Third Prize winner of the Written Essay Awards for “Which Road for Southeast Asia?” Competition
| Title | “Southeast Asia Is the Friends We Made Along the Way” |
| Author | Renz Alrec Recamadas Alinas |
Southeast Asia is the friends we made along the way
As I struggled to get back up after a less-than-perfect knee thrust to my muay thai coach in one of our noontime sparring sessions, I hear a song playing on the television overhead. Translated to English, the song opens like this:
From Batanes to Jolo
Wherever you are, let’s go
A thousand and one laughs
Nationwide, Eat…Bulaga![i]
Since its premiere on July 30, 1979, the show has aired over 13,000 episodes. Eat Bulaga! is undeniably a legend in Philippine television. It would not even be a stretch to say that every Filipino, whether a fan of the show or not, knows its theme song by heart.
Making reference to Batanes and Jolo, places that approximate[ii]the northernmost and southernmost points in the Philippines respectively, the theme song indicates that its creators expected the show’s reach to be confined to the Filipino audience. This was until the management of Surya Citra Televisi approached their counterparts in Television and Production Exponents Inc. to discuss the development of an Indonesian franchise of Eat Bulaga!. While initially surprising the Filipino television executives, the chance was ultimately taken. And so, on July 16, 2012, Eat Bulaga! Indonesia premiered and Eat Bulaga! became the first Filipino show to be franchised internationally[iii]. This generated so much hype between Filipino and Indonesian audiences that in less than a month, on August 11, 2012, the Indonesian hosts Uya Kuya and Rian Ibram appeared as guests in the original Eat Bulaga! in the Philippines.
Watching the Dabarkads, the entertainment trio consisting of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon co-host the variety show with their Indonesian equivalents even for just one episode made me believe that international bonds can be built out of shared laughter, entertainment, and fun. Filipino fans laughed just as hard with what they saw just as often as they had laughed before. And the Indonesian audiences laughed just the same when the Dabarkads appeared in the Indonesian show much later. To me, and I daresay to all the audiences watching, it almost felt as if Filipinos and Indonesians were one people. Notably, Dabarkads is a play[iv]on the word barkada, which is Filipino slang that refers to a group of friends. It is my submission that those episodes have done more for regional community building in Southeast Asia than whatever treaty, agreement, concordat, or entente negotiated by national leaders. A Filipino-Indonesian barkada emerged during the airtime of those episodes, and it gave me a vision of a barkada that extends to the entirety of Southeast Asia.
The late diplomat and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Mr. Thanat Khoman, once asked “Which road for Southeast Asia?”. To this I make a proposed answer: The road for Southeast Asia is a personal one. The road for Southeast Asia is a human one, and it is my hope that this road will lead us to a kind of diplomacy that is more down-to-earth than ever, and expressed in a manner that ordinary people can comprehend.
In his book Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, political scientist Benedict Anderson once defined the nation as “imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion.[v]” Indeed, I might add, the concept of the nation-state is both a European invention and imposition, tracing its origin in Westphalia in 1648 and extending to our region by virtue of colonization. All told, associations of nation-states, like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN, is an even newer concept. In a region consisting of the youngest nation-states on earth, if people have yet to fully grasp their national identity, then what more a regional one? The laws, regulations, and all the trappings of nationalism simply escape the minutiae of an average person’s daily life. For this reason, an even bigger structure like ASEAN fails to occupy his mind, and consequently, his heart.
But the good news is that ASEAN, or the entire concept of regional organizations, does not have to, nor did it ever need to. History tells us that progress and peace was already achieved in the region, albeit with varying degrees of success, before the arrival of European colonization. Southeast Asia, though not integrated in the modern sense, has always been interconnected. Granted there were identifiable polities like the Srivijaya and the Majapahit Empires, but free, borderless trade was de rigueur even without any formal association. Which is why it is no surprise that Enrique, though coming from what is modern-day Indonesia, was qualified enough to serve as Ferdinand Magellan’s interpreter in Mactan Island in the Philippines.[vi] It is a small wonder that ceramic wares from Sukhothai and Sawankhalok have made appearances in archaeological digs in Luzon and Visayas.[vii]
Guided by these historical precedents, we are given a clue of what Southeast Asia can be. Perhaps the Southeast Asian spirit may not always be embodied in a superpower regional entity bound to layers of verbose legalese. It well may be that the Southeast Asian dream of regional peace will not be a consequence of a signing of a peace agreement. Maybe the Southeast Asian soul is embodied in a communal swooning over Mario Maurer as he falls in love with Erich Gonzales in Suddenly It’s Magic. [viii]Maybe regional peace in Southeast Asia is fulfilled through a sincere handshake of sportsmanship after an arnis match at the Southeast Asian Games. Maybe the real Southeast Asian community consists of Ms. Saroeun from Cambodia, Mr. Dương from Vietnam, and Ms. Wei from Singapore – all joiners in a climb organized by Mr. Adam from Malaysia to Mount Kinabalu’s peak. Southeast Asia is neither lines on a map, nor a creature of legal fiction. Southeast Asia is the friends we made along the way.
