Major major celebration of National Heroes Day

Repost from: Philippine Online Chronicles

“Sino-sino ang mga kilala mong bayani?”

Ito ang aking tanong sa iba’t-ibang taong nakakasalamuha ko. Ito rin ang nilagay kong status sa Facebook ko. Gusto ko kasing malaman kung kilala ng karamihan ng mga kababayan natin ang ating mga bayaning nagbuwis ng sariling buhay para sa minamahal nating bansang Pilipinas. Ito na rin ang aking paraang ipagdiwang ang Pambansang Araw ng Bayani -- ang gunitain at kilalanin ang kadakilaan nila.

Ang “generic” na kasagutan sa aking tanong ay si Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Salutatorian naman siAndres Bonifacio. Sabi ko ang daya naman puro silang dalawa na lang lagi ang sikat. May sarili na nga silang ‘araw’; Nobyembre 30 kay ‘May-pagasa’ at Disyembre 30 kay ‘Laong Laan.' Idol si Pepe kasi makulay ang “lovelife” nito at gradweyt nga naman ito ng Ateneo. Napakahusay pa nya at maihahantulad sa mga banyaganggeniuses tulad nila Einstein, Da Vinci at MacGyver. “Winner” naman si Supremo kasi simple lang siya, galing sa mahirap na pamilya at palaban pa! Pangmasa ang appeal nya. Ito rin ang dahilan kung bakit idineklara ang huling Linggo ng Agosto bilang Pambansang Araw ng mga Bayani (National Heroes Day) sa bisa ng Batas 3827 ng taong 1931. Naisip siguro ng may-akda ng batas na karapatdapat na magbigay pugay at maalala ang ibang bayani at may sariling araw na si Jose Rizal at Andres Bonifacio. Ito rin ay para mabigyan liwanag ang mga Pinoy na mayaman at mahalaga ang ating kasaysayan. Na ang mga bayani ay malaking haligi ng ating pagkaFilipino at karapatdapat tularan upang maging mabuting mamayanan. Ngayon, dahil sa bisa ng “Holiday Economics Law” ang Pambansang Araw ng mga Bayani ay ginaganap tuwing huling Lunes ng Agosto.

Sa pagsagot sa aking katanungan, ako’y nakatanggap ng sari-saring sagot. Dahil ang Pinoy ay mahilig sa katatawanan, marami rin ang sumagot ng kalokohan sa aking tanong. Naalala ko tuloy yung mga lumang “jokes” noong nasa high school pa ako. Sino ang seksing bayani? Si Techie Agbayani. Sino ang mag-amang bayani? Bayani Casimiro Sr. at Bayani Casimiro Jr. Sino ang bayani na may kapatid na ‘Bagets’? Hero Bautista. Sino ang pinakabayani sa lahat? Bayani Agbayani!

Hindi bayani ang unang Filipinang na-feature sa Playboy. Hindi bayani ang nagpauso ng mala-national anthem na song and dance hit noong 2003 na ‘Otso Otso.' Hindi rin kasama dito ang dating MMDA Chairman na tumakbo bilang bise president. Transformer siya, hindi bayani. Lalong hindi bayani ang utol ni Mayor Bistek o kaya yung first “Grand Questor” at dating kalove team ni Sandara Park. Hindi rin kasali ang tinaguriang “Fred Astaire of the Philippines” at ang kanyang anak na si “Prinsipe ng Kahilingan." Bayani lang sila sa pangalan. Ang sukatan ng pagiging bayani ay sa kanilang kakaibang ginawa para sa bayan. Hindi lang dugo’t pawis ang ibinigay ng mga ito kungdi prinsipyo at buhay.

Bakit tila hindi natin kilala ang ibang mga bayani? Alam lang natin na may walang pasok kapag National Heroes Day. Malling na naman ang gimik natin, outing sa probinsya o kaya sa Hongkong kasi long weekend ito. Bakit nga ba parang ‘Da Who’ sila sa ating kaisipan? Marahil ay tulog tayo nung itinuro ng iyong guro sa APan ang mga bayaning ito. Siguro binalewala lang natin ito at mas mainam bilangin ang wrong grammar at mannerism ni Ma’am. O kaya abala tayong parang “Matrix” na umiiwas sa ‘talsik laway’ ni Sir. Mas “memorized” natin ang mga kaganapan sa showbiz. Naglipana ba naman ang mga showbiz talk show at teleseryeng inaabangan. Mas sikat ka nga naman kapag alam mo ang latest sa “The Buzz” at sa Ruby o Rosalinda. Wala nga namang panama kila Dingdong Dantes, Piolo Pascual, Judy Ann Santos at Marian Rivera sa kasikatan ang mga “forgotten heroes”. Binaon na ba natin sila sa limot o sadyang hindi natin alam kung sino sila? Hindi na ba natin sila binibigyan ng kahalagahan kasi bahagi na sila ng nakaraan? Kilalanin natin ang ating mga pambansang bayani. Pagaralan at ipagbunyi ang kanilang katapangan at kagilagilalas na kuwento ng buhay nila.

