SAMUT-SARI

The word "elderly" has been deleted in favor of 'senior citizens" in our country. I have misgivings about that the latter. It implies that there are "junior citizens" which then makes it a biased term. Why should the idea of the latter intrude into our concern with the elderlies?

Those who crafted laws apparently are mocking the state of the elderlies. This is why when I take a public vehicle and say "senior" inevitably the other passengers look at me. And the youth have taken cognizance of this discrimination by riding on it.

I was at Mercury drug store in Kamuning and the sales guy, a certain Marlon refused to answer my question as to how much Vitamin B Complex was. Three times I had to ask him before he would give me an answer. But when a young woman approached him, he readily answered. I pointed this out to him and he gave a lame answer that he was still attending to another customer.

As I was leaving, I told him, "Maybe you are afraid of old age. Don't be afraid of physical disintegration. Because growing old without wisdom is worse." The other senior customers looked at me as I mentioned that. I hope the owners of Mercury would read this.

There are other forms of discrimination. At SM Centerpoint, the janitors hover around me with their mops, as if I have to move out of the premises right away. I think the administration does not do this per se but the guards who are connected with Crame -- as their companies have to get their licenses from them.

So you see Folks, when we have to be true to our politics, we meet all kinds of obstacles especially when we grow old. Our country is not a place for retirement -- except when you have dollars, as the elderly foreign tourists who are being enticed to retire here.

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I watched Clash of the Titans film, and found something wrong with the word Hades, as the name of the god from the netherworld. Hades in mythology is the name of the underworld and the god there is Pluto. I wonder why the filmmakers changed the name.

Also as I watch those digitally-made animation films, as "How To Train Your Dragon," I find too many objects on the screen, which make them too clattered up. I hope that the filmmakers would use fewer figures, and concentrate on just plain storytelling visually.

Going back to the elderlies, I hope that before Mayor Belmonte gets out of the mayorship, he would allow us to view films at any day and any time as Makati provides her constituents. Quezon City is the richest city in all of NCR and there is no reason for it to be able to be more generous to those who have contributed a lot in making this country a better place to live in, democratically.

SUNDAY REFLECTION: Holier than thou, Oh no please...

SUNDAY REFLECTION
By Wilhelmina S. Orozco

Many colors of religions exist in our midst. We are being deluged with different views of life, of the spirit. The Catholic Church which is too rigid in her approach to one’s being religious and that is attending its rituals every Sunday, reciting prayers monotonously and in routine, and talking to God indirectly through priests has caused many people to seek other paths. So now we have so many nativistic-style worship: Ang Dating Daan, Oras ng Himala, Mike Velarde’s El Shaddai, Brother Eddie Villanueva’s Jesus is Lord Movement, and many, many more. A foreign-inspired group is The Evangelical Ark Mission International headed by a Nigerian, Tony Marioghae who delivers truly philosophical sermons full of allusions to the Biblical teachings. They have drawn many Filipino women and men to their wings because of their down-to-earth treatment of problems, both individual and social. In every group whose worship I have attended I always find a reference to political leaders, for them to care for the people’s welfare and not their own. Thus relevance to the times is the underlying theme of the latter groups.

Yet I cannot help but be shocked that sometimes the Bible can be used by some pastors to hit at those who have staunch political beliefs, who have their own views of society. Instead of making the worship place pristine, free from political clutter, they bring in the scams of politics, make them go up the stage and try to appear as religious as the people attending there. This is I think a desecration of the meaning of worship.

Worship means service to God, a time for reflection on one’s existence on earth and how relations with oneself, with others, and with the earth is according to the wisdom and teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible. Instead, sometimes, we have been treated to a political feast, a kind of cursillo of these politicians whose stints can hardly be called spiritual but even be labeled anti-human.

Look at this former MMDA chairman now running for vice president. What did he do during his time? He polluted the streets with his ill-designed foul-smelling toilets for men and made the men feel grand that they could still urinate in public but in style. Instead of building toilets underground where people, both women and men could go down and urinate in clinically clean toilets, he put up urinals for everyone to see in pink colors.

What else did he do? He put up signs on the streets, “Bawal tumawid dito, nakamamatay.” Thus now, the Commonwealth Avenue is declared a death zone because of so many road accidents occurring then. Ironically, the victims are the ones being charged and labeled ignorant of the laws. Why, in the sixties, the signs we would see are: “Pedestrians crossing, slow down,” or “Children crossing, slow down.” Now the people have to race with the cars and vehicles whose drivers drive with impunity. I was nearly run over one time by an oncoming jeep while crossing a pedestrian lane, imagine! That concept that vehicle drivers are the kings of the roads has seeped into the minds of the under-educated drivers that they have the only right to the use of the roads and in their sweet time.

