The Strategic Leader

Simple thoughts by Chester B. Cabalza

“To lead is not to influence others to do something they are not committed to, but rather to nurture a culture that motivates and even excites individuals to do what is required for the benefit of all.”- Arthur F Carmazzi, in The Colored Brain Communication Field Manual (2009), page 76.



I subscribe to the idea that all professional Army leaders consistently prepare themselves for greater responsibilities while mastering core leader competencies. To become organizational and strategic leaders, they should be multiskilled leaders who can comfortably operate at all levels of leadership to apply their vast experiences and knowledge for success across the spectrum of conflicts. They must develop programs and plans and synchronize the appropriate systems allowing soldiers in small unit to turn tactical and operational models into action.

In organizational and strategic leadership, leadership by example must exude wide ranging competency and knowledge. Organizational leaders must build teams of teams with discipline, cohesion, trust, and proficiency. However, they say that modern organizational leaders now are multiskilled and multipurpose leaders. They have to develop a strong background in doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures, as well as an appreciation for the geopolitical consequences of their application.

In my experience, as an organizational leader, I rely heavily on developing my subordinates and empowering them to execute their assigned responsibilities and missions. More so, soldiers and subordinate leaders, in turn, look to organizational leaders to set achievable standards, to provide clear intent, and to provide necessary resources.

In one point of my career, there are times that conflicts arise in work. I do deem that leaders often must leverage negotiating skills to obtain cooperation and support necessary to accomplish a mission beyond the traditional chain of command. A successful negotiating involves communicating a clear position on relevant issues and integrating understanding of motives while conveying a willingness to bargain on other issues. Thus, good negotiators visualize several possible end states while maintaining a clear idea of the optimal end state.

It is true, as General Gordon Sullivan has opined that, if you are a leader, your people expect you to create their future. They look into your eyes, and they expect to see strength and vision. To be successful, you must inspire and motivate those who are following you. When they look into your eyes, they must see that you are with them.

This happens in large organizations, especially that most of Army’s organizational leaders play critical part when it comes to maintaining focus on fighting the enemy; and your men look up to you as their strength and inspiration. With this kind of situation, organizational leaders represent the critical link to collecting, recording, and exploring the tactical and operational lessons learned. They ultimately direct the integration of critical experiences and new concepts into doctrine and future training.

Seasoned strategic and organizational leaders know themselves - the mission and the message. They own it to their organization and men to share much information as possible. Thusly, they must take a long-term approach to developing the entire organization. They prepare their organizations to boost the spirit and morale in order to achieve victory in any endeavors.

Aside from the motivations and right values and conduct shown toward organizational leadership, I believe that in order to foster the culture of systemic organizational leadership, one must also prepare his self. Leadership begins at the top, and so does developing. They keep a focus on where the organization needs to go and what all leaders must be capable of accomplishing.

Also, one important organizational leader responsibility is to create an environment that enables and supports people within the organization to learn from the experiences of others. To strengthen learning in organizations, organizational leaders can make interdependent avenues available for lifelong learning on assignment oriented training, simulations, learning centers, and virtual training.

To foster building team skills and processes, according to the article, organizational leaders recognize that their respective organization is a ‘team’ – that has to learn confidence and excellence that will be translated into reality. He must empower his team within a larger organization and must exploit the value of a creative staff composed of competent and trustworthy subordinates.

In my mind, I admire strategic and organizational leaders who achieve consistent results and are competent in planning, preparing, executing, and assessing. While leaders can continuously emphasize teamwork and cooperation, they also understand healthy competition as an effective motivator. They must provide clear focus with their intent so their subordinates may accomplish the mission, no matter what happens to the original.

The Seasoned Executive

Simple thoughts by Chester B. Cabalza


“In matters of style, swim with the current: in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” - Thomas Jefferson, as quoted in Careertracking: 26 success Shortcuts to the Top (1988)

I sometimes think how a great manager can handle a big organization – minute by minute how he decides and analyze problems and inevitable situations and at the end of the day becomes successful after firm decisions. Indeed, seasoned managers at all levels must play the role of very good decision makers. However, to become effective decision makers, he must undergo a process – by learning new skills and behaviors and by creating and evaluating options.

The article of “The Seasoned Executive’s Decision-Making Style,” suggests four styles of decision making of a seasoned executive. He must be (1) decisive, (2) flexible, (3) hierarchic, and (4) integrative. Naturally, I believe that managers make decisions differently in public settings as well as in private settings. Herein, to be decisive means that the decision style is direct, efficient, fast, and firm. Publicly, this action-focused style comes across as task-oriented.

In the chart of styles of decision-making, the author Kenneth Brousseau, in gist illustrated the following options: to be flexible suggests that this style is about speed and adaptability. Managers make decisions quickly and change course just as quickly to keep abreast of immediate and shifting situations. Thus in public, this flexible style comes across as highly social and responsive. The hierarchic style of decision making insist that people using this highly analytical and focused style expect their decisions, once taken, to be final and to stand the test of time. Also in public, this complex style comes across as highly intellectual. Lastly, the integrative mode speaks of people frame problems broadly, using input from many sources, and makes decisions involving multiple courses of action that may evolve over time as circumstances change. In public, this creative style comes across as highly participative. In my view, I see myself as flexible yet integrative, multifocus yet maximizing in the number of options in my decision-making.

