Datu
This piece came to the Maker after reading an essay in last Tuesday’s Inquirer entitled “All are responsible” by Dennis Murphy. The essay suggests that while many researches have been done on the situation of the poor, few have been done on the elite. This research may well be necessary if only to explain why the elite has failed so dismally as it has in bringing about social reform and progress in the country. In this respect, we fail by comparison to other countries in Asia despite the fact we are the only Christian and/or Catholic country hereabouts.
As the Maker had read Murphy’s piece right after reading Juan L. Mercado’s “Viewpoint” that same day entitled “Maternity death road” his morning experience was more or less complete. Mercado began by assessing the current congressional debates on the RH bill citing disagreements on the statistics brought forth to congress by Senators Sotto and Santiago on the actual number of deaths of women in the course of childbirth. Mercado noted how far behind we had fallen in achieving our Millennium Development Goals (MDG) thus far. Are we even serious about this issue? He notes that the representative who now heads the congressional committee on MDG is the “honorable” representative from Ilocos Norte, none other than Imelda Marcos.
All these readings point to how badly the elite has operated the country so far. Indeed, Murphy made a very convincing case for the elite in the country to take responsibility for the current situation. This is of course easily said. It is not the first time we have ever seen that assertion see print. Perhaps there is a problem of definition here. Who after all are the elite? That should be clearly defined. And since Murphy’s title was “All are responsible,” that must mean specifically us. We are the elite. If we are reading this then we must be elite.
Of course, there is a problem in that most of us do not think of ourselves this way. It is a Bisayan trait. The Bisaya never describe themselves as “datu” or elite. Indeed, if a Bisaya were to describe himself or herself as datu and as soon as the Bisaya begins accounting for all the wealth and power he or she has, we immediately think of him or her as hambug or tikalon. This is true, no matter how truly rich that Bisaya might be. Our wealth and social standing is not something we talk about in social gatherings. If at all, we might raise the claim rather guardedly in the most intimate occasions as with our closest friends. It is hard for the Bisaya to admit he or she is elite. The mind might admit it but only secretly. Deep down the Bisayan obligates herself or himself to maintain the most “democratic” face. We reserve our best admiration for the rich who do not flaunt their richness, as when Erap eats bare-handed with the poor or as when any politician begins to speak street-Bisaya.
But we are elite. And it is high time we accepted responsibility for that fact. If the Maker is what he is it is only because he is of a birth more fortunate than most. How many among the poor would have been better than him given half the chance? And why does that sound like a confession? As if to say datu or elite is some sort of sin. The answer might have to do with the fact we had been a colonized culture. If datu sounds like a sin, it must be because we think it is.
After all, we had been the very same people who watched from the far distance while they shot Dr. Jose Rizal at Bagumbayan field.
And one must wonder if we are watching still from the far distance while history transpires before us; all the time thinking, We are powerless here. Somebody else is responsible, some foreign man, some bad politician like Marcos or GMA. We are not powerful. We are not datu. We are not responsible. There is of course a consequence to this logic. If we are not elite then what are we? The answer can only be that we are still colonized slaves. Stated in Bisaya: kaliwat-ulipon, prone to inaction and driven by a bad case of low self-esteem and a fear of those things we do not fully understand nor have full control of, such as our future.
There is a practical side to this discussion. What is our position on the current RH bill debate? Do we have a position with regards the proposed overpasses for the city? Do we think we have anything at all to do with these issues? Or would we rather have our positions stated for us by others and institutions like government or church? Do we care whatever might happen with all these? Do we think these are issues too big for us? If we do, we can blame a host of factors for this. But we can’t blame the fact we are not datu. Datu, was once a position of honor and respect in our country as it should be once again. It was our colonial experience which made it the shameful position it has become. And we still fall for it every time, raising the question once and again: Are we, despite all this apparent modernism, still kaliwat-ulipon?
