President Ferdinand E. Marcos
84TH FOUNDATION DAY OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Thank you very much, General Romulo, Mrs. Romulo.
I greet the Chief Justice and Mrs. Fernando, the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs,
Minister Collantes and Minister Castro, our Prime Minister principally who, in the hierarchy of the
Philippine government, up to now is doubted as to whether he follows the President or the
Speaker. I announce that in formal ranking, he is next in rank to the President.
I guess the first place to make such an announcement would be the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs where protocol is always the only rule and standard. I mean, perhaps this is where you
abandon everything provided you can maintain protocol.
I also greet the former secretaries of the Department of Foreign Affairs. I note the
presence here of our foreign ministers and secretaries – old, no, not old, young, I beg your
pardon. I was going to say old hands in international relations. And I think Secretary Felixberto
Serrano was a head of Secretary Salvador P. Lopez. We also have former Secretary of the
Department of Foreign Affairs under my first presidency, Secretary Narciso Ramos. We have also
under the new dispensation of new breed of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the ministers coming
from the Batasang Pambansa and known as the Ministers of State for Foreign Affairs.
I greet all the foreign guess, Your Excellencies of the Diplomatic Corps, the members of
the Cabinet, the members of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and the other courts of the
judiciary, members of the Batasan, and my fellow administrators in government.
It is, of course a distinct honor for me and for the First lady to join you here today and,
in the name of our people and government, to extend to you the congratulations and best wishes,
to extend our hand to the officials and staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose 84th
foundation day we commemorate today. Eighty-fourth, which happens to be the length of the life,
I think, of someone who leads the Ministry.
When I was invited to attend the 84th anniversary, I inquired repeatedly: are you sure this
is not a birthday celebration? But of course, that story to the effect that General Romulo was a
boy scout during the time of President Aguinaldo is apocryphal.
Allow me to extend to you the apologies of the First Lady who asked me to explain that
she was held back by the medical practitioners who don’t know very much about the stamina of
the First Lady. Frankly, I really don’t know whether they would allow her to come this morning or
not. I realized this when they started convoking and looking sad that may not be able to come
over and attend these ceremonies. And this is why I hurried over to come and start the
ceremonies immediately. But we didn’t take into consideration the will power of someone who
can travel to Saudi Arabia and comeback in two days.
Monday, January 5, 2009
AN EVOLVING NEW DIPLOMACY
President Ferdinand E. Marcos
Speech delivered before the University of the Philippines Alumni Association,
Philippine Plaza Hotel, 11 December 1976
I have always utilized this forum for foreign policy speeches. I am told that the foreign
observers in our country, as well as those abroad, monitor every UP alumni homecoming. Because
they say: “ If the President goes there, he will deliver a speech on foreign policy.”
Well, let us keep them honest and talk about foreign policy.
The association, our association, represents much of what is vital in the traditions of our
university, and we reflect in our respective work and roles, as you can see with all the reward
here, the things that we do in our society, its seminal relation to our national life. Everyone has a
contribution to make, and the university is proud that perhaps more than any other educational
institution, the University of the Philippines has contributed to the growth of the nation- state we
call the Philippines.
Of course, every institute of learning affirms this special bond with that society, yet for
the University of the Philippines, we are perhaps right regarding it is a profound commitment.
There is no greater proof of this than the role of the university in the development of Philippine
nationalism, in crystallizing our vision and idea of ourselves and the almost obsessive and
continuing interest of the University and its alumni in national affairs.
To address you, therefore, and to utilize this forum, is to address oneself to this unique
tradition, and I should like, if I may, to speak therefore of current questions on foreign policy and
their relevance to national development.
Foreign policy has been brought to the forefront of national events again, first because
of the visit of the First Lady to Libya on what is marked by all diplomatic circles throughout the
world as a sudden turnabout and unexpected development. Her conversation with the Chairman
of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya, Colonel Khaddafy, having achieved a
breakthrough in our previously uneventful relationship, must be given their own importance in
the light of the national integration that we seek in the Southern Philippines.
We have two agreements: One for the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the
other for the establishment of cultural and economic cooperation’s. We also must be give
importance to the events that we have seen in our front pages and in media which pertain to
military bases of the United States in the Philippines.
We are reviewing and reassessing not only the military bases agreement but the two
other military agreements which, if you will remember, are the Military Assistance Pact and the
Mutual Defense Pact. On these negotiations is promised the full realization of our sovereign
status, as well as the readjustment of our perspective on one of the oldest friendships we have
with any nation in the world.
I am Sorry
Gloria Macapacal Arroyo
june 27, 2005
Mga minamahal kong kababayan.
For the last several weeks, the issue of the tape recordings has spun out of control. Tonight, I want to set the record straight. You deserve an explanation from me, because you are the people I was elected to serve.
As you recall, the election canvassing process was unnecessarily slow even after the election results were already in and the votes had been counted.
I was anxious to protect my votes and during that time had conversations with many people, including a Comelec official. My intent was not to influence the outcome of the election, and it did not. As I mentioned, the election has already been decided and the votes counted. And as you remember, the outcome had been predicted by every major public opinion poll, and adjudged free, fair and decisive by international election observers, and our own Namfrel.
That said, let me tell you how I personally feel. I recognize that making any such call was a lapse in judgment. I am sorry. I also regret taking so long to speak before you on this matter. I take full responsibility for my actions and to you and to all those good citizens who may have had their faith shaken by these events. I want to assure you that I have redoubled my efforts to serve the nation and earn your trust.
Nagagambala ako. Maliwanag na may kakulangan sa wastong pagpapasya ang nangyaring pagtawag sa telepono. Pinagsisisihan ko ito nang lubos. Pinananagutan ko nang lubusan ang aking ginawa, at humihingi ako ng tawad sa inyo, sa lahat ng mga butihing mamamayan na nabawasan ng tiwala dahil sa mga pangyayaring ito. Ibig kong tiyakin sa inyo na lalo pa akong magsisikap upang maglingkod sa bayan at matamo inyong tiwala.
I took office with a mandate to carry out a plan for the nation. Since that time, I have focused on making the tough but necessary decisions to make up for years of economic neglect. We passed a comprehensive, fiscally responsible national budget; raised new and necessary revenues to invest in the people; and implemented new anti-corruption measures that have led to the highest collection of taxes in history.
Nothing should stand in the way of this work, or the next phase of my reform agenda, which includes new investments in education and social services with our new revenues; and an expansion of our successful, anti-corruption and lifestyle checks.
That is why I want to close this chapter and move on with the business of governing. I ask each and everyone of you to join hands with me in a show of unity, to help forge one Philippines, where everyone is equal under the law, and everybody has the opportunity to use their God-given talents to make a better life.
Our nation is strong and getting stronger. The progress is steady and I ask you to walk with me on this journey to rebuild our great nation. I remain your humble servant and promise you that I will fulfill my constitutional oath of office to serve the people to the best of my ability.
God bless the Philippines.
The Law of the Good Man as Our Generation’s Law
Harvard Law School 2007 Student Commencement Address
Oscar Franklin Barcelona Tan
Delivered June 7, 2007, Langdell Hall
Dean Kagan, Vice-Dean Alford, professors, classmates, families, and friends. Let me first thank my family, who crossed twelve time zones to be with us. Let me thank my father, who was once a poor boy from our province of Negros Occidental in the Philippines. He lost his parents during his childhood, then moved to the capital and slept on my aunt’s couch to study law at the University of the Philippines. I do not know if he dreamt then that he would one day watch his eldest son graduate from Harvard Law School, but I want him to know that I love him and hope he is proud of me. Let me thank my law dean, Raul Pangalangan, who was like a second father to me in the University of the Philippines, and is fortunately present here as a visiting professor. I learned all I know about integrity and principle from these two men.
