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LISTEN TO DEAD BALAGTAS: Our Latest Cool Rakistang Babaylan

in Arts & Literature

by Ava Sumera

Since its launching in late 2017 a lot has been said about Emiliana Kampilan’s first full-blown comics, Dead Balagtas tomo 1 Mga Sayaw ng Dagat at Lupa (The Dances of Sea and Land, Volume 1 of Dead Balagtas).

Despite the sad trend that the once huge Filipino serial comics publications ceased operation from the 90s to 2000s, we are happy to note that many Filipino artists including Kampilan have continued producing and publishing their works in zines and on the internet. Kampilan’s “Dead Balagtas” comics strips, released over Tumblr and WordPress and her social media, has cultivated a strong following and with good reasons. She is uniquely fusing her comics with history, nationalism, satire and many Filipino stories of love and laughter. As with other successful artists who have produced memorable comics, hers is honestly reflecting as well as saluting the revolutionary Filipino culture and struggle. In her comics she furnishes historical facts with contemporary vibe, steeped in the Filipino’s brand of wit and satire and Kampilan’s feminist and patriotic leanings.

On her first full comics book published by Adarna House, Kampilan delivered a daring cover featuring two same-sex dance partners moving in harmony, and another dance couple separated but looking at the same direction. She placed the dancers knee-deep into the blue waters of Philippine seas, creating a flamboyant cover that lures you, “Dive into me! Try Me! Dance with me.”

Dead Balagtas tomo 1 Mga Sayaw ng Dagat at Lupa (The Dances of Sea and Land, Volume 1 of Dead Balagtas), compiles four graphic stories two of which are unabashedly pro-LGBTQ and progressive. The first serving, about Santinakpan (universe), greatly differs from the three that followed it in design and content. It is a myth retold by Dead Balagtas herself, and it reads also as an announcement of more stories to follow.

Presented as “Created by Emiliana Kampilan and the Filipino People,” (underscoring ours), this first Tomo forays into relationships and character development that few (if any) illustrated children’s books in the Philippines have dealt with before.

That graphic stories like these have been published not as a zine but by an established publisher of children’s books speak a lot about the bridges artists can create with their signature use of colors, visual and “sound” patterns, science, history and social commentary. (The sound effects in Kampilan’s comics are mostly in baybayin, but the creator included a bookmark with a legend to help readers translate the baybayin.)

The opening story is a poetic smorgasboard about the creation of the universe. The narrator, Dead Balagtas, appears here like a babaylan rakista (rocker priestess). She began by intoning or praying while playing the kudyapi, asking the gods to bless her so she can correctly tell the stories.

Kampilan is reportedly intent on ramping up what artists could do with komix, and indeed, she executed some unusual paneling in Dead Balagtas’ story of creation from the time the universe was all darkness to the time Tungking Langit started creating and he and Laon Sina got married. But, later, in a lovers’ spat that generated further bursts of creation, Laon Sina disappeared and Tungking Langit went looking for her everywhere.

From there, we welcome the implied promise of Dead Balagtas to go on and sing about many more Filipino lives’ narrative. For now, let’s appreciate the love and understanding her comics generate for friends who might start close and yet drift apart, and people who might “collide” and thereafter enrich their life.

The next three stories in Dead Balagtas’ first offering trace, in this order: (1) the story of two friends (girl and boy) and how their lives drift apart as in tectonic shifts over the years; (2) a gay couple who transcended not just the social pressure to conceal their true sexual preference but also the divide between white and blue collar workers, and the religious leaders’ misuse of church teachings to discriminate against being gay. And (3) the story of two women in a relationship who find personal and career uplift (and growing political awareness as well as acceptance and support of their family) amid their steadfast support of each other.

It is amazing how Kampilan has crammed her komix panels with nuanced character development. She delivers a solid gift and reverberating call for understanding the LGBTQ, the ordinary hardworking employees of mall chains, call centers, the critical and nationalist job seeker, the prayerful Muslims, the activists such as the volunteers of Gabriela women’s alliance, etc. This is clearly something good to emulate despite or especially because misogynistic government leaders keep disrespecting the LGBTQ, the workers, the women, and the activists.

