PHILPOP – National Quincentennial Committee Partnership Immortalizing Filipino Stories and Experiences through Songs
On November 22, 2019, the National Quencentennial Commemorations (NCQ) and the Philpop Musicfest Foundation (PhilPop) announced their partnership at Max’s Kabisera at Bonifacio High Street, Taguig.
The panel for the press launch included industry leaders and local government officials with National Artist Ryan Cayabyab, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) Vice Chairman Dr. Rene Escalante, PhilPop Excecutive Director Dinah A. Remolacio, International award-winning songwriter and FILSCAP Board of Trustees Member, Trina Belamide, and veteran song writer Jungee Marcelo.
Nearly a year after its launch last December 21, 2018 at the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the National Quincentennial Committees and PhilPop in the Philippines has been busy with national songwriting bootcamps, lecture series, exhibits and meetings with the Department of Tourism, National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the Presidential Communications Operations Office.
The 2012 National Quencentennial Commemorations
The Quencentennial Commemorations is an international celebration by the various countries that were part of the route of the famous Magellan expedition that first circumnavigated the globe. Historical celebrations across countries, especially those with very little first hand accounts, always involve a degree of difficulty as it involves diverse perspectives of the same experience which or may not be true.
The National Quencentennial Committee was created in 2018 through Executive Order No. 55 to serve as the governing body for all government initiatives for the Philippine Quencentennial Commemorations.
Protecting our narrative and creating spaces to remember them
Mr. Noel Escalante, the NHCP chairman, mentioned how the different countries on the path of the world’s first circumnavigation are celebrating in their own way. In Portugal, their celebrations center around Ferdinand Magellan who led a fleet of five vessels called the Armada of Molucca , which left Seville, Spain on August 10, 1519 while in Spain, they are focusing on on Sebastian Elcano, captain of ship Victoria who completed the circumnavigation in 1522. While in Malaysia and Indonesia, they elevate Enrique of Malacca or in Panglima Awang in Malay who was the interpreter who had journeyed with Magellan during his expedition.
Here in the Philippines, the NCQ operates with a strong advocacy towards a more Filipino-centric point of view of the first circumnavigation of the world by highlighting how our ancestors played a role in helping the Magellan-Elcano crew get through their three month expedition throughout the Pacific Ocean and a celebration of the 500 years of the victory of Lapulapu and his warriors in the Battle of Mactan.
According to Mr. Escalante, the lack of first hand accounts from the Filipino perspective made it hard for them to create the spaces necessary to elevate Lapulapu, our first national hero, to the standard he deserves. Unlike our more recent heroes during the Philippine Revolution, such as Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo, who had a multitude of historical data, living relatives and personal accounts enough to fill 2-3 museums each, the only source we have of Lapulapu’s existence is the Spanish Antonio Pigafetta’s account of Magellan’s voyage.
The NHCP has been working hard in the last year to create more spaces and secure more budget to remember our version of this historical event through a TIEZA funded shrine with a permanent exhibit and virtual realty museum enacting the Battle of Mactan, and lobbying various laws with the goal of changing the name of Mactan International Airport to Lapulapu International Airport, adding Lapulapu to our list of national heroes featured on our currency, pushing April 27 as a national non-working holiday and even producing a film.
Each country, with their own historical nuances and narratives, focus on particular aspects of the journey that they believed resonated most with their people. In the 500 years we have bene entangled in this narrative, it’s now more than ever important to have a pragmatic understanding of how much of our culture was shaped by the experience of being part of this historic feat of man, what it cost our people in return and the right way to move forward globally.
In the Philippines, our National Quencentennial Committee decided to partner with Philpop to create a Filipino-centric 9-song playlist, designed to immortalize our stories and experiences through songs.
Philpop and the power of music to immortalize stories
At first glance, one might wonder how PhilPop fits into the bigger picture of the NQC’s plans.It’s not as straight forward as creating an exhibit or film, although they are planning to do those things as well. Philpop was founded on 2012 by passionate local artists with the goal of providing a channel wherein Filipino songwriters can create new songs, discover new expressions or genres in popular music, sparking renewed awareness, enthusiasm and pride in Philippine Music.
With the opening remarks by Dinah Remolacio, she talks about how they were initially very intimidated with the weight of the expectations placed upon them, she did believe that we have been and we should continue to immortalize our history through songs. In the last 7 years, PhilPop has been supported artists nationwide, seeing Filipino music as a cultural treasure and reflection of national identity.
Treating the attendants with snippets from some of the tracks to be included in the line up of 9 songs produced by Ms. Trina Belamide and Mr. Jungee Marcelo, we listened to Mactan by Kian Dionisio, one of their Boot Camp attendees which had a modern sound and production quality but very ethnic and Filipino in its sound. While not all the songs are said to be about the Battle of Mactan and Lapulapu, they all touch on, in on way or another, aspects of the Filipino spirit.
On Being Hopeful for the local OPM industry
Renowned singer, songwriter, National Artist, and executive director of Philpop, Ryan Cayabyab, talked about the many challenges that make it difficult for young artists to create music in the Philippines but how he is hopeful that through various initiatives such as the PhilPop bootcamps, they can continue to guide young songwriters to forge their own path into creating a bright future for the local OPM scene.
Producer, internationally acclaimed songwriter and a Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (FILSCAP) Board of Trustees member, Ms. Belamide, shares that there was a time that royalties paid to foreign artists once dominated our local music industry with 80% of the earnings going out of the country. However, the digitalization and the creation of online streaming services and cheaper ways to produce and market quality music, has allowed our local industry to recover and we are at the brink of nearly half of the royalties paid out in recent times.
Our local music industry is becoming increasingly competitive and with the support of these various initiatives by local groups and the government, we are looking at an exciting age of Filipino music.
From the centuries of oral tradition that pre-mediates even the arrival of the Spanish to our lands, music has and always will be a part of our culture and identity. Ingrained in our bones, the experience of creating songs will be our safeguard against losing our narratives and unique perspectives that help shape the Filipino identity.
To stay updated on future events and announcements, check out the Facebook pages of the National Quencentennial Committee and PhilPOP.
