Carlos Celdran and Redefining Subversion

"Art and Liberation--The "subversive" Carlos
with Leslie Bocobo and Pat Mangubat

It wasn't surprising that even in a cosmopolitan city such as Dubai, things like art, are still being considered subversive. At the largest art exhibit in the Middle East held in Dubai, avant-garde protest artist Carlos Celdran's philosophical viewpoint got censored, just because he tried to tell the truth. 


His depiction of Imelda Marcos, wife of former dictator Ferdie Marcos was not flattering, but it does not mean that he lied about how Meldy used her charms to convince former Libyan president Moammar Khadaffy to take an active role in pacifying the violent South during Martial Law. Khaddafy did stop helping the Bangsamoros in their struggle against Marcos and it was historically correct to say that Meldy had a big role in bringing together MILF leader Nur Misuari, the government and the Libyans in what is now known as the 1979 Tripoli agreement.


Celdran's art was not bold nor abstract--it was simply, the truth. That incident happened and for me, does not merit any singular objection.


Fact is, what happened shortly after the 1979 Tripoli agreement, which was supposed to end the Bangsamoro struggle was overtly subversive, to say the least. Admit it---post-Tripoli agreement was pure canard. It momentarily brought peace in the South, but the struggle remained. Had Carlos depicted post-Tripoli Mindanao, it could have merited a stronger reaction.


What is most refreshing about what happened to Carlos is the re-definition of protest. Gone are the days when youngsters wearing Mao shirts and caps populate the protesting mobs. Now, even people of such fine pedigree such as Carlos are showing their subversion in their own styles. 


For those who don't know, Carlos is not your typical ideologue, the one whom the military considered as security threats. 


Fact is, Carlos' ideology is amorphous--no mold, just simply protesting what is wrong about the things happening right now.


Carlos was once a banker in New York. He went back and embraced his being Filipino. He looks cono to you and me, but behind that facade lies a caring and understanding soul that wants to liberally break free from the mold that society had secured for him since his birth.


What is good about the things Carlos is doing is the way he redefines the concept of political subversion. 


You don't need to be a Commie to be able to see what's wrong and act upon it, no. You only need to be a citizen and open your eyes to the truth--that you live in a society where brute force is the Law and governments are wolves that shepherd the sheep through mass indoctrination. 


Carlos chose not to tread the path recommended by society to him. He chose to tread the path least taken--that of a revolutionist who simply want the world to know what is happening.


He's like Neo of the Matrix whose eyes have been opened and he is breaking all the established rules to liberate those who continually live peaceful lives when all they are, really, are hosts being literally eaten by society's fat parasites. 

Newphilrevolution nears celebrating 1million views

NPR will celebrate its 1 million mark very soon

Based on my site's stats, I am nearing the 1,000,000 pageviews mark. After three years, whoa. Thank you madlang pipol! You inspire me all.


I am thinking of getting the .com for this site. What do you think? Or I just link it with philippine360.com as the opinion link?


For those who want to write in this corner, please email me at mangubat.patricio@gmail.com and I shall give you access and you can write whatever your heart desires. 


When I reach 1 million, I shall radically change this site and will write more investigative stories, more film reviews and more insight track entries.


Again, my thanks to the wonderful people who regularly reads this. As I write, there are more than 8,000 plus people who read this site every single day. Thank you all. 

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stands frail yet ready to face the verdict of History

She sits in her chair, almost catatonic, a friend of hers related. She lost several pounds. She's frail, and rarely speaks, unusual for someone whom Times Magazine once referred as one of the most powerful women of the world. 


Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo rarely eats nowadays, says her doctors. She reportedly lost her appetite after her third surgery. Someone close to her said that she should not have allowed doctors to operate on her because surgery is really not required as a solution to her back pains. 


Doctors know best, and knowing Gloria, she always follow what an expert tells her. That's part of her leadership style. She listens and dispenses decisions based on expert advise. 


I once shared supper with her in 2002, two years before that historic elections where she now stands accused of rigging. I, along with several other people's organisations, presented a twelve point agenda for change. I represented the Youth and after I spoke, she asked me if I was a graduate of the University of the Philippines which I answered yes.