Let me also thank our tireless graduate program staff. Assistant Dean Jeanne Tai, Nancy Pinn, Heather Wallick, April Stockfleet, Curtis Morrow, Jane Fair Bestor, Chris Nepple, Valentina Perez, Ashley Smith, and Sarine Der Kaloustian: This year would not have been possible without you. But let me thank all of you in the Harvard Law community for truly making us feel part of it. I know I am part of it; I was featured in the Parody.
Not so long ago, I went to John Harvard’s for the first time with the British, who began chittering in an alien language. I later discovered it was actually English – the real English. I complained I was not used to cold, but a Saudi Arabian reminded me that you can fry eggs on a sidewalk in Riyadh. An Italian gave me tips on women because Italian men are the world’s greatest lovers, with the disclaimer that their style does not work on American women. A Malaysian was asked to explain the religious significance of the color of her hijab, or headscarf. She would answer: It had to match her blouse. And I learned more than I ever cared to about American culture: I spent a week in Jamaica with Andy Knopp and Mike Pykosz.
Soon, we found that great substance that unites any law school: alcohol. On New Year’s Eve, a Belarusian handed me a glass of vodka, but scolded me when I began to sip it. Sipping, he emphasized, is not the Slavic way. I shared a Frenchman’s champagne, a Peruvian’s pisco sour, a Brazilian’s caipirinha, a Mexican’s tequila, and a Japanese’s sake. And I learned how even weak American beer enlivens an evening when you drink it with the Irish.
As for me, I come from the Philippines, a former American colony best known for Imelda Marcos’s shoe collection. I remember being a six-year old watching my parents walk out of our house to join the crowds gathering to depose the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and form human walls against tanks. I remember being a twenty-year old in a different crowd deposing a different but equally corrupt president.
It was liberating to hear how a Chilean danced with crowds in the streets when Pinochet was arrested. How a South Korean prosecutor proudly stated that his country has sent two former presidents to prison. How a Brazilian, when he was six years old, was taken by his father to see a million men clamor for direct elections in Rio de Janeiro. How a Bhutanese wants to help shape her constitution after her king voluntarily gave up absolute power.
Friends, my most uplifting thought this year has been that the more we learn about each other, the more we realize that we are all alike, and the more we inspire each other to realize our most heartfelt yearnings. My single most memorable moment here came when I met South African Justice Albie Sachs, left with only one arm after an assassination attempt during apartheid. My classmate stood up and said: “South Africa is the world’s second most unequal country. I come from Brazil, the world’s most unequal country, and I admire how the South African Constitutional Court has inspired the progress of human rights throughout the world."
A hundred and ten years ago, it was said here that law is defined by the bad man, who cares solely about how to avoid being thrown in jail. Apologies to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes,* but our generation defines law by the good man. The German Constitution emphasizes human dignity, in a continuing repudiation of Nazism. The South African Constitution promises equality, in a continuing repudiation of apartheid. The Philippine Constitution, a continuing repudiation of the Marcos dictatorship, promises social justice and the Philippine ideal that “he who has less in life should have more in law." Even in the United States, the younger Fourteenth Amendment set the stage for the end of segregation.
Countless other developing countries in Asia and Africa have constitutionalized a broad array of socioeconomic and environmental rights. We have thus outgrown the concept of law as passive restraint. Rather, law is now aspiration, law is now the catalyst that seeks to realize the full human potential of billions of good men brought low only by poverty, bigotry, oppression, and conflict.
The good man’s primacy is felt just as strongly in international law. Modern instruments, even those lacking binding force, have bolstered our concepts of rights, from economic rights to indigenous people’s rights to the rights of the child. The vigor seen in today’s expansive constitutions must find its way into these international challenges. How can rights to biodiversity be asserted given an intellectual property regime that allows Indian basmati rice to be patented in a key export market? How can rights to environment become reality given developing countries with large populations and meager resources? How must the right to labor of migrant workers be protected given their vulnerability to countless abuses?
At the least, law must enable nations to dialogue on equal terms. At present, for example, the Filipino people are indignant that a United States Marine appealing his conviction for rape is detained not in a Philippine jail, but in the United States embassy. My people cannot reconcile this affront with the fact that even after our big white brother Douglas MacArthur retreated from the Philippines,** my country exhibited the fiercest resistance in the Pacific War.
I cannot deny that our generation’s issues will be complex, but I can guarantee that they will never be abstract, not after having a classmate who was an Israeli army drill sergeant, nor after watching my Chinese and Taiwanese classmates celebrate the Chinese New Year together, nor after having a classmate chased by gunmen out of Afghanistan. In fact, when George W. Bush’s speechwriter visited, my Iranian classmate introduced himself, “Hi, I’m from an Axis of Evil country." And when he was told that the speech made a distinction between the Iranian government and the Iranian people, he said thank you and replied, “When we call you the Great Satan, we also make a distinction between the American government and the American people."
This is how Harvard has changed us. We thank our beloved faculty for raising our thinking to a higher, broader level. But even the most powerful ideas demand passion to set them aflame. The passion we ignite today is fueled by a collage of vignettes that will remind us in this crucible of life that our peers in faraway lands face the same frustrations, the same nation building ordeals, the same sorrows, and ultimately, the same shared joys and triumphs.
How do a mere 700 change the world, even with overpriced Harvard diplomas? Before a battle in China’s Spring and Autumn Period, the legendary King Gou Jian of Yue was presented with fine wine. He ordered his troops to stand beside a river, and poured the wine into it. He ordered them to drink from the river and share his gift. A bottle of wine cannot flavor a river, but the gesture so emboldened his army that they won a great victory. We of the Class of 2007 shall flavor this earth, whether we be vodka, champagne, pisco sour, caipirinha, tequila, sake, Irish stout, or Philippine lambanog.
Thus, my friends – and this includes our American classmates who will soon lead the world’s lone superpower – let us transcend our individual nationalities and advance law as the law of the good man in the international order. In this, let us affirm that we are citizens of the world. Maraming salamat po, at mabuhay kayong lahat.*** Thank you and long live you all.
Oscar Franklin Barcelona Tan
Delivered June 7, 2007, Langdell Hall
Dean Kagan, Vice-Dean Alford, professors, classmates, families, and friends. Let me first thank my family, who crossed twelve time zones to be with us. Let me thank my father, who was once a poor boy from our province of Negros Occidental in the Philippines. He lost his parents during his childhood, then moved to the capital and slept on my aunt’s couch to study law at the University of the Philippines. I do not know if he dreamt then that he would one day watch his eldest son graduate from Harvard Law School, but I want him to know that I love him and hope he is proud of me. Let me thank my law dean, Raul Pangalangan, who was like a second father to me in the University of the Philippines, and is fortunately present here as a visiting professor. I learned all I know about integrity and principle from these two men.
Let me also thank our tireless graduate program staff. Assistant Dean Jeanne Tai, Nancy Pinn, Heather Wallick, April Stockfleet, Curtis Morrow, Jane Fair Bestor, Chris Nepple, Valentina Perez, Ashley Smith, and Sarine Der Kaloustian: This year would not have been possible without you. But let me thank all of you in the Harvard Law community for truly making us feel part of it. I know I am part of it; I was featured in the Parody.
Not so long ago, I went to John Harvard’s for the first time with the British, who began chittering in an alien language. I later discovered it was actually English – the real English. I complained I was not used to cold, but a Saudi Arabian reminded me that you can fry eggs on a sidewalk in Riyadh. An Italian gave me tips on women because Italian men are the world’s greatest lovers, with the disclaimer that their style does not work on American women. A Malaysian was asked to explain the religious significance of the color of her hijab, or headscarf. She would answer: It had to match her blouse. And I learned more than I ever cared to about American culture: I spent a week in Jamaica with Andy Knopp and Mike Pykosz.
