To see is no longer to believe.

There was a time when people had to look up into the sky to search for answers about the mysteries of life. We raise our eyes to the heavens looking for clues about our existence. Astronomers and astrologers gaze at the stars and planets to discover their meaning in relation to our own planetary system.

We are curious creatures. We are explorers of the world. We are adventurers.

To understand the realities of the globe, we only had to open our eyes. We use our eyes to probe the riddles of humanity. Often, after seeing something interesting or extraordinary, we are pushed into action. We are motivated to deepen our knowledge about this enigmatic thing. In short, the first step towards the affirmation of truth and the need for change is to see.

Hindi lang buksan ang iyong mata. Idilat ang iyong mata.

The problem today is that we no longer gaze at the stars. We no longer want to touch the fleshy, spongy, rough surface of the planet. We have lost the patience to look for answers by peering into the distance. We are refusing to open our eyes to the ugly realities of our society.

Yes, we are still using our eyes to see the world but we no longer go out to experience reality. We are satisfied “to see” in the comfort of our homes. It seems our eyes couldn’t resist the glare of our TV sets, computer screens, cell phones, ipods and other gaming devices. Truth is validated if it appears in front of our computer windows. Emile Zola once wrote that “you cannot claim to have really seen something until you have photographed it.” Using Zola’s words, we can say today that you cannot claim to have really seen something until you have seen it in the internet.

What is worse than refusing to see? Paul Virilio warned that “our contemporaries no longer want to see, they want to be seen by all.” The best example is our facebooking activities. We want to be seen by everybody on Facebook. We are exhibitionists. We upload our photos and videos on Facebook. We have redefined the meaning of privacy. Suddenly, the lives of everybody are now an open (face)book. Susan Sontag’s term of self-surveillance is appropriate in describing our internet habits.

So we have two issues: 1) we refuse to see; 2) we only want to be seen.

What is the problem of refusing to see? We can’t solve the problems of man if we do not open our eyes. Or worse, if we only use our eyes to observe others or if we continually compare ourselves with others. Or if we end up as cyber voyeurs. Virilio wrote that the information revolution is really a revolution of generalized snooping. Think of webcams and camera phones.

What is the problem of only wanting to be seen? We can’t be good neighbors if we are satisfied with looking in the mirror everyday. How can we feel the pain of others if we are obsessed with our Facebook profile? The world does not evolve around us. The center of the earth is not us. There are more important things on this planet other than our puny concern about an unflattering picture on Facebook which was tagged by one of our friends.

It is wrong to think and assert that providing instant and realtime information to everybody will inspire people into action. The reverse might happen. Over-communication might actually prevent people from doing something. And it is already happening.

For example, pictures of poverty are retweeted on Twitter, shared on FB walls, liked by FB friends, reposted in blogs to the point that they were seen by everybody in our online network many times over. This is the “obscenity of ubiquity.” And there is no guarantee that viral blasting the images would provoke people to do something concrete about what they have just seen. Why? Sontag reminds us that “pseudo familiarity with the horrible reinforces alienation, making one less able to react in real life.” She adds that the “feeling of being exempt from calamity stimulates interest in looking at painful pictures, and looking at them suggests and strengthens the feeling that one is exempt.”

But it is not just overexposure to the real that discourages people to act. The “art of seeing” itself is gone. Moholy-Nagy mentioned eight distinct varieties of seeing – abstract, exact, rapid, slow, intensified, penetrative, simultaneous, and distorted. Meanwhile, Alvin Langdon Coburn wrote that the camera is an instrument of ‘fast seeing’. Sontag wrote about us having a photographing eye used for photographic seeing. Today, we have internet eyes which are used not to see but to consume vast amounts of information in realtime. We don’t even blink anymore. We are too overwhelmed with the power of the cyberspace that we refuse to reduce our intake of data believing that doing so would deprive us of the chance to access the great truths of our time.

Surfing the web is not a sightseeing activity where we can experience and witness the marvels of the world. Most of the time, it is only a glorified and eye-stress inducing celebration of the trivial, inconsequential and boring information tidbits about ourselves and our neighbors. But because we believe that internet data is the truth and web surfing is the modern and safe way of seeing, we proudly share our new knowledge with the less informed others. Sharing of internet-sourced knowledge becomes the preferred mode of political action of the 21st century man.

The challenge then is to restore the radical power of seeing. The truth is not located in our RSS and twitter feeds. It is out there.

Reference:

- Susan Sontag, (1977) “On Photography”, Penguin, London
- Paul Virilio, (2007) Art as Far as the Eye can See (Translated from the French by Julie Rose)
Berg Press

Out of 324 National Government Agencies, 294 have web presence. About 95 have interactive websites and only 15 have transactional websites. Based on President Gloria Arroyo’s 2009 State of the Nation Address Technical Report, 30 national agencies have no web presence.

