What happens in July, this inconsequential month? Or, so I thought, until I did a cursory research of events, places and people—the clichéd understanding of how the months and days go by in our country.
I consulted the Official Gazette. It has a section that pertains to each month of the year and within the month the weeks designated to commemorate or celebrate an event.
Do you know that we should be celebrating Philippine music this last week of the month? Through Proclamation No. 933, signed in 2014 by President Benigno C. Aquino, the last week of July was designated as “Linggo ng Musikang Pilipino?” The proclamation indicates how the Constitution “mandates that arts and culture shall enjoy the patronage of the State and to this end, the State shall conserve, promote and popularize the nation’s historical and cultural heritage and resources, as well as artistic creations.”
The proclamation references the more popular practice contained in Executive Order No. 255 in 1987, which “required all radio stations with musical format programs to broadcast a minimum of four original Pilipino musical compositions in every clock hour.” The said rule defined original Pilipino music as “any musical composition created by a Filipino, whether the lyrics be in Pilipino, English or in any language or dialect.” Is this rule still followed?
If that commemoration takes place in the last week of July, there is another proclamation that, from July 3-9, 1988, is to be held every second week of July of every year. This is called the “Cultural Communities Week,” which is contained in Proclamation No. 250. The proclamation points to the importance of indigenous tribal Filipinos to national unity and development” and “recognizes the need to promote and preserve their rich cultural heritage, not only for the Philippines but also for the world….”
While it is easy to legislate cultural identities, achieving the same is a different matter. There is the common notion where “rich cultural heritage” appears to be a default presence among indigenous Filipinos. There is also the performative aspect of identity, when we act out our identities not only for ourselves but also for the world. In the same proclamation, it is mentioned how it is “imperative to focus attention on the colorful ethnic culture of tribal Filipinos by setting aside an appropriate time for that purpose.”
This proclamation upon first inspection seems laudable in its aim until one encounters binaries, like this concept of the “colorful ethnic culture,” a framed idea that presupposes a drab non-colorful culture for the “non-ethnic.”
This proclamation was released during the presidency of Corazon C. Aquino.
Outside this huge notion of Culture, do we also set aside to remember those individuals whose respective lives have made a great impact on our society? I refer to the important artists whose influences were cumulative and lasting in our human affairs—our National Artists.
The selection of artists to represent the putative nation has always been a complicated and contentious issue. Do we celebrate them the way we do with regard to “national” heroes?
Imagine a month of important anniversaries. In terms of cultural significance, July promises a feast of remembrances. Guillermo E. Tolentino was born in July of 1890. Leonor Orosa-Goquinco’s birth was in July of 1917. Alejandro R. Roces and Eddie Romero shared the same month and birth year, 1924. It was in July of 1928 when Andrea O. Veneracion was born. Or, we can turn this around and memorialize their death anniversaries. Tolentino, Orosa-Goquingco, and Veneracion whose birth months were July all died in July. Atang de la Rama, Gerardo de Leon, and Rolando Tinio also died in July, with De Leon and Tinio honored as National Artists posthumously.
It must be mentioned here that this gripping issue about national identity has been legislated during the second year of martial rule when Marcos issued Proclamation No. 1148, declaring the period from July 1 to 7 as National Culture Consciousness Week. Citing Section 9(2), Article XV of the new Constitution (is this referring to the 1973 Constitution?) of the Philippines “provides that Filipino culture shall be preserved and developed for national identity (underscoring mine).” It continues: “Arts and letters shall be under the patronage of the State.”
Does this settle all debates about “nation?”
The proclamation cites Section 11, Article XV of the same constitution, which provides that “the State consider the customs, traditions, beliefs and interests of national cultural communities in the formulation and implementation of state policies.”
The third week of July is for the commemoration of National Science and Technology Week. How do we remember this event? With the National Artists occupying prominence, we should strongly consider the memories of our scientists. For the month of July, two National Scientists have their birthdays. They are Perla D. Santos Ocampo (Pediatrics) and Paulo C. Campos (Nuclear Medicine). Four National Scientists have their death anniversaries in July. They are: Jose Encarnacion, Jr. (Economics), Clara Lim Sylianco (Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry), Dioscoro Umali (Agriculture and Rural Development) and Gregorio T. Velasquez (Phycology).
Each name is an artifact that connects us either to culture or to science, two domains that are crucial to forging identities, whether they be national or regional, or some form leading to a collective. If we work on other months, we shall discover more names and more important dates that will make each month a calendar of ideas and not merely touchy-feely moments of flowers and chocolates.
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Image credits: Jimbo Albano