Soon, we found that great substance that unites any law school: alcohol. On New Year’s Eve, a Belarusian handed me a glass of vodka, but scolded me when I began to sip it. Sipping, he emphasized, is not the Slavic way. I shared a Frenchman’s champagne, a Peruvian’s pisco sour, a Brazilian’s caipirinha, a Mexican’s tequila, and a Japanese’s sake. And I learned how even weak American beer enlivens an evening when you drink it with the Irish.
As for me, I come from the Philippines, a former American colony best known for Imelda Marcos’s shoe collection. I remember being a six-year old watching my parents walk out of our house to join the crowds gathering to depose the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and form human walls against tanks. I remember being a twenty-year old in a different crowd deposing a different but equally corrupt president.
It was liberating to hear how a Chilean danced with crowds in the streets when Pinochet was arrested. How a South Korean prosecutor proudly stated that his country has sent two former presidents to prison. How a Brazilian, when he was six years old, was taken by his father to see a million men clamor for direct elections in Rio de Janeiro. How a Bhutanese wants to help shape her constitution after her king voluntarily gave up absolute power.
Friends, my most uplifting thought this year has been that the more we learn about each other, the more we realize that we are all alike, and the more we inspire each other to realize our most heartfelt yearnings. My single most memorable moment here came when I met South African Justice Albie Sachs, left with only one arm after an assassination attempt during apartheid. My classmate stood up and said: “South Africa is the world’s second most unequal country. I come from Brazil, the world’s most unequal country, and I admire how the South African Constitutional Court has inspired the progress of human rights throughout the world."
A hundred and ten years ago, it was said here that law is defined by the bad man, who cares solely about how to avoid being thrown in jail. Apologies to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes,* but our generation defines law by the good man. The German Constitution emphasizes human dignity, in a continuing repudiation of Nazism. The South African Constitution promises equality, in a continuing repudiation of apartheid. The Philippine Constitution, a continuing repudiation of the Marcos dictatorship, promises social justice and the Philippine ideal that “he who has less in life should have more in law." Even in the United States, the younger Fourteenth Amendment set the stage for the end of segregation.
Countless other developing countries in Asia and Africa have constitutionalized a broad array of socioeconomic and environmental rights. We have thus outgrown the concept of law as passive restraint. Rather, law is now aspiration, law is now the catalyst that seeks to realize the full human potential of billions of good men brought low only by poverty, bigotry, oppression, and conflict.
The good man’s primacy is felt just as strongly in international law. Modern instruments, even those lacking binding force, have bolstered our concepts of rights, from economic rights to indigenous people’s rights to the rights of the child. The vigor seen in today’s expansive constitutions must find its way into these international challenges. How can rights to biodiversity be asserted given an intellectual property regime that allows Indian basmati rice to be patented in a key export market? How can rights to environment become reality given developing countries with large populations and meager resources? How must the right to labor of migrant workers be protected given their vulnerability to countless abuses?
At the least, law must enable nations to dialogue on equal terms. At present, for example, the Filipino people are indignant that a United States Marine appealing his conviction for rape is detained not in a Philippine jail, but in the United States embassy. My people cannot reconcile this affront with the fact that even after our big white brother Douglas MacArthur retreated from the Philippines,** my country exhibited the fiercest resistance in the Pacific War.
I cannot deny that our generation’s issues will be complex, but I can guarantee that they will never be abstract, not after having a classmate who was an Israeli army drill sergeant, nor after watching my Chinese and Taiwanese classmates celebrate the Chinese New Year together, nor after having a classmate chased by gunmen out of Afghanistan. In fact, when George W. Bush’s speechwriter visited, my Iranian classmate introduced himself, “Hi, I’m from an Axis of Evil country." And when he was told that the speech made a distinction between the Iranian government and the Iranian people, he said thank you and replied, “When we call you the Great Satan, we also make a distinction between the American government and the American people."
This is how Harvard has changed us. We thank our beloved faculty for raising our thinking to a higher, broader level. But even the most powerful ideas demand passion to set them aflame. The passion we ignite today is fueled by a collage of vignettes that will remind us in this crucible of life that our peers in faraway lands face the same frustrations, the same nation building ordeals, the same sorrows, and ultimately, the same shared joys and triumphs.
How do a mere 700 change the world, even with overpriced Harvard diplomas? Before a battle in China’s Spring and Autumn Period, the legendary King Gou Jian of Yue was presented with fine wine. He ordered his troops to stand beside a river, and poured the wine into it. He ordered them to drink from the river and share his gift. A bottle of wine cannot flavor a river, but the gesture so emboldened his army that they won a great victory. We of the Class of 2007 shall flavor this earth, whether we be vodka, champagne, pisco sour, caipirinha, tequila, sake, Irish stout, or Philippine lambanog.
Thus, my friends – and this includes our American classmates who will soon lead the world’s lone superpower – let us transcend our individual nationalities and advance law as the law of the good man in the international order. In this, let us affirm that we are citizens of the world. Maraming salamat po, at mabuhay kayong lahat.*** Thank you and long live you all.
PAGBATI SA PARTIDO KOMUNISTA NG PILIPINAS SA IKA-40 ANIBERSARYO NG PAGTATATAG
PAGBATI SA PARTIDO KOMUNISTA NG PILIPINAS
SA IKA-40 ANIBERSARYO NG PAGTATATAG
Jose Maria Sison
Tagapangulong Tagapagtatag
ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas
26 Disyembre 2008
Bilang tagapangulong tagapagtatag ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP), nagpapaabot ako ng pinakamalugod na pagbati sa lahat ng kadre at kasapi sa pagkakataon ng ika-40 anibersaryo ng pagtatatag ng Partido. Kalahok ako sa ligaya ng pagbubunyi sa lahat ng mga pakikibaka at mga tagumpay na nakamit nito at ng sambayanang Pilipino sa nakaraang apat na dekada ng bagong demokratikong rebolusyon.
Nais ko kayong batiin kaugnay ng mga tagumpay ng Partido na inilathala sa Ang Bayan at iniulat sa Negotiating Panel ng National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
Binabati ko kayo dahil sa lahat ng inyong tagumpay sa larangan ng ideolohiya. Matagumpay na ilinapat ng Partido ang teorya ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo sa mga kongkretong kondisyon at kongkretong praktika ng rebolusyong Pilipino. Wastong gagap ng Partido ang kasaysayan at kalagayan ng sambayanang Pilipino at lumilikha ito ng mga akdang mataas ang kahalagahan sa teorya at praktika.
Mahusay na nagdudulot ang Partido ng edukasyon sa mga kadre at kasapi sa pagsapol ng Marxista-Leninistang paninindigan, pananaw at pamamaraan. Natututunan nila ang materyalistang dyalektika hindi lamang sa pamamagitan ng mga pormal na kurso ng pag-aaral sa mga antas na batayan, intermedya at abante kundi, mas mahalaga, sa pamamagitan ng rebolusyonaryong praktika at palagiang pag-aaral ng kalagayan at pag-unlad.
Pinupuna at itinatakwil ng Partido ang makabagong rebisyonismo at suhetibismo, maging ito'y dogmatismo o empirisismo. Kilala ito sa pana-panahon at napapanahong pamumuna at pagpuna sa sarili upang palakasin ang pagkakaisa at ibayong paghusayin ang trabaho. Naglulunsad ito ng mga malakihang kilusan sa pagwawasto bilang mga kampanya sa edukasyon upang linawin ang mga pangunahing prinsipyo, patakaran at linya, upang iwasto ang mayor na mga pagkakamali at itakda ang bagong mga gawain para isulong ang rebolusyonaryong proseso.