It says that it is essential to use leadership style that keeps the information pipeline open and the data flowing freely to access best information and analysis. However, the most successful managers come to the convergence zone more quickly than the least successful and continue to adjust and adapt to different styles as their careers progress.

Needless to say, one of the flaws of managers is that they fail to evolve on how they make decisions and fail to recognize and correct their erroneous decision. A brave and seasoned executive must at all times follow what is righteous and upright. This brings to the idea that global managers emerge, they must ensure a culture of effective and efficient leadership by way of their good decision-making, at times of risky and difficult times. And as pointed out by the author, when decision-making style is compared in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, there is apparent cultural impact on leadership and thinking styles. The differences in terms of which styles vary from one culture to another. What matters most is the universal principle that they must learn, adapt, evolve, and keep abreast with their leadership styles and good decision-making process.

Inspiring Leaders

Simple thoughts by Chester B Cabalza

The general perspective of research is to present results of any scientific discovery and strategic view to find solution to a particular type of problem. In this way, the researcher will show how the problem is directed to further solution or putting some light in the unknown areas of knowledge for one’s enlightenment to that particular area of knowledge. Thus, research actually helps us understand the reality more clearly.

My primary research interest dwells on Leadership. I deem that good leadership works also through emotions using emotional intelligence (EQ) in handling various personalities of people. However, leaders carry out this process by applying leadership attributes such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge and skills. Although some personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles based from the trait theory.

Based from my secondary research material that is published online on the secrets of inspiring leaders, it reminds us of the importance of inspirational leaders in our society because based from quantitative research through surveys, only 10 percent of employees look forward to going to work and most employees point to a lack of leadership as the reason why.

In one of the articles I read, it discusses the following seven techniques that leaders can use to inspire their employees, such as: (1) to demonstrate enthusiasm – constantly; (2) articulate a compelling course of action; (3) sell the benefit; (4) tell more stories: (5) invite participation; (6) reinforce an optimistic outlook; and (7) to encourage one’s potential.

I have chosen the said article because I consider myself a good leader that possesses strategy, vision, power, and powerful ideas. A good leader like me can ignite passion and inspiration to my subordinates and colleagues. This supports my character to being focused and responsible.

Just like what I believe in, research is significant because it forms as a cycle. It starts with a problem and ends with a solution to the problem. Every research works is intended to identify new opportunities for novel ideas. Research helps us to diagnosing any known problems or opportunities. It helps us to establish a standard of taking action on any chosen area of the knowledge domain. And lastly, it evaluates and develops the current strategies and systems.

It is usually one of the first statements made in any research paper, as well as it defines the research area, should a quick synopsis of how the hypothesis was arrived at. Research problem will lead to the proposal of a viable hypothesis. It is also the situation that causes the researcher to feel apprehensive. It is the demarcation of a problem area within a certain context involving the WHO or WHAT, the WHERE, the WHEN, and the WHY of the problem situation. In the article, it said that leadership is the key to employees’ engagement, innovation, and success. Herein, it asked several questions such as, are you investing in building your leadership ability? Are you setting a good example, setting vision, inspiring others, remaining optimistic and investing in others?

Hence, I should answer the research problems based from the primary factors that affect the issues in the research study. In the said article on leadership, the author suggested and discussed briefly the seven secrets of inspiring leaders by enumerating techniques that leaders can use to inspire their employees.

Data analysis is a practice in which raw data is ordered and organized so that useful information can be extracted from it. The process of organizing and thinking about data is the key to understanding what the data does not contain. In the course of organizing the data, trends often emerge, and these trends can be highlighted in the write up of the data to ensure that readers take note. Summarizing data is often critical to supporting the arguments. In the article, techniques on inspirational leadership were gathered based from real experiences of people combined together as lessons learned.

Findings or conclusions are based from facts and figures collected to convey strengths and weaknesses of the study. It encapsulates the totality and essence of the study because it embodies all the processes done in the study and presents it through findings and conclusions. It can be the summary of the entire study encapsulated in organized thoughts under findings and conclusions.

So far, the short article on the secrets of inspiring leaders did not expressly give recommendations. On the other hand, from the questions it posted, the essay has shown inferences to the readers on what they ought to do to become inspiring leaders. Hence, recommendations usually include appropriate and specific recommendations as part of the conclusion, which should always be specific and appropriate to the researcher’s readers.

I therefore classify the uploaded article on inspiring leaders as secondary qualitative research. It is secondary research because it looks at existing data which was summarized, collated, and synthesized. Also, a qualitative research because it examines what human behaviors and reason behind it. It also tackles on what people should do and why.

Virtual Ethnography 101: Rizal Conference

As part of the weekly exercises of my graduate students in Anthropology 225: Philippine Society and Culture, I wanted my students to explore places and write ethnography using the method of participation-observation.

