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Thursday, February 16, 2012

CAN THERE BE PEACE???

OF GOD'S WORD, DIVERGENT FAITHS,
AND QUEST FOR PEACE

By Sinforosa Nitro Perez

What is holiness? And what really is sin? There are undertakings which in the thinking of some constitute holiness, while in the estimation of others they are sin.

In the Holy Book -- Holy Bible -- of the Christians, which 'THEY' believe as the Word of God, it has been repeatedly stated that God helped one particular group among His creations – the Israelites or chosen people – particularly the tribe of Benjamin against all the other tribes or groups of people. There were land grabbings against some other tribes! Is it not that all the different peoples fighting and killing one another were all created by and, consequently also, the children of God?

Could all that are in the Bible be REALLY the word of God?

From the Gospel of St. Matthew we read in verse 18 of Chapter 16 that Christ declared:

“And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail upon it.” When still a Seventh Grader in the 1930s, an inquisitive young lad (si Ka Pule2 iyon) had become accustomed to listening during disputations regarding faith and worship. Even then, he was already asking himself:

“Why is it that preachers could not agree when only one and similar book, the 'Holy Bible', is the basis of their preachings?”

He had already forgotten that riddle until he was already a matured, diligent student at the Far Eastern University. Then one day the young man instinctively wrote on the inside front cover of an old copy of the 'Holy Book'given to him by a classmate and friend -- Leopoldo Gebala from Cavite (nasaan na kaya siya?), as a token of their friendship, the following:

“LENT, 3/30/56. – Dear God, before I start reading this book, which I consider as Your Will transformed into words by means of the wisdom of men of yestercenturies in order that it may be handed down to succeeding generations, kindly grant that I, Your humble son, be bestowed with Your Divine Guidance such that my mind shall be comprehending always, so that I shall be profiting to the fullest extent from my readings.

“X x x. I open my heart to this book of God.”

Pertaining moreover to the many narrations in the Bible, my young friend remembered his one semester of formal study of the 'Holy Book', under the tutorship of Professor Carmita Legarda Carreon (RIP), of English 125 or Bible Literature at F.E.U. in 1958. He could not accept even then the concept of chosen people by Yaweh, or a favorite group of people chosen by God. That instance of favoritism was similar to God’s choice of Abel’s offerings and rejection of Cain’s, as though God ever since, had been practising favoritism, which caused the life’s misfortunes of Cain.

In that aforesaid course of study, this friend submitted as a concluding project, his term paper, Bible as Literature. The perplexing view which developed in his mind was this: “Why has God ‘a favorite, or chosen people’? However good a man is, if he did not belong to the chosen group, would it mean that he shall never be favored by God? In the far away countries and nations, continents, islands, distant kingdoms during the earliest days on earth, and there have been so many discoveries on the social, political, cultural and religious intercourse among nations and races, must we still adhere to the belief that those who were not Christians will surely suffer condemnation come the Last Judgment?

“What would become of those who were not with the ‘chosen people’ who could possibly be (we cannot be sure) more firm and virtuous than most of us in their belief on the Divine Being? And could we, Catholics and Christians, presume that we would be more deserving of and acceptable to the heavenly kingdom, while those who did not believe as we do would surely be condemned?

"Could we say that their unblessed state was predestined by Fate? And if we become accepted in heaven could we enjoy in the happiness and endless glory while so many of our fellow creatures – friends, kin, acquaintances, and loved ones – just because they did not belong to the chosen group and had different beliefs than us, are suffering in endless punishment. We ought to be called ‘Saddists,’ and not Christians!

“In all sincerity, I consider The Bible as one of the greatest compilations of literary works, a very important segment of God’s Will for His children to believe in and profit by, or disregard completely and regret thereafter. The concept of ‘chosen people,’ for me is the result of a people’s tribal (or nationalist) thinking, which it attributed to God in order to arouse the fear, awe and/or respect of other rival tribes or nations. Whether God consents or not to that idea, I would not presume to know. By that, I just think God merely wishes to ‘confuse the wise.’ If I err, I firmly believe in the justness of God to correct my error, and forgive me as well.

