The Quill and Paintbrush

I consider myself an art enthusiast. I found great emotion and feeling towards art. My curiosity in
film and photography began as a way for me to look differently at the world I’ve been living. Art is
everywhere. You can see it within the four walls of your home and even to the public places. It's been part
of our culture that makes us unique to one another. As in every artwork or creation that humans make,
there is an underlying meaning to it. A burning urge to speak.

When I got my first DSLR camera, a fire within me was ignited. I love the nature of photography
wherein you could capture moments and events in our daily lives. I was astonished how significant events
in history were captured through a camera lens. In early 2019, When I was elected as the Committee
Head of Information and Relation, numerous opportunities we’re given to me to document events and
happenings in school. Some of which I was exposed to the life of marginalized sectors and current issues
revolving around us. I met a lot of people wherein they tell their stories and experiences. During my
Senior HIgh, there was a polio vaccine in Tondo, Manila that was led by my section and UNICEF, it was
then I was able to capture the different lives of Filipinos living in poverty. Another instance where I was
tasked to document the relief operation for the victims of Typhoon Rolly and Ulysses. With my camera, I
was able to tell a story of brave Filipinos, young and old, helping each other despite the fear of the
pandemic.

Photography gave me an opportunity to tell a story of different people’s experiences in life. With
the knowledge and interest in cameras I was able to explore other digital art like filmmaking where I could
create stories that could make an impact on others. With the fire in me,I felt like I am a painter with a
blank canvas and my camera is the paintbrush. Like any other photographer or artist here in the
Philippines, we hold our craft for a reason, this could be from a knack of a hobby or simply a way for them
to express themselves, to vent-out their warring desire for change. As I glanced through my social media,
I saw young artists who used their artwork as a tool to inspire from the current injustices and corruption of
our government, “protest art” they call it.

According to Chaffee, Lyman (1993) protest art is an artistic activism produced by activists and
social movements to inform and persuade citizens. It is a creative work that helps the masses into igniting
the notion to join the movement. Artistic activism is a tool used to mobilize people and to be influenced by
its different backgrounds to achieve a goal or challenge injustices (Mouffe, 2007). In a nutshell, Art is a
tool for social consciousness and to create networks as social movements require materials to convey
message. Such examples are street performances, graffiti, effigies and street arts.

“Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don't come up with a
picture to cure world poverty you can make someone smile while they're having a piss.” ― Banksy,
Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall.
 When I think of political artists, Banksy is the one that reminds me the most; he is one of the most
popular graffiti artists in the world. He’s famous for his anonymous and impacting artworks of graffiti and
street arts. Banksy is believed to have begun painting in early 1990s in his home city of Bristol but his
identity remained unknown as people try to guess who’s behind all of those artworks. Banksy became
controversial for his artwork speaks rebellious and political movement. His artstyle is mainly influenced by
a french graffiti artist Blek le Rat and his visual style uses stencils that creates great details to his
artworks. Due to his popularity many people try their best to pay millions of pounds for his artwork. But of
course, many don’t support what he does and appear to be vandalism. Even today, Banksy’s work is a
debate whether it shall be considered and protected as art or be persecuted from vandalism.

And with every artist in the world who has their own reason to paint, write or create. What is the
underlying lesson here? Well, it’s simple. Keep the fire burning! As I continue to support the art
community here in the Philippines, my urge to become a photojournalist is still within me, even if I’m
already done with my senior highschool, I still want to take pictures of stories that could inspire and
uphold change. And so, with every photo you capture, In every drop of paint, every musical note in your
composition, every ink drop of your quill, your intention as an artist is to embark them into reality. With the
use of your canvas and paper, you can express what you seek and write what you see because your
artwork is the message to your people. Your artwork should be the comfort of the disturbed and disturb
the comfortable, and your imagination is our omen and your obra maestra is the enlightenment of the
distorted perspective of the people. So don’t be afraid to create your artwork, use your creative mind to
express your vision, observe your surroundings as your white canvas is the wake-up call to the reality we
are facing.

Reference

● Chaffee, Lyman (1993). Political protest and street art: Popular tools for democratization in
hispanic countries. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
● Hanson, Julio, "The power of artistic activism" (2020). Theses and Dissertations. 1141.
https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/1141
 Ang “Macho-Machuhan” ni Duterte

I hate how the most respected person with the highest authority in our country lacks the
decency to respect fellow Filipino women, and what bugs me the most is how we turn a blind
eye to this issue and justify it simply because it is refracted to our culture that women are
supposed to be conservative.

Misogyny in the Philippines can be easily seen in the administration of our current president
Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Our leader is one of the perpetrators of disrespectful behavior and awful
remarks to women.

With the lack of female representation in the government, even with the passing of the Safe
Spaces Act, do we really care about the well-being of our women? Are we even acknowledging
the problem of toxic masculinity?

There is no doubt that there is a disparity between the number of women and men in the
workforce in the Philippines. According to Luna (2020), a study released by the Gender
Diversity Benchmark for Asia forum, women make up 56% of the total workforce in the
Philippines. In terms of representation in senior-level or leadership positions, women in the
Philippines also ranked first in Asia while still being significantly underrepresented compared to
men at 33%.

