The New Cathedrals

The Philippines, a third world country is known for its many malls of which, four of the largest in the world are located in this country. It is the new community center where most of the Filipinos’s leisure time is spent. The malls provide a venue for the mainly consumerist lifestyle of the Filipinos fuelled by remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who, in 2010, sent over $18.8 billion in remittances.

It is in these circumstances: a large Catholic population (80% of Filipinos) in cities and the booming mall culture that the Roman Catholic church has extended church services to the malls.

These are the new cathedrals.

This work is part of the Noorderlicht Photo Festival 2011. More images at Pagtu-o.

Waterworld

A small village in Malabon is called the “Venice of the Philippines” because it lies in the lowest areas of the most flood-prone district in the country. During heavy showers, a large portion of Artex Compound is easily submerged in deep water.

Rising sea levels, improper garbage disposal, poor urban planning, and the increase of informal settlers are said to be the major causes of flooding in the area.

The compound used to house a textile factory which housed its employees. When laborers held a strike to ask for a pay raise, the factory closed shop leaving many employees with unpaid wages. As a way to protest, the former employees decided to stay despite the compound’s bad condition. Many of the original workers have already passed away without receiving their pay, and their children and grandchildren are the ones continuing the fight.

The area was already prone to floods during the rainy season, but would eventually dry out, sometimes 4 months out of the year. Less than a decade ago, community festivals, basketball games and concerts were still held on dry land in their plaza. Now, one can only see the ruins of their church, a basketball ring, and first floor houses submerged in water.

Houses have no front yard. Most families cram into one or two rooms or have made makeshift rooms on top of their roofs. Many houses have no bathrooms and sewage is deposited into the waters from where some of the people still catch fish.

Most residents have no regular jobs and lead doubly difficult lives coping with poverty and floods. Women and children make money driving boats, while others take on odd jobs like washing clothes or driving bicycles with sidecars in nearby areas.

About 200 families still live in the Compound because they have nowhere else to go. In the meantime, the water continues to rise.

Dancing Behind Bars

Prisoner rehabilitation has been a long-term problem all over the world. Oftentimes, instead of being rehabilitated, prisoners learn more bad tricks on their sleeves in jails.

Jails in China and India have imposed yoga, Thailand prisoners have created their own world cup and Indonesia has put Buddhist worship rooms to further rehabilitation.

In the Philippines, the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Cebu City has become world-famous for its dancing inmates that they have been viewed as dancers instead of prisoners.

Former jail consultant and governor’s brother, Byron Garcia, was said to have originally wanted to introduce a program at Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) where inmates would exercise for an hour each day. He saw waves of prisoners in the exercise yard and thought it looked good.

Garcia’s first upload to www.youtube.com of prisoner choreography was the Algorithm March, but this was almost entirely ignored. The next upload, Thriller, became viral. The million views prompted even foreign media to come. As of May 2011, the views count to 47,824,175.

KaBuhayan

Kabuhayan is a travelling exhibit of photographs which aim to show show how far we have fared in ensuring the participation of the marginalized and vulnerable communities in the local economy. The photos inevitably depict the Filipino’s resilience,creativity and resourcefulness- qualities necessary for survival in a geographically, economically and politically challenged country. Government statistics confirms this entrepreneurial spirit of Filipinos, showing that small enterprises comprise a majority of all businesses in the country.

The backbone of the Philippine economy is largely propelled by micro, small and medium enterprises. But enterprise development does not only cater to economic goals but is also key to the fulfillment of cultural and social rights as enshrined in the UN Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR). This Covenant describes the basic economic, social, and cultural rights of individuals and nations, among them, the right to selfdetermination, wages sufficient to support a minimum standard of living and equal opportunity for advancement.

Despite the presence of policies for enterprise development, MSMEs remain to be underdeveloped and underfinanced. The photos featured in the exhibit offers a glimpse of the state of poor entrepreneurs as we see them in various circumstances. And beyond seeing, challenge us to confront some difficult questions. In one of the photos we see a woman who chose to brave the rain as if hoping to make one more sale poses the question, “are Filipinos resilient because they are receiving protection or they have no choice but to wither the dangers and hazards of work because they simply do not have any other option at hand?”

By taking these photos to the the duty-bearers, they may find pointers to guide them in their task to ensure that we meet the UNCESCR, one of the most effective ways of which is enterprise development. The accompanying texts helpfully provide notes on policy areas, programs and activities where dutybearers need to intensify their interventions.

Providing a different eye

For policy advocates, photos can provide unstructured, unbiased, eye-opening means for monitoring the effectiveness of our work on important policy issues. Through a participatory means of monitoring our milestones, we are able to see aspects of enterprise development that do not receive adequate attention.

Beyond the familiar images of the the plight of the poor, KaBuhayan also attempts to portray their successes. By doing so, the photos intend to show us where we are in the collective task of protecting economic, social and cultural rights. In the same degree, the poor and marginalized can perhaps see themselves as others see them, for them to affirm their right to a life with dignity, to celebrate their creativity and resourcefulness and give tribute to their resilience.

