Sacred Heart Cebu Address

Boom Enriquez

iamninoy movement

Sacred Heart Cebu Address

Film Showing of “Last Journey of Ninoy”

November 27, 2009

To the Sacred Heart administrators, faculty, alumni, and of course, to you dear students, a pleasant morning. We, as Filipinos, were fortunate enough that in this month of November, we have witnessed two of our fellow countrymen rise up to the global stage and proclaim themselves heroes in their own right.

Embodying the spirit of Filipino volunteerism that bloomed in this very special year of tragedies and challenges, Efren Penaflorida Jr. was named 2009 CNN Hero of the Year. The Cavite City native pioneered a brand of mobile education or what we call kariton klasrum for the urban poor youth. Let me quote him. In his acceptance speech, he says, “Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.” Beautifully said.

And of course, who will ever forget as the world was able to witness the raw power and speed of Manny Pacquiao in capturing an unprecedented 7^th world title in 7 weight divisions, the first man to do it. By stopping the Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, our ‘pambansang kamao’ has made boxing history that we may never be able to see again in our lifetime.

Amidst of all the tragedies that has befallen our country this year, these two Filipinos have validated that the Filipino spirit is as strong and willful, that it will not be shaken and that its world-class strength is worth to be respected.

Such accomplishments of two fine young men have made it easier for educators, formators and development workers to promote what heroism and its values mean. Often times in this modern day, it seems that we have failed to look for and locate heroes and in that, we often do not understand what heroism means. Our seemingly misrepresentation of heroism through death for the country by firing squad has made heroism an alien concept to us, especially to the current generation. And yet, with Penaflorida and Pacquiao, they give us the perfect cases for discussion and reflection of what it means to be a hero today.

The Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Foundation whose task is to keep the spirit of heroism alive through the legacy of Ninoy Aquino has created the iamninoy movement in celebration of his 25^th death anniversary last August 2008. It is a celebration of hope and idealism, a freedom movement, a community of heroes – heroes who give out of sheer selflessness and serve the country the best way they can.

In other words, it is our campaign of making heroism cool, hip, and relevant to today’s youth – to you, my dear students.

We were concerned about the next generation of Filipinos who would have seemed to forget who Ninoy Aquino was, nor what he did for our country. We were concerned about how the youth would not be able to appreciate the freedom that we are experiencing right now, the freedom to log on to our facebook and twitter accounts and be able to update our statuses every hour, about how we are currently feeling, what we are doing and what do we really want for al of our friends to see.

Apparently, some 30 years ago, such freedom of being able to say what you want to say was prohibited. And Ninoy Aquino just helped us in reclaiming that freedom.

Thus, numerous efforts have been put into place so that you – our dear youth would not forget what Ninoy did and what he has sacrificed for us. Several modes of partnership such as t-shirts, bags and other merchandise have been designed for you to wear heroism. The modern hero was written about in books and through your language, through websites and blogs in the Internet so that you, yourselves, would be able to describe what heroes are for you.

Today, November 27, 2009, is the birth anniversary of Ninoy Aquino and we are thankful that for one whole day, we are to hold several film showings of the documentary, “The Last Journey of Ninoy”. Produced by Unitel and the Aquino Foundation and directed by Jun Reyes, the film takes us to the last moments of a man who readily died for his country in 1983.

In 1983, I was just barely a year old.

And I’m sure, in 1983, none of you were born yet.

This is our effort to visualize to the visual learners and explain to the current generation of what the concept of sacrifice is, of what we mean by being a true hero, of why being selfless is cooler, hipper and more relevant than being self-absorbed.

For about an hour, let us take you to the life of a man who had big dreams and ambitions for himself. Like most of us, we have created dreams for ourselves. And yet, he was able to let go of such personal ambitions for a greater good.

From an ordinary man, he became an extraordinary hero.

And let his story be our story.