“As the literature of God’s Will, the Bible further strengthened my reliance on His Omnipotence, on His Strength to Guide and bring into fruition what I have always prayed and hoped for: THE UNIVERSALITY OF A SINGLE FAITH AND A COMPLETE, UNCONDITIONAL, AND VOLUNTARY FEELING OF BROTHERHOOD AMONG MANKIND – a host of beloved children of One and Only Heavenly Father. Then will His children come before Him in the end, bound by a single faith, to glorify Him forever, and evermore.

“Many a silent hour have I fervently prayed, and I will forever be praying, to the Almighty to endow me with a sufficient intellect that I may, at least before I finally stand before Him on the Day of Judgment, come to understand fully the mysteries of His works; that I may appreciate them better and make use of them to glorify Him in the best way I can, so that I shall be worthy of His kingdom and the life everlasting.”

MAN’s fidelity is tested in the Bible. In conclusion, my friend wrote the following in his term paper: “It can be said in passing that the Bible is a chronological record of the culture of a people, a compilation of the gems of literature – the literature of God’s will as conceived by the wise men of a large group of people who professed a strong faith in one Supreme Being – which has become the basis of the Christian faith. It can be admitted that the authors of the Bible were divinely inspired when they wrote. Are not all writers during their respective lifetime in all ages also guided by divine inspiration whenever they wrote? If there be discrepancies in the Bible, as some critics say, there are a great deal of truths in it also. Are not Satan, and the host of apostate angels – the perpetrators of lies and falsehoods – also a part of God’s creation?

Such is the will of God: to test the faith of man, and make him dig deeper into the intricacies of life, He has set before him all things imaginable, both good and evil.

“Man is free to believe or not the truths, as well as the discrepancies, the good and the otherwise, in the Bible. Said God of man: ‘I made him just and right, sufficient to have stood, though free to fall… Not free, what proof could they have given of true allegiance, constant faith, or love, where only what they need must do appeared, not what they would? What praise could they receive, what pleasure I, from such obedience paid, whom Will and Reason (Reason also is Choice), useless and vain of freedom both despoiled, made passive both, had served Necessity, not me?... Can hearts not free be tried whether they serve willing or no, who will but what they must and can no other choose?’ (Lifted from Milton).

“If there were no good and evil, no truths and falsehoods, what for then would man make use of his freedom?”

When Spain conquered the Philippines was it not that the people already living in these parts – who were also created by God – were divested by the Christian (Catholic) conquerors, (in the name of God!) of their possessions, their landholdings and other means of livelihood? Was land-grabbing, since the earliest times, and until the conquest by the western nations here in East Asia, sanctioned and condoned by Yaweh, their God? Unthinkable!

With the combined sword and crucifix – the sword was wielded by the soldier-warrior, and the crucifix held aloft by the churchmen, the priests who preached that they were God’s surrogates on earth -- and in the name of God, the original creations and inhabitants peacefully living on their lands, were divested forthwith of their possessions; and even they, the original inhabitants of the lands, also became properties of the conquerors!

Pope Paul VI visited the Philippines in 1970, and it happened that our friend (Ka Pule2) who had progressed to become a MalacaƱang Press Office Reporter -- was the one assigned by the Press Secretary to cover the Pope’s activities during such visit; speaking before congregations, and different sectors of the populace. Our reporter took note of his pronouncements, exhortations and teachings. After the Pope’s return to the Vatican, our reporter friend wrote him (the Pope) a letter, supplicating in tone, and the gist of his appeal was as follows:

He implored the Pope to cause the Church authorities here in the Philippines, such that in the name also of God, the Church should effect the return of the landholdings which were grabbed from the original inhabitants and owners of those lands in this country. Our reporter did not receive any response, but he only heard the news, that a worker in the local Parish Church was looking for him; but he seldom visited his hometown of Padre Garcia in Batangas province.

