from Rommel de los Santos de Ausen

Good day!

I encountered your article about Epifanio de los Santos and I feel the same. I am kinda doing research on him when I have free time. I was so curious about his life and works and it still amazes me what he has done- a silent leader. I'm so amazed and curious about history . He was kinda like finding and guiding our nation's identity in those difficult times. Filipinos could relate to him more and I think he's becoming more and more relevant in today's society. He serves as my inspiration. We learn from the great men of history and it's no wonder those great men are Filipinos.

One thing I'm curious about is how did he took the savage distortions of indigenous tribes in the "Saint Louis Exposition". He must have been devastated about it as one of those intellectuals during that time. We have our very own history and it's unique and exciting which could be compared with other old civilizations. We are in a later period. Learning about EDSA could bury those remnants of colonial mentality that we still have as of today.

" A Society Grows Great when Old Men Plant Trees Whose Shade They Know They Shall Never Sit In." Greek Proverb

Hope their legacy lives on.

from Edgar Grajo

Niece piece no wonder, the church in the Philippines still wields power on some of the undertakings and decision- making of the goverment. They have to ask religious leader their blessing.

from Dr. Cesar Reyes

(Re: Separating Church from State) I am glad to read your great words, Gemma.

Have a wonderful summer.

Separating Church from State

>
> The gray areas between Church and State must be a legacy
> of our colonial past. For three hundred years, if not more,
> during the Spanish colonial period, the parish priests, the
> majority friars of religious orders, were considered the
> keystones of the Capitania General de Filipinas, the most
> remote corner of the Spanish empire. The friar was a
> permanent fixture in these islands while
> governors-general, military commanders or even Audiencia
> members came and went; it was rare for governors-general to
> stay more than two years.
> Needless to say, a friar of a religious order
> had no business running a parish but since the early
> missionaries were either Agustinians, Franciscans,
> Dominicans or Jesuits, they had to man the newly-founded
> parish, an anomaly that persisted through the centuries. By
> the 19th century, the friar/parish priest had immense power
> as he took care no only of the religious needs of their
> flock but of the civil registry, recommendations to public
> positions, public works, education, almost all aspects of
> social and economic life. During the Revolution, a group of
> friars were displeased at the “softness” of a governor
> so they sent a telegram to Madrid and got rid of him in
> forty eight hours.
> Strikingly, during the Malolos Congres the most
> contentious issue was the separation of Church and State.
> Felipe Calderon, principal author of the Malolos
> Constitution and delegate Manuel Gomez were the champions
> of the union of Church and State. So deeply passionate were
> the debates that one delegate, Tomas del Rosario, expressed
> his opposition in a five- hour speech. He and his brother
> Arcadio were professed Masons and former members of
> Rizal’s La Liga Filipina.
> Evidently conservative, Calderon and Gomez
> believed that the Catholic Church was the only force
> unifying the Philippines, a nation with diverse languages,
> cultures and regional idiosyncrasies and because the
> majority of Filipinos were Catholics, the separation of
> Church and State would be offensive to them. Delegate
> Gomez added that if Church and State remained united,
> people would be governed by an “internal force” and an
> “external force” , that is, religion and government,
> with the former moderating the latter.
> Felipe Calderon also argued that the Filipino clergy
> might feel betrayed ( and they did !) because for
> centuries they had aspired for both religious and political
> influence. Calderon warned about the Vatican refusing the
> ordidnation of Filipino priests and taking adverse
> measures in the final disposition of the enormous
> landholdings of the religious orders. His co-delegates
> criticized him for recognizing the friars’ ownership of
> land which was ‘vicious in origin”. Calderon felt
> rebuffed when the “Articulo Adicional” was attached
> to the Malolos Constitution; it stated that all friar
> lands had been restored to the State since the declaration
> of independence in June 1898.
> The del Rosario brothers insisted that aside from
> the religious factor, there were deeply –rooted secular
> values that unified Filipinos in their Revolution against
> Spain. Besides, a separation of Church and State did not
> necessarily mean the abandonment of Christian morality and
> doctrine which admittedly had become part of Filipino
> culture. To perpetuate the union of Church and State was
> tantamount to preserving “feudal theocracy “ which
> during three hundred and fifty years created a “State
> within a State’ to the misfortune of the Filipinos.
> Arcadio del Rosario pointed out that not all the
> inhabitants of the Philippines were Catholics, what about
> the Muslims? By favoring one religion, serious conflicts
> may ensue and lead the young republic to a civil war.
> When the Malolos Congress delegates voted on the
> Church and State issue, there was a tie, not once but
> twice, and on the third voting the results were 26-25 in
> favor of separation. The Filipino secular clergy was
> palpably disappointed. Apolinario Mabini, then Chief
> Adviser of Pres. E. Aguinaldo, realized that the First
> Republic needed the support of the Filipino clergy
> specially because the war with the United States was
> imminent. It was he who advised Pres. Aguinaldo to put the
> Church and State matter on hold until more normal times.
>