The UN, the ASEAN, and many other international organizations have had their relevance doubted over the years. Even the power of international law as hard law has been vigorously scrutinized. But here lies the dilemma. In confronting these questions, we should not forget who’s asking: sovereign states, megacorporate stakeholders, nongovernment organizations, all of them superstructures incomprehensible to the street vendor selling pad see ew, all of them distant to my muay thai coach Mr. Santos whose pending concern is waiting for me to complete a set of twenty elbow strikes.
This does not mean that the ASEAN is irrelevant. Lest we forget: it is because of ASEAN that the pad see ew vendor meets Malaysian tourists on holiday. It is because of ASEAN that Ms. Reyes from Manila landed a job as a Starbucks barista at Changi Airport. It is because of ASEAN that I could taste authentic bánh mì served by Ms. Nguyen in Bonifacio Global City. It is because of ASEAN that I was able to order a full set of hot pot kitchenware from Ms. Chang’s online store. It is because of ASEAN that Mr. Santos honed his muay thai skills through sporting events with Thai athletes.
ASEAN will be here to stay, but its status as a mega-entity existing more in paper than in the hearts of its constituents behooves us to not put it in the center. Institutions are transitory, and its powers are oftentimes challenged. What is rarely challenged is the collective force of ordinary people, in their pursuit of ordinary things, that keep the wheels turning. It is about time that we campaign ASEAN officials to make the region more conducive for personal diplomacy, one that survives and thrives beyond institutions. The role of ASEAN then, will be to cultivate an environment that allows individuals within Southeast Asia to connect directly with each other. The result will be an ASEAN that gets close enough to reenacting the Southeast Asian network before European contact.
Here are a few things that ASEAN can do to nurture personal diplomacy:
One: Support the creativity of our digital natives. Most of them will come from the youth sector and a future-oriented ASEAN will invest on its young constituents. In 2018, a Filipina singer named Ysabelle Cuevas uploaded a performance[ix] of her own English translation of I Like You So Much, You’ll Know It[x]on YouTube. In 2020, the Indonesian singing couple Aviwkila covered [xi]the same song using Cuevas’ lyrics. By sharing lyrics, a connection was made not only between the artists but also to the listeners. Filipinos and people of other nationalities flocked to the comment sections and bonded over the emotions they felt as they listened to the performances. Perhaps ASEAN could provide translation grants for Southeast Asian music, poetry and drama among existing and prospective content creators, to be followed by a promotion campaign of such performances within Southeast Asian online networks. This also reinforces the earlier point observed in the case with Eat Bulaga! that communal enjoyment of entertainment, whether in television, film, or music, can bring people together.
Two: Encourage and fund the establishment of national cultural centers that have adapted to the context of the host countries. Existing ones like the Confucius Institute, the Alliance Française, and the Goethe-Institut, have programs that lean toward promoting travel, study, and work in the country that they represent. Which is why entering these centers feel like visiting another country. The counterparts to be developed by ASEAN must be bound by an obligation to be branded not as a window looking abroad, but as a channel to access and befriend other Southeast Asian nationalities within the host country. As an example that takes place in the Philippines, a Filipino will be given Vietnamese language lessons for ordering phở from Ms. Nguyen’s restaurant in Bonifacio Global City. A Filipino will be taught by Mr. Boun how to prepare tam mak hong using locally grown papayas. A Filipino will be coached by Ms. Choum some defensive tactics in pradal serey. The possibilities are endless, and in the process, the Philippines will feel less like islands away from the mainland and more like a shared international space, transcending borders, for multilateral flourishing.
Three: Arrange sister city or twin town relationships. The human race, as said by British physicist Geoffrey West, has been saved by innovation and innovation thrives in cities. Unlike countries, companies and humans, cities seem to be immortal. According to West, in the last century, cities have been de-industrialised, starved and some have even been attacked with nuclear bombs. And yet they always seem to survive.[xii] Indeed, with a structure much smaller than a nation-state or an association of nations, the city certainly falls within the comprehension of the average person, allowing him or her to be more socially engaged. ASEAN, through its intellectual resources and logistical facilities, can survey which cities or towns in Southeast Asia are kindred spirits, and broker between them a partnership bound by shared cultural and economic interest. City residents will need only to look at their local issuances to see how they can take part in this personal diplomacy.
