Former Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) vice president and artistic director Nanding Josef has made his views on cultural imperialism known. Now the veteran stage actor and art activist also speaks about economic imperialism, expressing fear that ordinary Filipinos will be heavily burdened by the global financial crisis.

BY NOEL SALES BARCELONA
Correspondent
Bulatlat

Former Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) vice president and artistic director Nanding Josef has made his views on cultural imperialism known. Now the veteran stage actor and art activist also speaks about economic imperialism, expressing fear that the ordinary Filipinos will be heavily burdened by the global financial crisis.

He even described Filipinos as “kawawang-kawawa” (very pitiful) due to the government’s lack of preparation for countering the crisis and its dependence on the “help” of stronger countries like the US.

“Kawawa tayo kasi, ang malalaking bansa, kahit pa sabihing magkakaroon sila ng problema, magkakaroon ng tanggalan ng mga trabahador, being rich as they are, maraming reserves ang mga ‘yan eh! Makagagawa agad sila ng solusyon sa mga problema nila” (We are pitiful because the big economies, though they’ll be having problems too and will experience lay offs of workers, being rich as they are, have more reserves than we do. They can implement solutions to their problems immediately), Josef said in an interview.

US President Barack Obama had earlier announced that his administration’s economic stimulus package can reach an astounding US$1 trillion as the US economic crisis could go deeper next year.

In the Philippines, the Arroyo administration also announced its own stimulus plan worth P330 billion (US$6.999 billion), intended to keep the local economy running.

Blame it on globalization, loan dependence

However, Josef was skeptical about the ability of the government to save the already 9.4 million Filipino families living in penury and deep hunger from the effects of the crisis.

“Ang problema sa atin, dahil nga rin sa globalization, parang we become dependent also on the global economy or the partnership with the rich countries. Utang tayo nang utang! Dahil sila naman, nagpapautang, of course, for the reason dahil malaki rin ang profit nila” (Our problem is that due to globalization, it seems, we became too dependent on the global economy and on partnership with rich countries. We are very dependent on loans! The rich countries, on one hand, they keep providing us with loans, of course for the reason that they also profit a lot from it), he explained.

“Pero, in the end, wala [tayong napapala]. Baon tayo sa utang. Hindi rin tayo nakakaangat” (In the end, we end up with nothing. We are buried in debt. We are unable to progress), laments Josef.

Cultural imperialism is also to blame

Cultural imperialism also has something to do also with the Philippines situation, Josef said.

“Parang tinuruan tayo na i-appreciate na naman ‘yong magaling sa kanila, ‘yong negosyo nila, na kikita supposedly tayo, pero of course, mas malaki ang kita nila… ‘Yong labor natin, lagi na lang mura. Tapos marami silang research ukol sa kung paano solusyunan ang mga problema… tayo, wala” (We are taught to appreciate, again, what’s good for them (imperialist countries), their businesses which would supposedly benefit us but which of course benefit them more. And they have many researches about how to solve their own problems, while we don’t), he explained.

Self-sufficiency: the answer to current and future crisis

He said the Philippines must learn how to stand on its own.

“Ang kailangan talaga, self-sufficiency. Kasi ang laki ng ating likas na yaman; ang dami nating lupa, ang dami pa nating puwedeng magawa sa loob ng bansa. Pero, I think, ang national consciousness, especially the national leadership, parang palabas nang palabas [o kailangang dumepende sa tulong mula sa labas]… So, I think, ang nangyayari ngayon is an example of a situation na sana ay hindi nangyari kung mas marami pa tayong ginawang efforts toward self-sufficiency” (We need self-sufficiency. We have rich natural resources; we have a lot of land. There is so much we can do here. But I think the national consciousness, especially of the national leadership, is that everything should go outward (or that we need to depend on outside help). So I think what is happening now is an example of a situation which would not have taken place if we had exerted more efforts toward self-sufficiency), Josef said.

“Naisip ko lang, parang hindi tayo makaalis sa dependence sa ibang bansa. I don’t know if it is natural and a logical tendency, pero maybe I can answer the question of how to solve the financial crisis, by posing another question: ‘Yun na lang ba ang tanging paraan para mag-progress tayo as a nation? Or are there other ways and means of making our country more independent, more creative, more sufficient, more empowered? Parang ang baba-baba ng self-esteem natin. Kapag walang tulong sa labas, hindi tayo uunlad. Parang hindi tama ‘yon. Parang mali” (I just thought, it seems that we cannot break away from dependence on other countries. I don’t know if it’s natural and a logical tendency, but perhaps I can answer the question of how to solve the financial crisis by posing another question: Is dependence is the only way for us to progress as a nation? Or are there other ways and means of making our country more independent, more creative, more sufficient, and more empowered? It seems that our self-esteem is very, very low. If there’s no outside help, we cannot grow. There is something wrong with that attitude), he added.