"To a UP Diliman student there are only two kinds of schools in the Philippines: UP and others."
-- A joke in UP Diliman campus
NATIONALISM
What matters in the end is that each and every Filipino is determined to show his or her love of country on a daily basis, through the life one chooses to lead.
Although "nationalism" is a powerful word that has spawned several revolutions in our country and engendered the martyrdom of many, and likewise a multi-faceted concept, its definition is quite simple: LOVE OF ONE'S COUNTRY. Such a modest interpretation should not deceive us. Verily, all in the name of nationalism, we have seen wars waged and countries torn asunder. In our country, we witnessed simple natives as Lapulapu and his comrades wading the shores of Mactan with crude weapons to drive away foreign intruders, and of Dagohoy of Bohol waging the longest rebellion against a colonial ruler. The, too, much later, we saw young students, many of whom came from Diliman, transformed into parliamentarians of the streets.
While on a more mundane scale we see, of late, legislators and technocrats staunchly debating the merits and demerits of the deregulation of the oil industry and other economic issues, we have the vast multitude of civil servants foregoing and resisting the lure of the perks of the private sector. There is the exodus of this nation's young minds who seek better training elsewhere, only to return much later to implement whatever skills they learned and honed overseas. We have the professional managers serving multi-national companies in the belief that a modicum of employment and profit for Filipinos is better than no jobs nor profit at all. We have indigenous Filipino entrepreneurs and those who toil with non-governmental organizations, attempting to achieve a healthy balance between profit and sustainable development. Or trying to protect the environment against human degradation in order to promote and enhance the rhythm and harmony of nature to the end that future generations will not inherit a parched earth incapable of sustaining life. We have the seemingly lowly overseas contract workers who leave their homes and families and suffer much deprivation to earn a few dollars to lighten the lives of those left behind and contribute to the coffers of the government. And, above all, and who would never be forgotten, we have the farmers who till their frams from dawn to dusk to feed our teeming population; and our construction workers who build the very roofs over our heads.
Plainly, there is many a path to one's manifestation of the national identity and devotion to our nation's interests. What matters in the end is that each and every Filipino is determined to show his or her love of country on a daily basis, through the life one chooses to lead. Our Motherland has never asked that we be perfect, just that we try to be the best of whatever we are.
ANDRES BONIFACIO
"Is there any love that is nobler, purer and more sublime than the love of the native country? What love is? Certainly none."
Tomorrow is "National Heroes Day" which most fittingly commemorates the life and times of one, who, not a few have so boldly maintained, should have been odeclared our national hero -- Andres Bonifacio.
A man of humble beginnings, he was born in Tondo, the son of a tailor and a cigarette factory laborer. Orphaned at the age of 14, he was forced to assume the role of padre de familia, with three brothers and two sisters to support. However, even at that early age, the resourcefulness, industry and self-reliance of the man who would eventually be called Supremo or "the Great Plebeian," became manifest. He made and peddled bamboo walking canes and paper fans to ensure his family's survival and solidarity. Hence, as Filipinos we dare not overlook nor forego our families, for verily, the family is the basic unit of society and our nation. One may not call himself a true nationalist unless he assures the solidarity of those who are closest and most dear to him, through the same virtues observed by Andres Bonifacio.
However, it goes without saying that like Bonifacio, we must not also allow our temporal concerns to blur our appreciation of matters affecting the national interest. Although his formal education would be considered today as the equivalent only to grade four, Bonifacio realized the need for self-education. In his meager collection were found the two novels of Dr. Jose Rizal, Les Miserables, "The Wandering Jew," "The History of the French Revolutopm" and "Lives of the Presidents of the United States." It was through these works that he formulated his vision for himself, the Katipunan and our country, leading Apolinario Mabini to designate Bonifacio as the "Father of Filipino Democracy." Bonifacio's nationalism was simple, direct and transparent. While the reformist movement stressed mere political reforms, Bonifacio strove for the freedom of our people.
These are facets of Bonifacio's life that we mustr strive to emulate. Without constant education, albeit informal at this stage in our lives, we shall be bogged down by personal commitments and left behind by national developments. We must constantly endeavor to be aware of the interplay between our lives and that of our nation. It is only through this critical outlook that we may formulate our vision for ourselves and balance the different roles that we play, be it of a family man, a professional or a Filipino.
Another characteristic of Bonifacio worthy of mention here is that he was a gifted organizer, a most prolific fisher of men, so to speak. In four years since the founding of the Katipunan, its membership was estimated to have reached between 300,000 and 400,000. It was only through Bonifacio's gift of careful and systematic planning that he was able to achieve some semblance of unity among our people then and harness their energies against the colonial ruler. Once more, it cannot be doubted that in attempting to be an agent for social change in the name of nationalism, the ability to link different people of numerous persuasions in an organized and systematic manner is a most valuable tool.
