Monday, June 10, 2024

TATAKalikasan Lesson in 2 Parts: Philippine Independence 126th Anniversary June 12, 2024: Theme KALAYAAN, KINABUKASAN, KASAYSAYAN

Lesson on TATAKalikasan Ateneo de Manila University
87.9 FM Radyo Katipunan, 11 to 12 a,m,, Thursday June 2024

Kalayaan. Kinabukasan. Kasaysayan
Freedom, Future, History
(Original title: Inseparable Duo: Patriotism and Cultural Values, avr)

Part 1 - 126th Anniversary of Philippine Independence 
Part 2 - National Migrant Workers Day, June 7, 2024
Bagong Bayani, Kaagapay sa Bayang Pilipinas 

             In celebration of the 126th Anniversary of Philippine Independence (June 12, 2024), National Heritage Month (May 2024), and National Migrant Workers Day, June 7, 2024

Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or historical aspects.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Raising of the Philippine flag at Rizal Park at Luneta

                 Patriotism is a collective way of life of a people. 

Patriotism is a sacred temple founded on four pillars:

· love and compassion,
· support and defense of ones country
· national loyalty
· universal principle for peace.

Patriotism has undergone a long historical evolution. 


To children patriotism and heroism are tied up, say in Superman comics and in the classics. Here the protagonist prevails over the villain and circumstances while building the moral of the story. Heroism is a result of strife, sacrifice, guts and Providence. In tragic stories, death is justified by a cause, such as freedom. At the end it is always the human spirit that triumphs.

Our children therefore, must be guided to inculcate in their mind and heart the sense of patriotism and 
heroism and as they grow up will understand their common grounds and differences, whether fiction or true story.

To scholars, patriotism has many faces. In the age of colonization the master was the patriot, the self-proclaimed civilizer as he “brought the subjects – the natives into the folds of civilization and converted them into a new faith.”


First Philippine Republic: Asia's First 

Going back to June 12,1898, proudly the Philippines proclaimed independence from Spain, the first to break away from colonial rule in Asia. Though short-lived, the First Philippine republic, nonetheless catapulted the Filipino nation onto the world’s consciousness carving not only a place among the family of nations but also a distinct niche as the first republic in Asia.

Emilio Aguinaldo, first president of the first republic of the Philippines,
shrine at the Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

The birth of new nations in post-colonial era spawned a new breed of heroes and patriots, hardline nationalists building a glamorized image as benevolent dictators. while they were trapped to allegiance to either democracy and socialism polarized during the Cold War which lasted for 45years until 1989.

Racism, apartheid, anti-Semitisms, extreme fundamentalism, and the like, have faded from the limelight of enlightened societies. Walls dividing ideologies were knocked down. Divided countries like Germany and Vietnam were reunited. USSR was dissolved back to Russia we know today, liberating its union members into independent states.  


Today the concept of patriotism is again at the crossroad. For one, the indigenous peoples have found a place among former colonial masters in government and in various fields, and even excel in many of them. Indigenous leaders considered before as enemies are now recognized as heroes like Lapu-lapu in the Philippines, and   Montezuma of the Aztecs (early Mexicans). Many aboriginal leaders in Australia, Africa, the US and other parts of the world have been brought to fame and bestowed honor. Patriotism brings back the pride and dignity of ancestors, aborigines and indigenous people: Mac-liing of Upper Chico River in Kalinga Apayao, Wangari native of Kenya led the planting of millions of tree, Barack Obama and Luther King led the once maligned Negro to international respect, redeeming him from freedom to equality. 

Patriotism in Postmodern Era

Patriotism grows with the times. But it must stand firm, it should not be engulfed by the current of change. On the contrary, patriotism must serve as anchor against rapid and chartless change, especially in our new era we call postmodernism, which means “living tomorrow today.”

The electronic age has “wired” the globe. Today we are just a dial away from each other. Communication satellites loom in the sky.  We are now subjects of the cyberspace empire. Today we ask what is patriotism in social media, in the Internet? To Google, Facebook, Twitter et al

No one should live in the future. It is too dangerous, lonely and uncertain. Out there is a battlefield where the enemy is no other than us – ourselves, having drifted away from

· time-tested tradition,
· valuable lessons of history,
· the primordial institutions of family and community,
· honored values and tradition, and
· man’s harmonious relationship with nature.

Where does patriotism come in - in this scenario? In this battlefield that covers practically all human societies linked by a network of communication and transportation, commerce and industry, the so-called progress has been found to have miserably failed to bring true prosperity, peace and happiness. It has undermined the true meaning of The Good Life. It is taking man away from the realities of life, much less its challenges and conditions that make life exciting, fulfilled, and worth living, that ensures the sustainability of these attributes in future generations.

One unique characteristic of Patriotism is its humbling effect, contrary to popular notion. It brings man to his knees to reflect and meditate. And to gather courage and strength for change. But it is a change against, and away, from futurism. Away from the brink of Armageddon, from a cataclysmic consequence of a global conflict that is not remote from happening.


Let us seriously consider these disturbing global events that threaten world peace and security:

· rise of organized terrorism,
· invasion of Ukraine by Russian
, continuing Syrian war
. Gaza War - Palestine-Israel conflict
· the sudden diplomatic row between and among countries in the Middle East.
· breakup of the European Union,
· nuclear threat by North Korea and Iran
  (and the unaccountable nuclear stockpile during the Cold War.)
· unabated pileup and emission of wastes on land, sea and in the air
· global warming, climate change, induced force majeure and other consequences
· runaway increase in population (8 billion today)
· eroding values and tradition 
· greedy capitalism and consumerism,
· maverick science and technology (Frankenstein syndrome)
· extremism and fundamentalism leading to separatism and alienation.
· Mindanao conflict, New People's Army threat to peace and security.

