konklusyon

I had my share of activism in my student days, especially since I grew up in a place that was comparable to the Old American West, a considerably freer place than the more "civilized" East. I had my share of marching with banners, of circulating petitions and publishing activist articles. I remember singing Gary Granada's "Pamantasan ng Puso" (College of the Heart) in protest against proposed tuition fee increase and widespread corruption in my alma mater.

But Buklod's songs were another story. They were sung only in secret, by people "in the know", because they were viewed as "hardcore". "Kanlungan" was a revolutionary love song, an idealist's anthem. And "Tatsulok" was the ultimate call to arms. (See my own English translations in the next post.)

Then somebody revived "Kanlungan" a few years ago and eased it into the mainstream. And now, no less than uber-patriotic Bamboo, the same Bamboo who gave us the Pinoy Pride "Noypi" and the uplifting "Hallelujah", covered not only "Tatsulok" but several other Buklod songs, and brought "Tatsulok" to the top of the music charts.

"Tatsulok" means "triangle", although the correct meaning in this instance would be "pyramid". It refers to the eternal pyramid where the many poor form the base and the few rich are the point at the top, and calls for someone to reverse the pyramid and place the poor on top.

It reminds me of Bob Dylan and "Blowing in the Wind" and all those other protest songs that became popular in an era that needed change.

And I wonder if all of those who helped take my old anthems to the top of the charts merely did so because it was the "in" thing to do, or if they knew what those songs were really saying: that it's time for a change, for everyone to unite and make a difference.


The message of the song, reflects the filipinos now’s present stature. I think the message is giving us a clue [ us, youth ] on how the philippine Government reassures their govern only for “Rich people” and to think about the poor they only reassure the “HOUSING” of poor people[in such manner, nothing is improving w/ the Housing things(programs)]. But many government projects also did help the poor but to compare the governments govern to rich people alot of rich people get more benefits than the poor so that the government officials would earn such money and to think about the wealth of the government officials[thats life..]…
“Concentrating on the song: the song gave me a clue when the next generation [us] to lead the government, we youngsters should not depend on the example showed by the officials of the government now.. but we [us, youth] should lead this country not only for rich people but also the poor.. nevermind if we don’t earn alot if we only care for the poor but we should govern EQUALLY and UNIQUELY.. We should be PERSISTENT in dealing with the poor people… The song TATSULOK gives a wonderful meaning in each and every mind of the youth leading towards LEADERSHIP in a few more years.

tatsulok- a reminder to all concern citizens, be responsible in your chose of leaders. as you vote in every national and local elections, be wise…dont let money guide our choice..let us reverse the triangle…corrupts government official should be place under the triangle and give way to the new breed of politians who is young and idealistics. whose platform of government is to serve the welfare of the people….let us start reversing the “tatsulok”…halleluea!!!!

And if one of these enlightened listeners researches the history of the song, and is further enlightened, then the song has done its job. Some young person, somewhere, will know what "Tatsulok" is all about, and will be guided by his conscience to work for the day when "Tatsulok" becomes a historical record, rather than a prevailing comment on Philippine society.

To those of you who may not know the roots of this song, it was written in the 1980’s, during President Aquino’s time. It was right after the first People Power uprising, and even if Marcos was ousted in a peaceful manner, the country was still pretty much in turmoil. The countryside found the military and the anti-communist vigilante groups on one side, the New People’s Army on the other side, and the civilians in the middle. Things were really ugly, and the song inspired many an activist to fight for justice and meaningful change.

Given the height of military activity and anti-communist vigilante groups like the Alsa Masa in the countryside during the 80’s, it wasn’t hard for civilians to be caught in the crossfire. It’s said that history has a way of repeating itself. In this case, the saying is right. The same thing is happening now, left-wing activists and journalists across the country are being murdered one by one, and there was even the point where almost one activist was killed every day.

The Melo Commission, in it’s recently submitted report to Malacañang, recommended that retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan and other military commanders be held responsible for the executions of left-wing militants under the doctrine of command responsibility. However it still virtually absolved the military, saying that the killings were done by “elements” within the military’s ranks, without the knowledge of their commanding officers, and didn’t even recommend the filing of any cases against Palparan and his colleagues. That in effect puts the lives of missing UP Diliman students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, in jeopardy as eye witnesses attribute their kidnapping to the military. They’ve been missing for almost a year now, and no one knows where they are. I can only pray that they’re okay, and that Sherlyn, who was pregnant at the time of her abduction, wasn’t forced to give her baby up or something.

In the latter parts, the song is literally enjoining the people to put a stop to what’s happening. Back in the 80’s it was stirring up people to rise up together and put an end to the injustice in society. The message of the song now is pretty much the same, the social conditions are still pretty much the same, and Bamboo’s revival couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. With the advent of things such as cellphones, the iPod, and the internet, today’s youth are more apathetic than their 80’s counterparts.

Let’s just hope that the song isn’t just limited to the radiowaves, or to some punk concert. It’s a good thing Bamboo gives some justice to the Tatsulok, with the rousing melody and the seeming anger in the way he sang it. At least this popular song among activist circles won’t be end up the same way as Buklod’s Kanlungan, which landed at a McDonald’s commercial, and instead of it having a “revolutionary flavor,” was “downgraded” to a mere mushy song.