In the last story of the first tomo Kampilan presented characters directly criticizing exploitation and finding solutions to the agonizing problems in this country through activism. And Kampilan did it without coming across as didactic, boring, or uncool, as other reviewers seem to have feared would happen when artists espoused social conscience.

This is a great example of what art could do, reflect the love and struggle of the masses in an inspiring way. In the last story, Kampilan tenderly shows each of the women going through the ups and downs in their “careers” given the kinds of jobs available (which they could stomach) in the Philippines. One of them had to resign from a government job because she can’t allow herself to lie about the country’s real jobs data.

Outside of Dead Balagtas’ tomo 1, Kampilan produces or collaborates in producing brave zines and stickers.

Here’s to hoping Kampilan will follow through on the next tomo with narratives of even more Filipinos who find affirmation, love, laughter and color and bigger family in living their life resisting society’s prejudices, fighting exploitation and oppression.

Here’s to hoping also that she would shed light on why she goes to literary gatherings hiding her face under a bayong. As a lover of history, she couldn’t have failed to know that the “makapili” donned bayong as they informed on the guerrillas in the Second World War. It is understandable, of course, if her motive is the opposite of the Makapili, and that she’s only protecting herself. But why bayong?

Here’s to hoping also that in the next tomo, we will learn more about the narrator, babaylan extraordnaire, Dead Balagtas. ###

[Dead Balagtas Tomo 1 Mga Sayaw ng Dagat at Lupa is written and illustrated by Emiliana Kampilan. It is published by Adarna House Inc. in Quezon City, Philippines in 2017.]

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KA MAGGIE: ‘COMING OUT’ IN THE NPA

in Mainstream

She practically spent her youth in the revolutionary movement, having been part of an activist organization in a Catholic high school at age 15. She is now 39 years old. She is a lesbian. The “awakening” happened at the same time she became conscious of the social issues affecting the country. That was in her elementary years.

“It helped that I always hear my parents discuss current events. Kaya elementary pa lang nakikipag-debate na ako, alam ko na noon yung US Bases (I could already engage in a debate on the US Bases when I was still in elementary),” Ka Maggie recalled. “At the time, I also had a crush on my female teacher,” she hastened to add.

For Ka Maggie, it wasn’t easy growing up with conservative parents who were both raised in the province. Also, between Ka Maggie and her parents was an age gap of 42 years. Hence, the burden of being a lesbian and activist was heavier— as both were widely considered by society as ‘aberration’, ‘abnormality’, even a crime.

‘Coming Out’ and ‘Going Up’

Like her ‘awakening’, ‘coming out’ and ‘going up’ (the mountain) to join the New People’s Army (NPA) happened at the same time. As she recounted her experiences it didn’t show that she went through a personal struggle as her sentences were often punctuated with laughter.

“Naging kloseta ako sa kilusan for a time kasi hindi ko alam kung ano’ng stand natin sa LGBT. Nakikiramdam muna ako (I kept mum about this in the movement because I didn’t know our stand on LGBT).” The way her high school collective handled the case of another lesbian member was an acid test.

“Nanligaw siya sa masa. E, di inulat ko dahil di pa panahon—bata pa kami, tapos masa pa niligawan. Pero, sa tingin ko, ang naging pokus ng usapan yung gender niya. So, ang sense ko ito pala yung handling ng kilusan sa gender (She courted someone who was unorganized so I reported it—we were still young and a masa was involved. But I felt the discussion focused on her gender, so I had a sense that this was how the movement handle cases such as this).”

Although she did not waiver on her commitment to the revolution, she decided “to stay in the closet.” At one point she even courted a male comrade; or opened herself up to courtship by other male comrades in her collective.

