Courage and freedom

“Courage and freedom” will be the theme of  Mayor
Alfredo Lim’s commemoration of the 63rd anniversary of
the Battle for Manila which took place in February
1945. For many decades, we Filipinos have  referred to
that month-long battle as the “Liberation of Manila”,
celebrating  the return of General Douglas McArthur.
However, as post-war research deepened, some
historians discovered that no mention was made in
American war records of February 1945, call it
liberation or battle.

     As a result, many Filipinos  started  putting
liberation between  quotation marks-- “Liberation” of
Manila-- and  about five  years ago,   after
validating new studies and military documents, and to
the consternation of certain sectors, the National
Historical Institute (NHI)  officially  declared  that
what occurred in February 1945 was the “ Battle for
Manila”.  The word “liberation” when  referring to
February 1945  was scrapped totally from all NHI
communications. Please take note that the  preposition
is not “of” but “FOR” which  implies  that US
advancing armed forces and defending Japanese imperial
forces were fiercely fighting over Manila,   during
the strategic island-hopping campaign of the USA,
aimed at Tokyo.

     Japanese and American casualties were minimal
compared to the one hundred thousand (100,000)
non-combatant Manila  civilians who were burnt and
tortured to death and who perished in the carpet
bombings. Moreover, the destruction of  Manila is
considered the worst in the WW II Pacific Theater.
Gone was the ‘Pearl of the Orient’, a uniquely
beautiful city that boasted of cultural influences
from four continents.

     Like other turning points in our history, the
commemoration of the  Second World War specially   the
“Battle for Manila” is  in danger of being distorted,
if not forgotten. Because Japan has become an
indispensable economic force in the Philippines, it
has made deliberate efforts to obliterate residual
anti-Japanese feelings by  promoting ostensibly
cultural activities precisely in February , our month
of national bereavement. 

     When Mrs. Bing Roxas ( may she rest in peace)
was the head of the Cultural Center of the Philippines
(CCP) , she was so incensed when the Japanese Embassy
wanted to hold a kind of flower and kimono festival
at the  CCP,  precisely in the month of February.
Senator Richard Gordon, when he was secretary of
tourism,  was insensitive enough to hold a saki
festival in February, in Intramuros,  close to Fort
Santiago where hundreds of Filipinos were
incarcerated, tortured and killed by  Japanese forces.
During commemorative rites at San Fernando, Pampanga
many attendees (myself included)  were so furious at
the sight of Japanese flags brandished mindlessly by
Filipino participants of the re-enacted Death March.
The mayor had to intervene and  the Japanese flags
were taken away. What about that scandalous monument
to a kamikaze  in Mabalacat, Pampanga?

     That is why Mayor A. Lim  will lead the
commemoration of “Courage and freedom”  to remember
that Filipinos fought bravely to end Japanese
occupation and those who survived miraculously  went
on to rebuild their lives and this country. However,
in his opus CONTINUING PAST, historian Renato
Constantino wrote  that during the Second World War,
most Filipinos were  fighting the Japanese  not to
free themselves and this country from any type of
foreign domination, but because they were longing to
return  to  America’s  smothering embrace. I
remembered  Dr. Constantino’s unflattering  yet
telling conclusion when I happened upon a  family
friend in California,  some years ago.  Now a US
citizen,  former Manilena Mrs. Benjie J.  Kosloff 
told me  that  during the “Battle for Manila” a cousin
tearfully reported that an aunt of theirs had died.
“But, at least…,” sobbed the grieving  relative  “…
tita  was killed by an American bomb!” (The public is
invited to the Freedom Triangle of Manila City Hall on
3 Feb, Sunday, at 8 a.m.) 
 

from Ronald Ravelo

I' ve read your article regarding Philippine air transport being downgraded.
It is concise on the facts that were stated. We citizens should abide by all the rules that are mandated for our own safety. We should not by any means set aside measures meant for our own safety. This issue is not only encountered in aviation transport but also in our day- to- day transport.

As we traverse roads leading to our work, schools, or other venues , you'll notice the cramped situation in our PUV's (e.g. Jeepneys and Busses); people are hanging from the rear side just in order to reach their destination.There are even instances when these commuters put in peril their children and companions who sit on their laps at the far end of these transports, not even giving any consideration to the youths safety.