 We must be soldiers to defend none other but ourselves, the human race. No species on earth is as self-destructive as Homo sapiens, ironically the “thinking man,” the only rational organism on earth. 

"We are soldiers ourselves to protect ourselves."

If we are soldiers ourselves for our own sake what then are we fighting for or against? Remembering the great Mahatma Gandhi, we must renounce the seven Deadly Sins defined by this great leader, acclaimed Man of the Millennium (the greatest man who ever lived in the last one thousand years) by starting with and in ourselves. 

Gandhi said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Aristotle who lived 2500 years before, qualified such change, said, “It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.”

These sages meant that a good man has higher attributes than just being a good follower, law-abiding, and conscious of his rights and privileges. Patriotism surpasses tenets and doctrines; it sets inviolable principles. It prods us to renounce

· Wealth without work
· Pleasure without conscience
· Science without humanity
· Knowledge without character
· Politics without principle
· Commerce without morality
· Worship without sacrifice.”
― Mahatma Gandhi, Seven Deadly Sins

Patriotism is committed to preserve tradition. 

Declaration of Philippine Independence 
June 12 1898, Kawit Cavite

It is a conservatory of values that have guided our ancestors for eons. In fact one writer said, “Primitive people were more patriotic than we are today.” The liberty of the individual is no gift of civilization. It was at its greatest before there was any civilization. On the road of change let’s look back and see the beacon that has guided man's aspiration and goal.

“A love for tradition has never weakened a nation, indeed it has strengthened nations  in their hour of peril” said the great British hero, Winston 
Churchill. 

"We have reasons to cherish life which nature provided us free and plentiful. Theodore Roosevelt said, “Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children.

Tradition is the saving grace of a dangerous postmodern world. We are living in a bubble that can burst anytime. As a consequence economics over the world will collapse. We are sitting on a social volcano which may erupt in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria, Middle East, Mindanao, Europe or North Korea.

National hero, Dr Jose Rizal.  Commemoration of his execution at the Luneta, and his two books: Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo which ignited Philippine revolution for freedom from Spanish colonization.

Among us are heroes and patriots in their own way: senior citizens still active, still contributing to the welfare of our society; teachers dutifully attending to their duties as vocation; media men and women truthful to the code of journalism even as they face the risk of the profession; "doctors in the barrio" as how the late Dr Juan Flavier described them; widows, orphans in great resolve to go on in life - these and 1001

 others are the unknown heroes in our midst. They are like the Unknown Soldier, who only God is witness to his deed. And that there is no deed, however small, is insignificant.

Yes, patriotism is a way of life. So with loyalty. Both must live in and with us always. ~

Part 2 - National Migrant Workers Day
Bagong Bayani, Kaagapay sa Bayang Pilipinas 
June 7, 2024

Migrant Workers are Filipinos who reside in another country for a limited time.
Department of Migrant Workers
Presently Hon Leo Cacdac
Founder and first secretary: Toots Ople, deceased
  • There are around 2 million OFWs (1.72 to 2.18M in 2019, an increase of 7,6 %).  
  • OFWs started in early 20th century, in Hawaii 1900s.
  • Majority are women 59.6%
  • Annual remittances $28 B (2014) equivalent to 10 percent of GDP
Rights of OFWs in the Philippines and Abroad
  • Protection and Welfare
  • Upholding Dignity
  • Covered by Philippine Labor Laws
  • Right to access basic necessities
  • Right to Fair Compensation
  • Right to Equality and Respect
  • Right to Self Organization and Collective Bargaining
Challenges of OFWs
  • Homelessness
  • Family Problems Culture Shock and Language Barrier
  • Financial Difficulties
  • Employment issues
On Migrant Workers' Day, 
DMW assures OFWs of continued gov’t support
By Marita Moaje
June 7, 2024, 1:43 pm



COMMITTED. Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac commits to working tirelessly to serve and protect overseas Filipino workers on Friday (June 7, 2024). In his message on Migrant Workers' Day, Cacdac assured OFWs the DMW will remain their home in the government. (Screengrab from DMW Facebook)

MANILA – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) led the observance of the National Migrant Workers' Day on Friday, as it assured overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) of continued support from the government.

In his video message, Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said that the DMW works tirelessly to serve and protect OFWs anywhere.

“The DMW is your home in government. The DMW is here for you every single step of the way and we are committed to strengthening our programs and services to protect your rights, deliver justice, and ensure your welfare,” he said.

The DMW has a partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government for the creation of OFW help desks in all local government units.

Aside from providing legal and welfare assistance to distressed OFWs, Cacdac said the DMW develops programs to enhance migrant workers' skills in case they decide to return to the Philippines for good.

At the same time, it coordinates with other countries interested in hiring skilled Filipinos for better opportunities.

This year’s National Migrant Workers' Day has the theme “Bagong Bayani, Kaagapay sa Bagong Pilipinas” (New Heroes, Partners in New Philippines).

Migrant Workers’ Day is celebrated every June 7 in the Philippines to commemorate the signing into law of the Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers Act of 1995. (PNA)
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Part 1 was originally published on the 120th Philippine Independence June 12, 2018,  
Guest Editorial (Greater Lagro Gazette
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* By virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 439, s. 2003, the month of May has been annually celebrated as the National Heritage Month. 
The celebration has three objectives. One is to expand the celebration's reach by engaging with indigenous communities in remote areas. Another is to strengthen promotion through partnerships between government agencies, public offices and private organizations. Finally, the third objective is to foster Filipinos' love and awareness of cultural heritage preservation through participation in capacity-building activities.

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