In celebration of the sesquicentennial (150th) birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippine's national hero, I asked my graduate students to visit museums that exhibit memorabilia for our dear renaissance Filipino man Jose Rizal, attend local and international academic symposium on The First World-Class Filipino Jose Rizal, travel to his ancestral house in Laguna, or pay respect to one of Asia's great intellectuals enshrined at Luneta Park, and so on...

I am posting in my blog with the writer's consent selected ethnography penned creatively by my students to contribute to the emerging sub-discipline of anthropology called 'Virtual Ethnography'.

Basically, virtually ethnography is also referred to as Webnography. We cannot deny the fact that with increasing use of technology and the Internet, there is now a demand for online spaces on various ethnographic accounts.



»Was? Es dürfte kein Cäsar auf euren Bühnen sich zeigen,
Kein Achill, kein Orest, keine Andromacha mehr?«
-Friedrich Schiller, Shakespeares Schatten
“Qué? No podria un Cesar presentarse
En vuestras tablas? No más un Aquiles,
Un Orestes ó Andromaca mostrarse?

-Rizal’s Translation

Ethnography by Frances Cruz

Rizal in the 21st Century was an International Sesquicentennial Conference held in UP Diliman last June, in celebration of the hero’s 150th anniversary. In light of the celebratory atmosphere, the conference took place in the recently-opened GT Toyota Building, with its inviting white walls and modern architecture, open towards Filipinos and foreigners alike.

Filipino students are likely to encounter Rizal three times in their academic life. Once in high school, when the Noli is taken up, the second time for the study of El Fili, and last but not least, in the required college course on Rizal. While there may be other extraneous encounters with some places Rizal once inhabited, many still understand Rizal as part of history – not as part of one’s everyday life. This conference’s theme begged to differ. Indeed, Rizal’s relevance across time and space was implied by the conference’s umbrella theme, 21st Century local and global perspectives.

The lectures highlighted a wide range of topics, which included Rizal in the Digital Age and Popular Culture, Rizal in the Filipino Diaspora, Politics and Rizal, and Foreign perspectives on Rizal. It is not unknown to most people that Rizal was a well-traveled psycho-and allocentric, in addition to being the face of Philippine nationalism. But particularly striking about the program was just how international the roster was, how much Rizal mattered to people from all over the world. Visitors from as far as France, Belgium and Spain were invited to the Philippines just to participate in the conference. What was interesting to me was how holistic the significance of Rizal actually was, crossing fields such as anthropology, media, literature, politics and linguistics. The continuing construction and re-construction of the hero in the 21st Century was also a poignant theme of the discussions.

As for me, I was curious about how Rizal was viewed by foreigners. What could they possibly wish to learn from a hero who fought for Philippine nationalism? My interest stemmed perhaps from my experience as an undergraduate, when a German professor of mine from Heidelberg told me stories about Rizal’s statue and park in Wilhelmsfeld, Germany, a municipality not far off from Heidelberg itself. One of the very first reports delivered on Rizal’s significance to foreigners was related to his ‘Malayness’, whereby the scholarly ascent of the “Malay Cultural Industry” in other South-East Asian countries has somehow dismissed Rizal’s thought, or even Malay-ness.



It is not difficult to see why defining a particular identity has become of socio-political importance in Malaysia, where there the political field is divided among ethnic lines; an issue which carries little weight in our own domestic politics. Yet Rizal was instrumental in trying to recapture the agency of South East Asian culture in the face of ethnocentric Western anthropological claims, as Michael Tan discussed in his lecture. In the case of Dr. Tan’s report, Rizal’s importance for a wider target group (Malays, South East Asians, Colonized countries, etc.) was stressed, and could perhaps serve as a counterpoint to the exclusion of his contributions in some regional literature. But could Rizal be considered as transnational? This was taken up in one of the symposia called Nationalism and Transnationalism. The presentation of Milagros Guerrero used a historical approach to describe how Spanish political conditions distracted the government from the propaganda movement coming from the periphery. Later, during the open forum A question was raised about the degree to which Rizal could be considered ‘transnational’, as Rizal did not live in a time when phenomena like transnationalism were acknowledged. Instead, his passion for nationalism was emphasized, as opposed to the borderless appeal of transnationalism.

I wondered, if, despite the historical approaches used in the Nationalism & Transnationalism panel, Rizal wasn’t in fact a national hero that had managed to grow with times. He had been important to many other countries, including Russia, where it was reported that he is of great interest to Russian Filipinologists, as well as scholars from other countries that wish to study Rizal’s literature, translations, socio-cultural and political significance and his life story itself. In terms of the cultural exchange that occurred through Rizal, it also works the other way. Rizal was inspired by foreigners in turn, as seen in his incorporation of Schiller’s Shakespeares Schatten and Heine’s Goetter im Exil in his writings. A colleague of mine in the German section, who wrote her thesis on this subject, was unfortunately not able to present her paper due to torrential rains.

