THE MOUNTAINEER

Independence Day, Flag Day and nationalism
Edison Baddal

The country has just celebrated its 109th Indepedence Day Anniversary last June 12, 2007. This storied date was same date that Aguinaldo and other noted leaders of the Philippine revolution
first hoisted the Filipino flag at the balcony of Aguinaldo’s house at Kawit, Cavite. In connection therewith, the national Government recently promulgated an issuance through the DILG which declared May 28, 2007 as a flag day to kick off the celebration and commemoration of
Philippine Independence. In consonance thereto, the National Historical Institute set up three sets of date in observance of the twin celebrations of the Flag Day and Independence Day as both are intertwined with each other being both milestones in the tapestry of the nation.

These dates started from May 24, 2007 up to June 30, 2007. Same issuance likewise enjoined
the continuous display of the flag up to June 30, 2007 in government structures and buildings
as well as in private structures like malls, department stores, frontage of humongous buildings
including homes.

By now, speeches and pep talks have been delivered by public officials from the national level down to the local level with the dominant theme centered on the need to reminisce and recall with pride the significance of the independence. The theme revolved on our redoubtable forebears heroic struggle against foreign invaders with insufferable conditions nothwithstanding. Having won freedom and ensured the freedom of the succeeding generations of Filipinos as well, the commemorative rites is undoubtedly proper and called for. The lionized heroic feats as the invariable color of the talks may sometimes border on
apotheosis but in no way does it measure up to the degree of sacrifices endured and undergone by our freedom-loving ancestors.

With the surfeit of freedom now suffusing every facet of Filipino life, the legendary feats need to be retold as presentday Filipinos seemed to have forgotten the latter’s sacrifices just to win back our freedom. Such is evidenced by the fact that corruption is taking place in every level of government bureaucracy through countless shenanigans by the powers-that-be. Conversely, the cycle of corruption in our present political system is the direct reverse of what our forbears’ struggled for during the revolution.

Unmistakably, our forefathers never fought only for political independence from foreign yoke but also independence from the grinding poverty. This condition generally characterized Filipinos’ lives then as only the Spanish civil and ecclesiastical authorities enjoyed the fruits of
the nation’s wealth. So with the overarching goal of political independence with concomitant economic prosperity, the revolution continued against the Americans after the downfall of the Spaniards after the former took over as colonizers. Later, with political independence intact, the predominant issue on unequal economic opportunities brought about by unmitigated corruption gave rise to the bloodless revolution of the Filipinos at EDSA (dubbed as EDSA I)
in 1986 against the homegrown Marcos tyranny. In the same vein, Filipinos staged EDSA II against the despicably corrupt Estrada in 2001.
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It is sad to note that the corrupt and sly methods employed by the Spanish colonizers seemed
to have rubbed off on the native leaders when Independence was vouchsafed to Filipinos
by the Americans in 1946. At the outset, having been dictated by foreigners for centuries, Filipino leaders seemed to have become heady when they actually exercised political power.
It was some sort of a sluice in which the valve suddenly burst and confined water gushed forth unrestrainedly. So having been given the chance to exercise political power even while they begrudged the Spanish masters who lived off Filipinos’ toil in ease and comfort, they grabbed the chance to help themselves to the state’s resources.

Also the just ended second world war, which caused incalculable destruction to the nation, might have contributed to the rapacity of native leaders with survival of the fittest being the utmost concern then. In effect, corruption sort of subjoined itself to our political system since it took a foothold when native leaders exercised actual leadership. This accepted fact emboldened a senator in the early 1950’s to coin a tagline with these brazen words, “What are we in power for?”. Such statement rhetoricized in the jauntiest manner political leaders’ effrontery in availing themselves to slices of the political pie. The transference of Spanish colonial corrupton to local leaders starting 1946 indelibly smeared the nation’s moral fabric.

