Tag: Lahumbuwan

Asia Art Tours interviews Bandilang Itim.
Taken from: Part 1, Part 2.

To better understand the history of Anarchism in the Philippines and the state terror unleashed by Rodrigo Duterte, we were thrilled to speak with the Bandilang Itim collective. 

Asia Art Tours: From this summer of global uprisings, one of the main lessons I took away was the importance of translation. When it comes to Bandilang Itim (a Tagalog translation of ‘Black Flag’) could you let us know (and take as much time as you’d like), historically what are some of the most important abolitionist/anarchist/communist terms that define the leftism of the Philippines?

Butingtaon: With the recent laws passed to supposedly mitigate the effects of the pandemic, I think one term we should be keeping an eye on is “Solidarity,” which we at Bandilang Itim translate as “Bayanihan.” As opposed to the “Patriotism” and “Nationalism” that is constantly being invoked by those in power and those with harmful motives (very often, the same people) to maintain unity with those who continue to exploit the inhabitants of this archipelago we’ve come to call the Philippines; We offer in its place Solidarity, caring for and supporting your fellow human being, recognizing that overcoming your shared weaknesses is how we build our shared strength.