deep shade of purple

CAP INDIGNANT OVER MORIBUND, DECADENT POLITICS
BEHIND THIS YEAR’S SELECTION OF NATIONAL ARTISTS

The Concerned Artists of the Philippines joins much of the Filipino arts and cultural community in expressing indignation over the unprecedented brazen use by the Arroyo regime of the National Artists awards for its moribund, decadent politics.

We are outraged that Arroyo has transformed the National Artists awards as her own largesse for doling out political favors. More than half of the seven new National Artists awardees were Arroyo’s direct recommendees that were not on the list given by the both the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the sole agencies tasked by law to recommend National Artists awardees.

We particularly detest the designation of Presidential Adviser on Culture Cecille Guidote-Alvarez as National Artist as reeking of the worst kind of patronage politics the Filipino people would have long been far better off without. Alvarez’s designation speaks of the worst conflict of interest possible in this situation, given that she is currently NCCA executive director and heads the secretariat for the National Artists awards! How is it possible that such an award can be seen in any good light, and that the awardee would accept it in all good faith and honesty?

We cannot but see Alvarez’s being named National Artist as Arroyo’s way of returning political favors after Alvarez’s consistent whitewashing of her regime’s corruption and repression. As well, we see this as a spectacular condonation of various reported anomalies at the NCCA committed by Alvarez all these past years.

It gets worse. Malacañang is vainly covering up for its wanton presidential abuse by contending that it just dispatched its “purely ministerial” duties in naming this year’s National Artist awardees. This is a brazen lie that is easily shown by a simple inquiry into the entire process, and by those from both the NCCA and CCP who were affronted by the grave presidential indiscretion after they went through a rigorous selection process!

We find this action by Arroyo as being consistent with her longstanding deceit of the Filipino people, capped recently by her last State of the Nation Address (SONA), the worst farewell SONA in our country’s history. It is consistent with her overall disdain for all public accountability throughout her rule, as she engaged in massive cheating, corruption, brutal and bloody suppression of consistent critics to her criminal reign, puppetry to corrupt foreign interests, wholesale subversion of the constitution she vowed to uphold and protect, and sabotage of fully urgent and legitimate impeachment moves against her all these years.

Arroyo’s virtual subversion of the National Artists awards process highlights as well her regime’s deliberate exacerbation of the longstanding severe crisis in Philippine culture and the arts. Her regime will long be infamous for worsening colonial, feudal, fascist and commercial culture, shown by (1) its unabashed promotion of English as official language of instruction, commerce and government; (2) unprecedented opening up of the economy to foreign cultural goods and services, leading to the virtual decimation of the local cultural economy; (3) annihilation of native and minority cultures brought by unrivaled disruption of the agriculture- based livelihoods of Filipino cultural minorities and native communities; (4) the brazen bastardization and commercialization of Filipino native cultures and customs through promotion of tourism attuned to neoliberal globalization; and (5) its brazen suppression of the constitutionally- guaranteed freedom of expression by censoring numerous films with social commentary that have in fact been recipients of many international and local awards, and its world-class annihilation of journalism and journalists.

CAP will be alongside Filipino cultural workers, professionals and advocates in taking immediate direct actions to justly detest this latest outrageous act of the Arroyo regime. We enjoin all other freedom-loving Filipinos to do likewise. Philippine arts and culture deserve no less.

Sobra Na! Tama Na! Patalsikin si Gloria!

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Filipino translation follows:

PRESS STATEMENT
Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP)
31 July 2009

CAP: BULOK AT DEKADENTENG PULITKA NASA LIKOD NG PAGHIRANG
SA PAMBANSANG ALAGAD NG SINING NGAYONG TAON

Kaisa ang Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) sa kalakhan ng nasa larangan ng sining at kulturang Pilipino sa paghayag ng indignasyon sa walang-kasing- garapal na paggamit ng rehimeng Arroyo sa Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining para sa bulok at dekadenteng pulitika.

Sumasambulat ang galit namin sa pagtransporma ni Arroyo sa Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining bilang sariling kaban ng pampulitikang pagpapabuya. Lagpas sa kalahati sa pinangalanang Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ngayong taon ay mismong nirekomenda ni Arroyo na wala sa listahang binuo ng kapwa Pambansang Komisyon sa Kultura at Sining (National Commission on Culture and the Arts o NCCA) at Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas (Cultural Center of the Philippines o CCP), tanging mga ahensyang inatasan ng batas na magrekomenda ng mga gagawaran bilang Pambansang Alagad ng Sining.

