Make the truth known
It is appalling and at the same gravely disappointing to see that those who are supposedly "protecting" the rights of the press, the people's eyes and ears, are the first to mock and disrespect the cause they are trying to protect- freedom. By making the truth known, may this kind of injustice never happen again.

Michelle Ancheta



Reaction on the NPC insults to the Neo-Angono Artists
Dir. Joel Sy Egco calling the Neo-Angono artists ingrates is an absurd comment to counter react the accusation of censorship to National Press Commission, which they are guilty by the way. First I agree with PDI Columnist Neal H. Cruz that you don't meddle with one's work of art even if you pay for it. This is a common rule within the artists' community: you respect one's work, you don't alter, you don't copy and pay homage if you must. The payment for one's work gives you rights to claim the material but never the idea, thus the art piece cannot be own entirely less it was commercially produced. When we say commercially, it was done for profitable use in which the mural itself is not. Thus, any editing of ideas especially alterations like the NPC did to the 8x 32 feet long mural contracted to Neo-Angono Artist are personally offensive. And just like Conrado de Quiros stated in his column, it was like rubbing salt on wound.
What the NPC have done is placing down the artists on the level of common contractors that can be easily commanded to. Might as well describe as arrogance in its immediate reaction insulting more the Neo-Angono Artists by saying that the painting is overpriced with P915, 000, just right after the alterations in the painting was made and criticisms increases concerning the matter.
In able to understand an artwork, one must peek to the soul of an artist because beyond the skills exists beauty, passion and patriotism. It's not the money. Thus, this was the reason why many artists strive so hard to promote their art. Something the NPC members would never know nor understand because artists dwell on human soul unlikely to others cautious of what the president might think.
Clearly, the organization and the Arroyo's administration are very sensitive when it comes to the leftist ideology, or should I say very paranoid. They don't want the mural political when actually all is political and eventually the painting depicts the truth. You cannot lie on a painting especially with the one that advocates press freedom. Furthermore, the mural itself is timely, showing current issues that pose a challenge to every media group in certain issues such as political killings, forced disappearances and political imprisonment. Besides, the claim on the mark in the vendor's shoulder as leftist is subjective; it's literally a symbol from traditional alibata.
If the impression on the mural is heavily influenced by the leftist group as it seems they are the first and foremost defenders of human rights and welfare, shame on Arroyo's administration for far incapable to do so. On the other hand, it seems to be they are the first and foremost human rights violators, cited to this incident. No doubt, the NPC should publicly apologize to Neo-Angono Artists and may I suggest restore the old concept or pull out the altered painting.
Thus, I support the Neo-Angono Artists Collective with their struggle for justice among insults and suppression of artistry, creativity and their stand on political issues. Uphold press freedom and artistic expression! Serve not to suppress!

Lynette Olabe
Kabite



Invitation to Exhibit Mural
I organise not for profit art/performance/music events in London under the name of Guerrilla Zoo,
promoting countless creatives in unique ways. I would very much like to highlight your problem with the NPC, by exhibiting a copy of your mural at my next event. I will be holding an event at two different venues in South London (Brixton) over the second weekend in December, and would like to exhibit your orginal design for the mural and possibly the censored version so the public can see the differences for themselves. I was wondering if this would be possible in any shape or form?

With best wishes,
James Elphick



IFJ on Commissioned Mural on Press Freedom Altered without Artists' Knowledge
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is concerned by the changes made to the press freedom mural commissioned from the Neo-Angono Artists Collective by the National Press Club (NPC) in Manila , the Philippines. The artwork measuring 2.5 metres by 9.9 metres and illustrating the history of press freedom in the Philippines was commissioned by the NPC for 900,000 and installed on October 24. The mural was then altered before it was unveiled to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in a ceremony to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the National Press Club (NPC) on October 26. Among the alterations to the mural was the removal of an image depicting an IFJ statement on press freedom. Other alterations include the removal of the name of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), an IFJ affiliate, from the banners of protesters depicted in the mural. Officials from the NPC have claimed that the changes were made because the artists had failed to meet the condition that the piece was meant to be apolitical. The NUJP has strongly protested the changes. The IFJ supports the stance of the NUJP and is concerned at the attack on freedom of expression of a mural that was intended to highlight press freedom issues.



STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY - UGATLahi Artist Collective
UGATLahi Artists Collective stands in solidarity with Neo-Angono Artist Collective in denouncing the bastardization of the mural that was supposed to depict the history and state of press freedom in the Philippines.

