“The light of the new Philippines is upon us. We only need to awaken to see the brilliance of its promise. But we need to act together. Only by acting together can we renew our country. Only by acting together can we create a New Philippines, one that we have all been yearning for, one that will make a positive contribution to the highest aspirations of humanity.” – Nicanor Perlas

A few years ago, even a year ago, the idea of a New Philippines was deemed impossible, far-fetched and was just an illusion. How can we entertain such a vision, living in the so-called reality our country’s impoverished, corrupt, and pathetic situation? How can we dare think that we, as a people, can manage to get out of the mire that has been created by decades of moral corruption and apathy, and centuries of oppression and inequality? How, indeed?

According to the concept of the “pearl principle”, pearls are formed when sand or dirt gets inside the oyster shell, and irritates the oyster. Having no power to remove the said irritant, the oyster instead transforms the dirt into a pearl, withstanding more pain that it suffers in the process. We can look at this as a kind of analogy for what we have undergone as a people, and as a nation. The centuries-old pain we have had to endure has now made us into genuine pearls waiting to shine forth our brilliance into the world, to contribute to the evolution of humanity.

We only need to awaken to this, and own it as our truth.
We need to change the way we think, right here, right now. We need to wipe the dirt from our eyes, break the chains of our hearts, and sweep the cobwebs from our minds. Because the reality is, the New Philippines has already started to emerge. We only need to look around, and see the vision in it’s manifested form –initiatives of the future— principle-driven, moved by passionate and committed Filipinos who see beyond our current experience.

In 2010, we are given a golden opportunity to act, and participate in the process of realizing the New Philippines –through New Politics. The expression of power in any society is through political participation, it is in fact the system of collective expression of power, and it is time that we take back this power. We have been relegating this power to a few, through the continued perpetuation of Traditional Politics (Tra-Po), to leaders who have time and again disappointed, angered and frustrated us. It is time to take that power, to transform government into true governance, by engaging in the political process, from 2010 and beyond. This is New Politics, driven by the Partido ng Marangal na Sambayanan or PANGMASA, with Nicanor Perlas at the helm, as facilitator of the process. It is not about the few deciding and leading us, but all of us in dialogue with our chosen representatives, servant leaders who are in positions of authority because they have taken the call to serve the country, and its people, and not to advance their personal interests or to have power over all of us.

The festival was conceptualized with all these in mind, to celebrate the coming of a new era, of a future Philippines we have all been waiting for. It is here now, and this festival is one avenue to show the initiatives bearing the “stamp” of the New Philippines, and also as a way to encourage more of these kinds of initiatives. The festival is a coming together of pearls, mga kapwa Perlas, to celebrate the dawning of the true Perlas ng Silangan, the real pearl of the orient.


Perlas Jam 2010

Creating the new has always been in the realm of Art and Science. Artists bring an inspiration to reality through music, poetry, dance, visual arts and other artistic and creative avenues. Scientists bring that inspiration by inventing, or through scientific experiments and projects. Perlas Jam is a venue for the artist in each and every one of us, whether we take up the courage to perform onstage and jam with other musicians, in front of our fellow Filipinos, young and old alike; or move to the beat with the rest outside the stage. We will invite famous musicians, and newbies to rock with us. But, there will be no spectators here, we will all jam together: moving, dancing and singing together. Because if we want the New Philippines to become a reality, and in order for New Politics to work, we have to be one. One mind, one heart, one vision, one movement, one jam.


Objectives

The Perlas ng Silangan Festival aims to:

1. Bring together like-minded Filipinos who are yearning for genuine change, and moving towards the vision of a New Philippines;
2. Provide a venue for artists, musicians, performers who would like to sing, dance, and perform for New Politics and the New Philippines;
3. Showcase products and services that are aligned with the vision of a New Philippines, such as ecologically-sound businesses;
4. Highlight initiatives that are currently doing the work within PANGMASA’s 6 Pillars of GINHAWA (Integral Sustainable Development) –
a. Eradicate Poverty and Enhance Quality of Life
b. Advance Moral and Effective Governance
c. Uphold the Integrity of Creation
d. Build Partnerships for Social Justice (Societal Threefolding)
e. Promote Holistic Education and Inner Change
f. Mainstream Visionary Initiatives;
5. Present the life and works of Nicanor Perlas, presidential candidate and bearer of New Politics, and the current roster of supporters and members belonging to the Partido ng Marangal na Sambayanan or PANGMASA.

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Program

Day 1, March 5

5:00 – 8:00am Set-up of Booth
8:00 – 9:00 Registration (Exhibitors/ Bazaars)
9:00 – 10:00 Opening program of Perlas ng Silangan Festival & Opening of Exhibit and Bazaars
10:00 – 12:00nn Yoga
1:00 – 2:00pm Lecture: Wellness/ Health
2:00 – 4:00 Dance Jam
4:00 – 6:00 Drum Circle and Earth Dance
6:00pm Forum: 6 Pillars of GINHAWA
9:00pm Closing program for Day 1

Day 2, March 6

8:00 – 10:00am Chanting/ Tai Chi
10:00 – 12:00nn Word Jam (Rap, Spoken Word, Poetry Reading)
1:00 – 3:00pm Film Showing: Perlas Documentary
3:00 – 6:00pm Forum: 6 Pillars of GINHAWA
7:00pm PERLAS JAM 2010: A Concert-Jam for New Politics

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Organizers

The main proponent of the event is the Partido ng Marangal na Sambayanan or PANGMASA. It is the new political party for New Politics, with Nicanor Perlas, one of the presidential aspirants in 2010 as its standard-bearer, and party president. We aim to partner with various organizations, civil society, business and other sectors for the Perlas ng Silangan festival, and currently in the process of discussions with these possible partners.