Among all
the usual series we see on television (by this I mean too
melodramatic), one TV program is finally worth the following. Bayan Ko, directed by award-winning
indie filmmaker Adolf Alix, Jr., is an original groundbreaking series of GMA
News TV that represents the political and social conditions of contemporary Philippines
rendered in the micro-level perspective happening in the fictional town of
Lagros.
Either it
be a political drama or just, well, pure drama, we can always observe in all
Philippine TV programs the clash between social classes— proving true the words
of James Madison that the “most common and durable source of faction has been
the various and unequal distribution of property.” For him, the haves and the
have-nots both form their own distinct interest in society.
Indeed,
the Marxist notion asserting that society shapes our consciousness explains how social and economic spheres affect what we are and
what we value.
Upon his installment
to office, idealistic Mayor Joseph Santiago (Rocco Nacino) faced a lot of problems. For
one, he immediately found out about the wrongful actions of some municipal
employees such as bribery and illicit use of government property. His other dilemmas were the proliferation of illegal gambling or “jueteng” and illegal logging. Obviously, Joseph's major problem is political dynasty led by Governor Antonio Rubio (Pen Medina), a corrupted politician.
In any
unequal society, we see in the superstructure that the base is always the
densest. The dominant class or the bourgeoisie is at the top exploiting what
the working class has produced. Yes, the poor is getting poorer while the rich
is getting richer.
Mayor
Joseph refuses to receive special treatment. He would still choose to commute to work without bodyguards,
sweep the ground around the municipal hall, and personally visit depressed areas against threats. Real public service, indeed!
What the
citizens of Lagros need is freedom from the monopolizing power of the
Rubios. As expected, Governor Antonio has “cronies,” one of them his mistress, to make sure unlawful negotiations with money-hungry associates are accomplished.
On a lighter and comical note, Bayan Ko has this, for lack of a better word, "cute" love team (Go Team KarTon!) in the persons of Congressman Anton Rubio (Ping Medina) and Atty. Karen Canlas (LJ Reyes), Mayor Joseph's smart and loyal chief of staff. The third episode of the series showed Karen
confronting Anton for his pathetic lip service and his popularity as top absentee in the congress. Karen apparently showed her disinterest on Anton's good-for-nothing life. However, we later on
see how Anton, through his own little ways, tries to redeem himself from
becoming a croc like his father. How? He starts off attending congressional
sessions.
Bayan Ko
mirrors the real proceedings in the Philippine political landscape— the
corrupted politicians and their schemes, especially during election where their faces on posters (and wherever they could paste it) are all over the place. Add to this the crooked road works, the
glossy effect of deceitful charity, and the greed for power. All of these
personal interests to acquire more property while snatching the rights and
stealing the taxes of the poor are indeed a microcosm of reality.
What is
alarming is how the dominant class takes advantage of the poor by
letting them do the dirty work for them; thereby making these poor folks
believe that their own ways to get money justify their ends to survive
poverty. As long as they could feed themselves, they’re fine with
it. This total portrayal of what is happening today is what Bayan Ko wants to achieve so the series
can serve as an eye-opener for everybody— to inspire the wanna-be’s and to set
an example to those who are already elected, especially now that the senatorial/ mayoral election is very near.
Mayor
Joseph values honesty and responsibility in his personal and professional life.
He truly understands the
hand-to-mouth existence of his people. Sadly, Lagros is facing so many problems on education
(lack of classrooms, teaching materials, and trainings), livelihood
(unemployment, low investments, small wages), health (malnutrition, lack of
medical facilities), and environment (illegal logging, pollution). If we'd look a little closer, the problems that are driving this town mad are the same issues that the country is facing right now.
The young mayor believes that honesty, hard work, and goodwill should be on top to help Lagros ascend to progress. If only the oppressed would collectively stand
against injustice and assert their
personal rights, they’d learn that the world can be fair after all. Meanwhile, the
greedy and chauvinistic Governor Rubio and the other “trapos” must brace themselves for
an upcoming awakening. A revolution in the public's state of mind. This may or may not be the kind of protest
they do in the streets but this revolution would definitely mean a change in ideology and values of the masses.
*I do not own the photos used in this blog. No intention of copyright infringement.