After that dinner, she  spoke with me and alongside several others, including former Congressman Pichay and former security and defense chief Bert Gonzales. She promised to implement several of what we proposed to her. To her credit, she did order several government agencies to implement some, not all, of our recommendations.


A year later, I saw myself militating in the streets and publishing the first labor newspaper calling for her ouster. I did it along with Sonny Melencio. We were the very first ones who called for her ouster from power, two or three years before anyone did. 


History now prove that we were right. Shortly after the 2004 elections, several of her strongest allies resigned and militated against her. 


I was one of the last ones to sign the last impeachment complaint against her, with Edwin Lacierda. That impeachment complaint was historic because it involved members of the growing online community. 


Before the 2010 elections, there were rumors that Gloria wanted to announce martial rule. It was averted. 


Gloria, for nine long years, dominated the political scene. She, along with her husband and sons, flaunted extreme power. They are game changers yes, but in a most difficient and most venal way. 


Gloria used her power for her own advancement. It was nine long years of darkness. Next month, President Aquino promised to file several charges against her and her family. Will justice be served this time around?


Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sits in her hospital chair, ready to face the verdict of History. She's weaker, and thinner than usual. She rarely speaks. For someone whom even the most vile gentlemen of this country consider as the strongest woman alive, seeing her unable to speak is still, unbelievable.


Like what a cab driver told me, God is All-Knowing. Look, most of our politicians, those who betrayed the people's cause, died either violently or thru a lethal disease. Those senators who died, they died due to cancer. Those who served government but betrayed the purse of the people, died either by a lingering illness or violent means. That is God speaking.


Will Gloria finally speak with her God?

The Fight Continues! Onward!

By the way, thanks Arlyn dela Cruz for that comment in my previous posts. It's quite encouraging. And also, as a rejoinder, the "colonel" you referred to in your event, is, I believe, retired already?

Like Ding Gagelonia over at http://midfield.wordpress.com/, I'll post our photo here. Now, to allay fears that I am now with Senator Loren Legarda, let me say that I was just invited by Arlyn in this event, along with other journalists. Legarda is not a client, nor a close friend. She's being handled by noted PR man, Willy Fernandez. Enuf said.
(photo cap: Left-to-right: Standing, Senator Loren Legarda, Arlyn de la Cruz, Patricio Mangubat. Seated, Ding Gagelonia. Event: Manila Polo Club, April 28, 2009)

All politicians and CORRUPT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS, as what regular NPR readers already know, are all FAIR GAME. Even Mar Roxas whom I castigated in my previous posts and whom I consider as a friend, became a victim of my vicious pen.

My classmate, Mike Defensor, also received a fair share of comments, especially on the ZTE and his role in the Chinese mining firm. Another classmate, Miro Quimbo of Pag-Ibig once received a fair share of praise and derision in this site.

For those who want to invite me in their affairs, they can just send their invites thru my email address at mangubat.patricio@gmail.com. No fancy whatever, no gifts please. If you want me to write about your side, then, this site is open. I believe in the Right to Reply although this does not mean that Congress should make this unwritten ethical thing a law. Send your statements thru mangubat.patricio@gmail.com.

I don't attend blogger nights or press conferences. I seldom meet other bloggers, except when invited by Noemi, Ding, Janet, DJB, Manolo, Juned and even Jester. I share an affinity with Noemi because I feel in my heart that she's a very nice person. And of course, we have a bull frog friend (BFF), whose bite is weak and unconvincing because of hunger (hungry for attention and hungry for food). Janet is also a highly respected figure in the netsphere. Janet was the only one who convinced me to attend a blogger event. After that, I was'nt able to go to her events due to commitments. Ding, you all know, is a good friend. DJB, I consider an intellectual and Manolo, of course. I met Manolo and AWBHOLDINGS last night. Jester, well, I go to his meetings (if he calls for it) because I want to pry his mind, hehehe! Same with Marck Rimorin.

