Influence of the Pinoy Rap Battle “Fliptop” and Balagtasan to High School Students

Fliptop is a rap battle league that puts two people in a match to have them insult each other with the cleverest punch lines and sharpest rhymes. Hip hop in the Philippines takes on many faces: from the plush and exclusive clubs in Makati to the slums of Tondo, and everywhere in between. A crowd dotted with Pinoys rocking gear ranging from grills to backpacks, FlipTop represents a space for the raw and grime of Philippine hip hop. There is no material gain at stake here. The winners take with them the pride in their skill. There are no flashy commercial sponsors. Just two emcees, the host, the judges, and the crowd. There isn’t even a microphone. This is on some guerilla-style, for real.

The battle reminds me of Balagtasan, the Filipino poetic debates. Balagtasan is probably the last poetic form which was thoroughly enjoyed by the Filipino people. As a literary form, the Balagtasan is essentially traditional; it contains elements which explain why the traditional remains contemporary and popular. The debate proper can move from one topic to another. The poets are expected to argue logically and exhaust every imaginable source of reason to defend their side. FlipTop doesn’t utilize a beat. It’s completely a cappella and it doesn’t have to conform to a strict rhythm. It’s like Balagtasan ciphering with joke sessions and, like any other dozens, toasting, or ciphering session, this space is not immune to homophobic, sexist, or racial punch lines. The cadence and alliteration of the Tagalog language all the more enhances the poetic versatility of the battle.

All in all, FlipTop offers a space for emcees to build skills, build community, and define themselves. Furthermore, it’s a place from hip hop fans to geek out. Between battles, local emcees performed songs, many which the crowd knew. One group, Squatter House, commanded the crowd with very-familiar lyrics. FlipTop proves that Philippine hip hop heads are tight fans of one another and offer each other the respect and loyalty needed for a community to grow. Background of the Study

The development of poetry in the Philippines parallels the history of our culture and it is one art form Filipinos excel in. The balagtasan and pinoy rap battle in the Philippines are of profound significance. They furnish the student of history, sociology, psychology, religion and others with a rare and living documentary making recognizable various strata of cultural development. It reflects the country’s diverse influences and the many sided character of the people. It also demonstrates the Filipinos proclivity for expressing joys, sorrows, labors, and celebrations. The function of this research study is to find out the comparison between the pinoy rap battle or fliptop and balagtasan. The researcher wants to know the influence it to the high school students. This research study aims to promote and remind us of the role of culture and the arts of society. As observed by the researcher poetry is on the way to oblivion. It seems to have lost its rhythmic appeal to the youth. Lack of media support, only a few listeners are left to appreciate the poetic banter of balagtasan until the pinoy rap battle or “fliptop” came. Statement of the Problem

This study was conducted to know the influence of the Pinoy rap battle or “Fliptop” and Balagtasan to the selected high school students of the International School for Better Beginnings S. Y. (2011-2012). Specifically, this study attempt to answer the following questions: 1. What are the influences of the pinoy rap battle and balagtasan on high school students? 2. What is the effect to the behavior of the students of ISBB against the modern but corrupting “fliptop” influences? Specific Objectives

1. To discuss why the pinoy rap battle or “fliptop” are more influential than the balagtasan to the young generation of today. 2. To determine the difference between the fliptop and the balagtasan. 3. To preserve and revive the balagtasan as a Filipino tradition. 4. To transmit to the young generation the value of friendly debate through poetry.

Significance of the Study
This study will be of help to the following:

To the students
This research study can help the students to know the difference between the Balagtasan and Fliptop, and to know what is much advisable to use. To the Parents
This study helps the parents to know the effect to the behavior of Fliptop and Balagtasan to their sons, or daughter. Scope and Delimitation
The research covers the influence of doing Fliptop and Balagtasan to the High School Students from International School for Better Beginnings. The Respondents of the study were composed of ten (10) students, (5) male Grade 9 students, (5) male Grade 10 students of International School for Better Beginnings. The Data will be gathered by self made specific questions of the researcher.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES
AND STUDIES