It is indeed ironic that the NPC, an institution that was supposed to promote press freedom would be themselves, proponents of such censorhip. Such a move would make one ponder as to what was the real motive behind the alterations. Did the PSG consider the inanimate mural a security threat? Or were the changes made to please Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?

We are once again reminded of the dark days of the US-Marcos dictatorship when our civil rights were trampled upon and scores of activists and journalists were abducted, tortured and killed. Alongside gross violations of human rights, the US-Marcos dictatorship promoted the "true,good and the beautiful" view in the arts, hence projecting a sanitized and distorted version of Philippine reality.

Neo-Angono Artist Collective’s mural, in its original state, accurately depicted the current status of our civil rights. The mural showed the dangers of Human Security Act, the abduction of activists, such as that of Jonas Burgos who remain missing to this very day.

Incidents of alterations and distortions to the truth are nothing new. The case holds true for the recent ZTE broadband deal, the scandalous cash pay-offs to local officials and the infamous "Hello Garci" tapes.

History teaches us that the Filipino people, when united, is a powerful force that could change the course of history. We overthrew colonial oppressors and their local minions. We have toppled the dictatorship and fought to restore our civil liberties.

May the bastardization of the mural serve as a reminder to us that the struggle for rights is are far from over. The mural serves as a reflection of the injustice and oppression that continue to plague society. For as long as farmers are massacred in broad daylight,activists and journalists killed with impunity, we have every reason to express our outrage.

We artists should link up with the majority of the Filipino people, the farmers and the workers, in the struggle for genuine national democracy.



FREEDOM? FARCE!
We support the Neo-Angono Artists Collective and vehemently condemn the defacing of the mural on the history of press freedom in the Philippines.

What the leadership of the National Press Club had done is a clear and absolute atrocity against the basic and integral right of anyone – artist or otherwise – to fully express ideas, ideologies, and standpoints.
Furthermore, the censorship explicitly imposed upon the mural is a disgrace to what the NPC had stood for all these years.

We are one with the Neo-Angono Artists Collective in seeking Justice for this most contemptible of offenses against artistry and against humanity.

BULONG, EARTHFISHFISH, THE OUTLAWS, Ayan Tolentino, K Lopez, Mark Forlorn, Zig Mirasol



NPC erred BIG
I hope you will bring your case against the NPC to its logical conclusion. These NPC guys with their tails between their legs erred. They erred BIG.

The public will be served best if you publicize the names of those NPC guys who had anything to do with the alterations. Please add the signatories to the contract engaging the neo-angono artists. We want to know them.

Thank you.
Nina Lasala


Freedom Mural Alterations
I bought a copy of last Sunday's issue (November 4th) of Philippine Daily Inquirer but I'm so busy and was not able to read it, except scanning a few pages. Though vividly, I can recall its front page photo and headline - "Freedom Mural Defiled: Artists outraged by NPC Censorship" which now is the talk of the town.

Much as I want to delve into the deeper issues, I'd like instead to focus on the issue of copyright. RA 8293 define's artists rights - both economic (right to earn or obtain financial benefit from their original creative work) and moral rights (right to the integrity of the creative work).

This means that the art work, even sold to another party cannot be altered, defaced or destroyed without permission from its creator. Moral rights include the rights to - require that the authorship of the works be attributed to him, To make any alterations of his work prior to, or to withhold it from publication; to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, his work which would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation; and to restrain the use of his name with respect to any work not of his own creation or in a distorted version of his work. Ref: RA 8293 Sec. 193

Read more:
http://dennisrito.blogspot.com/2007/11/freedom-mural-alterations.html

Dennis Rito
http://dennisrito.blogspot.com



EFACING HISTORY, CENSORING THE PEOPLE
We in the Artists' ARREST Alliance join our fellow artists in the Neo-Angono Artists Collective in their outrage over the defacing of a press freedom mural they did for the National Press Club (NPC). At the core of this unfortunate and utterly reprehensible development lies not only the total absence of respect for the integrity of the work of art and the artists who went through the difficult process of creation to produce it, but also the issue of censorship.

However hard the NPC may try to hide behind its lame excuse that the changes made are "temporary," as so eloquently elucidated by Joel Sy Egco, one of its directors, the censorship is evident in the alterations that were made.

The intention in these alterations is clear: to remove any references to issues that take to task the Arroyo regime, as well as to deface or altogether eliminate the likenesses of personalities and organizations known to be sharply critical of the ruling political clique. This is censorship, however the NPC may try to slice it.