When the Philippines was a colony of Spain, the authorities prevented the youthful natives from studying and learning. Even the reading of the Bible was prohibited by the foreign priests; because "it was a sin against God"! Only the priests had the right and duty to read and interpret the Scriptures to the natives. But there were Filipinos who entered the priesthood. They learned of the wrong policy of keeping the natives ignorant particularly the youth. An example was Father Vicente Garcia – a BatangueƱo -- and the staunch defender of Rizal’s novel Noli Me Tangere against criticisms and vituperations by the Spanish friars. The patriotic priest even took pains totranslate into Tagalog and Bicolanosuch works as "La Imitacion de Cristo"by Tomas A. Kempis, and other Latin prayers.

Moreover, after the opening of the Suez Canal between Africa and Asia there came about a drastic change. Commerce and trade prospered in the Philippines, and well-to-do families were able to send their sons – because the religious discouraged parents to educate their daughters --- to study in Europe, particularly in Spain. Among those who went abroad came from the families of Ventura, Luna, Adriatico, Lopez-Jaena, Alejandrino, Agoncillo, Apacible, Ramos, Lopez, Rizal, Serrano-Laktaw, and also Marcelo H. del Pilar who escaped the atrocities of the Spanish priests. The formerly divergent tribes with regional biases in the home country cultivated friendships and camaraderie abroad, and unity in the fraternity of Freemasonry. They became united as Indios Bravos in the propaganda movement which aimed at seeking the improvement of government administration in the Philippines, and for this country to be a province of Spain.

More than a century had passed since the time our earlier heroes aspired for justice and peace in this country, until finally a revolutionist Andres Bonifacio opted to fight for independence. Our forebears fought Spain, the United States, and also Japan. And now, we are fighting among ourselves!

The question, “Can there be peace in our country?” is hard to answer on the basis of current occurrences. When we were under Spain there was greater unity between church and state. But the church controlled the government. When the Americans came and conquered us more troubles came about. They brought in Protestantism, and in the year 1914 Felix Manalo founded another religion, the Iglesia ni Kristo (Church of Christ), which does not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, but regarded the Redeemer as just a Messenger of the Almighty Father. As years went by various systems of proselytization sprout like mushrooms during rainy days. The solemnity in places of worship has given way to pandemonium of rock music!

Ka Pule2 wonders whether Amang Bathala is irritated or amused!

Not very long ago, Ka Pule2 stumbled on a diametrically opposing view in the "Holy Book", specifically in Chapter 10, Verses 34 and 35 sa Aklat ni Mateo:

"34. Huwag ninyong isipin na ako'y naparito upang magdala ng kapayapaan sa lupa: hindi ako naparito upang magdala ng kapayapaan, kungdi tabak.

"35. Sapagka't ako'y naparito upang papagalitin ang lalake laban sa kanyang ama, at ang anak na babae laban sa kanyang ina, at ang manugang na babae laban sa kanyang biyenang babae."

Bakit ganun?????

Come to think of it, religion seems to be the principal root of discord on earth – the imposition of divergent beliefs in the manner of how to propagate the Word of God; and belief or faith on which system of governance should be the example and guide for the lives of men and nations. Ecumenism, however, has come about as the fountainhead of religious tolerance among divergent faiths.

Almost all religions believe in the after-life, or the resurrection after death. Among us Christians this is believed as the life everlasting. We believe in the Last Judgment, when all those who lived and died on this earth -- altogether, all of them -- will come back to life to stand before the Supreme Judge who would decide whether this or that individual lived creditably during his life’s sojourn on earth.

Where would the Omnipotent and Almighty Father gather together all those he had created, and were born since the time of Adam and Eve, and until the ages still to come? Unless every individual on Resurrection Day would just be brought back to life with the size of an atom!

Could it be that the concept of the Last Judgment (with Heaven and Hell, and even Purgatory) was just mental creations, or figments of the imagination of those earlier dreamers, to utilize them as instruments of religious blackmail by such institutions in the global intimidations and commercialization of faith and worship?

