Sweet moments with Ms. B

Independence day - July 4, 1946 onwards...

Introduction
So much has been said and told about Philippine history. We can read them from books in school libraries, textbooks, and other major institutions.

From our elementary years through high school then college, and perhaps in graduate school, we keep seeing all over again and again the same names and data that our national hero is a man named Dr. Jose P. Rizal… three priests were beheaded…and another man whose name is after a local fish (Lapu-Lapu) who scared the Spaniards away leaving their superior headless in a tiny village (Mactan) and so on, and so forth.

True, they say, our country has been manipulated to the max (maximum), if I may say. And because of this sour past, we Filipinos did not, in any manner, really felt “free”, not to the max anyhow .I mean, we did not have real “freedom of speech” since. We can only say this much because we need to “sanitize”. Doh! I love the word.

Who am I to say more of the “nots” and “don’ts” and no-nos of our own history? Well, if I have my way, I would say all these:

The Filipino, a product of 300 years of medieval rule and 50 years of Hollywood...
A centrifuge is a machine that spins liquid in a container and displacing all dissolved solids at the bottom, by centrifugal force, and in layers according to their relative weights, forming a tiered homogenous blob.

The “pre-modern” history of Filipinos was far from a centrifuge, by analogy. The forces that molded the Filipino identity were so diverse, if not completely contrasting. Three centuries of complete subjugation and being kept divided (lacking a common language) highly contrasted with 50 years of unbridled liberalism, with a uniting medium, the English language.

The centuries-old passion of the Filipinos to be independent finally broke through with the granting of independence on July 4, 1946. The die was cast: The Philippines run like hell by Filipinos rather than being run like heaven by the Americans. Were we ready for independence then?

Spain can’t go away, America won’t go away
Independence was granted. It was therefore not a matter of right. It was more of a gift. The Filipinos, led by President Manuel Roxas, the first President of the Republic, looked up to the Americans as the two-time-redeemer (from Spain and Japan). The Philippines would later adopt, as a matter of policy, the military and parity “Acts” which would give the Americans their military bases and equal rights for their citizens in the conduct of business.

Yet, no matter how “Americanized” the new system was, the Filipino anima was deeply Spanish. The barrio fiestas in honor of the patroness, the compadres to favor, the layered societal communities, the parochial schools and major universities owned and run by religious orders, and of course, the Spanish family names assigned to the natives.

The Philippines would certainly be run like hell by Filipinos simply because we were not a homogenous people.

Number two in South East Asia
The first few years of the Roxas government was a mess. Economy slid down and there was so much dissatisfaction. The Americans took the opportunity and came up with a “see-I-told-you” approach and started the Aid-program, a minor economic surge. But the countryside did not feel the surge. In the 1940s a brewing unrest came to the fore in a form of a communist movement. A very popular President however, nipped the Huks on the bud; a land reform system was enshrined by President Ramon Magsaysay, calming down the rebellion and ultimately dismantling it.

In the 1950s, in order to bail out the Philippines from a sliding economy, the US came out with a package that was too good to refuse: the military and parity Acts which would be a conduit for American business to prop up the economy. In return, Americans would have the military bases and would give their citizens equal rights in the conduct of business. Economy grew. Historians agree that the Philippines were only second to Japan in Southeast Asia.

But the prestige would be short lived. Martial Law and a new Constitution would totally change the picture.

A Subjugated people, again -(four times over, including the WWII Japanese Occupation)
As if being subjugated by the Spaniards, the Americans and the Japanese were not enough; we are subjugated again, for the 4th time. We have allowed our mangled past to cloud our judgment. We have maintained a central government (Manila) that takes upon itself the rule as the “Big Brother”. The colonial mentality lords over in all levels of our society, even within the family itself, the basic unit of society. Patriarchy, as reflected in the Bible, still pervades, nullifying the fact that marriage and elective positions are born with a partnership contract.

Nothing could reflect this I-Me-Mine mindset better than the Martial Law years. The uncontrolled hunger for power has subjugated us again. The cancer within metastasized, even as the Martial Law players are gone.

Martial Rule was a well-crafted ruse. The Constitution was changed and made to adopt perpetuation of power. It touched the basic human fabric and held everyone at bay. It was so well executed, it lasted for 20 years, plunging the economy down and almost destroying hope among its citizenry. But as the Spanish Rule ended with the death of a nationalist; so did this dark portion of our modern history.

Post Martial Law self-infused subjugation, the present:
The one singular thing we learned from Martial Rule was the rule of law. The country could not move forward unless the rules are changed; thus, the 1987 Constitution. The new order talks of autonomy of local governments. In effect, it said goodbye to imperial Manila. Governmental functions were devolved, jurisdiction were transferred.

Yet even with a better Constitution, we are still reeling from the effects of the past. The Cory government laid out the legislative basis for change. In spite of several coups (momentum from the military), she survived her term as a well-respected transitory president, not only locally, but also in the international circle. The Ramos government took off well enough to be regarded as an omen that finally the Philippines would see the light again. Then came the actor (Joseph Estrada) and his ouster (even as the impeachment trial was not concluded!). The economy, saddled by huge deficit and foreign debt, again took a snail’s pace. This political “after-shock” was too much for the present leader, President Gloria Arroyo, to take her Presidency in stride. A crisis brought about by accusations of election fraud, fueled by the “Garci” tapes, almost brought her down. The crisis still persists, but she seems to hold on.

But why all these violence are on to us? The situation is much easier understood if we empathized a battered child, take a trip into his psyche and see the bigger picture. History is our teacher. History tells us that whether we like it or not, the insult inflicted on our forefathers has stuck in our genes and has governed our behavior as a people. Denial is dangerous and would lead to false hopes and despair.

An afterthought…
We have a crisis at hand. Nurses are leaving our hospitals for abroad, and so are other professionals (teachers as DHs in Hong Kong, etc.). We have elected our “enemies” in Congress and gave them millions for their countryside activities (a good number think that the funds ended up as bullets that kill our soldiers). The business community (especially Chinese) does not feel safe from kidnappers. Drug laboratories operate in the neighborhood of elected officials.

There is an on-going breakdown of civil responsibility. The environment is taking the brunt. We are imploding.

The vital role of History (and historians?)
Human behavior is predictable, in spite of its complexities. Things happen for a reason. History tells us that nothing happens spontaneously. It is a matter of picking out specific events in our past, discover the cause-and-effect episodes, understand the Filipino as a person and as a people and design formulae for peace and progress.

Hypothetically this is doable. History is an ally, a potent one, but only when historians transcend from just telling stories to expressing what it felt like.