Freedom of expression is not only the lifeblood of artists and writers and journalists, it is a sacrosanct right that lies deep in the foundations of any country like the Philippines which claims to be a democracy. Without it, the powers that be enjoy boundless impunity.

Censorship is, then, a crime not only against freedom of expression but against democracy itself.

Artistic freedom and press freedom are both facets of the freedom of expression. Any attack on artistic freedom must enrage not only artists but also writers and journalists, as any attack on press freedom must enrage not only writers and journalists but also artists.

It is thus doubly despicable that the NPC, which claims to be a bastion of press freedom, has allowed itself to be a party to such a brazen travesty of artistic freedom.

The NPC has not contented itself with sinking lower than imaginable by embroiling itself in racketeering scam after racketeering scam and election scandal after election scandal within its ranks: it has sunk even lower down the rut by instigating the defacement of a mural that depicts press freedom struggles in the Philippines within the context of the Filipino people's struggle for sovereignty, democracy, and justice.

This is a disgrace to the historical legacy of the NPC as an institution that once took a stand against the forces of tyranny, and to the memory of all Filipinos – journalists and non-journalists alike – who gave their lives that genuine sovereignty and democracy and justice may one day reign in the Philippines.

The Artists' ARREST Alliance supports the Neo-Angono Artists Collective in their fight against censorship and for the integrity of artistic creation. We urge our fellow artists and the people to take similar stands in the defense of the freedom of expression, as well as the arts.

Artists' ARREST
(Artists' Response to the Call for Social Change and Transformation)

Southern Tagalog Exposure, Kilometer 64, Kiri Dalena, RJ Mabilin, King Catoy, Teta Tulay, Con Cabrera, Bobby Balingit, Cynthia Alexander, Kapi Capistrano, Jason Valenzuela, Maki Lim, Buen Calubayan, Mark Salvatus, J. Pacena



Call to Protest
so.... ano pa hinihintay natin bat di pa tayo magkasa ng mas malaking protesta.

sasama ako kahit saang sulok ng pilipinas ang venue

kahit sa Mendiola pa yan.

let me know kung kailan at saan isasama ko lahat ng kakilala ko.

salamat!
akawar



Comments of a Fellow Painter
Nabasa ko ang inyong mga pahayag sa website. Sa mata ng liderato ng NPC ang mga artista /pintor ay mga bayaran lamang. Sanay marahil ang NPC sa mga "pinagputahang gawa", ika nga pera lang ang katapat. Kaya nga lakas loob nitong sinasabi na pwede nilang sunugin ang mural, dahil pera ang kanilang kinikilala. Ang mural = kwarta lamang.

Marahil mas katanggap-tanggap sa kanila kung mga mukha ng liderato nila ang mga pininta niyo, na may titulong: "Threats to Press Freedom".

Tama na dalin ninyo ang debate sa antas ng property rights para maituwid ang maling pagkilala ng NPC sa mga pintor at ating mga gawa, nang maigawad ang katarungan.

Mabuhay Kayo!

Ed Coronel
Pintor



Vandalize their Graves
I saw what the bastards did to the painting. These people are real
hypocrites, its an outrage, i hope whoever is responsible for this
gets their tombstones get peed on, their graves dug up and vandalized,
their bodies cut-up and sold and their clothes stolen. And i do hope
this happens sooner than planned.

