Imperial Manila

Imperial Manila is a pejorative epithet used by sectors of Philippine society and non-Tagalog ethnic groups to express the idea that all the affairs of the Philippines—whether in politics, business or culture—are decided by what goes on in the capital region, Metro Manila without considering the needs of the rest of the country, largely because of centralized government and official Tagalism.[1] This sentiment is sometimes expressed by the proverb, "Not a leaf can fall in our country without Malacañang's permission."[lower-alpha 1]

History

It is unknown when the term was first used, but there are political writers, particularly those living outside Metro Manila, who associate this term with the People Power Revolution because it was believed that the country's former president, Ferdinand Marcos, was toppled from his position without the participation of Filipinos living in areas outside of the capital region. In an article published in Philippine Daily Inquirer, Amando Doronila wrote that:

“ People power movements have been an Imperial Manila phenomenon. Their playing field is EDSA. They have excluded the provincianos from their movement with their insufferable arrogance and snobbery...ignoring the existence of the toiling masses and peasants in agrarian Philippines.[3] ”

Uses

Politics

The term was used by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in her 2006 State of the Nation Address, which she said has "slowed down progress, has become open to over-competition and oppressed the provinces and its people".[4] It was because of the country's centralized government that provincial governments favor constitutional amendments for a shift to federal government, as well as supporting Arroyo and rejecting calls from Manila-based activist groups demanding for her resignation due to corruption charges particularly the Philippine National Broadband Network controversy.[5][6]

Local opinion polls have also been lambasted for solely sampling "Imperial Manila-based residents" when it comes to surveys that deal with nationwide issues.[7] Meanwhile, the term also appears in government websites such as those of the League of Provinces and the Province of Bohol.[8][9]

Economy

The skyline of Manila, decried by many Filipinos as "imperialist"

Officials of Mindanao-based rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front have blamed "Imperial Manila" for making the Muslim Mindanao region the poorest in the country, stating that "the consequence of neocolonialism has deprived our people to run themselves unfettered and unhampered." Government figures show that the region's poverty incidence in 2006 is at 55.3%, with three of its six provinces (namely Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur) listed among the country's ten poorest provinces.[10]

"Imperial Manila" is also used by many in the business sector in reference to the notion that advertising or marketing a product only requires a single campaign that would work in Mega Manila (another Manilacentric term used most frequently by the media), thinking that it would also attract customers in the provinces. Advertising agencies in Metro Manila are also faulted for publishing print advertisements in Manila-based newspapers that would reach other cities by mid-morning (when the residents have already read their own local daily) or running a television commercial at a primetime slot of 21:00 in Manila while the rest of the country is already asleep.[11]

In 2009, economists from the University of the Philippines and the World Bank made statements encouraging the Philippine government to further concentrate national economic activity within Metro Manila rather than disperse it around the country.[12] Meanwhile, in some parts of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, rolling blackouts happen almost daily. Metro Manila commuters, too, many of whom have had to leave their families in other parts of the country in order to look for work, suffer from the effects of traffic congestion.[13][14]

Culture

See also: Ethnocide

The term is also used in conjunction with the imposition of the Tagalog language, which is the language of Manila and the Tagalogs, on the country's other ethnic groups as a national language.[15] As a response, the provincial government of Cebu mandates that the national anthem be sung in Cebuano as a form of linguistic protest,[16] in patriotic defiance of a law that punishes the singing of the national anthem in languages other than Tagalog with fine or imprisonment.[17] Non-Tagalog Filipinos also use the term 'Imperial Manila mentality' to refer to linguistic discrimination against them on the part of Tagalists.[18]

The legal imposition of Tagalog as a national symbol also has social implications, such as pressure to use the words po and opo (a contraction of oo po, "Yes, my lord"),[19][20] honorifics which have no equivalent in most other indigenous languages in the country.[21] Attempts have also been made to bring the orthographic conventions of other languages closer to those of Tagalog.[22][23]