This chapter explains the related literature, related studies and definition of terms which both support the complete analysis of the study and helps the researcher to justify the thesis statement of this study. Related Literatures

According to Marcelo Mcrey on April 16, 2011 from his article “Entertainment Featured Article: Lifestyle, Most Commented”. He wrote this article to comment about the pinoy rap battle or fliptop in the Philippines. You go inside a bar and join a mob, at the center there stands a middle man together with two guys insulting each other with clever and funny words from their mouth. They upload the videos on You Tube, you give them comments and that starts the trend of people commenting to each and every funny but witty videos of the first Filipino rap battles in the Philippines which we know of as FlipTop Rap Battle. FlipTop Rap Battle somehow reminds me of MTV’s Yo’ Momma which format is to insult your competitor’s mother through a rap.

But looking back and tracing as to how it started, we can use Grind Time as reference to the league’s format for having the same set-up and humor as claimed by Anygma (if in case you don’t know, he’s the middle man in every battles). But what makes Fliptop different from the other shows is greatly the pure intent of just having fun and improving one’s vocabulary and poetry. You win and you gain no bucks – only great appreciation and admiration from viewers; you lose, people laugh at you, call you names, but in the end, you still are a part of something people enjoy and follow. As compared to the others, Fliptop gain more popularity to the world due to its Filipino touch of culture and humor plus the fact that Filipinos are scattered all over the world! In fact, Fliptop has gained millions of hits whether it came from the official YouTube channel of Fliptop Battle or not.

What we like about this big hip hop hit is its attachment to the Filipino culture. It is basically showing what and how Filipino men are when they are to confront another male in a word fight – we simply love insulting others in front of our friends but still are friends with them
after each match. Well who doesn’t love insults? I’ve been watching some of the most talk about battles, and to be honest, there was never a time that I was not laughing or clapping to a clever punch line thrown by any of the competitor. Indeed, Fliptop has influence us a lot because we used to do battles among ourselves and I ended being the big loser. Fun, entertainment, education, amazement and others – this show is one big package for us. You see, this is the only place where you will see people wanting for more over time! Make some noise and join the fun!

History of Pinoy Rap Battle or Fliptop

The beginnings of pinoy rap culture in the Philippines can be attributed to several main factors; the innate of them being the heavy influx of American musical styles in that country as reflected in the widespread popularity during the 1960s of Motown artists The Temptations, The Supremes and The Jackson Five and later in the 1970s of Funk, Soul and Disco music. Bands such as The Commodores, The Gap Band, James Brown, Con Funk Shun, The Bar-Kays and Earth, Wind and Fire among many others received heavy rotation on Manila airwaves. The future importation of rap culture and music, similar to the previous genres mentioned can be credited to the direct contact Filipinos received with both Americans and Filipino Americans, or as they are commonly called balikbayans, stemming from the root words “balik” meaning to come back and “bayan” loosely translating into hometown or homeland.

Except for the great Francis Magalona, nothing has done quite as much for Philippine Hip-Hop and Rap than the Fliptop Battle League. Just a little over a year ago this facet of Filipino music was exhausted from the slow climb it’s been making for decades: a steep trek towards acceptance, recognition, even sheer consideration. But the emcees would not be silenced. The alternative rap guild A.M.P.O.N., a prominent and controversial figure amongst many still active on the underground, together with a host of like-minded colleagues began what would become the most watched rap battle league in the world. The rest is history. Under the direction of its president and founder, Aric Yuson a.k.a. Anygma, Fliptop Battles continues to flourish with monthly events, influencing even mainstream media to follow suit. The battles have launched previously unknown talent to “ill” repute; local rap has never been more popular. None have brought together droves of talented Filipino Emcees like their events have. None have fascinated and drawn the attention of millions to the local scene as it has. None have educated people about Rap and Hip-Hop more, none have won the amount of support, none have inspired and demanded respect for the art and culture as the league does.