Based on the same report, 68 State Universities and Colleges have web presence. Of this number, 29 are interactive websites, 29 are enhanced websites, and 10 schools have emerging web presence. It is quite surprising to learn that 42 state colleges have no web presence. Again, we have 42 public colleges which have no online presence! How do these schools advertise their curricular offerings? How do they disseminate information to students and faculty? How do they update the public about university activities and programs? What is so difficult in creating a simple website that contains basic information about the school?

There are 33 government agencies offering frontline services that have web portals. An example is the e-Serbisyo program for passport processing and PhilHealth membership application. There is also an e-Bayad program which allows citizens to process their payments for public services online. Through the m-Governance program, about 50 agencies have short messaging facility which provides a mechanism for the public to send their feedback to government agencies through text.

What is the status of the e-LGU Development Program? As of January 29, 2009, about 1,688 LGUs, or 99 percent of the total number of LGUs in the country, have web presence. Of this number, 1,120 are Stage 1 websites and only 115 are Stage 3 websites. There are 17 LGUs which have no websites. More than 103 Community e-Centers were established for remote local villages. The Philippine CeC Web Portal for LGUs was designed to promote local products online.

It is positive that most government agencies, whether national or local, have established web presence. But most of these websites are emerging websites. They contain only very basic information about the agency (and they are not regularly updated). There is little or no interactivity with website visitors. It is best if most agencies have transactional websites.

The e-governance report should also include a qualitative assessment of government websites. These web portals should be constantly reviewed by experts and the public to improve online transactions. The security features of public web portals should be strengthened. It was recently reported that the Comelec website was hacked a few days ago. The m-Governance program should be enhanced to serve the needs of 56 million mobile phone users in the country.

Government agencies should strive to offer the best online services to our citizens. Improving the country’s digital infrastructure can generate enthusiasm among investors and the public in general. But these expensive modernization projects should be transparent. Remember the botched NBN-ZTE deal?

Online work

I cannot blog everyday. I cannot tweet and plurk all my activities. I only open my Facebook account twice a month. I open my Friendster once a month. For updates about Kabataan Partylist, please visit our official website. To learn tidbits about our Congress work, follow @kabataancrew on Twitter.

I cannot blog everyday. As much as possible, I post 1-2 blog articles a week. But it is impossible for me to blog everyday. I am still familiarizing myself with Congress work. I have so many documents and government reports to read and criticize everyday. I attend committee hearings (and budget hearings too) which demand my full concentration. Our sessions start at 4pm and usually end around 8pm. If there are no work-related events in the evening, I devote my time and remaining energy to my family. I have two children.

I read blogs and online news articles in the morning. I write my speeches and conduct my online research in the morning too. If there is a committee hearing, I am already in Congress around 10am. I check my email in the session hall.

Before the budget season, Thursdays and Fridays are usually reserved to meet our constituents. I visit schools and communities in Metro Manila. Sometimes I attend meetings in our HQ. I go to the provinces during weekends. I usually tweet while I’m out of town. Thank you gmail for that offline feature of your email service.

I promise to improve the design and lay-out of this blog during our session break next month.

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This trend is encouraging since it gives ordinary citizens the chance to express a sense of belonging to their larger communities. However, there are also ultra-nationalist online initiatives which prevent the formation of regional solidarity in Southeast Asia.

Perhaps the most controversial website in Indochina today is ilovethailand.org. This website was created by Thailand’s Prime Minister to uplift the country’s international reputation. The website also aims to unite and inspire Thais, many of whom are already disgruntled with the squabbles between the country’s major political forces. But the website has sparked controversy because it claims that parts of Cambodia are Thailand’s “lost territory.”

Cambodia and Thailand have been disputing the ownership of the ancient Preah Vihear Temple for several decades already. This territorial dispute has led to several violent skirmishes between the border patrols of the two neighboring countries.

Many bloggers have expressed disappointment that the Thai government has chosen to unite the country by provoking conflict with other nations in the region. They believe netizens should not advance this wrong version of nationalism.

As expected, the Cambodian government has filed a diplomatic protest over the creation of this website. It also led to the formation of a pro-Cambodia website: ilovekhmer.org. This website aims to expose the false statements which are allegedly found in ilovethailand.org.

Both websites, ilovethailand.org and ilovekhmer.org, have become very popular web portals in Thailand and Cambodia. While it is positive that the two countries have brought their border dispute into the cyber arena, it is unfortunate that this virtual war has also fueled racist sentiments in the two countries.

The Malaysian prime minister is another leader who has seen the potential of using the Internet to achieve unity in society. Aside from blogging and tweeting his everyday activities, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has launched 1Malaysia.com.my to serve as an “interactive platform” between the leader and his constituents. “1Malaysia: People first, performance now” is the campaign slogan of the prime minister.

Meanwhile, pro-democracy activists in Malaysia have launched their own cyber campaign with the theme “1BlackMalaysia: Democracy first, elections now.” They believe the new leader has undermined the democratic institutions of Malaysia. Early this month, the group set up Facebook and blog pages encouraging Malaysians to create and upload “Where is democracy?” placards in the web.

