The Newsletter No. 86 Summer 2020 News from and the Pacific Regional Editors 41 Rethinking the Philippines: networks Edwin Jurriëns and Andy Fuller The Region and media of empowerment

Martial Law period. One prominent films. Apart from relating stories of courage example is the commercially shown by these revolutionary characters who When watching successful and critically acclaimed have been cast as sexual minorities within and period melodrama Dekada ’70 (The without the guerrilla zones, these films offer films is resistance 1970s, 2002). This film, produced by critical reflections on the communist movement’s a major commercial film company, own painful contradictions, as particularly depicts the experiences of middle- evinced in their straightforward depiction of the Laurence Marvin S. Castillo class family in the titular milieu. In persistence of heteronormative and patriarchal this film, the eldest son decides to lifeways and values that revolutionaries need join the communist armed movement, to wrestle from, and overcome. n November 2018, Brigadier General bringing to the fore the deep-seated The potency of these films lies in their Antonio Parlade Jr. of the Armed Forces contradictions that have long capacity not only to memorialise the violence Iof the Philippines accused university and incubated in the family. At the centre of the dictatorship, which continues to be the school-based screenings of films about the of the film’s narrative is the political subject of systematic historical revisionism, but Martial Law as being part of the ‘Red October awakening of the mother, who not to also make use of the power of fiction cinema plot’ to recruit for the Communist Party of only begins to understand her son’s to examine the relevance and persistence of the Philippines and the New People’s Army involvement, but also gradually the revolutionary vision, especially in light (CPP-NPA). The accusation gave rise to liberates herself from the constraints of contemporary concerns such as identity statements of condemnation from hundreds of the social role she performs inside politics. They produce fictionalised versions of of independent filmmakers, scholars, cultural and outside the family home. the radical past that are significantly shaped workers and activists. These statements A visible commonality between by, while dialoguing with, the socio-political emphasised the danger that Parlade’s many who lived through this period, Dekada ’70 and other recent films on the sensibilities of the present. And indeed it is the accusation poses to the freedom of expression the memory of the dictatorship is intertwined revolution is their examination of how current nominally democratic order’s shared guaranteed by the Philippine constitution. with the memory of the revolutionary gender and sexuality figure in an individual’s features with, and gradual transition to, movement. Marcos invoked and magnified the radicalisation. Such thematic concern relates authoritarian rule that urgently demand the The military’s linking of the memory of the threat of communism to justify the declaration to contemporary identity-based advocacies surfacing of such radical memory practices. Martial Law period to communism shows how of the Martial Law in 1972. The repressive and social movement practices that prompt a the state cultivates “authoritarian nostalgia”1 conditions under authoritarian rule compelled nuancing, if not rethinking of, the class-oriented Laurence Marvin S. Castillo, in the Philippine public sphere. The spectre a lot of Filipinos to join the revolution, which and nationalist politics associated primarily with PhD candidate at the Asia Institute, of the communist revolution is brought up did not only embody the most radical form of the revolutionary movement. The independent University of to whitewash the atrocities of the earlier anti-dictatorship resistance, but also offered a filmsBarber’s Tales (2013) and Liway (2018) [email protected] authoritarian order, and more disturbingly, to comprehensive agenda for the transformation centre on women characters, whose expressions justify the return of dictatorial rule, this time of Philippine society. of empowerment are depicted as contingent under the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte. For Filipinos like me, born during the upon, and linked to, their involvement in the Notes My doctoral research project, which post-authoritarian period of democratisation communist movement. In other independent began in 2018, is about how the communist and living through the present in which the films like Muli (The Affair, 2010) and Lihis 1 Webb, A. 2017. ‘Why Are the Middle Class Misbehaving?: Exploring Democratic revolution is imagined in films and literary revolution continues to rage on, Martial Law (Wayward, 2013), the experiences of gay 2 Ambivalence and Authoritarian Nostalgia’, works produced in the decades that followed films are forms of “imagined memory”. members of the communist movement are Philippine Sociological Review 65:77-102. the toppling of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos They enable us to imagine and remember highlighted, challenging the macho stereotypes 2 Huyssen, A. 2003. Present Pasts: Urban in the 1986 EDSA People Power. Some of these the experiences – of state violence, as well as associated with the popularised figure of the Palimpsests and the Politics of Memory. works are films set in the Martial Law era. For of radical political involvement – during the NPA guerrilla depicted in some post-EDSA action Stanford University Press.