Some Questions concerning the Bible:

Were Adam and Eve really our first parents? According to the Bible, after Cain had murdered his brother Abel, and he was driven out by God from the land of his kindred; he went to and lived in the lands of Nod (in one Bible it was called Traveller*), east of Eden; and that God branded Cain so that whoever would meet him would not take his life.* He settled in the land to which he was driven, and there got married and begot many children.

Based on those assertions it seemed that there were already many other peoples on earth, even before the appearance of Adam and Eve!

"Could that (land of Travelers) possibly be the homeland of Freemasons?"

There’s one different story, and we don’t know whether this was another mental creation by an imaginative story-teller. The first woman was said to be not Eve, but Lilet. What happened was that Lilet did not want to be dominated by Adam; she wanted equality with man, in rights and privileges. That was perhaps the basis of the protracted campaign for woman’s lib. Adam and Lilet did not live together long enough; they separated. That, maybe, was the first divorce in the history of man.

God was not satisfied with His first creation, and when He saw Adam very lonely after his divorce with Lilet, He put him to sleep and took one of his ribs – in the middle part of man’s body – and so the resulting female would not aspire to be equal with the rights and abilities of man; and neither too low on man’s physique that she might be trampled upon. She shall be enshrined in the sentiments of man, in the vicinity of the heart from where the rib was taken.

And then the two of them (Adam and Eve) were often seen by Adam's first wife holding hands, and always happy together in Paradise!

So serious was Lilet’s jealousy and envy when she beheld Adam and Eve together in constant and amorous company. She then assumed the form of a reptile which tempted Eve. We all know the rest of this story from biblical accounts.

* * * * *

There was another story told by a Preacher and remembered by our friend when he once listened to the sermon during Vespers Service of a religious group. He had developed the habit of attending Vespers (to accompany his CAREGIVER as a lifetime commitment) because he felt uncomfortable with the tumultuous morning worshippers.

According to the Pastor’s story, Eve was so inconsolable after she and Adam were driven by God out of Paradise. So severe was her grief and disconsolation that Adam could not pacify her in any way. Adam could not make her stop crying, and he was so much confused as to what he would do to dry her tears. This time, Lilet saw Adam’s predicament, and although she had divorced him, she still had that feeling of concern and compassion for her ex-husband. She then thought of a way by which she could do him a good turn.

Lilet assumed the form of Satan and whispered to Adam, “Look through the trees in the orchard and search for a fruit which is similar to the apple which you ate in the garden, and give it to Eve.” Adam did as told. But instead of being pacified, Eve cried even more horribly, plaintively. She was reminded of the fruit which was the cause of their being driven out of Paradise. The gimmick was a failure.

Lilet thought of another tack. She told Adam to gather beautiful leaves of trees and stitch them together to produce a very gorgeous raiment for Eve. He did so, but all the more Eve continued crying.

Lilet went into deep thinking this time, and hoped that the third gift would solve the problem. She gave Adam a beautiful box, exquisitely wrapped, and said: “Give this to Eve as your love-gift. But don’t open it, and keep far from her so that she alone would open it.”

Adam did so, and at a little distance away from Eve, he observed how she would react. Eve smiled happily after opening the box! Utterly curious, Adam went to her side, and they both beheld the reflection of their very beautiful and handsome images in the mirror. They looked at each other – lovingly, longingly, amorously; no more tears in her eyes, but smiles of adoration and love for each other. The result was mankind!

We would not know, but perhaps stories such as this could be just the outcome of imaginative thinking of fertile and artistic minds.

Can there be peace? As long as there are nations which exploit other nations peace will be very elusive, and can never be attained. Events occurring here in the Philippines during the past several decades were similar to the happenings in Bolivia during the middle of past century which were narrated in the book C.I.A. Diary by Phillip Agee. Could it not be that the continuing existence of JUSMAG in the Philippines, and the dirty tricks in the clandestine operations by the CIA, and further aggravated by the Balikatan Exercises, constitute an arsenal for the root causes of multifarious protest actions and social discord and disagreements within Philippine society nowadays?