To sum up, it is clear that even in this age of globalization, the image of Rizal is widely passively consumed by millions of Filipinos, even if they are not interested in Rizal from a scholarly perspective. During the conference, Vladimir Gonzales reported on Rizal as metatext: the possibilities of Rizal as a fan fiction material, where he studied selected pieces of Rizal-themed fan fiction on the Internet, revealing an interesting link between pop culture and what one often regards as ‘high’ culture. I had already encountered some of the expressions of Rizal as a Pop Cultural Icon on the net, when I visited the homepage of Gerry Alanguilan, a comic artist from Laguna, who draws comics of an alternate time where the Philippines is a first world country and Rizal makes use of his talents to invent new technologies. Whether through digital art, literature or political movements, it seems as though no matter what the context, Rizal, is recreated to serve present realities, here and elsewhere. Just like any classic.

Virtual Ethnography 101:The Great Man in Luneta

As part of the weekly exercises of my graduate students in Anthropology 225: Philippine Society and Culture, I wanted my students to explore places and write ethnography using the method of participation-observation.

In celebration of the sesquicentennial (150th) birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippine's national hero, I asked my graduate students to visit museums that exhibit memorabilia for our dear renaissance Filipino man Jose Rizal, attend local and international academic symposium on The First World-Class Filipino Jose Rizal, travel to his ancestral house in Laguna, or pay respect to one of Asia's great intellectuals enshrined at Luneta Park, and so on...

I am posting in my blog with the writer's consent selected ethnography penned creatively by my students to contribute to the emerging sub-discipline of anthropology called 'Virtual Ethnography'.

Basically, virtually ethnography is also referred to as Webnography. We cannot deny the fact that with increasing use of technology and the Internet, there is now a demand for online spaces on various ethnographic accounts.



Ethnography by Zy-za Nadine Suzara

My last exposure to Rizal Park was back when I was an undergraduate student in junior year sometime in 2003. It was likewise intended as a fieldwork to conduct interviews with foreign tourists for a class paper. I have the vaguest recollections about those weekend visits in the park, let alone what the park looked like back in the day. However, I do remember that my group mates and I would avoid the benches, prefer sitting on the grass picnic-style, ‘strategically’ choosing a spot where we saw people walking to and fro, where we thought those foreign tourists would pass. Whether we successfully met our research objective, I do not recall anymore. Had I kept my old notes and scribbles it would have been interesting to draw comparisons between then and now.

On Thursday afternoon, the first thing I noticed upon getting off the van that took me to Luneta was the hubbub of the commuters along Taft Avenue. It was around 5:30PM. A few meters from the pavement was an arc, freshly constructed it seems. It bannered the 150th year of the national hero’s birth in huge letters that read: “Rizal at 150” on the left side, “One Stop Heritage Trail” on the right, and “SALAMAT PO” right in the middle. I wondered where exactly the heritage trail was.

A few more steps and I noticed more banners of green enfaced with the iconic image of Rizal, announcing his 150th every 6 or so meters apart. Yes, I’m Rizal Park, I thought. There were too many things to take note of given that in my haste to get to the park, I forgot to bring a camera!

I had always had the impression that Luneta was quite benign. I was wrong. There were too many activities going on all at the same time! I realised that there was no way I could observe everything, what with my limited time and the dark rainclouds threatening to spill more rain that afternoon.

I was a mere two meters away from the arc down the ‘trail’, I suppose, when I general, I observed a very diverse crowd of people. To my right was a group of students in their PE uniforms practicing their dance routine. To my left was that huge Philippine map in the man-made lake where even more people converged – friends, lovers, cliques taking pictures, posing and smiling by the railing-enclosed man-made lake.

I also noticed that there were photographers roaming around. When I walked closer to the area, one photographer even approached me, offering to take my picture in broken English. I had to politely decline adding, “Manong hindi po ako Koreana. Pwede po kayo mag-Tagalog.” At that I walked along the pathway around the man-made lake. The dreaded rain started to fall. I fished out my umbrella and continued to observe. Interestingly, the people seemed unfazed by the raindrops! Some opened their umbrellas but they pretty much stayed where they were, chatting and relaxing lazily amongst themselves, perhaps because it was a gentle rain anyway.

As I walked around, I had the urge to talk-up individuals who where in the park. But seeing how they were spending time with their friends, and the couples were getting cozy with each other, I decided against it. I won’t disturb, I thought. I carried on with being a mere observer.

I noticed that in the periphery of the man-made lake were pictures of places that had anything and everything to do with Jose Rizal. Each of these pictures had anecdotes and was enclosed in glass frame, mounted on two poles. Like those green banners, they lined up the walk, commemorating, indeed valorizing the national hero evermore. These included:

1. Calamba Church – where Rizal was baptized
2. Kamestizuhan District – where Rizal was said to have paid a visit while recruiting members of La Liga Filipina
3. Rizal’s Grave at Paco Par
4. Rizal Fountain at Roxas Boulevard
5. Rizal Execution Site at Roxas Boulevard

Save for one black tourist who quipped to his Filipina companion, “Hey take a picture of that (referring to the image of Rizal’s house in Calamba Laguna), no one actually paid attention to the frames - not the people who were hanging out, the Middle Eastern couple strolling hand in hand, or the couple sitting right under one of the mounted frames. (Yes, they were smooching. When they realised that I was taking too long reading the caption, they exercised discretion and left the spot. I chuckled to myself as soon as they were gone.)