It’s the long-overdue shot in the arm, no, defibrillation, that Pinoy Rap needed. But as with all things, it’s but a step, albeit a huge one – a fact its perpetrators are of course well aware of. Still they push on. On December of 2010, history was made when a contingent of battle emcees from the U.S.-based Grind Time Now (architect of the standard competition format Fliptop uses) led by rapper Dirtbag Dan flew to Manila to participate in the Fliptop show Tectonics. The evening’s highlight: Anygma himself would make his battle debut – against Dirtbag Dan. By the end of the night, Fliptop representatives garnered three victories, sweeping a cross-continental showdown of flow and wit against seasoned veterans in perhaps the most heated and nerve-wracking face-off in the league’s lifespan. That sealed the deal; the Philippines officially became a global player in the rap game. Fliptop become the most watched rap battle league in the world. Arts and Politics in the Balagtasan

According to Prof. Virgilio S. Almario, Dean of the College of Arts And Letters at the University of the Philippines, Diliman campus on his lecture delivered as part of the UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies Colloquium Series, October 21, 2003. The Balagtasan is a curious literary form. Born about the second quarter of the 20th century, during the time when electronic media was just being introduced to the Philippines, the Balagtasan is probably the last poetic form which was thoroughly enjoyed by the Filipino people. As a literary form, the Balagtasan is essentially traditional and can almost be said to be merely a new label for an old bottle of wine. Yet, it contains elements which explain why the traditional remains contemporary and popular.

Politically, the Balagtasan is the product of the Filipino
psyche reacting against the actual and perceived obliteration of the self because of Americanization. In the study I made in the 1970s I called this reaction against Americanization “Balagtasismo”. The said reaction is primarily nationalist and conservative. As a nationalist movement, Balagtasismo embodies the ideals of the Philippines Revolution against Spain and continuously aims to assert Philippine Independence from American Occupation. But its political outlook encourages Balagtasismo to adopt a very conservative cultural platform. It has preoccupied itself with the preservation of Filipino heritage – old values, folklore, customs and traditions – as a means to strengthen the moral fiber of the people against the modern but corrupting American influences.

Thus the first decades of the 20th century under the American rule were a time for intense political campaigning for Philippine independence and passionate efforts to revive cultural memories. This period helped legitimize the kundiman and barong tagalog among other symbols of Filipino nationhood. It nourished the kind of rural nostalgia evoked in Fernando Amorsolo’s paintings, in the design of Isabelo Tampingco, and in the so-called “tropical art deco”, buildings of Juan Nakpil.

In literature, it was manifested in the cult-like worship of Francisco Balagtas. The genius of Balagtas was recalled in a manner similar to Dante as the father of the new Italian language or Shakespeare as the precursor of modern literature in English. The phenomenon suggested to me the name Balagtasismo. It also indicates why the poetic form invented during the period was named Balagtasan.

The Balagtasan was actually born during a meeting to prepare for the celebration of Balagtas Day, April 2, the great poet’s birthday. Leading Tagalog writers met in the afternoon of 38 March 1924, a Sunday, in the office of Rosa Sevilla in the Institute de Mujeres Tayuman St., Tondo, Manila. The group was pressed for time but it wanted to present something new to the public. Somebody suggested a new duplo, to which everybody agreed, and the subsequent discussion led to the invention of Balagtasan.

The progenitor of the Balagtasan provided the framework for its development. Duplo is a traditional proto-drama in verse which was still popular in 1924 in the rural areas. It was presented as a special feature of the customary literary-musical programs or played as a game at wakes to entertain the family of the dead and their relatives and friends. Participants were made to role play a court investigation of the loss of the king’s favorite bird or the king’s ring. The master folk poet usually played the role of a fiscal. Then, other master folk poets acted as the accused, or perhaps as the lawyer for the accused. As expected, the whole litigation process turns into a long debate in verse between the fiscal and the defense. The debate proper can move from one topic to another, often unrelated to the starting situation, as the poets display their skills in weaving stanzas about practically anything on earth.

The Balagtasan trimmed the duplo format in terms of number of participants and length of presentation. The Balagtasan is limited to three roles and a maximum length of one hour. It also focuses on a debate on a chosen topic. But it retains the flavor that made duplo a popular folk form. The protagonists in the Balatasan are still required to be skillful in memorizing long verse with rhyme and meter and reciting with flair in public.