Mga walang hiya!
Miko


ANATOMY OF A REVISED MURAL
Painting over and revising an original art work of an artist by another is mortal sin. That is an artistic ethic that the National Press Club (NPC) failed to understand, much less respect, with regards to the mural they have commissioned the Neo-Angono Artists Collective to do. The painting was revised so crudely, vandalized would be the more appropriate term. For example, the slosh of paint that lengthened the hair and created a beard on the figure representing Mr. Randy David defaced his personality. Mr. David should be outraged! It is like dabbing a Hitler-moustache on a Gloria M. Arroyo portrait, only this revision could be accepted as a more accurate representation. Censorship reeks in the revision of the alibata K tattoo on Andres Bonifacio's left arm. NPC journalists would certainly know the meaning of the alibata K script. But the military could very likely read the script as subversive, considering its history of origin from American occupation troops which suppressed anything symbolizing Filipino nationhood. Unfortunately, officials of the NPC succumbed and replaced the nationalistic symbol K (for Katipunan, the national liberation movement organization) with an arrow-pierced red heart (for love-struck[?], an inane and insulting symbol to place at the arm of the figure representing our revolutionary hero, Andres Bonifacio). The alteration of the headline of the newspaper Jose Rizal is holding from Press Freedom Fighter's Son Abducted to Press Freedom Fight Is On erases the historical context of the mural. A 'Press Freedom Fight Is On' headline could date back to the propaganda movement of Rizal, Lopez Jaena, del Pilar and other writers who were exiled, imprisoned, and/or executed by the Spanish conquistadores. While 'Press Freedom' in the headline 'Press Freedom Fighter's Son Abducted' is a segueway to show the current trend of abduction of freedom fighters. Equally questionable is the revision of the newspaper held by the central figure, which had on it a statement about the effects on press freedom of the Human Security Act (HSA), or the antiterror law. This was painted over with a bird in a cage, a symbolism used by our ancestors to represent colonial oppression. Symbolisms had to be used then because any expression tending towards independence was unlawful. On the other hand, the HSA is a newly enacted law concocted by the ruling elite upon the inspiration of imperialist America, which is meant to suppress people struggling to break free from the bondage of neocolonialism. Art is form and content, with stress on and. Changing the form changes the content, as exemplified by the above. More than this elementary artistic consideration, art cannot be apolitical, like what NPC wants the mural to be. NPC should have realized that the theme they themselves have prescribed press freedom and/or threats to the press is extremely political. While taking together the theme and Pres. Gloria Arroyo who unveiled the mural is a political contradiction. Just like art, media cannot be apolitical nor not take sides. During this time of crisis and repression, freedom is asserted. It dies with fear and thrives on the courage of people taking the side of truth and justice.

Julie L. Po Visual Arts Section, CAP



KOMENTO LAMANG PO ITO....
IKINALULUNGKOT KO ANG PAGKADAPURAK NG ISANG NILIKHANG SINING NA INYONG BUONG ALAB AT PUSONG GINAWA PARA SA ATING BAYAN. ITO AY NAGPAPAKITA LAMANG NG KAKITIRAN AT KABABAWAN SA PAG-IISIP NG TAONG GUMAWA NG PAGBABAGO O ALTERASYON SA ORIHINAL NINYONG OBRA.

SA AKING PANANAW ITO AY MAGDUDULOT NG DALAWANG EPEKTO NA MAAARING MAKABUTI O MAKASAMA SA ATIN. MAKAKABUTI DAHIL ANG MURAL AY MAAARING TUMAAS ANG HALAGA SA PAGDATING NANG PANAHON DAHIL SA KANYANG NAGING  KONTROBERSYAL NA PAGBABAGO AT KASAYSAYAN.  MAKASASAMA NAMAN ITO DAHIL MAWAWALAN NG HALAGA ANG OBRA AT ITO'T ISANG SIMPLENG PAGPAPATUNAY LAMANG NA TAYO AY WALA NG KALAYAANG IPAHAYAG ANG KATOTOHANAN SA ATING KASARINLAN, MAITALA ANG TUNAY NA KASAYSAYAN AT MAGKAROON NG LIMITASYON SA PAGLIKHA NG ISANG MASASABING SARILING OBRA.

NAKAKALUNGKOT ISIPIN NA PAANO KUNG ANG MGA OBRA PALA TULAD NG KAY CARLOS BOTONG FRANCISCO AY HINDI RIN PALA NAGSASALAMIN NG KATOTOHANAN SA ATING KASARINLAN, KULTURA AT KASAYSAYAN BAGKUS ITO'Y HINAHANGAAN LAMANG DAHIL SA TAGLAY NITONG KULAY, HUGIS AT MAAYOS NA KOMPOSISYON .

NAKAKAINIS ISIPIN NA SI ANDRES BONIFACIO AY MAGKAROON NG ISANG NAKAKATUWANG TATO NA MADALAS AT KARANIWANG NAKIKITA LAMANG SA ISANG TAONG PRESO O TAMBAY SA KANTO. MAS HIGIT NA NAKAKAINIS ISIPIN NA ANG TAONG MISMONG GUMAWA NG ALTERASYON ISA MAN SIYA O HIGIT PA AY NABUBUHAY SA TAKOT O DI KAYA NAHIHIYANG ISULAT ANG KANILANG PANGALAN SA ISANG OBRA NA HINDI NAMAN SILA ANG MAY GAWA.

IKATUTUWA KO NA LANG SANA KUNG IPININTA NA RIN NG NAGBAGO SA OBRA ANG KANYANG PANGALAN SA MURAL KUNG SA PANINIWALA NIYA AY MAS NAKATULONG SIYA UPANG ITO AY MAS HIGIT NA MAGKAROON NG SUSTANSIYA AT MAKATOTOHANANG TEMA ANG KABUUAN NITO.