In college, she decided to finally ‘come out’ to her collective. Expecting ridicule, Ka Maggie sought integration with the NPA as soon as she ‘comes out’, “Kasi mas kaya kong harapin ang maririnig sa mga kasamang hukbo mula sa peasant kaysa sa mga YS na ‘to (I could stand comments from NPA peasant comrades rather from the youth and students),” she confessed. “For all my anxiety and insecurity, my collective’s reply was just ‘that’s it? Is there a problem?’, after which they immediately prepared me for my integration,” Ka Maggie recalled, as she laughed heartily.

It was during her integration when she decided to stay and join the people’s army. That was in 1998.

Lesbian Sisters

I was already in the NPA when Ka Maggie ‘came out’ to her parents. “Mas nauna akong nagsabi na maghuhukbo ako. Ang tingin ko kasi noon, too much na nga na ipatanggap na hukbo ako. E, NPA na nga, lesbiana pa. Sobrang bigat na para sa kanila (I first told them I was joining the NPA; admitting being a lesbian came later. I felt it would be too much for them to accept me as NPA and lesbian all at once).” It was only when she was getting married that Ka Maggie told her parents she is lesbian. “Babae, sabi ko. E, di lalong nagwala (I was marrying a woman I said and they really hit the roof),” she cringed.

At the start it was difficult for Ka Maggie to leave her parents specially because they were already old and ailing. “Bunso ako. Inisip ko kung di man ako magtatapos mag-aral, tiyakin ko na lang ako ang aalalay sa kanila (I was the youngest and since I don’t intend to finish school at least I would take care of them).” Back then, she still wanted to be a human rights lawyer.

Then she thought of her older sister, Ley. “Buti na lang, nung college napaugnayan ko ang kapatid ko. Na-organize din siyang hanggang ND (National Democrat) activist (It’s fortunate that I had my sister recruited and organized as ND activist while still in college).”

Though both sisters would discuss their involvement in the revolution, Ley admitted early on she wasn’t ready for Ka Maggie’s ‘level of sacrifice’. While Ley fully supported Ka Maggie’s decision, she reluctantly accepted the responsibility of taking care of their parents.

“Ang matindi kasi, hindi niya magawa ang gusto niyang buhay. Eh, lesbian din siya. Ako yung unang nag-out tapos umalis pa ako (My sister could not do what she wants. She’s a lesbian too. But I came out ahead of her and left for the mountains).”

“Ano ba ‘yan di ko magawa ang gusto ko dahil dyan sa decision mo (I can’t do what I want because of your decision),” Ka Maggie remembered her sister’s words. Both of them talked about their sexual orientation when they were in high school. But Ley chose to stay ‘in the closet’ and was at times forced to conform to the expectations of their parents, “but not as far as going into relationship with males,” Ka Maggie recalled.

Having a collective and a liberating consciousness facilitated Ka Maggie’s ‘coming out’. “Kung wala ang collective, wala ang kamulatan maghihintay ka na lang na mamamatay ang magulang mo bago ‘mag-out’. Dati yun ang naisip ko. Mas ang kapatid ko ang naging ganun, hintayin ko na lang. Nag-out naman siya bago namatay ang tatay namin (If it were not for my collective and awareness I would have waited for my parents to pass away before I can even ‘come out’. My sister had been forced with that choice, though she came out before my father died).”

Lesbians in the NPA

“I was the first lesbian in our unit. So I knew we were all adjusting at the start,” Ka Maggie mentioned. “Dumaan kaming lahat sa pag-aaral kung paano. Lalo na nung may ikinasal na (We underwent studies to understand each other, especially when a same-sex marriage happened).” But, she didn’t experience discrimination because of her gender preference. “Mas sa pagiging babae pa. Yung nag-excel ka sa pagsusuring pang-militar na supposedly pang lalaki. Pero once lang yun. At di yun pinalalampas ng collective (I exprienced it once, but it was more of my being a woman who excelled in military science which is deemed as the expertise of men. But my collective did not let that slide).”