I found out later on from the roaming guard that the frames I took time to observe one by one were very recent additions to the park fixture. In fact, I had an informative conversation with this guard about the frames, area security and a little bit of the park’s demography.

Apparently, the commemorative frames were specifically mounted for the occasion of Rizal’s 150th. According to him there were about 30 of them (I forget the exact number) around the man-made lake. They were constructed in March to late April and unveiled in the month of May. I asked him if people who visit the park pay attention to them. He replied, “Mangilan-ngilan lang po”, validating my initial observation.

Ironically, despite my idea of Rizal Park as a benign place in the city – with the exception of El-Shaddai and such gatherings held there on some occasions as I hear in news radio - I had previously thought of Rizal Park as a very unsecure place where pick-pocketers and snatchers threaten personal security. In essence, I have in my mind a very disjunctured impression of Luneta: static, unevolving seemingly locked in history, on one hand, yet an uninviting and unsafe petty crime scene, on the other.

Of course, this was debunked by the information I gathered from the security guard that the premises is held secure 24 hours a day 7 days a week by 23 roaming guards excluding 4 security heads. This means that there is a total of 27 guards patrolling the whole park day in and day out. Not too bad, I thought.

As I chatted more with the guard, I learned that many students from nearby schools and universities like to hang out in the park. It has become a temporary “shelter” for the homeless, though the word is quite inaccurate since the open area doesn’t give much protection in times of cold and rain.

I was a bit impressed at how attentive and sharp the guard was when he posed his constructive observation in question-form about my lack of knowledge about and immersion in Luneta. “Ngayon lang po ba kayo nakapunta dito?”, he inquired. I guess my questions about the demography of the park, what else there was to see further down the Roxas Boulevard side, struck him as common-sensical.
With a little shame on my part, I replied, “Hindi naman. Matagal lang akong hindi nagpunta dito.” Before I departed, the guard also kindly informed that there was a light and sound exhibit on the execution of Rizal. “Kaya lang po, baka sarado na kasi umuulan”, he added. It is ironic to me that the commemoration of Rizal’s birth is very much inseparable from his execution and death. At the Taft entrance, there is announcement about his 150th birth, yet somewhere near the Roxas end, there is an exhibit showcasing the culmination of that birth in death through no less than that heroic gunshot.

I walked further into the heart of Luneta and noticed even more people sitting on benches holding their umbrellas to shield them against the drizzle. I spotted several calesas, noting how their presence did not seem odd in those surroundings. To me, it was the lamp posts in the park, the Hispanic architecture of the old government buildings nearby like the Department of Toursim to my left and the National Museum to my right, that made that old form of transportation appear more ‘romantic’ than bizarre. Had those calesas been somewhere along the Makati Central Business District, it would have been stupefying to some.

I was also going to meet up with my cousin who was at nearby Intramuros shooting scenes for a TV show. She and the cameraman initially intended to shoot at Luneta upon my suggestion to meet up there. However, they had to move to a discreet street in Intramuros because park authority noticed the professional camera gear and halted the shoot. Park regulations forbid shooting with such intimidating gear.

When we finally met up, she relayed the details of this small anecdote. I noted that indeed, park security was foremost afterall in Luneta. The guards aren’t negligent, I thought. They do their job. According to my cousin, the administrator (if I remember right) explained that this was because courtesy must be observed. There are people at the park like the joggers or the passersby who do not wish to be visible on national TV. My cousin said, the administrator especially made mention of the homeless who have sought “shelter” in the park.

Upon learning this, I immediately tried to locate who these people were. Which among the diverse hundreds converged in Luneta were they? I guess, I was not observant enough, for I failed to locate anyone who would qualify as “homeless”. That, or it was simply getting too dark. I thought I would see beggars or disheveled people and kids however, I saw none. Could it be that they are banned from the premises? I had forgotten to ask the guards about them. If so, does that then make Luneta a wee bit exclusive to the “civilized” city people to a certain extent?

I shrugged off those lingering thoughts in favor of exploring more, taking advantage of the fact that the sky cooperated at last with me and my cousin. We were by now left alone by her colleague, the cameraman. Strolling just like others in the park, we stopped to chat with an adorable 8-year boy, slouched on a monobloc chair, happily munching one of the Indian mangoes they were selling. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Hello. Magkano ang mangga?
Boy: 20 po isang supot(beaming while munching on the mangga)
Cousin: Ikaw ata umuubos ng tinda nyo eh.
Boy: (chuckling)
Me: Sinong kasama mo dito?
Boy: Yung ate ko po.
Me: Araw-araw?
Boy: Opo
Me: Eh saan ka umuuwi?
Boy: Sa Tondo po. (still munching on his mangga)
Me: Umiikot rin kayo pag nagbebenta ng mangga?
Boy: Hindi po, dito lang kami (referring to one of the intersection within the Luneta)
Me: Marami rin bumibili ng mangga sa inyo?
Boy: Opo, paminsan nauubos.
Me: Eh anong oras kayo uumuwi?
Boy: Hindi ko po alam. Basta pag madilim na madilim na.
Me: O sige, salamat ha. Alis na kami. Wag mo uubusin tinda nyo.

