It is not to take revenge, or to punish, or to try to recapture a sense of correctness, for divine violence need not be imbued with such meanings to be able to register the wretchedness of this world.
A few days ago I readily accepted an invitation to serve as host of the special Davao screening of the independent film “Tu Pug Imatuy”, or “A Right to Kill” by Mindanawon director Arbi Barbosa. An entry in famed director Brillante Mendoza’s Sinag Pilipinas Film Festival, the story follows a Manobo family ripped apart by the sudden entrance of military forces into their community.
Once we are trapped within the frames of this fantasy, the only way to go about it is to either amuse ourselves upon the command of Western capitalism or become critical readers of media texts who can put forth a position that not all popular are relevant, and, not all relevant are known and popular.
It was supposed to be a routine medical mission, so much so that we didn’t think twice about saying farewell to some our colleagues and students from UP Mindanao who were scheduled to leave the site a day later than we were.
More and more sectors, groups and individuals—and oh, a considerable number of the lawmakers in Congress!—have expressed their calls to President Duterte to resume the scuttled Peace Talks. They lament the squandered chance of this nation’s lifetime!