Requiem for a friend of artists

A friend of artists, Norma Crisologo Liongoren has died, leaving a vacuum in the hearts of people she loved and who loved her beyond compare. I thought it fitting to ask artist Imelda Cajipe Endaya to write a tribute to this beloved woman who touched so many lives, including mine. Imelda is a Philippine printmaker, painter and installation artist who comments on social issues through her works. She is one of the founding members of the women artists’ group Kasibulan.

“I met Norma in the eighties as wife of prominent painter Alfredo Liongoren. They had a gallery, and soon she carried my artworks. We cultivated our friendship because we had common advocacies focusing on indigenous culture, people and women empowerment. She was an early member of Kasibulan, the first feminist organization which five of us women visual artists founded after the EDSA revolution. We often used her gallery as the venue for our public fora and events.

“Norma was an example of sustainable living. Even as she was well-endowed with capital resources and could command work for pay; she was a true blue Ilocano. Her daily diet would consist of dinengdeng and rice with other simple viands of barrio origin. She saw to it that gallery guests were served native kakanin, saging na saba, kamoteng kahoy and sampaloc juice. Multinational soda drinks and products were a no-no. She was an early riser who worked all day, do daily tasks of maintenance by herself, took tricycles, jeepneys, the MRT and provincial bus, go to the palengke to get the best bargains for most anything. She multitasked most everything, criss-crossing her advocacy with business acumen.

“She was no ordinary art dealer. She was genuinely interested in people and the friendships she cultivated, educating them about Philippine art, living traditions of indigenous cultures, green living, and getting them to support her many causes like helping and convincing street dwelling families to go back home where life is far more rewarding than begging in Manila’s streets.

“A wide reader, her favorite book was the Holy Bible, and she took great effort in cultivating the habit among artists and cultural workers to learn about God’s Word. A woman with a big heart, she was a dynamic and effective fundraiser for the health and welfare of members of the art community.

“I was often with Norma during her most recent difficult time when she was diagnosed with the Big C. She continued to passionately and cheerfully pursue her projects even as she suffered pain in her bed, and being brought in and out of the hospital. I was fortunate to have visited her at the Philippine Heart Center on the eve of her passing, and this is what I posted on my FB last Aug. 26:  

“Norma Crisologo Liongoren I’m glad I held your hand and whispered prayers into your ears last night. You fought a very good fight, you led a meaningful life for God, art and country. Thank you for sharing your life with us. We grieve now and will surely miss you. But I know you are now enjoying your table of plenty.”

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The first Muslim woman to be named Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bai Sandra Sinsuat Sema, vows to uphold the rights of her people.

Her dream of upholding those rights started early. As a little girl during the Martial Law era, she grew up in an atmosphere of fear, of people’s rights not respected. She recalls that the late President Ferdinand Marcos justified bombings during the insurgency, the shelling and killing of legions of civilians. People sought shelter in the house of her grandmother, a member of the Muslim royalty. One of her most horrific memories was the Malisbong massacre in Sultan Kudarat in 1974. Some 1,500 males were killed in a mosque by the Philippine army, women were raped, and hundreds of houses were razed.

She grew up with the resolve to work for peace, and uphold the rights of her people. She is in her third term as representative of the first district of Maguindanao, and this time, in the 17th Congress, she is again filing the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which she believes is the answer to her people’s demand for peace.

She explains that the BBL aims to create the Bangsamoro administration that reflects the culture and values of the Muslims in the Philippines. It will take the place of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The law is based on the peace pact – the Muslim Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, arrived at by the Philippine government and the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in 2014. This was not passed by the Philippine Senate, however. She says the proposed Bangsamoro will look after its resources, its people, the return to civilian life of the MILF, and disband private armies.

“The problem is that people don’t look at the BBL as an instrument for unity and understanding. There’s so much prejudice. We want peace, but the others don’t,” laments Sema.

