Blog Entry #4 - The Dark Side of Art in the Philippines


Hidden Agendas

  The art scene in the Philippines has grown significantly throughout the years. A huge part of this growth came from the establishment of different museums or art galleries that can be accessed by the people. One of these galleries is the Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG)--which notably houses different donated artworks, including some art pieces procured by Filipino tycoons--that enables many people to see these artworks. However, there is no such thing as free in this capitalism-laden society as these acts of generosity by these rich people are only acts that will further advance their money-making agendas.

    The article "176 Gifts/ 176 Dispossessions" written by Angelo Suarez and Donna Miranda further dissect and divulge how the donations in disguise made by these rich people are actually connected to the economic and violence issues in the country. First, the article provided some background on the establishment of AAG, starting from Fernando Zobel who started the trend of donating different artworks to the gallery. Eventually, many philanthropists, rich businessmen and personalities followed suit in this act of donating. Well, at first there seems to be nothing suspicious with their acts. However, taking a little bit of further research about these people's background revealed that these people were able to do these acts since their families came from and/or benefitted from the previous colonizers of our country.

    For example, the forefather of AAG in Zobel was revealed to have Spanish roots. This implies that the reason why he has the ability to be "generous" enough to donate different art pieces has some connection to the centuries of torment and abuse experienced by many Filipinos under the despotic rule of the Spaniards. Certainly, after knowing this from the article, without his roots, will Zobel still donate and contribute in the AAG?

    Now that it was revealed that Zobel, one of the wealthy figure in the Philippines, a little bit of research is all it needs to expose other prominent Filipino tycoons heavily involved in the art scene in the Philippines, consequently being involved in different issues in the country as well.


Unithieves

    The recently concluded 2022 National Elections, believed to be the pivotal point of the post-pandemic Philippines for the next six years, has shown figures coming from prominent families winning in the national poll. 

Den of Thieves (The Marcoses)

    
               Retrieved from: Why the Marcos family is so infamous in the Philippines - BBC News

    Of course, the Marcos family is the main component of this list. Being infamous for splurging national funds and thousands of Filipino experiencing abuse or torture under Ferdinand Marcos Sr.'s regime, this family holds a fair share of involvement when it comes to art and exploitation. Marcos Sr.'s wife, Imelda Marcos, is known as someone who loves to collect art and collect expensive things in general. There is nothing wrong with this hobby. However, Imelda's, or the Marcoses in general, funds came from the national budget. Imagine spending national money just for the sake of buying personal things while many of the Filipinos that time are malnourished. The high number of malnourished people in the Philippines became the reason why the USAID provided the Nutribun (a nutritious bread) in the Philippines during the Marcos regime. Ironically, though, the Marcoses are audacious enough to claim that the said program was their initiative.


            Retrieved from: Where Are Imelda’s (the People’s) Jewels Today? — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora
    
To hide the blatant acts of corruption during the Marcos regime, they would initiate building loan-driven infrastructures. From roads to different buildings, the Marcoses utilized this trend so that the amount they are spending may be justified, even though the construction of these infrastructures left a huge debt for the Philippines, i.e. the Filipino people to pay. One noticeable building that was created under the Marcos administration was the Manila Film Center. With the initiative of promoting the Filipino culture globally, the creation of the Manila Film Center led to one of the most gruesome events that happened in the country. Seeking to reach an impossible date of completion of three months, many workers were forced to do shifting works 24/7 just to meet the deadline. However, as the structures and foundation of the building was not given the time to develop fully, the scaffolding in the building eventually collapsed, trapping and burying many Filipinos on the ground. Despite the tragic accident, many rumors even say that Imelda Marcos ordered to just create a new layer of cement immediately, implying that those buried due to the accident would not be retrieved anymore.


Due to the abuse and brutalities under the Marcos regime for two decades, the Filipino people finally decided to take back the power they granted the Marcoses during the fateful day in 1986, where the first People Power Revolution happened. Seeing the imminent danger for them, the Marcos fled the country, allowing democracy to return to the Philippines after two decades.

However, in a shocking turn of events, the Marcoses are back at the helm of the country after the late dictator Marcos Sr.'s namesake, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., managed to win the presidential election in a landslide victory, which seems to imply that the Filipinos have forgotten the brutalities and abuses they experienced during Martial Law. After Marcos Jr.'s victory, his mother Imelda--who avoided being imprisoned due to her seven counts of graft since she was found to have many ailments--is back like nothing ever happened. After years of laying low, the Marcos matriarch is now audacious enough to conduct interviews and flaunt different paintings as her background. In fact, one of the recently seen painting in her background was one of the Picasso paintings that the Presidential Commission on Good Governance (PCGG) declared missing when they are retrieving some of the items proven to be ill-gotten by the Marcoses. After receiving backlash, the current presidential family simply ended the discourse by saying that the painting was only a replica.


Retrieved from: Online Sleuths Just Spotted a Rather Suspicious-Looking Picasso Painting Above Imelda Marcos’s Sofa | Artnet News

    Adding to this, many members of the Marcos family is holding a governmental position. For example, the current president's son, Sandro Marcos, a neophyte House Representative member, was immediately relegated as senior deputy majority leader. The current president's cousin, Martin Romualdez, was delegated as the House Speaker. Just from that, imagine the amount of influence the Marcoses has on different government sectors. If that was not enough, Marcos Jr.'s sister Imee Marcos is also a current senator in the country. Imee Marcos, in particular, seems to use her current position and power in order to twist the narratives about their family. During the campaign period of the recently concluded elections, Imee took part in some directed videos--taking jabs and tirades to Leni Robredo who defeated Marcos Jr. in 2016 for the Vice President position. Despite Marcos Jr.'s victory, Imee continues her actions. This time, a director who seems to collude with Imee went beyond as they even created a film about the Marcoses' remaining days in office before the People Power Revolution happened. Based on some trailers and reviews, the movie was bold enough to portray the Marcoses as the ones who were victimized by the revolution--even though it is the right of the people to take back the power they bestowed to them back then.

    The years of effort by the Marcoses to paint their own narratives managed to deceive many Filipinos--especially those under poverty, which, ironically, was an aftermath of what the Marcoses has left on their initial rule. This time, even their power and influence seems to increase exponentially. However, hope is still not lost. As long as there are those who will use their voice and actively criticize all the wrongdoings under the new Marcos administration, all the power will not be claimed by the Marcoses. And, if ever, in the case that another abuse of power happened, the people can always claim what is rightfully theirs--the power of the people. 

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