Bicol Politics: The Case of Naga City Part 2

An hapot: ano an posibleng eksplinasyon kan kakaibang political maturity sa Naga City?

As mentioned, Naga portrays a different political culture. Aside from the “ubos kun ubos” election mentality, medyo dakul an political Centrists asin Center Leftists sa lugar kasabay na diyan an mga Social Democrats, Democratic Socialists asin independent Socialists as opposed to other areas and key cities in the Bicol Region which is dominated by National Democrats and other members of the extreme Left. So why this uniqueness?

If we are going to dissect the Nagaueno culture, we can see three institutions organic in Naga City: Religion/Penafrancia, Ateneo and other educational institutions, and the Rizal Park. All of these played a great role in shaping the culture of the Nagauenos and eventually, their political mentality. Halimbawa, an Katolisismo na pinakukusog kan pagiging deboto sa Ina (Our Lady of Penafrancia) an nagpapalumoy sa mga puso kan mga taga-Naga para dai magdara tulos-tulos nin armas asin magsakat sa bulod. Ini an nagpapahalaba sa pisi nin pagpapasensiya asin dadag na pagtubod para sa pagbabago sa mga maabot na aldaw. In a sense, puwede nganing sabihon na tama si Karl Marx kan sinabi niyang “Die Religion … ist das Opium des Volkes” (Religion is the opiate of the people).

In another sense, though, puwedeng sabihon na dai aplikable an sinabi ni Karl Marx. The liberal education  being espoused by Ateneo and other schools in the city  has neutralized the effects of religion. Dahil digdi, bako makangalas na mahiling na bako lang puro ispirituwal an Naga . Katunayan, mahihiling niyato an pagiging aktibo kan siyudad sa mga bagay na pang-ekonomiya (arog kan komersiyo),  pang-kultura (i.e., presence of literary artists), asin iba pa. Yaon man sa Naga an aktibong presensiya kan mga civil society organizations, and civic-oriented organizations.

Third, we can also see the effect of the Rizal Park in the lives of the Nagauenos. Maglakaw-lakaw ka lang sa Rizal Park, may makukua ka nang kadebate poon sa religion hanggang sa pulitika, poon sa pagbado-bado hanggang sa mga hiro kan piyesa sa chess hanggang sa mga polisiyang pang-ekonomiya nasyonal man o lokal. Dahil diyan, minadakula ang kaaraman kan mga tawo. An mga nag-eentra sa debate naghahanap ki dagdag na pansuporta sa saindang mga rason asin adbokasiya asin siring man, nakakaukod sa mga rason kan kalaban. Bako lang an mga nagdedebate an nakakaukod. Siring man an mga miron. Dahil digdi, nagkakaigwa ki kakaibang proseso an mga tawo sa pagbilog kan opinyon — proseso na bako lang nakasalalay sa mga taga-media. Mala ta kun tutubudon an iristorya na kapot kan mga Villafuerte ang media sa CamSur, nata ta iba pa man giraray an opinyon kan mga taga Naga? Halimbawa, pirang termino na kuta an mga Villafuerte sa City Hall? Asin ikaduwa, nata ta dakula ang gastos ni Pay Luis kada eleksiyon? Kun matatandaan pa, minsan me James Jacob asin Cho Roco na naging kongressman sa segundo distrito.

Dakul pa na puwedeng idagdag na nagko-kontribuir sa political maturity kan mga taga-Naga pero ining tulo: relihiyon o pagiging deboto sa Penafrancia, Ateneo asin iba pang educational institutions, asin an Rizal Park an nahihiling niyato an mga may dakulang kontribusyon.

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5 thoughts on “Bicol Politics: The Case of Naga City Part 2

  1. I am wondering if the “Bicol Express”, meaning the train and not that food, has something to do with the political maturity of Naguenos. I remember that Bicolanos would take the train to Manila despite its notoriety for slowness. Kadakol stop-overs. Stop-overs helped travellers to be patient, reflect, think and pray (dai man logod ma-diskarel!) There was not much alternative but to take the train. Airplane ticket was costly and south road was horrifible in addition to the fact that majority of the people didnt own a car. The transmission of ideas and people from one place to another through railroad towns of Ragay, Lupi etc, Camarines Norte, Quezon and Manila had somehow paved the way for better understanding of socio-economic differences i.e social-classes of the people. This, i think played a role to the opening of one’s mind and the eventual maturity of the Naguenos and other Camarinenses. There was economy coach, the in-between coach, and the first-class. Garo aircon ngani kadto pa an first class, while sa economy class, kaipuhan kang magpaypay nin mga 18 (?) oras. This was class struggle.

  2. I am actually very pleased that you are promoting Bic-lish. I have been looking for blogs which essay Bicol culture and heritage, and its history. And this one is certainly worth the search. Igwang depth. I am a Bicolana (Atenista na, Colegiala pa) na despite living outside that region for more than 2 decades, nakaka-uyo pirmeng mag-taram nin Bicol sa maski anong okasyon o maski sisay an kaulay. Like saying, “may I have your attention, tabi?” hehe
    yeh >>>class struggle is something that makes me think clearly and act accordingly. however, acting accordingly is very subjective, bakong iyo?

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