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PI{iLIPPINEJOURNALISMRIVIEW

rEI I ITOR'S NOTE

BRIGHTSPOT

1\ TONOY MARCELO was that rare breed inI \ | Philippine journalism, a cartoonist with defi-

I \ nite ideas about Philippine society, politicsand culture. As a result, he usually had a take onthe most current developments, of which he was anavid observer.

Most Philippine editors expectthe cartoonist to be no more thanan illustrator of their ideas. With afew notable exceptions this has in-deed been the case, not because car-toonists are somehow lacking inideas, but because long years ofpractice have sanctioned their wait-ing to be told what to draw.

Nonoy Marcelo would have noneof that, and he often struck out onpatfu of his own when doing a car-toon for an editorial page-or whendoing covers for the Philippine lour-nalism Rwiew.

It was just as well. His imagina-tion knew no bounds, and wouldmore often than not think up anangle totally unexpected. It wasNonoy Marcelo who dared nameFerdinand Marcos "Macoy," for ex-ample-and in a government-ap-proved publication too, where hedid a strip called "The Real Macoy"and managed to get away with it.His art thrived because of the ele-ment of surprise, )nd, perhaps be-cause his barbs were cloaked in hu-mor, provoked laughter, but seldomserious efforts at censorship.

The political cartoon of whichMarcelo was a brilliant practitionerhas had a long history in the Philip-pines, as Hector Bryant L. Macale's"The political cartoon's checkeredpast" points out on page 35-38.

Marcelo's place in that history P/Rdocuments in this.issue throughPepper

.Marcelo's (no relation) "Nonoy Marcelo: A breed apart"(pp.16-1e).

From the eve of the Revolutionat the turn of the century to thepresent when the editorial cartoonand even the strips in the comicspages are often more barbed intheir criticism than the columns andeditorials, the political cartoon hasthrived in the Philippines.

Despite its potential and actualcapacity to deflate the pretensionsof the powerful, and to expose offi-cial absurdity, wrong doing, andperfidy, the political cartoon haslargely escaped the censorship thafduring the Spanistr, Americary andmartial law periods, had been thelot of the printed word.

One suspects that those in au-thority tend to look at the cartoonas non-threatening - an assumptionthey entertain at their own peril, thehistory of the world being repletewith numerous cases of govern-ments being laughed out of office.

Certainly Philippine history hashad its own examples. The well-known propensity of Filipinos tolaugh at their predicaments was atwork during the martial law period,for example, when, in both theabove ground as well as under-

ground press/ cartoonists parodiedsuch puffery as the New Republicand Imelda Marcos' fondness forjewelry and pomp.

During the tumultuous weeksbefore, during and after the Estradaimpeachment trial, the cartoonistscontributed to the government'sbeing laughed out of office by sati-rizing, among others, Estrada'sfondness for multiple families andpalat ial houses. Estrada carica-tu red-beer be l l y , pompadour ,mustache and all*promises to godown in Philippine journalism hii-tory as among the high points of acraft that today continues to deflatepomposity and to satirize wrongdoing in furtherance of the journal-istic mandate to afflict the comfort-able even as it comforts the afflicted.

Between the martial law periodand Estrada's downfall, the inter-vening governments of CorazonAquino and Fidel Ramos wereequally targeted not only throughthe printed word but through thepointed cartoon as well. The Ar-royo government is no exception towhat has become the rule: that ifsfair game not only for the editorialwriters and the columnists, but forthe cartoonists as well. The politi-cal cartoon is one bright spot in Phil-ippine journalism, a beacon of hopein a profession that too often invitesthe darkest cvnicism.

fu,,,{,t*LUIS V. TEODORO

Editor

P}|lLlPPlt{E J0URl{AtlSt'l REYIEW I December 2002 |

Cartoons lifted from Phitippine cartoons.' Political caricature of the American era: 790O-1947 byAlfred McCoy and Alfredo Roces. Quezon City: Vera-Reyes Inc., 19g5.

8oYS,Al',tERlCA f S ?R'UD

OF YOU I

By Hector Bryant L. MacaleLMOST EVERY

Though most readers think them to berecent phenomena, and as the products ofa more liberal age, political cartoons havea long history in the Philippine press. Theyappeared first in newspapers in the Phil-ippines during the late Spanish era, andflourished in the reform oriented press onthe eve of the Revolution.

Their growth was inevitably hinderedby the restrictions American conquest atthe furn of the century brought. Despitethese restrictions, however, the politicalcartoon survived the American colonialperiod long enough for it to emerge as anaccepted part of newspapering.

