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.
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 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 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 Republic Act 9163, or the National Service Training Program. 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 Eraserheads’ 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,” which 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.
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.
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“Peyups” is the moniker of the University of the Philippines.
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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 0917-5025808 or 0908-8665786./PN
