Suicide: Resolve Not Condemn

Our society has been rocked by another tragic news before the year ends. Though it is not as tragic as the number of casualties due to Typhoon Sendong, it is equally as disturbing as yet another actor commits suicide. Though not entirely popular, fact remains that he was still a showbiz figure for several years.

Tyron Perez, one of the first Starstruck stars from GMA7 who later went to ABS CBN, was found dead according to one source in his car while another source said the cause was suicide. No details are clear as of the moment yet. He became a trending topic in Twitter with fans tweeting their condolences. I guess there was also much speculation and judgement going on around about the cause of his death.

Suicide is something not talked about in the Philippines much. The latest available statistics for the Philippines was in 1993 with an overall rate of 2.1 (2.5 for males and 1.7 for females). It’s a taboo topic in this mostly Catholic country of ours. The Church has propagated that suicide is a sin and is against the laws of God. Thus the difficulty in obtaining the data.

Indeed, it is a sin. The Bible is clear on that. But this doesn’t justify our society in judging the people who commit suicide. Just because it is a sin is not enough justification that we have the right to condemn the people who commits such. Judgement and condemnation are not ours to give. Only God has the right to do such. Because of society’s judgement on suicide, most of the time families choose to register the cause of death as accidents. At least accidental deaths get proper burials and are given prayers. Suicides are not. Thus it was a huge thing that when former AFP Chief Angelo Reyes committed suicide, the Church choose to overlook the cause of death and allowed him a proper burial.

Yet what is the real reason why people commit suicide? I guess it’s obvious. It’s stress and problems perceived to be too large to handle in this life thus death becomes an escape from the harsh reality. I’ve heard stories of people committing suicide because they are faced with poverty and no prospects to get out of it or faced with the pains of a break-up or perhaps financial struggles. The wife of Ted Failon was an example of someone who struggled financially and rather than admit it to his husband committed suicide instead. Another one was the DBP executive who was faced with the prospect of interrogation for some corrupt deal. He ended his life also. I know of a student from my fomer high school who committed suicide some say because of love; others say because of studies.

Whatever it is, people commit suicide because they’re under so much stress, they can’t cope. But what are we doing about it? Are we doing enough to address this need of society? Has the Philippines recognized yet that mental health is as essential as physical and emotional health? Are psychologists and stress centers as easily accessible? Or is it only the rich who can afford them? Or is there a stigma that if one goes to a shrink he or she is cuckoo?

These are issues enveloping our society. Silent but deadly. Unless we can find a way to address them and change the mindset of our nation into something more positive and empowering then we may see the incidence of suicide rising not just among the popular ones but also among the common folks. Let us not wait for that to happen.

Christmas Musings on Christmas Morning

Let me take a break from my commentaries on national issues and share some thoughts on customs I’ve observed this holiday season. This blog after all is still a personal blog.

Last night, I had the privilege of helping out my aunts wrap their giveaways to carolers. It has been a tradition that carolers, the kids that is, only get treats from us instead of money. And they only get these treats, wrapped like Christmas presents on the night before Christmas. So last night, there was a line of kids waiting for their turn to sing us some carols. It was amazing to note that most of them sang the traditional, Sa May Bahay song and that none ever sang Jingle Bells or any Western carols. I was secretly happy that that was the case. It shows that these kids are in touch with the real reason for Christmas, at the very least. That it’s not about Santa, it’s about Jesus.

Another observation was that for variety of carols to sing, the kids sang TV station id’s and ad jingles. The Meralco Christmas jingle received the most airtime followed by ABS-CBN’s station id. Indeed the television has come a long way in shaping society that even Christmas carols are derived from them.

But regardless of songs sang, all the kids went home happy. We noticed they had treats not only from us but from the neighbors as well. The community has picked up the practice. We now have our own version of Trick or Treat only that it’s done on Christmas and kids have to sing to receive wrapped treats.

Merry Christmas everyone! My thanks to those who follow my humble blog.

The Language that is Filipino

Photo Credit: spade13th deviantart

 

ADDENDUM: The original Manila Bulletin article has been taken down but a copy of the article exists here and here.  This is also Google’s cache of the piece. Further, I have decided to also repost the article at the end of this post.