Huwag mong sabihin hindi mo kilala si Magdalo (Hindi yung grupo ng mga sundalong mahilig sa mga hotels). Baka hindi mo alam, si Miniong (tawag sa kanya nung bata pa siya) ay isa sa mga haligi ng Katipunan at unang presidente ng ating bansa (pinakabatang presidente-29 taong gulang at ang may pinakamahabang buhay- 94 taong gulang nung namatay). Siya ang nagdeklara ng ating kalayaan noong Hunyo 12, 1898. Siya yung nasalimang pisong papel na drinowingan mo noong 90’s ng shades at nunal at para magmukhang Randy Santiago. Tama ka. Si Emilio Aguinaldo ang tinutukoy ko.

Sino ang nagsulat ng constitution para sa Unang Republika ng Pilipinas noong 1899-1901 na siya ring sinasabing “utak ng Katipunan”? Mahirap matandaan ano? Pero kung sabihin kong siya yung lumpong bayani o kaya’y tinawag na “Sublime Paralytic”, mas makikilala natin si Apolinario Mabini. Nakakalungkot na mas naalala natin siya dahil sa kanyang kapansanan kaysa sa kanyang kagalingan at kadakilaan.

Ang susunod na bayani ay ang birthday boy ngayong Agosto 30 (National Heroes Day ngayong taong 2010). Siya ay idolo ng mga journalists sapagkat siya ang founder ng Diariong Tagalog at naging editor ng La Solaridad. Kilala bilang Plaridel na siyang pen name nya, si Marcelo H. Del Pilar ay isa sa mga lider ngPropaganda Movement isang grupo ng mga bayaning manunulat na ang kanilang mga isinulat ay siyang naging inspirasyon ng Philippine Revolution.

Pambansang bayani din ang Mindanaoan na si Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat. Siya ay kinatakutan ng mga Kastila. Hindi nya pinasakop ang kanyang lugar. Alam mo yung Spoliarium? Hindi yung kanta ng Eraserheads ha kungdi yung malaking painting sa may National Museum. Si Juan Luna ang lumikha nito. Isa siyang Ilocano at ‘ka-berks’ ni Jose Rizal. Mayroon din mga babaeng bayani: si Gabriela Silang ang unang babaeng nag-aklas laban sa mga Kastila at si Melchora Aquino o Tandang Sora, ang ina ng KKK at bayani na nasa ‘singkong duling’. Isama na rin natin si Gregoria de Jesus ang ginang ng Supremong Andres Bonifacio na nagtatatag ng tsapter ng kababaihan ng Katipunan.

Kamakailan, lumabas ang pangalan ni Tarik Soliman.  Siya daw ang batang-batang Pilipino na taga-Macabebe, Pampanga, na namatay sa pakikipaglaban sa mga Kastila sa Battle of Bangkusay noong 1571.  May mga talang nagsasabi na siya ng kaunaunahang martir ng paghihimagsik laban sa dayuhan.

Marami pang ibang bayani. Kasama dito ang mga namatay ng hindi man lang nabigyan ng pagpugay o kaya ay nakilala. Magbasa tayo ng libro ng kasaysayan, magsearch sa WikiPilipinas o Filipiniana.net at palawigin ang ating kaalaman at pagmamahal sa Inang Bayan. Bigyan mo kasi ng pansin ang mga pangalan ng mga kalye at bayan. Kadalasan sa isang bayani ipinapangalan ang mga yan. Tingnan mo ang pera mo bago gastusin.

Nandyan ang mga mukha ng mga bayani. Nawa’y ang Pambansang Araw ng mga Bayani ay magsilbingpaalaala sa mga ginawa ng mga bayani ng Pilipinas pati na rin upang hikayatin ang mga nakababatang henerasyon upang tularan ang karakter ng mga taong ipinaglaban ang bayan. Ang selebrasyon na ito ay bahagi rin ng pagdiriwang ng Cry of Pugadlawin. Enjoyin natin ang holiday! Ipagdiwang natin ang Pambansang Araw ng mga Bayani ng “major major” (bonggang bongga) sapagkat ito ay narararapat para sa ating mga bayani.