If there's a chance, I want to meet RJ Marmol, Leslie Bocobo, Manuel Buencamino, Mel Alarilla and other bloggers who want to see a New Philippines emerge from the rut. I now have close to 900(?) friends over at Facebook and most, if not all, are friends from way back who know Revo, my petname when I was a student.

And for those who want to destroy PM, just check if I have political personalities as clients. I have NONE. They can all write ad hominem attacks. But, they'll never desist me from writing the truth. No. Kiss my lovely pen.

(Everyday, the NPR continues to receive emails of support from thousands of New Patriots in every corner of the country and in the world. NPR continues to improve its Technorati rankings and hits (more than 2,500 everyday). Google has also placed a 4/10 ranking for NPR)

Only God has the power to shut me up. Death will not deter Patricio Mangubat from his advocacy. Even if I die, other Patricio Mangubats will rise to continue the New Philippine Revolution.

By the way, I'll be re-setting my timer here. Mrs. Arroyo's days are beginning to shorten. Later, I'll do that. I just need to go to the camps, hehehe! (Joke!) :-)

Deconstructing Patricio Mangubat

Teaching Philippine history for a bunch of college kids at the University of the Philippines in Manila way back in 1992 was an experience I would never forget. My class was gruelling. After spending eight hours work over at DZBB as newswriter, I log out at 7 in the morning and head straight to Padre Faura to teach at 10 in the morning. I was the youngest faculty at that time, headed by Dr. Villegas of the social science department.

I was given three classes, most of my students were freshmen. I was just given a desk where to put my stuff (mostly books), near the desk of Prof. Roland Simbulan (of the Nuclear-Free Philippines fame). A colleague of mine, Prof. Peter Badilla, was my source of strength at that time. My salary was just a bit below 2,000 pesos per month, which is okey since I supplement it with my 3,500 pesos salary over at DZBB, GMA Channel 7.

As a history teacher, I did'nt teach them about dates or make them memorize events. No. One of my students (now an Attorney), whose name is Datu Reza Sinsuat, can attest to that. What I taught them was historical and dialectical materialism. I said that in order to understand the events happening all around us, everyone should at least know the theoretical models, especially the philosophies of History. Theoretical models are based on concrete observations of reality.

Historical and dialectical materialism is one such model which is quite good in analyzing Philippine history. You get to know the dynamics of time and space in operation. I also gave them Braudel's system, Spengler's view of the relevance of historical milestones and Bauer's interpretations. Most of all, I also emphasized on the importance of oral history.

A few years later, I was able to teach at Dela Salle University in Taft Avenue Manila. The department, located at the fourth floor of the faculty building, was then headed by Dr. Tony Hila, who was then finishing his doctorate over at the UST. Dr. Hila commented that I am also good at Political Science. Well, it's not surprising since I really started as a student of Political Science, having been admitted at the university to this quota course way back in 1988. I got high marks in political science subjects and just decided to transfer to history in 1991 upon the prodding of my colleagues at the League of Filipino Students (LFS) especially (now Prof.) Rommel Banlaui and history professors, such as Dr. Zeus Salazar, Dr. Jaime Veneracion, Dr. Miranda, and Dr. Isagani Medina. It was a decision that I am not ashamed since history is more exact than political science and more engaging than the often stolid grind of reading and analyzing politics.

During my university days, I spent a lot of time working for the LFS. I was inducted into the organization as a freshman, and immediately became an officer. My LFS head then was a guy named Dom Danao, who was the very first millionaire of his batch and married a bar top notcher named Amor Datinguinoo (sister of Vinia of PCIJ, also a group mate of mine in the LFS). Amor was the head of the LFS National Propaganda Bureau where I was also a member. Other LFS members such as "Sheila", " Daniel" etal are now all working for NGO's and POs and some, like Amante Jimenez, decided to go full-time with the Party.

In 1990-1991, I was elected vice-chairman of the CSSP Student Council upon the decision of SAMASA, the dominant student political party headed by Mike Defensor. My Council Chairman was Vicente Paulo Yu (who's now a lawyer, graduated from UP College of Law). We were the first Council to implement the transfer of tambayans, from the CSSP building to the kubols outside the building. The dean then was my professor and idol, Dr. Zeus Salazar whom I created a very strong ideological bond even up to now (though my nanay nanayan back then was Dr. Miranda of the UP History department).

