The Ressa-lute truth

While the path in fiction blazed by the likes of Jessica Hagedorn and F. Sionil Jose are now traversed by a host of new young Filipino writers getting their works published in the US, it’s not often that a Filipino-penned work of non-fiction gets a major publishing house nod. So kudos to the indefatigable CNN Jakarta Bureau Chief Maria Ressa for getting her Seeds of Terror optioned by Simon and Schuster. A couple of months ago, Maria was doing the book tour route, traveling to New York, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles, and in mid-December she finally reached Manila, to do some promoting right here at home.

At Fully Booked at the Power Plant, Rockwell, I had a chance to talk with Maria. Just to show you how astute a reporter she is, her face lit up as I approached and she asked, "Philip, right?" It was some two years ago that I interviewed her for People Asia, and other than that one afternoon encounter, it’s been zilch.

The Seeds of Terror is a culmination of years of research Maria has done on terrorism, the Al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia. Two basic arguments emerge: One, the West has to understand that it is not simply a matter of good guys (the Allied forces of the USA, etc.) against the bad guys (represented by Bin Laden and his ilk). While perception in the West sees it that way, the Muslim world does not, and it’s not a given that the rest of the Muslim world supports the West persecuting these radical Muslims. In fact, the West may be playing into the hands of these radicals, creating sympathy for the radicals among the majority of moderate Muslims.

Secondly, within Southeast Asia, the reality has to be faced. These terrorists are among us, entrenched within society to a degree we may not be aware of, or are in denial about. To think that we, the Philippines, are not a target or that we merely exist on the fringes, defies all the intelligence reports Maria has gathered throughout the years. Too many coincidences crop up when these reports are put side by side with reports from Indonesian intelligence. We may not be primary targets, but we certainly fit the bill when it comes to recruiting, testing theories and tactics, or being sites for dry runs.

Maria admitted that it was a bleak picture she was painting over the Christmas season. Saddam may have been captured, but Bin Laden still remains elusive and to think the "War" is over would be foolhardy. Information is the key to combating terrorism and to this day, she rues how good intelligence never reaches the upper echelons of government and that cooperation between countries is so poor. These terrorists do not recognize such national boundaries and it’s to our ultimate regret that we fail to recognize that.

It’s a gripping read – as coincidence on top of coincidence piles up, we see how the pattern emerges, and just how entwined we are with all that’s transpiring on the stage of terrorism.

Bee-ing, with a silver lining

Twenty-five years! In real time, that may not seem all that much. There are trees and turtles that have lived for much longer. And yet, as a denizen of this fair (or is it "un-fair"?) country, it’s difficult to think back to a time when the ubiquitous orange Jollibee did not hover as a fixture of our buzz-ing urban landscape.

Sure, the hamburger is not some traditional Filipino repast, but if one speaks of our Americanization, of our ingrained colonial mentality, then Jollibee stands as a staunch bastion of "sweet cultural revenge" – the Filipinization of Mom, apple pie (thanks to sayote?) and hotdog. Who knows, in time, the pancit palabok will emerge as "the noodle dish" that can globally compete with ramen, soba and spaghetti.

To celebrate its silver anniversary, Jollibee commissioned Krip Yuson to help put out a coffee-table book. Entitled A 25 Year Love Story with the Pinoy, it has specially written poems, articles, essays on every facet of the Jollibee empire. To customize the phrase, it’s a "hive and seek" of anything and everything you may have wanted to know about Jollibee.

Asked to write about the plethora of celebrities that have lent their names to the franchise, I contributed "To Bee or Not to Bee" (with my apologies to William Shakespeare). It’s a fun excursion through the world of product endorsing and how Jollibee has embraced Filipino socio-cultural values and show business personalities to create a very savvy marketing campaign. When others tried to sound or look American, Jollibee went out of its way to use Tagalog. When others would import food ideas, Jollibee would transform local fare into regular Jollibee items.

And recently, Jollibee took that all-important step to developing as a global brand, opening franchises in Daly City, California, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, and so on. While they wisely looked for locations where a built-in Filipino community would provide immediate support, this is not to say that they have not made the effort to assimilate and still be(e) of appeal to each location’s indigenous populace.

Truly a testament to Bee-ing Filipino and yet Bee-ing global.

Three’s a crowd, four and more is a political photo-op

Looking back at 2003, if there’s one photo that for me will exemplify the kind of promise, or disaster, the specter of FPJ promises, it’ll be the photo that hit the front pages with all these politicos – Imee Marcos, Jejomar Binay, Johnny Ponce Enrile, Tito Sotto, etc. – all expressing support for Ronnie. Excuse me, but wasn’t there something a touch bizarre about this picture? Am I wrong or shouldn’t the photo just have been captioned "Strange Political Bedfellows"?

If this wasn’t an extreme case of "Opportunity Knocks" or "Let’s Get Behind the Winner," I don’t know what is. These are all very savvy politicians, yet they were ready to throw their support for a candidate who at that time had not announced any platform, or made clear his positions on any of the burning issues facing our nation. Seems "winnable" will get you everyone and the kitchen sink anytime.

Will Ronnie really be the "healer" we all hope he’ll be? Or will he end up stuck in the morass of politicking? As such an untested commodity, will he rely on, not just a Cabinet, but an aparador-ful of advisers, all with their own matching agendas? Me, I can only pray that if he’s really what our people will vote for, he lives up to the expectations and hopes we’ve pinned on his shoulders. Anything less would spell disaster.

(E-mail me at peopleasia@qinet.net)