TANONG KO LANG; ISA BA SIYANG TAONG MAY DANGAL O ISANG SIMPLENG TAONG HANGAL NA ANG TANGING KAYANG GAWIN AY MAG-VANDALIZE NG MGA NILKHA NG MGA RESPETADONG ALAGAD NG SINING NG ATING BANSA?

Mark Alagap



Do you have lawyers supporting?
I personally have a principled objection against the concept of
intellectual property and copyright and its long-term effects to society,
so I would really hope that the artists consider invoking the recognition
of their "moral rights", in particular, the artists right of integrity,
rather than IP.

We can refer to the Visual Artists Rights Act ("VARA") under US Federal
Law, and also under European Law. I don't know if we have this locally but
please if you can get a lawyer to look into this rather than IP.

What is unique about the VARA is its invocation of "public interest" beyond
the artists' right to protect and exploit his own creative output:

"VARA recognizes a public interest in the encouragement of artists to work
and in the preservation of their work once created. Appealing to the public
interest on a narrow front helped ensure the passage of the legislation by
invoking a higher social good than that of the individual gain of the
artist or property holder. Public interest thus justified the intervention
of federal law into what many considered a private contractual matter. By
underpinning a copyright act with the public duty to preserve the nation's
art and cultural patrimony, the Act also responded to a world-wide concern
over issues of cultural protection and integrity."

"[VARA] constitutes one of the most extraordinary realignments of private
property ever adopted by Congress...The Act requires the owner to serve as
the custodian of the physical and artistic integrity of the artistic
property he or she possess, and it gives the artist the power to enforce
these obligations through litigation. "

George C. Smith, chief minority counsel for the Senate Judiciary
Subcommittee on Technology and the Law, January 1991 as quoted in Merryman
and Elsen, Law, Ethics and the Visual Arts

More here http://www.studiolo.org/CIP/VARA/CIP-VARA.htmFreedom mural defiled

Salamat,
Fatima Lasay



Droit Morale
“The Law Concerning Art Preservation and Artists' Rights” in America states that no person, with the exception of the artist, has a right to deface or alter a work of fine art.

''Droit morale,'' a legal concept meaning ''moral rights'' is the cornerstone of the law. In this case, 'droit morale' is the concept that art work is more than a commercial product.

An artist's reputation and career is dependent upon the works of art he or she creates. Each work of art has the artist's signature on it, literally and figuratively.

The droit morale essentially says the owner of a work of art does not have the right to alter, deface or destroy the work of art.

The work of art is something that belongs to society as a whole.

Tdc Lion



The least they can do is aplogize
if the press asks artists to support its fight by commissioning them to do a mural bannerring the freedom of the press and it's freedom of expression, why can't this same press respect the artist's same freedom of expressing his sentiments? do we need to remind where media would be without the artists who design their pages? who would bother to read the brilliant words of the press if its pages were nothing but boring columns of text? the least these gentlemen could do is apologize. pity the artist who is so in need that stooping to defame the integrity of another artist's work is not beneath him. but that experience should tell our artists where we really stand in the eyes of the powerful - we are expendable and negotiable.

Alan Rivera



Bastardized mural reflects dark side of journalism
I share your outrage. I'll write about this
Go to: http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=1825

Ellen Tordesillas - columnist, Malaya and Abante



Expression of Support
Titser ng Bayan joins the Neo-Angono Artists Collective in denouncing the defilement of NPC mural on press freedom. The culprits are cowards, hypcorites and bastards that do not deserve to sit as officers of the NPC as we annunce the free press aborining out of our struggle .

Greg Fabros, Titser ng Bayan, Toro



really, what press freedom?
First of all, mabuhay kayo! it takes true artists to, not only produce
such admirable works of art (which you did with the mural before it
was stupidly revised) but also to protect and defend your rights and
that of the public.

i hereby lend my strongest condemnation to the dastardly act, however
indirectly committed, by the leadership of the NPC. the act embodied
the very monster that we, as journalists and press freedom fighters,
vowed to combat. the utter disrespect and blatant show of distasteful
indiscretion and deliberate prejudice and cowardice of the NPC leaders
only paints the true picture of the rotten state we are in...

really, what press freedom?
Nevertheless, this gives us further, a cause, not for celebration, but
for indignation at this recent act of trampling on our Constitutional
rights.

do not be weary and disheartened. know that you are not alone in this fight.
i say again, Mabuhi kamong tanan! Padayon!