The efforts and resources of government are dissipated in quelling protest actions, and even the protestors accomplish nothing for their personal economic benefits. More gravely, the time and resources expended by the police and military are merely dissipated; and the expense for all their movements and maneuvers – ill-spent manhours and lost; fuel and oil, paraphernalia for crowd control, constitute a heavy drain from the nation’s resources and economy. All actors in this social drama serve as puppets of foreign interests. Wasteful, all are utterly senseless, and foreign economies reap the benefits!

For as long as powerful nations interfere in the affairs of other nations, peace will be very elusive. For as long as the fashioning and manufacture of armaments used to kill or maim a fellow being continue to exist among nations there will never be peace!

* * * * *

For as long as there are religions with divergent, or contrary, teachings, and claiming that only they are being favored by God, and that the other faiths would not be favored in heaven or in the after-life, there will never be peace on the face of the earth!

What could be the future of the Filipino race? Is the Filipino race, or Indio, still living, or existing? Must we continue to maintain the name PILIPINAS for this country? After the lapse of a very long period of time that this archipelago which we inhabit on the Far Eastern part of the globe, or western fringes of the Pacific Ocean, had become a conglomeration of blood and races? That perhaps is the principal reason why our countrymen are fragmented in their overview of life, and with conflicting desires and hopes by some that this country should be a part of the Americas.

That would be very easy if the Almighty Father would reconsider His geographical designs of our earth and decide to make these “Pearls of the Orient Seas” float over the ocean and make them contiguous with Hawaii, or be alongside the shores of California! But perhaps that was not the intention of the Almighty when He created the earth.
Could the name Philippines be an ill-luck, or malas, for this country? This name was derived from the name of a Spanish prince who ruled Spain during the time that this country was a Spanish colony. But the life of King Philip had not been exemplary in history.. If ever our succeeding generations would decide to change the name of this country, what could be a good substitute? Let us give suggestions:

1. Republik ng Maharlika (A counry of noble-blood).

2. Republik ng Shri-Visaya (The ancient name of these parts).

3. Republik ng Rizalynda (Sounds feminine, not quarrelsome, and
modest).

4. Rizaldia Kaisa – (The combined Pinoy and Tsinoy blood of Rizal (with apologies to "bangkaw, ex-pinoy, hispano, proud visaya (hindi kaya bang-aw?"); and many more who suffered the cruelties and exploitation by western colonialists).

5. PILI-INA as suggested by Ka Roman Warrior (baka magselos si PILI-AMA!, hindi kaya? (I am a jealous God, laging sabi niya, di ba)?
6. Filindiolaya, naisip minsan ni Ka Pule2; with Fil as its root, indio (to immoralize the INDIOS Bravos of our Propagandists) and laya to perpetuate the sense of freedom or liberty for our future generations and the home of their kindred!

7. Magayonesia, mungkahi ng iba pa, atbp., atbp.

And some others more from which our thinkers could choose.

In the book TSAPSUY of Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran a sarcastic suggestion offered ALIPINES as the appropriate name for this country; which was perhaps a satirical reaction to the propensity of our leaders in giving the epiteth of "modern heroes" to our countrymen who enslave themselves in menial jobs or employments overseas due to economic hardships in the home country.

And there was another mocking suggestion, to change the phrase “Pearls of the Orient Seas” and instead call this country “Garbage Dump of the Far East,” for the reason that the nuclear wastes of Uncle Sam, and even Japan, are being dumped along our shores!

So much for that; as the sarcasm is getting serious and too unwieldy!.

Let’s be different, and on another thing. In the realm of faith, why is it that Bathala seems to have been forgotten. Instead, Yaweh, or the God of the Israelites, is the one being uttered by our religious preachers, yet, the prayers that we utter are not fit or understood by Yaweh! Let’s go back to the roots of our race.

Could it not be that the Bathala of our ancestors, Yaweh of the Jews, God or Deus of the Romans and Christians, Lord of Born Again(st!); Zeus of the Greeks; Brahma, Siva and Vishnu of the Hindus; Ahura-Mazda of the Zoroastrians, and those being worshipped by the various other faiths are just the same and only one?

