Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino chair intoxicated with power

We congratulate Jerry Esplanada for his revealing successive news reports in the Inquirer—“Language exec told, mind your language” (Front Page, 8/18/13); “Palace: it’s Pangulo ng Pilipinas—not Filipinas” (News, 8/19/13).

Virgilio Almario is apparently intoxicated with the power of his position as Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) chair. He certainly flexed some muscle in directly tampering with government documents involving a presidential message (of President Aquino) and proclamation (issued by President Fidel V. Ramos). This is evidently in active pursuit and shameless promotion of his Pilipinas-to-Filipinas agenda without the sanction of either the President or Congress for that matter.

I call it “hubris,” because Almario is conscious that his P to F gambit is well beyond the scope and authority of his position and office. Cleverly, he did a quick mea culpa in the same section, on the same paper, on the same day that he was caught and censured!

What does this say of Almario’s character? What sort of  delicadeza  does Almario then have?

It is expected of a National Artist to address issues of national importance. More so, of a poet who is assumed to be sensitive to social issues and providing commentary on the nation’s predicament and corresponding priorities.

His Pilipinas-to-Filipinas agenda is far from being an issue of national importance. Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte stated as much: the KWF move has not been “high on the list thus far,” given the number of pressing things that the President has to pay attention to. The signed message of the President cannot be altered. A National Artist is not exempted from obeying the law.

It is seemingly a whim or a personal preference to court controversy that allows his profile to be posted on both print and broadcast media on a sustained basis. It is free publicity that certainly promotes and enhances his reputation as a public figure of national relevance.

This is the same Almario who had the gargantuan gall to malign the character of my mentor Cecile Guidote-Alvarez and call her immoral. On whose terms? And on what grounds?

I am a cerebral palsy victim whose life has been transformed through her cultural care-giving program. Other able-bodied stars like Lino Brocka, Isagani Cruz, Frank Rivera, Gardy Labad, et al.—even the Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta) itself—credit their prominence and training from the youngest Filipino  Magsaysay awardee for public service through the arts. Alvarez effectively promoted the use of our national language and other mother tongues by encouraging its use in theater when she founded Peta and the award-winning “Balintataw” on TV and radio, which was recognized by CNN as a soap opera for social change.

Almario’s preoccupation with

P to F without authority of law is a highly irregular action of a government official and unworthy of a National Artist. For these reasons, I call Almario himself “immoral.”

—NIKKI PAHATI,

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