As we left the little boy, we came across one of the calesa drivers who approached us offering to take us around the park. After my cousin and I politely declined, we likewise talked to him about his transport business. “May dalawampung-taon na ako dito sa Luneta”, he related. I probed, trying to find out if his sense of time would be like the boy’s. I wondered if the boy’s inability to say what time they leave the park was simply a function of not knowing to tell the time or something else, i.e., that clock time is not all too relevant in Luneta. Maybe another indication of this is that no one was in a rush to leave the place.

“Mga anong taon po kayo nagsimula magcalesa dito?”, I asked. “Hindi ko alam, basta matagal na.” My initial thought was that specificities in terms of time do not seem important to them but those that involve monetary transactions are.

Still trying to persuade us to take a calesa ride, the old man qualified his fare scheme, “Pag local, 50 lang ang sinisingil ko. Pag mga foreigner, 5 dollars, 10 dollars. Depende.”. It struck me that he was pricing his rides in dollars! Forex, hey! He clearly distinguishes between locals and foreigners, with his fare scheme pegged at two currencies!

***

There are speakers in some spots in the park creating varied atmospheres and moods depending on the crowd converged in a specific area. At one intersection, “Kapag tumibok ang puso” was blaring in the speakers, reminiscent of Filipino flicks where the characters indeed converge in none other than Luneta and suddenly, break into dance and song. At least, that night no one was dancing but I observed the cheerful happy expressions in the faces of families, of moms or siblings running after the toddlers.

At another juncture some old Filipino love song was playing. My cousin and I christened it, “the Lovers Lane” precisely because down the path of benches and lamp posts were lovers seated close to each other. Some even had their mats sprawled on the ground, complete with picnic food. Of course, most of them were camera-ready, documenting time spent in the grounds of Luneta.

Near the huge fountain, another speaker was playing a sentimental song that went, “Parang kalian lang, ang mga pangarap ko’y kay hirap abutin.” And as if on cue, the rain started to fall again. Heavily this time! I was distracted and by then oblivious to the rest of the crowd as my cousin and I ran to find shelter. Our stroll was cut short before reaching Rizal’s bantayog! It should have been the highlight of the evening!

In any case, we took temporary shelter at the nearest restroom pay booth we saw. As we waited for the rain to cease, we noticed the Sinic architecture to our right, trying to determine whether it was Japanese or Chinese. As much as we wanted to go around some more, the rain wouldn’t stop.

We then decided to call it a night and come back another time, sharing the same observation that contrary to our common speculation, there is what we roughly termed, “a park culture” in the Philippines; that like the Europeans and Americans we saw on TV, hanging out in a park was not something alien to the average Filipino. Luneta, afterall, provided the space for that.

As we finally walked again in the downpour, we saw my cousin’s cameraman colleague (he left earlier) approaching with his huge umbrella. He failed to get a ride along Taft Avenue, he said. I was wondering where all the people went. In the darkness, I could not see the people we earlier passed by from where we were.

Unfortunately, it continued to rain harder. The three of us could not find a roofed structured in the vicinity. The winds were blowing stronger and so the cameraman walking ahead of us stopped at a monument. My cousin and I followed suit. When I checked out which monument it was, I absent-mindedly read aloud: “Ang Lugar na Pinagbarilan kay Rizal”. When it dawned on us where we actually were, we all ended up laughing with an ensuing conversation about Rizal’s execution initiated by the cameraman that went:

Cameraman: Saan nga ba ang West?
Me and Cousin: Ummm…
Cameraman: Ay dito ang East (faces the direction of Taft avenue and re-enacts under his huge umbrella the famous scene of Rizal’s execution - complete with the foot and body twist.)

My cousin and I laughed harder at this stunt pulled under the heavy rains.

Cameraman: Di ba nakatalikod sya sa West? Kaya nga sya humarap nung binaril sya kasi parang gusto nyang iparating hinarap nya ang mga kalaban? Di ba nga Westerners sila?
Me and cousin: Seryoso ba yan?
Cameraman: Oo, seryoso yan. Tapos di ba sa Paco sya inilibing. Nasa east naman iyon. Hindi naman daw sya totoong namatay. Fabricated lang daw iyon. Bumangon nga daw sya eh. (poker face)
Me and cousin: Ha? Saan mo naman napulot yan?
Cameraman: Ah yun, hindi na totoo yun.

Predictably, we laughed harder, more for the delivery than the unheard of Rizal joke itself.

That night, the rain cleared the park of the diverse groups of people hanging around in it. My cousin and I left with the conclusion that though we observed a “park culture” among the locals in Luneta, they, however, seemed oblivious or at least appeared detached from the historical and commemorative artifacts and fixtures around the area. During the hour I observed, not one took the time to read the captions and anecdotes of history etched in varied monuments in the park.