On May 31, 2021, on Mizzima TV, Eat Bulaga! Myanmar made its debut.[xiii] It is a comforting thought that, because of this second franchise, the concept of barkada has some presence not only from Batanes to Jolo, but ultimately at the northernmost, southernmost, westernmost, and easternmost points of Southeast Asia. Through ASEAN’s facilitation, friendships that await no treaty will flourish more than ever. It will only be a matter of time for us to find a barkada in all points of Southeast Asia. The complexity of historical forces, the ten-dimensional chess game of geopolitics, and the fluid squiggles on the map will have already lost its relevance to the people so engrossed with the beauty, and the duty, of the present moment, and more so with the company of friends. This is how ASEAN knows that it has succeeded.
As she stands on the peak of Mount Kinabalu, Ms. Wei, who has finally quenched her thirst for adventure, turns to her fellow joiners: Ms. Saroeun who has regained her confidence after a painful breakup, Mr. Dương who is ready to start a new business, and Mr. Adam, who has a renewed hope in the preservation of natural heritage. Gone are the differences in origin, for they have heard each other’s stories as they ascended, and have now formed a barkada standing on the same mountaintop, gazing upon the same sea of clouds, and dreaming upon the same sky. Miles away, part-time muay thai instructor and full-time father-of-two, Mr. Santos helps me stand up from my fall after a sparring round. With this kind of road for Southeast Asia, we need not fear or stress about what Southeast Asia will be. As with many great pursuits in life, what matters more is not the destination, but the journey. Wouldn’t it better to take it with a friend?
Biography:
Renz Alrec Recamadas Alinas is a Philippine lawyer. He finished his law degree in the University of the Philippines. He is currently serving as a Legislative Staff Officer in the Office of Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, where he handles matters concerning National Defense, Public Order, Cultural Communities, and Trade.
Organizer:
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organization Foundation for Southeast Asia Studies (ForSEA), aims to foste understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio- cultural dimensions- from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 408 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium), SEA Junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information see www.seajunction.org, join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/1693058870976440 and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @seajunction
In collaboration with:
The JFK Foundation in Thailand was founded by H.E. Dr. Thanat Khoman, the former Ambassador to the United States, with the purpose of commemorating President Kennedy’s principles.
References:
[i] Author’s translation.
[ii] Batanes refers to an island group wherein Mavulis (Y’Ami) Island is the northernmost point. The southernmost point in the Philippines is actually Sitangkai in the province of Tawi-Tawi, where Jolo is nearby. The song’s authors appear to have used poetic license in choosing Jolo so that the lyrics will rhyme.
[iii] Isagani De Castro, Jr. TVJ’s ‘Eat Bulaga’ and ABS-CBN’s ‘It’s Showtime’: The plight of Filipino content creators. Rappler. June 24, 2023. <https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/tvj-eat-bulaga-abs-cbn-it-is-showtime-plight-filipino-content-creators/>
[iv] This form of wordplay is known in the Philippines as Tadbalik, where syllables of words are inverted. The term “tadbalik” is itself a tadbalik play on the Filipino word baliktad, meaning inverted.
[v] Benedict Anderson. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. 1983 (Verso)
[vi] As chronicled by the Venetian scholar and explorer Antonio Pigafetta.
[vii] William Henry Scott. The Mediterranean Connection. Philippine Studies. Vol. 37, No. 2 (Second Quarter 1989), pp. 131-144 (Ateneo de Manila University)
[viii] 2012 Filipino-Thai romantic film directed by Filipino film director Rory Quintos
[ix] Watch Cuevas’ cover here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS9eXS6VucU
[x] Originally Wǒ duō xǐhuān nǐ, nǐ huì zhīdào. Lyrics by Yang Kaiyi. Arranged by Zhang Bolun.
[xi] Watch Aviwkila’s cover here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zE6C6_fqc4
[xii] Nicholas Barrett. Are our cities immortal?. The Economist. Jun 20, 2017 <https://medium.economist.com/are-our-cities-immortal-c05100e99591>
[xiii] Eat Bulaga! Myanmar. Eat Bulaga × E.A.T. Wiki. <https://eatbulaga.fandom.com/wiki/Eat_Bulaga!_Myanmar>