Notably, some academics have called either for the overthrow of local government officials who resist official Tagalism or,[24] more recently, the ostracization and outright "shooting [of] regionalists … pointblank in the head".[25][26][27]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ An example of this proverb's use can be found the following quote from David C. Martínez:
    [W]e've left sacred and untouched, spotless and unsullied, the same centralist authority where near-absolute political power continues to reside: Imperial Manila. My father spoke the truth when he used to lament in Cebuano, "Wa y dahong mahulog sa atong nasud nga di mananghid sa Malacañang" (Not a leaf can fall in our country without Malacañang's permission)[2]

Citations

  1. ↑ Martínez, David (2004). A Country of Our Own: Partitioning the Philippines. Los Angeles, California: Bisaya Books. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-9760613-0-4.
  2. ↑ Martínez, David (2004). A Country of Our Own: Partitioning the Philippines. Los Angeles, California: Bisaya Books. p. 447. ISBN 978-0-9760613-0-4.
  3. ↑ Doronila, Amando (August 28, 2006). "Time for paradigm shift". Philippine Daily Inquirer. pp. A1.
  4. ↑ "2006 State of the Nation Address of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo" (in Tagalog). July 24, 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  5. ↑ "Arroyo pushing for federal government". Taipei Times. August 2, 2004. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  6. ↑ Balanan, Cynthia; et al. (February 14, 2008). "Ramos still for Arroyo; governors go all out". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  7. ↑ Cruz, Rafael A. (March 22, 2006). "Lucrative Industry" (in Tagalog). Philippine Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  8. ↑ "Govs give PGMA ovation for her SONA and social payback programs". League of Provinces of the Philippines official website. August 14, 2007. Archived from the original on September 4, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  9. ↑ Blanco, June S. (February 16, 2007). "Guv calls for sobriety". Bohol.gov.ph. Archived from the original on March 26, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  10. ↑ "'Imperial Manila' blamed for poverty in ARMM". GMANews.tv. March 10, 2008.
  11. ↑ "The Myopia of Manila Marketers". Adformatix.com. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  12. ↑ "Economists say Manila should become more dense". ABS-CBNNews.com. Agence France-Presse. 01/12/09. Retrieved 24 November 2015. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ↑ http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/764749/elections-2016-agenda-next-president-traffic-voteph2016
  14. ↑ Magkilat, B. (2015, September 15). “How do you solve a problem like Manila traffic?” Manila Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.mb.com.ph/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-manila-traffic/.
  15. ↑ http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/103304-filipino-language-not-one
  16. ↑ "The Clamor for recognition of Cebuano". Bisaya.info. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  17. ↑ "Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines". RP Government. Retrieved 2015-11-24. (the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines) regulates the usage of the national anthem. It also contains the complete lyrics of Lupang Hinirang.
  18. ↑ Quimco, Ver. "Insulto, Insulto, Insulto" (in Cebuano). Call for Justice, Inc. official website. Archived from the original on 2008-03-25. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  19. ↑ http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/280857/lifestyle/artandculture/reconnecting-to-our-inner-anting-anting
  20. ↑ Daly P. (2015, January 30). "Philippine every-day phrases that acknowledge the beauty within others". Bagong Pinay.
  21. ↑ Dado, N. L. (2015, June 7). "There is no po + opo in Cebuano". Touched by an Angel.
  22. ↑ http://www-01.sil.org/asia/Philippines/ical/papers/pangilinan-Dispute%20on%20Orthography.pdf
  23. ↑ http://www.interaksyon.com/article/89196/writers-hit-unauthorized-amendment-to-ilocano-spelling
  24. ↑ Almario, V. (2009). Filipino ng mga filipino, p. 138.
  25. ↑ Agcaoíli, A. S. (2014, July 4). Sabbatical Notes.
  26. ↑ Renante, T. (2014, August 10). Introduction to "12 reasons to save the national language.
  27. ↑ Lunsayng Bisaya archives
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