James Soriano is being criticized in the social media for his article in Manila Bulletin about his perception regarding the national language. James wrote about how the English language is his primary language, about how it is the language of the learned, the language of the classroom and laboratories, the language of the courtroom, boardroom, operating room etc. and how the Filipino language is the language of the streets, that even with the capacity for learning it is not the language of the learned.

Much of what he said about the Filipino language as he perceived it growing up hurts. It cuts a hole deep in our nationalistic hearts and really wounds our pride as a nation. For that he has been criticized, but I believe it is criticism he can be proud of because he has exposed the truth and indeed the truth hurts and can be hard to swallow.

As much as he has been criticized over and over for his untimely article during the Buwan ng Wika – my UP group and Twitter timeline criticizes his article – I beg to differ with their opinion.

Like him, I must say that I grew up with the English language. Although my household spoke Filipino primarily, I was taught how to read in English. Back at school, we were taught in English. Filipino indeed was a special subject of itself, which we all grew to loathe. It was a chore learning of the pandiwa, parirala, pangungusap etc. etc. We had clubs promoting English as not just a way of language but a way of thinking. During break times, people who spoke in Tagalog or the vernacular would be fined for every word spoken. English was promoted and glorified when we were in primary school. And thus I learned to speak, think, even dream, in English.

Of course I knew the vernacular, I could speak Tagalog and Bicol (my dialect) fluently though sadly not as fluent as English. When I was mad, I expressed myself in English. When I discovered my flair for writing, it was in English. I became more comfortable expressing myself in English.

Yes, the Filipino language is beautiful. Growing up and being exposed equally to Filipino literary works made me appreciate the language even more. But I cannot deny that it was English I was comfortable with.

In college, I had to take a subject in Filipino out of desperation. I needed Philippine units to graduate and the course about Philippine culture I wanted were all full. It was the course on Filipino language that was severely lacking in takers. I had no choice but to take it lest I do not graduate. I faced the subject with trepidation. I viewed it as a course wherein I wouldn’t really learn anything but merely enter the class for the sake of attendance.

But I was wrong. In the subject, I learned about the Filipino identity as defined by the Filipino language. I learned that much of the progress our nation lacks now is tied up with the lack of identity we have as a nation primarily because of our adaptation of a culture and a language that is not entirely ours. I learned that to fully solve the problems of our society, we would need to embrace our Filipino language entirely because it would connect to our sense of identity.

However, it cannot be denied that English has indeed become the language of the learned in the country. This is said in the paradigm that our courtrooms, our hospitals, even our government institutions uses English. I posted earlier this year about an incident wherein our municipality released a census survey written in English. And they expected the constituents to fill it out entirely! How can the greater population do so then if they are not taught about English?

And so I agree with James Soriano when he said that:

For while Filipino may be the language of identity, it is the language of the streets. It might have the capacity to be the language of learning, but it is not the language of the learned.

It is neither the language of the classroom and the laboratory, nor the language of the boardroom, the court room, or the operating room. It is not the language of privilege.

For me, his article is a timely article during this month of the Buwan ng Wika. For more than insulting the national language, he has actually exposed the reality of the state of our language now. We are hypocrites trying to glorify the Filipino language in a month when in reality, the way we speak and conduct ourselves is in English.

How many interviews have you attended wherein the language used was English? How many presentations have you made wherein you presented in English? How many forms – even official public forms – have you filled out wherein everything was written in English? What medium is now used in our educational institutions to teach lessons in Science and Math? How many families do you know whose kids learn to speak English first before learning to speak Filipino? How many commercial establishments have you entered where they greet their customers in English instead of Filipino?

I gave credit to our President for delivering his recent SONA in Filipino. I wonder then why all previous presidents delivered theirs in English when delivering one in Filipino is possible and just as effective – if not more so? Is it really because English is the language of the learned?

To all of James’ critics, I say that before actually criticizing the guy who was honest enough to admit who he is, why don’t we examine first what is really happening in our society, as he said, of rotten beef and stinking fish. Maybe we will see that what he said is really something worth pondering about, that it is the reality engulfing us, and that perhaps we are just too full of pride to admit that indeed he is right.