Also, she was considered a ‘competitor’ by male comrades when it came to relationships. “Uunawain ko na lang yun na dahil mas maraming lalaki kaysa sa babae. E, syempre yung mga kasamang lalaki ang tingin iilan na nga lang kayo tapos kayo-kayo pa (I can understand that as there are more men than women in the NPA, and choices for men become limited as women court women),” she explained.

She’s never had a problem with lesbian relationships in the Party and in the people’s army. “Failed relationships”, said Ka Maggie can be attributed to “difference in perspective”—in staying or leaving the people’s army and in parenting—and never to gender preference.

A divorce ended her marriage. But what struck her, though, in that marriage was when, as a newly-wed couple, her collective asked them about their plan, “O anong plano niyo sa pag-aanak, para mapaghandaan, para mapagplanuhan (Do you have plans to bear children? We have to prepare for that. We need to have plans).” Up to now, she is still amazed at her group’s openness to include artificial insemination, and not just adoption, as option for her and her partner.

“Isang dahilan yan kung bakit proud ako sa Party, talagang mapagpalaya. Imagine, kung may means pa ang Party, lalo na kung Sosyalismo na, mas yayabong talaga ang kalayaan at karapatan ng LGBT (That is one of the reasons why I am proud of the Party; it is indeed liberating. Imagine, if it already has all the means, like when we reach socialism, the rights and freedoms of the LGBT would surely be enshrined),” she added.

Albeit recognizing the need for further intra-Party discussions and education sessions on the LGBT question, Ka Maggie is certain that the CPP has the leadership to advance the cause of the LGBT.

“Posible talaga ang panahon na ang bawat isa ay hindi na tumitingin sa kung ano ang kulay, kasarian. Kaya dapat ipagpatuloy natin ang dakilang pakikibakang ito dahil do’n din nakasalalay ang mga butil ng pakikibaka ng mga LGBT.”

A future when color and gender do not define a person is possible. Thus, we should carry forward this noble struggle because here we also have sown the seeds of the LGBT struggle.

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ANOTHER ARREST, ANOTHER OBSTACLE TO PEACE Release Esterlita Suaybaguio!

in Statements

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines Negotiating Panel condemns the illegal arrest and detention of Esterlita Suaybaguio, consultant of the NDFP in the peace negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). Suaybaguio’s arrest is another obstacle to the peace talks which the Duterte regime wants to bury.

Suaybaguio is covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) with Document of Identification (DI) Number ND 978447 as second consultant for Mindanao. A copy of her DI is deposited in the safety deposit box under the name of Archbishop Joris A.O.L. Vercammen.

The Duterte regime remains on a fascist rampage that adds more and more obstacles to the resumption of the peace negotiations with the NDFP.

Since the unilateral termination of the talks in November 23, 2017, a number of NDFP personnel, including consultants Vic Ladlad, Adel Silva and Rey Casambre, have been rounded up and continue to be imprisoned based on trumped up criminal charges. The Duterte regime’s violations of previous agreements such as The Hague Joint Declaration and the JASIG show its contempt for the aspirations of the Filipino people to achieve a just and lasting peace.

Instead of creating the conditions to enable the resumption of the negotiations, the Duterte regime has unleashed fascist attacks all over the country, especially in Mindanao under martial law as well as in Negros, Bicol and Samar under de facto martial law. To date, Duterte’s Executive Order No. 70 has resulted in the murder of over a hundred activists from different sectors in Negros.

The “anti-insurgency” campaign of the Duterte regime continues to wreak havoc to the human rights of the Filipino people. Duterte’s Proclamation 374 designating the CPP-NPA as so-called terrorist organizations is also used to tag critics of the Duterte regime and social activists as “terrorists” and justify the most brutal attacks against civilians and whole communities marked as bases of the revolutionary movement.

Instead of promoting just peace, the Duterte regime and its military even send psywar and spy teams in schools and communities and even abroad to muddle the facts about the peace talks, sow disinformation on activist organizations and NGOs, and hide the widespread extrajudicial killings and rampant human rights violations in the country.