Sa partikular ay kasuklam-suklam ang paghirang kay Cecille Guidote-Alvarez, Presidential Adviser on Culture, bilang Pambansang Alagad ng Sining bilang pinakamasamang klase ng pulitika de padrino na kaytagal na dapat ibinasura sa kapakinabangan ng bayang Pilipino. Ang paggawad kay Alvarez ang pinakamalala nang conflict of interest sa sitwasyong ito, sa dahilang sya ang kasalukuyang executive director ng NCCA at laluna ng kalihiman o secretariat para sa Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining! Paanong may matutunghayang mabuti sa paggawad na ito, at paano naman ito matatanggap ng ginawaran nang may katapatan at kabutihang-loob?

Ang paghirang kay Alvarez bilang Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ay walang iba kundi pangtapat ni Arroyo na pabor sa pulitika matapos ang konsistent na pagtatakip ni Alvarez sa katiwalian at paniniil ng rehimen. Tinitingnan din namin ito bilang matunog na pagkunsinti sa mga nabalitang anomalya sa NCCA na sala ni Alvarez nitong nakaraang mga taon.

Ang higit na malala pa, pilit pagtakpan ng Malacañang ang tahasang pang-aabusong ito ng presidente nang magpaliwanag pa na “purely ministerial” lang daw ang ginawa nito sa pagpangalan sa mga bagong Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ngayong taon. Pawang kasinungalingan ito na kaydaling mapakita sa simpleng pag-imbestiga sa buong proseso, at ng mga mula sa NCCA at CCP na, matapos dumaan sa matinding proseso ng seleksyon, ay binastos ng siryosong kamaliang ito ng presidente!

Konsistent ang gawing ito ni Arroyo sa matagal na nyang panlalansi sa sambayanan, na ang rurok ay ang kamakailang huling State of the Nation Address (SONA) niya, ang pinakamalalang “farewell SONA” sa kasaysayan ng bansa. Konsistent ito sa pagkamuhi nya sa pampublikong paniningil sa itinagal ng kanyang paghari, nang sya’y nagsagawa ng malawakang pandaraya, korapsyon, brutal at madugong pagsupil sa mga kritiko ng kanyang paghaharing kriminal, pagkatuta sa tiwaling dayuhang interes, buung-bong pagsira sa saligambatas na dapat ay kanyang itinataguyod, at pagsabotahe sa ganap na lehitimo’t mahihigpit na hakbanging impeachment laban sa kanya nitong nakaraang mga taon.

Pinatitingkad ng pagsira ni Arroyo sa Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ang sadyang pagpapalala ng kanyang rehimen sa matagalan nang grabeng krisis sa sining at kulturang Pilipino. Maaalala ang kanyang termino bilang nagpatindi ng kulturang kolonyal, pyudal, pasista at komersyal, na makikita sa (1) walang-habas na pagtaguyod sa Ingles bilang opisyal na wika sa pagtuturo, komersyo at gubyerno; (2) walang kaparis na pagbubukas ng ekonomya sa mga dayuhang produkto at serbisyong pangkultura, na humantong sa halos pagkasawi ng lokal na ekonomya sa kultura; (3) pagpuksa sa mga kulturang katutubo at minorya bunga ng walang kapantay na paninira sa kabuhayan ng mga minorya at katutubong komunidad na nakasandig sa agrikultura; (4) garapalang pambubusabos at komersyalisasyon ng mga kostumbre at kulturang katutubo sa pagtaguyod ng turismong nakaangkla sa neoliberal na globalisasyon; at (5) walang-habas na pagsupil sa kalayaang mamahayag nang i-censor nito ang maraming pelikula’t programa na may komentaryo sa lipunan na nagawaran sa maraming patimpalak sa loob at labas ng bansa, at ang world-class na pagsikil sa peryodismo at sa mga peryodista.

Sasama ang CAP sa mga nasa larangan ng sining at kulturang Pilipino sa pagsagawa ng kagyat na direktang aksyong demokratiko para ibasura ang huling kasuklam-suklam na salang ito ng rehimeng Arroyo. Nananawagan kami sa iba pang mga kababayang nagmamahal sa kalayaan na makibahagi din. Para sa sining at kulturang Pilipino, ito’y karapat-dapat lamang.

Sobra na! Tama na! Patalsikin si Gloria!

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