For a moment there, it looked like Gang Badoy was going soft.

After all, the outspoken and irrepressible founder of RockEd Philippines has always been vocal about her thoughts on the current administration, and rarely have they been positive ones.

But the past weeks have seen Gang working hand-in-hand with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), helping the embattled government agency move boxes upon boxes of relief goods to be dispatched to the victims of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

The unexpected partnership came about when blogger – and DSWD volunteer – Ella Rose de los Santos posted a blog post decrying the state of undistributed relief goods in the DSWD’s warehouse in Pasay City. The public outcry caused by the post would spur Gang to volunteer her services, gather RockEd minions, to the DSWD.

“When I heard that the reason why the goods were not moving was because they don’t have enough people to move it, I told Risa (Hontiveros-Baraquel) that she should give my number to Sec. Cabral,” she recalls. “After a few hours, I get a text message from Sec. Cabral.’’

Since that phone call, Gang and the RockEd volunteers have been taking shifts emptying the DSWD warehouse, working from 3 to 11 p.m., from Monday to Friday.

Gang is perfectly aware of the novelty of the situation.

“We didn’t work together in a natural way,” she says with amusement.

“By instinct, we like complaining about the government. But for this particular situation I wanted to do it differently, only because there are goods and there are people who need the goods. I want Thing A to get to Point B.”

All this goodwill, however, doesn’t mean that Gang is going to start looking at the government with less critical eyes. She is looking forward to minimizing her association with the government after this particular partnership. “But if we have to, of course, we will,” she says.

All these efforts are done in the same spirit with which Gang started RockEd Philippines four years ago. Founded as a reaction to the Hello Garci controversy, RockEd has succeeded in making social awareness a cool thing among today’s young Filipinos.

“Kung merong civic-mindedness 101, parang ‘yung RockEd 50.5. Instead of forcing the students or the young people to go to a forum at 9 a.m., we take the forum to where you are. And where are you? You’re in Saguijo, in Cubao Expo, in Mogwai. You watch Chicosci, Sandwich, Pedicab, Imago, Radioactive Sago Project. Educate in a rock and roll manner,” she says. “If you get the attention
of the otherwise uninvolved 17-year-old, they start researching, they volunteer and they realize, I’m a feminist pala, join Gabriela; I’m an environmentalist, I’ll join Greenpeace, WWF.”

In this 60 Minutes tete-a-tete, Gang Badoy reveals her thoughts with the candor that people have come to know and love, and which those in power have come to regard with a wary eye. From growing up the youngest of 15 siblings, to her unfiltered thoughts about what it’s like working with a government one has criticized for so long, to her hopes for today’s young Filipinos, Gang Badoy lets it all out...and she isn’t afraid of whoever gets to hear it. (Ronald S. Lim)

STUDENTS AND CAMPUSES BULLETIN (SCB): So far, how has it been working with the DSWD?

GANG BADOY (GB): (laughs) Hirap naman ng unang tanong! First of all, it’s new, and anything new is uncomfortable at the start, except for perfect systems.

We didn’t work together in a natural way. It started with the blog of Ella, exposing certain things about the DSWD allegedly, the gist of which is that there is still a warehouse full of relief goods and it’s not moving. And at a time like this when people are desperate to give, the compassion level is high and frustration is equally high or higher, the reaction naturally is a certain way.

By instinct, we like complaining about the government. It’s a hobby we picked up perhaps right after Martial Law when we started having freedom to complain without being killed in the process. We’re really habitual complainers. There’s nothing wrong with that, I’m just saying that’s our habit.

My reaction was “How can this be at such an urgent time?” I learned something during the experience of Ondoy and Pepeng, and that is compassion really translates to frustration if there is no efficient
means to recycle compassion into action. It becomes frustrating, and when you’re frustrated you get angry, you shut off, and you say you never want to work with this government again. That is also forgivable at this time.

But for this particular situation I wanted to do it differently, only because there are goods and there are people who need the goods. I want Thing A to get to Point B. And the most constructive thing I could come up with was to ask and listen around as to what explanation the DSWD would have.

I know that the DSWD does its job. I’ve seen them do their work in Mindanao, their work with the Sumilao farmers when they came here. The DSWD is one of the institutions that I actually admire.

