Members:

Francisco Estrella
Allen Ferrer
Raphael Luna
Date: February 29, 2024
Grade and Section: 11 – Saint Luke the Evangelist

UNIT PERFOMANCE TASK

Gloc-9’s “Sirena”
11-CPAR

Aristotle Condenuevo Pollisco aka Gloc- idolized Francis Magalona and tried to make his own
music that also had an impact like Magalona's songs simply for his love of composing and
signing/rapping songs. Gloc-9 established himself in the hip-hop scene even gaining the title
"King of Hip-Hop" in the Philippines. His fast rap style and lyrics that tackle underlying social
issues in his songs are his trademark that separates him from other artists. He grew up in poverty.
His experiences in the tough life of poverty reflects in his lyricism and music, criticizing and
emphasizing social issues and social injustices that he has personally seen and experienced in
poverty.
The LGBTQ community at the time the song "Sirena" was released (2012), were expanding
more and more. On par with this surge was also the surge of Discrimination against the LGBTQ
community and society's perception on it. The song talks about the perspective of a gay person
and how this discrimination is affecting him/her/they, or whatever they identify as.
The purpose of the work was to have a first-person point of view of the members of the LGBTQ
+ community especially gay people. The song tackles issues and habits of the members of the
community. An example would be the lyrics, “drum na may tubig ang sinisisid” these lyrics
tackles an issue in the community being that it is a punishment given by certain relatives
especially the parents of the person belonging to the LGBTQ+ community. The punishment
happens by submerging the head of the person inside a drum of water for a specific span of time
so that they may double think their actions and regret it. On the other hand, the lyrics, “Palakad-
lakad sa harapan ng salamin. Sinasabi sa sarili, "Ano'ng panama nila?"’’, it emphasizes the
mannerism of gay people being themselves through walking in front of the mirror with the
thought of modeling in front of millions of people. Though, years later it was revealed by Gloc-9
himself that the song was dedicated to his son who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
The artist is known for making music about social issues. He is a tool for millions of Filipinos to
highlight the flaws in the system. His work “Sirena” is remarkable for us as a group since it
displays his courage of speaking about a controversial issue that’s present until now and to take
note that he opened the reason for the inspiration of the song, which is his son, Sean Daniel. We
chose Gloc-9 mainly because of the different classification of art that he offers which is music.
For us, we chose music of the genre hip-hop/rap to be a little different to the other groups. We
chose “Sirena” to be the artwork for our PETA because what it displays is very relevant today
and is something which is usually the cause of diversion.
He is worth supporting because he was one of the major influences of hip-hop/rap in the
Philippines. During his prime, he was basically carrying the Philippines in the music industry in
the genre of hip-hop/rap. Gloc-9 was also very political having the goal of a good change,
evidence would be the theme of his songs.
Even though, Gloc-9 is technically retired from the music industry, his legacy and influence
towards fellow artists and the country itself still lives on. Promoting the artist and their works
will not only spread the artist’s name for people to hear or see his work but also as a reminder
that the work became a symbol for something, that it stood for something. Basically, promoting
the artist and his/her works will open our eyes which makes us think that “this became a part of
my identity as a Filipino.”.
An influence on the work of Gloc 9's song Sirena was actually his son, Daniel. He is one of Gloc
9's children who is gay and part of LGBTQ+ community. A few days ago, Gloc 9 made a
statement regarding about the song, "My son is gay. When I wrote that, he hadn’t told us yet. I
don’t know how to tell my child how much I love him. I am very proud of my child. I am excited
for whatever he can achieve in his life.”. Typically, most parents, especially in the Asian culture,
would get mad and disgusted knowing the truth that their family is part of the LGBTQ+
community, but not Gloc 9. He had already written this song even though his son had not told
them about it. This shows his love and care as a parent and generally as a human being when one
tends to hide their true self and identity. It conveyed philosophical ideas of identity, human
rights, gender equality and social justice. The lyrics reflects on the identity of the LGBTQ+
community dealing with their personal identity and societal expectations. It also advocates on the
promotion of human rights and gender equality where society needs to accept and respect
individuals despite their difference of gender identity and expression. Social Justice is also a part
since the community sometimes do not receive fair treatment but instead receive discrimination
and prejudice based on their gender. This is evidently seen in workplaces and even in schools
where the environment does not wish to communicate with them properly and experience
harassment. This statement can also be backed up by data from a report conducted by the
University of California that states 46% of LGBTQ+ workers have experienced unfair treatment
at some point their lives.
This song was intended as a gift to the LGBTQ+ community including his son. Sandwich
vocalist, Raymund Marasigan asked Gloc 9 to write a song about the gays. At first, he was scared
that he would receive hate among the LGBTQ+ community since he does not personally
experience being part of the community, but he wrote it while wearing their shoes. Surprisingly,
he received the complete opposite. Many people came up to him thanking him for expressing
what the community truly felt and being able to tell the world the harsh experiences and
discrimination the LGBTQ+ receive. From the words of Gloc 9, “I was a guest in a show on
[ABS-CBN], a bouncer said, ‘Idol, thank you.’ I asked, ‘Why?’ ‘Because my child is also a
sirena when I heard your song, I was enlightened.".

Sources:
Beltran-Lucila, I. (2022, December 27). Gloc 9 and Shanti Dope: the Kingpin and Prodigy of
Philippine Rap. philartscouncil. https://www.philippineartscouncil.com/post/gloc-9-and-shanti-
dope-the-kingpin-and-prodigy-of-philippine-rap
Benson, E. A. (2024, February 26). Gloc-9's 'Sirena': A Heartfelt Tribute to His Son and the
LGBTQ+ Community. BNN. https://bnnbreaking.com/world/philippines/gloc-9s-sirena-a-
heartfelt-tribute-to-his-son-and-the-lgbtq-community
Estoista-Koo, K. (2012, September 23). Gloc-9 reveals inspiration behind his song “Sirena,”
which tackles gay issues. PEP.ph. https://www.pep.ph/news/local/10869/gloc-9-reveals-
inspiration-behind-his-song-sirena-which-tackles-gay-issues
The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. (2023c, February 14). LGBT people’s
experiences of workplace Discrimination and Harassment - Williams Institute. Williams Institute.
https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbt-workplace-discrimination/?
fbclid=IwAR2HJNdK4m8vVu1jEpySSQ72dN0tJaVcz1kineZZSmDDfN56M99SwNYeQ8A
Villanueva, A. (2024, February 27). Gloc 9 shares how ‘Sirena’ becomes his gift to gay son -
Manila Standard. Manila Standard. https://manilastandard.net/showbitz/314420588/gloc-9-
shares-how-sirena-becomes-his-gift-to-gay-son.html?
fbclid=IwAR3FPVw4Hb865Tfs3jX2jtGk9PrRHd_fTmCnbf-c8b-PJaTcqpXNPOGp4TE