Political cartoonists in the Philippineshave been more forfunate than their writ-ing peers in that they have seldom incurredofficial anger. But polit ical cartoons dodepend on how free is the press, which intum depends on how liberal the politicalatmosphere is. The fate of newspapersbeing dependent on libel and other threatsas well as economic and political pressure,the survival of the political cartoonis! ifonly indirectly, has been as problematic inthe Philippine press as thai of reporters,columnists and editorial writers.

Birth of political cartoonsPolitical cartoons were already popu-

lar in other countries in the early 18s cen-tury. In England, three satirists were cred-ited for contributing greatly to the art ofpolitical and social satire: William Hogarthwith his print Characters and Caricatura(1745) and his series Mariage ala Mode, AHarlot's Progress, and A Rake's Progress;Thomas Rowlindsonfor his innovative useof frames, captions, and balloons in his pic-torial narrative in strip form Looes of theFox and the Badger and Coalition Wedding;

Lrvl\.rD r .tr v .trr( r newspaper you can name has acartoon that through huriror to-ments on a cur-

has

finent issue, andf or illustrates the paper/s edito-rial. Most cartoons in the Philippine pres; tend to bepolitical, now corrunenting on ihis goizernment state-ment/ decision or actiory now satirizing that politi-cian or government official's views or-rnost recentgaffe.

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and James Gillray.' In the United States, Benjamin Franklindrew the first cartoon ever published in anAmerican newspaper. This was his "Uniteor Die," which appeared in the Pennsylzta-nia Gazette on May 9, 1754.

The early 19th century saw the rise ofsatirical journals and magazines with po-litical cartoons in Western Europe/ amongthem La Caricature (1830), La Chariaari(1832), and Punch (1841).

The Philippines was not too far behind.In the 1880s, the last years of Spanish rule,a group of weeklies commented on thethen politically tense situation in the coun-try and caricatured well-known personali-ties in the polibical arena.

The first of these weeklies was LaSemana Elegante (The Elegant Week),founded by Don Pedro Groizard and pub-lished on March 1, 1884. Although the pa-per became the forerunner of satire in tl'rePhilippine press, it was more known as ajournal of literary satire rather than a po-litical one. Manila Alegre (Gay Manila),which appeared on December 6, 1885, triedto improve on La Semana by caricafuringwell-knowru powerful and wealthy per-

sons. It became popular arnong Filipinos,convincing its caricaturists Ignacio Villarand Julian Aristegui to expand its pagesfrom four to eight in two years' time. How-ever, the paper merged with La Opinion,an anti-spanish paper, which eventually leftthe caricaturists out of work.

Undaunted, Vil lar and Aristeguifounded in 1887 Manililla, an eight-pageweekly that devoted much of its space topolitical caricatures drawn by these twocaricaturists. Other weeklies of the periodthat had polit ical caricatures were ElDomingo (Sunday) first published in August1890, and El Pajaro Verde (The Green Bird),on September 4, 1890.

These weeklies caricatured well-knownpoliticians of the period, and commentedon the most important issues during thelast years of the Spanish regime, especiallythe rising discontent of Filipinos.

More than four months after the Battleof Manila between the United States andSpain in May 1898, more political satirescame out, among them Con Leche (WithMilk) and El Chiflado (The Snob).

On December 10, 1.898, the TreatY ofParis was signed between the United States

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and Spain, and the country Passed toAmerican rule. Not surprisingly, the po-litical cartoons in the extant joumals widelycommented on this event,

"Coca-Colanization"More political cartoons in the papers

appeared during the American rule despitethreats of harassment, incarceration, ordeportation to C {m or Hongkong ofnewspapers critical of the new regime.Generally however, American press con-trols were more flexible and less harsh com-pared to the complete censorship of thecritical press during the Spanish period. Thisallowed the flowering, though still limited,of the Philippine press, especially after U.S.Army censorship ended with the establish-ment of the American colonial civil gov-emment on July 4, 1901'.

Two months later after the establish-ment of the civil government, the mostinfluential among the nationalist newsPa-pers of the new colonial era , El Renacimiento(Rebirth), was born, along with its sharppolitical caricatures against the new gov-ernment.

The only entirely satirical journal in the

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history of the Phil ippine press, LipangKalabaut (named after a common plant), firstappeared onJuly 27,1907 or1906 as a1,6-page, magazine-sized weekly. Published inboth Spanish and Filipino, Lipang Kalabaurcame out when libel suits were still consid-ered a major threat by the publishers.