SCB: But instead of getting mad, you took a different tack…

GB: The course that I decided to take was to listen for the statement of the DSWD. I knew they were going to come up with a statement, because the reposting of that blog was so intense. When they finally came out with the statement and my friend, Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, tweeted “Talked to Sec. Cabral. The reason why it’s not moving is because they don’t have enough people to move it.” It was not an intentional thing and that’s the reason why it’s there is because there was not enough people to move it.

I told Risa that she should give the Secretary my number, because I may be able to get volunteers. Tao lang ba? Hindi mahirap ‘yun! Especially with the level of response we’ve been getting from Ondoy.

SCB: And the Secretary called you?

GB: After a few hours, I get a text message and it says “I am Sec. Cabral, may I call you?”

SCB: How did the conversation go?

GB: I was so happy and I called her immediately and I said “My name is Gang!” She says “I know.”
I then said: “Ma’am, nililinaw ko lang ha. I am not out to get you. I am not out to take your place or take a shot at you. I am interested in knowing what you need from us to make you more efficient.” Obviously, I am very frank. (laughs)

She was very nice about it, very gracious, and said “We really need people. I understand that this is our job, but we need more people because this is really overwhelming.”

SCB: What did you particularly ask of her?

GB: I asked her to give me a shift and give me days and I’ll fill it up. And then she said that they work 24/7, ako mamili. If you think about the framework of RockEd, ang mga kasama dito is musicians, young professionals, students, so the best stretch is 3 to 11 p.m. kasi peak awareness time ng mga tao ‘yan eh. I told her Monday to Friday, 3 to 11 p.m.

I told her that I would do my best to come up with an organized way to get the schedules out. I asked two people who take care of Bayanihan Online to help me with the Google forms and the Google spreadsheets. I asked people to retweet on Twitter and to repost on Facebook that Sec. Cabral agreed for us to help.

SCB: Are you happy about it?

GB: Yes, how often do you get that chance, to be at the conference room table, giving a suggestion on how an institution can move faster?

SCB: Especially with our government!

GB: I know that the government hears us but we are not often listened to or taken seriously, perhaps because of the manner by which we say it, like we’re angry in a blog, but I know na naririnig nila. For me, this was a chance to actually sit down and say “It could work this way,” and I wanted to grab that chance.

SCB: Were you able to get the number of volunteers needed?

GB: Ang daming nagrereklamo, so I figured maraming magye-yes. Everyday puno rin siya. I am so proud of the people who responded, and I wonder why it took this long. We could have helped them.
I know that the DSWD called for volunteers. I never heard it though because I like ignoring the government. (laughs) Maybe we didn’t hear it because they did it in the avenues we don’t usually encounter.

SCB: Has RockEd and the DSWD found a rhythm that they can work with?

GB: I think per day iba ‘yung rhythm. (laughs) The first day was tough. Can I tell you about it?

SCB: Sure!

GB: On the first day, we had to stick DSWD “Do Not Sell” stickers onto blankets. I say it was tough because I felt that we could just give the blankets without a sticker!

But the difficult part comes in. I promised to be an obedient muscle of the DSWD. Hindi ako magma-manda, and that’s very tough for me. The first day was so humbling but it was such a good exercise. If the deal is to put a sticker on a blanket, then I will trust them.

SCB: Was it difficult to trust someone you often criticize?

GB: Very tough. But I think without really changing any of my politics or initial impressions, I will encourage people to trust the system. The system disappoints us a lot, for sure, but if we show them that we trust them, I have a feeling that they’ll step up.

It’s like the MRT. Ayaw pumila kasi you don’t trust that the next train will come on time. Kaya nagtutulakan. Kung meron tayong schedule na 6:04, darating ‘yung train, 6:08, may isa pang train, you will know na it’s okay to line up, because you trust that the system will deliver. That crazy theory is working now. If you trust the DSWD, it will step up.

SCB: This must be really new for you!

GB: It’s new for me! I know I sound like I’m defending the DSWD, because I am. I realize I am. They need to do their job, and again, Ondoy is a lot bigger than any of our institutions in place, obviously a lot bigger than the NDCC, or the organizational skills of any one umbrella group. We all have to step up. Ganon din sa DSWD. These shipments are a lot bigger than they’ve ever received. It’s probably a year or two worth of donations coming within weeks! It’s not a joke, you really need numbers to roll out the mass of donations that come in.

SCB: You once said that “People don’t need to get along to work together.” I guess this partnership proves that statement?

GB: Yeah, absolutely. If I have complaints about the DSWD, I’ll voice it out. But right now, sayang ang energy.