Of course, the poets are expected to argue logically and exhaust every imaginable source of reason to defend their side. But Balagtasan is primarily entertainment. The poets are therefore expected to entertain their audience, too, with bits of humor, with witticisms, with the spice of sarcasm, and moreover, with theatrics like actors in dramatic presentations.

The Balagtasan was an instant hit and the next bouts between de Jesus and Collantes attracted standing-room-only audiences in Manila’s biggest and most expensive theaters, namely the Opera House and the Teatro Zorilla, which until then were exclusively reserved for zarzuelas and musical programs. These bouts primed the pair for their biggest and much-published engagement at the Olympic Stadium on October 1925.

It should be emphasized however that the Balagtasan also served a higher social and political function. More than mere entertainment, it enhanced the traditional role of the poet as purveyor of truth for the people. As I already mentioned, Filipino poets during the American period wrote columns in verse where, like editors and columnists today, they expressed their opinions about current events and issues. The Balagtasan offered another ample space for the poets to pursue their traditional role in society and contribute quips and quotable quotes about topics supposedly close to the heart and interest of the masses.

Along this line, the Balagtasan helped crystallize relevant albeit controversial issues for the people themselves. The Balagtasan almost always touched on moral issues which were also favorite topics of discussion among common folks. Even today you can find crowds in barber shops or in stores still using the Balagtasan format to debate issues of concern. They will quarrel about who is better between traditional and modern woman, between the mother and the father, between science and culture, etc.

The choice of topics and the arguments advanced in the Balagtasan were used to project the main political agenda of Balagtasismo. The politics behind the choice of topics became more evident when directly tackled real and current events.

These debates were clearly meant to help the masses form their opinions about the most sensitive issues that affected their lives and the future of the country. When debating independence, the poets often risked being accused of sedition.

Definition of Terms

Some terms were defined for a more comprehensive understanding of the study.

Fliptop – is a rap battle league that puts two people in a match to have them insult each other with the cleverest punch lines and sharpest rhymes.

Pinoy Rap – is a kind of hip-hop music that originated in the Philippines.

Balagtasan – is a traditional form of oration wherein participants argue their case using poetic language and bombast. Battle rap (also known as battle rapping or battle rhyming) – is a type of rapping that includes a lot of braggadocio (bragging and boasting) content “combined with put-downs, insults, and disses against real or imaginary opponents”. Duplo – is a traditional proto-drama in verse with no script nor memorized lines.

Poets – one who writes poetry; a maker of verses.

Zarzuela – is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as, dances.

Folks – the great proportion of the members of a people that determines the group character and that tends to preserve its characteristic form of civilization and its customs, arts and crafts, legends, traditions, and superstitions from generation to generation.

Progenitor – a person or thing that first indicates a direction, originates something, or serves as a model; predecessor; precursor: the progenitor of modern painting.

CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design, locale of the study, respondents of the study, instrumentation data gathering procedure and statistical treatment.

Research Design
In order to derive a suitably representative sample of participants for this study, careful consideration of a sampling technique was required. It was decided that a multiple interviews are planned with each participant in order to provide more in-depth data collection. The goal is to interview approximately 10 male students of Grade 9 and Grade 10 students of International School for Better Beginnings; the respondents’ replies are of their own free will because there is no interviewer to influence them. This is one way to avoid biases, particularly the interviewers’ bias. The structured interviews were designed to know the difference between the balagtasan and pinoy rap battle and to know what is advisable to use. Attitudinal responses were measured and additional comments were encouraged throughout.

Due to potential issues of privacy surrounding, the use of examination results for this study. Two stipulations were made; (1) explicit permission needed to be obtained from participating students to allow the analysis of specific questions results in conjunction with their individual examination marks; and (2) students’ personal details had to be kept strictly anonymous. We believe that this is the most suitable study and method for this paper to achieve its aim and objectives.

Locale of the study
The study was administered at International School for Better Beginnings in Lucena City. The units of analysis were ten (10) male students, (5) Grade 9 students, and (5) Grade 10 students.

