Joy Santiago: Charting Safety Through Mapmaking

An environmental planner proudly "helping the Filipino people."

Crocodiles in Philippine Folklore

This study investigates Philippine folklore of saltwater crocodiles to understand the relationships that people have with them from an anthropological perspective. The collected folklore was classified into eight types: 1) ancestor, 2) monkey heart, 3) red hen, 4) execution, 5) incarnation, 6) deception, 7) monster, and 8) Lusmore. The analysis shows that the crocodile folklore of the Philippines is strongly connected to that of the indigenous people in Borneo. Filipino people tend to recognize crocodiles as both fierce and foolish because they are harmful to their society. In their history, they have rigorously hunted crocodiles for their skin, causing their relationship with them to significantly diminish over time. However, crocodiles are also seen as having the supernatural power to cure sick people, so eating them is prohibited among the Pala’wan on Palawan Island, for instance. This paper concludes that the Filipino people and the crocodile were able to build a harmonious relationship of coexistence in the past, and the current corrupted relationship must change for its future wellbeing.

Effects of comorbidities on quality of life in Filipino people with tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: We investigated health-related quality of life (HrQoL) in Filipino people undergoing TB treatment, and whether HrQoL was negatively impacted by comorbidity with undernutrition, diabetes (DM) and anaemia.METHODS: Adult participants were enrolled in public facilities in Metro Manila (three sites) and Negros Occidental (two sites). Multivariate linear regression was used to model the four correlated domain scores from a WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire (physical, psychological, social, environmental). A forward-stepwise approach was used to select a final multivariable model with inclusion based on global tests of significance at P < 0.1.RESULTS: In 446 people on drug-susceptible TB treatment, DM and moderate/severe anaemia were not associated with HrQoL. After adjustment for age, sex, education, food insecurity, treatment adherence, inflammation, Category I or II TB treatment, treatment phase, current side effects and inhibited ability to work, moderate/severe undernutrition (body mass index < 17 kg/m2) was associated with lower HrQoL (P = 0.003) with reduced psychological (coefficient: −1.02, 95% CI −1.54 to −0.51), physical (−0.62, 95% CI −1.14 to −0.09) and environmental domain scores (−0.45, 95% CI −0.88 to −0.01). In 225 patients with known HIV status in Metro Manila, HIV was associated with modestly reduced HrQoL (P = 0.014).CONCLUSION: Nutritional status and food insecurity represent modifiable risk factors for poor HrQoL that may be alleviated through interventions.

Filipino Fiesta Its Historical Origins and Significance for Filipino People

The article considers the phenomenon of fiesta as a religious Catholic holiday in the realities of the Philippines where it has acquired new, dis-tinctive features. The history of the fiesta tradition, its penetration and consolidation in the Philippines by the forces of the Spanish colonialists is given. The significance and functionality of the fiesta for the colonial Spanish authorities, its gradual assimilation into the Filipino culture, its acceptance by the Filipinos are analyzed. The author separately dwells on the role of fiesta in the formation of Filipino identity and the role of fiesta in the modern life of the Filipino population, in the cultural layer of the nation.

Exiles, Displacements, and Relocation through the Trauma of Birth in Anak, Barcelona, Dubai, and Milan

Culture is the identification of a person or community’s origin. It is a set of values taught since birth and implemented throughout living. The variation of culture in the global setting is vast and allows other cultures to be affected by another. Filipino culture is very rich and passed down through generations, but Filipinos find it necessary to live and work away from their homeland. This study aims to prove the cultural ramifications experienced by the Filipino diaspora through selected Filipino movies. Anak, Barcelona, Dubai, and Milan shed light on the experiences of Filipino people overseas, especially their sufferings and sacrifices. With the guidance of Rank, Freire, and Propp, cultural ramification was observed in the portrayal of the selected movies which are not far from the real experiences of the Filipino diaspora.

Sacred Texts and Symbols: An Indigenous Filipino Perspective on Reading

Reading in the Philippines is a process whereby the body, mind and spirit are engaged. Even though Filipinos are predominantly Catholic, many believe that creative energy, in the form of spirits, dwells in nature. These spirits must be respected or else they can unleash their wrath through sickness and natural calamities. As a contribution to preserving Filipino indigenous knowledge, this paper will explore whatok, the tattooing tradition of the Butbut people of Kalinga and t’nalak, the weaving tradition of the T’boli people of Mindanao. The aim of this paper is to preserve the unique culture of the Philippines’ indigenous peoples’ while sharing a decolonized perspective on reading. The term “decolonized” is used to mean peeling away the layers of nearly 400 years of Spanish and American colonial influence on Filipino culture. I will do this by studying the ways in which indigenous Filipino people record memory. The Philippines has an ancient syllabary system, but I will focus on older forms of transmitting ancestral knowledge, tattooing and textile making. Hopefully, this method will challenge readers to see tattoos and textiles as a valid means of documentation beyond printed text.

Artsibo at Sineng Bayan: Pagpapanatili ng Kolektibong Alaala at Patuloy na Kolektibong Pagsalungat sa Kasinungalingan at Panunupil

Sineng Bayan (People’s Cinema) is a salient part of Philippine alternative cinema, which is in stark contrast to the dominant commercial cinema. It is an important aspect in the pursuit of a more serious Philippine cinema. Political film collectives that arose in the early 1980s and flourished during the Marcos dictatorship gave way to Sineng Bayan. This article focuses on the archival audiovisual works of AsiaVisions Media Foundation (AVMF), a non-government organization which primarily utilized film documentaries in its propaganda-education work, and Alternative Horizons (AlterHorizons), the first media cooperative in the country. This study on Sineng Bayan and the Archives forwards the discourse on film as an effective cultural weapon of the Filipino people in their struggle for national freedom and genuine democracy. Capturing the people’s experiences and struggles through audio-visual presentations, videos, and films, the works of these political film collectives are part of the collective memory and documentary heritage of the country.