In What Ways Can Philippine Literature Be Used To Articulate, Address And Challenge Political And Economic Inequities In The Country?
“Armor” By John Bengan
The Philippines has had issues with taking an extreme approach to its drugs’ situation. Besides this, we can also observe issues in the country involving traditional gender roles. Armor highlights why the country’s approach to drugs is counter-productive: it shows its one-sided and discriminatory nature. Furthermore, it exposes the toxic masculinity that is often ignored by underscoring its pervasiveness and capacity to reinforce homophobia and bad behaviors.
Armor is a story about a gay man and a drug user, named Ronnie, who planned to die because he lost everything—his assistant, lover, and salon. However, he decides to delay his death to re-experience the joy of participating in a pageant. Throughout the story, a boy named Biboy—who was the former drug-runner of his assassinated dealer—supported him in different situations, including the construction of Ronnie’s outfit for the pageant. Although Ronnie almost accomplishes his final goal, he gives it up to save Biboy after he gets taken by a vigilante, potentially due to his involvement with drugs or with Ronnie.
As we can observe from the plot, the steps taken to address the drug problem in the country is counter-productive. Firstly, it is unfair to the marginalized because it puts the blame on them, instead of directly addressing related systemic issues. As the story puts it, “They said a man on a motorcycle stopped in front of Tiago who was chatting with regulars outside his karaoke pub. The man shot him through the lungs four times.” This quote illustrates the morbid nature of the country’s solution; it does not solve why people use drugs in the first place. Secondly, the story challenges the dishonest stereotype against people involved with drugs by depicting a contrast between their moral character and the moral character of non-drug involved people. For instance, Ronnie would sacrifice himself and his dream to save Biboy, and Biboy would voluntarily help Ronnie by calming him down, assisting him in creating his outfit, and watching his performance. On the contrary, Oliver (Ronnie’s non-drugged involved friend) would report him to the authorities to improve his chances of winning the competition. Additionally, the other characters would be unnecessarily mean to Ronnie before the competition. The story states, “‘When was the last time you joined? The 1960s?’ Ronnie was going to say something lighthearted when he noticed the way the youngsters were looking at him.” This quote demonstrates how people could be morally corrupt despite not being involved with drugs: the other contestants were toxic, regardless of not using drugs.
Other than drugs, the story also reveals the unaddressed toxic masculinity that runs rampant in the country. Even in spaces where you expect it the least, it exists. A line in the story says, “‘What you have there?’ a bayot asked him. He had long, ironed hair touching his bare shoulders. ‘Secret’ Ronnie said. ‘You’ll have to see for yourself.’ ‘Chos!’ sneered another one, frail and much younger,” pointing out how toxic masculine traits (excessively aggressive and mean-spirited) are present in gay spaces. Furthermore, the story shows how toxic masculinity promotes homophobia by revealing that Ronnie’s male lover left him for a straight woman. It also encourages misogyny, as observed when one contestant insulted Ronnie by calling him a “thank-you girl”. Lastly, it discourages others from helping, just like when we learn that town members have written off Ronnie as a cautionary tale, instead of helping him deal with his losses.
“Generations” By Ninotchka Rosca
Due to the patriarchal structure of many facets of our society, the Philippines face some issues involving the treatment of women. In addition, farmers in the Philippines also suffer from a myriad of issues due to how our society is structured. Because the older generations failed to stop the dehumanizing treatment of women, Generations suggests that it is time for the youth to learn from their predecessor’s mistakes and put an end to it. The story also sheds light on how the rights of farmers are undermined—it raises questions involving the fairness of compensation towards farmers, and demonstrates how their children are robbed of their future.
We learn early in the story that the grandmother dies due to a pulmonary-related illness, and that her daughter-in-law was the only person helping her. After this, we get a flashback of Selo’s past, where we discover that he was one of the few members in a peasant organization who survived a massacre. The story then talks about the father’s concern over his rights as a farmer, which led to him being drunk and violent towards his family. Because he was drunk, he violates the curfew and gets himself arrested; hence, his daughter had to endure a difficult experience to free him. The father, however, mocks and trivializes his daughter’s sacrifice; as a result, his daughter kills him, then cleans his corpse while bathing with her siblings at the canal.
The story lays out numerous examples highlighting how the older generations allowed a misogynistic system to continue, and, as such, it calls for their children to stop it. Early in the story, we learn that no one helped the grandmother as she was dying, except for the person who was not related to her by blood (her daughter-in-law). This entails that other family members did not truly care for her. Another example can be seen in the quote, “There was the sound of a slap, a sharp cry. Then, the creaking of the ladder as someone came down in a hurry” and “‘Stop him,’ the mother cried out.” This shows how gendered violence was normalized in society—the mother still stayed and cared for her husband despite his unacceptable behavior. This is supported by the fact that after the daughter is raped, the story describes the father’s response in the line “His daughter walked in front of him and he was seized by an impulse to tell her how he had first met her mother”, which subtly implies that her tragic experience was normal for women in their society. For this reason, the daughter killed her father then washed his corpse while bathing with her siblings—suggesting that the younger generation has the power to stop the misogyny and cleanse the sins of the past. As the mother puts it, “Of course, flies are lovely, with rainbow wings. But let them settle on you and they’ll lay eggs. They breed maggots”; this shuts down the justifications for the patriarchal system and encourages the youth to destroy it by proposing that it will generate undesirable outcomes.
Another issue that the story tackles involves our society’s disregard for the rights of farmers. Firstly, they are disproportionately rewarded for their services. In the line, “Tell your father he left only thirty sacks of rice for the proprietario. He should have left fifty”, the story illustrates that despite putting the most work, farmers get rewarded the least. During the flashback detailing Selo’s past, the story demonstrates how farmers are powerless against the oppressive class structures: when they tried to oppose it, they got massacred by their landlords’ goons. For this reason, the father states, “he was a man, and man had rights. So the law decreed”, implying that he is being deprived of his rights as a human being. When he tried explaining this to the soldiers, they locked him up, even though it was harvest season. Secondly, their children are forced to carry their parent’s burden. The story states that despite the daughter’s massive potential, as seen in the quote, “With her large eyes, her nice mouth, she could have a future.”, she will serve as a servant to the landlord for the rest of her life. This calls attention to the tragic and inescapable fate of farmers.