Sunday, March 02, 2008

Artists' Statement (The Ingles Version)

Elmar Ingles, the artistic counterpoint of Ruben Tagalog, sent us our statement:

IBALIK ANG TOTOO!
Statement of Artists and Workers in Culture and the Media
on the Sorry State of the Filipino Nation's Leadership

The role of the artistic community in any society is to mirror life through artful expression of our heritage, vision, and soul. It does so by reflecting the truth as experienced, witnessed and lived in people's everyday lives. To alter or manipulate the reflection of the truth in an artistic work renders the artistic expression void of resonance and meaning. On a larger scale, falsehood also mis-shapes our core values and misrepresents our identities as a people.

Sadly today, our people are experiencing an orchestrated obstruction and manipulation of the truth. As artists and workers in culture and the media, we are appalled by the blatant disregard of our rights of access to the truth and the contemptuous attempt to mislead us from the truth. As the issues of legitimacy, massive corruption, charges of human rights violations and social injustice plaguing the Arroyo government are being unraveled, we are witnessing the unprecedented viciousness in manipulating the truth to subvert the public good.

We view this development with increasing alarm as it threatens the very fiber of our national survival. As agents of truth, we assert that our role as artists is inextricably linked with our people's struggle for freedom, justice, and democracy. Genuine national unity and progress can never be achieved without thorough understanding of our culture and identities, a respect for the diverse ways we express them and an appreciation of what is true of ourselves, our society and the world we live in. Now, more than ever, we must acknowledge and lend unequivocal support to the arts and culture sector as it plays an even more significant role in catalyzing our sense of nationhood.

As we seek an end to the culture of corruption in all facets of our national life, we demand the full accountability of all state instrumentalities and personalities involved in recent scams that assault the basic moral fiber of our people and deprive us of our basic rights...freedom of expression; relief from mass poverty; access to education, health care and livelihood opportunities; equitable application of justice; assurance of safety and security from unlawful arrests; and many other entitlements due us but have been deprived us as citizens of a democratic society. Not only must the Arroyo administration account for its breaches of governance; it must be purged of corrupt elements primarily responsible for its own destabilization.

We urge all Filipinos to act NOW before it is too late. Let us exercise vigilance in ensuring the accountability of our officialdom for their decisions and actions; diligence in pursuing exposure of the truth; and active and willful participation in defending the truth. We stand committed with the rest of the nation in demanding a new moral governance that will provide our country with a legitimate and morally upright leadership we can all be proud of.

Ang tunay na Filipino, nagsasabi ng totoo. Naglilingkod ng totoo, ipinaglalaban ang totoo. Sigaw ng bayan, ipagtanggol ang totoo!

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