Now tell me, does this candidate deserve a minute of my attention after what he had done to bastardize metroManila? No, Sir, no Madam. He deserves to take a sabbatical leave and give more love to his overly self-sacrificing and intelligent wife. Or maybe give her a break and let her be with a more people-oriented partner.

In a former worship place I had attended, a pastor even started mentioning dogs in his homily – in allusion probably to media watchdogs – as I am from media and used to have a column then, criticizing election cheating. While reciting the homily, he would look down, probably feeling guilty that he is misusing the place of worship for something earthly, even hellish, instead of divine.

The worst I have heard is this reference to a Biblical woman so called unclean because she was menstruating and had touched Jesus Christ as a wish to have her sins washed away. Of all situations about sinning, a reference had to be made of this particular section of the Bible making it highly suspect that the one giving the sermon was hitting at someone in the audience. In effect it became a judgment time for one’s “sins” of choosing to protect one’s freedom in political thinking.

Now where is that soulful character of attendees of worship? Where are the so-called sons and daughters of God there? No, criticism of the powers-that-be is a no-no in religious organizations.

A place of worship where there is no freedom to think, speak and act for all – both women and men – is bound to fail and would lose its attendees. It will only gather the conservatives, those who favour the status quo, of being recognized in the worship place, albeit how narrow, for fear of expanding their spheres of influence, of treading new grounds where they would wager for chances for social recognition,.

Yet members of the group suffer from individual problems not taken care of by the worship leader– like one having an alcoholic husband, another having a domineering and oppressive employer, and others from spouses who hardly have time to give them that caring and loving attention so necessary for keeping the relationship alive because of their businesses or other concerns. The personal is only touched upon in reference to sins that are mostly for cleansing the souls of men – like going to prostitution dens, etc.

Yes, despite the proliferation of these religious groups, there is a corresponding bigger presence of nightclubs with young women offering their physical bodies as come-ons to customers by the doors. It is as if worship could always be done every Sunday and then Monday to Friday is freedom from the spiritual shackles of the Biblical teachings.

No, worship has to be something else. Worship should remain as worship, as a study and reflection on the teachings of the Bible, specifically of Christ, as they relate to one’s life, without being judgmental. Worship should gather people in order to celebrate life that God has given us and point to the way we must give order and joy to every minute of it while interacting with other travelers in this life. May be this is all very cerebral, but then, if I can experience it and others I know can, why can’t worship organizations do the same?

No one, no organization has the sole prerogative to speak about how life should be led, nor to be judged of one’s acts. Everyone has the right to judge only oneself, and not others unless the situation were legal in character, meaning to say there has been a violation of societal order. But I accept prophecies – showing how life should be, how everyone should become, in order that the eyes and hands of God shall remain more kindly at us all throughout our lifetime, in order that God may continue to protect us from those who would harm us, help and guide us in our day-to-day lives so that we may reflect and live according to Christian teachings, and thus guarantee our place in heaven among angels and non-sinners all.

Now the question: should all political leaders be spiritually-attuned? Can an atheist not be a good leader? Must one be a theist in order to be leader? At the moment, many are saying that due to the highly corrupt situation we are in, then a need arises to have spiritual leaders, those who are sensitive to the physical life and the inner life, or the other-worldly. In other words, leaders must be geared towards being reflective all the time if their acts conform to Christian and other spiritual values that glorify God and humanity.

We must remember that the People’s Republic of China shuns all talks of religion, yet it is one of the most prosperous countries in the world. The Soviet Union was also one before it broke up and yet it achieved its objective of raising with the west in modernizing her society. In other words, religion has and had nothing to do with how society was being run.

We could probably leave this hanging and let the people provide their own opinions on this matter. As for now, I prefer having a small space wherever I can and reflect on my own life, without anyone telling me, “Hey I am holier than you are.”

SING GIRL, SING!

By Wilhelmina S. Orozco

How do we let a singer sing and sing on though in pain? When we find a good singer it almost seems like a crime to have intermissions or even to have other people singing instead of her. This was what I had felt when I watched Girl Valencia do her gig at the Renaissance Hotel. She was hot, she was cool, she was warm, and all over. No one could ever dispute that she is in command of her craft. Yet, deep inside her she was trying to contain her pain because of which she lost an ounce of energy for singing.

Second to the eldest, Girl is daughter to Boy Valencia and Tess Ragaza. Her father is an inventor and now successfully selling his original hair grower product, EZ Grow in the many malls in MetroManila which is guaranteed to grow hair even on bald pates and thinning eyebrows.

Girl’s mom, Tess noted her inclination in singing while she was still young at five years old. She likes to narrate that Girl used to ape the singing style of chanteuse, Pilita Corrales at family gatherings whence she would sing in “liyad-liyad” style or bending her body backwards. “I used to hold only a hairbrush then and would sing ala-Pilita, ” said Girl. Her parents laughed at the sight of a toddler eager to act like a grown-up singing with gusto. Moreover, she is said to have a habit of humming a song, “ Hum daw ako ng hum. Siguro yun ang simula na magko-compose na ako.” (I used to hum a lot. Maybe that was the start of my ability to compose.)