Virtual Ethnography 101: A Look Back on Jose Rizal's Family Genealogy

As part of the weekly exercises of my graduate students in Anthropology 225: Philippine Society and Culture, I wanted my students to explore places and write ethnography using the method of participation-observation.

In celebration of the sesquicentennial (150th) birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippine's national hero, I asked my graduate students to visit museums that exhibit memorabilia for our dear renaissance Filipino man Jose Rizal, attend local and international academic symposium on The First World-Class Filipino Jose Rizal, travel to his ancestral house in Laguna, or pay respect to one of Asia's great intellectuals enshrined at Luneta Park, and so on...

I am posting in my blog with the writer's consent selected ethnography penned creatively by my students to contribute to the emerging sub-discipline of anthropology called 'Virtual Ethnography'.

Basically, virtually ethnography is also referred to as Webnography. We cannot deny the fact that with increasing use of technology and the Internet, there is now a demand for online spaces on various ethnographic accounts.

Ethnography by Candice Joyce Aragon

Our national hero, Jose Rizal (nickname Pepe), celebrated his 150th birth anniversary with various programs and exhibits all over the country and even overseas. Although we might proudly say that we know him so well, his life and works are still being much reviewed and commemorated.

Last weekend I passed through the place where he was executed - the Rizal Park or Luneta. Efforts have been made there to display his monument and other memorabilia for the public to meaningfully remember him and be able to trace back his life as a student up to his last valiant days. It was for this reason that the Department of Tourism launched the “Rizal Passport” program so tourists could visit the places where our hero left his indelible marks as well as for them to better appreciate Rizal. Tourists should have their “Rizal Passport” stamped in every designated spot within the park and within Intramuros as well. Much to my desire to try this new activity, time did not permit me to. Instead I went to Fort Santiago.

Aside from the Rizal Park, Fort Santiago in Intramuros is also a much visited place. Here, people are given a rare opportunity to see how our hero was held prisoner. I went there to see what has been improved since I last visited the place a few years ago. Inside Fort Santiago, everything looked the same. I chanced upon a Rizaliana Furniture Exhibit in the Baluarte de Sta. Barbara. I read the description and it said that the Rizals owned elegant wooden pieces of furniture which reflected how well-off they were. Dining set, four-poled bed, study table, side tables – these were turned over to the government by the great grand children of Pepe’s sisters. Some of them were taken from their house in Calamba while others were from Hongkong, where the family was exiled.

I also saw this framed family genealogy of our hero hanging on the wall. My knowledge about his family was refreshed by remembering that his forefathers were Chinese immigrants. My fellow visitors were, at the same time, fascinated by this fact. Adjacent to the baluarte and dungeon is the Fort Santiago museum which showcases Jose P. Rizal’s sculptures, family pictures, dentistry apparatus, fencing swords, copy of his novels, the lamp that had been used to send his last letters to his family, a few of his winter clothes, his Mi Ultimo Adios poem in different translations, family tree, and most of all, his holding cell. My attention got stuck at Pepe’s displayed family genealogy again and remembered that Bahay Tsinoy also has this type of exhibit. From here, I thought of researching and exploring other facets of our hero’s life.

Jose Rizal’s genealogy, based on the display, can be traced back to the last name Cua. His paternal ancestor Sian-co Cua, was married to a certain Zun-nio, from mainland China. Their son, baptized as Domingo Lam-co, was an immigrant and known for his leadership skills. He settled in Binan and married Ines Dela Rosa, daughter of a Chinese rice dealer in Manila. They had a son they named Francisco Mercado. Francisco was married to Bernarda Monicha, an orphan Chinese mestiza. They had two children, Juan and Clemente. At the young age of 22, Juan took a Chinese mestiza wife by the name Cirila Alejandro, and they were blessed with thirteen children. The youngest in the family was Pepe’s father, Francisco, named after his grandfather. He was known for his agricultural skills. Meanwhile, Pepe’s maternal grandparents were said to have a prominent resemblance of a Chinese – Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo, the municipal captain of Binan who was married to Brigida de Quintos, a well-educated woman. She bore a child they named Teodora Alonzo. The surname Alonzo was later changed to Realonda. Francisco Mercado married Teodora Alonzo, a native of Manila. They had 11 children, Pepe was the 7th child.

This goes to show that Jose Rizal was not only a product of mixed descent but most importantly, of skillful and intellectual lineage which greatly accounted for his intelligence, cognitive abilities, and aesthetic talents. With his numerous sacrifices and accomplishments not just to himself but to our country, Rizal is the best epitome of what a Filipino is and should become.

Sources:

Austin Craig. “Lineage, Life and Labors of Jose Rizal, Philippine Patriot.” Kessinger Publishing (2004). 18-24, 38-43

Maria Stella Sibal Valdez, et al. “Doctor Jose Rizal and the Writing of His Story.” Rex Book Store, Inc (2008). 54-55

Virtual Ethnography 101: May Rizal sa Amin

As part of the weekly exercises of my graduate students in Anthropology 225: Philippine Society and Culture, I wanted my students to explore places and write ethnography using the method of participation-observation.