In the current Duterte’s cabinet, only Education Secretary Leonor Briones and Tourism
Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat are women. In today’s time, women strides in the corporate
world, but in the Philippine government, there is still an under-representation of women.

President Rodrigo Duterte, a self-proclaimed womanizer is known for his long history of crude
remarks about women. Masked as “humor”, his brash and dog-like statement reeks rape jokes,
catcalling, and sexual harassment in public spaces.

According to Gutierrez (2019), most of Duterte’s speech hosted comments relating to women
which have drawn the perspective of sexism and misogyny. In 2018, in one of his press
conferences, he was branded a misogynist and “macho-fascist” after he ordered soldiers to
shoot female communist rebels in the vagina. He also joked that he had sexually assaulted a
housemaid when he was a teenager.

In the early years of the election campaign in 2016, Duterte joked that he wishes to have an
opportunity to rape the Australian missionary during the 1989 prison riot. June 2018, while
Duterte is on stage, he grabbed a married female supporter and kissed her on the lips. During
an event to celebrate the Outstanding Women in Law Enforcement and National Security of the
Philippines, Duterte bemoaned women as he addressed the female audience of military and
police as bitch and “you crazy women” (Peterson, 2019)

Despite his vicious and disgusting actions towards women, a recent poll carried out by the
Social Weather Stations in the Philippines in December 2019 revealed that Duterte’s popularity
remains extremely high with a 76% approval rating. It’s simply disappointing to see how he
managed to score “excellent” in the area of promoting women’s rights. Irony at its finest.

Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said, “These figures are loud and clear repudiations of the
critics and detractors of President Rodrigo Duterte who have described him as misogynistic,”.

“I love women,” Duterte told the crowd. “That’s why, you see, I have two wives. That means I
like women.”
According to Ms. Salvador in an interview about Duterte, “He is the chief propagator of a culture
that degrades and objectifies women, and that which exhorts cat-callers, sexual offenders and
even uniformed personnel to disrespect women,”.

With Duterte being a misogynist, it's obvious that people will normalize this behavior as long as
his “alipores” or friends continuously defend their leader. Officials from the administration have
dismissed criticisms of sexism and misogyny as “over-acting” and saying that Duterte’s
statement shouldn’t be taken seriously.

According to Teresita Quintos Deles, one of the country’s most prominent civil society advocates
and chair-convener of a women’s rights organization, EveryWoman, our government leaders
clearly wash their hands as if nothing happened. Duterte’s attitude towards women is a signal
for us Filipinos to fight for our right to be respected.

According to Mich Dulce, a co-founder of feminist collective Grrrl Gang Manila, “It was really the
impact of Duterte coming into power and making terrible statements about women that fueled
my fire. I saw that there was something that needed to be done.” (Haynes, 2018)

In April 2019, the Safe Spaces Act was signed into law. This bans any form of sexual
harassment in all public spaces, including workplaces, recreational areas, and public transport
vehicles. It also covers online harassment and physical, psychological, and emotional threats
through private messages.

Safe Spaces Act proponent Senator Risa Hontiveros mentioned her statement that “Sexual
harassment, domestic violence, and rape starts with the thought of ownership over women,"

She also said that men are accountable and are easily prone to disrespecting women, and that
"they also have the power to stop themselves from exercising these traits”.

"Kaya ngayong araw, at sa mga araw na susunod pa, men must actively participate in women’s
call for justice and equality. Sama-sama tayo dito," Hontiveros said in her statement for
International Women's Day.

It’s funny how we think that humans are the superior beings residing on Earth when clearly our
very own president is acting like a pig. The passing of the Safe Spaces Act throws Duterte on
the ironic side of the law. Infamous for his sexist jokes and misogynist remarks, Duterte can be
held accountable for the comments he made and be punished by it. However, under Philippine
law, the president is immune to lawsuits while in office.

Well, let’s just hope that once he finishes his term, justice will prevail for this “macho-machuhan”
bravado act. Remember, it was never right to degrade someone. Rape jokes should not be
taken as a joke.

Duterte’s attitude is a red flag for the next generation because of his authority and influence. As
the media is very accessible to this day, younger audiences who are aware of what's happening
in this administration may have a different perception of what the president is saying.

Filipino youth can follow in his footsteps. Still, I really hope that they wouldn’t be a part of this
misogynistic society.
 References

Peterson (2019) Rodrigo Duterte calls women at gender-equality event 'bitches' Retrieved From:
March 12, 2019
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/12/rodrigo-duterte-calls-women-at-gender-equality
-event-bitches-philippines

Luna (2020) Misogyny keeping more women out of government Retrieved From March 8, 2020,
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/03/08/1999098/misogyny-keeping-more-women-out-go
vernment

Haynes (2018) Women in the Philippines Have Had Enough of President Duterte's 'Macho'
Leadership Retrieved from July 23, 2018,
https://time.com/5345552/duterte-philippines-sexism-sona-women/