Poetry and English in Marikina

Thank heavens for great friends like Jimmy Abad. That he’s an excellent poet and a superb reader of poetry – in more ways than one – is sheer gravy.

Some weeks back I received an invite from the Public Information Office of Marikina City to participate in a poetry reading event at the Kapitan Moy Galleria. Having agreed to participate, I looked forward to the evening, especially upon hearing that the audience would be composed mostly of English school teachers, and that the activity woud help launch Marikina’s "Speak English" campaign.

Now, most everyone in the big bad metropolis who cares about proper governance have heard of how Marikina has turned into a model city for the rest of MegaloManila – thanks to its no-nonsense trash collection, consistent cleanliness and beautification programs, unarguably the most sanitary and pleasant-looking public market in the country, and various other manifestations of political will such as has been sorely lacking in the rest of the country.

A thriving shoe and bag industry continues to make a name for the city. But recent years have seen other crowning achievements that have become the envy of other constituencies. Its riverbank attractions have been a delight for the superb recreational features and facilities. Its streets are safe and reek of nothing else but a sense of discipline and order, its sidewalks cleared of vendors and other obstructions.

Clearly, what Marikina enjoyed over the past decade was inspired and strong leadership. Invariably we got wind of the folksy practicality and can-do attitude of former Mayor Bayani Fernando. A friend who had attended an MMDA meeting some years back regaled us with an anecdote on how the gathering appeared stumped over the problem of insistent jaywalkers, when then-Mayor Fernando laconically suggested layering island dividers with dirty grease. The quaint if pragmatic proposal drew chuckles but failed to gain approval, perhaps due to aesthetic or human-rights considerations. But it spoke volumes of how this particular Hizzoner arrived at charming solutions to age-old urban connundrums.

Now, we’re not exactly keen on political dynasties, so that when our own mayor in Pasig bequeathed his post to his wife during the last elections, we were at best nonchalant over the tradition of conjugal torch-passing. Soon enough, we thought, Ortigas Avenue would be redug, and repaved anew, even if the stretch appealed to the if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it dictum. Or if a portion did indeed demand resurfacing, why, we’d remember, wasn’t it during the former Mayor’s term that it had already seen rehab?

Well, Mrs. Eusebio still has to follow her husband‚’s seasonal Ortigas-redux projects. But what she’s recently initiated is a dubious lamppost enhancement ek-ek that features a large letter E on each side of a buttressed, quadrilateral base. No, we can’t suppose that we’re being reminded of the Environment, Ecology, Euphoria or Ecstacy.

Getting back to the city we envy, somehow we didn’t mind it much that Mrs. Marides Fernando succeeded her husband as mayor. Not only were we inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt; we also wondered if it was high time for a constitutional provision that would have a successful mayor, upon serving his term, take over another city that begged for decency in leadership. Pasay and Caloocan quickly come to mind, of course.

Marikina appears to continue to benefit from the conjugal transfer, if the forward-looking policies are any indication, such as this English-proficiency thrust. It was another reason why we readly accepted the invitation, which read thus:

"This is a pilot program of our public library in its efforts to support our city’s campaign to improve the facility of our students in speaking the English language, as we continue to get more involved in the global community. The event will be a reading of English poems written by Filipino authors which we have entitled Marikina Echoes Filipino Sentiments. Among the other readers who will be with you are movie, stage, Radio/TV artist Boots Anson-Roa; Mr. Ed Sicam from the Philippine Daily Inquirer; Ms. Ruth Guhit, an independent continuity announcer and copywriter; and Ms. Agnes Caballa, a long-time resident of Marikina and co-organizer of our program.

"Our audience will be composed of Marikina’s English teachers, Marikina City officials led by Rep. Del de Leon and Mayor Marides Fernando, the leaders of the eight Rotary Clubs of Marikina, and other civic and business leaders of the city. There will be a cocktail reception that’s scheduled at 5:30 p.m., and program time will be at 7 p.m."

The letter was signed by Millette Lorenz, Cluster Head, Public Information & Education.