If Rizal Were Alive

If Rizal were alive…

We are wont of Filipino role models in these modern times. We have been looking for someone to emulate because our current leaders are inept and unprincipled. We cannot help but look back to the Filipino heroes of yesteryears. Who else to look up to? Who else but our National Hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal!

What if he were alive? What would he be doing? What would be his role in today’s society?  I searched the internet for insights and opinions. Google led me to Yahoo! Answers, forums in rakista.com and the P.U.P. website, and the Professional Heckler’s (one of my fave blog reads) blog entry Jose Rizal in the Time of Facebook, Gloria & Hannah Montana. In YouTube, I found Lourd De Veyra’s Word of the Lourd: What if Rizal Were Alive Today episode and was awed. I also posted the question in my facebook wall and in the What’s Up Dagupan facebook page and appreciated the comments of people I knew. But it was Filipino historian Ambeth Ocampo’s Looking Back article that moved me. Overall, the viewpoints and comments regarding the question: ‘What if Rizal were alive’ bordered from funny, witty, informative, irreverent, logical, up to the absurd. We really are Filipinos!

Here is my take on what if Jose Rizal was alive today:

On June 19, he will be 149 years old. This would make him one of the Filipino MacLeods. The other Filipino immortal of course is Senator ‘Gusto ko happy ka’ Manong Johnny. A man of nine loves, Jose Rizal will celebrate his birthday simultaneously in the places where he met the women who made his heart go gaga- Laguna, Pagsanjan, Dagupan City, Madrid, Japan, London, Biarritz, Brussels, and Dapitan. He will be physically present though in Dagupan City (the hometown of his longtime sweetheart and debatably true love Leonor Rivera) and to celebrate Agew na Dagupan (Dagupan Day) on the next day, June 20. A foodie whose loves seafood, Rizal whenever he is in Pangasinan would always eat at my good friends Sundie and Marlyn Lorica’s Matutina’s Seafood House and Restaurant or at my high schoolmate Anne Castro’s family owned Dagupeña Restaurant. He loved his bangus cooked as ‘inselar’ (soured broth or sinigang) or ‘inkalot’ (charcoal grilled). For breakfast, he enjoyed ‘sardinas secas’ (tuyo or dried fish) from San Fabian with rice and ‘tablea de cacao’ (hot chocolate) drink. His birthday would not be complete without his favorite ‘pancit’ (birthday noodles).

Jose Rizal in 2010 is a Social Network demigod. His tweeter account has 5 Million plus followers. He was blamed for the six hours crash of twitter.com for his single tweet ‘Fuego!’ last December 30. This single tweet got more than 250 million retweets, which curiously was traced to come from Filipino voters only. This tweet trended again last May 10, five months since it was tweeted.  As a Literary and Travel Blogger, his blog is consistently the top blog in Technorati besting the likes of The Huffington Post and Gizmodo. He recently deactivated his facebook account due to privacy issues. He denies having a friendster account.  According to him, friendster is so 1800’s.

He is a master of 23 languages and dialects including Jejenese. He wrote three novels in full Jejemon parlance under the nom de guerre, P3P3Rz@LMD. These books are now regarded as the ‘Bible’ of Jejemons and are being studied by author Dan Brown for a book project ala Da Vinci Code. He even translated his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo to Jejenese to remind the youth of today about the ills of society that continuously plague us in a language that they understand. To those who persecute the Jejemons, he would say: ‘Man is multiplied by the number of languages he possesses and speaks.’

Like many Filipinos, Jose Rizal is a big basketball aficionado. He never missed the championship games of the Blue Eagles. Ateneo’s cheer ‘One Big Fight!’ is said to have been coined by him. His favorite cager is Chris Tiu who like him is multi-talented and ‘muy amable’ (very lovable). He also admires ‘The Rocket’ JC Intal. His favorite NBA player is Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers. If he were to be an NBA player, his moniker would be J-Riz. A San Miguel Beermen fan, he also frequents the PBA games with former U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney and Valerie Concepcion. A multi-skilled sportsman, Rizal fences with Richard Gomez, pistol shoots with Jethro Dionisio and my kumpare Rob Erfe-Mejia, Dagupan City’s Top Gun. Boxing? Of course he is a Manny Pacquiao fan and friend but not the Chavit kind. He is responsible for the Pacman’s improved English speaking skills.