Another thing. Is it not that the root cause of the deteriorating economic conditions in this country is principally due to our divergent attitudes towards language? The Washington government in particular endeavored to obliterate our indigenous languages. That was the long range program when the American soldier-teachers, or Thomasites, forcibly taught us English and prohibited our ancestors from speaking our native tongue in the schools. Even now, regions are being pitted against one another on the matter of which language should be used in the conduct of government and in educating our youth. More reprehensible is that some of our countrymen are being employed, and they allow themselves to be utilized by foreign interests to perpetuate the dominance over us of their culture in order that we will remain mere purchasers from their bargain counters – foods, beauty aids for women, medicines, clothing, jewelry, armaments, machines -- and even the multifarious ideas and vices pertaining to our daily life and existence.

President Manuel Quezon attempted to remedy that ill. He proclaimed August 13 to 19 as National Language Week every year to focus on the importance of propagating our own language. That was just like floating a toy paper-boat on the river stream which continually flows with the English language being utilized in government administration and in the educational system.

President Ramon Magsaysay instituted the official use of the national language in formal public ceremonies. Magsaysay was also the one who ordered the translation of the English version (originally in Spanish) of our national anthem into the Filipino language; and because of him we now sing the national anthem –Lupang Hinirang -- in our native language. On Magsaysay's order too, the former military commands in English were translated into Filipino.

During formal reception ceremonies for newly accredited foreign envoys to the Philippines, Magsaysay always delivered his acceptance speech in Filipino. Ka Pule2 is privy to that!

Analytical thinking reasonably deduce that Washington authorities, no doubt, were averse to Magasysay’s propensity for frequent use of the native language. That could be the principal cause – among others -- of the tragic crash of the Mount Pinatubo, the “Guy’s” presidential plane on Mount Manunggal in Cebu on March 17, 1957, which was formally announced by the US-AID as caused by mechanical fatigue!

When President Corazon Aquino issued Executive Order No. 335, which directed the use of Filipino by government offices in formal written communications; and also asked Congress to create the National Language Commission, she was hounded by a series of seven coups d'etat; and the C.I.A. threatened that she might not last her term; but nevertheless she survived the threat. A lady lawmaker from the Visayas -- Rep Hortensia Starke -- in her privileged speech in Congress demanded, possibly by way of foreign proddings, that the Tita should withdraw her order. There came about perhaps an understanding. EO 335 was conveniently ignored by the country’s bureaucracy; and although the Commission was in fact created by Republic Act No. 7104, it was allocated only with six-hundredths (0.06%) percent of the Department of Education budget, which rendered the NLC inutile.

President Fidel V. Ramos issued Proclamation No. 1041 in 1997 designating the month of August every year as National Language Month. All these patriotic gestures were of course ineffective, serving merely as consolation gimmicks, similar to thecurse of Sisyphus in Greek mythology. Sisyphus, a king of Corinth who aroused the ire of Almighty Zeus, was punished to perpetually roll a boulder uphill in Hades (Hell), and, on becoming tired and exhausted, he would allow it to roll back to the plain, and he would push it up again and again, until eternity! That has become the fate of our national language policy, back and forth, or urung-sulong!

Former Senator Claro M. Recto -- the consumate nationalist -- had complete plans that upon return from his sentimental trip to Madrid in 1960 after retiring from politics, he would found and publish a complete Filipino broadsheet, an all-Filipino language newspaper. There was a secret information, however unverified, that during his press conference in Rome enroute, a powerfully debilitating electronic beam was focused by means of a camera on his breast to weaken his heart, all the while he was being asked infuriating questions. Then and there he suffered a fatal heart attack, thus cutting short his sentimental journey and at the same time aborting his plan to establish an all-Filipino newspaper – a Dyariong Filipino -- in the home country upon his return!

A most patriotic, revolutionary, and daring but dangerous attempt towards a sustained and continuing emancipation of the mind and culture of the Filipino was the Memorandum Directive issued by President Ferdinand E. Marcos on January 17, 1986, addressed to the Minister of Education and Culture (Jaime C. Laya); and All other members of the Cabinet, which said:

“You are directed to create the conditions in your respective ministries and other instrumentalities of the Government for the optimal promotion and development of Filipino as a national language.