She recalls that former President Fidel Ramos signed a peace agreement with the separatist Moro National Liberation Front, in 1996, which led to the formation of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Mindanao’s economy started to flourish, she says. However, clashes between soldiers and rebel groups have persisted since the term of President Joseph Estrada.

Sema calls for educating the public on the positive outcome of the BBL.

“Bangsamoro claims independence, but it doesn’t mean that we are separating from the Philippines. In fact, ARMM has embodied the spirit of a federal government which our President has been advocating. Our concern is to establish peace in our region. What affects Mindanao will affect the Philippines. Our country should start looking at the BBL more positively so we can move forward.”

Sema was born to a family of politicians. Her great grandfather, Datu Sinsuat Balabaran, was the first senator from Maguindanao in 1935. His son, Datu Blah Sinsua, was Speaker Protempore of the former Batasang Pambansa. Dinaig, a first class municipality in Maguindanao, was renamed in honor of her grandfather, Datu Odin Sinsuat.

Her husband Muslimin Sema, who was secretary general of the MNLF, was part of the team that signed the peace agreement with President Ramos. He became executive secretary of ARMM in 1996.

An accounting student at the Mindanao State University, the politicized Sema founded the League of Filipino Students that protested the atrocities of Martial Law. After graduation, she taught the history of Muslims in the Philippines at MSU.

During FVR’s term, Sema  was named secretary of the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports of ARMM and was later DECS undersecretary under Raul Roco in 2001.

In her first year in Congress, Sema’s bills were signed into law. One was the coordination of ARMM elections with the national elections. She also batted for an engineering district in Cotabato City that would monitor government projects, and the improvement of hospital facilities in Datu Odin Sinsuat.

In her second term, Sema, who was a member of the appropriations committee, was able to get a bigger budget for ARMM.

When she visits her district, Sema tries to feel the people’s pulse, i.e what the residents want put up in their locality. “My favorite activity is to look at much-needed projects. We have requested a new seaport in Cotabato city from the national government. The new port will hopefully pave the way for new industries and more employment.”

One of the challenges in her political career is proving herself in a man’s world. “We have lady mayors but there are a few Muslim women in my position. We have succeeded getting women to government positions by educating our voters. We listen to mentors, we observe, we make ourselves accessible, listen to our people and make them see how we are serving them,” says Sema.

She is grateful to the department secretaries who supported her projects in improved infrastructure, education and employment. “When you’re a congressman, you’re not just a lawmaker but also the voice of the people.”

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It’s only lately that we see fathers hugging their babies and children in television commercials. What a beautiful sight they make as they demonstrate their affection for their offspring. It used to be only mothers doing that.

Rep. Johnny Pimentel of the Second District of Surigao del Sur contributes to making fathers more visible loving parents by filing House Bill 3401, which seeks to raise to 15 days with full pay the paternity leave benefit payable to every working husband for each of the first four childbirths of his lawful wife with whom he is living. The current law (RA 8187or the Paternity Leave Benefit Act of 1996) allows for seven days paternity leave benefits.

The lawmaker claims that his bill is in consonance with the 1987 Constitution mandate for the State “to promote the welfare of labor, to solidify the family, and to provide improved quality of life for all.”

“We have to give fathers at last half a month off work, with full pay, for them to be able to lend ample support to their wife in nursing their newborns, and to help mothers recuperate from childbirth,” said Pimentel, who is a member of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation Inc. (PLCPD).

Pimentel added that studies have shown that husbands who took longer paternity leaves are “more involved with their children and child care activities . . . thus reinforcing the long-term bond between fathers and children.”

The existing paternity leave benefit law was authored by the late Sen. Ernesto Herrera.

Pimentel goes further in promoting stronger support of mothers giving birth by increasing the existing statutory paid maternity leave benefit for working mothers from 60 days to at least 100 days.

He held up as a model employer Accenture Inc., which provides their female employees a 120 days paid maternity leave benefit.

All the above laws are well and good, but what about jobless men and women who work themselves to the bone, beget so many children, and do not enjoy paternity and maternal leaves benefits?

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