With the socio-economic and political elite as the main beneficiaries of the nation’s patrimony at present while millions wallow in poverty, our revolutionary leaders must be turning and churning in their graves. They surely must be nauseating, whimpering and inveighing at the
fact that only a farthing have much while the vast majority are barely eking out a living. Worst, many are bereft or dispossessed of a roof over their heads and forced to live as panhandlers on the streets. Certainly, this is not the kind of society that our forbears aspired and sacrificed their lives for. This is because they envisioned a society where there is social justice, equality and prosperity for all under the blessing of democracy. And neither have they envisaged a society where the miasma of poverty has converted the mass of poor hoi polloi into nothing more than pawns of those in power for selfish ambitions and interests.
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Therefore, the poor cannot be totally faulted for supporting candidates who has enough largesse to share during elections. And neither should they be censured or remonstrated for being suckers and gullible enough in voting for candidates from showbiz. They often go for the latter as they have limited choices and not a few of the showbiz denizens proved to have honesty and integrity as public officials than their non- showbiz counterparts. Being wellfed and wealthier from their showbiz earnings, most of the former shun the lure of corrupt gain. On the contrary, most non-showbiz politicians who invested millions in electoral campaigns are forced to recoup such investment through fraudulent means.

Having no adequate resources then and food being their most integral consideration, they are not so much to be faulted for selling their votes to power-hungry politicians. It is thus that our type of politics is dubbed “politics of the stomach” on account of the fact that issues are not the overriding consideration by the poor when electing candidates but rather those that have something to do with assuaging hunger. Issues or slogans for the latter don’t count much when they choose leaders. In a way, for being suckers, they are incidentally to be faulted
for unwittingly sustaining the cycle of corruption in our political system.

Also their unpatriotic attitude as well as the wrong values they subliminally espouse brought about by their humdrum existence, are among some of the culprits in the continuance of the abhorrent culture of corruption. Wily politicians are very much aware of the power of money
in persuading the poor electors. So while in power they will resort to all means to amass wealth to be used in wheedling the poor voters again. In the process, well-meaning economic programs of the government always hit a snag due to widespread corruption.
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Ironically, Southeast Asian countries who were trailing the Philippines by a mile in terms
of economic development in the 1950’s are now miles ahead of the Philippines on same score.
The Philippines was then the second best economy in the whole of Asia next to Japan. But same countries which once envied the Philippines then are now the cause of envy by the latter.
This occurred when Marcos and his cronies were ravaging the economy while the economies
of Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hongkong, Thailand and Indonesia grew by leaps and bounds and achieved unprecendented economic growth. Lately, China and Vietnam, formerly socialist
and wartorn countries, and also India joined the league of progressive nations in Asia with the Philippines relegated to the group of the least progressive nations in Asia that include the likes Bangladesh, Pakistan, Laos and Sri Lanka.
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With economic development still a mirage in the national landscape, Independence Day celebrations, Flag as a symbol of unity and Nationalism, are basically empty and
meaningless concepts to the poor as they are in no less related from their most peremptory
need:FREEDOM FROM HUNGER AND WANT.

If at all, they join the celebration out of routine. All those speeches by which the officials harangued the crowd are like sounds that echoe in the wilderness. It is not farfetched to think that while a speaker is rendering his eloquent speech, the poor in his audience might be
silently imprecating him for all his hypocrisy, effrontery and barefaced lies.

Infact, statistical data like a 6.79% GDP for the first quarter of the year as among the highest in a period of 17 years is to the poor an empty boast.

By all means, Independence can only be understood and taken to heart as a concept by the majority of Filipinos if it is accompanied by economic development.

For such will never be appreciated and will always remain a recondite term until the gnawing
and churning hunger of Filipinos is sated.

Like what they say in the vernacular, “AY SINU DASA AY INDEPENDENCE YA NATIONALISM AY MAKAN DATOSA?.”(Whatever they are,are Independence and nationalism edible?) This just illustrates the apathy and cynicism that people regard these concepts.