In celebration of the sesquicentennial (150th) birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippine's national hero, I asked my graduate students to visit museums that exhibit memorabilia for our dear renaissance Filipino man Jose Rizal, attend local and international academic symposium on The First World-Class Filipino Jose Rizal, travel to his ancestral house in Laguna, or pay respect to one of Asia's great intellectuals enshrined at Luneta Park, and so on...

I am posting in my blog with the writer's consent selected ethnography penned creatively by my students to contribute to the emerging sub-discipline of anthropology called 'Virtual Ethnography'.

Basically, virtually ethnography is also referred to as Webnography. We cannot deny the fact that with increasing use of technology and the Internet, there is now a demand for online spaces on various ethnographic accounts.

Ethnography by Bernadette Senado

Different poses, gestures like presenting him with a point and writing, oftentimes standing straight with his eyes on one direction, sometimes his hand carries a book on top of his chest or if not a hat place on one side however it is usual to see his hands bare. This sight could be seen on statues, pedestals, obelisks and staircases which vary in height but definitely taller than the others all the time and in shape which is trapezoidal, columnar and spherical with cartouches, plaques and transcriptions. These symbolic memoirs are observed not just all throughout the country but in some parts of the globe. On the contrary, more than these depictions, we have to decide on what does it really mean to create such? What impact does it generate in such creation and for failing to construct one among peoples?

I visited Vargas Museum in the University of the Philippines Diliman on July 13, 2011 and it was a lucky day for me because UPians are free to enter every Wednesday. The place seemed so quiet because no one was there to view the collections except for the security and other staff. I don’t know if nobody cares to visit the museum on that day, no one knows that a privilege awaits them when they come in or nobody is interested to witness how the museum joins the commemoration of Rizal’s 150th celebration (that I think is irrational) or it’s just that I am the only left and the rest has gone there already. So much of that, I started viewing the exhibition. The museum allotted the first and third floor for Rizal’s collections which started since May 17 up until July 17.

While I was on the first floor, something really captured my attention “May Rizal sa Amin”
and I really wonder why that set of photographs of Rizal’s monuments and later I found out that that those were scattered all over the country. In fact, there are around 430 monuments in the country. Photographs were taken, submitted and collated following the call of Vargas museums for images and recollections of Rizal monuments here and abroad.. Some were put forwarded via email, and facebook while others were collected by the University of the Philippines professors Nilo Ocampo of the Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature and Eloisa Mary Hernandez of the Department of Art Studies. For the former, this is to see how Rizal is commemorated in the locality and fin other sites that recognize Rizal like in the streets, parks etc. while the latter is to respond to the suggestion of a colleague to document Rizal’s monuments.

It’s really interesting to note that Rizal’s monuments are all over the country and we are accustomed to see them on public setting like plaza complex, municipal offices, churches, schools, markets, malls streets, parks and other government and non-government institutions. And it is intriguing to know all the more that Rizal’s monuments extend in some parts of the globe like in America and Spain. This prompted me to discover on how Rizal’s fame is represented among Asian countries if they really do. And since I cannot afford to visit countries in Asia due to lack of time and budget, I just decided to enter a chat room from which I had a culture shock. I think the last I entered a chat room was 2004.

Moving on, the experience taught me to go straight to my intention because almost all chatters intend to make friends, marry you right away and have sex (ouch!). My goal was to know if they know Rizal and if he has monument on their place. Fortunately, I met people with different intention (I’m not sure) but I was able to fish information and relevant opinion to validate my claim. I met sandeep (codename) from India who was quite intellectual and equated Jose Rizal to Mahatma Gandhi but he said that no Rizal monument is erected on their place and they don’t study Philippine history that’s why subscribed on Wikipedia first to search on Jose Rizal. I was able to speak with an OFW in Saudi Arabia, his codename is mangubat primo and he said that Arabs are interested to Philippine culture and they get to know Jose Rizal once marry a Filipina or visit the Philippines but he didn’t see any image of Rizal in public because it’s a Muslim country. Another is hussain_hussain (codemame), a Syrian lady who is quiet interested with history and have seen pyramids of Egypt and Garden of Eden in Iraw but she said that she has never heard Jose Rizal yet.

I was able to talk with people from Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh who don’t have any idea about Rizal and OFWs from China, Japan and South Korea who haven’t seen public depictions of Jose Rizal. Let me clarify, my goal was not to check entirely Rizal’s popularity among Asians but unintentionally, this has been shown so as to attain how Asians are affected by public representations of our National Hero in their place.

Going back to the title, May Rizal sa Amin, is a form of declaration. Yes Rizal is with us! It sounds like edification, venerating Rizal as Christ. His presence conveys significance which vary among peoples. For the commons who are used to see his image in public places enlighten them that Jose Rizal is not way different from them. He is an ordinary guy just like any other who is fully committed to public service. His monuments that extend in the northernmost and southernmost and northernmost part of the country remind us that we are all Filipinos despite our multi-ethnicity. And Rizal’s image abroad will help the homesick identify themselves to Rizal and this is a symbol of a good diplomatic relation with others.