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THEY call Metro Manila imperial, because it is the seat of power.
Filipinos may be forgiven if they feel that they are actually ruled
by Metro Manila because it is the backbone of the National Capital
Region. Because it is the center of the latest developments in
communication, Metro Manila is also the source of vital information.
And since information is a vital resource, it is no wonder that
Metro Manila is the seat of government, the major consumer of
information. It may still be true that power emanates from the
barrel of a gun but in our more sophisticated times it may actually
come from the maws of mass media.
Manila, of course, is not the Philippines. But
what Manila believes more often becomes the belief of the nation
because as the main seat and source of information, the people of
Manila have a more reliable basis for their collected opinion.
In Manila, it is a given that everyone believes
in the rule of law; that there are certain procedures that must be
followed in the system of justice before one accused of a crime may
be declared guilty or not. It is one of those universal principles
everyone is expected to respect.
This is where our modernist attitudes and
dependence on the scientific method falls in the face of the
postmodern reality paradigm. Modernism and postmodernism are, as
Prof. Florentino H. Hornedo says, “incommensurable, and cannot be
measures of each other. If (modernism) is rooted in a way of knowing
aimed at as supposed objectivity, the latter is a ‘whole way of
life’ concerned mainly with the meaning of things for me, and the
hope that my meaning is allowed or tolerated, or even shared by
others in my world.
“Each individual has a story (narrative) of
himself, and he also creates a narrative account of the world he
encounters. Everyone therefore has a narrative account of the world
and everyone is an actor in his own story for which reason no one is
ever objective. Each one is embedded in his narrative world. And
each one acts in accord with his own story, and this is the root of
possible conflict with others who have a different account of the
world. This is evident among witnesses who have differing accounts
of an event in a court of law. It is also the case with religion.
Catholics and Protestants, for example, differ in their accounts of
Christianity.”
Or Catholic bishops, whether they should ask for
the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo or not. Or
former presidents such as Corazon C. Aquino and Joseph Estrada
against Fidel Ramos on the same question.
Professor Hornedo continues: “The possible
consequences of such a perspective of the human world is a matter of
concern because of the conflict potential it has intrinsically. But
its overt avowal of the subjective narratives forewarns against
imposition of one’s narrative on the others, making mutual
tolerance of differences a social or community necessity.
“The important point to note with regards to
postmodern reality-frame is that our understanding of the
world-out-there is in the form of signifier (the text of our story)
signifying a signified (our concept of the world-out-there), But
since the signifier and signified are different, our understanding
of the world (our ‘reality’) is never the same as the
world-out-there. Our reality or ‘truth’ is our personally
mediated account of it. So, when we communicate to others (media
included) any of our understanding of the world, we are merely
communicating our interpretation of it—our meaning. And since we
communicate with words and other forms of signifiers, the words do
not convey the world-out-there. Thus our speech and
writing—including literature (and news)—have no referent outside
themselves. These are constructs which are open to reading as
‘text’ where text is understood as anything open to
meaning-construction.”
Take the text saying that “16 percent of Metro
Manila folk are willing to join rallies against the NBN deal; 53
percent will support but not join and 31 percent will not join, will
not support.”
Pulse Asia has produced other “texts” in
response to other questions. If we assume the premise that Metro
Manila is the Philippines, can we really say that those seeking the
resignation of President Macapagal Arroyo could mount a people power
demonstration on the NBN issue to force her to leave?
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