“Further the Minister of the Budget is directed to cooperate with the University of the Philippines in realizing the endowment of a Translation Center for the translation of major literary works into Filipino and Asian languages as well as translation of classical works into Filipino.”

This directive was formally transmitted on 20 January 1986 with a covering memorandum by Presidential Executive Assistant Juan C. Tuvera; but was possibly intercepted by the C.I.A. surrogates in the government offices.

Subsequent events proved that the Marcos memorandum was never implemented, for the reason that one month and eight days after its issuance -- on February 25, 1986 – Mr. Marcos (with his entourage) was abducted by the US Marines, courtesy of the C.I.A., and detained in Hawaii until he died.

A seminar on language translation to implement the above memorandum was in progress at the Teachers’ Camp in Baguio City since three days before EDSA One uprising erupted in Manila. Teachers and writers in Filipino, and lovers of Inang Wika were in the group. Our reporter friend, Ka Pule2 was among the bewildered participants. The seminar was unceremoniously scuttled, and the participants returned to their mother offices in Manila to monitor the national drama of the EDSA uprising unfolding in the nation’s capital.

To the Washington policy makers that memorandum was an act of sacrilege, a fatal error committed by him who, nineteen years earlier, held the Joint Session of the US Congress spellbound with his stirring –“An Asian Message to America – Trustee of Civilization.” It was the last straw which snapped on the back of patient Uncle Sam; a direct affront to the IMF policy of bringing the English language back to the Filipino classrooms.

Our reporter friend vividly recalls that a confidential report circulated during the writing of the 1987 “Cory” Constitution, to the effect that ten million ($10-million) US dollars was secretly released to insure the convolution of the Filipino language provision; and that the English language would dominate and prevail in the Philippine fundamental law.

Even the choice or electing and appointing key officials in government have always been according to the will and pleasure of our former mother country. In the process, the succession of our nation’s leaders is being utilized to maintain the status quo – so that our country shall remain as a mere consumer outlet for the commerce and industry of alien interests, principally of Uncle Sam!

Our culture is being fashioned to insure that those in the lower rungs of the national society shall continue to live and labor as peddlers of the alien culture which they have imbibed, in far away lands to where they may be driven to by abject penury in the home country. Those in the higher rungs of the nation’s economic setup are being enticed into becoming accomplices in the process of exploiting the natural resources of our country.

The deteriorating social setup in our country was partly aggravated when the upper ten percent of Filipino male graduates from high school were lured to enlist in the United States Navy. In the process the US government had put one over us. Our leaders failed to reckon the social and economic investment on the upbringing of a youth, from the time he was conceived through to his being molded up as a citizen; and then immediately he was enlisted to render service under a foreign flag! The ex-US Navy Filipino later came out with a split national loyalty; and the economic disparity between the ex-Navy retiree and his kin in the homeland engendered social imbalances among relatives and their kindred! It was good this system had been terminated.

There are, however, certain social benefits arising from the exposure of our countrymen to global conditions. The majority of them learn to value the concept of love for the Motherland. If our government would opt to be successful, foremost on its agenda should be the strict implementation of the language provision in our 1987 Constitution, which has remained unattended to for the last 25 years!

It could proclaim a national language decade, at the conclusion of which, English must cease to be an official language of the country. It would be more beneficial if Visayan, Tagalog and Ilocano (and possibly some other regional languages) are legislated as the official languages, to be all called Filipino language, similar to some other countries which have more than one official language. On this, please goggle:


Our authorities and fellowmen ought to think with greater equanimity, and put an end to the destabilization which took roots upon the kidnapping by the C.I.A. of President Marcos in 1986, following his issuance of the Memorandum Directive concerning the efforts of our country’s government for the optimum promotion, development and propagation of Filipino as our national language.

###

Irineo Perez Goce -- (aka) Ka Pule2

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