The event was held last Monday. Most unfortunately, what I still suspect to be a pinched-nerve condition in mid-thigh was aggravated by severe rolfing conducted by my regular masochist, er, masseur. In brief, my days turned horizontal over the weekend. Would Marikina’s English teachers and public officials find it acceptable for me to read two or three poems while lying supine on a foldable bon-bon cot? There were limits to enlightened leadership, I feared.

The day came and I still had trouble sitting up. Any attempt to go vertical met with excruciating pain and further loss of dignity. Time to call in the Marines lest I be branded a no-show.

A texted appeal to Kaibigang Jimmy, aka UP University Professor Dr Gémino H. Abad, drew quick acquiescence. Good old buddy. Yes, he’d be willing to accompany me to Marikina that evening, even proxy entirely for me at the reading should the idea of utilizing a prop of a folding cot collapses.

True enough, brave attempts to alight from a van and follow Jimmy to the second floor of the Kapitan Moy Galleria proved as futile as stopping Shaq with a pinch on a massive thigh. Jimmy had to go it alone. At least Marikina’s officialdom would be made aware that the original invitee "lay encumbered outside," in Jimmy’s own explication onstage, before he proceeded to read three poems by his incapacitated buddy.

Of course they called him back to read his own poetry, and from all accounts provided much delight for the appreciative audience, which also sat through a choir rendition and other musical numbers. The highlight of the program was Boots Anson-Roa’s reading of "To My Native Land" and "Filipina" by Trinidad Tarrosa Subido. Magnificent hats and shoes served as token gifts for the participants.

And when Jimmy Abad was presented to the mayor, merrily did he find occasion to remark how serendipitous it all was, even as he reminded Hon. Maridel Fernando of Kalayaan College’s proposal for the establishment of a Marikina English Institute for Global Competitiveness.

"Oh, yes," Mayor Fernando reportedly replied. "We’re studying it, and it looks very positive." Or words to that effect; can’t vouch for hearsay, since I was a distant witness to the affair, even as I enjoyed slouching inside the van for a good couple of hours, regaling in the stream of residents making paseo alongside the Our Lady of the Abandoned Church.

As far as I know, Kalayaan College was set up a year ago by the banks of the Marikina River, under the academic leadership of former UP President Jose Abueva, with such stakeholders as Jimmy Abad himself, along with other distinguished professors such as Dr. Thelma Kintanar.

And now the college’s thrusts apparently dovetail with its host city’s own. The following day we asked Dr. Kintanar to fill us in on the interesting proposal. Here’s part of it.

"Recognizing that English language proficiency is the key to global competitiveness, the Marikina City Government has recently launched a ‘Speak English’ campaign. This initiative has been favorably reported in the region by the prestigious Straits Times of Singapore.

"Similarly, Kalayaan College (KC), since its inception, has recognized the importance of English not just for academic learning, but for communicating and accessing knowledge and information globally... English proficiency... is strongly linked to our progress as a nation, in fact, to our very survival in a highly competitive global economy.

"Accordingly, KC offers a strong English program both in its regular degree courses and in continuing education courses focused on acquiring language proficiency. At the same time, it promotes proficiency in Filipino as a required skill in communicating among Filipinos. KC believes that Filipinos should be doubly empowered by learning more than one language so that they can compete effectively in both local and global contexts.

"Considering itself a part of the Marikina community and wishing to help all it can to aid its development, Kalayaan College proposes that the Marikina City Government and Kalayaan College join forces by creating an English Institute which will offer a range of English proficiency courses designed to suit the needs of Marikina residents."

Well and good, then. This augurs well for the future of a constituency that already enjoys the benefits of good governance. During the evening of poetry, Mayor Fernando had announced the imminent opening of the city’s own cultural center – Teatro Marikina. The project is seen to enhance Marikina’s sustained effort to become the center of cuture in Metro East.

Soon the lady mayor will be inviting other poets and writers for more readings, and thus share with her constituency the experience of "cultural revisiting and rediscovery."

All roads, it would seem, lead to Marikina City, soon a haven and center for English proficiency, poetry, and other model modules of enlightenment.