Thank you very much and again, good morning.

edukadong burgis 1
boomenriquez

bagyong jolina
signal 3 sa kamaynilaan
nagsasayawan ang billboard ng anghel at darna
nadadasal na huwag mahulog kay sta. clara

putputan nang putputan
patay-bukas ang ilaw ng mga sasakyan
si manong asul
huthutan pa rin nang huthutan

si kuya baktong
naka-paa
naka-cool air
(iyong sandong butas-butas)
basa sa grasa
at polluted water (tonong kolehiyala)
baka may leptospirosis pa

tumatakbong may basahan
pinunasan
ang windshield
ang bintana
ng drayber
ng passenger seat
sa likod
ng mga nasa passenger seat sa likod

kumatok si kuya baktong
kay edukadong burgis
na himas-himas ang kanyang kambyo

kumatok pabalik
si edukadong burgis
tuyong-tuyo ang labi
at sabi
‘di ko naman siya matutulungan
ipang-iinom lang ang Aking barya
o ipantataya sa lotto’

isa -
- ndaang milyon na ang jackpot.

‘sa mga institusyon na lang ako tutulong
siguradong mapupunta sa tama ang aking barya.’
sabay lamas sa suso ng nasa passenger seat
at humarurot papuntang motmot sa kalentong.

pagdating
ni kuya baktong
sa kubo-kubo sa gilid
hinihimas ng ina ang anak
nilalamas,
baka buhay pa

kinuha ni kuya ang bata
at tinapon sa ilog
kasama ang basahang
walang kinita
kahit barya.

080309

paano ba.

paano ba.
maipaparamdam
ang pag-ibig
ko.
sa iyo

maging sapat ba.
ang pagbigkas ng iyong pangalan
ang pagdantay ng labi sa iyong pisngi
ang paghawak sa kamay sa paglubog ng araw

ang tumula’t manalinghaga
tungkol sa bulaklak at alaala
ang mag-alay ng uyayi
nang mapawi ang luha

sa pagdating ng takipsilim
bibilangin ko ang lahat ng tala
hahanapin ko ang pinakamalaya
nang ang puso ko.
iaalay.
sa iyo.

JUICYLICIOUS, CRISPYLICIOUS. MY SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION OF JOLLIBEE

This is my first paper for my Introduction to Sociological Perspectives Class. The instruction was just to write about a social phenomenon and try to apply the C. Wright Mills’ Sociological Imagination in three pages. Thus, formal discussion of structure and theory was not being asked. I wrote the piece before reading McDonaldization of Society to test if I still had my sociologist in me. In terms of the writing style, I experimented on the creative non-fiction type of essay to have that personal and not-so-technical feel.
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JUICYLICIOUS, CRISPYLICIOUS. MY SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION OF JOLLIBEE
Boom Enriquez, MA Sociology

Ever since I was a kid, my favorite fast food chain to eat to is Jollibee. The Jollibee fried chicken was and still is my favorite. Before even Aga Mulach started endorsing the chicken, I dreamed of having my chicken, rice and gravy after a successful academic quarter when I was in grade school. As I got older and bigger, so was my appetite. My order became 2-piece chicken, 2 cups of rice and gravy. Together with my high school barkada, we ‘triked (rode a tricycle) off’ to Katipunan Avenue to nourish our hungry stomachs every week.

As I matured, I went back to my roots. It was as if I was going home to Pampanga when Jollibee introduced the fiesta meal. For a month, my college friend, Jay, and I literally dined in everyday just to order the pancit palabok, fried chicken, rice and gravy. We called that being our ‘Jabee dates’ as we went our way just to eat that it got worse to the point that our girlfriends got jealous of what we were doing.

Today, my capacity and desire to eat as much as before dwindled, but still the non-negotiable is still the Jolly chicken.
C. Wright Mills has invited everyone to look at the personal trouble (in this case, personal delight) to look beyond the private experience and see the relations of it to the bigger whole. Structural changes in history and institutions have furthered affected the personal man, making the personal trouble a symptom of an underlying issue in the public space.