Laws were passed and some responsible drivers warn these individuals to refrain form their actions, but no effect.

people are at fault and they just blame the government for their demeanor. we as citizen should realize that our safety starts form our own selfs. although laws and ordinances are passed for our safety it need not be reminded to us through law enforcers nor should it be set aside.

i just hope that we as citizen of this country be responsible enough to act for our own self and not just let this burden be carried by our government. let as act as one promote a better sense of responsibility for our country and countryman's sake

from Rene Velazquez

Enfin, one should think Rizal’s most important legacy is not his nationalism ― the cornerstone on which somehow the edifice of his status as hero is built ― but it is rather the inspirational value of his drive for knowledge which led him in many different directions. He was an unusually talented man who achieved much ― someone to admire but certainly not deify. In common parlance, he did more with what he had. His greatest appeal is that he was all too human and yet . . . . One would think that should be enough.

The phenomenon that was Rizal’s life was perhaps best encapsulated by Ante Radaic in the seemingly contradictory title of his book: Rizal, Romántico Realista.

(This is the last paragraph of Mr. Velazquez's long but brilliant letter.-GCA).

from Fe Panaligan Koons

Gemma,

Can the Philippine Mabuhay News based in San Diego re-publish your columns in our newspaper. Salamat.

Kumust ka na?

from Juanita Santos Nacu

I read your article on bills for 
Filipino culture, heritage, and language preservation.

The senators may want to consult two outstanding pioneers in this 
field: Drs. Teresita Ramos and Ruth Mabanglo University of Hawai'i at 
Manoa. They play significant roles in my continued advocacy for 
Filipino language and culture in San Diego, California as an educator 
and a community leader.

Thank you for your 
informative article. Hopefully, the advocates in the Philippines will 
collaborate with their counterparts in the United States.

(Juanita Santos Nacu, EdD, is a
lecturer on Filipino Heritage and Language

from Henry Lukban

Now it is clearer why the Philippines government is struggling to solve corruption. It had a very big headstart. I pity the next president. I pity Sen. Mar Roxas.

Forgotten legacy

In the past days, colleagues in the media reminded the public about the 109th anniversary of the Malolos Constitution and the First Republic. The Manila Bulletin never fails to feature editorials about historical turning points. The province of Bulacan, no matter the governor’s political affiliation, always celebrates with solemnity and pomp the astounding achievements of those Filipinos who Jose Rizal described as the “brains of the nation”. This year, Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim (originally from San Miguel de Mayumo) was the guest of honor at Barasoain Church.


A couple of radio commentators, notably Mr.Ted Failon, did lament that many of their colleagues were ignoring the 109th birthday of this republic as they anticipated bloody clashes between police forces and grassroots groups commemorating the 1987 Mendiola Massacre (Thirteen farmers were shot by government forces at Mendiola Bridge). To this writer, the non-government organizations and grassroots associations that had painstakingly planned marches and memorials missed an excellent opportunity to place their protest in the proper historical context. Had they connected the 1987 Mendiola Massacre to the 109th birthday of this country, they could have enlightened us and made us understand that their struggle is historical and affects all Filipinos.


As we all know, the teaching of Philippine history , even after 109 years, is still a highly polemical issue. On one hand, colonial mentality prevails so the teaching of history is a low priorityand official hesitation prevails specially about delving into the revolutionary period , the invasion of the USA and the ensuing colonization. On the other hand, the Left, which is supposed to be the purveyor of change, seems to have disengaged itself from the very march of Philippine history by quickly dismissing anything they consider “bourgeois”(burgis). The National Democratic Front has its own national flag design. In my opinion, instead of rewriting history and/ or suppressing it, in lieu of denigrating the the Malolos Constitution and the First Republic or pretending that these never existed, an effort should be made to connect our current peasant problems to the non-fulfillment of the Articulo Adicional of the Malolos Constitution—the forgotten legacy.


Even before the Mendiola Massacre, many Filipino peasants and agricultural workers had already shed their blood because of the land issue. While the“brains of the nation” were deliberating on theMalolos Constitution and inaugurating Asia’s first democratic government, peasant farmer groups were already clamoring for land as the birth of a free nation had awakened great expectations. The delegates of the Malolos Congress did not forget that and proof is the last article of the Malolos Constitution, the unnumbered ‘adicional’, which declared that friar lands and estates that were “taken from the people” had reverted to the nation since the 12 June 1898 declaration of Independence. Peasant groups marched to Malolos because they felt the new government was not moving fast enough to distribute those lands. Moreover, corruption was already rearing its ugly head; historical records show that peasant groups were accusing some generals of the Revolutionary Army of appropriating large tracts of land for their personal use. Apolinario Mabini, chief adviser of Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo wrote numerous memos telling him to punish those officers. After the Philippine-American War, the American colonial government had other plans for the distribution of the friar estates, the rest is bitter history. # ____________________________________________________________________________________Never m