Respondents of the study
The respondents of the study were composed of ten (10) male grade 9 and grade 10 students in International School for Better Beginnings currently enrolled for school year 2011 – 2012. Instrumentation

The instrument used in this study was a multiple interviews constructed by the researcher. It shall consist of a list of specific questions and the interviewer does not deviate from the list or inject any extra remarks into the interview process. The interviewer may encourage the interviewee to clarify vague statements or to further elaborate on brief comments. Otherwise, the interviewer attempts to be objective and tries not to influence the interviewer’s statements. The interviewer does not share his own beliefs and opinions. The structured interview is mostly a “question and answer” session. A structured interview was used to examine the difference between the balagtasan and fliptop. It also involves some personal information of the respondents as part of the study. Although, students’ personal information had to be kept strictly confidential. The constructed instrument was presented to the research adviser for suggestion and comments. Data Gathering Procedure

The researcher first wrote a letter of request signed by the research adviser and the consultant given to the advisers of the students to whom the study is to be conducted. When the permission was granted the researcher administered interviews personally to the respondents. The questionnaires were retrieved the same day after all respondents have answered the necessary data. After retrieving the entire questionnaires, the data were analyzed and interpreted by the researcher.

Chapter IV
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter presents the data gathered, analyzed and interpreted by the researcher using the essay type interpretation for better understanding of the interview and as advised by the research consultant. During the interview, these following questions were sought to be answered: 1. Are you familiar to pinoy rap battle or fliptop and balagtasan? 2. Where do you hear the fliptop? Where do you hear the Balagtasan? 2.1 Television

2.2 Radio
2.3 Internet
2.4 Others (please specify)_____________
3. Which of the two have the value of friendly debate and why? 4. Which is the most popular and influential to the young generation of today and why? 5. Which has a negative effect in the society in terms of poetry and why? 6. Which is more challenging, versatile and creative and why? 7. Which is more entertaining and enjoyable to the audience and why? 8. In your own opinion, which is truly representative of our culture and heritage? 9. Which is much advisable to use and why?

10. Does it affect your attitude and behavior?
11. How do you think teenagers get affected?
12. What is the influence of fliptop in the young generation of today? 13. Comments and suggestions?
For the question as if you are familiar to pinoy rap battle or fliptop and balagtasan. All of the respondents were familiar or they had knowledge with fliptop or pinoy rap and balagtasan. All of the respondents for the question as to where do you hear the filptop and balagtasan. They hear the fliptop and balagtasan through media. All of them heard both fliptop and balagtasan in television. Only two of the respondents had listened fliptop in the radio and the other eight respondents listened to balagtasan. Balagtasan was popular in radio; they said that most of the listeners are the senior citizens. Eight of the respondents saw the fliptop in the internet especially in yuotube. You can say that the fliptop is the one youtube sensations because it has gone viral with several of their videos hitting a millions views in just a couple of months. Only two of the respondents saw balagtasan in the internet.

Balagtasan seems to have lost its rhythmic appeal to the youth. The rhythmic art of balagtasan is just plain corny, if not stale and trite. Some of them heard both fliptop or pinoy rap and balagtasan through their friends, cousins and classmates. All of the ten respondents for the question as to which of the two have the value of friendly debate. They agreed that balagtasan has the value of friendly debate. The respondents said that balagtasan is a poetical joust done almost spontaneously between protagonists who debate over the pros and cons of an issue, it comprehends good filipino language, it has a good presence of mind and it has more formal words and not use bad words. While in fliptop, fierce words need to be matched with rap battle league putting two emcees in a match to have them insult each other with the cleverest punch lines and sharpest facial expressions. One respondent said that he couldn’t ever think of insulting someone like that face-to-face, much less in rhyme form. Only one of the respondents had no reason.