Instead of a music course, Girl instead finished a communication course at the Ateneo de Manila University. However, the music bug bit her again after graduation. In 2002, She won an international award called the UNESCO Peace Prize for her piece, “Breaking Barriers” sang by a Japanese choir. The prize was not enough for her because the song had not been sung in the Philippines yet. “I produced a minus one to have it heard in the country. Vocal arrangement was done by Gino Torres, while the soloist was Ryan Cayabyab’s son together with the Ateneo Grade School. This piece must have encouraged the Jesuit priests to produce a full album which contained my own piece,” she said.

Another award of Girl is her Best Sound Track nomination for a piece entitled “Pangako Ikaw Lang,” sang by Regine Velasquez
which she composed for the film, “Tanging Mahal.”

Now a member of the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers or Filscap, Girl is a noted singer and composer. However, when she attends the meeting there, one would see a different Girl from the singer at the Hotel Remonde. Instead, she is the backpacking “teenager” in sleeveless shirt, and sandals sans airs at all and chatting with fellow composers.

Actually, Girl experiences what other female night workers suffer from. “I have to look ordinary when I go out of the hotel after my stint because many times the pedestrians would whistle or look at me with lewd eyes as if I were a slut looking for dough,” said Girl.

Girl asserts that this shows that women having night jobs are really not that safe from prying eyes and predators and the authorities have to be alerted to provide them stronger security as women could be physically vulnerable all the time.

Learning the ropes so to speak – how to sing in public, much more so how to deal with the nitty-gritty of getting paid well are things imbibed through experience in this country. Each singer who has worked in show business would know that most of the time, academics do not prepare one to have a stable career nor get paid well at the beginning or even till the end of one’s contract, if there is any at all. But to Girl it was quite easy. Help for her to refine her singing career came so easily from the family and friends.

One time, she auditioned at a bar but was found to be ill prepared, although her singing voice was good for the place. Romy San Mateo, the pianist who auditioned her was generous enough to let her hang around at the bar where he was playing and in between intermissions would make her sing after just to acclimatize her to public attention. After each song, he would prompt her on and tell her how to improve her singing style. Through Romy, she learned how to be discriminating about the songs in her repertoire, how to sing with a lilt, how to jazz up a piece, and even how to deal with certain groups of customers in the hotel.

Apart from singing, Girl has learned a lot from her mentor. Her great sense of public relations make the customers feel comfortable with her, to the point of going up the stage and singing with her, whereas they would not do so readily. Actually she has captured the hearts of many who probably wish in their private moments to be a professional singer like her with an audience that truly appreciate her art and not just companion-to- the-bar friends to give her a moral boost.

At the open mike session, whereby any customer could sing a song, Girl would be standing by or singing along and providing a counterpoint or just plain second voice to the melody. Every second looks like she is enjoying the performance of the customer even if the person cannot carry a consistent pitch.

Girl is fully concentrated when singing dinner songs that allow people to eat and laugh heartily while she is up there onstage. Although the whole bar is reeking with smoke, still she would be found there entertaining musically or smiling away as if everything was so fine. Sometimes, some customers would laugh uninhibitedly after a bit of drinking but the noise from that circumstance does not bother Girl so much. To her such things go with the trade.

However, to this author, perhaps a rule should be put up at entertainment bars that respect for the singer should be accorded, foremost of which is not to smoke at that place as that could destroy the singer’s voice. Being able to pay for one’s dinner is not justification to disrespect the place and the singer.

Furthermore smoking should not be allowed at bars because it is really detrimental to the health of the smoker and the non-smoker. A singer fell into an illness when cancer struck her after singing for many years at a smoky bar. People would not attribute it to the smoke but studies have shown that nicotine strikes any part of the house, even the ovaries and could produce ovarian cysts or cancer itself due to its being a toxic substance.

Having a regular gig would not give Girl the lifestyle she wants. So she also goes into events organizing producing shows such as the one held at the Conspiracy bar, the “Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald,” and at the Exchange Bar, “Tribute to Frank Sinatra.” Being a great organizer with people skills, she gathered other singers to put up the show with her and was able to have standing room concerts, thus making a good business for the bar and for herself. Here Girl shows her business acumen, not only musical skills.

Girl has made her first album and is now preparing for the next. What is commendable about this is that she is a one woman over-all artist and businesswoman –when recording an album, she is the composer, singer, producer and distributor all at the same time. In this regard, she is able to control the kind of songs that will come out and the earnings that she will get, unlike others who are at the mercy of sometimes unscrupulous producers and distributors.

She has learned the trade well and needs another break in the international scene whereby her music has already been recognized. Sing Girl, sing!