A Pakistani's view

A few days after arrived from Islamabad, I met a Pakistani who has lived in the Philippines for about seventeen years; he is married to a Filipina. I told him that there are striking similarities between our two countries and that I sincerely started feeling at home in Islamabad and actually thought that I could live there quite happily.

My new friend, Muhammad Aslam, is the vice-president of the Pakistan-Philippines-Pakistan Business Council so naturally we spoke about the balance ( or imbalance!) of trade . He said there are many more products that Pakistan and the Philippines can sell each other but, sadly enough, neither seem to be exploiting this potential. There are Philippine products that are always in demand in Pakistan like canned food products of different brands,-- the Dole and Del Monte line of fruit and vegetables , different types of Century Tuna, Nata de Coco , powdered fruit juices like Tang and tinned sweet corn.

There is also an incredible market for dermatological products which abound in the Philippines like Eskinol-type astringents, crams and cosmetics based on virgin coconut oil. (Pakistan as a much drier climate.) There seems to be a bottomless demand for abaca rope( the famous Manila Rope) and other abaca-based goods, not to mention, solid wood and rattan furniture. Believe it or not, Pakistan is looking at the Philippines as a supplier of black pepper, ginger, and betel nut; yes, the common and much-maligned nganga is sought-after in Pakistan. Used newspapers and telephone directories can feed our neighbor’s recycling industries.

For their part, they are most willing to increase their rice exports as this is not a staple grain in Pakistan; all kinds of textiles are available from cotton to silk, as well as precious and semi-precious jewelry, leather goods and of course pharmaceutical products at very affordable prices.

So what are we waiting for?—I asked Mr. Aslam. What is keeping us from increasing the volume of trade? Woefully, he said that due to the exorbitant freight cost Pakistani Importers are constrained to buy their needs from other countries. Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand which have products similar to ours are reaping the benefits of a steady and lucrative trade with Pakistan. Mr. Aslam offers a simple computation: ahe freight cost for a 20 -fitter container from the Philippines to Pakistan is around US$ 1,350,while it is only between US$ 750-850 from Pakistan to Philippines; a 40-fitter container will cost US$ 2,700 from the Philippines to Pakistan but only US$ 1,350 from Pakistan to the Philippines. Seemingly insignificant, the difference has a direct impact on the final cost and competitive edge of all products.