Like this warehouse lang. I have to obey the warehouse manager and the assistant and the foreman assigned to us. Sometimes I have ideas and I’ll say baka it’s better to do it, but I have to stop. I did not volunteer to lead this. I volunteered to be one of the muscles to coordinate more muscles to literally move boxes.

SCB: Have the people who have been coming in stepped up to the demand?

GB: Oo! I don’t know many of them, but sobrang gulat ako. Walk-ins are always welcome.

Statistical study din siya. If I get 50 people, I can move X number of boxes. And it gives me an idea na I need this number of people from now until December so I can move these boxes. That’s one of the reasons why I need to know how many came. It’s not a whim. (laughs) This is also for future study so that we have a reference next time. Like we were 20 people, we were able to move at least 40 balikbayan boxes. Mas quantifiable how many people you need. That’s what I mean when I say nothing comforts compassion more than an efficient system to recycle that compassion into results.

SCB: Is this always how you think?

GB: This is all new to me too! (laughs) I just had to crash course on it the past month since Ondoy happened. But here we are. I can’t believe that we’re with DSWD and we’re officially partnered, because at RockEd we like ignoring the government. (laughs)

SCB: Official, as in with paperwork?

GB: Yes! I directly coordinate with Sec. Cabral. We have permission to get in and out. I’m the password to the gate! People think I’m either a guy or a group! (laughs) “Sa Gang Badoy group ba ‘to?” Kala nila group, hindi nila alam na tao! So when I came to the gate and I was asked kung sa Gang Badoy group ba ako, ang sabi ko “Oo, ako si Gang Badoy.” (laughs)

SCB: Do you see yourself working again with the DSWD in the future, or with any government office?

GB: I’m not looking forward to it. (laughs) I will only work with government when the situation is dire. Why? Because it’s their job. They have hired people, and they have a system. We will only come in kung kulang. I don’t think it’s healthy for a country to constantly have institutions that have vacuums. (laughs) But if we have to, of course. we will.

SCB: How has this partnership with the DSWD changed you?

GB: We’re not very used to obeying anymore eh. We’re so encouraged to be independent, but ang laking bagay rin na you reacquaint yourself with complete obedience, despite what you may be thinking. That hasn’t happened in a while. When did that last happen? College? High school?

SCB: So na-pack na ba ang mga imported goods?

GB: Wala pa kaming napa-pack. (laughs) Eversince we came wala pang imported na napa-pack. Pero nag-pack kami ng Hong Kong donation of used clothes. I guess imported yun. I have a question for you. Why are we worried about the imported?

SCB: It’s in that blog.

GB: Yeah you can write that I asked you back. (laughs)

YOUNGEST AND TOUGHEST

SCB: How did you get to be this tough?

GB: I’m the youngest in a large family. I have 14 siblings. Being the youngest of a very large family, you just need to survive. (laughs)

SCB: 15?

GB: I grew up with my mom’s kids, 10 yun. But my dad has five, so we’re 15. Kasi my mom and dad are widow and widower. They got married and had my brother and me. So 15 all in all. The youngest of 15, of course you’ll become flexible ‘coz my siblings are not all nice to me. Some are. (laughs) I’m not naming names. You know who you are. (laughs)

SCB: Was it difficult?

GB: It was fun actually. For sure it was not boring. Iba-iba yung personality. Then you become all adults. Then it becomes more entertaining.

SCB: Do you know all their names?

GB: (laughs) I think that’s also healthy. It helped my memory a lot. Kasi sa siblings ko pa lang, birthdays I needed to memorize.

I had to adjust to so many people. Hindi ako yung eldest so I couldn’t make them adjust to me. Megalink talaga ako of personalities. Megalink din ako with the Eraserheads, Rivermaya…

SCB: How did you get to be friends with these artists?

GB: College pa, in UP Diliman. Some of them are my neighbors at saka ma-gimik ako nun eh. I left the country to work, to study. And then when you get a good job, it doesn’t feel right so I came home. And I miss certain things. My home is home.

SCB: Has your toughness always been an advantage for you?

GB: I’m not always tough. (laughs) My goal was always to maximize things. Hindi naman ako tough by default. I think growing up the youngest of a large family, I learned to be very flexible. Then I lived in the States for a long time when I had to be alone, and that’s where the toughness and the self-assurance came in. Then you’re more results-oriented. Then you come home and see things are very different here. Hopefully naadjust ko siya, pero “outstanding bitch” naman ako eh! Did you see that? There’s a list!