While studying, I worked as a researcher under Dr. Maria Serena Diokno of the Jose Diokno Foundation in New Manila and wrote as a journalist in the now defunct Diaryo Filipino. My first beat then was the Department of Justice. I also wrote for the weekly magazine of Octopus Files of Mangubat.

Though I got high marks in the masteral program in History, I decided to take the full-time Masteral program of the College of Mass Communications (CMC), majoring in Communications Research. The approach was tri-media. Why did I not pursue teaching history? Well, it's plain and simple practicality. I choose this masteral program because I want to write. I envisioned a career in journalism. And this decision I never regretted.

In 1995, I got hired by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as Foreign Affairs Specialist II under the Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies (CIRSS). The CIRSS is the main think-tank of the DFA. I handled the economic diplomacy unit which contributed in the research that APEC of 1995 used. I was under the administration of Dr. Aileen Baviera, who is now at the UP Asian Center. I was the one who made the position paper on China's Inclusion to the World Trade Organization (WTO), predicted the rise of regional economic setups in the Asia-Pacific region, and the eventual dissolution of weak states.

After the APEC event, I decided to again go full time as a journalist. I wrote articles for the Manila Bulletin, under Diego Cagahastian and Jun Icban, and did radio work for Radio Veritas under Mario Garcia. MG was my editorial mentor. While sir Diego was my mentor in writing news articles. I became very good as a reporter that I was given a morning program.

Eventually, I worked briefly as AVP of AMA, then left for RPN 9 when my boss allied himself with then Vice President Erap. In 1998, I helped in the campaign of Defense secretary Renato de Villa. In 1999, I met my classmates again, Mike Defensor, Miro Quimbo and Bong Bongolan. We worked together. In 2000, I met a lady named Rosebud and we exposed the alleged scam in the PNP which was then headed by my kumpadre, Ping Lacson. I became friends with lawin, then Col. Berroya and the former PNP chief Bobby Lastimoso. After EDSA dos, we parted as friends. I taught one semester over at DLSU-Dasmarinas in Mass Communications (Newswriting, Newsroom operations, etc) before I left for Singapore to work in Product Development for a Singaporean firm allied with VISA Asia-Pacific.

A year and a half ago, I came back to the Philippines and again worked for a Malaysian firm, handling product research and development. After ten months, I was head hunted by an agency to handle their Business development and marketing. I left the agency last year to pursue what I love best---journalism. Since November, I am now engaged in journalism and even formed a media organization, an online one.

Patricio Mangubat is not some figment of some guy's imagination. The reason why I don't use my real name is very, very simple----I don't want to be popular. No.

What I want to become popular is the struggle, the message that Patricio Mangubat (PM for short) wants to convey and the truth that he writes.

Pat Mangubat is just a cyber nom de guerre, a brand name so to speak, hopefully to replace the common name of Juan dela Cruz. Patricio means "country" and "mangubat" means to "go to the mountains".

It's a liberating name, the kind that has no colonial baggage to speak of. It urges everyone to fight for one's country, even at the point of death. "Mangubat", the mountain of struggle, is actually one of enlightenment. It also symbolizes the New Media, a refuge of someone like me, a thirty eight year old family man, who still wants to fight the forces that destroy the Motherland. As I wrote previously, this is my New Sierra Madre, my Olympus, the Internet.

And this struggle will continue unabated until a New Bayan emerges from the rotten ashes of traditional Philippine politics!

Ipagpatuloy ang Laban ng Sambayanang Pilipino!

Ibagsak ang Pasistang Rehimeng Arroyo!

Labanan ang Korupsyon, ang kasakiman at ang kawalang katarungan sa ating Bayan!

Itaguyod ang Pambansang Demokratikong Pamahalaan!

Mabuhay ang Lakas ng Masa!

Mabuhay ang Para sa Bayan!

Mabuhay ang mga New Patriots of the New Generation!

Mabuhay ang YOUng!

Mabuhay ang CPP-NPA-NDF!