All of the ten respondents for the question as to which is the most popular and influential to the young generation of today. They agreed that fliptop is the most popular and influential in the young generation of today. The respondents said that fliptop is the trend today, it is also the modern form of balagtasan, and it also helps them to have confidence in life. Fliptop has many battles especially in Metro Manila and you can see it in the internet anytime you want and lastly it is more entertaining than balagtasan. Only one of the respondents answered for the question as to which has a negative effect in the society in terms of poetry. That balagtasan has a negative effect in the society in terms of poetry but he had not elaborated it. One respondent answered that it does not influence at all. Eight of the ten respondents answered that fliptop has a negative effect in society in terms of poetry. Most of the respondents said that fliptop or pinoy rap uses strong and indecent words; it has trash words, with skull-smashing bluntness and generous servings of bad phrases. Three respondents answered for the question as to which is more challenging, versatile and creative.

That balagtasan is more challenging, versatile and creative because it is extemporaneous in style with no script nor memorized lines using the correct metering and rhyme, with deep and richly poetic verses as debaters engaged in a creative verbal. While the seven respondents answered that fliptop is more challenging, versatile and creative, the respondents said that fierce words need to be matched with fierce facial expressions, also pinoy rap is a fierce competition, a clash of ideas with rhyming words and metered recitations as a weapons. And those direct, powerful and vivid emotions help to sharpen the sincerity of emotions, which is one of the most valuable elements of creative work, the unexpected quality of spontaneous eruptions of feeling. Eight of the ten respondents for the question as to which is more entertaining and enjoyable to the audience answered that fliptop is more entertaining and enjoyable to the audience because with every sharp line delivered, the crowd cheers, prompting to shush the crowd; the emcee urges the crowd to make noises. Aside from being oppressively crowded and hot, the event was incredibly successful, fueled by the eager energy from a mostly young male crowd. And two of the respondents said that poetry in balagtasan was more than a personal art for the enjoyment of a small circle of initiates.

It was a popular art practiced by highly skilled craftsmen for the instruction or delight of a broad public. And a form of debate in verse where the poets had to improvise in verse while arguing a position that they had been appointed to defend. It became a popular form of entertainment that practically every poet had to display his skills in declamation and argumentation as a balagtasan poet. Only one of the respondents for the question as in your own opinion, which is truly representative of our culture and heritage answered that fliptop is truly representative of our culture and heritage. According to him, fliptop’s aim is to educate the masses both on a hip-hop-cultural level and on a commonsensical level. Nine of the ten respondents said that balagtasan is truly representative of our culture because the name of the literary itself originates from Francisco Balagtas, a hugely influential Filipino poet. Balagtasan was influential in creating the literary form as it is today. Balagtasan was highlighting Filipino culture such as their old customs and traditions.

One of the respondents said that fliptop can never be representative of our culture and heritage because of all the prowess with words and waste your efforts in embarrassing your opponent and to win, you must put others down. Three of the ten respondents for the question as to which is much advisable to use answered that fliptop is much advisable to use because of the enjoyable words that they used and it is fun to hear in spite of the fierce words and bad phrases. One of the respondents answered that both fliptop and balagtasan are advisable to use because they both influential in the modern poetry. Six of the respondents answered that balagtasan is much advisable to use because it is a form of debate in poetic verse, it is a friendly debate and it is extemporaneous in style using the correct metering and rhyme. All of the respondents for the questions as it affect your attitude and behavior and how do you think teenagers get affected said that in some cases they did get affected with their attitude and behavior.

The respondents said that they learn to use strong, indecent and trash words and most of the time using bad phrases words like “putang-ina”. They also learn to insult other people. Based of the researcher’s personal interview for the question as to what is the influence of fliptop in the young generation of today. Their answers are the same. Most of the respondents said that they did not influenced by the fliptop but they are fan of the battling aspect of hip-hop and watches different battle online. They enjoyed the spontaneity, competition, and of course, the relatively twisted humor employed in degrading your opponent. The facet is entertaining in itself, but ultimately they enjoy how concepts are formed and then articulated in battle verse. The insults, besides being every Filipino male’s pastime throughout grade school, high school and a bit in college, probably appeals with non-confrontational mindsets. Whatever they say, it’s merely for the sake of the battle and that they shouldn’t hold anything against their opponent.