Inilatag ng Unang Dakilang Kilusang Pagwawasto ang daan para sa pagtatatag ng Partido. Pinuna at itinakwil nito ang mayor na mga pagkakamali, lalo na ng mga Lava, na naging tatak ng mga nakaraang pagsisikap na isulong ang partido bilang abanteng destakamento ng rebolusyonaryong proletaryado. Ilinigtas ng Ikalawang Dakilang Kilusang Pagwawasto ang Partido mula sa mga pagtatangkang lituhin at likidahin ito mula sa loob at kunsentihin ang mga malubhang krimen na ibinunga ng mga mayor na pampulitikang kamalian.
Ang umaalingawngaw na tagumpay ng Ikalawang Dakilang Kilusang Pagwawasto (IDKP) ay nangahulugang pagkagapi ng mga suwail na may matataas na katungkulan sa Partido at taglay ang mga magulong nosyong hango sa klasiko at makabagong rebisyonismo, burges na liberalismo, Gorbachovismo at Trotskyismo. Pinalakas ng IDKP ang pagtalima ng Partido sa bagong demokratiko at sosyalistang rebolusyon laban sa mga opensiba ng imperyalismo sa mga larangang pang-ideolohya, pampulitika, pang-ekonomiya at militar kasunod ng pagguho ng Unyon Sobyet at iba pang mga rehimeng rebisyonista at ng panlipunang kaguluhan sa Tsina.
Binabati ko kayo dahil sa mga tagumpay na nakamit ninyo sa larangang pampulitika. Tumpak ang Partido sa pagturing sa naghaharing sistema sa Pilipinas bilang malakolonyal at malapyudal na tuwirang pinaghaharian ng malalaking komprador burges at panginoong maylupa na sunud-sunuran sa imperyalismong US. Katugma ng kalagayang ito, itinakda ng Partido ang pangkalahatang pampulitikang linya ng bagong demokratikong rebolusyon sa pamamagitan ng matagalang digmang bayan.
Pinupukaw, inoorganisa at pinakikilos ng Partido ang milyon-milyong mamamayan sa kalunsuran at kanayunan. Malawakang naglulunsad ito ng mga kampanya sa edukasyon at ahitasyon sa hanay ng masa. Ang mga kadre at kasapi nito ay nasa ubod at pamunuan ng rebolusyonaryong kilusang masa. Nagbubuo sila ng mga organisasyong masa para sa mga manggagawa, magsasaka, kababaihan, kabataan, mga propesyonal, mga aktibista sa kultura at iba pa. Naglunsad ang Partido ng matatagumpay na kampanyang masa para patalsikin ang rehimeng Marcos at rehimeng Estrada, labanan ang mga di-patas na kasunduan sa mga dayuhang poder, ang paglabag sa karapatang-tao at mga tangkang baguhin ang 1987 saligang-batas upang lalong gawing anti-nasyonal at anti-demokratiko.
Itinayo at pinamumunuan ng Partido ang Bagong Hukbong Bayan (BHB) mula noong 1969. Inabot na nito ang pagiging pinakamalaking rebolusyonaryong hukbo magmula ng Rebolusyong Pilipino ng 1896. Ito ay may libu-libong Pulang mandirigmang subok sa labanan, may edukasyon at pagsasanay sa pulitika't militar. Malaya itong nakakakilos sa di bababa sa 80 porsyento ng teritoryo ng Pilipinas. Ito ay may higit sa isang daang larangang gerilya na sumasaklaw sa malalaking bahagi ng 70 probinsya at 800 munisipalidad. Halos 100 porsiento ng mga armas sa mga kamay ng BHB ay kuha sa mga pwersang kaaway sa pamamagitan ng mga taktikal na opensiba.
Naglulunsad ang BHB ng masinsin at malawakang digmang gerilya batay sa lumalawak at lumalalim na baseng masa sa konteksto ng posibleng daloy ng mga estratehikong yugto ng digmang bayan: depensiba, pagkapatas at opensiba. Ang rebolusyonaryong armadong pakikibaka ay kaugnay ng reporma sa lupa at pagtatayo ng baseng masa. Lahat ng tatlong integral na komponenteng ito ay sadyang tumutulak sa pagsasakatuparan ng estratehikong linya ng pagkubkob ng kalunsuran mula sa kanayunan hanggang sapat na ang lakas ng hukbong bayan para gapiin ang kaaway sa mga lungsod at iba pang malalaking kuta sa pambansang saklaw.
Sa pagtataguyod ng BHB, binuo ng Partido sa libu-libong barangay ang mga organo ng kapangyarihang pampulitika at mga organisasyong masa para sa mga manggagawa, magsasaka, kababaihan, kabataan at kultural na aktibista sa kanayunan. May kakayahan ang mga ito na maglunsad ng mga kampanyang masa para sa pampublikong edukasyon, reporma sa lupa, pagpapalaki sa produksyon, kalusugan at kalinisan, pagsasanay ng mga yunit milisya at pagtatanggol sa sarili, pagsasaayos ng mga alitan at kultural na aktibidad.
Itinataguyod at isinusulong ng Partido ang mga patakaran at taktika ng nagkakaisang prente bilang isang nesesaryong sandata ng rebolusyon. Ang bagong-demokratikong rebolusyon ay nakabatay sa alyansa ng uring manggagawa at magsasaka. Dagdag dito ang pagsasanib ng masang anakpawis at peti burgesyang lunsod sa isang progresibong alyansa. Pinakamahusay na pagkakabuo nito ang National Democratic Front, na itinatag ng Partido at iba pang rebolusyonaryong pwersa noong 1973.
Karagdagang alyansa ang sa mga patriyotikong pwersa, kabilang ang panggitnang burgesya. Dagdag pa rin ang malawak na nagkakaisang prente, na may pakikipag-alyansa sa mga mabuway at panandaliang alyado sa ilang reaksyonaryo laban sa mga pinakamasamang reaksyonaryo na tinutuunan bilang kaaway. Hanggang ngayon tinatarget ng Partido ang naghaharing reaksyonaryong pangkatin dahil ito ang pinaka-reaksyunaryo at pinakamasunurin sa mga imperyalistang US.
Binabati ko kayo dahil sa lahat ng mga tagumpay sa pagtatayo ng organisasyon ng Partido. Sumusunod ang Partido sa prinsipyo ng demokratikong sentralismo, na nangangahulugang sentralismo batay sa demokrasya at demokrasya sa patnubay ng sentralismo. Ang prinsipyong ito ay laban sa burukratismo at sa ultra-demokrasya o anarkismo. Ang Partido ay nakapagpalalim ng ugat sa hanay ng masang anakpawis ng mga manggagawa at magsasaka at nakapagtayo ng mga organo at organisasyon sa saklaw ng buong Pilipinas.
Ang Partido ay may sampu-sampung libong mga kasapi, unang-una mula sa mga manggagawa at magsasaka. Kinukuha nito ang pinakaabanteng mga elemento mula sa kilusang masa ng mga manggagawa, magsasaka, kababaihan, kabataan at kultural na aktibista. Tumatanggap ito ng mga kasapi mula sa hanay ng kabataang edukado, na karamiha'y galing sa peti burgesyang lunsod subalit nais magbago ng kanilang sarili upang maging proletaryong rebolusyonaryo sa pamamagitan ng rebolusyonaryong pag-aaral at praktika sa pagsisilbi sa mga mamamayan.
Ang Partido ay may matibay na organisasyon ng mga kadre at kasapi. Ito ang batayan ng mahusay na plano sa pagpapabilis ng paglaki ng organisasyon ng Partido. Sampu-sampung libong mga kadre at daan-daang libo ng mga kasapi ang kinakailangan para sa isang igpaw sa pagsulong ng rebolusyong Pilipino. Dambuhalang mga gawain ang hinaharap ng Partido.
