It seems hard to believe but, yes, another year has passed. But it’s better late than never, so the old saying goes. So here is my “Dear Digong” playlist summing up the biggest issues and challenges of the Duterte administration in 2016.
“Mamang May Baril” by Nuklus. A winner of the first Tuklas Songwriting Competition, this 1980s anthem against the abusive military reflects the continuing violence being inflicted upon the Filipino people by state security forces in the name of drug war.
“Holdap” by Gary Granada. Again, this song hasn’t lost a bit of its wit and relevance over the years. It best describes the treacherous burial of the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani with President Duterte’s consent.
“On Potok” by Talahib. A Dumagat song about the indigenous people’s struggle for land and justice. In October 2016, thousands of indigenous peoples joined the “Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya,” a gathering of various minority groups in the country, to collectively protest against the militarization and plunder of their ancestral lands.
“Tambol” by The Jerks. The year 2016 saw a breakthrough in Philippine politics as the peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front formally resumed in Oslo, Norway. However, the peace process is once again on the brink of suspension. May this song serve as a distress call to President Duterte to keep his promise to grant political prisoners a general amnesty and to uphold his earlier pronouncements of building an independent foreign policy.
“Payag Ka Ba?” by Banyuhay ni Heber. If you’re in favor of President Duterte’s decision to give the green light for the restoration of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, this apocalytpic song of Pinoy rock icon Heber Bartolome will change your mind.
“Palatandaan” by Jess Santiago. A song about growing old, it should remind Mr. Duterte to act his age and quit the habit of joking around and using expletives when making public statements.
By the Chinese zodiac, 2017 is the year of the Fire Rooster. And though I don’t believe in astrological projections, I just hope that it doesn’t mean another year of “isang kahig, isang tuka” (hand-to-mouth existence) for the Filipinos.
DANIEL ALOC, tierra.giya@yahoo.com