Indonesia has proven that a national tragedy can unite netizens. Hours after the deadly blasts hit Jakarta last month, Indonesian twitterrers started sending “We’re not afraid” tweets. For several days, the #indonesiaunite hashtag became the most active trending topic on Twitter. Users of Plurk and Facebook changed their avatars by adopting the red and white symbols of Indonesia’s flag. Local bloggers discovered the convenience of using microblogging sites to inspire people to action. Analysts were impressed that apolitical young Indonesians joined other concerned Indonesians in condemning the Jakarta terror attacks.

Filipino plurkers collected donations for Mindanao flood victims through paypal early this year. To show support for the ailing former president of the country, Twitter users added yellow twibbons in their profile pictures. Online petitions against the proposal to amend the country’s 1987 Constitution gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures and supporters, especially on Facebook.

Filipino activists have been successful in launching virtual campaigns that have further damaged the credibility of the incumbent president. A high-ranking government official once noted that the president has lost the media battle in cyberspace.

There is a vigorous campaign and lobby effort to push for more Internet freedom in Vietnam. Web campaigns showing support for Myanmar’s opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi are numerous. Brunei bloggers have organized various fundraising activities for the benefit of sports teams, students and environmental groups.

The cause of nationalism is a popular but controversial theme on the Internet. Politicians and anti-government groups in Southeast Asia have been consistent and persistent in maximizing the Internet to advance nationalistic activities. This web phenomenon is positive in so far as it expands and improves the political participation of ordinary citizens. But it is counter-productive when it produces racism and xenophopia.

It is also distasteful when politicians use the web to hide their misdeeds by launching pseudo-nationalist advocacies. The Internet remains a great tool and platform for sincere individuals and groups to promote serious topics like nationalism. Netizens in the region should not allow bigots and tyrants to bastardize and defeat the radical potential of the worldwide web.

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Maybe the lola was an adventurer during her younger years. Now she surfs the globe in front of a computer screen. She uses the internet to desperately stay in contact with her loved ones. She seems to prefer the virtual world as her retirement paradise over a quiet vacation home inhabited by relatives or other senior citizens. When registering on social networks, does she reveal her real age? Does she link up with anonymous teenagers?

Maybe everyone will end up alone in this world. But our Bayantel lola should not be alone since she still has family. The lola should not be admired for being a modern lola; she should be pitied for believing that her unique virtual relationship with her family makes her a very fulfilled, and perhaps, happy person.

Maybe the Bayantel lola was a hardworking person who saved enough money for her retirement.
Now she uses these precious pension funds to buy her favorite products on the internet. Maybe it is the lola’s proud assertion of financial independence from her children. Maybe she is already tired, or maybe she is injured which prevents her to do her shopping in the real market. But isn’t it sad for a pensioner to lose his/her savings because he/she is addicted to online shopping? Isn’t it doubly disheartening to learn that a person who spent most of his/her adult life paying taxes, mortgage, and other bills continues to waste more money on non-essential goods through the seductive and mysterious appeal of online shopping?   

Maybe the Bayantel lola was emotionally repressed. Maybe her husband was abusive and dominant. Maybe she was denied the chance to explore and celebrate life during her youth. Marriage and domesticity robbed her of her vivacity, her idealism, her love. Now that she is retired, she can be young again. She can start a new life. She can love again. It is unfortunate that the modern world can only offer a cold virtual reality as a fun alternative for the re-born lola. She should be golfing instead of googling. She should be kicking in the air instead of clicking on the desk. She should be outside the house enjoying life instead of living inside the house pretending to enjoy virtual life.
     
Woe to senior citizens! Economists blame their growing population for the rising budget deficit of local and federal governments. Senior citizens who depend on pension and health care insurance are treated as a burden to society. Bureaucrats and capitalists want them to work forever. They are told to learn new skills in order to be useful to society. Mutinaltionals are designing and developing new consumer products and services in order to grab the pension money of senior citizens. Popularizing the image of an active, wired, and networked senior citizen, like our Bayantel lola, suits the profit motive of capitalists. 

The Bayantel DSL ad portrays a different kind of lola. We are used to watching ads which feature grandparents being hugged and kissed by their anak and apo (Remember the dancing lolo in the Alpine Milk ad: “I remember yesterday, the world was so young”). The Bayantel ad reflects the interesting impact of new media in the world today, even in a society as backwards as ours. The ad is funny because the internet lifestyle of the hyper and cyber lola is familiar. Aren’t we like the Bayantel lola who uploads videos everyday, sends superpokes to friends, and buys products online? We use YM, videochat, and chikkatext to communicate with family and friends. We google the names of new acquaintances and even our enemies.

Through the ad, young and middle-aged Filipinos are given a glimpse of the kind of life they will have in the future. The ad is also a gloomy reminder that the future has already arrived. We are all like the Bayantel lola now: inevitably connected to the cyberworld but ultimately alone in the real world. 
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