Ang pagkabangkarote ng patakarang "globalisasyong neoliberal" at "gera sa terorismo" na pasimuno ng US ay humahantong sa walang kahalintulad na mabilis na paglala ng krisis ng pandaigdigang sistemang kapitalista at naghaharing sistema ng Pilipinas. Nagdudulot ang kalagayang krisis ng kahila-hilakbot na paghihirap sa mga mamamayan ngunit nag-uudyok din sa kanila na pag-ibayuhin ang rebolusyonaryong pakikibaka. Paborable ang mga kondisyong ito para sa mabilis na paglaki at pagsulong ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas at iba pang mga organisadong rebolusyonaryong pwersa ng sambayanang Pilipino
SA IKA-40 ANIBERSARYO NG PAGTATATAG
Jose Maria Sison
Tagapangulong Tagapagtatag
ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas
26 Disyembre 2008
Bilang tagapangulong tagapagtatag ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP), nagpapaabot ako ng pinakamalugod na pagbati sa lahat ng kadre at kasapi sa pagkakataon ng ika-40 anibersaryo ng pagtatatag ng Partido. Kalahok ako sa ligaya ng pagbubunyi sa lahat ng mga pakikibaka at mga tagumpay na nakamit nito at ng sambayanang Pilipino sa nakaraang apat na dekada ng bagong demokratikong rebolusyon.
Nais ko kayong batiin kaugnay ng mga tagumpay ng Partido na inilathala sa Ang Bayan at iniulat sa Negotiating Panel ng National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
Binabati ko kayo dahil sa lahat ng inyong tagumpay sa larangan ng ideolohiya. Matagumpay na ilinapat ng Partido ang teorya ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo sa mga kongkretong kondisyon at kongkretong praktika ng rebolusyong Pilipino. Wastong gagap ng Partido ang kasaysayan at kalagayan ng sambayanang Pilipino at lumilikha ito ng mga akdang mataas ang kahalagahan sa teorya at praktika.
Mahusay na nagdudulot ang Partido ng edukasyon sa mga kadre at kasapi sa pagsapol ng Marxista-Leninistang paninindigan, pananaw at pamamaraan. Natututunan nila ang materyalistang dyalektika hindi lamang sa pamamagitan ng mga pormal na kurso ng pag-aaral sa mga antas na batayan, intermedya at abante kundi, mas mahalaga, sa pamamagitan ng rebolusyonaryong praktika at palagiang pag-aaral ng kalagayan at pag-unlad.
Pinupuna at itinatakwil ng Partido ang makabagong rebisyonismo at suhetibismo, maging ito'y dogmatismo o empirisismo. Kilala ito sa pana-panahon at napapanahong pamumuna at pagpuna sa sarili upang palakasin ang pagkakaisa at ibayong paghusayin ang trabaho. Naglulunsad ito ng mga malakihang kilusan sa pagwawasto bilang mga kampanya sa edukasyon upang linawin ang mga pangunahing prinsipyo, patakaran at linya, upang iwasto ang mayor na mga pagkakamali at itakda ang bagong mga gawain para isulong ang rebolusyonaryong proseso.
Inilatag ng Unang Dakilang Kilusang Pagwawasto ang daan para sa pagtatatag ng Partido. Pinuna at itinakwil nito ang mayor na mga pagkakamali, lalo na ng mga Lava, na naging tatak ng mga nakaraang pagsisikap na isulong ang partido bilang abanteng destakamento ng rebolusyonaryong proletaryado. Ilinigtas ng Ikalawang Dakilang Kilusang Pagwawasto ang Partido mula sa mga pagtatangkang lituhin at likidahin ito mula sa loob at kunsentihin ang mga malubhang krimen na ibinunga ng mga mayor na pampulitikang kamalian.
Ang umaalingawngaw na tagumpay ng Ikalawang Dakilang Kilusang Pagwawasto (IDKP) ay nangahulugang pagkagapi ng mga suwail na may matataas na katungkulan sa Partido at taglay ang mga magulong nosyong hango sa klasiko at makabagong rebisyonismo, burges na liberalismo, Gorbachovismo at Trotskyismo. Pinalakas ng IDKP ang pagtalima ng Partido sa bagong demokratiko at sosyalistang rebolusyon laban sa mga opensiba ng imperyalismo sa mga larangang pang-ideolohya, pampulitika, pang-ekonomiya at militar kasunod ng pagguho ng Unyon Sobyet at iba pang mga rehimeng rebisyonista at ng panlipunang kaguluhan sa Tsina.
Binabati ko kayo dahil sa mga tagumpay na nakamit ninyo sa larangang pampulitika. Tumpak ang Partido sa pagturing sa naghaharing sistema sa Pilipinas bilang malakolonyal at malapyudal na tuwirang pinaghaharian ng malalaking komprador burges at panginoong maylupa na sunud-sunuran sa imperyalismong US. Katugma ng kalagayang ito, itinakda ng Partido ang pangkalahatang pampulitikang linya ng bagong demokratikong rebolusyon sa pamamagitan ng matagalang digmang bayan.
Pinupukaw, inoorganisa at pinakikilos ng Partido ang milyon-milyong mamamayan sa kalunsuran at kanayunan. Malawakang naglulunsad ito ng mga kampanya sa edukasyon at ahitasyon sa hanay ng masa. Ang mga kadre at kasapi nito ay nasa ubod at pamunuan ng rebolusyonaryong kilusang masa. Nagbubuo sila ng mga organisasyong masa para sa mga manggagawa, magsasaka, kababaihan, kabataan, mga propesyonal, mga aktibista sa kultura at iba pa. Naglunsad ang Partido ng matatagumpay na kampanyang masa para patalsikin ang rehimeng Marcos at rehimeng Estrada, labanan ang mga di-patas na kasunduan sa mga dayuhang poder, ang paglabag sa karapatang-tao at mga tangkang baguhin ang 1987 saligang-batas upang lalong gawing anti-nasyonal at anti-demokratiko.
Itinayo at pinamumunuan ng Partido ang Bagong Hukbong Bayan (BHB) mula noong 1969. Inabot na nito ang pagiging pinakamalaking rebolusyonaryong hukbo magmula ng Rebolusyong Pilipino ng 1896. Ito ay may libu-libong Pulang mandirigmang subok sa labanan, may edukasyon at pagsasanay sa pulitika't militar. Malaya itong nakakakilos sa di bababa sa 80 porsyento ng teritoryo ng Pilipinas. Ito ay may higit sa isang daang larangang gerilya na sumasaklaw sa malalaking bahagi ng 70 probinsya at 800 munisipalidad. Halos 100 porsiento ng mga armas sa mga kamay ng BHB ay kuha sa mga pwersang kaaway sa pamamagitan ng mga taktikal na opensiba.
Naglulunsad ang BHB ng masinsin at malawakang digmang gerilya batay sa lumalawak at lumalalim na baseng masa sa konteksto ng posibleng daloy ng mga estratehikong yugto ng digmang bayan: depensiba, pagkapatas at opensiba. Ang rebolusyonaryong armadong pakikibaka ay kaugnay ng reporma sa lupa at pagtatayo ng baseng masa. Lahat ng tatlong integral na komponenteng ito ay sadyang tumutulak sa pagsasakatuparan ng estratehikong linya ng pagkubkob ng kalunsuran mula sa kanayunan hanggang sapat na ang lakas ng hukbong bayan para gapiin ang kaaway sa mga lungsod at iba pang malalaking kuta sa pambansang saklaw.