Jose Rizal as a politician? I would doubt this. There are a lot of people who would want him to become president but in a country like ours, he would never become President even if a hundred Mar Roxases would give way. Not if our criteria for electing a leader is sympathy, popularity and money. He might not even win as ‘cabeza de barangay’ (barangay captain) against ‘has been artistas’ as he is strict, uncompromising and a genuine reformer (making him unpopular among traditional politicos). The Filipino electorate is not yet politically mature. The enemies he faced are still here, only in a cosmic ‘rigodon de deshonor’. Same dog different collar. The slaves of yesterday are the tyrants of today. The oligarchs have inherited the usurping power from the foreign conquistadors. The power of the meddling Church and ‘frailes’ have not waned and instead multiplied into several religious denominations who are now self-proclaimed righteous leaders and political kingmakers. We may be sovereign now but foreign imperialists are still ramming their policies and influence down our throats. A martyr and true hero, Dr. Jose Rizal would still choose to be shot in Bagumbayan and die all over and over again for ‘amor a la Patria’ and love of others.

In 2010 and beyond, Pepe is and would always be a national figure. He is our ‘fuente de luz’ (source of light) and still our kilometer zero, the standard or point of reference by which a Filipino is and will be measured. Being the polymath that he is, he’d be internationally renowned. He is Levi Celerio, Lea Salonga, Charice Pempemco, Cecile Licad, Francis M and Apl. de Ap. of music, Lisa Macuja, Leonor Orosa and a member of the JabbaWockeeZ of dance and FPJ and Dolphy of tinseltown.   In Literature, he is Nick Joaquin, F. Sionil Jose, Alejandro Roces and Lualhati Bautista. In couture, he is Monique Lhuillier and Josie Natori. In sports he is Manny Pacquiao, Batista, Eugene Torre, Wesley So, Paeng Nepmuneno, ‘The Big Difference’ Caloy Loyzaga, Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes and Jennifer Rosales. He is Efren Peñaflorida, Mang Pandoy, Emilio Advincula, the honest cop, the She-roes of Ondoy and Pepeng, the dollar-remitting homesick OFW, the toiling mother who makes ends meet, the father who does odd jobs, the iskolar ng bayan, the pedicab driver, the ‘dumaralos’ (farmers) and fishermen, and all ‘indios bravos’.

Maybe the question should not have been what if Rizal was alive. Because Rizal is alive! He is in you and me. He is every Filipino who loves his country and his fellowmen.

He is not just what we want to become but who we are.

Reposted from The Philippine Online Chronicles

Photo: Photo edited by the author, Simon Francis Blaise R. Vistro  

Pepeng Stories: SHE-roes

I originally entitled this feature article as Pepeng Stories: SHE-roes. It was published as Pepeng aftermath: stories of her-oism. at the Philippine Online Chronicles.  Why SHE-roes? I wrote this as a tribute to women/female heroes who helped us during Typhoon Pepeng. It's my way of thanking them for the kind selfless act. Read on...

 Pepeng aftermath: stories of her-oism
 
Who could ever forget what happened from September 26 to October 21, 2009? Not I nor the 9,407,665 other Filipinos who were directly affected by the two tropical cyclones that hit the Philippines one after the other.

Typhoon Ondoy drowned the NCR (National Capital Region) and most of Luzon while Typhoon Pepeng left a trail of destruction and havoc in the northern part of Philippines, particularly Pangasinan. An article entitled Statistically Speaking estimates the damages at more than a thousand deaths and about Php 38 billion (11 billion is attributed to Ondoy and 27 billion to Pepeng), Ondoy and Pepeng have dislodged typhoons Ruping and Rosing as the costliest tropical cyclone in the Philippines. Someone quipped Ondoy and Pepeng were like two highly-paid actors/comedians; the only trouble is they were not acting and they were not funny.

Throw all the statistics away. The actual experience and eyewitness accounts of what actually happened is more glaring than the numbers. In Benguet, a whole family was buried under the rubble caused by a landslide. Cars in Sta. Mesa, Manila swirled in floodwater like sugar cubes in coffee. An aged stroke patient was drenched by the rain for two days while perched in their bungalow’s roof in Mangaldan. In Rosales, a man was seen clinging to a branch a tree as water continuously rose.

It can’t rain all the time and we Filipinos soon found our rainbow. We found it in those countless and sometimes random acts of kindness, bayanihan spirit, heroism, display of unity – seldom seen except in a Manny Pacquiao fight … and a national calamity of this scale. How does one account for the adrenalin rush as hundreds volunteered to help the victims by shelling out their money or otherwise giving of their time and of themselves?

Saying thank you is never too late. As March is recognized as International Women's Month, it is but fitting to feature and honor the women (and their organizations) who helped and comforted us during and after the onslaught of the typhoons. They are worthy of being called heroines.

