Only
a tiny portion of our province's population was able to know the legacy of the late Prof. Remigio
E. Agpalo, PhD, the political scientist who was born in Occidental Mindoro.
To
commemorate his 90th birth anniversary this coming Sunday, this
little space is this lowly blogger's humble tribute to him.
Born
in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro June 10, 1928, 3rd of 8 children, born to
Paulino Agpalo and Paulina Escalona, Remigio studied college at the University
of Maine and returned to the Philippines in September 1952 to fulfill his
promise of sharing his gift of academic quest and taught at UP in 1953. He later went to
University of Indiana and took his doctoral studies. Agpalo taught at the
University of the Philippines (UP) for almost 50 years and was laid to rest February 10, 2008. He succumbed to prostate cancer. He was 79.
The
political picture that Agpalo emphasized decades back remains relevant even
today. In his book “Pandanggo sa Ilaw : The Politics in Occidental
Mindoro” published in 1963 he wrote, “The
elite exploited these (Filipino traditional) values and brought them into play,
together with their material potentials, to their own advantage. The unsatisfactory
economic situation, the general poverty of the population, the insufficient
education … as well as broadening gap between the elite and the masses…”
(pp. 83). For me it is a very imaginative as well as accurate description or
emblem of how politics is practiced in the whole country until today.
The
Pandanggo sa Ilaw is a native folk dance where his political concept is
derived. The dance which originated in Lubang Island is described in terms of
the following according to Agpalo himself: 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 deftness, and maneuver
for dramatic and arresting position on the floor. Swift of hands and agile of
feet, the dancers do not trip or drop the glass lamps that they carry.
Here’s
the analogy: The dancers are the politicians (and their staunch supporters and
the citizens in general) and the glass lamps are the political powers while the
stage is the political arena. Agpalo wrote further, “The movement of the political actors can be compared to those of the
dancers; these consist in skillful manipulations and manuevering. For this
reason, the political actors, like the dancers, are fascinating to watch.” In his another book called "Adventures
in Political Science" at full length he explained, “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."
Now, who says that this isn’t true today? Our “dancers” (read: political leaders) been lingering on the
“stage” (read: political positions) almost for life resting the proverbial
“glass lamp” (read: political power) in their hands endlessly amusing and fascinating the “audience” (read: citizens)
with stunts and trivialities in between, as emphasized by their critics.
Dr.
Remigio Agpalo did not stay in Occidental Mindoro most of his life except during his
twilight years and that's maybe the reason why only a few of us know him. He was called the Father of Political Science in the
Philippines and the leading political scientist during his time. Dr. Remigio E.
Agpalo’s invaluable collection of books were turned over at the DLSU Library in
June 10, 2013 and afterwards, Ms. Christine Helen Perez-Eustaquio, the daughter
of Dr. Agpalo, delivered the Remarks of Circumstance and shared some stories
she has about her father. Well while known in the intellectual circle, only a
few knows Dr. Agpalo in his province because he did not stay here for long.
Only
last month, I stumbled from the web a book titled “Dance & Politics: Moving
Beyond Boundaries” (Manchester University Press, 2017) by Dana Mills. Mills,
stressed that, “Our political world is in
constant motion. Our lives are continually shifting. Collective communicative
structures which have held us together in various forms of communal life are
relentlessly being challenged by new languages.” In our context, I believe
that these “new languages” suggest aspirations of the common people, the masa, and
the non-hardliners. What they hoped is a first-hand dance with different
dancers on the deep-rooted stage holding firmly and efficiently the sacred but desecrated glass lamp.
Mills’
book expounds on why dance is political and how it can articulate political
perspectives. As such, therefore, searching for and learning a new “dance”,
like searching for and learning new politics, provide opportunity and outlet for
those who are fed-up of this national situation...
------
References:
http://librarynewsette.lasalle.ph/2013/06/remigio-e-agpalo-collection.html
Thank you for writing this article. Happy 91st Birthday, Lolo Remi!!!
ReplyDelete