(Funnily so, may bago na palang group of art critics and advisers ang
NPC-- ang PSG. hmmm..this makes me wonder, si Gloria na ba ang bagong
premier art critic ng bansa? eh daig pa niya yata si Botong Francisco
eh. i bet, Botong is turning in his grave sa ginawa nila...)


Karen Papellero
Correspondent, Bulatlat.com
CEGP Alumni



Legal Advice
I'm not a lawyer but I think I have enough experience when it comes to contracts that concern artist's services. I'm kinda worried that you might lose your fight that's why I'm replying.

If this project is a "commissioned work" was it stipulated in the contract that your group has the final approval of the work, or that not any part of your work will be altered or deleted, etc. Because as far as commissioned works are concerned, the party or person who commissioned it has full right over the works.

When our group did SITAK for Cinema One we have accepted that and were ready for any intervention the studio will be doing. But true to the spirit of artistic expression, Cinema One (Creative Programs Inc.) thru Ronald Arguelles embraced the spirit of artistic independence even if the contract stipulated that they have final approval as well as ownership.

You can ask your lawyer maybe to sue them on other grounds like say delay in payments.
Study this issue well so you don't regret it afterwards.
May the good force be with you!

Lisa Cornejo



Shame on the NPC
I could not believe this myself until I saw and compared the pictures one by one. Shame on the NPC. Such display of blatant censorship has no place in the hallowed halls of press freedom. Does anyone have class anymore these days? Or is corruption and censure Malacanang-style the "in" thing nowadays?

Let us not allow this bastardization of legitimate art go unpunished. Artists unite now!

Darby Santiago



Suportahan ta ka
It is outrageous! I can't believe the NPC would do
such a horrible thing. You have created a one of a
kind work of art and not just a simple furniture that
they can reupholster for their own benefit.

Institutions or private collectors should be aware of
the creative process by the artists being
commissioned. We are not mere sign painters working
for a buck. They should respect our stand on issues of
national concern.

I am on your side. More power and Mabuhay!

warm handshake,

Elmer Borlongan
San Antonio, Zambales



A Question of Truth
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines is saddened and appalled by the defacement of the press freedom mural commissioned from the Neo-Angono Artists Collective by the National Press Club.

Absolutely nothing can justify the indignity done to a work of art that, ironically, seeks to honor the Philippine media's struggle for press freedom, a struggle, we would like to stress, that is far from over.

The alterations on the mural were not only an aesthetic outrage, they constituted censorship, an act that should have been anathema to any media organization worth its salt, and made worse by the fact that the message that was censored was one against censorship itself.

The explanations of the Club's officers have only served to bolster suspicions that the defacing of the press freedom mural was meant to please the guest of honor at its unveiling, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

We can see how unveiling the mural would have been a rebuke to a president under whose watch the most number of journalists have been murdered – 53 at last count.
 
However, to the National Press Club and other colleagues in media, these we have to ask:

When you say the NPC must be "apolitical" , isn't this denying the historical fact that the freedom to write the truth was won through political struggles that included media and journalists? That during times of intense political crisis, journalists have taken up the cudgel and fought for the freedom to report the truth?

When you erased the statement of the International Federation of Journalists on the dangers the anti-terrorism law posed to press freedom, the alibata K – a fighting symbol – from the arm of a revolutionary leader, or the NUJP from the banners of protesting media organizations; or when you changed the headline on the abduction of Joe Burgos' son and the faces of Randy David and Juan Mercado, was the outcome a more accurate picture of press freedom in the country?

Sadly, this we have to say:
Ordering the alterations is akin to rewriting a critical yet accurate report to avoid incurring the ire of the powers-that- be or appease a patron. And we, in the media community, know by what word such an act is known by. It is definitely not truth or ethics.



CCP Upholds Rights of Neo-Angono Artists
All societies that aspire to freedom and development regard their artists with deep respect. The alteration of an artwork without its artist’s explicit consent is a violation of the artist’s right to free expression and a desecration of the artwork. Even in commissioned projects involving various parties working towards an agreed vision, the limits to intervention must be negotiated without sacrificing artistic integrity.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) issues this position paper in light of the unfortunate controversy surrounding the mural commissioned by the National Press Club (NPC) from the Neo-Angono Artists collective; so that the public may be guided accordingly, and the integrity of artworks and artistic practice be upheld.

The CCP strongly condemns the utter disregard for the artists’ intellectual rights over their work, which was explicit in the actions taken and comments given by the NPC management. Recognizing the valuable partnership between Filipino journalists and artists, and in our common commitment to uphold freedom of expression in our country, we wish to view this event as the result of a misguided few rather than the sentiment of the entire NPC. The CCP commends the Neo-Angono Artists Collective for standing up for their rights, and enjoins the rest of the artistic community to do the same.