The Rotary Club of Dagupan East (RCDE) of which I am a member, conducted rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts in Pangasinan for more than two weeks straight last October 2009. These efforts were made possible through the coordination of Chris and Candy Blancaflor and Rex and Marianne Lor who were able to enlist the help of these heroic ladies.

Gang Badoy and Rock Ed Philippines

RCDE, together with Gang Badoy (founder of Rock Ed Philippines) and her members distributed more than 1,000 relief packs in Barangay Lucao, Dagupan City and in the barangay’s island sitio, Sitio Tukok. Gang and her group had to borrow and ride a huge truck as well as brave the long trip and rough roads (major roads were still impassable at that time) in order to go to Dagupan City. Rock Ed Philippines is an alternative education volunteer group which advocates volunteerism, involvement, hope, and a sense of country. Rock Ed is a movement that says: NO MORE EXCUSES, PHILIPPINES! It says this in many forms depending on the degree and shape of the volunteers’ commitment — medical missions, alternative education classes, benefit concerts, workshops and seminars for teacher training, leadership activities for public schools, storytelling sessions, and book drives. Rock Ed works for a more active private citizenry and a more socially-involved generation of Filipinos. Its vision is to end the poverty of hope in the country.

Angel Brigade

Katrina Holigores and the Angel Brigade provided the relief goods and life vests which were distributed to all the barangays of Dagupan City, Barangay Talibaew in Calasiao, and the Dagupan City Disaster Coordinating Council.

The Angel Brigade is a team of volunteers committed to assist victims of calamities and disasters. It was founded by Tisha Cruz-Bautista and Judith Velasco-Roda. According to the brigade’s Facebook account, an Angel Volunteer need not physically work at any Angel Brigade Center, although this is the primary means to earn one’s “angel wings.” Members may help by re-posting and/or re-tweeting calls for assistance, by donating time for coordination work, by lending vehicles and deployment trucks, or by donating goods and services when needed. The “Angel Brigade” name/brand is IPO-registered under the ISDANCO foundation (a non-stock, non-profit entity registered with the SEC).

Moms for Moms

RCDE also distributed the relief packs given by Rea Gomez-Harrow and Moms For Moms in four hospitals in Pangasinan namely: Region 1 Medical Center, Dagupan Villaflor Memorial Hospital both in Dagupan City, Pangasinan Provincial Hospital in San Carlos City, and Bayambang District Hospital in Bayambang. The relief bundle consisted of separate packs for mothers, infants, and toddlers.

Moms For Moms is a group of mothers who have come together with one goal in mind– to help other mothers and babies in their time of need. Rea and Sheila Juan Catilo started this project by donating diapers for the babies of Fabella Hospital and blogging about the needs of Fabella Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive care Unit (NICU). Soon after, support poured in, with more and more moms (and dads too) coming forward to extend their help to other disadvantaged mothers and kids.

What I admire most about these “she-roes” is that they help other people without publicity or self-centered “praise releases.” They help because they want to help — period. You won’t see their names emblazoned in their relief packs, nor see them riding a “kuliglig” (two-wheeled trailer pulled by a two-wheeled tractor similar to a rotary tiller) just for photo ops like some presidential candidates.

These admirable women did not make me forget Ondoy and Pepeng but rather made me remember them more — in a positive way. They reminded me that underneath disaster is a blessing, that sparks of generosity and caring can light up the dark, and that when called upon to be heroes or sheroes, Filipinos don’t disappoint.

Read the full article here: Pepeng aftermath: stories of her-oism

Bayaning Di Bongga

This coming March 2010, I will soon be writing at (which I will also be heading) the Bayaning Di Bongga section of  the Pinoy Online Chronicles' Buhay Pinoy channel. 

I, together with other writers will feature people who lived heroic lives. People who are  unhonored and unsung. These are simple people who may be leading exemplary lives and serving as inspiration to many yet unknown and incognito to most of us. We have heroes in all walks of life - men and women with unique achievement. In case you know of a person/s who deserves accolades and acknowledgement for how he/she lived his/her life, email me at sfbrvistro@gmail.com.

There are a lot of unsung heroes around us who are full of noble acts and admirable character- OFWs, teachers, balut vendors, jeepney drivers, writers, volunteers, public servants, church workers, farmers, minimum wage workers, sportsmen, senior citizens, children, survivors, nurses, students, artists, repenters, and others- Filipinos all, heroes all!

Mga Bayaning Di Bongga. It's about time that they are known.