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Iloilo City Boy

Friday, November 03, 2006

Pandanggo sa Ilaw Politics

One good thing about this blog is that it
forces me to think of interesting topics to
write about daily. Ever since I started this
blog about six months ago, I found (to my
surprise) that I was capable of writing an
entry in it almost everyday. I also find
blog-writing easier and more convenient
than column-writing primarily because
one can just post a link to the item you
were writing about for your readers to
understand what you were talking about.

Aside from honing my writing skills,

another good thing about this blog is that
it has induced me to revisit my old books
in order to look for something to write
about. By now I have amassed quite a
collection - well, not enough to start a
home library but enough to occupy one
side of our wall. When I got married 3
years ago, my wife brought in her own
pile of books. Since they are just
gathering dust and occupying a lot of
space, I thought of giving some away (I
will only read it once anyway). But the fact
that I spent good money and that I may
need them for future reference prevented
me from doing so. Now, thanks to this
blog I have finally found some use for
them. If I cannot think of any topic to write
about, I usually turn to my books for ideas
(I can also lift entire paragraphs to make
my entry look "substantial").

As a political science student, I found that

most of the political models we studied in
college was incongruent, even irrelevant
to the Philippine setting. But the book
authored by UP Professor Remegio E.
Agpalo sophomorically titled "Adventures
in Political Science" has stayed with me
through the years. I even had the book
authograph by him (I will download photo
later).

"Adventures in Political Science" is

pretty basic political science stuff but it
stands out because of Professor Agpalo's
original idea of labelling Philippine politics
as "pandanggo sa ilaw" politics.
Although the term he coined did not
exactly catch on, I thought it was a pretty
accurate and colorful description of how
politics is practiced in the country then.
Excerpts from the book:

"The idea of pandanggo sa ilaw politics is

derived from a native folk dance called
pandanggo sa ilaw. This folk dance may
be described in terms of 1) the participant
dancers, 2) the objects the dancers carry
or hold, and 3) the way the participants
dance. The participants are male or
female, two or more of them, who carry
lighted glass oil lamps on their heads and
the back of their hands. Dancing to the
rhythm of lilting music, they sway and
balance, go around the stage or dance
floor, intermingle, manipulate the glass
lamps with amazing and spectacular
dexterity, and manuever for dramatic and
arresting position on the floor. Agile of
hands and nimble of feet, the pandanggo
dancers do not trip or drop the glass they
carry.

In pandanggo sa ilaw politics, there are

elements analogous to those found in the
folk dance. Similar to the pandanggo
dancers are the political actors --the
citizens and government officials; to the
glass oil lamps, the power of the political
actors. Corresponding to the stage where
the pandanggo is danced is the political
arena. The movement of the political
actors can be compared to those of the
pandanggo dancers; these consist in
skillful manipulations and manuevering.
For this reason, the political actors, like
the pandanggo dancers, are fascinating
to watch.

Unlike the politics of ideology where the

ideological doctrines guide, direct, and
dominate the political process, there are
no doctrines guiding and directing the
political actors in pandanggo sa ilaw
politics. Thus, elections, legislations,
administration, adjudication, and other
processes of the government in this
system are not ideology-oriented ... What
interests them are personal and practical
matters -- what favors can be allocated to
supporters and burdens imposed on non-
supporters; what personal traits certain
public officials or citizens have or do not
have; what party can grant favors and
what group cannot give patronage; and
the like. In other words, pandanggo sa
ilaw politics is oriented towards
personality, practicality and material
goods."

Earlier I said that pandanggo sa ilaw

politics is an accurate description of how
politics in the Philippines was practiced
then. I said "then" because with the way
our present crop of politicians fight and
slay each other in public, politics today is
better termed "Gladiator Politics" rather
than pandanggo sa ilaw politics. At least
in the olden days, a politician can shine
and get noticed by virtue of his intellectual
agility and grace of character (just like
pandanggo sa ilaw dancers). At kahit
mag-kaaway na pulitiko, nag-ngingitian
pa noon (well, at least in public) just like
pandanggo dancers. Ngayon, nag-
ngingitngitan na lang talaga ang mga
pulitiko natin (both in private and in
public).

Politics has and will always be a spectator

sport. But I would much rather watch our
leaders do a pandanggo sa ilaw rather
that see them slaying each other in
public.

Oliver M. Mendoza

4 comments:

mong 10:55 AM
back in college i was a stoker of agpalo,
i would strike conversations with him in
the canteen or in a forum. finally i had
the chance to interview him about his
views on chacha in 1997. aside from
pandanggo, he was insistent that we
should adopt the pangulo regime.
Reply

Iloilo City Boy 5:41 PM

Thanks for dropping by Mong. Yes, the
Pangulo regime is also one of his
theories but I thought it only served to
justify Marcos's strong-man rule and
martial law regime.
Reply

Anonymous 5:32 PM
Hey Iloilo Boy,

Bakit ganon?
Bakit hindi kasali ang Iloilo/PANAY sa
venue ng 9th CINE EUROPA(November
9-19)?
Dapat may participation din ang PANAY
sa 11-day event.
Reply

Iloilo City Boy 5:50 PM

Hey Anonymous,

Sorry I don't know about the 9th Cine

Europa pero dapat nga represented ang
Panay.
Reply

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