could even rise up to voice out their opinions. With the existence of this CPR policy, it is evident that democracy in this country is dying and is quickly turning into a state of fascism, wherein the citizens are not allowed to speak up and question authority, wherein the citizens are not allowed to ask questions. We are not allowed to ask the President about Garci, we are not allowed to ask when Bunye is asking for that 852 million budget for whatever bullcrap on-paper excuse for documentation’s sake, we are not allowed to ask if Winston Garcia’s filthy rich lifestyle is somehow connected with his talon-like hold on the GSIS. I have long been patient with Gloria. Many of us have long been patient with Gloria, calmly just having that persevering trust that she could pull off her promises, promising what great improvements she beautifully enumerates in her many flowery speeches. But we’re just too tired of waiting. And the more that we seem to surrender our trust, the worse the situation becomes. If only fascism was used to serve the glory of the motherland, maybe I personally wouldn’t mind; but with fascism serving corruption and greed, now that’s one sensible thing to rally against.

Gloria doesn’t need to declare Martial Law. She has the greatest weapon; deceit and secrecy. Maybe she learned it from the American government; the kind of rule that pretends that there is nothing wrong from its upper layer, but dig in, and you will find all the stench and irregularities. It seems that the capitalists and the rich, powerful citizens are given protection and consideration, because as theyre the only ones who can really afford to overthrow the administration. And the poor are ignored like dispensable humans, because they can do nothing against a strong and twisted republic. Why declare Martial Law, when the PNP can exercise barbarism in the streets via the CPR? Why declare Martial Law when you can pay off a number of officials and influential individuals that can firewall you against being ousted? Why declare Martial Law when the refunneling of funds can be done with ease? Why declare Martial Law when you have George Bush as your ally? Gloria is happy where she is as long as you don’t care. And she knows that a whole lot of you don’t care.