No Sense of Country
March 31, 2005
By Gemma Cruz Araneta
There was something in that Manny Pacquiao fight that only my brother Ismael and I noticed. A die-hard pugilist fan since high school, he would hang around Flash Elorde’s gym in San Juan, where we grew up, to watch the legendary champion train.
I think it was Ismael and an ex-beau of mine who dragged me to see Flash Elorde pummel and knock out a foreign boxer (Mexican, I think) at the Araneta Coliseum, or was it the Rizal Memorial? I have had a mental block since then so I don’t remember; Elorde won but it was nonetheless a frightful experience.
Today, I can only watch snippets of this bloody sport on screen and through half-closed eyes. As always, Ismael has a way of saving in his memory file multitudinous details about Filipino champion fighters; he can rattle off titles defended and lost, weight and height, strengths and weaknesses, scores and records, even types of punches.
That is why I was surprised that my brother had time to notice the only detail of the Pacquiao/Morales fight that to me was worth remembering.
Here it is: The enormous delegation of Filipino politicians, assorted business men, sports enthusiasts, media personalities were led by no less than the First Gentleman. They were at ring side, in full force, showering adulation on Manny Pacquiao who exuded confidence. Someone was rabid enough to paint "Pacman" on the Filipino flag, defacing the national symbol, in blatant violation of the Flag law.
All through the fight they were shouting MANNY, MANNY, MANNY. The Mexicans (also with their share of elected officials) were rooting for Erik "El Terrible" Morales. They cheered wildly and passionately in true latino style. But, they were not hollering ERIK, ERIK, ERIK or MORALES, MORALES, MORALES. They were shouting MEXICO! MEXICO!! MEXICO!!!
It did not occur to any Filipino, not to a single congressman, not even to the husband of the Philippine president to cheer FILIPINAS! FILIPINAS!! FILIPINAS!!! My brother Ismael concluded that we Filipinos have no sense of country; sadly, I think he is right.
Last Monday, I was at the Mayor Oscar Rodriguez’s office in San Fernando, Pampanga so I asked him if he had seen the Manny Pacquiao fight. When he answered in the affirmative, I told him my "no sense of country" story.
He was pensive for a few seconds after which he said I was right, we do lack a "sense of country". I somehow connected the "no sense of country" to heritage conservation, as evidence of our weak national identity which can be strengthened by the preservation of our national patrimony.
I had been invited to represent the Heritage Conservation Society (HCS) at a city council committee hearing convened by Councilor B. Castro regarding the plan to demolish San Fernando’s famed landmark, the 85-year old water pylon, now menacingly called the "leaning tower".
On the way to Pampanga, I fetched Arch. R. Inovero of the National Historical Institute (NHI), at six thirty in the morning somewhere in Quezon City. How could I face that formidable committee alone? Although I might be able explain why that water tower should mot be demolished, only Arch. Inovero can give the technical wherewithal of heritage and historical conservation.
On a white board, he drew an eloquent sketch of how the "leaning tower" can be safely buttressed like similar cases in NHI’s list of achievements.
I hope the barangay leaders adopt the Inovero proposal to give the community time to ponder on how important it is to awaken a "sense of country."
83-year-old water tower gives dilemma to San Fernando folk
Philippine Daily Inquirer
March 19, 2005
By Tonette Orejas
A water tank is a water tank.
But when it is 83 years old, one of the few remaining American colonial structures in this Pampanga capital and leaning like Italy’s Tower of Pisa, what would you do with it?
The city tourism council wanted the structure preserved but the City of San Fernando Water District (CSFWD) and the village council of Barangay Lourdes wanted it demolished.
On Thursday, the city council stepped into the row when it began the first of three public consultations on the fate of what engineers here call "elevated, concrete water tank."
Used to be filled with 100,000 gallons, the tank signaled greater access to potable water. Through a system of pipes, water was delivered to homes and ended the reliance of many families on deep wells.
It was the first structure to supply water that way to this 251-year-old city, according to Jorge Gumba, CSFWD general manager.
Formerly managed by the defunct National Water and Sewerage Administration, the tank was decommissioned 10 years ago. Gumba said that was done on the recommendation of a British engineering consultant who found the structure unsafe.
Mt. Pinatubo’s eruptions in 1991 and the lahar flows in the aftermath of the disaster buried the tank’s base by less than 10 feet. The tank originally stood at 100 feet.
Today, it tilts several degrees to the southeast, towards the direction of the San Fernando Elementary School. The tank stands on a 2,000-square meter lot behind the school.
Gumba said its demolition was long due but was delayed by the rehabilitation of smaller alternative tanks and installation of new pipes.
Last week, however, the barangay council of Lourdes passed a resolution asking the city council to destroy the tank.
Village chief Osmundo Trinidad said it posed a threat to students in the school compound.
The village council, Trinidad said, also plans to build a barangay hall, a day care center and a multi-purpose court on the same lot.
But that would depend on the CSFWD’s decision on whether or not to lend the village some land for public use.
The CSFWD board of directors on Wednesday agreed to defer the demolition.
But the board, according to Gumba, did not want to take liability for any accident that may result from the preservation of the tank.
Gray and some parts moss-covered, it juts out in San Fernando’s landscape now dominated by advertising neon signs.
Fernando Santos, chief of the city’s tourism office, said the tourism council recognizes the issue of public safety and the need for public lands.
But conservation efforts, he said, need not be pitted against social needs.
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