Distinctively SDAI (Or Sons and Daughters on the commemoration grounds)

We will carry on.

                With this motto, the organization, VFP – SONS AND DAUGHTERS, INC. set itself on the path to overseeing that the heroes of WWII will not be forgotten by succeeding generations of Filipinos.

                At the onset, this seemed a formidable task.  At the beginning, the only common denomination of the sixteen founders of this organization was idealism and love of country gleaned from their parents. At the start, they only had a mission: find the proper channel thru which the equity right of the Filipino veterans of WWII might be properly claimed.

                Seventeen years since its founding, SDAInc already maintains a nationwide membership of over 40,000.  Its founding father, former Congressman Eduardo P. Pilapil, is still as youthful as when he and 15 others sat down to organize this collective of the descendants of WWII veterans.  Jerry Adevoso is now Presidential Assistant of Veterans Affairs, he of the somber mien and deep laughter.  At his end of the spectrum, Frisco “Popoy” San Juan still comes to meetings with the aura of an easy rider aboard his big bike.  At any VFP gathering, one inevitably finds anyone or all of them casting their “Is there anything more I can do?” countenance.

                SDAInc was born from the need to take up continuous dedication to the veterans’ ideals.  Since its founding, these leading figures of the organization have initiated projects that underline its commitment – cooperatives and livelihood training programs, continued communication with its members, expanded coverage in terms of recruitment and membership.  It is a collective of children carrying on the unfinished task of asserting the equal benefits promised their parents at the height of Japanese Occupation of the country.

                Most importantly, of late, its officers renewed the pursuit of direct participation in the shaping of national consciousness pertaining to unresolved issues of veterans’ benefits thru legislative channels.

                Against this background, the officers and members of SDAInc attended the 60^th Commemoration activities of the liberation of the Philippines from the Japanese Occupation Forces.  To the meetings called by the Department of National Defense, they attended.  To parade grounds they arrived.  And to their credit, they organized and participated in two major activities that underscore their commitment: 13^th National Oratorical Contest and the Sunset Ceremony.

                During the conference of the national task force under the Defense Department that coordinates the yearly commemoration of Veterans week (April 5 - 12), SDAI Secretary General Liwi Elizares forwarded the theme of the 13^th National Oratorical Contest as the concurrent theme of the celebrations.  It was unanimously adopted.  Thus, printed on the cover of the celebrations’ commemorative issue are the words that underscore the commitment of the organization: Adhikan ng Beterano: Gabay ng Kabataan Magpakailanman

                The incident is proof positive of the organization’s adaptability to and acceptability by groups that can assist in forwarding its aims.  While the issues of the veterans’ equity rights remain unresolved, SDAInc finds ways to update and upgrade its approach towards the matter.

                SDAInc has made its PRESENCE felt in appropriate ways.  And for the 16 who signified their dedication to the ideals of patriotism, fame is not a reward.  Restitution of dignity of the veterans of WWII is the sole measure of success.

*written in 2005, unpublished

HOPE AND MEMORY

One Morning

Two overwhelming monsters

From places deep

Came up to me

And when we met

I found

Lying each to each

Twin illusions of

Hope

&

Memory

Merlin said:

When you lie,

You murder

Some parts of the world

At that moment the world

Was a lizard running away from the ant.

If truth be known,

Truth is as simple as that.

* written 2/9/2007

Offering*

The heart has its seasons. On this third of summer let us, you and I, lay bare our secret pains to this season's gods. Let us, too, burn incense; re-awaken passions now etherized by time. But eyes must only look; and elbows just brush; and lips mumble dissonances. Be it so. For eyes must only look; and elbows just brush; and lips mumble dissonances. So come the rains to snuff our incense; balm this pain; turn cold this want; let us offer a libation to a third of summer slowly shaping other season come full circle only the gods understand. 

*Published on The National Library of Poetry - Dance on the Horizon 1994 ©

ART APPEAL

          It begins with a casual look, per chance arbitrary and unplanned.

But the nonchalance turns to a careful second glance.  This is how we all begin a lifelong romance.

          This is art appeal.

            We are all familiar with the sun-dappled masterpieces of Amorsolo.  He/She who has not tucked a calendar print of Amorsolo paintings into a wall, a book or a desk should turn in their passports (now colored maroon) and head outside the Philippine isles. With the un-waning fervor of cultural sentinels comes the civic familiarity with the masterpieces of Filipino artists – from Damian Domingo to Zalameda and Zobel.

            A is for Amorsolo.

            B is for Botong.

            C is for Cusi  . . . etc, etc, etc.

            Once upon a time, a Filipino boy went to Australia. When he came back a decade and a half later, he was given a PLDT card with “The Spoliarium” by Juan Luna printed on it.  That PLDT card set him on the path of art collecting.  This is art appeal.

            Consider this. 99.9% of Filipinos know next to nothing about the conventional criteria for recognizing excellent art works. We rely solely on art appeal. And this is where the fun begins.

            Take Ang Kiukok, for example. He is a National Artist.  His works have been auctioned at Sotheby’s and Christie’s.  In terms of investment, his works are sure to hit the millions in less than five years. Yet, there are those who will not hang a painting by Kiukok in their living or bedrooms because the style and subjects of this master evoke nightmares.  Take it as you will, this is art appeal.

            Then, there is the famous TRIUMVIRATE of Philippine art: Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco, Victorio Edades and Galo Ocampo. We all have gazed upon their works, in books and postcards, in magazines and advertisements, and found their paintings to be pleasant, tolerable or a simple ?.

At the end of the day, either we like an art piece or we don’t. We answer the question: Does it please me?

 This is as plain as we can get. This is art appeal.

            Who can forget the “Botong” masterpiece “Bayanihan”? Even our gay community will gape and gasp at its muscular men folk carrying a hut on their shoulders,. At the foreground, we find a local version of madonna and child, truly evocative of a  *Delacroix without the semi-allegorical drama of romanticism. Again the riddle is answered.  This is art appeal.

            From one end of the art spectrum to the other, art appeal is going home with a prominent emotional experience. For, in whatever form it takes, art’s appeal is to feelings.  For some, however, art appreciation also means par value in cash terms. In between, the art critic lies, nudging one and all to experience what we can now formally claim as PERSONAL art appeal.

            Follow your feelings.  This is what art is all about.

            Ciao. . .

             

*Nota Bene:  Eugene Delacroix (de-la-krawa). 1798-1863; French painter and prominent leader of l9th century romantic painting.