Sa pagtataguyod ng BHB, binuo ng Partido sa libu-libong barangay ang mga organo ng kapangyarihang pampulitika at mga organisasyong masa para sa mga manggagawa, magsasaka, kababaihan, kabataan at kultural na aktibista sa kanayunan. May kakayahan ang mga ito na maglunsad ng mga kampanyang masa para sa pampublikong edukasyon, reporma sa lupa, pagpapalaki sa produksyon, kalusugan at kalinisan, pagsasanay ng mga yunit milisya at pagtatanggol sa sarili, pagsasaayos ng mga alitan at kultural na aktibidad.
Itinataguyod at isinusulong ng Partido ang mga patakaran at taktika ng nagkakaisang prente bilang isang nesesaryong sandata ng rebolusyon. Ang bagong-demokratikong rebolusyon ay nakabatay sa alyansa ng uring manggagawa at magsasaka. Dagdag dito ang pagsasanib ng masang anakpawis at peti burgesyang lunsod sa isang progresibong alyansa. Pinakamahusay na pagkakabuo nito ang National Democratic Front, na itinatag ng Partido at iba pang rebolusyonaryong pwersa noong 1973.
Karagdagang alyansa ang sa mga patriyotikong pwersa, kabilang ang panggitnang burgesya. Dagdag pa rin ang malawak na nagkakaisang prente, na may pakikipag-alyansa sa mga mabuway at panandaliang alyado sa ilang reaksyonaryo laban sa mga pinakamasamang reaksyonaryo na tinutuunan bilang kaaway. Hanggang ngayon tinatarget ng Partido ang naghaharing reaksyonaryong pangkatin dahil ito ang pinaka-reaksyunaryo at pinakamasunurin sa mga imperyalistang US.
Binabati ko kayo dahil sa lahat ng mga tagumpay sa pagtatayo ng organisasyon ng Partido. Sumusunod ang Partido sa prinsipyo ng demokratikong sentralismo, na nangangahulugang sentralismo batay sa demokrasya at demokrasya sa patnubay ng sentralismo. Ang prinsipyong ito ay laban sa burukratismo at sa ultra-demokrasya o anarkismo. Ang Partido ay nakapagpalalim ng ugat sa hanay ng masang anakpawis ng mga manggagawa at magsasaka at nakapagtayo ng mga organo at organisasyon sa saklaw ng buong Pilipinas.
Ang Partido ay may sampu-sampung libong mga kasapi, unang-una mula sa mga manggagawa at magsasaka. Kinukuha nito ang pinakaabanteng mga elemento mula sa kilusang masa ng mga manggagawa, magsasaka, kababaihan, kabataan at kultural na aktibista. Tumatanggap ito ng mga kasapi mula sa hanay ng kabataang edukado, na karamiha'y galing sa peti burgesyang lunsod subalit nais magbago ng kanilang sarili upang maging proletaryong rebolusyonaryo sa pamamagitan ng rebolusyonaryong pag-aaral at praktika sa pagsisilbi sa mga mamamayan.
Ang Partido ay may matibay na organisasyon ng mga kadre at kasapi. Ito ang batayan ng mahusay na plano sa pagpapabilis ng paglaki ng organisasyon ng Partido. Sampu-sampung libong mga kadre at daan-daang libo ng mga kasapi ang kinakailangan para sa isang igpaw sa pagsulong ng rebolusyong Pilipino. Dambuhalang mga gawain ang hinaharap ng Partido.
Ang pagkabangkarote ng patakarang "globalisasyong neoliberal" at "gera sa terorismo" na pasimuno ng US ay humahantong sa walang kahalintulad na mabilis na paglala ng krisis ng pandaigdigang sistemang kapitalista at naghaharing sistema ng Pilipinas. Nagdudulot ang kalagayang krisis ng kahila-hilakbot na paghihirap sa mga mamamayan ngunit nag-uudyok din sa kanila na pag-ibayuhin ang rebolusyonaryong pakikibaka. Paborable ang mga kondisyong ito para sa mabilis na paglaki at pagsulong ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas at iba pang mga organisadong rebolusyonaryong pwersa ng sambayanang Pilipino
Sunday, January 4, 2009
José Rizal toast to Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo
By: Jose Rizal
GENTLEMEN: Upon taking the floor I am untroubled by the thought that you might listen to me with indifference, because you are here to join your enthusiasm to ours, which is fired by our youth, and you cannot help but be indulgent. The air is full of empathetic good feeling; currents of brotherhood fly in every direction; generous souls are listening and, therefore, I do not fear for my humble person nor doubt your benevolence. Men of heart, you only seek hearts, and from the heights where noble emotions dwell, you single out nothing that is petty mean-spiritedness. You see the whole, you judge the cause and hold out your hand to one such as myself, who wishes to join you in one single thought, one sole aspiration: the glory of genius, the splendor of the country.(Good, very good; applause.)
GENTLEMEN: Upon taking the floor I am untroubled by the thought that you might listen to me with indifference, because you are here to join your enthusiasm to ours, which is fired by our youth, and you cannot help but be indulgent. The air is full of empathetic good feeling; currents of brotherhood fly in every direction; generous souls are listening and, therefore, I do not fear for my humble person nor doubt your benevolence. Men of heart, you only seek hearts, and from the heights where noble emotions dwell, you single out nothing that is petty mean-spiritedness. You see the whole, you judge the cause and hold out your hand to one such as myself, who wishes to join you in one single thought, one sole aspiration: the glory of genius, the splendor of the country.(Good, very good; applause.)
"In effect, I shall state the reason why we are gathered. In the history of nations there are names that by themselves signify an achievement, that bring to mind affections and greatness. Names which, like magic formulas, evoke pleasant and smiling ideas; names which become something like a pact, a symbol of peace, a bond of love between nations. The names of Luna and Hidalgo belong among them - their glories illuminate two ends of the globe: the East and the West, España and Filipinas. Upon pronouncing them, gentlemen, I envision two brilliant arches, each rising from the two regions, that entwine above in the heights, impelled by the sympathy of common origin, and from that height they bind two peoples with eternal ties, two peoples separated in vain by the seas and space, two peoples in which the seeds of disunion do not germinate, BLINDLY SOWN BY MEN AND THEIR TYRANNY. Luna and Hidalgo are as much Spanish glories as they are Filipino. Just as they were born in the Philippines, they could have been born in Spain, because genius has no country, genius blossoms everywhere, genius is like the light, the air, it is the heritage of all - cosmopolitan 2 like space, like life and like God. (Applause)
"The patriarchal era of Filipinas is passing. The illustrious achievements of her children are no longer consummated within the home. The Oriental chrysalis is leaving the cocoon. The tomorrow of a long day is announced for those regions in brilliant tints and rosy dawns, and that race - lethargic during the historical night while the sun lit up other continents - awakens again, powerfully moved by the electric shock produced in it by contact with the Western peoples, and it clamors for light, life, the civilization that time once gave as its legacy, confirming in this way the eternal laws of continual evolution, of transformation, of periodicity, of progress.
"This you know well and you glory in it. To you Filipinas owes the beauty of the diamonds that stud her crown. She has given the stones, Europe has polished them. And we contemplate proudly, you your work, ours the flame, the breath, the materials provided.(Bravos.)
"They drank there the poetry of nature, a nature great and terrible, and her cataclysms, in her evolution, in her dynamism. Nature sweet, tranquil and melancholy in her constant, static manifestation. Nature that leaves her imprint on everything she creates and produces. Her children take that imprint wherever they go. If you do not believe me, examine their character, their work, and no matter how little you may know that nation, you will see them act in everything as forming their science, as the soul that presides over all, as the spring in the mechanism, as the substantial form, as the raw material. It is impossible not to reflect what is felt in oneself, it is impossible to be one thing and to do another; the contradictions are only apparent, they are only paradoxes. In The Spoliarium, through that canvas which is not mute, one hears the noise of the crowd, the shouts of the slaves, the metallic clanking of the dead bodies' armor, the sobbing of orphans, the murmured prayers, with as much vigor and realism as one hears the deafening noise of thunder amid the crashing sound of a waterfall or the awesome, terrifying shaking of an earthquake. The same nature that births such phenomena also intervenes in those brushstrokes. In contrast, in Hidalgo's painting beats the purest sentiment,3 the ideal expression of mournfulness, beauty and vulnerability, the victims of brute force, and it is because Hidalgo was born beneath the brilliant azure of that sky, the lullaby of its sea breezes, amid the serenity of its lakes, the poetry of its valleys and the majestic harmony of its hills and mountains.