Mills encourages us to privatize the publics and publicize the privates. He states, “no problems of 'the private life' can be stated and solved without recognition of the crisis of ambition that is part of the very career of people at work in the incorporated economy”. With that, it is no doubt that the consumption of a fried chicken or a grilled burger in a fast food set-up represents a much bigger phenomenon and it has been embedded in the Filipino lifestyle.

The fast food era has embodied modernization. Filipino values of family, leisure, ritual and food culture have been profoundly affected with the development of the fast food industry the past few decades. Together with the entry of multi-national corporations, the fast food industry’s contribution to the economic growth (or un-growth) has paved the way in the development of the Filipino’s modern pacing and lifestyle.

Time. Mealtime has been industrialized. Before, the chefs, cooks and mothers picked vegetables in their gardens, and bought chunks of meat from the market. Now, machines and an assembly line cuts, stores, fries and serves the chicken, cutting the preparation of the meal into minutes. For a fast paced kind of lifestyle in the modern urban era, even eating should keep with the pace.

Cooking is supposed to be an art. Timing of the ripeness/rawness, presentation, taste, color and other factors contribute in creating unique cuisines. Yet with the fast food stores, cooking is a step-by-step process like making toothpaste in a manufacturing company. The food is no longer the cook’s creation; rather, it becomes a product of the company.
Taste. Fast food is to make you full more than to make you satisfied. Standardization of the taste comes into play. The Jolly chicken in Manila tastes like the Jolly chicken in Cebu.

Natural and nutrition now take a back seat with preservatives and other non-healthy materials are put into the food for storage and restoration. To induce the real taste of food, it has to have other additives that may not be healthy for the body. As in modernization, there are so many additions to somehow emulate to what is perceived to be as a normal lifestyle.
Family Bonding. The dynamics of the Filipino family has also been affected with the emergence of the fast food industry. Mealtime, before, was a family ritual, which was usually done at home. Traditionally, everyone helps in the cooking and preparation of the meal, and then everyone sits down to partake in the meal.

Now, home is just another option for the family to choose as eating space. There is a de-ritiualization of the meal. With lunch having to be consumed for a specific number of minutes because there are others waiting for the occupancy of the seats, conversations over mealtime is no longer practiced. Family bonding needs to create other spaces as lunches are reduced to food consumptions.

Consumption. “Is that all, sir?” That is the standard line of the person at the point of sale whenever I finish ordering. It may just be a clarificatory question making sure that they have gotten the orders right. But in the modern capitalist society, it is an encouragement to order and consume more.

There are different sizes of burgers, fries, and drinks. There are different sizes of amounts, from the small, medium, large to today’s biggie, venti and grande sizes. Fast food chains maintain the capitalistic notion of consumption, encouraging the Filipino to spend ‘bigger’. The practice is to make a certain combination of food, either I like everything on it or not, making this as a packaged meal. This is supposed to be cheaper as compared as to buying separate entities.

Media. Media plays a big part in the consumeristic culture that we have. The television is as powerful as it has never been, making the air space very expensive and lucrative. Who else would embody Jollibee but by one of the most handsome Filipino actors in history, Aga Mulach? His recall is undisputable. From the Bagets days to now him being a family man at 40, his star power is immeasurable.

Every male dreams of being Aga and by eating what he endorses, the Filipino male hopes to capture even the tiniest bit of his beauty. With his beautiful family tugging along, the Filipino family is driven to consume what the Mulach family consumes.
Food culture. Jollibee has reached all economic statuses in the Philippines. Whenever I go home in the province, my cousins, nephews and nieces ask me to bring them to the nearest Jollibee store so they can eat fried chicken and sweet spaghetti. I would rather prefer to eat the authentic Kapampangan home-cooked meal. But for them, eating at Jollibee is as good as eating a fine dining meal.