SCB: How can we be on that list?

GB: Oh you have to be. I will nominate you. (laughs)

SCB: How did you get the name Gang?

GB: We’re Visayan. My father is Ilonggo and my mother is Cebuana. It’s pangga, mula sa word na pangga.

SCB: Is that your real name?

GB: No, it’s Therese. Parang madre!

SCB: Were you supposed to take up Law?

GB: Yeah, but I failed miserably at it. I wasn’t a very good student. Then I disappeared. I took up Fine Arts. Art history.

SCB: Your parents didn’t get mad?

GB: No. (laughs) Hindi ko sinabi sa kanila agad. I’m sure they were disappointed.

They have so many children so I guess they already forgot to tell me that they were disappointed. (laughs)

ROCKED RULES

SCB: Can you tell us about RockEd? How did it start?

GB: A bit before “Hello Garci”. I was very surprised at the magnitude of the error, that’s about elections, the cornerstone of democracy. I was surprised that the reaction, although big, was not as big as the error! And we just sat down and watched the apology. I realized people who are not usually involved find themselves affected. Di naman ako aktibista nung nasa Diliman ako eh. I have no political group, but these are things that had something to do with us.

So I figured, if I could make social civic movement and social civic issues more interesting to regular Filipinos, present it in different way. For example, global warming, or human rights issues, instead of holding a symposium where there are 100-year-old speakers, do rock concerts, sports fests, do independent films, do photography. Same topics, same issues out, but I would like to make sure that they will listen.

SCB: How do you do it?

GB: Instead of forcing the students or the young people to go to a forum at 9 a.m., we take the forum to where you are. And where are you? You’re in Saguijo, in Cubao Expo, in Mogwai. You watch Chicosci, Sandwich, Pedicab, Imago, Radioactive Sago Project.

You’re on NU107, we’ll take it there. Educate in a rock and roll manner. It’s not the rock, yung metal, yung angry masyado. It’s rock, a verb to mean “to shake.’’

SCB: But do you think the message is in a way being drowned out by the medium?

GB: I understand that. This is where I set my goals really low. By that I mean, for one rock concert, if all I can do is get you to hear, not even remember it. But after the concert, you go home and you search on the phrase climate change, you watch CNN and the phrase climate change comes out, you will somehow pause and say, hey yan yung RockEd gig kagabi. Sinisigaw yan ni Rico Blanco yan. Something connects and you stay a bit longer.

Kung merong civic-mindedness 101, parang yung RockEd talaga 50.5. If you get the attention of the otherwise uninvolved 17-year-old, they start researching, they volunteer and they realize, I’m a feminist pala, join Gabriela; I’m an environmentalist, I’ll join Greenpeace, WWF.

SCB: Where do you plan to take RockEd in the future?

GB: RockEd is a 10-year campaign. We started 2005, I will close RockEd in 2015. No absolute life extension. What’s hip now may not be hip anymore. Ayokong pilitin yung younger generation na this worked for us then, we should do it now.

The 20-year-old of 2015 will start a movement that’s more appropriate for them. Maybe it’s not gonna be live bands anymore. I think it’s gonna be films, live streaming. I hope it won’t be the same as now because if it’s the same need as 2005, that means we didn’t improve much as a generation.

SCB: So where will the people of RockEd be?

GB: As early as now, I already know my resignation date. We will let it go. People involved in RockEd now should be involved in quantifiable projects na. Now I need numbers, like how many school books delivered. This is where we are at RockEd now, we collect books, we deliver books. This DSWD, this is just hiccup, this is just a detour. Everybody in RockEd, when we’re older, we should be doing something more substantial.

SCB: You feel confident that the young people will be able to step up to that challenge?

GB: Yeah. That’s my goal. If I will leave the 10 years of RockEd uncertain, that means I didn’t do my job. My job is I can walk out of this and anyone can take its place, and any movement can take its place.

RockEd was an idea with great timing. It came at a good time in the music scene, in the internet scene. But if we really did our jobs well, by we I mean the musicians, the independent filmmakers, the film critics, the writers, the poets, whoever became part of RockEd, the 12-year-old now will become 17 in five years and he or she will soon get their rhythm.

RockEd is rocking for 10 years and then the goal is it’s not needed anymore. Civic involvement should be instilled in a teenager. Kailangang maging second nature na sa bata ang civic involvement, kasama sa schedule ng magulang sa anak. Ihahatid sa orphanage, sa volunteer work.