"For this reason, in Luna there are shadows, contrasts, dying light, the mystery and the horror, as resonance of the dark tempests of the Tropics, the lightning and the roaring explosions of its volcanoes. This is why Hidalgo is all light, color, harmony, sentiment, purity, as Filipinas is in her moonlit nights, in her quiet days, with her horizon that invites to meditation, cradle gently rocking the infinite. And both of them, despite being so different, at least in appearance, are the same in their substance, just as all our hearts are the same despite our notable differences. Both, upon reflecting with their palettes the splendor of the Tropical sunlight, transform it into rays of eternal glory with which they wreath THEIR COUNTRY -- HUMANITY SUBJECTED TO SEVERE TESTS; UNREDEEMED HUMANITY; reason and aspiration in open struggle against personal troubles, FANATICISM AND INJUSTICE, because sentiment and opinion will break open a path through even the thickest walls; because for them all bodies have pores, all are transparent, and if they lack the pen, if the printing press does not second them, then palette and brush not only will give pleasure to the eyes -- they will also be eloquent orators.
"If the mother teaches her child her language in order to understand his joys, his needs or pains, Spain as a mother also teaches her language to Filipinas, despite the opposition of those short-sighted midgets who secure their position, INCAPABLE OF LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE and not weighing the consequences. Sickly wetnurses, corrupted and corrupting, who tend to snuff out all legitimate feeling and pervert the hearts of nations, sowing in them the seeds of discords such that later their fruit is harvested: wolfsbane. The death of future generations.
"But I put aside such troubles! Peace to those dead, because dead are they - they have no breath, no soul, and the worms feed on them! Let's not evoke their dismal memory; let's not breathe in their stench amid our joys! Fortunately the brothers exceed them in numbers; generosity and nobility are innate beneath the Spanish skies - you are all its clear proof. You have responded in one voice, you have assisted, and you would have done much more, had more been asked of you. Seated and participating in our reception and honoring the illustrious sons of Filipinas, you also honor Spain; because you know this well - the limits of Spain are neither the Atlantic, nor Cantabria, nor the Mediterranean; what meanness it would be were the sea a dike against her greatness, her thought. -- Spain is there, there where she makes her beneficent influence felt, and even if her flag were to disappear, her memory would remain, eternal, imperishable. What can a piece of red and yellow cloth do, what can guns and cannon do, there where the feeling of love, of affection, does not spring; WHERE THERE IS NO FUSION OF IDEAS, UNITY OF PRINCIPLES, ACCORD AMONGST OPINIONS...? (Prolonged applause.)
"Luna and Hidalgo belong as much to you as to us. You love them and we see in them generous aspirations, precious examples. The Filipino youth of Europe, always enthusiastic, and some other persons whose hearts remain youthful because of the disinterestedness and enthusiasm that mark their actions, offer a crown to Luna, a modest gift, small, yes, compared to our fervor, but it is the most spontaneously and freely offered gift of all the ones presented until now.
"However, the gratitude of Filipinas to her illustrious sons was not yet satisfied, and wanting to give free rein to the ferment in our thoughts, the feelings overflowing in our hearts and the words that escape from our lips, all of us have come here to this banquet to join our wishes, to materialize the mutual embrace of TWO RACES who love and care for each other, UNITED morally, socially and politically throughout the space of four centuries, SO THAT IN FUTURE THEY MAY FORM ONE SOLE NATION IN SPIRIT,in their duties, their perspectives, their privileges.
"Therefore I raise a toast to our artists Luna and Hidalgo, legitimate and pure glories of TWO PEOPLES! I raise a toast to those who have given them assistance along the painful path of art! I offer a toast that the Filipino youth, sacred hope of MY COUNTRY, may imitate such precious models and that Mother Spain,4 solicitous and attentive to the wellbeing of her provinces, may soon put into practice the reforms that she has long considered; for the furrow has been plowed and the earth is not barren! And finally, I offer a toast to the happiness of parents who, deprived of their sons' affection, from those distant regions follow them with tearful gaze and beating heart through the seas and the distance, sacrificing on the altar of the common good the sweet consolations that are so scarce in life's twilight - precious and solitary winter flowers blooming beside the tomb's snow mantled borders.
The Eagle Will Not Fly Without the Poor
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Ateneo de Manila University Commencement Exercises |
March 25, 2006 |
And they told me--- because I represent a movement that presents hope at this time when many in our country are in despair. You are looking for hope in me, but I am here to tell you that this school and the other members of this university have been a source of hope and inspiration for me in the last three years. When Father Ben Nebres and the Ateneo Board of Trustees bestowed the Ozanam Award on Gawad Kalinga through me on July 23, 2003, they triggered A REVOLUTION OF HOPE in the Ateneo…sweeping the Ateneo from grade school, high school, college, to the Alumni... then leading the way for other universities, corporations, government institutions and Filipino organizations abroad to follow their example and joining the bandwagon for nation building. The Ateneo is showing the world that “The eagle will not fly without the poor”. Thank you Father Ben for your great love for our country and for inspiring the young to make a difference in the lives of our people. Caring for the poor and restoring the dignity of the Filipino in his own country have now become an urgent mission for Filipinos here and abroad. This is not just healing for our country's poor and neglected but it is healing for me and many like me as well. Unknown to most of you, for 32 years it wasn't easy for me to return to Ateneo. I didn't come to the reunions and homecomings, simply because of a sense of guilt of a person who grew up with the suffering poor but later forgot them after I got an Ateneo education. I was so focused on repackaging, and building up myself that I forgot the accompanying responsibility that came with the privilege of an Ateneo scholarship. I forgot the poor… I left them behind. I left them like so many others before me. There are many who blame the rich and powerful for the plight of the poor. I know there is basis for the accusations but I cannot bring myself to blame them. How could I expect them to love the poor whom they do not know when I grew up poor and yet forgot to help them, too. I realized my great shortcoming as a Filipino in 1985 when I joined Couples for Christ. It was then that I found my faith and grew a conscience and decided to live a righteous life… to correct the mistakes and the injustice committed to our country and to our people by people like me. Couples for Christ taught me to repent for my sins and to be genuinely sorry for the things I failed to do for my country and for my people. I am really sorry for the state of things, because of my failure to do something about it. And many are now sorry, just like myself because of this state of degradation… But feeling sorry is not enough. Sorry does not restore beauty, sorry does not restore dignity, sorry does not restore the plan of God for man. Sorry begins it, but sorry is not enough. What needs to be done is to bring sorry to action, to convert regret to reform, to lift apathy to compassion and development. We who have not done well by the talents and treasures we have been gifted with, we who have abdicated our responsibility of shepherding the poor and the young to their birthright of enjoying the treasures of a beautiful and abundant country, we who have seen the errors of our ways and are sorry --- we must now restore what we destroyed… or allowed to be destroyed. Because the Ateneo is a Christian university which believes in the mission of forming students to become persons for others, the principle of good over evil goes beyond the fundamental understanding of right and wrong. It is not enough not to do wrong. To battle evil, we must do good. The path of reform and transformation for Ateneans… for Christians, must be one of peace. It must believe that good is more powerful than evil, and only in the exercise of good can evil be eliminated. Thus, the path of reform and transformation, personal and social, must be a path of good works. Build homes. Build communities. Build capacities. Restore dignity. Restore abundance. Restore beauty. Restore peace. Build and restore, build and restore. And you did! The eagle has landed in Payatas. Because you could not bring the poor of Payatas to Ateneo, you brought Ateneo to the poor of Payatas. In this once desolate place, you restored dignity, you