Ang Huling El Bimbo as the musical of university life

The Filipino merienda turon or deep-fried banana rolls was my  comfort food  during the breaks of the Citizen’s  Military Training (CMT) sessions  at the University of the Philippines (UP).

I spent  Saturdays of the first   four semesters  of my university  life   as a CMT cadet with  lectures,  drill trainings and parades under the acacia trees as part of the  Field Artillery unit. The other three units are Rayadillo, Infantry and Rescue.

 

CMT is also known as  Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program that started  in UP as early as 1912 in the form of “military drill.” The ROTC program aims to promote civil service, discipline, and order through military training. The first official ROTC   unit in the Philippines was established in UP on July 3, 1922.

 

President Manuel  Quezon issued in 1939 Executive Order No. 207  that aimed to  implement the National Defense Act of 1935 (Commonwealth Act No. 1) as the embodiment of the national defense plan formulated by General Douglas MacArthur for the Philippine Commonwealth.

 

The EO  made ROTC obligatory at all colleges and universities  to provide military education and training for students to mobilize them for national defense preparedness. The program underwent several changes under the different administrations.

 

However, the growing  anti-ROTC sentiment due to alleged pointlessness and corruption  of the program led to  the enactment on January 23, 2002 of R.A. 9163, or the National Service Training Program (NSTP). It  removed ROTC as a prerequisite for graduation for all male college students.  NSTP is now a requirement for both genders, with three program components , ROTC, Civic Welfare Training Service, and Literacy Training Service .

 

Turon was mentioned in the CMT scenes in the musical “Ang Huling El Bimbo” at the Newport theatre where the  Eraserhead’s  song “Pare Ko”  was performed  with  a new martial cadence and rigid rhythm.

 

The lyrics of  “Pare Ko”  aptly reflect how friendships were galvanized inside  the campus: “O pare ko meron ka bang maipapayo. Kung wala ay okey lang. Kailangan lang ay ang iyong pakikiramay. Andito ka ay ayos na”.

 

“Ang Huling El Bimbo” that premiered on July 20, 2018  tells the story of three college best friends Emman, Anthony, and Hector who drifted apart in adulthood until fate reunites them due to the death of their friend, Joy.

 

Despite their  seemingly successful lives. they were never truly happy as they were haunted by Joy’s rape incident that had a profound effect on their adult lives.

 

Aside from nostalgia of adolescence, the musical  touched upon the issues of rape, prostitution, abuse, drugs, marital strife and violence.

 

The  musical revolves around Eraserheads’ songs like “Minsan,” “Pare Ko,” “Tindahan ni Aling Nena,” “Alapaap,” “Shirley,” “With a Smile,” “Poor Man’s Grave,” and, of course, the musical’s namesake “Ang Huling El Bimbo”.

 

It was a showcase of iconic UP Diliman campus scenes and traditions from enrollment chaos, Oblation Run, Lantern Parade, UAAP, rallies,  classroom rowdiness, endless rendezvous, romance, and most significantly our dorm life.

 

UP is  also short for “University of Pila”. Surviving both the academic rigor and life challenges involves the infamous UP queues during enrollment which is a test of will, stamina, patience and tenacity. It serves as a rite of passage as it pushes everyone to the limit, to outwit, outplay and outlast their fellow slot seekers.

 

The dorm was another classroom where we  learned the value of give-and-take, cooperation and mutual respect in dealing  with a variety of personalities and characters.

 

Buddy Zabala and Raimund Marasigan were my roommates for two years at the Molave dorm during my last college years from 1989 to 1991.

 

I usually go out every time our room was used as their “practice area”  since I could not study due to the “noise” they were creating. It was beyond my comprehension that the “noise” that I tried to avoid made them known as one of the most successful and critically-acclaimed bands in OPM history earning them the accolade “The Beatles of the Philippines”.

 

I  had my share of Emman’s student life  who became an activist. He held the placard “Edukasyon para sa lahat” in the end of the CMT segment.

 

UP is a microcosm of the larger society. Students have always been one of the largest, most vibrant forces of the social movements.  Lean Alejandro once said “the students are in a position to serve as catalysts in social transformation.”

 

It was on my third year that I became part of the UP student movement as the photographer for the Philippine Collegian and later as a member of the Sandigan Para sa Mag-aaral at Sambayanan (SAMASA).

 

One needs to see the world from a different perspective, not to be complacent to submit to the status quo, and not to be afraid to be critical.

 

(Peyups is the moniker of University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786.)