As to the traits of Bonifacio, finally, I wish to allude to his faith and hope. His faith in the innate abilities of epople and their capacity to prove themselves equal to any challenge. This is best illustrated by Bonifacio's reaction to a biography on George Washington, who led the American revolt against Britain despite the 13 colonies having had no regular army nor treasury. Bonifacio, it was said, identified with the seemingly insurmountable challenges facing Washington, and in the the spirit of a true romantic, did not allow practical considerations to thwart his pursuit of lofty dreams. He relied on nothing else but his unshakeable faith in the common people, their ability to win their deliverance, and most importantly, the nobility of the goal. In this day and age, with our dreams for ourselves and our nation shall seem so distant, so remote. It id during these dark moments that our faith and hope in the dream should dissuade us from conceding the justness of the cause.
At this point, I wish to quote a few passages from the writings of Andres Bonifacio, pertinent to our subject tonight. From second paragraph of "Duties of the Sons of the People:" "Always bear in mind that the true love of God I the love of thy country, and that this love is also the true love for thy fellow man." From the first paragraph of "Love of Country": "Is there any love that is nobler, purer and more sublime than the love of the native country? What love is? Certainly none."
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
"There are at present 13 Cabinet secretaries, 11 Senate members, 41 members of the House of Representatives and 6 sitting on the Supreme Court (who graduated from UP)."
During our time, and perhaps likewise during yours, Diliman was a republic in itself. We were not only proud of calling it the Diliman Republic, we asserted it with a measure of arrogance. If you are then proud nationalists of the Diliman Republic, I suppose your love for it would be greater than your love for the Republic of the Philippines. This view, certainly, would be rather unfortunate, yielding to what was merely intended as a joke. For verily, the Diliman Republic was established only as a breeding ground for nationalists and heroes of the Motherland, our beloved Philippines…
This brings me to a time over 88 years ago -- June 18, 1908, to be precise -- to the founding of the University of the Philippines to Act. No. 1870. Section 2 of this act expressed the purpose of the University, which was to "provide instruction in literature, philosophy, the sciences and the arts, and to give professional and technical training to anyone regardless of age, sex, nationality, religious belief or political affiliation."
In hindsight, it is well to remember that the avowed goal of the University bordered then on heresy and sedition, as it was meant to serve as a contrast to the older universities established during the Spanish period and steeped in tradition.
It was crystal then that even as early as its founding, UP was to be an institution at the forefront of the battle for nationalism. For as perceived by Salvador P. Lopes, the 10th university president, the role of the University was to serve not only a training ground for leadership, but also as a laboratory for the rapid transformation of society. Thus aside from its traditional academic functions, the University was expected to play the role of social critic and agent of change.
On the surface, in order to validate this premise, one simply has to recall the First Quarter Storm of 1971, particularly the Diliman Commune of February 1971. Then UP students set up barricades at the main entrance and side streets of the campus to demonstrate their sympathy with the jeepney drivers' strike over oil price increases. Likewise, the student activists then took over the University Press and the University radio station (DZUP) and conducted teach-ins on the oil price issue. However, the UP's contribution to nationalism did and does not end with its tradition of militant student activism.
What we, as UP alumni, experienced as students then and carry out today, was a product of an educational process not confined merely to book learning, but with emphasis on the development of a well-rounded individual, i.e. educating the whole man. Hence, by way of example, of the some 189,475 graduates of the University since its founding, there are currently 12 Cabinet Secretaries, 11 Senate members, 41 members of the House of Representatives, and six sitting on the Supreme Court.
What put Andres Bonifacio in his great place in history was not the success of the Revolution, as he was executed even before its termination, was his efforts at attempting to unite our people against the colonial ruler. In this light, we, as Filipinos and UP alumni, can do no less. With at least 201 alumni chapters, 134 based locally and 67 abroad, we must muster our collective efforts towards the improvement of our nation's lot… There must be alternative forms of rendering nationalistic assistance to the University and our country which we may accomplish as a collective whole, moved by the same spirit and utilizing the very tools of Bonifacio in organizing the Katipunan.
In closing, I leave you with a quote from Carlos P. Romulo, the 9th president of the University:
"One of the most cherished aims of higher education is the greater self-awareness that results from it, a sense of man's capacity and worth as an individual in a society of free and fully functioning individuals. To my mind, what is this but self-identification which, carried to its most exalted purpose, becomes nationalism? With this clear before us, it is evident that nationalism becomes consistent with the idea of a university. Indeed, it becomes a necessary component, for no one has ever achieved universality without the integrity that comes from a realization of one's unique position in the cosmos."