By Terence Repelente
NATIONAL ARTIST Poet, critic, and dramatist Bienvenido Lumbera
National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera is first and foremost a nationalist, not a patriot, because, according to him, there’s a difference between the two seemingly synonymous words. “Ang patriotism ay pagtatangkilik sa bayan, habang ang nasyonalismo ay dynamic, hindi lang ito simpleng pakiramdam para sa bayan (Patriotism is just loyalty to the country, while nationalism is dynamic, it isn’t just something you feel toward your country),” he says.“Itinuturo ng nasyonalismo sa mga mamamayan na baghuhin at paunlarin ang takbo ng lipunan (Nationalism teaches the masses to change and improve society).
Midway in the ‘60s, when the country was in the clutches of a looming dictator, Bien recalls, nationalism was at its height, particularly among the students and intellectuals. In the context of Philippine literature, “one might say that there was widespread consciousness in the youth writers¸ especially at big universities like UP, Ateneo, La Salle, and UST, where there were programs on creative writing,” he says. According to Bien, the youth was conscious of how the regime used literature to further fortify the dictatorship and its fascist rule, but they were also conscious of how to utilize literature to counter the ideology of the dictator, and to use their craft to push for national democracy.
THE MARCOS DICTATORSHIP was a time of repression, but it was also a time of subversiveness
Repression was at an all-time high as then fascist president Marcos was aggressively aiming for a “New Society,” killing or imprisoning all tagged “subversive” or left-leaning writers and activists. When Marcos declared Martial Law, Bien went underground and was eventually arrested by the military in 1974 (he was imprisoned for almost a year).
But even during that time, unlike his, Bien says, the youth didn’t need to go to an exclusive college or university in order to learn about literature as there were many workshops made available all over the country. Right now, literature is even more accessible, from academic institutions to circles and groups. The question is, however, for whom should one create?
THE PEOPLE'S WARRIOR: Emmanuel Lacaba
Also during the dictatorship, Bien helped organize socially committed and like-minded artists into the group Panulat para sa Kaunlaran ng Sambayanan (PAKSA). “Nagtuturo ako sa Ateneo noon. Nagtayo kami ng isang workshop para sa mga manunulat na gumagamit ng wikang Pilipino, na may misyong ibaba sa mga mamamayan ang mga kaisipan at nilalaman ng aming mga likha (I was teaching at Ateneo then. We formed a group, a workshop for writers who wrote in Filipino, and those who wrote in English, with a mission to bring the message of our literature to the masses),” he says. PAKSA collectively used a nationalist approach and perspective in its works, addressing various socio-political and socio-economic conflicts of its time and, most notably, its nationalist critique of the state of Philippine culture and art, which started a movement highlighting the role of cultural workers in the struggle for genuine and democratic freedom. “Ang PAKSA noon, katulad ng ibang cultural mass organizations ngayon, ay tumutulong magpamulat sa mga mamamayan tungkol sa pangmasa, sayantipiko, at makabayang kultura at mga kaisipan, nagsusulong sa kapakanan ng mas nakararami (PAKSA then, like other cultural mass organizations today, helps the people know about mass-oriented, scientific, and nationalist ideas, upholding the rights of the many, instead of the few).”
As a researcher, critic, and creative writer, Bien says all of his works are focused on the struggle of the Philippines for genuine freedom. “Ang kultura ng Pilipinas, mula noon hanggang ngayon, ay kulturang likha ng impluwensya ng mga Kastila at ng mga Amerikano (The culture of the Philippines, then and now, is a culture created from the influence of our colonizers, the Spanish and the Americans),” he says. “Importante sa akin na yung kolonyal na kamalayan ay buwagin at palitan ng kamalayan na mulat sa mga tunay na suliranin ng mga Pilipino at ng lipunan nito (My mission as a writer is to destroy that colonial mentality and replace it with a mentality that is class-conscious, aware of the real societal condition).” And this is his challenge to all the young writers: to spread revolutionary ideas, which serve the people, instead of ideas that will just maintain the ruling order.
THE PEOPLE'S WARRIOR: and the student activists fighting for national democratic rights during the Marcos regime
Bien’s request to the cultural workers and writers of today is for them to serve the people, now more than ever. “Pangunahing tungkulin ay ang pagigiit sa karapatang pantao ng mga karaniwang mamamayan (The primary task is to uphold the peoples’ human rights),” he says. “Yung mga tula, drama, at kuwento ay sana nagtataglay ng kaisipan na ang mga mamamayan ay may kakayahan, may lakas na puwede nilang gamitin upang i-giitang kanilang kapakanan, ang kapakanan ng nakakarami, sa halip na pumaloob sa ideolohiya ng mgahumahawak ng kapangyarihan (The poems, dramas, and stories should possess ideas that highlight the strength of the masses, which they can use to fight for their rights, for the many, instead of compromising with the ideology of those in power).” He reiterates, “Hanggang sa kasalukuyan ay nakapailalim tayo sa kolonyal na kamalayan, dapat wasakin ito (To this day, we are under colonial consciousness, this must be destroyed).”
In the conversation about being a cultural worker, Bien remembers one of his former students at Ateneo, Emmanuel F. Lacaba. “Bilang aktibista, palaging absent ‘yan (As an activist, he would always skip classes),” he jokes. Bien urges the young writers to look at the life of Eman, a writer who went through different phases in life, but ultimately sacrificed himself struggling with the masses “Nagsimulang estudyante sa Pilipinas, naging skolar sa Estados Unidos, bumalik sa bansa na dala pa rin ang damdamin ng isang malayang manunulat, naging hippie sa maikling panahon, ngunit nang nagbabago na ang pulitika sa Pilipinas, nawala na lang siya bigla, nasa kabundukan na pala, kasama ang masa (He started as a student in the Philippines, became a scholar in the US, came back here, became a hippie for a brief time, and, in the midst of a brewing political storm, suddenly disappeared. He was found in the countryside, with the masses),” he says. “Siya ay kakilakilabot na halimbawa ng kabataang manunulat at manunula na binago ang kanyang buhay at pagpapahalaga, at inuukol ang kanyang sarili sa pagtulong sa karaniwang mamamayan, sa mga magsasaka, at manggagawa sa kanayunan (He is a glaring example of a young writer/poet who radically changed his life, and offered himself in service of the masses, the farmers, and the workers in the countryside).”