KaBuhayan is a collaboration of the Foundation for a Sustainable Society (FSSI) and Concepts Commune. The exhibit will be mounted in strategic areas in Metro Manila, venues will be announced at a later date.

About FSSI
The Foundation for a Sustainable Society is a social investing resource organization providing business development, financial and policy support to community enterprises across the country. The 20-member network organization supports community enterprises that provide environmental, financial, social returns that contribute to local economic development.

About Concepts Commune
Concepts Commune is a collective of communication and journalism professionals. It is a platform for creative productions in support to development initiatives of civil society organizations. Through its members, it provides a broad range of multimedia services.

For further information, please contact:
Ayel Guevara, Advocacy and Communications Officer,
FSSI, Tel: (632) 4114702-03 ext.13, E-mail: ayel@fssi.com.
ph, mob: +639209539897.
Leonard Reyes, Project Coordinator, Kabuhayan
Photo Exhibit, E-mail: hok_bu@yahoo.com, mob:
+6329154715646.

Room 36

Room 36 is a story of family and brotherhood living in a not-so-spacious apartment with a total of 8 household members (4 men and 3 women) including me. In a span of almost six years, I already considered Room 36 as a part of my life, another written chapter. They have become my second family. If to be compared to a newborn child until early childhood, I have learned a lot from previous experiences and interactions. In addition, memories were stored from witnessing several happenings from regular drinking sessions with other fraternity brothers and sorority sisters to birthday celebrations and even the process undergone by a neophyte to a full pledge brother.

Even though I lived at the apartment long enough and served as a witness to numerous changes, I still don’t see myself leaving the apartment in the near future thereby continue documenting the changes and happenings in Room 36 whatever it may be.

A Ritual of Faith: The dwindling flagellants of Infanta

In the town of Infanta, Quezon, around 5 hours trip east of Manila, self flagellation is an age old practice that has been performed by men of this town and no one can tell when this started. Practitioners, do it as a petition or supplication in the form of a panata or vow, sworn for a fixed period of years. It is intended for the healing of a sick relative or a member of the family or, in many instances, as a spiritual investment in the hope that God will grant grace or blessing for the family as well as protection from harm and misfortune.

The practice here is unique when compared to those done in the rest of Luzon because of the elaborate costumes that these men don. The outfit consists of a skirt, called a saya made from dried banana leaves, a flog called the panyabat, tipped with wooden pegs and a floral headdress called the tukarol. According to studies, parts of the costume were buried before in fields for abundant harvests but now, this agricultural connection is no longer observed.

In the 1950s, as much as 300 men perfomed this ritual. By 2009, only around 30 were to be found.

Crown and Country: Pageant Culture in the Philippines

Two years ago, I was shocked to learn that my law school bound friend was training to join the National beauty pageant. “Is she crazy? Is she bored? Is she broke? There is actually a beauty queen boot camp?” For a long time I had thought only pretty people who wanted fame and fortune would dare to participate in such a spectacle. And like with anything else that intrigued me, I picked up my camera and started to look for answers.

At first I took photos of the training sessions. Then the auditions until the coronation night itself and the succeeding pageants that followed. What made this story appealing to me is the aspect of competition which showed a lot of the human side of beauty pageants. The staunch supporters, the predominantly gay beauty queen trainers and the unlikely contestants, each have their own motivations in being part of this surreal world.

Like boxing and basketball, beauty pageants are very much part of my countryʼs culture. Beauty pageants are a metaphor for Filipino culture because they glorify beauty, reflect filial and societal mores, and provide an aspirational platform that is manifestation of thecountryʼs colonial history.

The Busiest Man on Sundays

On a Sunday, any typical student or employee would be waking up a little later than usual and resting after a tiring week’s work. But for Pastor Ariel, Sunday is the busiest day of the week.

As the senior pastor of Victory Alabang, he leads a team of eight more pastors and eleven administrative staff in overseeing a congregation of almost 6,000 attendees. During the week, he studies and prepares for his sermon on Sundays. He also meets with pastors of different Victory branches in the metro to plan for monthly series.

Gay Glamour

Gay beauty pageants are very evident here in the Philippines and are held especially during barangay fiestas where, for many, is one of the highlights leading to the patron saint’s feast day. These are usually set up at the barangay’s main street or intersection to the bane of motorists but a boon to the candidates as they can showcase their bodies, looks and costumes to the delighted faces of the audience.

Shot at a busy street in Mabini, Manila during a local religious feast, the contestants come from different places in the metro hoping of getting the coveted crown. The dressing room is typically at the back stage covered only with plywood and sheets and tarps where they do their make up, costume changes as well as last minute preparations before hitting the stage.

For one night, they get to express their sophistication and display their true beauty as women.