Pananaw ng Sining Bayan, Inc.
While we may never summon the hubris to call ourselves the richest denizens of Asia , we certainly had, for an unarguably golden period, prided ourselves with having the freest press this side of the planet.  So while we may have been the sick man in the neighborhood, especially after Marcos got the boot, we were still mostly deliriously
free to gripe and show-up the powers-at-be about the multitude of
their sins and then some.

What happens though when key elements in that supposed bastion of expression start backpedaling and second-guessing what passes off as palatable to Malacañang's tastebuds?

The recent press coverage on "alterations" on a mural made by Neo-Angono Art Collective for the National Press Club's 55th anniversary brings up issues of authorship and art as mere property exchange.  The debates are old and worn in the artworld but still
strike a painful chord in the world-at-large which still continues to look at artists as mere cogs in the image-making process.

But over and above this, NPC's Board's undisguised self-censorship brings on the odious stench of self-preening lackeys and a media institution forsaking it's once much admired rambunctiousness,grit and critical indepence.  Not only has NPC, in this instance, displayed an undisguised disregard for artistic agency, it's shortage of noblesse and readiness to literally gloss (a.k.a. paint) overreferences to pertinent events and press
freedom icons shamelessly aligns it with forces both within the public and private sphere who seek to whitewash evidences of dissent and alterity.

As members of the board of Pananaw ng Sining Bayan we express our support for the members of Neo-Angono as they seek  redress for the absence of etiquette for peers and
blatant infringement manifest in the National Press Club leadership's censorial gestures masquerading as bids for historical neutrality.

Susan Fetalvero-Roces, Ma. Loures Lauzon Manrique, Eileen Legaspi-Ramirez, Araceli Luna Arellano, Jose Tence Ruiz

A Question of Truth
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines is saddened and appalled by
the defacement of the press freedom mural commissioned from the Neo-Angono
Artists Collective by the National Press Club.

Absolutely nothing can justify the indignity done to a work of art that,
ironically, seeks to honor the Philippine media's struggle for press freedom, a
struggle, we would like to stress, that is far from over.

The alterations on the mural were not only an aesthetic outrage, they
constituted censorship, an act that should have been anathema to any media
organization worth its salt, and made worse by the fact that the message that
was censored was one against censorship itself.

The explanations of the Club's officers have only served to bolster suspicions
that the defacing of the press freedom mural was meant to please the guest of
honor at its unveiling, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

We can see how unveiling the mural would have been a rebuke to a president under
whose watch the most number of journalists have been murdered – 53 at last
count.

However, to the National Press Club and other colleagues in media, these we have
to ask:

When you say the NPC must be "apolitical", isn't this denying the historical
fact that the freedom to write the truth was won through political struggles
that included media and journalists? That during times of intense political
crisis, journalists have taken up the cudgel and fought for the freedom to
report the truth?

When you erased the statement of the International Federation of Journalists on
the dangers the anti-terrorism law posed to press freedom, the alibata K – a
fighting symbol – from the arm of a revolutionary leader, or the NUJP from the
banners of protesting media organizations; or when you changed the headline on
the abduction of Joe Burgos' son and the faces of Randy David and Juan Mercado,
was the outcome a more accurate picture of press freedom in the country?

Sadly, this we have to say:

Ordering the alterations is akin to rewriting a critical yet accurate report to
avoid incurring the ire of the powers-that- be or appease a patron. And we, in
the media community, know by what word such an act is known by. It is definitely
not truth or ethics.

"A writer is an editor of memory. In writing we make the loves we should have
made, wage wars we should have waged. It doesn't always make up for the real
thing, but it does have its rewards."

First they came…
This incident reminds me of the poem entitled "First they came…" attributed to Martin Niemöller about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. The poem is quoted below:

When the Nazis came for the communists
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

(When they came for the Neo Anggono artists
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Neo Anggono artist.)

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Let us all speak out against this morally bankrupt regime! Sobra na talaga itong Neo Nazi government na 'to! Mapapasayaw ka ng "boom tarat tarat" at "itaktak mo" sa gigil!

Joel Butuyan

WHO OWNS FREEDOM? WHO OWNS ART?
In solidarity with Neo-Angono Artists Collective, the artists of TutoK express their indignation at the censorship of the mural on the History of Press Freedom, commissioned by the National Press Club (NPC), and ironically defaced and revised shortly after the same mural was installed and transferred to the NPC’s custody. The mural unveiled on October 26 on the 55th Anniversary of the NPC was changed without the artists’ consent.