Status. The fast food; therefore, helps in dictating the socio-economic class. The filthy rich do not go to such food chains. They do not consider it as food. The bourgeoisie eats at chains regularly to maintain their fast-paced lifestyle. As for the lower class, eating at fast food chains is a reward that they eat there if there are reasons to spend more than they usually spend.

Globalization. The company’s website states, “[Jollibee] is a stronghold of heritage and monument of the Filipino victory”. In a sense, Jollibee becomes a status symbol for the country. Just like Manny Pacquiao, the Jollibee is a symbol of triumph, specifically, a conquest over the colonizer, which is symbolized by Mc Donald’s. In all of the countries, I have read somewhere that the Philippines is the only country wherein McDonald’s is just second to the market leader. It has tried to reinvent its menu, localize its campaigns and yet through all these years, the Filipinos still come more to Jollibee.

To add to that, Jollibee has ridden globalization that there are 50 international food chains in other countries. Notable here is the popularity of the Los Angeles branch, which I hear is doing well. Does this symbolize an attempt to colonize the former colonizer? Does this penetration of the US market represent a turn-of-the-table type of assimilation? Having so many Filipinos in the California area, does the Filipino, through its food culture, influence the food culture of the Americans? Together with the Diaspora of the Filipino workers, can we call this the Filipinization of the world?

I don’t believe that my frequency for fast food will be lessened through this discussion. I, as a regular-wage earner, cannot afford to go to fine dining restaurants always as the others do. In addition, the fast food concept complements the pacing of my city life vis-à-vis my personal life. It is, therefore, a challenge for me to continue reflecting upon this personal delight of mine and provide further inquiry to the public issue it has profoundly developed in the culture of the contemporary Filipino.

Sources
• Jollibee. Retrieved last June 30, 2009 from http://www.jollibee.com.ph/.
• Mills, C. Wright. The Sociological Imagination (1959). Retrieved last June 30, 2009 from http://legacy.lclark.edu/~goldman/socimagination.html.

Sipping Coffee

Sipping Coffee
Boom Enriquez

Café Mocha. Medium-Sized. It’s the perfect drink. As I rest on a couch in one of the coffee shops along Katipunan Avenue, I observe the movements of people going in and out. Coming from different walks of life and ages, they come in, stay for an hour or two, and then go. I, for one, appreciate this kind of lifestyle. I like to listen to the sounds of chatter of peoples, the smell of brewed coffee and the feel of urban life. It suites me and the others who’d rather sit to quiet down than go out for drinks and dance.

The coffee shop experience is assimilated in the modern Filipino. Ray Oldenburg’s theory of the ‘third place’ is aptly observed in the habit. Aside from the home and work, there is a need to have that ‘third place’ for one to let go of his apprehensions and just relax. The café phenomenon has embraced that. In Katipunan alone, there are more than ten cafés for people to stay, reflect and be with themselves.

I just finished running a workshop to a group of students who were preparing for their organization for the coming year. I was there to facilitate their plans and projects. They were impressive; they actually had good goals for their group. They were excited for the year. They realized that they could actually affect change. I, too, was in a good mood. I ended it with the line, “We live in extraordinary times; thus, there’s no reason for us not to be extraordinary”.

I would like to believe in that. With the advancements in technology, breakthroughs in modernity, unlimited opportunities for development, and the upcoming national elections, I think we will have better lives in the next few years.

By the end of June, two of my good friends are leaving the Philippines and work abroad. Whenever that crosses my mind, I feel a certain mix of happiness, relief and envy. They deserve better lives, better careers, in spite of everything that they will be leaving. As for myself, I continue to prepare for that time to when I need to choose that road.

Harris will be leaving for Kuwait by the first week of that month. He will be bringing with him his creativity and gift for writing. When we talk, we talk about everything: from the gossips from his work, his actual work, to religion, philosophy and literature. Once we were having coffee, people were looking at us as we fought over Nietzsche, Marx and Kant until the wee hours of the night.