Researching the Philippines Filipino. It was also involved in the development PINAS aims to continue to be a critical voice of a conference panel that interrogated for engaging the Filipino and Australian publics in Australia: the Philippine Studies the connections between community in topics of importance, such as migration, action and research, particularly regarding politics, community building, globalisation, Network in Australia (PINAS) various Filipino community organisations in culture, the arts, the ongoing relationship , like Migrante Melbourne, Gabriela between Australia and the Philippines, and Australia, Advanced League of Peoples’ Artists problems in the Asia-Pacific Region. Reagan Maiquez Incorporated, Philippine Australia Solidarity The challenges faced by Area/Philippine Association, and Anakbayan Melbourne. Studies in Australia include the lack of an Following the success of the conference, academic institution for advancing research ilipinos are the fifth largest migrant group scholars from all disciplines and focusses PINAS hosted another forum that examined on one of the largest migrant communities in in Australia with around 236,000 residents. on topics, issues, and challenges faced by the link between community issues and the world. Also, with more global economic FIn 2017-2018, 10640 migrants came from the Filipino community in both Australia and the formation of diasporic communities in woes and ongoing environmental and social the Philippines. Additionally, around thirteen the Philippines. It aims to foster connection, Australia through critical reflections by visiting catastrophes, the government, private thousand student visas from the Philippines dialogue, research and creative projects among Filipino academics, including University of the institution and public funding of research in were granted in 2018-2019, a significantly academics, artists, activists, and the larger Philippines Diliman (UPD) film and cultural the arts, humanities, social sciences and Area marked increase (108%) from the 2017-2018 Filipino and Filipino-Australian public. studies professor Dr Rolando B. Tolentino, studies has been dwindling. Furthermore, program year. Historically, prior to Australia’s PINAS, in the last three years, has responded Filipino creative writing scholar and translator there is a changing landscape of research birth as a modern nation, this second largest to the problems and issues faced by Filipinos Dr Vladimeir Gonzales (UPD), and multi-award globally, in which academic institutions are archipelago in the world was already linked through critical and creative engagement in winning writer, commentator and sociologist faced with increased pressure to measure to the world’s largest island. During the both digital and live venues. It has also served Arnold Alamon, who is Assistant Professor their impact not only in terms of their research late 1800s, Filipinos pearl divers, known as as a study circle for research and coursework of Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute publications but also their active role in ‘Manila Men’ arrived in the island-continent scholars who are working on research projects of Technology. community and nation building. and intermarried with Indigenous . and papers on the Philippines. Many of them Currently PINAS is conducting research Nonetheless, Australia’s role in developing The Philippines has maintained diplomatic are research students at Monash University, led by this author, Monash University’s PhD world class research in the region also lies relationships with Australia for 70 years, The University of Melbourne, and La Trobe Candidate Katrina Ross Tan, and PINAS heavily in collaboration with nations in the longer than most of the ASEAN countries. University in Melbourne. Melbourne-based member and data analyst Candice Rabusa. Asia-Pacific region, and in the innovation scholars are part of the advisory team of The project, “Understanding Filipino Youth and scholarship produced in this part of The Philippines has also become an this newly-emerging collective, including Immigrant Lived Experience in Melbourne, the world, including the Philippines. It is with important site for examining modern, the author, Dr Reyvi Marinas who completed Australia: A Preliminary Study”, explores this in mind that PINAS in Australia seeks to democratic, and postcolonial states in Asia a research in Citizenship Studies and Law, how Filipino youth in Melbourne view and involve the academic community, independent and beyond. Philippine Studies is the juncture Dr Walter Robles of Swinburne University, understand their cultural values in an ongoing scholars and the general public in research and between Area studies and the interdisciplinary and Dr Gary Devilles, who completed his formation of hyphenated and complex Filipino community engagement about pressing topical investigation of Filipino culture, history, urban research project at La Trobe University identity abroad. Through a qualitative enquiry issues in both Australia and the Philippines. language, art, heritage, internal and global and has now returned to teaching and from focus-group discussions among 1.5 diaspora. Over the past decades, it has been research at Ateneo de Manila University. (young people who were born in the Philippines Reagan Maiquez completed his doctoral relevant for examining not only the growth In September 2017, PINAS together with but migrated to Australia with their parent/s research at Monash University in the area and challenges of the Philippines, but also postgraduate students from various Victorian before the age of 9) and second generation of theatre and performance studies. He how this country and its people are linked universities initiated a roundtable dialogue Filipino-Australians, the study seeks to has taught writing and literature at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños with the rest of the world, including Australia. at The University of Melbourne regarding the interrogate issues surrounding the identity and is currently involved in community, It is with this impetus that PINAS, the prospect of Philippine Studies in Australia. The and cultural formation of this demographic creative, and research projects with various Philippine Studies Network in Australia, following month, PINAS hosted a lecture-forum segment. It also aims to examine the problems organisations in Melbourne, Australia. was conceived and formed in early 2017 by at Monash University by the prolific Filipino of this particular segment of the Filipino- This includes being a co-convenor of PINAS independent scholars and postgraduate migrant scholar Robyn Rodriguez, Professor Australian population and to mobilise the [email protected] research students of several Victorian of Asian-American Studies at the University potential of the young Filipino-Australian voice universities. Inspired by Filipino migrant of California Davis, and founding head of and contribution to community engagement researchers who have made earlier engagement the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies. The in Australia as well as in the Philippines. efforts in other diasporic sites like the United title of his lecture was “Decolonizing Filipino Amidst the difficulty of navigating the States and Europe, the group aims to contribute Migration Research”. terrains of community formations and to and examine Filipino and Filipino-Australian In 2018, PINAS became a major academic academic networks in the context of the community-formation within Australia. PINAS partner of the yearly International Research diaspora, and the defunding of university is a collective of scholars in the humanities and Forum on the Philippines organised by the research in the humanities, social sciences, and social sciences, particularly the interdisciplinary Filipino-Australian Student Council of Victoria. Area studies, PINAS represents an important studies of culture, society, politics, and art PINAS contributed to the development and effort to bridge the gap between research and known as Philippine Studies. PINAS welcomes curation of the conference’s theme Becoming grassroots communities. In the coming years,