Chapter V
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary of the Study
The function of this research study is to find out the comparison between the pinoy rap battle or fliptop and balagtasan. This research study aims to promote and remind us of the role of culture and the arts of society. The researcher wants to know the influence it to the high school students of the International School for Better Beginnings S.Y 2010-2011. Specifically, this study attempt to answer the following questions: 1. What are the influences of the pinoy rap battle and balagtasan on high school students? 2. What is the effect to the behavior of the students of ISBB against the modern but corrupting “fliptop” influences? And its specific objectives are the following;

1. To discuss why the pinoy rap battle or “fliptop” are more influential than the balagtasan to the young generation of today. 2. To determine the difference between the fliptop and the balagtasan. 3. To preserve and revive the balagtasan as a Filipino tradition. 4. To transmit to the young generation the value of friendly debate via poetry. The researcher will exclude the ten respondents who will be initially used for the validation of the instrument. The researcher will also analyze all the responses in the provided personal interview questions. Moreover, the interview shall be using a structured interview. It shall consist of a list of specific questions and the interviewer does not deviate from the list or inject any extra remarks into the interview process.

The interviewer may encourage the interviewee to clarify vague statements or to further elaborate on brief comments. Otherwise, the interviewer attempts to be objective and tries not to influence the interviewer’s statements. The interviewer does not share his own beliefs and opinions. The structured interview is mostly a “question and answer” session. The respondents of the study were composed of ten (10) male grade 9 and grade 10 students in International School for Better Beginnings currently enrolled for school year 2011– 2012. The instrument used in this study was a multiple interviews constructed by the researcher. A personal interview was used to examine the difference between the balagtasan and fliptop. It also involves some personal information of the respondents as part of the study. Although, students’ personal information had to be kept strictly confidential. The constructed instrument was presented to the research adviser for suggestion and comments.

SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS
The researcher found out through personal interview that balagtasan is a friendly debate through poetry, is on the way to oblivion. It seems to have lost its rhythmic appeal to the youth. And to the younger generation, especially to the ISBB high school students, the rhythmic art of balagtasan is just plain corny. No amount of effort can alter the changing tide of our culture. Lack of media support also caused the balagtasan aficionados to dwindle and only a few listeners are left to appreciate the poetic banter of balagtasan. Balagtasan was popular in radio but most of the listeners are the senior citizens. On closer scrutiny, Balagtasan pales in comparison with the exciting internet especially the youtube. You can say that the fliptop is the one youtube sensations because it has gone viral with several of their videos hitting a millions views in just a couple of months. All of the respondents agreed that balagtasan is extemporaneous in style with no script nor memorized lines using the correct metering and rhyme, with deep and richly poetic verses as debaters engaged in a creative verbal. It truly representative of our culture because the name of the literary itself originates from Francisco Balagtas, a hugely influential Filipino poet. Balagtasan was highlighting Filipino culture such as their old customs and traditions.

Balagtasan was influential in creating the literary form as it is today. Most of the respondents agreed that fliptop is a modern balagtasan but in some cases there were effects to their behavior. The respondents said that they learn to use strong, indecent and trash words and most of the time using bad phrases words like “putang-ina”. They also learn to insult other people. When you see them battling online, fierce words need to be matched with rap battle league putting two emcees in a match to have them insult each other with the cleverest punch lines and sharpest facial expressions. With every sharp line delivered, the crowd cheers, prompting to shush the crowd; the emcee urges the crowd to make noises. Aside from being oppressively crowded and hot, the event was incredibly successful, fueled by the eager energy from a mostly young male crowd. While balagtasan was more than a personal art for the enjoyment of a small circle of initiates. It was a popular art practiced by highly skilled craftsmen for the instruction or delight of a broad public.

