IF WE are to draw out the deepest meaning of what
we celebrate on June 12, it will not be enough to merely recall all the
glorious epochs in our history: of the unfurling of the Philippine flag at the Aguinaldo
Mansion in Kawit, Cavite; of Tirad Pass and Zapote Bridge, and earlier on of
Bagumbayan and Pugadlawin; and even much, much earlier, of the various revolts
of Dagohoy and Maniago, of Sumuroy and Hermano Pule, of Diego and Gabriela
Silang, down history line to Bambalito of Macabebe, and Lapu-Lapu of Mactan.
Nor should we be content to merely pay tribute to
Rizal and Bonifacio, Mabini and Jacinto, Jaena, the Lunas and del Pilars,
Sakay, onto Abad Santos and Aquino, and all those who consecrated their lives
to this nation, not excluding Edgar Jopson and Lean Alejandro.
To take the full measure of our celebration of
freedom day, it is not enough that we commemorate what our heroes did. It is a
requisite that we imbibe their spirit. It is a must that we match their deeds
with our own.
No, I do not mean we should all die like them. As a
smart-aleck once said: There is one thing about heroes that I don’t aspire to
be – that is their being dead.
Heroism has become the subject of humor, even the
object of derision, in these unheroic times. As that common caution to the
heroic goes: ͞Huwag ka nang magpakabayani. Binabaril yan sa Luneta.͟
We don’t have to die, if only to emulate our
heroes. They have done the fighting and the dying for our country.
Our task is to live for our country. The song of
our heroes for the Motherland is “ang mamatay nang dahil sa iyo.”
Our song for her is “ang mabuhay para sa iyo.”
Dying for the country is the stuff of heroism.
Living for the country is the essence of civic responsibility. Living for the
country is our sacred call to duty.
Yes, Ninoy Aquino was right: The Filipino is worth
dying for.
So are we equally correct: The Filipino is worth
living for.
So how well have we responded to that call? How
well have we served, and still serve our people?
For those in government, that call to duty assumes
an even greater magnitude.
It is not uncommon to find in government people who
value themselves as privileged by virtue of a padrino’s influence
imposed on their behalf.
Consequently, they feel no obligation to serve the
public, or if they do so, they seek additional consideration as an entitlement.
It is not uncommon among government people to see a government post as a
sinecure, an office that requires no work but pays off most handsomely.
It is not uncommon for government leaders to value
themselves as Providentially-appointed and thus bequeathed with divine rights
to wrong their constituencies.
With such misgiven commonalities in government,
what service can still be rendered to the public?
For the public at large, the so-called civil
society most specially, living-for-the-country goes beyond the perfunctory
relief-giving in times of calamities, way beyond the routinary round-table
discussions of issues besetting the people, way beyond the television
soundbytes of commitment to the poor and the marginalized.
Living-for-the-people is pure will found manifest
in the act of tangibility: of real service.
No, we are not called upon to render the supreme
act of heroism. We are called to be true and faithful to our civic
responsibility.
With the flag as our witness, today requires of us
to re-dedicate ourselves to our country, to give our own contribution, no
matter how humble, to the mission of re-building this nation.
The fulfilment of any mission requires the unity of
mind, the solidarity of purpose, and the collectivity of efforts of all those
concerned. Unity is paramount.
As it has long been said: “Never forget that unity
is the distinct instinct of people who want to accomplish something.”
Unity then is our call. As rebuilding our nation is
our goal. I find this the meaning of our Independence Day celebrations today.
(First published on June 12, 2008 under the
title “The meaning of the day”)
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