Our initial reaction was that of lament. This act would be deemed unexpected of an institution representing a profession that we hold in high esteem. In the interest of social responsibility, artists, like writers and journalists, are practitioners of creative craft in the service of truth and the pursuit of justice. As the mural aptly means to depict, the history of the struggle for press freedom is not the struggle of press and media people alone, but the struggle of a nation seeking freedom from imperialist and fascist bondage. Sadly, what should have been a pictorial vista affirming NPC’s place in history in union with past and more recent heroes and martyrs for freedom’s cause has been besmirched, defaced and censored by the NPC leadership itself by its smug and misinformed claim--that since it has commissioned and paid for the mural, it has the absolute right as owner to change it and ultimately decide on its fate. The NPC leadership is in effect saying that it’s nobody else’s business because it is their property.

Two fallacies come to surface in the NPC leadership’s feeble defense. First, it denies that it committed censorship, and insists on calling it an act of alteration. Was it just pure whim on their part to authorize the painting over of the International Federation of Journalists’ statement on behalf of press freedom against the implementation of the anti-terror law? Why erase the news on abduction of Jonas Burgos? Why did it try to disguise or change names and personages integral to the artist’s depiction of past and progressive crises on the right to free expression? The NPC leadership conveniently denies that the so-called alterations- - hurriedly implemented right before the launch graced by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and right after an ocular inspection by the Presidential Security Group-- are connected to the said events. NPC president Roy Mabasa insists that no one influenced their decision.

Indeed, there is no censorship in the Philippines . Authorities lash against criticism in the most furtive ways; there will always be minions to do the dirty work. If we are besieged by extra-judicial killings and abductions at large, NPC’s current leadership has enacted the killing and abduction of the constitutional right to freedom of expression by hiring other artists to deface the work of the Neo-Angono artists.

The next fallacy manifests itself in the NPC leadership’s invocation of its authority, presented in news reports as expressions of magnanimity. NPC director Joel Sy Egco asserts that: 1) the alterations are not permanent and will not harm the artwork; and 2) the alterations were not meant to offend and therefore the artists have not been harmed. These statements would have us believe that the issue is simply a contractual dispute between Neo-Angono and the NPC.

Who owns the mural and who gets to control what it should speak of eventually, and for all posterity? This is the reductive question being posited by NPC in its defense. The answer is clearly stated in the Intellectual Property Code (IPC) of the Philippines . What applies to writers and other authors and creators of original works clearly applies to Neo-Angono. The collective and its artist members alone have the right to revise the artwork as a whole or by parts, unless the artists themselves elect to disclaim or assign that right to others in writing. The law applies even if the artwork has been bought or paid for by an owner. It therefore follows that the owner of an artwork is expected to act as custodian of the artist’s right and is committed to protect the original integrity of the artwork once the artist or artists declare it has already been created and done. The sum of 900,000 pesos for an 8 by 32-foot mural becomes even more paltry given the NPC leadership’s reckless notion that the amount paid entitles them to violate the law.
Chapter X, Sec. 193.3, under the Law on Copyright in the IPC states that the author of a work has the right to:
“To object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, his work which would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation”
These and other rights are guaranteed and binding under laws on copyright, and need not be declared in contracts and registrations. The Philippines is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and is therefore bound to the rule that the artist's moral and economic rights to his work is automatically in force upon creation,locally and internationally, even without being asserted and declared, and will continue to be applied up to fifty years after the creator’s demise.

Having clearly violated the rights of the Neo-Angono Artists Collective, the NPC leadership must account for a larger moral affront in the public realm: that of being complicit in the gagging of free expression and the distortion of an expressed facet of our own history. Claiming not to take sides does not give NPC the license to silence and censor what is meant to be expressed. Otherwise, it should not have commissioned a mural on the history of press freedom and should have opted for something safe and decorative to grace the wall of its Headline Restaurant. The NPC as a senior organization of journalists should be the bastion of ethical practice and the protection of universal human rights. The freedom of the press is staked not on its practitioners alone but on the freedom of everyone, and it only follows that it entails great responsibility.

Neo-Angono Artist Collective’s assertion that it stands firm, that it will not back down, that it will not agree to any change in what its artists have painstakingly researched and expressed is already a declaration of responsibility. We artists and citizens look in askance as to when the current leadership of National Press Club will take a similar act of responsibility.

TutoK