This was one reason why the real namesof the paper's writers and cartoonists werenot published; their work appeared underpen names. Flowever, the paper, knownfor its irrepressible cartoons, closed brieflyon March 7,1908 after only 33 issues be-cause of political pressures, only to comeback on ApriI 4, 1908. The paper wentthrough two more demise-resurrectioncycles. It expired again in 1909, but wasagain revived on July 22, 1922-an issuethat featured attacks against then Gover-nor General Leonard Wood and Philip-pines Free Press publisher McCulloughDick. The journal again died inL924, and I also drew political cartoons inTelembang,reappeared or-r April 9, 1949, after inde- ] under the pen name Hajji Buto.pendence. It was critical of the Quirino I Atyplcalpoliticalcartoonof theerawasgovernment, but died again that year. This I appeared on the front page of the papertime there was no resurrection. I and set the tone of the entire issue. A lead

During its publication, Lipang Kalabaut ] editorial followed the cartoon on the same"set a high standard of satire and artistrythat was never really equaled in the his-tory of the press."

The Philippines Free Press was launchedby American judge W.A. Kincaid on Au-

theme, although the editorial was usuallymilder compared to the usually irreverentcartoon. Forfunately for the cartoonists ofthe period however, the civil governmentwas more lenient even towards the mostdefamatory of cartoons, compared with itssevere stance against articles critical ofAmerican rule.

The cartoons commented on such is-sues as corruption in governrnent, theAmericanization of the Filipinos, the dv-ing use of Spanish language in the coun-try, the lending scandals at the PhilippineNational Bank, and the Filipinos'questforfreedom from American rule.

The Japanese intenegnumWhen the Japanese conquered the Phil-

ippines during the World War II in1942,the new colonizers shut down press publi-cations and radio stations. No publicationsexcept the TVT (Taliba-La Vanguardia-Tri-bune) newspapers were allowed. The thenpopular comic strip "Kenkoy" by TonyVelasquez was allowed, butwas only usedfor the propaganda activities of the Japa-nese government.

gust29,1908 but later sold it to Dick, ,4-t(>.and became known for its hard-hit- q - L,it ing polif ical lampoons right on its / )kfront page. The Spanish and English 11 { 4:Z

cartooning in the 1920s.'rn""alril"i ,'f-f-E

its cartoonists influenced later philip- ll. /" -'?'-pine cartoons. Despite its pro-Ameri / lV"-a!*:Sscan bias, the Free Press was an ar \r{.r1:l;,denicritic of comrplion in the Ameri- {,f; r.t''t-.'can goverrrnent and was read by the

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emerging generation of English- -=3] 'Yspeaking Filipjnos and by exparriate ffi [d iqcru r.!-

weekly was thus among the pioneerstha t he lped deve lop po l i t i ca l

Americans. 6. +More newspapers and maga-

zines with pol i t ical cartoons ap-peared in the 1920s, among themTelembang (Bell), Pakakak (Horn), andthe militant The Independent.

Some of the most famous politi-cal cartoonists of the period were|ose Pereira, ]orge Pineda, IreneoMiranda, Esmeraldo Izon, and theNationalArtistFemandoAmorsolo,

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who became famous for his anti-clerical and anti-Chinese political car-

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Kllflri (P1'ql.^l, 4Ya,q6ir t16A /{A-5JC}I1ALI)IANG LAI]AI/ill{i fY,45A BlLtFilO

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Pl|lLlPPlt{t J0URt{ALlJ}l RtYIEW I December 2002 3 7

rf{lSronyAfter the country's liberation from the

japanese, the press landscape became live-lier with the phenomenal growth of news-papers. However, editorial cartoons didnot retum to the newspaper pages imme-diately. The first newspaper that made useof political cartoons after the war was theManila Chronicle in its November 1., 1945editorial "One world... still full of bayo-nets." But, it was only by the Chronicle onApril 12, 1950, less than five years after thefirst postwar editorial cartoon appeared forthe first time in a newspaper, that paperswere able to regularly feature political lam-poons. Nevertheless, the postwar periodbecame the "golden age" of Philippine car-toons.

Golden ageIn the 1960s, there was a rapid growth

ofpolitical cartooru as the political and eco-nomic crisis intensified. Some of the newkids on the political cartoonists' block wereCorky Trinidad, Edgar Soller, PaulinoGaIvez, Roni Santiago, Roddy Ragodon,Dengcoy Miel, Larry Alcala, and NonoyMarcelo.

This new generation ofcartoonists car-ried the acerbic political commentaries ofthe cartoonists of the American era, withtheir caricature of personalities and bolderand more colorful lampoons. In February1,8, 1960, these cartoonists formed an or-ganization of political and non-political car-toonists. The organization was named theSociety of Philippine Illustrators and Car-toonists and the first president was thePhilippines Free Press' Ezmeraldo lzon.

Not much has been written about thenature of this first organization of cartoon-ists in the country, and as far as Universityof the Philippines fine arts professor andpolit ical cartoonist Leonilo Doloriconknows, this organization does not existanymore.