Islamabad's "Fortalice boutique"

One of the pleasant surprises of my visit to Pakistan
was the couple of nights spent at Islamabad’s
“Fortalice ”, an up scale bourgeois house ensconced
in a Makati-type village and converted into a boutique
hotel.
That was where the Islamabad Policy Research
Institute, our host,billeted us -- Lyn Resurrecction
(Business Mirror),Natalia Diaz (Philippine Daily
Inquirer), Ellen Tordesillas (Malaya), Fatima
(People’s Asia), and Dante Francis Ang ( Manila
Times)— shortly after an animated session with the
frightfully outspoken journalists of the Karachi Press
Club. Our hosts probably wanted to keep us out of
harms way; we were joking of course, the Pakistan
trip was definitely not a “guided tour”.
The “Fortalice” was pure nostalgia. Somehow, it
reminded me of the Araneta mansion “MARA”, on McKinley
Road, where my husband and I lived during the first
two years of our marriage. In fact, I had given my
father-in-law’s sedate, paneled study adaptive re-use
by converting it into Fatimah’s nursery. Living at
“Mara” was like being in a sublimely lusurious hotel
but with the warmth of a large, cheerful family.
Not quite as grand as “Mara”, Islamabad’s “Fortalice
Boutique ” was just as elegant what with chandeliers,
a sweeping main staircase, lots of carved panels and
grills and marble slabs. When the original owners
lived there, they probably had an enviable collection
of art and a fine library like my in-laws. The
elderly waiter in a brocade vest, probably the family
mayordomo, guided us through the menu and explained
special features of the house.
After my mother-in-law passed away, late last year,
her children did not quite know what to do with the
palatial “MARA”. I was afraid it would suffer the fate
of other ancestral homes so I suggested that they
turn it into a boutique hotel much like the
“Fortalice” of Islamabad.

Pakistan at first sight

Two days after I landed in Karachi, Pakistan, my mother dreamt I was carrying a basket of red and yellow flowers which alarmed her to no end even as I told her not to worry because only white flowers are portents of doom. That was probably my fault because I waited until the very last minute to tell her that I had accepted an invitation of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute to spend a week in Pakistan. She was extremely worried, like everyone else, and wondered why I always choose the most dangerous places to visit. That trip to North Vietnam in 1968 and also in the month of May was brought up as evidence of my recklessness. I promised not to go anywhere near the Afghan border, but apparently, that was no consolation.

I wanted to touch base ( so to speak)n with Pakistan as we Filipinos seem to have lost track of this worthy ally. Pakistan Airlines has long suspended its flights to Manila so I took an Emirates airbus and had to change planes in Dubai. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a South Asian country with a 1,046 kilometer coastline along the Arabian Sea shares geographical borders with Iran, India, People’s Republic of China and Afghanistan with whom it has had spiny political and military relations. But that is nothing new to Pakistan because that intriguing part of the world where South and Central Asia and the Middle East converge has, since the dawn of time, witnessed invasions and settlements of Persians, Greeks, Mongols Arabs, Turks and Afghans.

As you know, Pakistan was part of British India until 1947 when Muhammad Ali Jinnah led a movement for a Muslim homeland comprised by the provinces of Sind, West Punjab, Baluchistan, East Bengal and the Northwest Frontier Province. Mr. Jinnah, the Quaid-e-Azam (Great Leader) is revered as the Father of the Nation and in Karachi there is an awesome mausoleum done in white marble where his remains are kept. Seven thousand people come daily to pay their respects. According to the Ministry of Information, no one can talk or write against the Founder of the Nation.

There are many similarities between Pakistan and the Philippines. Both have gone through periods of military rule and political instability as well as brief moments of economic growth and development. In 1971, a civil war in East Pakistan resulted in the independence of Bangladesh . Let us hope the similarities end there as none of us wish to see a fragmented Philippines.

When I last looked, Pakistan and the Philippines were members of the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement), the impossible dream, and the SEATO (Southeast Asian Treaty Organization) which turned out to be a paper tiger. Today, we are both members of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and the Group of 77 developing nations. Pakistan is considered a nuclear power, while we have a nuclear power plant which has never been used but for which we have uselessly paid billions of dollars.

Pakistan and the Philippines are both destined (or doomed?) to play the precarious and dangerous role of frontline states, at the Arabian Sea and South China Sea, compelled to join pro-Western military alliances, then anti-communist and now anti-terrorist, that have sucked them into wasteful wars of conflict and intervention. It’s time to take another look at Pakistan.