SCB: What about the artists who support RockEd?

GB: My goal is for the musicians to just stay as musicians, poets to stay as poets, and artists as just artists. They should write about heartbreak and whatever. Every artist is required to have a percentage
of his or her work encouraging participation, encouraging social justice, encouraging equality, honesty and integrity.

Because the artists right now, we can’t afford not to. I want artists to be artists, not a conduit for social change. Someday I just want us to be what we are.

SCB: What about the projects of RockEd?

GB: They will live. Book Bigayan will go on. After every sembreak, after every March, may book na sobra. I’m hoping someone will step up and become executive director of Book Bigayan. And then it’s gonna be an NGO focused just on book collection.

Rock Bakuna, a series of concerts just raising funds for vaccinations; Rock the Park; the Rethink campaign, which produces public service ads. RockEd Radio will hopefully go on if it’s still on-air.

OF POLITICS AND OPTIMISM

SCB: Ever entered your mind to go into politics?

GB: Of course it has. But I’m not trained for it, ayokong magmarunong. It’s not my rhythm. You sit for hours listening to people you don’t want to listen to. I’m not awake in the morning. If you’re physically not alert at 9 a.m., why would you run for office.

SCB: Do you have a regular job?

GB: Yes! I run an events company. I teach in workshops in Ateneo. I lecture in different schools and I have a web show, GMANews.TV. There’s RockEd radio. We’re moving back to NU107 starting Nov. 19, Thursday.

SCB: The hope and optimism, where do they come from?

GB: I don’t think I’m optimistic – just very frustrated. I didn’t have an Oprah moment or a religious moment and then rainbow… I’m not like that at all.

I go back to what I told you when we started, the Filipinos will always have compassion. And compassion will only become frustration and anger if we do not have an efficient venue to translate that compassion into a result. Like ‘yung Ondoy, ang taas ng compassion level natin.

But there was no system to get involved, in terms of the DSWD. Nagkaroon lang ng system yung mga Angel Brigade, White Space, Balay Expo, La Salle, Ateneo, RockEd.

We were always a compassionate people. Administration after administration rarely gave the private citizen venue to participate. Or we never trusted enough to take it. Compassion became frustration, frustration became anger, anger became complacency, complacency as we know it is indifference and we don’t care. And then you have groups like RockEd.

SCB: What would make you give up and leave?

GB: Another fraudulent election, if cheating is rampant, if cheating is obvious.

SCB: Is there a president that RockEd will endorse?

GB: We decided never to be partisan. We encourage aggressively to register and vote, but we don’t tell you who to vote for. People from RockEd will have their own choices. We need to respect that. I always encourage individual thinking. Research on the candidates.

We have a standby website called sinongmasok.org. If you look for it empty pa siya kasi wala pang official na nade-declare. Throughout the campaign period, we will be uploading anecdotes. Like if you ever encounter any of the candidates in a non-political scenario like a restaurant, golf course… Para syang TMZ for politicians. But I’m more in the unguarded moment, that’s what I want. Nakasabay sa banyo, nakasabay mo sa restaurant, waiter ka sa restaurant or caddy ka sa golf course.

SCB: How will you verify the reports?

GB: Well it will be guaranteed posted if you have a photo. We will have some verifications.

SCB: The Internet and social networking sites really proved useful during Ondoy, but have there been moments that it proved to be a disadvantage?

GB: None during the first few hours and days of Ondoy. The disadvantage was that the information just went around. Everybody just retweets everyone. While that’s also a good thing, kapag mali ‘yung info, ‘yun ang nareretweet. It’s becoming a pattern na we only retweet certain people, like Manolo Quezon or the networks.

SCB: Why is that dangerous?

GB: For the very impressionable people, it can be so easy to have a negative emotion riled up with a 140 characters. I have to be very conscious about that. I have to make sure what the effect of my tweets will be. If the effect is more action, then I’ll do it.

SCB: Yung sa Facebook account that was taken out, was that you?

GB: That was me! Facebook cancelled me twice because they have an auto response to names na may “gang.’’ So at first they thought I was a drug dealer. I said I’m a real person and you can Google me, this is my old blog, and then they put it back up. I emailed them nicely and I sent them my photos. I sent them the roster of faculty in Ateneo, it’s really my name. Kasi if I put Therese nobody will friend me, only my teachers. (laughs) Call me, I’m a real person!

(Interview by ANGELO G. GARCIA, RONALD S. LIM and JASER A. MARASIGAN)