Another organization of cartoonists,the Samahang Kartunista ng Pil ipinas(SKP), ex is ts , a l though according toDoloricon, who once served as SKP presi-dent, it has not been very active. His fel-low UP professor, the late Larry Alcala,the first SKP president, said that the SKPwas formed "to raise the awareness of thepublic and the Filipino cartoonists them-selves of the power of the medium."

The Philippine press enjoyed minimalpress censorship in the postwar years from1945 to 1972.Prior to September 1972, po-litical cartooning thrived, and it seemed thatno one and thing was sacred to it, among

the more frequent subject of the cartoonsbeing Ferdinand Marcos.

(ensored cartoonsWith Marcos' proclamation of Martial

Law on September 21,'1972, all forms ofmedia, including newspapers, were closedand reopened under censorship. The totalmedia organizations closed during the pe-riod were 78 national and communitynewspapers, six television channels, and 20radio stations and networks. Leading printand electronic journalists of the era werearrested and detained. Editorial cartoonswere banned during the first months ofMartial Law, and only newspapers friendlyto Marcos and his administration were al-lowed.

It was only in 1"973 when editorialcartooning was once again allowed by themartial law government.

Since that period, editorial cartoonshave ceased being just illustrations fornewspaper editorials. Today a newspaper'seditorial cartoon may not necessarily beon the same theme as its editorial.

Under martial law the irreverence ofthe political cartoons towards authoritydeclined, persisting until the end and evenafter the period of formal martial law,which ended on January 17,1981, whenMarcos proclaimed "The New Republic."

In the tumultuous events of the lastyears of Marcos rule, the highlight ofwhich was the 1983 assassination of formersenator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., thepolitical cartoon was reborn. The criticalanti-dictatorship press made political car-toons critical of Marcos and his dictator-ship popular once again, and were eagerlywelcomed by Filipino readers.

Iree againWhen democracy was restored in 1986,

the press and political cartoons becameeven livelier.

Sixteen years after the restoration ofdemocracy and free press in the country,political cartoons continue to exist, in ei-ther the major newspapers'front pages oropinion-editorial sections.

Despite technological advances in draw-ing cartoons (unlike before when cartoon-ists had no choice but to draw cartoons bypen) and the tumultuous events of the last30 years, Doloricon says that today's edi-torial cartoons basically touch the issuesraised more than a century ago by earlierpolitical satirists - suchas the political sys-tem, corruption, inept political personali-

ties, government scandals and social andeconomic issues, among others.

Sources:Batnag, Odina. Editorial cartoons and

public opinion Unpublished undergraduatethesis: University of the Phil ippines-Diliman College of Mass Communication,1990.

De Leon, Mariza Andrea L. A compara-tiue content analysis of the editorial cartoons ofthe Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Philip-pine Star. Unpublished undergraduate the-sis: University of the Philippines-DilimanCollege of Mass Communication, 1998.

Doloricoru Leonilo. Personal Interview.November 22,2002.

Grolier Incorporated . The Ency clopediaAmeicana: vol. 21. United States of America:1988.

McCoy, A1fred, Alfredo Roces. Philip-pine cartoons: Political cancature of the Amei-can era 1900-1941. QuezonCity: Vera-ReyesInc., 1985.

Nabong, Rosario Y. Histoical detselop-ment of cartooning in the Philippines.Unpub-lished undergraduate thesis: University ofthe Philippines-Diliman Institute of MassCommunication,1979.

Pabico, JaderickP. Philippine Caicatures :In celebration of the Centennial of Philippinelndependence. ht tp: / /www.ics.uolb.edu. oh / -i pp / usa / rctootrs /,1.995-"1997.

Pacete, PamelaR. Polittcal comic stip car-toonists in Metro Manila broadsheets: a casestudy. U npublished undergraduate thesis:University of the Philippines-Diliman Col-lege of Mass Communicatton,1992.

Philippine-American War CentennialInitiative. htto: / / w w w.phil-am-wa r.orslcartoons.htm, 1998.

Ramirez, Jaime B. Philippine lournalismHandbook. Caloocan City: National Book-store, 1989.

Roxas, Cynthia, Joaquin Arevalo, Jr. AHistory of Komiks of the Philippines snd othercountries. Islas Filipinas Publishing Inc.,1985.

Teodoro, Luis V., and Rosaiinda V.Kabatay. Mass Media Laws and Regulationsin the Philippines.Pasig City: Asian MediaInformation & Communication Centre,2001.

Victoriano, Marwin Owen A. Humor inTruth: Cartoonists as mass communicators(based on the life of Larry Alcala).Unpublishedundergraduate thesis: University of thePhilippines-Diliman College of Mass Com-munication. 1997.

3 I pHtttppttt J0ttRrAr.rstl RtttrEW I December 2002