Contemporary Philippines and the Search for Identity
While 'continuity and change' is a frequently overused cliché, the Philippines is an example of just how useful that phrase continues to be. Manila, especially, is a living contradiction of growth and dramatic change that obscures underlying continuities that define the nation's struggle with its identity and history.By Paul A. Rodell
At first, visitors who have not been to Manila for a few years are immediately struck by the number of new high-rise buildings and shopping malls that are reshaping the rapidly growing urban environment. Areas that were open fields only a short time ago are now dotted with large condos and office structures. Meanwhile, the malls continue to host daily throngs of shoppers and fill numerous social and cultural needs for all levels of society from the patrons of fine art galleries and restaurants to the less well-to-do who window shop and socialize in the numerous American and Filipino fast food outlets. In fact, despite the region's recent economic dislocations, the Philippines has escaped the worst of the downturn. While there are some major construction projects that have been put on hold, the city's business and commercial districts still have a healthy vibrancy and an optimistic outlook. Just recently, too, the exchange rate has improved in relation to the US dollar.On the downside, the nation's primate city is clearly under greater stress with widespread poverty, worsening traffic congestion, increased levels of air pollution, and declining water quality. The area surrounding the airport still hosts some of the worst slums in Southeast Asia and the drive to downtown or to Makati or the University of the Philippines in Quezon City can be slow and torturous. Pollution has increased markedly and the skyline seems to have a near permanent brown haze. Meanwhile, city residents are now drinking bottled water and boiling their tap water at home, things no one ever had to do before. But, it is in the country's political life that the nation's struggle with its identity and history can be seen most clearly. While the election of Joseph Estrada has ushered in what many see as a return of the old Marcos 'cronies,' in fact, his presidency is a clear sign that the 'People Power Revolution' that toppled Ferdinand Marcos is past. While a faithful few still wax warmly about the events of 1986, their countrymen and women have not been impressed with the governments of Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos. The Edsa revolution was a victory of the middle-class over the right-wing forces surrounding President Marcos and came at an opportune moment when the left was entering a period of self- destruction, but the window of opportunity for reform is now shut.
Barbie
Instead, Estrada's mandate came, in large part, because he appears to represent an alternative to traditional politics and because he seems genuinely concerned about the less fortunate. The problem for the future is that 'Erap' has no coherent social-economic program for the nation's ills. Estrada's inauguration also coincided with the centennial celebration of the Philippine's declaration of independence from Spain in 1898. This could have been a time for renewal, reflection and reforms, but it was limited, instead, to civic displays. Indicative of the nature of the event was the mass marketing of patriotic consumer goods such as the Centennial Barbie and toy jeepenies that took their place beside ashtrays molded from the lahar of the 1991 Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption (see photo). Unless a serious dialogue about the nation's future is begun, the future might be bleak. That the Philippines was not hit as hard as some of its neighbors by the current regional economic crisis, will be of little compensation to the nation's poor as the Estrada administration's shortcomings become increasingly apparent. What will happen next is anyone's guess, but an ominous indication is the renewed growth and daring of the Communist Party which earlier this year captured an armed forces Brigadier General. One issue which could further reinvigorate the left is the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States that is currently before the legislature. Memories of the long battle to remove the US military presence are still fresh in the minds of the public and this past March saw the first violent student demonstration in years at the US Embassy over this specific issue. Meanwhile, the new president's style seems specifically geared to breaking off negotiations with the left and alienating the country's Muslim minority. Estrada's hardline stance with regard to Islamic demands recently resulted in an historic reunion of estranged rebel leaders Salamat Hashim of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front. Any attempt to form a coherent response to the government's lack of a coherent social-economic program or its failures to promote genuine participatory government and halt the drift toward confrontation with political dissidents and ethnic minorities runs up against deeper issues of identity and history. The legacy of a thoroughly Americanized elite that has dominated the country's wealth and political prerogatives acts as a heavy weight restraining the emergence of a society that might better meet the country's problems.
Aloha spirit
The depth of this ideological search for a genuine Filipino identity was clearly symbolized by the juxtaposition of two meetings recently held only days apart in the same conference centre on the campus of the University of the Philippines. Both events were advertised by banners hung outside of the conference centre, one atop the other, which further accentuated the incongruity of the two events. The one event was the annual meeting of alumni of the East-West Centre of Honolulu, Hawai'i. The East-West Centre was created by the US Congress in 1960 and it still receives government subsidies. Many of its Filipino alumni are leaders in their respective fields and they truly care about their nation's progress and welfare, but they also fondly remember their days in the states and the 'Aloha Spirit' of the 50th state. Significantly, the meeting was attended by a special guest, the Acting Cultural Attache of the US Embassy whose closing remarks for the meeting highlighted what he saw as the long and congenial ties between the two countries. [Interestingly, the meeting and the Attache's remarks were on the same day as the violent student demonstration at the embassy along Roxas (formerly Dewey) Boulevard.] In sharp contrast, a 'Kumprehensyang Anti-Imperyalista' (Anti-Imperialist Conference) was held two days earlier in the same facility. If 1998 was the centennial of the Declaration of Philippine Independence, 1999 marks the centennial of the outbreak of war between the young Philippine Republic of Emilio Aguinaldo and the Imperialist American government of William McKinley. No official American representative attended the conference, instead, the eight panels were composed of faculty from a number of UP branches and some religious universities plus representatives from cause-oriented organizations. While a number of presenters discussed the historical war, many others were concerned with contemporary issues such as minority affairs, the exploitation of women, rural impoverishment, education and culture. A common theme of the presentations was a sharp critique of the American imperialist experience, historically and in its current lingering forms. Though 'continuity and change' might be a cliché, the contemporary Philippines demonstrates that clichés sometimes have validity. The divide represented by the two contrasting UP hosted events demonstrate continuity in the elusive search for a commonly accepted history and national identity as much as the failure of the 1968 Edsa Revolution and the election of Joseph Estrada represents the continuity of traditional politics. Can the country continue to maintain a contradictory national identity and elitist politics? Perhaps, but the city's growing slums and impoverishment in the midst of ostentatious shopping malls, the increasing problem of pollution and renewed challenges to government authority suggest that change may soon catch up with continuity.
Prof. Paul A. Rodell is a member of the Department of History, Georgia Southern University and the Executive Director of the Association of Third World Studies. This year he co-directed a faculty development seminar trip from the United States to the Philippines and Vietnam. E-mail: rodell@gsaix2.cc.gasou.edu.