Noel will be leaving next. In every two weeks, he will be on transnational flights as he will be teaching piano and music lessons in Monaco and Qatar. I will miss his pastas and sauces. He taught me the differences in the tastes of wine and their origins, as he was a connoisseur. His playing of the piano and operatic voice were music to my ears. His passion for life exudes in his aura.

Thinking about their leaving makes me teary-eyed. But by this time, I should have gotten used to this. In the last 5 years or so, family and friends have left. I have a tito and tita in Hong Kong, a pinsan in Indonesia, a couple of kumpares and kumares in Singapore, some kapitbahays in Tel Aviv and Dubai, katrabahos in Japan and US, and some former kaklases and estudyantes in London and Canada. And every time one leaves, gloominess fills me up. There’s no difference with how I feel now.

My kid brother is now in a long-distance relationship. His girlfriend needed to go abroad for two years so that she can have a better chance at saving for her family. My girlfriend has a pending application to work in Australia. Once the country opens for recruitment again, anytime, she will be going there.

Is this the call of being extraordinary? To decide to uproot oneself and leave home? To sacrifice all the work and relationships that were developed and just make new ones?

It seems that I have misunderstood what extraordinary means. Being extraordinary today may mean joining the other eleven million Filipinos struggling in other countries, looking for and re-determining their identities in lands that never will be their own. Being extraordinary then is to hope that after living most of their adult life outside the country, they will be coming back to a life they used to hope that they have.

It takes a lot of courage and necessity to do join the Diaspora and this is an extraordinary decision. But come to think of it, with the numbers of working abroad rise steadily every year, it may just become as ordinary as the decision to go to college.

I also think about going. Who wouldn’t? With salaries three times as much as what I am having here, who wouldn’t want to have that? I plan to get married in a few years. The thought gives me the discomfort. How will I pay for the wedding? How will I pay for the rent and bills? How will I send my future children to school? How will I raise a family with my meager salary, which it can’t even support myself now?

But I do have the best job in the world. I work with young minds, eager to learn, with dreams bigger that my dreams, and hopes up as high as the skies. I feed off from their energies. I get a kick out of their aspirations in life. I keep telling them that success here is possible, that their goals are plausible.

I remember my pact to myself back in high school that I won’t leave the country. With clear vindication, I promised myself to slug it out here for the rest of my life.

Now that I am older, I think twice if ever I would not be breaking that vow. I feel that someday, I will be joining Noel and Harris and the others who are abroad, trying to fit in a different society, missing their own homes and families, at the expense of having a sustainable life. It’s as if I have a clock that is ticking until the alarm rings for me to wake up and go with them.

That truly saddens me.

Ironically, my work requires me to not give up and continue hoping. I need to inspire and motivate the young to stay, to fight it out here, and to eventually lead the country. Does this vulnerability make me unfit as a mentor and adviser? I hope not. I hope that it will make me more secure with my decision to stay on, continue to do what I do. I hope that somehow, all these questions that linger about stability will be answered.

I’m done with my coffee. It was good, as usual. I thank the barista for it. I decide to go home and get some sleep. For tomorrow, I will be running another workshop, guiding another group in their plans, forming young minds, telling them to be extraordinary in these extraordinary times.

Sa Iyong Kaarawan

Sa gabing ito, nais kong pagmasdan ang buwan,
Titigan ang liwanag na pumapaimbulog mula sa kadiliman.

Nais kong mangarap.
Na gaya ng buwan,
Balutin ng aking pag-ibig,
Ang lahat ng iyong agam-agam.

mental block

kahit pigain at palipitin;
walang nang mailalabas,
tuyo't ubos na.

ipukpok man sa pader;
dugo ang lalabas,
at di salita,
ideya,
o talinghaga.

tigang na nga ang aking lupa.