And a form of debate in verse where the poets had to improvise in verse while arguing a position that they had been appointed to defend. It became a popular form of entertainment that practically every poet had to display his skills in declamation and argumentation as a balagtasan poet. Most of the respondents said that they did not influenced by the fliptop but they are fan of the battling aspect of hip-hop and watches different battle online. They enjoyed the spontaneity, competition, and of course, the relatively twisted humor employed in degrading your opponent. The facet is entertaining in itself, but ultimately they enjoy how concepts are formed and then articulated in battle verse. The insults, besides being every Filipino male’s pastime throughout grade school, high school and a bit in college, probably appeals with non-confrontational mindsets. Whatever they say, it’s merely for the sake of the battle and that they shouldn’t hold anything against their opponent.

Most of the respondents said that they consumed most of their time in front of the computer. They like to use social media. Social media like the internet is undisputedly a fantastic method of reaching the masses. Students are now spending more time using online. Online activity is really an advantage because we can use it for our studies but this also an opportunity to take advantage of.

CONCLUSIONS
The researcher concluded that the high school students of International School for Better Beginnings did not influenced by the fliptop or pinoy rap and balagtasan but they are fan of the battling aspect and watches different battle online. The students enjoyed the spontaneity, competition, and of course, the relatively twisted humor employed in degrading the opponent. The researcher also concluded that the high school students of International School for Better Beginnings have negative effects to their behavior. The students learn to use strong, indecent and trash words and most of the time using bad phrases words like “putang ina”. They also learn to insult other people. When you see them battling online, fierce words need to be matched with rap battle league putting two emcees in a match to have them insult each other with the cleverest punch lines and sharpest facial expressions.

With every sharp line delivered, the crowd cheers, prompting to shush the crowd; the emcee urges the crowd to make noises. The researcher also concluded that the high school students of International School for Better Beginnings are consuming most of their time in front of the computer and like to use social media. Social media like the internet is undisputedly a fantastic method of reaching the masses. And students are now spending more time using online. It is sad to note that the high school students of International School for Better Beginnings seem not to show interested and appreciation for the balagtasan. We have our Linggo ng Wika in our school but we are not focused in balagtasan. Teachers should be aware of the importance of the conservation, revival and promotion of our culture. It is a deep, personal and almost primordial factor that needs to be taken more seriously.

RECOMMENDATIONS
This study recommends that the high school students should learn how to write poetry, we should develop more talented students, we should preserve the balagtasan because balagtasan is consider one of our culture heritage. This study also recommends to the parents and teachers to limit the use of computer through social media especially the internet. Online activity is really an advantage because we can use it for our studies but this also an opportunity to take advantage of it. This study also recommends to the parents to guide your child not to learn or use the strong, indecent, trash words and bad phrases. Be careful to your child not to learn how to insult other people. They might learn it through online viewing like fliptop. This study recommends to the high school students. Students must learn how to control themselves, they must know their limitations in everything they say or do. This study recommends to the high school students. Try to learn writing good poetry than watching more often battle online like fliptop maybe someday you will be famous like Francisco Balagtas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

❖ Encyclopedia/Dictionary
• Landau, Sidney I. “The New International Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary of the English Language”, 2002

❖ Website or webpage
• “Balagtasan”, Wikipilipinas 14 February 2012
< http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Balagtasan>
• “Francisco Balagtas”, 15 February 2012

• “Fliptop: The First Filipino Rap Battle League”, Mean Streets Manila 15 February 2012
• FliptopBattles,” Fliptop –Looney vs. Zaito 16 February 2012 • Los, “Taking the world by storm: Fliptop Battles Evil Poet’s Society of Malaysia” 14 February 2012

❖ Thesis
• Rebolla, John Carlo C. “Effects of Punk rock music towards the attitude and behavior among high school students of International School for Better Beginnings S.Y. 2008-2009”, Lucena City, Philippines, March 2009.

• Pansacola, Philipgerard C. “Comparative Analysis of the user preferences between filipino produced cellular phones vs. International cellular phone brands”, Lucena City, Philippines, March 2011.

CURRICULUM VITAE
Name Patrick Louie A. Drez Address Gomburza Drive, Sta Barbara Homes, Brgy. Isabang Tayabas, Quezon Birth date May 4, 1996 Birthplace Sorsogon, City Parents Felix H. Drez Jr. Cleofe Corazon A. Drez Contact Number 797-00-23

Email [email protected]