have brought back hope! The former squatters now have security in their land. You transformed 200 shanties -- the slum and the garbage have now become a beautiful middle class community. Crime has virtually disappeared. Former streetchildren are now in school. The idle have been motivated to find employment and are now living productive lives. Nawala ang sindikato sa lupa, sa tubig, at sa ilaw. You have transformed hell into a piece of heaven… all because you cared, you shared and you learned to work together. The grade school worked with their parents, the high school students gave up their parties… the college students gave up their weekends. And the Alumni from all over the world also helped. I salute and honor the eagles of Payatas, especially Steph Limuaco, former President of the Ateneo Student Council and now full-time worker of Ateneo for Gawad Kalinga, students, parents, the caretaker team from CFC and Mayor Sonny Belmonte who not only paved the way for the poor to own the land in Payatas but also paved the roads. Again you performed the same miracle in Gabaldon! The surviving flood victims who were once squatters living in dangerous areas now have their own land in sites that have been cleared as environmentally safe and their own sturdy homes. Now the people are growing their own food and planting trees. Land for the landless, homes for the homeless, food for the hungry… For this I honor Mark Lawrence Cruz, the 300-strong Team Gabaldon and Mayor Mandia. You washed away the mud of despair and brought out the gold in the poor of Gabaldon. Gabaldon is part of a massive rehabilitation and reconstruction effort called Kalinga Luzon that goes beyond the usual relief operations after the calamity. Malaki ang tulong dito ng 3 Atenista in helping 40,000 survivor families of the Luzon typhoons and floods… Secretary of National Defense and NDCC Chairman Avelino “Nonong” Cruz , Smart-PLDT Chairman Manny Pangilinan and former Agriculture Secretary Cito Lorenzo. This afternoon I invited the proud leaders of Payatas and Gabaldon, together with the mayors of Cabiao, San Isidro, and Gen. Tinio, Nueva Ecija who have also benefited from the help of Ateneo. They are here to witness the graduation of a new breed of Ateneans and Filipinos who not only have the brains but also the heart for our country and our people. The journey to rebuild our country is just beginning and moving towards massive upscaling with the entry of corporations, national government agencies, LGU's and Filipino organizations abroad. Corporations too are searching for a deeper and better expression of corporate social responsibility. Rival corporations are rising above business competition to help. P&G and Unilever, Jollibee and McDonalds, Shell and Petron, Pfizer and Wyeth and Smart-PLDT… and over a hundred others. Sabi ng Shell “Kung may layunin, malayo ang inyong mararating” . Sabi ng Smart “We're not just building homes, we're building a nation” . Both campaigns are inspired by the spirit of Gawad Kalinga, the spirit of being a person for others – going beyond conventional charity towards helping the poor become better stewards of their families and their communities. Converting our human resource from liability to asset, expanding the market base by empowering the poor make good business sense! This afternoon we have with us the country chairman of Shell Philippines, Mr. Ed Chua, who is from La Salle and the president of Pfizer, Mr. Gerry Bacarro, who is from Ateneo. Both are firm believers of corporate social responsibility geared towards nation-building. It is our hope that the stiff rivalry between Ateneo and La Salle in basketball will be elevated to a higher level of nobility of building the most number of houses and communities and educating the most number of poor children. My fellow Ateneans, when you leave this campus, many of you will join these corporations and will be happy to note that they have a keener sense of social responsibility and a work environment that will nurture your idealism. In the field of governance, more than 300 mayors and governors have chosen the same path of nation-building. Hundreds more will join this year and members of Congress are being inspired to do the same. Many of you will be the future mayors, governors and members of congress… and again will be happy to note that your predecessors have begun the path of building and restoring our country. Even Filipinos abroad have found a reason to hope and a way to concretize their love for the motherland. Many have gone beyond sending resources… they themselves are coming home to help build the nation of their dreams… Bicolanos helping Bicol… The Ilonggos helping Negros and Panay… the Cebuanos helping Cebu… And the Fil-Am doctors are going beyond the usual medical mission and are building healthy communities as a way of giving back to a country that they have never stopped loving. When you care for others, especially the weak and the powerless, you will be amazed at how God will take care of you and the people you love. Today I thank God for my wife and my five children who have joined me in this mission to help restore this beautiful land. This is the best legacy I can give them. I honor my son Jay, who at 22, left his job and an exciting life of fast cars and beautiful girls in L.A. to help the typhoon victims of Bicol… and my son-in-law Dylan Wilk who left his country England, his family and friends, his extravagant lifestyle - his Ferrari, his Porsche and BMW… in exchange for the poor families in this country that he has learned to love and care for. And of course, the nameless and unrecognized workers and heroes of other Ateneo initiatives like Pathways, Tulong Dunong, Jesuit Volunteers of the Philippines , Leaders for Health and other NGOs and cause-oriented groups who love this county… Today there are tens of thousands of them… tomorrow there will be millions. Together we will build a slum-free, squatter-free, crime-free Philippines. And so in the same spirit of heroism, I urge you young Ateneans to do the same. After you leave this campus, there is no doubt that you will soar to great heights but it will all be meaningless if you fly alone. The poor do not have strong wings like you do and they need you to carry them, inspire them to discover their own strength and greatness. Sana eto ang walang iwanan. For the parents, as you have invested in the future of your children by giving them the best education possible… support also your children's desire to invest in the future of this country. They will honor you even more if you value their aspirations for nobility and their dreams for a better country that will be a source of pride for them and their children. As we go through this defining moment of Philippine history, let us strive never to forget four things: (1) Never stop hoping for our country. (2) Don't stop caring for our people. (3) Demand greatness of yourself as a Filipino. (4) Inspire greatness in other Filipinos. As you leave the campus to join the real world, let your vision and the power that you have discovered to change the world, define what is real to you. Make your love for this country and our people, especially the poor, your reality and your priority. Make it the foundation of your career plans, your dreams and ambitions for your children and the goal of any political or economic power that you have the privilege to wield. Wherever you are in the world, excel and prosper but remain connected to the motherland and dedicate your success to the fulfillment not just of your dreams but to the many in your country who have lost their capacity to dream. Do not be content in finding artificial security in gated subdivisions when you can provide yourself a buffer of peace by caring for the needy around you. Nor be content with living in first world luxury in a third world environment and contributing to the discontent and the growing threats around the security of your own family. Give value to the land of your birth by sharing with those who for generations have been deprived of its use and abundance. Be a blessing to your children's future by making it your responsibility to be father or mother to the abandoned and neglected. Be the healing of the soul of this nation and the fulfillment of the dream that we have forgotten. Be the proud Filipino that we are not yet, but soon will be. Be the hero who finds courage and the conviction that this country is worth saving, because it is a gift from God and that your life is meaningless if it is not dedicated to the fulfillment of a divine destiny to be a great people. Let me end this speech and send you off with a prayer. Dear God, pour out your blessing upon our new graduates. Guide them in their journey to greatness. Show your power and majesty to this troubled and sinful nation through these young Filipinos who will strive to live lives of righteousness and excellence. Make them healers of our wounded people and restorers of our broken land. Anoint them as the new generation of living heroes who will bring this country to our destiny of greatness. Mabuhay kayong mga bagong bayani ng bayan! Kayo ang bagong lakas ng pagbabago! Kayo ang magandang mukha ng kinabukasan! |
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