The NDFP Negotiating Panel calls for the immediate release of Suaybaguio and the dropping of false charges against her, as well as the scores of other detained NDFP consultants and personnel. The intensifying acts of terror manifest the scheme of the Duterte regime to impose fascist dictatorship on the Filipino Nation. ###

REFERENCE:

Fidel Agcaoili, Chairperson
NDFP Negotiating Panel
August 26, 2019

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Maya Flies

in Mainstream
by Pat Gambao

The trek to a guerrilla front in Samar was an obstacle race. One had to scale hills, cross streams, walk miles of green fields, hold up through slippery bogs. And with the Office of the President’s recent Memorandum Circular No. 32 reinforcing the number of troops in the three regions (Negros, Samar, and Bicol) perceived to be the stronghold of the New People’s Army (NPA), enemies abound.

She was supposed to be with Rei, her co-member in the organization who had been to the front before. But he was to go to some other front. He just gave her lots of advice and instruction about the place and how she should conduct herself. He reminded her not to be shy to ask but that was another possible barrier, the language.

But Maya’s excitement to go to a guerrilla front for the first time, especially at the time when the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) had a celebration of its 50th year, overcame all difficulties. She was full of joy to join the celebration at the front with the Rodante Urtal Command’s Red fighters and the masses.

The Initiation

Maya grew up and studied in the city. As a scholar in college, she did not burden her parents with the exorbitant cost of education. Being a woman, her parents had simple dreams for her: finish her studies; get a job; marry by age 26; raise a family. It seemed her life has been programmed that way. Thus, her main goal then was to finish her studies, get a good job and be of help to the family.

The university had been the venue for Maya’s blossoming, her political and social discernment. For one a woman’s role is not confined to the family. She does not need to marry at once. She can focus on her career, equip herself. It is not true that because she is a woman, she can no longer pursue her dreams. Women empowerment was her peg then.

“While schoolmates called out for free tuition fees, I stood my ground,” she confessed. “I thought there was nothing wrong with increasing tuition fees because the school needs funds to sustain it.” Worse, being a scholar, Maya belittled the efforts of the students in their studies. For her they did not strive enough.

Since high school, she has shunned rallies, not because she had a negative notion on activism, but because she was after alternative solutions to the issues. Looking for said alternatives, she joined discussions, attended forums, and joined education sessions. “But I did not join any organization because of the notion that activists do not graduate,” Maya said.

However, in her sophomore year, as she continued attending education forums and as many of her friends became members of youth organizationa, Maya was swayed to join. “Hatak ng barkadismo (drawn by group mentality),” she laughingly admitted. “Just that, no commitment. Yet.”

She started to actively participate in the organization in her third year in college. Eventually, she also joined the Kabataang Makabayan, an underground national democratic youth organization. Discovering a new world beyond the confines of the university, her horizon widened, her understanding of social realities broadened, her commitment deepened. She kept it a secret to her parents, which was not difficult to do. For a journalism student, legwork, fieldwork, coverage, and projects were normal. However, she really failed to do mass work in the family to change their phlegmatic attitude on critical social issues. All she managed to do during their casual conversations was to answer their questions about current events. “Of course, I did not expect them to join me. All I wanted was for them to understand.” She said.

Treading the Petty Bourgeois Path

Although Maya was active in the movement, she has not given up her dreams. She would graduate. Find a job. Please her parents. She could still be of service to the country. She could apply what she learned in school. She did not see this as obstacle to her tasks in the movement. She believed it could even help. But she realized she was wrong. The demands of her job got on the way. Except for sharing a part of her salary to the movement, she no longer participated in the activities. She got in touch with her collective only through the social media. She missed their camaraderie and advice.

For one who is socially conscious like Maya, the pretensions of the corporate world, the primacy of self-interest, the squabble to satisfy one’s ambition, the boot licking, the lies are sickening, even depressing. In her work, she needed to portray the image of a good government—compassionate and truly serving its constituents. Under these circumstances, she could not give her best. She could not grow. The system is harsh, she needed to toe the line. Her worst fear: teh system is contagious, that she might be sucked up and lost her soul in the process.

The kissing-on-the lips incident involving Duterte and an OFW in Korea was discussed in the boardroom as a mere laughing matter. As a woman advocate, Maya could not take it, the misogyny of one who holds the highest and supposedly most respectable position in the land; the tolerance to such a boorish act. “I almost walked out,” she said.

Her father noticed that her articles seemed atypical of her person. “He asked me if I was okey with my job, if I could still put up with it. That did it. I decided to resign,” she shared.

Maya went full time in the movement after that, in a group where she was supposed to be assigned after graduation. Her parents had no inkling that she had left her job because she was still so busy. To cover up for her new status, she had to shuffle between her tasks in the movement and her “rackets” (odd jobs) to be able to still give some sum to her parents.

When the time came that she could no longer sustain her tasks and her job simultaneously, she decided to spill the beans to her parents who readily understood. “They are familiar with the ‘fulltime’ concept since they have been exposed to my fulltime buddies who used to frequent the house,” she explained. When her father blankly asked if she had joined the NPA, Maya laughingly retorted, “I am fulltime in the organization here, I have not even been to the mountains. See, I have no gun.”

“Of course there was the parental advice not to join the NPA, not to go up to the mountains, to think over my decision to go fulltime, to mull over my future family life,” Maya continued. Her father even offered to support her in law school, a dream she once cherished. The argument with her parents, especially her mother, was a greater hurdle.

The Decisive Option

Going to the countryside has always been a long-term goal for Maya since she was in college. But she knew she would work first, practice her profession. But when she met Rei, who had been in the countryside for some time, she was awed and inspired by his stories about the guerrilla front—the vibrant, valiant masses, the agrarian revolution, the revolutionary government. She thought a good three months or even six in the countryside would be fine, tolerable. She has the option to return if she could not really withstand it. She can always find work in the city because she is a degree holder. She has a fallback.

She planned to go back to the city after the 50th anniversary celebration with a vow to return for a longer stint. She would just prepare those she would leave behind. But she thought of the difficulties of coming back to the front once she’s back in the city such as raising money for her fare, the stern security arrangements, and most of all the enticement of urban life—the comfort, the culture, the race for affluence and fame, as well as the overriding parental influence. She feared her parents’ anger, not much at her but at the movement. Such fear is greater than her fear of death in the heavily militarized countryside. Although she thought it was still relatively safe in the front because the NPA is armed unlike the activists in the cities. This, to Maya, affirms the necessity and potency of armed struggle.

The simple and seemingly crude life in the countryside has its own allure though—life with the struggling masses is an inspiration and a challenge, the joy of interacting with them, learning from them, serving them. “I could not forget what Ka Ambo and Ka JR told me,” Maya professed. “The presence of youth from the urban centers joining the parag-uma (peasants) in their struggle, leaving behind the comfortable life in the city where opportunities abound, fires them to strive for the advance of the revolution. After all they (the peasants) are the ultimate beneficiaries.”

However, the process of remolding the personality, habits, and behaviour that one has been customed to, probably since birth, is such a Herculean task, greater than climbing a mountain. To leave behind the comfort of life, abandon the lofty dreams, forgo the urge for self-fulfillment is a tremendous challenge.

Maya is hopeful she could surmount the challenges as she integrates with the masses, as she gives her best, as she imbibes their culture, immerses in their struggle to rise above the penury of their plight and liberate themselves, liberate all of us, from the fetters of the oppressive and exploitative system.

As Maya stood with the Red fighters during the 50th anniversary celebration, fist raised singing the Internationale, she shed off all reservations and like a fledgling that just discovered its wings, she soared to her new life. ###

#YouthFightBack
#ServeThePeople
#CherishThePeoplesArmy
#HanggangSaTagumpay
#JoinTheNPA

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